The Benefits of Challenges

I have noticed a lot this year, that no one knows what they have until it is gone. No one appreciates gifts and talents until they are no longer there. This past June, I had back surgery. I had scoliosis, which is a curvature of the spine. I had to get two rods screwed into my back or else my life would have made a drastic change. I would have been hunched over so much that I would have been unable to walk. I would have been in a wheel chair for the rest of my life. When I first had this surgery done, I did not feel like it was a positive thing in any aspect. I have come to realize, that it was a blessing. First, I have bonded with my family because of it. Second, I am now able to understand the struggles that many people go through. Third, I have become more grateful for my physical abilities. This was a great experience not only for me, but for my family as well.

First, I have bonded with my family because of this surgery. My parents have always taught me that serving others with help us grow stronger and closer to the one we serve. I did not realize or believe it until it was demonstrated earlier this year. My family had the chance to serve me, and help me through this hard time. They would feed me while I was in bed, give me pedicures, and do my hair. Obviously when you are in pain, you feel helpless, lazy, and ugly. It really does make a big difference to have someone serving you and making you feel better about yourself. As a result of all this service, we bonded and became closer as a family. This is not the only benefit I had from this surgery.

Second, I am now able to understand the struggles of others better. I feel for people who are not as fortunate as I am, and have health issues. I especially feel for those who have physical health issues. I made cheerleading at the end of last year, and have had to sit out this whole school year watching everyone do everything that I can’t. Although this has gone on for six months, I am now healed and am so grateful that I am able to do everything.

Third, I have become for grateful for my physical abilities. No one really thinks about when they jog to catch up with a friend that is walking ahead of you. No one really thinks about jumping up and down when they are excited. No one really thinks about bending down to pick up a pencil. No one really thinks about twisting around to talk to a friend, until you can’t do it any more. I was not able to do any of these things for six months, and now that I am able to do them, I am more grateful that I can. I feel so free now that I am able to do all of these things!

In conclusion, physical set backs are not always a bad thing, they actually have benefits. They help you grow closer to your family members and those around you, you understand the struggles of some others, and you become more grateful for your physical abilities after you have gone with out doing them for so long.

Being the youngest in your family

Are you the oldest sibling in your family? Are you the youngest? Or the middle? Have you ever wanted to switch places with someone in your family that is in a different position than you? When I was little, I would always find myself angry or jealous of my older siblings. There are both positive and negative points in being the youngest of the family, although I feel that the positives outweigh the negatives. First, I always found myself at home with my parents, although I wanted to be doing something else. Second, I get to spend more time with my parents than any one of my other siblings did. Third, I am often “spoiled” because I am the youngest. I always thought that my siblings were always luckier than I was.

My first reason was that I always ended up at home with my parents. I always thought of this as a negative thing. I wanted to be with my friends on weekends, but I never really got to. From my parents perspective, I was too young to be out with my friends on weekends. They always made me stay home, and play games with them, or watch a movie or do something else that I thought was “lame”. I never really understood why they made me stay home with them. I always thought they were trying to ruin my life. If I ever did get to be with my friends, they made me come home early. Although I thought that spending time with my parents was a negative thing, I now have a different outlook on that situation.

Second, I actually do get to spend more time with my parents than my older siblings ever did. I know they lived with them for the same amount of time, but they had other siblings they had to “share” my parents with. Since my older siblings are all grown and living away, I am the only sibling left at home. I do not have to “share” my parents with any body else, which has allowed us to bond more, and grow closer together than my parents did when my other siblings were still living at home. Spending time with my parents was a good thing, but being the youngest has an other positive point.

Third, I am often “spoiled” by my parents. My parents pay for more of my clothes, shoes, and other “wants” that they didn’t ever really pay for the other kids things. Also, their expectations have changed as we both get older. They are more laid back with the rules that were always enforced with my siblings, and myself when I was younger. My parents now let me stay out with friends later than they would ever let my older siblings stay out with their friends when they were my age.

