"Changes"

It is definitely time to make some Changes.

Today, I had the chance to do something I have NEVER done before: help build a house. A HOUSE! As in when it is done, someone will live in it. How cool is that! I have joined the LSU chapter of the Habitat for Humanity organization and the main organization needed volunteers for a build today and I was able to go (obviously)! It was hard work, but it was fun. It was HOT, but it was worth it.










Today, we were just helping to put up the frame of the house which meant a lot of nail hammering, wall building, wall lifting and some wall holding. I even got to use a power saw. Oh yeah. I got to wear a nail apron and gloves and goggles and everything.
It was extremely hot though. Seriously.
The thing about families that are getting the homes that are built don't get them easily. There is a lot of work on their part--literally. Each family has to put in 225 hours of house building time, which can include the mandatory requirement of working on their own home. I got to work a little bit with the homeowner and it was kinda cool. She has done a lot to get to this point and a lot beyond that. The Habitat organization is great. The people do amazing things and the people who receive the homes genuinely earn it. I am so happy and proud to have been a part of even just a little part of one of the homes. And I can't wait to do more. Heat be damned!

Oh, and the volunteer addition to my Peace Corps application doesn't suck either! ;-)

"I Will Follow You Into the Dark"

I will follow you into the Dark. Fitting...

There are so many MANY flaws with the death penalty and it is never the right thing in my personal opinion. But it is most definitely NEVER the right thing when there is even a shadow of doubt about whether or not the person who might be executed is innocent. Too many people in the history of the death penalty have later been proven to be innocent at the presence of new evidence, but it doesn't matter because those people are dead. This is not okay. This is NEVER okay.

This morning in the LSU student paper was a story about LSU students mourning the death of a Georgia man executed for a crime he may not have committed. Where is the justice in that?

I don't see a future where I will believe that there is ever a justifiable reason to put another person to death in the name of "punishment".

"Forever Young"

Because, I really do wanna be Forever Young (yes, intentionally this version).

For some of my classes this semester, I have to do some observation hours in classrooms; to see if this is the career path for me and see if the age group I want is really what I want to do.

I have been to the same preschool class 3x and it has been great. They are such great kids. Truly. Sweet, kind, smart kids. The teacher I observed was excellent. She was beyond the expectations, because in my classes I have come to expect horror stories. She was truly not only beyond the expectations, she was the exception-I'm sure of it. She is highly educated and trained, and she loves what she is doing. Oh, and she fights the "inappropriate government" measures--within reason. It was so fantastic to see. Now that I have observed her classroom 3x, I have to find another school to observe. I'm not necessarily worried or scared, I'm more sad. Those kids! :( They are so friggin' cute!! I have now come to know almost all their names, and now I'm leaving. I did leave my email with the teacher and asked her to contact me if she ever needed help with field trips or anything else that would be beneficial with other helping hands.

In further reflection though, I honestly can't say if this is my CAREER. Do I think I'd be good or even great as a teacher? Hell yes. No doubt in my mind actually. I just don't feel like I'd do well in a settled career. I really don't. So, I have concerns with that. I know being a teacher is in my future, but I do not know in what capacity. One thing I know for sure is you don't have to be a teacher in a formal setting to be a teacher. So maybe that's me.

"Lighters"

Lighters....**explicit lyrics just fyi...









How far will I go? I can only guess. But my hope is that I go far. I don't just mean career, or education. I mean world wide. I don't know how to calmly or rationally explain how strongly I believe--no--how strongly I KNOW, that I am meant for more than a standard career. I'd be a great teacher, I really believe that but I just know that I belong somewhere that is struggling. That doesn't have anything easy. I know that I can't change the WORLD, or a country, or a state alone, but I do know that I am meant to be a part of the change. For as long as I can remember, my life's dreams/goals haven't been the common "doctor", "teacher", "police", etc answers. I have wanted to write, I have wanted edit, but more I have just wanted to travel. I haven't ever really pictured myself in a career, not really. I my wants and desires change so often and sometimes so drastically that I don't think I could handle a career well. I don't sit still well. The only thing in my life that I think has ever really stayed constant is my love for kids and my desire to travel. When I rediscovered the Peace Corps about a year and a half ago, I was suddenly hit with the answer I have been searching for. That is my life goal. I don't know how, I don't know when, but somehow I will do that. So That is my focus. That is my endpoint. That is my goal. That is what keeps me going. That is what is keeping me focused and going in school. I need my degree to join the Peace Corp and so that is what I will do. Graduation and the Peace Corps. That is what is next for me.
May 2014. Now, that's not so far away is it?

