Dear Stranger,
      First, I wanna say it's been such a pleasure being in your life, and being someone who you can actually love. You were the one I looked forward to waking up to and ending my days with. You completed my days, brought joy, love, and laughter to me. You are my joy, you are my love, and you are my laughter. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of you..You taught me a lot about love, how you hold on to it as tight as possible, and never even dream of letting it go. You put effort into it, more than others would do. Most of all, you put me first. You loved me like no one has ever. We shared a love that wasn't comparable to others, it was pure, real, childish, fun, generous, exciting, adventurous, and now.. unforgettable. This past year we spent together will always be cherished until my dying day, the memories I possess within my heart, always remembered, and the love we shared, will never be taken for granted. I wanna let you know that you are incredibly amazing, and honestly someone special, the feelings I hold whenever in your presence, are uncontrollable, when I'm with you, heaven is one step away. Today, today is a new day, full of new challenges, to overcome.. whether your ready or not, I still have hope. Hope is the one thing that gets me through all the pain, hope that hopefully this will turn into something even better then what we had. My friend asked me the other day " would you rather spend your life making memories with that one special person? Or spend it making memories with someone else? " I answered " I'd rather spend it with him because whether its good or bad, he's with me every step of the way" ...

                                                                         

      I know I'm not perfect and I will never be, I'm human..I make mistakes. Sometimes I make many mistakes but, I'm learning. Learning to become a better person. I wanna hopefully, be someone important, to not only myself, but somebody special to me, someone close to my heart, or someone that, just cares. I believe in faith, and that things happen for a reason. God gave you a life to live, it's your job to make the right decisions for the outcome of your life. No one else's. I can 100% say that I live in the moment, and sometimes that's a bad thing, and sometimes it's good. Bad, because there are consequences in the end, and good because I feel as if I'm free. A free soul, in a world full of craziness and chaos, I'm living life. The feeling of soaring through the sky, without a worry in my mind, i know in that moment, I'm fearless. The quote above, reminds me of how I should be living life. How, just being yourself, and not worrying about the pointless things in life is definitely the way to go. Live life. Be happy. Succeed. Enjoy every minute of every second, because life's what you make it.

1. Pretend that you are talking to a blind man and have to describe for him what "red" is. You should use narrative and descriptive writing techniques, and try to appeal to his other senses!

 Red.

 Red is the feeling you get when your feet sink through the sand on a beach.

 Red is the feeling of love that never leaves your heart.

 Red is the feeling of wonder and excitement.

 Red is something you want and strive for.

 Red is the smell of roses rushing through your body.

 Red is the sound of music that pierces your soul.

 Red conquers and creates you.
 Red leaves you wanting more.

 Red... red is power and passion.

2. How does competition function in our society? To what extent is it healthy/unhealthy? Offer some real world examples taken from your life, community, culture, state, nation, or world.

Competition functions as a tool to get what the competitor wants in our society. Competition is unhealthy when it becomes over exposed and taken to an extent of violence. I believe it is only healthy to have friendly competitions. An example of a competition that gets out of hand is in elections. Elections are dangerous because of the supporters who want 'their" candidate to win. The supporters can become violent and disrespectful, and therefore leads to mobs and riots. An example of a healthy competition is when people don't take what they are competing for seriously, it's just a game to see who wins or not.

3. How have you taken something that you have learned in the classroom and integrated it into your nonacademic life?

I have taken the ability to see things in a different perspective in my nonacademic life. It lets me see things in a distinct view and puts me at odds with my own personal view. Being able to see in a different perspective also helps you in a way that you get to experience life incomparable with others.

4. If you could go back in time and be someone in history, who would you choose to be? Why?

If I could go back in time and become someone in history, I would have to choose to be Helen Keller. Helen Keller is one of the most respected people in the world, and in history. It was a period of 19 months for her hearing and vision to become completely impaired. Helen Adams Keller, is a person of courageousness and bravery who will always be honored for her achievement's. The thought of loosing my hearing would frighten me, and to even think about loosing my vision too, that's impossible. I don't know how someone can do it, but obviously Helen Keller conquered her "illness" and proved to others she is a hard worker, strong, and a person who never gave up hope. It may sound crazy to want to be a person without hearing or vision, but I'd like to experience that challenge and be face to face with it. I honor her fearlessness !

5. If you had the responsibility to decide where $1 million should be spent to improve conditions somewhere in the world, what project(s) would you choose? Why?

If I had to decide where $1 million should be spent to improve conditions somewhere in the world it would have to be in Cambodia. I recently took a trip to Cambodia and the conditions there are far worse than I have ever seen, many people live on the street or live in hand made leaf houses. Almost half of the population are not getting the nutrition they need to be healthy. Also, school is provided but, books, pencils, paper, notebooks, etc. are not provided; therefore, some kids don't go to school because it's unaffordable. My experience in Cambodia taught me a lesson to not take things for granted. It showed me a world that I have never seen before, it absolutely changed my perspective and values. So, if I had $1 million I would provide a homeless shelter to those without homes, have food for them and buy kids the essentials to have a good education.