Comparisons

Wow, so it's been a while... and I mean a LONG while since I have even touched this thing. I haven't changed much since the last time--I am still quite the opinionated person and unafraid to voice said opinions. However; I have become a little bit more delicate in how I say things when voicing my opinions to others.

So, to all my TWO followers (lol), what brings me here tonight, you may ask? Well, if you live under a rock, you probably haven't heard of Brittany Maynard, but if you don't, you know her as the woman who shared her story with the world--the story about a beautiful young woman who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and how she decided to handle it. This girl has been on my mind a lot over the last couple weeks. Not because I am constantly thinking about it, but because everyone is constantly sharing their opinions about this story, and it's been really hard for me to voice my opinions without going on long-winded rants on Facebook that no one wants to read.

So, here I am. Back here where I can write as freely and as lengthy as I want. Anyway, so, the whole story behind Brittany is that six months ago, she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Her doctor told her she had approximately six months to live before the cancer would consume her life. I have read a few articles on the details of this story, but in short--she decided against treatment. Her doctor gently explained (as gently as anyone can explain) how the brain tumor was going to eventually kill her. He explained how her quality of life would deteriorate while the brain tumor became more intense. At some point, Brittany decided she did not want cancer to determine what the end of her life was going to look like, so she and her family moved out to Oregon so they could exercise the state's Death With Dignity law--where a person with a terminal illness can choose to end their life by their own means so they do not have to endure the pain and suffering they would inevitably experience. And on November 1st, 2014, Brittany exercised that right.

Now, I have quite a few thoughts of my own regarding this situation. 1. I don't think I could make this decision myself. I would be too concerned that I would be ending my life too soon, and that I still had a lot of good days left, and I wouldn't want those to be wasted. How would I know when enough is enough? 2. If I were to make such a decision, who would support me? Of course, Brittany received a lot of positive support from hundreds of thousands of strangers over social media, but would MY family support me? 3. Would I be OK if a family member was making this decision for themselves? Would I want them to choose to their own way out of this world, or would I be selfish and want them to stay as long as they could? ............ but now that I am trying to think of all these thoughts, they are escaping me, but those are three big ones for sure. Moving on...

I try to stay away from religious debates because I get SO frustrated with things. I am going to say it right now--I don't know what I believe. I don't know what's true, what false, and what has some factual basis and the potential to be true, but we just might never know. My point is, I don't know if there is a greater being. I don't know if there is such thing as life after death, or heaven, or hell, or anything. And I am OK with that. I don't need to know everything right now, and I don't feel the need to commit to saying I believe in something just to satisfy everything else. If people feel the need to persuade me to believe what they believe, that is their own problem. With that being said, there were a LOT of ANGRY religious people voicing their opinions about this in the last month and a half. Death with Dignity=Suicide. Suicide=Hell. Brittany=Horrible person. I could go on. My main problem with this is... Is she a Christian? What if she isn't a Christian? Or what if she isn't even a religious person all? Some people feel the need to shove their beliefs down other people's throats and condemn anyone who does not share their beliefs. Here is what my mantra for this situation is:
1. Don't assume you know her faith
2. Don't pass judgment on her because of your faith
3. Don't tell them she is going to hell for what she is going to do
4. If she is Christian, Christians of all people should know that whatever she has done in her life is between her and God, and "let he who is without sin cast the first stone"
5. Let her live (and die) her own life. Her life is not yours to live

And here is where the title of this blog comes into play... Making comparisons about things can be helpful, or it can be dangerous.

One way making comparisons can be dangerous is making the comparison between Brittany's life with cancer and others's lives with cancer. I saw the title for a blog or article stating that someone with the same cancer diagnosis as Brittany's was told they had six months to live, but went on to live for another 13 years. I didn't even bother reading it because I knew I would just be rolling my eyes the entire time. This is not a comparison that can be made lightly. Yes, some people live for YEARS after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. But you have to remember, some people who are diagnosed with a terminal illness and are given six months to live die the next week. Everyone is different. Everyone's bodies react differently to everything. Going through chemo and radiation could kill someone faster than someone else with the same diagnosis going through the same thing. You can only make a comparison of the cancer itself--not the people living with it.


