Blog 7: Nightmare

All of my life, since I was a young child, I have had a reoccurring nightmare.  I have always had a slight fear of clowns and I never knew why.  In my nightmare I am at some place that appears to be a circus.  There is the circus music playing in the background and flashing lights on the ceiling, on the ground, everywhere.  I remember there being a lot of the color red around along with a darker yellow.  The dream takes place from the point of view of my own eyes.  Usually in my dreams I can see myself, but this one is always different.  I can only see the things around me, but not myself. 

In this nightmare, I am running, running for my life it seems.  Things are burry as I am passing them and I hear a lot of laughter, but not really in a positive way.  I am crying and I realize there are clowns chasing me through this place.  There are blurred figures standing around me but no one is helping me.  I know I am a little kid in this dream even though I can't see myself. I know this because I have to look up to see all these people.  My dream always ends with this incredibly creepy clown coming really close to me, staring into my wet eyes filled with tears and the clown picks me up.  I always wake up terrified and breathing heavily as if I have indeed been running.

One day, not too long ago, I shared this dream with my dad since I've been having for so many years.  My dad began to laugh hysterically.  I was kind of mad that he was laughing so I asked him why he was.  He said that when I was about 2 years old he had taken me to Circus Pizza.  I was running from this clown that was trying to pick me up and I was crying.  At first I thought he was joking, but I guess not.  My dad said he was sorry for that traumatic event in my life as he was still laughing.  I now too think it is funny, and ever since he told me about that day fifteen years ago, I no longer have that nightmare.  

Blog 6: Favorite Vacation

I have been blessed to be able to go on many great vacations in my lifetime.  My top three favorite include Austria, Alaska and Hawaii.  I'm often asked which vacation was my favorite and I think I would have to say it was Hawaii.  I always heard such amazing things about the Aloha State.  I figured that many of the things were exaggerations or false statements.  People said how the ocean water was a beautiful teal color, that there were white sandy beaches and the temperature was always perfect.  When I got to Hawaii, I was amazed to discover that all of those things were true.

Hawaii was one of the best experiences of my life.  I have never seen such beautiful sights and done such amazing things.  I took a helicopter ride when I was on the island of Maui.  I was very nervous at first since I had never been in one and heights aren't really my favorite thing in the world.  When the helicopter was flying over the island, I was absolutely astonished by the beauty of that state.  The water was the magnificent teal color and the sky was perfection.  We flew down by a waterfall and I achieved my lifelong dream of touching a cloud, not just some fog on the ground. 

My cousin and uncle also took surfing lessons which was pretty funny to watch.  The view from my hotel balcony was one of the best things I have ever seen.  We were on the top floor of the hotel in the corner room and our view went for miles.  The balcony wrapped around half of our room.  I spent the later part of the days watching the sunsets and people walking down on the beach. It was the most exquisite trip of my life and it is one I will never forget.   

Blog 5: Is Beauty Skin Deep?

Beauty is something that can be defined in many different ways.  My favorite quote about beauty is;

"Sometimes people are beautiful. Not in looks. Not in what they say. Just in what they are." -Markus Zusak

Have you ever met a person that you think is beautiful?  Not just in the way they look or act, but just who they are?  I have.  It's hard to explain why they are beautiful, it is just the way they are.  There is the beauty that everyone can see, a pretty face, a fit athlete, but not everybody can see true beauty within people.  And that beauty is the most important and valuable.

I believe that a lot of people do have beauty that is just skin deep, but I don't believe that is the only kind of beauty. I think true beauty is in someone's heart.  The way they treat other people and how they live their lives shows who they are as a person.  I think that sometimes in our culture, true beauty is hard to find.  People are often concerned with the way people look and not the way people act.  It may be a cliché, but I believe people often judge a book by its cover. 

Someone can be beautiful on the outside and not on the inside.  Beauty that is “skin deep” is often misleading.  The culture of the United States is often very judgmental and I think that is very unfortunate.  People usually have a hard time understanding others.  It is difficult to see others’ point of view or accept their beliefs.  I don’t believe beauty can be defined by looking a supermodel.  Everyone is always going to have different opinions and disagreements.  Personally, I think once people begin to see beauty from within, our world would be a much better place. 

Blog 4: I Remember...

