The Blogging Experience

"Why do I have to write a blog?" "Seriously Mr. Parker. Must we waste our time with useless exercises like blogs?"

That pretty much sums up how I felt when I was given my first blog assignment. I thought blogging was just going to be another pain in the you know where, homework assignment that I would have to dreadfully complete every other month. What was I going to write about? How was I going to go past that first sentence? What should the subject be or would anybody even care?

Me when I realized I needed to blog | Image Courtesy of 929theBull

As I tentatively embarked upon the annoying journey of fulfilling my duties as a "blogger", I began with random subjects that were less personal but easy to write about. Procrastination was the first thing that came to mind, as I find myself facing it on a regular basis, so it was easy to write about for my first post. My next two blogs were about soccer, yet another subject I am fairly comfortable with as I have been playing soccer since I was five.  The deadline for the second set of blog posts approached much faster than I had anticipated.  Why was I having such a hard time coming up with something to write about? My next few blog posts were less than memorable to say the least.   As I stared into space, sitting behind my computer, facing my fifth blog post, wondering what in the world I would write about next, it dawned on me that this experience wasn't supposed to be about what I know and feel comfortable writing about, but rather a means to delve more deeply into myself and allow myself to explore the areas I am less comfortable talking about.   It is at that moment that I decided to write about my sister Izzy and what she means to me.  For the first time my blog post was personal.  It was about a subject matter that was dear to me and close to my heart; something I cared about and took pride in.  It felt good to express myself on a personal level; quite cathartic to say the least.  The post about Izzy was followed with a post on gratitude and my relationship with my parents.  Not all my posts were personal in nature.  I also found myself writing about things that really crawled under my skin.  We are a fairly liberal family with a high tolerance level for most people and cultures.  Something about Donald Trump however, and his bigoted, biased, view of the world annoyed the crap out of me.  My blog posts became a canvas for expressing my disbelief and repulsion for his political platform and the reaction he was getting from the Republican electorate. It felt good to have an opinion on the state of our nation.

Looking back at my year of blogging, although I found it painful at first, I feel as though it has allowed me to grow as a person and develop as a writer. Despite my initial hesitation, it felt good to write what was on my mind.  I never thought that writing could be so fulfilling.

Shoutout To The Best Dog I've Ever Encountered

Imagine a dog that felt like just another human being when he was around you. A dog with a sole purpose to make you happy, and understood and could feel human emotions. Although everyone says that their dog is special and one of a kind, this was different. Out of all of the dogs I've ever encountered, there have been none like Storm.

My family has not had the best track record when it has come to pets. In fact, we've never really had any pets at all. The closest thing I've ever had to a pet were my sister's three goldfish from Petco way back when, but those poor little guys died in about four days. My family has just been too busy to give a pet the sort of attention it deserves. Although I've never personally owned any pets, Storm was the next best thing. He's been around ever since I was born. Every time I'd visit my aunt and uncle, whether that was when I was living in California, or when I was living here in Utah, I'd always have the pleasure of getting to be around Storm.

Storman Norman hanging out on the grass a few months ago

Storm never whimpered, barked, or whined and was the most polite dog you could ever meet. The only thing he wanted to do was make those around him happy, whether that was when he was in his prime six or seven years ago, or when he was an old fourteen year old man, panting as he sprinted up the stairs to greet you. Storm was a cuddler and was always in the mood to be pet. He'd walk up, smacking everything within a three foot radius with his massive tail, and would wait patiently to be pet or rubbed down. His personality was just a constant attitude of joy and love, and I don't believe there was any possible way to dislike him. I have tons of memories with Storm, even though he wasn't my dog, such as hiking for hours on my aunt and uncle's ranch, or just playing around with him in the house and backyard.

