A Review of My Year: 2012

Here we are on the final night of 2012, waiting for old man time to pass away. As I await the dawn of a new year, I look back at the past 12 months. I have to say, it was a pretty amazing year. I lived life to it's fullest, for the most part. I tried to make every single day count.
The year started off slow, but it was only a week or two before I was arguing with grown adults on the internet (Which, by the way, I just love when 40 some year olds call my 16 year old life pathetic). But that really seemed to set the mood for the year. Thinking about it, I've had a lot of arguments. But I've also grown up a lot. I realized that sometimes you're never going to get through to people and sometimes the argument is just not worth fighting for. However, it's still sort of difficult to keep my mouth shut. I'm 17 after all.

February was an interesting month as well.

• I dressed up in a Gorilla suit and went out in public for the sake of a History grade. 
• I also got my permit, which I lost in June. 
• I found the written proof that I am Jewish. 
• I discovered CleverBot and talked to my computer for a whole hour. 
• I signed up for Relay for Life.
• I finally saw Titanic and bawled my eyes out. 
• I gave up lying for lent. 
• But the best was when the Dominoes delivery boy showed up at my house looking for a fictional street. He seemed so confused. I felt bad.

March was also a lot of fun.

• I took a walk down the street to find a gorilla and a banana coming toward me. 
• I went to the Crayola factory!! Also, it was the first time I heard Fun. on the radio. 
• I discovered my talent for baking cheesecake :)
• I went ice skating for the first time!! 

Yeah I fell a lot.

• I also baked the biggest cookie ever!! 
• However, the amount of fires in my area was unbelieveable. Many lives were lost that month.
• I was also helping to fight the threat of the music department getting taken away at a school I used to attend. 

By April, not much was going on but I was itching for summer to begin

• I walked The Relay for Life and got some serious sunburn. (Getting cancer while fighting cancer, right?)
• All I wanted was for Knoebel's Amusement Park to open.
• I was so ready for summer break. 

May! Final month until Summer!! 

• It was so warm out that I was already swimming.
• The first time I witnessed someone being pulled from a car after an accident. 
• I also saw the movie Insidious, which I did not like. 

• There were some massive floods. 
• My doorknob fell off of my door and I was stuck for a few hours. 
• And on the last day of May, I became a Junior (:

June is full of firsts:

• I took my first plane ride to Georgia. It was amazing. 
• I also lost my wallet in the airport for the first time...
• When I came back, I saw my first broadway show. 
• I started listening to ska. 
• I took interest in learning guitar and wouldn't give up until I got a guitar for Christmas :)
• I stepped into my new room in my new house for the first time.
• I spent my first night alone in my new house and I was scared to death. 

July!

• Saw my first drive-in movie!! Batman!
• I did my first CMVA event! I spent the weekend in a dunk tank and doing a bikini bike wash.

• Did I mention first motorcycle ride as well?!?! 

• I really started to grow as a writer as well. I feel like my blog posts were getting more mature. 

August here I come!

• August was hard core band season. I spent most of my time at school learning our field show ;D
• I started my Junior year!
• I also missed the second day of school to go to Uproar. It was so worth it :)

Up front to the right :)

• And of course, first football game against my old school!! 

Wake me up when September ends:

• I discovered my loathing hate for Chemistry.
• I was only in two activities but the practice was so overwhelming.
• I got a fish from the fair. It died.
• I started a new blog! theinternetlies.blogspot.com all about my Pinterest projects :D

October:

• I continued my love for Ian Somerhalder
• Hurricane Sandy gave me a few days off of school
• I celebrated my favorite holiday! Halloween!!

November:

• I turned 17!
• I auditioned for County and Disrict band for the first time ever.
• I read The Catcher in the Rye, which was life changing.
• I saw The Trans Siberian Orchestra!! 
• I was so ready for Christmas by the end of the month.

And here we are, December:

• I visited a VA Hospital. There's so much to say about it. Please. I urge you to read my blog post about it. It was life changing. 
• I got my guitar!! 
• I discovered my love for Michael Buble
• I discovered what they meant when they said "honesty is the best policy"

But most importantly, I changed some lives this month and that's the greatest feeling in the world. I cannot wait to see what 2013 has in store for me. If I could help just one person, then my life is worth living. 

Have a happy and safe New Year! ♥

Sandy Hook: How I See It

I wasn't going to go through with this at first. I had started typing but couldn't bring it upon myself to complete a blog about the Sandy Hook Elementary Massacre. So much is happening and the media has the facts so askew that I don't know what to believe. It's seriously shady how so many reports vary. But there's too much to say about this event to not be quiet about it. So I guess I should start by telling you exactly what happened. The truth, as far as I believe.

On Friday, December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza, carrying three guns which belonged to his mother whom he had possibly killed for. It is confirmed that she is dead however the motive is officially unknown. He then traveled to Sandy Hook Elementary School, home to grades kindergarten through fourth grade, and opened fire on twenty innocent lives, ages six and seven. Among the children, he also fired holes through six adults before ending his own life. It is reported that as many as eleven bullet holes were found in one body alone.

