Big Macs and Scarves

Okay so I have a lot of work to finish up before tomorrow so Im going to try to type this post in less than 10 minutes..

Quick review for the day:
I went to Baltimore today with some of the kids from my Sunday school in addition to a few random people I invited to come for support. My cousins decided to not accept birthday gifts this year and collect items for the homeless. Considerly there was 120 people at their birthday party last week you can imagine the amount of items they gathered. I also told my friends to bring any extra items they had. So we basically filled an entire van full of stuff.

10am- met my aunts house and began dividing the hats, scarves, boxers, shirts, gloves, and other items evenly. We took individual garbage bags and put these items in it -kinda of like goodie bags. (side note: The most interesting thing for me to see was the type of items people choose to donate. Everything from expensive cashmere or baltimore ravens scarves to volcom hats to AF gloves. I was glad to see people donate brand new quality items and not give left over crap they had. )

11:15 we manage to leave the house

Carvan of Shadi #2- not really but it could have been :]

11:45 we get to bmore and stop by at one of the shelters to drop off the stuff. they are closed bc they only open at night to provide housing for people. somehow we manage to leave some stuff there with the owner.

(Ok I had to add this picture bc.. i type in the word homelss in a search engine and of course it has to relate to the middle east in some form or another. not that this is a big deal i just find it ridiculous that no matter what you type it relates to war and middle east. talk about propaganda?)

12:00 we aimlessly look for homeless people we see on the streets. my uncle decides he wants to buy them food bc it was raining and cold outside

12:15 we get to burger king and order 20 number #1s (in addition to a few extra orders of fries for the kids). 20 packets of big macs with fries+drinks to give to random people. Lol. it was SOOO funny. the entire kitchen was working for us. before all the people were just bumming in the back bc there was no one in the store. so we had an assembly line of putting ketchup and napkins in each of these packets. Taking all the drinks to the van while ensuring that these hyper active kids would not knock them down was a hard task.

12:45 we get back in the van and continue our adventure. we spot a park with about 15 people sleeping under tarps. all you could see in the entire park was tarps budled into a ball and scattered benches. if you starred hard enough you could see a tarp occassionally move. the rest was deserted. unless someone took the time to look you couldnt initally tell it was an area that homeless people had taken over. It was really horrible outside and muddy. we finally get out of the car and deliver our "packets" to various individuals. many of them grouped together to keep warm. even though it was a public environment i felt like i was intruding bc i was in their "home" (a private area). ( on a side note: this concept of private vs public space is very interesting. I did a study on it two years ago maybe i will blog about it later. what defines peoples space is quite funny- random? yea i know) In in this homeless area park there was one group leader so to speak. we appraoched our car and told us a little about the different people. One old guy was deaf and his face really struck me. I think was really great for the kids to phsyically walk into their "homes" and see the lifestlye. I know it def left an impression on my cousin.

1:15 we spend the next hour making u turns and driving around bmore.. hollering out the window "do you need food?" and then having someone come up to our window and taking a packet with food. (by the way we didnt do this on our own my uncle and one of my family friends who does social work was with us. she knew was appropriate to say or not bc she works with a lot of these homeless shelters-- were not crazy just screaming out the window..lol)

2:30 we are getting ready to get back on 95 and we see this tall thin fraile young caucasin man arguing with the traffic control outside of Pratt street. his clothes are ridiculously ripped and he is very dirty. we come up to him and give him a "packet" and two bags of food then we leave.
half way home, my uncle turns the car around and drives back to bmore. he wanted to see that last man again.. he felt so bad for him he wanted to see if there was any other way we could help him or give him clothes (even though most of those we had in the back of the car were for women).

2:45 we find the man again. we somehow figured out some things we could give them that were unisex (not really it was pretty feminine) it was better than nothing though. we also gave him an expensive cashmere scarf that was in the bag of stuff. he was happy thats all that matters. then we dipped out

3:10 got to my aunts house-- and the rest is ...

we still have lots of stuff that we couldnt give out. therefore we will be doing another trip within the next month or two. i want to get more of my friends to come out esp if they have siblings so they can get involved. it took a long time today but hopefully we can do it quicker next time.

Just Plug It

Welcome to Universal Connections 

Analogue or digital? Physical or virtual? Honestly, I really dont care...

I just love when its playful :D

Eternal Love. "Are we suited for one another? Are we really compatible? How long will it last? It's all about give and take - synchronize!"

