...I need to rent some space on Pandora

So I just watched Avatar a week or so ago...obviously you can tell that I am a fan. I loved the cinematography...or the effects that were used....but besides that I just thought that Pandora was beautiful...tropical, mystical...paradise. Neytiri...was pretty fierce too. I like that she was strong, passionate and smart. I cried when the idiot military guys attacked Pandora. It was so tragic, heartbreaking and pointless. Anyways I thought it was a good movie :)

...imprinted on my heart...

This past week has been pretty crazy for me. I had been waiting to hear if I got into grad school...and finally found out that ...I did not get in this year...It was a little hard to digest because grad school was the whole reason I came to Utah...at least that is what I thought...a friend of mine said "when a door closes a window opens"...now as corny as that may sound it definitely was true in this case because the next day I was offered a wonderful yet challenging position in my agency. I initially asked for a few hours to make a decision...but in my heart I knew that the decision was already made. I was pretty emotional about it. You know right after I interviewed for the position I walked out of there...extremely sad. Not sad because I bombed the interview...but sad because I felt I might actually have a shot at it. It made me think of all the staff at detox how they have become more like family to me. Then I thought about all my clients.. When I would work with them I would think about my mom..and all the trials that she went through in her life...Their faces and hers...are imprinted on my heart.

Though my mom did not have substance abuse addictions she did have mental health issues and someone or a bunch of someones took the time to help her...that warms my heart every time I think about it...and it makes it even more important for me to work hard for my clients. I will miss them all. In my new position I will be working with homeless youth. I am excited about this new position and will work just as hard for this program as I did for detox. I am grateful for all the people that I have met and all the experiences that I have had at detox. It has only made me a better person. Leaving detox is a bit scary...it feels like I'm leaving home and going off on my own again. I know that might sound a bit melodramatic..but it does feel like that.

I wish my mom was here to help me navigate through all these crazy life choices...you know sometimes a girl just needs her mother. I wonder if she would be happy with the life I am living and the paths I have taken..I wonder what kind of advice she would have given me. I know without a doubt..no matter what my choices are..that my mom would've supported me and loved me if she were here.
Actually I think she would've told me to cut the tears, fix my face, and get to work.
She did everything she could for her children..despite all the pain she went through with my dad ...that didn't stop her from sacrificing whatever she needed to to provide for us kids ...she worked, took care of us, and made sure we were happy...her needs always came second. I am so grateful for her...her memory continues to be a source of inspiration to me....and I know if I strive to work as hard as my mom did...in whatever I choose to do ..I'll be successful. Seriously, I would be lucky to be half the woman she was.

....a step backwards..

Okay so I have never been politically savvy...nor do I usually get involed in many political issues let alone comment on them...I mean I know most of the major issues. I like watching the news and am somewhat informed in what's going on in the world politically. I like to be an informed voter... I think it's ignorant and irresponsible to vote without at least studying up on all sides of any issue....but I definitely do not consider myself "politically involved" or even very knowledgeable when it comes to politics.

All that being said ...ARIZONA WHAT THE HELL!!!???

Okay so I'm not going to pretend to know how much Arizona spends on their border and illegal immigration problems..or how much their crime rate is due to illegal immigrants. I am sure it's significant and one of their most pressing issues in their state. That is evident by their rashness in signing into law a piece of legislation that definitely got the attention of everyone in the nation including President Obama (which is partly what I think she was trying to do), but also could put at risk the rights of anyone of color who decides to pass through their state.

"Arizona immigration law sb1070 will make it a state crime not to carry proof of legal immigration status and will require Arizona's state and local police to ask about a person's immigration status if there is "reasonable suspicion" that he or she is in the country illegally."

So who decides who is "reasonably suspicious"? Who trains these law enforcement personnel on how to weed out possible illegal immigrants? What is the criteria? How can you ensure that people will not be racially profiled,harrassed and/or discriminated against...and who do they inform when they are harrassed and discriminated against? The police?

I understand that Governor Brewer felt she was backed into a corner, with growing problems, outrageous crime rates and thousands of state dollars spent on their illegal immigration issues with no real help from the federal government. It's understandably a major issue that has plagued Arizona for some time now. I totally agree that something had to be done. So what else was she to do?

My answer: ANYTHING OTHER THAN THIS!!!

Are you telling me with how far we've come and how much more informed and educated we are....with all that has happened in our countries past that they couldn't think of another way? Was there really nothing else they could think of? Was there no other solution to their problems?

This law is not progressive or cutting edge...what it does do unfortunately is make us take a step back about 50 years.



I'm not sure how this is all going to play out...all I gotta say to Governor Brewer is...Do you realize the ramifications of what you have just done?

Quotes by Martin Luther King Jr:

He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it. ~Martin Luther King Jr

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.