A, B, B, B, D, D, A... #whynoC?

                Over the weekend, I woke up bright and early to a 6:00 am alarm clock.  You may ask, “Wow.  That is true dedication. She probably ran three miles or did laundry… you know? Something productive.”  Well… only some of that is true.  I do have pure dedication, and I did something productive… But it wasn’t running or household chores. 

                It was the Preliminary SAT… better known as the “PSAT.”  And it can be a challenging objective test… if you aren’t the greatest at bubble answer sheets.  When I say bubble answer sheets, I mean the ones that are run through machines.  The ones that require you to use a #2 pencil, and if you don’t fill in a circle all the way you get the problem incorrect. 

                While I think that this test is great to prepare you for your ACT or SAT test, I am a little critical.  The reason that these are scheduled exactly one Saturday before the REAL test is to prep the students and give them a sense of the time frames for each of the sections. (The PSAT takes about three hours.) I believe that it should be scheduled to where the students take it and get their results (that take a ridiculously long amount of time to come back in) before the ACT or SAT. 

                The PSATs aren’t beneficial to the students if they have no way of knowing how they did or what they missed right away or at least before the actual test.  This being said, I propose a solution.  I say that SAT employees should go around the country (providing jobs for more Americans… go me!) giving the tests to schools.  As soon as the kids are done with their practice test, the worker can run them through a portable grading machine.  This is so the children can get a good idea of how they will do, or how much they should study before their ACT. 

                Instead of doing this, students get their pre-test results in December… a week before they get their report that will determine their future (ACT score)!  “Wow… I missed almost every question on the Grammar and Writing section…  That really helps my ACT score NOW!” 

At least with the PLAN test I could get my results before I was allowed to take the actual ACT.  The PLAN test is an ACT prep exam taken by Sophomores in high school.  They give kids an idea of what field they should consider for their future, what subjects they know well, and what subjects they need to work on before their ACT test their Junior year. 

                This is possibly the only “beef” I have with the ACT and SAT organization.  After I was done with the PSAT, I went to a prep class offered at my high school for the Mathematics portion of the test.  My school also provided me with additional packets of information about the two tests and gave me two booklets to quiz myself on.  Wish me luck!  J (502)

SAY IT; DON'T WEAR IT!

            Ever heard about dressing to make a statement?  Lady Gaga, famous pop star, is a perfect example of that.  Her full body “meat locker” costume is a flashy wardrobe piece.  Bold, yet classy would be her personality/dress style. 
            Getting to the real part: BILLBOARD T-SHIRTS!  This is what grinds my gears.  They may have been a trend a few years ago, but no one wants to read what you have to say on your garment.  Shirts that state: “Call me…” (on the front) “maybe…” (on the back) make me want to barf just as much as the shirts with litter monsters storming the Empire State building.  #gagme 
            “Here comes the walking billboard” is what I think whenever someone is coming up to me.  And to top it off, you can’t even read everything there is to read on their camisa!  #ikarumba 
            Don’t even bring up the baby bibs… “Like father… Like son!” “If you think I’m cute, you should see my mommy.” Or “Don’t you wish your mom was hot like mine?” 

(Following up my last blog)  Kids should have a right in deciding if they want to wear that crap or not.  They didn’t ask to be used as a pick-up line for their parents!  And who is so physically confident in themselves as to buy their child that bib!  Give me a break! 

People do it for the “shock value,” but what I’m saying is… SAY IT; DON’T WEAR IT!  J (242)

Right to Oxygen - 2012 Campaign

Being an election year, people tend to be very vocal about their opinions and beliefs regarding a wide range of topics.  Topics that vary from healthcare to schooling.  I understand that many have made significant sacrifices for my right to even have my opinions and beliefs; and for that I am forever grateful. It is important to respect that by being tolerant of others and their views. In no way, shape or form, do I want to judge someone for exercising their right to specific lifestyle choices such as smoking.

However, today, as I stopped at a red light near one of the busiest intersections in town, I looked to my right, and what did I see?  A mother lighting up in an enclosed Pontiac with her two precious children in the back, strapped to a car seat.  This sparked some questions in my head: “What about the rights of our youth?”  “Don’t they have a say?” 

The law clearly states that you must be 18 before you can purchase cigarettes or any other tobacco products, and I am assuming it is because the government wants to protect children from the harmful effects of the cleverly hidden nicotine until they are physically and mentally mature enough to decide for their own wellbeing.                        

While the Constitution stresses many rights like “Freedom of Speech.”  Children don’t have a voice solely because they can’t communicate?  Sadly, the little kids in that car had no choice, as the decision was their mother’s.  The guardians or parents should be entitled to the right to decide if they want to harm their body through firsthand smoke… but they should not be entitled the right to just “assume” that secondhand smoke is fine for their offspring to inhale. 

Children are completely dependent on their parents or guardians for their welfare.  Kids rely heavily on their caregivers to make the right decisions for them.  They don’t understand the complications that can come from the recreational activity “smoking” like grownups do nowadays with the enhanced research and technology. 

