Concussion Woes

I don't think I've been through a more bipolar time in my life.  Having a concussion, I had to relax all the time and couldn't really do anything, which was a nice change; however, at the same time I knew I was falling behind and became increasingly stressed.  It's been 2 months since I've been in school for a full day, taken a test, or written an essay.  Taking 4 AP's definitely didn't help, considering the workload is already stressful without a concussion.

Teachers have been reacting differently to my situation: some understand, some don't as much. I've been warned about failing the class, not graduating, etc. This increased the stress I already had about falling behind - I hadn't even thought that teachers would consider something that was out of my control a cause for failure.  I understand that I'm falling behind, but it isn't my choice to go home early, to not do homework, to sleep for 12-16 hours each day.

Now that I can go back and start catching up, I'm both anxious and excited for teachers' responses.  I know some will be glad that I can start doing work again and get caught up, but I know others will give me all my work to be due at once, not even considering that I've also been missing 5 other classes.

I don't even know what chapter we're on in Statistics, or what labs we're doing in Physics; I've missed due dates for this blog and the discussions; Calculus I had no chance in before my concussion; Nutrition Concepts is a textbook (that I haven't opened in 2 months) to remember for 1 test; I have 6 or 7 (or 8) essays due for Lit; I haven't done any work for Gov, my only class based primarily on memorization.

Our culture's handling of concussions has changed significantly over the past 10-15 years, even the past 5 years.  The baseline tests that every athlete must take is a prime example of our need for control over concussions.  Though it's great that we've come to know so much about concussions over the past few years, this knowledge shouldn't only be kept among athletes and doctors, but should be shared with everyone.  My boss, an ex-gymnast, didn't even understand why I haven't been able to spot.  The severity of concussions and necessity of slow care and recovery should be common knowledge, not Snooki's baby's name or Mitt Romney's worth.

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Tragedy brings us together

The recent massacre in Connecticut on Friday has been everywhere - from Newspapers to social media to nearly every television channel.  It started with "I can't believe this," then "be thankful for your family and the time you have together." Now, it's become a debate over gun control.  But are guns really the problem? This is one of the many recent domestic attacks that have taken place in the past decade, the general consensus that school shootings began with the Columbine massacre in 1999, the Red Lake massacre in 2005, the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, and even the Colorado movie theater massacre early this year should be counted (though it didn't take place in a school, it was still a domestic act of violence resulting in a major loss of lives).  Everyone is either blaming guns or re-quoting "guns don't kill people; people kill people."

I firmly believe in the power of education, and that with knowledge comes acceptance.  We may not know why these people committed these terrible acts, but perhaps it was synonymous with the reason our suicide rates are so high right now.  People are going through issues that they haven't been taught how to handle, whether it's discrimination based on sexuality, victimized by bullying, depression or psychotic disorders, or anything else; no matter whether it is any of these reasons, or something else, these aren't things we are taught about in school.  They teach us to be nice to everyone and to help our friends who are sad, but they don't teach us what to do when we're the victims.  Most of these issues are taboo to talk about, even to our closest friends.

Maybe the problem in our culture is guns, maybe it's a lack of education; maybe it's even both.  But no matter what has caused these tragedies, thousands of people are personally affected.  They bring our nation together to mourn for the victims and reach out to their families, to appreciate our own families and recall that our time on earth is short.  We shouldn't need something like this for us all to agree.

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Why does it matter?

You ask someone if they know a certain person.  They say, "yes, the name. Describe them." How do you respond?

Age. Gender. Height. Weight. Skin color. Hair color. Eye color. Everyone is labeled in each of these categories, and it's how most people describe each other.  But why is this stuff the most important? Using this to describe someone doesn't really narrow down who it could be - millions of people could have the same combinations of this description.  What really separates us from each other is our personalities and actions.  Unless someone doesn't know who a person is by your physical description, you would describe their personality or an action they're known for (and most often negatively).  Maybe you say someone is a teenage female, 5' 6", thin, white, with brown hair and blue eyes.  That description would fit many high school girls, so it's not until you describe someone as obnoxious or quiet, or athletic or humanitarian, that it starts to make major differentiations.

So why do we start with something that isn't effective? Why do physical attributes matter in descriptions, when personality and actions are what really differentiate people?

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Subtle Addiction; Burning Stereotype

I know I talk about stereotypes a lot, but they're definitely a huge part of my life and American culture.

