The key to returning the United States of America too its former glory is staying local. We need to start making products here in America and not in foreign countries. We should be focusing on recreating and innovating cities, Chrysler, an auto motive company is doing a fabulous job in this area of production. All of there cars are being made in detroit, and some are even saying that Detroit 10 years from now will be restored too what it used to be.

I don’t understand why war has to occur to solve the world’s issues-- why people have to kill people. Guns don’t do the killing; the holder of the weapon kills the other person on the opposite side of the battlefield. I don’t understand why bombs have to screech through the air to rid of something that can be solved by talking things out in a political manner. I don’t understand why detonations have to be reached to discharge a reaction. I don’t understand why grenades fly when they don’t need too. Why bullets fly at mach1 speed to accomplish something that could have been solved a different way. Why scopes are able to peer into someone’s face from a mile away. Why bombers bomb, why nuclear warheads are launched, Why War Exists. War takes many innocent lives. War affects many lives of many people who  aren’t even involved. War kills off environments; war is something of mass proportions that the human mind can’t even fully conceive, because the majority of the world doesn’t even know the truth.

War.

War has thrived for century’s right down to the beginning of man. Man fights for whatever he wants. But in this day in age, war can prove to end all. End all of man. Why does man continue to fight wars when they know with the one turn of a key? 30 nuclear warheads could roar through the sky aimed at, The United States, France, England, China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, etc.  All those countries could be blown up in a matter of seconds.

War is an excuse for people who can’t or don’t know how to talk to people. We use the use of our military as a sense of security to protect us from people who want what we have or would like to rid of what we have. We have sheets of metal stacked up at the border to try and stop people from illegally coming over to the United States, and why are they coming? The drug war is over taking their homes, there businesses and their families. Too solve our problems we turn to guns and bullets. Don’t get me wrong I still think we should behold a national army because not everybody will solve things in a peaceful manner. Some Nations resort to war because it’s their way of life and that’s how they like it. They like resorting to guns and ammo to try and solve their problems because they think it will be easier to shed blood instead of shedding words.

I believe that the United States should try very hard to talk to other countries before we result to helping anybody with our army or using our military for our personal use. I believe that mostly anything is able to be solved through conversation if you know how to converse well.

Just take Egypt for example, they were peacefully protesting. The only reason it got violent was because the people that wanted them gone decided to use brute force and they weren’t able to stop them.

            I have always adored super heroes, comics, fantasy, and ideas. No, I had never been a die-hard fan, collecting figurines and rare comic books, but I knew more than enough to be considered a ‘fan’. I could describe Sally Jupiter’s costume almost exactly. I knew every one of Superman’s powers. I could tell you that my favorite super power was ‘phasing’, which was held by the super hero Kitty Pryde (A.K.A Shadowcat) from X-men. But after yesterday, July 24^th, my liking for comics and entertainment, thought to be ‘dorky’ or ‘nerdy’, has grown into a love.

            Over the years, I had always heard about this huge event held at the convention center, but had never paid too much attention to it until the last couple of years. Some of my friends would attend, and brought back lovely gifts back for me. Since then, I had a really strong urge to go for myself. This year, my friend, Gabi, called me and said she wanted me to go to comic con with her. I was very excited and immediately worked on a costume to match.

            Our group had a total of 4 people, each of us dressed as a character from Pokemon. Jasmine was Ash Ketchum, Gabi was Misty, Angela was Pikachu, and I was a Pokemon called Togepi. I had worked extremely hard on my costume, perfecting it, fixing it, and altering it. But alas, I had finished it on my own, and was very proud.    

            Our goal was to get at least one person to come up and want a picture with us, but over the course of the day, dozens and dozens came up, getting excited, and taking pictures with us. It was an absolutely beautiful feeling. As if I was such an important person. I especially loved when someone would run from many yards away, calling out the name Togepi, just to get my attention. I saw this even from fully-grown adults, getting extremely excited to see a character they used to see when they were much younger. It was one of the best feelings I encountered at the Con.

            The sea of people, at first, just overwhelmed me. It wasn’t so much the density or the number of people that shocked me, but the diversity of them. To me, it felt like this is where the population of the world was meeting up. Each person represented a different part or aspect of the world. I had never truly realized how large and beautiful the convention center was until I  fully experienced it. Over the course of the day I could remember where some of my favorite booths were and could avoid getting lost.

Celebrities attended as well. I saw (but didn’t particularly meet or get the autograph of) many different celebrities. There were many stars at Comic Con over the course of the 4 days, but I only went one day, and only saw a portion of them. I saw people such as LL Cool J (NCIS), Blake Lively (Gossip Girl), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Jerry Trainor (I Carly), Don Cheadle (Iron Man 2), the cast of Fringe, V, and the Vampire Diaries. 

I tried out unreleased video games, bought many new comic books, and had a great time with my friends. I was amazed at how many people were interested in the same thing I am.

Just seeing the impact this place has on people was completely astounding. I met the most phenomenal people who I could relate to, who I could look up to, who I wanted to be like. They weren’t super heroes, they weren’t famous people, they weren’t like mainstream society, but they were just like me. I’m the weird girl of the crowd. Always have been and always will be. And I kind of like it. Sometimes I don’t, just for the way people look down upon me. But there, at Comic Con, I felt normal. I had no worries. I didn’t care about a thing. As if everything that was ever bad, just, went away.

Comic Con seems to, not have changed something about me, but instead enlighten me about myself. It showed me I don’t need to fit into the crowd, because I am a unique individual. It was all because a group of ‘nerds’ decided to meet up together with their comic books. I am proud to say, I am one of them. Comic Con was one of the best experiences of my entire life, and I cannot wait until next year when I get to relive it all over again.

Just Random Pictures

1. You can sleep until 10 a.m., or until your mom yells at you for being lazy and drags you out of bed.

2. You eat a breakfast of chocolate cake and nobody lectures you about the importance of a healthy breakfast and how crucial it is that the first food you eat of the day stimulates you brain for the long day of school ahead.

3. The stress of school is completely gone and you don’t have to worry about that English essay or that math test or any other madness.

4. You go to a store or out to lunch and see people dressed in suits, feel sorry for them, but are glad that it’s them working and not you.

5. You play “would you rather” through texts for a full day, never having to take a break except to eat or use the bathroom.

6. You start making lunch at 3 p.m.

7. You realize that you don’t know what day it is until you look at the headline of the newspaper.

8. You’re in your pajamas until 4 p.m. and spend all day watching a marathon of the Twilight movies and talking on the phone.

9. You can read a whole book in a day, and enjoy it because it’s something you chose to read and not an assignment.

10. When someone calls you and asks when you can hang out, you’re available pretty much every day.

Oh, the joys of vacation.

Ever wonder what teachers do over their breaks? Well, much like you, they hang out with friends and family, rest-up for a new school year, and of course, play. I'm writing to you now from Palm Springs, where I am vacationing with my auntie :)  We got here this afternoon, and we'll go back on Thursday. When I left San Diego this morning, the sun was hiding behind the marine layer, and there was a chill in the air. Here in PS, the temp is over 100 degrees, and sun is blazing! All I plan on doing this week is lay out by the pool, swim, and relax... maybe with a pedicure.

I hope you're all getting plenty of rest and play!
-- Ms. R

On Tuesday, June 30, 2010, Ms. Roberts' family welcomed the newest member of their family!

Photos taken on March 3,2010. Elective Fair. Ignore the photos with the hands blocking the pictures.

Blog Entry #3