The Legend who still Lives on

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One of the most well-known man's of all of mankind is still even a legend to this day. He is the man that changed so many people's lives and made their childhood even more special. He's the one that made dreams come true. He is the one and only Walt Disney. If you don't know who Walt Disney is, then you must live under a rock. I'm just kidding. He's one of the first ones to start and continue to be famous in the animation business by creating his old pal Mickey Mouse!

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Walter Disney was just an average young boy that grew up in Missouri. He wasn't the exact perfect student when it came to school, but as soon as you gave him a pencil and some paper, he would be in his own little world for hours. Did you know that Walt Disney once got kicked out of an art class because his teacher thought he had no creativity? So ironic right. If he would have given up on his dream and listened to his teacher, our world would have been a completely different place today.

Drawing cartoons weren't the only thing Walt was talented with. Throughout his junior high and high school years, he also liked to entertain crowds by performing on the stage by being a part of school plays or even just being the class clown in his grade. He always found a way to make the audience laugh. He even snuck out several nights to perform at some late night comedy show in his town.

Have you ever wondered how Walt came up with the idea of Mickey Mouse? Like why a mouse? Out of all creatures, he chose a small little rodent to be his main focus. Well, actually one day he was sitting in his studio all stumped on what to draw when all of a sudden, a black little mouse runs across the studio floor. Instead of panicking like what a normal human would do if they saw a mouse, he left it be and let his hands and mind do the talking. It wasn't until his wife convinced him to change the name from Mortimer the Mouse to the famous Mickey Mouse.
         

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            As Walt's career started to become successful, he started making longer films that later turned into movies. Several people believe that Cinderella was his first ever princess movie, but actually it was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Cinderella just seemed more popular and/or successful to the viewers.

           One thing Disney had that if you were lucky enough he would share it with anyone he could, was is wisdom. He had the wisdom of a bee in its own hive. Of course he had so much knowledge on drawing and animations, but he was also one of the wisest men out there. He would teach his viewers that it's okay to fail, but you just gotta get up and keep trying. Disney's goal in life wasn't all about making people happy with his cartoons; it was all about finding a purpose in things that you love to do. "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them," is one of Disney's many famous quotes he has ever said.

          Walt Disney wasn't just a normal man. He was man who had a dream who wasn't scared to take that leap of faith and go for it. He kept pushing at it until not only others, but more importantly himself, was happy with what he has created. 50 years after he has passed away, he's name is still famous as ever. He's more than just a legend; he's also a hero!


http://www.justdisney.com/walt_disney/biography/long_bio.html
(A lot of it was also knowledge I've known form previous projects on Walt Disney)

The Disney Company



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There are two kinds of people in this world: those who love Disney and those who don’t really mind it. Just like many others in the world, I fall under the category of absolutely in love with Disney. Disney was my childhood and continues to still be a huge part of my life even still today!



                As a child, I spent a lot of my days binge watching the classic Disney movies. Some of my favorite included “The Little Mermaid”, “Mulan”, “Tarzan”, and “Beauty and the Beast”. Even still today Ariel is my all-time favorite Disney Princess. Maybe that’s why I used to watch “The Little Mermaid” more than others.



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                Behind all the fancy princess dresses and their songs that they just instantly burst into singing mode, there’s always a life lesson to take from it. Two of the more recent ones are “Frozen” and “Big Hero 6”. They both have meaningful messages within them that any age could take away. Frozen shows us that true love isn’t with any guy; it’s the love from your family that can truly thaw any kind of a frozen heart. Big Hero 6 shows us kind of two lessons. First, that no matter how much we try to push away our friends in tough situations, they will always be there for you. Second, with a little thing called teamwork from our friends we can accomplish anything.

                One of the company’s next door neighbors and a really good friend is the company Pixar. Both Disney and Pixar work together to create some of the best films out there like for the Toy Story series as well as “Finding Nemo”. Pixar is known for their animations and how realistic they are to the real world. When it comes to these kinds of movies, the more real they are, the better views they get throughout the world.