Here is where making comparisons could be helpful and dangerous. I just read another blog post earlier this evening that was comparing Brittany's decision to end her life to those who chose to jump out of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11. While I generally don't like to compare 9/11 to anything, whoever this person was made some decent points. How are Brittany and the 9/11 "Jumpers" related? They all saw they had less-than-favorable options, and no matter what, all their options would eventually lead to death. BUT they all determined that one of these options was more favorable than any other--they were going to decide how they were going to die. For those in the World Trade Center towers, they had three options: suffocate on the smoke caused by the fires that were burning in the towers, be burned alive (if they didn't suffocate first), or jump 80+ stories and die anyway. I am sure they were afraid to die. there are a lot of people who are afraid to die and that is OK. For the people on 9/11, they had to have been afraid, but they knew they were going to die. I don't think they were afraid to wait and find out HOW they were going to die, whether it be suffocating or burning to death. I think they just wanted to die on their own terms. The NY coroner ruled all of these deaths as homicide caused by blunt force trauma. Not one was ruled as suicide. But why? They jumped to their deaths.

Was it because their deaths were immanent and were caused by such a tragedy that it's not fair to them? Of course it's not fair. I think this blogger's comparison was meant to be made lightly. Of course we ALL know nothing can be compared to the events that happened on 9/11, but let's not make light of terminal illnesses either. Brittany was told she was going to die, and in the same way the people on 9/11 decided, she decided she was not going to let her circumstances determine how she was going to die. She wanted to do it on her own terms and under her own control. Could she have gone through treatments and survived? I guess we will never know. His main point was... why are we treating people who are facing death differently from one another? Is it because cancer isn't tragic enough? This is why it's hard to make these comparisons, but I believe he is TRYING to make a valid point.

I feel like I have so much more to say, but I feel like I will probably just continue repeating myself until my fingers fall off. And I honestly wish I could come up with a better conclusion to this post, but I am tired and I guess I really just want to go to bed :)

Well, It's Official....

I am agnostic. I only say it is official because I posted it on Facebook.

I just felt really guilty about keeping "Methodist" on there because I am not really sure WHAT I believe in anymore. I felt more like a hypocrite than anything else.

Part of me REALLY wants to continue believing in God and Jesus Christ, mainly because my grandma was a very religious woman, and I want to live a life that would make her happy. But I shouldn't sacrifice my own happiness to satisfy my dead grandmother. My mother is always pressuring me to go to church, so that is another reason why I feel as though I should still try to believe.

But nearly every fiber of my being is telling me that logic is against religion--that history itself is against religion. I find it really hard to argue against science. Science is something that is tested and verified. Religion has no scientific or logical basis. It cannot be tested. It was only spread by word-of-mouth and written by humans.

And how am I supposed to believe that out of all the religions that have been and are now, that ONLY ONE of them can be, "The Way, The Truth, and The Light."

Because Jesus Christ was real? How do we know? And who are we to deny that any of the other long-held beliefs by polytheists are incorrect?

I don't like to argue with people about this because I don't know enough about the history of religion nor do I know the amount that I wish to know about science. So, normally when it comes to talking with other people about religion vs. science, I keep my mouth shut.

However, I just finished watching two documentaries about Christianity, and I would have to say, they have solidified my developing belief that I don't believe in the Christian God. These documentaries were, "The God That Wasn't There," and, "Religulous." Out of all the religions that came and went before any talk of Christ, they are all wrong? How? Says who? A few men who decided to write down what they heard a voice in their head telling them? Hmm. I don't think so.

Life-Long Secrets

I am very fortunate to have a job where I listen to music, tune out the world and just lose myself. However; more often than not, I find myself wanting to listen to talk radio versus music. Don't get me wrong. I love music. Any and all kinds (almost). But it just gets to the point where I get sick of hearing the same things over and over again. So recently, I have downloaded a few apps on my phone so I can just listen to people talking. I usually listen to the previous night's NBC Nightly News broadcast on, "Tune In," then I listen to the Elvis Duran Replay Channel on, "iHeart Radio."  But today I was introduced to something new.

