That, anyways, is what I have learned.

Two and a half years ago, there was a man, not a boy, but a man. He was enjoying what a freshman man in college would enjoy, parties, friends, and of course that thing called class. He was a strong and a brave man, but he disguised it, he wanted to be that hero but not with the label. Then, there was a girl. This man noticed how beaten she was, the bruises along her arms and leg, the scar that stayed hidden so questions weren’t asked who gave it to her, the eyes that showed fear, fear that the evil who had done this to her, would find out she was about to take to this man. This brave man, walked her home, he didn’t ask who, what, were, or why, he merely just walked in synch with the battered girl, She didn’t look up, she stared at the sidewalk confused as what to say. The girl didn’t want to say anything that would push this man away, when their journey was ending the man had to finally ask, he wanted to save her, to remove all those scars and bruises, save her from the evil that held her captive. After months of interaction and conversations with this girl, the man was hopeful that her bruises and scars were slowly fading. As was the girl, hopeful that her beatings were finally over.

This journey, a journey to conquer evil is so typical and so well anticipated for movies, stories and girls dreams. What girl hasn’t wished that a strong, noble man would whisk her off her feet and into the distant sun? I sure did, although mine involved Harry Potter or James Bond. During my time in Mythology, I’ve come to realize the power of the journey. A journey that starts with a task given to the man or women then begins the quest. Fighting crime or slaying dragons (hypothetically), but what would happen if while your facing robbers and murderers you turn around to face death itself. Death, most people would say that death doesn’t fear them, but how would you know? Has the Grim Reaper called you recently to say Hi? Has Voldermort face-booked you the timeline of when you’re going to die? I highly doubt a conversation with death has occurred recently. Since I Mentioned Voldermort and happen to be on Harry Potter rampage, Lets take Voldermort, He’s somewhat cheating death. Killing seven people to keep coming back so that death never seems to reach his door (But of course he eventually dies). Or take Captain Jack Harkness, he seems to cheat death in any situation you can think of for millions of years. (He’s in Doctor Who and Torchwood). Many people will deny the fear of death, claiming that death will be waiting at the right time and when the moment is right. Or take Zeus, the God of all God’s. Of course they will live for as long as they can, old age isn’t an issue for the Greek Gods. Why should we be the unlucky ones and die at some point in time. Will the Quest or journey end because the traveler fell to his death, or a wild untamed lion eats them? Does your Journey end? Or will a new journey open up, a journey after death.

The journey I took this semester was far from easy, although college is never easy, coming to Lit 285, opened my eyes on what I want to see and what I should see. Mythology, stories and trees are around us wherever we go, I could be walking out the door and see my roommate eating cereal, knowing that cereal is somewhat a God, ewe your eating a God…. Weird. Or when I see someone climbing a tree, I think to myself, wow that person truly loves Daphnie. But seriously, I wasn’t raised in a traditional family, I didn’t hear stories from my grandparents about how things use to be a nickel, nor did I have story time right before bed. I never knew the story of Adam and Eve till I entered this class. I didn’t know that this class would give me more insight on myself and even the people in this class as well. This truly was a Journey from Separations, where I had to speak about things what I would normally never speak of, blogging about how my childhood memories are far gone, a separation from past to present, then the Initiation, of course I never chopped off my pinky or an ear to give to Dr. Sexson, but I’m sure that would have been a sight to see. The initiation occurred during our first presentation for me. Walking up to the front of the class and speaking about a creation myth, I’ve never been a great speaker, but knowing that I could say “man-whore”, or ‘Bitch” and not get kicked out of class was probably the best thing ever. So yes, I went through a painful initiation which involved speaking in public, but only I felt the pain unless, everyone hear truly thinks it’s painful to watch me speak also. This initiation took till today to complete, I hope Dr, Sexson says I passed the initiation process. My Return hasn’t happened yet, because when I return to wherever I am going I’ll just turn around and take a new path, my initiation is never over, I will continue to speak in public, one because its my job, and also because no one is truly done with anything. Everyone is always trying to be accepted into anything.