Data Injection. Not only for data junkies, also in the event of a virus or simply for your data rations

Business Class. What the best way to make business contacts - at a power lunch, during small talk or even during a power nap? Always ready to receive. 

Dialers and non-dialers. For the non-dialing generation, its a trip to the past. For those born earlier, its a trip down memory lane. 

Log-in. Forgotten your password? The universal handle opens doors and handles!

Status. Forty seconds last three minutes. A watch and time bar.. a paradox, or is time only relative?

French Connection. For a world without hooks. Who would ever think of a bra!!!!

But why?

There is even a little toilet for Mr. Ducky.

I had to put this one in here for the Star Wars fans.

Perfect for Homer. 

Lauschangriff. Any more secrets? The direct individual-data-connection for hearing, scanning, and checking. Any more secrets?

Is it art? What's more significant - what we see or what it means? object or content?

Datenschutz. No access for unauthorized persons.

Memory box. A snapshot from summer, your favorite gig, your last uh... Do you want to click through your memories or bury them?

Essentials. What are our essential needs? What do we really need for surviving? (For those of you who cant see the picture well, there is a faucet, electric plug, and USB plug in) 

Loschelmer. Plastic, steel, glass~where should the data go? An icon regains its physical form. 

Dutch design never disappoints! 

industrial designers = creating hotness for consumer products (how i envy my father for being able to dabble with this even though it only lasted him 4 years)

USB, an abbreviation for technical user interface, is nowadays often used as a synonym for a universal connection. originally only used by computer experts and nerds, this so-called former high tech standard has developed into an every-day item and low-tech symbol for such universal connections. 

This is an example of technology  being clearly understood and accepted by the general public, therefore receiving a totally different usage than it was originally intended for. Given the current, often exotic use of the USB, one can say there is even a USB subculture!

Therefore it is clear to see how these designers (specifically from project dialog- the images that are all white) play with the possibilities and ambiguities of a USB as a medium. Installations, objects, and projects that are surprising, enlightening, inspiring and even questioning. 

Cheshmeh Benah

I've been avoiding to blog about my sickness because I thought I would be better by now- but it doesn't look like Im going to get well any time soon. Im not sure if I started with a cold or a flu, but as a result of one of them I got a bad eye infection (which has never happened to me before).

Well, things were going dandy as my left eye was slowly but surely getting better. Then two nights ago the infection spread to the other eye eEeekK~ I was concerned but I thought it would be okay because I had all the  necessary medications at this point. but no! My right eye is now worse than my left one and they are both continuously swelling :(

The veins in my eyes are blood shot and every time I turn my head, bend down, or have twitch from a sudden reaction it feels like someone is pulling my eyeballs out! Woohh Hoooo what a great way to start off my break. I do thank God for not having cold chills, sudden fevers, and nausea anymore. Okay I'm done my complaining :}  Just keep me in your prayers...

We dont appreciate what we have until it is taken away from us.

Now this isn't in reference to anyone, but just an observation that Ive had:

Many times people pray to God thanking him for x, y and z--but why do people really thank God for these things? Is it because they are scared of loosing them? People want to always have blessings in their lives and definitely dont want them fade way-- so they continue stating their prayers. Plus its the "right" thing to do. But doesn't this seem fake in away?

So how can we show true appreciation for what we have, while honoring and respecting God at the same time? Appreciate what you have, but using it in the right way. 

By doing this, not only are you showing God that you are genuinely thankful but you are utilizing your resources to share your blessings with others. If youve been given a skill, capability, or knowledge use it for the greater good. If you have an arm, use youre arm to help someone! Bc not everyone has an arm. If you have understanding of something teach another person! Whats the point of keeping it to yourself? There are no benefits when it is not shared. This is how you are really say thank you to God. 

While its good to verbally thank God, remember your actions say much more. 

I guess my blog ties in to my sickness-- because it reminds me that I need to show my thanks and appreciation in the right way. And its Thanksgiving today~ which makes this blog even more relevant. 

