Sorry I haven't updated in such a long time...it's been a long while actually!! But I know Shanny has been waiting for me to update this thing so...here ya go!!!

What exactly is love?  Or better yet, how does one know that they are in love? How can a person tell that the feelings that they feel are love? What if they are in fact lust, or just simple infatuation? Could it be possible for two people who have just met to claim that they are in love and get married? Which leads to more questions, like can a marriage based soley on lust last? Or can two people deeply in love  stay in love? Can someone who lusts after someone else claim months later that they’ve fallen in love? And the best question of all still remains…how do we know the answer to these questions?

Any person can come up with a definition of the word ‘love’.  But can there really be a definition? Put it this way: If ten people would be asked their definition of love, most likely all their answers would be different.  “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”…well that kind of works like love.  Love is different for each person who feels it.  Some describe it like butterflies in their stomach everytime they are around the person they love.  Some people say they can’t breathe or talk when they’re around this person. Some say they get weak in the knees.  Some say they feel a sense of belonging.  Some say the feeling is indescribable. The point is, you cannot tell someone they’re not in love. Because only they know how they feel, and there is no set definition.

Some people just wake up and know they are in love.  For some people it may take a long time to fall in love.  Others may only take a few hours, days, weeks…There are many who will go to their friends and tell their friends they look like they are in love. The friends may deny it, which is completely understandable.  Maybe they are in love, but they don’t know it. For some people, they just know when they are in love.  For others, they’re not sure about what they are feeling, so they need to realize.  But in general, you just know.

So there is no set way to tell whether the feelings you feel are love or just lust or infatuation.  There is no specific way that you can tell.  One must look deep inside themselves and discover their true feelings.  This person also cannot listen to the words of others, because these words can be extremely misleading. If a person thinks they are in love, then most likely they are.

It is extremely possible for two people who have just met to be in love. For some, it doesn’t take much for them to fall in love. Simply spending hours with someone a day for a few days is enough for some to fall in love. Others it may take a long time to get comfortable enough with someone to even admit to liking them. Some people get to know someone quickly, and like everything about them and fall in love. Many people claim marriages made that quickly won’t last very long.  While this may be true, this doesn’t mean that the two people weren’t in love to begin with.  This simply means that they might not have known each other as well as they thought, or they didn’t realize specific character flaws about their significant other.  But it is definitely possible for two people who have just met to be in love.

It is possible for a marriage based soley on lust to last.  Is it likely? No. But possible? Yes. Two people that are physically attracted to one another, possibly even friends, could be in a marriage.  If their relationship was based on the physical aspect, then they’ve already proved that they can tackle one important part of a marriage.  Some claim that the physical part of a relationship isn’t really that important.  But, in a physcological perspective, a marriage with a bad sex life leads to other problems. So the lust is actually a good thing. The marriage would be more likely to work if the two people were friends.  This way they actually have something in common, and can get along outside the bedroom. If two people are married and the only thing they can agree on is their sex life, then it’s not a healthy marriage and probably will last a very short time.  Overall it is possible for two people who aren’t in love but lust after one another to stay in a marriage.

Of course two people deeply in love can stay in love.  Many people claim that over time their love only grows stronger.  It is true that some people who are in love can fall out of love, and only have friendly feelings for the person they once loved.  Love creates a deep bond between people, and most commonly this bond cannot be broken. Is it possible for two people in love to stay in love? Yes.

Most say that if someone claims they lust after someone, then they’ll always only lust after this person.  This is not true.  Some physical relationships turn into love.  For example: Two people meet and are physically attracted to one another.  They claim they only lust after each other.  But months go by, and these two people get to know each other, have fun together, laugh together, cry together, spend a lot of time together…It is very possible for these two people to have fallen in love.  How could this not be  possible? If it is possible for two friends to have friendship turn into love, then it is possible for two people who lust after each other to fall in love.

