Response to the past two days

I see a great nation on her knees, fallen because she couldn’t see the many wounds that she has had for the last century. But she has many scars on her. These scars remind her of what she’s survived.

There’s the scar along her stomach from the civil war when she almost got split in half from people tearing her apart because of different beliefs.

She’s got stretch marks on her belly because of the influx of her children, all of whom are immigrants who had come from other countries or had ancestors that traveled many seas to be on these lands, whether or not her children like to think so.

There’s the scars on her back from when she turned her back from the first World War all because she didn’t want to be involved in the War across the seas, causing the War to come to her, bombing Pearl Harbor and destroying many families all at once.

She has sunken eyes when the nation fell into the Great Depression and many of her newborn children died before the age of 5 years, and very few of her adult children lived beyond the age of 60. She hardly ate and worked hard to provide for millions of people.

She’s got scars on her legs from the gruesome second World War in which she carried herself and many millions of people while she walked to become strong, and she fought for a better nation, for a better world.

She’s got scars from the cuts along her arms from the Cold War, ready to sacrifice herself to destroy another nation if they even so much as glanced at the Nuclear Missiles. She barely survived the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. But she did.

She’s been beaten, raped, and has rope burns along her neck because she fought for men’s and women’s equality regardless of race, ethnicity, income, gender, sexual orientation and civil rights, many of which still aren’t given across all of her states. She’s still trying though men push her around and tell her what’s right and what’s wrong. She know the truth to a great nation.

And on her heart, she’s got a healing wound where the recent injury would have surely killed her as it did for many Americans on the morning of September 11th, 2001. But she knew that if she didn’t stand up for herself now, many of her children wouldn’t know what it would be like to have a great nation after such a traumatic experience and the horrible fate that would lead her taking orders from the man in the office, going to wars, and finally killing Osama Bin Laden.

All of her scars reminds her of her past everyday. She has her children learn all of her history in history classrooms because she wants to inspire each and every single one of them that she does have many horrible memories that she wished she didn’t have but that she also has many great success throughout her entirety of existence.

Right at this moment, she is on her knees, trying to prepare for the many riots and the outbursts of anger, frustration, and hate. She’s crying uncontrollably because all she wants for her children is to truly understand all of the pain they are inflicting on her and on themselves, if this should continue, then we as her children, have lost sight of what we truly used to be and she will no longer be a great nation.

A wise man once wrote for a major movie script:

“Fear is the path to the Dark Side.

Fear leads to Anger,

Anger leads to Hate,

Hate leads to Suffering.”

And again:

“You will know (the good from the bad) when you are calm, at peace. Passive. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.”

Yes these quotes are from the movies Star Wars but that does not mean they should be ignored.

These are quotes that everyone should live by because they are truly meant for the Human beings we are. We have so much power in such a little body, but when we add our powers with many other people, we have the power to destroy and to create the loving and peaceful environment that this Great Nation needs.

Please, if not for the strangers around you, then for your family and friends. Find peace for the nation, find peace for your family, find peace in yourself. From there, we can find the path for the greater good of the nation.

Writing Essays for a College English Course

Writing Essays for a College English Course can seem especially scary if you have no idea where to even begin. There are many 'fool-proof' essay outlines that ensure that if you 'follow this outline, you can never go wrong'!

But sometimes, everything still goes wrong and if it makes you wonder "what happened?", you're in the right place.All throughout high school I was terrified when I had to write an essay. I was so terrified in fact that I never began the essay until usually an hour before class began.

For example, I was taking a fascinating course: AP (college credit course) United States History, in which we were supposed to have a year-long essay that would result with at least 7 pages of written essay and at most 15 pages.

The essay was broken down into four essay throughout the year, but because I had major anxiety just thinking about writing papers, I never did those essays. Within the very last week of the school year, we were to turn in the completed year-long essay.

I never started a word until the day that it had to be turned in. I skipped three of my high school classes that day, sitting in the auditorium with a laptop and wrote everything that came to my mind for the essay.

Hours went by and finally, the bell rang for my APUSH class to begin. I ran to the class, finished my last paragraph and printed the essay, which was exactly 7 pages long. I turned it in and I never thought that I would pass the class because of the idea that I was so very anxious and terrified to write the essay!

Whether it be anxiety, full-on fear, writer's block, or procrastination, I'm going to give you a list of ideas that may be able to help give you ideas on how I got over my problems.

1. Who, What, When, Where, How, & Why

This really helps just to write it down and fill in the blanks. When you thing of ideas that pop into your head, write those down too because you never know if you're going to need to refer back to that specific idea later on the writing road.

