Graceful and Timely, as Always!

Well. College is finally here. And rather than keeping my blog updated during the most important changing moments of my life, I have neglected to post once since August. Whoops. Anyways, things are about to change. Basically: I love college! It's so fun! I'm already getting involved with organizations and I've met so many people, I absolutely love it!

But it's the bad, klutzy things that happen to me that are most interesting. Such as my morning.

12:47 - I wake up. My next class is 20 minutes away because I have to take a bus across campus. It's a huge exam. It started at 12. Whoops. So, I run out of my dorm - freaking out - wearing my PJ's and head over to my class.
12:58 - I rush into my class, vigorously apologizing and begging to take what I can of the exam in the 22 minutes left. My professor is so sweet and let's me take the exam, he even allows me some extra time.
1:27 - I make my graceful exit, falling down the stairs.

Let me give you some imagery:

Whoops!

I'm convinced that this sort of thing happens to everyone eventually... Has it happened to you?

Anyway, I'm psyched to keep you updated with my adventures in college!
Oh, and I love Rachel "Mary Poppins" Lewis! Happy October, it's cold here! Brrrr!

Didn't Immaturity and Drama End in Highschool?

They say that if someone bothers you and you take time out of your day to fuss about it, it isn't worth your time. Well, this is definitely not worth my time. But I think that it's funny so I figured I'd tell the world. I really don't "hate" this girl, I dislike her and she occasionally gets on my nerves. But "hate" is a wasted emotion, and I honestly don't care enough about her to waste so much energy on her. So I'll just blog about the hilarity of the situation.

So, I got to Leadership Orientation. And I liked everyone there, except there was this one girl that I got a weird vibe from. (I can kind of read people, but that's beside the point and makes for a different story). You know how there are those people that you immediately don't think you're going to like, either because your similar in one aspect or something about them just sort of bothers you? Well she was definitely one of those. But, hey. I don't dislike anyone and I give people the benefit of the doubt. So I let it slide.

Fast forward a day. She sort of weaseled her way into our group, but hey - I got to know her a bit and she seemed nice enough. It was only after I became friends with her that things really got to heat up.

So, FYI: I say a lot of stupid things, but I'm actually an intelligent person. However, she kind of took some of her remarks a little too far. But she seemed legitimately sorry for the rude things she said. So, whatever - it really didn't bother me. But things got worse and her true colors showed. It started out with just mocking me when just the girls were in my room. It got annoying and I told them to lay off. So I finally decided to take a shower and leave the two obnoxious girls.

When I got into the bathroom, the curtains to the shower were closed and I got a sort of ghostly vibe. "Hello," nobody answered. I opened the curtain, nobody was there. So I chose the stall a few down. Needless to say I was already a little freaked out, so when someone opened my curtain as a joke. I shrieked. Hey, it was a little scary in that bathroom!

One prank. That's a joke. No harm in that.

Then they flushed the toilet, which left a cold shiver down my spine. But that's still a joke.

I guess you could say that when the girl threw a cookie into my shower stall, I was unerved. A cookie. Yes. No not like "she threw cookies" as another way to say "spewed chunks." No. She threw a cookie into my shower stall. Now let's analyze this for a moment.

1. Who throws cookies into the shower?
2. It was my freaking cookie!

By this time I was getting pissed of. Especially since I had calmly said, "lay off," after the toilet flushing ordeal. Then it happened again. By this time I was already done with my shower so I just took a few minutes to cool off.

I then calmly walked into my room, where all the girls were to see the girl laughing her head off. Real mature. At this point I had two options.

1. Confront her: Which I normally would have done. I just didn't want to risk bitching her out or crying, what? I'm an emotional creature!
2. Calmly walk out of the room.

Needless to say, I changed, grabbed my things, and calmly left. This was college, and I certainly was not about to get involved in petty drama and pranks.

The Ultimate College Vacation

I guess you could call it vacation, or laziness - but I haven't had a chance to post the past two weeks on account of my amazing vacation. But don't you worry, I'm here to tell you all about it.

Leadership Orientation
Two weeks ago I packed my bags, worried that I would make a terrible impression and make no friends at orientation. To my surprise, I had the time of my life and made so many friends that I can't wait to keep in touch with at school in the fall.

I flew into the airport all by myself and checked into a hotel, all by myself. I then had a delish burger as room service all by myself, and slept in a king sized bed - all by myself. Then I took public transit to my Leadership Program at my University - all myself.

The program was full of ice breakers, ropes course, leadership sessions, meeting the deans, and even a "Top Chep" competition. Needless to say it was amazing, I'll tell you about the competition and drama later this week.

