Journal Entry 1

So.... to make up for my forgetting to post... I decided to put up some Journals I have written for my English class since we are reading The Outsiders (Great book!!).  This is Journal 1:

March 22, 2011

Journal  1:    What  do  you  and  your  friends  do  to  show  others  that  you  are  part  of  a  group?    What  are  the   similarities  and  differences  between  cliques  and  gangs?

Dear Journal,

         My friends and I are involved in several groups.  Each of these groups take steps to make it known that they are part of that particular group.  When I am with my volleyball team,  we are always matching.  At practice we wear the same t-shirts and shorts, and at tournaments we are all wearing our jerseys, same socks, shoes, and even kneepads.   When we do this we are telling the other teams that we are part of the Mississippi Juniors Volleyball team.  When I am with another group, like my youth group,  we may show that we are together in different ways.  We make it obvious that we know each other by laughing and joking around.  We always sit together at events and we defend each other.  When talking about groups, two words come to mind:  cliques and gangs.  These two words are sort of similar, but they are also very different.  When I think of cliques I think of girls.  I guess guys can have there own cliques, but I think this word is usually associated with girls.  You have the “mean” cliques that make-fun of people in other cliques.  Cliques usually don’t mix well with other cliques.  They usually stick with their own group.  When I think of gangs, I can’t help but think of guns, spray paint, and sagging pants.  I suppose not all gangs are like this, but those are the pictures that come to mind.  Gangs stick together.  I usually think of them as violent.  They can be violent to other gangs, other people, or even people within their gang.  Gangs, I’m sure, have rules that you must follow.  If you break these rules, there are serious consequences (probably physically).  Though gangs are usually considered more “blood-thirsty” and murderous, are cliques really that different?  Sure, they don’t go around shooting people, but what they do to them mentally can sometimes be so much more painful.

A Book.

A blessed companion is a book, - a book that, fitly chosen, is a lifelong friend,... a book that, at a touch, pours its heart into our own.  ~Douglas Jerrold

A book is a dangerous thing.  Some see it as a waste of time....Some see it a large stack of paper with black letters painted across the pages..... yet some.... see a book for what it truly is.  A book  is a dangerous thing.  When a person opens its pages, and truly begin to immerse themselves in its world....they are lost.  Because once they finally emerge from its adventure.... they are not who they once were.  Their mind has soaked in its ideas, and without giving permition, they have been transformed into a new being.  A book is a dangerous thing.... because one book, could change EVERYTHING.

I just finished reading The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton) for my English class.  Let me just say, that this book has really changed me.  This book adresses cliques and gangs, and how harmful they really are.  On the pages of this book, are the words I hear in the back of my mind when I see the split between the "popular" kids and the "outcasts".  I see how they treat each other and all at once.... I become furious, disgusted..... and my heart breaks.  "Just don't forget that some of us watch the sunset too" - Ponyboy (The Outsiders).  What he means when he is saying this is:  Right now, all we see is outward appearance.... or money.... or social status.... but at the end of the day, how much of that matters?  We are all human beings.  We feel happiness.... sorrow.  We all laugh and we cry.  All of us have our individual worries, and fears.  The problem occurs when we let our own struggles cloud our vision and our hearts.... and when we let our own issues mask the problems of others. 

In the book,  There is a poem.  (sorry I am not sure who it is by...):

"Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay."

"Nothing gold can stay."  What does this mean?  Well in the words of Johnny Cade (The Outsiders), "I've been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green.  When you're a kid everything's new, dawn.  Its just when you get used to everything that is day."

That is so right!  We accept things the way they are.... teasing, bullying, everything,..... because we are so used to it.  We are no longer golden children who have never been made to feel "not good enough".  We have all felt that way.... and we have all brought those feelings upon another.  Well I am truly sick of it.  Johnny's last words were "Stay gold." and I think he is right.  We can't accept these things anymore.  We will have to take risks, and get hurt.... all for the chance that things could be "gold" again.  All because its worth it. 

" I could picture hundreds and hundreds of boys living on the wrong sides of cities, boys with black eyes who jumped at their own shadows.  Hundreds of boys who maybe watched sunsets and looked at stars and ached for something better.  I could see boys going down under street lights because they were mean and tough and hated the world, and it was too late to tell them that there was still good in it, and they wouldn't believe you if you did.  It was too vast a problem to be just a personal thing.  There should be some help, someone should tell them before it was too late..."  - Ponyboy Curtis (The Outsiders)

So yes.  This book has changed me.  I hope you will read it and let it pour itself into your heart.  But most of all... I hope you will "stay gold."

