Holiday Cheer

Allie, a seventeen year old girl with Down syndrome.

They say the holidays are a time for giving, and I definitely agree! This year I did a project called UAID. This was for kids with disabilities and special needs who live in institutions. They, along with their caregivers, fill out a slip with what they need and a couple things that they would like. The person we chose was named Allie and she has Down syndrome, the same thing my little brother has. She is 17 years old, but her intellectual age is 6. The difference between an age and an intellectual age is that your age is how long you have been on the Earth; an intellectual age is how old your mind is. It pertains to how you can function in society and how developed you are.

The crazy thing about this was that when I looked at what she wanted for Christmas, I was blown away. She needed socks, underwear, a shirt, a coat, a hat, gloves, sweatpants, and a hygiene kit. The only things that didn't seem necessary to her life were a One Direction CD and the Frozen DVD. It was incredible that their lists were filled with what we look at as the bare necessities. They needed what we take completely for granted. While I have a closet full of clothes, she just needed something different to wear.

To get her gifts, we drove to Walmart. It was awesome! It was super fun to go through the store to find stuff for her. We made sure that the coat, hat, and gloves would look good together, got clothes that were in bright colors, and even got one extra thing. When we were walking over to find the One Direction CD, we saw Frozen blankets. We couldn't hold back and got her the one with just Elsa. The reason it sounds like we almost didn't get wasn't because we didn't want to spend the money or something, but because, in the institution, they can get jealous. They share things like DVDs and CDs, but if one person gets the child they picked too many special, personal gifts, they others can get jealous. We decided to get it, because if she needed clothes and socks, she probably needs a nicer blanket too.

All in all, this was an amazing experience! There are so many different organizations and projects that people can donate to, and I recommend you do. It is so worth the happy feeling you get when you know that your presents really will be loved and that someone will be thankful for the hour and a half you spent running around a store for them. In conclusion, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and happy holidays!!!

The Fine Line Between the Imaginative and the Insane

Image courtesy of Lancaster Schools

Welcome to the world of THEE-AH-TAH. Ok Natalie, no need to be overdramatic. Theatre, an art form, form of expression, and expression of imagination. It can also be the fine line between the imaginative and the insane.

Actors are always just a touch crazy. Isn't everyone though? We just choose to show it a little bit more.....okay, a lot more! The stage is a way to slip out of your skin and into someone else's. I'm here to explain just why I love acting so very much.

First of all, character. Everyone has insecurities and everyone has flaws that only they see. I'm no different. Yet when I'm a character, I don't have to be me. I know it sounds a little weird right now, but give me a second. When you are developing a new character, YOU get to create them. YOU get to write their backstory, YOU get to shape their personality, and YOU get to shape them. You have no choice in who you are, but you do have a choice in who your character is. You just don't have to be you for a little while, and that's fun.

Image courtesy of Scholastic

Secondly, expression. In the real world, people expect you to conform to certain social standards. Let me just say it, THAT STINKS. If you do something out of the ordinary in life, you are classified as weird. If you start experimenting with a script or a character on the stage though, you can really do whatever. If you skip on stage instead of walk, that's innovative. If you make your lines very overdramatic, you are creative. There's just this sense that you can pop the bubble and explore without people judging what you do.

Theatre is something you use to take yourself away from your reality and put yourself into someone else's life. It's a cool and exciting way to recognize the normal, the status quo, and then break it.

My Little Bro

C.J. showing off some of his artwork.

As some of you may know, I have a little brother. His name is Christopher James, or C.J. for short. He is eleven years old, and he has Down syndrome. Down syndrome is an affliction where someone has an extra chromosome. This results in a bit of a slower learning pace and a little slower development. It may be thought of as a disability, but I've never really thought of it in that way. Having C.J. as my little brother has actually been incredible in so many ways.

Image courtesy of Calm Down Gifts

Here's a little background on him. He's had eleven surgeries. Yes, you read it right, eleven. One on his heart, one on his tonsils, and nine on his ears. He is a trooper! He always bonds with the nurses and doctors and is way more brave than I could ever be.

At his first surgery.

A later surgery.

He went to the PC CoOp for preschool, to McPolin for first through fourth grade, to Trailside for fifth, and now he's at Ecker! I still can't believe he's in middle school. He's growing up too fast! He knows everyone in his grade, and whenever I see someone from school I'm usually asked, "Wait, are you C.J.'s sister?" I'm very proud to say yes every time. He's hilarious, crazy, and always happy. No matter if it's Monday morning getting ready for school, leaving for a trip at five in the morning, or at dinner, he's always super excited.

One thing a lot of people have asked me is, "Is it hard living with a special needs brother?" It really isn't. It's way more of a blessing than a curse. Even if I'm having the worst day of my life, he can make me laugh. If I have something wrong he will put all of his troubles aside to help me. He is an amazing role model to me. He's shown me how to laugh so hard I can't breath, to dance even when people are staring, how to dream the biggest possible, and especially how to live every day to the fullest. C.J. is an incredible kid who will never stop loving anyone, no matter what they do. I love you C.J.!!!!

