Bullying

Bullying is a serious problem in many schools across the nation.  Everyone has experienced it at some point in their lives, in a variety of ways.  Such an experience, from even one event, can linger with the victim for the rest of their lives, but they likely will always remember the person who stepped up and comforted them.  I remember one specific time when I was bullied and it still affects me today.

I was in first grade and we were working on spelling.  I struggled then and still find it a challenge today.  We were coming up with ideas on how to spell words.  In this case, the word we were working on was 'because'.  At this point, we had gotten 'B-E', which we understood was equal to the word 'be'.  For 'C-A', we realized we just had to memorize it. Last we were on the letters 'U-S-E'.  Our teacher asked for any suggestions.  My hand went up immediately.  The teacher called on me and I said, "You can write it as U-S-A and then you change the A to an E."  I felt so proud of myself and the teacher said it was a good idea.  She called on someone else to see what they suggested.  A girl sitting next to me was called on and she said, "Everyone knows that U-S-E is 'use' and it is so much easier to remember."  The teacher said good and she told us that U-S-E is 'use'.  I felt like someone just slapped me in the face.  I was upset that no one liked my idea.  To make it worse, at recess the girl who made the suggestion after me made fun of me calling me "clueless" and "stupid".

I sat on a hill and cried during most of the recess.  Then another girl from my class sat down beside me and put her arm around me.  She was one of the nicest girls in my class and friends with everyone.  She told me that she had the same idea as me but she was to scared to say it.  I felt better after she said that.  She told me that it wasn't worth worrying what anyone else thought of my idea.  I went home smiling at the end of that day because of her kind, comforting words.

To this day this event affects me.  Every time I write 'because', I write 'B-E-C-A-U-S-A then I erase the A and write an E.  It is a little time consuming but that is how I know how to spell 'because'.

So I hope that you will think twice before you say something hurtful which is what bullying someone is all about.  If you see someone being bullied, stand up for them.  They might not be able to stand up for themselves and it can really make a difference.

Japan's Earthquake and Tsunami

In 2011, Japan suffered from a devastating earthquake and tsunami.  After the tragedy, many people reached out to help Japan.  This was a great example of putting away our differences to help one another in times of trouble.

One thing that I admire about Justin Bieber is his willingness to go help anyone in need.  Justin had a concert scheduled in Japan after the earthquake.  Instead of canceling his concert in fear of the radiation like many other artist, he went ahead and performed in Japan.  Not only did he perform, but he also stopped and talked to some of the victims of the earthquake.

The thing is not everyone is a pop star that can go and perform in Japan, but that doesn't mean you can't do something to help.  In my middle school's Japanese class, we made two Senbazuru.  A Senbazuru is 1000 origami cranes held together by string.  That means our Japanese class made 2000 origami cranes!  The Japanese people believe that cranes bring them good luck.  The 8th grade classes took one week from our lesson to make origami cranes.  Afterwards, we met after school to finish making the cranes and string them.  My Japanese teacher sent them to Japan through relatives who still live in Japan.  The 8th graders also held a fundraiser during lunch time.  We made anything from origami flowers to origami earrings (which were super cute!).  All the money we raised we also sent to Japan.

It doesn't matter who you are, or where you live, or how much money you have, there is always a way to help someone in need through small, inexpensive items or service.

Doubt

Everyone has moments of doubt.  Sometimes we doubt ourselves, each other, the equipment we use at our jobs or at school.  Doubt can be experienced anywhere.  But what about doubting God?  I have doubted way more than I feel I should.  Three specific times come to mind when I have doubted God when I shouldn't have.

 The first big time that I doubted God was actually setting up this blog.  I have wanted to set up a blog like this for a long time now (about 8 years).  This year in school, 10th graders have a year-long project to do.  We were to think of what we wanted to do over the summer, and discuss it with our parents.  Every time I discussed it with my parents, I would tense up because I wanted this for a long time and for them not to like it would crush me.  So I would let them do most of the talking and about mid summer it looked like my project would be doing a family tree.  I doubted that God wanted me to do a blog so I went along with them.  Then one week when I was at camp, I got enough courage to tell my cabin what I wanted to do and everyone liked my idea!  After that week, I started praying for God to give me the strength to talk to my parents about it.  But every time I would  try to talk to them, I would tense up and just sit there.  Again, I slowly started to doubt that God wanted me to have a blog.  Then one week in church we were talking about listening to God and following his plan. That night I cried in my sleep because I knew it was time to talk to my parents about this.  After a lot of back and forth between us, they finally started to see what I was talking about and they agreed to the blog.  Now I have no doubt that this is what God wanted me to do for my personal project.

The second time was with my new phone.  Every two years my family upgrades our phones and in past years we have gotten them for free.  This year, however, was going to be one of the first times we would have to pay for a phone.  This put my parents in a lot of stress over money and we needed the phones soon because I was using my dad's old old phone since I had dropped mine in a puddle.  One day out of frustration about the phones, I prayed that my phone would be free so I didn't have to burden my parents.  I prayed about this for two more days until we actually went to the phone store to look at phones.  I gave up hope that the phone I wanted was going to be free so I told my parents I would settle for a cheap free phone.  Then for a couple of weeks nothing happened and I went on with my life.  One day we got a package with our phones and I saw that the phone I wanted was in there and my parents told me that mine and my brother's phone were free!  When I was in my room later that night, I couldn't stop thanking God for this even when I doubted that it was possible.

