Minako

Though I'm only 17, I have to disagree with some people in this thread for saying that you should stay together for your daughter. My own parents are doing that, clearly, they don't love each other anymore, and it hurts me sometimes. There have been times that I wish that they would just get a divorce so that we can all be happy again. Get this, I WISHED MY PARENTS TO GET A DIVORCE! Do you really want your daughter to feel the strain between you two? Do you want her to want you to get a divorce? Though, I don't know how old she is. If she's too young to understand, it might be different. But if she's old enough to understand when two people have tension between them (It happened to me, I think, when I was 8 or 9), then you should think about it. The whole reason he wants to leave is pretty selfish though. I do agree to the slightest degree that, yes, after fighting in Iraq, he needs to have his own life. But that life should be with you and your daughter.

You CAN admire and dislike someone at the same time. There is this boy named Kai in my class, my history class to be exact. He had some really good views on things, but since I sat close to him, he said some things that I didn't really like. Such as things about sex, alchohol, and drugs and I don't really appreciate trying to listen to the teacher and hear about how they almost had sex with so-and-so last night.

After my foreign exchange year, my hardest year to date, I realized that I shouldn't be ashamed of myself. My self esteem is well..not the highest, so I realized that if someone doesn't like me for how I look, and not for what's "on the inside" then they aren't worthy of friendship. I used to be sort of ashamed to say that I read manga and watched anime, but I'm not anymore. (I know that someone will hate me for saying that...) Why should I be? There are MILLIONS of people all around the world who watch anime/read manga. I'm one of them, so what? So my epihany is: I won't be ashamed of myself anymore.

[COLOR=Indigo]This summer...Whoah nelly. As with many people, I'll be working. Probably working at a doggy daycare T_T; Hey, wherever I can get money. *shrugs* I WOULD go to Anime Expo, but there's the whole money issue and my parents wouldn't let me go alone because I'm underage. (I'm 17) There's also a little issue called No. Driver's License. grr. I'll also be at play practice with school. We're doing a Midsummer Night's Dream and we're taking old English classes. o_0; *shrugs* So much for a relaxing summer.[/COLOR]

[FONT=Trebuchet][SIZE=1][COLOR=RoyalBlue][B]The Milkshake Song[/B] by Kelis. This song just bugs me and the video is worse. I just don't get what this song is about. *shrugs* [B]Our School Song[/B]. Ok, this piece of crap just gets stuck in your head for WEEKS ON END. Then it just pisses me off during that week that it's in my head. [B]"I am a C"[/B] It's a christian song (though being christian) it just bugs me. "I am a C. I am a C-H. I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N..." UGH! Whenever someone would start singing it (it was my class's favorite song) I would bang my head on my desk to drown it out. Seriously. :animeangr[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

*sigh* My car. I really do love my car. I have a [B]1996 Grey Jeep Grand Cherokee[/B]. It has leather seats (though it feels like pleather) and a CD player and the little screen that says the time doesn't work (but the radio does!), so it works for me. It's a real joy to drive (when I had my practice license...I just have to pass my driver's test :animeswea )

[FONT=Verdana]I get freaked out when I'm alone in my house at night. I guess I've watched too many cop shows. :animeswea But I have no worries because we breed giant schnauzers (i.e. BIG. BLACK. DOGS with pointy ears and all.) and we have 8 of them. (as well as three miniature schnauzers) Our dogs don't let ANYONE near our house unless they recognize the car (they're weird like that) or the footsteps. Otherwise, our whole house starts shaking with barking and growling. Some of our dogs will protect us like crazy, especially our Paavo. May he rest in peace (died of brain cancer.). So I have nothing to worry about but I still freak out though. To help, I always leave the TV on downstairs and the hall light on. I don't know why. I guess it's a habit. *shrug*[/FONT]

Being a foreign exchange student, this year has been one HECK of a ride. *cough* At times it was just too hard, so my dad told me the below quote and it's helped me through. [COLOR=DarkRed][B][I]"What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."[/I][/B][/COLOR] There have been times that I seriously wanted to go home (and there was talk of that) but I've stuck through till the end (which is coming up soon by the way..) and I'm proud of myself.