                One thing Disney is known for is making sequels for almost all their movies. If you think about it, more of the classics then anything, has a sequel or two made from the original. Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Mulan, and Tarzan are just some that had a 2^nd movie made afterwards.

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                Another thing that Disney and Pixar throw into their movies are inspiring quotes that can help with any real life situation. If you really are a true Disney fan, you would know exactly where these unique quotes are from: “Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten”… “Hakuna Matata, it means no worries for the rest of your days”… “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think”… “You know what you gotta do when life gets you down, just keep swimming, just keep swimming” If you don’t know where any of those are from (which I’m hoping you know at least one of them), I’ll help you out; Lilo and Stitch, The Lion King, Winnie the Pooh, and Finding Nemo. If you ever need a little cheering upping, Disney is always there to help you out.

                Walt Disney was and still is a legend that lives on even still today. Because of him, my childhood was complete. Who knows what the Disney Company will have when my own kids or even my grandkids are growing up?

Babysitting Tips!

The 4 kids that I babysit every
Tuesday

              
As a teenager in high school, we will do whatever it takes for us to get a little extra cash on our hands. During the summer you see a lot of teens doing yard work like mowing the lawn and gardening. One job that is basically a year round job is babysitting. Even though it can be hard work and very stressful at times, for the most part it pays pretty well plus you get to be with kids all night. Who doesn't like to be with kids, right?

                When it comes to babysitting, there are so many different responsibilities that come with it that may not always be the same as your previous house. One job that definitely varies from house to house is the diaper changing. If you an infant or a toddler on your hands, you become a pro pretty quickly at changing those stinky diapers. Another job that you most likely will have (especially if you're babysitting during the evening hours) is getting them fed. Sometimes the parents will have the food already prepared and then all you have to do is serve it to the kids. Other times you might need to bring out your cooking skills. When in doubt, go with Mac and Cheese.

                It's always nice when you're a family's regular babysitter. Every Tuesday night I babysit somewhere between 3.5-4 hours for this family. While the parents are off at a bible study group, I get the privilege to be with their 4 precious kids; two boys and two girls. The two boys are the oldest with the ages of 9 and 8 which means the 2 girls are the youngest with the ages of 6 and 3. Yes, you would think 4 kids for one teenage girl like me would get way out of hand very easily, but actually it's not challenging at all. I love all 4 of them, and wouldn't replace anything for them.

The kids

                Like I mentioned earlier, babysitting can become extremely stressful at times, but in reality it's also such a blessing at the same time. For starters,we can all say that the high school life can be pretty challenging at times. Either drama with friends, trying to keep our grades up, or all our activities we're involved in; whatever it is we have so much pressure to jungle underneath our feet. For me, whenever I'm over and watching the 4 little cuties, all my stress and worries become invisible. Being with kids is like a mini therapy. Yeah, their kids, so you obviously can't rant to them about how stressed out you are, but you get the chance to see things from a kids perspective and sometimes even become one while being with them.

                Some ways to make babysitting fun and to go by faster are by having activities planned out for the kids to do. If it's a nice a day, maybe take them out in their backyard or go for a walk throughout the neighborhood. The kiddos that I babysit for love to be adventurous and could spend the whole day outside. Just yesterday when I was over at their house we spent about an hour or so just playing soccer out in their backyard. Let's just say that I might have gotten beat by some 9 and 8 year old boys.

                Even though babysitting can be kind of time consuming, it's totally worth it in the end. The more you put yourself out there and offer to babysit, the more you start to like children and start a bond with them. Having a child wrap their arms around you and fall asleep in your lap is one of the best feelings ever!

Soliders fighting for our freedom

Once every year my school has the honor to have three Vietnam Vets come in and talk to students of their own personal experience of fighting in the Vietnam War. Earlier this week, not only did I get the chance to listen and ask questions about their story, but I also got the privilege to shake all three of their hands. Especially with Vietnam Vets, they love it when the youth from today goes up and shakes their hand and thanks them for their service. Not only did it make me feel great on the inside, but it also gave the Vets a pretty awesome smile upon their faces.