Bottom line, I had so much fun, made so many friends. And I absolutely cannot wait for school to start!

Orientation
Leadership Orientation truly prepared me for regular orientation, where I met around four hundred people all at once. Luckily I had my Leadership Orientation friends to mingle with! I made lots of friends at regular orientation, got to explore and learn about the campus, and even had a blast dancing to my own drum. Literally, dance party! No body understands how us Northern California girls dance!

Visiting Family
After orientation I got to stay with my family for a couple of days. We hung out, went to a county fair, and caught fireflies (something I hadn't had the chance to do in a very long time). My cousin and I even got to finally see the Harry Potter 7 Part II movie! It was good, the best out of all movies - but, nothing compared to the books (of course).

We even got my college shopping out of the way, well most of it. All I need is bedding, and alarm clock, storage, binders, books, and some clothes. Who knew that all that dorm crap was so expensive?!

AIPAC
After all my fun with orientation and family, I still had an amazing American Israel Public Affairs Committee Saban (College Student) conference to attend. I was initially very worried about making friends due to the fact that people already knew eachother, but I made some friends. I even met this amazing guy, but he lives very very far away. We even got to explore D.C., and we saw Horrible Bosses together. It was great, even the second time.

The Saban conferece truly inspired me to get active in politics and lobbying for what I believe in. I can't wait to get involved on campus. Oh, and I met Debbie Wasserman-Shultz. One of my idols!

Visiting My Sister
After all that, I flew home, slept for a day, and drove to Southern California to pick my sister up from camp. She's at an athletes camp, and eats very healthy. I'm going to start her program too! Here's how it goes:

I eat less than 20 grams of fat a day. (Fat is harder to burn off then carbs and proteins because it is more dense). And around 1220 calories a day. It's a healthy life choice, but I probably eat too much sugar!

Home At Last
Well, I'm home for the next few weeks! I have so much to do to get ready for school, and I don't even know where to start! My sister and I went for a beautiful run today, it was amazing. And I can't wait to start school!   

Hiking on a Lazy Sunday

Sorry that I've disappeared off the face of the earth these past few days, but I've had a super busy weekend. I'm not sure where to begin, so I guess I'll start at the beginning. I babysat my mom's boyfriend's brothers two daughters (so pretty much my cousins). They're so cute! We played games, made pasta, scootered, and did lots of arts and crafts. It was so fun. We made window art.

Then I slept over at my friend's house with a bunch of friends, it was lots and lots of fun. The next day, despite feeling exhausted, we went hiking. What started out as an innocent hike to the top of a mountain, turned out to a five hour hike through a super long ridge trail. We took lots of pictures.

There were lots of cows on the trail, and they were fun to look at from far away. However, we did have the unfortunate occurrence of running into a cow on the trail. We were so scared we practically pissed ourselves, so we had to go around (through the prickly grass). I legitimately thought I was going to die.

We found a tree with lots of carvings on it, and decided to make our own. It says A squared J. A for Adam and Aaron, and J for Julia!

 See the vultures?

We saw lots of wildlife, including this beetle.

And just for fun, you can see my tiny feet in comparison to Adam's monstrous feet. All in all, the hike was lots of fun. Around ten to twelve miles long - it was great for bonding, as well as discussing our plans for backpacking across Europe next summer. I hope it works out!

I love hiking, last year I hiked down the Grand Canyon, it was gorgeous. Do you like to hike? Where have you been that's especially spectacular?

Strawberries: It's a Love Hate Relationship

I love strawberries, but I hate their texture. It always makes me gag when I bite into the slimy fruit, crunching on little seeds. So as I sit here, slurping away on strawberry yogurt (the kind with chunks) - I'm at a bit of a loss. The yogurt itself is delicious, but it's those slimy chunks that I can't stand.

In fact, this is the first time I've ever had strawberry yogurt with real strawberries, the first time I've tried a real strawberry chunk in years. And nope, I still don't like it. When I was younger, I used to get the kid yogurt with sprinkles. It was generally strawberry flavored, but I always thought it was the artificial taste that I liked. Now I realize, yep, I like strawberries. Just not the texture. Ewwwah!

Actually, I used to legitimately be afraid of certain fruits. Like peaches, I used to cry (as a little girl) when ever I saw the inside of a peach. It. Would. Make. Me. Cry. Since when do fruits scare children? And watching "James and the Giant Peach" was no walk in the part either.

I guess it's sort of strange, I love strawberry flavored things, just not the fruit itself. The same is true with cherries, pomegranate, and oranges. I love cherry flavored things, I adore pomegranate frozen yogurt, and I drink lots of orange juice (without the pulp).

