December 21, 2008

Trees - A Christmas Story

Our seminary teacher shared this with us a few days ago and most of the other people in the class had already heard it. It was new to me, though, and I really liked it.




Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: "I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I'll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!"

The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on it's way to the ocean. "I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings. I'll be the strongest ship in the world!"

The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. "I don't want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me, they'll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world."

Years passed. The rain came, the sun shone, and the little trees grew tall. One day three woodcutters climbed the mountain.

The first woodcutter looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining axe, the first tree fell.

"Now I shall be made into a beautiful chest, I shall hold wonderful treasure!" The first tree said.

The second woodcutter looked at the second tree and said, "This tree is strong. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining axe, the second tree fell.

"Now I shall sail mighty waters!" thought the second tree. "I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!"

The third tree felt her heart sink when the last woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven.

But the woodcutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do for me." He muttered. With a swoop of his shining axe, the third tree fell.

The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought her to a carpenter's shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feedbox for animals.

The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, with treasure. She was coated with saw dust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals.

The second tree smiled when the woodcutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ship was made that day. Instead the once strong tree was hammered and sawed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail to an ocean, or even a river; instead she was taken to a little lake.

The third tree was confused when the woodcutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard.

"What happened?" the once tall tree wondered. "All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God."

Many, many days and nights passed. The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feedbox.

"I wish I could make a cradle for him." her husband whispered.

The mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the sturdy wood. "This manger is beautiful." she said.

And suddenly the first tree knew she was holding the greatest treasure in the world.

One evening a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveler feel asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake.

Soon a thundering and thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She knew she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through with the wind and the rain.

The tired man awakened. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and said, "Peace." The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun.

And suddenly the second tree knew she was carrying the king of heaven and earth.

One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hands to her.

She felt ugly and harsh and cruel.

But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything. It had made the third tree strong.

And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God. That was better than being the tallest tree in the world.

December 13, 2008

*Sprays air freshener over her dead blog*

Sorry about that Lyle.

October 25, 2008

"Muir Football Players Show Their True Colors After a Close Victory"

Friday night the John Burroughs HS vs. Muir HS football came to a close. The seconds fell off the clock and Muir secured their victory 13-10 over the Indians.
As with any game the two teams met on the 50 yard line to tell their opponent good game, show their respect for the hard fought battle and ensure that each team is equal regardless of the score.
In a blatant showing of disrespect the members of Muir High School's football team, after mocking players throughout the game, attempted to start a fight in the middle of the field.
Given Burbank is an upper middle class neighborhood where most crime is innocent and corrected, Muir is very, for lack of a better term, ghetto.
The surroundings are less then ideal with a freeway across from the field and small narrow streets surrounding the less than impressive stadium.
The moveable stadium lights and sparse seating in the makeshift stands show the lack of funds in the area.
The school is far off in the distance, almost far enough away to forget about academics.
In fact Muir's test scores show their lack of enthusiasm for education.
While Burroughs nearly reached and is still striving for 'Target 800' Muir scored 601.
And the California High School Exit Exam, CAHSEE, which all students must pass to graduate shows their lack of dedication to study.
For example last year 94% of students passed the English portion of the test. And 92% passed the math section.
Whereas Muir's score were far lower.
Only 66% of Muir students passed the Englished portion and a sad 68% passed the math section.
Given Burroughs is a more academically challenging school, Muir gives students opportunities to succeed.
Burroughs offers 24 Advanced Placement tests, Muir offers 11.
Also teachers at JBHS are more qualifies. 91% of teachers are JBHS are fully credentialed.
Only 77% of Muir's teachers are fully credentialed.
The school's obvious disregaurd for academics show their ignorance put forth.
The game shows the quality of the neighborhood the students grow up in.
Each corner with a gate has a security guard who looks less than enthused to be working.
And on the visitor side of the field, where the fence is open to a public street locals gather to watch the game free of charge, choosing to stand rather than pay. They scream, laugh and smoke marijuana, the smell and cloud give them away.
The less than friendly ambiance put forth is pushed from mind while the two teams battle. But quickly it returns.
During halftime lines crowd around the snack bar as hungry football fans look for food. A small girl stands up tall and asks with a big smile, "what can I get you?" she slowly grabs the menu and pulls it closer to the woman at the counter.
She waits and smiles then quickly takes the money and returns with the food ordered, still smiling she says, "thank you!"
In this moment it is hard not to think about how this innocent girl will be affected by the hate around her.
While poverty is a harsh word, the obvious financial hardships of the area may add to th e attitude of the people in the area.
In Burbank only 17% of students are enrolled in a free or reduced lunch program, Muir, however has 60% of their students participating in the same type of program.
It could simply be the differences between the two areas are too great for the two sides to get along. Poverty and ignorance are too great to overcome.
As the second half of the game closed and Muir had successfully overtaken Burroughs, although a close call, the team should be respectful and sportsmanlike.
But as the game closed hateful words were thrown across the field, players confronted and coaches pulling back.
The coaches and administrators at the game quickly put the start of a fight to an end and made sure to separate the two sides, who apparently were ready to take the battle elsewhere than the field.
As the players grabbed their stuff and moved toward the buses principle Emilo Urioste told JBHS fans, "please exit through this gate."
The girl he was speaking to said quickly, "but we parked over there," pointing toward the home side of the field where a cluster of Muir players, parents and fans still stood.
He responded simply, "I think you're gonna want to go this way," pointing toward the buses.



This article was written by the student editor-in-chief at Burroughs High School. Nothing has been changed in the article, including grammar. Forgive me of my childishness but I liked how the student of the far more advanced Burroughs didn't know how to use her commas, among other things.

