Who's Playing?

There are two different types of people who watch the Super Bowl: diehard fans and those who watch the commercials and eat food. 

Diehard fans:
These devout people have followed their team the entire season and cannot wait to gather with friends and family to watch their team win the Super Bowl. They can name all the players on the team and know the highlights of their season. Yes, the parties thrown for the game are always exciting and something to look forward to, but their main reason for watching the game and going to parties is to see their team win. 

Others:
Others who "watch" the Super Bowl, like me, really have no idea what is happening during the game and have to constantly ask those who do know. They may try to understand the game and pretend that they are learning more, but in the end, they may only come out having learned a few football terms, only to forget them the next time they watch a football game. Many also don't even know the names of the teams until hours before the start of the game. People like me find the commercials more interesting and entertaining than the game and use the Super Bowl as an excuse to throw a party. 

Either if you are a diehard fan, or one of those clueless people, we can all agree that this Sunday will be something to look forward to after a long week of work or school. 

Deal Or No Deal?

They catch you at grocery stores, they come knocking on your door. You can't escape them! It's that time again, Girl Scout cookies! It's hard to resist those crisp, chocolaty Thin Mints or coconut, chocolate drizzled Caramel Delights. Every year people give in and buy boxes upon boxes of cookies even though the prices increase each year. I remember selling Girl Scout cookies for about two dollars a box. Now, boxes are being sold for four dollars. Four dollars seem too high for the number of cookies sold in each package. Why would people continue to buy these overpriced cookies?

Personally, I find it extremely difficult to say no to innocent, cute, little girls who build up the courage to come up to me to ask if I want to buy their cookies. They look up at me with pleading eyes and ask in their small, high-pitched voices, "Would you like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies?" I can't disappoint these little girls, so I have to buy from them. Despite the fact that the cookies are overpriced, I still buy them. I'm sure this is the same case for many people. These girls know how to get their customers!

Not only is it hard to reject the Girl Scouts, but the cookies are tradition and only come once a year. Girl Scouts have been around for generations and when a Girl Scout approaches a past Girl Scout, there is an immediate camaraderie. When I am approached, I remember when I was on the other side trying to sell cookies and how hard it was to ask strangers. I am also reminded of the fun times I had as a Girl Scout, going to trips and spending time with friends. Buying cookies from the girls is a way all past Scouts can support the organization and give money to the girls that will help open opportunities.

Although Girl Scout Cookies are expensive, this season comes only once a year. They are not the best deal, but we buy them anyway for the smiles and the tradition to be passed on. 

Unusual Gifts

Having a mom as a kindergarten teacher makes me even more excited when the Holidays roll around. She always gets yummy treats that I get to steal. The candy, however, is not what makes me most excited. The random knick-knacks that her students give her always amuse me and make me wonder what these children think. My mom told me that one year her friend received a bra from her student. I thought that was the worst of them all until I encountered an article in a teacher's magazine about unusual gifts given to teachers.

The article compiles submitted entries about strange presents teachers have been awarded with. One teacher "received a pack of condoms from a student who thought they were Band-Aids." Another teacher received a live chicken from her student and had to walk it home!

Even though the gifts teachers receive are random and sometimes disgusting, my mom says that teachers still love them anyway. Although the gifts probably will never be put to use, my mom has a hard time throwing them away because they are special in an odd way. For teachers the silly gifts resemble the fun and not so fun memories with their students, and not to mention, they also give them a good laugh.

A Single Digit

10, 9, 8... 3, 2, 1! Cheers erupt, hugs squeezed, and poppers explode. The anticipation of a new year comes to a close at the drop of a shiny ball at Times Square.

New Year's Eve is the epitome of letdowns. Each year every person wakes in their bed up on December 31st looking forward to their last full day of the year. They plan huge parties with friends and family that include fun games and food to keep them awake until 12 a.m. to welcome the new year. They buy poppers, balloons, confetti and festive plates and utensils to make the day more memorable.

The countdown begins and people watch as the second hand creeps towards the number 12 on the clock. When twelve o'clock arrives, a moments worth of cheers and excitement passes within a few minutes. Parties end and people are left with a huge clean up. Everyone exhausted from the long night crawl into their beds and fall right to sleep.

The letdown always hits me the morning I wake up on January 1st. I think of the fun games and time spent with friends the night before only to wonder what difference it made. The day seems just like any other day before; I'm in my same bed, I look the same, I still have to brush my teeth. Nothing seems to have changed except for a single digit on the calendar.

Holiday Dilemma

Every Christmas I find myself putting on a fake smile as I open a gift from my relatives and graciously thank them for their it. In reality, I'm thinking, "When am I ever going to use this?" Gifts like these usually get thrown into the unused gift pile in my room or are recycled as new presents for other people. However, I keep up with the act, not wanting to sound ungrateful, and say things like, "I really like it!" or "I've always needed one of these!" I can't tell if they can see through my fake excitement, so I keep on pretending and keep on the fake smile.

I know that my relatives spent money and time trying to find me a gift, which makes me unable to find the courage to tell them that I don't like the gift, thinking that it would be mean say. However, is it more cruel to be honest and tell them the truth, or to lie and pretend the gift is what I have always dreamed of?

If We Lived Like Weasels

Recently, I read "Living Like Weasels" by Annie Dillard. Dillard compares the life of a weasel to the lives of humans. Throughout her writing she describes how weasels live by instinct and only react to things that are necessary. On the other hand, Dillard says that humans think too much which inhibit them to live to the fullest. She thinks that humans should be like the weasel and only act, not think. I however, disagree. I think our ability to make decisions allows us to live to the fullest. Humans are blessed with the ability to make choices. If our decision making is taken away, humans would be boring and all too common. Humanity's diversity makes us unique and different from the animal kingdom.

It somewhat irritates me that Dillard encourages humans to become equal to animals. Humans were created for so much more than to live only to survive. A weasel does not think about how his decisions can affect another's life, but humans can decide to sacrifice for others. Human's love and sympathy for others makes me feel lucky to be human and not a weasel who is selfish and only thinks about its own survival. If we all became wild animals and acted upon our instincts, as Dillard wishes for, the world would be a cold and heartless place.

Rain Here, Rain There

People here in Southern California really don't know what a rainstorm is. Today, I heard a girl complaining about having to practice in the barely visible specks of water falling from the sky that she called "rain." If I heard this years ago, I would have agreed with the her.  I thought I knew what rain was when I was younger. Rain meant putting on my raincoat and getting my boots wet in the "big" puddles out in my front yard. Occasionally during the night, flashes of lightening would penetrate my bedroom shutters right before the thunder would rattle the windows. This was the extent of my knowledge of a rain storm, until I experienced a one in the Grand Canyon.

As the sun set, the clouds began to accumulate. I knew a storm was coming, but I had no idea what was about to happen. At first, the drops of water that I knew to be rain began to fall from the sky. Suddenly, the droplets got bigger and bigger, becoming what seemed like five times larger than the rain I knew back home. I became drenched within seconds from standing outside while the abnormally giant sized raindrops continued to pour down.

Soon the lightening arrived. It lit up the sky just as it lit my room through my window shudders, except the bolt made it almost daytime for a split second, then complete darkness would return until the next bolt struck. The thunder that rattled my bedroom window was magnified as it rolled through the canyon. As I stood soaking listening to the thunder and watching the sky turn from white to black, I realized what I thought to have been rain was only a small fraction of it's true power.