The miracle of Christmas

This sprouted from where I'm not sure, as most of my entries do, so it's a bit sporadic. I'm not sure if it's a little more bold than usual, because I'm used to writing about 'safer' topics. Oh well, I won't keep another post in 'drafting' when I haven't posted something new in about three months. :)


Christmas is truly amazing. But not for the reasons most commonly believed.

I would not have been able to fathom that the newly discovered lifestyle I have begun to live would cause me such sadness and pity and dejection, along with a fervent desire to understand completely for myself, so that I may explain to others, the reason for Christmas, during such a seemingly joyful holiday.
Wow, that was a mouthful. I hope my point came across coherently...

Since living this new lifestyle, I have begun to question aspects of my old life that I hadn't given much thought to before. Some of these have really led me to delve deep beneath the surface of issues, where I either was on the fence about something, or did not fully understand my responses weren't as they should be. I suppose one does not truly see the negative consequences of their actions, and consider changing them, until they prove unreliable or an outside perspective is brought in.
Living life without faith doesn't seem as difficult or horrible while you are experiencing it, but one with it will forever alter your life, and allow you peace and comfort beyond anything material. That may sound like it came straight from church, but it's true.
It is probably just a reiteration to most people that the season of Christmas has become over-commercializing, exterminating all but a small portion of what it sprang from, yet many still go along with it. And it saddens me greatly to see that I, along with millions of others have been a product of it. What is worse is that new generations are thriving in the same environment, oblivious to its deception, and hope for their future is slightly disheartening.
We seem to have developed (although, that word implies progress, and I would think of it more of as digress) into a society that has a skewed preconceived notion that Christmas is about giving the most expensive gift you can find, so that hopefully you will receive one with an equal, if not greater value, without much thought given to either present. Ok, so that may be a little harsh, but look at the story of Charlie Brown; all everyone could think about was getting into the Christmas spirit, but that only applied when it came to trivial aspects of it: the gifts, the decorations, the fame of the school play if it became a hit...the list goes on. Yet, the true spirit of Christmas is not revealed until the story of Christmas is told. Doesn't that say enough?
Society today seems to think by drowning our sorrow and misery in material possessions and manufactured love, we will somehow find happiness. That if parents shower their children with gifts that they will turn out just fine, or if they aren't able to afford presents, they have failed to bring joy to their little hearts.
I may be way off mark on some things, but hope the general gist is understood.

I was planning to blog about this a little while back and when I decided today was the day, I thought it was ironic that my Quote of the Day was this:
"Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops." - Kurt Vonnegut
I'll admit I'm not sure how this is supposed to be interpreted, but what it told me, I agreed with: that trinkets don't make up a lifestyle, but faith does. Hey, its even got its own holiday. =)

I love this clip and it made me wish that I wouldn't get anything for Christmas :)

I'm still here!!! =)

I know, I know! I must have been shipped to another country, devoid of Internet access, completely cut off from the rest of the world, because what other reason could I possibly have for not blogging for practically five months?! Outrageous, I know. Sorry. ;)

Seriously, though, I have been pretty busy and through all that has transpired, there wasn't much I wished or had time to talk about here. :( Anyway, so let's get caught up a bit...

Summer was not as I expected it to be, but not in a bad way, though half of those things on my list I made before summer did not happen. That's ok though, I had a nice, relaxing summer. Camp was amazing, as always, and our family vacation was different, but nice all the same. Summer reading, which consisted of four books was just lovely and made even lovlier when I found out most of my teachers didn't care if you read them over the summer or once school started. That was fine, though, because I was done with them; I just hope I remember what happened in each, when we do work with them.

This year, junior year, the most important year of highschool, has so far been crazy and stressful, and I'm sure it will become crazier and more stressful as the year goes on. I'm trying not to dwell too much on that fact, because I can't control what will happen, I can only be prepared for it, and somethings I won't be able to prepare for. So I will take it as it comes. (=

Of course now we have to worry not only about highschool, but also college. I can't believe I have to send out applications soon! I'm still undecided about where I want to go and what I want to do. I don't understand how some people can just pick one thing and decide "this what I want to do in ten years." It's insane!
Well, I suppose I'll figure it out, eventually. ;)

Back in highschool, I'm still trying to figure out how to fit everything into my schedule, whilst adding even more to my plate. I'm trying not to overwhelm myself and still have room for fun. It's not easy, but hopefully it'll work out. It's nice being involved, though, as long as I know my priorities. Speaking of which, I joined First Priority, a Christian club, at my school. I've only been to the first two meetings, so I don't know too much about it yet, but it seems like something worthwhile.

