The Ten Commandment Boogie

Yesterday I woke up early to go to church to help with Sunday school. For the past few weeks we've been teaching the kids a song and dance to perform in front of the whole church called, "The Ten Commandment Boogie." The song consists of obviously, the Ten Commandments, in a child-like translation and a simple dance. For those past few weeks us teachers and volunteers have shown the kids the motions only to have one or two of them actually try and follow along. It was pretty pitiful. Yesterday was the day of their performances in front of the church. I volunteer during first service, so I was there waiting for the kids to arrive when at first only three kids showed up. Things didn't look so good. But then another kid arrived. And then another. And a couple more. And then we had about fifteen kids, more then we ever usually have for first service. And the best part? The kids were actually doing it. As we rehearsed they all joined in and tried to sing and dance to the boogie-beat. The teacher in charge was very pleased. So were us volunteers.

Well, we were, until found out the game plan. So the teacher in charge was going to stand back in the middle isle and continue to do the dance in front of the stage facing the kids so they could follow her lead, while us volunteers were supposed to go on stage on both ends to make sure none of the kids went crazy and ran off the stage or something. This meant that we had to dance and sing too. As we were going in, a little boy looked at me and said, "Okay, I really don't want to do this." "You and me both kid," I thought. So we all went on stage, and all did it. Yes, that's right, I did the Ten Commandment Boogie in front of my whole church. (Well, those who went to first service.) The kids suddenly weren't so great at doing the boogie, but at least most of them tried. And I have to say that I did too. I could see my mom watching me as I did this, smiling. And I saw a fellow-volunteer, one who worked second service, smirking at me. So I must say that I felt somehow justified during the second service, when I sat taking pictures as I watched the second-service volunteers do the Ten Commandment Boogie along with those kids. Hypocritical? Maybe. But hey, it is a catchy song... And with that I'm going to leave you with these words:

The Ten Commandment Boogie, gonna dance until I die.... The Ten Commandment Boogie, you can do it so can I..... If you follow it through, you'll be amazed at what you do... so get your groove on with it tonight, do the Ten Commandment Boogie....

My Insomnia

Ah, sleep.... Do I get enough? I wonder sometimes. I'm a night owl, a person who would rather stay up till 1 or 2 in the morning then have to get up around 6 or 7 the next day. Sometimes both happen. This is when I wonder if I need to rethink my life. I don't fall asleep easily. I lay in bed awake, with all of my thoughts haunting me until slumber finally does find me. That's another problem with me. I think too much. Way to much. I analyze and over analyze situations that happen to me and end up paranoid. Which leads me back to my first point, I don't sleep easily. At night, I go on Facebook and talk to my friends I don't get to see often. When I am done with that I get off and go get into bed where I either listen to music or read a book with a booklight. Music can be helpful, unless the lyrics remind me of something or someone and then it's even harder to fall asleep. Books, now books, are nice. In just the right novel I can be sucked into the story and find myself thinking of nothing but what I'm reading until I put the book down to fall asleep. This leads me to yet another problem. If I'm really into a good book then I find it hard to put down. And if I don't put it down in time then the exact same thing happens as when I stay up thinking, listening to music, or talking to someone on Facebook. I don't get enough sleep. Now today, today I slept in. Till eleven. And then I took a nap in the afternoon. For several hours. It seems like I have gained some victory in the sleep department. Until tonight that is...

Disneyland Friends

Monday, I went to Disneyland with my brothers, planning on meeting some friends there. I had made it a Facebook event because it is Thanksgiving Break and I wanted to hang out with some friends there. The first person who showed up was a guy from my brother's cast in theater. He brought with him a bunch of his friends, which was cool, until we realized that he hadn't planned on hanging out with us at all. Then my good friend Katie came. That was fun, until she had to leave about an hour and a half later to go see a show with her mom. None of my other friends showed up. That wasn't too big of a deal, I mean, we rode a lot of rides, and had a genuinely good time with it being just us. But it kind of made me sad. Sad to realize that out of the 51 people I had invited (from my original group of friends, theater, and school), only 2 actually came, and out of those only 1 actually wanted to spend time with me there. I understand that there are complications with passes, and school, and etc, but it once again led me to think about my friends (or lack there of) and wonder. What needs to change? Is it me? Is it the people I spend time with? Do I just need new friends? Those questions continue to haunt me on those lonely days. I am grateful for my brothers, but a girl needs more than siblings sometimes. Then there's my friend Matt, who couldn't come due to school, but called me anyway to ask how things were going. That made my day. I need more friends like Matt.

