One of the things I think about when it comes to changes in public schools is the athletics. I played basketball the entire four years that I was in high school. During that time I was totally dedicated and committed to basketball. So much so, that I didn’t play any other sports. Now if I could go back in time, I would have played as many sports as I possibly could. However, we all know that hindsight vision is 20/20. Anyway, during my senior and final year of being on the team, it was announced that starting the next school year all students playing basketball had to run cross country also. Back then running up and down a basketball court was fine by me, but the thought of running 3.1 miles on a daily basis, along with cross country track meets didn’t sit too well with me. This was one of the instances where I felt like I graduated from school at the right time. I felt bad for all the returning basketball players who were coming back the following year, but I felt glad it wasn’t me having to do it. 

Everyone knows that students having school ID cards are a must. When I was attending school, we carried our ID cards in our wallets or pockets. The girls carried their identification cards in their purses. These kids now have to wear their IDs around their necks at all times. If they forget their ID at home or happen to misplace it, they be written up and have to do detention. School uniforms are another thing that didn’t exist when I was in school. We were allowed to wear whatever we wanted as long as there wasn’t any vulgar or inappropriate slang or slogans on our clothing. Nowadays, most schools require school uniforms, with the students having to tuck their shirts in. When I was in school, a tucked shirt wasn’t required at all. Today is the day of the annual rodeo parade in the town where I live. When I was in school, we were out of school the entire day of the parade. The students now have to go to school on the day of the parade. However, they do get dismissed early at 1:00 pm which is two hours ahead of the time they normally get out. Hearing this made my younger cousin wish even more that he went to school during the time I did.

We all know that time brings about a change in all things. I know that the policies and rules in school systems vary from state to state. What’s done is certain places can obviously be different in others. I feel very lucky and fortunate to have went to school during the time that I did. Although I find a lot of the changes to the public school system somewhat drastic, I understand that the main goal is to get students ready to become decent men and women in society. The academics have gotten much harder than they were when I attended school, but that is necessary to help the students of today reach that next level. Thanks for reading.

I’ve noticed that the childrens programming I had as a kid, is not what is on television now. I mean, yes, I know that programming changes, shows get cancelled and so on, but seriously, what happened to the quality of television now a days? I feel that it isn’t even close to as good as it used to be.

I have also realized that drama follows people through life. It doesn’t end once high school is over, like everyone says… It hit me a while ago in college, some people never grow up, no matter how old they may be. Drama will always be there; Its all about how you squash it from escalating. If you feed into it, of course it will continue; However, if you show people that you could really care less about the crap they are about to start with you, they will usually move on to some other soul and see if they can be beat down. I have noticed that it is also similar to how the real world works. The real world hands you challenges and it is a test to see how you deal. I myself, can admit, I am not always the strongest when it comes to challenges, and I have discovered how much I dislike change in my routine and in how things work; However, changes in life are supposed to happen. Why? I dont think anyone will know that one.

I am also guilty of over thinking things and being very analytical in situations. Things that I shouldnt worry about, I do worry about, and things I should worry about, I worry about times ten. Haha. I have also discovered that I am unable to stand around in work situations. I must be given something to do at all times because standing around makes me feel lazy; even when all work is completed and there is time left over. I feel like I need to clean something or organize something, or refill empty containers. People ask me if I have anxiety, and honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if I was diagnosed with it eventually. I worry about what everyone thinks of me, my work ethic and quality of my work, and staying on people’s good sides.

I learned that having two college degrees does not mean you’ll get a job right away. In fact, I still haven’t gotten a job for either degree, although writing does not require being hired anywhere, so that is the beauty of that. I have enjoyed it my entire life since I learned how to write, and used to fill up numerous composition books with stories and poetry as a kid. So I guess I have always been a writer. I’ve always had a career in that. However, its not paying the bills of course, and college loans are pricy. I’ve been paying for those with two unrelated jobs, as well as cell phone and credit card bills, and being near my 26th birthday, life is going to get slightly more challenging with losing insurance and having to get my own, as well as making the car payments for my first car. Yes its true, I did not get my license till I was 22 (permit at age 20) because I was afraid of driving until that point. But I enjoy it very much now that I’ve had a license for 4 years, because its nice to not have to ask people to give you a ride, and once you gain confidence and lose fear of accidents and traffic around you in general, its not so bad. Its actually quite amazing.

