THE HUNGER GAMES "Murderous movie.." Controversy

Okay. So obviously, the media has issues with the fact that The Hunger Games is about teens fighting to the death. I would like to address this issue.

FIRST OF ALL, The Hunger Games is not - not - about teenagers fighting to the death. The books are about the corruption of the US government, and how that corruption could potentially destroy our nation and our humanity. Suzanne Collins [author] used the Games as a way to get through to everybody just how power-hungry leadership can destroy even the strongest nation in the world.

Secondly, what movie doesn't have murder involved? Is it better for an adult to be murdering another adult than it is for a teenager murdering a teenager? Seriously. I am not at all saying it's right, but rather that it's inevitable.

And finally, if you don't want to see the movie, then don't. It doesn't make someone else's parents bad if they allow their kids to see it, and it doesn't make you good for not seeing. It's merely a matter of opinion.

And mine is that people shouldn't judge others based on what movies they watch.

Judgy, Judgy, Judgy

All teens are the same. 

You cannot find a more judgmental, crazy, dumb or false statement than that. People hear a few horror stories about a half dozen teens in the nation, and immediately jump to the conclusion that all teens are like that.

I've heard it said at least a dozen times that high school is harder than college. Of course, that may depend on what school you go to, and what classes you take. But for the most part, yeah. It is true. In college, you choose your courses. You come to class wearing whatever you want and stay as long as you want. Usually you'll have a few hours of school in the morning and then you're done for the day. In college, you can pretty much whatever; granted you probably won't get the best grades if you constantly skip class, but you won't be slammed with detentions if you have to miss a day. 

So yeah, I believe high school is a heck of a lot harder than college. We just want to relax and let loose a bit. At the end of the week, all we want to do is have fun and pretend, even if for only a day, that we don't have hours worth of homework sitting in our rooms just waiting to be done.

No one can really understand how stressful being a teenager in the 21st century. It's a whole different ballgame compared to when our parents were at this age. More homework, harder homework, and you have to find that balance between social and school life or you'll get seriously depressed. You need a few awesome friends, who really get you, and sometimes it takes a while to find those friends. You have to decide which college you want to go to, and then make sure you have all the requirements just to apply. Then, in your junior year, you have to massively study for the ACT/SATs, in addition to the more/harder homework. Then you've got all your extracurriculars, on top of the average 4-5 hours of sleep that most teens get every night, which is barely half of how many hours people between 13-18 years old need. 

So next time, before you judge a "troublesome" looking group of high school students standing around outside a Walgreens, try to remember that it's difficult it is to be a teenager in the 21st century. We're pulled in all directions, trying to live for today while also planning for the future. 

Works for Me!

One of the best things about being homeschooled is having the ability to spontaneously take a day off every now and then. Oh yeah, I didn't mention that before, did I? Being homeschooled. Well, now you know. Here the top three most commonly asked questions about being homeschooled, and my answers:


1. "Do you have any friends?" No. I sit in a dark room and talk to my hand puppets in my spare time. Of course I have friends. School isn't the only place you meet people, you know.
2. "Do you do your homework in your pajamas?"  Uh, yeah. (What I find funniest about this question is how people react when I say yes, like it's the most awesome thing ever to do math homework in pajamas).
3. "But what about prom?" ...What about it, exactly? Honestly, I've been asked this by more adults than teenagers...which is a little weird, don't you think?

And of course, contrary to popular belief, I am not required to wear any of the following:
1. Ankle length skirts.
2. Overalls.
3. A bun.
4. Conservative business-woman attire.
5. A leash.

I am your every day 16 year old girl who goes to the mall at least once a month, never has enough clothes and reads Seventeen Magazine. I love to plan parties and go to the pool and have new experiences as often as I can. I just happen to take three college courses and do my schoolwork on my kitchen table.

A lot of people ask why I'm homeschooled, and it's a good question. They ask if my parents made me, if I've been homeschooled all my life or if I like it. My mom brought up the idea of homeschooling while I was in third grade and enrolled in private school. When I first heard what it was, it totally freaked me out. I was all, "No way! I want to be with my friends in normal school." So my mom didn't bring it up again. But then the idea really started sinking in, and I'd think about it while I was at school or with my friends. After a few months I started to realize that my friends weren't very nice to me. They actually just kinda ignored me, I guess. I was way ahead in school because my mom had done some stuff with me over the summer. I was really starting to consider it.

Then fourth grade come around, and I really didn't get along with my teacher. I still felt the same way about my friends. I went up to my mom and said, "I want to try homeschooling." Halfway through fourth grade I packed up my desk and left. My mom said if I didn't like homeschooling I could always go back to normal school. I never did.

