Letter to a soldier

I wrote a letter today to USO and this is what it said ...


To whomever reads this,

It is a great service that you are doing for me and this country. I'm not very good at writing letters...so here's a poem.

Off to war you go, not really knowing what will come ahead.
Gambling your lives and knowing you could come home dead.

Leaving a war behind, the battle of your lives, family and friends.
Being social, fitting in and maybe even following all the trends.

Now wearing matching clothes, representing respect and more.
Children looking to you, you men and women are who they adore.

Punched out like coins, all shiny and new...full of something.
This something is value, and it's worth more than a gold ring.

Of course, unless that gold ring is for your forever loved spouse.
Loud like a lion, you'll roar. Swift and quick like a little mouse.

But nothing is little about a soldier, the people we look up to.
For courage, strength, knowledge. Because you're really coo' (cool).

Most of all, you bring us hope. Hope for change in all man-kind.
I hope you make changes, and happiness I pray you will find.

Sincerely (a strange 18-year old girl),

Emily Long

I'll soon, through collaboration of my school, be showing this oppurtunity to the students in Fowler. I want this to go from Preschool all the way through the senior class. I also want to get a hold of the Fowler Tribune to hopefully have more people write the soldiers letters. If you want to write them a letter go to one of these links.

http://action.uso.org/action/message-of-thanks?sc=OM_MSN-P_Support12-S_Thankyou-E-mail=how%20to%20email%20soldier_thank&page=FB5&donate=WW11VLP291

http://amillionthanks.org/send-letter-guidelines-get-started.php

BEGIN SOMETHING NEW TODAY.

Motivation

Where does motivation originate? Better yet...where does it strive? My whole life has been built off of motivation. Motivation to get out of bed, one more time. Motivation to walk to school, one more day. Motivation to get up, after falling too far. Motivation to live, just one more hour. This motivation may be difficult to start, but once you start...it seems like everything else falls into place. Going to school, especially on the days you didn't want to, led me to a two months before graduating. Getting out of bed helped me to meet people I will remember forever. Getting up, after strife, built courage, strength and respect. Living just one hour led to another hour, leading to a day...a week...a year, and finally today. It all led to me writing this post, the motivation to say something. Knowing that maybe I won't be heard, or understood. The point is, have the motivation...the courage...the desire to do more. We live in a life of adults and peers that tell us we can't.  What would have happened if Walt Disney listened to people who told him he couldn't? What about Albert Einstein, George Washington, or even Martin Luther King, Jr.? Every man and woman that gave up, could have been used for the progression of mankind. The people who had the motivation and courage to fulfill their dreams, those are the people history remembers. Those are the people kids learn about in school, admire and hope to become.

Dare to dream! To live! To be! Begin a new life, the life you want to live. Take that chance with that crush, the job you want, the life you want to live. Go somewhere new, dream, and be that. Count your blessings, thank your parents and friends for being with you through thick and thin. You can make your life amazing, without even living...if you just see it through new eyes. Open your eyes to the innocent, to happiness and love. Help those who need it, or just live life how you want. If you bring goodness into the world, the world will bring goodness back to you. Just remember that every life has a lesson to learn, the easy way...or the hard way. Terrible things happen so that we can learn a lesson, or learn to cope. Learn to let things go and forgive. Throw away all your blame...and just learn that everything happens for a reason. Give life a good reason to remember you, and begin something new.

BEGIN SOMETHING NEW TODAY.

Goodbye Dad

Mankind may have fallen from the transgression of Adam...but we aren't judged because of his transgression. I have fallen because of my father shoving me to the ground in the past, but I'm ending with a kind word. I will be the better person, because he forgot how to. I will not be judged for what he has done. I will not fall, because he has fallen. I will not judge him for what he has done. I will love him, for as long as I live. I will forgive him always. Sadly, I will never trust him again...and I will not have him part of my life, because he has poisoned my mind for too long.

Three days...what would you do, if you knew you would say goodbye to one of your parents in three days? (Not three days from now, but only three days of seeing them). All I can think about, is my blanket and teddy bear. Those two items are the last two things, that I care about anymore. The bear has my countless tears, wasted over my dad, and the blanket was a something my mom and  I had made together.

It may be a goodbye, for now, but maybe someday...we'll fix things again. I love him, but things are too personal and up-close. I'm his child, but I'm not his property. I'm his daughter, but that doesn't give him right to have hurt me all those years. Despite all that, I still love him. When I'll leave, I know I'll leave with a broken heart. If he reads this, which I hope he does, I know he will use these words against me (somehow, someway), as he always has.

As this chapter comes to a close, another one will begin. Exciting, will the world be as it unfolds just for me. Every sun will rise, and set, for me. Every breath will be remembered. I'll let things go, so I will be able to pick up something worth holding onto. I just wish he could have been that something worth holding onto, maybe someday he will...and maybe someday I will marry a man that will look me in the eyes and say "I love you Emily". I pray that I will feel that love, as he says those words and even when he doesn't. Most of all, I pray that he will love me just the way I am.

BEGIN SOMETHING NEW TODAY.

100 Views!!!

Never did I think that anyone would want to read my blog, let alone...get 100 views! This is a post for those who take the time to ACTUALLY read my blog. It's not for if you like it or not (of course). If you do, that's even more great. This just goes to show, that something small can be started, and maybe it will become something amazing.

