Be A Friend

So on my oh-so-fabulous trip to Jamaica last week, we had to say one night at the Holiday Inn in Atlanta before catching our plane the next morning. For dinner that night, we ate at the hotel's restaurant. Although we had gotten there early and the restaurant wasn't officially open, the bartender offered for us to sit in the bar area and he got us sweet teas. I started watching the bartender as we ate our dinner and more people filled the restaurant. I noticed that more people sat in the bar area than the actual restaurant itself. It doesn't take long for me to see why and no, it wasn't the alcohol. It was the bartender's personality. He was kind and, more importantly, he was friendly. And that's when it hit me.
Our world has no friends. Yes we have our "friends" who will "stick with us" bit do we have true friends? That, my dear reader, is a debate for another day. My point tiday is that, supposedly, the world was filled with people who were kind to you for no good reason other than to be kind. Supposedly, a society existed where when you went out to ear the waiters and waitresses or hosts and hostesses were kind and couretous because they wanted to be, not because they were afraid of losing their job if they weren't. People used to be friendly.
Some people may call me naive for beleiving that such a society had have existed or could exist. And why they may believe it couldn't I could never understand. I mean, really, is it too much to ask how someone's day was, or to say "good morning" every once in awhile. You don't have to be friendly to just friends. You should be friendly to everyone you meet. Even your "enemies". You never know when your "good morning" or "how are you today" could really impact someone. So I guess, all there is to say is this:
Will You Be A Friend Today?



until next time
xo
Kayy

Keep Your Candle Lit

"There is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of one small candle."
~Robert Aiden

I saw this quote, there on the board, one day as I walked into my first block at school. I sat down, and stared at this tiny statement forever. It held so much power over me and I couldn't figure out why. I sat there and thought about it, rolling the words around in my head, trying to make sense of them. Soon, the end of class had arrived and I was rushed out the door. On a tiny piece of paper I jotted down these words so I would never forget them and hurried on to my next class. I thought about these words for three days, and still couldn't make sense of them. So I googled the guy who said it, Robert Aiden; maybe knowing the author's background could help me. Well, what do you know, I find nothing. So today, while sitting in my English class, I was staring at these words and something just clicked. I knew what the mysterious Robert Aiden was saying, what he was talking about.
Hope. He was talking about hope.

Think About This.....

The definition of hope, according to dictionary.com, is "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best." Hope is thinking optimistically and believing that events will turn out for the better and that everything will be okay. Without hope we would all be in a very difficult position. Without hope the whole world would all be not only very pessimistic but we'd see the worst in people and think there's nothing but evil out there. Without hope we wouldnt believe in goodness. We'd be consumed in a world of mass paranoia that no one can be trusted. And some people do live in that kind of world. We have to remember though that there can always be hope. And hope is like the little candle we all hold inside us, it's your choice however whether or not we want to keep it lit.

Darkness can represent many things, and I think the most commonly associated with darkness is evil. And I think that's what our mysterious Robert Aiden was trying to convey by saying this. There is evil in the world, and darkness. Think about what you see on the six o'clock news. It's not often the headlines are something good happening in the world today but something, quite frankly, depressing. You always hear about the bad things, the evil things that are happening in the world. People killed, wars and politics, scandals and robberies. Dare I go on? I won't deny it, or sugar-coat it. Yes there is some evil out there. And bound to be negativity. There's evil and there's darkness.

However, like our mysterious author said in his maxim, there's not enough darkness in the world to extinguish the flame of one small candle. No matter how small. Which means that, yes, there are evils out there but we must see the good in things, think about the positive. Keep hope alive. We must believe in the good. No amount of darkness should demolish that little flicker of hope. Nothing should. We should keep hope, and build the hope. Yes, sometimes you might be disappointed and maybe think of that other saying "don't get my hopes up" but after awhile, when you've learned how to see the good from the disappointment then you'll learn how to get over it faster. You won't be as pessimistic. Keep hope up, think positively. It's healthy for you.

Much like you can't very well watch the news and say "the entire world is coming to an end" you can't say you're going to fail a class over the tiniest bad grade.

