PTSD

Recently in school I have been learning a lot about war.  In history, we learned about World War I and now we are learning about World War II.  In English we are learning about the effect war has on the people that are involved with it.  Our weekly letter for this past week was about a woman named Margret.  Margret fought in World War II but when she came back, she wasn't the same.  Her family took care of her for a while but eventually they had to place her in a local residential care facility.  They visited Margret often but she never again was the person she was before the war.

We were asked a few questions after reading this story so I would like to answer them here.


What would you have done if you were Margret's parents?

I think I probably would have done the same thing that they did.  I would have done my best to take care of her but if it got to a point where I could barely take care of myself, I would feel better knowing she was somewhere where she could receive the adequate help she deserved and needed.

What would you have done if you were her doctor?

If I was Margret's doctor, I would have made sure that she got the type of help she needed.  If she needed therapy or medication I would have recommended it.  I'm not quite sure the extent of help a normal doctor can give so this question is a little difficult to answer.

What would you have done if you were her sister/brother?

If I was Margret's sister I would have made sure she was in a situation that was best for her.  I would have probably been happy knowing she was with our parents.  But later when she had to go the institution, I would have been happy knowing she was being well-taken care of there too.  I would have gone to visit her often if I didn't live where she was staying.

How do you think Margret felt with her parent's choice of putting her in an institution?

I don't really know Margret well enough to know how she would have felt.  If she was the type of person that liked to be independent, I'm sure every situation was uncomfortable for her since she needed someone's help.  But if she was someone who knew she needed help, but just didn't want to be a burden, she was probably glad she was giving her parents a little more room.

Would you rather live in an institution and be taken care of or live at home and have to take care of yourself?

I think I would probably rather live in an institution and be taken care of.  As much as I would like to say I would like to be independent and take care of myself, I know I would get very frustrated not being able to do certain things on my own.  I would try to have some level independence, however, if I did live in an institution.  And then hopefully I would only need the help at the institution if it was absolutely necessary.  Also, living in an institution could provide certain facilities of help that would be harder to access elsewhere.



Thank for reading!  If you know anyone with PTSD that you think needs some aid, talk to someone about it.  You never know the internal battles someone could be facing.

This week Middy Vogel asked us to make up a story about an antihero that reflects our own personal flaw.  Our character needs to have a superpower that correlates to that flaw and an event where the character uses their superpower to "save the world".

My character's name is the Incredible Impulsive Isabel.  Isabel is an average woman.  She works in a cubicle calculating the amount of product that is sold in some big run-of-the-mill cooperation.  Isabel's job is usually quite slow but when she needs it, she can channel her usual impulsiveness into speed, which she uses to anonymously fight crime.

Isabel sighed as she turned off the light at her desk.  Nothing interesting happened today.  But that wasn't a surprise.  Isabel gathered her things and left the building in which she was trapped in everyday.  The day was finally over!  Isabel started towards home when she heard the faint cry of someone in the distance calling for help.  Without even giving herself a second to process what she was doing, or what she could be getting herself in to, the Incredible Impulsive Isabel zipped off in the direction she heard the noise.  When she arrived to the scene, the Incredible Impulsive Isabel was a little shocked at what she saw.  There was a man in a hoodie pointing a gun at an old woman, telling her to hand over her purse.  Not even realizing what she was doing, Isabel ran faster than the speed of light towards the hooded man and knocked the gun out of his hand.  Then she pushed him against the wall, before he even realized what was happening, and knocked him out.  She did all this in a matter of 30 seconds.  Isabel left as quickly as she came, and the old woman called 911 immediately, never getting to thank her speedy savior.

Thanks for reading :)

Passing Moments

Today at my regatta I thought a lot about how each moment is fleeting and how every moment eventually becomes a memory.

I think it's so strange to think about how what I'm doing right this second is not going to last forever.  After I finish writing this I am going to get ready for bed and then I am going to go to sleep.  As soon as I say everything I need to say, I am going to stop typing.  I am not going to be typing anymore but I can go back and replay the memory of me typing.

