*Another Old Blog - When I read this I realize just how far my writing has come*

Misinterpretations

Today, at this moment, I am supposed to be writing for the school newspaper or doing something newsy. However, since life around the school remains the same, and the newspaper only comes out once a month, I cannot think of an article that will not get old. So I have decided to write upon the topic of BLOGS.

Today's technology has enabled various websites to provide the opportunity for people of any age, race, or gender to post a blog, a comment about what life is like, a shout out to friends, or random facts that a person feels they must share.

A blog can be used as a personal daily journal. In this case a blog should be protected so that only select people can read it.

Some people will disagree with that last statement, however, how many people want the world to know every detail about their personal life? Even closest friends do not need to know absolutely everything about each other.

Blogs can also be used to send a message to a friend, something that one would like to thank them for, apologize for or perhaps point out to them.

In the latter situation, a blog is the cowards approach. It is true that some people cannot speak quite as well as they can write; posting a blog, regardless of how nicely put the situation is, is not always the best way out of a situation.

A blog does not demonstrate facial expressions, voice inflections, or body language. These are all very important additions to verbal communication that are missing when communicating through writing.

Blogs help develop a person as a writer. A person who wants to become a writer should pay special attention to their writing style, and posting a blog is an easy and convenient way to practice their skills.

Life is confusing at times, and writing is an excelent method of venting, so long as it is not the only vent that a person uses.

It is easier for anyone to write what they think vs. say what they think. In situations where this is felt, make a list of what needs to be said. It may seem a bit weird or intimidating to be confronted by someone with a list in hand, however, public speakers do this, so why should every day people, when discussing important relationship issues, be unprepared?

In theory blogs are an excellent idea, however when used unfairly they can become hurtful. Use discretion when posting as well as reading a blog. Become aware of the fact that not everyone will understand what you actually meant to say. Who knows, even this blog may be misinterpreted.

*Another Old Blog*

A Pleasant Surprise and So Thankful

Tonight, January 31st, eight of my friends, well seven at first but eight by the end of the night, showed up at my door complete with ballons, cake, chips, birthday gifts and big smiles. I have never been so surprised/excited in my entire life. I was completely overwhelmed by the friendship and love that I recieved tonight, it reminded me that friends should always be cherished and never taken for granted and that they will probably surprise you at the most random times....like when you are playing a game of Dutch Blitz with your sister who set up the game as a distraction! The following is a note to each and every one of you, in no particular order.

Kimberly - I only just got to know you last year, but I will be forever grateful that I did gain the opportunity. You are a brilliant and vibrant woman and because of your determination and faith, God will take you great places

Karen - You have to be one of the most non-judgemental people I know. To be able to not judge people is a command from God that only a few are able to obey. Especially in the last year, you have opened yourself up and I have really began to see who you are, and why you are such a great friend

Amanda - What would I do without you? When French class ended and we had to go to Biology and Nicole and Elise didn't I will forever be grateful to you for attempting to make Biology sound just as fun as spare. You are hillarious and I love the fact that quite often, it doesn't matter what other people think, you are able to be free to be yourself. I love you

Rachel - You too are an amazing friend. This last year has been great getting to know you a lot better, between camping and all your quirky behaviours and your not-so-well known love for Amish Fiction, I don't think life at Durham would be the same without you.

Laura - First I would like to say that I am so glad you are back at Durham, although a little dissappointed that you are not on my bus. You will however, always be my bus buddie and Biology Buddie, nothing will replace our great times in Biology, between finding the most creative way to write the word Biology (we always knew Biology could be fun) to just having good heart to heart chats with you, I am forever greatful to know you. You are already in my wedding party

Anna - Life isn't always easy, but with both the support of friends and God, you have shown determination and success in your ability to overcome hardship. You have taught me so many life lessons about selfless love and continual care for one another. You have also taught be a lot about just having fun. Dan McCarnie is mine, and you will forever be my greasy librarian.

