violence...

I'm not sure which themes I would like to compare in my upcoming essay. I would like it to be something I care about and something that, to be honest, will provide me with a good grade. Pop culture and the medias influence on this generation has always been an extremely difficult issue for me. I see their influence in children younger than me especially because of my siblings and constant surrounding of younger kids in my life. It frustrates, angers, concerns me and makes me sad to see what is important to them as compared to what was interesting to me and my generation back when we were their age.It differs so much and I feel that the media has brought so many unnecessary aspects of adult and negative life into theirs. I see the effects first-hand and has always been a 'button' for me. Mostly I have problems with the introduction and accessability of violence through popculture and the media to younger ages. It is a very important issue and is portrayed in very different ways through media mediums.
I would like to write my second essay, I think, on the subject of violence through a visual, movies, and text, action books. I've done really small papers before on the topic but I still feel very strongly about the topic and I'm still interested in researching and pursuing for the final product. Eh.. there are so many issues and themes present in pop culture today that its hard to choose just one to compare and contrast. These papers that will be done in for class will vary sooooo much and all will have different points to make and ways of making them. Its kinda exciting in a dorky way.

Friends!

I love friends! It is my ultimate favorite show! All the characters are hilarious and so relate. Sometimes I feel so much like Phoebe. As much as I don't like to go out and say it, but I really do act a lot the same. I am very blonde and have the same oblivious moments.
I feel My group of friends are not like that at all in any way, but we're in a different time of our lives than those on the show. Right now I'm a 17 year old in college, with a small group of friends from the dorms and classes and I'm still in all the relationships I've had my whole life only 30 minutes down the road. My friends at home, that I see on a fairly regular basis, are the friends I love to death and would do anything for. I don't know where everyone will be next fall when they all go off to their colleges and actually leave Wilmington. I know we will always have Carolina Beach though. When we have breaks and holidays we will always get together and have a good time. Who knows. I'll never know for sure but this has been home to us for our entire lives and we've always had each other.
Oh man!!I hate commercials so much! They are annoying, aggrivating,and I would absolutely love them to die!
Anyway, I love friends. Old, new, present, real life or the best tv show. They are people who are there for you and share some of the funnest moments with.

West Highland Sojourne

It is so difficult to choose my favorite song or just one song at that for a matter of fact. I have been a band kid since the beginning of 6th grade and I love just about every genre of music and thousands of songs in between. I love listening, playing, performing, dancing to and singing to music. It is a major part of my life (besides the beach, family and friends) and I'm not sure what I would do or how I would live without it.

I chose the peice West Highland Sojorne, mainly because I love the sound of it and because of its significance in my life. My 8th grade band played this peice for a concert in the spring and because I was sitting and acheived first chair clarinet I happened to have the one major solo in the middle of the second movement. Not only was it nervewracking and terrifying, I had no one else in the entire band playing a single note. When it came time for Ms. Weaver to cue my entrance the band died away behind me and I was the only voice of the whole theatre. I found out years later that my best friend who played the second part in the clarinet section also had a solo at the same time as I but she was a soft player and even more nervous and terrified than I was.

That was the only solo I've ever had in my entire band career. I've been a part of small group ensembles and had a few solo parts that way, but as a whole band there hasn't arose the opportunity to play a solo again. Well, after I got into highschool I met Laura. She is the same year as me but as a freshman she sat as second chair to the drum major, the only reason she wasn't first chair. While I sat in the third row playing third part in the clarinet section. In high school it was different and starting out everyone was older and better than me. I didn't like it but I had lots of room for improvement and I came to realize that Laura was just simply amazing and some sort of clarinet prodigy and no one after that first year was ever going to be better than her at Ashley High School.
West Highland Sojorne is a very spirited peice of music and my favorite peice I've ever played. It was just a fun peice! We performed it in competition that spring and I remember it being the scariest thing in the entire world but I belted it out and actually did really well. I do have one other particular memory about this peice and that was at competition as well. O'Malley, our chimes player in the percussion section had a major solo as well at the end of the third movement. When it came to his solo, the whole band was supposed to be quieter and let the chimes come through over the whole band. Well, right in the middle of his major part, he is clanging away at the chimes and the whole thing falls to the ground in a broken heap of wire and metal chimes! It was crazy and something I will never forget!!

Makin' music with my friends..