During one of my events today, while I was actually racing, I thought it would never end.  It was so painful and I wanted it to be over while I was doing it.  But then the race finished and we rowed back to shore and put away the boat and it was all over.  I wasn't rowing anymore.  But after, and even right now, I can think about the way that I felt during that race.  

I just think it's so fascinating to think about!

And it can be both positive and negative.  Negative experiences end eventually (in most cases) and then they just become memories that get pushed down into the deepest parts of our minds so we never have to relive them.  But once a good memory is over, we crave to live it again.  We can pull up the memory and re-feel the way we felt and for a moment we can bathe in the goodness that has passed.  

Remember to try to always enjoy every moment, the good AND the bad because you never know how quickly it may end!

I apologize if this post made no sense at all, I'm just trying to put some thoughts into words.

Thanks for reading :) 

Why Do YOU Live?

Two weeks ago Wis Kojohnjaratkul asked us "For what reason do YOU live?".

I find this question pretty difficult to answer.  I live for many reasons.

I live to make my parents happy and proud.
I live to be a good sister.
I live to be a helpful, loyal friend.
I live to do my best in every situation.
I live to make myself happy without bringing anyone else down in the process.
I live so I can make other people's lives easier to live.

I don't know, this question is hard to answer.  I don't know if I'll ever be able to completely answer it.

Rowing Is Pretty Cool

Today my team and I competed in the first day of a regatta called the Long Beach Junior Invitational Regatta.  Tomorrow is the second and final day.  

Since rowing is already constantly on my mind for the time being (just kidding it's almost always somewhere in my thoughts) I thought I would share some interesting facts about rowing itself.  

1. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympics, was a rower.
2. From 1920 until 1956, the USA won the gold medal in the men’s eight at every Olympic Games.
3. There are two different types of rowing: sculling and sweep.  In sculling, the rower has two oars while in sweep, the rower only has one.  There are three different sculling events: the single, the double, and the quad.  There are also three sweep events: the pair, the four, and the eight.
4.  Although it seems like only the arms and back are used, the legs actually do most of the work.  The rower's legs provide power to the oars once they enter the water, the arms and back just finish off the stroke.
5. Most collegiate, club, and international races are 2000 meters.  However, in most high school races the course can vary from 1100-2000 meters.


Those are just some quick facts that barely scratch the surface of this awesome sport but I hope you found them somewhat interesting or enlightening.  If you ever get a chance to pick up some oars and go for a row, I strongly recommend it. 

Thanks for reading! :)

School and College

School is so overwhelming sometimes!!!

Today I took a practice SAT to see how I would do.  It made me think of college which made me think of how I'm going to go to college which made me think of where I'm going to go to college which led me right back to where I started.

I know that every single teenager in the United States is feeling the same anxiety as me but it doesn't really lessen the stress for me.  I WISH I WAS JUST IN COLLEGE ALREADY!!!!

I know that I just have to do my best every day because that's all I can do.  I have to remember that I will feel okay once I graduate knowing that I did all that I could.  If it doesn't turn out completely how I wanted it to, it's okay because I did everything in my power.  I'd rather feel like that than have regrets about something that I did or didn't do.  Only two and a half more years.  That really isn't too bad.  Is it? 

Thanks for listening to this rant, I hope you have a great rest of your break if you're from Mira Costa or just a great weekend in general if you're not.  

Patience???

Lately I have realized the importance of patience.  

More than a few times in the past few weeks I have been faced with situations I did not want to be facing.  I think if I were any younger,  I probably would have abandoned those situations quite quickly.  However, now that I am older, I know running away from your problems does not solve anything.  

I don't know, maybe it's the angst of being a teen or hormones or I am just a person with a very low amount of patience but I have been getting very annoyed lately by the littlest things.  But I think it has been a blessing in disguise because I have been able to practice my patience more and more.

Being able to stay calm has helped me rationalize more and therefore make better decisions.  I think it is extremely important to maintain somewhat of a positive outlook when handling issues.  If you have a negative mindset going in, you are automatically going to have to work harder to better the situation.

Just always remember to be positive and BE PATIENT EVEN IF IT'S REALLY REALLY REALLY HARD!!!!

:)