Ishmael

1.) The two general rules on how to identify people from our culture is one, we call ourselves accursed and often use it as an excuse and two, we lock food away from ourselves and are made to work to get it back. I do not agree with Ishmael when he says that people from all over the world are of the same culture because while we are all people and human our cultures are all very different. For example, a person from Japan would find eating an eel perfectly normal while the average American might view this dish as strange. Though we are of the same species it is our cultures that set us apart. If we all had the same culture the world would be rather dull wouldn't you say?

2.) I would actually agree with Ishmael that Mother Culture is wrong about the fact that we are all flawed because saying we are not perfect has become a greatly accepted excuse in society today. We abuse this truth to place the blame on a high power to make ourselves less guilty. While humans are imperfect it doesn't mean we are powerless to stop our wrong doing and it does not mean we are so flawed that their is nothing good about us. It is true that humans make mistakes but we have the opportunity to learn from those mistakes and make ourselves better people from it. We have a way to correct our flaws if we try.

3.) The takers and leavers are the people in our culture both good and bad. They relate to American culture because in our past we did something similar. We took the Native Americans food and made them work to get it back, just as the people from the parable made the people dance for theirs. Even now we are made to work for our food because in today's world there is no receiving without working for it. It is an exchange; our sweat and our stress for our necessities.

*my pic is supposed to show my point that even if we are not perfect we are not so flawed that nothing good can come of us ^-^ Love is one of those good things :3

Quiz from Long Ago =.=

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars (all the time...on the roof ^-^)

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis (before the tomamto swashed it O.o)

10. Sang a solo (Scary...)

11. Bungee jumped (ZoMJ!!!! ^0^ so fun!!!)

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (so pretty)

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (^-^)

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight (I want to have a sleepover now for the sole purpose of doing this now T^T)

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort (I was 6 and I hid in my little ice/snow fort all day pretending to be a winter fairy ^-^)

25. Held a lamb

26. Gold panned

27. Run a Marathon (<3)

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke (:snickers in the background: SHUT UP YOSHI D<)

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Gone without food or water for 24 hours or longer

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud (but of course ^-^)

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Stayed up for 24 hours with NO sleep at all

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (OF COURSE!!!! I could never get rid of Nanoe or Yoji!!! O0O)

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Changed a light bulb

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Mowed the lawn

84. Had your picture in the newspaper (=.= my teacher and his project pictures...)

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury (not for real...sort of)

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

yep :)

What Matters?

My friends above all else :)



1. To live sustainably is to make the most of what ever comes your way whether it be a physical resource or a situation. Also, more to me, it means that you put what matters to you first above all else. I suppose you could say that it is a way to live with little regret. If we live our life sustainably we will be happy in what we do and always cherish what means the most to us. What is truly the most important.








2. While we have quite a bit of freedom, as minors it is solely our parents who decide our fate of how much of it we get. (Oh the curses of not being 18...) It really depends on how far the guardian will hold the leash around our necks or how closely they want you to stay. So until we are 18 we have limited freedom in this world of ours. =.= Yeah...








3. As a 15 year old I can live my life more sustainably by doing my very best in everything I do. By completing all tasks in my life with the best of my abilities I can truly live without those kinds of regrets and really be the best I can be. Also to put what matters to me first above what my parents say is my priority. I now know that deciding what matters to me it my decision and not theirs. It took me awhile to see this.

Goals of the Semester

THIS IS MY DETERMINED FACE!!!!!!
And when I'm determined you'd better put on your safety helmet and put a 100 mile radious between me and you O.O Things might just explode...you have been warned...^_^'

1.) How are you different now than when you started school in August?

Wow, where do I begin!!!!!!! I'm so much different than before!!!! For one I'm happier because I've found awesome friends and secondly I got through the projects this year in one piece!!!!! *happy dances* I also feel I have grow a bit and I'm now unafraid to be me. I now have a better understanding of how things work in school and now I know what to do and what to expect. Now I'm perpared to tackle new things full force!!! >:D I'm happy with how much I've changed this year. :)

2.) What skills do you think are the most important for succeeding in Humanities? Why?

I need to stop procrastinating!!! DX It's going to kill me if I keep it up!!! Also I need to organize a bit better because my things are getting a little too crazy. Meaning I've got papers everywhere. I think that doing things a bit ahead of time and organization are the keys to suceeding in Humanities next year! I really need to incorporate some tabs and my planner and get going! I can't wait to put them to the test!

3.) One thing I would like to improve on this semester is....I am going to do this by....

I am going to stop procrastinating by willing myself to do the work a little ahead of schedule so I'm not killing myself the night before trying to complete it!!! >.<>:D *is pumped*

4.) . What are you most curious about? If you could study any topic, what would you study and why?

