A little late-night revelation

I'm up super late tonight because I'm a lector at mass tomorrow morning, and I just now remembered to go over my reading. I know I said I'd post about a great new movie today, but I wanted to share this with you instead (and now you'll just have to keep checking back! Is the suspense killing you?):

1 Peter 1:3-9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hopethrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,kept in heaven for youwho by the power of God are safeguarded through faith,to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.In this you rejoice, although now for a little whileyou may have to suffer through various trials,so that the genuineness of your faith,more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire,may prove to be for praise, glory, and honorat the revelation of Jesus Christ.Although you have not seen him you love him;even though you do not see him now yet believe in him,you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

This. Is some beautiful writing. Did it make your heart burn within you? If it didn't then I suggest you read it again, more slowly. This is how I know that Jesus must have been the most wonderful person ever. He was the Word made flesh. There are so many parts of the Word that are absolutely beautiful, like this one. There are passages that explain emotions that I can never put into words. There are also parts of it that are really intimidating, and mysterious. Since all of these adjectives (beautiful, loquacious, intimidating, mysterious) can be applied to the Word, then they can also be applied to the Word made flesh. Jesus. So He must have been beautiful, loquacious, intimidating, and mysterious. He must have made peoples' hearts burn within them. I just love being a Lector. It forces me to look deeply into scripture. I think I've discovered a new hobby. How great would it be to feel my heart burn every morning? Pretty great. Any ideas as to where to start? Leave me a comment!! Whats your favorite chapter or verse?

Much love, everyone!! It's Devine Mercy Sunday! Pope John Paul II is being beatified today!! Party on!!

Keep it real,
Emily

Movie Review: Prom

Prom wasn't that bad! It was totally predictable, but really? What do you expect from a Disney movie? I was a little worried at the beginning, because I thought I was going to have to sit and watch a girl get played the entire time (Don't you hate it when that happens? When the audience knows something, but the character is totally oblivious? That frustrates me so much), but she catches on pretty quick, and she's not all dramatic about it, and she dosen't throw herself a little pity party, she just picks herself up by her bootstraps and carries on. I really liked that. The movie was basically about accepting who you are and rocking it. I'd give this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars (because, lets face it, Disney movies almost never have good actors). I hope you guys go see it and let me know what you think!

Check back tomorrow to learn about a spectacular movie that hits the theaters next weekend!

That's a sorry excuse you have there, ma'am

A couple months ago, my friend Henry*, went through a really tough break up. He had been dating a girl named Diane* for a few weeks, and even though they weren’t together for that long, he took it hard. A couple weeks after the split, he was giving me a ride home, and I don’t know how, but the conversation turned to Diane and what a terrible person she was. I’ve noticed that, a lot of the time, when guys are about to actually share how they feel about something, they start it off by trying to be as macho as possible, so I just looked out the window and waited for him to say what he actually wanted to say. When he did, I about fainted. He was talking about a flower (for goodness sakes! A flower of all things!) that he had pinned to the visor in his car. It was the boutonniere from the last school dance that he went to with Diane. He couldn’t bring himself to part with a couple of wilted, ugly old plants wrapped in some nasty old ribbon. I told him “Henry, you do realize that that” pointing to the flower “is a boutonniere, don’t you? It’s not a person. It’s not your dog. It’s a thing, and you don’t need it. You’re not going to get back together with Diane right?” He agreed, but left it there. “Throw it out the window. Do it. Do it do it do it. Don’t treat things like people.”

I don’t know about you girls, but I’ve got a purple shoe box hidden away filled with a bunch of stuff I don’t need. Letters, CDs, a SWEET book that I made for him to take to college with him... And I know that some of you might have a similar box of stuff. Maybe it’s not from an old boyfriend. Maybe it’s stuff that reminds you of something you miss, like an old school or house or something. When I go through my box of stuff, I’ll admit, sometimes it reminds me of the great times, but mostly, it brings back all the regret and my heart just gets heavier. We aren't meant to carry our past around in a purple shoebox. We’re not meant to rifle through it every now and then and think of what might have been.