2. Write, Rewrite, Contemplate, Never Erase

A lot of the problem I had, dealt with the fact that I would start a paragraph, not like what I wrote, erase it and then not have anywhere to go. If you write a paragraph and you don't like the wording, structure, or even how you phrased one sentence, Never, NEVER, NEVER ERASE anything until you have written something to replace it or you are ready to turn in your draft. When you erase what you wrote, you erase the chance to remember the exact wording that you had written that paragraph.

If you keep what you don't like, you have the chance to contemplate and think "Why don't I like this paragraph, sentence, or phrasing?". Without knowing why you don't like something, you'll never realize how you want to write your essay.

3. Writer's Block, Research, Draw

If you are staring at a blank page and have no idea at all on what you want to write, how to begin writing, or if you just are drawing blanks, start with the basics of the essay:

Name

Class

Teacher's name

Date

Title:

Intro:

Thesis:

Body 1:

2 ideas

Body 2:

2 ideas

Body 3:

2 ideas

Conclusion

For every paper, I literally write this exact outline. Then I go through and add ideas:

Tyra

English Composition

John Doe

October 11, 2016

Title: Technology affecting today's society

Intro: Something about technology affecting today's society, maybe how millennials know not a day with out technology.

Thesis: Because technology has affected people all over the world, yadayadayada

Body 1: Technology brings people together

2 ideas/examples: Facebook, Instagram

Body 2: Technology denys people's ability to focus on surroundings

2 ideas/examples: PokemonGo, Snapchat

Body 3: But technology has a great understanding of who we are and who we want to be with

2 ideas/examples: Eharmony, other dating websites

Conclusion: technology affects society in both good and bad ways because of yadayadayada

As you can see, this is pretty much the exact thought process I go through. Once I realize all my options, then I can begin writing what I know and can draw out what I want the audience to know.

4. If all else fails, start a new page.

Sometimes we try everything and we still can't figure it out. So now we have two choices:

A) We walk away

B) We start anew

Either one is fine but if you're on a deadline, it'd be best to start over but don't delete the page you had. Just open a new tab or a new window. That way you can take the ideas that you like from your previous failure and use it to help you onto your journey with this new paper.

I hope you enjoyed my YAC! Thanks! Leave any ideas or comments on how you surpass the great white wall of nothing!

My fish died...Now What?

I love fish! I'm still pretty new to being a fish owner but I've had a ton of fish in the last year and a few months.

It all began with my first Betta fish. I had walked into Petco in my town and saw this beautiful baby girl who was just as interested in me as I was interested in her! She was smaller that my thumb nail and such a dorky fish!!

I brought her home and had a tiny bowl for her. She was set in the kitchen where she could also the Dogs' food bowl. I fed her about the time that the dogs ate and she learned how to eat like a dog. She would look at her food as if it were her prey and then pounce after it. Not ever really eating it but totally grabbing her food and swishing her body back and forth like a dog. She is such a cutie.

Since then, I've collected more souls. About a month after I got her, I saved Ghost Prince. He was a very expensive betta fish but he was dying at the store. I felt empathy toward the fish and he looked at me, as if begging me to let him free. So, I brought him home. I somehow found magic that healed him and he lived for almost a year after the store.

Other fish that I currently have are 5 Goldfish, 4 Betta fish (including my original cutie pie whose name is Gyspy Lovely), 1 Plecostomus, and I'm hoping to get a few more.

But recently, like 3 days ago recently, I acquired 6 fish that half of whom have passed away!! That's crazy!!!

Well, now what?
I've compiled a list for you on what to do after you find a dead fish.

Step 1: Remove fish immediately!

If a dead fish were to remain in the fish tank with a bunch of other fish, you can be guaranteed that 

A) that fish will stink up the place because of toxin build up

B) Hazard to you and your fish. 

Step 2: Set the fish aside, immediately treat your tank.

You never know how long the fish may have been dead or how long the toxins from his/her body have been releasing by the minute. Also, just set the dead guy aside because by the time you get to him, he'll still be dead.

Step 3: Determine the best way to dispose of the body.

I got into a book series and by the third book was inspired by their burial process. In the book, there is an alien species that when they die, their body is transformed into a tree. They enter their "Third Life" as a tree and can then provide their tribe with resources, wisdom, and comfort under their branches.

I LOVE this idea that there is a "Third Life" but for my babies that have left their body behind on earth, I figured this would be their "Second Life" and they would help the seeds grow by giving their bodies as nutrition for plants. So far, I have a Lemon plant and several flowers.

