Christmastime in the City

This is one of my favorite times of year for many reasons, one of them being the festive spirit floating around town. The colorful lights, evergreen trees, and other decorations light up the town. The anticipation of their favorite holidays puts everyone in a good mood and the air is crisp and cool. The one thing that could make it better? Snow. Although I agree that after a while the snow gets old, this time of year simply does not feel right without it. I know this sounds cliché and maybe it is, but in choir, we recently sang "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin and I got to thinking; especially here in Chicago, that is exactly what we are known for. Unless it snows soon, this will be the first Christmas in my memory without snow and while by February our only wish is for it to be gone, now that it is not here it comes as a shock. But, I guess that's how it goes, like they say, "you don't know what you've got till it's gone". It's true. Only now that the snow is not here do we cherish and long for it. So, this year when the snow finally arrives, I will be sure to make the best of it: actually play in the snow like I used to as a kid and make sure I engrain in my mind forever the beauty of Chicago in the winter.

Photo credit: http://imagecache5.art.com/p/LRG/27/2756/R9HTD00Z/jamie-wild-main-street-with-christmas-lights-at-night-leavenworth-washington-usa.jpg

Recieving as You Give

This week, I got to go shopping twice to buy holiday gifts for families who are struggling in this economy. While it is nice to give money to charity, it doesn’t feel nearly as good as seeing the money do something and knowing that five more people will wake up to presents on Christmas morning and five more kids will continue to believe in Santa. In two of my classes/clubs we chose to support a family for this holiday season. As we were picking out Barbie dolls, toy trucks, shoes, pajamas and other things, it made me realize how lucky we are. Aside from the toys that the kids asked for, their holiday wish list also contained things such as winter coats, snow boots, diapers, wipes and other things that we take for granted. I never once considered asking for a winter coat or snow boots for the holidays. These were always things I never even thought about not havinassumed would be there come winter, I never gave it any thought. However, in this struggling economy this is what people need. Not even want, but need. Getting to purchase these items myself made it that much more real and it felt that much better. I have participated in things like this before, such as the holiday toy drive in middle school, where a friend and I would race through the aisles of target the day after Black Friday to get as many toys as possible: hundreds and hundreds of toys. And when we left, it was not with a few toys, but with a carful of toys. It was so exciting to see just how many peoples' holidays we could improve. After experiencing this for the first time, this became one of my favorite parts of the holiday; it's as rewarding as getting presents yourself.

Photo credit: http://www.wichitat4t.org/Web%20Pictures/toyrunpile.jpg

Giving Thanks

Over and over this past week, I have been asked the question, “What are you thankful for?” And over and over again, I have given relatively the same answer, “I am thankful for my family, my friends, the education I am getting, the food and shelter I have, and for the place I live,” among other things. However, each time, I said the things that we have been told over and over again that we should be thankful for. Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful for all these things, but I never really stopped to think about exactly why I am thankful for them. Not just the fact that I probably couldn’t live without any of them, but really what makes them so special, different from what everyone else has? So, here goes. My family is honestly amazing. Family gatherings are always crazy, but we laugh and joke and during those few hours, no one takes life too seriously. With my friends, I can laugh non-stop and at the same time, I can tell them anything and I can just be myself around them. The education I am getting will not only allow me to be successful in whatever I chose to do, but it will allow me to pursue any dream or opportunity that may come my way. Food and shelter are pretty self explanatory, but obviously not everyone has these simple necessities. Finally, the place we live. This place, although it seems boring at times, is safe and in the end, it will help me to be well prepared for life. All of these things have shaped and will continue to shape me as a person and for that, I am very thankful.

http://www.theholidayspot.com/thanksgiving/wallpapers/new_images/thanksgiving-cornucopia.jpg

The Key to Life

This week, I heard a quote that really resonated with me. It is a quote by John Lennon and it goes like this, "When I was five years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life." I thought it was so cool that at five years old, this little boy already understood everything that's important in life because that's really all you need to know. You only get to live once, so it's important to do what makes you happy. After taking the PLAN test, I started thinking about colleges and jobs. I have always loved to perform, but at the same time, I felt like I needed a backup plan, something else that I can do if I am not able to go into musical theatre, but when I talked about it with my dad, he asked me only one question. He said, "Is this what makes you happy?" And I replied, "Of course." and he said, "Then why are you even thinking about it?" And I realized that whatever it is you end up doing, it needs to be that one thing you enjoy doing so much that you can't wait to get to work because it doesn't even feel like work. The greatest accomplishments come from the people who are so passionate about what they do that they don't stop at what is required or what is "good enough," but they have to keep going. Our world needs this kind of passion and it only comes from happiness, so I think John Lennon was right. We look too deeply into life, but in reality, there is only one thing that matters.

Photo Credits: http://www.johnlennon.talktalk.net/images/john_lennon.jpg

A Greater Purpose

After watching a movie in English class called, Beyond Rangoon, I got to thinking. Life is so short, yet there is so much that one person can do in their little time on Earth. In the movie, the main character, Laura risks her life and freedom to save a man she barely knows. While she could've easily just saved herself and forgotten about him, she chose to make what could have been the ultimate sacrifice for a man she had known less than twenty four hours. Although it is only a movie, it made me think about what really counts in life. So much stress is put on social class, intellegence and material things in our society. Many students including myself stress themselves out over grades because right now, it looks as if that will determine the rest of our lives. High school determines what college you go to, college determines what jobs you can get, and your job determines how much money you can make and how successful you can be. However, I would like to think that there is more than that. That we have another purpose for being on this earth. In the end, people won't care about how much money you had or how successful you were. You will be remembered by the people you touched, the lives you impacted and what you chose to make out the life you were given.

Photo credits: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/51/Beyond_Rangoon.jpg/220px-Beyond_Rangoon.jpg

Socially Acceptable?

Every year, a countless number of animals are forced to suffer or are killed for selfish human purposes: animal testing. However, as this provides us the security of knowing our products are safe, the majority of people don't bother to question this process; at least not enough to stop it from happening. Pets are such a big part of our society, and yet because the issue isn't concerning them specifically, people turn a blind eye. Dogs, rodents, rabbits, and other animals spend their lives in cages, the subjects of cruel, harmful testing. Humans hold all the power in this world, but often abuse their power. With all our technology, you would think we could come up with a way to test products without causing harm to living creatures, but unfortunately, not many people see this as a pressing issue.


http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/wp-content/gallery/animal-testing/dog-testing.jpg

A Different Kind of Treatment

Although they are typically known only for being a loving companion and playmate, dogs also do their fair share of good. They can contribute to the world in many ways, one of them by being a therapy dog. My dog, Rally served as a therapy dog at Northwest Community Hospital, and it's true, these animals really do help with people's recovery. Simply their presence provides people with encouragement and joy. I don't know what it is, but there is something about a dog that can lift someone's mood in a way people can't. Something about them that provides treatment not even a doctor can provide.

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