Chamaeleonidae

I would like to start this blog by quoting one of my good friends because it is her writing that inspired to write this entry:

"I am a chameleon. No, I am not a bug-eyed reptile l

olling her tongue to snack on oblivious insects; nor am I one of your featured Animal Planet rarities with my magnificent secrets televised. I am a mistress of camouflage, of costume and disguise, color and blend. I am a chameleon, understand, simply because you will never see who I really am. Like the black-tie murders you watch sometimes in action films, clad in sleek, black suits and deceiving smirks. When people draw near me they are innocent to how I slip in and out of their hues or of those they would admire -- surely, everyone and anyone's skin except my own."

According to Wiki, when a person is described

 as a chameleon this refers to their "ability to blend into various social situations, often to mean the person has no true values, or that he quickly abandons them in company if it's convenient to do so".

In a way we are all chameleons. We never truly show ALL of ourselves to each person. While this is a natural thing to do in order to act "appropriately" or adjust, to what extent is it correct? What line is crossed until we are being dishonest with ourselves? Being in "costume or disguise" can be seen as lying, bc we are not being true to ourselves or the people around us. We should not have to compromise our principles depending on situations, so why should we have to compromise how we portray ourselves? I think when we get to the point when we are consistent with everyone around us, despite the situation, then are considered being "real". Its definitely a process which requires great consciousness and the ability to know ourselves well. However, its crucial to be aware of our actions and how it affects others. Despite our great ability to show off an array of colors- remember, bluffing, hiding, exaggerating or making things appear differently is not a good thing. 

PS. Salma props for being an amazing writer 

Freeman Ballin

Interesting Note....

According to the Thomas B. Fordham Institute- there has been "speculation" that Obama is considering President Freeman Hrabowski  (of UMBC) as US Secretary of Education based on the thoughts of the Washington insiders. Currently Hrabowski is making much more money than he would under Obama-- but if he was chosen it would definitely be a booster on his resume :) While Hrabowski is way down on the list (number 7 in the polls) -- he is the only one on the list from higher education. According to US Newsweek, Hrabowski has been acknowledged as one of the America's Best Leaders of 2008. 

A fat, nerdy African-American kid with a funny name-Freeman Hrabowksi III grew up in a small segregated town in Alabama. He was a always known as the "smart boy" who was selling in to be white because he studied much more than the other young African-American boys. By the time he was 12, Hrabowksi was enrolled in the 9th grade -- and by the time he was 24 he had earned his PHD in education and statistics. Shortly after he was able to take on the presidency of the no-name commuter school, not knowing what type of impact he would have. 

I think the biggest factor H is recognized for is the risk he took when he was deciding what direction he should take the school in. Instead of using his funding to create a football team (which they were sponsored for), he used that money to provide more scholarships for students (on a side note umbc provides ridiculous scholarships.. most of my friends have received some sort of money one way or another..thats how they attract so many really really smart kids to come here- even if they werent planning on it at all) and invest in a nationally recognized chess team (most of the players which are recruited from Eastern Europe). H feels America is lacking and falling behind in math and sciences compared to other countries around the world-- so he had dedicated most of his time to push the students in this area. 

Umbc is def a big time science school. According to Yale Medical School, they first accept their largest pool of undergraduate students from their institution, and their second largest pool of undergraduate students from umbc (this is as of 2-3 years ago Im not exactly sure about right now). All of this, is because of the crazy Meyerhoff Program. Basically its the program that is the "treasure" of umbc; the Meyerhoff students are treated like gold. It is extremely difficult to get accepted into the program, but once your in your set up with all the hookups in the school (including access to old exams that only meyerhoffs can use-which has caused much controversy among the science students). In the last 20 years its graduated 600 students in science, 69 of whom have gone to earn MD or doctoral degrees. Fourty-three percent of the 1900 diplomas handed out this June were for math, science and engineering. 

Since 1985, the number of science majors (for white people) have doubled and the number of science majors (for African-Americans) have multiplied by 7!  H is doing exactly what he set out to do. His major focus was to encourage young black males to join the Meyerhoff program and give them an opportunity to excel. 

From the stories Ive heard its not exactly easy to be a Meyerhoff. First summer of your senior year they give you a dorm and youre forced to live on campus for 6 weeks straight. you cant make any phone calls during the day (only at night once all your work has been completed- ridiculous right?). Im not sure if the rule is that you cant own tvs in the dorms or you can only watch it during the weekends.. but anyway you spend 5 days a week taking extensive math and science courses to prep for the upcoming school year. you are expected to get excellent grades in your classes... and if you get anything lower than a B you are highly "encouraged" to retake it. At the same time they do have their perks, the president funds for the meyerhoffs to have dinners and picnics and fun activities for the people to "bond". In my opinion they almost seem like a co-ed fraternity at times... they stick very closely together. Funny thing is I was chosen to apply to the Meyerhoff program when i was senior and high school.. it was always completely out of the question.. and im happy i didnt. 