In conclusion, being the youngest in your family can have both positive and negative points, although I feel that the “goods” outweigh the “downs”. When I was younger I thought that my parents were trying to make me miserable, when in reality they knew what was better for me than I did for myself. I now have a different perspective on these events, and am glad that they enforced rules when I was younger.

We shouldn' have to write weekly blogs!

Do you ever think about how much you really don’t like to write essays, papers, or do big projects? Do you ever complain because you could be doing something better, more entertaining, and easier? Well that’s what I am feeling like right now, so that will be my topic this week. I know I have chosen to take this class even though it is not required, but I still have many reasons why we shouldn’t have to write these essays. First, because we have other homework to do already, we don’t need more busy work! Second, because I want to be spending time with my family, not doing this in the time I don’t have other homework. Third, I barely have enough time for myself, my family, and even for my other required homework. Homework is not a fun thing to do, and I don’t need more of it to do!

My first reason was that we already have homework to do. We do not need more busy work. I think that at least if we need to do busy work, we should do worksheets or something like that. The worksheets should make us focus on the parts of speech because no one really knows them or examples of them anyway. By now, I am pretty sure we all know how to right an essay, even though some still may not be very good, or sound very intelligent. It is very difficult to think of a new subject to right about each week! There are only so many things you can right about without repeating yourself over and over, and basically just retyping the essays and changing a few things. That is what my essays have come to. I find myself repeating my past essays over and over. Whenever I try to think of a different subject that I have never written about, I still repeat my past opinions. Although we don’t need busy work, we also need time with our family.

My second reason was that the time I spend writing this essay, I could be spending quality time with my family. I hardly ever get the opportunity to spend time together as a family with everyone in it. The last time all of my siblings were together was a couple of years ago because of the fact that my sisters and brother all live in different states. Whenever I write these essays, my family is over. I know that I could write these essays when family is not over, but as I mentioned before, I do have other homework that needs to be done that I usually do when my family is not over.

My third reason was that I barely have time for myself. I never really get to spend time with just me, doing my own thing. By the time I get done with my extra-curricular activities, I have homework that needs to be done. Once my homework is done, I am so exhausted and I go to bed!

In conclusion, we shouldn’t have to write weekly blogs because we don’t need more busy work, we need time with family instead of doing this, and because we don’t have time for ourselves!!!

Parents

Have you ever felt so sick of chores? Like your parents are giving you chores so you can’t hang out with friends and have any fun? Do you ever feel like your parents are just doing or saying things do make your life miserable? Or to embarrass you? I often feel like this, but despite what we may think or feel at the moment we are going through these hard experiences, parents do have a purpose for everything they do, think, or say. One experience is when parents make you do chores. The next experience is when your parents make you spend some “quality” time with family. Last, is when your parents want to “supervise.” These experiences, including chores, are not always fun.
The first experience was when your parents make you do chores. Yes, I am a teenager, so I do realize that chores are not a fun thing to do. It always seems like they are just giving me busy work and they always give me chores at the most inconvenient time possible. I always wonder why they don’t give work to me when I am bored, but they do when I have plans. But parents always have a reason for what they do, but I never remember that while I am going through these experiences. There are several reasons they give you chores. One of the reasons being: Who wants to live in a mess? It is so much easier to be organized and put things away in the same spot every time. It will save you more time in the long run to stay organized, so you won’t have a huge mess to clean up later. Through chores they also teach you hard work. If you are lazy, and never do chores…what will your own house look like when you have to take care of it? No one wants to be around a lazy, messy, unorganized bum. No one. Although chores are not fun, this is not the only experience that is not fun.
The Second experience was when your parents make you spend “quality” time with your family. If I have plans with friends, those are the times my parents plan some kind of activity with my family. I know being with your family is not always cool, but in the long run, who cares? When you are old, it will not matter how popular you were in junior high and high school, but it will matter what your relationship with your family is like. If you spend a lot of “quality” time with your family, you are very likely to have a good relationship with them when you are older. Often times when my parents want to spend some quality time with me, they supervise, my friends and me.
The Last reason was when my parents supervise my friends and me. I don’t always want them watching over my shoulder, but I am glad they care. If they don’t worry about where I am, or don’t supervise, that tells me they don’t really care. When I am a parent, I will probably do the same, because I will want to what my children are doing, even if it is not convenient for them.
In conclusion, parents may make us do things we don’t want to do, or inconvenience us, or embarrass us, but they do all those things for a reason, or to teach us a certain lesson.