With so many sad songs about loneliness and regret and guilt, it’s easy to wallow in the past, but we need to fight against that mentality. Jesus is with us in all of those times when we want to shut out the world. He’s waiting patiently on the other side of the wall we build around ourselves every time we’re hurt. He wants us to change the radio station when that sad song comes on, and say “Ummm no, I don’t think I’ll feel like crap today. I think I’ll feel loved instead.” He wants us to realize that a box of stuff is not a legitimate substitute for an actual relationship. The devil will always try to warp your memory and try to make you feel worse about it, but it’s over. It’s done. All those terrible feelings of the past. Guess what? They’re still in the past. You’re right here, and they can’t touch you. You belong to Jesus Christ, and He says, “No satan. You can’t have this one. This one’s mine.” 

You’re all great!! Send one up for the people suffering in the aftermath of those crazy tornadoes in the midwest! Sleep well! Keep it real, Emily

*Names have been changed to protect my friend's pride.

Traveling in style

"It’s a dangerous business going out of your door. You step onto the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
– J.R.R. Tolkien

After a few summers in the rural midwest, you learn that, unless you want to spend three months bored off your rocker, you need to do some traveling. Wheather it be to a different state or city or neighborhood, you need to get out of the house.  With summer rolling in hot on us (pardon the pun), I thought I'd share my top ten things to remember when going out of your door. In no particular order...

Número de diez: Choose your bag wisely. If you have a one-shoulder bag then you'll spend the whole day switching shoulders, but if you use a back pack, you need to make sure that it's always zipped, lest you fall pray to pick-pockets. If you choose to wear a fanny-pack... Well that's very unfortunate, and I'm sorry.

Numéro neuf: I know I sound like your mom (your mom is smart so I don't really mind that much), but when you're packing, think of every possible situation and prepare for it. Example: You're going to Chicago and there are lots of fountains to play in, so you're probably going to want to bring another pair of socks or flip-flops. No one likes squishy shoes all day. Think about it.

Numero otto: Eyes peeled. If you don't know about all of the dangerous people in the world, then you should think about watching a couple more episodes of Criminal Minds. Not everyone you come into contact with is a sociopath, but not everyone you come into contact with isn't a sociopath either.

Líon na seacht: When traveling in a group, pick the most present-minded person, and just have them bring the camera. I can't remember a trip where someone didn't lose their camera, and with facebook, your group really only needs one anyway.

Numer Sześć: (Isn't it cool how I can count in all these languages?) If you have a debit or credit card, bring that, and only a small amount of cash. If someone steals your card, you can call and have it cancelled before anything major happens, but your cash is gone forever.

Nummer Vijf: (Just kidding, my cat can speak more languages than I can. Hooray for Google Translate!) If you have a super fancy phone, laptop, iPad or something like that and you just cannot be separated from it (no judgments here, I treat my laptop like it's my child sometimes), wait until you get where you're going before you take it out of your bag. People don't normally get mugged for their phone, but if you're waiting at the train station, playing Angry Birds on your iPad, that's a different story. Don't think of it as your macbook, think of it as $1,000-$2,000 when it's sold on eBay. People have been attacked for less. Just saying.

Nummer Vier: Don't listen to your music. Instead, pay attention to what the people around you are saying and doing. Jack Johnson's voice is like chocolate :) but the voice of the guy next to you is quieter, and possibly, more deadly. And on a lighter note, if someone wants to get past you and they're saying "excuse me," you won't be able to hear them. Rude, my friend, rude.

Номер три: If taking public transportation, bring along some extra deodorant. People normally don't smell the greatest when traveling, but when the guy next to you turns and says "do you smell that?" you can rest assured it's not you.

第二: What happens in Vagas, does NOT stay in Vagas. The same goes for Mexico and New York and your neighbors house and just about everywhere else. If you don't want someone to find out you did it. Dont do it.

Namba moja: (I saved Swahili for last because I think it's the best language ever) Travel with a group. If you're like me, and you don't know many people who want to take a pilgrimage to Holy Hill with you, reach out to someone you don't normally hang out with, or ask a family member to go with you. It might be lame to go to the museum with your grandma (not my grandma, of course, she's the best :) love you, grandma!), but it's BEYOND lame to end up in a bad situation because you didn't have anyone to watch your back.

So there you have it, ladies. Top ten things to remember. Print them out. Frame them. Have them tattooed on the palm of your hand. Whatever you feel is necessary.

You guys are great! Say a special prayer for all of our troops and the young men and woman who enlist every day to keep us safe.

Keep it real,

Emily

Mix em' up!

