I am going to write about my dog "Lucky". Lucky loves to eat, and I like to feed him. He
likes to play with me too. We play tug of war, catch, and hide and seek. I like to pet him, and he enjoys when I sneak him a snack. Ashleigh
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I've been taking a class in sociology; and as the end of the class draws near... we discussed gender roles and the stereotyping that carries through in society. After learning about this; my class was given the question if we thought we "did gender" and conformed to the norms set for our gender; or completely challenged them. Answers to this question were posted in an online discussion forum, so I decided to read through some of the other posts before writing my own.
To my shock, so many girls were writing and saying that they often times found themselves conforming to their gender norms; and stating that "it's hard for people to not 'do gender'". I thought that statement really said a lot about our world today. It's rather appalling to me that so many girls who are close to my age found that stereotyping was so hard to avoid and hard to not conform to. I myself certainly challenge my gender norms- I'm tomboyish and I beat a 17 year old boy in a co-ed sparring division. I dress with my own style.. and it certainly doesn't conform to the typical feminine dressing norms. I wear jeans and t-shirts; and rarely ever wear dresses or skirts. I don't act feminine; either. I love rough housing, playing brutal video games, practicing karate, and going out in my woods for long periods of time. I don't mind trekking through mud up to my knees or getting a bit scraped up. On top of this... I curse like a sailor; courtesy of my dad. I truly believe that my dad has influenced my style (and how I think) dramatically; as I've been raised by him for essentially my whole life and have never really had a woman figure to look up to. He taught me to be myself, regardless of society... and to take the path less traveled by. Maybe this is why I don't "do gender". As for everyone else... don't let society tell you who to be; or what you can and can't do based on what gender you are. It's bullshit. Don't get stuck in a foolish stereotype. - Maddie "Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it." That's another quote from Marcus Aurelius. I recently found a good website with tons of his quotes, so get ready for a lot of quotes by him. This guy was really enlightened! I wonder if he walked the walk?...Because he certainly can talk the talk!
Basically, the above quote is stating that you only live once. Since that is the case, you need to open yourself up to love and beauty. Life is short, we are here to love and to be loved. If you open yourself up to accept these things you will live a beautiful life. If you hold back because you are afraid of what people may say or think, then you will find that it is hard to experience these things, and that your life could end without you ever experiencing those things. In general, your days are numbered no matter what you want to read the quote as. I chose love and happiness. For others it might be some sort of duty, or to gain renown. The clock is ticking no matter what you think he was talking about. All I know, is that I prefer to be happy. I look for little things that make me happy. I also try to avoid things that make me unhappy. Note, seeking happiness and avoiding things that make you unhappy are not necessarily the same things. I actively try to ignore and avoid people who get on my nerves. At the same time, I try to surround myself with things that make me happy. A good cup of coffee, a drive through my area, some laughter with my daughters, a good book... I could go on and on. So, now that I rambled a bit, I guess I will get to the point. Do what you need to do to survive...but don't forget to schedule some time to do the things you like to do. Even better, make the things you have to do the things you like to do and you have the recipe for a very happy life. Way to go Marcus! With all of the quotes that I have read that have been attributed to you, I hope that you actually lived like you talked. Otherwise, it's silly to talk the talk if you won't try to walk the walk. Walk it like you talk it folks...That's a good way of finding happiness too! This is my book report about the outer planets. Jupiter is hidden by clouds of gases.
It's surface cannot be seen through a telescope. Saturn can be seen without a telescope. It is cold there. The seventh planet is called Uranus. It is a green planet with nine rings around it. Neptune is very far from Earth. It is very, very cold there. Pluto is a dwarf planet. It is the farthest away from the sun. It has a moon called Charon. Ashleigh “To live happily is an inward power of the soul.” That is another quote by Marcus Aurelius. Personally, you hear a lot about Buddha, Confucius and Socrates, but none of them seem to hold a candle to Marcus Aurelius. If you have never read his Meditations, then you just don't know what you are missing. It is definitely worth reading some of this guy's thoughts!
