Welcome Back!

I am so excited to meet you all and to share work. I know we are going to have a great semester together. Feel free to read the previous posts to see the kind of work you will be publishing this year!

The Ballad of Poseidon's Daughter

On the rocks where most sirens call

I sat and waited for the sky to fall

Jumping threw waves quicker than before

Looking for anything, something more

I grew up in the ocean under the tide

 Fearing that I needed to constantly hide

I stayed down below in the deepest blue

Where the seaweed grew, I waited for you

I waited every day and every night

For my knight in armor to come in sight

Your boat just out of my reach

Shipwrecked on the deserted beach

If only I could grow legs out of this fin I’d run

Stretch my arms out to you and lay in the sun

I’d come to your rescue if I could get out of this water

But I can’t for I am Poseidon’s daughter

I grew up in the ocean under the tide

 Fearing that I needed to constantly hide

I stayed down below in the deepest blue

Where the seaweed grew, I waited for you

On the rocks where most sirens call

I sat and waited for the sky to fall

Jumping threw waves quicker than before

Looking for anything, something more

I’m still waiting in my prison of water

Years have passed and the sun grows hotter

We fight to see each other in this endless war

We’re looking for anything, something more

The Ballad of a Sea Faring Lad

The Ballad of a Sea Faring Lad

He left without warning, going with tides

Always sailing back to what he’d left behind

Going where the mermaids and sea monsters flow

Jumping through seas, adventurous as he goes

He lived for the chase that the sea presented

Jumping through hoops and waves resented

The way he sailed with finesse and grace

Quickening his heart as each wave race

At night he stared at the sky presented before

Looking for anything, something more

Through his travels and adventures a great

There were still troubles that made his heart ache

Constantly moving, constantly rearranging

The time to settle down was constantly changing

He ached for a life he’d never check

Hoping that someone would bring him back

He loved the adventure, but the adventure was too much

The waves had taken their toile, he was in a rut

He knew he could love someone more

More than the waves and sea combined

He shook the notion, fearing it rash

But in a bolt of lightning, quick as a flash

His whole world changed in more than an instant

Bringing it from dull, to full of admiration

Looking as shy as a spring flower in bloom

A beautiful creature with a tail of blue

Peeking from the water, catching a glimpse

Of the Lad staring back from the ship

Blushing as she was about to swim away

He called back to her, hoping she’d stay

He felt this spark when he looked into her eyes

Feeling that in the case of his demise

He’d be the luckiest man to walk this earth

By just being able to see her face first

She stopped on the shore of a beach, small and concealed

Waiting for him, for it was in her to feel

The spark he had, for it was hers as well

She’s waiting for this moment, only time can tell

He swam towards her, with a power so abrupt

Only for a love this fair, he couldn,t give up

She sat in the waves, soaking up the moon

Feeling as though he was already swooned

He needed only to sit and speak, to know this was it

His reason for living was here, it hadn’t quit

He could be on this beach a lifetime, without any comforts

And know he was happy just being in her presents

His love for the sea carried through to his veins

The love he wanted had finally came

He could live with what he’d known all along

Creating his life with the mermaid so strong. 

Paying College Basketball and Football Players

Paying College Basketball and Football Players

The top fifteen highest paid college football coaches make a combined $53.4 million dollars annually, while 13,877 Division I collegiate football players get paid zero dollars altogether per year (http://www.nytimes.com/).  College basketball makes 770 million dollars only off of the March Madness tournament, but the players do not see a cent of this revenue (Ibid).  One may wonder why there is all this money, yet the true makers of the money do not prosper.  The reason is that college athletes cannot receive payment; it is illegal.  These athletes are students, so the NCAA has ruled that athletes should not receive compensation beyond a scholarship.  These players’ lives revolve around their sport, and with no free time they cannot work a job.  Free time is hard to come by, and school work and playing takes up most of their time.  Although these players get scholarships, they do deserve pay because revenue is so high and time to have a job is theoretically impossible.  To solve this problem, there should be a system put into place that will pay college football and college basketball players, while at the same time it could help hold the academic integrity; it may also increase academic performance.

The problem with players not getting paid is that these student athletes who bring in the revenue have little to no spending money, their coaches are overpaid, and the NCAA is swimming in cash earned by these players.  People argue that these student athletes would have no way of surviving at this level without the help of the colleges and role models who surround them, but getting to college is a feat in itself for some of these kids, and the breadwinners are these student athletes.  The problem with some players is that their expenses are weighing down on them.  An average college student’s expenses amount to 2,066 dollars per year (http://www.collegeboard.org/).  These expenses are not taken care of by the colleges; therefore the student athletes have to supply the money to pay for these expenses themselves.