I'm really interested in all sorts of old herbal lore and healing techniques. XD Weird I know but I love learning new ways to help people in everyday life. I've read many books on the subject already and it's really awesome to see that back before we had all this fancy medicine we relied on what the earth had. Sometimes these remedies work better then the pills and the syrups. Something I'm particularly curious about is how people think. I've always wondered exactly what makes people behave a certain way and do the things that they do. It's intriguing really. Ask for learning about any topic, I probably wouldn't be able to decide!!! XD When it comes to learning things that I can I apply to my daily life I'm willing to learn anything!!! And go figure I'm a anime and manga nerd so I love cosplay XD

My goals this year are to get straight A's and do my best this semester!!!!! Also to have fun and make lots of great memories with everyone!!! (I already have a lot ^^) Maybe take some pictures so I don't ever forget. My main goal though is to work hard and break the habits that are weighting me down. (procrastination and cramming) NEW SEMESTER HERE I COME!!! I hope you all have your helmets and running shoes ^_^

OVER AND OUT *PAW PRINT*

Dialectic Journal Book 8

"The answer is, they were my kin and country. I set down my life with gladness, and would do it again a hundred times, for Leonidas, for Dienekes and Alexandros and Polynikes, for Rooster and Suicide, for Arete and Diomache, Bruxious and my own mother and father, my wife and children. I and every man there were never more free then when we gave freely obedience to those harsh laws which take life and give it back again." page: 413 12/3/08

I can relate to this thought. I see my friends as my "kin" I suppose. I cannot describe how grateful and lucky I feel to have them with me. I'd die for them but do not get me wrong. I'd live for them too. :) They are the people I look forward to seeing everyday, the people that know me well. I guess in a funny sort of way they are the family I got to pick!!! Also I could understand him through this quote. These people have become his precious people, the people he wishes to protect. Just as I have mine he has his. By now he has seen many fall and now they are all he has. They are what he must live for now. We as humans find comfort in other and we so often seem to forget that without the people we love life has no meaning. To live you need a reason and we take for granted our reasons to live. It's sad but true. We forget because we are so wrapped up in our lives to notice. Maybe he and I do share some of the same thoughts. I never thought I could relate to a boy. Well, there's a first for everything right!?

"Tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie."

Can. You. Say. DEEP. This quote fascinated me mainly because of the thoughts it provoked in this little brain of mine! To me it seemed to say that even though the Spartans fell they were never forgotten. That is an epic way to be remembered!!! In all seriousness though, this quote made me think of all the things I believe in that were originally found long ago. It's crazy to think that many of the things we say and use in our society today are influenced by things or races in the past. It is also amazing that we are still telling stories that were originally spoken so long ago as well. As cheesy as this may sound I felt that after reading this the story of the battle of Thermopylae lives on in everyone aware of this book. It was a fitting end to a book such as this. I'm rather curious to know how Pressfield managed to end it all so smoothly after telling the story with a new light though. Maybe one day I'll come to understand how and why he ended his story in this way. The guess I'm making now is that he wanted us to finish this book and still be thinking of the Spartans. If there is one thing I can tell you for sure it's this, if that was his goal he has succeeded.

Dialectic Journal Book 7

"His priestess mother taught him, Suicide said, that nothing beneath the sun is real. The earth and everything upon it is but a forestander, the material embodiment of a finer and more profound reality which exists immediately behind it, invisible to mortal sense. Everything we call real is sustained by this subtler fundament which underlies it, indestructible, unglimpsed beyond the curtain." page: 377, 12/2/08

This quote immediately grabbed my attention because I have thought similar things to this teaching. I constantly wonder if any of this is real, my life, the people I love, the things I comprehend, what I see, hear, and feel. To me, all of this seems so unreal and I can't help but to be frightened of this possible reality. What if I wake up tomorrow and discover everything I've done has been an illusion and nothing more? Imagine the world you thought you knew was actually nonexistent. That everything that ever mattered was a lie and nothing more, a hopeless dream that can never be? Even if there is somewhere else to go beyond death how can we be sure that everyone we care about will make it there alright? What would keep us sane? Would sanity simply be nonexistent as well? Maybe Mr. Pressfield thinks of this alternate reality as well. It is difficult to go on living with this thought looming over your mind like a dark cloud ready to swallow you up. Maybe the realization that everything is make believe is hell. Pay back for the evil deeds one commits. Doomed to walk this nonexistent reality forever more. An empty world that you know is a lie. This world that never existed and never will exist as your home. While some find this belief comforting I find it terrifying. What could be so happy about believe you live in a lie. How can you know what is reality and what is not. It seems that everything we know is reversed. Reality is fiction. Fiction is reality. Life is death and death is life. Blindness is sight and sight is blindness. Darkness is light and Light is darkness. We are contradictions and nothing more in this teaching. Nothing but figments of the imagination that disappear over time. Lost and forgotten creations.

