Is Fear Really A Choice?

     I watched After Earth the other day with a group of my friends and something caught my eye or rather my mind and I have been turning it over in my head all weekend. For those of you who don't know After Earth is about Cypher Raige (Will Smith) and his son Kitai (Jayden Smith) who crash land on Earth after people have left. Now Earth has been abandoned by humans because we destroyed it (typical environmentalist ideas and what not). Everything has supposedly 'evolved' to kill humans. Now Cypher was severely injured in the crash and upon finding their distress signal completely destroyed, sends his son to find the tail of the plane which apparently has another distress signal device. All alone Kitai must track across the wilderness to find it but his father will be with him every step of the way with this suit that he wears. It allows Cypher to see everything his son sees (because apparently technology in the future still works after really bad crashes:P). 
     Sometime during the beginning of Kitai's trip Cypher gives him a lecture on fear. He says "Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Now do not misunderstand me, danger is very real. But fear is a choice." Honestly I think this is the wisest thing I have ever gleaned from a movie. Think about it the more you come up with the worst case scenario the more fearful you become. People are hardly ever scared of heights  they are scared of plummeting to their deaths. Have you ever been in a tornado? Have you ever been in a room hiding from a tornado with someone who was terrified of tornadoes? If you are that person (as I am) you know that the reason you are scared is because you know what a tornado can do, you know the danger they hold and the reason you are panicking is because you are saying "Oh my gosh we're going to die! We are going to die. It is going to come and rip the building from the ground and we are all going to die" The more of those thought you produce the harder it is to calm you beating heart. Trust me, I have been there done that. Why is a little kid scared of the dark? Because of the monsters he "sees". The pile of clothes that now looks like some slime monster. The more the child allows his mind to wander the more scared he becomes.
      Think of a time you should have been scared but weren't. A time where you should have been shaking in your boots but weren't. Why? Was there someone there who you trusted to catch you, was there something that you trusted to keep you safe in that moment, had you accepted your fate and just decided to enjoy that time? Imagine it like this. When I was in Tae-Kwan-Do my instructor Mr. Tuck would always call me up so he could demonstrate certain moves. Now most people would be terrified if a 4th degree black belt decided to kick a half a centimeter from their face. I on the other hand was not, I didn't move I didn't flinch. My stomach didn't even do that weird flip-flop thing it does when you are scared. Why? Because I trusted him completely. I made a decision that I wasn't going to be scared because I knew that Mr. Tuck was in complete control of his kicks. Plus I knew if I moved a fraction of an inch I would no longer have a nose. I can't claim many times like this because I tend to be a fearful/nervous person. 
     Choosing not to be scared is a really hard thing to do but it is possible. In the movie there is a concept called Ghosting. This is where a person shows absolutely no trace of fear whatsoever and apparently the monster can't see them. (Warning somewhat of a spoiler....kinda) There is one part where Kitia is floating on a raft and he has a vision of his sister who is dead. When his sister asks him if he is scared Kitia answers he is too tired to be scared. Kitia's sister replies, with the key to choosing to be scared, something along the lines of 'good. Your heart is filled with something else"
     That is the key to choosing not to be scared. Your heart must be filled with something else. In the Bible it talks constantly about how God is with us therefore we should not be afraid (Deuteronomy 31:6, Isaiah 41:10, Psalms 23, 27:1, etc) Here is the choice we can choose to trust God completely and if we do that we won't be scared. 
      My friend Cynthia wrote a fantastic article about the Scary Ghost Places on fear which is worth the quick read. http://www.cynthiajeub.com/2013/06/05/scary-ghost-places/

Zebra Stripes and Birthdays

     My sister Emily has a birthday in March but because I had so many tournaments she wasn't able to have a friend birthday as she insisted on me being there. So on Saturday we were able to finally have the party. My Aunt, who just moved here a couple months ago, made all these decorations and set everything up for a spa party. I made cupcake as is my job. Emily loves zebra stripes and the color theme is purple and green. So I made zebra striped cupcakes with purple flowers and of course some luster dust. I got the idea from this website. I thought if you can do this with a cake why not cupcakes? My stripes weren't as uniformed owing to the fact that 1)it is in a smaller area which makes it harder to land right in the center and 2)I was trying to get them done somewhat quickly. Warning: If you want to make these this recipe will make 48 cupcakes because there are two batters. For a party of 5 that is just too much. If you only want 27 just do white cake and then divide the batter in half. To one half add some cocoa powder and proceed as usual. So here are the pictures from the party!

                                         Shot of the inside after it had been cooked

My Aunt made this cute stand with the cupcake holders and little stick things as well as the paper purses. Aren't they cute?

Great Blog for Teen Writers

     For quite a while I have been working on a novel which is part of a series. Every once in a while I get stuck and can't figure out how to continue or how to make a specific scene the way I want it. I have a couple friends who move along the writing process. My friend Hannah is a great person to discuss plot ideas and characters but when I want advice on how to write I tend to go to several different sources. On of which being a blog called Go Teen Writers. This fantastic blog is chalk full of extremely helpful advice for teen writers or any writer for that matter. The website is http://goteenwriters.blogspot.com. I encourage you to browse the site if you are a writer or are interested in writing. 

 

Ban the Spoon!