I am prosing a movement to make smoking while in an enclosed area with present children under 18 ILLEGAL!  The law should consider it child endangerment, if not … child abuse!  Fines should be issued and warrants and arrests should be made.  It is unconstitutional and wrong morally and ethically.  How would you like to be “death sentenced” in a “gas-chamber” on your way to school every day?  J (407)

"Eight cups a day keeps the doctor away!".... Or Something Like That

                Not trying to be all “Mama Bear” on you, but… we all need to consume more water.  It is essential to our health.  I advocate to this.  You will see in a minute what I am talking about.

One of my dearest and truest friends, Jared, had a run-in with the clear substance.  Jared is tall and very thin, and every time he sat up in bed or got off the couch, he would blackout and get dizzy.  You can imagine how worried and upset this made his parents, so they took him to their family doctor.  After the doctor measured his height, weight, and wingspan, also checking for any abnormities, he came to the conclusion that Jared possibly had Marfan syndrome. 

                People that had this syndrome, from what he told me, were tall with long wingspans and had flat feet, superflexible joints, nearsightedness, narrow faces, or a chest that sinks in or sticks out (funnel chest or pectus excavatum).  This was frightening to his mother as well as him because it also meant that he could have a heart defect. 

When they asked the doctor what they should do, he said that he would try St. Louis Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri to check out his heart and to ask an expert on Marfans.  By the time they got home, an appointment was made at the hospital, and in a week they would be off to see the specialists three hours away. 

When they finally got there, the nerves were kicking in.  After an expensive, overpriced lunch in the cafeteria and two hours of waiting, they got in to start their scans of the heart and brain.  More sitting around and waiting for more news followed.  They were finally called back in to wait some more for the cardiologist to give his report. 

                The doctor came in and shook hands with Jared and his family.  Once he explained what Marfan syndrome was and the causes and effects, he revealed to them that Jared did not, in fact, have the syndrome.  A sigh of relief came over him and his parents.  But in Jared’s mom’s mind, she was torn.  She was happy that her son didn’t have this horrible affliction, but she was also livid that the family doctor put the scare into her and her family when it was a “false alarm.” 

What made it even worse was the fact that the doctor’s solution to Jared’s blackouts and dizziness was the result of dehydration or lack of water.  He also needed more table salt in his diet to retain the water he drank (which was preferably two two-liters a day). 

When my friend came home and told me this, I was shocked.  Water and salt?  Is that really all you needed?  After all that money spent to go down to the Children’s Hospital and for what?  To find out that you need to salt your french-fries a little more?  Very nice.  Good to know.

So the moral of the story is that H2O is extremely vital to your well-being.  We all need to drink more.  I can’t say that I know one person that drinks enough or too much.  The reason that we get sick or tired most of the time, is that we are rundown and don’t have proper nutrition.  So drink up! J (556)

Diary of Teenage Mutant Feet

                What I hate about my feet?  Everything!  Usually I’m not the type to complain about what God has given me, but He really messed up on my feet.  He must have, like everything else, had a plan for them.  Maybe I was destined to become a foot model for a shoe brand catering to extra-large women with even bigger feet. 

                Like I said.  My feet!  They are huge.  They are size 11.5 men’s and size 13 women’s!  Very long.  And I am told on a regular basis that they are ugly due to the fact that they look like they belong to a raccoon.  Ouch.  My toes aren’t that bad… are they?  My “tooties” (as my dad used to call them when I was little) are also very wide.  I have a “Tailor’s bunion” or “Bunionette” which is basically a skinny heel with an extremely wide metatarsal bone set (or inflammation of the fifth metatarsal bone).  Just call me duck foot.  Which brings me to how flat they are!  Wow!  I have no bridge at all.  Let’s just say I make the Gateway Arch disappointed. 

                With all of this being said, I have a heck of a time finding shoes to fit properly!  Let’s face it… as much as I would like to, I can’t wear basketball shoes my whole life.  What about my wedding or prom?  This is tricky.  The shoes that are totally adorable are women’s shoes and only come in sizes six through ten.  Or they are men’s shoes, but still aren’t wide enough.  Here comes the “moolah.”  Specialty shoes cost extra wads of cash to buy which is annoying because you can never just walk into a store and buy a cute pair of heels on sale.  Clearance racks suck! 

                When I get older, I am definitely coming up with that extra-long, extra-wide shoe brand.  Female volleyball and basketball players will love me!  I can make a fortune.  I can see it now: “Pumps with Bumps” (referring to my bunions…yuck!)  And no… I will not offer size seven! #getlost  J (343)

"Race Against Breast Cancer"

                “Especially for You” is a fund for women diagnosed with breast cancer started by Mercy Women’s Center (branch of Mercy Medical Center) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on October 27^th of 1991 in dedication to the late Sandy Knight (who got taken due to breast cancer in July of 1991). 

