Love and companionship

Love and companionship is a monumental part of the human experience because that is usually how it begins. It starts in the womb, with a mother's love. A mother's love is probably the purest, most unconditional kind of love possible from a human being. Most mothers care for you, physically, emotionally, and spiritually from the time before you are born through your developmental years, up to your adolescence and then some. Mothers administer advice, band-aids, kisses, hugs, whippings, they've wiped the tears from our eyes, tried to mend our broken hearts; all out of love. Without a mother's love, we would not know what love is. We wouldn't be able to show affection. We would not be able to handle someone being affectionate towards us. We would be so unstable, we probably would not have functional relationships. Then again, how functional are relationships these days? Mothers give us tough love that allows us to develop discipline. That allows us to grow into cool, calm and collected adults; usually. Mothers take care of you when you're sick, they step up where you lack during this period of time and make you feel better. Some people's mothers are their best friends. Some people never "leave the nest". That's a little bit unhealthy, but is still a form of companionship. It's okay for your mother to be your friend, or shoulder to cry on when no one else will, but matching outfits and things of that nature push the limits. My mother has usually been there when others have left, or not been around and I am forever grateful. She taught me so much about being a strong, independent young woman. My mother is definitely one of the most influential people in my life. She's filled all the holes of missing people in my life. Without my mother's love I'd probably be even worse off than I am now. I love my mother with all of my heart! 

Project..

One project I can particularly recall spending a lot of time and effort on was actually quite recent. This year, 10th grade, in my Physical Science course it was required to construct a Three Dimensional Bohr Model of an atom. This project was worth 100 points, meaning it was equivalent to a chapter test. Considering my carelessness for my studies, I needed these points. The Saturday after this project was assigned, I made my way over to Pat Catan's for supplies. Those kinds of stores suck people in and they end up being on there for hours on end. As I moseyed through the aisles, I felt so clueless and helpless. Honestly I think that maybe 3 people work there and they were all on break! After being there for that extensive period of time, I left basically empty-handed. This happened about 4 weeks prior to the due date. I attempted a head start, but had no idea what materials to use, or how to be creative. I set a reminder every Saturday for around 11:00 a.m. to work on my project and for three weeks, dismiss the notification. The next Saturday arrives, this is the last notification, I realize how much time I have to work on my project and go into focus mode. Me and my mother high-tail it to Pat Catan's ... Again! This time around I simply grab essentially random items (such as spray paint, faceted beads, stencils, etc.) and move on to Home Depot to get supplies for my base. The Banks/Fuentes' are not a crafty people, so we essentially are in a foreign territory. Luckily, like an oasis in a home improvement wasteland, a very kind employee helps us with everything we needed and then some. He helped us pick out wood, he cut it, he nailed my dowel in, and he drilled holes in the dowel! I am truly thankful to him for all of that! Next I look for wire, that I had to do on my own. That part didn't turn out as great. I get home, and spray paint my wood base and add detail, inhaling chemicals and all. The I wait for it to dry and type my key. That's all for that Saturday. The next day, I attempt to do something with my wire and it just does not work out. I take it to school to work on, on Tuesday and I just cannot seem to find adequate aid. Alas, I find refuge in a lady with a hot glue gun and floss. My project did not look the way I pictured/wanted, but my grade did and that's all that matters. I ended up with a B after all of the meltdowns and frustration. At the end of the day, it boosted me to a better average.

Truth Vs. Lie

Is it okay to lie, when the circumstances seem to call for it? No. It is never okay to lie. Lying is bad for your spiritual health. We are called to tell the truth, no matter what. If I lie, I usually get in more trouble for lying than I would have for whatever I lied for. For me, there is really no point in lying because I'll end up telling the truth any way. I guess I have what some would call a "conscience". I don't think of it that way though. I think of it as the Holy Spirit convicting me of something I did wrong. Not guilt, but the fact of knowing the difference between right and wrong, and knowing what choice I made. We have the choice to tell the truth or tell a lie. It is not "oh, I had to lie because..." we know the truth and we choose not to tell it, then took it a step further and convince that person the opposite, or make something up. Even when I know that the truth will get me into trouble or hurt someone's feelings, I have to tell it. It is hard but ultimately for the best. I would not want someone to spare my feelings with a lie or convince me of something other than the truth, so why should I do the same? It all circles back to the golden rule, treat people the way I would like to be treated.

Bullying.

Bullying is a serious, quite large problem in the United States. Sure, it gets plenty of press and there's plenty of organizations and charities but obviously that's not helping to solve the problem because they are so many kids still being bullied. I think bullying is now used as a political tactic for Disney channel-type stars to gain popularity or sympathy. I feel like some people use bullying for themselves and not to genuinely help others. On the other hand, my opinion on bullying itself is quite simple; you can control who you're intimidated by. That's right. If you let someone get inside your head, and tear you down then they have control. If you choose not to let their words have any effect on you, they will most likely leave you alone because they know they won't be able to harass you because their words have no effect. Once they get inside your mind they pretty can take you down mentally and emotionally. Bullying is usually an intimidation/mental/emotional thing. Bullies are just trying to find someone they think is weaker than them to pick on to pump their egos but if you show that you are stronger than them (mentally/emotionally) than they don't really get what they were looking for, right? It's take some training and getting used to but you can eventually strengthen yourself to get to that point. With that being said, sometimes it can be too late or someone is "helpless" this and physical abuse is where adults should come in and help. Some adults choose not to help for whatever reason and that's when you have to pull out big guns like lawyers and parents and police. Also, I don't believe in that "builds character" crap. Being harassed in any way shape or form can be traumatic especially for a child. In conclusion, I do not know how to solve this problem directly but these are my opinions.

Do they have the right?

Do people have the right to take things that don't belong to them? Of course not, that object could have caused that person a lot of hard work or time, or made that person happy or even had sentimental value and no one has the right to just take decide they want it and take it away. Its really a basic kindergarten teaching, if it doesn't belong to you, you have no business touching it. When people take things that don't belong to them, it's usually more of a power thing, than say a 'want' thing. Some people feel the need to feel above other people, a sense of authority, power and they see taking someone's belonging(s) as a way to prove that. Some people just want to have everything. Some people have some sort of pathological need to steal things. Is is never okay to take things that don't belong to you, but that doesn't mean these acts always have consequences. Some people get away with taking things with a position is government or just bet being sneaky! They do it because they choose people or situations they know won't be able to to stop them.