decisions .. decisions

There is this boy. I dated him for two years, and I finally broke things off with him this January. Not because I didn't love him, because I did, and I still do. I broke up with him because I couldn't trust him. He had hurt me so many times by being dishonest, or cheating on me. I know that should be a no brainer. Just drop him right? Well it's just not that easy. Since we have been broken up I haven't talked to him much. Maybe a hello here and there, but that is it. See the first time we broke up was in September of 07 and I didn't speak to him once until the end of October. Now, I am confronted with a dilemma. All the sudden he is in my head, more than usual. I know that I am okay without him, but sometimes I just miss him. I miss him because I love him regardless of what he did to me. I miss him because he was my best friend. I miss him because I don't know him anymore. But then there is this side of me that is so prideful, and that can't let things go. I have such mixed emotions that I have no idea what I should do. The biggest problem is we don't know how to be "just friends". It's like we either have to be together, or not speak. Even if we try the whole "friends", it always turns into something more. Maybe we just don't know HOW to be friends...

Somedays I do just fine, but other days I contemplate texting him alll dayy long.
Another problem is that I just simply do not know what I want. I want him because it's deep, and I am almost too impatient to wait around and find that feeling with another guy. But then again I really enjoy the care free life I live. I can go out and do whatever I please. I have developed many exciting friendships that I would probably have to set aside for him if we were to get together again. That is something that I definately do not want.

I guess I just miss him, bottom line. But I don't really know how to handle it. I mean how do you let someone you love, just go? I need to find a medium with him so that I will be so satisfied, and less empty inside.

I know we don't work as a couple anymore, no matter how bad I wish we would. There will never be a time where I can forget what he has done, although I forgave him. There would be too much drama, and too many unnecessary tears for my own good. But I wish he was still part of my life, maybe even if it's just in a small way.

If there is anyone else out there who knows something I could do, or has some advice..send it my way. :)

allll about meee. :)

Well basically i am Myself, which consists of going out and having a good time, hanging out with my friends, living in my awesome house with the best roomies evva and just living my life. I have short red hair, green eyes and the biggest heart you can find. I love music, it completes me. I'm a hardcore GATOR fan at heart, but i still represent for my TIGERS.I like to dance, ALOT. and i like to sing real LOUD.I believe in love, maybe not always romantic love, but i always believe you should love yourself, love your family, love your friends, and love your life. I actually got a tatoo that says "love never fails" to remind me to always love who i am. Maggie is my Best Friend/Sister.. i'd be lost without her!I lovve to cruise in my lil honda and go fast with the windows down and radio blarrin, typical girl i know.I love to be around a lot of people, i guess im somewhat of a social butterfly. I am a Kappa Delta at the U of M. i am honored to be part of the BEST sorority on campus. I am very confident and not easily taken down. Some people think that i am intimidating, but really im just a girl who knows what she wants. My mom is my best friend and my hero. My dad is everything to me, i can depend on him for anything. and i have the greatest big bro ever, the one and only madison pettigrew. I probably have the best family i could've asked for. As far as friends go--mine are definately better than yours!! I am currently single, and fabulous and enjoying meeting new guys and new people. I am very openminded and very easy to talk to.If you want to know anything else about me.. just ask.

do you ever?

Do you ever just have "one of those days" tooooo many days in a row?
Well, lately that’s been the story of my life. Sometimes things in life happen that you can’t really explain. Sometimes the people that you love the most hurt you. But I have learned a valuable lesson the past week. I have learned that sometimes you don’t know people as well as you think you do, and you shouldn’t always depend on people not to hurt you. This past week has been full of disappointments, but when I reflect on all of it, it’s not been that bad. I was pretty sad, but I got on facebook and read this quote and I really really enjoyed it, and thought it fit my mood.

"Sometimes you just feel everything and nothing all at once. Sometimes you’ll find yourself smiling while missing something at the same time. At times you can absolutely love a person, all the while wanting to hate them. Life comes without guarantees, except that smiling will brighten your face, laughing will enhance your eyes, and falling in love will change your life."

I really like this because it helped me realize that small things that hurt you should not govern your happiness. I let some stupid things bring me down last week, instead of being the strong and determined person that I am well known to be. Reading that quote gave me the extra urge to continue to live my life to the fullest without letting small things bring me down. With that being said, I am going into this week a smile, hoping that I can be a better person.