Unfortunately, like us humans, dogs can't live forever. A couple of days ago, my aunt went outside to look for Storm in the morning, as he wasn't in his bed. She found him laying in the grass and didn't think much of it at first, and called his name to bring him inside for breakfast. However, something was terribly wrong. Upon closer inspection, my aunt could see that Storm was shaking and he couldn't get up. My aunt rushed inside and grabbed my uncle, who picked up Storm and they took him to the veterinarian. Unfortunately, Storm's spine was in really bad shape, and there was nothing my aunt and uncle could do to keep him around. Although it was extremely hard and all they wanted to take that bundle of joy home and cuddle with him for one last time, he was suffering and in extreme pain, so they put him down.

Storm, you were one amazing dog and friend. You constantly made me and everyone else around you feel special. There is no doubt in my mind that you were one of the best dogs to ever live.

Rest easy pal.

How Can People Be So Dumb?

Somebody pinch me. Please tell me this is just a nightmare and I'm going to wake up and it will all be over. Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee for the Republican party? REALLY? How in the world did that happen? I'm still flabbergasted at the fact that more than 1/3 of the Republican party electorate, actually believe this man is qualified to be the President of the United States. Why is it that a narcissistic, sexist, racist, macho bigot with little to know knowledge of the key issues facing our country, continues to rack up votes. Could it be that we've become a generation incapable of depth with short attention spans, addicted to 140 character tweets and therefore content with idiotic one liners such as "I will make America great again." Why doesn't stand up in these rallies, look this guy in the face, and pose the simple question, "How, Mr. Trump?"

Image Courtesy of Business Insider

"Can you believe Crooked Hillary blah blah blah blah." "Oh wow, lyin' Ted Cruz really went wacko today." Are these childish remarks the type of behavior that dignifies the office of the Presidency? How can a man who calls Mexicans rapists, who views women as arm candy, and all Muslims as terrorists and opens his mouth and pretty much says whatever he feels like without thinking of the repercussions be qualified to be the leader of our great nation?

I still have hope, however, that the majority of Americans (the 2/3 that are repulsed by him), will realize that the only way to determine our destiny, is to go to the voting stations come November, and make sure that ANYONE but Trump is elected. I have faith in the ability of moderate Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike to see past his ludicrous one liners, and to do what is best for America. Mr. Trump, you are not dealing with first graders, the American electorate is far more sophisticated than you think.

If you want to read about more idiotic things Trump has said, there are entire websites dedicated to those quotes. Here is one of them.

Oh No! I've Been Shot!

"I'm not going to school, I'll de darned if I risk my life." "Stay home, be safe." "Don't go to school, there is going to be a shooting." "I am NOT dying today." These are only a few of the freaked out posts that I woke up to on Tuesday morning, but let's rewind to the night before. On Monday night, at approximately 10:30 PM parents received an unfortunate email by the school board stating that in October of last year the school had received a message announcing a possible threat on May 3rd . The email informed parents that there would be an increased police presence at school and not to worry.

How I Imagined My Peers - Image Courtesy of BlackSphere

Given that the warning was issued at 10 pm the night before, it was only natural that a wave of panic arose amongst parents and students who assumed the worst and decided to stay away from school fearing their lives. It goes without saying that my family also engaged in discussion on whether or not to attend school. As for me, although I wasn't personally scared, I wasn't going to pass up a free excuse to not go to school. My mother, however, didn't buy it. She argued that there is a risk of something happening at school every single day, and that today was no different. In fact, since the person had made the announcement months in advance the school and police forces had been given ample time to prepare.  My mom stood in the kitchen and confidently declared that Tuesday was probably the safest day possible to be at school. I wasn't scared in the slightest and agreed with her but I didn't want to go to school so I played the "But Mom! I'm scared that I'm going to die" card and after much deliberation, mom conceded and said we didn't have to go as long as I focused on my AP Geography test from home. Besides, red days were one of those days where I would just sit in class doing nothing, so I'd be way more productive at home.

As it was still 6 AM, I sprinted up the stairs, but just as I was about to jump back into my pajamas and go to sleep, my dad arose from his deep slumber and yelled, "Not so fast." He explained that a second email had been sent out by the superintendent explaining that all students attending school were one hundred percent safe and that those involved in the potential threats were under direct adult supervision at their homes. Although this was fortunate in the sense that nobody was going to die, it unfortunately meant that I would have to go to school.