The positive and negative qualities of phones

Phones are an amazing and big part of today’s technology and can be both positive and negative. My mom has always told me that if you have too much of a good thing, is no longer a good thing. Phones can cause greediness and take away the courtesy we had once for each other. They can slowly take away our intelligence and common sense without us even realizing, but can also make life much easier.

First, phones can make us all very greedy. It all started out when we were younger, and one person got a phone. Slowly they became more and more popular, and are now considered a necessity in today’s society. If a person looses or breaks a phone, they just get a new one. If the phone doesn’t come with certain features, or if we do not necessarily approve of the way it is laid out, we just get a new one. Without phones, people would be way more courteous. With phones, they are so inconsiderate. If you are speaking with someone, and they pull out their phone and start to text, it is safe to assume that that phone is more important to that individual than you are at that particular moment. Without phones, people believe that the world would come to an end, and that we would cease to exist! Little do people know, this is not the case! People in the past, have lived without technology, and actually were much smarter than many of us are today.

Second, people seem to believe that you can just be lazy while you are texting. No one bothers to capitalize the word “I”, spell things correctly, or use any other form of correct grammar. Studies have shown that the intelligence level of today’s youth is decreasing because of “texting grammar”. Be honest with yourself: would it kill you to use correct grammar while texting? To take a few extra seconds during your text to exercise your grammar skills as opposed to loosing intelligence? People don’t bother to use common sense and spell words right that we learn in Kindergarten. They won’t take a couple seconds to calculate a simple equation like “6*5” or “4*3”. Today’s society just depend on the phone to do all the work for us, and in a way, the phones are much smarter than we are. Despite many negative things, phones also have positive qualities.

Phones were designed to make communication easier, especially through longer distances. (Ironically, it makes the communication with your family worse!) For example: I have a sister that lives in New York, and thanks to phones, I am able to contact her (almost) from where ever I am. It would be much harder without phones, and to hand write a letter, get it sent, and have her receive it, in a reasonable amount of time.

In conclusion, phones can be a very useful tool, but when we get to the point of greediness, laziness, or when we are inconsiderate to others, it has gone way too far. “Too much of a good thing, is no longer a good thing!”

Advantages of being an aunt

Being an aunt include many advantages. Some experiences seem bad at the time, but then I realized they were to my advantage. For example: Babysitting is sometimes inconvenient at the time, but then I realized it was an advantage. Second, sometimes my nephew is not very careful around breakable things and I get mad, but I realize now this has an advantage also. Third, if my niece and/or nephew are in a bad mood…I know I will be mad too, although this sounds all bad, it has an up side.

First, when my sister asks me if I will watch my niece and nephew, of course I say yes, because I would feel terrible if I said no. Sometimes it is hard to watch to kids because if they both want something, one will take it and the other will cry. The advantage of this is that they always come to me, and I will help them work the problem out so that they are both happy. In the end my nephew ends up thanking me, and telling me how much he loves me. Babysitting is one of the things that makes me bond with my niece and nephew, and has helped develop the relationship we have today. Often when I am watching the kids, something will break or come close to breaking.