After the news spread of this gruesome crime, voices rang out in horror. Arguments exploded about gun laws, mental health care, morals, etc. It seemed as if everyone was forgetting the lives that were lost. As those mothers and fathers are burying their children today, the last thing on their mind was gun laws. The only thing they care about at that moment is their child. Maybe it's just me but I find it a bit disrespectful to be at each other's throats over guns and healthcare as a child lays cold in his or her own blood. I understand a lot of people are responding with, "If not now, when?" I also understand that there is no "good" time to talk about this. I'm just asking, could we shut our ignorant mouths for a few moments and just mourn?

As for the one's who refuse to give up the argument about gun laws, I have a few things to say about that. Many people believe that tighter gun control will solve our problems. I also heard someone say, when referencing how 'the system' is broken, "We don't hold gun owners accountable when they let others have access to deadly weapons (as is the case here)."
Woah, wait. This is probably one of the most ridiculous things I've heard if this person is saying what I think they're saying. So, what I believe this is saying is that it's Lanza's mother's fault for letting him shoot and kill her so he could steal her guns.
That's as bad as saying that we should make it more difficult for people to get guns so the shootings will stop. I know, you're thinking 'Wait, what's wrong with that?' Well, they tried to make drugs more difficult to get a hold of. If the wrong people want something bad enough, they have no problem breaking the law to get it.
I say we should encourage gun ownership. I'm not saying just hand out guns to anyone. But, we trust our teachers with our children. Why not a gun to protect our children?
If one man out of twenty decides to kill someone, he's going to be less likely to follow through when there are 19 barrels pointed at him. All these shootings are happening but we never consider how different the situation would be if just one person involved had a gun handy.
For some reason, liberals don't like to look at things that way and they say conservatives are more worried about guns than anything else. Guns are just as important as anything else, in my opinion anyway.
Oh look, I've turned this rant political (which I guess it sorta was before considering we're talking about laws to be passed). Kind of how Obama turned the Sandy Hook memorial into a political rally. Oops. Nice to see he finally showed up days later though.

Another topic brought about was mental health care. I agree with many. Our country does not take mental health seriously enough. Even society seems to look down on it. If someone is diagnosed with depression, one might be heard saying 'suck it up', 'life's tough' etc. However, it seems as if every time someone goes out and shoots a bunch of people, they're excused under the assumption of mental illness. Adam Lanza, as far as I believe, was autistic. I know many autistic adults and children and it would never cross my mind that they would harm anyone. We just have to admit that some people are evil. We can't try to fix that and we shouldn't use mental illness as an excuse to justify our crimes.
I also don't find neighbors and siblings of Adam Lanza to be credible sources. The neighbors said that they found him to be a little odd. However, I can say that about many of my neighbors. His brother is the one who mentioned mental illness. We have to consider that this is Adam's brother. He would possibly say anything to make his brother's actions less atrocious.

While we're talking about guns and mental illness, it was suggested that one's mental state should be evaluated before the purchasing of a gun. I don't see how this applies to the Connecticut Shooting being that Lanza was denied a gun a few days prior to the events on Friday. Also, he wasn't given any mental health care at the time so how can we blame the system?

I read a comment online about how a mother thought it was wrong that her child had to go through a drill where he hid in his locker in case an adult decided to get a gun and shoot. Why is it wrong to be proactive? Trying to stop something like this from happening completely without preparing in the event that it should happen is like trying to stop a hurricane without even preparing for the idea that one should come.
I feel as if some people believe that tighter gun laws will allow them to leave their doors unlocked at night. the reality is, we will get tighter laws and nothing will change. If someone has it in their head that they want to harm someone, they will go to any extent to make that happen with or without guns. It's been happening since the beginning of time.

I saw a politician on the news earlier today speaking about guns saying, "You do not need these kind of guns to defend yourself." To that I say, you don't know what kind of gun you need if you don't know the size of the battle you're going to be fighting. I'm not going to go further into this topic online.

Also something to think about:

A statement was released saying that Obama planned that preppers will be the first to have their guns taken away should there be a National Emergency. I typed 'Adam Lanza mother' into Google yesterday to keep myself updated and a new article came up headlining that Lanza's Mom was a Prepper. The media works in mysterious ways. I'll let you dwell on that thought and not bother explaining what I've gotten out of this information because many of you might think my ideas are far fetched. But hey, there's nothing wrong with considering all the possibilities.


I'll leave you with this:



twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.

they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
they were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
"where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
"this is heaven." declared a small boy. "we're spending Christmas at God's house."
when what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.
and as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."
then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"
"may this country be delivered from the hands of fools"
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"come now my children, let me show you around."
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
and i heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

The VA Hospital: A Life Changing Experience

When I agreed to go visit the VA Hospital, I had no idea what I was getting into. I was going to help hand out socks, underwear, shirts, puzzle books, etc. and I was doing it for my senior project, and of course, I wanted to do something good for someone. But, by the time I left the hospital, this project meant so much more than getting a passing grade. This meant so much more than the project itself.