What strange foods do you have a "love hate relationship" with?

The End of an Era - The Space Age

Personally, I was never one to play astronaut. Sure, I loved learning about astronomy, the stars, and the constollations - but, I wanted to stay on earth rather then venture out into the galaxies above. Not to say it didn't fascinate me, I adored watching the 1999 Disney movie: Zenon. But i'd say my love for the milky way stopped there, the thought of aliens scared me.

Not to say it doesn't sadden me to see the Space Age go, I know that it's inevitable with budget cuts. Plus, we really haven't been adding much to our data pool. As for alien life, if it's really that advanced maybe it will find us first or make itself known. Maybe it already has and the government is keeping it a secret, or maybe we're not supposed to know.

 As many of you know, today in Cape Canaveral, Florida at the Kennedy Space Center (I went there when I was little, it's really cool), NASA had it's last launch with the space shuttle, Atlantis.

Atlantis, a four-person crew shuttle, began it's 12 day mission to the International Space Station. One million people viewed the spaceship on viewing sites along Florida as it took off at 11:26 AM.

Today marks the end of the space age. But maybe it's not the end, maybe it's a new beginning of new exploration.

After all the land on earth was discovered and conquered on earth, many thought that space was the final frontier. But with space's frontier closing, leaving us to know just as little bit about it's complexities as ever, we're left without wonder. Sure, there are trillions of questions that circle our minds about our existence. But our curiosities about life on other planets is put on lay away.

Is this the end of an era? Will we explore space once again? What will our new fixation be?

 If you're interested in reading fiction about space, check out one of my favorite books The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (1950). Initially I read the novel for school, and I did not think I would like it one bit. I generally hate all the books we read at school. But instead, I ended up adoring each chapter, soaking in the literacy and science fiction world.

The story links together different science fiction vignettes about the exploration of mars, and how men ends up conquering the planet - but killing all life. "The earthman conquers mars... and then is conquered by it." It's a great book, and whether or not you like Mars, it's beautifully written and truly captivating. Given you like some element of science fiction.

Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired. - Julius Renard

I'm lazy. What? Like you're not lazy sometimes too? We all do it, it's life. But, why does the word "lazy" have such a negative connotation? I mean, it's not like it affects anyone else - just me. I mean, I just like to sit there on my computer for as long as possible before going up and doing something or going somewhere. I think that we all do it to an extent. Psht, you think you're all high and mighty.

Anyway, I'm really trying to curve this nasty habit. So I've been doing a bunch of different things to try to make my life and summer more meaningful.

For one, I try to get out of the house. I go to work every day from 9-5 (though sometimes there's nothing for me to do because I'm the Intern, so I go online), I also hang out with friends, and I'm going to Orientation and some Leadership Seminars next week! Yippee.

Two. I try to do new things that are productive. For example, I started this blog - and I feel like its productive, even if it doesn't get thousands of views. Hey, I'm thankful that someone other then myself is reading! I'm also trying to watch more movies and read more books, so I can expand my mind and widen my horizons. Not to mention, I'm trying to get back into arts such as painting. Oh, and I'm writing a novel with my friend. And it's not crap like most of those books you hear about, it's actually pretty good and I'm a book snob.

Three. I'm trying to keep track of my finances. My mom says that "I have a hole in my pocket." So I'm trying not to eat out anymore, hopefully that will always cut all the "crap I eat."

Four. I'm trying to exercise more. I went to the gym today, score. I haven't gone in ages. My mom's probably about to kill me after she's been paying for the membership for so long. Anyways, it felt good to sweat and then shower it away. Even if I only did the elliptical for thirty minutes. Hey, you have to start somewhere.

Anyway, I hope that this summer (by far the most tone-downed and relaxing) will be remembered for all the leisure time I had, and all the productive things I've done. Not to mention all the college stuff I've been getting together! This is the first time since elementary school that I'm actually excited for classes to begin!

What do you do to curve your laziness?

Flagels, Bagels, and Bublics - The History of the Bagel

The files are alphabetized. the dealer kits are mailed, the labels are placed - I have nothing to do. And as I sit here, spinning in circles in my chair, bored to death on my lunch break, I think about the more important things in life. The meaning of our existence... the key to personal success... the definition of true love... the history of the bagel. Yes, the bagel. Who created such an oddly shaped bread, and why do millions of people from across the globe eat it for lunch, breakfast, and dinner?