Second, when the kids aren’t being careful around breakable things, something breaks, or bends in a way it isn’t supposed to, or valuable things get lost. Although this seems all negative, these experiences make me laugh when I look back at them because my mom and I laugh, knowing and remembering that I was exactly like that too! Experiences often are not “fun” when you are going through them, but when you look back on them later, you realize they were not as bad as they seemed to be. They are sometimes kind of funny! We must choose to look on the better side of situations like these though. No one else can make us feel like it is better looking back on them. This is not the only experience that is better when I look back on them.

Third, if my niece and nephew are in a bad mood, I tend to be too. If they are crying, they give me a headache then I am not in a good mood. If they are screaming or mad I get frustrated. This also sounds very negative, but the positive side is that if they are in a good mood, I am too. No matter how mad or frustrated I am, they can always make me feel better. When they are happy, I cannot be mad. They always lighten the mood in a room, and make everyone laugh.
In conclusion, even though many experiences may seem bad while you are going through them, they almost always have a good side to them, but we have to decide to be optimistic and look on the better side of situations

Role models and influences

Everybody has some kind of a role model. Some people just look up to their role models, some want to act like them, and some want to look like them, and some want to sound like them. Whether it is someone famous, a close relative, or just a good friend, everyone has a person that influences them in their lives.

Famous celebrities, musicians, actors/actresses, singers, and dancers all influence some people in some way. . Some find that they have the same style in their appearance. Some find that they have a talent, and look up to someone with the same talent at a higher level. For example, a young teenager that has a talent of singing may look up to a famous singer. Celebrities are role models to many others, so they must watch how they influence others. My personal celebrity role models are Michael Jackson and Nick Jonas. They are a great example when it comes to amazing musical talents. They have worked hard to earn the talents they have, which I admire. Because of them, I have become more interested in music, and have tried to develop musical talents. Celebrities are not the only ones who can influence people.

Close relatives may influence people in good and bad ways. If you have an older sibling, parent, or other relatives you look up to, you are likely to make some of the same choices that they have made. You also must be careful about what kind of an influence you make on other relatives, or younger siblings. If you make bad choices, your younger siblings might make some of the same bad choices. It is the same with good choices. If you make good choices, your younger siblings might make some of the same good choices. I look up to my brother, who makes very good choices. He is a very hard worker, and he is very wise. I know I can always look up to him and go to him with any of my situations. He is not only my brother, but my best friend.

Good friends can influence you more than some people realize. They can put pressure on you like no one else can, because you care what they think of you and your choices. They can force you to make certain choices or make certain decisions through peer pressure. This can also result in positive and negative actions and outcomes. If they make good decisions, they can make you want to make good decisions also. If they make bad decisions, through peer pressure, they can make you want to make bad choices also. Friends not only influence your choices, but also your personality and outlook on life. If your friends are optimistic and positive all throughout their life, will be the same way, and have an optimistic personality. If your friends have a negative outlook on life, you will the same way also. I have very good friends who are positive, and I am that way also.

In conclusion, everybody has some kind of a role model. Most affect the choices and decisions you make, but they can also affect your personality and outlook on life. Role models can be famous celebrities, close relatives, and good friends. It is important to decide the qualities that you want to have, then seek a role model with those qualities.

