autumn is coming!
most people seem to be rejuvinated by spring, but i am rejuvinated by fall.  very few leaves have turned here in cincinnati, but i can feel the change.  nights and mornings are cold.  mmm. 

i started my 3rd co-op quarter today.  because i know my way around the lab my day wasn't so long.  i felt bad for the new co-op, he looked so confused.  i've realized that even though wire and cable is not the business for me, it may offer some good experience for the environmental field.  i really want to get involved in renewable fuels and i'll need some electrical experience.  so i guess this job will be valuable in the long run.

To me, 9/11 is just a date.  Horrible things happen everyday.  The events of 9/11/2001 were tragic and should be remembered year-round, not just on September 11th.  July 4th isn't the only day that Americans show their patriotism.  February 14th isn't the only day people show their love for one another.  While I do believe that we should recognize and remember the events of that day, I also think that we should grow and move on.  I think we have focused so much on the day because we have titled the attacks "9/11".  We don't call the Titanic striking of an iceburg 4/14, or the D-Day of 1944, 6/6. 

In remembering the lives lost on September 11, 2001, I believe we should also remember all of the lives lost in the war that it sparked. 

realizing that the beliefs i grew up with were not my own.  my whole family is christian, so when we get together, sometimes i feel like an outsider.   one day i just decided that my beliefs are my own and no matter what, these people are still my family.  i haven't sat everyone down to let them know that i have found another  path, i haven't found it necessary.  they think i'm a good kid, and i am, so why get them worried?  i'm following my own path to enlightenment and i do believe that jesus is a person to model my morals and ethics after.  if they ask i'll tell, but so far no one has asked.

as long as i stay true to myself, i'll be ok.

writing.  my brain won't shut down at night so i have to get everything out before sleep.  i prefer to handwrite because it feels more personal, but if my mind is racing too quickly i find my laptop and speed type.  writing calms my nerves and gives me a chance to focus my energy into something i love. 

making it a better place.

not just putting a band aid on it and calling it a day.  but  fixig  it.  if i could figure out how to do that i would be there in an instant.

I work out everything.  Whatever I'm feeling I let myself feel it as much as possible in order to work through whatever it is that I need to.  I plan.  I dream up stories.  I encourage myself.  I tell myself I'm beautiful, everyday.  So many signals in the world tell us we're ugly.  Ugly people don't save the world, beautiful people do (of course i mean beautiful souls).  And I talk to god, or my concience, or whatever that higher power is.  But I try to listen to myself.  I try to figure out what my mind and body and soul need.

laughing.  i laugh a lot, even when inappropriate.  no matter what the situation i can smile and eventually laugh.  yay me.  i've heard that i have an infectious laugh so you should probably laugh along with me.  you'll feel better (and for those skeptics...you'll burn some calories too!)

alison.  i have learned that this word means 'of noble birth'

names can tell us quite a bit about a person.  for instance my cousin's name is aidan, which means 'little fire.'  granted he's only 6, but he is the most hyper 6 year old i have ever met.

i am not of noble birth but when i was little i use to make up grand stories about my ancestors in ireland.  maybe someone along the line was 'noble' in that sense of the word.

i do feel that my mother is a noble person and has done everything she can to instil morals a sense of good in me.  while we do not agree on many things, i have learned my rights from wrongs, and for that i suppose my name is suited to me quite well.

Even though Cincinnati is a big city it really does feel like it's a small town.  Everywhere I go, I seem to know someone.  Wether that is me or the city, who knows.  It does have its racist drawbacks, and that's on all fronts not just the white majority hating on everyone else, everyone else hates the white majority more. 

Anyway, I absolutley love UC.  The more I visit other campuses, the more I love mine.  We are one in 13 in the entire US that is located in an inner city/ urban setting.  It scares a lot of people who aren't from here, but I feel safe enough. The diversity here is awesome too.  i love learning about people, and UC gives me a chance to learn about all kinds and people and great places to people watch.  www.uc.edu

i love family, and my family is here.  my entire community feels like a family and its amazing. 

If I only knew how to be everything that I want to be when I grow up, then I would.
I want to be:
an artist
an author
an activist
a chemist
an historian
a linguist
a teacher
a mother
an influential person
a event planner
wealthy
healthy
wise
an actress (broadway)
in a band (vocals if anyone is looking)
a fashion designer
an archeologist
a world travelor
...