Some players come from destitute backgrounds, and most of these players only know the life of the streets.  These specific kids come to college and stick to their street ways.  Four TCU football players were arrested on February 15, 2012 for selling marijuana, cocaine, Ecstasy, and prescription drugs (http://www.espn.com/).  Many people at the university argued that this could have been avoided if drug tests and better discipline was implemented, but would it really help?  These kids have no cash flow, and no time to make money either.  They did not go about making money in a good way, but to these kids from the ghetto who have no money, dirty money is still money.  No time to work and no cash flow most likely led these players to becoming drug dealers.  They are kids, but they are also human, and everyone knows that to function well in society money becomes a necessity.  These TCU players and all other college football and college basketball players have no money, but on the other side of the spectrum, their coaches have plenty of cash.

In college football and basketball, the salaries of the coaches are in the millions.  In college football “this season, at least 64 coaches are making more than $1 million. Of those, 32 are being paid more than $2 million, nine are making more than $3 million, and three are making more than $4 million. Texas' Mack Brown tops the list; he's being paid more than $5 million (http://www.usatoday.com)/.”  Rick Pitino, the head basketball coach at Louisville University, makes over 7 million dollars per year (Ibid).  These numbers show why players feel cheated.  Student athletes are the ones who perform on the court or field, yet they are the ones who are cheated out of millions of dollars.  Players also have to participate in talking to the media just like the coaches have to.  Players are just important to the university as the coaches are and without the players the games would not be entertaining.  The market is booming while these players’ pockets are being picked, and the revenue is at an all time high.

A surplus of money comes into these basketball and football programs; the numbers are mind blowing.  TV deals are the main reason for the huge revenue that is being produced in these two sports.  “Last year, Turner Broadcasting and CBS signed a 14-year, $10.8 billion deal for the television rights to the N.C.A.A.’s men’s basketball national championship tournament (http://www.nytimes.com)/.”  “On top of that, there's a new four-year deal with ESPN that pays the BCS (Bowl Championship series) $500 million (http://www.espn.com)/.”  All of the revenue that these two sports produce from these television contracts is getting to the point of insanity.  There is now so much money in advertising that these contracts are penciled in with no thought; money is just part of the games now, and the NCAA loves it.  The problem at hand is that many players do not love it; they feel exploited and used, as they should.  Another problem is that paying these student athletes is considered immoral to many people in society, but these ideals can easily be shifted with some very simple changes to the system.

Many people feel that a student should not receive money or benefits because it will degrade the integrity of the game and steer athletes focus away from school.  This is most likely true, but to eliminate this problem there can be incentives to encourage academic studies.  Encouraging kids to stay in school is a major factor in today’s day in age because a majority of the better players in basketball leave after one year of college, and players in football leave after the minimum requirement of three years in college.  Good players leave college early every year to go pro in football or basketball.  This is becoming a major problem, and in many ways it is hurting the games.  This can easily be eliminated by implementing a salary based pay system at the college level in football and basketball.  Joe Nocera of the New York Times proposed a great idea for this salary system.

A good start to the salary system would be“$3 million for the salaries for the football team, and $650,000 for basketball, with a minimum salary of $25,000 per athlete (http://www.nytimes.com)/.”  These salaries would leave the teams with plenty of money to distribute to their players, but some schools would be in deficits.  Schools that are in deficits can have the option of paying all players on a minimum salary of $10,000 per player.  Conferences will also have to pitch in money to help schools pay players.  Conferences should be responsible for thirty percent of each school’s payment to players.  Conferences should have to pay because they are the ones who gain the most money from the big television deals, so they have plenty of money to hand out to the schools who need it to pay their players.  For example, the Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Big 12, Pac 12, and Big East receive an average of $114.6 million dollars a year from the Bowl Championship series alone (http://www.espn.com/).  This leaves a lot of revenue that schools all across these conferences can bring in.  The football players’ payments can easily be solved by schools obtaining money from conference revenue.  Basketball is not as hard to figure out because there are very few players to pay on basketball teams.  Basketball rosters are slim, but they are still not as slim as they should be.  This could be a problem that teams run into at the time of pay day, so how to solve it?  The NCAA will have to trim roster sizes. 

