Learning to Live

I have been struggling with coming to terms with exactly what happened in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday. I know that I live entire states away from Connecticut, but I still cannot fathom what unfolded there on Friday morning. On Friday night I avoided social media sites because I could not comprehend or understand. I still don't. I never will. Will anybody? Today my family was talking about the different rumors we had heard. My cousin, Alex, who works as a second grade teacher at South Elementary, told us that she is now forced to think about where she would hide her kids. She described how unsafe the portables are and how she has no clue what she would do. It made me sick. We shouldn't have to think like this. I finally brought myself to read the Star Tribune today and think I was able to finally realize that this was indeed "real life." As stupid as it sounds, this doesn't seem like it could be a true story. But it is. One of my Facebook friends expressed...

Hard to believe my not so baby brother turns 18 today. Granted he's towered over me for years now, and could have kicked my ass at the age of 14, I like to think I'm still the boss. Although there have been times where I'm almost positive the kid is adopted, I can actually say I appreciate the person he has grown into. Sure, he's pretty socially awkward, and I still have moments where I contemplate if we're actually related, but it's been great watching him grow into an almost mature adult. However, we definitely have our differences and aren't afraid to express them. We always debate about which one of us is more intelligent than the other and while I may have a higher GPA and more social understanding, I'm also smart enough to acknowledge the fact that my brother is somewhat of a genius. Our mom encouraged us both to start reading at a young age and it definitely stuck. But while I chose to read books that can be categorized as "brain candy,...