Presentation for "The Twelve"

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Lonely and Incomplete

   Three years ago, I felt as if I were lost and didn’t know what kind of person I was, I was incomplete. I was going through a lot of things. I almost lost my mother and sister to a car wreck, found out my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer, and that I had to move back to where I was born, Arkansas to take care of my now departed grandfather. I felt like I was ripped to the only place I had known, my home, for which most of my life was. With these hardships I had to deal with, they eventually affected me.

   It was then I started feeling loneliness and depression. I felt as though something were missing. I met this person at a party and we got together and became friends. They invited me to go to their church with them and after that, I began going regularly. The church took me along with them to this summer camp and that’s when my life changed. I finally found what was missing! I needed something to quench my spiritual needs. I found God. I believe that without God you aren’t complete, as if something is physically and mentally missing from an apart of you. It was then I realized that every time I dove into the Word of God and worshipped, I was feeling whole. I needed the guidance and love from something that I learned would always love me no matter what. I was lost and then I was found.

   See, without God I was lost, empty, and incomplete. But, after I found him I regained this inner peace. I felt good about myself; I was a whole new person. I believe that with the love from God you will not only feel complete but also feel loved by something so great and strong. We all endure things that make us lose ourselves and we have to search for what that is. I searched and looked and don't find anything until one day it felt as if I were being hit on the head. Open your eyes and heart and then eventually you find yourself, spiritually, mentally, and physically.

      In conclusion, God is what helped me find who I am and not lost but found!

THINK TWO

In the story “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the village people find a drowned man.  They saw how handsome and how tall he was. They noticed how they needed to change how they do things. The things they do daily got changed and it alternated how they viewed their lives. It made them notice that they need to accommodate situations and realize change is good.

“They could not find a bed in the village large enough to lay him on nor was there a table solid enough to use for his wake,” this shows that the village isn’t able to accommodate visitors. They stick to their same routine 24/7. This strange thing that happened changed their lives and how they live their lives. “They thought that if that magnificent man had lived in the village, his house would have had the widest doors, the highest ceiling, and the strongest floor, his bedstead would have been made from a midship frame held together by iron bolts, and his wife would have been the happiest woman,” they are fantasizing how life would be with him, how everything he has will be different because the villagers were used to the same old same old. They think that the way they live is the only way, because that is all they are used to.

I think that these villagers are not used to having change at all it’s changing their perspective on life. Everyday it’s the same thing over and over, so that’s all they ever expect to happen. “They secretly compared him to their own men, thinking that for all their lives theirs were incapable of doing what he could do in one night, and they ended up dismissing them deep in their hearts as the weakest, meanest, and most useless creatures on earth,” the women are dismissing their husbands because they think they need to be just like Esteban, since he is different. All the women see are their husbands doing the same things over and over. So, if the husbands changed the way they did things, maybe their wives would have a different opinion about them. “They could see him in life, condemned…” They thought he would be condemned because nothing was his size, well maybe if they made things easier for all kinds of people to use instead of what they are accustomed to then they can accept anyone into their village instead of feeling sorry for them.

 The moral of the story is to expect changes even when you least expect it. Not everything will always stay the same. Just one day out of the blue, something will change your daily routine and you have to learn to adapt to it. Life is all about changes, we go through things that cause us to change the way we decide to do things. We just have to find a way to learn how to adapt to it.

THINK ONE

Driving around with friends can be fun, but sometimes very dangerous. In this article written by Bailey Loosemore and Chris Fletcher in the Columbia, Tennessee Daily Herald, it describes a crash in which teenagers were involved. It is very important to stay safe when riding around with friends. Not only do you need to be safe as a passenger but also as a driver. Odd things happen every day and we need to be aware of what’s going on around us.

Everyday car accidents happen, and unfortunately they can be fatal. One of the passengers so happened to be a personal friend of mine who passed away in the accident that this article was describing . “The Nissan XGU driving northbound crossed the center lane…” A teen was driving the Nissan and collided with a truck head-on. This all happened because the driver of the Nissan wasn’t in his lane. Things happen all the time, especially when you’re not paying attention or just simply hanging with friends. The unsafe driver caused a life to be lost because he wasn’t being alert and safe. That is why most accidents happen these days. It only takes one wrong move and then BAM! It’s scary thinking about that. “Speed could have been a factor,” this goes along with driving safely, if we pay attention to the speed limit signs and follow the laws then less accidents would happen. None of these accidents would happen if we would just be aware of what’s going on around us and following the laws put in place.

 

Stating that we need to be aware of what’s going on around us, we also need to follow the laws that are put in place to keep us safe. “…was not wearing a seat belt,” through personal experience I have learned that seat belts do save lives. Seat belts are made to protect us and prevent us from getting ejected from the vehicle or simply going forward because of inertia. “Seat belts would have made a difference,” this proves that seat belts do indeed protect you. This teenager’s life could have been spared if he was wearing a seat belt. Seat belts do indeed make a major difference which is why they are considered safety precautions. They protect you.

Safety and awareness is very important. This accident could have been prevented if these teens were aware of their surroundings and were being safe. Unfortunately, this had a bad ending but it is a lesson for everyone to learn from. Considering that this article was about teenagers I knew, it made me realize just how important it is to be safe and aware of my surroundings. This is also a good lesson to realize just how fast your life can be taken away.

Mom's Famous Cream Cheese Sausage Balls

Ingredients:

• 1 lb uncooked sausage
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 1/4 cups Bisquick
• 4oz. of shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation:
  

First, you have to pre-heat your oven to four-hundred degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven is pre-heating, you mix one pound of any type of sausage you like with eight ounces of softened cream cheese, one and one-fourth cups of Bisquick, and four ounces of shredded cheddar cheese.

            Mom and I always mix the ingredients together. We could hear the sounds of a football game going on and the faint sounds of my dad hollering, "Go baby go! We got this!" My mother and I laughed our heads off because we thought he was going to bust through the T.V.

   After, you mix the ingredients, roll the ingredients into one-inch balls.

            While were laughing, Mom would always say,"Make sure they are perfectly round."

     I would always reply with the rolling of my eyes and saying," Don't nothin' have to be perfect, it's all just gonna get chewed up and messed up anyways!"

Before completing the the rounding of the sausage balls, and grease a cookie sheet so you can place them evenly spread apart.
 
     Mom would always have me grease the cookie sheet with Crisco. I would always say, "It feels like spoiled milk." I was like ten when I said this, mind you.


After you grease the cookie sheet, place the sausage balls onto the cookie sheet and bake them in the oven for about twenty to twenty-five minutes or until golden brown.

        While we were waiting for the sausage balls to bake we would clean up our kitchen that looked like it got destroyed by a tornado.

  After the sausage balls are golden brown. take them out of the oven and let them cool before eating.

   Sometimes, before the sausage balls would finish cooling, My mother and I would catch my dad trying to devour them all. My mom and I always had to swat my dad off.

        I reflect on these memories, every sizzling sound of the sausage balls baking in the oven, or even the "hoots" and "hollers" from my dad in the background, it makes me feel happier than a kid with a new toy reminiscing on these memories. I just love spending time with my family and making these memories.

   After the sausage balls are done cooling, eat and enjoy!

          By the time mom and I would even get a chance to sit down and eat them, my dad had them all gone.


   

My Story in Three Pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/72372043@N06/9940547066/