Overall love confuses and mystifies many. The complexity of this seemingly simple topic has boggled the minds of many people.  How do I know all of this? I don’t. This is just my interpretation, one that makes sense at least to me. Maybe you don’t agree, but at least it answers my questions. I’m not saying I fully understand love, because I d on’t.  Love is not easily understood, and I don’t think anyone will ever understand ever aspect of this perplexing subject.

Well there you have it!!

Next Topic: ...any suggestions? lol.

So since I'm already pissed off, I might as well talk about a topic that pisses me off.

Is justice really justice?

So you watch the news and you see some Joe Shmo off the street being convicted of child molestation because 3 weeks earlier he was accused.

Then, you watch the Michael Jackson trial.  Months and months after being accused, he was tried.  And the trial took forever.  He was "innocent" on every single count.  Now, come on.  He admitted half of the counts in an interview with Barbra Walters, saying he thought there was nothing wrong with giving alcohol to a child or sleeping with them.  Was this "justice"?  Or was it a celebrity getting special treatment?  I think it's the second option.  Some of the jurors said they thought he might have molested a child, just not that certain one.  Please. It's a crock of shit.  Now, I'm not saying this because I'm biased against him...I'm simply saying that if this would have been a guy off the street, he would have been tried months earlier than Jackson, and would've been found guilty no matter what.  For crying out loud, he hung a baby off of a balcony.  Do you know what would've happened to a normal lower class woman who would've done that? She would've been arrested/tried for child endangerment.

Look at what Courtney Love has gotten away with.  She's been accused of a lot of things, but has she gotten near the sentencing you or me would've gotten? No.

I watched the Jackson trial and cried.  I really did.  Because it just proved to me that celebrities get special treatment. 

And it's not just celebrities.  What about popular teens in high school? The ones that have money and can get away with anything because their parents have influence?  Brit once got in trouble because of her skirt, but yet that same day I passed Tracy Sutphen TALKING TO A TEACHER all chummy wearing a shorter skirt than Brit.  Did she get in trouble? No.

For example:

I could skip class and destroy the bathroom, and get a really bad punishment.  But a popular girl could do it, and her dad could be like "you better not punish her because I give this school a lot of money" and she wouldn't get punished.  It's not fair!!

Here's another example:

My grandma is friends with one of the business teachers in Cv (I forget his name).  And a few years ago, there was a girl that kept skipping his class, and at the end of the year she couldn't graduate because she was failing his class.  Her dad had a lot of influence, and he threatened to sue if the teacher wouldn't pass her.  It even went as far as the school board, but luckily she didn't get away with it. 

The point is, a lot of times (especially with football players) people with influence get out of their crime.

How fair is that to the rest of the population that doesn't have a lot of money and isn't famous?

As I said, the Jackson trial just proves that if you want to get away with something (whether you're guilty or innocent) all you have to do is have MONEY. The object the world centers around.

...btw, sorry for not updating this journal since May.  I haven't really thought of any good debates to start since then. but I will try from now on. hehe.

-Summer-

So! By request (and help of a topic ) I'm updating this thing.

Today's Topic :::: Religion in Schools

Ok. So I'm not exactly sure where to start with this.

First off, I'm not sure about other religions in other countries. I'm sure that in the countries where buddism is majority and judaism is majority...that religion is allowed in school. But here in America, religion is frowned upon in ways.

Possible reason? Because our country is a 'melting pot'...Many different cultures and religions and types of people live and worship in our country. That's a major contrast to the middle east where there are whole countries that are pretty much dedicated to just one religion. Plus, it seems in some middle eastern countries that religion is not just religion, it's a way of life. Now, I'm not saying it's not like that here, because for some it is, I'm just saying it's not for the whole country.

Then we have the pledge in the morning. And is not one line of it "...one nation, under God, indivisable...". I'd say yes it is. So, we can have other kids from other countries who may not be Christian say that when they are in our schools...But we're not allowed to pray?

I really don't know how to word all of this, so bear with me.