Roster sizes on college basketball and college football teams are way too high.  Cutting roster sizes would be vital to making the system possible.  Football roster sizes would be capped off at 90 players; this would cut many unneeded players for a lot of schools, considering some schools have roster sizes over 120 players (Ibid).  Scholarships on football teams would also drop from 85 to 63 a year, freeing up an average of $440,000 a year for schools (Ibid).  Basketball roster sizes would be cut to 13 players per team, and this would allow 10 scholarship athletes per year (Ibid).  Cutting these roster sizes saves money on traveling expenses, food costs, equipment costs, and scholarships.  There is so much money being spent in college sports that is not necessary, and eliminating these unnecessary costs will free up money to make a salary system possible. 

This salary system serves two purposes, paying these deserving players and giving players the incentive to stay in school and play harder.  This system will not only pay these players for being on the team and serving the school with their athletic abilities though; the system will reward the academically motivated in a way that no one has thought of before.  Athletes that make the dean’s list will receive a $10,000 bonus for that year.  For example, if a player is paid the minimum salary of $25,000, they will be paid $35,000 on the year.  If that player were to stay four years and make the dean’s list every year, then that player will have made $140,000 in their college tenure.  For players who are stars of the team and have jerseys being sold in stores, they will have the right to obtain a 10% portion of the profit off of their merchandise sold.  These players can only receive this money if they stay their entire four years of college and graduate.  This incentive will help keep some star players around rather than letting these players leave like they have for years now.

Another solution is putting a graduate athletic program into effect; this is also another great incentive for players to stick around and broaden their horizons.  Out of 5,500 players in college basketball, only 50 went to become pros last year (http://www.nytimes.com/).  This is a strong reason why further education should strongly be encouraged amongst these athletes.  The hope of going pro is something that every college athlete wants, but the reality is that it is not something that happens very often.  What a graduate athletic program would do is allow players to have the option to get a master’s degree in their major and be allowed to play two more years.  These players will still be compensated, but on a lower level.  Players who want to obtain their masters will be paid a flat rate of $25,000, and this cannot be raised or lowered.  A transfer option will come along with this program also; this option is in place because some graduate programs are not offered at certain schools.  This program will educate more athletes, keep the veterans in the game, and it will show the younger kids that getting a master’s degree and being an athlete is possible.  The pay for play and the incentives to strive for a better education would be put into place, but doubters would still argue that these kids do not do enough to deserve the money; this can be refuted by placing broad responsibilities on these players’ backs.

Most college athletes are viewed as role models in this day and age, so when these college athletes disobey the rules it opens many eyes for the wrong reasons.  Strict rules and harsh punishments can eliminate these basic issues though.  Players who violate one NCAA or team rule should automatically be suspended one game and fined $5,000, and a second offense would result in a direct dismissal from the team.  Punishment in the NCAA is too light with the system that is in place; students can get in trouble multiple times and barely feel in the wrong for what they have done because their schools do not strongly enforce the rules.  Stephen Garcia, former quarterback of the South Carolina Gamecocks, was suspended five times before they finally dismissed him from the team (http://www.espn.com/).  This lack of discipline gives the school and the NCAA a bad reputation because it showed that no matter what a player does, he can get away with it if he is winning games.  This gave the wrong message to the fans, and if he had been dismissed after his second offense this would have never became an issue.  These athletes are role models, and no type of role model should be getting in trouble as much as Garcia did.  New rules and punishments can easily nip this in the bud with absolutely no problems.

On top of enforcing harsher behavior requirements, schools should enforce harsher academic requirements, too.  Every player should maintain a 2.9 GPA to stay on his team, and a 3.3 GPA must be kept intact to receive his money for playing.  Implementing GPA requirements will cause athletes to get their face in their books and out of trouble because the kids who want to cause trouble also want money; the money should easily overpower the urge to go out and be promiscuous as many college students like to be.  Another requirement of being in the position that these athletes are in is required community outreach.  Teams can choose how they want to outreach to the community, or players can do their community service on their own, but players will be expected to do two hours of community service every week.  This may seem like too much, but the money that they make and the benefits that they reap should make this a very reasonable proposal.

