A couple different ways to eat mangos...

Whole (Like John Locke from the tv show Lost)



Cut (preferably turtle-shell style)

 with a spoon

on a stick (with or without chili powder)

In a salad

on a tart

in curry

as a popsicle 

in a smoothie or milkshake (or mango lassi)

in a parfait

directly off a tree

Or, if you are like me... anyway you can get them :)

The Last Conversation of a Miserable Relationship

Taylor: Here. I am giving you twenty dollars for dinner last night. I just want to forget about it and I can't do it if I feel like I owe you something.

Josh: I don't want your money. It was prom. My job to pay.

Taylor: Please, just take it. I'm so done. I just want you to leave me alone.

Josh: Why do you keep saying that!? I didnt do anything!

Taylor: Are you kidding me? Last night was the worst night of my life Josh! All we did was fight... and then the hotel room? Please just leave me alone!

Josh: You wanted the hotel room! You said it was your dream to go to a nice hotel after your senior prom. You're the one who started crying and asking to go home! What the fuck did I do?

Taylor: You got made at me! I was uncomfortable and you started yelling at me! Honestly Josh, these two years have been awful and you know it. I just want to be done. For good, I want this relationship over. 

Josh: Not again taylor. You break up with me every other week! You know we are going to get back together so whats the point?

Taylor: We aren't getting back together this time. Last night was just too much. I can't take anymore. Im going inside. Don't call or text me.

Josh: No Taylor wait!

Taylor: LET GO OF ME! 

Josh: NO! We are not done talking!

Taylor: Yes we are! Now let go of me. We are done!

Josh: I knew you didn't love me. I told you you would do this.

Taylor: You don't get to make me feel guilty anymore! I love you. I always will. Whether you want to believe that or not is your decision.

Josh: Taylor please! I love you, don't do this to me.

Taylor: It's too late. Goodbye Josh

In Defense of a Freshman

It is my first year of college, everyone says I am supposed to live it up and have fun! How can I do that when it upsets you if I dance with another guy?
Im not doing it because I have feelings for the person... I just want to have fun.
You live two hours away.
When I go a party with friends, I cant just stand in a corner and watch them dance. It's not fair of you to ask me that. I am loyal and honest so me dancing with other guys should be the least of your worries.
If it hurts you that much then I will stop. But please remember that I am only being human. I just want to have fun this year... I will only be a freshman in college once. I know I chose to be tied down to you but I didn't realize it would be this hard. 
Looking back on this year, I don't want to have any regrets. I want to enjoy it the best I can. Is that so bad?

"Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth"

- J.K. Rowling


This has been my favorite quote since I read it from the pages of Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I truly believed that if everyone fully understood and appreciated this quote, the world would a much better place... especially for children.

Allergies

About a year ago, I went to an allergist to figure out what was causing my constant sneezing and sore throat. After doing allergy tests, the doctor told me I was severely allergic to the following things...
-Dogs
-Dust mites
-Cockroaches
-Mold
-Seafood
 Well, I own a dog which would explain the constant sneezing. I am now supposed to keep my distance from her as much as possible. It is so hard being greeted by the cutest animal in the world and not being able to pet her. Once, I decided I would try petting her and then take a shower immediately afterwords... didn't work. I sneezed the entire day and then proceeded to get a sore throat that stayed for the next two days. So now, my dog and I love each other from a distance. 
As for the dust mites... My allergist told me to removed all excess pillows and rugs from my room. I used to have 6 frilly pillows and a shag rug, none of which were cheap and now they are all sitting storage. 
I assumed that the cockroaches and mold wouldn't be a problem... I mean there are no cockroaches or mold in my house and its not like I eat them. Well, I was wrong. Seeing as I am now in a dorm room at college, I am told there are lots of cockroaches and tons of mold. I am supposed to be using a humidifier to keep the dead cockroach skin and mold from bothering me. I decided to not take this piece of advise. I would rather sneeze a couple times then buy a humidifier and have to clean it every other day. 
The seafood allergy wasn't a huge shock. My dad is deathly allergic to seafood. Thankfully, growing up, I stayed away from the stuff. I think the idea of seafood is disgusting. But now that I know I am allergic, and probably deathly so, I have to carry around epipens and ask every restaurant if they cook their seafood in the same place as the meat. Also, if I ever have to get surgery I have to pray that the doctors don't use iodine to clean the incision area because I will most likely have a horrible reaction to it. 
On top of all of these precautions I have to take two different allergy medications a day and do a nasal rinse. But compared to some of the allergies people have, mine are nothing. Anyone have any interesting allergies they want to share?