"Gone"

Fitting, I think.

Gone is my former reality that
consisted of work and
play
Play that wasn't always good.

Gone is the first month I have
lived
In my new state of Home.
Louisiana.

Gone is the first 1/4 of school.
Busier yet to come, but
happier to become.

Gone is the visit of my sister
and nephew. Ten days will never
be enough.
Family far is always hard.

Gone is my past.
Yet to come is my future,
Gone is my bad decisions,
Yet to come is my future.
Gone is my sadness,
Yet to come is my happiness.
Gone.


*my attempt at a poem. I don't do it often...

"Back to Black"

No particular reason, just like the song.

LSU is going swell. I have been in classes for almost 3 weeks now and it is going well. I am really enjoying all my classes and almost all my teachers. I am branching out and actually talking to people in my classes. It's great. Still super busy, but it's great. I will hopefully be starting my observation stuff tomorrow but if not FOR sure next week.

I went to the LSU Student Involvement Fair today to get involved in stuff on campus, particular the volunteer stuff around and I came out of it with a bunch of free stuff (I'll sign up for just about anything if I get free stuff!): a t-shirt, a bandana, a thermos thing, and a pen! I'm excited about it all. Yay for opportunities to serve (and meet people!!)

That is all.
Enjoy! :)

"Heal The World"

Just do. Heal the World.

LSU is great, classes are awesome very excited, blah blah blah.
What is really on my mind, what is REALLY going on in my life is this:

I have this huge desire in my heart, my soul, my gut, my everything to DO SOMETHING GOOD in the world and for the world. Starting with the sad state our country is in. And I do not mean politically.

I hear about the horrible state that our education system is around the country and I think about those kids. Those kids who are in situations that are unintentionally (or in some cases, it is likely, intentionally) setting them up for failure. Every child is smart enough and capable enough to learn if there are teachers who give them a chance! Yes, I fully understand that there are home life situations that make it difficult but who in the hell cares. There have been parents for centuries that don't give a damn about their children and those children make something of themselves. Can I play the "poor black/hispanic/other minority" card even though I'm white? No? Good. I don't believe in it. Every single child regardless of background, financial difficulty, race, or otherwise has the opportunity to learn if the teacher does not give up on them. I FULLY understand that without the proper and necessary help and support of the school system and state funding and politicians it makes the teachers job all that harder. But living in Georgia and Louisiana has shown me that it is those above difficulties that allows teachers to let the perceived "poor kid" card into play WAY too much.

Next, has no one seriously learned from all the horrible wars that have been fought over CENTURIES? Have those "reasons" been lost on people?? There is absolutely no place for racism, religious prosecution or gay-bashing (figurative OR literal) in our world today. What was the point of the civil war and the civil rights movement(decades apart, I am aware) if we are just going to continue to be just as segregated? What was the point of WWII if we are just going to be convinced that every Muslim is out to get us or is less than us? And what in the hell is the point of our country at all if we are going to kick everyone out if they aren't just like us and speak our language immediately? All of us didn't even speak our language immediately! This country if FILLED with descendants of immigrants. If you descend from a non-English speaking immigrant and you are wanting to kick out non-English speaking immigrants then feel free to leave yourself. As for the 75%+ of Americans who consider themselves Christian in one denomination or another, I ask this: Who in the world are you to judge/persecute ANYONE? Does God not say "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone"? I personally do NOT believe that being homosexual is a sin BUT if it is, God is the one and only who is to judge that. Not a single person here on earth has that right. I do believe Jesus said "Love EVERYONE" not, "love those you choose too".
I do not believe this country is a world power as many still do because instead of the continued progression that we once had, I feel we have either stopped or digressed. It saddens and frustrates me.

THIS IS MY OPINION. I MAY BE WRONG, AND I MAY HAVE FACTS WRONG. I DO NOT CLAIM TO KNOW WHAT IS 100% RIGHT.
However, if you wish to share your comments, contradictions, etc, do so kindly and with respect.