My sister and I reluctantly got in our father's car and drove to school. When I arrived, the school was more than half empty and in my first period there were only seven kids including me. To be fair, the superintendent said that students were safe at 6:45 AM, and although some parents probably knew that, they thought it would be better to be safe than sorry and TMJH can't expect these bewildered parents to know that their child won't die forty five minutes before the first bell. Although there was a slim chance of some person coming and killing everyone, it obviously didn't happen. Everyone panicked for nothing. That begged the question, what would happen if social media didn't exist? One of the main reasons this whole ordeal got blown out of proportion was because of the countless amount of people posting on their Snapchats and Instagrams about how you could potentially die at school. If ten years ago, when social media platforms didn't exist, would we have all gone to school? Sure, the school communicated the threat poorly and that scared people, but if we didn't blow it out of proportion, would everyone have been that frightened?

This entire incident made me think of life in general. Each and every day, there is a risk of danger and death. Hell, you can cross the street and get hit by a bus for all we know.  I get that some people were afraid to attend school on Tuesday because of some potential threat, but what if the shooter came on Wednesday, or the day after that? The point I'm trying to make is that life is too short and panic is not the best strategy by which to live our lives.  I guess the moral of this silly story is to live life to the fullest, because you never know when you might get shot during your Math test or get hit by a car on your way to school.  We can't let fear rule our lives. If we do we have given up control and conceded to those whose only goal is to instill fear.

Stop The Insanity, Your Vote Counts

It is our moral obligation as American citizens to stop the insanity known as Donald Trump. It is mind-boggling that despite his rampant bigotry and insane remarks, he continues to have the constant support of at least one third of the Republican party, and if you think that you are immune to his racism and warped view of the world, think again.

Image Courtesy of Yahoo News

We all know Donald Trump has said some extremely ludicrous things throughout both his campaign and recent history. He began his streak of ignorant statements when he bashed the entire Mexican population.When asked about Mexican immigrants, he said, "They're bringing crime. They're bringing drugs. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." Having annihilated and alienated Mexican-Americans, he then proposed this: "I will build a great wall-and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me- and I'll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Great idea Donald! Publicly humiliate and insult an entire nation, and then expect them to build a wall for you! Donald Trump is also a big promoter of the fallacy that all Muslims are terrorists or members of ISIS. He even said that as President, he wouldn't even let Muslims into the country. "Donald Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,
 said Trump the egotistic manic talking in third person. He honestly believes that every Muslim that enters this country is going to end up bombing a building, and it is shocking to me that someone running for President can actually be that ignorant. As if that were not enough, Trump constantly insults women, and he basically sees them as property and eye candy. At one of his rallies, he claimed that Hillary Clinton "got schlonged" in her 2008 Democratic Primary race. Trump has also compared women to inanimate pieces of objects and said that "a young and beautiful piece of ass" is all that you need in life as a man.

Image Courtesy of GQIndia

What bothers me most about Donald Trump, however, is that he is being deliberately cruel to many of the people that he meets. When he says these hurtful and mean things, I don't believe he is being honest or blunt. When someone returns the favor and gives him a piece of their mind, he results to childish insults. He never just simply disagrees, but always attacks someone when he feels challenged. He would never be fit to lead this country.

As citizens, we all have the power to make a change. Our power is in our ability to cast a vote. This election cycle, anyone who stands by and watches a racist dictator potentially become the President of the most powerful nation in the world, has no one to blame but themselves. In Utah, we get to voice our opinions on who becomes our nominee for President of the United States, on Tuesday, March 22. Let's make sure we get out as many people as possible to go to the caucuses to cast their ballot for anyone but Donald Trump. The Democratic Caucuses will be held at Ecker Hill Middle School at 6 pm and the Republican Caucuses will be held at Park City High School at 6 pm. Talk to your parents and anyone you know that is eligible to vote to go out there and make a difference. Let us hope that the person that will represent the United States is someone who believes in the values of our founding fathers, that were based on the premise that our country is made up of immigrants and that we are open to all schools of thought. Racist, sexist, and ignorant bigots do not make for good leaders, let alone President of the United States.

