becoming a teen & my life

As I was wandering through the house this evening, I was searching for a way to escape some of the noise and confusion around me. It occurred to me that maybe I should read a book! But only an all-new, never-before-read book would do for me tonight. At that point, I decided that I might write my own little “book” of sorts…detailing a little about my life and some of the things I’ve learned over the past decade-and-a-half…besides the basics like reading, walking and talking. I should divide it into three parts: Ages one through five, five through 10, and 10 through my current age.

My earliest years were some of my most enjoyable. I was learning, growing and making mistakes at an amazing rate. Even at such a young age, I quickly learned that disobedience was met with spankings, stubbornness was met with equal and opposite resistance, and that tricycles are (or can be) dangerous vehicles…but thankfully, that was the only lesson that required a trip to the emergency room, which is another story. I played in the mud, befriended neighborhood kids, developed a penchant for mischief of all sorts, and exposed my skin to so much sun that the freckles on my cheeks are still visible to this day. I also learned that sometimes Dad coming home from work spelled trouble for me and my devious schemes. Those days, while not idyllic, were probably as close to ideal as I’ll ever see. They were good days.

When I turned five, I discovered the joys of reading, and the reward of hard work. Actually, at that age, I was certain that all work was worthless (a belief I have since abandoned). Anyway, at this age, I still enjoyed playing outside. Our next-door neighbor kids were our friends, and they influenced our early years fairly significantly. We created many good memories in our backyard. Unfortunately, at this stage I also learned just how fast a rumor can spread—and how it can hurt. I also learned the amazing power of words, and began to learn how carefully one must choose said words (no pun intended). To say that I learned either concept fully would be a lie.

When I was eleven, life became much more interesting. All the things I learned! It was around this time that my dad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, which can be (and was, in his situation) a life-threatening condition. He was led by God to a doctor in California who specialized in treating his specific cancer without chemotherapy, so he and mom went west for his treatment. We stayed with a family of ours during the full month of my dad’s hospitalization. To my distaste, I must admit that I was at this point a very selfish little wart, thinking only of myself and focusing on how things ought to please me more fully. I learned a lot about people during that time, though—lessons I have carried with me for the rest of my life thus far…lessons that weren’t always fun, but that were important and necessary. I met some amazing friends—some of the best I have—while we were staying with our friends. I learned what a crush is, much to my chagrin and embarrassment. I also learned to love music—all sorts of music! In retrospect, though, I wish I had been more cautious with my standards for music, but some things can’t be undone. I think if you ask my parents, they might tell you that music wrecked me. But all they have is circumstantial evidence (I’m tellin’ ya, man!). I honestly don’t believe that they’re using post hoc ergo propter hoc, that is, Latin for the logical fallacy “after this, therefore because of this.” Becoming a teen is enough to turn anybody into someone new…or different, at least.

My cat Davi


















Don't forget what's important!!! Read the tiny print on the bottom of this sign.

I'm working on a list of my best songs ever . (Not that I've written........I don't e-publish those!)

It isn't complete.

I don't even have a number one.

I have stuff from country, rock, techno, pop, and Christian.

I have not the faintest idea how to organize it!

But I'll be working on it.

MORE SNOW!!!!

This makes four feet total we've gotten this year (roughly)! And we're out in the plains. Woohoo! Winter Park, here I come! This has got to be a great skiing & snowboarding year. I wish we could go so much. I don't like the cold, but if the cold comes with something neat like skiing, it's well worth it.

On other fronts, we've got two speech and debate tournaments coming up really soon. I'm so excited! My duo is going to be a blast. I'm not really looking forward to impromptu, but I'll bet I can pull it off. As for debate, we're set! Sometimes at club, I find myself really not wanting to debate. But then when we're in the round, I ask myself, "What were you thinking?? This is great!" Debate is awesome.

Public speaking is awesome too. I just don't like all the funny looks we get when we say that a) we're homeschooled and b) we're competing in speech and debate. People look at us sideways...kind of like, "Ahhh...they really need socialization, don't they?" Argh! What is their problem??? We're not socially inept morons with negative IQs! We're talking to them, aren't we? Of course, that may be not be a sign of intelligence....

But I digress. I'm glad to be updating. I'll close on this note:

Carry me
I'm just a dead man
Lying on the carpet
Can't find a heart beat
Make me breathe
I want to be a new man
Tired of the old one
Out with the old plan
-Jars of Clay, Dead Man (Carry Me)

Wow! That's small.



