I wrote a long Thanksgiving blog, but it's on Luke's computer, and he isn't in Jacksonville. But, I'll put it up when I'm able! Hope everyone had a great week :)
Love,
Haley
Friday, November 28, 2008
Pictures from Thanksgiving Break 2008
I wrote a long Thanksgiving blog, but it's on Luke's computer, and he isn't in Jacksonville. But, I'll put it up when I'm able! Hope everyone had a great week :)
Love,
Haley
Sunday, November 9, 2008
my character synopsis for my presentation :)
Tomorrow, I have to give a presentation in character from a book of my choice. I chose to present the book Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy. I will be giving a synopsis in the character of Lucy Grealy. Since my audience will not know anything about the book, and most of you probably haven't read it, I decided to post this synopsis as a blog. I hope it is effective in your "getting to know" Lucy Grealy's character in this book.
My name is Lucy Grealy. When I was nine years old, I was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, which is a rare facial bone cancer. I had surgery to remove a part of my jaw. The next few years of my life were spent in the children's ward of a hospital. I went through 3 years of chemotherapy and radiation. At a very young age, I had experienced more pain, nausea, confusion, guilt, and fear than most people do in an entire lifetime. While I was in the hospital, I was surrounded by other children who had cancer. They experienced my pain. They lost their hair, just like I did. They wondered why their own families felt uncomfotable around them, too. They understood. They did not judge. One day, I got to leave the hospital. I finally got to go home. What would normally be a day of celebration was instead a day full of disappointment. My house did not look the same way it did when I left. Things were falling apart in every imaginable sense. My once financially stable family had been ravaged by an expensive illness, and I knew that it was mine. I felt guilty for causing so much change. I felt responsible for my mother's extreme depression. I felt as if I had been forever separated from my family by cancer. I wondered if my siblings thought I looked funny without hair. When I went back to school, the other kids pointed and laughed. I didn't blame them, and I thought that it was because of my hair, or lack of it. But, the laughing continued even after the hair grew back. And, it was at this time that I had to come to terms with the fact that my face was not normal. It wasn't going to magically grow back, as my hair had. I was "ugly", and everyone who saw me knew it. The boys dared each other to ask me out, and the mothers hushed their children who said, "What is wrong with her face" when I walked by. I was only comfortable on Halloween, when it was appropriate to wear masks. I wanted to wear a mask every day, and I felt this way until I realized that we all wear masks every single day of our lives. Ideally, a face cannot tell you much about a person. You can't look at someone's face and know their talents, their hopes, their dreams, or their fears. Realistically, however, I felt as if nobody could ever love me romantically with a face like mine. I wanted so badly to be normal, while everyone else was wishing to be extraordinary. I spent 5 years of my life being treated for cancer, and the next 15 being treated for nothing more than being different. I had over 30 reconstructive surgeries before I found a face that made me look almost "normal". Do you think that being "normal" made me feel beautiful? Would I finally be able to live? Will people find out what lies behind my face? The pain in this book is real. These pages contain all of the contents from the smallest, most sacred place in my heart. This is my story.
