Shattering Terrorist Myths in the U.S

So today I ask you a question: How are these terror attacks becoming such a common thing? Ever since 1999 it seems like the U.S. is littered with attacks. Today we are going to break some of the terror myths.
"Terrorist only work in large groups like Isis, and AL Qaeda."  The main problem with these attacks is that they are leaning less from a group or country, and more to fed up individuals.  According to independent.co.uk in a time period of just a few years 63 incidents were associated with groups like the Islamic state, while Right wing extremist (mostly white supremacist) were responsible for 116 attacks in the same amount of time. That is almost double the amount of the group incidents. Also 76 % of Islamic attacks were reported thwarted compared to 35% of the extremist attacks. What am I saying here? I'm saying that because they don't work with a select known terrorist group, they are a lot harder to identify, and are having more attacks. So let's just call that myth done.

"Terrorist are only from other countries"  116 attacks were from U.S citizens with extreme political leanings. U.S. Citizens.

"Terrorism just suddenly appeared." There have been small terrorist attacks throughout U.S. history. No one really thought too much about it until 9/11. It is kinda like racism. It still existed after the 1960s political movements, but because people have only until recently (I say that term loosely) been able to get their thoughts out through social media, and have gotten more aggressive about it. It still existed it just wasn't widely broadcasted.

So the real question is why do we feel like we have to hurt people who don't agree with us?  How can I explain this to my younger friends? How about to my future kids? What if they are gay? How do you explain this as if its normal? We need to learn to settle our differences non-violently. We need to push our law makers harder to get something done about guns.(I'm not liberal or conservative on this issue, I just know something needs to be done.) We need to teach our people that this isn't right. Because a lot of this stuff can be chalked up to how people were raised. We need to get back to being okay with different opinions, and welcome debate. We need to stop putting off these things, otherwise this issue will never get better. There will always be disgruntled people, but we need to teach them, that this behavior helps almost no one. That the biggest thing they change is the amount of people in a family, and where people can live. We as a country need to learn how to get along together again. Otherwise we might be another short lived Roman empire. We will collapse on ourselves.

To the class that snuck up and stole my heart.

Wow. I'm writing this just a few hours after the class of 2017 has graduated and all I have to say is wow. These people are people that I've seen almost everyday for at least 3 years. I thought they would be the class that wouldn't affect me;however, they have done quite the opposite.
The class of 2016 was obviously a really good class in all versions of the word. I never thought that I would miss another class as much as them. As usual, I was wrong.(it seems to become a trend now.) The first day this year I was hanging out with Tony before school, having lunch with Courtney in William's room, and practicing soccer with Goggles. (For those of you who don't know, Goggles is actually Andrew Kristofferson,but he always wears sports goggles, so that's where the nickname came from.) I came into to the year thinking that Becca would be my only attachment. As time went on events happened, and I ended up confiding in some of the seniors. When Cortez got arrested, Tony and I talked about it a lot, and it still comes up every once in a while now. When my grandma was first diagnosed with cancer this fall, one of the first people I talked to about it was Courtney. As the time grew so did the relationships and the levels of trust. I can honestly say that there are very few things that I would not tell to any of my now graduated friends. It's kinda funny how fast something can become normal, like Courtney and Tony's relationship, or my routine with seniors. I'm going to miss seeing them everyday. Whether it's not hanging with Tony before school, not messing with Kayla and Courtney during 3rd hour, not asking Mak how she is or if she's okay during lunch, or even just listening to Leia complain about something during yearbook, everyday is going to seem a little empty now. All of those will be memories that I hope to not forget anytime soon. While I might have wished to leave somethings on better terms with at least one of you, I am ready. I am ready to see what you accomplish outside of MHS. I have a feeling great things will come from the class of 17, and I am ready to see them happen. And if anything happens and you need someone to talk to, or even to just listen, I will be open and available to you just like you were to me. Love you/ Miss you/ Don't be a stranger/any other ending you think fits here!

