Senior Pet Day

If you are one of the many people out there who has always desired to experience senior pet day but never had the opportunity to do so, then continue reading this post to experience it first hand.
Last Friday, my high school had senior pet day. I had looked forward to senior pet day for seven years (I still grin when I think about it!). It lived up to all my expectations.

Henry, my beautiful, handsome, smart, charming dog, was my date to senior pet day. He represented himself fabulously well; he only peed on one other dog, sniffed politely at all of my teachers, posed for adorable photos, and paid more attention than anyone else in my entire math class (he was fascinated, I believe, because he had never seen an Expo marker before). Henry even resisted the temptation of eating other dogs during math class. I can imagine the doggy thoughts running through his head as he panted and wagged his tail at the assortment of mutts, cotons, and fancy-looking scrawny lap-dogs that was my math class: "Woof. You guys are all dogs. And I am a dog. But I've eaten steaks that are bigger than you!" He heroically abstained from tasting.

Henry also conducted himself amazingly during a break period that I shared with my friends. During this period, Henry met his first-ever hamster. One friend had brought her pet hamster to school, hamster ball and all, and was introducing everyone and everyone's dog to her furry rodent friend. We squeaked "hi", and then in a stroke of genius she opened the ball to let the dogs put their noses in and sniff hello. One friend's dog gave the hamster a sniff and promptly walked away. This three-year-old dog, however, is more blissed out in social situations than either of my dogs will ever be in their lifetimes. Henry, safe to say, was not blissed out to meet the hamster. I think he thought he was being offered a serve-yourself buffet. Just in time, I cried out to my friend-- "No! Hide the hamster! Henry will eat it. It looks like a mouse, and he can eat a mouse in approximately one bite!" In a flurry of motion, the almost-dinner and almost-diner were separated, and I think that Henry is a bit bummed out that he will never know what hamster tastes like.

Henry also had a chaotic first encounter with a cat. This occurred in my Spanish class. A large conference-style wooden table is in the middle of the room, and we were all sitting around it discussing Spanish literature when I noticed Henry leaping about beneath the table. This is quite a feat, considering the fact that the space between the table and the floor is ladden with obstacles in the form of feet, gum, and table legs. Henry was still on the leash, so I gave him an amused little tug and a bit more lee way. Suddenly, Henry bounded back to the other side of the table, and I realized that he was stalking a cat! One instant later, a quivering gray cat was being smothered in love by a nervous owner. Henry began to look at me with a puzzled expression on his face--as if to say "where is my toy the cat and why did it run away?"-- but just then, another friend's dog attacked him! Henry must've landed with a paw or two on this huge dog's tail, for the dog and Henry engaged in full-on battle. Hackles rose, snarls sounded, and my friend ended up running out of the room with her dog as quickly as possible. Class was dismissed ten minutes early (a miraculous miracle caused by the dogfight), and Henry, poor thing, gave me the most mornful look with those lovely big brown eyes. Henry has never attacked anything except a chew toy in his life; the poor baby had to have his first fight on a leash halfway under the table with an irritated dog who didn't understand him.

Here is an example to help give you an idea of how friendly Henry is: A few years ago, a rabbit was trapped in our window well. My parents and I devised a contraption using boxes to help the bunny escape. Being a Labrador, Henry is a natural hunter. So he approached the escaping bunny and easily caught it in his mouth. Instead of killing it, Henry took the poor guy on a joy ride through the yard for half an hour, carefully carrying it so that it could admire his entire territory. Henry, therefore, would never start a fight.

But throughout the entire day, he did fantastic. I could not be more proud of my darling dog. I love you, Henry. Thanks for the best senior pet day ever! <3

Songs!

