The Tiger in the Well

Today's quotes come from the novel The Tiger in the Well. I don't remember who wrote it and am too lazy to look it up...

"as if this were a sensational novel to amuse idle women." I enjoyed this quote because it came from a novel written to amuse idle women :)

"That sort of talk is poison... That sort of man is poison. They're hangers-on, parasites, tapeworms. They've nothing to do with us, nothing to do with progress, nothing to do with socialism. You know what bombs do? You seen a bomb go off? You seen innocent children torn apart? I have. Fight? Of course we fight if we have to. But we fight evil, not innocence. And we can tell the difference. All they want to do is kill, kill anyone, kill for the sake of killing, spread panic, spill blood, destroy. How the h***'s that going to make things better in the world? Use your voice. Use your mind. Use words. Tell people. Argue. Organize. That's what works. That's what progress means. That's where sense and courage and decency lie... Use your wits. Use your eyes. Compare. Listen. Think. Who are the good people? Who are the bad? Use your mind." Discussing terrorism and terrorists and the difference between the we and the terrorists. I don't really remember what the book was about, but I really like this quote. It is well written and just a good argument for appropriate protest.

My New Thing

Hello!

I haven't posted anything in awhile and I think I've figured out why. I need a thing, a thread that connects my entries, some constant connection between posts so that it is easier for me to come up with ideas for posts and update more often. I have lately been reading the blog Cake Wrecks (http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/) which you should definitely check out because it is amazing :) at least I think it is... But it has a "thing," messed up cakes and everyday she posts pictures of crazy weird cakes and it works. So I have come up with my thing- quotes. (If you're reading this on facebook, you can find my blog here: http://justafewthoughts-tigersgirlgv.blogspot.com/)

I have a little notebook that I use to keep track of quotes that I come across- in movies, on TV, in books, that I hear, or that I otherwise stumble upon. So I decided to do a quotes blog. Every time I post, hopefully almost every day, I will post a quote from my notbook, quote I found somewhere that I find fun, funny, sentimental, or wise. I will provide you with the context, why I like it, etc. I started the notebook in tenth grade, but didn't write it in it regularly until last year. I will sort of be going in order of how the quotes were recorded, but might jump around a little (for instance baseball related quotes if the Tigers make the playoffs...) I hope you enjoy hearing some of my favorite quotes.

Day 1: "Neither the front nor the back entrance of the Custom House opens on the road to paradise." The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, which I read for Honors American Literature in 10th grade. I'm not really sure why this became the first quote I kept track of. I just thought it sounded cool, and sad that neither way you went lead to paradise. Anyway, a kind of weird quote to start with, but here it is.

Greatest of All Time?

Sunday was the men's final of Wimbledon. Federer (who I loathe) was playing Andy Roddick (who I love). Federer was playing to win his 15th Grand Slam title, which would be the record for the most ever. It was a great match. They each won two of the first four sets and played to 16-14, which is crazy! It was the most games ever played in a Grand Slam final. Even though my family was so sad that Andy had lost (but glad he had put up a valiant effort) we decided to keep watching to see the tropy presentations.

It was so sad when they gave Andy his trophy. His lips were quivering and you could tell he was trying so hard not to cry. He has never won Wimbledon and this was Federer's sixth win. Plus he had played so hard and was sooooo close to winning. I felt to bad for him, he played an awesome tournament. When they interviewed him he was very gracious and congratulated Federer on winning the 15th Grand Slam, though he joked with Pete Sampras (the former record holder) that he tried to help him keep his title.

Then the interviewed Federer, who I have always found to be an arrogant jerk. He tried to tell Andy that he knows how it feels to lose a match like that because he lost an epic match to Nadal last year in the finals. Andy said, "but you'd already won five" because when Federer lost last year he had already won the tournament five times, while Andy has never won it. Federer said that it still hurt! Losing when you have already had such amazing success is not the same thing as losing when you have never won before!!! Anyway just one example of how Federer is pompous.

