Lifelong Friends

 

I am making this post specifically for Dr.Kyburz. I feel like you need a little background on our friendship. 

Growing up, my brother always had his best friends over and me being an annoying little sister i'd hang around them all. His best friend Alex turned out to be Serena's older cousin but we still hadn't met yet. My mom and Alex's mom Alice were friends, and Alice introduced my mom to her now best friend Maria which was Alice's sister. Coming in to play now Serena and I were inseparable, and did everything together just like our moms. Going through school Serena was always a grade below me so we never had classes together but afterwards we would go to our moms PTA room and hang out after school while our moms worked. Looking back at it, I would like to honestly believe that these were the best moments of my life. It was so fun and so care free, and we had a blast always. 

Do you think your dog deserves a yard?

 

                                                                      My dog Brutus, August 2021

Do you think your dog deserves a yard?

Any living animal should have a certain range of area they're allowed to access to run around and get the exercise they need. I used to beg my mom for a pool in our old backyard but it was considered way too small. When we got Brutus, he loved it. Potty trained immediately, and went outside on his own to play. Any dog should be able to go outside when they want to if you have the right protections like a gate and a well trained dog. 

Since moving Brutus now only goes outside by leash and by lead in our non-gated back yard. He dreads it, he wants his yard back. At the moment we're renting so we're making best due with what we can for my baby but he wants his yard. I always hated getting him to come inside from the yard at night because he wouldn't ever come in but now I wish he had a yard and I was still having that problem. Walks, and his lead do him no justice compared to his yard.

Do you "see" our sea level rising?

Scientists boarding the D/V JOIDES Resolution off New Jersey in 1993. The sea level in an ice-free world would be 66 meters (216.5 feet) higher than now — shoulder-high to the Statue of Liberty. Credit: Kenneth G. Miller, James V. Browning, and Gregory S. Mountain.

When looking at our beautiful oceans do you realize that the picture above could become a reality? Humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions have been overheating the Earth’s atmosphere, unleashing heat waves, hurricanes, and other extreme weather that is destroying our inland. An overheated atmosphere can lead to overheated oceans which will cause the oceans to rise at an even higher rate. As oceans heat up the water rises because warm water expands causing a major melt of polar ice sheets. This is resulting in at-least 20 to 30 feet in a sea level rise. That’s enough water to put to major cornering states and coastal cities under water. 

Sea Level is rising at a dangerous pace and the rise of it rising, is rising much more. In 1990, global sea levels were rising 0.6 millimeters a year. Sometime around 1930, ocean warming really kicked in, and by 1990, the rate of sea level doubled twice reaching 3.1 millimeters a year. Today, oceans are rising 6 millimeters a year, and it will continue to accelerate. The US National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration projected in 2017 that global mean sea level could rise five to eight feet by the year 2100.

What can we do?

At this point in time, sea level rise is now inevitable.  How much sea level rise the world can expect by 2050 is quite well known. Northern Germany has even started taking precautions now to adapt to a potential sea level rise in the future by building "climate dikes". Building infrastructure with future plans in mind demands funds now, but when it saves your life in the long run it will be worth it.

Living with Stage Four Metastatic Breast Cancer

 Late June of 2020, my mom was diagnosed with stage four MBC (metastatic breast cancer). It was a few days prior to my grad party, and I had to force her to go to the ER because she had previously fell. I'm not too sure of where I was at the time but I remember just having this really big gut feeling my mom had cancer. I honestly could not tell you how I knew, but she got some other scans and blood tests done, and they ran tests for it. She came home as normal as ever. "What'd the ER say?" I asked, to which she replied "Fine! I have a few broken ribs but I'll be okay!". That was all she told me, which bothered me because I just had that feeling and I knew she was keeping something from me. 

Come my party, obviously she's in pain but it's more than broken rib pains and it's showing. I saw my uncles (her brothers) and I did feel the need to inform them about my obscure feeling. They thought I was crazy. Breast cancer runs in my family, my nana had it and she's a BC survivor but they felt like there was no way at all my mom could've gotten it. 

As of today, my mom is doing an outrageous job on battling this with ease. It seems so effortless, and painless somedays. On others though, it can catch up to her. I do my best to give her the best care she needs and I try to still let her do things independently but I like her to be accompanied most times. She shows me how to be strong, with her being the strongest person i've ever met. My mom deserves none of these health issues, but she sure as hell makes them look good.

(The picture is from her first ever chemo treatment on Oct. 7, 2020.)

Holy Hell

 While watching I couldn't help but think "holy hell" myself. There was a few scenes that I just found disturbing, and each of those scenes were of Michel (pictured above). In these scenes they were videos taken by some of the members of this cult and he would just deeply stare into the camera lens as if he had never seen one before. He would continue his conversation with whomever was filming each video but wouldn't look at them, he would stare into the camera.

Michel frightened me, he loved to be praised and it lived for it. These people fed him whatever he wanted, and he took advantage of that sexually, emotionally and spiritually but they still looked up to him as their "master". How do people lose themselves so badly, that they resolve it by praising and loving somebody other than themselves? 

Using research to write my summary on "Holy Hell" (2014) honestly would only be beneficial for dates, years, locations, and etc. After watching, getting details and such from the internet would only turn this summary into a Wikipedia page and I don't like how that sounds.

Week One

 Odd enough, after a gap year and being online it feels comforting to be back in person. I had a hand full of different classes this week and they all seem alright. I can't say much more than that until I experience more of them. Before coming back to school I worked full time at Panera, I would work 6-2's, 7-3's, 8-4's and I was miserable. I felt as if I wasn't living the life a 19 year old girl should be living. I didn't want to wake up, work, come home, eat, sleep and then do it all again anymore. It was tiring, I felt trapped. I wanted to be able to experience the things I was supposed to at this age like football games, friends, a social life, literally anything I want to do now? I can do it after class. Class is like having a job BUT I will say i'd much rather come back to school than work right now. I can work once I've gotten my degree, and found my dream job. Being back at school makes me feel as if a gigantic weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I know I won't be saying that once I get flooded with assignments and stress but I can manage. Purdue does a great job of making their students feel involved and supported. I was walking through campus to class today, and they had so much free stuff, clubs, and even free food. Sad to say, I couldn't stop for any of it because I had to get to the other side of campus within minutes but it seemed like a grand ol' time. It seems as if it's going to be a good year, and I will continue to believe that.

A Few Firsts.

 Hi! This is my first time doing this. My name is Meagan and I'm a freshman. I feel as if I should introduce myself a little more.. I am a taurus, with gemini rising and I am very stubborn. I have a very loving and energetic 1 year old puppy whose birthday is actually today! He's a Husky, Pomeranian, Dachshund mix and he is an absolute delight. I might've went a little overboard on buying him toys and such today though.... but he deserves it, even though he tried eating my Birckenstocks. I'll post a lot more about him in the future but for now here are a few pictures!!