This Is Me, This Is My Future

Introduction: I wrote about what I wanted for the future. Who I want to become, my goals and aspirations. We only have one life, we should live it the way we want where we will have no regrets and be proud of we have become in the end and what we have done with our few moments on earth. Here is my point of view on the subject. 

I knew since I was a kid that I wanted to have drive and ambition, I wanted it because I wanted to be rich. To be able to have anything I want, to be anywhere I want, I wanted to live the good life in a sense. I believe that is what every kid wants, we are taught from a small age to have materialistic values, that having money means you can get whatever you want and therefore you will have achieved happiness. The media is constantly bombarding us with what success should be. It tells us that money, beauty, and power those are the true values of this world. 

My view of success has changed since I was little, as I am sure it has for most people. I want to impact the world, to affect it and make a difference for future generations. I used to believe that academic achievment would lead to a good college and the only way I could become successful and make a difference would be if I went to a good college and became some sort of doctor or scientist. I believed that I would never amount to anything unless I was smart. My grades have always been okay, though most of my friends had the perfect GPA and all A’s and I thought I was just going to have to learn to accept that they would ammount to more than I would. 

Now my goal is entirely different and entirely new. I want an occupation that helps people. As a senior in college I was forced to face the future faster than I ever thought I would have to. Choosing a college where you had to declare your major scared me, but I knew that I wanted to have a job where I could help people so that is where I started. Therefore I decided to study sociology. I wanted to become a social worker that was a therapist that could help people with their problems. I wanted to minor in psychology also so I could use both of these degrees to help people. So I am going to study about people and see where that takes me. 

Philosophy of Life

Introduction: I wrote down what drives me through my life, why I do the things I do. I wrote down my philosophy of life. I wrote it at the beginning of the year, and in this case I believe it has changed within the time frame of then and now, yet the basic underlying principles behind my claim I still stand by. 

I believe in the power of the individual.  I think life is about finding who you are and growing as a person.  We all see qualities of people we like and dislike and we try to make a person that reflects our experiences.  Although, no matter how hard we try, there are some characteristics about ourselves that we just can’t change.  I believe life is not just about trying to be the person you know you want to be but accepting your flaws and mistakes.

I also believe life is about embracing the world but knowing you can’t do everything.  It is true you may only live once but what becomes most important to you changes over time so you should think twoice about making a decision that will alter your life.  

We have been given a beautiful world from God, atleast that is my opinion.  We have to go out and try new experiences and travel and grow old with the people we love.  Our present sets the path for our future families so it is important to remember that when going through life.  Life on earth is only a glimpse of the future after death.  I believe we have heaven to look forward to.  I believe that we should be the best version of ourself so when we look back we can be proud who we came to be.  

How Would I Change the World

Introduction: It is easy to tell that our world is flawed. But there are so many causes, so many things that need fixing, so it is hard to focus on one. That is why people often don't help any cause, because they can't choose, how would they know which cause is more important then the other when it comes down to it? I decided to focus on one cause for my piece that I felt passionately disturbed about. 

If I could change anything in the world, I would change the affect of technology on media.  In our modern society technology dictates our lives.  Americans spend five hours a day watching TV on average.  That does not include the time that they spend checking Facebook with their phone and their computers while tweeting and instagraming.  Media rules our lives and we are influenced by all of it.  On average in America children spend 3.5 minutes a week in meaning conversation with their parents and spend 1,680 minutes a week watching TV What has our world come to when our children are more influenced by media and television than the parents who raised them.  Every piece of media that Americans consume with current technology tells them that they aren’t good enough.  

The girls displayed on TV and magazines are all beautiful, thin, and flawless when in reality these kinds of girls make up only a small portion of the world population and yet these are the only girls ever seen in media.  This makes girls feel bad about themselves which leads to eating disorders, depression, and even suicide.  

Also through technology people are cyberbullied every day.  With the amount of social media available today, cyberbullying has become a huge problem.  When people can insult other people from the safety of their computer instead of saying it to their face, they have the courage to say almost anything.  Cyberbullying can cause depression and suicide for teens all around the world.  