Of course I don't think that they should be forcing religion down people's throats. I mean, we have many different religions in our school! And students such as atheists might be offended by this! But I do think that if we WANT to pray...That we should be allowed. If we WANT to show someone who also shares our beliefs a passage out of the bible...I think we shouldn't get in trouble.

It's like it's frowned upon and the religious students are freaks. They created morning prayer groups that meet in the mornings before school starts. Like they don't want anyone to see the students praying. Of course it can't be during school! It might offend someone!

Me? Personally? If I had the choice, I probably would not pray in school. Few reasons why.

1. For me, it's a personal thing. I don't need people watching me pray.
2. It's kind of like my ritual before I go to sleep. Get in bed, get comfortable, pray.
3. I wouldn't be able to concentrate on what I was praying about!

I think that it's truly not ment to offend those who want to be religious in schools. It's simply the fact that they are trying to keep the majority happy. Isn't that what the world does? Keep the majority of 'whatever' happy? They don't do it TO make the minority unhappy...It's just how it happens.

Just like evolution and creation. Me personally? I believe in both. I think it's possible. But that's a long story. If you want an explaination, ask me. But there was the school down in Dover (I think Dover?) that was teaching creation. There was an uproar. I just don't see what the big deal is. Well, I see it, but I don't understand. Because people are narrowminded. They don't realize that while they may be offended by the idea of creation, students believing in creation may be offended by the idea of evolution. I think it was a noble thing for that school to do. One way to try to unite people and see each other's point of view. I think it's neat.

So yes. I think religion should be allowed in school. School isn't just school for a lot of people...it's life. 8 hours of life. That could be spent worshipping for those students who would choose to. Obviously shouldn't be mandatory, but should be allowed.

Thank you for your time.

I hope I didn't offend anyone!!!

Ideas for next topic?

Ok. So I have a half hour till I have to get offline, so I decided I'd update this thing.

I seriously thought about not writing in this anymore, because everyone gets mad at each other in comments. Please everyone. Leave only one comment stating your opinion. Don't leave comments commenting on OTHER people's comments...It just ruins the whole mood of this journal. K Than

So today's topic is: The corruption of today's children

*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*

So you see today's children, and what do you notice?

I mean, look at the kinds of activities kids today are getting into. There are 10 year olds committing suicide! It's so sad...

And then you have the statistics that say that boys as early as age 11 try pot...

And what's with the little girls ages like 13 having sex?!?!

Or thinking they're in love?! There are kids in 5th grade that are in 'serious' relationships...And a girl's boyfriend will beat up another guy for 'flirting' with his girlfriend...in 5th grade! (taken from my little sister's relationship)

There are little first graders at bus stops swearing and singing Eminem...There are preschoolers taking guns and needles into school.

I think it's Tv, I think it's movies, I think it's music...Everything has sex in it, and everything has to swear. Our children are exposed to too much!

When I was in 5th grade, I was listening to the backstreetboys, playing with barbies, playing board games, dancing in the talent show, watching nickelodeon...and so were a lot of my friends!

Most 5th graders right now::: No backstreetboys, Eminem, Ciara, 50 Cent...No barbies, each other...They're too *cool* for barbies. No board games, games like spin the bottle!! No dancing in the talent show, sexy pole dancing moves in the talent show. No nickelodeon...Things like MTV and porn...

When I look at how snobby my sister and her friends are...It's worse than a lot of popular girls in our school!!!

Kids aren't kids anymore. Once kids hit like 9-10, they're immediately thrust into acting like a teenager. It disgusts me!

I hate how kids that are like 11 years old get mad when you call them kids! It's like, WELL UR NOT A TEENAGER! AND THEN THEY SAY, YES I AM!!

It makes me sick!

Think about how *kids* are going to act when all of us are old enough to have kids. It's going to be even worse!

I just wanna see little girls with barbies again...

Anyways...

That's all for now..