Well, for starters, the bagel has an unusual shape being that there is a hole that goes straight through the dough. But other than being aesthetically pleasing and allowing for fun displays, the hole serves a purpose in that the entirety of the dough can be backed evenly.

The bagel was created in Polland in the 16th century to compete with the bublik, a lean wheat flour bread that is bigger with a larger hole than the bagel. The bagels that we know today were brought to the United States by Polish-Jews mainly on the East Coast, and especially New York City. In the last quarter of the 20th centuries bagels became more wide-spread in America partly because of bagel bakers Harry Lender and Florence Sender who created automated production and distribution of frozen bagels during the 60s.

According to the American Institute of Baking (AIB, of the top eight leading commercial fresh bagel brands in the US, their annual profits totalled up to US $430,185,378 in 2008. That's a lot of bagels! 

There are many different ways to eat a bagel. You can roll it in sesame seeds, poppy seeds, cheese, egg, onion, salt, or even garlic. You can change the dough to include chocolate chips, blueberries, salt, raisins, cinnamon, sugar... You can even die them green for St. Patrick's Day, or change the ingredients all together. Canadian bagels are generally boiled in honey water, they also contain more sugar and no salt. That's why they are crunchier and sweeter.

If you want, you can even have a breakfast bagel or sandwich. A Flagel, or flat bagel, can be found in New York City or Toronto.

Bagel Recipe:

  Ingredients

• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

Directions

1. In large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour and yeast. Mix water, 3 tablespoons sugar and salt together, and add to the dry ingredients. Beat with a mixer for half a minute at a low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl clean. Beat at a higher speed for 3 minutes. Then, by hand, mix in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough.
2. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Cover, let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Cut into 12 portions, shape into smooth balls. Poke a hole in the center with your finger, and gently enlarge the hole while working the bagel into a uniform shape. Cover, let rise 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, start a gallon of water boiling. Put 1 tablespoon of sugar in it, mix it around a bit. Reduce to simmering.
5. When the bagels are ready, put 4 or 5 bagels into the water, and cook 7 minutes, turning once. Drain them. Place on a greased baking sheet, and bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven, eat hot or cold.
6. Broiling option: For a glossier surface, place raised bagels on an ungreased baking sheet prior to boiling them. Broil them five inches from heat for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes on each side. Then put them into the hot water to be boiled as above. Note: do not bake broiled bagels as long as non-broiled ones, 25 minutes should be long enough.

 The possibilities of what to do with your bagel are endless!

My family goes to this lovely bagel place near our down town, we've been going there for thirteen years and over the years it's gotten super popular. When I was younger I used to love their egg bagels. They I went through a stage where I wanted tuna fish and cream cheese (it's actually quite good), the women who works there always remembered my strange order. Now I get salt with cream cheese warmed, she still knows what I get. She's so sweet!

 

What do you do with that round, holy, piece of bread?

Sources: Wikipedia, Allrecipes 

As Easy As Sliced Bread

Whenever I'm looking for some sort of inspiration on what to blog about, I quickly type in the day's date and read about famous things that have happened on that particular day. Generally I find many different people who were born on that day, and I write down the famous events that go along with them as to blog about them either on that day or some other day. However, I wasn't so lucky today (it's a boring day in history, I guess). The most interesting thing I found about July 7th, was the invention of sliced bread. I guess it's going to be a boring and uneventful day then.

For those of you who are living under a rock, sliced bread is bread that has been pre-sliced before packaging. It was first sold on July 7th, 1928 at the Chillicothe Baking Company in Chillicothe, Missouri. Oddly enough, "sliced bread" is considered an invention as it was cut by a "loaf-at-a-time bread-cutting machine" Although the inventer, Otto Frederick Rohwedder, had initially built a prototype in 1912, it was destroyed in a fire. What a shame, we could have had sliced bread even earlier!

Oddly enough, sliced bread increases consumption due to the ease of eating another slice. You don't have to cut them, and even though the slices are thinner - it is easier to consume. So, when you're eating sliced bread, beware of what you're doing. Maybe you should make a rule like, "before I can get another slice I have to run to the bathroom and back." Anything that will weed out being lazy from being hungry.

Depending on the country you live in, you might even be able to find breads that vary in thickness (especially in the UK, and Japan. MMM. Good.

Still not convinced that sliced bread makes our days so much simpler? It takes probably around thirty seconds to get out your materials, another thirty seconds to unwrap your bread, three seconds for each slice, and around another minute to put your materials away. It's not really the act of slicing that takes a while, though it is frustrating because it's difficult to get it just right, but rather the materials that take the time. Plus, if you make a mess, you have to clean it up. Bottom line: Even if it's just a couple minutes, eliminating the slicing of bread makes our lives a little bit easier every day.

