The Power of Words

People tend to ignore how much words can hurt. Everyone thinks about bullying as the mean guy in school stealing the nerd's lunch money or punching people to get their way. Yes, bullying can be physical, but ignoring how much verbal pain hurts is something a lot of people are guilty of. Verbal abuse can be in many forms, whether it's in person or over the internet/texting, but it still hurts just as bad. As many as 160,000 kids stay home at any given day because they are afraid to go to school due to bullying. This number is ridiculously high and I know that by now the Beulah High School kids are probably sick of hearing it, but I still see this every day and not just one time a day. I know that everyone is guilty of hurting someone in one way or another, whether it was intentional or not. Even if you say something that you meant as a joke, some people don't take it that way and it hurts them. You may not be able to see the effects on the outside, but if you could listen to their thoughts, I'm sure you'd think twice.
My grandmother always told me, "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all." Hearing this growing up was something I never paid attention to. I mean c'mon, "stick and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." I wish that was true, too bad it's not. As I grew up and got bullied from the beginning of middle school, I've thought a lot about my words and the words other people say. Shedding as many tears as I have because of the thoughtlessness of some people, I think about what I say a lot more. This is something I wish more people would do with both words and actions.
You weren't put on this planet to make someone else's lives miserable, you were put here to make a difference whether it was a small or large way. Don't hurt someone else just because they stole your boyfriend, you're a teenager and there's plenty of time. I'm not going to tell you to completely change your life, but remember that the words you say or the actions you do can make someone else's lives not worth living. Don't think that people don't care what you say about them, because everyone does no matter how much they try to tell you different. Your world is what you make it, remember that.

National Love Your Pet Day

February 20 is Nation Love Your Pet Day! Through my 17 years of living I've had multiple animal friends; however, only five of them made a true impact on my life. When I was four years old, we adopted my cat Oreo from the old flower shop in Hazen. She was just old enough to leave her mom, and I was young enough to have fun chasing her around the house. She was a long haired feline and truly looked like an Oreo cookie with white coating the bottom of her around her neck to the top of her head and the rest of her was black. The first year we had her, she was the only pet I had, except for the huge fish bowl we had. Too bad cleaning the fish tank wasn't as fun as playing with my kitty or I might still have one. I was lucky to have her in my life for eight years.
My second best friend, a canine, is a mutt. Dodge is a black Labrador Retriever mixed with a Cocker Spaniel, and I got her when I was five. Of course, Dodge isn't the name I would've chosen, but she was only a year younger than I was so I wouldn't dare change her name. She may not have been a puppy, but she was definitely as playful and as naughty as one. We saved her from a farm out of town, they were going to put my baby to sleep, but my dad finally let me get her. Although hunting was the true reason why we got her, I know my dad, somewhere in his mind, got her for me. She's now 16 years old and shows the true meaning behind "a man's best friend."
The next pet may seem a little bit odd to some, but to me he was one of the coolest things alive! His name was Ardie, named after Uncle Ardell because he found him, and he was a turtle. I would always put him into the bathtub with some water and let him swim/crawl around. It truly was an experience to learn about how to take care of him and to actually take care of him. Before winter, when he had to hibernate, we took him down to the river and let him go. Then, I adopted Smokey the rabbit from my nephew Braydon. He was probably one of the coolest animals I've ever got to have. His light grey fur was soft and during the summer, it didn't want to stay on. Taking care of him was a bit difficult, though, because of my dad's odd obsession with a "green yard." We ended up giving him away to two little kids which broke my heart.
My very last pet you have to read about it is yet another feline. He's what I call "my evil little man." His name is Smokey and his true owner is my brother. My brother has been living with me for two years so I have gotten the "priveledge" to call him my cat. He has the Tiger Cat type of coat and it wouldn't surprise me if he was a tiger. He likes to prowl, jump, and bite. Most people call him mean, and I'm guilty of doing so, but he truly is a cat I'm enjoying getting to know. My little man is a bit hard to explain, but I can tell you that he has one fabulous personality, acts like a dog, and is playful like a kitten.
Now, for those of you who are lucky enough to spend at least some time of your life with any type of animal, celebrate the time you have with them. They can turn into a huge part of your life and become your best friends. Happy National Love Your Pet Day!!