Christine Keneally and Journalism vs. Creative Writing

Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction or no fiction that goes outside the bounds of normal proffesional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include most novels and epics, as well as many short stories and poems.

Journalism is the discipline of gathering, writing and reporting news, and broadly it includes the process of editing and presenting the news articles. Journalism applies to various media, but is not limited to newspapers, magazines, radio, and television.

That is what I think each of those are, this is related to Christines book about language. I wasn't as interested in it as i was the other two readings, but when I sat and listened to her accent I felt like I was in a movie where the main character was sitting there contemplating life, and some foreign narrator was explaining all the troubles that were in that characters life. HA.

I really think it was cool though how she talked about the animals, and how animals can be decieving. This is very true. My dog lexi, knows exactly how to deceive me. Language whether it be from humans, or animals can still communicate amongst each other.

Joshua Prager- Echoing Green

It’s funny how you can read people. I was just sitting there in the Galloway mansion eating the cute little food and observing everyone. That is a bad habit I have. Sometimes when I am in a room, I just size up everyone in there and I imagine what I think their life is like. I had never seen a photo of Joshua Prager, and I had no idea what he would look like. But as I was gazing in the hall waiting for the writers to begin, I see this crippled man walk through the hall talking to some woman. I immediately thought to myself.. that has got to be the writer named Josh. Sure enough he walked to the front and sat down. I applauded myself for that rather quickly. When he spoke, I fell in love with his writing. I don’t know why I liked his book, because the audience was definitely directed towards older men, or baseball fans, neither of which I qualify. They way he wrote, and the things he put in to his book were spectacular. I really enjoyed listening to him. I was actually tempted to buy his book, but then I realized I didn’t bring my wallet. I thought it was very interesting that he took something he was so passionate about and not only wrote about it, but completely investigated it until he found truth. Although some of the things he revealed have upset many fans, as he stated in the interview this morning, I think his book was a very unique approach to the topic.

Stacy Sullivan

I went to the readings at the Galloway mansion and I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it, but I caught myself really enjoying listening. To start off, I will talk about Stacy Sullivan. Stacy Sullivan is an editor at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, a non-profit organization that trains journalists in countries recovering from war. In addition to Newsweek, her articles have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, The Washington Post, Men's Journal, and others. She lives in New York City. As I listened to her read from her book, all the things that we had discussed in class fell in to place. I thought it was really cool that as she spoke of Kosivo and Milosivic, that I actually knew what she was talking about. I was sitting in that beautiful room thinking, how cool would it be to write a book. For what I have to say to matter, would open up a whole new world. I really admired her particularly because she was so engaged in her story. She witnessed it first hand. I think that is really cool. Not only that, but at the interview today she was so humble about her publications and her success.

Cherry Picking

Cherry picking is used metaphorically to indicate the act of pointing at individual cases or data that seem to confirm a particular position, while ignoring a significant portion of related cases or data that may contradict that position. That is wikipedia’s definition of cherry picking. They also referred to cherry picking in logical fallacies. The “fallacy of anecdotal evidence” tends to overlook large amounts of data in favor of that known personally, while false dichotomy picks only two options when more are available. I took logic last semester so I kind of know what that is talking about but I will explain it to those who do not. Basically anytime you are writing something whether it be an essay, or an argument, if you deliberately leave something out that would disprove your statement you are “cherry picking” in a sense. While writing the papers that we have all been assigned on various topics, I bet there are a lot of people that are “cherry picking” through all of their information and only collecting data and facts that support their opinion on the issue. This is fine and dandy, but you have to remember that a good argument shows both sides. So if you are guilty of this in your paper, I suggest you reconsider it and try to throw in a few curve balls and maybe your paper will open up a new passage.

