Here's my question

Last week I hadn't been feeling that good. I was extremely tired and I felt sick, I also had no appetite, after feeling like this for about a week, and missing some classes, I went to Health Services on our campus. The only things they could come up with after taking my temperature and blood pressure is that

a.) I was pregnant (okay not a possibility, unless God decided to make me the next Mary)
b.) I was depressed (um......I've been depressed before I know what it feels like. They were like, well it comes in different forms, Hello! I know when I'm happy and when I'm not. It's not normal for me to feel this way, hence going to the doctor)
c.) I have acid reflux disease (Okay seriously! I do not have Acid reflux, Is it that hard to say, maybe you have the flu, even though you don't have a temperature?)

How is it okay for Health Services to assume that because I'm a college girl that I'm pregnant? It's not!

I then got tips on eating healthy because after asking me what I ate in the past two days, even though I told her that I didn't have an appetite, she assumed that I wasn't eating healthy. Right.....I eat vegetables at every meal when I'm well.

So thanks Health Services for putting me at ease about my conception of a child without sex, my depression screening, remember it comes in different forms, and my non existent acid reflux disease. You have really made me feel like you are fully capable of diagnosing me.

P.S. Just because I'm a college girl does not mean when I have an upset stomach and nausea that I am pregnant. Thank You!

The book this time is:
Your basic sex ed book that tells you about how a girl gets pregnant. Maybe Health Services needs to read that book!

You must watch and read....

If you are not watching Kid Nation, you are missing out. The basic premise of the show is to put 40 kids in a ghost town called Bonanza from the 1800's. The town is run completely by kids to show that kids can make decisions and are smart enough to run their own town. It's so funny! These kids are conceited, fun, quirky, and annoying! It's one of the most entertaining hours on television. The coucil which is four kids from the town decides important decsions for the town and decides who wins a gold star (20,000 dollars). The kids compete in showdowns to see who will make the most money and have to do the least work. (I like that we are making it like the real world, you'd think things would be a little fairer in a town run by kids, but not so much, although it was adults who decided on the paychecks). Here is a link to a blog about the show. http://www.collegehumor.com/article/tag:the-morning-after-kid-nation It's so funny! P.S. Jared is the best kid on the show. If you want to see whole episodes of the show, you can watch them on cbs.com I highly recommend this. It's a good time.

Here's Jared, my favorite! They did a talent show and he was performing a monologue from Hamlet



These are the kids particpating in a showdown

I'm just going to come out and say it.....

I'm pro-choice. I've decided to stop caring if you are going to judge me for that. I am not a murderer. I do not think that all unborn babies deserve to die. I am just on the side of women who live in a country that does not support single and working mothers. A child that is unwanted lives a sad life, because whether or not they were told, they can tell that they were not wanted. I don't think there is automatic motherly love once the baby is born. Some women do not have maternal instinct and because of that the child does not deserve to live a life in which they know that their mother does not love them. Adoption is not always the easy answer because adoption is expensive and carrying a child to full term is hard, People who are looking into adoption are also picky and want the perfect looking child. If you are a child that was not adopted, then you live your life in foster care. That's not a good life either. To never feel like you fully belong to a family because no one wanted to permenantly keep you. I don't think I could handle that.



The other thing is that people think that if abortion is outlawed its going to go away. Not true! Women had abortions when they were illegal and got really bad infections and died. That's not promoting a life culture either. I don't like abortion, and I don't think I would ever have one, but I don't know that for sure, and I don't think that taking away access to abortions is the answer to the problem.

These opinions have not just come out of nowhere. I've done research and come to the conclusion that this is the best option for me. If you are pro-life then I completely respect and understand your position. Please do not judge me and pretend like you know everything about me after reading this. I'm not a one-sided person. I think a lot about things before I form an opinion on them, If you want to have a respectful and peaceful conversation about this, I would be more than willing. Thanks for reading,

I'm recomending a video:
When Abortion was Illegal (it's a documentary, not sure on the year)

TEC was interesting......

So TEC was this weekend and it was good, but a very different vibe than the previous TECs that I've worked and been on. It was hard leading it because it was a lot of stress and I didn't get a lot of sleep. The lack of sleep was not only because I went to bed later than I should've, but also because it's a bitch to sleep on a hard floor. It was carpeted, but no padding. It was the same as sleeping on a hardwood floor. I'm not sure the TECites actually enjoyed the retreat. I know for a fact that some of them did not have fun and I know that I can't force someone to have fun, but I still feel partially responsible. I don't know how I feel about leading. I enjoyed it, but at the same time, it was an awkward position to be in. The retreat is through St. Mary's, although it's for Winona State students too. The thing is because St. Mary's is smaller than Winona State and the majority of the people on the retreat are from St. Mary's, it makes it awkward for us Winona State kids. I felt honored to have been asked to lead, but it was one of the hardest things I've ever done.

