May 19, 2007 by samantha.

When do you end a relationship? Any relationship- a marriage, a friendship, a work relationship, etc. I ask this because many people close to me seem to struggling with a relationship in their life. We always make excuses for the person we love. We try to be understanding and accommodating. We try changing ourselves so that the other person may love or like us more. But when do you just throw your hands up and admit defeat? Is love a good reason to stay in an unhealthy relationship? I have so many questions spinning in my head and I cannot come up with one good answer. We have all been in a toxic relationship. We can all relate. Some of us found the strength to leave and move on with our lives. It felt like the entire weight of the world had been lifted off our shoulders. Some of us are still stuck in a bad relationship and can see no way out. I usually fall into the last category. I invest so much of myself into someone that I am not going to give up without a fight. Usually it is only me fighting and by fighting I mean making excuses for the other party. I tend to stress over the situation and then feel guilty when I come to the conclusion that I need to move on. I truly believe in the Golden Rule, so why do I let people walk all over me? But enough about me, I know too many people right now that are allowing people to take advantage of them. And if you think I am talking about you, I AM! If you really love yourself, you would not stay in an unhealthy relationship. You should not have to change yourself or make excuses to make another person happy. Why compromise your integrity? We get ticked if a stranger calls us cheap, so why would we allow someone we love to treat us that way? It makes no sense to me!

But what about the flip side? What if you are the one that is causing the problem? Would you want to be treated poorly by someone who loves and cares for you?

Along with the Golden Rule, I also believe that if you really care for someone you will take the time to sit back, analyze the relationship, and work on it. Too bad many people do not do this. No one will ever say that a relationship is an easy thing. They take constant work, communication, and commitment. Many of us are just do not want to do the work and are willing to lose a good thing. Of course, you cannot fight the battle by yourself.  When you have tried everything possible, maybe it is time to move on.

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May 13, 2007 by samantha.

And yet we still think of ourselves as being superior to the animals?!?!??!  How stupid can we be?  Click on this link to see what you think.  Have I mentioned that I love giraffes?

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May 8, 2007 by samantha.

For some reason I cannot stop talking about this article.  I think it is hilarious.  I guess it has to do with the combination of someone’s worse fear and just a freak occurrence.  What are the chances of one spider living in you ear, let alone two?!?!  And the fact that the kid could feel them walking around on his eardrum just amazes me!  And since I am pain in the neck, I had to send this article to everyone I know that hates spiders. I have never been so happy that I fear clowns and not spiders.  I can rest comfortably at night knowing that no clown is going to crawl in my ear. Now an insane clown in an ice cream truck may come and kill me, but I am not too worried about that happening.  Instead, clowns haunt my dreams.  Even mimes freak me out.  Do not get me started on dummies and marionettes! Those things are just creepy and wrong and not right.  When I become president I am outlawing them all, along with speed bumps.

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May 7, 2007 by samantha.

I think I am getting sick.  I have not been sick on over a year, but I think it has finally caught up with me.  I would like to think that I am not up to par because I am stressed or that it is allergies.  Maybe I have mono or I was bit by a tsetse fly. But I think I would be wrong.  I have not being doing anything out of the ordinary and nothing extraordinary has happened to me.  I am exhausted and I have the sinus headache from hell.  No matter what I do, it does not go away.  I am still going to be optimistic and say it is allergies.  Anyone got any Claritin?

Anyway, I know that I have been bad about updating.  I apologize for that.  There are some things that I have wanted to talk to you all about.  Here are a few off the top of my pain-ridden head.

Time magazine just came out with its list of the most influential people in the world.  Now I am smart enough to realize that everyone is not going to agree with the list and that we all have our opinions.  Time’s list includes some people that I think we could all agree have influenced the us in one way or another: Al Gore, Nelson Madela, John Roberts, and Condoleezza Rice to name a few.  We not may agree with the views of these people.  But we cannot argue that they have influenced out lives.  The very long list got me thinking.  Who are the people that are the most influential in my life?  My parents, of course, are at the top of my list.  But who else?   I have some thinking to do.  When I figure it out I will let you know.  Who would be on your list?

Another thing I wanted to talk about is an article I saw in the paper a while back.  A recent graduate was denied her teaching degree because of a picture on her Myspace page.  I am not going to step on my soapbox and rant over this.  I just think that the whole thing is ridiculous.  I understand that teachers should be held to a higher standard.  But denying this woman her teaching degree because of something silly she did in college is absurd! Next thing you are going to tell me is that a drunken college picture will prevent you from being president…

Finally, I have to say one final thing.  I saved the best for last.  Polka dots are in this season!  I love polka dots.  I cannot tell you the last time I was so happy!!!  : )

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May 1, 2007 by samantha.

A quote by Bob Herbert in the New York Times on March 3, 2006:

I came across this quote today and it really struck me. I have to say that I agree with it. In some sense, I think that Americans take public education for granted. We do not think about how fortunate we are. Not only do we have a free place to go to school, but we have free transportation, free books and materials, and free meals if necessary. Contrary to what some might think, schools are relatively safe as well. Not many students have to get up at four in the morning to walk to school in unimaginable conditions and then turn around and do the same walk that night. No family struggles to find a way to send their children to school. No family has to decide which child can go to school.

As a country we want to find a way to pin the blame on someone for why our children are not academic geniuses. The first to receive the blame is usually the teachers. Now, I am not going to rant and rave about why I think this is wrong, but it is. When I hear someone claim that it is the teachers to blame, I take it personally. Not one person can be blamed for our children failing. I think that it is a combination of the parents, the teachers, the government, and our overall attitude about education in this country. We think we are entitled to an education since we pay taxes. Big deal! We should be thankful that we have the educational opportunites that we have.

Granted, our education system needs a lot of work. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is not the answer. It puts all the blame and weight on the teacher. Blaming only the teacher is an easy way out. Why should the parents be held responsible? It is only their child after all! NCLB is not bringing more qualified teachers into our schools. Instead, it is causing excellent teachers to leave the profession and the students treading water.

Okay, I am stepping off my soapbox. But I wanted to give you all something to chew on and hopefully start a nice little discussion.

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