I have some new friends at work and one of them has been experiencing the same kind of lack of interest in listening to music at work. She suggested I try listening to this broadcast called, "This American Life." According to it's website, it's a weekly public radio broadcast. The themes of each broadcast change and are kind of like documentaries. They are usually about an hour long. So today, my friend suggest I listen to the broadcast she had just listened to. It was a broadcast from 2008 called, "Switched at Birth." It's a story about two families who had baby girls, and, somehow, the girls were given to the wrong parents.

This isn't something that happens every day. Especially nowadays when hospitals have gotten so much more diligent with their records and whatnot. However, this happened back in 1951. It didn't used to happen a lot back in those days either, so when it does, it's kind of a big deal. The babies who were accidentally switched at birth had no idea until they were 43 years old. So, of course the question is, how did they find out after so long? Well, here's the kicker--one of the mothers knew almost from day one that the child they brought home was not theirs.

Of course, the next question would be, how could this woman go 43 years, knowing she had the wrong child, knowing what family the child actually belonged to and knowing the hospital made a BIG mistake without telling someone? It turns out this mother told her husband she believed they had the wrong child. He believed her, but told her they should just let it go. They should keep quiet and just raise that child as their own because it was God's will that they were placed with that child. Of course there weren't too many tests back then to determine whether or not this mother was correct because DNA testing did not come about for 30 or so more years. When it was available, the mother had blood tests done to confirm her thoughts, and the only reason why the women ever found out was because this mother wrote letters to both the child that she raised and her biological daughter that was raised by another family.

This story made me quite sad because the daughter of the family who was unaware of the switch always felt like an outcast in her family. Her siblings were outgoing and personable and she was somewhat shy and reserved. She didn't have a great relationship with one of her brothers, and when the family was made aware of the switch, that brother sought out his biological sister and made an instant connection. This made the daughter even more of an outcast in her family. Not only was she not really "theirs" but it all made sense as to why she was always an outcast and they never tried to welcome her in after they found out.

What makes me upset is the fact that, not only did the one family know the whole time, but many families in the community knew as well. The mother who knew kept trying to drop hints to the other mother that their children might actually be each other's, but they were too subtle and somewhat strange for the other mother to pick up on. And what makes me the most upset is the fact that the one father, who was actually an Evangelical minister, kept telling his wife to just forget about the fact they were raising the wrong child. That it was God's will. She said she obeyed her husband because she knew if she didn't, it would be the end of their marriage. And back in the 1950's, wives faced public scrutiny if they disobeyed their husbands.

I just cannot imagine going through almost half of my life knowing I had the wrong child and knowing what family had my real child. I can't imagine that I would be that submissive to my husband to not follow my instincts to seek out my real child earlier in their life. I would never believe that it was God's will to keep the wrong child, especially if I knew. I would be under the impression that it's God's will that I found out and it would be my duty to make the other family aware. It's just hard for me to comprehend. It wouldn't make me love that child any less. I guess it would kind of be like adopting another person's child, but it wasn't done willingly. Just knowing my real child was given to someone else by accident would drive me crazy.

Can you imagine going through the better part of your life keeping a secret like that? It's no wonder she had to come out with it eventually.

Well, it's been a while...

Since I have posted ANYTHING. 

We FINALLY got internet at our house on Sunday. And, you know, we have only had our house since the end of OCTOBER. About damn time in my opinion, but I digress. 

I am kind of in one of those moods where I have SO much on my mind that I just want to write about everything and anything. So, I am just going to be lame and fill out some get-to-know you questions. I actually really love doing these because it makes me think more about aspects about myself that I really don't think about too often. And it helps you (whoever you are) get to know the person behind the computer. Although, I don't think I really have too many people read this too often. Oh well. 

Favorites

1. What was your favorite food when you were a child?

I really loved pickles, and I still do. Pickles and peanut butter was something my mom and I would eat all the time. Don't knock it 'til you try it. It's delicious.

