Family Matters.

I think my house is one of the oldest homes where someone still lives in it. I am not talking about the 1800s homes, I love those, but I am talking about my house being from the 1980s. Nowadays, something is always going wrong. Everything either breaks at once or little by little and we never have the money to freaking fix it so we basically get the job done our self. Right now we have no water running because the water bill is spiking everything month because there is a leak. Tomorrow my dad will hopefully fix it and all will be ok again... until the next thing breaks.

With that said, I will now talk about what I kind of had planned to say. I am pretty sure my family is way closer than any other family. When my siblings and I were younger, everyone was always fighting. Since being in high school to now that everyone is older, my family never keeps anything a secret. We tell one another everything because we have all probably been through it or we are all adults so we can handle it. In a way we all act like siblings to each other, I think. We do not seem to care much about privacy, we leave the door open when we use the restroom. We do not care because there is no reason to be scared to pee in your own home haha. Our house has always been that way. We also have family night, pretty much every night and watch television together. All of us have a lot of things in-common, so we all like the same shows. Everyone is pretty knowledgeable in the news so we can chat about that for hours when it is storming. (My dad turns off the power and we all sit in the sun-room/living room, I never know what to call it). On that note, when I find a guy to marry, if I am not comfortable being open and being my self, I cannot marry him. We both have to be comfortable to be us or it will not work for me. I am not going to lock the bathroom door, turn on the sink and shower just to use the restroom, you know what I mean? I have been used to being open with my family since I was born. I would love that everyone had the experience I have with my family. We do not judge one another, none of us are perfect. My brother and sister are 22 and are of course free to drink in the house. My mom does not drink but does not mind that the rest of us do, not me of course, I am not old enough. I am a good person, I know better. I do not know where I am going with this anymore, but I love my family more than the world because of how I was raised. I think I turned out to be a great 'lady' ha, although I have anger problems like my dad but that is no big deal.

-SourBurglar

Bullying

       He's the lonely kid walking down the hall or the boy with the black eye. She's the girl with the thick black makeup or the one you never see eating. They're the ones with scars and unspoken words that they bottle up and hold in. They are the "freaks"and the "outcasts" of the school no one talks too. They are the ones victim to bullying of any sort. Three of the biggest causes of death: verbal abuse, physical bullying, and cyber-bullying.

       Verbal abuse is common because it's the easiest and most effortless to do. The saying "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" was meant to encourage people to not let something someone says affect them. Calling someone names is one thing, but that's dying down. More common these days is gossip; talking about someone behind their back, or starting rumors. Talking about someone usually includes, "Oh she's a freak," "I hate her but she doesn't know," "She's so annoying, i wish she would die," these can really hurt people, especially the last one. People will take these seriously, sometimes a little too seriously. Starting a rumor about someone will get serious very fast. I've heard stuff from, "She steals money," to, "She's pregnant. Such a slut, throwing herself around like that." Eventually these will spread and push them over the edge.

        Physical bullying is bad as well. Mostly, its common with guys. The strong football player vs. the wimpy nerd (totally stereotypical, but seriously, it can happen to anyone). This is usually where people get depressed and seclude themselves from everybody. They get made fun of because they are weak and can't defend themselves. Constantly getting bullied, these people feel worthless and most likely, will end their life.

       Now, our newest fascination is the internet. Worldwide search engines, social networking sites, entertainment sites, everything. It also happens to be a new form of bullying too. People hack a social networking profile (everyone has one, it's easy to pick a victim), they post embarrassing things, often sexual or offensive things that people look down upon. Now, it's an open target. Whatever is posted is always there. Soon, the torture and embarrassment is transferred into school (bringing in our little friend verbal abuse). In some unfortunate cases, physical bullying is brought into it. The world is a hazardous place for us high school kids now-a-days, but there's nothing we can do about that. The only thing we can do is change people (yeah, right). Bullying is a serious topic and it's growing. There is no way we can stop it. If you or someone is getting bullied, get help. a teacher, a counselor, a parent, anyone, before it's too late. 

                      Two movies related to this topic are Bang, Bang, You're Dead (a high school boy is bullied and shunned when he makes a bomb threat. Later, he gets the lead in a school play about a high school shooting from a student who was bullied. It's a beautiful story that demonstrates the dangers of bullying) and Cyberbully (self explanatory) 

                                <3 illya     

Young Adult.

On Monday, before my first class, I began thinking about the next 10 years. If everything goes as planned, Ishould be done with college, have a career, live in my own dwelling and possibly be married and have a child or be thinking about have a child with my husband. Pretty scary to even think about. I wanted to grow up and now that I have, I want to go back. Neverland here I come (: My dad always jokes about how he left his house at 18, "When are you leaving?" I am not ready yet. I love spending my afternoons and weekends with my family. It is normal, I mean I have been doing this for 18 years now, going on 19 in December. In my heart, I still feel like a kid in high school, who does not need to worry yet about moving out. But it does not last long because I keep remembering it is time to move on to my next adventure, young-adulthood.

-SourBurglar

Bad Relationships

       High School. The best years of your life. Friday night football games, parties, and relationships. Some of us get lucky and find that special someone who respects us and loves us for more than our looks. Others get a short term relationship, still good and ideal for our age. But there are some unlucky ones. You know what I mean. It's nothing to be ashamed of, anyone can get hurt in a bad relationship. 

       We get used. Either they just like you for your body, or they use you to make someone else jealous. Usually, girls use guys to make someone jealous. They think cute guy in their class or their horrible ex will be jealous and want to go out with them. They play along and say they like you and say they care, but they don't. As soon as the other person likes them and wants them, they ditch you and never talk to you again. Guys use girls because they think you'll be easy to pressure into sex. Now, I can speak for the girls because in one of them. These guys are dangerous. They make you life them and think they care for you, then pressure you into sex. If you say no, then the say, "it's fine, don't worry", but as soon as they start to slip away, you want them back, so you agree to do the deed which is EXACTLY what they want. Luckily i got out of my "relationship" before that happened, but things would have gotten very bad if I didn't. The sooner you end it, the better you'll feel. 

       In more serious cases, there is abuse. Most cases, girls are abused but stay with them. Why? Because they are convinced that the guys love them, which could be true, but the violent nature is dangerous. If they have anger management issues, tell someone! Dont just sit back and take it!

       If you are in a bad relationship, be it used for sex or jealousy, or abuse, END IT!!! None of these relationships will end well. Get help before it's too late...please.

                               My inspiration for this piece was a movie I watched a while ago. It is about a girl who is abused by her boyfriend. I suggest you watch it if you can. It is a Lifetime Movie called No One Would Tell.   


                                                                                 <3 illya