Blogging two days in a row? Go me =)

Construction of Social Reality

Institutions are defined as structures or mechanisms of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals. What does this all mean? Basically its the mother-ship for group of people who are set out to accomplish a purpose/ ensure continuity for what they are doing (construction of social reality). Institutions include everything from universities to religion centers for practice. The challenges posed are: Who governs these institutions? Are the initial intentions of the institutions continued to be carried through over time? What makes an institution successful- development and progression of new ways of thought or continuity of actions and philosophy. What is the affect of the institution on an individual's growth? 

Just some thoughts I've been thinking about....

Persepolis

I watched Persepolis with a bunch of friends tonight and I thought I should make some comments on  it. For those of you know don't know Persepolis is a animated film based on Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical novel (which has the same name). The movie is in French but there are subtitles. This film was featured on the top ten list of film's  of 2007, nominated for best animated featured film for the Academy Awards, nominated for Best Foreign Language Film for the Golden Globe Awards, nominated Best Picture for the 2007 European Film Awards.. just to name a few of the numerous other awards it was nominated for. Interestingly enough, it was nearing banned in Lebanon and was highly criticized by the Iranian government.

 Anyways, the story is about how Marjane grew up in Iran as a young child and the experiences she had when the Shah was in power. Even though she was naive about the political situation she was still very interested to learn about what was going on. Marjane eventually moved to Vienna by the time she was 13. Her parents sent her off to live there by herself because they felt the conditions of the revolution were too unsafe for her to continue her life in Iran (especially because she was the type of the person to openly speak out about her concerns-- which was very dangerous). So this story basically describes her coming of age.. she was psychologically damaged in many ways and spent much of her youth being depressed. she had no real support system as she spent most of her adolescent years moving from one house to another. Her experiences in Vienna included: heartaches (the first guy she fell in love with became gay and the other cheated on her), backstabbing, discrimination against foreigners, pot-heads, addition, sickness, being homeless, getting kicked out of institutions, heavily engaging in the punk culture, language barriers, loneliness, and the struggle to fit in. Eventually she moves back to Iran because she just cant stand living by herself anymore (by this time she is probably 19 or 20). However when she comes back things arent exactly easy. Post-revolution includes more killing (pre-revolution was more arresting, post-revolution was more killing), less freedom, more restrictions, and consistently getting checked by the "postegars"(police). Even though I wasnt raised in Iran during this time period, I feel some of this was exaggerated in the movie to emphasize the change in regime (based on the numerous accounts I've heard from people). 

First of all, I think she did any amazing job of capturing the subtle details of the culture in the film. However, as far as the content goes I feel like the viewer should be aware that this 

is only one person's account from that whole experience-- definitely biases. Its really hard to see the biases when you are getting a first person narration and you dont know much about the topic anyway. -- so for those of you who havnt seen it keep this in mind. But as I said, overall she did a great job of capturing that experience and really breaking down the revolution and what was happening. It is definitely a complex/serious issue that can rarely be described in a way that people can understand-- so kudos to her for being able to do that. As mentioned earlier this story was initially presented as a graphic novel (comic book). While historical writing and traditional journalism serve its purpose effectively there are some limitations to presenting the information in this manner. This brings up the question: What is the most effective way to present information about complex/serious issues? Finding alternatives to ways of educating the public is something that has been brought up amongst writers and artists (going back to shaping culture). When you are specifically addressing a complex issue that you want to present to the average joe who just wants to learn a little-- its hard to motivate them with long tedious information that can be seen as boring. unfortunately i people dont find the information presented in an appealing way they wont learn about it or even look at it (maybe this is why americans are so ignorant to many of the things going on in the world? they are so used to the fast paced way of life and being bombarded by so much info all the time that if something doesnt scream at them or offer them a new alternative they just choose not to care or go out of their way to learn about it). also, historical writing and journalism can be seen as impersonal. this form of writing gives the bigger picture to how and why events occur, but the reader will not be able to really connect with people involved in that current issue or have some sort of emotional attachment/reaction to the situation. Example, reading that "Mr. X has been tortured, expelled from school, and fined $2000 dollars" is very different than reading a story on what that person went through in order to deal with all that (in relation to the historical and political situation). Not that you cant attempt to experience or feel from more formal writing.. but its obviously much less than what you can get from a narrative. Narratives allow you to dig deep within the issue because you are experiencing the situation through someone else's eyes (one of the reasons people like non-fiction so much). however, looking at it from the flip side you are obviously going to have a bias story if you are learning about history from a narrative. Basically thats the point of historical writing and journalism -- to not have this biases.While using alternate forms of presentation (ex graphic novel) for complex/serious issues can be affective in getting the viewers attention and keeping them engaged there are limitations to what type of information can be presented (as can be with historical writing and journalism).