2. What’s the #1 most played song on your iPod?

Well, I had this favorite song in high school, and if my actual old, ghetto iPod kept track of how many times my songs have been played (my parents' old computer did), I could tell you the exact number, but I can't. However, I can tell you that I know for sure that the song "Badd" by Mike Jones and the Ying Yang Twins was played probably about 100 more times than the next most-played song. Just gets me pumped up for whatever reason. Ha.

3. What is one of your favorite quotes?

Ad Astra Per Aspera. It's Latin for: To the stars through difficulty. I actually have it tattooed on my right rib cage. It serves as a reminder that not everything in life comes easily, and that's ok.

4. What’s your favorite indoor/outdoor activity?

My favorite indoor activity... hmm. Well, sleeping is awesome. I am not going to include my REAL favorite indoor activity because it is answered in question 6. Outdoor activity... I really just love being outside, especially when it starts to get warm. This winter seems to have been especially long and cold compared to the last, and I am just ready to start going on walks and runs outside and to enjoy nature!!

5. What chore do you absolutely hate doing?

All of them? I really hate folding laundry. I pretty much wait about a week after doing laundry to actually fold it. We have a dishwasher, so the dishes do themselves and... well... I like to think the house doesn't get THAT dirty that I need to clean every week. I am sure a lot of people would disagree, and I know I am just lying to myself, but for now, I am fine with that. Ha.

6. What is your favorite form of exercise?

I am in love with volleyball. Specifically indoor/court volleyball. Sand volleyball is fun because you can get down and dirty and dive for balls without the threat of seriously injuring yourself like you would diving on a hard-wood floor, but hitting is my strong point for volleyball, so I prefer court volleyball. Unfortunately, my body is starting to show the wear and tear it has experienced through all of my sporting years. My knees hurt almost all the time now from playing league volleyball lately, and I am pretty sure that's not a good thing...

7. What is your favorite time of day/day of the week/month of the year?

Favorite time of day would have to be when I can come home and just relax. Day of the week is any day that doesn't involve work the next day. Month would have to be any month between May and October. I am starting to love April and May more and more lately now that I have realized all the pretty and delicious-smelling flowers come out at those times. Spring better get here soon, damn it.

8. What’s your least favorite mode of transportation?

I don't really have a least favorite. Taxis maybe. Public transit in big cities is aweome. Favorite though... I'll be honest, I love rollerblading. If I could rollerblade everywhere, I would. I also really love to ride bikes. Unfortunately, the only bike I currently own is one I got when I was 10. I was pretty tall back then, too, but I am definitely taller now and the seat is pulled all the way up, and it's still not high enough. I wish bikes weren't so damn expensive. Time to look on Craigslist I guess.

9. What is your favorite body part?

Of mine? I would have to say from my mid-thighs down to right above my ankles. I feel like my legs have always been a good feature, and they are SUPER long. But since I have stopped playing sports and lifting... they have suffered. I am trying to start a lifting regimen again, but I keep putting it off. And why stop right above my ankles? Ankles are just not attractive, and I have sprained mine so many times, they aren't something pretty to look at.

10. What sound do you love?

This is probably a lot of people's favorite sound, but I really just love thunderstorms. There is nothing like sitting out in the garage or under a covered porch and watching/listening to a thunderstorm in the spring and summer. 

If's

1. If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like and what would it be for?

I think throwing a Ancient Greece/Ancient Roman party would be AWESOME. It would be filled with lots of alcohol and food, togas and olive branch crowns. And I would throw because I frickin' can. I don't need a reason.

2. If you could paint a picture of any scenery you’ve seen before, what would you paint?

I would probably paint the scenery I saw outside of our hostel in Florence, Italy. It was kind of foggy when I saw it, and it wasn't exactly the most beautiful time of year for that area, but it was still gorgeous. Or, I would paint the river and the famous bridge in Florence. I can't remember what the bridge is called, but it has houses/apartments on it that people actually live in. It was pretty cool.

3. If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be?

Twenty-one would be nice. Old enough to partake in adult beverages and whatnot, but I don't feel like people take you seriously enough at that age still. I would probably go with somewhere between 24 and 28. Those seem like prime years.

4. If you knew the world was ending in 2012, what would you do differently?

Apparently, this is an old list because, well, I am still here and it's 2013. BUT, I would probably get more involved in things, like clubs and organizations, go back to school and major in something I am REALLY passionate about and spend less time worrying about what other people think.