When this class is over, and I continue my journey in a new direction, I’ll keep in mind all the things this class taught me. Of course we learned about myths, and stories, but surprisingly enough this class taught me about the journey never ends, it may pause or disappear for a minute or two but it always come right back with a smile on its face and a new quest to take.

This brave man that was introduced in the beginning of my presentation, he has a new journey now. In this new journey of his, he faces sever pain and grueling hardships, His separation from the girl he saved only a couple years ago, and the initiation he will endure for 5 months, including wounds physically and emotionally. But, as he returns the girl he once saved will be here waiting for him, because this time it’s her turn to save him.

That, Anyways, is what I have learned

Thank You Soldier 

When your in a situation where your loved one is serving our country, whether it be over sea's or serving the state, You don't realize the commitment your loved one and you have signed up for. When your loved one signs on the dotted line, they are no longer just yours, they are now "Owned", by the military, they are military property. It doesn't sound real or feel real until they take your loved one away. Its a surreal feeling for the first couple days, you feel as though they will walk through the door at any moment, but that moment never comes. you count the minutes that go by without them, and you count the moments you shared together, the good and the bad. When they leave and the communication is sealed, you wonder when the next time you'll be able to say "I Love You" or "I Miss You", and when the phone call finally comes, and you hear your loved one say, I only have 45 seconds to talk, so all you do is cry and say the most meaningful things before the connection is severed. Its a hard adjustment, but in time it becomes the new normal. Each letter that comes through the mail is another piece of your heart being glue back together.

And when the day comes where they step off the plane, wearing their combat boots and the uniform to match, its a moment where time stops, the world stops spinning and all that matters is the two of you finally seeing each other. Feels as though it has been years since that last hug and the final kiss happened, you run faster then the speed of light (not really) jumping into their arms, and then reliving the moments that made you so happy with your loved one.

One day my loved one will walk off the plane in uniform while I await to jump into his arms

Sea Foam

Deep in Alaska there was a man, Tracy, he owned the largest seafood and fishing distribution. Tracy was a rather large man, but not fat, like blubber fat, he was built like a wrestler who has retired but still could hold his ground. His wife and him had five daughters together, they all grew up to become popular in their towns high school, everyone wanted to be them and hang out with them, Sierra, who was 17, she was a member of the schools Choir, everyone said she could sing like Ceilen Dion, her voice was powerful and strong, but also sweet and subtle. Sierra’s dream has always been to leave Alaska and see new things, experience new sights. But her mom had a strict rule, once Sierra turned 18, she could venture out, BUT not until she turned 18.

Sierra, she’s just turned 18, and the only present she wants is the ‘Ok’ to travel, and leave Alaska, but before she packed a bag to visit LA, her mom had to remind her the LA, is nothing like Alaska, there’s these things called Boys!, and their a strange species, they might come across sweet, but, their everything but sweet. As she discarded her moms last few words, she took the next flight to LA, as she stepped off the plane, she starred in Awe at all the skyscrapers that cut through the cloudy skies, as she walked the busy, crowded streets, she notice men unloading boxes upon boxes of unknown objects. She wanted to meet her first LA local, but as she walked towered them she looked down at herself, she was dressed as a marshmallow,  all covered up in her winter gear, not realizing that its not -50 degrees and more and more like 75 degrees.

As she watched the workers unload boxes, a young man, who seemed to be the workers manager, Sierra couldn't help but notice he was GORGEOUS! Picture Jason Ackles, From Supernatural, but easier to talk to because he’s not famous. His name was Chad, Chad the manager.

Suddenly, Chad was walking into the middle of the busy street, Sierra noticed a car racing towards him and she tried yelling to Chad to look out, but the loud horn was over powering everything else. The car struck Chad, but before anyone would get to him, Sierra was by his side to help him out. She held him in her arms until the ambulance arrived on sight. Even though her arms were tired, and she was sweating through all the layers she was wearing, she didn’t care.  As Chad was placed in a gurney and placed in the ambulance he glanced at Sierra and said “Thank You”.