The violence in media today is astounding.  When television first came out even the word pregnant was not allowed on the air.  Now virtually any word can be said on TV  By the age of 18 kids will have seen 200,000 acts of violence on TV alone, not including the violence shown in advertisements in magazines, billboards, news papers, ect.  Nearly all video games today are violent wether kids are killing zombies, Nazis, aliens, or more.  In video games kids are taught all the different ways guns and knives can be used to kill someone.  With the latest technology for the gaming systems such as the Xbox and play station every game is more realistic than ever.  Studies have shown that the way violence is represented in the media today desensitizes people to violence and they are more likely to use it forcefully in the real world.  

Media today has also become more sexualized than ever before.  Advertisements often show men and women with as little clothing as possible to attract people to their product.  Almost all soap operas show some form of sexual content and more than half of all the other shows on TV also show sexual content.  Studies have shown that this encourages kids to have sex at younger ages.  Also for boys the media has encouraged rape because in media all women are portrayed as is sexual objects.  

Race is also discriminated against in media, even in Disney movies.  In the movie Tarzan, Tarzan is white and so were any other human that came up in the movie, the only black characters were the animals which teaches kids that only white men are really human and that black men are not worthy of being called humans as they are merely animals.  This is just one example, in many animated TV shows and movies parents don’t understand that their kids are taught that being white is the superior race.  

Relationships

Introduction: This assignment was given by my English teacher. I was meant to write about my relationships with my friends, family, and boys. I was also meant to write what I wanted my relationships to be like in the future. It was eyeopening, I discovered more about myself that I didn't know before, and more about the people I love. 

     The relationship with my mom is the strongest of my two parents. We are very similar people, sometimes I think I got all my genes from my mom and none from my dad. I know I owe my parents everything although I rarely admit it or own up to it. My mom and I like the same foods, have similar tastes in movies, and like the same clothes. I feel like I can tell her anything, and I never have to lie, even if I tried to lie she would be able to tell because I am a terrible liar. We don’t always get along, in fact we get in fights a lot but for the most part we are really close and it will be hard for me to live without her next year.

     My dad and I have an interesting relationship. When it comes to sports, wake boarding, and skiing we get along because it is something we can relate with. Otherwise we don’t have much in common. Compared to the relationship I have with my mom, my dad and I don’t have a very strong relationship. We often don’t agree, although we do agree on a few subjects such as rooting for the Giants and being active. 

      I am not someone who has a huge group of friends, I have really close friends that are basically like my sisters that I honestly don’t believe I could live without. One of my best friends, Annie Welden and I have been friends since seventh grade. We don’t sit at lunch together and don’t really talk at all at school, but we know that we will always be friends even if we have different groups of friends we hang out with. My other two best friends I eat lunch with and I do just about everything with. One of my friends named Jade Bourdeau is pretty much the same person as me. We are both awkward and goofy and whenever we are together we laugh nonstop. My other friend, Reachel Wagner, has the same interests that I do so she is really easy to talk to and she understands me as a person really well. Honestly my friends are what makes me who I am and I love them like they are my family. Reachel and Annie are both going to Cal Poly so I will be attending college with them both next year, and I will be rooming with Annie. I will not be with Jade though because she is attending UNR. I honestly tell Jade everything and I can’t imagine having her not in my life, I feel like she is my twin at times and that we are sisters because we are so alike. In fact we have been asked if we were twins before even though she has red hair and I am blonde just because our personalities are so alike.

     So far my romantic life doesn’t exist. There have been people interested in me but I feel like I am still not ready for a relationship, and I haven’t found someone I genuinely believe I could have a relationship with. I know that in my future I want to find someone that I love but that I know I will love in the long run, after having kids and building a family together. I want to know that there is a possibility that I could be happy with one person for my whole life, although lately I have started to doubt the reality of that goal.

     I want children really bad. Family is a huge part of my life and I want a family of my own. I think I would be a good mother, and I know it is one of the hardest jobs but I believe that my future self will be up to the challenge. I think I am supportive and patient and I hope that I can give good advice. When my family or friends are feeling sad I can usually cheer them up and take care of them. I have taken care of my friends while sick. Also I think there is still a child in myself which is why I love being around kids so much. They are so innocent, as constantly stated in Catcher in the Rye, and I miss that in myself which is why I like to see it in kids. Building a family is one of my main goals and I think I would be a good mother.

