Atrocity

 I'm Emily and I'm 23 living in Texas. I grew up in the same house that I live in currently and I eat popcorn when I'm sad. These are pretty well known facts about me that most of my good friends know (maybe not the popcorn thing, but my family definitely is aware of that lovely gem). I'm a simple gal who keeps to herself mostly and avoids conflict. I do not care for confrontation-I never have. I'm the girl who usually stays away from all the political junk and religious conflict and keep my opinion to myself. But, I've had enough of sitting by watching the world decay.

 It seems that every day, there is a new source of evil attacking humanity. One of the obvious would be the bombing yesterday in Boston. I was at work, talking to a couple about their focus areas for their massage, when the guy burst out in anger that Boston had been bombed. My original thought was, oh that stinks, and then moved on. I didn't realize how upset about it I would be until I was able to go home and watch the news. Almost immediately, everyone was changing their Facebook status and profile pictures to "Pray for Boston." As I was watching the footage on CNN, my heart sank as I realized there will always be something evil attacking us. Thousands of people were on location. I know we haven't identified who set off the bombs, but to me, it matters the destruction they have caused. I can't even imagine that kind of trauma. What do we do now? I have no idea.

Then, today, a friend of mine posted a this story about Kermit Gosnell. This man is pure evil and I don't know how on earth I have not heard of this until now. Whether or not you agree with abortion, this is about murder of several children-not a battle over the right to abort.

Whether or not you believe it is okay to abort a child in your own mind, these children (seven found, but there may be more) were breathing and moving. They were alive. Their mothers gave birth to them and then this sick, evil man, took scissors and snipped their necks. They were murdered, not aborted.

I'm not okay with that. How on earth did this man get away with this?  How on earth are we just hearing about this? He's had an up and running "abortion" clinic for twenty years (17 years without an inspection by the Health Department). I can argue all day long about the fact that I don't agree with abortion, but this was past the "24 week mark"of legal abortion. Some babies were 30 weeks old when they were "aborted."

I am a huge fan of criminal shows, which are based on actual criminals, but this is unimaginable. This news article by the Post speaks on why we're just now hearing about this atrocity. The media hasn't been covering this story-why not? President Obama "cannot" make a comment or take a side on this matter.
THIS IS NOT THE ABOUT THE RIGHT TO ABORTION.
This is about a man, who is killing children. A man who is keeping their feet in jars in his office. A man who stuffs their bodies in freezers. I'm appalled. I don't care if you agree with my  statements, but don't expect me to be okay with this. As I've already stated, I do not agree with abortion, and I sure as hell don't agree with killing a child after they are delivered. After they're breathing. After they're screaming.

I know there are tons of good men and women in the world, but it seems like we only highlight the evil in the world. We need to stop pretending everything is dandy and alright and fight for what we believe in. I'm not saying we should picket abortion clinics and shun people who choose abortion, at all.

 I'm saying if you have an opinion, express it, don't just keep it in for yourself. If you believe something is right or wrong, stand up for your opinion. That is your right. Don't be an ignorant person who just decides to ignore it all or say you don't have an opinion. Be convicted by your beliefs without being crazy.
 Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but we must all respect the opinion of our peers, even when we don't agree.

My name is Emily and I'm a real woman who has a very real opinion.

Cancer

In the last year, too many people that  I love have passed due to cancer. In September alone, I lost two very dear family members because of this disease. Cancer is everywhere and it is striking whoever and wherever it wants. To say that I'm frustrated is an understatement.

On November 5th, we will be remembering a beloved man, Randy Clinton. He was such a blessing to me and my family. He was only in my life for ten years, but for those ten years, memories were created that I will never forget. From the bright yellow shirt that he wore to his bug eyed face that he made, he will never be forgotten. One post in my blog is not enough to contribute to this man. His love for life and for people, but mostly for God was incredibly inspiring. The way he loved me even though I wasn't his own gave me hope. I was a witness of what a real man, a good man, was. I miss something different about him almost every day, but I feel him in my heart.
One thing that Randy said during his battle with cancer was that if God's purpose for his life had already been fulfilled, then he was ready to be with God-to go home. That's something I have not yet been able to grasp. It makes sense, of course, but I'm a selfish woman. I don't like letting go, I don't like saying goodbye. I hate the fact that I put up so much resistance when he started dating my mother. I hate the fact that it took me so long to see how good of a man he really was. I love the fact that he never stopped caring about me or loving me, even when I didn't want it, when I was trying to be a hardass.

I had never seen my mother happier, even when they were irritated with each other, it was always better than the memories of her without Randy. He brought out the best in her, and the most humorous version of her. She became a different person to me. I was finally able to really see the blessings bestowed upon me. For once in my life, she finally got to be just the mother, not the father too. I remember the day they got married--it was a very scary day for me. I grew up without a father figure, really, and I didn't want to admit that I needed one. We were always giving each other a hard time, but, he was everything I never had but always wanted. What I always needed.

It's a weird feeling to think he's been gone for an entire year. I can't wait until we meet again.

Crazy Guys and Defensive Driving

I'm grumpy and happy at the same time. This day has been one of the weirdest days off that I've had in a while. Aunt Flow is here for the week, so, sorry for the ranting that will likely occur in a few moments. Overall, the day was alright...I'm just glad I'm about to go to bed and it will be over.

I only have one class this semester and it is on Thursday evenings for three hours (lamest class ever). I thought I left early enough to avoid too much traffic, but I was wrong. I was already grumpy but got even grumpier right up until I parked my car at UTSA. After I finally got to school, I had to park...which any Roadrunner knows, is an ordeal of its own. I was driving in the parking lot and almost got to the row I wanted to turn on and this guy pulls out at the last second, almost causing an accident so I honked. Defensive driving says I'm supposed to honk to alert the other driver of danger...and I'm horn happy, so I like using it. This time, it really was because he was going to hit me and I wanted to get the message of "HELLO I'M HERE, DON'T GO WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE TIME" to him without him hearing me. So being irritated even more, I parked my car and was getting all of my stuff together to walk to class. I look up and that guy I just honked at was waiting in front of my car staring at me from his car. I was a little freaked out, so I waited a couple of minutes but I was going to be late, so I got out of the car with full intention of ignoring this creeper. He rolls his window down and says, "this is a parking lot, you shouldn't be using your horn, and, slow down." I just gave him a thumbs up and said "Right of way." I wasn't going too fast, he waited until the worst possible time to pull out of his row, almost causing an accident. So, I was heated walking to class and then was just mad the whole class. It didn't help that we talked about nonsense for almost three hours.

When I got home, I decided I needed to finish defensive driving...for real. I was cutting it close. So, I finally finished. at 11 PM. Go me! There were so many things in this course that don't apply to defensive driving in any way. Of course, at the end, I left great feedback because I wanted to hurry up and get my certificate, but I was not satisfied. Next time, I won't go 12 miles over the speed limit.

I got to catch up with a few old friends today, though, so the day was alright. I wouldn't call it good and I wouldn't call it bad. This is probably the lamest post I've posted thus far. I cannot guarantee that it will be the lamest, but for now, it is.

Tomorrow is Friday. Thank God.