Elise - There is no doubt that we have had some hard times. And yet, you are, aside from Janelle I guess, my oldest friend. I cherish all the times we have together, everytime we laugh, everytime we are able to just talk, and each time we have cried. I wouldn't give up our friendship for anything, and despite what other people may think, come University, I don't want to just move on, I believe that like much of the couples club, we will know eachother through high school, through University, through marriage, and children. You are an amazing friend, and I wouldn't change anything about you for the the world

Nicole - The second you asked me "are you Kristin Feddema?" in grade nine I knew we would be friends. I am so glad that God brought the two of us together. Apparently we look alike and our laughs are the same, but most importantly I think we are two individuals who, through different circumstances compliment eachother beautifully. You have taught me a lot about letting things go and forgiveness. You are a beautiful person and I love you to pieces

*Another Old Blog*

Three Years and Madly in Love

Tonight I celebrated my third year anniversary with my boyfriend, Josh. It was great. He arrived at my house at 5:00 with a large bouquet of roses. For those of you who missed that, that is right, he picked me up and he opened and closed my door everytime we got in and out of the car, without me asking or giving him that expectant look. We started the night by having a romantic candlelit dinner at his house. He even bought a rose and spread petals over our table. We then proceeded to a abandoned road, where we had a view of the town lights, I was thinking....oh great making out is his idea of planning the "perfect" date....but I underestimated him, he actually drove me way out onto the the top of that hill so that we could dance in the moonlight because I am too young to go to bars/clubs and dance. It was a little bit cold and we ended up swaying in the car more than dancing in the moonlight, but none the less, it was great. We then proceeded to Einsteins, where we ordered a sprite. Yes that is right we did end up going to a bar, to hear a live band, which was no good by the way, but we sat there and drank sprite because he was driving and I don't drink. That was one of the most commical moments of the evening. After that we hung out at Tim Hortons and then he took me home, where he brought me to the door and kissed me goodnight, it was beautiful. Nothing extravagant but none the less beautiful. Oh and one last thing, even though he despises country and hates Josh Gracin, he scoured all the surounding areas and found me the CD...I am so excited. All in all it was a great night, simple and perfect. What more can I say than.....I am in love

*Another Old Blog - lol this one was emotional for me*

Somerled's Death!

I just don't understand how she could just kill Somerled. For those of you reading this, you will never understand who Somerled is unless you read the novel I am currently reading. I had to stop reading and take a break because the latest event has really upset me. I actually turned to the back of the book and read the last paragraph on the novel to check to see if she really did kill Somerled and she did...she being the author! Just when you believe you have found redemption in a novel or perhaps true devoted and redemptive love, the character who has demonstrated these honorable and wonderful characteristics is killed off by the author by some horrible act of injustice. I am really upset. I do not understand why, out of everyone in the novel she would kill Somerled, yes you may be thinking that I have issues and need to stop reading and getting so involved in the lives of my characters, but really if you were reading this novel I think you would be just as upset. I mean I could deal with Davina not wanting to marry him, or her father refusing to allow them to marry, but Somerled's death caused by vengence from Davina's Brothers that Davina did not desire in the first place? It's horrible. I am really upset.

*Another Old Blog*

The Issue of Hate and Forgiveness

Lately I find myself pondering but one simple question, is hate too strong a word. I have struggled for the past year and still am struggling with the selfishness of people, including myself. I don't understand how a person can be so devoted to God and yet not think about Him until that moment of praise and worship. Can someone hurt (emotionally) another person so often that, over time, the only emotion that the person being hurt can feel towards the abuser is hate? Sadly, this is a personal question, one that I am struggling with. I have never really had a problem with the concept of forgiveness and have always, with God's divine intervention, been able to forgive those who have deeply hurt me, however, this time it seems like I cannot force myself to offer forgiveness, this is something bigger, something that may need a little more time. Time that translates into selfishness. If God is able to forgive each and every one of us, why shouldn't I be able to forgive another human being?