Lucky for me, my love life has at least made sense finally. I have someone who truly values me for how hard I work, what I put forth to the relationship, and the fact that I have found the ability to keep trucking even when times are hard on me. A lot of past relationships did not go so well. I was given up on, cheated on, and told that I was stupid and a failure. All things that made me actually start to believe I’d never have anything for a second there. Yes, life has been a challenge for me. Nothing has come easily, but if I couldn’t make it through, I wouldn’t be here. I’d either not exist, or would have surely ended myself by now. Something keeps me trying harder and searching for something that seems so far away, yet it feels like its nearby and I just can’t locate it at the same time.

Who knows really? I’m just glad I am making it in the economy we have now. For example, its a lot harder to survive when you are making minimum at one job, and just over it at the other, and gas prices are $3.99 a gallon. I remember when I was a kid, they were under $1.00 a gallon! Makes it very hard when your car needs gas and you are paying bills and working hard for any money you can get. I just always want more, and perhaps sometimes, I need to learn when to quit wanting more and relax for a bit. I feel trapped in my constant worry and concern about doing things on time and right and impressing others that I don’t make enough time to do anything for me. Whenever I do, its very miniscule time off. I always feel like I need to be working and that I am wrong for taking time off because that is money I could make, however at the same time, I know everyone needs a break because without breaks, life gets very stressful and any break I do get is near the end of the week and I know that I need that for a few different reasons: I’m never home anymore, my boyfriend is home on weekends from his job so thats the only time I can see him (not to mention its always amazing to see him becaus of how long we spend being apart), and my friends get time with me too. I need the time I get little of. Without it, I’d go crazy.

With this said, I bid all adeu; more to come as I get older. Almost 26 now, I have to say here’s to another 26 prosperous, educational, happy, hopefully children filled, married, loving, hard working, respected, talented, years.

Changes appear to be an inevitable trait of every living language. Ordinarily the changes are slow and barely noticeable – slightly different pronunciations, new shadings in the meaning of words, and gradual shifts in grammatical constructions. A play by Skespeare needs a good many notes to tell us what some of the words meant to the people who first heard or read it over 350 years ago. If we go back far enough, English looks like a foreign language. Language changes as naturally and as steadily as other social habits do.

2. Variation due to Place

No language is in exactly the same way in all parts of the country or countries in which it is used. Differences in words, pronunciations, stress, phrasing, and grammatical habits that are characteristics of fairly definite regions are dialects. Put another way, a regional dialect is speech that does not attract attention to itself in the region where it is used. A pronunciation, a word or meaning of a word, or an idiom that is current in one region and not in others is called a provincialism of a localism.

People’s attitude towards the use of localisms vary greatly. Some people feel that localisms should be weeded out; others believe that a person should retain as much possible of the flavour of his native speech. But conscious effort to change to a different pattern often result in an unhappy and awkward situation. Natural, gradual, unconscious change is best.

  3. Differences between Speaking and Writing

The grammar of speech differs somewhat from that of writing. The references of pronouns is less precise; the pronunciation of prepositions is usually unstressed, so that the ‘of’ for example, in a couple of birds is so reduced that a careless transcription of it might be ‘a couple of birds’ ; only a few connectives are used, especially ‘and’ and ‘so’. Spoken sentences are usually shorter than written, or if they are long, it is because one statement is added to another rather than because clauses are built together with subordinating conjunctions.

