Not even a week in...

I have faith in only a few things. I have faith in God, in my family, and in a few of my friends. I don't have faith in many institutions, except the Church, because I know that human-lead organizations will only disappoint; I've learned that putting faith in any one person aside from God will leave us empty, desiring more, and sorely disillusioned.

That's why, when I learned that our new president would be Barrack Obama, I didn't mind all that much. I was excited even; and I didn't even vote for the guy. Yet my excitement was misplaced, because in only the first three days of office, he's managed to turn something completly upside down; something truly close to my heart.

I don't know when standing against abortion became such an issue with me. I suppose I've always been against it, just as I'm against all types of anti-life issues; genocide, war, euthanasia, capital punishment. I remember hearing about the abortion procedure for the first time when I was thirteen and utterly appalled that a human being would rip a baby, too young to even cry, from the uterus; all for the convenience or "well-being" of the mother. The images that I saw scarred me; it began my disillusionment of the human race.

And now our dear President, who's been in office for less than a week is giving the tax dollars, that I give of (most of the time without complaint) to abortion clinics abroad. I am so disappointed, and heart-broken that the one person who is in charge of our nation's collective fate, cares so little for the little ones.

People claim that its women's rights issue: but what about human rights? Oh, sure, a "fetus" has no rights, but who decided that? We did. Everytime we let something like this go, without saying anything, without standing up and saying a child, no matter how old, in the womb or out, has rights; a right to breathe on his or her own, a right to have a first day of kindergarten, and a right to have a loving mother and father who want it. Millions of requests for adoptions go unanswered every year. But every year, over 800,000 legal abortions take place, just in the United States. Since the passing of Roe V. Wade in '73, over 45 million legal abortions have taken place.

People get upset about 11 million people (6 million jews, 5 million others) dying in concentration camps in WWII, but what about America's own babies?

In an anthropology class at CSUF, one of my texts said you can learn a lot about a culture based on how they treat their dead. Aborted babies are labeled "Biohazard" and tossed into trash recepticles. Some are even abandoned in vacant fields. And we go about our daily lives, not stopping to even think about how fundamentally wrong that is.

So congratulations Mr. President. Not even a week in, and you've disappointed millions of registered voters. Including me.

An interesting twist

Its a windy day in Southern California. It has been windy for almost four days. But just as much as I despise the wind, and the fire warnings that accompany it, today I'm grateful. I walked outside today and instead of seeing the perpetual rusty haze of the California sky, I saw blue.

It was a bright, crayola sky blue color. The mountains in the distance held a bit of stubborn snow at their peaks and contrasted in a pituresque way that made me feel like I live inside of a postcard.

The hills in front of my house, alive with the bright green grass that will soon fade into yellow makes our town look a bit like Ireland. The emerald crests of the hillsides float in the wind, and watching it is mesmerizing, like watching the silent ripples gliding across a pond.

I don't know how I came to live in such an amazing place, or why God decided that I should be able to witness something like this, as if I deserve to see such beauty in such a simple way. Yet I know that it's a day like today when I want to put all of my plans on hold and just be. A passage from the bible says, "Be still and know that I am God." I've always struggled with that, especially being endowed with ADD tendencies. Yet today with the unadulterated blue sky and the green sprawling hills and white-capped mountains in the background, it was all too easy to be still.

So I encourage you, dear reader, wherever you are, whatever you may be doing, take some time. Look at the sky, and whatever God has blessed you to be surrounded by, and just be. It doesn't matter if you're stuck in a city where the grass is man-made, or in the desert where there is no grass. Just take a minute. Look up. And remember to forget for a second your busy schedule. You'll see what I mean.

Opening sentences

Since I began writing (a whole four months ago), the most daunting task I've been faced with, that I encounter in every piece of work that I commit myself to, is the elusive opening sentence.

The perfect sentence to begin a paper or a story with is fleeting. Thoughts of the perfect words strung together to create a coherent drift through my mind like a breeze through chiffon curtains, and I sit at my computer.

And blink. A breath; a grimace. And then a coffee. Followed by a cookie, until finally I look at the clock and realize I've been staring at the same blank screen for the past twenty minutes with nothing more than the teasing and obnoxious cursor that almost seems to be mocking me. And Facebook is only so amusing after so long.

Such is life for an English major with ADD and sometimes nonexistent motivation.

So why am I writing a blog? A journal that, everyday, will begin with beginning sentences? Why does anyone have a blog for that matter? Inspiration? Validation? The hope that someone in the vast world might just read something we write and identify with it. Perhaps to bring joy into someone's life. A blog is essentially living a life of first sentences. Everyday, every post has a first sentence.

In the same way, every day in reality starts with a first sentence. Sadly, I don't know what that is. So maybe that's what this blog is for: finding the perfect string of words that fit into reality every day, my first of many sentences.

And perhaps some randomness interjected here and there, as the ADD sees fit.