Working With kids 😮

I don't know what to type about on here so i'm going to share some of my experiences, encounters and interaction with kids. I work at the Williams YMCA in Avery County, I work in the child care department witch is the CDC (Child Development Center) and he X-Arcade. Working here has been quite an experience especially since I work with kids from 7 weeks old to about 13 or 14 years old. Working with the infants has been going pretty good. I've experienced being peed and drooled on and once in a while I have been hit by some type of toy that had been thrown. That has been some of the encounters I have faced but oh boy their is a whole lot more stories about what they have done and what they have said.

I don't have much to say tonight besides I wonder what my life has come to because I'm trying to get ahead of my school work while listening to Avril Lavigne.. Not really sure what is wrong with me but I am completely ok with listening to this music. Sad thing is I didn't even like her back when I was younger. Her music is all basically about the same thing. Once again I have no idea what I am doing with my life right now, but maybe I'll find some deeper meaning in this music. Honestly by the end of this night I will probably listen to all of her songs.  Still not for sure how I got on her Youtube page, but I guess I'll just go with it. Haha.

A Sailor's Wish...And Shoes

As a creative writer, I often feel the need to put myself in someone else's shoes.  I’ve worn quite a few pairs of shoes in my time as a writer: vintage heels once, and a few pairs of flippers here and there.  However, my favorite shoes are boots: muddy adventure boots, dusty riding boots, and even snow shoes (if you consider them boots).  This is all metaphorical of course.  I’ve never actually worn any of these shoes (except the flippers), but I find the expression helpful when conveying the emotions of my characters.  I’ve noticed in my writing I often loop back to historical events for inspiration, and because of that I’ve fallen in love with pirate boots.  They seem to hold an infinite number of stories; if they didn't, I would've gotten bored with them by now.

This poem was one of my first “hardcore” poetry projects.  I wrote the first draft of the poem in middle school, but as I got older and my writing style developed this poem grew too.  I added stanzas and revised until I was happy with it; I stopped changing it after about two years.  The narrator of this poem had to lend me his sailor boots for a long time, but I think it paid off in the end.

A Sailor’s Wish

Love, I must admit to you,

My time has come when I must return to sea,

But I have been given a ship,

And it has everything a ship might need.

With great white sails to snap in the wind,

And a crew to bind them fast,

And a mighty large hull to send,

Us to our place and back.

The ocean has been calling since last I left,

And it kills me to stay so far away,

So my soul would benefit from this journey,

And I promise you I’ll come back some day.

And even though the sea is so big,

And I only a grain of sand,

With you in my heart, and my thoughts on the rig,

My hopes will forever stand.

The unknown is saying my name,

Though I can barely hear it,

And I can only hope that those who reign,

Will give us smooth waves.

I’ll still hope for a red night sky,

And shun those in the dawn,

I just wish I didn’t have to say goodbye,

But I promise I’ll trace your name in the stars.

I'll hire a band in every city I stay,

To play your song to the heavens,

So you'll hear it from the birds, if any way,

And sing it when you miss me.

And when the sea turns as a mirror,

Reflecting all it can bear,

The world seeming as endless sky, so clear,

I'll still love you and wait to return.

Because no matter what life hands to me,

Whether sliver platter or open palm,

I'll throw them down into the sea,

And use them as a path back to you.

If fate has me on strings,

And one day decides to tangle them together,

I’ll visit you, if only in dreams,

While chasing time all the way.

So it’s here I sadly say,

That there’s a chance I might not return,

And though I’m doing this for our better days,

Dangers still wish for me to burn.

Whether it’s the unknown itself,

Or what lies just beneath,

Maybe even my people, just looking for wealth,

Whatever the reason, my hope will not change.

So if I might die by another man’s hand,

Or even my own, need be,

I’d rather not be remembered for my time on land,

But my memory be given to the sea.

I'll eat the frozen pepperonis off my pizza if I want to, mom!

So.

    I spent a good amount of time wondering what I was supposed to write about on a blog read probably exclusively by people who I know nothing about.  And I'm sure, by now, the rest of you have had the same experience. My inspiration for this one came from a very interesting place; I didn't expect to be receiving homework advice from a cheap, frozen pizza. I was looking through other articles, both on this blog and others (a bit more popular than our own) trying to find ideas for my own first post. I decided to take a break, which while living on a pretty tight budget included the iconic, small, frozen personal pizza. I preheat the oven and place the pizza on a circular pan, and as I wait for the oven to heat, still browsing different blogs, I catch myself eating frozen pepperonis.

    Why?

I wasn't particularly hungry, that clearly wasn't the motive. Sure, they taste okay I guess (as good as they get for cheap frozen food,) but why am I eating them now? Why not after they're cooked to perfection, when I am supposed to eat them, along with the rest of the pizza?  I didn’t have to think about it very long though, and although the answer sounds a bit odd on paper, it’s simple. I wanted them now.  Right now.

    That, folks, is instant gratification.  

    I did a little research about instant gratification (and I do mean a little,) and despite the fact that it actually wasn’t very easy to find, there are few scientists out there buzzing about why humans are hardwired to want things instantly.  The most digestible information came from an article on entrepreneur.com, written by Neil Patel. Neil tells us that humans are expected to respond to situations based on something called the “pleasure principle.”  Basically, the pleasure principle is the term used to describe people doing things to get what they want and need as soon as possible, which can include anything from food and water to a cool hand-carved pen you saw on Etsy 20 seconds ago or diapers for your grandsons baby that still isn’t due for 7 months.