Here is my challenge to you, begin something new today. I put it at the end of every post, but I seriously want you to start something new. It could be a blog, getting a new friend, calling someone that you haven't in a while, or even going on a blind date. The point to this mission is to open your eyes to the possibility of life. I'm definitely not promoting negativity, by trying anything negative; such as drugs and alcohol. Keep it on the positive side, because when you start a positive, it just keeps coming...if you let it!

BEGIN SOMETHING NEW TODAY.

Life is a stage...

How true the statement rings; "life is a stage, we are all merely actors." If you take life from this viewpoint...it makes everything seem more fascinating. Everyone knowing what they have to say, so perfectly. It's as if you're the star, but at the same time...you're the audience as well. The impromptu of life, how interesting to think of it in that way. We all grow so accustomed to the roles we have written for ourselves, that we grow to lose a hold of who our character really is. How easy is it to tell someone something, that could be entirely false, just to see their reaction? Maybe it's because you know what words to say to get certain reactions. It's a terrible gift to know what to say and how to say it. It's easy for me to break someone down to the core, in just one sentence. Of course, the sentence is different depending on what person I'm talking to. Each person has buttons, and I'm merely the observer.

Playing part, after part...you come to gain an understanding of who is real and who is acting. Sad thing about life is this, there are a lot of fakers. The thing is, you can see it as black and white but why not gray? An actress, am I? Real, are you? Is it good to be real or fake? We live in a society that craves fake. Fake food, advertisement, people, clothes, beauty, and so much more. So how is it a bad thing to just flow with the river? Go the path that is already set out for you? Or should you go the path that is unknown...get caught in a bush, or maybe run into a tree! Find something new, like a branch in the shape of a question mark. The path not taken isn't an easy path to live by, but it will give you rewards that are not valuable to the human eye. Or, would you rather take the path, where you know exactly where you're going, and everything is so perfectly planned, orderly, and you know where your life will turn out. Sure, there are many situations that you won't be able to foresee, but the basic plan will come true. Go to college, marry a boy, have kids...bumps? Flunk college, get a divorce, and lose custody. I'm not saying this to scare you. JUST TAKE A CHANCE. Breathe some air, and if you're tired of yourself...then be someone new today. You have permission to do so, it's not bad or good...it just is!

BEGIN SOMETHING NEW TODAY.

Stranger Boy

Spent my day with a stranger. Looked in his glasses, and my whole life reflected in them...because all I could see was me. It's great to just scream the Wizard of Oz theme song and skip around town, or watch the sunset together...or even falling asleep to an epic movie. I can see why girls do that...but I want to find satisfaction in myself without someone, before throwing myself into a boy's arms. No kisses happened...only hugs...but still. There's something to be said about a girl that can't find peace in herself, unless she's staring into another boy's eyes. When I looked at him, I saw all the men who betrayed me before: my dad, Jacinto, and so many more. So I would hug him, and shut my eyes, trying not to let that all in...not to let it cloud who he is.

It was so exciting to not be the freak for once, or maybe just to be liked for who I am. To be crazy, and love it. Most of all, to not be made fun of. We were similar in the aspect that we are both disliked, because we're so strange. I thank him though, because instead of worrying about my future, I let that all go so I could get to know him; just to spend a day with him. Quirky, and strange as it was...I'm not sure if I want to let that go. Am I dumb for wanting that everyday, or smart for understanding that it's important to concentrate on what's going on for my future's sake. There are wounds that I know aren't yet gone...and I'm teary-eyed now, thinking about all of them. Some of them are tears of sadness, because I'm so broken. Some of them are tears of joy, because I ignored my problems, even if it was just for a day.


BEGIN SOMETHING NEW TODAY.

Peace

People could go their entire lives confusing peace and happiness. Then again...they get confused on what peace really is. What is peace? Is it a world where it's still, because there isn't war and anger? A home without yelling, or contention? A quiet room with no one around, and even your heart beat can be heard? I don't think any of these things can truly bring peace, and maybe this doesn't ring true at all...and maybe even happiness is really at the bottom of a wine bottle, but I will account of things that I think I know. Yes, silence can bring peace, in a way. As a sunset can bring smiles, and peace of mind. To me, true peace lays in the mind. It's the day when you can feel that you have won the war over yourself. When you know that you love, and not only tolerate...but appreciate yourself. There's a sweet and tender bliss that comes with the acknowledgment that you mean something, and this something is greater than you can even comprehend. The reason why you mean so much, is because you're a being, created through great purpose, with the capability of divine thought,. We live in a wasteful world, that teaches us to hate, and to dread each day. Why does it have to be this way? Why is it popular to be miserable? I've often wondered this, because I don't even understand the phrase "misery loves company". Because, I don't like people being miserable with me. Yes, I get angry, and yell at people...but when I'm truly in a state, where my heart is broken beyond repair, it's then when I want to be alone, because I understand it's something that shouldn't be shared. Anger wins my heart, each and every day...and I'm finally admitting to that, and I'm frantically searching for a change. A change of heart, so that one day I'll maybe live in happiness, through peace. Peace of mind, peace of heart, and the understanding that today new...and open for change.

BEGIN SOMETHING NEW TODAY.