Make It Interesting

I really love cats. I love cats so much that I actually have 4 of them. I love them all very much. One of them is really fat and gray, but her paws and the area around her mouth are white so it looks like she was walking in milk and has a milk mustache. Her name is Sarah. Like I said, she is super fat and never misses a meal! She eats a lot more than my other cats. Technically she belongs to my moms boyfriend since he had her first. She is older, and she can't meow! We don't know why she can't, but it's really funny watching her move her mouth and have no sound come out. She gets angry very easily and can hiss and purr, but for whatever reason she cannot meow!

Another one of my cats is also gray. This one has tan all over it, and it has the prettiest green eyes ever. We named her Mysti. Out of all of my cats, this one is probably the most lovable and affectionate. She's so adorable, and I could cuddle with her for hours. Sometimes I will let her sleep with me at night. My favorite thing about this cat is that it will talk to people. Whenever I meow at her, she will meow back. When you pick her up, you have to be careful though, because if she gets scared while you're holding her, she will dig her claws into you and it'll hurt really bad.

My other cat, who is actually Mysti's sister, is named Luna. She is black and has tan spots. This cat is friendly, but has always liked to hide. She's scared easily, especially of new people. We adopted her and Mysti from a pet store a few years ago, and ever since we got her, she's always liked to hide under beds and in closets and stuff. If she is in your room at night when you're trying to sleep, sometimes she will hope onto your bed and cuddle with you so much that it actually gets annoying!

The last cat, who is also the youngest and is my favorite, is named Spoofy. One day when I was younger, I was in my backyard jumping on my trampoline with a friend. I looked over at a tree near the trampoline and I saw a kitten in it! I reached over and grabbed her, and she was so scared that her hair was all puffed up. I decided to call her Spoofy, and asked my mom if we could keep her, and we have had her ever since. She's always been a wild cat, although she's smaller than all my other cats. She is notorious for bringing little animals into our house. She's constantly bringing in birds and lizards, and one time she somehow managed to get a bunny twice her size into our bathtub! We used to try and keep all of our cats indoors so that they wouldn't get killed by coyotes, but we couldn't keep this cat inside! Whenever we'd open a door, she'd bolt out. I've loved this little cat from day one and always will.

Different Schools I've Been To

I have gone to quite a few different schools since I started high school. The first high school I attended was Newport Harbor High School. At the time, I had just moved to the Newport/Mesa area, and didn't really know very many people. I was not happy at all that I had to go to Newport Harbor, and I was a little nervous as well. I attended there for most of my freshman year. During that time, I made some friends, but even still I wish I hadn't moved down here. At Harbor, I started out getting decent grades, but by the end of my time there, I had almost all failing grades. That is when they decided to send me to Access.

I ended up going to 2 different Access sites. The first one was Santiago Creek in Santa Ana. That was probably my favorite place out of all of the schools I've been to so far. When I got there, I already knew a lot of the people, and I liked most of the new people I met. I went to the day school program, so I still went 5 days a week. I had a lot of fun there, and I wish I never left. The down side to this school, was that it was year round, so they went pretty much all summer. I had to go to school all summer last summer, which was a total bummer. It wasn't completely horrible though, and I was still able to have a good time there, as well as a good summer.

The second Access site I went to was only for a few months. I went to the Access on Victoria. I didn't attend the day school here, but instead I did independent studies. I didn't like it very much, and found it to be pretty boring. After that I transferred to Halstrom High School, which is a similar kind of program. After a couple months there, I decided that it wasn't for me and that I wanted to go to Back Bay so that I wouldn't be so bored doing work at home. Since coming to Back Bay, my grades have gone up, and so far I'd say I like it here.

Career Day

Today, we had career day. Career day was helpful for me in a few ways. The thing that I found out most interesting and helpful is the Youth Employment Service. Learning about what they have to offer really encouraged me to want and go out and start finding a job, and plus the service is right down the street from my house. The presentation I liked most was the one about model making. I thought it was pretty cool learning about the benefits of that job and how fun it is. There were no presentations I really disliked. Some were more interesting to me than others, but they were all worth seeing and hearing about. As of right now I am not really doing to much to figure out what my career will be because before today, I didn't really know the steps to take. After learning about YES, I've decided that it would be a smart and beneficial move for me to go there and have them help me out. This summer, I hope to be working. I currently have a job offer to work as a hostess at a restaurant down the street from my house. I'm really considering taking it, but I'd like to have the opportunity to explore my other options first. After I graduate high school, I should have a job I am comfortable with by then. I plan on working, but taking a small break from school, and then going to college and pursuing my career.

3 Wishes

If I were granted 3 wishes, the first thing I would wish for is for certain people to come back into my life. For example, I would wish for my brother to be here again. The next thing I would wish for is for a long happy life, as well as the same thing for my friends and family. The last thing I would wish for is for today to be the last day of school and for a longer, warmer summer! If all of those things happened, I would be ridiculously happy. (:

Role Model

If there is anyone out there that I truly look up to as a role model, it would be my older brother. His name was Andrew and he was the best brother I could ever ask for, as well as a very strong man. He had such a hard life, but I watched him pick himself back up from so many falls and become a better person.