Alright, so I officially love driving and roadtrips and going new places and traveling. It's official. I love seeing new things and visiting as many places as I can get to. My family has traveled so much and, unlike my brothers, I don't tire or get bored of it. As little as twenty minutes into a trip, one of the boys has to start in with the complaining or annoyance of some sorts. Its a bit difficult traveling with the family, sure, but with headphones and a window my problems, at least, are fixed. We have been two months cross country visiting about 20 new states, traveling up and down the East coast numerous times covering about 13 states, and all the amazing places in between. I thought we have been to more states than that but it all sounds right. We have missed Michigan, Indianna, Ohio, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, Alaska, Hawaii, and, of course, Kansas. I'm very glad that the list is significantly shorter than the list of states that I have been to. At the same time though, I can't wait to have been to all states and many foreign countries.
I went to the study abroad session for my freshman seminar class last week and I can't wait to take absolute advantage of the programs and places I can go. I want to see so many things in my lifetime. I want to try all that becomes available to me and go on adventures just because I felt like I really wanted to at the time. I'm the person that will try anything adventurous just because I can. Like bungee jumping, sky diving, cage diving, or whatever, as long as its thrilling and I'm having a good time. I love going out and doing things and not having a thousand boring days. I'm the girl that goes and polar plunges at one in the morning because I was bored and wanted something thrilling to do. And believe me, that water was very thrilling and the plunge didn't last long but I stood there looking at the water and recognizing the cold and still decided I had to do it. I was so awake and having the time of my life as I left my clothes, warm blankets and towel on the beach and ran in my bathing suit screaming all the way to the water. Somehow my feet kept going and next thing I knew I was in the cold water and turning around back towards the beach. I stood there though and realized as well, that I didn't come this far and not do it completely right. I wasn't gonna "half-ass" it, no sir. So I stood up, took a deep breath and ran once more straight for the water, knowing damn well how cold it was, and dove in and, completely soaked head to foot, I ran for my towel and blankets. I did it. Most of the thrill simply comes from being able to stand there and say that I did it. Whether there is anyone around to hear it, as long as I know and lived it, I will go out adventuring, traveling, and searching for new experiences to add to my life.

umm.....

i need to make sure i have two blogs for this week and i only have till midnight.......
but i'm being kicked out of the hospital in chapel hill and my car wont get back to wilmington till after midnight i betcha anything!
sooo.... i will blog when i get to campus but till then ima gonna be on the road so i'm hoping this will hold credit till i can blog for real......
maybe, just maybe:)

Ry Ry

This has been a very emotional and important week for my family, so, my bad for not blogging throughout the week. My younger brother, Ryan, is 15 and went through a VERY serious surgury Tuesday morning. We have been through so much together and even though he is the biggest pain in the butt out of all my four brothers, I realize how much he really means to me.
He is an amputee so he doesn't have a foot and he has had to deal with so much because of the whole thing. He has had surguries to stunt the growth in his amputated leg because, at 15 he is already 6' 3 1/2" tall, and he would have to have a new prostesis made or adjusted every time he grew. He is one character though. He loves entertaining others whenever he is given the attention. My younger brothers all love it and its actually very very funny. Appropriate for the dinner table, absolutely not, but he goes on anyway. Ryan is just like every other kid his age, and no one would be the wiser of his disability.
Recently he has had many difficults with his heart and blackouts as a result of abnormal flow to the heart. They have found many symptoms of Marfans Syndrome, a genetic disorder that I'm not sure at all if it has been officially diagnosed for him but he has many symptoms. His height, disproportional arm span (finger tip to finger tip is larger than his height), abnormal joint flexibility, heart palpalations, and heart murmurs are the ones, that I'm aware of, that apply to Ry's case. So...He had to have a major surgury that only few doctors know how to operate and its been scary for the whole family.
I was extremely scared to tears on Tuesday before I got word that he was finished and okay with surgury. I have wanted to be with him the whole time this week and I am so glad I had the opportunity to drive up and visit him today. I am blogging from his hospital room and it's been a very good day for him. He got unhooked from all his wires, tubes, and monitors today and been on lots of pain medication as a result. I brought him a board game and lifesaver candies. I also brought my laptop and my new SIMS 2 game so I was able to distract him for a few hours as he played. A bunch of family has made the trip to see him. Earlier this week my aunt cathie and Nate, my father, Pastor Steve, my grandparents and my younger brothers all came to visit Ry. Today my grandma Avery, Aunt Traci, Uncle Chris, Aunt Lisa, Nate, Gray, and Holly came to see him and its so amazing to see everyone and for Ryan to see everybody.
I REALLY don't want to leave to make it to my 8 am english class that I'm writing these blogs for. Irony. I love it.