10 things non negotiable in a significant other:

-sense of humor

-wants to travel

-wants to have kids

-likes to be spontaneous and adventurous in life

-likes dogs

-must be honest and truthful

 -likes to be outdoors and loves nature

-must love lasagna

-must be easy going and go with the flow

 - must support my job and my own goals

-someone who loves me and will continue to love me with all my imperfections forever

Cody

Introduction: In this piece I had to write a play. I decided to write about a couple who lost their baby and what their conversation would be like. It is kind of depressing but I liked writing it and I hope you enjoy.

Mark: I wonder how much cribs go for these days

Jenn: Could you be a bit more sensitive. This is hard enough as it is without making sarcastic remarks

Mark: I…I know I am sorry. But if we continue to live in the past we will never move on with our lives.

Jenn: Maybe I don’t want to move on. I don’t think you understand I can’t just move on from this. This was my life, this was my everything, I changed myself so that I could be a mother, that is who I am now. To have this ripped away from me is to take away my identity. I don’t know how to live anymore, I am so scared, I can’t move on.

Mark: You think I don’t understand, how could you think I don’t know what it is like. I may not have had him growing within me, but the idea of him, my love for him was real and it took control of me too. I have a untouched baseball glove lying in my closet, I have every Harry Potter book sitting on my bookshelf just for him, I made a list, a list of things I wanted to do with him and to teach him. I was ready to be a father, I was ready to live that life too, I changed too. But this doesn’t mean that I won’t be a father and this doesn’t mean you won’t be a mother. The timing may be wrong, but I have every faith in us and I know that one day we will have a family, no matter how long it takes.

Jenn: (Starting to cry) How do you know. We can’t predict the future we don’t know what is going to happen. Every time I go into this room I will think of what could have been. Every time I see that baseball glove, the Harry Potter books, your list of things you would do with him, it will feel like a knife in the back as a reminder that I wasn’t able to keep my baby. I don’t want to wait, I can’t. The hope for something that may never come will consume me and I won’t be able to live anymore. I will never be the same person, I am changed forever and I don’t know who I am.

Mark: It doesn’t matter who you are, because we have each other. Who better to discover yourself again with then me, someone who knows your pain and who lost the same thing you did. We will grow through this grief together. You say hope will consume you but with me it can lift you up and out of this miserable yet inevitable grief. Yes there will be times when we have to face losing him, we will have to face this every day but I am willing to face that with you because I love you. And our love for each other will allow us to survive and get through this. You have to trust me though, you have to have faith in me and us.

Jenn: (Fully sobbing now) I love you too....I am ready to start healing with you (Jenn and Mark embrace)

Fate

Introduction: This was one of my favorite projects to write. So for this story I had to start with "the two stood face to face" and end with "and then there was one." I decided to do it from a gladiator stand point because when I thought of a fight to death that was the first thing that came into my head. Although I decided to put a little twist on it, I hope you enjoy. 

The two stood face to face, each with their own wounds clearly visible allowing the slightest glimpses of blood that shimmered in the scorching sun and fueled the enthusiasm of the anxious crowd. The colosseum was hot as the sun burned down on these two battered men. Why were they forced to fight to the death? and for what? For the sadistic pleasure of the crowd.  These men, both slaves, both forced into the same sick institution by the infamous Rome. They had grown to be like brothers, having to face the same misery day after day, being put to the test. The taste of dirt was thickening in their mouths due to the dust that would occasionally lift off the ground when a breeze passed. They starred each other down, daring the other to make the first move. 

The cheering crowd only grew louder and louder, deafening screams that pleaded for the thrill of murder. The emperor sat, with a banquet of food at both of his sides. His round belly barely left him a view of the battle stage. Two men left, death would soon be upon one of them, only the Gods knew who, although if the emperor were a gambler he would bet on the larger man.

The larger man had rippling muscles that twitched under the heat. He had a few cuts here and there but otherwise he was in good condition to fight. The other man was clearly smaller, although only because he was short, he still had lots of muscle on him and he wouldn’t go down without a fight even though his wounds seemed to be substantially worse than the larger man.  Finally the bigger man, who was clearly the stronger of the two got on his knees. The crowds screams grew quiet as they watched in confusion and astonishment. He said, “This world holds nothing for me, and I can only pray for the destruction of Rome,” he took his sword and held it at his neck. It was dead silent, even the emperor stopped his indulgence of the fresh grapes by his side in order to watch what would happen next. It seemed ages had gone by when suddenly he slit his own throat and lay dead on the ground. People gasped, why would a man do such a thing as take his own life? 