poverty

Homelessness and poverty are issues that will always be issues. No matter what type of improvement, or prevention plan one might make, there will never be a time when there is not anyone that is homeless or living in poverty. There are a lot of statistics and data that try to explain it, but there is still no ultimate “fix”. I do not think that it is a lost cause, and that cities should move forward with plans to make homelessness and poverty decrease.
Most people that get put on the streets are living in rental homes. It is very rare that a home- owner would lose everything he or she had and become homeless. One of the biggest problems causing homelessness is the lack of affordable rental housing. If there are not very many options for these low socioeconomic people, then they will be forced to live on the streets. Even the houses that are available for rent are normally going to be poverty stricken. There are entire neighborhoods in Memphis, Tennessee that are rented out to people. Usually these neighborhoods are all unsafe, and poverty stricken.
Due to much research I think that a lot of people that are homeless have jobs, but just not ones that pay enough for them to afford a house. Many people have low paying jobs that do not offer benefits, creating tough decisions for these people. They have to choose whether or not to spend their money on a house and have nothing else, or have no house and be able to provide food and clothing. Despite what reason causes this, I believe that no one should have to make this decision.
Organizations such as welfare add to homelessness. Welfare can be very helpful but at the same time it can have a negative affect on a family. When you are able to get off welfare and provide things on your own, there is a larger possibility of failure, and it directly causes homelessness.
In Memphis, we have a housing program called Memphis Housing Association. I have worked directly with them. My grandfather is a landlord to about one hundred and fifty rental homes in Memphis. Each tenant has government assistance with their rent. Some people get help with a small portion of their rent, some get half of it paid, some get almost all paid, and believe it or not some people get their entire rent taken care of. Despite all the money that MHA gives on behalf of poverty stricken people, some of these tenants do not even have the twenty five dollars of their portion of the rent. It blows my mind to imagine living like that. I think that it is a good cause and that the government is doing its’ job as far as providing rental housing in Memphis.

Friday..

I haven't been feeling very good this week. I couldn't even get out of bed on Thursday. But I am feeling a little better so I am going to go to the Sigma Chi toga party tonight. I am thinking that this could be prettttty fun. But I don’t really know actually. I am about to take a shower and get ready. After I straighten my hair and do my makeup, I am going to help Morgan Davis, one of my Kappa Delta sisters, do something really cute to her hair. Then I am making a zebra striped toga, and she is making a green and white polka dotted one. They are going to be SO cute. I am really pumped about them. haha. We went to the Greek carnival today and I took my dog and that was pretty fun I guess. Kappa Delta won Greek week this week so that is off the chain. KD’s are on a roll. We have been winning everything lately. We are first in grades, the largest chapter on campus, we won pi phi karaoke, and now Greek week. All sing is coming up and we are doing it with one of my favorite fraternities at Memphis, Sigma Chi. Yay!!
207