This quote is simple and to the point. You don't get happiness from things, you receive it from your thoughts and how you perceive things. Have you ever chased a dream? If so, when you caught it, what did you find? I know for me, that once I got the item of my desire, my eye always turned to something else. Cars, stereos, properties, antiques. It didn't matter. I would set my sights on something, and once I achieved it, I would start looking for something else. It got to the point where I found that I was happiest when I was chasing something...striving for something. The happiness was in the journey, not the destination. In fact, I find I am most happy with the little things in my life. Reading a good book... joking around with my daughters... drinking a hot cup of coffee on a cold day. All of these things give me pleasure. Viewing the woods outside my back window or hearing an owl at night also bring happiness. I no longer look to possess happiness. Now, I just like to experience it in small doses on a daily basis. The satisfaction of a job well done. The pleasure I get in cleaning up my office or spending a moment with my daughters. I live in the moment... and live for the moment. Stop looking for the one thing that will give you happiness. Instead, start recognizing the little things that happen each day that already give you pleasure. Fill your life with these things and you will always be more happy than sad. Sure, I get my sad times and off days... just like everyone else. The trick is to minimize them. If you find yourself worried about something trivial, try to take a broader view of it. In twenty years will this matter? No, what about in five years? A week? Tomorrow? No? Then if it really doesn't have a large impact on your life, then why let it bring you down now? Find a solution for whatever bothers you and deal with it now. That way you can get back to enjoying your day. The power of happiness is within you. If you constantly look for it in possessions, then you will be perpetually unhappy. Enjoy the little things. Then, if something large happens, you will enjoy it all the more, and can file it away with what I hope will be a lifetime of good memories. Today I read some of the ''I Can Read About Planets'' book. Mars is one of the inner
planets. It is the fourth closest planet to the sun. Mars is named after the Roman god of war because of its red color. Mars has two moons, Deimos and Phobos. Man has never gone to Mars, but we have sent spaceships there. Ashleigh This quote; shockingly enough, comes from Ayn Rand! Better known as a philosopher, I doubt many expected a love-ish quote from her. I love the quote so much. I believe that what she was trying to say is; in order to be able to love others... you have to love yourself first. Now, I don't know if that's the true meaning of the quote; that's just how I interpret it. And if that IS what Rand meant, I agree with it wholeheartedly.
I believe that the most important person in your own life is yourself. In the end, you're the one who pays for your own life with death... so you best take care of yourself and the life you're given. Not only should you take care of your life by staying healthy, but you should keep care of your life with who you allow to be in it. People can be just as toxic (if not more so) than anything else in life... and keeping the right ones around is important. You shouldn't ever live your life for anyone else. If you cannot love yourself; or look at the life you are living and smile... you're doing something wrong and you have to focus on your own life before you can start loving another. - Maddie Today I finished reading the book, ''Jungle Animals". Toucans spend most of their
time in trees. They eat fruit with their beaks. Iguana's are my favorite animal. They are good swimmers and climbers. They eat leaves, flowers and seeds. Sloths are slow-moving animals.They live in treetops. Sloths eat leaves and buds. They have big claws that help them cling to branches. I liked this book. Ashleigh "Eternity is a long time to be wrong." Okay, I am not sure who said this quote. I saw it today on Facebook, underneath a quote from Jesus. To paraphrase, it was a picture of Jesus and the quote said: "The only way to my Father is through me." Share and say amen. Well, I didn't share it. It wasn't like Jesus was telling me to share it. It was just some dude looking to get hits for his meme, so he put a picture of Jesus up and hoped to get some people to share it because of that. Silly, but it obviously worked on one of my friends!
Still, the quote itself got me thinking. You see, I do believe in God, and I try to live my life as best I can...In other words, I try to follow my moral compass. But I started thinking. What if I didn't believe in God? Would I live my life any other way than I lived now? I mean what if there was no God and this short brutal existence was all we were ever going to get. Would I suddenly live my life differently? Would I rob, cheat, steal, and maybe kill? I thought about it, and the answer, I think, is that no, I really wouldn't change too much. I would still get up and do the best that I could to support my family. I would still enjoy the same things. In fact, I might take even better care of myself to extend my existence. Hey, if you knew this was it. You'd try to get the most out of it wouldn't you? I would still treat people with respect and try to learn all that I could, because no matter what, there would still be the chance that I could be wrong. What if, there really was a God and he expected good things from me, and I just didn't know it? Would ignorance be an excuse? You see, while I believe in God, I also think that a lot of things found in organized religion was just put in there to make it easier for the church to influence our behavior. Throughout history men have looked to control other men. And many of them weren't above using religion as their cudgel. After reading the bible, I try to interpret what I would want my people to follow if I was God. Thou shall not kill would be a good one, in my opinion. Thou shall not steal or lie would also be high up there. Don't eat meat on Friday? Not so much. Overall, I think common sense will win out with God. If you believe in him and act accordingly. I think you'll be okay. If you don't believe in organized religion, and yet you follow his main teachings, I think you'll be okay there too. I think the only two ways you will really run afoul with the Lord is 1. if you don't believe in him, and you don't follow any moral compass... or 2. if you do believe in him and then don't follow any moral compass anyway. Marcus, Aurelius once said: "“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.” I agree with Marcus! While some may find this quote confusing... I find it makes perfect sense. Maybe it's because my mind works in odd ways; or maybe it's due to a situation I found myself in tonight... but I understand this quote perfectly. It's by Bruce Lee, by the way. I feel like what Lee was saying was that as long as you can come to terms with your own mistakes... you can forgive yourself. I think that the mistake too many people make with this quote (haha) is that it is forgiveness from others that Lee intended.
This is far from the truth. I believe that Lee was trying to say that no one can forgive you until you forgive yourself; which is very true. I also think that Lee was trying to say that you have to come to terms with your own mistakes; no matter how large they might be or how hard it may seem. You have to look it in the eyes... admit that you were wrong... and forgive yourself. And sometimes; I truly believe... admitting to yourself that you were wrong is the hardest part. - Maddie I love this quote so much because I see the effect of it all over. Too often, people set large goals and only look at the goal... not the steps that it takes to get there. This leads to discouragement because the goal is usually too large to achieve in a short period of time and in only one step. Then, they give up on their goals and let everything slide and it becomes pointless to them. One of the most important parts of achieving goals... is what you learn and gain along the way to that goal. To achieve most goals, you have to make some form of self-improvement and all in all, that is what is most important... not the goal itself.