It was a good weekend and I loved spending time with people from St. Mary's. I just think to make the retreat less awkward for Winona State students, there has to be more Winona State students there. I honestly think a lot of Winona State students would go, but the retreat is not really advertised here, and the recruiting from Winona State was left to me. I tried hard, but I'm only one person and I have a ton of my own stuff to take care of. The retreat was good, just different and not super hyped up like the other TECs that I've been on. I think this is good, because not everyone does the jumping around and being siliy thing. I still think the TECites got something out of the weekend, even the people who said they didn't have fun. So there!


Here's a picture of my co-leader and advisor.

The book this time is:
Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
I love that Anne is different and she embraces it! That's my goal, to always be myself.

Freakin out a little.....

So this weekend I'm leading a retreat and I do not at all feel prepared. We as leaders had organized binders but, we are still freaking out over the little things. Everything is being put together at the last minute. We have people that signed up for the retreat backing out, which then means that we have to do some rearranging. It's just a lot of work. Last night the internet went out on our campus from 9:30pm-4am. Which meant that I couldn't email the people that I needed to, and I couldn't get the work done that I needed to. Blah!!!! The weekend will be great, I'm just nervous. After tonight I will feel a lot better about it. I hope! :)

I recommending a movie:
Little Miss Sunshine (it's hilarious!)

I'm feeling reflective....

Sometimes when I'm alone I sit back and look at my life. It's been a good one. Not that I'm dying anytime soon (God willing), but I'm satisfied with my life so far. I have an awesome family who put up with me when I was a total and complete brat. I've discovered who my real friends are and seen what it's like to have friends that are not really friends. I have wonderful sisters who have been great role models for me. There was a point in my life when I was very unhappy. I just felt so alone, like no one trusted me to make my own decisions. I was given the chance to be responsible, and I've discovered that I'm pretty darn capable of making my own decisions, not that I don't need help every once in a while. I wonder what my life would be like if I have never gone to Winona State, what if I had gone to culinary school? I would have been done with school 2 years ago, and I'd be making a living by being a chef someplace.

I really wanted to be a chef in high school. I honestly thought that's what I was supposed to be. I think I would have made a great chef, but I don't think I'd be as happy as I am now. Going to Winona State has given me a lot of confidence. I learned how to do public speaking and I've learned so much about becoming a successful activist. I'm ready to go out into the world and make a difference. I don't think I'll become a huge icon or anything, but I believe I will make a difference in someone's life. I think I've already made some differences in the lives of my friends. They sure have made a difference in mine. I'm amazed at the life I've had. Growing up with the family that I did and even though I had my struggles, I'm glad that it was my parents and sisters that were there for me. Thanks. I hope you've enjoyed my reflection.

The book this time is
Anatomy of the Spirit (Caroline Myss)

Is anyone out there?

I feel like no one is reading my blog. I guess it doesn't matter that much, but if you are reading then this is for you. Things are crazy right now. I'm trying so hard to get all my stuff done. I feel like I can't catch up. I have so much homework to do, and all the actvities that I'm involved in are eating away at my time. Tonight was a great night, because I stopped doing my crazy schedule and took a night off. I watched some Gilmore Girls and knitted, and then I went to my friend Kassie's to watch Whale Rider. It's one of my favorite movies. I can't believe I'm graduating from college in about a month. It's crazy! I always dreamed of getting to this point of my life, but now it's so close. I'm trying really hard to get over senioritis, so that it doesn't consume my life. I working on the next step in my life, hopefully it will be something exciting.

I'm recomending a movie this time:
Whale Rider (Awesome, Awesome movie!)

STUPID COMPUTERS!!!

Today everything was fine and I went to take a nap at 2:30 because I pretty much stayed up all night and I was really tired. I then got up 2 hours later and tried to check me email. My computer was frozen so I turned it off and then tried to turn it on again. It wouldn't go to the login screen. I tried at least 5 times, and then I decided to go to Tech Support. Let me jut tell you that I hate, hate, hate tech support. They are mean, and act like it's your fault that your computer started acting up. The guy then tried to turn on my computer and it wouldn't, so he took my harddrive and tried to out it in a new computer. Didn't work. So he said he would give me a new harddrive, and transfer all the stuff from my old harddrive. Well, apparently my harddrive is a piece of shit because it wouldn't transfer my stuff to the new one. The guy was like "there is nothing I can do, so I guess you lost your stuff!". Um....Thanks man, for feeling bad for me! Not! Argh!!! He was like, did you back your stuff up? No, that was stupid on my part. I actually thought I could rely on a computer. Dammit!!! It's fine, I actually didn't lose that much. I'm just annoyed with the whole situation. Anyways.........

The book this time is:
Wicked:The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Gregory Maguire)