poverty argument

Poverty Argument – Part 2
Although we can never actually trace poverty and homelessness all the way back to its origin, we can pinpoint the main causes of poverty in America. Homelessness has two factors that are solely responsible for the increase over the past 25 years: an increasing shortage of affordable rental homes and a simultaneous increase in poverty.
Homelessness and poverty are linked. With limited resources, poverty stricken people are frequently forced to make difficult choices about housing, food, childcare, healthcare, and education. A large portion of poor people are homeless because they never find the adequate resources to support themselves and keep housing. Since housing absorbs a high amount of income, it is common for people to be homeless while still keeping a job so they can use their money simply for necessities.
Because of our growing economy and high unemployment rate homelessness seems to grow worse in many areas of the country. It is not just with people who are unemployed, but homelessness is a problem for people that have jobs with little to no benefits. Although, the past few years we have had growth in wages, the increases have not cancelled the long history of declining wages from the past. Many shelters and centers for the homeless house full time employees. The problem is the job growth is only affecting the people at the top of the income and wealth chain. All that does is get the rich people richer, while leaving the poverty stricken workers to struggle in the same situation.
A decline in public assistance increases poverty. Welfare helps those in need while they have it, but many families experience extreme loss of benefits, low wages, and unstable jobs when they leave the welfare program causing housing to be unaffordable and forcing these families to get back on the streets. When welfare rolls are forced to drop caseloads, it actually worsens the situation rather than promoting those families to look for jobs. These people do better without jobs, living off of welfare checks rather than working at a low paying job with no benefits.
The large difference between the number of available, affordable houses and the number of people demanding them creates a catastrophe for low income recipients. “Between 1973 and 1993, 2.2 million low-rent units disappeared from the market. The units were either abandoned, converted into condominiums or expensive apartments, or became unaffordable because of cost increases. Between 1991 and 1995, median rental costs paid by low-income renters rose 21%; at the same time, the number of low-income renters increased.” (HFTH)
Other such things that impact poverty and homelessness are factors such as lack of affordable health care, domestic violence, mental illnesses, and addiction disorders. If a family is already having a hard time paying rent, a sickness or disability can directly cause homelessness. It begins with unemployment, then loss of saved money (if there is any), and concluding in eviction. Women who live in poverty usually resort to relationships to stay off the streets, even if this means being in an abusive one. “Nationally, approximately half of all women and children experiencing homelessness are fleeing domestic violence ( Zora, 1991; NCADV, 2001).” A lot of people believe that homeless people with mental illness are a direct result of the release of severely ill people from institutions. Although, many mentally ill people were released in the 50’s and 60’s, the increase in homelessness didn’t appear until the late 80’s when housing choices began to disappear. The last issue of addiction is a controversial subject. It hasn’t been defined as an actual cause of poverty, but it is definitely a repercussion. The drug and alcohol abuse rate is high among homelessness, but homelessness can’t be blamed on an addiction. The controversy is over people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol that never end up homeless, and the number of homeless people that have an addiction. Addiction can cause a rise in poverty because of the money spent on the drug, or because it causes the addict to miss out on healthy social activities such as work. “Homelessness results from a complex set of circumstances that require people to choose between food, shelter, and other basic needs.”(U.S.DHUD)
Other unexpected factors play a role in poverty and homelessness such as natural disasters and unexpected emergencies. Many normal, working class people’s lives can change in a moment. It takes any catastrophe such as floods, fires, storms, or earthquakes to destroy a family’s home. Most of these tragedies are unrecoverable. Unless the family has good insurance, just one of these could be devastating. Even those that have insurance can be left to the streets when these things happen in mass quantities. Insurance companies can’t take a blow like Katrina that drove over one million Americans out of their homes.
Some people cannot recover from sudden and surprising issues such as being laid off from a job, losing their home, injuries, and sudden illnesses. It isn’t just hard because of the money that is spent to correct these problems, but more because of the psychological difficulties it brings, and breaking of the spirit. Some people hit rock bottom, and it causes them to become homeless.
Almost 3.5 million people experience homelessness in a given year. 40% of homeless people are families with children. 41% are single males, and 14% are single females. Only 5% are minors unaccompanied by adults. Almost 49% are African American. 35% are Caucasian, while 13% are Hispanic. The smallest ethnic groups that are part of the homeless population in America are Native Americans that make up 2% and the Asian-Americans that make up the final 1%.
Statistically, the background of homeless people, usually have traumatic experiences that cause their homelessness. Veterans make up 23% of the homeless population. Physically or sexually abused individuals make up 25%. Adults who were in foster care as children make up 27% of the homeless population. 21% of homeless adults were homeless at some point during their child hood and the largest group of 54% includes those who were incarcerated at some point in their life.

Rain

Last night I laid in bed, not really able to sleep. I heard the rain drops outside my window coming from the storm and I began to think about what Wendy said about writing. She wanted us to pay attention to everything throughout the day so that you would have things to write about. I listened to the peaceful sound of the wind and the rain, and realized that if I paid close enough attention to the sounds, or the setting, or even just how I felt at that exact moment...I would have something worth writing about. See I had never thought about it like that. I also have a hard time just free writing, because I never know what topic to write on. But for some reason the rain just made me realize that I could honestly write about anything. I don't mean to sound like a nerd or anything but as I sat there listening, so many words and phrases were swirling through my head, and if it hadn't been almost three in the morning I would have gotten on this blog and actually written about how I was feeling at that exact moment. I was just excited to connect with a moment, and have words to put it on paper. It felt good.

River City Writers

Floyd Skloot. Interesting name, interesting person. I find it so odd after going to his follow up interview, that one could completely forget a question within 20 seconds of it being asked. I don't really know why, but this blows my mind. I didn't go to his book reading because I had to go listen to another speaker, but I just find it strange that he has that problem. On the other hand, one thing I really liked about him was his honestly about publishing and publication. I think that he was right by saying that you should write to publish, you should write to your fullest potential and not put a time frame on it because then you are hindering yourself from writing the best poem, book, or paper. I also thought it was really really cool that the lady that had been presenting all the writers was his daughter.

Anyway, I didn’t realize how popular the guy I was listening to this morning was until I googled him lol.

This is what some people have to say about him
"A poet of national appeal … these are poems that bear reading again and again … This is a book with a quiet heart, but one that beats with a steady pulse and the certainty of life rushing through the veins. A wide embrace of life even in its most difficult moments, The Evening Light shows us how, in the life responsibly lived, we neither escape our collective and individual memories, nor do we rest nostalgically in them."