So yeah. I like homeschooling. After all, I'm an at-home high school junior. It's not so much that I didn't want to go to high school...but I just knew I wouldn't fit there. I don't swear, drink, do drugs and I've never had a boyfriend. Honestly, I'm way too immature for one. I have amazing friends who get me now, so what did school have to offer me? More stress? No thanks.

Next year, I'll technically be in college. I've got this plan, to do my degree requisites at community college, so then when I get to University I'll have all the boring stuff done and the credits complete, so I can take courses I'm really interested in and study abroad. Six months in Europe and the other six in Australia and New Zealand.

So no, homeschooling is certainly not for everyone, but it sure is for me.

KONY 2012

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that pretty much everyone at this point has heard of the KONY 2012 movement by Invisible Children. If not, log onto Facebook and I guarantee you'll be well educated within the next half hour.

Let's look at this somewhat logically. On the one hand, we have this completely viral Internet sensation that is #stopkony. People are coming together to fight Joseph Kony, who has been oppressing the children of Africa for the past 20+ years by abducting and turning little girls into prostitutes and young boys into child soldiers. The movement is, essentially, a fight to get the US government to do something about the official arrest of Kony, which needs to happen this year while the interest level is high.

Recently, a blog post came up on Twitter by a Grant Oyston, who believes that while this is a great cause, the goal is ultimately unattainable because of financial issues, etc. He has a whole list of numbers if you wish to see them (Read it here: http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/). Then there are a whole bunch of critques who call this the "worst idea ever", using big words to describe the insanity of the college aged kids who started the group and the impossibility of their goal.

Back up...did I say college aged?

Yes. Kids in their teens and early twenties got up out of their chairs and did something. For the past 8 years, they have been campaigning to stop Joseph Kony and to save the children who are affected or will be. Now you can criticize Invisible Children and write angry posts about how much they actually spend on helping the children, or the insane amount of money this would cost, considering the financial issues the US currently has. Or whatever you don't like about the movement.

The thing is, they're doing something. And I would go as far as to say that something IS better than nothing. Because six months ago, nobody knew who Joseph Kony was or what he was doing. Now, people know. And when those people believe in something enough, they'll e-mail senators and write to celebrities. They'll stand outside in the pouring rain to get the government's attention. They can make all the difference in the world, because the people are who ultimately run this country.

So yeah, maybe you don't like the way Invisible Children is doing their thing. But the fact is, they're doing something. So go out there and make your voice known, because this is just the beginning of the end to Joseph Kony.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc
Watch the video. Take the pledge at www.kony2012.com.

TTYL.

RL

RL is an abbreviation for Real Life. As opposed to life through cell phones or online profiles. RL refers to the real world, where things aren't perfect and people aren't as ready to say whatever they feel like. Real life can be amazing, terrible, ugly, and perhaps completely unfair.

I learned that last summer, when I volunteered as a camp counselor up at LGYC (Lake Geneva Youth Camp) for a couple of weeks. My first year as a counselor. I remember all the people who told me I was crazy for being excited about it, but I couldn't help it. I had wanted to counsel for three years, and last year, I was finally old enough.

I went completely prepared - or so I'd thought. I had attended the training sessions and learned how to control practically any emergency that could possibly occur - from a missing camper to a tornado sand storm. I went, prepared for the physical exhausted I would undoubtedly experience from being in charge of between 8 and 12 middle school aged girls.

What I was totally unprepared for was the enormous emotional toll counseling takes, especially when you had girls like mine. In the two weeks I counseled at LGYC, I visited the camp nurse seventeen times. Various injuries included sprained fingers, swallowed bug spray and a girl who banged her head on the metal soccer goal post. Two experienced homesickness for at least the first couple nights. One of my girls got a letter from her parents, which said that she and her family would be moving to Switzerland at the end of the year. Another's best friend died in a car accident only a few months before she came to camp. And one of my girls were in foster care.

Her social worker paid for her and her sisters to come to camp, to get them out of the way for a while. In just the past couple of years, her home had burned to the ground, her dad had died, and she and her sisters had been out into separate foster homes. Her mother, while still alive, never came to see her or tell her why she was in foster care in the first place. This girl was 9 years old.

I wish I could tell you her name. I wish I could tell you because she inspired me, with her attitude and outlook on life. That little girl was one of the strongest people I had ever met in my life. I pray for her all the time, and I hope that we might see each other again one day. She's had a harder life than anyone else I know, and she deserves everything she's never had.

Being a camp counselor was one of the best experiences of my life. I will never regret meeting this beautiful, strong, amazing girls. And I'm SO going back this year.