The most recent time when I felt doubt in God was when I wanted to go to New York with my school orchestra to play at Carnegie Hall.  We also will get to sightsee a little, too.  I wanted to go so badly, but my parents didn't want me to.  They were worried since I have never left the state by myself before and I would be the only one in my family to go to New York.  The week before the paperwork and part of the money was due, I started praying that I can go.  That week I gave my mom attitude ( never a good idea because nothing good comes from attitude!) and she refused to sign the forms.  After that, I gave up all hope of going because the registration was full.  Then a couple of weeks ago my mom talked to the orchestra teacher and the travel agency and  now I am the first one on the waiting list if someone drops out for any reason.  I just have to not give my mom attitude - something always easier said then done!  Now I am praying everyday for God to help me with my attitude so my parents will let me go and that I will be able to go to New York.

Fasting

Fasting is an important element in Christianity.   It is also something some health-minded people do in a variety of ways - juice fasts and such.  For Christians, though, fasting means going without something for a period of time during which you reflect and focus on God and pray.  Most of the time people fast from food, but there are other things you can do to fast in other areas of your life.  Over the past week, I decided to fast from my Mp3 players (I have three of them). During this time, I noticed how much I rely on my Mp3 players for entertainment and relaxation and how much I missed having them in life.  Without my Mp3 players, though, I connected more with my family and friends.  I also met up with some old friends from elementry school during this time.  I read my Bible more when I was in my room instead of dancing to Justin Bieber.  Over all, the one week that I fasted from my Mp3 players was one of the best weeks I have ever had. 

Sexual Purity

What does sexual purity mean?  It means waiting until you are married to have sex.  This is a really important personal value to me.  I want to save this precious gift for my future husband, and I pray that my future husband will save it for me, also.  There are these things called purity rings that you place on your left ring finger, and you wear it until you get engaged.  You replace it with your engagement ring, and then your wedding ring.  In the Bible, God talks about how purity and following his word is important to a healthy relationship with Him.  "How can a young man keep his way pure?  By living according to your word. (Psalm 119: 9)"

I wear a purity ring everyday to remind myself of my commitment to staying pure until marriage. My purity ring is silver with a cross and a rose on it.  The story of how I got my purity ring is actually pretty funny.  I first found out about purity rings from the Jonas Brothers.  I have loved the Jonas Brothers ever since I watched their movie, Camp Rock, for the first time at my friend, Rachel's, house.  Only some of my friends even know about my little secret crush on them.  Anyway, my mom taped one of their shows for me and on it the Jonas Brothers were talking about how important their purity rings were to them.  At the time, I didn't know anything about purity rings so after the segment, I asked my mom what they were and she explained it to me.  That weekend I had a purity retreat with my church where I learned more about the importance of sexual purity. At the end of the retreat, I got a charm bracelet with pure written on it. I told my mom that I would like to have a purity ring just like the Jonas Brothers after the retreat!  A couple weeks later we went to a Christian Bookstore and we bought one!  That was when I was in sixth grade and I wear the same purity ring today.  It helps that I have small fingers that never grow!

Source:
True Images Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007. Print

Differences

If you were to look around, you would see that we are all different visually.  But what about the differences that aren't as obvious.  One difference that isn't as obvious, are learning disabilities. Sometimes it is hard to tell if someone has a learning disability.  Once we find out that someone does have one, how do we treat them?  I have a unique perspective on this because of my learning disability, so I can tell you how I have been treated.  I have a speech impediment.  I was in special education all through grade school and up until 8th grade.  I'm now in 10th grade, so this wasn't so long ago.  I would have to miss classes to go and practice my speech.  Even though I don't have to take those classes any more, I still get frustrated when people don't understand me.  If there is anything I learned from those classes, it was to slow down and find different ways to say something if someone is having difficulty understanding me.  But even with my best efforts, sometimes it is still hard.  When I try to slow down, people might make fun of me.  Sometimes they ask what I'm saying over and over again and just watch me try to get my point across.  Having this speech impediment can make me feel vulnerable.  I am also in Speech and Debate, and sometimes I wonder if part of why I got such a low score was because of my speech impediment, which feels so unfair.  I feel like the reason I didn't get the part in my school plays when I tried out was because of my impediment and not because I couldn't act.  In 6th grade, I got a 100% on my monologue because my teacher didn't take points from me because of my speech impediment.  To me, this means that I can act but my impediment holds me back.  So please, if you know anyone with a learning disability, be a friend to them, because they may have a hard time and feel self conscious about their learning disability.

Thanks Giving

As I write this, it is nearing Thanksgiving and most of us know that this is a day for giving thanks.  I wonder how sincere we are when we give thanks?  I know for myself that all my life I have had a planned speech; "Thank you for my house, my family, for food, and clothes."  I also know every year when I say that, I'm not being very sincere.  I have so much to be thankful for, but rather than be thoughtful and sincere about it, I just get by on the bare minimum.  Our Thanksgiving food is always delicious - so I want to get to it faster!

This Thanksgiving, I challenge you to be sincere in your thanks.  You might want to thoughtfully write a list of everything you are thankful for in the days or weeks before.  To help you get started, here are some of the things that I'm thankful for and have put on my list:

-I am thankful for Jesus dying on the cross for my sins so that I can live with my Heavenly Father for eternity.

-I am thankful for my family; my mom, my dad, my younger brother, my dog, Dexter, my cat, Whiskers, and my fluffy fur ball of a cat, Oreo.

-I am thankful for music and my ability to play an instrument, sing and dance.  I find that it is fun to play, fun to sing and dance to, and just an escape from the world.

Keep these Bible verses in mind over the Thanksgiving holiday:

"Lord, you have assigned me my portion of the cup. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surly I have a delightful inheritance.  I will praise the Lord, who consuls me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalms 16: 5-9)"

Source:
True Images Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007. Print