San Diego

San Diego is the best vacation destination in California. It contains many famous zoos, museums, great hotel accommodations, beautiful seaports, beaches, awesome shopping, Broadway theatres, sports, arts, rich history, and unbeatable weather. We love San Diego because of the beaches and weather, Seaport village, and this past time we went for the BYU game. While vacationing in San Diego can be exciting, it can also be really relaxing.
One of the most popular reasons people go to San Diego is because of the incredible beaches. Hotel Del Coronado is located on Coronado Island, just off of San Diego, and has one of the most beautiful beaches in the United States, and is one of the most popular. Weddings, movie filmings, portable art shows, and surfing takes place there. There are many large navy ships that can be seen, along with several smaller boats too. The beach is great for relaxing, running, collecting shells, making sand castles, and swimming. This is a popular attraction in San Diego.
Seaport Village and the marina is also one of my favorite sites in San Diego. There is the harbor with private boats on one side, that are entertaining to look at, and many unique shops and boutiques on the other. One of my family’s favorite restaurants there is called Buster’s. We eat there at least once every time we visit San Diego. It is a fun Hawaiian-type atmosphere, that serves surfboard pizzas, which is a great memory for my family. Along the boardwalk of seaport village, there are venders selling shirts, jewelry, ice cream, musical entertainment, holiday decorations and ornaments, and unique toys. Seaport Village was a place I was able to enjoy just this past weekend.
This past weekend, my family traveled to San Diego, because my dad provides cars for the BYU football coaches, so in return they take him on a trip to a BYU game once a year. During this family excursion, we were able to hang out with several families that traveled with us, one of the families being the Iglesiases. We had lunches, and dinners with them, then spent quite a bit of time with them afterward, and found that they are really funny. A common past time was finding out more about people’s families, which resulted in a lot of discussion about the Iglasias’ two sons. One of my dad’s business associates, Carlos, served as the entertainment for us. Carlos’s humor caused him to be the center of attention this trip, but some people didn’t think it was funny. Many of the people who came on the trip were BYU alumni, and have followed the team, to support the school’s sports since the time of their graduation.
The purpose of our trip was to attend the football game and support BYU in their rivalry against San Diego State University. The two teams’ strategies were strong, but fortunately for us, BYU won, and made the trip worth while for us.
Our trip to San Diego this weekend to support the BYU game gave us a good excuse to be in one of our favorite places, San Diego. We enjoyed the beaches and weather, Seaport Village, and the BYU game.

Fall

Each season brings many unique activities, moods, and holidays. Spring brings a new birth of plants, animals, and warm weather. It is when the world gets over the cold winter, when the roses bloom, and the leaves on the trees blossom. Summer brings heat, pools, and no school! It brings outdoor activities, family reunions, and barbeques. Winter ushers in cold, wet snow, Christmas, and a new year. Fall is magical because of the beauty, harvesting, and the holidays that accompany it
Fall is full of various kinds of beauty. The leaves on the trees phase from green, to radiant yellows, shining oranges, and fiery reds. When the time comes, and the cooler weather approaches, the leaves slowly fall off the trees one by one. Many fond childhood memories have been formed as family raked the falling leaves together. After the leaves were gathered into piles we would jump in them. Leaves are also a very good prank. Last year, my dad told me to take care of the leaves up with my friend, before he got home. We scooped the leaves up in my garage in huge piles. To my dad’s surprise, we did “take care” of the leaves, but not how he had imagined! As he opened the garage, he was astonished when he saw the leaves overtaking his parking spot. Leaves of Autumn provide entertainment.
As the autumn leaves change and fall, it signifies fun holidays approaching. While the beauty of Fall is still surrounding us, the cool air approaches, and Halloween comes. Every year we have a tradition of throwing a big Halloween party. We have a pumpkin carving contest. We thumb through the carving patterns and speak for the most challenging ones weeks in advance. We all anticipate the party, and grow more curious about what the prizes will be for the carvers. We eat delicious homemade soup and breadsticks. We all cherish our very own mouth-watering caramel apples, and hide them from others. The party is always a big success, and is a huge part of Halloween for our family.
As Halloween ends, we look forward to another holiday: Thanksgiving. It is the holiday of the harvest. It represents the Pilgrims coming to America, and giving thanks for the food they had to eat. This is a special holiday, and we should remember to be thankful for all the blessings we have. Thanksgiving is a holiday unique to America, and no other country or nation celebrates it. As I was growing up, we visited my grandparents, and had a big Thanksgiving dinner. Afterward, we were pulled by a four-wheeler through the deep snow on a car hood. We would be freezing cold, then go inside and lay by the warm fireplace. Thanksgiving the last significant holiday of the Fall season.
Although all the seasons are unique, the Fall is unique to me because of many family traditions, vibrant colored leaves, the Thanksgiving holiday, and harvesting that comes with it. I will always cherish the fall seasons because of these memories.