                Sandy Knight’s story, being an employee of General Mills, was instrumental in General Mills becoming a supporter and sponsor to the race held each year in the city near Mercy Medical Center.  A 5k walk or run and a one mile walk or run is available for anyone interested in racing.  When people sign up for the event, they receive a t-shirt to be worn during the race, a number to be pinned on the t-shirt while racing in order to be identified, and food from the local General Mills such as cereal and fruit snacks.  All money raised goes to finances for local women’s mammograms, CAD technology, other exams, and office visits.  The men and women working are strictly volunteers and are helping out of the kindness of their hearts.  

                My volleyball team showed support of this organization and the whole cause by registering and participating in the race.  We felt that it was a great opportunity to bond with each other while fighting something much bigger than volleyball or any of us, even if we had to wake up early on a Sunday morning and dress for thirty degree weather. 

                While getting ready that morning, I yawned and thought to myself… “Why do I have to get up so early?”  After my mom told me to dress warm due to the frigid temperatures outside, I got on a sweatshirt, hat, two layers of gloves, two layers of socks, tennis shoes, a tiger-printed scarf, and two layers of sweatpants on the outside of my runner leggings.  Oh!  And how could I forget my long sleeve complementary t-shirt.  After I pinned my number (6506) on it with four bobby pins, I was ready to go! 

                Once I got there and we took pictures of all of us huddled together trying to keep warm, I had a crucial decision to make.  Do I race the 5k or one mile?  Do I run it or walk it?  After seeing all the people waiting in line for the starting gun to go off, I was inspired.  I would run the 5k!  And with what luck?  Two of my teammates were running it as well.  This would be fun.

                After the teary prayer session and an inspirational song sung by a local artist, I could finally answer the question I asked myself earlier that morning.  Cancer never sleeps.  There are tons of women out there with breast cancer that wake up EVERY morning with the disease.  They can’t just say… “I’m tired today.  I think I’ll “sleep in” from breast cancer.”  Thinking about this from the starting line all the way ‘til the finish, it drove me to keep pushing.  No matter how cold it was outside or how tired my legs were, I kept running… because that three mile run in the cold was nothing compared to their struggles.  I did it for the women with breast cancer. 

Source: http://www.especiallyforyourace.org/gear/default.htm  J (536)

My Personal Music Roots

                Something that brings me back.  The music that I was surrounded with as a child.  Back to when I was around five, riding in my older sister’s brand-new Honda Civic to the pool, listening to all the “hot songs.”  Looking back, I’d say that my sister had great taste in music.  I don’t know the reason that I still enjoy listening to those songs now; because of how timeless they are or because they were the first songs I was exposed to… or maybe it was that she constantly played them over and over and over?    

                The music back then was positive and real.  It was deep and had timeless lyrics.  The lyrics weren’t like today’s greatest rap hits.  They didn’t have obscenities, four letter words, or phrases that are degrading towards women.  They are classy and can be listened to for years to come.  Phrases and words weren’t repeated constantly for three and a half minutes either and called a “song.” 

Sure, they repeated the chorus some, but not every verse was the same.  It is hilarious because a few days ago, I ran across a Facebook group that was titled, “1)Say “Dale!” 2)Mumble three Spanish words. 3)List four cities. Congratulations, you just made yourself a Pitbull song.”  But it is so true.  Most (I SAID MOST!  So before all you diehard Indie rockers jump all over me…) artists today do not have any clue where to begin when wanting to write substance, and if they do they don’t want to because they know that 1)It won’t be played in the “clubs.” Or 2)No one will buy their album on iTunes. 

                I learned and knew so much about who the hottest artists were and what their best songs were.  PepperMartin could recite all the Enrique Iglesias songs… in español.  (Which probably inspired my desire to take Spanish as a foreign language in high school.  Thanks, Enrique!)

  I had some disputes with my sister over the lyrics as well.  Example: I argued that Shakira said “and that’s the dam*, my dear…” instead of “and that’s the deal, my dear.”  (Being five years old, I knew that profanity was naughty and shouldn’t be listened to by my older sister that was supposed to be a good influence on me.)  Hearing that song today, I laugh at myself.  Shakira didn’t cuss, silly!  That was just her Colombian diction.  It sparks so many memories of my sister and me in the car, dancing and singing along to the radio.

                Many of you may not remember these songs I’m talking about, but they were recorded in the late 1990’s early 2000’s.  The time period that is considered the greatest by many people in their late 20’s.  (My sister is almost 29.)  Usually I wish that I would be closer to my sister in age (closer than 12 years) for bonding reasons and what not, but in the music sense, I wouldn’t trade it.  It developed my love for music to what it is today, and for that, I am forever grateful.  Thank God for that time period… and Hanson!  Along with:

Christina Aguilera

Backstreet Boys

‘N Sync

Britney Spears

Destiny’s Child

J.LO (Jennifer Lopez)

Mariah Carey

Salt-n-Pepa

Shaggy

Celine Dion

LeAnn Rimes

Shania Twain

U2 (appreciated by Mizzay)

Tim McGraw

Faith Hill

Boyz II Men

Lee Ann Womack

Vanessa Carlton (below)

J (557)