Now the debate begins about whether Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time. I will begrudgingly admit that he is probably the most talented tennis player of all time, he has won the most Grand Slams of all time so it is hard to argue that there has been anyone who has played better tennis.

However, I don't believe that greatness is simply defined as being the best. I wandered over to dictionary.com and looked at some of their definitions of great. Some included ways Federer could be described as great: very good, first-rate. But others don't seem to fit: of noble or lofty character, very admirable. While Federer may be an excellent tennis player I don't think he fits those qualities of greatness. A truly great tennis champion should also be humble, gracious, and admirable, which I don't find Federer to be. When I think of great tennis champions I think of Andre Agassi or Pete Sampras (who flew to London to see Federer beat his record and had only kind things to say about him). I can't really picture Federer flying thousands of miles to see his record beaten. I'm not arguing that Federer isn't the most talented, most decorated tennis player of all time, I'm just not sure that "greatest" is a title he should be given.

Weeping May Remain...

I'm back! I had an amazing time (see my travel journal or ask me for all the details!), but I am glad to be home with my familiy, friends and my own shower :)

The night before I left for the Netherlands I was starting to freak out. I had never been away from my family and friends for so long and I knew I would miss them. I was starting to cry. I picked up my Bible to do my nightly reading. I am currently going through Psalms and this was the next Psalm I came to, "Weeping may remain for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." (Psalm 30:5). God is so amazing! That was just the verse I needed.

Repeating it to myself helped me calm down and quieted my tears. I knew that though I was nervous and anxious and upset that night, the next day and all of the days I was in Europe I would be happy and rejoicing in the wondrous oppportunity I had been given! With this in mind I slept peacefully that night. I wrote the verse on an index card to take with me in case I needed it. And boy did I!

Our first day in Maastricht was a challenge. We had been traveling for hours and got to our hostel and were in a very bad mood. The towels were too small, the showers turned off ever 45 seconds, the rooms were small, we had no drawers to keep our clothes in... We were crabby to say the least.

I pulled out my index card and read the verse aloud to my fabulous roommates (love you guys!!!) We all needed a reminder that things were looking bad that night, but in the morning after a good night's sleep everything would look different. And of course they were. The next morning things didn't look so bad :)

God is so amazing. He knew I needed that verse and made sure I read to that verse at just the right moment.

xoxo

What I Make

I stole this from a friend...

What do teachers make?

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." (aside: hate this expression...)

To emphasize his point he said to another guest, "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make?"(She paused for a second, then began...)

"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.

You want to know what I make?" (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

"I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn't everything.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math. They use their God-given brain, not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, because we live in the United States of America.

I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life."

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued...)

"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant... You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr.. CEO?"

His jaw dropped, he went silent.

Amen!

Wisdom from Michael Scott

Hi all!

I'm back with some words of wisdom from an unlikely source, Michael Scott, The Office's bumbling boss (currently President of The Michael Scott Paper Company, formerly of Dunder-Mifflin Scranton).

"Sometimes it's not about whether Cinderella gets her slipper back but it's about the fact that the prince even picked up the slipper at all." Michael Scott, The Office

Michael (Steve Carrell) said this a while back and I always meant to write about it, but never found the time. I think it is a pretty sweet quote. So often we concentrate on the final product, the long-term results of our actions, but sometimes it is just about taking that first step. Being willing to put yourself out there, take a chace, take a risk and not worry about what may come. I know this has been pertinent in my life a lot lately, being worried about the outcome before I even start. I need to be more willing to just start, to try and see what happens and be proud of myself for taking that step, not worrying about how it ended.

I challenge you to do the same. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there, take a chance and remember that sometimes picking up the shoe is the most important thing! :)

Good Luck on finals!!!

P.S. When I went to copy this quote from my favorite quotes on Facebook, I was totally embarrassed to see that there were two typos in it :( The English major is shamed, but now they are fixed :)

Fairness

In my Educational Psychology class today we watched a very interesting video on Learning Disabilities. A group of teachers, parents, administrators, psychologists, etc were put through a simulation of what it would be like to be a student with a learning disability. As a future teacher it gave me a lot to think about in terms of how we think of and treat learning disabled students and all of our students in general.