Benefits and Difficulties of Traveling

People spend money in different ways. Some like to buy big houses, some like fancy cars, some like to buy boats, some like expensive clothes. My family enjoys traveling. My first traveling experience was when I was a month old, and since that time I have been coast to coast, as well as outside the United States. Because I have traveled often I have learned the pros and cons of vacationing that come with both road trips and more exotic locations.
There are many benefits as well as challenges in traveling. Vacations take a lot of planning and organization. You have to plan your activities, ground transportation, entertainment, and food. You must know what the weather will be ahead of time and pack appropriately. Some challenges include trying to pack so many activities in one day, and walking far distances. When your vacation is over, you feel exhausted instead of restful. If you miss school, you must make up all of the missed work, which can be stressful and overwhelming. Those are the challenges of traveling, but there are more benefits then difficulties.
“Traveling is the best education.” That’s what my parents have always taught us. Education is one of the best benefits of traveling. You can learn about different cultures and people, which helps one become more open minded. At the very least it helps you understand why certain people are the way they are because of where they live. While you are traveling you can see famous land sights and cultural landmarks. I have seen many of these benefits as I have taken road trips and more exotic vacations.
I have taken road trips to California, Nevada, Wyoming, and Idaho. My most memorable experience was driving to California with my mom and sister, to surprise my nephew and sister for their birthdays. My mom drove while my sister and I watched movies in the backseat, listened to songs, and played guitar hero on the DVD player. We went to the beach, we ate at our favorite restaurant, Busters, at Seaport Village. We went to the San Diego Zoo at Balboa Park. We took a shopping trip and met my sisters friends. We bonded as a family, and I will always have great memories of our trip to Southern California. Although I enjoyed these road trips, I also really enjoyed traveling farther from home.
On the more exotic side of my trips I have been to Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Boston, New York, Florida, Bermuda, The Bahamas, and Western Samoa. My most memorable experience was Maui, Hawaii. I traveled with my mom and dad. And since I was the only child that went with them, we got to do what I wanted to do most of the time. We swam in several pools, and the ocean. We got to go on a shopping trip, and ate delicious food with an incredible view of the ocean. We went on a whale watching tour boat, and saw many whales up close. I will always have amazing memories of my trip to Hawaii. The memories of spending time with family are always the biggest advantage of traveling.
While vacationing is sometimes a challenge, the benefits far outweigh the difficulties. Traveling is expensive, but a very good learning experience. I am grateful that I have had many opportunities to travel, and I hope to continue doing the same with my family as I grow.

The Power of Friendship

Friends have a powerful influence and effect on everyone. No matter what your circumstances are, whether it is your state, your country, your looks, your financial state, or even your age, friends always influence you one way or another. Sometimes people hit it off immediately and are instant friends, sometimes people meet at a very young age and grow up together, but through time and space their friendship diminishes and what was once a bright flame becomes an extinguished pile of ash. I have experienced one such relationship.
When I was very young, I met someone who later became my best friend. We spent almost every waking hour together. When my parents would go on vacation, I would stay with her. When I was upset, any reason that it might have been, I knew I could look up to her and go to her with my troubles, and she would always bring me peace and comfort. I often wondered if I deserved such a friend. One who was willing to go any length for me, and lift the burdens from my shoulders. I also was willing to listen to her problems in return. One day, everything turned and before I knew it, she didn’t even acknowledge my existence. I then realized that there be another friend out there for me.
There was indeed another friend waiting for me. Just at the time I was abandoned by one friend, a new best friend appeared. Most people would describe us as inseparable. When I had surgery this summer, she always went out of her way to help me. She came to see me in the hospital multiple times, watched movies with me, fed me, and now carries my bags to school. If we have are in an argument, we can communicate and express are frustrations respectfully, and can always resolve the situation. We are always able to forgive each other and agree. Since I am the youngest in my family by many years, she serves as a sister to me. She always wants the best for me, even when I don’t always agree. I know I can always trust her to listen to me. I have learned several things from both kinds of friends.
Through these two sets of experiences though one close friend turned against me, one close friend is willing to do anything for me, I have learned what qualities I want my friends to have, and what qualities I want to have myself, as a friend to others. The qualities of a good friend include honesty, loyalty, a willingness to serve, and kindness. Throughout my life I will seek out friends who are positive, and trustworthy. I will seek out friends who are selfless. I will seek out friends who choose integrity over popularity, and who choose friendship over fashion. I will try to be one such friend.
Friends have a powerful influence especially in my life, since I don’t have siblings growing up with me. Some friends are selfless, some are selfish. Some friends have popularity, some have integrity. I will seek out friends with positive qualities, not ones with negative qualities. Some friends are better than others, but I will try my hardest to seek good friends, as well as be a good friend myself.