Volleyball Tournament

"Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her." - Mia Hamm


     So Yesterday was my second volleyball tournament with a new team.  It went pretty well.  We one two and lost two.... but it was a major improvement from the last tournament.  The thing that really stood out to me was that... when we were excited and happy... even after our mistakes, we won.  While we were getting ready for our next game, Zozzy and I were told that one of us would be taken to play for the 17 year old team.  Their setter was throwing up, and they were about to have to forfeit.  Zozzy and I were the only other setters and Zozz ended up going.  This really upset me... right before our next game.  I mean my best friend had just left.  I have been playing this sport for two years, and Zozz and I have always... ALWAYS played together.  If you don't play volleyball... you might not understand how much of a big deal her leaving is.  We have certain places we have to be during certain situations on the court... especially as setters.  We both help each other out.  In just minutes I had become the only setter, the new first server, and the new team captain... on top of learning a new rotation.  Talk about pressure.  I went into that game upset.  They handed me the ball to serve and all I wanted to do was cry.  It was then that I prayed, " God,  I can't do this without you."
     That game went GREAT.  I served the best serves I have ever done in my two years of playing.  My sets were good, and the rotation went smoothly.  We even WON!  I know that it wasn't because of me.  I was a mess.  God just gave me the strength I needed to play that game.    .. and for that I am thankful.  We can't do anything without Him.  Without Him... we are worth NOTHING.


Here are some pictures I took at the tournament:


On the way... at 5am.

Waiting to play:

Before we start:

Reffing with George and Mal :)

Mal and Ken :)

On the way home:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZOZZ!! :)

“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.” -  Abraham Lincoln quotes

So Thursday (yesterday) was one of my best friend's birthday!!  Her name is Zozzy and she is soooo special to me.  We met at the middle school volleyball tryouts almost 2 years ago.... I thought she hated me, because she would completely ignore me every single time I spoke to her.  Well... it turns out... we both made the team and we were required to go to a "play-day" in Oxford.   I didn't have a ride that day so her very kind mother said she could take me.  We went to Mcdonalds and had almost no conversation except for looking at her "Scratch-Draw" thing.  We had these nice little car rides a few more times until one day we decided to go to an arts festival after one of our play-days.  It was amazing!!! ......No, no the festival... (I mean I did have a fantastic time!!)... but we actually TALKED! I couldn't believe it! And thus began our great friendship.  If our friendship was a flower... It out grew most other flowers.  It grew fast.... but It also grew quite beautifully.  I know that I can trust her with ANYTHING and I am sure she thinks the same of me ( at least I hope!!).  Neither of us has a sister, but what's crazy is...it doesn't matter.  We have each other.  The day I tried out for volleyball,  I had NO IDEA that I was going to meet my closest friends at those tryouts.  I may have not known what was coming... but God did, and I am SO thankful that he takes care of me each and every day.  I can trust him, even when I can't trust myself.  So Happy (late!) Birthday Zozz! I hope it is (was) great!! Love Fizz :)

So I took some wonderful pictures of two of my wonderful volleyball sisters... oops friends ;)

Zozzy:  (She is soooo Pretty!!)

and Ken: (she is too!)

 LOVE this!

Aren't they beautiful!!?

Love you guys!! :)

Weather

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.  ~John Ruskin

     Let me just say that I disagree.  Okay, so maybe the first few days... the rain was refreshing and the snow was exhilarating.... but it wore off.  Fast.  I suffered through this for weeks... soggy shoes, humidified hair.... I am fairly sure I was even turned into a snowman a few times too.  Maybe cold and wet climates work out for you Bella Swann but... unfortunately, they disgust me.  Then, one morning I woke up and heard angels singing "Hallelujah!".  Animals were dancing around my backyard, and all of a sudden I was singing opra!! (okay so maybe it didn't happen exactly like that...but you get the picture.)  It was amazing because it was silent... except for the birds singing outside my window.  No rain.  Just the brilliance of the sun lighting up my face.  And It felt delicious.
    
     I can already hear it... "Bethany,  why are you boring me with a post about the weather?"  Well... the weather is the perfect metaphor for life.  I remember towards the end of summer, I was soooo ready for fall, and winter.  I was ready for the painted leaves to drift through the chilly breeze...... for snow to frost the trees.  I wanted anything BUT summer.  What's crazy is, when summer was gone, I finally began to appreciate it.  How this relates to life:  When you are living large and everything is going perfectly.... you sometimes forget to appreciate how blessed by God you are.  It is only when these things are taken, and you have to suffer a little while, that you begin to understand their worth.  You just have to last through these troubles and trust God to get you through.... so that when the sun breaks through the clouds.... you won't take it for granted this time.

Ta da!! Its a blog! MY Blog :)

Hey Reader (or Readette!), my name is Bethany and I decided to start a blog. Why??  Well... (1) I love to write.  (2)  All those people who I never get to see can keep up with my life.  (3)  I would love to share my experiences in the hope that my blog will: (a) make you smile.  (b) inspire you... or (c) entertain you in History class!  Okay so I was kidding about the last one... but the point is.  Welcome to my blog!

P.S.  Any of you who have maybe seen the movie, The Brave Little Toaster... will understand the name of my blog :) enjoy!