This is what my cat tends to do when he relaxes.

Due explanation!

My mom wonders why I sometimes draw pictures of guys. When she asked, I really didn't have a good response, because I hadn't really thought about it. But I have now, and this is the conclusion I've reached.

It’s very difficult to draw the human features, as many of my past pictures will testify to. I choose to draw guys not because I’m obsessed with them, but rather because when you draw guys, you get much more “up-front” features with more distinction and clarity. Girls have softer features and their expressions are more difficult to capture. I believe that in order to become a capable artist, you must be able to draw both masculine and feminine traits. I'm starting with guys because, simply put, they're easier. Not a lot easier, mind you-it's always a challenge to complete someone's features and expressions with success. But if there's an easier way to do something, I'm going to try it before I move on to the more challenging side.

Not obsession, but polishing.

This strange format is just an experiment! This whole template is WIP. Please be patient. :)

Support the country you live in or live in the country you support.

Everybody’s looking for something-something to fill in the hole. We think a lot but don’t talk much about it, till things get out of control.

While perhaps not the best source of quotations, classic rock group Van Halen deftly addressed the issue of fulfillment in this song. People throughout the years have attempted to fulfill themselves with other people, things or pastimes. Today, a new group is gaining the stage in regards to this question. They are the New Atheists-though admittedly, their ideas are now new-and the world watches in anticipation to see if they will finally be able to answer the ultimate question, “What do I want?”

Before we study these atheists with unbridled interest, let’s take a look behind the scenes. There, without all the glamour, is another answer, and it differs dramatically from the vagueness of atheism. Composed of clear-cut rules, the religion we call Christianity is governed by underlying virtues and principles. Some consider it to be narrow-minded, as if one single Person could truly fulfill this great, cavernous hole inside each of us.

So atheism attempts to fill its followers with reason, logic and order. In a recent article on atheism, leading atheist Daniel Dennett explains that in this future world without God humans will be universally involved in a “religion of reason”. In the same article, another atheistic author speaks highly of using poetry, introspection and meditation to take the place of the primitive religion we call Christianity. Truly, this is a great, peaceful world that artists like John Lennon have always envisioned. It is an ambitious world, but according to atheists, it is attainable—but only once all traces of religion are abolished.

Certainly, today’s world is not as beautiful as it might be. People are insecure, lost, lonely, hurt and confused. Every day, people’s hearts are broken. A perfectly unbiased reader of these prominent atheists’ works might find their vision of universal peace and prosperity appealing. After all, what could be more alluring than this veritable utopia?

But the atheists, for all their magnificent plans, have neglected a rather significant issue—that of fulfillment. Nowhere within their sparkling claims do they state that humans will be fulfilled. Certainly, they strongly imply that people will be happy, but real happiness is difficult to obtain without true fulfillment. The problem today is not how we can be perfectly happy and comfortable in this life, but rather, how can our lives have true meaning and real fulfillment? Atheism doesn’t address the issue of fulfillment at all-either for the bright future, or for the bitter present. Nor do the proponents of atheism give any excuse for not being able to do so. But Christianity does offer answers. Deuteronomy 4:29 speaks of finding the one true God when we seek Him with all of our hearts. This God is attainable. We are loved completely by the Creator of the universe! That kind of love must be returned, at least to the best of our abilities. And as thousands of Christians from all over the world will attest, the pursuit of God-and only the pursuit of God-will fulfill without exception. These people have tried different things to fill themselves-human love, personal ambition, and various pastimes. But nothing has filled them so completely as the love of God and their desire to share that love.

Though I am being raised in a Christian family, I have measured the relative benefits of atheism against the benefits of Christianity. In doing so, I encountered many logical fallacies in the entire philosophy behind atheism. I hope that the unaddressed issue of fulfillment will be clear to every searching person who considers the “religion” of atheism.

So I would leave you with this question. If life is as atheists say and there is no higher power, why does the love of God consume, fill and enrich the lives of his followers? Atheism offers no answer to this query, and that is where atheism falls far short of answering life’s biggest questions.

Being a Middle Child

Being a middle child and a second daughter is no light task. In fact, it requires skill and aptitude beyond what most adults can imagine! My job is composed of several different elements.