Sierra flew back to Alaska after a couple days in LA, she couldn’t seem to forget about Chad, so when she came home, her sisters where at the airport ready to greet her, as they asked about her trip, she started bawling, she didn’t know why, and she locked herself in her room for days on end. Sierra went to go visit her Aunt and to beg her on what she should do about Chad, she wanted to see Chad again but she didn’t know how. Her aunt promised to help her, but warned her of the consequences that would come. Sierra didn’t care, all she cared about was Chad, the hot manager. Her aunt, asked for a favor in exchange for helping her find Chad, Sierra said ok, anything, so her aunt told her to NEVER sing again, because if people heard her voice they would kidnap her and steal her voice. She seemed scared by the news but agreed to surrender her voice. Sierra’s aunt reminded her that if she finds Chad and he happens to be with another lady, you will not be able to come home, because your mother warned you to stay away from men, you will be banned from home and possibly Alaska. Sierra agreed, and her aunt went to work on investigating where Chad might be.      

Sierra left Alaska once again and headed towards LA, she walked down the stairs from the plane and all of a sudden tripped and fell face first onto the pavement. A man (Chad) helped her up and as he was helping Sierra to her feet he asked where she was staying and he would help her get there. So she and him left the airport and headed towards her hotel. For the next couple days she spent her time sight seeing with Chad and enjoying LA. She would sometimes get so stressed that the only way to de-stress was to sing, but she promised her Aunt hat her singing career was long gone. Sierra knew that in all the time she spent with Chad that his mind would be somewhere else, he didn’t know that Sierra was the girl that held him a few months back, and Sierra couldn’t tell him either, one day in particular Chad seemed a little more upbeat than normal, they where headed to the airport, Chad said someone was coming, when Sierra and Chad got there and supermodel like women came towards Chad walking as though an invisible fan was in front of her as she walked an invisible catwalk, in Sierra’s mind “Mustang Sally” was also playing, just to add to her pain. Chad kissed her and soon after arriving, they married, Sierra was baffled, she thought Chad was starting to like her, but she was wrong.  After the wedding Sierra’s sisters called her to see how she was doing, and they were also concerned for her. Sierra confided in them and told them how she liked him so much. Her sisters were cruel evil bitches, and they told Sierra that she should kill the damn boy; not thinking that Sierra would take literally, Sierra now wanted revenge. But even though she wanted to kill Chad for getting her hopes up, she didn’t want to literally kill someone and then end up in prison for several years.

The Next day when the maid came to clean the room, expecting to find the room empty she found a bathtub filled with water and blood, the maid screamed and called 911, when the cops came, along with a corner, they concluded that Sierra had used Hydrofluoric acid to dissolve most of her body, she was lifeless. That last thing anybody heard that day was the maid describing the image is though Sierra had turned into ‘Sea Foam”.     

CaNdY!

Halloween, a time where candy is flying, kids are screaming and parents pop those pills to relieve an oncoming headache. I haven't "trick or treated", since the 4th grade, not because its weird to disguise yourself for a night and switch personalities for several hours, but because dressing up as something/someone that isn't your normal day to day self and parents wouldn't recognize you, then going from door to door begging for candy from strangers who for all we know could have a record of some sort. Strange? Personally I wouldn't like to be heading up to a strangers door, hoping for the best 'King sized' candy bar then getting snatched! by some weird man who smells like rotten eggs and chocolate with a hint of an un-know substance that lingers under his neck. Then from there, taken from the scene of the crime to a stalker van with technology a 5 year old would never understand then as I lay helpless, tied up, mouth duct tapped, and tears gracing down my face. Its only been 5 minutes and my parents were waiting at the end of the driveway for me to come back with a smile ear to ear, only to find out that I wasn't in the group who went to the strangers house. My mom starts to panic, running up to the house, demanding to know what happened to her kid (me), when the strangers door opens and they tell my parent that a child dressed as a 'Witch' never showed up to collect the candy. My parents are beyond historical now, My mom, she's screaming at the top of her lungs, running down the road talking to even more strangers asking about where her beloved child could be, could on of the strangers be the kidnapper? would we ever find out? Will I be alive?...

   Cliff hangers suck!

Anyways, I prefer to just eat the delicious candy from the store, rather than meet strangers, getting snatched and maybe eaten. No one wants to be eaten, thats strange!