Entering the building, a timeline of American wars lined the hallway. I looked at the pictures for the Revolution and smiled at an excerpt from Thomas Paine's 'The Crisis', which I recognized from reading in class. I glanced at a picture of Lincoln from the Civil War and remembered the movie I had just seen about him (no vampire slaying). Looking further along in history, I felt a small sense of pride in my country. Seeing all these pictures in front of me reminded me of the stakes we've gone to as a nation to defend our freedom.

The hallway opened into a small reception area which was vacant of people, except for us. Looking up, an extraordinary American flag canopied the room.
There were stairs that led up to a second floor type of balcony in the room which held some marvelous things. There were display cases containing pictures of soldiers and their medals. There were numerous purple hearts. I saw a pocket bible looking scorched with an information card explaining how it saved a man's life in two ways. For one, by reading it. For another way, by carrying it. There was a deck of 'survival cards' from Vietnam which gave instructions such as boiling water. I read a Christmas card from Vietnam from a soldier to his mom. He wrote briefly how a famous singer (I can't remember the name now) was coming to the base. There were soldier uniforms, books, tools, plaques, so much history in such a small area.

One of the coolest things I found was a piece of a Japanese jet that was shot down during Pearl Harbor. It was signed by all the men who survived and dismantled the plane, although it may be hard to see the signatures in this picture. The day I visited was the day after the anniversary of Pearl Harbor so I found this very cool.

We were in the reception area for quite a while because the nursing home section of the hospital was finishing up their Christmas party. When we were finally allowed to visit, we packed two shopping carts full of stuff and took the elevator to a cafeteria-like hall. There were elderly everywhere. There was both men and women, and they were all veterans. I was told that the one thing to remember is that they're just people. Just ordinary people. 

We walked around and talked to every single one of them, asking how they're doing and if they needed anything. It was quite sad to know how many people needed something as simple as underwear, or a pair of slippers. I learned that the patients have to buy everything they need. And if we were to leave behind any of the things we brought, I learned that it would be sold in the gift shop. The people in our group that told me this learned from personal experience. A few of us witnessed a volunteer sifting through the stuff in one of the carts and taking off with a few unopened packages of clothes. You can interpret this however you like. I like to believe that the volunteer was going to distribute the items to the patients who could not attend the party.

One of us walked over to a man sitting at a table with a group of other veterans and asked him if he needed anything. The man responded with, "I'll have whatever she wants." He was referring the the elderly woman sitting next to him who responded with, "I want you." 

That almost brought me to tears right there. I learned that the couple have been married for only 16 years and their anniversary was the previous week. This was proof to me that it's never too late to fall in love. 

A man sat there and cried because I handed him a Christmas card that was made by my sister's Girl Scout troop. I didn't hear of this until after we had left the hospital. This was absolutely heart breaking. 

After everyone had left the hall and gone back to their rooms, we also left to visit the patients on the psychiatric floor. They were possibly the best people. Some of them were only a little older than I. Some of them were way older. We joked around with them a bit and one man asked if we could please bring soda next time because they don't have any. These were just ordinary people as well. They were dealing with their own demons inside, but aren't we all? 

The ICU was probably the most heart breaking. There was a man who could barely move, barely speak. One by one, we leaned over his bed, held his hand, and thanked him for all that he did. Two people left the room with tears in their eyes and I was one of them. 

A man named Sid resided in the next room. I entered after everyone else had and someone was speaking to Sid's wife, a tiny elderly lady with a purple hat and prominent pink blush that sat faithfully on his bed. She was explaining how she always stayed at his side and did whatever she could for him. Their daughter stood on the other side of the bed. She was holding a tissue in her hand and I didn't realize until she handed Sid a tissue that he was the one who was crying. 

After the ICU, we visited another floor which didn't contain much. And most of the people who were on the floor had a pink sign warning any visitor to take caution. In one room, a white man was sleeping and his leg was hanging off the bed, almost completely black. 

 

We had been there for three hours but I couldn't believe it was already time to go. I wanted to stay with these people and tell them all how much I appreciated them. I know I just told you about this experience but I'm telling you now that you will never truly get it until you've been there and you've felt the atmosphere and you've looked into the patient's eyes. 

I must have cried for at least two hours at the Christmas party that was held later on that night and I'll admit, I shed a few tears today. Not out of pity, but out of disgust. A few comments were made toward me at the party. One was that the reason I was crying was because of some hidden meaning about myself. Another comment was made that if I keep crying over this that soon I'll be crying over the children in Ethiopia.

 That's not the case though. These men and women are the reason we are here today. They're the reason why I'm allowed to write this blog with the freedom to write whatever I want. They're the reason for our freedom. They're the 3% that fought for us and we leave them in the hospital, some forgotten, to die. I understand that everybody's gotta die sometime. But don't you think they deserve a little more respect than this? They're the reason we pay in American dollar bills and they're forced to pay for their own necessities. Some of them cry at the thought that someone actually cares about them and has not forgotten. 

 I might not be able to change the world, but if I could get one civilian to see how much these veteran's need our Thank-You, I'd have some meaning. 

Yeah, this place changed my life in 3 hours. 

If you see a vet, or even someone currently serving, don't be afraid to thank them. That's all they want. And it's because of them that you can thank them in English.