First of all, I’m the chief complainer in my family. In most families, the youngest or the oldest boy is the champion whiner. Not in our family. I take it upon myself to point out and expound every problem in our family, our house, and our home. For example: Mom! Our schedule gives me three minutes to do algebra! (Actually a perfectly relevant point!) Another example: Dad! The toilet’s overflowing! Again!! (Also a perfectly relevant point…) and my last example: Mom! He’s picking his nose again! (Ugh!) Those are just a few of the daily objects the chief complainer absolutely must whine about on a regular basis.

Along with being chief complainer in our family, I am also resident cynic. This job includes being serious for most of the time, and interjecting my down-to-earth, sometimes dark views for the exasperation of the rest of my family. It works amazing well for most issues that come up.
My trustworthy workplace motto is: “No one should be too euphoric for too long.” Being resident cynic will also improve your reflexes, as the not-so-lovely truth will tend to make people less charitable toward your person.

While being resident cynic has its ups and downs, it has nothing on being the family cultural consultant. This job description is comprised of knowing every song played on the radio today on every station, having a perfectly dizzying mental rolodex of the lyrics to nearly every song, and keeping up on the latest movies, TV shows, magazines, books and bands.
But along with being well-versed in media of all types, it is useful to have a working knowledge of nearly every automobile on the roads today. It is always nice to know the difference between a Cobra, a Viper, and a Cayman—the first is made by Ford, the second by Dodge, and the last by Porsche. And it’s also helpful to know how Porsche is pronounced! Vehicle knowledge is an important element if you wish to become a private cultural consultant.
And last but not least, it is helpful to be fluent in every sort of wholesome slang in today’s world. For example: the word “shorty” and the word “emo.” “Shorty” is a term of endearment given by the hip-hop crowd to girlfriends, and “emo” is a description of a musical or personal style in which emotion is used excessively. Knowing many internet terms is an optional benefit to knowing large amounts of slang.

And lastly, I am acknowledged as the wordsmith in our family. My use of words will probably never cease to startle, amuse and enlighten my family. One of my favorite words is “maligned.” As in, “Ooh! An insult! I’ve been maligned! I’ll never speak to you again!” If that sounds familiar to you, it probably is. Yes, it is true: I get a lot of my vocabulary from Calvin and Hobbes. Also, as my family will attest, I will read the dictionary for no apparent reason. The fact that I rarely speak around people is simply a mask for the fact that my sisters cannot get me to be quiet. Being a wordsmith is not a particularly demanding job, but it is one of the most enjoyable components of being a middle child in our family.

To summarize, that is a little about what it takes to be a middle child. Contrary to popular belief, middle children are not less unique than oldest or youngest children. If anything, they are forced to maintain a more unique outlook on life because of their position in the family.
While there is nothing wrong with being a first or youngest child, being a middle has many perks. Although the pay is not particularly good.

Just for fun :)

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4 and write what it says. “These books concentrate on questions about pain, God, life and love.”
2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What can you touch? My dresser.
3. What is the last thing you watched on TV? Don’t remember
4. Without looking, guess what time it is. 1:08
5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time? 12:54
6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear? Def Leppard on the radio and my sister typing.
7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing? Earlier this morning. Getting home from my friends’ house.
8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at? The ironing board in my room.
9. What are you wearing? Denim skirt and multi layer shirt.
10. Did you dream last night? Oh ya
11. When did you last laugh? Last night: I was reading W. Bruce Cameron’s Garden Wars edition of his column.
12. What is on the walls of the room you are in? My LOTR RotK poster, my names of Christ poster, a picture from my friend, and a calendar.
13. Seen anything weird lately? Yeah, my friend.
14. What do you think of this quiz? Interesting enough to take!
15. What is the last film you saw? Wallace and Gromit Curse of the Were Rabbit
16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy? My first gun, a good flashlight, a Toyota Tacoma, and iPod and $300 worth of iTunes.
17. Tell me something about you that I don't know. I am introverted, but I like writing.
18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do? Feed every person in Africa every day for the rest of their lives.
19. Do you like to dance? :D Sorta. Just got two darn left feet.
20. Comment to George Bush: Please ignore what they say about you.
21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her? Heh. Melanie Joyce. (means “dark” and “gothic”)
22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him? Isaiah Dante
23. Would you ever consider living abroad? Hmm...yeah!
24. What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gate? Well done, good and faithful servant.
25. 3 people who must also do this quiz in THEIR blog.
My sister
My friend
My other friend. ;)