My point is that you have to think positively. You have to see the good in things instead of the worst. You learn how to bring up the grade, to realize the good in the news, you have to learn to see the good. You have to keep your hope. You have to keep the little light inside you burning.

Keep Your Candle Lit

xo
Kayy

Parallel: Love

okay, so me and my friend Kansas are starting this new thing, called parallel blogging. So, basically Kansas writes a blog and then I write a response to it, or vice versa. So this time he started it. I think it's really an eyeopening post too, and makes you think. And, because I can't simply quote his entire blog, you need to read it, found here . So...on to today's subject.....

Love:
Kansas pointed out that love is a very misused and much abused word. I like his example saying people today can "love" a rock like they "love" a person. I think first we have to find the definition of love. According to dictionary.refrence.com, the defintion of love is as follows, and this is just a few of the definitions:

LOVE
a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.
a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.
(used in direct address as a term of endearment, affection, or the like): Would you like to see a movie, love?
a love affair; an intensely amorous incident; amour.
affectionate concern for the well-being of others: the love of one's neighbor.
strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking for anything: her love of books.
the object or thing so liked: The theater was her great love.
to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for (another person).
to have a strong liking for; take great pleasure in: to love music.
to need or require; benefit greatly from: Plants love sunlight.
in love, infused with or feeling deep affection or passion: a youth always in love.
in love with, feeling deep affection or passion for (a person, idea, occupation, etc.); enamored of: in love with the girl next door; in love with one's work.


There were twenty-eight diffrent definitions. Twenty-eight. But they all basically say the same thing, can all be condensed into one saying. Love is when you can't be away from a person, can't bear to see them hurt, and you would do anything for them. Love isn't a feeling. Feelings can change. Love is unconditional, unchanging. When you love someone you will do anything for them. You'll do anything to see them happy and likewise do anything to keep them from being hurt. Love should be a sacred word, something you say only when you fully understand it, and fully accept just how much power that one little word holds.
And now, I know you might be like, power? what power can a word hold? It's a tiny four letter word.
The reason you don't see the power in the little word, the great emotion and thought it's supposed to represent and mean is because that little word is so overused today in our society. I mean think about it, truely sit there and think about it. List the four things you say you "love."
At school yesterday, you know what I heard? I heard things like "I love these shoes," "I love his writing," "I love this food" "I love that outfit on you," "I love my computer/cell phone/etc." And such examples, I think you get the picture. Now let me ask you something, you may "love" that outfit, or that material item, or food, or even literature, but would you die for it?
Sacrifice. If you truely love something, someone, you would do anything for them. That means everything from something little, such as maybe giving up going to see a movie with friends to hang out with them, to something big, like risking your life for them. Now, before I get any "whipped" comments or something let me explain something. Yes you shouldn't alienate your friends completely but if you truely loved someone you would want to spend every second with them, never want to leave them; it'd physically pain you to be away. You need them. Not only do you want them but you need them too. I'm not saying be a clingy boyfriend/girlfriend and like hang all over them. Just that let's say you were given a choice. Hang out with your friends and go see a movie like you do every saturday or go to hang out with the person you "love."If you did love that person, truely love them, you would instantly choose to be with them. Whenever you could. And the bigger thing, if you love someone you should be willing to see them happy at any cost, it shouldn't matter what harm may come to you. You should be willing to have harm brought to you, put yourself in danger, as long as they're okay, they live, they're fine and unharmed and safe. It goes back to doing anything to see them happy. If you love someone, you would sacrifice it all for them. Doesn't matter if it's a "special/significant other" or if it's family. You would be willing to give everything up for them if you truely madly deeply loved them.
Something that plays directly into sacrifice is trust. You certainly wouldn't say you loved someone if you didn't trust them, now would you? You have to be able to trust them with everything. Certainly if you are willing to say you "love" them that means you trust them to some degree. Hopefully you trust them with all you have, and I think if you really love someone then you would trust them with everything. I think part of falling in love with someone and really truely loving them is learning to trust them and trusting them with all you have. And I think that since you say you love them, that's like saying you trust them. Now, I'm not saying you love everyone you trust, maybe you do, but remember, part of love is sacrifce. And you may trust someone but you may not be willing to give up your life for them.
The last "element of love" Kansas pointed out was that love is a choice. I think that this is true to a certain degree. I mean yes, you choose who you trust and you might even choose who you'd sacrifice yourself for. Sacrifice and Trust are just a part of love. I think it's bigger than that. True, pure love is bigger than just trusting them and sacrificing it all for them. I believe that love cant be fully explained in words, you can explain some things but not it all. I think theres something supernatural involved with love. Like, when you get into an arguement with that person you "love" you can't help but forgive them a few minutes later and work things out. I think it all plays in together and that if you love them and want them to be happy and completely trust them and everything else that has been mentioned, then you can't be mad at them. You see no reason for you to be. You can see they're views and see things from their perspective. And when you really love someone you can't stay mad at them long because you know that makes them unhappy and you can't stand that. I believe when two people truely love each other than you're never truely mad or upset with the other. Other things maybe, but not the other person. You can't help it. You dont't stay mad or upset because you physically can't. You can't really control it, no matter how much you try, you can't do it.
It all just plays together.
And the last thing I will say about love, is that when you love someone, you NEVER give up. You never stop fighting for them. You always fight for them, stand up for them, do what you can. But you never call it quits. Ever. You never bail out on them, you never leave them. You give anything and everything but you don't ever give up.