Clearly the system that is in place is one that hurts these athletes while the people who run the show make all the money.  College basketball and college football are becoming American staples; on Saturdays, stadiums fill up with thousand or people to watch players battle on the gridiron, and from November to April arenas are packed full of people to watch players dribble, shoot, dunk, and pass on opponents.  These events add up, and the total revenue has reached the billion marks.  It is about time to change the system, and the solutions are all laid out in a manner that will hold academic integrity while most likely increasing graduation rates.  Who would disapprove of this system if he or she really analyzed how beneficial this could be for not only the game, but the students, too.  Scholarships would be rewarded, money would be given to the deserving, and the NCAA’s market would expand because the game would become more competitive.  Not only are these solutions beneficial, but they are revolutionary; the trick is persuading the public opinion that pay for play is the only way.

Lucille's Lament

My dear child, have you forgotten
The babe that I once knew

With golden hair and bright eyes

Whose sins amounted to few?

Still I worried for your soul

When you were and infant I christened you,

So if you died an untimely death

It would be heaven that you’d go to

My cold arms may never hold you again

From heaven I still look down

To watch over my sweet granddaughter

Who in her troubles she has drowned

Her golden hair has turned dull

The light has gone from her eyes

Her face is weary from sorrow

From the guilt she feels for her lies

Do you feel bad lying to your parents,

So you can drink away your troubles?

You gave yourself up at seventeen

And your problems surely doubled

Constantly turning to others for approval

Always changing to earn someone’s love

Instead you got disappointment, betrayal,

Not realizing the love you need is above

The world to her “fend for yourself”

She began to mirror the selfishness

She continued to commit other sins,

Embracing her new ruthlessness

I see you for what you are

You cower at the thought of God’s might

So you tell yourself there is no God

And it is up to you to decide what is right

Where is that beautiful child?

She is not a part of you now

How could she be behind those judgmental eyes

Or  stay smiling behind your scowl?

At one point you did try

To do what’s right, and I was proud

But you let the world corrupt you

And the call of evil was too loud

I’m sorry I could not be there for you

With my time I did all I could

I loved you and protected you

Like every grandmother should

But it was you who turned your back on God

But  I will still miss you so

Because when the angel of death carries you away

It is to hell that you will go

1984 The Scary Truth

 1984 The Scary Truth

            The famous book 1984 is a dystopian novel based on the way George Orwell saw the future possibly unfolding. One may see it just as a work of fiction, but others use the book to open their eyes to the real world and all the possibilities they overlook. The book describes a world completely controlled by Big Brother, the government that rules the super-state Oceania. The inhabitants of Oceania must be careful of how they look, what they say, what they write, and how they interact. The possible future described may seem farfetched, but Orwell saw it as the natural outcome of Communism and Fascism. People in this society are watched like dogs; every move that is made is monitored and documented by Big Brother. In American society today, citizens are subject to much of the same surveillance, without realizing the extent. It seems Orwell’s dystopian future could be a reality in what is supposed to be the freest country on Earth.

            Big Brother is the “friendly face” of Oceania’s government; it is also a derogatory term used today to describe the ever so powerful United States government. The name Big Brother describes how those in authority watch over the actions of every citizen. In 1984 the amount of surveillance is uncalled for, every room and hallway has a telescreen. These telescreens are used to listen to every word being said above a low whisper, and to watch every movement made by an individual. These telescreens keep the people of Oceania under constant fear of being vaporized. Similar to Oceania, the United States has cameras posted around every corner, some used for security, but all of them are accessible by the government to monitor the public.

The term vaporized is used to describe how someone in the society would all of a sudden disappear the instance Big Brother heard or seen something it does not agree with. In 1984 the Newspeak writer, Syme, was vaporized. The reason he was vaporized was simply because he was intelligent and understood the point behind his job, which was to edit the language and reduce it to the simplest form. The fact Syme was intelligent does not seem like a good enough reason to vaporize him, but in a society where the capable are feared, due to the fact they can rebel. This is similar to the “black bagging” the US government uses to make people disappear. Hassan Ghul was one of the people since the national disaster of September 11, 2001 who disappeared and to this day has yet to be found. His charges are unknown, the only evidence is he was suspected to be part of al-Qaeda. Now for someone to be vaporized in the book 1984, one must talk out against Big Brother or they must commit a deed that is not permitted, such as falling in love or showing emotion. In today’s society when someone is black bagged they are never seen or heard from again, which is the point of it. A similarity between Orwell’s vaporizing and the American’s black bagging is neither requires or allows the person or persons to have a trial, the government has final say on what happens to the individual.