Above the Ground and the Clouds

The anxiety of not knowing what to expect, what a horrid feeling. My mind wanders as I'm waiting in line. I watch everyone else take of their shoes and empty their pockets. I've never done this before, will I do something wrong? Did I bring something that can get me in trouble? I can feel my throat tightening by the second. It's my turn, I grab a tray and I take off my shoes and empty everything that I need to into the tray. I look up at the angry looking old man, he's glaring at all of the people waiting and I can tell he can't wait for his shift to be over. I slowly walk towards the last stop, the man tells me to put my hands up in the air and I do as he says. The three seconds that it took felt like a million years. He finally says you can go. I breathe a sigh of relief and go pick up my things. I put my shoes back on and go sit on a chair by my gate.
Now, the wait. I'm already having an anxiety attack over just going through the detectors, now I have to wait to get onto a gigantic plane that I could maybe die on. Of course, I think of the worst thing that could possibly ever happen. Why did I ever watch that stupid movie about snakes being on a plane? I'm already afraid to be on a plane, now I'm even more scared that their could be snakes! Oh no...it's time to load. I can feel my legs get weak when I stand up and put my purse on my shoulder. I lift up my back and walk towards the gate. The gate could lead to my death, or to my ultimate vacation. Hopefully the second one. The woman takes my ticket, scans it, and gives it back to me. I walk down the hallway, the short hallway felt like it was a mile long. My parents aren't very close to me, the anxiety kicks in again. I walk faster and find myself next to mom. I glare at her and she asks me what she did wrong. I tell her if she leaves me again I will start to cry. She laughs at me. What a disturbing thing to do to your child who is having an anxiety attack. I move away from her and walk next to dad, he gives me comfort by staying next to me and letting me get on the plane after mom and before him. We find our seats and we all sit. They let me sit by the window so I can stare outside while I think of how far I'll fall when the plane breaks apart.
The attendant starts to talk about safety precautions. What will save me from falling to my death? What a stupid woman to think this little tiny vest will save me. I can hear the plane start, of course the worst thing happens. Something is wrong with the plane, and we're delayed twenty minutes. I can feel it start to move and my anxiety kicks into full gear as the plane does. We're going down the runway and my throat feels as if it is closed completely. My eyes close suddenly as if they were possessed, I can feel the plane begin to go faster and faster. I feel my body lift with it and my heart begins to do a little dance and drum like it's a drummer. Then it falls back down and my panic attack travels to an all high and I begin to cry. The end.
Oh, just kidding. That never happened although I wish it ended there. The plane got higher and higher like my level of anxiety. My ears pop with a slight pain and I open my eyes to see the  ground get smaller. I yawn to get the pop away and I can hear my parents laughing. I want to slap the grin off of their faces! How could they be laughing at their child who was going to have a heart attack?!?! My parents can never seize to amaze me. I feel an odd feeling in my stomach as the plane levels out. My anxiety calms a bit as grow some comfort with this flying beast. I look out the window and I see white. The beast shakes a bit as it flies through the fluffy white clouds and my anxiety blew up like a bomb! The shaking lasts for a while and when it stops I look back outside and I can see the top of the clouds. It's so beautiful! I've always seen the bottom of the clouds which I find pretty, but the tops! They are so much more fun to look at! For the rest of the flight I look outside on and off as I take short naps. I hear the pilot say we'll be landing in Minneapolis. The plunge downward gave my stomach another funny knot that I had no joy in feeling. As we get off I can't help but to feel some sort of excitement to get onto another one. 
The walk through the Minneapolis airport was much different than the one in Bismarck. We ran through it because we were going to be late! We get to our gate, just in time. Yeah, just in time to realize that we still had an hour. We were an hour ahead in North Dakota. We sit for what feels like hours, when we finally hear we can board. My heart skips, this time not because of a bad feeling. We board back onto the plane and my eyes start to get heavy. I open my eyes and we're getting ready to land in D.C. My excitement begins to rise once again knowing that I'll see my sister for the first time in six years. It's only minutes away! When we land I can't help but to walk quickly through this treacherous maze of an airport. I never knew there could be so many floors to an airport! When we get to where we can get our bags I scan for mine and when we finally get all three of our bags my sister calls. She's here and it's time to spend a week with my sister and nephews. Something I've been waiting for for a VERY long time.
Now, I have to say that my very first plane ride was absolutely fantastic. The size of it may be scary and the possibility of crashing, although rare, is a very scary feeling. Having anxiety made this even worse for me. When we finally got into the air, I fell in love. I thought about switching my possible future from Social Worker to Flight Attendant right then and there. The feeling of being so far in the air and looking down at the ground is exhilarating. I loved flying, though the feeling of watching my nephew get his diploma was much more fun. My amazing vacation and seeing so many new things like a REAL car jam, rush hour, and museum, the White House, and just a brand new territory and city made that anxiety attack so worth it. My nephews are my life and my family is one of the biggest things in my life. Now that I've gotten my taste of a plane and the city of D.C. I cannot wait to go back and taste it all over again!