Roxy's Rants and Raves 
Welcome to my site, this is the place for my rants, raves and various other ramblings.
Rants-dislikes, displeasures. Raves-likes, favorites. Ramblings-everything else that doesn't fit in the above two!
March 20, 2006
Something else I find absurd.
I have been doing quite a bit of research for term papers as of late, and one of my papers is on the state of sex education in our schools. It was extremely disheartening to know that the federal government pours millions of dollars of funding into abstinence-only programs, programs that use scare tactics as a learning tool. I cannot believe that in our day and age that such ignorance runs rampant in this country. Does the Conservative Administration not realize the importance of empowering our youth through knowledge, giving them the tools to protect themselves and their lives in todays society? The abstinence-only programs have to adhere to a strict set of eight criteria, mostly using fear and shame in an attempt to "scare" our youth out of having sex. Well that isn't going to happen, I don't know how they think they are going to change the very nature of the human race by being big Republican bullies. With abstinence-only there is little talk of STDs, contraception, and certianly no access to condoms in school. I was also shocked by the lawsuits that some of these court happy parents were slapping on the schools. One couple sued the school because they were teaching comprehensive sex education and providing information about condoms and contraception. Well I guess they would prefer to have their daughter knocked up at 14, or their son contract HIV? Canada and countries in Europe have comprehensive sex education and their teen pregnancy rates are nowhere near as high as the United States. Absurdity at it's finest.... It is time for parents to speak up, let our leaders know that it is time to protect our children, not deny them the knowledge and skills that could save their live! Our government needs to get out of this "ignore it and it will go away" mode, for that is the perfect way to increase the number of HIV cases in this country. Thank god for organizations like KNOW and the World Health Organization. Without t hem we would be close minded and uninformed, like some of our bumbling leaders are.
February 27, 2006
Just back from vacation, what an adventure!
Well I recently returned from taking most of my family on vacation, my mother, grandmother, daughter, aunt and cousin all went along to Walt Disney World in Florida over President's Week. It went much better than I anticipated. Now if I can only get back into the swing of things with school. I don't have any earth shattering thoughts or comments right now, just trying to stay afloat. Working nights is really starting to wear on me, physically and mentally. No job is worth sacrificing your life for, and that is what it feels like working the night shift. Right now I will just bide my time though, they are very flexible with my school schedule, so I will take that trade off for now. Well tommorrow is fat tuesday, and it looks like New Orleans has been celebrating Mardi Gras as much as they can, which is refreshing. Perhaps in a few weeks I will have something earth shattering to post with, but until then I must leave you with nothing really thought provoking. The pic with Mickey is from last year, yeah I go to Disney a lot, but we all have to have some kind of stress relief!
"You only have one life, make it count!"
January 30, 2006
This quote has never been so true, and meant more to me as it does right now. This has not been a fun week, I lost a friend of mine, someone so full of life and hope for the future. She accomplished so much in 29 short years, and it is such a tragedy that it was cut short by an accident. Her legacy will live on though, through friends, family, and her two beautiful young boys. This has served as a reminder to do what you love, live life to the fullest, celebrate like it is your last holiday, because life is indeed too short. I have placed a small memoriam at the bottom of my website which shall stay there to honor Melanie and her legacy.
The Year in Review
December 25, 2005
This year was a year of awakening to the world and to me, you would have to be blind or just plain ignorant to not have been impacted by the most publicized events of the year.
Southeast Asia Tsunami-December 26, 2004. Can you imagine waking up the day after Christmas on your family vacation by a wall of water crashing into your hotel, or can you imagine just waking up and your home and all its possessions are just washed away without any warning. The tsunami was a terrible tragedy, but the world really pulled together with donations and fundraising events to help the people affected by this terrible tragedy. My only hope is that this money gets to where it is needed most and that it does not fall into the wrong hands. One year ago, we have learned so much and realized so little it seems.
Iraq War-Ongoing. How many more of our sons and daughters must die because of this conflict? It gets to the point where you wonder why we are in that country, there are other places that our government could be helping that I believe are in greater need, and would probably appreciate it more. The world Quagmire is used a lot when referring to Iraq, and that is such a true statement. There are so many variables with the war in Iraq, you have the insurgency attacking American interests, yet then there are the innocents that you must stay to protect. It is my thought that we are in a catch 22 in that country, and have committed to a lengthy stay by default. War was declared far too quickly against Iraq and now look at the mess the US has gotten itself into. The loss of lives saddens me greatly, sons, daughters, mothers and fathers dying because of a hasty decision which I believe was made to make up for daddy's mistakes and oil money. If you have not seen Farenheit 911 you should definitely consider it required viewing, as it will make you think.