-- Back to Persepolis again.. one of the reasons I thought it was soo successful was because it was an animation> I dont think the author would be as affective in getting her message across if it was a Hollywood film (many people seem to agree on this point). From aesthic purposes it was beautiful...Loved the creativity and details.. the choice of frames, angle, transitions. 

I can write pages on the choice of visual techniques in order to present the information in the best manner but I wont get too detailed into that. 

Just a few things: 

1) simplistic drawings by not adding too many contour lines. does the amount of detail represent the artists ability? absolutely not. the more simple the imagery the more focus the viewer has on the actual information. if the viewer has to choose the hierarchy of information being presented especially when it comes to word and image the artist/ writer has not been succesful at their job (unless they are consciously challenging their reader). 

2) choice of black and white verse color. Color represented the current time and black and white was her past. Seems like something common used in films right? It can be but it makes more of difference with animated films/graphic novels. once again goes back to how much the viewer gets distracted and where the artist wants to put the emphasis. 

3) choice of imagery for officals, teachers, police (basically anyone associated with the government).. these figures became more like icons or symbols rather than characters. it all seemed to blend together. once again going back to the purpose of the artist/writer ( in which this case the biases kicks in). Two outside examples I can think of that serves a similar purpose are: #1) in 300 when the persians all kinda of became one unified character so to speak. throughout the entire movie you briefly see these "monsters" heads, bodies, etc. they all look the same and they are shown in groups. ANY time in films, media, print or whatever you seen people show in groups and they look similar its bc that person is trying to put less importance on that group/type of people whatever.... thats why people related so much more the greeks in 300 because it actually showed their lives outside of war. the viewer was sympathetic bc we saw the development of the characters lives throughout the entire movie. anything to do with the persians was very impersonal and brief. but most people dont realize this when they are watching it.(btw i didnt use 300 as an example bc there are persians in it- it was just the first thing that can into my mind)

#2) Much of Any Worhol's "pop art" serves a similar purpose. im sure everyone 

has seen the famous campbells soup images or the marilyn monroe images... theres hundreds of these everywhere. basically worhol took icons (famous people, objects of consumerism, etc) that have been  overemphasized in society and repeated them numerous times within one image. when you see the same icon so many times in one frame that object/person definitely appears to be less important. The emphasis is on the repetition rather than the subject. seems like an obvious thing... but he was making a political statement about society. He was not seeking to make art of mass-produced items but to mass produce art itself. 

Anyways getting back on track again-- the point of these two examples was to show how the artist/author can be biased just by HOW they present images. so as a viewer, we might not pick it up unless we are looking for it. we just kinda of accept whatever we see. 

Those were just 3 of numerous other visual techniques the author used in this film.. but its getting late and i need to sleep.. 

ps: watch the movie :}

Khelgat

Wisdom is knowing I am nothing

Love is knowing that I am everything

And my life moves between the two

Intelligence gives us knowledge, understanding, reasoning, and various forms of mental aptitude. Wisdom is reaching a level of understanding to be able to see the truth. The more you learn the more you should realize that you don't know. This is reaching humility, removing ignorance, and diminishing the ego. To reach wisdom, is to know you are nothing. By ourselves we are NOTHING- but together we are everything.

In this kingdom of Love, love is everything. This is our link, thread, bond to the everything in the creation. Therefore the removal of the ego (knowing you are nothing) and practicing giving love is the ultimate ability to reach wholeness-- to experience the world from another light.

When you see a crying child on the floor it doesn't matter if its yours or a person's you dont know. In the end, it just doesn't matter and it shouldn't affect your actions. 