StoryTeller 

The StoryTeller, is an interesting read, and even though the book had meaning, and personal changes. I personally did not like the book, not because it didn't connect with me, but my mind didn't find this a page turner, world culture stories intriguing through books, I would rather live it, then read about it. Everyone has books they love, books they read because they should, and books they start to read thinking they'll like it, but half way through they don't remember what the last line was because its boring. Although I didn't really enjoy the book, I remember early on in the book, where Saul (his real name) has a birthmark covering much of his face, but was it just a mark that happen to be something he his born with or was it a symbol? Something so visible, you can't run away from it, something like that would make most people scared to walk out their door because of all the comments they would hear, the faces they would see and the finger pointing they would feel as they past by. That would take a serious bullet proof vest, something that is a lie. The one thing the makes a person so scared to show any fear, is probably something that fears themselves. Saul didn't show any fear or concern when it came to his birthmark, why? well no one ever does, why do we conceal our deepest secrets?, because it could hurt us, our relationships and our future if we tell anyone. But when something so life changing, like finding out in the amazonian tribe, they kill any new borns that are imperfect. Would Saul be alive if he was born into the Machiguengas tribe? No. Would my brother be dead because he was born with a 'Webbed Toe'? Something so simple could be an imperfection in someone else's eyes. It startled me, to find out more about myself reading into this little chapter starting so early in the book, (pg.26) If I didn't meet a persons standards, would I be here? Would I be here after disappointing important people in my life? 

Think to yourself,

   What is your imperfection?

   

Now that you have that imperfection

   Picture not being here

(A little off topic from the StoryTeller, but when something doesn't intrigue me, I try to connect it to something that would intrigue me, which would be life and death)

Food For Thought  "Worms"

Tuesdays class we brought up, the topic of "Why don't we make enough time for things?", is it because we prioritize differently than we should? Or is it because some things are just not as important as other things. I use the excuse "I don't have enough time in the day to complete every little thing", which is a common 'cover' most people use. Not saying its a bad thing, but like in class, we all have 24 hours in the day and we all have a busy lifestyle. For example I go to school full-time, work, take care of the house, the pets and still look happy while doing it. Ian in class expressed his love for writing, and that is something that keeps him going everyday, and he makes time for it, others its reading, exercising, or even waiting for the next episode of Criminal Minds to come out next week. Several things keep me going each and everyday, the happy faces that wake me up in the morning, my brave soldier that is protecting our state, even a little baking keeps me going each and every day. 

So what keeps you going each and everyday?

• Is it a hobby?
• A loved one?
• Your occupation?
• Maybe its your drive?

Once you answer that question, answer this one....

What happens when "What keeps you going" leaves.

   What keeps you going suddenly changes, your occupation becomes routine and then predictable which leads to boring. Your hobby turns to nothing more than something you 'Use' to love. Or maybe your loved one Dies. If your drive comes from a loved one, you do realize that if their older than you (much older) they might die before you reach that long awaited goal of yours. Are you ready for that person to leave this world and become food for the worms? 

  

   Harsh?  maybe, but like many others, I too look up to an older figure in my life and when she passes away,  I will forever have a piece of me missing but I know I'll still have to continue to be driven in whatever I am doing. Not to pass all my mistakes onto a scapegoat because I didn't do everything right before she passed away. 

As we grow older and the next generation sits where we once stood, what will they think of us, what will be their drive? Are we all a lost cause? What we will do in life matter to others besides the ones in our family? 

Use those 24 hours in a day to Make a difference. 

My Grandmom and me, Old Spaghetti Factory, Oregon

The Fulani Tribe

Whip Match

The Fulani Tribe lives in west Africa, where they take pride in their "becoming a man" seriously. When a boy turns a certain age 13-15 years old they prepare for their painful initiation right. A boy will go out into the woods and find a strong, sturdy and flexible stick. When they find one that fits the profile they begin to sharpen the stick so that its easier to break the skin of the boy he is going to whip. the day of the match, each boy gets 3 single whips and whoever is getting whipped has to stay as still as they can, any flinch they make will cost them the match. When the match is over the village determines the winner and who becomes a Man. Whoever didn't win is shamed throughout the whole clan.