—Carolina Quarterly

The first monday I haven't hated in a while..

So my day started off quite well. I actually got my first full night of sleep since like last thursday, so that by itself was an accomplishment. I made it to my 9:10 class, WOW. I took a history test that I was semi-unprepared for, I think I did well under the circumstances. I also actually went to my music class. If all that isn't exciting enough, as I was walking to my car the channel three news guy stopped me and Maggie and asked if he could interview us about the whole "abduction situation" this morning. Naturally I had no idea what he was talking about so I was pretttttty shocked, and slightly embarrassed. Then I continued on with my day by going home and taking a leisurely and well needed nap. After about three hours of good rest I woke up and went and hung out with Maggie. I talked to my dad a little bit, and made a pizza. I then took a shower and got ready to go listen to the Greek Speaker in the Rose Theater. She was such a good motivational speaker, and honestly held my attention the entire time I was listening. I am currently sitting at my kitchen table, on my laptop (the internet that is FINALLY working) with my three roommates.. for the first time in a while. It feels kinda good.

People, Life, and Change.

It’s funny how people change. It happens when you least expect it too. You think you know someone, then you blink and they’re a totally different person. I think it’s kind of frustrated, especially when it’s not a change for the better. But it’s happening all around us, every day, whether you see it or not. Now I’m certainly not saying change is a bad thing at all. In fact, I love change. It spices my life up a little bit. But it’s just when people who you are close to change, and although you and that person are fine, they somehow leave you behind after the change. Nothing is more frustrating to me than a broken friendship that cannot be fixed, simply because there is nothing to be fixed! My best friend all throughout high school and I don’t speak very often anymore and some times it really gets me down. We haven’t had any fights or anything things just changed. I guess the fact that she is still in high school and I am in college has put a gap between us, but I still put forth an effort. Somehow she evolved into this person that I can’t even begin to understand. On a lighter note, I gained an even closer friend, Maggie. By losing close ties with Kristina, Maggie and I were able to develop our special friendship. We are the truest definition of “best friends”. We spend so much time together I think we are beginning to resemble each other.. haha. But seriously, sometimes I get down, but then I gotta remind myself how luck I am, and to just take the good and leave the bad…

I guess that is just a life lesson that everyone learns at some point.

295

SPRING BREAK

The drive to Panama City was one of the longest car rides I’ve ever been on. Close to six thirty, as we drove along the highway, we saw a wrecked red explorer upside down. There were four cop cars and four girls standing on the highway. I immediately felt a pang in my heart because I knew that those four girls were some of my very best friends. I scream for us to pull over and sure enough as I go running up to the scene, I realize they are some of my sorority sisters. I guess the lord works in a strange way. It’s incredible to take into account that everything we did, leading up to this moment had an affect. What if I slept an extra hour or two that foggy morning? There would have been no one there to comfort them during such a traumatic situation. After many hours in the hospital, and a few thousand tears later we were back on the road to the beach! I thought I needed this vacation before the wreck but now I did more than ever! Because of the girls’ wreck we drove slowly and cautiously all the way to Front Beach Boulevard. Once we actually made it there, the first thing I wanted was glass of wine. A few glasses and a pair of heels later I found myself on the dance floor of the Tiki Bar having the time of my life with my girls. The rest of the week was full of fun days on the beach with people I will never forget. I learned so many things about people I thought I already knew everything about. I’m sure alcohol played a big role in the honesty amongst us, but whatever it was only drew us closer. Believe it or not, I remember every single night in Panama, and I can honestly say I will cherish them for all my life.