 But written English is not a different language from spoken. Most of the differences are in matters of grammar and style. Some languages have entirely different forms for speech and writing, but in English, and especially in present day English, the relationship is quite close.

 4. Difference due to Situation

 Language varies according to its function. It differes in different situations. ‘Register’ is the name given to a variety of language distinguished according to its use.

 People working in different fields use different kinds of vocabulary. The occupational vocabulary of soldier is different from that of an engineer.. The technical terms used in scientific, medical, commercial and legal literature are different in each case. They provide us with examples of different register.

I’ve seen the signs Mother Earth are showing us.

How long will it take for humans to realize that we have to change our ways? If we continue on the path we’re walking now, we will destroy or home, Mother Earth, and ourselves. I listen to the wind and feel the energies from nature and I am worried.

First of all, I am not Native American, but I come from a line of what used to be called “wise women”, or sometimes witches, and I have felt the connection to Mother Earth and nature all my life. I am what is called intuitive/sensitive and I pick up  on the energies in nature, and people, and sense what they tell me, There are much disturbance around our planet right now, with threats of new wars and uprisings. And you don’t have to be a sensitive to know that, watchin the news and using common sense is enougn. Our leaders around this planet don’t seem to do much about it, but throw gas on the fires. What does leaders mostly do to turn the focus from problems in their own country? Turn the focus to problems somewhere else and make it their “job” to do something about that.

Mother Earth do not look upon her children differently, to Her we are all of the same value. Humans have made themselves into God with the right to abuse Her and rob her of both dignity and resources, and to decide which of Her children that should have the right to live and which have to be killed off (to protect the comfort of humans of course). We shouldn’t look upon our relations in any other way than we look upon ourselves, we are all as important to the well-being of Mother Earth, neither should we hunt down our brothers and sisters just because the hunt the same prey we do. The difference between the four-legged hunters and the human hunter is that the four-legged hunter hunt for food, for survival, where the human hunter hunts to keep the deer or elk population down, or for the thrill of it. So who is the true animal?

I wish I could give answers to how to change what happens, but the only thing I have known for more than 45 years is; We need to go back to the old ways and start respecting Mother Earth and our relations here. We need to stop taking more than we need, and we must start to give back in equal amount to what we use. The techology for a clean, green living is already here, now we have to start using it. Our governments may speak of the need for a change to a more environfriendly lifestyle, but as long as the real power is locked to the big corporations and its leaders there is nothing to win in doing any changes. And so when people start to rise their voices to claim what is their rights – the leaders turn the focus to other governments in far away countries, or to scandals and gossip, so that they won’t have to deal with the dirty laundry in their own house. Should we let ourselves be led to the butchers as animals. These leaders have no problem sacrifiece ordinary, simple people to continue to stay on top and to continue to live a good life themselves. 

To be honest there have been voices raised against the injustice in the systems, the “Arabic Spring” last year, the Occupy movement that started on Wall Street and spred around the world, protesters in European countries as the state of many a country’s finances came to the surface and savings were forced upon them… But one have to remember, one can’t fix the problem by doing the same thing over again. There have to be more than just protests, there have to come answers out of this too. Some suggestions on how use this experience and start changing things, how to build something ne instead of what is not working. 

Listen in the wind to hear the whispers.

Look to Mother Earth for the signs she is giving us.

SOME UNUSUAL CLIMATE CHANGES .    HOWEVER THE BASIC EFFECTS  FOR EXPANDING THE EXPRESSION OF

GLOBAL

 WARMING BRINGS THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO THE GREENHOUSE EFFECTS AND CONTRIBUTING GASES ,

 SUCH AS METHANE CHANGES INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.  

    THE MORE THAT CARBON DIOXIDE   IS RELEASED INTO THE ATMOSPHERE , THE MORE WE WILL EXPERIENCE

 THE INEVITABLE WARMING TRENDS OF OUR PLANET.

IT HAS BEEN NUMEROUS STUDIES THAT HUMANS MAY BE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS IN THIS EQUATION .             