5. If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?

I would have to go with someone like Gandhi. I feel like I worry too often and stress about things that don't need to be stressed about. Also, I tend to get a little angrier about things than I would like to sometimes, so I would just like to learn his calming ways. Ha, ha.

6. If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be?

I am not quite sure about that one. I feel like most of the events that really interest me are catastrophic ones, and I don't want to creep anyone out by saying I would love to see the Titanic sink. That just makes me seems heartless. I recently saw Schindler's List for the first time, and I guess I would have loved to have been there at the end when the war ended and he "freed" all of the Jews he had working for him. That would be incredible.

7. If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?

I think it would be fun to be a surgeon. It would be stressful, but to have that kind of skill would be awesome. Neurosurgeon maybe?

8. If you had to work on only one project for the next year, what would it be?

I think it would be cool to train for a triathlon. I am not sure if that really constitutes as a "project" though. Or, I would really love to work on projects for non-profit, world-bettering organizations.

9. If you were immortal for a day, what would you do?

Skydive, bungee jump, scuba dive in dangerous waters, save people from car wrecks... you know.. the usual.

10. If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?

Not really sure I like this question. I don't really think my name suits me in the first place , but even then it's hard to imagine any other name. Maybe Charlotte after my grandma. I would pick my other grandma's name since I was closer with her, but her name was Thelma Elnora Bandfield, sooooo..................... Elnora isn't too bad I guess...

11. If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet?

I think it would be interesting to meet the post-war Hilter... just to see how he liked getting his ass kicked.

12. If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?

I know this sounds lame, but pay off all my debts. Then pay off some of my family's debts and my friends' debts too. Then I would probably buy something big.

13. If you were reincarnated as an animal/drink/ice cream flavor, what would it be?

Animal: Chinchilla. Those things are so darn cute and fuzzy.

Drink: a Dirty Shirley. Who doesn't love a Shirley Temple with some Vodka?

Ice Cream Flavor: Chocolate Caramel. Because that shit is delicious.

14. If you could know the answer to any question, besides “What is the meaning of life?”, what would it be?

What about the next best thing.... Do Aliens exist? Or, is there a higher being? Or, why don't we have a 4-day work-week?

15. If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose?

Dr. Gregory House. (The female version??)

Personal

1. Which celebrity do you get mistaken for?

I was once told I kind of look like the girl from Step Up 2, but no... I don't. At all.

2. What do you want to be when you grow up?

Well, I am kind of already grown up, so it's a little late for that question, but I would still like to pursue something in the medical/mental health field... I still got tiiiiiiiiiiime.

3. When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time?

Internet. Lame. But true.

4. What would you name the autobiography of your life?

The Least Interesting Book About Someone's Life You'll Ever Read... Probably.

5. What songs are included on the soundtrack to your life?

My iTunes Library. Enough said. 

History

1. Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was bad but it turned out to be for the best?

I am not going to say something lame like a break-up because I have already had enough lame answers anyway. So, I will say the time I was in a car that ran over my best friend. Yes. You read that correctly. I am a lot more cautious and appreciative of the fragility of life now that I know how close I came to losing someone I cared about in a tragic accident.

2. What was one of the best parties you've ever been to?

Uh...? Can't say that I have ever really been to any SUPER AWESOME parties. So... yeah.

3. What was the last movie, TV show or book that made you cry or tear up?

Either Grey's Anatomy or Long Island Medium. I am a sucker.

4. What’s the hardest thing you've ever done?

Quit volleyball in college. Pretty much gave up on myself.

5. What was the last experience that made you a stronger person?

Coming to terms with the fact I wasted precious time I could have spent with my grandma before she passed away. I try not to waste any time I spend or can spend with anyone I care about anymore.

6. What did you do growing up that got you into trouble?

Talked back to my mom, but as soon as my dad came in the room, I shut my mouth REAL quick. If you've ever seen my dad, you'd know why.

7. When was the last time you had an amazing meal?

Probably the last time I ate a GOOD steak. Can't remember when that was, though.