My name is Lucy Grealy. When I was nine years old, I was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, which is a rare facial bone cancer. I had surgery to remove a part of my jaw. The next few years of my life were spent in the children's ward of a hospital. I went through 3 years of chemotherapy and radiation. At a very young age, I had experienced more pain, nausea, confusion, guilt, and fear than most people do in an entire lifetime. While I was in the hospital, I was surrounded by other children who had cancer. They experienced my pain. They lost their hair, just like I did. They wondered why their own families felt uncomfotable around them, too. They understood. They did not judge. One day, I got to leave the hospital. I finally got to go home. What would normally be a day of celebration was instead a day full of disappointment. My house did not look the same way it did when I left. Things were falling apart in every imaginable sense. My once financially stable family had been ravaged by an expensive illness, and I knew that it was mine. I felt guilty for causing so much change. I felt responsible for my mother's extreme depression. I felt as if I had been forever separated from my family by cancer. I wondered if my siblings thought I looked funny without hair. When I went back to school, the other kids pointed and laughed. I didn't blame them, and I thought that it was because of my hair, or lack of it. But, the laughing continued even after the hair grew back. And, it was at this time that I had to come to terms with the fact that my face was not normal. It wasn't going to magically grow back, as my hair had. I was "ugly", and everyone who saw me knew it. The boys dared each other to ask me out, and the mothers hushed their children who said, "What is wrong with her face" when I walked by. I was only comfortable on Halloween, when it was appropriate to wear masks. I wanted to wear a mask every day, and I felt this way until I realized that we all wear masks every single day of our lives. Ideally, a face cannot tell you much about a person. You can't look at someone's face and know their talents, their hopes, their dreams, or their fears. Realistically, however, I felt as if nobody could ever love me romantically with a face like mine. I wanted so badly to be normal, while everyone else was wishing to be extraordinary. I spent 5 years of my life being treated for cancer, and the next 15 being treated for nothing more than being different. I had over 30 reconstructive surgeries before I found a face that made me look almost "normal". Do you think that being "normal" made me feel beautiful? Would I finally be able to live? Will people find out what lies behind my face? The pain in this book is real. These pages contain all of the contents from the smallest, most sacred place in my heart. This is my story.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
The Audacity of HYPE
I was sitting in my British Literature class on Tuesday, November 4. I could not stop thinking about the election and its potential outcome. So, as I always do when I'm bothered, I wrote. Unfortunately, I ended up in the hospital on Tuesday and had emergency surgery on Wednesday. When I was released on Thursday, I remembered what I wrote and decided that it was time to finish it. Here it is.
Everything changes today. As a 21 year old, I should probably be excited. However, I find myself sitting in class writing about how I'm scared. Change is not something that can be avoided. Change is vital to each person and his or her happiness and satisfaction. People crave change in their individual lives constantly. As a society, we place all of our hope on upcoming changes. And, while we're doing all of this hoping and waiting, we completely fail to realize the seemingly invisible changes that are continuously happening in the background. Behind all of the debates, stickers, bickering, signs in our front yards, rumors, facebook groups, news headlines, rallies, protests, promises, the religious background of one candidate, and the POW background of the other, we find that each candidate is no more than a human being. Both were born, and there will come a day when each of these men will die. THe difference between Obama, McCain, and the rest of us is that somewhere along the way, they found themselves competing to be the president of our troubled country. And, they were both able to do this because they formed connections with people who they each knew could help financially support their campaigns. They each have groups of people who watch and critique every move they make. They are told what to wear, what to say, how to feel about specific issues that are important to voters, how to respond to each and every possible question that could be asked at any point in time, which personality trait to show the most in order to appeal to voters, which smile to flash, which promises to place emphasis on, which promises voters will forget, which states are "most important", and so on. In fact, dare I say that there are very few people who have been able to get a real glimpse of the real Obama or the real McCain. How would they dress on their own? What do they do to relax? What are their favorite movies, music genres, authors, restaurants, or alcoholic beverage? Who are their TRUE best friends, and how valuable are these friendships now that every person in America knows who both of these men are? What hides behind the faces plastered on all of the political propaganda? What values do each of these men hold inside of their hearts? Do they pray to God before they go to sleep? And, if they do pray, do they do it because God is in their hearts, or because God is in the hearts of the people who will be voting? Do they really believe what they say they believe? The truth is plain and clear to me. Both of these men are complete strangers to us, and the majority of America is completely blind to this fact. During this election, I found myself supporting one candidate simply because I was terrified of the alternative. Is that what American politics have come to? I should be forced to vote for someone who has values that are quite opposite of my own?