"'Am I dying?' he asked Dienekes in that sad detached tone so like a child's, the voice of one who seems to stand already at his own shoulder. 'You'll die when I say you can,' Dienekes answered." page: 390 12/2/08

This small conversation made me cry. Somewhere inside Dienekes knew Alexandros would die but he continued to tell himself he would be saved. Why is it that we as humans always try and control death? Why do we even try to convince ourselves that the people we care about will not die when we can see death is inevitable? I cannot say I am not this naive because I am. No one wants to give into the thought that death is closing in on someone they hold dear. To tell you the truth as soon as I read the passage where Alexandros dies my heart ached because I thought of someone I care for deeply dying. It was horrible but it struck me most in this particular section. I wondered throughout the book how Spartans could be immune to the pain death brings but now I see the truth. It is not that they do not feel it, they have just mastered masking their true feelings. They have learned to block all emotion about their comrades in death. Even they have their limits it seems. I could not do this, I know that all too well. Suppressing pain comes at an awful price in the end, a break down. This man, Dienekes, is curious to me. He is more complex then he lets on and we see that though Alexandros' death. As much as men try to be free of emotion it is an impossible feat. Sorrow cannot be willed away.

I'm So LuCkY, lUcKy :DDD

WEE!!!!!! ~sings~ I'm so lucky, lucky. I'm so lucky, lucky!!!!!!

... O.o

Well Charlotte told us that we needed to write a blog about what we're grateful so... :3

HERE I go!!!!!! :D

I'm grateful for my friends who put up with my insanity and crazy, random thoughts... O.o Seriously guys, DEMY HEARTS YOU!!!!!!! T~T Also for putting up with my stupidity on most topics brought up! XD You guys are the best friends a sitar playing, water loving girl could ask for!!!! ( you guys know what I mean ;) *wink*) (Oh, and Brendon...SASHA IS NOT A LIE!!!! D<) I'm so glad you are my friends and I'm thankful for all the laughs and silly moments we share. I'll never forget that and you guys make me so happy that the happiness I feel is impossible to describe accurately with words. You make everyday brighter in my life. Happy Thanksgiving guys!!!! :clingsandhuggles: You guys make my existance worth while.

I'm also grateful for Jen and KellyJane on youtube!!!!! :DD They're the best Kingdom Hearts cosplayers ever!!!!! ^///^ And they make me smile with their videos!!! Their Demyx & Axel wedding video is what got me through that research paper T~T IT GAVE ME THE STRENGTH TO GO ON!!!!!! It also made me so happy that I started crying! I hope one day they get married for real!!! :) They're so perfect for each other! ^///^ SEE?







:sniffles: THEY'RE SO AWESOME!!! ~ T~T They also have silly videos too XD Here's one...








MEGA LAUGHS XD oh and sorry if the "orgy meeting" part alarmed anyone! "Orgy"
to them means Organization and it's meant to stand for The Organization 13 Meeting!!! I suppose it came out wrong! Nasel Voice! Sorry XDD GOODNESS GRACIOUS, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!!! >D

Next, I'm grateful for my school (I know...cheesy but I really am.) I'm glad I can be myself there and I don't have to hide who I am. I'm also happy that people don't treat you like a defect for being different from someone there. I'm happy to be me.

I am also grateful for the comic The Adventures of Saix Puppy by ToastedRabbit. Anyone that likes Kingdom Hearts will think it's hilarious!!! So go check it out!

I'm grateful for candy, sitars, my family, the Internet, that I'm alive, the understanding from the people who understand (o.o), crayons, pencils, paint, trees to hide in, my puppy Aitana, my birdie George, my big yellow umbrella, my innocent little brain (ha, ha), my heart (which I know I have despite what Xigbar says!), my cat ears, flowers, the person I love, writing, being able to hear music, the sitar song, the caramelldansen song, and ummm...

You know what? There are just too many things to be grateful for I could list for years. I feel my heart will explode from the strain of it all! It's hard to just list things because you know that there is always going to be more to be thankful for as soon as you stop xD! It's amazing to think that we take so much for granted in our everyday lives. Which leads to the next thing I am grateful for in my life. I had never really thought about it until Thanksgiving Day when my grandma brought out the photos after dinner. When I say photograph I mean the REALLY old ones. They were the ones that were taken when my sister, my uncle, my brother, and myself were all just babies and toddlers. :) It was nice to reminisce about the past and laugh. It made me really appreciate the fact that I have a family. They may drive me absolutely bonkers sometimes but at least they are there you know?

I'm thankful for my emotions!!!!! Good and bad because frankly, I've had emotional constipation and it's not fun. I know that sounds epically funny but when you feel nothing you cannot feel the good or the bad. That is a horrible situation, trust me, I know. Hearts exist for a reason and even though they cause us indescribable and overwhelming pain at times the happiness they supply is worth it all. Not only that but we have the ability to love and for me, that is the most amazing gift ever felt.

Well, I am going to stop writing now because I might just keep writing until tomorrow O.o and that I am guessing would be exceedingly boring for you! So Bye Bye! *waves*