Today, we received a welcome Tuesday off school. I got to go to breakfast with one of my friends from camp, who was the leader of our group, which was really nice, and I plan to spend the rest of the day doing homework. Such is the life of a junior. (=

Edited: Oh and I found that I did attempt a post twice over the summer, but for some odd reason, I never finished them. Hmm...maybe because one was about Breaking Dawn (which was, of course, awesome!) and I felt the need to read was intensely stronger than the need to blog...hmm... (=

~vanessa

The end of something, but the beginning of another...

Lately it's been so crazy, with the year winding down and projects and exams and clubs and voluteering, that it's amazing I can find time to relax, much less enter a new blog entry. Anyway...
AP World History exam is next Thursday!! I can't believe how fast this year went by! What happened to all those weeks when I could have been preparing?? Who knows... but at least it will be over soon and summer will be here! Here's my "work in progress" list of things I want to do over the summer:

• Get and keep a job with good hours and nice people who won't mind if I take off a few days or so; after all, it is summer... (we shall have to see how that works out :/)
• Go to highschool camp with church
• Volunteer for kids' day camp, also with church
• Possibly go to a three-day lacrosse camp or do other lacrosse stuff, like the league I did last year
• Summer reading for school and personal leisure
• Go on vacation with the family; probably Disney or North Carolina or something, which is always fun :)

Of course there are more things going on, but those are the majors ones, especially getting a job. I need to raise some sort of funds by next spring break...

Ohh, by the way, I'M GOING TO EUROPE NEXT SPRING BREAK!!!!YEA!! We finally made it official and signed up online!! I'm sooooooo excited!! I just hope that I can convince some of my good friends to go with me, because it just wouldn't be the same without them. I can't wait!! :-D

So that's about it and I'm going to bed now. So TGIF!! Have a good weekend!

~vanessa

P.S. Here's a fun website; I'm not sure they really give the rice (I hope so), but it's still fun. :)

http://freerice.com/

Spring Break!!

Finally! Now I can stop procrastinating and actually get things done! Hopefully.
I've made a list of things I've been putting off and, huh, it's a lot longer than I thought it would be. Oh well, I've had my share of fun for this break, so now it's time to crack down on the important stuff; like reading my Princeton Review, so that I'll be partially prepared for my AP exam! Oh joy! I can hardly control my enthusiastic eagerness!
Anyway, aside from being stuck on "going green," my interests lately have included reading/watching movies of the eighteenth century, particularly in England. It was really an interesting age, from what I've gathered, which isn't too much. Right now, I'm reading Pride and Prejudice, and it is so much better than Wuthering Heights, let me tell you. Well, they're both good, but there is something about Pride and Prejudice that is just intriguing. And if you really comprehend everything that is said, it's quite humorous. The movie with Keira Knightley was also really good. It was ironic because I had wanted to start the book over the break and on Friday night I was looking for something to watch and it just happened to be on. Although, if I wanted to watch it again, it's not like I can go to the Blockbuster that used to be around the corner... or the next closest one, because they closed them down. Right when I needed them most :-( Oh well...

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention the best news of all! I may be going to EUROPE next year!!!! I can't wait, I'm so excited!!! I know it's not until next year's spring break, and I'll certainly have to get a job to help pay for it, and my parents are still not giving me a definite answer (although it seems like they are leaning a lot more toward the 'yes' end), but it should be an AMAZING experience and I've always wanted to go to Europe. By the way, it's to London, Paris and the Alps. London, with Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and those double decker buses; Paris, with the Eiffel Tower, the Lourve, and Versailles; and the Alps' fairlytale castles, beautiful countryside and mountains. And of course, neutral Switzerland!! Hopefully, complete with snowfall!! :-D
I don't think I'll mind the year wait or the eight hour plane ride.