xo
Kayy

Don't Dye Their String

First off, I'd like to apologize for not blogging yesterday. I was buried under a bunch of work and I'm just now getting around to it. So my deep apologies my friends. Now, for the latest blog.
Think About This....


Okay so the other day I was debating on which spin to put on my "Whose the Handicapped?" post, and after reading Kansas' comment on it, I realized that he's right. That and more. Here's the part of Kansas' comment that really got me. He says:

"What you say matters just as much as what you do, many people only hear what you say, and that will be their first, and maybe only impression of you. What a shame it would be if the only thing someone heard you say was f****** R*tard, or something along those lines...Think about what you say, words have more power than they are ascribed."

I love his last line, and I think much wisdom is carried in that line. Words do have more power than they are given credit to, yeah, it may sound a bit cliche, and yeah i might be a bit "third-grade guidance counselor" but its absolutely a hundred percent true. Words can tear and cut into people like you wouldn't imagine. You can damage someone so badly with just mere words that they become so....distraught that they can't do anything to fix it.

Remember before about how I made the little worlds comment? ((You can find it here)) This sort of applies, and as well goes along with another comment Kansas had left that I find is...remarkable.

"....There is a web of people, actions, every time threads cross they change, in some small way, or in some big way....."

I think this comment applies very greatly in todays post. I want to kind of further his analogy. Imagine that everyone has white strings, all looped together through the connestions they have with each other. Now, imagine if we introduced a string that has been dyed lets say, red. The red string represents one person who trash talks and makes fun of people just for the sheer reason of doing it. And the red dye is their words. Each time they make fun of someone, or say something negatively about another, they are intertwined with that string, that person, and the dye rubs off onto that string, dying it, changing it forever.

It's like a dreamcatcher. The strings are woven together in these intricate patterns and all are pure, that is, until that one red string, that one negative person comes in with their red words and ruins everything. The entire dreamcatcher is changed forever, and you can't change it back. You may introduce bleach to the strings, hidding and covering up the red dye but you can't change it back and make that string pure again.

Words can damage people. Change them forever.

I want to tell you a story, share with you an experience. I wish to share no names, however, so no names will be mentioned.

There was this girl, who believed that she had many genuine friends. That she was accepted and liked very muchly in this group of friends. Until one day, she heard some of these friends talking about her. She was hurt by this but buried it. Bleached it back white and pretended she was never red. She never wanted them to know that she had been dyed.

She kept overhearing them as it got worse and worse, the dye getting more and more potent no matter how much she bleached it. It was too obvious she was hurting.

It changed her forever, she grew quieter, more timid, never talking to anyone. These "friends" kept picking on her, and she could never do anything to stop them. There was nothing to do. It was out of her control.