*More Old Blogs*

The Genious of Kimberly Mann

So I found this piece of paper the other day and it had something very sspecial composed upon it that a good friend and I created.

This blog is dedicated to the genious of Kimberly Mann.

Kim's Knight in mid-kick
Did switch his fight this night
Kristin's night with his might
Did hit him with his stick

So to be completely honest I don't understand the second line anymore, but I know that we thought this was a good poem when it was created. So I just thought I would share it with everyone.

*The following are some older blogs that I posted on Myspace. I am in the process of getting rid of my myspace account but didn't want to lose all my blogs.*

Something I just read bothered me to the point of having to write. What does it mean to be Canadian? Is it the following things?

Canadian
[] You play hockey
[x] You love beer
[x] You say eh
[x] You don't believe war is the answer
[x] You know what poutine is
[x] You speak some french
[x] You love Tim Horton's
[ ] At one point you lived in a cabin
[x] You have gotten high [[cuz I totally am right now!]]
Total = 7

It doesn't matter who the person was that I read this from, what matters is that doing drugs is aparently something someone thought was truly Canadian. In reality, ask anyone of intelligence, it is something that is truly stupid.

We are the mothers and fathers of the future generation of our country. So I ask all of you, is that the kind of world you want your children to grow up in? I know it's not my ideal world, for me or my children in the future. So what do we do about it? For starters, we quick condoning this action and speak out.

For those of you who don't know, condone is an amazing word and speaks directly to our generation. To condone is to disregard or overlook; to give tactic approval of; to remain silent.

So here I am, speaking out. I will no longer be silent to the dangers and stupidity of drugs. I do not approve, and I certainly do not think that the use of drugs should or will characterize the future generation of Canadians, even if it did so stupidly take hold of our own.

I have officially learned my lesson. Worry just as much about your own paper as you do about other colleagues papers. You cannot be so nice that you neglect your own writing. I just received an assignment back that I did poorly on, but the papers that I edited of my colleagues received great grades. This will forever go down in history as the most disappointing day of my academic career.

As I was browsing myspace I came across a Bulletin that was interesting and timely in terms of the Bible Study that I went to yesterday. We discussed how our life on earth is only a temporary assignment from God and that our real home is in Heaven. With that in mind, as a group we discussed how we should live our lives on earth in terms of materialism. Luke 14:1 Jesus explains the cost of being a disciple. Here are a few verses,

"[S]uppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." Luke 14: 31-33

I believe that Jesus understood what it would mean for humans to give up everything they had. A king who realizes that he must surrender even before he goes to war has made a difficult but wise decision. To surrender for a national leader is like admitting to inadequacy. Realizing that all of our worldly possessions are unnecessary and choosing to live a life where we depend on God to supply our needs is difficult in today's world. Here is the bulletin that inspired this blog - the answers are mine

[x] You have a boyfriend/girlfriend.
[x] You have your own room.
[ ]You own a cell phone.
[ ] You have an mp3 player or ipod.
[x] Your parents are still married.
[x] You love your family.
[x] There is a pool/spa in your backyard.
T 0 T A L: 5

[x] You dress the way you want to.
[x] You hang out with friends more than once a week.
[x] There is a computer/ laptop in your room.
[x] You havent been beaten up
[x] You are allowed to listen to the music you want to.
[x] Your room is big enough for you
[x]People don't use you for something you have.
[x] You have been to the movies.
T 0 T A L: 8

[ ] You have over 500 friends on myspace
[x] You have A picture on myspace.
[x] Your parents let you have a myspace
[ ] You get allowance/loan.
[ ] You collect something normal
[x] You look forward to going to college
[ ] You don't wish you were someone else.
[ ] You play a sport.
[ ] You do something after school
T 0 T A L: 3

