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.