8. What’s the best/worst gift you’ve ever given/received?

No comment? I really don't tend to think of gifts that way. But, best "gift" I guess would have been my parents allowing me to study in London for a semester? Yeah, that was pretty awesome.

9. What do you miss most about being a kid?

Having a relatively care-free life.

10. What is your first memory of being really excited?

Before I went to my first concert. And YES, it was Garth Brooks. I was 7.

11. What was the first thing you bought with your own money?

The first REAL thing I bought besides food was a trampoline. Saved up my money for what seemed like forever for that puppy.

12. When was the last time you were nervous?

Playing in an intense match of volleyball last week. I wasn't sure if we were going to win it or not. But don't worry. We did. Ha, ha.

13. What is something you learned in the last week?

Don't throw up over a bridge during St. Patrick's Day when cops are right next to you. Luckily, they didn't say anything to me.

14. What story does your family always tell about you?

The time I was screaming my head off, waiting in line to go to some fair. I wouldn't shut up and my dad was getting pissed, so he gave me two good swats on my butt and that was that. I was quiet for the rest of the day. Ha.

15. At what age did you become an adult?

I still don't feel like I am an adult. I am an adult, I work a full-time job, and I have financial responsibilities, but I don't think I am quite and "adult" yet.

Rando Commando

1. Is a picture worth a thousand words? Elaborate.

I have yet to see a picture that can immediately make me think of 1000 legitimate words to describe it, so no. Maybe more like 56 words.

2. Where’s Waldo?

I'd tell you, but I would have to kill you first. Yes, you heard me... first.

3. The best part of waking up is?

Realizing you still have 3 more hours to sleep.

4. How now brown cow?

Ask the screaming goats.

Hope you didn't die or boredom reading this. 

Listen Up...

We all probably know about what happened on December 14th, 2012. And if you live out of the country and don't know... here is a little recap... Twenty-six (26) people were shot and killed in and elementary school by a 20-year-old gunman. Twenty of those people were children between the ages of six and seven. The rest were obviously adults, including teachers, the principal and the school's psychologist. Later, police had found the gunman's mother in her house, who also had been shot and killed... by her own son. The gunman also took his own life at the elementary school.

Now that you have that little recap, I am going to go on a rant about the things I am SO tired of hearing about since this incident. 

Here are a few of the things I have been hearing:

1.) We need more gun control

2.) If this person had Jesus and God in his life, this wouldn't have happened

3.) This person was CRAZY 

4.) Violent movies, TV shows and video games cause people to lash out in these ways
5.) The gunman was only doing this to gain notoriety and have his face plastered all over the news 

So, now to tackle the first one. If we had more gun control, things like this wouldn't happen. Well, yes and no. While I agree some things about gun control need to be changed or altered, I don't think making guns completely illegal is the answer. I know that is not what a lot of people who are calling for gun control are asking for, but... you get what I am saying. I was listening to Simon on Talk Radio 1040 this weekend on my way to a friend's house for the weekend (two-hour trip). He stated he wanted to change the gun laws... but what he wanted to do was have at least twenty percent of teachers trained in shooting firearms and be able to carry a firearm during school hours to ensure safety of the students. There is actually a picture out there of a school in the Middle East of a teacher doing just that, and the school shootings in that country are much lower than those of the US. This, in my opinion, isn't a bad idea, but at the same time, there would have to be hours and hours of safety training, not just in the handling of those firearms, but also in how to keep them away from the students and to be sure a student doesn't try to take the gun away from the teacher, etc, etc. It would definitely take a while. 

Now, one of weapons the gunman was carrying was a Bushmaster (one of the three weapons he was carrying). From what I understand, this type of weapon is a semi-automatic assault rifle. It carries more than twenty rounds in a clip and is able to fire back to back rather quickly depending on how fast the shooter is pulling the trigger. The question here is, why in the world would any lay-person of the world NEED to have a weapon of this type? Why would anyone need more than twenty rounds at a time? Hunters don't even want things like that. I just don't understand why these types of weapons need to be made available to people of the public. The other two weapons that the gunman had with him were hand guns. One was a ten milometer Glock, and the other was a nine milometer Sig Sauer. To me, those mean nothing other than the fact they are hand guns with specific measurements of bullets required (just about like any other gun). I feel as though those who are responsible enough to sanely possess and carry a hand gun have every right to do so. My father has a few himself, including a shot gun. He has never had a problem with them. He keeps one in the glove box of his car, just in case, and one in his night stand, just in case. Otherwise, he never really touches them. Like the old saying goes, one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. The bad choices of the few, ruin the rules and laws for the rest of us. 