Nature all Around

No matter if you like, appreciate or see the beauty in the nature all around you in this world, its there and its highly important to our way of life. The Nature Conservancy is an organization that looks for "landscapes and seascapes that ensures biodiversity over the long term". To choose the locations they want to protect they use a process they call Conservation by Design. Its really just a fancy name for picking locations that their scientists deem worthy and useful enough to conserve. Which, in itself, is a very smart thing to consider knowing that, realistically, the world today is more focused on industrial and real estate expansion. The Nature Conservancy has a clear message and focus and appeals to all peoples. Their organization is very professional and respected, as well as highly supported by high companies and partners in the science world. They are one of the many organizations out there working to save the natural aspects and features of our world while, in general, the population is constantly working to destroy and eliminate nature in daily life. Whether directly or indirectly. Whether its the fault of the individual or not. As a whole, we are ignorant to conserving the nature around us. These organizations bring the nature back into our lives and lets us appreciate it again. Or maybe thats just me, but all the same, I see photos of the places in conservation and the wildlife thriving there and it gives me hope for humanity. We're not the only ones on the planet, even if we consider ourselves superior to other living things, we are still all sharing the same planet with similar needs.
I went on a small tanget, but it's all relevent... This organization is well organized and properly makes a point to continue for its cause by very successful means.

Awesome Snazzy Stuff

So I always say things are awesome. Its just the first word to enter my head and everything becomes "awesome". Its a simple word and makes a for a simple reply. It just works in so many situations and conversations. I use it alll the time; it makes me happy. If someone has great news all you gotta say is "Thats awesome!!", with enough emphasis and enthusiasm it works all the time! Say it to their face with big eyes and at a higher octave and its the icing on the cake. I mean you have to be sincere! That would be so messed up to use the phrase and the tricks just as a fake! But I use it for real, its too hard to express myself and I need all the help I can get to let you know how excited and amused I am. So. Awesome.
Over the years I've kinda adopted a ton of words that I use in daily life, whether you beleive it or not. Including Snazzy, otay, stinkerpoo, and buttmunch. The last two are suppposed to be insults. Growing up with younger siblings and a sheltered from the world of profanities and namecalling I had to improvise. Maybe it wasn't the best improvisation and I should have crossed them out of my vocabulary long ago, but they are part of me and it would be a sad day if I could never call anyone a buttmunch again:)
The words I use in daily life are simple but its the best way I know how to express myself...words just hate me I think. Somedays I have God's graces and I write awesomely, but thats once in a blue moon. At least I have those chances:)

Rainy Mountain

I've always kinda enjoyed this short essay. It's personal, simple and informative. He describes the land and its beauty, his grandmother and the Kiowan indians. I particularly like his references to Yellowstone National Park because of the connections I have in my life to the west. Summer 04, when I was 12, my family took a 2 month road trip vacation across the country. We covered pretty much every state west of NC except for Kansas..we missed kansas somehow. It was a very very long trip in a van and pop up trailer with my brothers being ages 10, 6, 5 and 5, but the sights and experiences were amazing and unforgettable! We spent two nights in Yellowstone because there was so much to do and see. The buffalo, elk, geysers, hot spots, and mud pots were the most unique things. No where else in all the places we visited could compare. This is the only picture from Yellowstone we scanned to the computer..Its a herd of buffalo and my whole family:) When we first saw them, for some reason, i yelled, "LOOK! Guys its a herd of moose!!" Yup I really did..not a very proud moment and I got picked on relentlessly about it.

The author mentions the legend behind Devils Tower according to his grandmothers people. While we were at Devils Tower that summer, the story was told to us and written in front of the tower. All along the base there were prairie dogs like no tomorrow. They were everywhere and they were all so cute. My dad and my brothers are the people in the picture...

I have read Rainy Mountain before in high school and I've enjoyed reading it every time. The reader gets a greater appreciation for the land and gets an insight to the Kiowan indians. The description is vivid, colorful, and captures attention. It paints a picture and brings back always fond memories that I am fortunate to have.