The Year In Review

There's only a few hours left in 2013, which is hard to fathom, considering how I never thought I'd make it to this point so many times this year.  During those times, things really did feel that bad, but now that I've had some time to reflect, they weren't that terrible;  I struggled with family, relationship, and school issues like any person, but I got through them to have one of my best years in ages.  Yes, lots of my friends moved away, but I've still been in contact and seen some of them.  I got my best grades in school this past calender year, and I've progressed a lot in terms or my confidence, which is important for the future.  It's always sad to move on from something good, but no need to feel down, since that just means more opportunities in the future. 

It's not New Year's yet, but Happy New Year everyone!  Let's make 2014 as great as 2013 was!

I often ask/wonder what New Year's means, and this sums it up pretty nicely

The End Of Summer

Summer isn't officially over for another month, but it feels over to me because I start school soon.  I'm sad summer is basically over, but I'm glad things can progress with my life since being at home can be a drag sometimes (even though I enjoy it mostly).  If I had to reflect back on my summer, I think it's been pretty successful considering how I felt when school ended in May.  I felt good that I did well in all my classes, but was saddened that a good majority of my friends were leaving to begin their lives in new places.  And to make things worst, I didn't even write much.  Luckily, I was able to blog a lot, be with family, and I met someone unexpected who has impacted my life for the better; she's amazing!!!  I may not have accomplished all my goals for the summer, but overall, I did everything I wanted and felt good about myself.

To celebrate the end of the summer, I thought it fitting to post this Arthur episode where he goes crazy that he lost the list of things he wanted to do before the summer ended.  He thinks he wasted his whole summer until he realizes he didn't and appreciates the summer after all.  Hope you all enjoy!

The Weather and the Shows That Go With It

With the heat in Boston yesterday, and what what's coming up this weekend, I can honestly say I'm not looking forward to going outside (even though I know that will most likely happen).  I'll trek though that when it comes, but in the meantime, here are some episodes of shows I like that have to do with the heat.  It won't take away the heat, but it will hopefully take your mind off it.

An episode of Arthur called The Blackout!

A Recess episode called The Coolest Heatwave Ever

Bullying

Being older, it seems that one thing that has died down is bullying, but in hindsight, that really isn't the case.  All I have to do is turn on the TV, or read the newspaper, and there's a story about a child being bullied.  I suppose it wouldn't be that bad if the situation got resolved, but there's an old saying said about the media: "They only report what's negative", which is why you sparingly hear about happy things that happen in the media; they usually only talk about negative news, which is why whenever I hear about bullying, I know it's unfortunately tragic.

When it comes to bullying, it's a touchy subject for me because I was bullied a lot as a child from elementary to middle school.  I wasn't sure why, but I think it had to do with how I looked, my weight issues, or the far fetched idea that somebody liked me (I know, ridiculous).  I won't get into the details of it, but the bullying was so bad at one point that I had to get transferred from the class I was in just to get through school.  That worked for awhile, but in middle school, the same thing happened.  Even when I tried nice, or did what they wanted, nothing changed, and it scared me.  Worst of all, all of my bullies were girls believe it or not, so whenever I complained, sometimes teachers believed me, and other times they didn't. 

Now, I'm not hear to blame the school, or even the people who bullied me since that was a long time ago, but bullying is still something prevalent now.  You may not think it is because you aren't exposed to it, but it's happening at school's, and even online (which I think is worst).  Children are being picked on for no reason, and it unfortunately ends in suicide most of the time.  Suicide is a terrible thing, but it can be avoided if the person being bullied has someone to talk to, a parent, sibling, anybody.  I wish as a child, I spoke up more, but I didn't and still deal with the effects.  That doesn't have to happen now.  You can be there for someone in their time of need.  All you have to do is be there, or seek professional help when necessary.  It doesn't matter if you're the person being bullied, or the person helping.  You still matter, and you have a voice to make a difference.

In light of this subject, I found an episode of Arthur online that deals with this subject.  It's from season 16, so the animation is different, among other flaws, but I think this episode shows a good example of how bullying can affect a child's mind, while at the same showing how it can be fixed by talking about it, or taking responsibility.  Yes, I know Arthur is a children's show, but as they've shown with the cancer episode and fire one, they aren't afraid of tackling adult subjects.  And while bullying usually happens to kids, it's something that shouldn't be ignored.

(Couldn't get the video posted since the episode is so new, but here's the link.  Sorry you may have to paste it.  I'm still getting used to this blog)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou0t-3hk5eM

April 9th

Today is April 9th, so in honor of it being April 9th, I thought it would be fitting to show everyone the Arthur episode "April 9th".  I know you're probably wondering why I'm doing this, but I assure you, watch the episode and you'll see what I mean.  This has to be one of the most serious episodes of Arthur ever, up there with when Mrs. McGrady gets cancer.  It touches on so many themes that I think are important in the world like friendship, family, etc.  I'd say more, but I don't want to give too much away, so watch the episode and enjoy.