And what's more, making guns illegal is not going to entirely solve the problem of gun violence or get them off the streets. Firstly, if someone wants to kill someone badly enough, they will kill them. They will find a way to do it, whether it be with a knife or their own bare hands. When someone wants to do something bad enough, they will find a way to do it. Which leads me to my next point... If someone wants a gun badly enough when they are illegal, they will find a way to get them. Putting more laws on guns and who is allowed to have them and who isn't is going to open up the black market like crazy for others. In my opinion, it's just like drugs... whether or not they are illegal, people will always find a way to get them. And in most cases, it will always be the bad apples that get the guns instead of the responsible ones who want them for whatever reason other than trying to scare others or threaten them for no good reason. And keep in mind, the gunman stole these weapons from his mother (who is rumored to be an avid gun collector). He had been to at least one store (Dick's Sporting Goods) in the days prior to the shootings trying to buy a gun and was denied. So, like I said... people will find a way. Granted they were more easily accessible for him to get to because his mother had them, but think about the Aurora Theater gunman who only needed access to the internet to get what he wanted...

Thanks to a friend for sharing this article with me, I had the opportunity to read and almost confirm all of what I stated above. Well, maybe not confirm, but definitely back up my points. Here is the article >>

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/335739/facts-about-mass-shootings-john-fund

Gun regulation may be necessary in some aspects, but to start making them illegal and putting harsh restrictions on them is not the whole answer. 

Now, onto my second point from the beginning. I have seen/heard a lot of people saying if this guy had God in his life, he wouldn't have done this, etc... But do we really even know what his religious views were? Probably not. In my opinion, religion has NOTHING to do with what happened. The argument is that people who have God and Jesus are moral people with a good head on their shoulders. But, I know plenty of people who have no religion, either being agnostic or atheist, who are WONDERFUL people. They have great morals and greats heads on their shoulders and are able to make wise decisions and treat others with great respect. I also know people who do have religion that are the exact same. On the other end, I know quite a few people who are religious, who are Christians, who claim they have God and Jesus in their lives, yet they hate homosexuals, they hate Jews and Blacks and other religious groups. Ever heard of the Westboro Baptist Church? Extreme example, I understand, but they claim to have God and Jesus in their lives after all... Just because you are a Christian does not make you a better, more moral person than someone else. And just because you do not have a religion does not make you any less moral than anyone else. That's the funny thing about groups of people. You can generalize all you want about the group, but more often than not, people will not fit the preconceived notion of what you think they are. More often than not, people will not fit the mold you think the entire group should fit. 

It's amazing that religion always seems to be brought up in tragedies such as these. You can seek solace in God and Jesus all you want to help yourself cope with this tragedy if you wish, but to condemn someone you really know nothing about because of their religion, or lack thereof, is not very Christian-like. As I said before, we really don't know all too much about the gunman's life, let alone his religious views. So can we please just DROP the religion/Jesus/God argument?

What's next? Oh, yes. This guy was CRAZY! That is very politically correct of you to say! ...Not... What we do know, or at least from what we heard, is the gunman had a form of Autism. Does this mean his Autism caused him to do something like this? No. There is a huge spectrum of Autism, and after a while, it gets pretty confusing because there are high-functioning Autistic people and low-functioning Autistic people. I have no idea on what end of the spectrum the gunman was on. But what I DO know about Autism is that people with this disorder experience very strong emotions. And what is the most important thing to know when you experience strong emotions? Regulation of said emotions. If someone is not properly taught how to regulate their emotions, they are obviously going to have episodes, regardless of their mental function and capacity. So, if it is true that the gunman had a form of Autism, this whole situation could have been brought on by the fact he was experiencing some strong emotions and wasn't sure how to deal with those emotions. After all, it is rumored he had gotten into some type of argument with four teachers a day or two prior to the shootings. He could have still been fuming from that situation and, without his ability to properly regulate his emotions and think clearly and in a problem-solving manner, decided to do what he did. However; that is not to say all people with forms of Autism are not able to make such problem-solving decisions.