[ ] You own a car/truck.
[x] You usually don't fight with your parent(s).
[ ] You are happy with your appearance
[x] You have never got a failing grade on a report card in your life
[x] You have friends.
T 0 T A L: 3

[x] you know what is going on in the world.
[x] you are happy with your life
[x] You usually aren't sick.
[ ]You know more than one language
[x] You have a screen name.
[x] You own a pet.
[x] You know the words to more than 5 songs.
[x] You don't have any enemies
[x] You are happy where you're living.
T O T A L: 8

Total over all: 27 then times it by 3 = 81

101%+: A+
100-90%: A
89-76%: B
75-69%: C
67-60%: D
59-00%: F

This bulletin encourages materialism. If you do not have many of the material things listen in a few of the sections (cell phone, mp3 player, pool or spa, own bedroom, clothing, pets and vehicles - to name just a few) you will "fail" this test, meaning that your life is not complete.

By actively studying the media, messages like these, which are not clearly visible to most people, stick out like a live flower in a field of dead grass. I believe that God has placed me in GH to study media not only because I love to write and I want to understand better what goes on in the world, but also to be that ambassador to people who don't necessarily recognize the way that evil sneaks into our lives on a daily basis.

Too many Christians today don't realize the message that bulletin's like these are giving. Yes, they are all fun and games, but they are also detrimental to our spiritual health. I would encourage every Christian to pay closer attention to these subtle media messages so that they may be aware of how easily evil thoughts and desires can appear in their lives.

"When HE is at work in the north, I do not see him; when HE turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of HIM. But HE knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold...I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread." (Job 23: 9-10, 12)

What is love? There is a fine line between seriously dating and seriously loving. To love is to want to be with a person every moment of every day, whether you are sick and lounging on the couch or having a romantic picnic in the park. Love is to want the best for a person and being as nervous about a job interview as the actual interviewee. Love is understanding each other's wants, needs, and minds. Love is knowing someone so well that you can sit in silence and continue to understand eachother. Love is understanding that a passionate love afair with God comes first - far above an earthly love. Love is believing that he'll look after you, even if you're mean to him in your pain. Love is being
able to be brutally honest and share even the secrets you have trouble admitting to yourself. Love is being there even when you can't see eachother clearly. Love is never being embarrassed to be with eachother in public. Love is putting up with one's inability to play tennis and still want to play. Love is being with the person who makes your stomach do back flips. Love is butterfly kisses and stolen kisses when noone is looking. Love is acting as a child does, throwing snowballs, making snowmen, tubing and canoeing. Love is enjoying nature and believing that nothing can be more perfect than it already is. Love is trying hard to surprise the other and the euphoria you feel when everything goes as planned. Love is the smile that you cannot hold back when you see him at the train station. Love is being silly in eachother's arms just because you can be. Love is not being afraid to try something new. Love is being able to trust with you're whole being. Love is not knowing any safer place than eachother's embrace. Love
is wanting everything to be perfect.

It is quite amazing how much we don't consciously recognize in the world. Every day I am bombarded by hidden messages and ideals that advertising companies would like for me to believe. It is almost becoming difficult to understand who I am because of all the information that the media has presented to me about who I should be. This is a difficult battle that I have only begun with 3 and a half years of University ahead of me and only half a semester behind me.

How does the human society exist amoung each other? Do they exist in a rear-view mirror world as Marshall McLuhan lended to the public nearly 50 years ago. Or do they live as an extension of each other, creating new media to extend the human's ability to live. There are so many theories about how media affects our every day life that it is hard to decide for myself how I exist with the media.

I plan on being the media for a lot of my life, as a writer and possibly an editor one day, I hope to be one of those people who provide an extension to every day life. However, how do I want to be an extension? Do I want to be an extension here in Ontario and report on politics, or do I want to be an extension for Canada in Africa and help to explain how to remainder of the world lives.

There is so much to decide, decisions that are bigger than where to go to school and where to live next year. I have to decide who I am, where I want to be, and how I want to live.