Meaning

I didn't really have a big inspirational speech this week, so I've decided to copy down 3 of my favorite quotes and explain how I interpret them.

"Sometimes, you have to go with the crowd to go against it." 

        I see this more as a 'deceive people' comment. What I take from this is that if you try to go against a group out of no where, they will generally put they're guard up and oppose you. But, if you go with them, you can slowly interject your ideas and open them up to your point of view.

"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."

         I hate it when people don't stand up for themselves and they let people push them around. This quote tells me that if I stand for something and i believe in myself, then people can't tell me what to do because I'm standing up for my cause. If I don't, then I can't stand up for myself and people will push me around because I don't believe in what I believe.

"You can't change the law without first changing human nature."

"You can't change human nature without first changing the law."

         Probably one of my favorite controversies! We have witnessed people refusing to change in the past. One side says that if we change the law, people will change to follow the law. On the other hand, we have someone that says we have to change the way people are first because they won't change the way they are for the law. It's a debatable topic, either side can bring strong arguments for a side, but it makes you think about peoples morals nowadays.

                                                                 <3 illya

Everyday I'm Shufflin'.

I need to step up on my posting. I am doing to great in college, all A's in my two classes haha. I have never been diagnosed by a doctor but since I basically started high school, I have began pulling out my eyelashes. Very weird, trust me I know. Having an obsession with hair pulling of any kind is an OCD disorder called Trichotillomania. Try saying that three times fast. No one ever notices my eyelashes unless I bring it up, but this past summer, I started pulling out my eyebrows and now it is very noticable. It has become embarrassing for me when people bring it up because I do not realize anyone notices. Of course if you know me and haven't seen me in a while, I suppose you would notice. I try to stop and then problem surfaces again. It is like biting your nails I guess. I do not have that problem, thank goodness ha. I really do want to stop but it is just not that simple.

-SourBurglar

Responsibility and Commitment

       I am a very determined person. When I put my mind to something, I carry it out to the best of my ability. Especially if I care about it. That being said, I am in marching band. Last year, out show "Cleopatra" brought us to 8th place in Kettering, Ohio BOA Regional Finals (amazing score for those of you who are wondering). No, we did not place first, but we became one of the only 12 high school marching bands in Georgia EVER to make it into finals. We then won overall grand champions when we competed at Fannin County High School. In Atlanta BOA, we didn't make finals, but we moved up many places from the previous year. A great season, very accomplished we felt. 

       This year, we have an amazing show. However, we don't have the commitment and responsibility from the members that we should. I, along with about 30 others, really care about marching band and give our all. It angers us when people don't try. For the first half of our season, we never had a good performance at football games. The week of our first performance, we had a terrible Tuesday practice. We got very little accomplished and our director stopped practice several times to yell at us. I left practice crying thinking, "This is it. We have no hope in making finals this year. It's done."

       That Thursday (our last practice before our competition), the realization finally set in. The fact that we were competing to keep our ranks and to be the best finally hit people. We had a wonderful practice, yet it seemed that it was still too late and we wouldn't do well on Saturday. Come the competition, people tried their best, and we had an amazing run. Sitting in the stands waiting to hear whether or not we made finals was agonizing. Sure enough, we made it. People jumped up and screamed, I even cried out of happiness. 

       After out finals performance, we waited to hear our placement. We stood there as they called out 10th place, then 9th, then 8th, and so on. When they were done, we jumped with joy (not literally). We had placed 7th place and 1st in our division class 4A. Looking at our scores, we moved up one place from last year, but we increased our score by 4 points (a HUGE jump in the band world).  As of October 8, 2011 we are 2 time grand national finalists and class 4A champions.

       My point is, when you sign up for something, please give it your all. Even if you don't like it, try. You don't have to like it, but do it because there ARE people who care. It seemed like no one cared, and some didn't, and they brought the band down. But when those people pulled together and tried for the sake of everyone else, we accomplished a lot. Everyone left that competition feeling amazing. It lit a fire under their butts and now they are more determined than ever. Take up your responsibility as a member of a group and give it your all.   

                                                  <3 illya

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