THE USE  OF FOSSIL FUELS , AND CERTAIN INDUSTRIES THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED OVER THE

 PAST SEVERAL YEARS, WHICH HAVE  USED GASES , AND METHANE AND PROPANE  GAS  IS KNOWN TO HAVE

CAUSED   A NOTICEABLE MODIFICATION IN THE RISING TEMPERATURES

  IN OUR PLANET  , SEA LEVELS ARE RISING AND THESE  GASES  INCREASE  THE RELEASE  OF CARBON DIOXIDE 

INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.

                    ACCORDING TO THE MEDIA WHICH PRODUCE MOST OF OUR ADVERTISING PROPS .,,,

 IT IS NEEDLESS TO SAY AND QUITE PREVALENT THAT THE ADVERTISING IS GEARED TO GOING GREEN ,

  AND ALMOST THE SOUND OF ALERT , TO STOP SMOKING , IT SEEMS THAT MORE AND MORE  C.E.O. IS

 INVOLVED IN PRODUCING PRODUCTS THAT LIMIT THE USE OF THESE GASES INTO THE ATMOSPHERE . 

     NOW ITS ALL ABOUT THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT , AND WHAT CAN WE AS HUMANS DO TO DEVELOP

  A MORE SAFER ENVIRONMENT FOR NOW AND FOR THE PERSEVERANCE OF HUMANITY .  

          BUT THE QUESTION IS HAS ALL THIS COME ABOUT A LITTLE TOO LATE ,  HAVE WE NOT

 CAUSED SO MUCH DAMAGE TO OUR NATURING PLANET AND ITS RESOURCES , SUCH AS THE FOREST

 THAT IT IS WITHOUT A DOUBT TOO LATE .,  WE ARE NOW FACING A PLANET THAT IS RUNNING OUT

 OF FUEL , BECAUSE WE HAVE TAKEN OUR RESOURCES FOR GRANTED , AND HAVE TAKEN AND NOT GIVEN

  BACK .       HAVE WE SO RECENTLY  LEARNED THAT EVEN INSECTS EFFECT THE BALANCE OF  RESOURCES

  ON OUR PLANET .    I AM AFRAID WE HAVE LEARNED HOW TO TAKE FROM THE EARTH AND ITS ATMOSPHERE

 BUT WE NEVER LEARNED HOW TO GIVE BACK . , AND SO OUR RESOURCES ARE DECLINING AND EVEN THE

  AIR WE BREATHE ARE SLOWLY BECOMING OUR WORST ENEMIES .

                                              IF WE ONLY UNDERSTAND VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING

 WE MUST CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THAT IF CARBON DIOXIDE CONTINUES TO INCREASE AT THE RATE THAT

SCIENTISTS  HAVE CALCULATED , THEN THE GLACIERS WILL MELT AND THE SEAS WILL RISE AROUND THE

WORLD   BECAUSE THE TEMPERATURE OF THE PLANET WILL CONTINUE TO GET HOTTER AND  THIS WILL

  CAUSE CERTAIN GLOBAL FLOODING ,   WHAT WILL WE DO , ONE DAY WE WILL NOT STAND AGAINST THE

 FORCES AND BRUTAL REVENGE OF NATURE .

                                                           JOIN TRIOND AND LET YOUR IDEAS BE HEARD

The new system of exchange would be intangible. 

Les Feldick, a television personality with a Christian focus, has a very scary prognostication.  Almost ten years ago, he described a new world order.  People would be catalogued with bar codes which would be scanned and entered as a debit on some central computer.  Bar code identification would be tattooed on everyone. 

Nostradamus, a sixteenth century astrologer, has become a major historical figurehead of contemporary 2012 conversations.  He prefaced what he foresaw using the transits of planet Venus and her passage in front of the sun which will happen this year. This marks the beginning of big changes throughout the world. He cryptically describes oceans of wormwood.  This greenish grey plant is poisonous if ingested, but it continues as one of the mysteries of his quatrains.