Loving Technology

I find it amazing how addicted I am to technology. I participated in a sociology experiment last semester where I was asked to disable my Facebook for a week. I managed to make the entire week without reactivating but in order to survive, I was constantly logging on to my boyfriend’s account.

            Yesterday, I decided I would try to go without my phone for 24 hours. Lets just say it didn’t work. About thirty minutes after I turned it off, I had to turn it back on again. I was surprised that I lasted the whole thirty minutes. My phone is not just a phone to me. I am always texting people (manly my boyfriend) to see when we can hang out. I also use it to check Facebook, the weather, my schedule, my email, the news, and to play games when I am bored. Without my phone I wouldn’t know what I am supposed to do all day. I was stupid to think I could go a whole day without it.

            Many people think that it is crazy not being able to live without technology. The way I see it, it makes my life more enjoyable. I can hang out with my friends more regularly because it’s so easy to communicate with them. I don’t think anyone should feel guilty about being hooked to his or her mobile device unless they are texting while in a situation where it would be rude... such as at dinner. What do you think? Should we be concerned about technology ruling our lives or should we embrace it?

Eight Years After September 11, 2001

I was in forth grade. After getting back to the classroom from a short recess, my friends and I immediately realized that something wasn't right. Teachers were moving quickly, back and forth from each others rooms. We were given no direction on what to do next, we weren't even told to be quiet. 
Our teacher Mr. Pitera, walked in from the classroom next door. "Hey, everybody," he said, "Lets all sit in the corner and read a story." Something was definitely wrong. It was time for math and instead we were reading Green Eggs and Ham?
We didn't even finish the story when Ms. Lewis, the teacher from the classroom next door, walked in. She walked over to Mr. Pitera, had a whispered conversation with him, then left. Immediately, he put down the book and looked at us, struggling to find the right words to explain whatever needed to be said. I don't remember the words he used. 
The date was September 11, 2001.
We were sent home early that day. My mom works at a hospital in Arlington so I left with my best friend and her grandmother. Everyone was so scared. It made me scared. I tried over and over again to call my mom but she wasn't answering. 
Our teacher had told us a plane crashed into the Pentagon... my mom worked 15 minutes away from the Pentagon. All I could think about was whether or not she was alright.
Around eight years later, I asked my mom what happened in the hospital that day. She said most people were distraught and calling whoever they could to make sure their loved ones were okay.  The whole hospital started to prepare for an large amount of patients, but they hardly got any. "Why?" I asked her, "Did the survivors go to different hospitals?" "No," she said, "There were barely any survivors."
I had never really tried to understand what happened that day. I knew there was an attack and that people died, but I never knew to what extent. 
After talking to my mom and hearing her say that "there were barely any survivors," I decided to watch a documentary about the attack. I couldn't believe what I saw. I still can't. 
That day I watched the documentary was my 9/11/2001. I cried and mourned the death of the innocent people killed, I just did it eight years later.
Hearing my mom give me a short summary of what happened in the hospital that day changed me. Her version of the story opened my eyes and made me more mature. Learning different points of view of historic events is the only way to really understand what happened. I don't pretend to fully understand 9/11, but the view of a 50-year-old helped me understand so much more that the view of a nine-year-old.

A View Through Shades

June. Here in this grey, bare classroom
I stare at a baby girl in my fathers arms.
Looking proud, he wears orangerimmed sunglasses
while his baby, looking confused
wears yellowrimmed ones.


In his bright blue shirt, he sits
on a red brick wall surrounded by grass.
He holds that baby tight
for fear she might slip.
Such a change from the man he is now


But through the pride, you can see the immaturity,
the thoughts running through his mind. 
Asking how much longer. Dad, I miss you.
I miss the part of you who cared, 
but who am I to talk, I run away too?