A few weeks ago, someone made the comment that "no one here is ghetto with piercings and tattoos;" needless to say, I freaked out on him.  I asked if I looked ghetto, and when he said no I showed him my tattoos and piercings. He was stunned into silence because piercings and tattoos wouldn't be expected from an "innocent Christian girl" such as myself.

This past week, I got 2 more piercings - my rook and my tragus. I was scared that they would hurt really badly, but they were just like my cartilage piercing, and my belly button was still the worst piercing as far as pain goes (the numbing didn't work, I saw the giant needle, etc.).  

For the past few months, I've been planning my next tattoo that I hope to get after school on my 18th birthday. Even though my birthday is not for a few months, I know if I have a plan it will give me something to look forward to through the long winter months. I think I've decided what I want, and I have a plan for a few other tattoos that I want to get with my best friend, my brother, and my mom.

Nearly every employer with an online application asks the question, "Do you have any piercings, tattoos, etc., that cannot be easily covered (ie. face, arms)?" Why does this matter? So many people around the world have piercings and tattoos that can and can't be easily covered; its normal to see other people with tattoos, piercings, and even stretched ears, nearly anywhere in a public place.  Fortunately, my employer doesn't require me to cover my tattoos because so many of the gymnasts' parents have them.

Needless to say, I might have a small addiction to tattoos and piercings.  They hurt like hell, but I love them all the same. I think tattoos help you find yourself when you're lost on one of life's roads; piercings are a more temporary form of self-expression that show people that you're willing to live through pain.  If tattoos and piercings mean so much to me (and to others like myself), why should we be judged for them? Why should I be "contradicting" my religion (that doesn't have a problem with clean tattoos) with tattoos and piercing? What difference does it make to other people, if my tattoos and piercings have meaning to me? 

First Tattoo 07/2011:

Second Tattoo 12/2011:

Ear Piercings (cartilage, tragus, rook, lobes x2) 11/2012:

Am I ghetto now?

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Time Is Everything

I have to wake up by a certain time to get to work. I have to clock-in to work by a certain time. I have to set up the gym for my first class by a certain time. I have to start my first class at a certain time. I have to warmup and rotate my class at a certain time. I have to finish my class at a certain time. I have to bring in the next class at a certain time. I have to leave work at a certain time. I have to work on my homework for only a certain amount of time (due to my concussion). I have to be asleep by a certain time in order to wake up by a certain time.

I have a type-A personality, I have to schedule my life so I don't forget to do anything.  I don't have a problem with everything being scheduled and timed; I'm completely lost without it.

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'MURICA

Top news stories of the world, according to http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/

• There's massive fighting on the Gaza Strip between Israelis and Palestinians
• Iran has 2800 centrifuges to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons
• Iraq released a militant who is accused of killing US soldiers
• Japan's Prime Minister has decided for parliament elections in mid-December, without the approval of his party, in an attempt to get the political parties to work together
• China has a whole cabinet of new leaders
• There was another explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico
• Over $5,000,000 has been collected for the victims of the Aurora, Colorado massacre 

And what's the top news story in America this week?

• Hostess is going out of business. No more Twinkies.

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Leotards

I've been trying to find a new leotard for months - I know what brand I want and what size I need.  The problem, however, is that leotards come in a small color scale.  Nearly every pattern that isn't animal print or obnoxious is pink. PINK.  Looking at GK Elite's leotards, how is a teen gymnast who doesn't like pink supposed to find a leotard she likes? 
Going through pages and pages of leotards, I've never found one that was less than $70 that I liked (and I'm not spending that much on a leotard, ever).  Between the animal print, America colors, just plain ugly, leotards are one of the hardest things for me to shop for.  
Why does GK Elite, along with other leotard companies within the gymnastics world, insist on the abundance of pink leotards? At the gym where I work, nearly every girl has a pink leotard because that's all she can find - and half of them don't even like pink! I think the abundance of pink leotards will last perpetually because gymnasts aren't willing to stand up to their leotard companies.  Looking at competitive gymnasts, next to no one has a pink leotard representing their team colors, especially the highly competitive gyms. 
The sport of gymnastics is highly stereotyped - girls must be dainty and perfect in order to be successful.  As a sport that's already stereotyped enough, why should we be forced to wear pink leotards, a stereotypically female color? 

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