After two extremely long, busy weeks, I am sitting in my room trying to grow used to the quietness that is overwhelming my house. I am extremely excited about what the next few weeks hold. Not only do I hear from Swarthmore, but I turn 18! and Emma's coming home in a few weeks and then there is Christmas. With Christmas break comes catch up with a lot of old (and new) friends that have gone to college. This makes me so excited about what is to come in the next few years. The more I think about it, the more excited I am about college. I was thinking about my schedule next year and I became extremely excited to think that for the next four years, for the most part, I will have the opportunity to take classes in the things that I want to study.

The one thing that I am extremely excited about is New Years Eve. I get to ring in 2010 with my older sister and one of my favorite bands! I am so excited to see the Avetts again. It is going to be one of the greatest NYE's of my life.

The one thing that I am looking forward to the most this next month is just some relaxation and family time. I'm looking forward to napping with KT-Bugg and having her yell for her Aunt Ya-Ya. I'm excited to have Emma home for a month. I'm excited to decorate the house for Christmas. I'm excited to have letters and cards come in from across the ocean.

A Jet Plane and A Big Idea, I Jumped Over the Sea

Minus the jet plane, this is essentially how Thanksgiving was started. The Europeans longed for a place that held what they considered religious freedom. So they set sail for a new land in search of there own society.

So far, I have quite the interesting Thanksgiving experience. The past few days I have a had a killer toothache, and pain is usually something that I am extremely tolerant too...this pain however, was just TOO much. So I finally caved in and let my mom call the dentist. Although my dentist was out of town, someone could see me. As someone that hates the dentist, I had never been more thankful when he walked in and immediately began asking questions and checking to see what was wrong. Within 5 minuted I had a diagnosis and two prescriptions to get me on my way. All this in preparation for a root canal that I'm going to have to get done on this tooth in two weeks, if not sooner.

As always, I am extremely thankful for everything that I have in my life. As Modest Mouse says, "My friends, my habits, my family, they mean so much."

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! don't eat too much, although I'm positive that I'll be eating enough for 3-4 people. :D

Another Reason I Love These Boys

Once again The Avett Brothers have shown me a greater way to live my life. This time it was as I was trying to figure out which one of these amazing brothers sang "January Wedding." I stumbled across the 'mission statement' from the "I and Love and You" box set, and the words stopped me in my tracks. Seth Avett has a talent for writing that I am envious of.

The words “I” and “Love” and “You” are the watermark of humanity. Strung together, they convey our deepest sense of humility, of power, of truth. It is our most common sentiment, even as the feeling of it is so infinitely uncommon; each to proclaim these three words with his or her very own heart and mindset of reason (or lack thereof); a proclamation completely and perfectly new each time it is offered. Uttered daily and nightly by millions, the words are said in an unending array of circumstances: whispered to the newborn in a new mother’s arms; shared between best friends on the playground; in the form of sympathy-said by a girl to a boy, as the respect continues but the relationship does not… The words are thought in the company of the photograph and said in the company of the gravestone. It is how we end our phone calls and our letters… the words at the bottom of the page that trump all those above it, a way to gracefully finish a message, however important or trivial, with the most meaningful gift of all: the communication of love.

Only Seth Avett could so eloquently write about one of the greatest, most complex emotions that we have in such a way.

Have A Little Faith

As an avid reader, I get hooked onto an author and I read every book by them. I am in love with Mitch Albom, his new book Have A Little Faith is one of the greatest books I have read in a long time. It took me two days to read the book. The book is Mitch Albom's second non-fiction which starts out with his Rabbi asking him if he will do his eulogy, although he is no where near death. Albom has no real, substantial relationship with his rabbi. So, like with Morrie Schwartz, he begins to spend time with him and develop a relationship. This lasts for over 8 years.

So, like always, here are some quotes that I took from the book.

"nothing haunts me like the things we don't say" - Reb (Mitch Albom's Rabbi)

"...When the world quiets to the sound of your own breathing, we all want the some things: comfort, love, and a peaceful heart" - Mitch

"He kept the outside world at bay by keeping the inside world at hand"

Happy Veteran's Day!

Today I am reminded of an elderly man that I helped take care of in his later years of life. One thing that he loved to do was tell my sisters and I old war stories. We would often end up wondering into a spare room where he would show us the Purple Heart that was awarded. It was a few days after the initial landing of D-Day when he landed at the beaches on the coast of France. He was moving across the beaches and was hit by a piece of shrapnel. The shrapnel was embedded into his arm. There were many more war stories that he would tell us. One of the coolest things that he would show us was his uniform. It was something that I can still see clear as day in my mind.

After attending VA Girls State this past summer, I have a whole new appreciation for our veterans. There is one experience that often pops into my mind. The POW/MIA ceremony. It was one of the more emotional, intimate, special moments of the whole week. I can still hear my fellow Pocahontas citizen singing "Blowing in the Wind," and it was the most beautiful version I have ever heard in my life. Thinking about it still sends chills down my spine and tears to my eyes.

As I reflect on all the conflicts past and present, I am thankful for everyone that serves in our armed forces. There is a good amount of my high school that goes on to serve in the armed forces, and to them I am especially thankful.

Physics and Politics.

Energy: the ability to produce change in itself or the environment.

In this past election, this is exactly what we [the democrats] lacked. As I was sitting in Physics class and we were studying for our test, this term made me automatically think about what occurred the day before. The loss of four different races (Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, 14th HD) is still something that is fresh on my mind, being as it was only last night.

The statement has been made that the Republican party was more energized. I think that this is a false statement. I mean, they were more energized than we were, but it has a lot to do with the fact that the Democratic Party was not energized, we lacked the ability to produce change in itself or the environment. So I think that the Republican party was more appealing to some voters. We could not get the Democratic base out to knock on doors or to make phone calls. So in return, the rest of the Democratic Party did not get up and get out the vote. They sat on the sidelines and believed that it would get itself out.

As The Avett Brothers say in there new song "Slight Figure of Speech" - They say you have to lose a couple fights to win...Well, we all just lost either 3 or 4 races. So next year we have to energize the base and we have to work. We have to have the ability to produce change in itself or the environment. Granted change was created in the past 24 hours, it is just not the change that I want to see. It is not the change that I believe will "move Virginia forward."

So as a Democratic party we have to pick ourselves up, shake off the past 24 hours, and move forward.