Depending on the job, black bagging someone can also mean keeping them under heavy surveillance with phone taps, wires throughout a home and office; and even copying confidential information. For someone in modern society to be watched so closely does not require much according to Glenn Greenwald, “For the past year, the Associated Press has systematically exposed how the New York Police Department, often working in conjunction with the CIA, engaged in a sprawling spying campaign aimed at Muslim individuals, students, institutions and mosques in the United States, all without a whiff of any suspected wrongdoing.” This excerpt from Greenwald’s website describes how someone can be watched just on their religion and/or ethnicity. For those who do not know of Glenn Greenwald, he is an American lawyer who studies the constitution and civil rights of citizens. His contributing opinions show up in many popular magazines such as The New York Times, The American Conservative, etc.

Do to the quoted War on Terrorism; the government has rapidly gained more and more oversight on the people. Some of the Acts and Bills passed by our government are starting to make Big Brother too powerful, causing Orwell’s book 1984 to slow transition from fiction to fact. The legal way to vaporize someone in modern society is to use the law and twist it the way you please. In 2009 a series of bills were passed giving the Armed Forces extra powers in war time. One of these bills is “SEC. 1021. AFFIRMATION OF AUTHORITY OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES TO DETAIN COVERED PERSONS PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE.” To make things a little simpler, the passing of these bills gives the Armed Forces the ability “to indefinitely detain, without charge or trial, anyone they consider to be engaged in hostilities against the United States. The provision would not restrict military detentions to people in specific countries or regions of the world and would apply to U.S. citizens living within the United States “(opencongress.org). Even though these acts and bills are only effective during wartime that does not change anything, approximately twenty-five so called wars have happen or are happening since the year 2000. So meeting the requirement of wartime is not a challenge at all. As stated above Orwell’s book 1984 can be used to open the eyes of the reader. Now that our government has the right to detain anyone they see as a threat to the country the idea of telescreens, vaporization, and Big Brother are no longer just fiction.

Many other acts and bills over the last few years have been passed giving overwhelming power to government officials. After the tragedy on September 11, 2001 the American government passed the Patriots Act, this act was the forefront of what is to come. With the passing of the Patriots Act the government has the ability to have constant surveillance on anyone they please. Even though there are restrictions stating someone must fit a certain category before surveillance can be placed on them; the government controls the FBI, NSA, and CIA which are all corporations that hold lists of possible terrorists. If one steps back and looks at the big picture, the government has given itself the ability to watch everyone and everything people do, not only the ability to watch, but to detain them without a trial. These acts and bills are slowly overwriting the rights given to the people by the constitution.

“Liberty Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment: No State shall... deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” This statement from the fourteenth amendment states we have the right to life, liberty and property. The definition of liberty according to the dictionary is “freedom from control, interference, obligation, restriction, hampering conditions, etc.; power or right of doing, thinking, speaking, etc., according to choice.” If people were truly free of control and interference the government would not tap its people’s cell phones, and wire its people’s houses. Similar to 1984 the people were told all the freedoms they do have, they were not taught all the laws except the three main slogans “WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, and IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.” Every day that passes life as it once was is changing; no one will ever be as free or as strong as they were yesterday.

Now that the secrets out, is the possibility of telescreens, vaporization, and controlling history really that farfetched? As far as the people of today know they have privacy and the ability to do as they please without government interference, but who is to say that we are not being watched? Telescreens in every room is old technology Orwell predicted, in modern society the technology available allows us to be watched from space through satellites in real time. If one analyzes society enough they may come to realize the so called dystopian fiction of 1984 is actually a living nightmare that is overlooked every day.

Work cited

"Blog - Read the Military Detention Bill." Read the Military Detention Bill. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://www.opencongress.org/articles/view/2438-Read-the-Military-Detention-Bill->.

"U.S. Government Printing Office Home Page." U.S. Government Printing Office Home Page. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://www.gpo.gov>.

"SALON." NYPD Spying Program Aimed at Muslims. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://www.salon.com/2012/02/22/nypd_spying_program_aimed_at_muslims/singleton/>.

"Timeline of United States Military Operations." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_military_operations>.

"Liberty." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/liberty>.

