N1. Seven Marines Killed in Nevada

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/us/7-marines-killed-in-nevada-training-exercise.html

 

When I first heard the story about seven Marines I was devastated. I have a mass amount of respect for Marines, not only because my brother is one but also because they fight for our country. During a live fire training exercise on Tuesday March 19, 2013, seven Marines were pronounced dead after a 60-millimeter mortar round unexpectedly exploded.  Along with the seven killed, severely others were injured and taken to the hospital. The Marines were training at Hawthorne Army Depot which is under investigation. Troops are frequently sent there before being deployed to Afghanistan. Some Marines that were killed by explosion that were part of the Second Marine Division were based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for combat. It is unclear if the mortar exploded in its firing tube. Also it might have been detonated among the Marines after being fired or there may have been more than a single round exploded. After this case, the United States Marine Crops suspended the use of the 60-millimeter mortar along with the association of using fire tubes worldwide. The Depot is mainly used for training troops about to be deployed to Afghanistan because they have much similar terrain like Afghanistan. After nine of the Marines were taken to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, one died shortly after while there were listed in serious condition and five were in fair condition. All the men were under 30 years old with injuries penetrating trauma, fractures, and vesicular injuries. Just hearing this story brings tears to my own eyes knowing that all seven of those men were training to fight for our own country. All my thoughts and prayers go out to all of the Marines and their families that were devastated by this tragic accident. All of the pouring support the community is giving them just touches my hearts. Hopefully this doesn’t occur again.

N3. My Future

Seeing that I’m a junior in high school I have future ahead of me. I just got hired for my first job ever but I haven’t started yet. I am actually really nervous to start. I always had a fear of starting and/or trying new things. I think my anxiety starts to kick in after a while. I’m already of ahead myself though. I have future plans for myself, and they are set high. I plan on attending a four year college for nursing. I hope on graduating with my Registered Nursing license. Then shortly go back to school to be a surgical nurse. After I do graduate from college I would love to try to get a job working at a hospital. If I don’t get jobs working in a hospital I would love to work in a big doctor’s office. I wouldn’t want to work in a small facility because I think I would love the feeling of working with a large staff. I don’t want to move out of New York but if that is my only option I guess I’ll have to. If I did have to move out of state I think I would move either down south or to Ohio where my other my mom’s side of the family lives. The reason why I want to go into the medical field is because of my mom. She has truly inspired me. Even though she comes home a lot from work complaining about her terrible days she still loves what she does with a passion. I used to go to her work when I would visit my grandma and sit behind her unit desk just to see what it’s like in a nursing home. She shows me her med cart and all her responsibilities. Also I want to be able to help other people get better.

N2. Springgg.

For the most part I love spring mainly because my birthday is in April. I love the time of the year in general not just because my birthday is part of the season. I love the fact that winter is finally coming to an end and summer is just right around the corner. It’s always exciting to see the snow melt yet, the ground is always muddy and mushy and just gross. Spring season also means Spring Break, and that means only 2 more months of school. It seems after spring break is over school flies by extremely fast. At this point it is kind of scary knowing I am going to be a senior next year. When I think of Spring I automatically think of rain and flowers. I literally could just sit around and fall asleep to the rain all day. It’s very relaxing and soothing. Also I think of flowers because the sun is starting to come out to the clear skies and make the flowers bloom. My dad and I clean up the flower bed in the front of the house and put new fresh flowers in. I feel like there is just a natural smell to spring. You can just smell the rain and the cleanness and fresh air. It’s just truly refreshing. A downside to spring is that the weather acts bipolar. One day it will be like 65 degrees outside then the next day it will be back to 30 degrees. I don’t understand why it just can’t stay warm. Winter had its chance and now it’s time to move onto the sunshine and beach days. Thunderstorms are one of my favorites of the season with the expectation of them in the middle of the night when they wake me up. Then I don’t like them. Overall I love spring time.

M4. Looking foward to a Cruise next July

Once again Mr. Currin assigns another choice blog. After a while I run out of choices to talk about. I have already talked about the genuine things in my life: family, friends, and cheerleading. Oh I have an idea I can talk about! Last Friday my dad told my sister and I that he has a surprise for us that no one knows about. Not going to lie I was a little bit nervous. My sister or I had no idea what it could have possibly been. I know my dad was discussing a family cruise just a day before with my mom. Friday came sooner than I thought it would. When we arrived home from lunch after my uncle’s funeral my dad told us to wait just about 10 minutes and he would reveal our surprise to us. Those ten minutes was probably the longest 10 minutes of my life. Finally I could hear him walking slowly and I mean slowly down the stairs. He had 2 pieces of paper in his hand all curled up. I tried sneaking a peak of what it could have been; all I saw were numbers on the paper. I thought he was giving us a bill or something. He made a little speech. Telling us this was our graduation gift instead of having a party. Right then I knew he was surprising us with a cruise. I screamed louder than ever when he gave us the paper and at the top it said “Norwegian Cruise Line.” I cannot express how excited I am! The only downfall is that I have to wait a whole year. L We are going next July towards the end into August. It was supposed to be just my sister and I and my parents but then all the other siblings wanted to go to. So now it’s just going to be a big family vacation and I super stoked! Literally my sisters and I talk about it every single day. My parents just went on the same cruise line in September so my mom was telling me about all the activities there is to do. The first thing I did was ask her if there were any cute boys on the ship. Thankfully she said yes! I wish July 2014 was here already!!!

M1. Easter Traditions

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner. As being a part Irish family my family doesn’t celebrate it. But we do usually have corn beef and sauerkraut except me. I think it’s just absolutely nasty! Since we don’t really celebrate St. Patrick’s Day I will talk about another holiday or family tradition. My family does celebrate Easter the holiday right after St. Patrick’s Day. We are usually either in Ohio with my mom’s side of the family or we stay up here with my dad’s side of the family. When we do stay up here in New York my father usually cooks dinner for the family. I actually prefer to go to Ohio because I find it more fun celebrating Easter there than at home. We usually go to my grandparents’ house in Ohio because all my cousins and aunts and uncles come and my grandma always sets up an Easter Egg Hunt for all the kids. I feel like I’m too old to do it usually just help my little cousin McKenzie. I feel like she is my other half even though she’s like 5 years old. I only get to see her once a year, so whenever I go down to Ohio I try to spend as much time with her as possible. We do talk on the phone sometimes when my mom calls her sister. Also my grandma tends to cook a really big Easter dinner for the family. She LOVES to cook! Her meals are absolutely delicious. We don’t really do much on Easter; usually we just hang around and cherish the moments we have together. Also my grandma is very festive so she also gives all her grandkids a little goody bag with candy in it. I actually prefer to go to Ohio everywhere but sometimes my mom isn’t able to get off for vacation.