Unfair

It is said that karma catches up to people, but how long does it take? Does it always catch up to people? Why some more than others?  I guess you could say that life's unfair, and that there is no true logic on why karma effects one person more than another person. I have a two grandmothers, one named Annabelle and the other Selma. They are a great example of how karma is unfair.

Annabelle is almost eighty years old legally blind, and has Alzheimer's, she lives in a special home that specializes in helping people who suffer from Alzheimer's retain their memory for longer. She also suffers from anxiety, so whenever she forgets  something, she gets stressed out on what she was going to ask. She'll go nights without sleeping, worrying about little things such as traveling, and future plans. Her husband died four years ago, and she still cries if anyone talks to her about her husband. She goes through her day forgetting events that happened minutes prior. 

Selma is my other grandmother. She is ninety years old, still drives her red Chevy, and is completely fine. She spends all her money and time going around the world on small cruises. Her husband died last year, yet there is no sign of love or sadness when you talk to her about him. She lives in a small house right down the block from John's Creek and she lives alone with one cat named Sasha. 

You would probably think that Annabelle got what she deserved, that karma finally caught up with her. The truth is that Annabelle has always been my favorite grandmother. She was a wonderful mother to my mom and a wonderful grandmother to myself and my brother. Annabelle says "I love you" constantly to my family not because she forgets saying it the first time, but because she doesn't want us to forget how much she loves us. Not only does she show an infinite amount of love to me, she also cherishes the moments my family is together, and finds peace in just sitting silently next to me.

 Selma on the other hand has never loved my family. She constantly comments on how much better my aunt's family is than mine. Comparing grades and accomplishments between my brother and my cousins. She lives down the road from my house, yet she never visits. Even when I was younger she would give my cousins the paint, and the art supplies, while I got the crayons and the old coloring book filled with pages that were already half way done with being colored. 

Obviously I have a favorite grandmother. There is no excuse for the actions Selma has done to my family in the past. I just wish Annabelle was healthier and happier than she is now because she sure as hell doesn't deserve what she got. 

Sandy refugees: Safe and secure, or too much like a prison?

Natalie Esparza

11-11-2012

Sandy refugees: Safe and secure, or too much like a prison?

A few hundred refugees from the chaotic desolation caused by "Frankenstorm" Sandy, have been sleeping inside a "tent city" in Ocean Port, New Jersey since Wednesday. The air is loud with the buzz of generators pumping out power. The post-storm housing — a refugee camp on the grounds of the Monmouth Park racetrack - is in lock down, with security guards at every door, including the showers. No one is allowed to go anywhere without showing their I.D. Even to use the bathroom, "you have to show your badge," said Amber Decamp, a 22-year-old whose rental was washed away in Seaside Heights, New Jersey.

This is absolutely crazy. Aren't we supposed to be helping these people survive? We aren't running a prison with maximum security. We are attempting to help these refugees from a storm - I see absolutely no point in this lock down. These people have done nothing wrong, they are merely fending for their lives and their next meal. These people have family's they need to get back to and communicate with. They are normal American citizens caught in the middle of this crisis. I fail to see the point in making them feel even more isolated and afraid by having so many rules that would not otherwise apply if they had not just experience a natural disaster.

The mini city has no cigarettes, no books, no magazines, no board games, no TVs, and no newspapers or radios. On Friday night, in front of the mess hall, which was serving fried chicken and out-of-the-box, just-add-water potatoes, a child was dancing and dancing — to nothing. "We're starting to lose it," said Decamp. "But we have nowhere else to go." Inside the tent city, which has room for thousands but was only sheltering a couple of hundred on Friday, no one had heard anything about a move - or about anything else. "They treat us like we're prisoners," says Ashley Sabol, 21, of Seaside Heights, New Jersey. "It's bad to say, but we honestly feel like we're in a concentration camp."

"This is an incredibly tough situation trying to find housing for these people," said Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Affairs Manager Scott Sanders. "With winter coming, they obviously can't stay there."

Well, where are they going to stay when winter comes? These people are without shelter or food, they have no homes to go back to, and we are just going to leave them to fend for themselves when winter comes? I commend the efforts already made to save these people - to cloth them and give them shelter - but what good will that do if they all die in the winter? Basically, we just wasted all those resources so they could die a little later. This isn't good enough. Either we shouldn't have helped them in the first place, or we need to make sure they have the resources to survive, but acting like "we did our best" is not acceptable. All we will do, is prolong their death while we have wasted our resources. What good did that do?

Source:http://news.yahoo.com/sandy-refugees-life-tent-city-feels-prison-162419452.html

My Complaints about Mr. Economos

Gotcha. You'll probably be a little disappointed to know that this blog actually isn't about Mr. Economos, but you're already here so you might as well read it.

This blog is about perception. Perception is everything. Perception is essentially how each individual person views their own reality, and by changing your perception, you can change your reality. 

This picture encompasses the fundamental argument being made here. Some people are just seemingly never happy. No matter what they do or what they have they will simply never be satisfied.While others who have very little, view themselves among the luckiest people they know.

I guess what I'm trying to get after here is that people should really start to show more appreciation for the little things in life that make them happy. There's a lot of cheesy cliches I could throw out there but really the key thing is having more appreciation for what you do have, and not stressing so much about the things we don't have or the things we aren't. So I challenge you, all three people that will read this and maybe Mr. Economos if you haven't already marked it off as a completion grade, to worry less about how smart you are, how hot you are, what car you drive, what friends you have, and to take a deep breath and consider the things in your life that you're proud of and that make you happy. Because in the end, what's the point of life if you don't enjoy it?