At the end of the video the person who conducted the simulation (sorry can't remember his name, it might have been Lavoie??) was talking about fairness. He said that if we treat our students with learning disabilities differently than "regular" students parents will surely say it isn't fair. It isn't fair that they are given extra time or extra help or different resources. His rebuttal went after our definition of fairness.

We always think about fairness, he argued, as everyone should get exactly the same thing. We should teach all students in exactly the same way and provide them with exactly the same opportunities. We apply this elsewhere in the real world as well. When things are distributed unevenly, it isn't fair. He proposed that that is not the real definition of fairness. He said that if you look fairness up in a dictionary it will say that everyone gets exactly what he or she needs, not that everyone gets exactly the same thing.

I thought this was very profound. If we accept this definition of fairness our view of the world changes. We must give our learning disabled students the resources and exercises they need to succeed in the classroom. We are not being unfair by not providing those resources to all of our students as long as those students' needs are being met. My professor challenged us that if we adopt this view of fairness it should also be extended outside the classroom, influencing our view of social and political issues. With this view how can we argue that welfare, healthcare for all, student financial aid or food stamps are unfair to the taxpayers who fund them? The people receiving these services are simply and fairly being given what they need. Those that can are not in need of these resources and are blessed to be able to provide for themselves do not need to receive them. That seems fair to me.

You Have Him

I was watching Lost reruns online the other day and found a fabulous quote in the season two finale. Desmond is hanging out in the hatch on the island before the plane crashes and he is about to kill himself. Then a letter from his girlfriend Penny falls out of one of his books. Part of her letter says, "Please don't give up, Des. Because all we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us. And you have her." Which is very sweet and makes Penny and Desmond fans (like me) very happy and smiley.

But I love the meaning behind it. That all we really need is one person who loves us. One person who will be there to support us and be there for us when we need someone. Someone to listen when we need to vent, to dry our tears, to make us laugh, to celebrate our victories. I am lucky enough to have many of these people in my life.

As I was ruminating on this quote I thought of another profound implication. Change the "You have her," to "You have Him" and the meaning becomes quite different. The Him being God. I began to like the quote even more. All we really need to survive is the love of God. With him we can do anything, be anything. His love and sacrifice for us allows us to survive eternally with him in Heaven. So if you are ever feeling depressed or unloved remember the wisdom of Penelope Widmore and don't give up. All you really need to survive is one person who truly loves you and you have him, God.

Knoxville :)

Hi everyone!

I just got back from spending an amazing week in Knoxville for Spring Break. I went on a trip through Campus Ministries. A group of fourteen beautiful women went to Knoxville and served at the Florence Crittenton Agency there. The Center houses 28 teenage girls who have been in some sort of trouble with the law. It was a fabulous experience for me. I formed connections with 13 other wonderful women of God and they made the trip a blast!!! Working with the girls who live at Crittenton was a really special experience and I hope that our being there left an impact on them and that God was able to work through us.

It was fantastic to see what the girls who lived there taught us. I was having a conversation with a girl I met there, who I ate pretty much every meal with, and she said, "We're not bad people." Of course I immediately said that we knew that and didn't think that they were. And it was true. Meeting these girls and getting to know them and form connections really helped me to see that. Not that I went there thinking that everyone who breaks the law or does drugs or drinks alcohol is a bad person, but I certainly had stereotypes going into the trip. But meeting these girls, I saw that these were great girls who came from tough, often broken, families, who had made some bad choices, but who, for the most part, wanted to change their lives. We Michiganders talked about this one night and how we judge people so quickly based on what we've heard about them or how they look or act on first glance. But I think that this trip helped open our eyes and helped us to see that we need to hold off on judging people and get to know them. It helped us to see that we are not that different from the girls at FCA and that with a couple of different choices in our lives we could have been in their shoes.