One forward thinking writer/blogger/internet entrepreneur is Seth Godin.  I like his prediction the best.  Though quite idealistic sounding, he purports that humanity establishes a hive mentality, and commune on the World Wide Web.  In his book, “Unleashing the Idea Virus,” he writes that the medium of exchange is ideas.

Image by Dan Zen via Flickr

Ruth Montgomery was a conservative news writer for an entire career. She developed an interest in channeling spirits following the death of her spouse.  After contacting a group of entities from beyond, she wrote about this experience.  The spirits relayed to her that flooding, earthquakes, and other natural disasters would diminish the world population to a great degree.  Her book, “Companions Along the Way,” was written long enough ago to be seen as somewhat accurate in light of recent weather disasters.

One, prognostication is that our neighbors from outer space have the technology to stop nuclear warfare. If this is true, the bleak economic picture becomes the central issue.  Earth disasters are devastating to economies in many parts of the world, and it’s possible that any or all monetary systems will collapse in a worst case scenario. Is there a middle ground regarding philosophies or predictions about the financial system?

Movies show bleak scenarios of modern day nomadic lives with people everywhere wandering aimlessly.  There is no gasoline or medicine. Thugs hoarded illicit gains of stolen gold bullion.  It’s as if world civilizations were built of paper castles literally and figuratively. 

Whatever the case, is there any way to prepare for the potential disasters that loom inside of an array of 2012 predictions?  Will money be exchangeable, or will we evolve to the consciousness of not using money at all after 2012 turns into some kind of epic new world?

Ref:  Wikipedia

“Companions Along the Way” Ruth Montgomery

“Nostradamus: Prophecies for Women” Manuela Dunn Mascetti and Peter Lorie

Every year people make resolutions to stop doing things like smoking or drinking.  Others vow to exercise more and eat less.  And many people promise to fix certain parts of their lives they are not happy with.  For some their resolution is simply a wish list, while for others it is a goal they plan on reaching.  

Thankfully for me I do not smoke and barely ever drink alcohol.  I do however like my “junk food” and don’t get enough exercise so if I do make a resolution it will probably be to take better care of myself.  What about you? Is there something in your life you want to change for the better?  What would you like to see different in your life happening in the new year?  What’s your New Years Resolution?

we regret doing them. What is it that empowers us to reach a point in our lives where we are

bound to do the unthinkable?

I am not talking about murder here people I am talking about the steps we take, or the roads

we so weakly walk down to gain that momentum in our lives. I remember a few years ago,

OK. So it was more than a few years ago, when I was face to face with an ultimate decision.

That decision?, Well… it was to step out of my comfort zone, not even metaphorically speaking

I mean actually taking that giant leap out of my comfort zone. I met this girl on line, it was a

match made in Heaven, not Match.com. What really got me about this girl is that she loved

every aspect of me. She understood me, felt me, she was my confidant.

It might sound corny but it was true, she and still is my everything, only problem?

She lived in Missouri and I was from the land of movie stars and riches, I was in my

state, by the bay. People warned me not to go, fact of the matter was I had only seen her

on her web cam. I ignored many of the cautions and heeds and decided, I am going to

take that bound for myself. I had always done things for others, this time life was mine.

To make the story short I did meet this girl who was my long distance “ girlfriend” and I was

safe and I was okay. But what is that? What is it that drives a person to do the unexpected?

In my case it was love.

I have seen many people around me in my life decide that one day their off and running,

I have come to my conclusion. It is not because they have taken a sip of that strange elixir

brought to them by a old wrench grasping an apple.

The mere reason for someone to go mad and wander off their initial path, is that they want

something better in their lives, they want the freedom, the feeling of making their own

decisions, when it comes to the balance of happiness and disaster they want to choose the

lighter part of it all.