While I despise Obama withe every ounce of my being, let me say that there are a lot of things that I do not like about John McCain. To begin, he does not support a woman's right to choose when concerning an unwanted pregnancy and the decision to have an abortion. Instead, he promotes adoption. In fact, he and his wife adopted a child. What I do not understand is why a person can't promote the benefits of adoption while also supporting a woman's right to choose another option. While I do believe that abortion should be available to females, I believe that if the girl is under the age of 18, she should have to get parental approval. Currently, any female aged 16 or above can get an abortion without parental consent. Abortions can come with an ugly aftermath, and most young girls are not prepared for the emotional distress, guilt, and depression that often follows this decision. I also believe that there should be a law that requires females to go to a therapist for a certain amount of time after having an abortion. The other big issue that I have with the McCain campaign is his huge anti-gay marriage attitude. Are you kidding me? How can I possibly support a man who thinks that homosexuals do not deserve the same basic rights as other human beings? I strongly support the right for homosexuals to be married in ANY state, and under the same laws as heterosexuals. God made us all. The United States of America was originally meant to give each individual the right to freely practice any religion. If that were still true, my homosexual friends should be able to say, "God created me. God loves me, and I am a faithful servant to him. I am also gay. God gave me the ability to love, and I have done this. Now, in the presence of God, my friends, and my family, I want to marry the love of my life." Each person has the right to practice the religion that he or she feels is "right", but a man who believes that he was created by God and has always been gay still doesn't have the right to practice the belief that God made him that way that he is, which is gay. By denying homosexuals the right to marry in the same manner as any given heterosexual, are we saying that God makes mistakes? Do any of you honestly believe that anyone would choose to be gay? I've seen what my homosexual friends have had to go through in their lives. I've seen the way they've been taunted, teased, laughed at, been called "sinners" (as if we all aren't sinners), and most importantly, been denied the right to marry the love of their lives. This right is denied because in the Bible, it is called a sin. But, does the Bible not also say that there is no one sin greater than another? That being said, should people who lie no longer be allowed to speak? When people steal, should they no longer be allowed to use their hands? When a person becomes jealous, should his or her right to FEEL be denied, as well? If there is no one sin worse than another, why are there not stronger punishments and limitations for people who commit other sins? I just do not get it. And, there are even cases where homosexual people are denied the right to adopt a child due to their "immoral" lifestyle. So, John McCain wishes to promote adoption, but only to straight couples? Children who have no love, no support, and no will to survive are left in foster homes or likewise facilities rather than placed in loving homes in the hands of a couple who want nothing more than to be parents and happen to be homosexual? In many cases, children are placed in the homes of foster parents who are more worried about what they are going to spend their monthly government check on than the physical and emotional welfare of the child. Which option do you think the child would choose if he or she had the freedom or right to make that decision? Would they choose a loving and successful gay couple who happen to understand what it feels like to grow up much differently than "normal" people? Or, would the child choose to be tossed from foster home to foster home, constantly searching for love? It doesn't matter what the child would choose. At this point, they do not get to choose much of anything. And, this reminds me of McCain's argument against abortion. He believes that it is not fair due to the fact that the child's right to live is completely taken away. However, by denying homosexuals the right to adopt a child and give them a happy life, is the same thing not happening? In fact, when we are born, we have no choice about anything. We do not choose which genes are dominant, who our parents are, if we are gay or straight, if we'll have diabetes, if we will have Downs Syndrome, or mental retardation, a big nose, brown eyes, our gender, and etc. We choose nothing. However, mentally retarded people are allowed to get married. People with brown eyes are allowed to get married. I know a few diabetics that are married, even. Our society has accepted that somewhere between God and genetics, these things are chosen for us. We do not laugh at people with Downs Syndrome, because "they can't help it". And, they can't. However, it seems to be perfectly acceptable to laugh at a gay person. I just don't get it. If a mentally retarded person chooses to marry, we do not question the morals of this person. We just say, "(He/She) is this way for a reason. Maybe God is teaching us to be patient and learn the real meaning of unconditional love". But, when a child grows up and realizes that he or she is gay, we tell them they they are wrong. We say that God would not make them that way. And, how do we know this? Is it really moral to question God's creations and/or motives? Wow. So, those are the two big issues that I have with McCain.