500 word Essay

We all have experiences. Some are good, some bad, some are wanted, and some are unwanted, but when we look back on them they make us realize we wouldn't be who we are today, without necessary experiences and trials. They help us grow and become stronger. This past summer it was my opportunity to have an unwanted experience. I had back surgery for scoliosis.
Scoliosis is when you have a curvature of the spine. It runs in my family, and is hereditary. My parents both had the same surgery when they were young. It was a challenging experience and recovery process for them. My two older sisters had this surgery, and I knew eventually I would have to have it also.
I began having doctors’ appointments at the beginning of December of last year. I first got the angle of my spine measured to find the degree, and to see if it was serious enough to get operated on. A month later, I went to the specialist and when they measured it again, we found that it curved seven degrees from the previous measurement. At that point I was nervous, thinking about how soon I would have to have the operation, and if I could wait until summer do get it. I didn’t want to have to miss school, but I didn’t want my back to be so crooked to the point it was noticeable to others. After many appointments, we set the surgery date for the beginning of the summer so I didn’t have to miss school, and so I could be recovered for the next school year.
The surgery came on June third. I felt very calm, knowing that my doctor had done this operation many times before. I remember saying goodbye to my parents, and walking down the bright hall, to the operation room. I lay on the table, and as the anesthetic began to take effect, I drifted off into a deep sleep. The operation process was about five hours long, which seemed like no time at all for me. I woke up, and had very little pain, which was a comfort to both my parents. I stayed in the hospital for six days. I had many visitors, and received many flowers and other gifts. I was never alone. My dad stayed with me during the night, and my mom was constantly by my side during the day. I had very nice nurses who were hovering over me, asking what they could do to help me. I realized how many people I have in my life to show love and support in my life when I need it most. The love and kindness was particularly important to me when the medications wore off and the pain was more intense.
The pain was excruciating at times. I was in a position where the pain was all I could think of. I had a problem with a nerve in my hip and leg, that no one else in my family has had a problem with when they had the surgery. I felt like my recovery was much more difficult for me, than it was for my sisters. When the time came, I got to come home; and the nerve became a larger problem. It took me about a month before I could sit up comfortably. But through the challenge I was able to learn important lessons.
I have learned from this experience that I can overcome pain and hardships. I was able to bond with my parents, in a unique way, because they were attending to every need. I realized that my parents have more love for me that I ever would have realized without this experience.
Though hardships and trials are often unwanted, we need them to become the person we need to be. We grow and become stronger through these challenges.

Michael Jackson

This is for Honors English and I don't really understand what we are supposed to do, so I will just talk about the coolest person on earth!!! Michael Jackson!!! It is crazy how awesome someone can be! Have you seen the music video Smooth Criminal? If not, you MUST!!! It is crazy how he leans so far forward, standing, not holding on to anything!! He also dances ten times better than anyone I have ever seen before, while singing like nothing you have ever heard before. I have never seen or heard anyone like Michael Jackson!

Blog Post #1

Hello World!