Mixer

noun

1 a kitchen mixer: blender, food processor, beater; churn.

2 he attended a mixer: gathering, social, function, get-together, meet-and-greet

A mixer is basically a party, you just plan it a little differently because it's for a bunch of people who don't know each other very well. I know, worth the wait right? So first things first, you need an activity. For me, it's pop pong (like beer pong only less illegal and more competitive). It's great because, assuming you have a table (preferably a ping pong table), all you need is a bag of plastic cups ($2.50), Ping-Pong balls ($1.50) and a few liters of your favorite beverage (approximately $3 ea. the more suger, the better).

How to play Pop Pong:

-----Set up 10 cups at either end of the table in pyramids like this

                      O O O O

                        O O O

                          O O

                            O              the pyramids should point at each other.

-----You can play one on one or in pairs. The teams stand at either ends of the table and take turns trying to throw their Ping Pong balls into the other team's cups.

-----You can either throw it straight in OR bounce it.

-----If you make it in one of the cups, the other team has to drink that cup and take it off the table.

-----If you bounce it, the other team can swat it away. If the other team swats it away without it bouncing, the team who threw the ball gets to pick any cup for the offending team to drink from.

-----If you bounce it and make it, the other team has to drink the cup you made it into, AND another cup of your choosing.

-----Whoever eliminates all of the other team's cups first is the winner.

-----As you eliminate more cups, you may want to re-rack. That means that you can tell the other team how to re-arrange the cups so that it's easier for you to throw into. You should decide how many re-racks each team gets before you play.

-----I've never tried to explain this in writing before so if you have questions, leave a comment below and I'll comment back.

If you're not a pop-pong kind of person, thats fine. There are plenty of fun games that get people talking. Games like Apples to Apples, Loaded Questions, Would You Rather, and The Game of Things are great, you might want to have more than one game going on at a time, depending on how many people you have. Music is a MUST, but you have to be careful to play every kind of music. Remember, we can't get to know new people if we only focus on one thing that we have in common, so make sure you diversify your activities. 

This sounds like a lot of work for just having your friends over, but a little planning goes a long way. No one has fun while they're sitting around saying "I don't know what do you want to do?"

The Do's and Don't's:

• Do let people mess with the music. One person will say "Don't change it!" and the person who changed it will say that didn't like it and BAM the conversation begins.
• Don't stress.
• Do make sure you're spending equal amounts of time with everyone.

Have fun guys!! Keep it real, Emily

Friend? Or accessory?

It's six thirty, and I can honestly say that I have spent the entire day violently ill, in bed, and watching old episodes of a show I haven't seen in a while on my computer. Remember the days when you could go online and enjoy an entire days worth of TV without seeing a single commercial? Well those days are over. Plus it's worse than the real TV commercials because, online, they just play the same four ads over and over and over, but thats besides the point. One of those ads was a trailer for a new Disney movie about Prom (I couldn't find the trailer, so here's the one i found. Movie review to come), and the opening line is "High School has a way of dividing us." It went on to list a few of the typical high school cliques, but, being a girl who's never really belonged to a specific group, I've always seen the cliques a little more differently than what the commercial made them out to be. I don't mean to pretend like I'm "too good for all that clique nonsense," because it's not something that I chose for myself, and I think there a a lot of people like me in my school, and your school, maybe even you. And if I got to do it over again, I'm not sure which path I would have taken. But from where I sit now, I can see that those of us who belong to different groups, really only use those groups like an accessory to match whatever person we are trying to be that day, or that season, or that event in our life.. So often, the system makes us feel like in order for us to be, for example, an artist, we need to hang around with other artsy kids (like when you wear a nice dress, you need equally fancy jewelry, or it'll look odd). Even, sometimes, we wear them like an old heirloom. Beautiful, but we're really only wearing it out of obligation to our family. Like when we're on a sports team and we like we have do EVERYTHING with them. If we hang out with people just because they're on student council with us or we find ourselves saying "I'm going to the movies with the National Honor Society girls," then our relationships are only as deep as that one thing we have in common.

Being a senior in High School, I think that now is the perfect time to make these kinds of changes to my life. I've met a lot of different people, so I can look at who I'm truly compatible with, and maybe try to bring them all together for a game of pop pong and bonding. Being a senior in High School, I think about college A LOT. I mostly think about those people that I really want to stay in contact with, so I think I'll start with them.

