Things To Make Sure To Do Before You Die

                   (My personal Bucket List)
1. I want to find a permanent joy in my life because life is too short to be anything but happy.
2. I want to try something i have never tried, like sky diving for example. Even though just the sound of it scares the living heck out of me.
3. I want to run some kind of marathon before i die, just so i can push myself to the limit.
4. I want to travel to a new country I've never been to before, such as France because I've always wanted to go there.
5. I want to find my dream job especially before i die, so i can do what i love for the rest of my life.
6. I want to make my parents proud just once before i die, for something extraordinary.
7. I want to have kids before i die, and get married to the love of my life. This would bring meaning to my life in every way.
8. Something I've been wanting to do for a long time is learn how to snowboard. I would love to learn how to snowboard before i die because it seems so fun.
9. I would like to learn a second language before i die, because i have family in a few different countries. It would be cool if i could speak Spanish with my grandparents who live in Madrid, Spain.
10. The last and most important thing i want to do before i die is, live my life with no regrets. I want to be able to accept what i cannot change and continue on looking at life in a positive way. I am only human, and i have to remember that everything happens for a reason :)

             

"No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle" - Winston Churchill 

Work & Happiness

I think it's important to love what you do. Some people work for the money, and others just genuinely love their job (Money aside). I couldn't STAND my most recent job which was at Target a few months back. From the get-go all I really wanted was to make some money. I woke up every morning dreading to go to work, and the only thing that really motivated me was the fact that i was getting paid. The job was horrible and all of the team members were under paid. Even though i was getting a pay check from Target, it was never enough for me. I lasted a few months at the company and ended up quitting. I hope to find something i can truly relate to and enjoy in the future.

My Success

My own definition of success may be different from others.
Success for me isn't just about making money. To me it's more like being happy and being content with the way your life is. That is true success to me!

    This first picture is obviously really old… And well that's because this is my mom at exactly my age. 18! She was really involved with 4H throughout high school, and this is a picture of her showing her horse "Black Beauty" at some event. The second more vibrant picture is a picture of me riding at also the age of 18. So anyways, success to me is being able to do what you love. My mom is who got me following in her footsteps. I too have a passion for horses and riding especially, and i owe it to her. I've always been super close to my mom and i cherish our relationship. To share something like this has always felt special to me.

This might sound silly, but success for me is also being able to accomplish something you thought you never could. This right here is the Hollywood Tower of Terror ride in Disneyland, California. I was here last summer with one of my closest friends and her family when i took this picture. Unfortunately for me though i have a terrible fear of heights after a bad experience once on Drop Zone. (A ride at a different theme park). My friend was begging me to go on the ride with the rest of them and i refused. After much consideration though and a few hours later when we came back to the ride, i agreed to ride it once. It was an experience for me, and the best part was that i had convinced myself upon leaving for Disneyland that i was not going to ride it. This was a personal success.

Another important part of success, is being able to make your own decisions and be happy with them. Know inside that they mean something and you did them for the right reasons. This is not a real tattoo.. but it is a Henna tattoo of a real life tattoo that i hope to get in a couple months. For me the bird is the most important part of this image. For me it signifies freedom and the idea that i don't need anyone else to keep me up. I can fly on my own and support myself. I've always been drawn to this sparrow bird and i've gotten a henna tattoo of it every year. Getting a tattoo like this would be huge for me. This would be me asserting my independence, making a statement for myself.

Last but not least, success is about appreciating what we have in life. Enjoying our surroundings and taking in every moment. This picture is of Stinson Beach, right outside my great grandmothers backyard. My parents and my grandparents grew up here, and i've enjoyed spending some of my summers here in the past. I took this picture a few years ago, but it's just as beautiful as the last time i remember it. My success is allowing myself to let go and live life to the fullest.

Good ol' Advertising

The harder you look at ads, the more you realize just how much they affect our choices and decisions. Everywhere i look i see the same thing. Advertising targets us to buy into what they think we should be doing with our lives. How to dress, what cellphones to have, and most importantly how to stay relevant and "in" with the crowd. Most of us don't know how to avoid this temptation. We figure that it isn't affecting us because we don't necessarily invest our time and money into everything that is available to us out there. We don't realize that advertising exists almost every which way we look, and sometimes we find ourselves indulging in the hype without even knowing it.

Peaceful Paradise

In this ever so peaceful paradise the trees sway like the seasons.
These tree's stand tall and mighty against the brutal and unrelenting breeze.
This is when the hardy creations are at their greatest.
The palms are rough and slick like a sliver of sandpaper.

The sky is painted a light baby blue with an endless splash of white.
The water shifts as day slowly transforms into night.
In the distance lies the islands ever so changing landscape.
All five toes sink into the warm and sludge like sand as your feet begin to take flight.

           

5 Looks on the Book

Sameness, Emotionless, Colorless, Conforming, Pain.

Sameness- The community Jonas resides in prohibits the thought of difference among people. It is considered insensitive to point out anything unsettling or off about anyone in any way. The thought of someone not fitting in, was unheard of.

Emotionless- This community does not allow the expression of emotions, they are suppressed and ignored all together. It is a rule to share whatever you are feeling and if the feelings are not appropriate they are handled in a certain way.

Colorless- As the Giver explained to Jonas, the community decided on sameness. They rejected color and sunshine to do away with difference among people. They made this choice long long ago. They have no color, they are plain and generic.

Conforming- This way of life is all about making decisions for the people. None of them have a say in what they want. They have conformed themselves to this life style and have no other freedoms. This community is controlling.

Pain- Jonas experiences pain through memory as the Giver begins to show him the hardship of life. He begins to struggle with the feeling that he wants a change. He wants the others to realize what they are going through. That they aren't truly happy and should not be content with the circumstances they're in.                            


                                   

Unit 2 Discussion Online Identity

This chapter has made me realize just how much we broadcast our private lives without a care in the world. We feel the need to post every little detail about ourselves, to anyone who is willing to listen. The Internet allows us to be anyone we want to be, whether we act as ourselves or play a role. I often find myself wondering if the person I'm talking to is really who they say they are.