The timing of God

God's timing is astounding. Yes I might have been raised in a almost always late family, yes I might always want to get to stuff early, but his timing is perfect. I will provide you a couple of examples from tonight.  I am writing this on the way back from Winter Jam. (For those of you who don't know,  Winter Jam is a concert with multiple Christian artist.) Since late September my grandma has been diagnosed with stage four cancer of 3 different types. She was given 6 to 12 months to live. She is approaching her last semi-guaranteed month, with that being February. During the Tenth Avenue North segment of the concert, they started to tell a story. Their guitar player has a sister that had gotten diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, so they wrote the song "I have hope" for her during her year of intense chemotherapy. Well the studio had told them that it needed to be on the next album, and the sister decided to go to the studios with them. While they were recording the sister got a text from the hospital. She was officially announced "in remission".  This path month I've been slowly preparing myself for my grandma's death. When you are prepared it doesn't affect you as much. This story just showed that February might not be the end. God is still in the miracle business, and I just have to trust him. Needless to say I (who doesn't go to tears super often) was starting to tear up during this song, which along with my other thing that I will say in a couple of sentences, was what I needed to hear.
   My next example also comes from Winter Jam, but starts a few days before. I was taking a look at my life and the world around me, and I realized something very ironic. My best friend Becca (who you should check out her YouTube channel, Turtles and Jesus.) has almost everything I wanted from life right now. She had a job at a radio station, she knew what she was going to do with her life, she had a boyfriend that they both could see each other getting married to (that kinda scared me a little bit, so I'm glad I'm not Ben.), she had a car, her parents would pay for her insurance, she had her drivers license... and the list just goes on and on. So I had started getting jealous, started getting mad. I even over stepped my boundaries with the question of " Why not me God? Why does she get what I want?".  Little did I know that God was going to answer me tonight. Sadie Robertson( yes the girl from Duck Dynasty) took the stage with words that God needed her to speak. She brought up the story of David and Goliath first. Goliath had pretty much anything to almost make sure he would always be the champion of battle. He had lots of muscles, abnormal height, heavy protective armor, and a giant spear that could kill anyone. He comes David, this little old farm boy with no combat experience, no armor, and no really appreciated weapons. He told Saul " hey I can take care of this guy." I imagine Saul looked at him like he was crazy. Here was this silly little farm boy, who in no way matched up to Goliath at all, who said that he could take Goliath on a fight. Saul even asked him if he was sure. David answered that if God protected him from the bear, then God would protect him from Goliath. David (as far as we know) never complained, never asked God to change his circumstances with this fight, he just took his sling and stones, and did what God wanted him to. Needless to say he won. He didn't focus on what Goliath had, he focused on what he had. That's what I need to do. I need to stop looking at everyone else's stuff, and start looking at what I have.  So yeah, God's timing is perfect.

One of the greatest gifts: the smile :)

So often we have gifts from God that we don't even recognize, breathe, the ability to speak and think, and smiles. We take some of these things for granted so much, we forget about them. Ever look at a regular picture? The chances are that there is at least one smiling person. A lot of people go around smiling without even really knowing that they are doing it. Smiling can start conversations, and is one of the best ways to start to tell how someone is feeling at a given moment. Most of all though, is the pure joy it can radiate. For instance, I did something nice that was unexpected and as soon as the person found  what it was, they started smiling cheek to cheek. (God has a really good sense of timing too, but that's for another story.) That gave me one of the warmest feeling I have had in a while. It showed that if you try to make the world a better place one act at a time, it will work. It felt amazing knowing that I could have started that much happiness. They say that smiles and happiness are contagious, and they aren't wrong. One smile can lead to two, or three. Those two or three can lead to more... So always try to keep smiling, because it can start so.e great things

Letter to freshman (and technically everyone in high school I guess)

Wow. You've gone through 9 or more years of this educational system and finally made it here. High school. The supposed best 4 years of your life. I made the mistake of rushing through my first two years, so I thought I might share some lessons I've learned so far, and hope that it helps you guys.
    Lesson #1 : High school is what you make it to be.
     Depending on who you talk to high school is either really fun, really challenging, or really bad. Despite popular belief sometimes it's not the schools doing; it's yours. There are tons of choices you make in high school to determine how it's going to be. These can include the classes you take, the people you hang out with, and the things you do. One of the best things about high school is that you have 4 years to try and find the right combination. Very few people actually find the right combo freshman year, so don't worry about it. You have three other years to figure it out.
      Lesson #2 : Don't let fear rule your life.
I know this probably goes for regular life also, but I couldn't stress it more. Sometimes you won't want to do something because you don't think it will end well. I can assure you that if you don't try, you won't know. There is no thinkable number of things people don't do because of fear. For guys a big one is not asking that girl to a dance or a date, for girls it may be trying a new sport or hanging out with a new group of people. Bottom line is that if you let fear rule you decisions, you won't get the best high school experience.
   #Lesson 3: Find Something that calms you down.
Inevitably (big word, I know) stress will get to you. A good example is around finals week (or when you have 9 pages of a 12 page research paper due the next day. :) ) There are so many things that can calm a person down. Tackling someone, shooting a ball into a ball or basket, playing various instruments, making videos, or even finding that one friend to vent to can all calm you down. When you need it that reliever will be there.
            #Lesson 4 : Don't get hung up on that one person.
   So many people believe they have to be in a relationship during high school, so they find that one person they "love". Some people don't move on for a long time. One thing many people have to discover is that by being single you can essentially go on dates with multiple people. So really getting hung up on that one person, (unless it works out very well, the I applaud you.) is the wrong move.
             #Lesson 5 : Time is fleeting
  Finally I believe this tip is the most important. This is also part of why number 4 is a tip. Your time in high school is not going to last forever. Make the most of the moments that surround you everyday. I'm not telling you to tell the​ future off. The future is still very important, but sometimes you need to forget the future for a minute. The classes,  teachers, classmates, and even rooms won't always be there. More importantly, you won't always be there. Sometime soon (whether you think so or not...) you will be leaving high school. You'll be leaving the town you've always known. So before you get caught up in all the future might hold, take a look around, laugh a lot, play around, and more importantly don't pass up opportunities to have fun.