So one night, after enduring a long hard day of hearing them talk, hearing their hurtful words, and after trying so hard to bury it, she broke.

She tried to take her own life.

Words hurt, people, and I can't imagine why someone would try to do that. The girl from the story is okay now, she learned how to deal with things the healthy way. The point in me telling you that story, though, is to tell you words can seriously damage people and stab at people, and forever changing them. The girl from the story isn't the same as she was before, she never will be. Because of the words from her so-called "friends."

Next time you try talking bad about someone, I don't care what they might have done to you, be the bigger person and not talk about them. At the moment you may want them to feel the pain they make you feel but you have to turn the other cheek. And I hope people today are mature enough to know not to talk negatively about other people, but alas, it's not a perfect world. People talk, and people hurt. It's just a part of life.

Next time you say something hurtful, or think of saying something hurtful, I want you to stop and think of how your words might impact that person, how it might damage them, how it could damage their string.

Don't be the dye that changes them forever.

xo

Kayy

Whose the Handicapped?

First of all, I would like to thank Kansas my dear for responding in a way the lets me think deeper on the subject of everything you do affects someone. Like he said, threads cross and things changed ((love that analogy btw my friend)). We all affect one another and in ways that sometimes we can't possibly fathom. And that sometimes those threads are weaved intricately, as life is, but sometimes, it's simple. Life can be simple. It's just how we look at things.....

Okay, so I was on the bus the other day, and I noticed this really sweet boy sitting in front of me. He was special. Like I don't mean the joking way we say that either; he was mentally handicapped. That made me think about how we use our words today in society.

Follow me on this one.



How many people out there are guilty of saying the word "retard" in an offensive way, and I dont just mean offensive to those who are. I mean maybe one day your joking around with a bunch of friends and you say it in a derogative, negative way. I'm guilty of it a couple of times too. And yes, little "cover words" like "tard" count, and if you put it with anything else, ex: "tardmuffin." I'm more than guilty of that one.



But I was sitting behind this kid, who was....extraordinary. I still don't know this kid's name, I'm far too shy to introduce myself, so I sit there, everyday after school, just marveling at this kid. He amazes me. He's so incredibly sweet, he'll say hi to anyone who passes him, and he always has this thoughtful look to him. The simplest things amaze him, and the smallest things, he appreciates. Makes me wonder, how the word "retard" turned so deragatory. This kid, I wish I knew his name, he's so incredibly...sweet. How can this boy be what, by definition, that word applies to?

We use it interchangably with the word "stupid"and how can anyone this...truely, this special be in the same...category as "stupid"? I mean, I honestly think that we're the dumb ones anytimes I'm around this boy. He makes me think just how...beautiful life is and how people nowadays take so many things for granted. They think that life was handed to them on a silver plate and that its so bad, when in reality, it's not that bad. I mean yeah, you might have some difficulties and bumps in the road, but who doesn't? And this little inspiration of a kid, he sits there, as many people look down on him for his "mental handicap" when I think it's us who have the handicap. He thinks so....simply, or at least that's what it seems. Who knows, he could turn out to be the next Bill Gates, who knows what potential this boy holds. My point is that..by watching him the maybe five minutes I see him out of the day, I believe I've learned that life can be complex. But it's also so amazingly simple. Yeah, we can waste time on why things happen or even how things happen, but...why dont we ever just take time to let things happen. Like, I'm pretty sure this kid isn't a rocket scientist, but I bet he likes watching airplanes fly overhead and not worry about how the jet engines in them work. It's all just how you look at things. Don't worry about how or why things happened. Just be glad that they do happen. Life's an adventure.
So let's enjoy it.



Talk to me, people, what do you think?


xo
Kayy

The Epiphany That Started It All

So the other day I was sitting at home, eating my Ramen noodles and a thought occured to me.
And that thought, turned to this.
I want you to Think About This....