Hurricane Katrina-August 2005. A domestic tragedy which studies have proven would happen. There are so many questions related to this tragedy which are yet to be answered, if they will even ever be answered. It disgusts me that someone didn't do something for the poor people of New Orleans when they had even the slightest indication that a Category 5 hurricane was bearing down on them. Public transportation failed miserably and the city, state and federal government failed these people miserably. Not to mention the horrible conditions the hospitals were left in. I remember a picture of busses flooded in New Orleans. Think of how many people could have been evacuated northward with those buses, not to mention the city buses that could have been used to get people out. The levees surrounding the city were only capable of holding back a Category 3 storm surge, and multiple studies have been done, not to mention articles depicting the exact scenario that happened. It is just mind boggling the cavalier attitude of the officials in Louisiana, the delay in ordering evacuation, the inability to transport people out of city, instead housing them in the Superdome. So much blame can be placed, but I hope instead that lessons are learned from this event, and implemented to avoid another tragedy of this magnitude. You would think that the Tsunami would have awakened people to the power of mother nature, but it took Hurricane Katrina to really hit home and make us realize how small we really are.
Personal Reflection. I have realized so many things this year, the world is such a vast place, there are so many individuals and communities in need of help and assistance in many various ways. From a fair trade economy for nations recieving US subsidies, to a fair wage and good benefits for Wal Mart (and other low wage occupation) workers so they no longer have to be dependent on welfare and ultimately the taxpayers. This year for me is about "trimming the fat", decreasing waste and expense in my life, as well as eating healthy and living a more healthy lifestyle. My main goals for the next year are to continue with school, live a healthier lifestyle, and decrease waste and expense in everyday life. I am already a cheapskate to begin with, but I think if I am more resourceful I can save more, in many aspects of my life. It is my dream to advance my healthcare education so that I can in turn impact others and assist them in empowering themselves through education and prevention of illness. I would love to travel to other countries and work with people there, educating them and empowering them to improve their health and general well being. I no longer want the high paying job with the nice house, it would be nice, but I think I will get more satisfaction from helping others that need it most.
People I look up to for their social contributions and intelligence-Bono, Oprah, Bill and Melinda Gates, Angelina Jolie and anyone else making an effort to influence the lives of the less fortunate.
So the good stuff now.
Rants-Materialism and Consumerism as of late, it really depresses me that there is a public health emergency with the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa while snooty housewives are buying $300 Prada bags. Also the general waste and consumerism in this country, packaging and the lack of recycling options to everyone. I think it is time that forward thinking members of society promote social awareness before keeping up with the Joneses. We have the power to do so much, if only more people realized this instead of wasting money on bullets and tanks. More renewable energy! We just had a wind farm begin operation not far from where I live with 180+ windmills, very cool. I wish I had one in my backyard to power my house!
Raves-Ok so I have some Materialistic wants, but don't we all?! I got my trilogy, as well as both the clone wars DVDs, so now i'm thinking about a force fx lightsaber, but I don't know which one. Padme Amidala is my hero, what an awesome role model for young girls, even though her guy turned bad in the end. It happens to the best of us though! Kudos to Oprah, after hearing about the school she is opening in South Africa to empower girls and young women. It is good to see someone with such a strong influence conquering important social issues.
Ramblings-So, going back to school has been the best thing I have done for myself lately. It is so good to feel like i'm making progress and accomplishing something. If it weren't for one of the classes I took this semester I would not have made the directional change my life is taking. I used to think that all I wanted to do was get that high paying anesthesia job so that I could buy the things I wanted until I took Cultural Anthropology. That course has really opened my eyes, and now I am changing my training so that I can better help the people that need it most. I want to help improve the healthcare status of underserved communities both domestically and internationally. It isn't money that matters and makes one happy, for me it is to make a difference in other people's lives.
Donate Life Advance Directives
In Memory of
Melanie S. Graham LaPlatney
October 12, 1976 - January 25, 2006
Her mission statement was “To believe in, educate, and encourage children, their families, and her community.”
Mel, you impacted so many people in your life, and accomplished so much. You will always be remembered by your friends for your positive attitude and love for life. You must be an angel now, it's the only thing you possibly could be.
Copyright © 2005 Rockskigrrl. All Rights Reserved.
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