Let's move on to Obama. He terrifies me. He is the worst possible thing that could happen to this country. He preaches "CHANGE". What is he changing? Is he talking about the change in his pocket? Is he talking about changing his pants? Is he talking about changing our democratic government to a socialist government? Is he talking about the change America will be ready to make (if we even still have that right) when his four years in office are over? Barack Obama said, "Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it’s doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let’s read our bibles. Folks haven’t been reading their bibles.” RADICAL? How can Obama even speak the word RADICAL without getting struck by lightening? Half of American speaks of Obama as if he is the Messiah (it pains me to even TYPE that), while the other half speaks of him as if he is the Anti-Christ. I've never seen so much interest in a candidate before. He intrigues some, and scares others. You've all heard about his background. You know of his connections with radicals such as Reverend Wright. You all saw where Fidel Castro announced his support for Barack Obama. You've read his middle name, and if it did not frighten you, it should have. You've all seen the posters being sold with Obama's face plastered on an image the body of Jesus Christ. His supporters often are just as radical as he is. Have you read his books? They speak so negatively about "the white man" and even express an admiration for Adolf Hitler and the control he had over Germany. Everyone heard him say that he was too inexperienced to run for president, and half of these people forget this statement the second he announced that he would, in fact, be running for office. Many people supported and voted for Obama because they are purely Democratic voters. They loved Bill Clinton, as did I. However, most of them failed to do their research. If they had, they would know that Obama voted against the majority of Clinton's bill proposals. He wants to have equal health care for everyone, which people of low income will benefit from. He wants to negotiate welfare reform, which people of low income will benefit from. He wants free child care facilities, which people of low income will benefit from. Do you see a pattern? He wants to rapidly end the war in Iraq, which is an incredibly dangerous decision. What have our men died for? If we end it now, all of these brave men and women would have been killed, injured, or taken away from their families for NOTHING. How can a real American support that? He preaches of peace, but represents Illinois, home of Chicago, which happens to have had more deaths in the past year than the war in Iraq has had in the past year. If he cannot control murder rates in one city, how does he plan on doing that for an entire country? In his childhood and high school years, he was called "Barry". However, when he learned that he could benefit from his African heritage, he decided to go by Barack. Like I said, I am terrified of this man. I'm scared to death of the damage he may bring to all of us with his presidency.
I've done my research. I've educated myself. And, I've come to the conclusion that either way this election went, we would not get the answers to all of our concerns. I just don't get it. This is a victory for black Americans, but is this man not just as much white as he is black? And, even with this, it is not a victory for me, as a white American. It is a horror. Is this God's plan for us? What will we learn from this? We need all of God's help that we can get. I suggest we start asking for it on January 20th, 2009, and that we do not stop until this man is out of the White House.
until next time,
Haley
Everything changes today. As a 21 year old, I should probably be excited. However, I find myself sitting in class writing about how I'm scared. Change is not something that can be avoided. Change is vital to each person and his or her happiness and satisfaction. People crave change in their individual lives constantly. As a society, we place all of our hope on upcoming changes. And, while we're doing all of this hoping and waiting, we completely fail to realize the seemingly invisible changes that are continuously happening in the background. Behind all of the debates, stickers, bickering, signs in our front yards, rumors, facebook groups, news headlines, rallies, protests, promises, the religious background of one candidate, and the POW background of the other, we find that each candidate is no more than a human being. Both were born, and there will come a day when each of these men will die. THe difference between Obama, McCain, and the rest of us is that somewhere along the way, they found themselves competing to be the president of our troubled country. And, they were both able to do this because they formed connections with people who they each knew could help financially support their campaigns. They each have groups of people who watch and critique every move they make. They are told what to wear, what to say, how to feel about specific issues that are important to voters, how to respond to each and every possible question that could be asked at any point in time, which personality trait to show the most in order to appeal to voters, which smile to flash, which promises to place emphasis on, which promises voters will forget, which states are "most important", and so on. In fact, dare I say that there are very few people who have been able to get a real glimpse of the real Obama or the real McCain. How would they dress on their own? What do they do to relax? What are their favorite movies, music genres, authors, restaurants, or alcoholic beverage? Who are their TRUE best friends, and how valuable are these friendships now that every person in America knows who both of these men are? What hides behind the faces plastered on all of the political propaganda? What values do each of these men hold inside of their hearts? Do they pray to God before they go to sleep? And, if they do pray, do they do it because God is in their hearts, or because God is in the hearts of the people who will be voting? Do they really believe what they say they believe? The truth is plain and clear to me. Both of these men are complete strangers to us, and the majority of America is completely blind to this fact. During this election, I found myself supporting one candidate simply because I was terrified of the alternative. Is that what American politics have come to? I should be forced to vote for someone who has values that are quite opposite of my own?