If you want anymore information on the Democratic or Republican Caucuses, you can click on their respective links.

My First Battle With The Flu

Body aches, tissues, Advil, and no desire to do anything whatsoever. If you've ever had the flu, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. I recently just recovered from my first battle with the flu, and let me tell you, it is definitely not a fun experience.

The flu isn't just your average sniffle and cough. On top of those usually annoying symptoms, your body is either burning like hell, or as cold as the North Pole. I recall waking up randomly in the middle of the night, sweating profusely, shaking, and not quite sure where I was. Having mustered all the energy I could find, a voice I hardly recognized as my own squealed, "Mom! Help me! I have no idea what's going on! I'm burning up." These are the moments when even an adolescent such as myself is grateful for the wealth of knowledge and the comforting voice of a mother who reassuringly says, "Everything is going to be okay." Two doses of Advil and Theraflu and fifteen minutes of cold presses on my forehead that felt more like ice buckets, given my 105 degree fever, and I finally began to feel a semblance of relief. Although the fever had subsided, your average cold symptoms did not. I went through what felt like two thousand boxes of tissues, and coughed my guts out; not to mention the missing skin under my nose. What's that all about? As if the body aches were not enough, you also have to feel a burning sensation on your raw nostrils from blowing your nose. You can read more about my terrible symptoms here.

Image Courtesy of The Glow

All this made me start to think, what did people do before the invention of Advil, Theraflu, cough syrup, tissues, and Vicks? How did their aching bodies, runny noses, and congested lungs heal without modern medicine? Did they just sit there and wait to be cured?

Another downside to the flu and being sick in general is that if you're sick enough and that thermometer reads a high temperature, you're going to miss some school. Missing school means mountains and mountains of homework and tests that you have to make up. Usually, the work is overwhelming in quantity, but is pretty simple to do. Unfortunately, I missed three days of school leading up to finals week, so I'm going to have to make up the work as I study and take my finals which make or break my GPA for the quarter.

All in all, when it comes to being sick, the flu was probably one of my worst experiences yet. Now if you'll excuse me, I have ten more assignments to catch up on.

Gratitude

Parents. Can't live with them, and can't live without them. As teens, many of us tend to distance ourselves from our beloved parents. They annoy us, they embarrass us, and they always manage to say exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time. The truth is, regardless of the raging hormones and emotional ups and downs, when I'm really honest with myself, I couldn't be more grateful for having two people in my life who always put my needs before their own.

My mom and dad are truly selfless when it comes to my sister and I. They exemplify the meaning of unconditional love. I always know that they have my back no matter what I've done, and if I have a moment of self doubt, they are always there to let me know that anything is possible and they will be by my side. This morning I was looking at childhood photo albums. It warmed my heart to see photos of my parents fully engaged in everything I did. My father gave up his time to coach my soccer team with patience and kindness. My mother was my biggest cheerleader (though at times embarrassing) and never missed a game. Growing up, and even now, I have always depended on their wisdom and great advice when it came to school. My father, the math wiz, and my mother, the writing guru, have helped me throughout my educational career.

My Family

Sometimes I feel like instead of making life difficult for our parents, criticizing them for the smallest things they say, rolling our eyes, and slamming our doors, we should take a moment of self reflection, to think about those who don't have doting parents fulfilling their every need. Instead of taking our parents for granted, we should appreciate their love and compassion, and treat them with the respect they deserve. Being a parent is not an easy task, and believe me, we can be a handful at our age to say the least. I suppose the next time we have the urge to roll our eyes or talk back or ignore a request, we should take a deep breath and instead practice gratitude and compassion. 