And this isn't just about Autism... it's about mental health in general which will help me tie my fourth point into the above paragraph. The problem with society today is we don't help those who are most in need of our help. Yes, we have welfare and things such as that, but there are a lot of people who are on welfare who don't need it... who are mooching off of the government in any way they can because they don't want to work. We will always complain that there is never enough government funding going into various programs. But I will tell you one thing for sure... we do NOT have enough money, whether government or otherwise, going into mental health.

Most people are deterred from seeking a profession in the mental health field because the pay-out is less than desired. Which means that the people who are mentally ill are not getting the help they need because the funding isn't there. Regardless of the fact that the gunman had Autism, there was a deeper, darker underlying problem going on with his thought processes. Problems for which he never received help. Who is to blame for that? I am not really sure. It could be that his mother denied that he needed help and didn't want to get it for him. It could be that his mother wanted to get help for him, but he refused, and being a twenty-year-old adult, he doesn't need to listen to his mother anymore. Who really knows why this guy didn't receive the help that he needed, and there is not one thing in particular that made this massacre happen which is why I have my fourth point...

People are always complaining that violent TV shows, movies and video games cause those who watch/play them to become violent as well. I don't know how to put this lightly... but that is bull sh*t. Out of the millions of people who watch those things and play those games... how many of them become violent themselves and engage in the behaviors that happened on Friday the 14th? Far too few to even think that it is the sole contributing factor. What a lot of it comes down to is nature vs. nurture. Sometimes, not matter how great of an environment a child comes from, they become corrupt by no fault of their parents. And other times, the environment they come from has almost everything to do with how they turn out.

But what is more important to understand is those who commit these heinous acts and blame their love for violent shows and video games are mentally disturbed. They have a distorted perception of reality, and unless they get help for it, something bad is almost bound to happen. Those people do not understand the difference between what is real and what they perceive to be real. So they do what they please because they think it fits in with their perception of reality. If violent shows and video games had as much of an effect on the way our society behaves as people claim, we would have a lot more problems than we do now.

And my fifth point can be tied into the last two. In my opinion, and by no statistical background do I say this, more often than not, I feel as though becoming a media sensation is the last thing on someone's mind when they do something like that. They couldn't care less about what the media is going to say about them. Why do I think that? Because people who do things such as what happened in Newtown, Connecticut is because they are mentally disturbed. Something happened that set them off to the point where they decided to make the choices they made. The people who want media attention are those who commit acts such as what happened on 09/11/2001. They wanted America to know how much hate they had for us. And it worked. The gunman in Newtown was obviously targeting an elementary school, but whether or not he had intended to go after just the adults or children is unknown. He was returning to a place in which he experienced a situation that sent him off the deep end... to the point of no return.

What this situation DOES tell us about the gunman is the immense importance of supporting our mental health system. This gunman was experiencing something so psychologically abnormal, and it could have been prevented had someone paid attention to the warning signs, no matter how briefly they were present.

I apologize for my terrible writing in this post, but my mind is all over the place regarding this incident. It's hard enough to lose a family member or someone close to you, but to lose a child that has their entire life ahead of them, is unfathomable. My heart and my deepest sympathies go out to the families who lost their loved ones and children and the community of  Newtown. It is unfortunate that something like this has to happen in order to prompt our nation to look at what needs to be changed. 

I really HATE

Not having internet at home!!

I am busy at my new job... enough to the point I am not able to blog there. And we cannot find an internet company we want to commit to yet, so we are just using our phones.

It's so hard to not be blogging, or on pinterest, or browsing CNN. Ugh!! :( Soon I hope...

Yep

I just can't get over how adorable this is... love Love LOVE :)

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c2#/video/living/2012/10/20/orig-jtb-distractrion-slow-loris-rice-ball.cnn