While I despise Obama withe every ounce of my being, let me say that there are a lot of things that I do not like about John McCain. To begin, he does not support a woman's right to choose when concerning an unwanted pregnancy and the decision to have an abortion. Instead, he promotes adoption. In fact, he and his wife adopted a child. What I do not understand is why a person can't promote the benefits of adoption while also supporting a woman's right to choose another option. While I do believe that abortion should be available to females, I believe that if the girl is under the age of 18, she should have to get parental approval. Currently, any female aged 16 or above can get an abortion without parental consent. Abortions can come with an ugly aftermath, and most young girls are not prepared for the emotional distress, guilt, and depression that often follows this decision. I also believe that there should be a law that requires females to go to a therapist for a certain amount of time after having an abortion. The other big issue that I have with the McCain campaign is his huge anti-gay marriage attitude. Are you kidding me? How can I possibly support a man who thinks that homosexuals do not deserve the same basic rights as other human beings? I strongly support the right for homosexuals to be married in ANY state, and under the same laws as heterosexuals. God made us all. The United States of America was originally meant to give each individual the right to freely practice any religion. If that were still true, my homosexual friends should be able to say, "God created me. God loves me, and I am a faithful servant to him. I am also gay. God gave me the ability to love, and I have done this. Now, in the presence of God, my friends, and my family, I want to marry the love of my life." Each person has the right to practice the religion that he or she feels is "right", but a man who believes that he was created by God and has always been gay still doesn't have the right to practice the belief that God made him that way that he is, which is gay. By denying homosexuals the right to marry in the same manner as any given heterosexual, are we saying that God makes mistakes? Do any of you honestly believe that anyone would choose to be gay? I've seen what my homosexual friends have had to go through in their lives. I've seen the way they've been taunted, teased, laughed at, been called "sinners" (as if we all aren't sinners), and most importantly, been denied the right to marry the love of their lives. This right is denied because in the Bible, it is called a sin. But, does the Bible not also say that there is no one sin greater than another? That being said, should people who lie no longer be allowed to speak? When people steal, should they no longer be allowed to use their hands? When a person becomes jealous, should his or her right to FEEL be denied, as well? If there is no one sin worse than another, why are there not stronger punishments and limitations for people who commit other sins? I just do not get it. And, there are even cases where homosexual people are denied the right to adopt a child due to their "immoral" lifestyle. So, John McCain wishes to promote adoption, but only to straight couples? Children who have no love, no support, and no will to survive are left in foster homes or likewise facilities rather than placed in loving homes in the hands of a couple who want nothing more than to be parents and happen to be homosexual? In many cases, children are placed in the homes of foster parents who are more worried about what they are going to spend their monthly government check on than the physical and emotional welfare of the child. Which option do you think the child would choose if he or she had the freedom or right to make that decision? Would they choose a loving and successful gay couple who happen to understand what it feels like to grow up much differently than "normal" people? Or, would the child choose to be tossed from foster home to foster home, constantly searching for love? It doesn't matter what the child would choose. At this point, they do not get to choose much of anything. And, this reminds me of McCain's argument against abortion. He believes that it is not fair due to the fact that the child's right to live is completely taken away. However, by denying homosexuals the right to adopt a child and give them a happy life, is the same thing not happening? In fact, when we are born, we have no choice about anything. We do not choose which genes are dominant, who our parents are, if we are gay or straight, if we'll have diabetes, if we will have Downs Syndrome, or mental retardation, a big nose, brown eyes, our gender, and etc. We choose nothing. However, mentally