Another really wonderful thing this trip made us all think about was how lucky we are to have the childhoods and the families that we do. I am so thankful to my amazingly supportive and loving family who has always been their for me. And my fantastic friends as well. A lot of the girls we were working with didn't grow up in those types of environments and don't have that kind of support. Those of us that do should thank God every day for the blessings he has given us of family and friends.

It was awesome to see God working while on this trip. He brought 14 fabulous women on the trip and helped us to bond and share to together and laugh and laugh and laugh :) He also worked through us to help the girls at FCA. All week I was eating with on particular girl. We always had conversation and were laughing and getting along, but I am shy and I was worried that I wasn't doing enough to, I guess, help her, make a difference, be a good role model. I'm not really sure was I was expecting, but whatever it was I didn't think it was happening. I kept thinking if I had been less shy that I would have made a deeper connection with her and had more of an impact on her. Well, God must have known I was feeling that way because the last night we were there, we had a movie night with the girls. We gave them all a bag of candy and a card, in which we had written a note. While we were watching the movie, the girl I had been eating with tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a note she had written to me. It said thank you for coming and helping out. It said she wished that the week had lasted longer and wished us a safe trip home. It wasn't long or overly profound, but it showed me that I had an some sort of impact on her. Hopefully I planted a seed in her and God will continue to work to grow that seed and help her turn her life around. Thank you to all who were praying for us while we were there! Now it is back to real life and school and I am already missing my fellow Knoxies, but we had a fantastic trip!!

That's it for now I guess. If you want to hear more about the trip, I would love to tell you, so give me a call!!

Age as an excuse

Something I've been seeing a lot lately has really started to bug me. People (mostly famous people) using their young age as an excuse for the illegal things they have done. First, Michael Phelps, now A-Rod. Both have been caught using illegal drugs. When Michael Phelps apologized he mentions that he is 23 years old and acting youthful. During A-rod's press conference he many times referenced being young and ignorant. Both offered up their age as an excuse for their wrongdoing. As if being young somehow means it's ok for you to break the law.

Now I'm not saying that I think they are bad people or should be thrown in jail, but I am very tired of people excusing or explaining their bad behavior because they are young. There are millions of teenagers and twentysomethings out there that know it is illegal to do drugs and don't. There are many major league baseball players who were young, but didn't take steroids. Why can't you just say you were stupid and ignorant and leave it at that? Which is true, they were stupid and ignorant. But why bring your age into it?

We all make mistakes, but take full responsibility for your actions. I see blaming it on your age as not taking full responsibility for what you have done. "Yes, I did it, but only because I was young." That isn't an excuse or a reason.

Ok, that rant is over... :) I do respect A-rod for admitting what he did and stating that he would like to take part in anti-steroid advertising, but I still think the guy is a scumbag :)

p.s. personally I think that they should put lovely asterisks next to all of A-roids records and stats and if he passes the homerun record it should be met with nothing but boos!!!!

more poems :)

Hi!

I was watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition. It was incredibly sad. This family's house burned down. Then they were at this lake and the dad was carrying the little girl on his shoulders. The dad started drowning and the 18-year old brother swam out to try and save them. The pushed the little girl to shore, but the dad and brother drowned. There were two other brothers and another sister at home. It was horribly sad and the little girl thought it was her fault, that her legs were too tight around her dad's neck and that was why he drowned. I was bawling my eyes out the whole time. So, inspired to write by my creative writing class I wrote this poem:

Baby girl,
Do not shed those tears,
Do not carry that burden.

You sat upon my shoulders,
laughing and splashing in the cool water.
I loved having you so close to me.

Then my foot slipped and couldn’t find ground,
my face plunged underwater and
my only thoughts were of you.
I couldn’t let you be sucked under with me.
I struggled against the suffocating water
that invaded my lungs
making me cough and choke.
I tried to keep you above the water,
keeping you out of this watery coffin.