[SIZE=1]Sara couldn't help but stare at Yuki in amazement. [I]He smiled at me. He actually smiled at me... Noone's smiled at me like that since...since I got pregnant... He seems really nice...[/I] Sara then immediately noticed that Mase was giving her a weird look. Blushing like a boiled lobster, she put the note on her knees and stared at what Yuki last wrote: [QUOTE][I]Oh I see. Well I thought you were a bit brave. If anything bothers you, then you let me know. Ok?[/I] =)[/QUOTE] [I]I think I may have made a friend here after all...[/I] Sara looked up, looked at Yuki, and smiled back at him as she awaited the next person's story.[/SIZE]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][SIZE=2][B]While staring at her knees again, Sara noticed a hand with a note outstretched. It seemed to be from the boy named Yuki. Sara, very cautiously, took the note and opened it up to find: [QUOTE]Are you alright? Did you cry or something? You seem a bit red?[/QUOTE] Sara then blushed brightly and looked at Yuki's smiling face. He truly showed concern. This made Sara blush even more! Sara then found a pencil on the floor and scribbled a reply underneath the original text:[/B] [I]I [U]was[/U] crying, but I'm better now. Thanks for asking though. Let's just say I'm tired of being handed "the short end of the stick," you know? [/I][/SIZE] [/FONT]

During the break, as Sara was sitting on the toilet seat crying, her tears of sorrow and embarrassement turned into tears of doubt. Jacob could help her, but... [I]I could get a job and a home now... But..[/I] Sara thought. [I]Is this what I really want? Would my child want a mother like me? A mom who has to work all the time to support her child because her boyfriend and family has shunned her... What kind of a life would that be for my child? He/She will never know their grandparents or their father, and they're supposed to be an important factor in your life... I guess... Am I really fit to raise this child in this world??[/I] Then the most terrifying thought crossed her mind. [I]Since I don't approve of abortion...(I'm too far along anyway)...Should I...[/I] Sara whiped her nose [I] Should I give my child up for adoption??[/I] Sara the heard people going back to their seats, so she fixed her hair and whiped her nose once more and joined the others to hear what Yuki had to say.

My ideal weather is around 70 degrees Farenheit (I guess around 20 degrees Celsius), in summer, on a sunny day. Of course I tend to be sitting in the shade reading, but I burn very easily. :animeswea

Staring at her knees, Sara began her story... "It all started when I met my currently ex-boyfriend, Brian. He seemed like a great guy and fun to be around. It was like he was my best freind, but with 'benefits,' if you know what I mean. After about 6 months, we had started to talk about..." Sara glanced up from her knees at all the staring faces, blushing brightly "a...about...[I]sleeping together.[/I] We had it all planned. My parents were going to Hawaii for a week and they trusted me enough to leave me alone at home. Since I don't have many friends, they knew that I wouldn't throw a house party, like some other people do. Brian came over at around 7 pm and we watched a movie. Eventually, Brian found my dad's liquer cabinet and... Let's just say we didn't watch much of the movie... We started making out and it led to...much, MUCH more. After we had slept together, I started to feel embarrassed...almost [I]ashamed[/I] of what I had just done. Brian didn't like that. He started yelling at me for being ashamed of us, of what we had. I tried to tell him that it wasn't like that, but he wouldn't listen. He just pulled on his pants, grabbed the rest of his stuff and stormed out the door...He left me on the couch, naked, and so...alone. A few weeks later I started to feel sick in the mornings. I didn't understand what was happening to me. Then the thought crossed my mind...What if...What if I was...[I]pregnant??[/I] I took 6 of those sticks that you find at the drugstore, and all of them came back positive. I couldn't believe it. [B]I am pregnant.[/B] After a few weeks of locking myself in my room to cry, my parents got...c-curious..." Sara closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears that were making their way through "They asked me w-what was w-w-wrong.... S-so I told them. My parents were...were... f-furious! T-They kicked me out of our house, they called me a...a...." Sara had a hard time going on, but Jacob gently said, "Go on, Sara. We're listening." "...They called me...a... [B][I]WHORE.[/I][/B] I couldn't believe it. They said that no daughter of th-theirs could ever wind up... p-p-pregnant. They disowned me and I was able to pack a backpack of my m-most precious belongings and they k-k-kicked me out. I went to the local Teen refuge house and I've been there for-for...almost 3 months now... I'm 3 months pregnant..." Sara then burst into tears. She felt so ashamed, [I]mortified[/I] that she had let this happen to herself. She felt so dirty and unloved. She felt so utterly alone..