All you younglings out there, take a peek at the big picture. Start forming deeper relationships now (don't wait until you've got 3 months and 23 days left). Have a good conversation with someone that you normally stay on the surface with, go deeper. In the words of the guy (yes, that guy) form the Old Spice commercial, go "neck-deep into the waters of friendship and trust."



So yeah! I hope that was insightful. I'm going to post next on how to throw a mixer for just $15 and a little creativity. "What is a mixer?" you say? Well, I guess you'll have to check back tomorrow :)

Keep it real,
Emily

P.S.

This is me and my sisters with our Grandpa at Easter on his new bench. Now Grandpa can sit comfortably while he fantasizes about the untimely demise of his neighbors barking dog. I love that man :)

Today is Easter :)

And one day the grave could conceal Him no longer... Jesus Christ is alive and breathing inside of all of us! Don't be like the grave, don't try to conceal the light of Christ within you, it's beautiful. Love looks good on you :). Ooohh I feel so peaceful today! There's nothing to worry about. 

Here's a huge concept that you've probably heard before: Christ's death and resurrection has conquered EVERYTHING. I know, you're probably like "ummm, yeah. I did a craft about that in Sunday school when I was six... What's your point?" I wish I knew how to put this simple truth into words that would do it justice. Take a second. Imagine a bowl filled with your fears, your vices, your past mistakes (that's a tough one for me), and your fears for the future. For some of us, we need a bathtub, but thats besides the point. Jesus took that bowl, took it to hell, and chained it in the lowest circle. All we have to do is stop pretending like we have to still carry that bowl around with us. If you're having trouble with that, have a chat with Him about it. For example, I would say "Jesus, I know that You're tired of watching me struggle by myself, I know that You want to help me, but I'm having trouble letting go of all the expectations I have for my future, I'm constantly worrying about it, and it's distracting me from my relationship with You. I want to give You this worry, please help me to let go." Ask and you shall receive :)) The system would have you believe that you can do it on your own. The world pumps us up with songs and movies that are all about how great we are, and we forget that we have issues that we need to take to Someone more powerful than us. God is that Someone. So give humility a try. Put a little love on with your makeup this morning :)

Travel safe everyone!! You are loved!

Keep it real, Emily

Movie Review: Rio

Pros:

• The 3D was incredibly realistic
• The script was HILARIOUS
• They casted great actors and they all gave really good performances
• Great original songs

Cons:

• Even though it's animated, it's totally NOT appropriate for kids (for reasons I'll get to later)
• They make the man in it look like a total goober

My Commentary:

Rio was so much fun to see with my friends, because we understood all the jokes and we knew the actors really well and could understand the plot. But what really upset me that it was marketed to kids. All the songs were about party party partying, droppin it low, and because we are 17 and 18 year old girls, we understand that it was just a song, but kids don't understand that, and I think the lyrics would be confusing for them. I mean, put yourself in a child's shoes... "My mom and dad are telling me to work hard and stay in school and love the Lord, but this song is so catchy and droppin it low dosen't sound so bad..." The movie was full of jokes that were funny because we understood them, but if a kid repeated it, it would be wildly inappropriate. That's why I put the "Party Fowl" poster on here. We get it, but kids don't. Does that make sense?  The other thing that bothered me was that they (and practically ALL the movies nowadays) made the man out to be stupid and weak and silly. I understand that it's all in good fun and it's just entertainment, believe me, I get that. But shouldn't we be supporting movies (and songs) that set an example for men that we actually want them to follow? Just saying.

The greatest part of the movie was watching it with my friends. There was a part in the movie that was really funny, but the friend sitting next to me thought it was HILARIOUS and she laughed so loud and for such a long time that it made the movie EVEN FUNNIER. So it wasn't so much the movie, as it was seeing it with my friends that I enjoyed.

This is a clip from the movie. It's the song that the evil bird sings and it's chalk-full of funny lines. Check it out:

Have a great night, guys! If you've seen Rio, let me know what you thought of it in the comment box below!! If you haven't seen it... well I guess you can comment anyway, I guess :\ Keep it real, Emily

I'd like to introduce you to...

