Things That I Complain About When I Wake Up In The Middle Of The Night:

it's too hot
it's too cold
it's too dark in here
it's too bright out there
it's too quiet
the neighbors are yelling
my back hurts
my feet are sore
my neck hurts
my hands hurt
my pillow is too fat
my pillow is too flat
my hair is too long
my bangs are too short
I left my watch on
I left my earrings on
I left my socks on
I left my bra on
I left the closet light on
I left the hall light on
I have to pee
I have to be up in an hour
this is the fourth time I've woken up tonight
this is the seventh time I've woken up tonight
my good dream is over
Harry Potter is over
The L Word is over
The Real L Word is stupid
girls are stupid
boys are stupid
going to work at 9am is stupid
my job is stupid
I hate opening the store
I hate closing
I hate my life
I hate my hair
I hate that I can't sleep
fuck sleep
fuck this
fuck me
fuck everything
...
I'm sorry for cursing, God
I'm just so fucking tired
please, let me fall asleep in the next five minutes
and help me to be a better person in the morning.
Amen.

"Preventing Another Holocaust" - English Comp. 1/23/2011

            The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah in Hebrew, was one of the most notorious periods in recorded history.  Today, some people still believe that it never happened;  that humans are incapable of inflicting such terrible acts upon one another.  However, the fact remains that if we let the personal prejudice of individuals effect an entire nation, we as humans are capable of a wide variety of evils.  Rather than bury our heads in the sand and pretend it was not real, people should be doing everything they can to be sure that another mass genocide never happens.

            History does not always have to repeat itself.  The first step in ensuring this is educating the next generation.  Many students know what the Holocaust was by the time they arrive in high school, but unfortunately, this is not true for everyone.  Some people have never even encountered the word.  Many schools do not teach it, or even try to cover it up and make it seem like it was not “that bad”.  This is a huge problem.  True, telling kindergarteners the details of how those 6 million Jewish people were killed in the span of 12 years is extreme.  But at some point, the Holocaust should be introduced to them when their school board decides they are mature enough to comprehend it.  Even if it is a step-by-step process, where the students learn only a few new details each year they are in school, they should not graduate high school not knowing about the Holocaust.  They should not begin their lives in the “real world” without prior knowledge of the horrors that bigotry and hate can bring to the world.  That kind of ignorance is exactly where plans for another Holocaust will come from.

            Where would we begin teaching students about the Holocaust if we did not begin with Adolf Hitler?  Adolf Hitler was a sad, angry man whose twisted mind was so filled with hate that he had to take it out on the entire world.  Germany not only let this man run the country, but they let him rule it with an iron fist.  They let him present himself as a hero, even a god, and so everyone gave him whatever he wanted.  Sadly, what he wanted was the head of every non-Aryan in existence, and he almost achieved that.  Personally, I am thankful that I live in the United States, where this kind of thing is impossible.  Our government lets the people of our nation vote on our nation’s leader, and even that person does not have total control.  Our system of checks and balances ensures that no part of our government gets out of control, and that our President does not become a dictator.  Hitler took over Germany and forced everyone to adopt his irrational hatred of Jewish, black, homosexual, and handicapped people.  If Germany had the same kind of government and legal code as the United States had, even with all of its flaws at that time, Hitler would not have been able to lead to the containment, enslavement, and mass killing of millions of innocents.

            The Holocaust was an event born of evil.  The hatred of one man encapsulated an entire nation, and then some.  Because of Hitler’s sick “logic”, countless people suffered through so much pain and torment, before most of them finally died.  Yes, Hitler suffered through much pain in his life as well, but none of it comes close to what he put so many people through during the Holocaust.  If he had not been so hateful towards humanity, perhaps none of it would have happened;  or at least it would have happened at the hands of someone else.  That is why it is important for people not to hate.  It is important for people to realize that there is not one race, religion, or culture that makes some people any better or worse than others.  If there was not so much hate in the world at that time, perhaps the Holocaust could have been stopped sooner.  If there was not so much hate in the world now, perhaps I would have more hope that something like the Holocaust would not happen again.