Weekends all alone

It's been a long time since a car has pulled up for me to go hangout with friends. It is no longer the "norm". What is the "norm" now though, is me sitting at home, reading or on Facebook. Now, I've always enjoyed doing both activities, but neither can really replace actual human contact. Friends move on, change, and (what's worse), get new friends. I used to be a part of a group of friends, a group of guys who really did like me for the way I was, quiet, home-schooled, and whatever else. We used to spend all extra time together, something they had been doing for years but had made me a part of their group. Whether we went to Disneyland, the movies, the baseball park, or just to one of their houses it didn't matter. What mattered was the closeness and the good times that we used to have. I still text them, every now and then, and they still don't show any interest in us getting back together and hanging out. I feel like a temporary member, someone who has been replaced by the girlfriend of one of the guys. Now she is the one of the only girls in the group. Now she is the one who spends her time with the guys on weekends and evenings. Now I know the best thing to do in this is to move on, which I am doing, but it is very hard. Very hard because they were my people. Very hard because they were my friends. Very hard because the girl who's replaced me used to be my best friend.

Hats

For a long time I have always worn hats. Blue hats, brown hats, black hats, newsboy caps, fedoras, beanies... and so on. Hats have always been a fashion statement for me. They started out as something cute to wear, (two powdery newsies I got from my brothers after they were done using them in The Music Man when I was 13) but as I started collecting more caps and hats they become something I wore all the time. I rarely left the house without one on. Then as I got glasses around the age of 16 hats became a way to hide. I was shy throughout my early teen years, and I found that with glasses and a hat you can hide as though you are wearing a mask. Since then I have changed my point of view though, and I do not wear hats all the time. I still own some hats that I love, and I do wear them. (more often on bad hair days then not) But now I am not afraid to go around with my hair "exposed" and my face more open. I still love hats, (of course, they are amazing) but I now know how to keep them in check.

Facebook: Just a fad? or something more?

When Facebook was created several years ago, it was created for college students to get to know each other before becoming dorm-mates, and to connect with their friends who went off to other colleges. Since then Facebook has become a widely popular social network where people of all ages have joined to talk, connect, and just have fun. Millions of people from countries all over the world use it now, with the help of being able to change their Facebook to their language and timezone. Some people have said that it is just a fad, something people will get bored of and move on to something else. But I do not believe this to be true. So many people use it now, and they use it to connect with friends and relatives, people they haven't seen since childhood, or college, and etc. Let me use my mom as an example. My mom has found friends from her childhood, high school, college, and from when she was working with Youth With A Mission in Scotland! She now has reconnected with so many people she never thought she would hear from again, and is able to see how their lives are going, and is able to stay connected with her four sisters and other relatives! She is also friends with the people we know from church, and is able to let them know she is praying for them if they are down, or cheer them up, or invite them over or whatever is appropriate considering the situation. Facebook is definitely more then a fad. It is something much bigger. With it I am able to stay connected with my friends I don't get to see often, and talk to people even when I'm at home all week. Facebook is going to be around for a long time. So what are you waiting for? Get connected!

The Roundheads and the Cavilers, which would I follow?

The Roundheads were a group of men who fought against the claim of the divine right of kings. The Cavaliers were the group who fought for this divine right, because they believed that God had Himself divinely appointed a king to rule over their people. If I were to live in the time of the Roundheads and Cavaliers I would most certainly have followed the Roundheads. Although monarchies and kings are romanticized and seem wonderful to your average story-lover (like me) they weren't always the best idea for the people. Without Parliament there is nobody to stand up or speak for the people, and the king can make up rules and do whatever he wants to do without fear of punishment. This is why the Roundheads fought against such the monarchy, and why I would follow them if I was given the choice.