ChiNA town

I experienced culture shock this summer when I was in Hollywood. My mom, cousin, grandma, and I went to China Town. There we walked around, bought some stuff, and just looked at everything they had in these shops. There was one store imparticular that was very interesting to me and made me feel very sheltered. We walked into a grocery store, and it was the weirdest thing I had ever seen. Evertyhing was dried up and looked like sticks. However, the place was crowded with shoppers. In the back of the store, we noticed a counter with a woman putting different "ingredients" together. We asked what she was doing and she explained she was putting together a prescription. In the corner of the grocery store is a doctor that you can go to with an ailment. He then writes up a prescription of different things to put together and the lady behind the counter gets it ready for you. Everything she was putting on the plate looked like leaves, sticks, grass, and other things from nature. The prescription that is written up is literally 1 lb of basil, 4 grams of oak leaves, or whatever they use. The lady described that this is their way of life. You would go here for anything you need a prescription for. She thought it was weird that I had never heard of a prescription like that!

who are youuu

The movie we watched in class was so good! It went perfect with what we were talking about in class. Since C was a little kid he wanted to be just like Sunny. He wanted people to see him and define him as a mob dude, or someone like Sunny. He might not have been OK with everything that was going on but that is who he "wanted" to be.
It sucks when this happens. I see it all the time- a person will start hanging out with a group of kids because they want to be defined by them. Usually its a group that makes dumb decisions or gets into a trouble a lot. Later that person will begin to forget who they are and only know who they're pretending to be. Its sad when this happens, but sure enough they'll get it. C's dad was upset when he saw his son acting like how he was; he knew that it wasn't the same son that he raised. Everything was different: how he dressed, talked, who he hung out with, etc. C had a hard time figuring himself out.
It's really easy to get caught up in bad things; hopefully the person has enough sense to not forget who they are.

groups that define meeee

In class last week we were asked to put on a sheet of paper our different factors of life that help define us. As I thought about it, I had many. I basically put friends and family and work, however, my friends and family were seperated into groups. I had my girls, who I have been best firends with for years. I had my two neighbors that I am so close with its an understatement to call them just my best friends-they are like my sisters. I had my brothers down as well, but they were seperated becasue they each influence me in a different way. And then I put down my parents and my job. We were then to underline the one group that had the most influence in our life. I, of course, put down my job. I have been working since I was fourteen at a pizza shop. The one I am currently employeed at I have been there for two years. I chose my job as my biggest influence becuse I feel that work really give you character. I interact with customers there everyday and its great to see such different types of people all come together. Im at work a lot and I absolutely love it. Sometimes I almost feel bad for getting paid becasue I have such a good time. My boss is super cool and everyone else that works there is like family to me.

volunteer work!

I am a huge believer in helping people that are less fortunate than me. Last year I did GIVE almost every week for a few months. Though these people have a home and clothes and food to eat, they need friends. Me and a friend of mine would go and enjoy our time with the residents. This made me feel good knowing that people enjoyed our company too and looked forward to our visits. Another thing I did, and will be doing again this year, is closer to the holiday season. Starting around Thanksgiving, I begin to save my money. I make gift packages for the homeless in downtown Chicago. I love going to the city and I hate to see those less fortunate than me in the cold. I love to sew and I would sew blankets and put together gift bags with food, hand sanitizer, chapstick, the blanket, and other items in it to help make the holidays better. Going down there and seeing the faces on these people who are used to getting nothing for the holidays makes me feel so good inside. I hope to continue this for the rest of my life.

siilence

Silence, I think, is awkward depending on who you are with. When I am with a group of friends and out of no where there is a silence, I cant help but think of how weird it feels. Usually something is filling the air- music, conversation, television, etc.- and when nothing is filling it, for that moment its just awkward. Everyone begins to laugh to ease the situation. In my lifetime I have experienced many awkward silences. They typically happen after a deep conversation with friends and we all, for just a minute, reflect in our minds and don't say anything. It feels awkward to me because we all had so much to say and then out of no where we just stop talking. WEIRD.

When I'm with a group of strangers or people I don't really know, silence is expected. Everyone feels awkward then and I feel like my mind is racing- should I say something? what would I say? what would they think? blah blah blah. Usually, I will say something and then I get looks like "OMG she just talked.." I think that silence with strangers is only as awkward as you want it to be. You cant sit in a room with people you don't know and expect tho have so much to say, you know?
I think the best silence is when your with someone you love. When you can sit in silence for hours and not have to say anything and its not weird at all. I dated a kid for three years and I was in love. When we sat in silence, which wasn't often, it just felt normal. There was absolutely nothing awkward about it at all which made the silence feel good. It's almost as if you really are saying something and you know what they're saying and what they're thinking. I like that kind of silence, a lot. Its almost when your listening to a Jimi song and he goes on and on with his solos on the guitar and people, like my mom who don't like Jimi Hendrix, feel like "when is he gonna start singing or where are the lyrics, what is this crap?" The point is that he doesn't need to say anything, his music is saying everything. You have to listen to music beyond the words like when your in love you have to listen to more than whats being said.