My favorite author at the moment would have to be [B]Diana Gabaldon.[/B] I guess you could say her works are historical fiction (I guess a wee bit on the fantasy side..) but it tells of a woman, Claire Randall (maidenname Beauchamp) in 1945. She's on a "second honeymoon" in Scotland with her husband, Frank, because they didn't have time for a "first" honeymoon due to the war. Since there are many stonehenges in Scotland, and Frank's an archeologist, he was interested in pagan rituals that usually happened there. The accidentally witness such ritual and Claire ends up going [I]through[/I] the stonehenge back in time to 1743. The story goes on how she meets her husband's ancestor and how she meets the REAL love of her life, the wild red-haired Scotsman, Jamie "Red Jamie" Fraser. I know it sounds corny, but this series is just AMAZINGLY written. Her descriptions of the people and their surroundings, and the events surrounding "The '45" and the battle of Culloden (a Scottish uprising against the king at the time, I forget his name, led by "the bonnie prince" Charles Stuart. This battle led to the slaughter of many many Scottish clans.). I've three of the books so far (I hear there's a fourth out now..) they're called, [I]Crosstich[/I], [I]Dragonfly in Amber[/I], and I feel bad because I forget what the third book is called. :animeswea My English teacher (here in Finland) lent me the books and I got hooked. Diana Gabaldon's writing is seriously addicting! You can't put her books down!! I highly recommend Diana Gabaldon. I also have to mention a few of my other favorites (I won't go into the details, but a rough list of my favorites), [B]J.K. Rowling[/B], [B]Patricia Cornwell[/B] (though the last book I read [I]Trace,[/I] had a very anti-climactic(sp?) ending.), [B]Dick Francis, Lawrence Sanders, Jean Auel[/B]'s Earth's Children series is awesome too, and the list goes on, but I'm not going to bore you all more than I already have!

Being the first one next to Jacob, a girl wearing a sweatshirt and jeans, with brown hair in a sloppy bun, slowly stands up. Blushing brightly, the shy-looking girl begins..."Hello. My name is Sara Washington. I used to be in drama club, and I like to read... I guess that's about it." Sara sits down quickly, blushing, stares at her knees, hoping this would be over soon... (OCC: Sorry this is so short! You asked only for name and interests!)

I don't know the song, but I think you can go to [url]www.letssingit.com[/url] and in the search bar put in some of the lyrics and change the drop-down menu to "lyrics." I hope it helps!

Having lived in America, I understand the whole race situation, but my parents come from Finland (where I am as a foreign exchange student). Over here, it's very rare to see a person who isn't white. I, personally, don't care about that, but if a normal Finnish person were to see a black person walking down the street, they would probably stare. (the finns like to stare...at least the city where I live. heh heh.) My friend who was a foreign exchange student in the states last year was amazed by the amount of black people, but she didn't let it get to her. (She's not racisit!) It just bugs me how my mom, when she's driving, automatically assumes that black people are bad drivers. :animeswea I guess it isn't as bad as using a certain n- word, but it still bugs me. She goes "Tyhmä Neegerit!" I'm not going to translate the Neegerit part, but if you can probably guess what that word means, and tyhmä is stupid. It just bugs me. I'm not trying to generalize Finnish people, or Finland in general, but these are just my observations living in a smaller town here.