I, for one, am grateful to have two of the most loving, caring, understanding, and dedicated parents on the planet. My mom always says,"That it's not a popularity contest; that at times she may say things that I don't like or may even believe are unfair. But someday, I will realize that she's doing it for my best interest." That day is now, for I am truly aware that they have my best interest at heart and I am forever grateful for their presence in my life.

I love you Mom and Dad. Thank you for being you.

Dear Mr. Trump

Dear Donald Trump,

Yes, you are actually reading this, and no, you are not seeing things. I am speaking to you, the one and only, Donald Trump. The man who has captivated an entire nation. The man who started from the bottom with a small loan of one million dollars, and rose to become the rich dimwit he is today. The man who has created the most idiotic ideas on how to run a country that I have ever heard. Although it may be hard to believe, you are the one person I want to read this blog the most.

Image Courtesy of Slate

I recently talked about the completely absurd event that took place at one of your rallies, and called you out for being the idiot you are. After being presented with this ideal reader assignment for my blog, I realized that my previous post will probably not be the last time I'll be talking about you. My blog's topics have mainly been random ideas that come into my head, but I've been thinking about starting to consistently write one or two posts about the same topic for each blog assignment. I mean let's face it, when it comes to you, it's not like I'm going to run out of material. If you already couldn't tell that I really do dislike you, let me put it this way: I would rather jump off of a building than see you become the leader of our country. I mean, can you blame me? Your views on how our country should be run are completely idiotic, yet you have the most support out of any of the other candidates. Why is that? I've been asking myself this same question for about a month now, and I still haven't reached a legitimate or reasonable conclusion.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I admire the fact that you have somehow managed to brainwash millions of people into following you and your ridiculous ideals, but that still doesn't change the fact that you are the wrong man for the job, and I know I'm not the only one out there that feels this way. There are plenty of others that loathe you, and I'm actually being really nice compared to some of these other people. Let's be real Donald, some of these folks are calling you the next Hitler so maybe it's time you did a little bit of self reflecting.

Although it is very unlikely that someone as "important" as you will read a blog such as mine, I still cling onto the hopes that you someday might read this blog and change your ways. I hope that if you were to read this blog, you'd realize how much of a fool you are being, and you'd mature into a possible candidate to lead our country.

But let's be realistic, Donald. We both know that will never happen.

Outrage

What the heck has happened to the first amendment? What has happened to freedom of religion? When did people like Donald Trump become the voice of our beloved nation? You'll have to watch this video for yourself, because it is hard to believe that we have become such an exclusionary and judgmental country. Is it because we are afraid? Does our terrible behavior come from ignorance?

Hopefully you weren't too lazy to watch the video, but if you were, here's the main idea. Rose Hamid, a 56 year old American-Muslim flight attendant, was peacefully attending a Donald Trump rally in South Carolina with a t-shirt that said, "Salam. I come in peace." She described the few people around her as open and amiable despite the fact she was wearing a hijab (traditional Muslim scarf over the head) to the rally. However, things took a turn for the worse when Donald Trump started to rant about Muslims. The crowd adopted a mob-type mentality and started shouting hateful things at her. Security then came and escorted her out to calm down the crowd as Trump said, "We have a problem. And I'm going to fix it." Since when did peacefully sitting at a rally become a problem?

Image courtesy of WND

After watching the video, ask yourself this question. What makes that woman different than you and I? Nothing, absolutely nothing, except for the fact that she chooses to wear a hijab. Does that make her a bad person? Does that make her a terrorist? I googled the number of Muslims in the world today and I was surprised. Take a wild guess at how many Muslims live in the world. 1.6 billion. That is more than one seventh of the world's population. Of that 1.6 billion, how many aspire to radical Islam and spread terror throughout the world? Should we be treating all Muslims as if they are terrorists? Should we be listening to the propaganda of hate mongering, right-wing politicians?

I, for one, choose to believe that we are better and bigger than that. I choose to believe that we are a nation built on immigrants, a nation that takes pride in being a melting pot, and a nation that opens its arms to diversity and compassion.