My Happily Ever After

Image courtesy of SFist

Fairy tales usually start with, "Once upon a time..." and end with, "And they lived happily every after." Sadly, in this world, it isn't that easy. You can just lose a shoe or have your evil stepmother send you out into the woods. I also find it unfortunate that their are no fairy godmothers. A blog called The Happily Ever After Project is about a woman finding her happily ever after, one step at a time. It has helped me realize that maybe my happily ever after doesn't have to include riding of into the sunset on the back of Prince Charming's horse. Maybe it can just be anything that makes me happy. After all, this is MY happily ever after.

Step One: Get into a good college.
This is where my nerdiness just explodes. *boom* *pow* *pew* My dream college is Stanford. It has a beautiful campus, amazing professors, and is just awesome in general. For my undergrad I would probably major in biology, and then I would go through medical school to become a family and general pediatrician. I love kids and science and it would be an amazing profession!

Step Two: Graduate.
Assuming that I actually make it through the years and years of medical school without being crushed by stress, teachers, and my fellow students,

Image courtesy of Toonsup

I will graduate. If I start college when I am 18 then I will graduate at about twenty-six years of age (wow, I'll be old). After this I have to do about three years of scrambling for internships where I can gain more knowledge and the credibility to actually be a full-fledged pediatrician.

Step Three: Find that special someone.
ALERT ALERT EXTREME TEENAGE GIRLINESS AHEAD, ALL SHOULD BE WARNED
Now we get into the stuff about, you guessed it, boys *cue tiny girlish screams*. After all of this work, I will want to settle down. I don't know who, where, when, or why it will be, but I hope I will be the happiest possible. I definitely want kids, two at least. I really wouldn't only want to have one child, having siblings is actually not all bad. I should know, I have a little brother and little sister. If you can get past the constant torment of their very existence, you can realize that life could be a little boring without them.

Step Four: Live to a ripe old age.
Now I shall live up to my goal of skydiving at age one-hundred. Let's go!

I hope you enjoyed this little walk through my happily ever after.

Locks of Love

Some people still haven't seen my new haircut, so I thought I would tell you about it here. I got it on July 6th and I donated 11 inches of my VERY long hair to an organization called "Locks of Love." It is an organization where people donate their hair to make wigs for kids with cancer who need them. You need to donate at least 10 inches, but I promise it isn't as long as you think it will be. It was my third time doing it, and I think it's a great thing to do. So, if you have the hair, please think about donating!

                                                                                          

All the Little Things

Image courtesy of Broadsword Solutions Corporation

People are always saying that we need to step back for a second and take a look at the "big picture." I agree with that. I do think that the way we understand a problem or question is to first take a look at everything before we zero in on the little details. But, isn't it the little things that make us remember? With such a huge world around us, there need to be little things unique to each living, and non-living, thing. These points of uniqueness are all the little things that make things special to us.

Just think about it, you're walking home from a friends house for the first time, and you need to remember where to turn off to get to her/his neighborhood. Personally, I won't remember the street name, so what I look for instead is some sort of cool or unique landmark. I will look for a huge oak tree, or a rose bush, just something unique to that, and only that, place. Street signs all look the same to me. Little rectangles on poles with writing. But if you can find something that stands out in the landscape, that is the thing that will stick in my mind.

You can also use these little things to remember people. "Greg's the one with the little curly mustache right....Cynthia, you know, the redhead....Oh yeah, Dylan is the one who has a limp....." The small features and attributes make you remember. You can either try to remember every single detail of a person's entire face, or look at a couple little things that are specific to just them. Some examples are a mole, a really high or low pitched voice, a way of walking, anything really. Even though they are all just tiny little things compared to the "big picture," they are the things that seem to help us remember.

No matter what they are, the big fern by your friends house, the mole on someone's upper left cheek, or even the way your crushes smile is just a little bit crooked, they all have one thing in common. They are all the little things that cause us to remember.

What's Your Favorite Sport?

As some of you may know, I LOVE to swim! It's my favorite sport. During the last school year, I swam with PCS. During the summer, I swam with the MARC. But on Monday (Sept. 8) I am trying out for the PCS Imagination team so that I can do the musical in November, then after that I am going to try out for the High School team!!!!! Comment your favorite sport below, and if you don't have one, then just comment your favorite thing to do :).

My (fabulous) tan lines

GO PACKERS!!!!!

As with the coming of every fall, it's football season! My family's personal favorite team is...wait for it...the Green Bay Packers!!!!

Hello everybody!

Hey everyone! Welcome to my new blog :D. Super excited to post, at first it may be a little random....but I promise that, eventually, I will settle on a couple of topics. Comment blog urls please so that I can check yours out! Also comment topics you would want me to post...I'm open to anything and everything.