"Dozens of Prisoners Helf by CIA Still Missing." ProPublica. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. <http://www.propublica.org/article/dozens-of-prisoners-held-by-cia-still-missing-fates-unknown-422>.

friendship

             High school friendships are more likely to pass the test of time then middle school friendships are. This is due to the fact that we are in such a sudden pace of change, we are just figuring ourselves out and none of us really have a good judge of character. The friendship I have with a girl known by the name of Whitney Head surely passed the test of time. I met her when I was twelve years old at time where we were both barely making our way through middle school and without knowing, trying to make our way out of the false shell’s we had created. When I look back it’s so strange to think that when we met we were twelve year old girls in seventh grade. Now we are seventeen and almost woman about to graduate high school and head out into a whole different world. It has been such a good friendship, one that has blessed me with growth and with a whole new understanding about life.

            The past two years I have learned a lot about people, about how you should surround yourself with good people. Good people, who by being in your life make you a better person, lift you up instead of bring you down. I came across this realization the more mine and Whitney’s friendship progressed because of the fact that she is such a good person. She makes an attempt to bring me up when I’m way down and usually succeeds with that task. She makes me strive to be better, makes me want to be better and has made me better. She is someone I respect most in the world.

            This year has been a tough one but the more I think about it the more I realize almost every year has had its difficulties. However, I’d be lying if I said this hasn’t been one of the toughest and throughout it Whitney has been by my side the whole way and I’m so thankful for that. Somewhere down the road this year I lost my way but she was always there reminding me that I am a fighter, that I am strong and that I am better than the person I was making myself out to be. Whitney has always been harsh in the best kind of ways; she’s only ever harsh when it’s for my best benefit.

            It’s nice to have this sort of comfort in knowing that she will always be here fighting for me even if sometimes it’s with me. There’s quite a comfort in knowing she will be here making sure I stay strong and making sure I don’t give up. I’ve also watched her go through some pretty tough things this year. Things that made me sit there and question logic, because it wasn’t logical to me that these things were happening to her. It wasn’t logical because she never deserved any of it, because she deserves to get what she gives and that is love and kindness, and loyalty, and trust, and passion. And if she were not to receive all those things faith will have failed me. I would have viewed life as one big joke because if people like her were never to receive those things it’d be an abomination. The beautiful thing however, is that faith never fails.

            People like to say that they were created and as they were created another person was created and that this person was created for the other. People say that this person created for them was connected to them at the soul and they were called soul mates. I and she clearly are not soul mates but I do like to categorize us into a subgroup of that nature, I believe we are soul sisters. In my eyes it is not strange to imagine her as my best friend because it feels like that’s the way it has always been but others question our friendship. In other people’s eyes we are the opposite of each other and that is true, but we balance each other out. We do have things in common and sometimes it may not seem like much but these things are the things that matter most.

            To me all that matters in a friendship is that the two people in it genuinely like each other, that the two people in it respect the other, that the two people in it loves the other, fights with the other, fights for the other, and reminds the other to fight. All that matters in a friendship is that you are willing to be selfless, you are un-willing to give up and you are there to remind that person of what a beautiful person they are. I think anyone can instantly and clearly see that I genuinely like Whitney. Through my actions it is not hard to tell that I respect her, I respect her more than I’ve ever respected anyone else, for many reasons, but mainly for being a wonderful and strong person.

            Whitney has taught me what it means to not be afraid to be who I am. She has taught me to stand up for myself and she has taught me to be an open and honest person. I love her to the moon and back a million times over again. She has been the family I’ve never had. Before now I’d never be able to openly admit how much I care about a person but she taught me to open my heart wider then I’d ever imagine was possible.

I keep going everyday even when sometimes I feel like I can’t because I’m fighting for her. Fighting for her to be the best she can be, fighting for myself to be better. Fighting for her to realize how much strength she has. I will always be here to constantly remind her that she is strong and that she can get through anything and that because of her I too am stronger.

             This is one friendship I do not plan to give up on and will never give up on, because she is one person I will never give up on because she never gave up on me. I couldn’t give up on her because I believe in her because she made me believe in myself. I think about the future more often than I would like to but when I imagine it I can’t imagine it without her because she has been my saving grace, my guardian angel. She is responsible for who I am and who I am is someone I am proud to be. So every day I want her to know that she is a beautiful person that her smile lights up a whole room, that her smile reminds me that I have a reason to smile too. She is beautiful to the core of her being, she has a beautiful heart and soul and well of course a pretty face. Those reasons though are not even a quarter of what makes her as beautiful as she is. She is the greatest person I know and the greatest gift I could ever ask for and without her I’d be lost in this scary world.