It is up to those of us who insist on upholding the foundation set by our founding fathers to stand up, speak out, and put an end to this non-American fear based nonsense. How do we do that? By educating ourselves on the facts, and making the correct decision at the voting booth.

My Sister

Caring. Compassionate. Real. Always by my side. Who do you suppose that is? Yep, you guessed it, my sister Isabelle, or Izzy as I call her. We are twenty two months apart and even though most people think that brothers and sisters can't be that close, she and I have always had been the best of friends. When I was little, I didn't have to have friends to wrestle or to play soccer in the backyard. I had her. She's everything I would want in a brother, yet she is a beautiful, smart, and loving girl.

Growing up, my sister and I did everything together. From jumping on our parents' bed to driving my electric scooter down the neighborhood. From laughing and telling jokes, to playing handball in our house and breaking countless vases. My sister and I could do literally everything with each other. We are always there for each other. When I'm sad, I'll confide in her. When I'm sick, she cares for me. I can say with one hundred percent certainty that if I ever need her, she'll be right there for me.

Today, my sister is a fun, pretty, and popular girl and I'm in a bit of a situation. I'm starting to get the feeling that as I get older, the more my friends talk about her. Being the overprotective big brother I am, I act as her personal bodyguard, protecting her from boys. If guys want to get to her, they'll have to get through me. Now that I think about, that's probably why she never tells me about who she likes, or who she's dating.

My sister and I

I think it's safe to say that I am the luckiest brother in the world to have a sibling like her, and even luckier that we have such a strong relationship and not one that has our parents looking at a site like this. Many of my friends rarely get along with their siblings, if at all, and they are amazed at how Isabelle and I almost never get into arguments. Sometimes I wonder what will happen when we go to college. What if we don't end up in the same college? Even though we are nearly two years apart, we have only been one year apart in school, as she started one year early. Sometimes I wonder about when she and I will go our separate ways, to get married and have our own kids. Will they be as close as we are?

All I know for certain is that no matter where we are, no matter how far apart, she will always will be my best friend.

Missing School

Hello everyone. I know this is a popular topic to write about on blogs, but this happened to me personally this past week, so it's something I wanted to discuss. Missing school used to be heavenly. You got to stay in bed all day, watch some T.V., and didn't have to worry about anything but recovering. Unfortunately, missing school in high school is a luxury we can't afford.

I recently missed four days of school due to minor surgery and the workload I received was unbelievable. From just those four days I missed: a total of three AP Geography tests, a timed essay, and two math tests. Four days of staying at home and I missed six tests. Is it just me or does everything happen when you don't go to school? For example you aren't there for one day, you miss four tests, thirty-three assignments, and a bear was in the cafeteria. Since returning to school I have somehow managed to make up two of the three Geography tests and the timed essay. Today I am attempting to wipe out the remainder of the makeup tests that stand before me.

During the first couple years of school, a day off was one of the best possible things to happen at the time. Everybody needs a day off, and in elementary school and most of middle school, it was definitely worth it. Before high school, the stakes were significantly lower when it came to missing school. You missed one or two assignments, and worst case scenario you missed an easy quiz. You had absolutely nothing to worry about and you could sit back, relax, and focus on your recovery. Unfortunately, high school is nowhere near the same. Missing school is like basically murdering your GPA, and if you miss too much school, you might as well kiss honor roll goodbye. When I missed school my GPA took a big hit, and it took me a while to return it to its former self. I also chose the best week to get surgery, finals week so I suppose I need to take responsibility. And believe me, I have definitely learned my lesson.

Image Courtesy of FunnyAnd

I suppose we all have to learn to grow up someday and as we cross into adulthood, with our care free kindergarten days a distant memory, we must face the realities of life. I'm sure in ten years I'll look back on these high school experiences and will seem like such a breeze. I'm just grateful to be feeling better and as my wonderful mother always says, "Stop complaining and just get it done."

In the end, missing school isn't what it used to be and if you choose to take a sick week, don't say I didn't warn you. If you relate to this topic because you've been in my shoe, check out this similar post I read a while ago by Charlie here.

Thanks for reading.