This is Pippin. I know what you're thinking, and yes, he is lying down and eating from a dog-sized bowl. I put the toaster next to him because sometimes, in pictures, its easy to mis-judge exactly how huge he actually is. I hope you guys are having a great day! Congrats to all of you who are getting baptized tonight at the Vigil mass!! Keep it real, Emily

GREAT Friday

I've been thinking (as I often do when left to my own devices) and it is SO WEIRD that we call today Good Friday. So weird. Our savoir was brutally beaten and murdered today. What "good" is there in that?! So I was on my way home from work and wondering what SICK person thought to name today "good Friday," and why, when the people hosting the radio station I was listening to started to discuss that same thing and it made heaps and heaps of sense so I wanted to share the highlights with you all. Christ's passion was beyond heinous. There's no denying it. Did you guys watch the Mel Gibson movie? If you haven't, then I'm going to include a picture, and your homework is to watch it. Anyway, look at the picture. That is basically a picture of our nasty, dirty sins. Those cuts and nails and that crown of thorns are every time we said "oh sorry about that, Jesus, but it was really fun for me so I hope that didn't hurt too bad." But Christ isn't trying to make you feel bad or guilty for making Him suffer so much (Our God is merciful, and He loves you and WANTED to save you, He knew this was the only way. But more on that later). Good Friday isn't about that. It's about coming to terms with the fact that we ALL fall short of the glory 99.999% of the time. Good Friday is about accepting that truth, embracing Christ's love and mercy, and choosing to do better next time. If we don't know that we're doing something wrong, then we can't fix it. Simple as that. So Good Friday is about truth and mercy and love, and THAT'S what makes this awful Friday, good.

I love you guys, thanks for reading. Questions?? Leave a comment below :)

Keep it real,
Emily

Skittles Touch: Hitchhiker

When I first saw this video, I thought is was so funny that I was literally on the ground laughing. So I ran downstairs to show my sister and she was like "Ummmmm, that's just weird." So I guess it's hit-or-miss, but I hope you think it's a HIT!

Keep it real,

Emily

Tell me you love me!

Today, my day was filled with people who either needed love or had too much and needed an outlet. As women, I think we are more inclined to the receiving part of life (I don't want to get graphic, but we are pretty much designed to draw things into ourselves). We need love more often than we have an excess so I'm going to stick to that.

Here's a metaphor to help paint a picture:
Lets say that my heart is a pot of water sitting on a stove (and I'm going to make Ramen Noodles because they are de-li-cious). When I'm feeling loved, and wanted, and on top of the world, I crank that heat up and bring the water to a rolling boil (then I slap those Noodles in the pot and ooo do they smell good). When I'm feeling good, I keep adding heat and excitement and the love inside of me snowballs. But (continuing with the metaphor) when I'm not feeling so hot; when the guy I like doesn't text me back, or when I really mess something up at work, I deliberately choose to not turn the heat on (and then I slap the Noodles in and they don't even cook, because you can't cook a darn thing in luke warm water, my friends. You just can't). And then! To make matters worse, I throw some ice-cubes in the pot!

My point is that we have to be open to feeling better. I know that when you're feeling blue, it's easy to stay down because that's what you're used to. Don't settle for being sad and in the dumps. When something, ANYTHING, positive happens (like a bowl of your favorite high-sodium instant noodles, or a compliment from your mom) grab onto it and enjoy it. Forget what you wish your life was and accept what it is, embrace what it is. We don't need to freak out and do something drastic because face it sister, when you finnish having a meltdown, you will only have made things worse, you'll only be even lower and even more comfortable in your sad sorry hole of loneliness.

We are meant for more than a pit of loneliness. We are meant for the tallest peaks of whatever mountain that we set our sights on. (Brace yourself because this is about to get extremely cheesy. EMBRACE the cheesiness!) Every day, every moment is filled with opportunities to make our bad days better and turn our good days into days that we'll always remember. We shouldn't settle for anything less than absolute greatness. The system wants us to lie down and give up. The system wants us to fill ourselves up with candy bars and romance novels. Rebel against that. Refuse. Choose to excel. Choose love. Choose adventure. Choose risk.

Some of the most influential people in history were hated and rejected because they actively fought against a system of mediocrity. Starting today, I will aim to someday count myself among them. Will you?




 Tomorrow's going to be really busy! Everyone traveling for Easter, be safe!! Keep it real everyone, Emily

Prom!

