Journal #29

Nature is control of most situations in our lives.Whether it be a natural disaster like a tornado, or a hurricane, or just the changing of the weather, like rain, snow, or sleet, nature dictates how we live our everyday lives. When we wake up in the morning the first thing we do is check the weather to see how we should be dressed. Before making plans, or going outside, we look outside to see if we can brave the weather. My own job in the summers is dependent on the weather. I work as a lifeguard at an outdoor pool, and we have to be very aware at what nature is going to throw at us for the pool patron's safety.  Nature is a funny thing really, it can never make up it's mind. Like today, I live in the middle of Illinois, where its almost sixty degrees outside! It should be closer to thirty or twenty! Nature is in charge of all natural disasters. We have had several tornadoes here in central Illinois, and most of them do quite a bit of damage. We also have bad ice storms ever few years which cause many power outages and days of school for us. A very big instance where nature was in charge was hurricane Katrina, which caused thousands of lives to be lost, and thousands more to have there houses destroyed and become separated from their families. The earthquakes in Haiti several years ago is also a good example of when nature was in charge. they came out of nowhere, completely destroying the country basically. Clean up and aid is still being administered to the people of Haiti today. Nature is in charge whenever a natural disaster occurs, which happens more often than we would think. Every time is snows or rains we have to change our whole day on account of what nature throws at us that day. I enjoy nature, but only when its very pretty and mild temperature outside.

Journal #28

I have never really left the country (its debatable if we drove through Canada on my family's trip to New York when I was four years old) so I have not been in a place with a very different culture or status then what we have where we live. I have been to New Orleans and Las Vegas, both places are quite different than little Pleasant Plains and Springfield. We went to New Orleans when I had just turned ten, and some of the people who live in the South really surprised me. For one, it took me a long time to figure out what they were saying because their accents are so thick. They also eat food that is very very different from here, alligator, gumbo, and other very strange dishes are served all the time in New Orleans. They say words differently and use completely different words sometimes then I am used to. In New Orleans in just a few minutes you can walk from the very pretty French Quarter, with nice buildings (Cafe Du-Monte!), to a very scary neighborhood where you do not want your car to break down (Our car had a flat there, very scary situation). This same layout of the city is also prevalent in Las Vegas. It is not everyday when you are walking down the street, and creepy people try and hand you cards of naked women. Also Vegas is called the city that never sleeps, and that is definitely true, something is always happening! There is such a mix of people who visit Vegas at any given time, so you never really know what culture you are around. Rich people, and poor people all come to Vegas to try and win money or just to have a good time. When you are under twenty-one, like myself, there are still quite a few shows, shops, and other things too see. Both New Orleans and Las Vegas are very different place from Illinois, but I enjoyed going to each place.

Journal #27

I think having to go really far away from home to defend our country would be hard. In the first place, that takes a tremendous amount of strength and courage to be able to put your life on the line every minute of the day in a war, and it does not help that you have to be stationed away from home for long periods at a time. Personally, I do not think I could do it. I do not think that I would be able to handle the stress that you have to deal with in this situation. I would miss my parents the rest of my family and friends. Letters, emails, and Skype calls just do not cut having a real life conversation in person. I have never moved before, so I've lived in the same house my entire life, so I'm sure how I would cope with being away for such a long time with no familiarity with anyone or anything. I have to get used to being away from home with college though. I plan on going far away to school in Nevada. Also, my parents are going to be retiring in a year or two and moving to Nevada too, so that helps with not being to homesick because they will only be a seven hour drive away. I think that having control of a gun and being in the situation where you might have to hurt someone would be really hard. I really respect everyone in the service for being able to get though that and protect our country because I know that I would not be able too. I have a cousin in the military, but she is currently only stationed in North Carolina because she and her boyfriend just had a baby. She had to go to Afghanistan two years ago, and that was really scary cause I did not want anything bad to happen to her, or anyone really.

Journal #26

A time when something did not turn out the way I thought it would was our vacation to Las Vegas when I was fourteen years old. My parents were planning on, and still are, retiring to Summerland, Nevada. Summerland is located fairly near Las Vegas, so we like to go there and check out the area. Plus, Las Vegas is awesome, and there is so much to do for everyone! Some other members of my family like my grandpa, aunt and uncle from Washington D.C., and my aunt and uncle and brand new baby from California also flew/drove to meet us there. It was a big old family reunion for a lot of us! Our plan for the week was to go see all the sights, and go shopping, and go out to eat, really just hang around our family. Our plans were changed when the weather changed. We went to Las Vegas in December, and there it is still fairly warm (jacket weather with long pants). It very very rarely rains, and even more rare than the rain was snow. Its probably only snowed in Las Vegas a few times ever! So about three days into our trip, we wake up and look out the window, and what do you know, there are snow flurries! This changed the next few days of our trip because a lot of people were freaked out about the snow/rain mix, slush. We could not do any of the outdoor activities any more because they were all closed! I was not able to go on the New York, New York roller coaster, or see the Treasure Island show that I really wanted to see. (We ended up going to that show when my family went back to Las Vegas in 2012, but were not able to see the show. But that's another story entirely!) This snow changed our trip, but we were still able to have a fun time with my entire family indoors!

Journal #25

Giving is a very important concept for everyone to learn especially around the holiday season. Most people only think of getting presents around Christmas or Hanukkah instead of the act of giving. The holidays are not just about getting presents, the act of giving is very important too.  When you know what someone wants, and you are able to purchase or make that item for them you feel really good. The look on their face when they open that present that they wanted is priceless. That feeling alone should make everyone want to give. But Giving is not just a concept to practice during the holidays, you should want to give year round. If you are walking past something and you think to yourself  "Wow, I bet (insert name of friend or family member here) would love to have this!" Do not just continue to walk by and pretend that you did not even see it, you should get it and surprise that person with it! They will really appreciate it. Giving does not entail just presents wither. You should want to help the needy, and less fortunate than you too. Going on a mission trip, helping a service organization, or just giving any extra money or items you have to charity are all prime examples of giving. When you give to someone who really needs it, you feel proud. You were able to give someone something that they could not have gotten themselves, but they really needed. Giving is also an important in school. Even just lending someone a pencil, or sharing a fry at lunch would be considered giving. Anything that makes someones day better or a little brighter is giving. I personally like to give as much as I can. I participate in several service organizations  and I love to get my friends and family presents around their birthdays and Christmas time. Giving is something important  that everyone should do all the time.