Next time you use the phrase "as easy as sliced bread," think about what's behind that saying, and how much easier sliced bread  makes our lives.

Be The Change You Wish To See - One Person Can Make A Difference

I'm one of those people that refuses to believe that I can't change the world. Ever since I was a little girl, I've been taught that I can do whatever I want and be whoever I want to be. Maybe that's the reason why I'm so adamant in believing that one person is significant. I know that one person can make a difference, but it takes people working together to make a change.

There's this quote I really like by Ghandi, "Be the change you wish to see."

If you want to sit there, on your butt -- doing nothing. Fine. But don't kvetch and complain about something that you don't actually attempt to change. If you don't know what to do, or you feel overwhelmed - not knowing where to start - okay, that's understandable, but still try to do something. There are so many resources available for you. And you don't have to start big, a lot of small steps turn into big steps. There are three steps to making a difference: advocacy, philanthropy, and service.

Advocacy: Advocacy is not only about understanding the facts behind your cause, but teaching other people in a creative and fun way. Like blogging? Blog about a cause that you're passionate about! Like art? Put your cause in your artwork! There are so many ways to educate people, it doesn't have to be boring.

Philanthropy: Philanthropy is about raising money for your cause, it's about holding fundraisers to get money from people you wouldn't normally target. Have a car wash, a bake sale, host a jog-a-thon. The possibilities are endless, you just need a few friends and some creativity.

Service: Service is the blood and guts of making a difference. You can educate and raise money, but you need people to go out there and truly make an impact. Service can be anything from working at an old age home, to tutoring under privileged children, and even planting trees!

You'd be surprised to see the difference that you can make!

Still don't think you can make a difference? Read on to one of my absolute favorite short stories.

A man was walking along a deserted beach at sunset. As he walked he could see a young boy in the distance, as he drew nearer he noticed that the boy kept bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things into the ocean. 

As the man approached even closer, he was able to see that the boy was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time he was throwing them back into the water. 

The man asked the boy what he was doing, the boy replied,"I am throwing these washed up starfish back into the ocean, or else they will die through lack of oxygen. 

"But", said the man, "You can't possibly save them all, there are thousands on this beach, and this must be happening on hundreds of beaches along the coast. You can't possibly make a difference." The boy smiled, bent down and picked up another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied.

"I made a huge difference to that one!" 

What are you passionate about? How do you make a difference in the world?

Sources: dreamemporium.com 

A beautiful thing never gives so much pain as does failing to hear and see it. - Michelangelo

When you're little, you're exposed to see so many art mediums. From macaroni pictures to washable markers and stickers -- I swear, teachers will offer anything to keep little kids busy. I suppose that's why I've always adored art, not to mention the reason behind the countless pastels and oil painting classes I made my mom sign me up for at the mere age of five. Not to say I'm some sort of prodigy, I was really good when I started. But then I stopped, who knows what other mediums I could have dabbled in.

But that's beside the point, the point is that there are real prodigies out there, artists that put the amaze in amazing. One such painter is the magnificent Michelangelo, a spectacular Renaissance painter. (Today is actually the anniversary of his birth).

There are three works that you probably know him best for.

Michelangelo's David is a beautiful piece of artwork. Not only has it lasted for hundreds of years in pristine condition, but it's splendor has only grown with age. The bottom half of the sculpture is slightly graphic, I just do not want to have to mark my whole blog as mature.

The sculpture captures the biblical story of David and Goliath. In Samuel, chapter 17, Saul and the Israelites are being threatened by the Philistines. Goliath, the strongest and greatest of the Philistines challenges the Israelites to find someone who can defeat him. If they can, the Israelites will be declared victorious over the Philistines. Saul and the Israelites are weary, but David accepts the challenge (hearing that there is a reward for him if he wins). All he takes with him is his sling and five stones, and declines the armor that Saul offered.

With all of his might, David slings a stone into the center of Goliath's forehead. The Israelites were victorious.

 

Another famous piece of art by Michaelangelo, is the fresco on the top of the Sistine Chapel. It depicts different scenes from Genesis. It's quite beautiful, and I'm sure you've seen the famous "Creation of Adam" with Adam touching G-d. It's so spectacular, in fact, that when I went to Vatican for the first time - my mom was so exhausted from the trip, she fell asleep. Yep, that's my family for you

 

Another sculpture by Michelangelo is The Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica, also in Vatican City. It depicts the body of Jesus on his mother's lap (Mary) after the Crucifixion.