Of course, don't eat anything that you plant with these guys because I'm sure there are still toxins that aren't good that are within the food. But you never know!

There are many methods of disposing a fish's body but my favorite is definitely giving life to the once living.

Thank you!

The Young Adult's Club

How to find the perfect wedding dress on ANY budget!

A few months ago...

I found an amazing wedding dress, the perfect dress of my dreams!...for a few thousand dollars.

If you're pretty much like my fiancee and I, we're stingy with our money because we almost have none, then a dress that's a few thousand dollars is totally out of the question!! For us, a few grand can buy us a car, a half of a year full of groceries, or even pay off a part of our student loans! So, no... that beautiful dress that would look amazing on anyone is one that can not be bought.

Wedding dresses are crazy expensive and are only worn once!!! I'm not going to buy a car just to drive it once! That's ridiculous! So anyways, I put on my research thinking cap and went to work.

And FINALLY!!!!

I found the dress of my dreams for $200!!! That's amazing, right?! It's the exact look that I want and everything that I pictured! While I was working this evening, I thought "Surely there must be other Brides-to-be that are struggling to buy the dress of their dreams because of expenses!" Henceforth the title:

How to find the Perfect Wedding Dress on ANY budget!!

A) You NEED TO KNOW your budget!!

If you don't know your budget for your wedding, how are you supposed to know how much you can spend on everything? I'll do another post on my fiancee's and my budget but the gist is that our total max is $5,000. We have percentage'd out our attire to be $500 +/- some. 

That's to include my dress, his suit, 1/2 the bride's maid (I only have one female) and the guy's bow ties & suspenders. That's a lot for $500 but I'm super determined that we can make it work! Knowing that we only $500 to work with, that means my dress has got to be LESS THAN HALF!!!

Whew! That's all out now. Once you figure your budget, you'll know what to spend. Here's an awesome link to another blog that helps out with an inexpensive wedding and it totally worth the quick read: https://themttm.com/2015/08/11/our-low-budget-wedding/#like-32

B) Forget the budget & lookup dresses!

Now that you have how much you can spend on your dress, put that aside and take out a legal notepad (or whatever). You should probably make a list on MustHaves and NotHaves for your dress. I love the idea of a long, floorlength dress but despise the long train or any trains. Personal preference is what makes your dress a part of you and what can make the day special as your husband/wife-to-be (not wanting to offend any sexual orientation) looks down the aisle and sees you in all your beauty just for them.

If you're a brilliant artist, drawing out what you're looking for can definitely help you not forget or get lost in all the wonders and wows of looking at dresses and you can stay tied to what you think will make your dress you.

It's also good to go online and just type in wedding dresses. If you have no idea whatsoever on what you are looking for in a dress, do the research with your significant other so they can help you with types of dresses that they know would look great on you because they see you in a different light than you may see yourself.

Knowing the types of dresses you are looking for can give you a great start on what you are interested in and DON'T GET CAUGHT UP WITH PRICES YET!!! Right now, you're just looking for What It Is that you like and your style! (I dared to look at a $2000 dress! Oh. My. Stars!)

C) Find a good price range & don't EVER settle

If there's a dress that covers almost everything you like but you're still just not feeling it, then don't pressure yourself into buying that dress. 

UNLESS your significant other sees it and knows you'll look amazing in it! I almost left a store without buying a beautiful blue dress because I didn't like how it sat on my hips but my fiancee saw it and told me to buy it. He wouldn't let me leave the store until I bought the dress. I told him that if it sat in the closet, he would have to pay me back. But he was right, after giving the dress another try, a belt, and some accessories, OH MY GOODNESS!!! I loved this dress!!! Still do! It's great! 

Besides your SO telling you that you'll look amazing in this dress and you don't know it yet, then you need to trust your gut about what you like and don't like.

D) Go back to the Budget!

You will always be able to find the dress that you dream of, for a cheaper price. You'll just have to do the research and be patient! Always look in places you won't normally look too! It's totally fine to just browse. You don't have to commit yourself to any one brand or nonbrand, online store or walk-in store. Nothing is permanent so don't worry too much about it.

E) In the End everything will be just fine!!

Don't forget that the whole point of a marriage isn't the dress, the decor, the reception, or the music. It's actually about two people who have found one another in this vast universe and declare their love to all their families!

If you truly love your future spouse, what you wear doesn't matter. All they want and all you should want is to love them for the rest of your lives because this is your (your as in you two) life together!

I hope you enjoy this post and I'll be adding more posts soon!