The smaller man watched the blood soak into the thirsty earth and remained speechless, nor did he move from his spot. Could it be, could it be that he had won? But what for. This man that lay before him, he showed these Romans that although he was a slave he was not owned by them. He could not be forced to die in the way that they had intended, he would die by his own accord, by his own choice. 

The Romans could not deny him the right to be with his family even if they had brutally murdered them because death was only the beginning. The only thing keeping this man from his family was life itself, but life had become less of a barrier and faded into a more delicate, fragile matter that could easily be broken if one had the motive. He had shown courage, strength, and hope to any and all prisoners who feared the Romans. Yet, only the Gods can decide a mans fate, and the Romans could never take that away. 

The other man looked around at the people surrounding him, the people that were so eager to watch another human being die a bloody murderous death. The killing of human beings had formed into a sport, a maliciously disturbing sport that human kind had created as a source of entertainment. The man knew this, and he had played along in their little game, only hoping to survive. But he knew this man had made a higher impact than he ever could. 

He looked at his sword and felt an overwhelming urge to plunge it into his stomach, show the Romans that their power was limited and that he was free and he didn’t need to answer to their authority. But he thought of his daughter, and his wife, so far away from him that it seemed like a different lifetime that they were together. He needed to stay alive for them, he needed to survive. As much as he wanted to show the Romans that they had no control over him or his death he couldn’t bring himself  to commit suicide. So he stood there and a whisper spread throughout the colosseum on the lips of the crowd “and then there was one.”

Opinion of the Moon

Introduction: For this work I had to take an inanimate object and give it voice. What would it sound like if it could talk? I am always intrigued by the moon, I am aware that it is a nothing but a rock whose light is reflected by the sun, but to me it is much more. Sometimes I imagine it is God's eye looking down at earth watching over us. Anyway I decided to use that for my project. 

People think I am sick which is why I am so pale, although if they are intelligent they would be aware of the fact that my color is merely a reflection of sunlight and my health is in perfect condition. Shakespeare says that I am envious of sun. But he was wrong, he was intelligent for a human, of that I am sure, although he was very wrong. I like what I do, I love the night. I like to cover the earth in silvery silence. At night, that is when the humans become peaceful, the birds stop their chirping, and the the earth falls to a tranquil silent. That is when I come in. The sun may bring the light of the day, although that is when people are crazy, like little specs of spastic energy jumping across the surface of the earth, no rest all action. 

There is something magical about the night, and I love to contribute just a little bit to that magic. Even though everyone is asleep on the earth, and the whole planet seems to be peaceful at last, when the light of day comes the world is a different place. Water droplets of dew cover the earth and my light makes the dew sparkle in a little show of brilliance that only I get to observe.

There are some animals that come out at night, like the owl. I love to watch the owl in the night. The owl feeds off of the silence, it uses the silence to its advantage when it goes on the hunt. After the heat of the day, the night gives cool relief to some animals like the tiger. The tiger is one of the prettiest creatures of the night, and I love to share my secret world with it. All the animals of the night create a silent symphony of serenity that I have the pleasure of enjoying.  

I have been watching the earth for a very long time. I have seen species come and go, and watched the world evolve to what it is today. Humans may be the most intelligent species, although their advancement could end up being the death of them. I cannot stop the progress of the world, I am just an observer, a scientist if you will, who can not interfere with the experiment but must simply observe the world for what it is.

There are some things I cannot know simply through observation and I have accepted that. Watching the humans grow and learn is what I like to do best. I must say they are more interesting than any other species I have watched. I question whether there will ever be a species on earth as advanced. But some of their accomplishments are destructive and I can't help but wonder if they will lead themselves to destruction. There is so much I don't know and I just want to learn more, knowledge is everything to me, it brings joy to my dark life.

I am also a romantic of course. Watching the humans find their match, so to speak, is quite entertaining. I believe night is the most romantic time of day, and under my moonlight is when people are most likely to fall in love. When the humans speak about love I am often referred to. For instance “I will lasso the moon for you,” or “I love you to the moon and back.” I don’t have the ability to inspire much in humans, but I do have the ability to tend to love which I think is my most gifted talent. 

For the rest of my life, there is nothing more that I would like than to watch the busy movements of earth and to fall in love with every person in it. I want to impact each living spec on that earth in the small way I can. I can’t do much but I am the moon, and as the humans say, nothing is impossible.