I felt the hands of an angel
take hold of your shoulders
and then I couldn’t feel your skin on mine.
I knew that you had been taken care of.
I didn’t need to worry about you anymore.
My strength was waning as the angel reached for me.
Grabbed my shoulders, pulling,
but it was useless, my lungs were full and heavy.
Air would do me no good anymore.
I stopped struggling and after a few long moments
so did the angel.

But my snowflake,
my precious precious snowflake,
it was not your fault,
you are not to blame,
your legs did not hug too tight.
I know you are sad,
but please darling daughter,
do not feel guilty.

I want to see your glowing smile,
hear your playful laughter
as I watch over you from Heaven.

Creative Writing

Hi,

It's been awhile...not even sure if anyone even reads this, but I'll keep posting. I am taking a creative writing class this semester and really loving it. I find myself inspired to write often! I am going to post some of the stuff I think is good here, just because it feels like I should do something with it besides save it to my computer :)

This is a poem we had to write with repeating lines:

Worth It

You are worth it,
when your hair is a mess
and you’re wearing sweats.

You are worth it,
when your Prince hasn’t come
and you aren’t sure he will.

You are worth it,
when he breaks your heart
and makes you cry.

You are worth it,
when your friends abandon you
and you feel alone.

You are worth it,
when your parents yell
and tell you about the divorce.

You are worth it,
when they say you can’t
and you believe them.

You are worth it,
when you feel you can’t go on
and you want to give up.

You are worth it,
when you make a mistake
and your world falls apart.

You are worth it,
when you can’t take it anymore
and you want it all to end.

You are worth it,
Jesus died on the cross
and he did it for you.


(I'm working on another one that is due Wednesday that was inspired by our very own Holly Mae Plewa....)

Gymnastics :)

Hi!

Today was my last gymnastics class of the semester :( I am really going to miss it. I had a great time in the class, cheering on my friends and laughing with them when one of us did something silly. I also met all kinds of people I never would have met outside of class.

It was also a really worthwhile experience. Going into the class my only gymnatics experience was in elementary school gym. At first it was a little intimidating because some of the people in my class had been real gymnasts and knew what they were doing. But as the semester went along, I made friends and none of us really knew what we were doing and we just had a good time.

I also learned to do so many cool skills I never thought I would be able to do. I rolled over the bar and round-offs off of the beam and backhand springs over these rolly mats. It was really satisfying to take on these challenges and think "I'll never be able to do that" and then prove myself wrong. I learned that I can do a lot of things if I put my mind to it. I mean I've always been able to work hard at school type stuff, but this was something totally new to me and it felt really good that I was able to improve a lot over the course of the semester.

A lot of the credit goes to my fabulous professor Marene Van Farowe. She is wonderful. She knows how to push us out of our comfort zones, but still not push us past our limits. She never made us do things if we really felt uncomfortable, but was always there to help if we wanted to try. She was also great at telling when someone needed positive feedback. I was not that confident at first and she was always giving me compliments, slowly building up my confidence. By the end of the semester I was ready for anything :)

Today was our Olympics and it was so much fun! Bragging a little bit, my routine went really well and the judges gave me all golds :) I'm going to miss my friends, the fun and hanging out on the balance beam!

boys vs. girls

This may be a long rant...just warning you.

In my Child Development class today we were talking about gender differences. A lot of the things we talked about made sense, but there is one area, which my prof mentioned briefly, which always makes me angry. The way we still have "boy toys" and "girl toys," and other things that are gender defined. I realize that no matter what we do, these types of gender disticntions are still going to exist, but the way we deal with them still bothers me.

What bothers me most is that generally it has become acceptable for girls to take part in "boy" activities and play with "boy toys" but the reverse is not true. Little girls can, luckily, play Little League, soccer and basketball. It is perfectly acceptable in our society for girls to wear boy colors and play with boy toys (I got tired of the quotation marks). Giving girls toy trains or cars or trucks for her birthday is no big deal. We have little to no problem allowing our daughters to do boy things or girl things.