We all live in our own little worlds. Okay yeah i know youre gonna think im on crack or something but i swear im not. ((I dropped that lol haha jk i have never done drugs lol)) okay think about this. Think big then we'll get smaller. So, lets take the United States of America for instance. We have our own little world. We have our own economy and politics to worry about, we have our own movies and music, our own celebrities. Our country has its own seperate world compared to another country, like Germany for instance. Our country is very different and its like a whole other world. However, we all have to coexist somehow, and we interact with each other. Everything we do affect one another. Now, I'll elaborate on that point later.
Now think smaller, into states, and even smaller, cities. We all have our own things to worry about in different states. For instance, what's going on in Tennessee isnt neccessarily happening in Kansas. Now, I want you to think smaller. Into schools. Let's take Karns High and Powell High here in Knoxville for instance. Whats going on in Karns isnt happening over in Powell. For instance, in Karns right now we're having homecomign, and our entire school is....engrossed...with getting pumped up for homecoming. Now in Powell, theyre in there regular schedules, maybe having a few conflicts of their own.
Now that you have the whole "everyones got their own thing" concept, i want you to think about YOUR world. Think about this for a second. I want you to think about your family. I want you to think about your girlfriend/boyfriend/whoever and then i want you to think about all your friends. Think about the "problems" and "annoyances" you have in your little group of friends, in your family. Can you easily identify the problems? Do they deal with you? More than likely, you thought of the other people and the issues you have with them before you thought of yourself. I want you to right now think about the problems you might have caused in your group of friends, in your life. Can you fix these problems?
Hopefully, you can answer these questions. I want you to try to solve these issues, i promise you i will.
Now, back to the whole little world thing. I want you to think about your group of friends and your family again. We have our own issues. Think about how our problems influence the problems on other little worlds. We all make a difference. I believe its because of the Butterfly Effect. And no im not talking of that really cool 2004 Ashton Kutcher flick that left everyone walking out feeling stoned. Im talking of the phrase that inspired it. The Butterfly Effect is the theory that a single beat of a butterfly's wings can affect the atmosphere so greatly that it causes a windstorm on the other side of the world. I want you to sit and think about that for a minute or two. A mere butterfly, the small thing thats so fragile you could flick it and its dead, a butterfly can affect the world that much. Think of what you could do in the world. You could change everything. Your little world of friends and family could affect another little world, and then two worlds collide to change the world.
It all goes back to something we were talking about in English class yesterday. Eaton (my teacher) was talking about how people say they can't make a difference. How one person cant change anything. Then she used a teacher analogy. One teacher...comes in contact..with about a thousand students a year. And hopefully, they influence at least some of them. Let's say she does influence five people. and they go on and, because of that influence, become great leaders of the world. Or scientists who figure out a cure to cancer or a solution to economic problems. so on and so forth, i think you get the point.
What I'm basically trying to say I guess is that yes, we do have our own little worlds that we live in. But we should never forget that we can make a difference. Our little worlds affect other little worlds. And what we say makes a difference. Granted, its not always for the best, but that just shows how much of an impact one person can have on the world.
So I want you to keep that in mind for a bit. Think about it, just as i thought all yesterday afternoon and today about Eaton said yesterday.
My point is, we all make a difference. It's up to us, however, to decide what kind of difference we make.

Thanks for reading and allowing me to rant a bit.
Comment, let's discuss this

xo
Kayy

Introductions and Such

Let Me Introduce Myself.
I'm Kayla, but you can call me Kayy.
I believe I have a lot of good, quality ideas that I'd love to get out into the world, and this is the one place I think I can.
Basically, I have a weird random thought everyday, and I'll post it here. It's mostly just stuff that I think all should realize and this is one way to get it out there.
Also, I might interject a few little rants here and there about things like our society and government.
But most of the time.....
its the things in life I think all should realize and I want to get out into the world.

Another reason for this is that it provides for an outlet for all my writing.
I want to be a journalist later in life and this helps me..improve?..I guess would be the correct term.
But I want to discuss with others.
So, please.
Read this, and leave me a comment.
We'll turn this blog into a discussion between us all, a debate between our beliefs and ideas.
And I will speak my mind here and be as truthful as possible.
it'd be wonderful if you would return the favor.
So please,
let's get started.


xo
Kayy