People Eating People: The Circle of Life

Billy was robbed in a dark alley. Jane was brutally murdered. Joey was attacked outside his home while getting the mail. Blah blah blah. This is just stuff we hear all the time. I’m not suggesting that it is by any means acceptable. It is simply not all that out of the ordinary unfortunately. You know what is out of the ordinary? Cannibalism. That's right. People eating people. How many times do you look at someone and think. Ooo, they look tasty, but how should I cook them? Should I bake them, or chop them up and boil them? So many options!

Never. Want to know why? Because it's not normal. When I was searching current events on Google, I kind of wanted to write something on kidnapping, so I searched recent kidnappings but when I did, I found a story about how New York City policeman, 28 year old Gilberto Valle, had pictures and addresses, which he got from police database without permission, of 100 women he planned to torture and eat. He was not shy about it either. He openly disclosed things like how he wanted to cook a woman on low heat in order to keep her alive as long as possible. Seriously? Ew.

He didn’t actually carry out any of these …what do I even call them…eatings? However, he was arrested because he was sharing on online fetish sites that he was making plans to. He even communicated with one man about selling him a girl for $5,000. But before you start judging him, I must inform you of something. He’s really not THAT bad because he told the man that he did not want to participate in her rape. See? He’s really quite considerate when you think about it. He can kidnap, kill, and eat people, but rape? That just crosses the line. 

fam

The future is a wondrous thing. Thinking about my future that I will construct excites me and at the same time makes me cringe a little. I don’t really have a specific path planned out but there is one definite goal that i would like to achieve. I would like to make sure that my family including myself witness true happiness and gratitude for being a part of the family.
There is a Spanish project to describe my idea of an ideal family, and it got me thinking a little. What is my ideal family like? Is it like the typical American dream family that many desire to have. I think it would definitely be nice but I've came to the conclusion that I am very very grateful for my family which is far different from the dream family.

I think what is important in a family is the trust and the bond between members. The love each member shares with one another is the most important. The environment on the family or the number of members in the family is something that is not necessary. This is a cliché but as long as each member has each other with support and love, the family will prevail and be happy. Having someone who you can truly depend on is happiness. Being able to be in each others company through the best of or the worst of times is great and is what I think is a true family.

Things That Bother Me

If you didn't pick it up from the title, this is not going to be a pleasant blog. I will essentially be complaining about minuscule and trivial matters, and while I have always been the one saying that there are people that are worse off than I am, at this point, I am just going to rant. If you don't want to listen to that, I suggest you stop reading here.

So here we go.

1) shallow people- I honestly cannot stand people that spend all their time worrying about how their hair looks or how long they would have to cry in order to convince their parents that a new Gucci handbag is an ABSOUTE necessity and that they will just die without it. Seriously people? Get a life. I really could'n care less how much the fabric you put on your body and carry your crap in costs, and I'm sure no one else really does either. So stop. Just stop.

2) selfish people- Economos, I bet you're loving this one. All people are selfish to a certain extent, but those that just don't care about the desires of those around them and are only concerned with their own well being are especially irritating. I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I know that about 90% of the time, i put others before myself.

3) conceited people- I find nothing more obnoxious than those individuals who think they are god-sent angels blessing all us mere humans with their enchanting presence. Not only do they think they are all that and a bag of chips, but they want everyone to think so too. Therefore, they feel the need to advertise their conceitedness in order to inform everyone else that they are the only one who matters. The sad thing here is: we fall right into that trap. The "popular" girls at school are only teen royalty because they think they are, and no one dares to argue because, despite what they're willing to admit, they desperately want to be like them.

4) people who think they know everything- I think this can be summarized by stop it "you know my name, not my life." Quit pretending you are some enlightened being. You do NOT know what I've dealt with or what my intentions are. If you don't care, I don't need your input. Please and thank you.

So that's it. You can return to your life now, dear reader. I will no longer burden you with the things I am bothered by. After all I am just an insignificant one in 7 billion, so why should you care at all about me? You shouldn't, and you don't, so you can stop pretending. You're not fooling anyone.

hope

Imagine if you were a prospective athlete with a promising future ahead of you, when suddenly, a tragic and horrible accident happens and you’re left paralyzed. Unable to move even your fingers a slightest bit and carry out your routines,  young Zac Bradley was left hopeless. Playing basketball his whole life to a  scholarship basketball career at college, Bradley was a typical athlete that loved to do what he did.  He was well behaved and well disciplined. The accident was not his fault at all unlike many other athletes who ruin their own career and future due to the lack of discipline.  Bradley was just driving under some harsh weather conditions when a huge tree fell and hit his car while on the road. He was hospitalized for a full month.

Truthfully, if was in his situation, I would feel completely hopeless and be in despair. Being injured and in tremendous pain is one thing, but not knowing what would happen to him in the future would just be horrible. To lose something that he has worked for all his life to be just lost in the blink of an eye on top of the enduring physical pain that will remain with him for the rest of his life would be just too much to bare. However, Bradley was different. He thrived to make up for his disability and decided to work even harder. A noble attitude we all can learn from.

As he was able to move with a wheelchair, Bradley went to school and studied to make something out of his career. He achieved good grades but being an athlete, he was unable to stay away from sports. So, he took up wheelchair rugby and developed a passion for that.

Zac Bradley’s unyielding attitude and determination to never give up is a lesson for all of us to never give up.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/local/real-people-wheelchair-athlete-turns-injury-into-i/nR79C/