This thread has gotten to be...well...a whole mess of arguments. Everyone has a different opinion on this, and I'm relieved that the person who posted first (after this thread was posted...I don't remember who...) apologized for their comments when finding out the girl in question was [B]5 years old.[/B] My own personal opinion is that I think it was a bit extreme to call the [B]police[/B] in this situation. I also agree with many in that the teacher had very little patience. I have a 5 year old cousin, whom I live with, and when I'm babysitting and he throws a tantrum, I grab his wrists, look in his eyes (if he's being naughty) but if he's clearly tired or stressed, I speak calmly to him and he usually calms down. I'm not trying to generalize children just based on my cousin, but I think this could have been dealt with a bit better. This thread has become a thread about the right and wrong ways the school system/parenting should be done. I sure as heck know that my aunt and uncle are crappy parents, but I'm going to do things differently with my own children (someday). In essence, in my opinion, the school could have dealt with this in less extreme ways.

I'm a Christian. I will not hide from that. I guess you could say I'm Lutheran. I just so happen to be Lutheran because I've gone to a Lutheran school since I was 9. However, during this last year I guess you could say that "I found my faith again." So now I really don't like to say I belong to any religion because I don't go to church, I hold my own "worship services" where I talk to God (prayer) and read the Bible. I believe in God, not a religion. And nowhere in the Bible (that I know of, I can be wrong) does it say you HAVE to belong to a specific religion. The only religions mentioned there are Judaisim and Christianity. Have any of you read about Catholics, Baptists, etc. in the Bible? There's a quote (don't get angry about this, this is my own opinion, not yours.) that goes like this, "Religion kills. Jesus Saves." The church has become so "earthly" with tithes and forcing you to pay money just to keep the church going. A church isn't a building, it's a group of people worshipping God. I have my own "church" with my Christian friends and I go to a Bible study. So all I'm going to say is that I'm a Christian, and if you want to be specific, I'm a Lutheran.

I have noticed that here on myOtaku and OtakuBoards are many really cool people. I'd love to meet them in real life, but they live all over the place. Having seen on [URL=http://www.deviantart.com]deviantart.com[/URL] that they are having (had?) a summit for deviants to meet each other (for a price of course). I thought, it would be really spiffy if I could meet a whole mess of people from myO/OB in one spot. In essence, a myO/OB summit (my subject line.). If you charged the goers a fee, then the money could be used to set up the summit itself and the profits could go to make myO/OB even cooler than before. There could possibly be art booths for people willing to sell prints/original pieces and such, anime/manga booths, drawing seminars, cg seminars, or whatever you guys can come up with.. Just a suggestion...

(OCC: I haven't roleplayed in AGES but I'll give this one a go!) [B]Name:[/B] Sara Washington [B]Age:[/B] 16 [B]Gender:[/B] Female [B]Description:[/B] Sara has glasses that surround deep green eyes and a head of brown hair done up in a sloppy bun, causing strands of hair to fall around her face. She usually wears a sweatshirt or a big sweater (You'll find out why when she starts to explain herself ^_~), jeans and sneakers. [B]Personality:[/B] Sara is very quiet. She usually just comes to these meetings and just sits in her chair, saying nothing. The look on her face shows anguish and even a hint of embarrasment (sp?).

