In the Spirit of Giving

I just got into a rather heated argument with someone today, so I'm about ready to vent. I am so, so, so excited about becoming an occupational therapist. What drew me to this career is that I will have the ability to spend every single day of my life making a difference in other people's lives, especially working with those with disabilities. My best friend in high school has a sister named Jessi that has Down Syndrome. Jessi is one of the most amazing people that I have ever met. She constantly has a smile on her face, a positive outlook, and somehow seeks out only the good in people. What amazing and valuable characteristics for a person to have! For some reason, people like Jessi seem to get lost in the system, whether this be in school, in work, or in life. They seem to become devalued as people. I want to spend my life being an advocate for these people. I want to somehow make their world a better place, because they have blessed my world just by being a part of it. Some people do not seem to understand the value of spending time and money on helping those who may not have any other avenues of help. These people think that taxes spent on getting occupational therapists into school systems to work with people with disabilities and autism is not a useful way to spend money. What a shame. I understand that, yes, in an ideal world the parents of children who are struggling should be helping these students. BUT, even in this case, why should we not give a child every single advantage that he can possibly get! A child should not be punished because they live in a home with parents who are not actively involved in his life. There is no better way to spend money than by using it to help people! And this person also thinks that "I'll understand once I start working and all of my money is being spent on taxes". However, if my viewpoint about the worthiness of the cause of giving time and money to the oppressed ever changes, then I have become a person that I am ashamed to be. I believe that the only way to spend a life is to live life to the fullest, and with living life to the fullest comes living life in the spirit of making other people's lives the best that it can possibly be. So, here's a big cheer to those who believe that giving is the most important thing of all.

Contest.

I will be having a drawing for some type of awesome food that will occur when we get back from break. I am not opposed to bribes.

All I want for Christmas...

My mom's been asking me what I want for Christmas for about the last three months. I keep telling her that I really can't think of anything that I want, but she doesn't seem to believe me.

Bored, and looking for some much needed inspiration one night, I turned to one of my favorite sources: quotations. Strange, I know, but for some reason I've always had a little love affair with words. I am amazed at the beauty and inspiration that a couple dozen words can create. Anyways, I stumbled upon this quote, and immediately was enamored:

I tell you the more I think, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people. - Vincent Van Gogh

For the past few weeks, I have been spending a lot of time reflecting on my past. One thing that my family always taught me was that the most important gift that you can ever give to the world is that of yourself-whether this giving be in service to your community, in giving your all in academics and sports, or in being a smile that might just brighten someone else's day. I have always tried to live my life by following this seemingly simple rule. Through experience, I've found that it's pretty easy to be a source of love for the world when life is going well and you are surrounded by blessings. This, however, seems to become more difficult to do when life gets tough. When I came across the above quote, something seemed to click. The ability to love others, a truly selfless love that does not ask for love or thanks in return, is what I believe to be the the most valuable gift that a person can have. I can't wait to tell my mom what I want for Christmas. For Christmas, I want to be able to learn a little bit from her. You see, my mom is an elementary school teacher's aide. She spends her entire day caring for children, and some of these children are not easy to love. However, she somehow always finds a way to think of all of these boys and girls as blessings from God and does her best to be a positive, loving influence in the lives of each of these students. So, Mom, for Christmas this year, I just want to be a little more like you.

The Rhythm of the Creek

A willow billows near the stream,

leaves shimmering in my child-like dream.

The bullfrog orchestrates his choir

with the sun as his audience, a brilliant admirer.

The legs of the cricket are a spindly staccato

as the water now rushes with a dancing vibrato.

The spotlight now comes from a pale moon's crescent,

but the night is only just pubescent.

The dusky rhythm brings the creek to life

erasing all memories of day's earlier strife.

So dance, sweet water, embrace the breeze.

Then exhale at once slowly with the drifting leaves.