All his life he had to deal with addiction, whether it be his own or both of our parents. When he was little, our mom wasn't sober, and when he was older, our dad was in and out of sobriety. He started doing drugs and drinking at a young age. It got bad, and he ended up going from smoking weed when he was young to shooting up heroin and messing with prescription pills.

Then, about 2 years ago, he was over at a friends house and ended up mixing some drugs. He had a horrible overdose and wound up in the hospital in a coma. When his friend found him, his finger nails were blue and they called 911. They said that had they waited 15 more minutes to call, it would have been to late. My family was devastated, and doctors were saying that he probably wasn't going to make it and that if he did, he would be in a vegetated state for the rest of his life. We don't know how or why, but he made a miraculous recovery and learned how to walk and talk again! He suffered from brain damage though, and had memory problems, and it took a lot of physical therapy and time for him to learn to walk well again. Before we knew it, he was already driving again. 

Before the overdose, he was a junkie and just didn't seem to care about anything but his drugs because he was so wrapped up in his addiction. After, through the course of his recovery, he just seemed like he really wanted to do something with his life, and we thought that he was done with drugs for good, but what we had forgotten was that regardless of any brain damage or overdose, he was still an addict. He had a few slip ups even after that whole incident happened. I know that isn't what he wanted for himself, he just didn't know how to help himself I guess. A couple months ago he had one last slip up, and long story short he went to go lay down because he said he was tired. My brother died in his sleep that die from a prescription pill overdose. 

Andrew will always be my number one role model because of his ability to pick himself back up no matter how hard he falls. He really tried to do well for himself and get better, especially towards the end of his life, even on his worst days. Drug addiction is a horrible thing, and I wish my brother was still here. I still try to believe that he is in a better place and is no longer suffering, and I also try and think about how many other drug addicts he helped just by telling his story. I love and miss him so much, and I know he loves and misses me too.

Blog Assignment- Domestic Violence

Because I was not at the assembly regarding domestic violence today, I went to the Laura's House website and read about the topic. I also happened to catch the last few minutes of the assembly. She was telling different stories about girls as well as guys that have died from domestic violence. I was shocked and saddened at all that I heard.

There are so many more people suffering from domestic violence than I ever would have imagined. What is worse to me, is that the main reason a lot of these deaths take place is because one person in the relationship simply broke up with the other. That is so scary and my jaw dropped when that was brought to my attention. So many tragedies involving domestic violence have occurred that it really makes me re-think how I might end things with a future boyfriend if things go wrong.

The scariest part is how un-recognized and ignored this issue is. It amazes me at how big and widespread a problem like domestic violence can be, yet there is so little awareness and not enough being done to put an end to it. I feel so sorry for all of those people that had their lives taken or were hurt by domestic violence. I can only imagine what it must be like to take that sort of abuse, and how hard it must be on the families and friends of the victims.

Although there clearly is not enough being done about this issue, I still give much credit to shelters like the Laura's House Shelter. They are not only aware of the issue, but they seem to want to genuinely help those who have been harmed by domestic violence. It's so kind and generous of them to take in all those hurt women and their children and help them. Domestic violence is definitely a huge issue, but this shelter has helped at least some of the people that had no where else to turn.

My Summer Vacation

This summer I have very many plans. I'm hoping for very warm weather, so that I can go to the beach almost everyday. I love the beach, and I love swimming in the cool ocean water. I plan on laying out my giant beach towel and getting a much needed tan. Then, when I am too hot, I will go for a refreshing swim. Body surfing, swimming, and diving through the big waves are all things that I will be doing in the water. I will play smash ball and volleyball with friends, and eat cheese burgers and ice cream. One of the things I am looking forward to the most is riding my bike down the boardwalk.

Another big plan I have for summer is to celebrate 4th of July. I usually go to a block party with friends. There's always games, swimming, and of course fireworks! Sometimes I will even get my face painted. I love this holiday because for some reason I always have so much fun every year. I am excited to celebrate it again this summer.

Over summer I know for a fact that I will be going to Knott's Berry Farm a lot because I just got my new season pass. This means that I can go whenever I want for free! Knott's is one of my favorite theme parks, so I am very excited about this. Also, Soak City is right next door to Knott's, so if I get too hot,  I can just walk over to the water park!

One more thing that I have planned for this summer is to go to Boston, Massachusetts to see a bunch of my family that lives out there. I am very excited for this because I never get to see my family out there more than once a year. Most of my cousins out there are either my age or younger, so there's always a bunch of kids running around having fun. We always go swimming and eat a lot of good food and just spend a lot of happy times together. Also, we always spend a weekend up at the lake in New Hampshire, which is pretty much my favorite part of the whole trip. All of us go swimming and tubing out on the boat, and we barbecue a lot too!