I remember... the summer nights
I remember... dancing under the lights
I remember... the hot, sunny days
I remember... running through the maze
I remember... swimming in the lake
I remember... eating that cake
I remember... sleeping under the stars
I remember... driving our cars
I remember... vacationing in Cape Cod
I remember... jamming to the iPod
I remember... taking those photographs
I remember... sharing those tears and laughs
I remember... the best summer ever
I remember... wanting to live forever

Blog 3: 350 Words- St. Stephen's Cathedral

         In April in Vienna, Austria, it was a cold and starry night.  The city was filled with people, lights, laughter and chaos.  I was walking the streets with my sister and friend, soaking up the amazing atmosphere.  There were so many loud voices, speaking words I didn’t understand, in a language I didn’t speak.  It was a Friday night and everybody was having a splendid time being out with friends and family.  The town square had music playing and everything in the area was madness.  People were dancing and singing, having the time of their lives.

In the middle of the craziness there stood a magnificent church called St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The church was built in the 1300’s and the vision was breathtaking.  The architecture was so different than anything I had ever seen in the United States.  We walked in the cathedral through the huge doors and I had never seen something so exquisite. When I stepped through that door I instantaneously felt more at peace. The outside look was simply amazing, but in my eyes it didn’t even compare to the interior design.  There was currently a Mass going on inside and the entire building was lit by candles. There were small spiral staircases in columns containing only about five or six steps and stunning religious paintings on some of the wall surfaces. The vision was like one out of a dream.  We stood in the back of the church listening to the priest speak until a choir began to sing.  The remarkable soprano voices echoed through the cathedral.  It brought tears to many peoples’ eyes around me and almost to my own.

That moment in the church, the choir singing and candle light around me, made me feel so overwhelmed.  It is my favorite memory of Austria and one of the most extraordinary memories of my entire life.  My sister, my friend and I talked about that moment for the whole walk home, whenever we tell people about it; no one ever seems to think it is as wonderful as we do.  It was an incredible experience that had to be witnessed to be fully appreciated. 
              

Blog 2: Phobias

I have always found phobias to be a very interesting concept.  Everyone has a phobia or fear of some sort and I think various things cause people to have them.  Even the people that think they are brave have some type of fear.  Phobias can be of actual objects or of feelings and experiences. 

I believe phobias are often inherited from our parents.  I don't think they are inherited through genetics, but through behaviors.  If the environment a person is brought up in dislikes or fears something, I think a lot of the time the person will then be afraid as well.  People aren't born with fear, I think fear is a learned feeling.  Children always seem to be so curious and fearless.  They are always exploring and want to try new things.  However, as people grow older, that curiousness and innocence seems to fade.  Some may say the curiosity fades with intelligence, and maybe that's true, but I think wanting to experience new things is a wonderful trait to have.  As we grow older, we develop phobias based off of bad experiences or scary moments in our lives.

I have always had a few phobias that many tell me are unrealistic, I disagree.  I don't remember certain bad experiences that made these fears come about for the most part, except for one of them.  My biggest phobia is of sharks. I remember being a young child and watching Jaws at my grandparent's cabin.  That caused me to not even go in the lake for the remainder of the trip.  I have other common fears that probably go along with fears of most women, such as snakes and spiders.  My goal is to one day conquer my phobias, maybe by petting a tarantula or swimming with sharks.      

Blog 1: Home Is Where the Heart Is

I believe that home is where the heart is.  A home isn't just a house, anybody can have a house.  A home is a place where there is family and where the people you love surround you.  My home is filled with joy and laughter, and it is somewhere I love to be.

I consider my home to be Minnesota.  I think that even after I graduate college I will come back to Minnesota because it will always be who I am and where I'm from.  More specifically, my house in Elko is home.  Every fall the colors of the leaves are breathtaking and the cool breeze that I hear rustling through the trees brings a smile to my face.  I walk in my front door to be greeted by the smell of apple cider.  When I go down to the barn, my animals happily run up to see me.  As the leaves on the ground turn to snow, I am just as excited.  The pond turns into an ice skating rink and the occasional competitive hockey game.  Snowflakes land on my gloves and not a single one is the same.  There are now delicious smells of hot chocolate and evergreen trees filling my living room.  When the snow is melting and the flowers begin to bloom, I know it is spring time.  The garden becomes colorful and I once again hear the birds begin to chirp.  Those cool spring days become very hot summer days which means diving into the swimming pond and a time to mow the lawn.  I see farmers working in the fields and smell fresh cut grass.   My sister and I are reunited with her return from college.  School is out and it's a time for making memories that will last a lifetime.

My home will always be where my heart is.  When I think of my home, I think of how the seasons change and the times I have spent together with friends and family.  There are so many amazing memories that I know I will cherish forever.