Prom, especially in small towns like mine, is one of the most exciting times of the year. I know that my mom would want me to say that the most exciting time is her birthday, or the fourth of July or something patriotic like that, but sorry, it's Prom. What scares me though, is that Prom is also one of the most dangerous times for us too. I know this might sound boring, but bare with me here...


Senior Prom is the last time we get to have fun and bond with our classmates before we go off to college (for Juniors the last time before the summer, and let's face it, we all lose touch in the summer). No matter how much we say that we'll stay in touch, and no matter how often we say that we'll always be friends and be the bridesmaids at each other's weddings and have kids at the same time, about 99% of this graduating class wont speak again after graduation. For sure there will always be those people that we are eternally bonded to, for whatever reason, but it's times like prom that we can use to make those connections.


Anyway, my point is that Prom is important, and we need to take advantage of it. A lot of the time I see people who get so caught up in the ritual of it, the binge drinking and co-ed sleepovers and crazy post-Proms. You know what I'm talking about, it's like we want to re-create our favorite scenes from movies or something, and we think that if we weren't completely crazy and if we didn't totally let go of our inhibitions, then we didn't get "the real high school experience" (< that phrase makes me SO MAD! But, thats for another blog. Anywayyy...). We see these things (drinking partying and sex) as a sort of rite of passage. Well, here's my question: who said that we needed to be baptized in noise, alcohol, and silliness in order to earn the right to be a high schooler, or a teenager, or a young adult, or a college student or whatever. Nobody I respect ever said that... I'm going to give you guys some reasons why we are absolutely crazy to think these things...


First, we have the statistics--
Let's say that you're planing on either going to or throwing a true-blue One Tree Hill party on Prom night (if you haven't seen OTH, that's probably for the best, but the parties on that show mostly consisted of unfortunate fashion choices, drinking and, sometimes (but not always) sex), if thats the case then here are some things to think about so that you can go into it with your eyes wide open.


>>Females process alcohol differently than males; smaller amounts of alcohol are still more intoxicating for females. So you can be drinking the exact same things as your date, and he'll still have the upper hand on you. I'm not saying that every guy is a totally bad guy and wants to take advantage of you, I don't mean that at all, but everyone knows that we are not ourselves when we have been drinking, but more on that later.
>>Among male high school students, 39% say it is acceptable for a boy to force sex on a girl who is drunk or high. This statistic seriously blew my hat off. I know that 39% not the majority, but that's still a lot. Again let's be honest, the normal code of right and wrong goes out the window when we're drunk.
>>High school students who've been drinking are seven times more likely to have had sexual intercourse. Yeah... That one pretty much speaks for itself.


I mean, I know I'm not crazy. I can't possibly be the only one who finds this disturbing. Not seeing-your-Grandmother-in-a-bikini kind of disturbing either. I'm talking Hairless-Siamese-cat-staring-you-down-when-you-open-your-eyes-in-the-morning. DIS-TUR-BING.


Next, we come to the logical reasons why its a stupid to spend the night drunk off your saddle in a bed that your parents didn't pay for. To be honest (and I promise to always be honest with you), I can only think of one--

>>Think about your oldest, closest friend. Now think about how the two of you came to be so close. I'll bet my bottom dollar that it was times that you guys spent listening to each other, making each other laugh or working together on something that you both enjoy, that really built your friendship. I haven't been to that many "high school experience" parties, but the ones that I have been to weren't great places to meet people or get to know people. They were loud, and there were people everywhere and everyone was acting like something that they weren't; drinking so that they wouldn't be responsible for things that they were either too embarrassed, or too virtuos to do when they were sober. Why bond and hang out with someone when, tomorrow, they won't be the same person that they were last night?

So I guess this really applies for any time of year, dosen't it? Find something to do with your friends that you can actually relax doing. Take time to just hang out with your friends. Canoe, hike, rock-climb. It's raining? Play some Wii or take a class at the Y. We need to spend more time actually getting to know the people in our social circle, or we'll leave high school and realize that we have no real friendship to build on; just a bunch of wild nights. Let's be rebels, guys. They say that we live in a dangerous world, our parents like to tell us all about the troubles that teens face. Let's look that danger and those troubles straight in the face and call them what they really are: a waste of time. And then throw them aside like the foolishness that they truly are.



I've been on retreat these past couple days and it's back to the grind-stone tomorrow, so good night everyone!! Keep it real, Emily