The same can be said of life. Too many people rush through life looking for simplicity and happiness, and they rush so fast to grow up that they forget to live and enjoy life. Between the ages of 22-25, our cells start dying. From that age on, we are progressively DYING. Let that sink in. Life isn't as long as it may seem and the older you get, the quicker the years go by. Before you know it, all your time has run out and you never stopped and enjoyed life for what it was. You never took time to smell the roses. On people's deathbeds... no one is thinking of what they could have done more of. That last vacuumed floor, that last report written... no. People regret not having enough time doing what they loved with the ones they loved. And we all need to learn that. To end this post... I'd like to insert a poem I found online earlier. It suits this post well. So many people walk this earth with purpose in their eyes, But in their heart of hearts they know, what they're living is a lie, the alarm goed off at 6am, like every other day, so they can walk into a job they hate, because they need the pay, all time does is take from them, but it never seems to give, always waiting for the day to come, when they finally start to live, I'm all too scared that one day soon, I'll become just like the rest, Only walking with the crowd, Because my dreams have been oppressed, that one day I'll look back on life, at the opportunities that I missed, And realise I never truly lived, All I did was just exist. (author unknown) - Maddie "It is always better to light a candle than curse the darkness." This is said to be an ancient Chinese proverb...and it very well may be! No matter where it came from, I thought about it today, while reading through my Facebook page. I don't know about you, but there are five types of posts on my Facebook page. Three of the types I like. These are: The ones that are trying to be funny...the ones that are trying to convey information and the ones that are showing off pretty girls or trucks or antiques etc. The ones I don't like are the ones that get overly political or the ones from the whiners and complainers.
It's the whiners and complainers that bother me the most, although the political posts are annoying too. Here is a good example. On Facebook today someone put up a picture that said..."Oh God, why don't you send us a person to cure aids, cancer, etc. etc." God replied, "I did, but you aborted him." As if this wasn't bad enough, then someone else added to it. Again the question was asked about sending someone. This time the person had God answer: "I did but you gave them a substandard education because they lived in an area with low property taxes. AND I did but they died because they couldn't afford health care. AND I did but due to racism... and on and on and finally, I did, but you made her carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. So how does all of this lead back to the quote at the top of the page? Easy. Light a candle. None of the above things is real. It is just complaining. People who don't think, or who like to complain grab a hold of it though, and use it as their excuse. I could have done this...but my education held me back. Well, when did YOUR education ever become anyone else's responsibility other than your own or your parent's? If you don't want to have a child, then use protection...or even better, keep your legs closed. Can't afford health care? then eat better, exercise and do everything you can to stay healthy. In fact, many of these things tie together. If you can't afford good healthcare, then it is likely that you failed to get a good education...or maybe your parents failed to get a good education, and you or they work a job that doesn't give good healthcare as a benefit. Ladies and Gentlemen, I have news for you. No one is responsible for you or your children but you. Not your neighbor, not the state, not the federal government. Just you. Do you want a cure for cancer? Okay, what have you done to help the cause? Do you work in the health care fields? No, well do you donate money to charities that are set up to research a cure? No, then don't complain. No one gives a shit about your stupid meme! Did you have an unwanted pregnancy? Then don't have sex. It is really that simple. The media treats sex as if none of us can live without it. We can. While sex is enjoyable, we don't need it. And if you are not in a position to take responsibility for a child, then you shouldn't be having it. Now, if you do feel that the education of someone else's child Is your responsibility, then you can donate money to your local school. In fact, I believe there should be no public education at all. I think that everyone should have to be responsible for either teaching their own children or for paying for that child's education out of their own pocket. If others want to "donate" towards that cause, that should be up to them. If you don't like the darkness, light a candle people! Don't waste everyone's time by complaining. Do something. Just make sure, whatever you do, that what you do is something that doesn't involve infringing on someone else's rights and tries to force them to do something that they don't want to do. Whining that you want a better education for your child and that others should pay for it is just plain wrong. If you want a better education for your child, then work with them daily. Even if it is after work. They are your children. Or pay to send them to a private school if you are not happy with the public education in your town. If you don't like the darkness around you folks, then light a candle. One candle can light many others, Sometimes, people need to be shown what to do. Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Show a man how to fish, and he will eat for a lifetime. And, if after you show that man how to fish, if he decides not to, then that's his problem. It doesn't mean catch two fish so that he can always have one. Sometimes it's okay to let someone live by their own poor decisions. Light the candle on whatever motivates you... and see if your one candle can't light up the world! Today I read a half of a book. It is called "Jungle Animals''. Tree frogs have sticky toes
and sticky fingers. Crocodiles live near rivers and love to swim.They love to snap up fish and animals with their teeth. An Orangutan is a big ape. Ashleigh |
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