My dads in his uniform

                We all probably know someone who has or still is serving for our country. I personal have quite a handful of relatives that has served or continues to serve today. Both of my grandpas served for our country when they were in their twenties. My mom’s dad was part of Marine Military Branch and fought in the Korean War for about two years while my dad’s dad was part of the South Dakota National Guard for 35 years. On my mom’s side, I have 1 or 2 uncles and a few cousins that has connections with serving for our country.

                One thing that I love seeing is videos of soldiers coming home and surprising their families. No matter how they surprised their family, it’s still very heart warming and sometimes leads to tears. I’ve never actually experienced a soldier’s homecoming personally, but one of my favorite teachers from middle school has. A couple years ago around Christmas time, it would have been the first Christmas where her husband could not have been there with her family. Already having all this planned out, the news station wanted to interview my teacher about being a “single parent” for the holidays. When the news station got to their house, they said that they had a present for everyone that could help them get through the holidays. And, out popped her husband!

                Today’s generation a lot more people, especially the youth, want to serve for our country. For several reasons actually; maybe because they had relatives that served, they love working with weapons, to have the honor of fighting for our country, maybe even to help pay for college later down the road; there are so many reasons why people today want to go into the military including my own sister. When she graduates she wants to actually go overseas and fight for the freedom of our country. I know I could never handle how strict and cruel they are to you just within the boot camp, but I know my sister can take anything that is thrown at her or that gets in her way.

The Vets saluting my grandpa's casket

                If you ever attended a funeral of a soldier or a veteran, you can definitely agree with me that it’s one of the saddest things ever. When both of my grandpas died, their funerals weren’t like typically funerals; they both had special things that you only get if you serve for our country. The family of the soldier/vet can decide what military things can be part of the funeral. One of the common things that occurs at a funeral is the 21 Gun Salute. 7 soldiers shooting off three times is when the tears definitely come out. One thing that I really liked about one of my grandpa’s was the way and the view of how he was carried into the church. There were about 6 vets, all from the Marines that was close to his age, on both sides and they were saluting the casket while it was being brought into the church.

Another tradition that is performed at a vet’s funeral is a soldier folds up an American flag and hands it off to the living spouse to keep within their household. For both of my grandpas’ funerals, it was hard to see the solider hand off the flag to my grandma. Now both folded up flags are hanging on my grandmas’ wall with pride and in remembrance of my grandpas and their service.

If it weren’t for soldiers and the risks they took, our country would not have as much freedom as we do today. I challenge you next time you see a soldier in uniform or not, go up to them and shake their hand. If you don’t feel comfortable shaking their hand, maybe start with something small like thanking them for their service! Not only will it make your day, but it most likely will make theirs as well!

 

Bullying 101

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One of the worst things to experience throughout your life time is the experience of being bullied. I know from my own personal experience that being bullied makes life 10x harder. You get this feeling like you’re all alone and the world is just out to constantly get you. Today, bullying has gotten so serious, and continues to be an even bigger problem anyway you go.

                I’m going to start off by bringing you back to the time when I experienced bullying up close. It was the beginning of the winter months because I remember there was lots of snow on the ground. 3^rd grade was going so easy for me. I was getting good grades, had a great group of friends, and I thought everybody loved me just because I was so sweet and caring to anyone. But, the key word in that sentence was thought. There was actually a group of boys, I would say about 8 or so, would constantly be picking on me, teasing me, and sometimes even physically hurting me all during the 20 minute recess time. Every chance that they got, they would continue to harass me. For a whole month, I felt like I was just some puppet and they were the controllers that wouldn’t let me have a break. With the school board finally getting involved, I could go back to living my happy, normal life.

                Bullying today is found to be a lot different than what I experienced back in elementary school. Especially in the halls of high school, there’s more violence that is involved. I think teachers should keep a more open eye on the students and what’s happening throughout the halls. I’m not saying all teachers, but a handful of them, probably don’t even notice some of the violence going on throughout our halls or even what’s posted on social media. If teachers want to see more students succeed, they should open their eyes more and see what really happens in halls and the outside world.