It's been 536 years, yet Michelangelo stays a house-hold name whose impact in Renaissance art is un-fathomable.

Which Witch is Witch? - Salem Witch Trials

I've always had a particular fasination with Magic. Even before I knew the Harry Potter books existed, I loved pretending I had magical powers. From The Sword and the Stone to Kiki's Delivery Service, the media only sparked my interest. I guess it was fifth grade when I first heard about "The Salem Witch Trials." "Witches could have been real and stuff?" I was so intrigued by this little discovery of mine that I yearned to learn more about this particular part of colonial history.

So, in lue of Mary Walcott's anniversary of birth -- I thought I'd post a bit about the Salem Witch Trials

Meet Mary Walcott (July 5, 1875 -- sometime after 1719). The daughter of Captain Jonathan Walcott and his wife Mary Sibley, she was a witness in the Salem Witch Trials. Her Aunt, Mary Woodrow, was the wife of Samuel Sibley (he was the person who first showed Tituba and her husband John Indian how to bake a witch cake to feed to a dog, in order for her friends to determine who was afflicting them. Remember Tituba from The Cruicible? Yep, Susanne Walcott in The Crucible is believed to be based off of the real Mary Walcott.

Mary married Issac Farrar and had several children. They moved to Townsend, Massachussetts then Sutton, Massachussetts where Mary married David Hardwood and had nine children.

From May 1692 to May 1693, a series of trials were held to prosecute and accuse men and women of witchcraft. Events began to unfold when Betty Parris and her cousin Abigail Williams (the daughter and nieve of the reverend) began to have fits. These fits consisted of screaming, uttering, contorting and even complaining of being pinched and pricked with pins. As other young women in the village began having similar behavior such as Ann Putnam Jr. and Elizabeth Hubbard. Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba were the first people to have been arrested for witchcraft.

There is evidence of a family feud that could have been the cause in the start of the Trials, as there was a rivalry between the Putnam and Porter families.

Over 150 people were arrested and imprisoned in Salem, though only twenty-six were convicted (all those who were tried were convicted). Most of the accusations were made due to some sort of jealousy or greed. Neighbors saw it as a way to get back at people they did not like, or to gain land.

Odly enough, spells and charms were actively used in the colonies before the Salem Trials. This "magic" was based on the belief that Satan was on earth. Eventually "white magic" turned into "dark magic," and that is where the trouble begain. Whenever bad events happened in colonial communities, the supernatural was blamed.

What is Happiness?

I guess that there is something about my old philosophy class that sparks a lot of inspiration and thoughts in that adolescent little brain of mine. We had so many conversations about an array of controversial topics. This one was not as much controversial, but it really got me thinking.

If you were to die tomorrow, would you have lived a happy life?


Before evaluating any question, you have to understand what it's asking. In this case, the word "happy" can be taken in many different ways.

hap·pi·ness

 noun \ˈha-pē-nəs\

1

obsolete : good fortune : prosperity

2

a : a state of well-being and contentment : joyb : a pleasurable or satisfying experience

According to Merriam-Webster, happiness is generally associated with "pleasure." But in this case, I am asking about a more fulfilled "happiness."Something more like the Greek word eudaemonia, "the state of having a good indwelling spirit, a good genius" or "the highest human good." In fact there is an entire branch of philosophy based on this concept (I might touch on this some other time). I feel that the true happiness that we seek is summed up in the concept of eudaemonia.

This question can be answered in a series of categories: fulfillment, love, appreciation, and acceptance.

Fulfillment: Did you live your life to the fullest? Did you take every opportunity you could and soak up everything you could in life? This concept can best described by one of my favorite quotes from Titanic by Jack Dawson, "I figure life's a gift, and I don't intend on wasting it. You don't know what hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you... to make each day count." When you're hands are frail and your heart weak, you'll be able to look back at your life. You'll remember that spontaneous trip to Ethiopia, that exhilarating sky-diving adventure. Take every opportunity you can.

Love: I'm a strong believer that love makes the world go round. If you love yourself, love your family, love your friends, and love your fellow man and neighbors, then your life will be so much better! There would be peace in the world and endless community service.

Appreciation: It's when we take things for granted that our lives go astray. It is vital that we understand that our lives are a beautiful gift, and treat it accordingly.

Acceptance: People have to learn to accept their lives. There are some things that cannot be changed, and some time it's vital to let them go. Not to say that people shouldn't change things, change is great, but people need to be at peace with their lives and their choices. Don't live a life of regrets, just accept life and learn from your mistakes.