Here are a few songs that help get your energy up/ concentrate all that nervous energy into something that projects a semblance of control:

"Blackout", by Breathe Carolina
"Breakaway", by Kelly Clarkson
"A Thousand Miles", by Vanessa Carlton
"Homeless", by Ed Sheeran
"Imaginary", by Evanescence
"Hopeless Wanderer", by Mumford and Sons
"Sister, Mother", by Sixpence None the Richer
"Feel Again", by OneRepublic

Enjoy!

Why X-Ray Vision is Overrated

Superpowers come in all shapes and sizes. We have X-ray vision, telekinesis, telepathy, and immortality. Some of us can fly, some of us have bendable arms and invisible powers, and some of us (including yours truly) have the infallible, uncanny ability to always discover new knots in our hair. I know that you have a superpower, too. I do not have a problem with that; in fact, I commend you for it! I do have a problem with our fascination with having the superpower dubbed "X-Ray Vision". 

Problem 1: X-Ray Vision, contrary to popular belief, would not be as interesting as everyone thinks. It's a misnomer. Do you want to see in X-Rays? Most likely, you do not; you want what should be called The Power to See Through Things/Long Distances. 

Problem 2: We all say that we want to see through things. Perhaps this is due to the societal value that we place on being able to "see through the BS" or the lies or someone's demeanor to understand what they are really communicating. And don't get me wrong; being able to cut through the crap is possibly one of the most valuable skills in the world. But ask yourself this question: do you want to see through things, or do you want to see past them? 

When we skim through pages, breeze through life, and rush through the motions of perfunctory tasks, we get things done--at the cost of not noticing so many important things out there. When we look through things, or people, or ideas, or obstacles, we sacrifice the knowledge, experience, and awareness that we would have gained by taking the time to actually see what was going on. If you are merciless with a peer who is getting on your nerves--if you decide to see through him or her--in the hopes of driving home the fact that, to you, he or she does not exist, any potential for improvement in your relationship vanishes along with the original "problem".

How powerful would it be if we had the superpower to see past obstacles, into the future of potential and realization and aspiration? If we focused on seeing everything--including the things farthest away? How many things would we do differently? How many changes would we be encouraged to make? 

I believe in having not X-Ray Vision but in having Vision. In many religions--and even in everyday idioms--seeing is associated with believing and understanding (ie "You see?"= "You understand?"). If we can see possibilities and possible outcomes, then we immediately enable ourselves to believe that those outcomes can exist--or will exist. All that's left, then, is to make it happen.

So maybe try out ditching the X-Ray Vision for real Vision. Who knows what you will find!

My Life Philosophy

Shatter Me Passage

This is one of the most beautiful passages in a book that I have read in a long time. It's an excerpt from a book called Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. I have not yet finished the novel, but I highly recommend it, especially if you like the following passage. 

In my English class, we are in the middle of reading To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf--and in my opinion, the quality of description is equally interesting, engaging, and unique. The narrator is describing rain. Enjoy.

[I] Feel my breath fog up the glass. Close my eyes to the sound of a soft pitter-patter rushing through the wind. Raindrops are my only reminder that clouds have a heartbeat. That I have one, too.

I always wonder about raindrops.

I wonder about how they’re always falling down, tripping over their own feet, breaking their legs and forgetting their parachutes as they tumble right out of the sky toward an uncertain end. It’s like someone is emptying their pockets over the earth and doesn’t seem to care where the contents fall, doesn’t seem to care that the raindrops burst when they hit the ground, that they shatter when they fall to the floor, that people curse the days the drops dare to tap on their doors.

I am a raindrop.

My parents emptied their pockets of me and left me to evaporate on a concrete slab.

--Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi

A Little Riddle For You

Can you decipher the meaning of these letters?

I  C  D  B.  D  B  S  A  B  Z  Y.   U  C  D  B  Z  B  2 ?

Movie List

To help counteract the possible monotony/lack of general flair and enthusiasm that tend to accompany the post-holiday season, check out this list of movies and see if any suit your fancy. Here are a few of the best movies released at the end of last year, in case you missed any!