Through Death Comes Life.

Yesterday, a twenty-two year old woman passed away in the Intensive Care of the hospital that I work at. After her passing, she was rushed to the operating room where she donated her heart valves and her liver. Within minutes after her operation, her liver was already on its way to San Fransisco. She saved the lives of six people. Her death, though devastating, granted life to those others. Witnessing this experience yesterday changed the way I feel about being an organ donor.
One of my best friends, Julia, who passed away in August '08, from similar causes, was also an organ donor. Though I do not know the details of that donation, I do know that Julia gave life to others who needed it. Losing her has been completely unbareable and caused me pain that I cannot express in words. But to know that she still "lives" somewhere else in this world through someone else, is an unbelievably happy thought. Death is a devastating occurance for those people who care for the person passing. Julia was extremely compasionate, and I know that she chose to be a donor for exactly that reason. What she no longer needed, she selflessly gave away blessing the lives of those in need.
Death is often unpredictable. Why not bless others with something we no longer need?  

If You Love Me... You Will.

Now I'm not saying this is the case wth my relationship. I've just had this thought on my mind and figured I would share.
I absolutely HATE the line "If you love me, you will." This is meant with complete and utter selfishness to manipulate another person to do something you want them to do that they would otherwise not usually do. At least, that's my definition. For example, If a guy says to his girlfriend, "If you love me, you will have sex with me." Well maybe she isnt ready to commit to a sexual relationship and that's why she hasnt put out already. Whatever the reason, she has hers and manipulating her to get sex is not going to make anyone happy. Ya she might give in and sleep with the guy, but if she wasnt ready to take that step, then chances are she is going to be upset and full of regret afterwords. Then he will feel bad for making her before she was ready, and yadda yadda yadda.. 
It's just not a win-win situation. 
Of course this "phrase" is used in other circumstances not necesarily relating to sex. It could be, "If you love me, you will buy this for me.", "If you love me, you will choose a different career.", etc. I just absolutely hate it! If someone REALLY loves you, they will NOT use that phrase against you. If someone really loves you, they will accept you for who you are and embrace your differences.
Just a thought..

Toddlers and... Tans?

              Competition can be a healthy addition to children’s lives; however, there is a certain level that can be reached that is not longer positively stimulating. The television show, Toddlers and Tiaras, has recently caught my attention. At first this show appeared to contain sweet young girls interacting in an innocent game of ‘dress-up.’ After just minutes of observing this one hour episode, I was shocked to notice a lack of innocence and a severe sense of competition between the parents of the children. On TLC’s website about Toddlers and Tiaras it gives an accurate introduction of the material expected in the show. “On any given weekend across the country, toddlers take the stage wearing makeup, spray tans, and fake hair to be judged on beauty, personality, and costumes. Toddlers & Tiaras follows families on their quest for sparkly crowns, big titles and lots of cash.” Also on the site, are postings of many, if not all, of the show’s episodes accompanied by shorter exerts not included in the episodes. In one of these exerts, Beauty is Painful, we watch a six year old girl receive eye brow waxing, acrylic nails, and teeth whitening. Other exerts include, Fab Fake Nails and Big Dollar Dresses, Mother Daughter Disappointment, No Pimple for A Princess, etc. The website further describes this show saying, “The preparation is intense as it gets down to the final week before the pageant. From hair and nail appointments, to finishing touches on gowns and suits, to numerous coaching sessions or rehearsals, each child preps for their performance. But once at the pageant, it's all up to the judges and drama ensues when every parent wants to prove that their child is beautiful.” The last line in this statement appeared to be the most frustrating to me, “when every parent wants to prove that their child is beautiful.” Instead of building up our children’s self confidence and instilling in each of them that they are all beautiful and talented, we are corrupting them into believing that physical beauty is the most important key to success. These children are being mangled with fake hair, caked with spray tans, and strangled into their thousand-dollar, custom-made pageant costumes. A child’s imagination does not need to be exposed to such expensive clothing, cosmetics, and “beauty improvements” at such a young age. These pageants quickly turn into competition between parents as they drive their child further into a superficial world. There is immense stress forced onto each child in these pageants to be the best and in turn to make their parents proud of them. Certain titles such as, Prettiest Smile, Most Talented, Prettiest Costume, etc, can be detrimental to a child. This is no longer a healthy competitive environment for the child to be exposed to.