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Parents can also be really clueless when it comes to knowing if their child is being bullied or not. Usually it’s not even the parents’ fault; usually the kids are scared to get an adult involved. I know for a fact that I was terrified to tell my parents because I thought I would get bullied even more because I was a tattle tale. But actually, if you don’t get an adult involved, then the bullying will never go away.

Another situation of how bullying has effected loved ones I know would be how the past few years, my younger sister and some of her friends have been getting bullied by this guy that was in a few of her classes. She thought it would eventually go away, but instead it started to get worse and worse until the point where she didn’t even want to come to school anymore. She told a few people, but she didn’t want to tell my parents because she didn’t want the bully to come after her more. Eventually, it got to the point where she had to tell my parents which then got the school principal involved. Slowly the bullying started to come to a stop all thanks for informing an adult.

My sister’s experience is a great example of why we need/should tell someone who has more authority over students like my parents or the principal did when it came to my sister and her friends. If someone you know is getting bullied, get an adult involved right away so they can put the bullying to a stop. If you’re a bystander, don’t be afraid to get up and stand up for the person being bullied. One of the best things to help someone who is getting harassed or bullied is to just be there friend and be there for them. Bullies’ jobs are to make the victims feel all alone and like there’s no way they can be helped. But actually, there are so many different ways to help prevent and stop bullying from continuing throughout schools.

                Sadly bullying can lead to some pretty intense things. On social media you see so many posts about bullying and how extreme it can be. Some students even have taken their own life because of bullying. You never realized how serious this truly could get until your own school has lost a student to suicide because of bullying. Earlier this spring, my own high school lost a freshman girl because she wanted to be gone from all that pain that the bully caused her. She had so much to look forward to in her life like having her father walk her down the aisle, or even graduation, but sadly she won’t be able to experience any of those things because the bullying got too far. We sure do miss her like crazy, but at least she’s bully free now and can actually be happy for once.

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What does it take for us to stop and realize that bullying has become such a huge issue lately? Do we really need another suicide in our society to get the point across that we need to grow up and not bully others anymore? Bullying is so childish, but sadly some don’t know how to grow up. But, you can take a stand and not bully anyone yourself or help others out who are the victims. Bullies want to succeed in making you feel worthless; just know that you are better than the bully, and with your mindset like that, you can overcome anything. Just like what Ellen DeGeneres’ says at the end of every show, “Be kind to one another!”

Life's Greatest Blessing!

My sisters and I in our
Happiness Jackets

                “Friends come and go, but you will always have family no matter where you go!” This is a famous quote that I could imagine so many people have heard of and even say still today. The quote can be cheesy at times, but it’s absolutely true though. Throughout your whole life, friends will come into your life but not all of them that you make will stick with you as you grow older, but family is something that we will always have forever!

                For those of you who don’t know, I’m the 3^rd child in the family out 4. Sometimes being a middle child isn’t always the greatest, but there are so many more reasons why being a middle child is quite nice. For starters, I have two older and one younger sister always by my side. If I ever need advice on things, it’s nice to be able to have two older sisters with more experience and wisdom that could help me out. When it comes to having a younger sister, I can help her out on things that she needs help either from homework to even boy troubles. When it comes to being a middle child, I would say it’s a win win for me; I can get some really good advice and even hand it down.

Two of my cousins;
Cassidy and Vivian

                We can all say that being a teenage are the worst years. We try to think that we can do everything on our own and that whatever our parents say are wrong no matter what. We get so caught up in the moment thinking that our parents don’t know anything that everybody’s patience level goes way down.  But want to hear the truth: Even though we might not always agree with what our parents say, they have so much more wisdom and experience than us teenagers do! Sometimes it’s hard to listen to or may even hurt a little of what our parents are truly saying, but just remember they are only saying that stuff because they love you so incredibly much!



