Journal #34

Before I watched that video I did not know that there were three official pieces of self including soul, self, and "real me". From the soul perspective, my goal is to have an image that represents Christ and glorifies Him. As a Christian, I believe that there are also three parts that make you who you are, your soul, spirit, and body. Soul being the part that goes on to Heaven after death, your spirit being the Holy Spirit inside of you, and then your physical body. This to me is what makes ones' self. From Whitman's perspective, soul is also one of the three parts. I think this is the most important part because it is beyond yourself, but still makes you who you are. The next of the three parts is self. This is what I personally think of myself. I like to think of myself as confident and out going. In my own eyes I am a hard worker and I like a challenge. I find it more rewarding to work towards something and achieve it than to be given it the easy way. I would also consider myself intelligent and I can justify myself through my 4.26 grade point average. I think I am kindhearted and positive, but I am no where near perfect. I can only do my best, but I try to maintain a good attitude and a smile on my face. The last of the three parts is the "real me". This is what other people perceive me as and society's view. I cannot really say what that is because I am going off of what I am thinking they are thinking. I hope people can see that I am genuine. I would say that I am very opinionated and sometimes to others that can come off as stubborn, but I hope that is not the case. Ideally to others I act in a way that exemplifies Christ. What other people think does not really matter though, because the only opinion that matters is God's.

Journal #33

Being involved in several extra curricular activities at once, as well as maintaining straight A's in school, as well as keeping up with my social life, I definitely know what it is like to feel stressed out. Stress can be a good thing, but it can also be very destructive when not handled in a healthy manner. When I am feeling really stressed out from a hard day, I like to take out my stress on a hard workout. This usually takes place in either Mrs.Jenkins' fitness class or after school at track practice. If I am between seasons, I will simply go on a run by myself. What I love about working out, is that I can completely clear my head. It gives me a goal to focus on and only on that. I really enjoy having my fitness class at the end of the day as  my last hour class because it is such a good way to end a school day. I know if I am stressed from the classes before, or on a situation between friends, fitness will still be there as a way to escape and recollect my thoughts and reconnect with myself. I also really enjoy yoga which just works as a relaxer. If I really have time on my hands to relieve stress, I love putting in a cute chick flick and painting my nails. This is usually pretty rare because I do not have a lot of free time usually, but when I do I definitely enjoy doing this just to have some "me" time. Another stress reliever that will work every time for me is to simply take a nap. Sometimes you just have so much going on and so much to do that you really just need to take a nap. Sounds pretty counter productive, but even if for only twenty minutes, it gives me just enough relief to get my head around things and come back to the cause of my stress with a fresh mind.

Journal #32

Revolutionize is a pretty strong word. When I think of revolutionizing the way people think or do things I think of people completely changing and it effecting the rest of their life. They will never be the same again. The only example that I can really compare this to is when someone accepts Jesus into their heart. This will completely change not only your way of thinking or the way you act, but literally your entire life. I feel like other things that can effect your life or change your way of thinking are insignificant to something as major as receiving Jesus Christ, but there are some other scenarios in which your way of thinking might be revolutionized. I think this would have to be a pretty dramatic deal that would leave a lasting impression on you. Maybe something like experiencing a traumatic event or losing a loved one. I still believe deciding to live your life for Christ is the biggest one and the most important decision a person can make in his or her life. I gave my life to Christ when I was nine years old. The church I was attending at the time was Lakeside Christian Church and this was where I was baptized and had my first communion. I remember it being such an awesome day. My dad was the one to baptize me and I think it is so special that I got to share this with him. When you accept Jesus into your heart I guarantee your way of thinking will be revolutionized. You no longer are thinking of just yourself, you are focused on what God wants you to do and you trust His perfect plan for you. This is easier said than done of course, but it is so worth it. Most people think that Christians are a bunch of rule followers and that the Bible is just a book of rules for the church. That is not the case, or what my new church iWorshipCenter believes anyways. You are to talk and act in a way that glorifies God and you do not do or say certain things because it will break His heart. Christianity is not a religion that requires x amount of rules, it is a relationship.

Journal #31

Gossip seems to be everywhere, especially in high school. I personally think that gossips is more popular with girls than guys, but I know it goes both ways, just in different ways. My definition of gossip is saying things and talking about a person in a way that you would not if they were standing right next to you listening. Gossip can be very destructive and it rarely builds people up if at all. Mean Girls is a popular teen movie that pretty much every female on the planet has watched several times or have at least heard of it and its quotes. This movie explains how the girl world works and its influence from gossip. In the movie, the major conflict revolves around the Burn Book. This is a book that the three main "mean girls" Gretchen, Karen, and the leader Regina George have gossiped in for the past few years. They would rip pictures out of their yearbook, glue them in the Burn Book, and then write mean comments under them. Some of these comments are "She made out with a hot dog" or "He's too gay to function". Obviously, very degrading and rude comments that no one was suppose to ever read. When the Burn Book is printed, and every girl in the junior class reads it, the girls go crazy. It turns from the girl world to "animal world". The comments create mass chaos and break out fights between all of the girls and even some of the teachers. This is an extreme case in which gossip was destructive, but even little cases of gossip are still effective. Another thing about gossip is that it is usually not completely true. Most of it is exaggerated and also combined with rumors. These little white lies tied in with personal information can cause more damage than you could imagine. You never know how your words will affect others to use them wisely. If you are not a hundred percent sure it is true information, or if it is not your information to tell, do not share it at all.

Journal #30

Civil rights is a historical movement that has been around forever. One of the main civil rights argued and that comes to mind, is voting. This was an issue that started when the first settlers came to the Americas. At first, only white men were given the right to vote, leaving everybody else out. The Civil War was monumental and granted the African American men to be allowed to participate in voting. Women were last to be given the right to vote, after proving for decades that they were more than capable and qualified. These civil rights are a part of our nation's history and not so much applicable to today's society. An issue that is attempting to become a civil right today is the right to gay marriage. This has become a major political issue that has been heating up in the last few years. Since January of 2013, nine states have legalized gay marriage. These include Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Washington. The real beef of this sandwich is “is gay marriage a civil right?” I personally do not agree with this and do not think it is ones civil right to marry someone of the same gender. I say this first off because I was not raised to believe this. Secondly, if we make gay marriage legal, then it is more than likely that someone will want to push this even further. What if someone wanted to marry more than one person? Or what if someone said they were in love with their dog and wanted to marry it. The second one was extreme, I know, but my point is where would the government stop? My fear is if you open up this door, it will in return open up many more issues similar to and cause other people to try and push the system. In conclusion, civil rights of today have grown much more complex and controversial than the ones in our country’s past.