Anyway, there it is. I won't deny that many Muir students are very ignorant and have poor sportsmanship but this is ridiculous. I am so glad that Burroughs knows how to take the high road and maintain its high standards.

October 23, 2008

Remember me?

Judy asked me to post, but I wasn't sure what to post about, so this is going to be a little disjointed. :)

I recently watched a movie called North and South. It was wonderful! It is a Masterpiece Theatre movie that takes place during the British industrial revolution.
It has a GREAT soundtrack (but they haven't released it for sales =[ ) and I think I'm going to read the book, but first I have to finish Mansfield Park.

Yesterday Muir didn't have school so I had a few friends over and we watched Iron Man. It was really fun, but the best part was when one of my friends' moms asked where we got our Prop 8 sign. I promptly responded, "We've got extras right here!" And ran to get her one. She was quite excited, as was I.

Tomorrow I am staying home from school (woo!) to go to an open ballet rehearsal with my new dance teacher. I've only had one lesson so far, but it looks like ballet is going to be pretty hard. and draining. She is also teaching me tap and salsa though, which should be fun.

Oh, and today during our journalism meeting Ms. Guillen showed us an article written by someone at Burroughs that basically said everyone at Muir was ignorant and poverty stricken and that we had no hope of overcoming those obstacles. It made us all pretty mad. I might post it up here later, I'm still debating whether or not to. Anyway, it was exciting.




This is some of the music from North and South.

September 3, 2008

My Kitty

Likes to give me love bites.

:)

June 3, 2008

Christmas in June!

I'm not sure if this video is old news yet, but I watched it this morning and I liked it. :)

April 26, 2008

Since Lyle does not like my style of deadbeat blogging...

I have decided to post what I have been posting on Facebook. :)

I am going to prom on May 23rd, but I still haven't bought a dress. I'm really likin' these oriental styles though. So tell me what you think!

This one is kind of plain, but that dragon is pretty tight.
http://www.ancientmoods.com/products/Golden_Embroidery_Dragon_Cheongsam-1688-339-.html

I think this is actually probably the one I like the least. Cool colors though. And buttons.
http://www.ancientmoods.com/products/Chinese_Fashion_Cheongsam-1711-339-.html

I really like this one in the gold and silver colors.
http://www.orienttouch.com/product_info.php?products_id=423

This one is pretty, but my favorite color is the blue/silver and they are sold out in my size. :(
http://www.ancientmoods.com/products/Traditional_Phoenix_Chrysanthemum_Cheongsam-840-339-.html


There you go Lyle. I expect a comment from you. :)




P.S. Why yes, I AM excited about prom? Why do you ask. :)

February 11, 2008

Thankyou for Being Illegal

So, I really like movie soundtracks. I mean, really. I don't know why I like them so much, or why they are somehow better than other orchestral compositions, but they are.

This is my current addiction.

February 5, 2008

Comments?

This is the article I wrote for the school newspaper. Tell me what you think. :)

It's entitled "How to Stay out of Gossip". Hooray!

It is impossible for anyone to stay out of gossip completely. Period. If you are overly-assertive people will talk about what a jerk you are. If you are the nicest person at your school people will call you a pansy. If you become a recluse and disappear off the face of the planet people will discuss why. It is especially hard to keep out of gossip if you have already been involved in a lot of it. However, there are some methods you can use to lesson your gossip exposure.
The best path to getting yourself out of gossip or staying as clean (gossip-free is the way to be!) as possible is to stop sharing gossip about other people. If YOU do not spread gossip about other people, they will be less tempted to spread it about you. Also, your chances of being on the “he-said-she-said” list will decrease dramatically.
Sometimes identifying gossip is tricky. It’s ok to say it if it’s true right? Not always. Even if you know that something bad about a person is true, it isn’t always a good idea to spread it. This can hurt a lot of feelings and when you are identified as one of the sources talk about you will spread along with new stories that may or may not be true. What if you feel that you need to tell this information in order to help one of your friends? For instance, you saw your friends significant other flirting (to the max) with someone else, and you don’t want that friend to be treated so wrongly. In cases such as this you may judge for yourself, but think about it carefully. You may also want to ask others that you know you can confide in, like adults (but only cool ones, of course).
If someone has been trash talking you, you should choose to ignore it, or ask that person face-to-face. If you do confront that person, try not to be overly aggressive. If you ask about the rumors in a friendly manner, yes, you may still be called a pansy, but you are more likely to get truthful answers and there will probably be some people that appreciate your attitude and not insist that you defend your dignity.
If you ever feel like you HAVE to get something out or tell a story, there are alternatives to other people that may betray your confidence, no matter how much you trust them (not to turn you into an overly suspicious person who twitches under the spotlight, but, you know, stuff happens). Two alternatives are journals, and parents (but only the cool ones, of course). Journals are a way to get out all that wonderfully excessive pent-up rage inside of you, and if they seem to feminine for the men, a (private) online blog in which you say how much you hate the world will also do. Parents (but only the cool ones) or other trustworthy adults who have already experienced the stupidity of teenage life can be good listeners and offer you advice on how to cope.
One of the best things to remember in dealing with gossip is that a rumor spread about you can either live with you for 5 seconds, or it can play against you your whole life, based on what you do with it, so think carefully and stay level-headed. Everyone does stupid stuff sometimes, but try not to.

January 19, 2008

Um, photobucket isn't rotating all of my pictures, so I'm not sure if they'll all post right-side up, sorry. =/

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I never knew I always opened my eyes so wide when I played.
...Stupid Camera.
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One for the sister

Tonight, I saw an incredible tribute to Stan Kenton concert, in which played my friend Jon, and my friend's dad, Dwight.


Basically.


Oh, and I have pictures of out Winter Concert that Mr. Herman took, so I'll put those up... sometime...