~vanessa

P.S. I don't know if you have noticed, but I'm very meticulous when it comes to grammer and spelling, so if you see something here and it's just bugging the heck out of you, let me know and I'll fix it. I felt compelled to mention this because I was just reading over all my blogs (wow, it's been a long time since I started), and almost every one had a mistake in it. I know, only I would care, but seriously. I saw this guy on the news the other day and he travels all around the U.S., finding advertisments, like on restaurant signs and such, that have mistakes in them. It was good to know there's someone else out there who's more obsessed than I am. lol

Helping the world is not so overrated

Really quick, because I have virtually no homework done. Of course.
:-)
This is an amazing idea and the person who came up with it is ingenious. Lately I've gotten into that whole "going green" thing and its so cool. You know, you don't realize just how much we waste and take for granted everyday. I mean, sure using one piece of paper for two lines of a math problem or leaving a light on when you walk out of a room doesn't seem like they will lead to the apocalypse, but these little things really do have an impact on the environment, in the long run. Thanks for the email molly. :-D

Also, this shows just how big an impact Earth Hour can make. Its incredible.

And don't forget one of the easiest things you can do. Edit: Here's a permanent link to it, on the sidebar. -->

~vanessa

Ramblings...

So, today I decided to bookmark my blog website on my new laptop (which finally got hooked up to internet. Yes!), and once again I realized that I haven't posted in a ridiculously long time. That is unacceptable. Although, when in the world would I find time to write a new post when I don't even have enough time for homework?

Anyway, my weekend has begun very nicely and I hope, if you're reading this, yours is going well too. Yesterday evening I went to a Spanish ballroom dancing lesson with Spanish Honor Society. Although I was a little reluctant at first, it turned out be a lot of fun and really easy. I encourage anyone who gets a chance to do something they have never tried before to go for it. Then today was very relaxing because I didn't really do much. I watched Becoming Jane, which turned out to be a very, very good movie, and I spent some time outside (the weather was nice today). The movie reminded me a little of Twilight and Anne Hathaway was amazing. I love how, during those times, life was so much simpler. Granted, women were looked upon as inferior, but at least there weren't as many distractions in the world as there are now. We take advantage of so many things these days and no one even notices because its just expected. Wouldn't it be great to live back then, but without the constant pressure to marry a rich husband and without all those restrictions on women? But, of course, we don't live in a perfect world. I suppose it would just be nice (and I know I've used the word 'nice' a lot) if people were less concerned about trivial, superficial things, like how they look or being obsessed with having a boyfriend. It seems as though things move way too fast now, and no one takes the time to slow down and actually think about what they are doing and their motivation behind doing it. People just jump right into things, not wanting to waste a minute of their life, because you know, living to be about 70 is not long enough. And it just amazes me how people will change themselves just so people will notice or just to "fit in," yet they think nothing of the consequences of conforming to a society that says you must do this or else you can't be a part of the "club." And what means people will sink to just to impress people, without even thinking about who or what they are permanently affecting! Our world is such an ignorant place and seems as though we make it more and more ignorant everyday; no one can stop the cycle. And yes, I realize I am a hypocrite in that sometimes I act exactly how I believe people should not, but perfection is an impossibility.

Well, I hope that that wasn't so confusing.

Happy Three-Day Weekend!

~vanessa

Happy New Year!

Wow. Can you believe its 2008 already?! Gee, I'm getting old. lol. But seriously, I'll be 16 soon. 16! That's crazy! I can't even picture being sixteen, driving on my own, getting a job to pay for gas and tons of other fun stuff (sarcasm, if you didn't catch that). Well anyway, back to the New Year. I did absolutely nothing exciting at all. I stayed at home and watched my sister. And I missed the ball drop. :-(
Despite that monotonous evening, I would say this year has been pretty good. And winter break was alright; just wish it was longer and we didn't have to be traveling so much. But Christmas was nice; I got to see most of my family and that's always fun. But of course, all things must come to an end, one way or another. At least this week will be broken up by a field trip on Wednesday, and then next week is exams and then a four-day weekend! Well I should go- homework (what else?).

~vanessa

P.S. (I always end up having a P.S., but I'm wondering if I'm wearing them out. Oh well.) Cold weather gone. :-( But it was cool while it lasted!