retarded people are allowed to get married. People with brown eyes are allowed to get married. I know a few diabetics that are married, even. Our society has accepted that somewhere between God and genetics, these things are chosen for us. We do not laugh at people with Downs Syndrome, because "they can't help it". And, they can't. However, it seems to be perfectly acceptable to laugh at a gay person. I just don't get it. If a mentally retarded person chooses to marry, we do not question the morals of this person. We just say, "(He/She) is this way for a reason. Maybe God is teaching us to be patient and learn the real meaning of unconditional love". But, when a child grows up and realizes that he or she is gay, we tell them they they are wrong. We say that God would not make them that way. And, how do we know this? Is it really moral to question God's creations and/or motives? Wow. So, those are the two big issues that I have with McCain.
Let's move on to Obama. He terrifies me. He is the worst possible thing that could happen to this country. He preaches "CHANGE". What is he changing? Is he talking about the change in his pocket? Is he talking about changing his pants? Is he talking about changing our democratic government to a socialist government? Is he talking about the change America will be ready to make (if we even still have that right) when his four years in office are over? Barack Obama said, "Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it’s doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let’s read our bibles. Folks haven’t been reading their bibles.” RADICAL? How can Obama even speak the word RADICAL without getting struck by lightening? Half of American speaks of Obama as if he is the Messiah (it pains me to even TYPE that), while the other half speaks of him as if he is the Anti-Christ. I've never seen so much interest in a candidate before. He intrigues some, and scares others. You've all heard about his background. You know of his connections with radicals such as Reverend Wright. You all saw where Fidel Castro announced his support for Barack Obama. You've read his middle name, and if it did not frighten you, it should have. You've all seen the posters being sold with Obama's face plastered on an image the body of Jesus Christ. His supporters often are just as radical as he is. Have you read his books? They speak so negatively about "the white man" and even express an admiration for Adolf Hitler and the control he had over Germany. Everyone heard him say that he was too inexperienced to run for president, and half of these people forget this statement the second he announced that he would, in fact, be running for office. Many people supported and voted for Obama because they are purely Democratic voters. They loved Bill Clinton, as did I. However, most of them failed to do their research. If they had, they would know that Obama voted against the majority of Clinton's bill proposals. He wants to have equal health care for everyone, which people of low income will benefit from. He wants to negotiate welfare reform, which people of low income will benefit from. He wants free child care facilities, which people of low income will benefit from. Do you see a pattern? He wants to rapidly end the war in Iraq, which is an incredibly dangerous decision. What have our men died for? If we end it now, all of these brave men and women would have been killed, injured, or taken away from their families for NOTHING. How can a real American support that? He preaches of peace, but represents Illinois, home of Chicago, which happens to have had more deaths in the past year than the war in Iraq has had in the past year. If he cannot control murder rates in one city, how does he plan on doing that for an entire country? In his childhood and high school years, he was called "Barry". However, when he learned that he could benefit from his African heritage, he decided to go by Barack. Like I said, I am terrified of this man. I'm scared to death of the damage he may bring to all of us with his presidency.
I've done my research. I've educated myself. And, I've come to the conclusion that either way this election went, we would not get the answers to all of our concerns. I just don't get it. This is a victory for black Americans, but is this man not just as much white as he is black? And, even with this, it is not a victory for me, as a white American. It is a horror. Is this God's plan for us? What will we learn from this? We need all of God's help that we can get. I suggest we start asking for it on January 20th, 2009, and that we do not stop until this man is out of the White House.
until next time,
Haley
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