However, we don't allow our boys these same options. For the most part little boys are not encouraged to take ballet. Boys wearing pink are almost unheard of. Giving a boy a doll to play with is highly rare. I know the father of two young kids, a boy and a girl, who cringes when anyone mentions buying his son a doll for his birthday, yet he has no qualms when his daughter is given Matchbox cars or building blocks. Why the hypocrisy?

This does not stop when children grow up. We generally tend to find it acceptable for adolescent girls to be tomboys, but sissy is a definite putdown for an adolescent male. Female professional athletes are praised (as they should be) but male ballet dancers or ice skaters are mocked or assumed to be gay. We expect our female politicians to embody male characteristics of strength, unemotionality and toughness. Yet we find emotional, sensitive male politicians to be soft and undesirable.

What really bothers me is that I feel that this signals a deeper problem. We continue to value the charcteristics we denote as male and put down those associated with females. I feel that these seemingly innocent facade is hiding the belief that it is OK for our females to act male, because male is the "favorable" position and their charcteristics are "better." Since women are "below" men it is all right for them to "raise" themselves to the higher position of men. However for a male to act "female" is unfavorable because the male is already in the higher position and should not lower himself to the level of the female.

While we have certainly come leaps and bounds by allowing females to choose traditionally male or female activities, we still have a ways to come to allow our males the same choices. Is anyone still reading? Sorry to go on and on and this is probably very rambly, but something just need to be said :) (P.S. I also wrote a reaction paper about this in my Diversity in Education class, which may be one reason I had so much to say :)

Crazy Day!!!!!

Who knew I would have a rant so soon???

Today was just supposed to be a nice, lazy Monday. I was taking my children's book to Office Max to get it laminated and bound, no big deal...

When I got there, the girl told me that it would be about 25 minutes, so I just hung around the store. She came up to me when it was done and wondered whether I had wanted my book bound on the top or the side. She bound it on the top!!! What kind of book is bound on the top??? Especially since then the backs of the pages were upside down when you flipped it open!!!! And if she wasn't sure, why didn't she ask?

Anyway she said she could fix it with minimal damage, but it would take awhile. So I headed to the mall, a showing of Twilight was starting in ten minutes, so I decided, what the heck? and went to see Twilight. When I got out (feeling very warm and fuzzy inside), I had a voicemail from the girl at OM saying she wasn't sure about the order of my pages and could i call back and make sure she had them in the right order. Sure. So I called back and was on hold for like five minutes. Finally someone told me the person working in that department was busy and they would call me back in a few minutes.

So I headed to Payless since I had to buy some new shoes anyway. While I was there, someone from OM called me back, but not the original girl, she was on lunch break. And this girl knew nothing about my problems and told me I had to come in so they could figure it all out. So I bought two pairs of shoes (when I had only come in for one) because at that point I was very angry and the shoes cheered me up a bit. Not only was the whole thing making me crazy, but it had taken me out of my post-Twilight happy mood.

When I got back to OM, the original girl was there and all of the pages were in order!!!!! Seriously! anyway she quickly bound it and said she wouldn't charge me for the binding. Of course I wasn't going to pay for it, you messed it up!! Plus she gave me 15% off because I said I was a teacher.... Thanks to my Children's Lit. prof for telling us to say that and see if we'd get a discount. But overall it was very annoying!!!!! Now I am finally eating lunch and going to watch old episodes of Grey's Anatomy with Denny to make me feel better :)

Welcome!

Hi all!

I don't know how frequently I'll post here or if anyone will read it, but we'll see how it goes... :)

Twilight!!!! (Don't worry no spoilers for those of you who haven't read it :)

I was super excited for the movie and was not disappointed. All the actors were fabulous! It was sweet and funny and romantic and definitely worth the money! I am sure I will be seeing it multiple additional times!

The books are even more fabulous, if you haven't read them you definitely should. I was definitely reluctant to read them at first, it took about four years of Jessie telling me I would love them.... and she was right! I wish I had listened to her then :)

I guess that is all for now.