Well, my family breeds giant schnauzers (and miniature schnauzers) and we usually give them Finnish names (We're Finnish. meaning we come from Finland) but I DO have a dog and 2 cats of my own! [B]My animals[/B]: The Dog,[B] Lissu [/B] (said Lee-sue) I was thinking of a name and my dad thought of it and it just stuck. I spoil her. heh heh. My Mafia leader cat, [B]Fluffy.[/B] Well, when he was small we didn't know if he was a boy or a girl (we found out from the vet he was a boy :animeswea ) and Fluffy was a neutral name. He sheds a lot too, so the name fits.And yes, he's the leader of the Cat Mafia. The dumb side-kick cat, [B]Ally[/B]. WELL, when he was small, we thought he was a girl :animeswea heh heh. The name just stuck. To make him more masculine, I decided that his official name is Alexander Timothy. Ally for short. Sorry bud! [B]Our other dogs[/B]: *NOTE: some of these have either passed away or given to new homes. Paavo Junnu Iiro Sally Riiviö Penni Lilli Siiri Huli (Hulivili or lovingly called Hulina Vilinä) Elli Peikko Tricka Minnie Mickey (heh heh) Chubby (heh heh, he's now called Draco) Nette Ruusa Kimi Anna (passed away as a puppy at a week old *sniff*) Etc. There are a few exceptions to the Finnish name thing but that's because they came with that name, but in the case of Chubby, it just stuck. Sage is going to laugh when he sees some of these names. heh heh.

I have MANY artists whose lyrics hit me where it hurts. The ones I thought of immediately are Green Day, Avril Lavigne, Evanescence, and the one I'll mention here, Jamie Cullum. There are (of course) many others that I don't even want to list because the list is so extensive, but I'm going to post a song by Jamie Cullum called, "Blame It On My Youth," off of his album, "Twentysomething." Being the hopeless romantic that I am, this song is good. [COLOR=Red][I]If, I expected love, when first we kissed, blame it on my youth If only just for you, I did exist, blame it on my youth I believed in everything Like a child of three You meant more than anything You meant all the world to me If, you were on my mind, all night and day, blame it on my youth If, I forgot to eat, and sleep and pray, blame it on my youth If I cried a little bit, when first I learned the truth Don?t blame it on my heart, blame it on my youth[/I][/COLOR]

I liked it. It has the constant struggle between light and dark that all of us has seen, or even faced, at least once in our lives. If I may be honest, the last line bugs me. The whole poem is full of good rythm (sp?) but the last part, [I]In the end we are all in the dark, never knowing what might have been.[/I] I may be inexperienced with poetry (you can take or leave my advice) but I DO know the basics about rhyme and rhythm. It doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the poem. I like the quote, but it doesn't fit here. Or maybe it's separate from the poem. If so, it's not very clear that it is. It's inside the quotation marks so I assumed that it was part of the poem... As I said, you can take or leave my advice because I don't know much about poetry.

I agree with several people in this thread that popularity differs from school to school. I went to a parochial (christian, in this case, Lutheran) school where one's parents has to pay an arm and a leg to have them at that school. (I'm now an exchange student...more on that later) Almost 2/3 of my school are those preps who pay $120 for jeans and shirts. They are usually pretty stuck up and bratty. Once we were playing volleyball in P.E. class, and I missed the ball. The preppy girl next to me said "I guess that was a good try.." Yeah. :animeangr Now that I'm a foreign exchange student, popularity is completely different. Here (in Finland) you're popular if you wear nice decent clothes (think sort of suit type material..it's hard to explain)(there are no short shorts or low-cut tops here! it's great!) and you have good grades and you have lots of friends. Another thing about being here is that nobody really cares. I have friends from all over the spectrum, popular people included. It's just that popluarity is soo different here! Here, classes don't matter, I have friends that are younger and older than me (I had that in the States too), and [B]nobody cares![/B] I like that part here. When I was in grade school, I had this thing about being popular. My friends were trying to help me but they weren't popular either. :animesigh I eventually gave up on that and accepted myself for who I am, it didn't matter whether or not I was popular. I can't say what it [I]means[/I] to be popular, or how you get that way. All I know is that I don't want to be that way. There's a saying that goes like this: "It's better to have a small group of close friends than a big group of acquaintances." I love my friends, they are so great, and I wouldn't change who I am for the world.