Do not be afraid to do foolish things now and then, but also beware there are different sides

of logical thinking, there is the heart: Which finds truth and kindness in every venture.

Then there is the brain: Who sits atop of your body, the higher authority, the superior organ.

Even though the heart is in the middle of your body, do not let it get in the middle of your life,

or at least not when making rash and hesitant decisions, Tomorrow is another day, if you let

it be. I for one decided that I would take my chances, for now it is good, but not every

jump ends upright.

However, a recent turn of events has left us without this privilege. Teachers are now told to dismiss us when an alarm goes off on their computers. These computers don’t make it to the hallways, so no one has a way of knowing if we’re late or not. Problem? Yeah.

The biggest problem I’ve noticed with this is the lunch periods. Before, we had bells going off throughout the period to tell us when to go, but in order to “make us a more academic school,” they’re taking this system out and attempting to tell us when to go somewhere. Some of us, like me, don’t spend the entire lunch period in the cafeteria, however. A lot of students like to use this time to go to the restroom, go to their locker, visit a teacher, or get other important things done. This means that I don’t get a dismissal. I’m forced to either learn the exact times of all my classes, (which ended up off today anyway because lunch was so backed up), or hope that I get back to my class on time.

This will not end well.

If anything, they should have waited until later in the year to attempt this, and they should have explained it fully to all the teachers and students before going for it. Rule of thumb: if the intercom isn’t working, stop trying to change things! You’re just confusing everyone!

The greatest reason why people fail at their goals or are not living the life they desire is because they make the wrong commitments and then break those commitments.

Every time you break a commitment that you care about keeping, hold yourself accountable to a really painful consequence. The consequence should be something that makes you go ‘”ouch”, not necessarily in a physical way. It could be that you call all of your close friends and tell them that you broke a commitment, or a 2 minute really cold shower that increases by 30 seconds every time you break a commitment, or donating $50 to your favourite charity every time you break a commitment.

The point is if you want to keep your word, you just do. Remember that no matter what you think you may have, all you really have is your word. Possessions come and go, even family and friends may come and go, but your word is yours to own. You don’t really own all those other things. What you do own is your honour, nobody can take that away from you, and nobody can give it to you. And it starts with being true to your word.

When your word and your actions are in sync, that’s known as being in integrity. Persons of integrity have honour. We trust them and we know we can count on a person of honour. If a person of honour gives their word, I can consider it done. It’s a pretty powerful tool.

The important element in all of this is not to lie to yourself. The only lie that can really hurt you is the lie you buy into. If you are lying to yourself that something is important to you when it isn’t, no amount of consequence is going to help you keep your commitment to it. You’ll just develop resentment toward whomever or whatever is holding you accountable for that commitment.

The person you’ve always wanted to be probably doesn’t commit to things he doesn’t believe in, but the person your mom wants you to be, or the person your life partner wants you to be, or the person your friends want you to be might. It’s not always easy to tell, until we’ve learned to truly trust our instincts.

Once you’re clear about what you’re committed to, you just have to surrender to it. And that means that there just isn’t any room for lies or distractions, you’ve better things to do than spend time arguing with yourself. That’s why when a person breaks a commitment it’s always flipping a bird at someone or something. Find out where the flipping of the bird is directed to so that you can clean up whatever needs to be addressed. Until you do, the consequences will continue to show up in other areas of your commitments.

After breaking a commitment you must do something to restore your honour, so that those individuals around you can trust you again.

Everyone is allowed to mess up, we’re human. It’s what we do once we see that we’ve been breaking a commitment that decides our standing among those around us. An honourable person will bring the consequences breaking his commitments back on himself and makes sure that no person is paying his way. It is through this willingness to own the consequences of one’s actions that shows others that person is sincere, and therefore again worthy of their trust.

So, decide what you’re committed to, commit to it, and then don’t allow yourself to fail.

By Baldo Minaudo (www.baldominaudo.com & www.TheBankerWhoSavedHisSoul.com)