I am you and you are me? Not quite, "me" and "you" does not exist.

so i havnt updated my blog in a while.

umm.. so heres a post.

:)

satisfied? 

A Sprinkle in History

Last night was crazy.

Once Obama won....

people were screaming on the streets, rolling on the road!!!!, jumping and running into people, people cursing out their windows.... i mean it was straight chaos like nothing ive seen before....

I have to admit the excitement put me in the screaming mood too

Prior to that, everyone gathered in the Commons for the Election Party. Hebrowski (our president) of course gave his famous speech about his experience with MLK, being in jail, the civil right movement, 1960's JFK area, and etc....It was very moving and inspirational to hear Hebrowski's take on the election. For those who dont know, umbc has a very strong background of African American influence (from the Civil Right movement until now)-- so this election definitely created a lot of excitement amongst a large number of people. 

On a side note, if people knew the history of umbc they would actually understand why our school was built in a circle, why some of the steps are large, why the buildings are scattered the way they are..and etc it has to do with riot control during the 60's so that the police could gather the crowds in the most effective way.

I'm really happy Obama won. Obviously politics are very complicated and he's not going to be able to do everything he has set out to do. But I think his positivity and fresh take on things will be at least better than what we've had the last 8 years. The reason I support Obama is not because of the media or the hype everyone has made about him, but because of his character and how he chooses to do things. I've read about his life and looking at some of the decisions that he has made, you can tell that he a person with right intentions. He could have taken an easier route to make money -- Obama was offered a job straight out Harvard Law to work for Wall Street but he decided to but his focus else where.  Whether people agree with Obama's stance or not-- the man has had a tough life and I really respect him for what he's done for himself.  It's funny because I had a dream that Obama won during the summer time and I can't believe it actually happened. 

Some funny Obama pictures.. 

soul group

----Blogger keeps deleting random parts of my post???? weird-----

There so many things I can talk about in my blog but for some reason I havnt had motivation to do so....

As far as my weekend goes, I had an wonderful time being with my family. I love when get together and spend time together as a group (specifically my aunt shiva, aunt aida, uncle saman, my mom, and i). even though i have a realllly large family, the five of us bond in a special way. We know that each of us help every person in the group to grow in some spiritual way. Even though we all a different type of connection-- we come together as one really strong unified group... which is the beauty of it. since we realize that we have such a profound affect on each other, we make it a point to put time aside to teach each other new things that we have learned /read about, have discussions on topics that were struggling with, challenge each other various ways and just be there for support. lol as cheesy as it sounds-- we love it and sometimes we spend 4-5 hours talking not realizing where the time has gone. 

Even when we dont see each other for a very long time-- we never feel like theres a gap in the relationship. im confident to say that everyone else feels the same way.. our life experiences make us very different but our connection is what keeps us together.

after spending hours in one of our "sessions' I feel like  I have taken ecstasy..I'm on a ridiculous high----happy, energic, motivated, refreshed, enlightened, and the list goes on. And sometimes If Im lucky enough it lasts for one or two weeks at a time. Theres nothing that motivates me more than learning and growing with others. 

Our fam has always been close but before last winter-- none of never felt this close or had this type of group dynamics. Its funny how all 5 of our lives came together in such a beautiful way at the perfect time God wanted. One change spread like wildfire completely flipping our lives upside down. This is prob why the last year has been both the hardest and best time for me. 

anyways-- I just want to thank God for the opportunity he has given me to live my life with these amazing people.. I know its a truly a blessing bc not everyone can have such positive influences in their life to support them. i know that we are all def vibrating on a the same wave length.... maybe one day i'll write about all the different projects these individuals have been involved in -- more so what they taught me through these projects.. but for now ill tell you how each of these people have impacted me:

shiva has taught me meditation, focus, deliberate creation, in addition to helping me see my spiritual strengths

aida has been my quran teacher growing up, and has always taught me everything through example. she really understands and lives the concept of oneness and self sacrifice. aida has always been one of my biggest role models 

saman has been a pure source of unconditional love and support. his ability to show his understanding towards others is so much more than ive seen in anyone else

and of course my mom... she has just been everything me to. more specifically she has always been a mirror standing infront of me-- forcing me to see the real me.. and showing me I how I need to improve myself. 

understanding my relationship to this group really tells you a lot about who I am and who I want to become. one post can only say so much...

k back to studying.. i really hope I dont have to pull a second all nighter : o