PANHANDLING 2

few topics does it explain why you should help charities. A good argument is always two sided and this one is not.
If I thought this article was honestly promoting charities, I would have written this analysis from a totally different standpoint. American values are so twisted it is unreal. Something that appears to be promoting charities is really all about promoting business and benefiting someone other than the needy.
In a different light, part of the problem with panhandling has a lot to do with Americas corrupt values. When you give a couple bucks to person downtown, you know good and well he isn’t about to buy a number one at McDonalds. You know that he is going to take that money straight to the corner store and most likely buy a forty of beer. Why would anyone knowingly do that, when there are so many charities that would make better use of the donation? I think it is because Americans are so skeptical of charities, that they would rather enable those self-destructive behaviors instead of giving money to a rip off charity. Don’t get me wrong, there are many good charities, but for as many good charities as are out there, there are probably 2 fake ones. This speaks volumes about our values. For Americans to distrust something like a charity, which originally was meant only to benefit those in need and no one else at all, shows that we have begun to be such a low and disrespected country.
If someone gives money to a panhandler over a charity, it probably has something to do with the level of laziness in America. People are too busy to go find a legitimate charity that would represent their beliefs, so they would rather give their spare change to the man on the corner everyday on the way home from work.
The author writes to a one sided audience. He intended for the reader to agree that panhandling is wrong and that charities are a more noble cause. No matter what devices could’ve been used, the author just assumes that he has you on his side from the get go. The message behind this whole article is shady, and very misleading. The only thing it states is this “Partners for the Homeless and the Center City Commission recommend not giving money to panhandlers. A better way to help is to donate to charities and organizations with outreach programs that truly help the homeless and needy.” Well of course the Partners for the Homeless is going to recommend you not give to anyone except themselves. There is a motive, a driving cause behind every “good and noble” thing you read, just make sure your eyes are open enough to see it.

PANHANDLING

Say NO To Panhandling

“Panhandling is a challenging issue faced by cities of all sizes, and one that affects Memphis as well. The experience of numerous professionals and service agencies find that money given to panhandlers often only enables self-destructive behaviors like alcoholism and drug addiction. One former panhandler and addict has even stated, ‘Giving money to a panhandler is like giving a gun to someone who is suicidal.’”

“Say NO to panhandling. Say yes to charities that help the homeless and needy.” My artifact immediately sends out a message asserting that donating to charities is a better option than giving money to panhandlers. At the very top of the article there is a huge picture of an outstretched hand with change in the palm that is crossed out. Then there is a bubble that says “handouts do not help the needy.” Not only does the picture grab your eye’s attention because of the mere size, but certainly because of the bright colors of purple and yellow. Once you look at the picture, you will realize that the word “NO” is very bold, and a separate color from the other words in the statement. They do this so that you connect the words “no” and “panhandling”. Immediately, without reading the article, you realize that the author is against it. That device is intended to persuade the reader that panhandling is wrong from the beginning, so that as the reader reads throughout the article, he or she will have a standpoint from the start. The picture itself claims that giving money to panhandlers is a problem, and that giving money to charities is the answer.
Before you take a side, you have to ask yourself, “What is the motive behind this?” When you begin to examine the possible benefits that a charity would get, rather than a panhandler you will see where the propaganda comes into play. If you donate to a charity, you are helping them promote their name and company. Not all charities are non-profit organizations. Someone, somewhere is getting paid. This ad is put on by Definitely Downtown, and I believe they want people to stop giving to panhandlers in downtown Memphis so that the local panhandlers will stop corrupting business and driving away potential customers.
This article wants you to think that it is simply promoting charities, when in all reality it is doing so much more. The article is trying to clean up panhandling downtown, from a business standpoint. One way you know that this article is about a business issue and not about promoting charities is that there are no specific charities that the article encourages. If the article was really saying, “Hey donate to legitimate charities” then there would have been several options of charities that need donations that supported this ad. It is in our American culture to mislead people in order to get ahead. This article says a lot about how things are handled in Memphis. The article outlines the main questions one would want to know and gives no intricate detail. It explains what panhandling is, why to say no, what you should do if you are approached for money, how it is legal and illegal, and what you can do to help those truly in need. Nowhere in those

Painting

"I am called from another world. I try to live perfect. I built this park of broken pieces to try and mend a broken world of people who are traveling their last road. I took the pieces you threw away and put them together by night and day. Washed by rain, dried by sun, a million pieces all in one."


-Rev. Howard Finister- quote is taken from one of his many paintings.



This quote is so touching. It says so many different things to me. The overall message is that you cannot be perfect, but if you take the peices of other peoples broken lives, use them, learn from them, and then shape them into who you plan to be, then you can truely live. I think that it is also saying that some things take time, and nurturing in order to reach their full potential. Sometimes i feel like i've been "washed by rain, dried by sun, a million pieces all in one."

Just because things aren't perfect, there is no reason to let that get you down. There are so many positive things that you can learn from and use to benefit you, rather than tear you down.

202