Wow...So I'm so sorry it's been like a month since my last post...I just haven't really felt like updating anything lately!

So I said I'd talk about religion, so I'm going to. I just haven't exactly worked out what I'm going to say.

Let's start out with this.

For one, I get annoyed when people judge others by their religion. Me, I'm methodist. I knew a girl when I went to Boiling Springs that was catholic or something like that. But extremely religious. Acted like her 'religion' was so much better than everyone elses. Silly girl, it's all part of Christianity. It's just a different sect.

But what I don't understand is how to some people something is a sin, and others it's not.

Let me explain.

This same girl, once bothered me to no end telling me that hoop earrings were a sin, and I shouldn't wear them if I didn't want to go to hell. Now, anyone that knows me knows I LOVE my hoops. No matter what size, I love them all! And I stood there thinking, why would God care about the kind of earrings I wear?

And anyway, what right does she have to decide what God wants and where I'm going when I die?

Why are things so important to a certain sect, but then not to others?

I think people take God to seriously sometimes. Again, let me explain.

Kind of going along with my other example, yes, people decide what God wants. They interpret the bible in such a way that they tell everyone that they're sinning and they're going to hell. Which, is ignoring the bible completely when you are mean to someone. Helloooo...Do these people really think that God wants them to go around being mean to people just to 'spread his will'? I'm not saying that is or isn't how he feels. I'm just wondering if it's how they feel. 

This is going to sound awful, but I don't mean it the way it sounds. I really don't know how to say it. But I hate when people shove their religion down my throat.

Everyone has their own beliefs, and if I choose to do something, I hate people saying that God will do this and God will do that. It gets kind of old.

And. Since when are we supposed to judge against people that don't believe in God? There are sooo many people that are just appalled at the thought of someone not believing in God. So what's wrong with that? Personally, yes, I have a lot of faith in the big man upstairs. But there is nothing wrong with a person that doesn't believe. That's their personal choice, and I think people should respect that.

And then people are also appalled when someone has doubts about their faith. I honestly don't see the problem with having a few doubts now and then. I know I have before. Not lately, but I have. And Mom has. And Sierra does a lot. And I know when Gary's relatives started dying, his sister got very upset and starting questioning everything. And then so did Gary. What is so wrong with that? Isn't it normal to not understand or question things no one has the answers to?

And why do people judge things that have a title?

Christian Music : A lot of people don't even give it a chance. I admit, I never thought I'd ever listen to it. Just because I thought I had better things to listen to. I wasn't interested. But a certain friend of mine liked it, and I gave it a chance, and discovered it was amazing... Why can't others? (Coincidentally, ZoeGirl is my backround music. Just so you know! )

Christian Concerts : Again, a lot of people cringe or laugh. Without giving them a chance.

What is with these people? I mean, you worship God, but you won't even give music worshiping him a chance? I'm not saying it's a horrible thing, I just don't understand. Plus a lot of the music doesn't even SOUND christian. Like ZoeGirl! A lot of their songs can actually be interpreted many ways. And, their msuic sounds pop. I'm not sure if people are expected people to be singing hymns on a cd or what...I'm not sure...I just don't get it.

In my personal opinion I also think people that take God too seriously need to lighten up. What fun is life when all you are doing is worrying about pleasing God so you can go to heaven? I mean, yes, I know it's important, but I think (as in opinion ) that God smiles upon us having fun. And I think that if we do something wrong and ask him for forgiveness, he can look past it. Because I don't think he wants us sitting at home depressed and lonely just so we don't accidentally commit and sin and have to go to hell...

So in light of the whole 'religion' topic, I am going to post the Lord's prayer...If you don't believe in God, then ignore it. I'm just posting it because I'm bored and it's my favorite thing in the whole world!

The Lords Prayer

Our father, who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name; thy kindom come
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us"
Our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kindom, the power, and the glory forever.
Amen.

So that's it everyone.

Next topic: I haven't decided yet. Help!