Sunday, May 8, 2011

In answer to Dan's question...

Yes, I am going to write about today! He asked me that at the winery today, and I felt a tad embarrased for having a blog...but eh, I like it haha.

On the way to the winery today, Eric's sister brought up something her philosophy seminar (she's a teacher...I forgot what the seminar was for) discussed this week. She started talking about morals and what makes right from wrong. I thought this was pretty interesting and thought about it for most of the rest of the day. One example she gave was of a woman eating her pet cat that had died. At first, she thought this was morally wrong, but after thinking about it for a long time she decided that it could be culture based. I thought this was a very good point. Although eating a beloved pet may seem horribly wrong, in some cultures it could be a disgrace not to eat the animal. I started thinking about what morals I have...

1. It is wrong to kill someone, no matter what.
2. It is wrong to judge others.
3. No matter what a person believes, listen to their opinion and take it seriously.

I'm sure there are a lot more, but those are the ones on the very top of my list. I started thinking about why I consider these to be "morals." Obviously the first one is a moral to most people, I would assume. That one is not hard to understand. What I think a lot of people have a difficult time understanding is that there are so many different opinions about what is right and what is wrong in the world, that there will always be conflict. When it comes down to it...there is no "right path" for a person to follow. Why is someone's opinion valued more than another's? This ties in with religion, gay rights, and a bajillion other things. I could debate with someone until my head falls off about why two men and two women should be able to get married...but if the person on the other side of the table believes with everything inside of them that this is wrong...nothing I can say or do will change that. They are probably saying the same thing about me. And although I could probably rack up one million people in this country to agree with me, there are obviously just as many people that would disagree or else it would be legalized. I don't understand them, they don't understand me. Someone in their life told them that this was wrong...whether it be the bible, their parents, grandparents...they think it is wrong and would be disrespectful to whoever taught them that to think otherwise. I might be wrong about them worried about being disrespectful, but you get the point. Everyone is right in their own mind. There will always be conflict because people make their own morals. Morals feel as if they are set in stone. That is what you believe. That is what you know is right/wrong. There is not way around it. Maybe there should be.

I miss being in college sometimes because I could debate with anyone at any time and not feel like I had something better to do. I love hearing different view points. It absolutely fascinates me how differently people think and how passionately they will want you to understand their opinion.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Fun filled weekends

I have been busy every weekend for the past three weekends or so. I have been spending a lot of time with Eric's family, which I love. We went to Lake Lure last weekend...hiking, relaxing, lots of wine and catching up...those are the best times--even though during this time, I got hiccups for five hours straight! (side note: Eric just said, "you're not writing about me, are you? I'll have to sue your ass!" hahaha) anyway, I love spending time with his family. They are so so so different from my family, but the family-feel is always present. I think I would go crazy without those times, because my family is very rarely all together at the same time anymore. We live all over the state and it is difficult to see each other on the same day...which is why I am thankful that Eric's family is small and somewhat close together. Well, this weekend me and Eric had a little day date...went to eat lunch and then to the art museum. Afterwards we ran some errands...which oddly is always my favorite trip to go on with him haha. Tomorrow we are going to a winery with his family for Mother's Day and I can't wait! I'm sure it will be weird not spending the day with my own mother, but I will see her next weekend for my sister's baby shower!!!

It seems like everyone and their mother is getting married lately! I know it is wedding season, but i have known a least five couples that have gotten married in the past two weeks...that is a lot! Now, this is not including the royal wedding, which I thought was adorable even if it was blown out of proportion. Oh, want to hear one of my many cute Kindergarten teaching moments for that day? I let the kids watch some of the events before school officially began. As one of my boys was sitting on the carpet, he got a very confused look on his face and said, "Ms. Nowlan, WHAT are they doing?!" I told him that they are getting married and now they are husband and wife. He got a very serious look on his face and quietly asked me, "Are all of us going to have wives when we grow up...?" I told him that he would if he wanted to. I thought this was hilarious. He sounded so concerned that this was going to happen to him haha! Oh, I could tell stories about them all day long. I told you I would end up talking about teaching in pretty much every post! I just have to say that I LOVE teaching. It is the most rewarding, educational(for me), hysterical, fun job for me. I love the innocent nature of my kids. They question everything, which I love. I think it is very important to open their eyes to everything life has to offer, different opinions people have and make sure they know it is okay to have their own, different cultures, different vocabulary, everything. I love it when they make connections and grow from them! They can make me laugh by the simplest statements because they are so serious about everything that they say or ask me. I love it.

Alright, I'm going to finish this movie that I am obviously not paying attention to. Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone!

Friday, May 6, 2011

My very first blog...ever!

Hello, to you!

I don't know if this will be a consistent habit of mine, or if I will do this when I need to vent about whatever I have bottled up inside of me for weeks at a time...but I felt like "blogging." Hopefully, something productive will come out of it. I'm sure everyone's first blog sounds exactly like this one haha. So, I apologize for the boring first few sentences that you blog followers probably read 5 times a day...assuming people follow blogs like they do Facebook and Twitter.

Well, I guess I should start out by introducing myself. My name is MK. Take a guess at what that stands for...I bet you'll get it right in three tries! I don't know if I should talk about personal info, so I won't say where I live, but I did just graduate college with a degree in Elementary Education. I am currently a substitute teacher in hopes of teaching Kindergarten full time next school year. I feel like my thoughts revolve around teaching entirely too much, so I will try to talk about other things but I gaurantee I will probably mention the subject at least once in every post...I can't help it.

I don't think my life is exciting enough to blog about something every day, but as I get into it, that opinion may change. Tonight, I felt like talking about a void I have created in my life. Before college, singing was a HUGE part of my life. I don't even think my best friends realized how important this release of energy was for me. I kept this private, I guess because of slight self-consciousness, but I have realized recently that because I have stopped singing on a regular basis...there is a void inside of me. Mrs. Ely always said this would happen, too haha (chorus, as well as my favorite teacher ever!) I let out so much emotion through music and then just stopped once I got to college. I wasn't confident enough in my voice to try out for any type of chorus in college, so I just didn't. I regret that, slightly...but that shouldn't be an excuse as to why I have stopped singing in general. I am very rarely alone in my apartment, so I don't get the opportunity to belt out something when I need to...I'm sure my neighbors are appreciative of this haha. If I am in my car, I am either driving home from work, exhausted or with another person. I just noticed this recently, as I kept feeling frustrated and almost depressed. I heard a song I love tonight and felt a complete urge to scream the words at the top of my lungs, but was in a very public area haha. Anyone else feel like this? I feel like I sound insane. I guess I just need more time to myself, is the gist of this. 

Anywho---I'm also in the midst of many life-changing events. My sister is about to have a baby boy! I am beyond thrilled about this and can not WAIT to meet him :) Me and all of my friends are working full time jobs, which means I NEVER see them...and that has been a really hard change for me, whether I voice that to them or not. I think that hit me tonight, as well. I really really really really miss my best friends. Sigh! I will try not to sound so gloomy in my next blog! 

I am getting constant cravings for traveling lately. I want to get on a plane and leave for a month or two and explore. That would be amazing! I have wanted to go to Italy for basically my entire life...I really don't know why Italy, but that's where I want to go. Did you see Eat, Pray, Love...because that is my dream life haha. I want to go to Italy and eat and drink wine. That's all. Meet people, eat, and drink wine...and maybe blog about it. I could do a combination of Eat, Pray, Love and Amy Adam's character in Julie and Julia. 

Well, I suppose that is all for now. I will try to do a better job next time:)