                Parents can come in handy for more than just lecturing you; sometimes it may not seem like it, but parents can give out some of the best advice ever. With having the most experience can lead to some really good advice that could even help you in a tough situation. But, I do have to say that they might not have all the advice you need on a particular situation because their life style as teenager was way different compared to now a days. But, I can promise you that they can trade in the advice for a warm hug any day. Just being in our parents’ warm hugs can be the best kind of comfort out there! I know for a fact my parents are great at cheering me up!

                Family doesn’t just consist of who you live with and see every day; family most certainly includes all your relatives no matter how far away they live. In fact, I have family from both sides all over the United States. For me, I mainly have family in Iowa, but I also have family that lives in North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Colorado, South Dakota, Minnesota, and more. Distance can never become a problem when it comes to family!

My grandma with her 12 kids

 

                One thing that I love to say is that just within my mom’s side, I have over 50 cousins. I always love seeing people’s reactions whenever I tell them that. Yes, that’s right you read it right; over 50 cousins just on my mom’s side. My mom is the 5^th child of 12. My grandma and grandpa were kept busy with their 4 daughters and 8 sons. With having lots of family on my mom’s side, the noise level raises pretty quickly. One plus side of having so many people as family is that there’s always someone to talk to or do things with. From either playing cards or needing help with a situation there is someone who we can always turn to no matter what time of day.



                Most families aren’t as lucky to have such a big family, but no matter what the size of the family is; one thing will always remain and that’s the love everybody shares with one another. Yeah, families will fight and argue, but it’s what happens afterwards that makes you guys still a family! Just like Lilo and Stitch says, “Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten!”

 

The Empty Tomb

My family and I at Easter
Sunday church service

What is Easter really about? Even though we all enjoy finding lots of candy in our baskets from the Easter Bunny, the real meaning behind Easter is way more important than just some eggs filled with candy; Easter season can be the saddest and the happiest time of the year. Jesus Christ is the true reason why we get together with family and celebrate this wonderful holiday!

                One of the holiest weeks of the whole year is the week before Easter. It starts with Palm Sunday, goes into Holy Thursday, then Good Friday, Easter Virgil Saturday night, and finally Easter day on Sunday. Just within one whole week, so many things happen that it’s just all mind blowing.

                Out of all those days, Palm Sunday is the day with the least action, but it’s still important day. Jesus rides through the town on a donkey while the crowd lays down palm branches along his path. It’s the beginning of soon to be the Passover.

                Holy Thursday is where the action truly starts. It consist of the last supper and the washing of the feet of the disciples. Before Jesus proclaims he is the bread and wine of life, he washes the feet of his 12 disciples telling them to do the same to others and continue to spread the word of Jesus. While the supper was going on, Jesus also predicted out of the 12 who would betray and deny him the following day. That was the last full night Jesus was able to be alive.



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                Good Friday is the day that the tears come out. The service that is held at my church is always so powerful. They do such a great job explaining the crucifixion and death of Jesus. They perform this beautiful song that leads lots of people in tears as well as being able to go up and kiss a wooden cross. This service is always one of the saddest services ever because Good Friday is the day that Jesus breathed his last.



                Saturday is the day that everybody just mourns over his death. Nothing really big happens on that Saturday, but I know for a fact that for the Catholic Church, lots of celebrations are taken place. That night I swear is the longest service EVER! I think it usually last a little longer than two hours. That night is the night that the newest members of the Catholic faith fully becomes part of the church by either getting baptized, First Communion, or getting confirmed. Every year we have about 5-10 people of all ages get initiated into the Holy Catholic Church.

                After this long Holy week, Sunday finally rolls around and lots of celebrations are taking place. What great way to celebrate one of the church’s greatest moment is by spending it with your family?! Lots of families gather together and have their own little feast to rejoice and celebrate that Jesus has risen from the tomb and is now up in Heaven with our Holy Father!

                The Easter season can be such a beautiful and powerful time to remember why we are actually here and how our sins are all forgiven because of the man who was hung on the cross to die for us. Just like how The Newsboys say, “God’s not dead, but surely alive!”