In essence, I think that fulfillment, love, appreciation, and acceptance are the four keys to leading a happy life. Sure, I'm young, but in my eighteen years of life I think that I have been able to live a pretty happy life. How about you, what makes a happy life?

Sources: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/194966/eudaimonia

They See Me Rollin', They Hating

I was innocently sitting on my bed, blogging to my heart's content, when the room erupted in laughter. My step-sister had found a rather amusing video of a man rolling on a tire. Fun stuff. This sort of became "the google" search for me during the rest of the night. I hope to cheer you up with these ridiculous images and videos. I hope it's not one of those things that is only funny late at night. It probably is.

They See Me Rollin', They Hating

A Visit to: "The Rock" - Alcatraz Island

A visit to a prison is generally one met with timid emotions. Either you're visiting someone you know who's being detained in the prison, or you yourself have done something deserving serious punishment. It's funny how the strangest and sadest places are now flocked with tourisrs. In the past couple years I have visited two prisons for enjoyment. The Hanoi Hilton in Vietnam (a prison used to interrogate and torture prisoners, they were mostly American pilots), and Alcatraz. Alcatraz, was a place I had always wanted to visit. Today, I got just that -- going with 22 of my family and step-extended family.

Alcatraz Island --a 22 acre Island located off the shore of San Francisco-- has served as a military base, high security prison, and Native American Occupation. A quick ferrey from the wharf, you can easily tour the Island (just make sure you get your tickets in advanced, and bring a sweater)!

The Island was first documented by Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775, he chartered SF Bay, and named the island "La Isla de los Alcatraces" which means "The Island of the Pelicans." I'm generally not a bird person, but who can't love cute little chicks? My step-cousin was fortunate enough to receive a little present from the pelicans, the white badge of Alcatraz is what tour guides called it.

Here's one of the cells the prisoners lived in. It's not too bad. Not nice either, but I was expecting something much worse.

Privileges: "You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Anything else that you get is a privilege. You earn your privilges by conducting yourself properly."

If you didn't behave you went to an isolation room, basically the same thing but it's pitch-black and you're not allowed out of your cell.

Being a high security prison full of dangerous criminals, there were several escape attempts. They claim that nobody ever successfully escaped. As the three prisoners that dug through the walls with a makeshift drill made out of a vacuum and spoons are said to have been lost at sea. That or there's a rumor they lived their lives in some spanish-speaking country. MythBusters investigated this myth, yep, it's possible!

The other notable escape is known as the Battle of Alcatraz. They managed to get a hold of a gun, and kept the guards in their way captive. Security finally cornered the convicts, when they dropped grenades into areas where they thought the convicts were. Two days later, guards found the dead bodies of three of the convicts. The above picture is in memory of one of the guards who risked his life fufilling his duty.

Other than a few escape attempts, most of the convicts in Alcatraz survived pretty well. Well enough, in fact, for 70 families (of security guards) to live on the Island. This is a picture of what was once the Warden's house. Children that lived on Alcatraz lived the normal life of any small town child. There was a general store on the island! But for everything else, including the school, the children ferried out to the mainland.

After 29 years of running, budget cuts caused the Prison to close. There were many ideas of things to do with the Island, including making another Statue of Liberty, but there was a time when Native Americans protested on the Island. They used it as a symbol of their struggle. In 1972 Alcatraz became a National Park, a place for many of us to spend our money and learn about the place where Al Capone and Bird Man once resided!

From the Island you can see a beautiful view of the San Francisco skyline.

Eternal Pleasure - A Type of Suicide

My senior year of high school I took an intriguing philosophy course. I adored soaking up the beliefs and ideals of philosophers throughout the ages. One philosopher, Robert Nozick, proposes a thought experience called "The Experience Machine."

He attacks the belief that pleasure is the only experience that we want. He asks the reader to imagine a machine that can stimulate a person's brain to imagine experiences that one cannot separate from reality. He asks the reader if we would prefer the machine to reality. He proposes that people would not choose the life of the machine for several reasons.

1. We want to do things to do them, not just to have the experience of doing them.
2. We want to be a certain person.
1. If we are in a tank and our actions are outlined for us, who are we? 
3. Plugging into a machine limits us to only man-made situations.

This particular situation has always intrigued me, and it goes back to a situation in The Matrix when Cypher wants to go back to his ignorant bliss rather than live in harsh reality.

"You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy, and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss."

In a way ignorance is bliss. Many of us wish to be a smiling-laughing-child once more, with no worries. A sad day was one in which someone stole our lolly-pop. But at the same time, there are so many lessons that we learn during each moment of our lives. And trading any of that for an ignorant, blissful life is a type of suicide.

