PAPER VS PLASTIC

Have you ever noticed that those two simple little elements are the two things that run this world?

Everything technology wise is plastic with a little bit of metal; our phones, iPods, computers, televisions, cameras and so on. And most imiportantly, credit/debit cards.

When it comes to paper, you have homework, class handouts, books, magazines, that little letter from a college that either accepts you or regects you, and most of all, MONEY.

Paper and plastic are the things that make this world go 'round, and it's sad if you really think about it.

When one thinks of what makes this world great, shouldn't we come up with something like love, or peace, or happiness? No, instead it's the simple answer, paper. Money rules our worlds. Don't believe me? Allow me to explain...

Going through school, we grow up reading books, made of paper. As we get older, some of us begin to lose interest in books and move onto magazines, also made from paper. We get countless handouts from teachers and have to turn in our homework, and what are we going to do it all on? Paper.

A few years down the road, we get to the point of having a job, and paper is incorporated into our lives in the form of paychecks. We then get a car, and what does a car need in order to run? Gas and insurance payments; both of which cost money, that can be payed using either paper or plastic.

Once we get a job and have paid off all of our debts and necessary payments, we splurge. And on what else than electronics, made from lots of plastic and a little science. We have our digital cameras, out cell phones, our computers, and out iPods. And what are they all made from? You've got it, plastic. Our entire world is ruled by money in one way or another. We grow up spending our parents money, and eventually they get tired of us wasting theirs, so they make us make our own, of which we continue to waste on random things that will most likely be gone in a matter of days, if not hours.

So, you tell me. What do you think runs our world?

Seemingly pointless, I know. But I haven't been able to get to a computer for the past couple of days, and whenever I come up with something worth writing about, I'm always in the middle of something else that won't allow me to write it down. So, this is what I've got for the day. :(

NERVOUS MUCH?!

I have officially submitted my very first college application. It's weird. I still don't know how to feel about it... I'm nervous, but at the same time, extremely relieved. I feel as though the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders, now I just get to play the waiting game. I just hope that I get in because I don't know if my Plan B will actually happen or not. At this point, I don't know which I would rather. Go to college straight out of high school, or take two years off and then try to go back to school.

The two years would be ones that would change my life, no doubt. One would be to work my butt off full time at Target (or maybe American Eagle? Still working on that one...) and saving up for a year so that I can travel around the world with my brother and a friend of his...

That is, if they let me. I would absolutely love to go, but I don't know which I would rather. Spending a year working, maybe losing friends, maybe making new ones, or with two guys, traveling all over the globe, experiencing things most would never get the chance to do...

Hmm, which would you rather?

Well, either way, those are my plans A and B. If one doesn't work out, I have the other one, right? That is, if I actully get accepted to college. :/ Well, let's all raise our glass to the future, the unknown, and learning patience and choosing which life I'd rather have. Oh, the choices for an 18 year old to make...

LABELS

What's the point?

Poser. Nerd. Geek. Barbie. Psycho. Bookie. Trailer trash. Emo. Snob. Redneck. I could go on forever...

There are millions of labels that circle around our entire lives, but what's the point of them? They may or may not be true, and they may or may not hurt someone's feelings. All they really do is make somebody else feel worse about themselves, but for what? So you can feel better about YOURSELF? That doesn't seem like a good enough reason. Labels are a waste of time because the only label anyone can put on THEMSELVES in 'unique.' We are all different, and for good reason. We were all born with different goals and ambitions in life, and we were all born with a set goal in mind. If God wanted all of the girls in the world to resemble the head cheerleader, he would have made it that way, and if He wanted all of the guys to mirror the quarter back on the football team, He would have done so from the start. But he didn't. So why do we keep labeling people with words are used on false pretenses?

We judge our peers, and just everybody around us, based on what we've heard from our friends, how somebody dresses, what they look like, and who they associate with. But is any of that good enough. Just because somebody doesn't have millions to spend on name brand labels doesn't mean that they won't be the most genuine person you ever meet. And just because the 'popular' girl is mean to people when she's with her friends, doesn't mean that she isn't doing it all just so she can stay the 'popular' girl.

Labels don't do anything for anybody except limit the people we are all 'allowed' to be friens with because we might then be labeled as a 'loser' for being nice to the new kid in class.

Labels hurt. Don't use them. We are all unique and different from the people around us for a reason. We all need to learn to respect each others differences and embrace them. We can learn so much from one another, but we have to grow up first.

We all have our own kinds of prejudices for whatever reason, and some of those can't be out grown, but most of them can. For just a day, I challenge you this:

Talk to the 'nerd' in class, Say hi to the school 'loner', or just sit next to somebody who looks like their having a rough day. You might be surprised at what could come of it.