Creative Story

This past weekend, my parents came down to visit my brother and I, and they drove down the car that was mine, but it didn't really work out between us, so it gave me the idea to write a story about it. The car gave me many good stories that I can now laugh at, but really made me mad at the time. I want the story to be kind of humorous and just about the experiences I went through with that car.

Cults

What exactly is a cult? What sets it apart from religions such as Buddhists and Catholics? In looking at my research, cults start with one main cause to make the world a better place, just like most religions. Cults on the other hand take their faith too far, and take advantage of the strong faith their members have to make them do wrong things. The people in the cults aren't bad people. They think they are in a group that will make the world a better place, but in reality the group just uses them and degrades them to make them feel like they arent' worthy and must prove their faith in various ways. All humans are blessed with having emotions, the ability to feel, and this makes them so vulnerable to cults. It really is sad that good people can be so easily brainwashed just because they have trust in the good of other people who lead them to do wrong. Cults and religions are so closely related, it's hard to even explain the difference, so it's easy to see why people can get caught into something like this.

I guess if you dont jump, you'll never know if you can fly

I'm writing this post because I'm going home tomorrow and I'm so excited! It's hard to imagine less than 6 months ago I was so excited to leave my hometown and now I'm more excited to go back. Being away from a place I've been my whole life really makes me appreciate it so much more!
This weekend I'm especially excited because my best friend Michelle is going home too. We've been best friends since the age of 5. She goes to school in the Twin Cities so I never really get to see her. This girl is like my sister and we've been through so much together. No one can make me laugh like she does, and we have the best memories of my life. Our families became good friends because of our friendship so we'd always go on vacation together and her parents were basically my 2nd parents. We had cottages up north about a half hour away from eachother so we'd spend our whole summers up north on the lake together. In school we were attached at the hip, took the same classes, and it was never kayla or michelle, it was kayla and michelle, together. We had all the same friends, did the same sports, and even had jobs together. A lot of the underclassman in school actually thought we were sisters. Sure, we got sick of eachother, but our fighting was funny and we never took it seriously. When we chose different colleges people were shocked, but we knew we had to go experience life without eachother and just take separate paths. We needed our own lives, and just to try and see what else there was out there. We found this qoute in a country song, "I guess if you don't jump, you'll never know if you can fly" and we used that to get us through our last summer together, and get us pumped for the world we were about to experience, separately.
I left about a week before Michelle and she came to my house the morning I left and we said our goodbyes. I hadnt cried at all but when we gave eachother one last hug I just broke down! She started to bawl too and we could barely understand what the other was saying, and my mom just laughed saying it wasnt the end of the world, but for us, it was! When I got to Madison, it was extremely hard at first, because when I looked to my side, there was no Michelle. It was just me, and I had to go make friends with just being Kayla. I was independent for the first time in my life and I was seriously like a lost little puppy dog. But eventually I found my way, made new friends, and had a separate life from Michelle. Surprinsingly, we only called eachother maybe once a week if that, for some reason it was easier for me not to talk to her. I felt like I was out of her life, and that she moved on without me. Little did I know she felt the same way about me. It was sad!
I didnt see Michelle after I left for school in August until Thanksgiving. She came home thanksgiving day and I went to her house and she ran out and jumped on me and we spent the whole day together. And even though we jsut spent almost three months apart it was like no time had passed! I was so relieved, we were back to being the old kayla and michelle. Even though we had these separate lives, we were still the same people, and the same friends, and now I really think nothing can change that. We asked eachother why the other didnt call, and we had the same answer, it was just too hard.
Being away from Michelle I really do appreciate her friendship more than ever. No on can even compare to her. The close friends I've made here are great, but they're not michelle. Michelle and I found this quote over break, "the most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart." That fits us perfectly! I'm glad we chose different schools, and I'm glad we're doing our own thing. But i'm also so happy I have her as a best friend, there whenever I need her. And tomororw I get to see her!! :)