Please Don't Eat Your Shoes

About Bridesmaids, didn't happen. I ended up having a sleepover with a friend and we just talked about life and drama -- all the shenanigans that comes with being a teenage girl, stuff that doesn't need to be published on the internet.

Anyway, we then went shopping. I ended up buying refills on foundation and a super cute high waisted aztec skirt. I absolutely love it, and it was only 12.99$. Infact, I had been looking for a nice high waisted skirt for a while. Not only is it cute, but I can wear it work. Success. Last time I went shopping with my Grandmother on my Mom's side, my Mimi, I tried on a cute high waisted skirt. But she called it a hooker skirt and said she wouldn't buy it for me, understandable as it defines my tuchas. We then spent the rest of our day pointing out all the hooker skirt wearing bimbos that we saw. Good times.

So then, after Macy's, DeMasque, and Victoria Secret, we went on a mission to find my friend Sonya some wedges. We went into this store called Shiekh, and I was about to buy these gorgeous fake Toms. They looked sort of arabian and were peach, I might go back and get them I loved them so much.

The only bad thing about the shoes was the sign at the store:

Warning: This store carries products that may contain lead, known to the State of California to cause cancer, and bith defects or other reproductive harm.

So please don't eat you shoes.

I'll keep that in mind for the next time I get hungry.

Sweet Honey for a Busy Bee

July 4th holiday weekend is finally here, and with it comes even more time. Yippee! I'm finally going to see Bridesmaids with my friend Sarah tonight, I'm stoked. It got great reviews, and hopefully I'll have my review up later this weekend. I absolutely love Kristen Wiigs, she never fails to make me laugh. I absolutely love her Penelope sketches on SNL. They're my favorite.  I've also been told to empty out my bladder before going into the theater. I hope Bridesmaids lives up to its expectations, as I tried to sneak in with a friend of mine who's not quite seven-teen. I ended up running into a friend that works there who told me that they just radioed about us (they knew we were on the wrong side of the theater). Needless to say we stuck to watching The Green Lantern. It wasn't awful, but the only good part about it was the attractiveness of Ryan Reynolds. Mmmm. Anyway, I'm excited about tonight.

But my weekend doesn't stop there, I'm going shopping with my friend Sonya tomorrow. I need to get foundation and bras, but I don't know if I'll have enough money for the latter. My job doesn't really pay... Like at all. Then I will continue socializing, hanging out at my friend Coral's before heading up to San Francisco.

You see, my step-cousins are flying in from Alabama. So all of us will stay at our SF house and then go to Alcatraz. I have been wanting to go to Alcatraz for quite some time, so it's great to finally get to go. I wonder if it matches it's hype. Well,  I'll be sure to let you know. Happy July 4th! What are you doing for the fourth?

Dear Productivity, I'm On My Way

I suppose you could say that this is my first summer of freedom. I'm still living under my parent's roof, and there are rules that go with that. But I'm not tied down. I have no SAT prep, no camps to go to. While I do have an internship at my dad's company, I still have an abundance of time on my hand. Time that I want to use productively.

I've started by organizing my room. Sure, my floor looks like a tornado. But my dressers are clean, along with my desk, book shelves, bureau, vanity, and of course - closet. It took me a while, a few days to be exact, but I no longer have clothing that doesn't fit (at my dad's house anyway)!

Along with my room project, I've also taken initiative to organize my finances. It's quite interesting to see how many times I go to Chipotle and Starbucks. Nomnomnom. Anyway, now that I'll my organizing is done I have more creative projects ahead of me. For one, I've started writing and developing a plot-line for a story along with a friend. I doubt it will ever get finished, but it is an exciting prospect to say the least. I also have countless scrapbooking projects that I want to start, I better get cracking on those (if I can only find those pictures)!

I guess my summer is looking up. I also have orientation, and two leadership summits to look forward to in late July. College here I come! Woohoo!

Summer's in the Air

The days are long, the air is dry. The sun rises in the early morning, setting in the sunburn sky - an array of pinks and reds. No doubt about it, summer's here. And with it, an abundancy of time that we have all wished for. For recent highschool graduates, no wait has been as long and tedious as ours. For thirteen years we have studied hard, soaking up knowledge into our growing craniums, waiting for this summer, our summer of freedom. But as the time has arrived, this victory is not as sweet. Abundancy of time is a concept that we never could have imagined, even in our most vivid fantasies. And on that note, I start this blog. A blog where I can express myself as I transition through chapters into my life. The cradle of childhood, and the freedom of aduldhood. Wish me luck!