    Neil goes on to relate the science behind instant gratification to the way it affects business—after all, this is entrepreneur.com.  He talks about companies, especially in advertising, using instant gratification to make you feel like you need a product, or feel like you get a better deal by acting quickly.  Buy right now and get another one free, right? But, that’s a more “in your face” example of instant gratification in advertising, and believe it or not, it’s actually usually subconscious;  You’re hungry, you look at the screen to see a McDonalds commercial and you see dozens of people eating and being happy.  And then they tell you they’re open 24/7.  Eh?

    So, am I a sucker?  Should I be working hard to never allow myself to succumb to the horrors of instant gratification?  

    No, you shouldn’t, and it’s not always a bad thing.  Delayed gratification, although seeming like the better, more adult option of the two, can actually lead to stress and anxiety if practiced too often, or with things that make no sense to delay.  There are things that work hand in hand with instant gratification, without any repercussion, and no reason not to enjoy just as soon as you can!  I mean, hell, who’s gonna notice a few pepperonis missing from a frozen pizza, right?

As I'm sitting here pulling my normal 12hr shift with the rescue squad I think to myself, why in the world did I do this to myself? Why did I do this when I have two classes tomorrow and I haven't been sleeping well as it is. Then I remember I haven't been on a call in two months and I know deep down I've been avoiding this place for two reasons. The main reason is because of the helicopter crash that almost killed me back in June and I still haven't been able to man up and get over it so I thought today could be a good day to try. Little did I know that the same helicopter that crashed got put back in the air today and I walked right into them landing to come pay our rescue a visit. Talk about facing your fears head on haha. Now Just to get over the second reason I've been avoiding this place.

The Easiest Pudding You'll Ever Make

As a fan of any food (and yes, I mean any) with pretentious ingredients
     and labels such as "Raw", "Vegan", or "Paleo", I'm a frequenter of
     the simple recipe of overnight oats. If you haven't tried the beauties,
     trust me, they're the best things ever. Basically, it's just oatmeal sans
     microwave. Don't lie, you love blowing yourself up as some health
     guru as much as the next guy.

Over time though, overnight oats simply wouldn't fill my craving for a
     quick breakfast that also stroked my cruelty free ego. So, I had a
     revelation. Flax seeds! Okay, that's a lie. My first thought went to chia
     seeds, but those are rather expensive for a lowly, jobless teenager. Still,
     even if it sounds less fancy, I've come to enjoy flax seeds more. They
     have a nuttier flavor, about the same nutritional standpoint, and are
     roughly three dollars cheaper than chia seeds per pound. No, really,
     according to this website, flax seeds are $2.95/lb while chia seeds
     are $5.99/lb as of 9/25/16. See? I'm full of fun facts. How about using
     that to impress your friends at a party? Whether you're applauded or
     kicked out for it, it will have been a fun ride.

Anyways, flax seeds! They're easy, fun, nutritious, and can be said with
     the same emotional zeal as someone in Walmart thinking they're
     superior for buying the one organic thing in the entire store. Yes, I'm
     referencing myself with that jab. Flax seeds are positively delicious,
     and after doing a bit of research to see how in the world I could add
     them in, I've found my preferred method: grinding those suckers like
     coffee beans. With that, I present to you, the easiest breakfast for those
     mornings where you just cant.

THE EASIEST PUDDING YOU'LL EVER MAKE

Ingredients:

• 2tbs Whole flax seeds
• 1/2c Oatmeal (preferably not "Quick Oats")
• 1/3c + extra Almond Milk (Or whichever milk you prefer. Be warned: it may alter the flavor)
• 1tbs Granulated sugar OR sugar substitute
• 1tbs Baking cocoa powder
• Things to decorate (i.e. Fresh fruit, fruit preserves, honey, etc)

PROCESS:

• Take your flax seeds and grind them until they're pretty much a fine powder, or about ten seconds, whether it's in a bullet blender like me, or, if you're extra fancy and you have it on hand, use a coffee grinder. transfer them to a mason jar.
• Add in your first 1/3c of milk and stir until the powder is thoroughly mixed in.
• Add your Oatmeal into the mason jar then, on top of the other mixture, so that it's in two separate layers. 
• Pour in enough milk to cover the oats' tops. If you would prefer a more liquidy pudding in the end, add more.
• Stir the two layers together, adding in the cocoa powder and sugar as you do until the mixture looks more uniform in composition
• Add a your toppings (I used blackberry preserves, but you can use anything that you think would go well with chocolate), and then close your jar and set it in the fridge. By morning, you'll have a quick breakfast that you can grab on the run with no fuss.

Bada-bing, bada-boom, you have your pudding/oatmeal thing! 

     It may not look perfectly appetizing in the picture, but trust 

     me on this, it was gosh darn delicious. Hope you enjoyed!

xoxo, Gossip Girl

                                                                  

World Wind

So the past two weeks have been crazy , my laptop crashed on me and I failed my math exam ! bumper. I felt like what in the world could happen to me now at this point. Every homework assignment was on the laptop and I need the DMA classes for nursing school. Well good news on the flip side is that I took the laptop to the Geeksquad and I was covered by a warranty since I've only had it less than a math ! Thank Goodness ! The math news is I retook my math exam and passed it to move on to the next class which is my last math class ever. Don't think I could handle anymore math. On the other leaf , working 12hr shifts 7p-7a is a world wind in it self while going to school. I'm learning to breathe until the wind stops and everything will be alright.