The numbing of the American Mind

I thought the article "The Numbing of the American Mind" was great. While reading the article I couldn't help but think of my high school physics teacher Mr. Walker. During a labs in his class most of the students goofed off and seemed to not really be able to focus on the lab. He went on a rant about how kids today have such short attention spans because of the way the world is now. He said that look at tv shows for young children where its all action all time and flashes of light like in those japanese cartoons. More and more children are brought up being placed in the front of the tv or computer and spending less time reading and playing outside. The numbing of the american mind places an emphasize on how Americans constantly are busy and have to be doing something all the time and forget about the simple things in life. With childhoods going the way my old teacher described it, of course Americans are living this busy lifestyle, thats all they've ever known.
Another great part of the article was on how easy Americans seem to move on, especially after the great tragedy of 9/11. Personally, I didn't know anyone who died in the tragedy. To be honest I didn't even know what the world trade center was or that there was even terrorists out there to get us. So for me moving on was pretty easy, especially after hearing the same story day after day. Of course, seeing pictures of the towers and people affected by it did touch me, I felt bad. And I do remember where I was the day it happened and i watched the news live as the 2nd tower fell. But, after hearing what seemed like the same story it didn't affect me as much. Most of America also feels this way after hearing the same thing day after day, not only with 9/11, but with other disasters and deaths around the world. With the internet giving us new news 24/7, 365 days a year and news broadcasts being as fast as they are now, we hear a lot of stories. Most are about bad things so Americans are pretty much conditioned to just move on, because, like what was said in the article, what else can you do? You have to move on, as bad as the situation is, its just what you do. As bad as this seems, maybe its also a good thing. With so much bad in the world, maybe its better not to feel it and just move on. This busyness that Americans are living isn't a good thing, but its almost what we have to do today, considering all the bad things in the world and the current war going on. It is keeping us numb, but it helps us move on from things that are almost unbearable for some people.

Intro blog

Hi! My name is Kayla and I'm from Green Bay, WI. My life isnt really anything excitng, I'm just doing the whole college thing right now obviously! Madison is a great city and I really like it a lot, but it did take some time to get use to since I've lived in Green Bay my whole life. Whenever I meet new people here, the normal conversation always involves so where are you from? And as I answer Green Bay the response is always without a doubt, oh so your a packers fan? This has been one of the most annoying things ever, but it really got me thinking. I never really considered myself a fan and as much as the Packers do suck, they have always been such a big part of my life.
When the Packers play on Sunday, Green Bay life revolves around that. Almost every household in the city has the game on. The west side is basically off limits from all the Packer traffic. Even I watched the games whenever they were on, I mean that's what Green Bay people do, that's all there really is to do. It's almost a basic instinct people born in Green Bay do, watch the game. If you ever watch Green Bay news or read the paper the headlines are always about the Packers, there really isn't any other news besides the Packers. Brett is just a household name and people talk about him like he's part of the family. There's no need to say his last name, everyone knows who Brett is.
But, being here in Madison, everything revolves around the Badgers. And instead of turning on the news and seeing the Packers, I actually see real news and politics that I don't understand. Being at a new school, with new classes, new friends, and basically a whole new home has really been overwhelming at times this year. But, I found such a great outlet that really brings me back home once a week. And that was Packer games. As tough as it was to watch when they let countless games slip away and even as painful as it was to watch the Bears shutout the Packers at Lambeau, I watched. I suffered withdrawels when the December 21st game wasn't aired in Madison and I couldn't watch. I cheered on Brett Favre all season, and after his emotional breakdown after the last game (which we got the Bears back and won by the way) I even felt a little tear in my eye. So now, being away from Green Bay, a city I really didn't like while i lived there, I guess it has its own uniqueness because of the Packers. So, I must say yes I'm a Packers fan. Yes I'm mad that the Bears are going to the Superbowl. And come on Favre, one more year!