     Obesity is a growing problem in the US. In fact,according to cdc.gov more than 1/3 of adults in the United States are obese.(Link) Solution: ban all spoons. I believe that spoons are the root of all evil and if we ban them obesity will be significantly decreased. Sounds stupid right? If they don’t use a spoon they can use a fork and if we ban those what about chopsticks or hands. Are we going to chop off everyone hands? Banning spoons wouldn't solve the problem because it is merely a tool not the source of the problem. Currently our government is proposing/enacting Gun Control laws. Not only is it going against what the people want (go into any gun shop and almost everything is gone and background checks take weeks) but it is like putting a Band-Aid over a bullet wound. It solves nothing.
    Several police officers have said they will not enforce the gun control laws when they are put in place. Article Here 

     It is also unconstitutional. The second amendment says "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringe." One objection to this is that the second amendment is that it is out dated, that it was written for muskets. Well, the founding fathers weren't stupid. They knew that technology would advance and they allowed for that. Instead of say the right of the people to keep and bear muskets they said arms meaning any firearm in the present or future.

     The Sandy Hook shooting was a devastating tragedy but in order to stop mass shootings banning guns is not the answer. If they don’t have guns they can use a knife or a bow and arrows. If you examine areas where there is heavy gun control you will see that crime is extremely high in those areas. Criminals don’t abide by the law that’s what makes them criminals, if we ban guns it will only hurt law abiding citizens and criminals will continue to attain and use guns for evil. So what is the source of the problem? Evil. Seeing as we can't defeat the Devil just yet we need to focus on little things we can do that will make his job harder. One of the major elements in all of these mass shootings is mental illness and in many of these cases there were several people who knew of that mental illness. Solution: if you have a ligament concern that your son or friend is crazy they will be taken to a mental hospital right away. They will be released if doctors, after months of careful observation, believe they are mentally stable. Now that wont stop all killings but it would help a little. 
      Another thing that would help with these shootings is allowing a select number of teachers and staff to carry guns. There would be background checks and we would be sure they don't have any intention of using them on the students. Here is my logic. Which sign is more discouraging? 

 We have already established that criminals break the law so the first sign is like a beacon. Telling all those with evil intent that you are an easy target. The second sign is just the opposite. There is this quote from Cesare Beccaria concerning the subject of Gun Control. 
"False is the idea of 

utility that sacrifices a thousand real advantages for one 

imaginary or trifling inconvenience; that would take fire 

from men because it burns, and water because one may 

drown in it; that it has no remedy for evils, except 

destruction. The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are of 

such a nature. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted 

and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage 

than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be 

attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." 

      Let’s not blame the spoon for obesity but get to the heart of the problem.



PS Sorry for the weird format of the quote. The lines were over lapping each other so I had to double space it and I have no idea why it was highlighted.

Success!!!!!!

Hey guys (and gals) so I promised an update on my speech and debate tournament so here it is. I competed in a total of three events over two days. Lincoln Douglas Debate (or LD). This is a values debate and I got 12th place and a green check mark. That means that I am halfway to qualifying to NITOC (kind of like the Superbowl for Speech and Debate) in LD. I also did Parliamentary debate which is molded after the British Parliament. This is where each team (consisting of two people) has 15 minutes to create a debate case on the topic that was given at the beginning of prep time. This could be about a value (Resolved Freedom is more important than Security), policy (This House Would significantly Increase the use of Alternative energy), fact (Another Hiroshima is inevitable) or it could be a metaphor (Resolved: The Grass is Greener in Asia). Sides are decided at random so sometimes you debate something you don't agree with. My partner and I got 5th and a green check mark. The last event I competed in was Extemp. This is where you get a question about the news that you have to answer. You have 30 minutes to create a 7 minute speech in that I got 14th and a green check mark.

One of my mentos Cassie got THIRD in LD at her first tournaments!!!!!!!!!! I am so proud of her. Karlyn got 2nd in Mars Hill and Reesey got 3rd in Apologetics. I am so proud of everyone!


(Sorry guys instead of publishing it just saved this post as a draft.)

Worship

Sorry I haven't been posting lately! I have been sooooo busy with school and such. I have a Speech and Debate tournament at the end of the week so I am frantically trying to get ready for that (updates to come). Just a quick thought about worship. Everyone worships different and there is not wrong way to do so. Something I have noticed is that memories often flood through my head when I am worshiping. Siting around the piano on New Years with my friends singing worship songs and almost missing the fire works. Playing Frisbee, debate rounds, times with family, etc. They are always happy memories ones that I cherish but if I stop singing or focus on a memory they loose their clarity or slip away. By the end of worship I have this amazing sense of peace and happiness. Weird right? This doesn't always happen, sometimes I am just singing my heart out and other times I have revelations about who God is or other important things concerning life. What happens when you worship? Do you experience joy, love, peace, or all three? What are somethings God has shown you while worshiping? Anyway got to run and I promise to let you know how the tournament went.

A Hobby of Mine

You may or may not know that I am an avid baker and enjoy decorating cakes. Here are some pictures of a few cakes I have done. I feel I need some more variation on the types of posts I do so this will be the first in the Cooking/Baking Series.


This is a cake I made for two of my friends who have a birthday on the same day. So I made them this cake for the party they were having, each girl has a half of the cake with their initials. Half of the balls fell of in the process of transporting it though :).

This is a cake I made for a friend who was moving to Germany. Each of the flags represent one of the countries she had lived in.

This is a cake I made for my brothers birthday exactly one year ago! On the side is a bunch of sky scrapers but I did not have a good picture  of that.

This cake I made for one of my dearest friends before she moved to California. It is the only one of the cakes that does not have any fondant. I hand piped the design which is suppose to look like Henna.

These are 4 of my most recent cakes and the ones I am probably most proud of.


There is one small matter of business I would like to address before signing off. My brother is turning 8! He is the sweetest, little gentleman! I encourage him never to stop showing the world how a real man is suppose to act. Happy Birthday Jack!