Letsallwrite’s Weblog

*Considering the age of the typical reader and the seriousness of this threatening issue, I trust that everyone will exhibit maturity while reading*

An attractive design grabs the attention of anyone sexually active. Two shades of blue are the dominant colors. A medium turquoise acts as the base and a dark turquoise gives color to the silhouetted couple on the lower left-hand side of this 3″x3″x1″ box. In the middle of the small box on the right-hand side lies a black, horizontal, and rectangular strip with white capitalized lettering spelling “lubricated”. Just above this is “trojan-enz” in large, white, and bold letters. A tab with a center opening stems from the top of the box allowing it to be easily stocked . On this tab the manufacturer boasts in capitalized white letters “America’s #1 condom, trusted for over 80 years”, and prints a golden Trojan warrior helmet, it’s prominent logo, in the upper right hand corner.

Opening this box yields three 2″x2″ connected aluminum square packages. The packages, however, are designed to be easily separated. These medium turquoise wrappers also sport “trojan-enz” in capital letters and the Trojan logo, in white, on the upper and lower right-hand corners. Opening one of these packages reveals the prize: a well constructed, 7.9″ long 2″ wide, cylindrical latex sheathe that acts as a male contraceptive.

Condoms are a fairly inexpensive ($3.99 gets you a box of three) form of birth control and are available at many convenient stores, gas stations, large store chains, and even online. They are extremely easy to use and even come with instructions. Not only that, but the knowledge of their existence and advantages (a 98% success rate for protecting against STIs and pregnancy) is widespread among American society. So, one really must ponder, why are there so many unintended pregnancies each year?

What’s the price of having an unplanned child? Really, go ahead and calculate the expenses. It adds up to be a pretty hefty price, right? Now, factor in the emotional and societal pressures and you’ve a large amount of stress with which to cope. This combination of mental and financial strain coupled with an increase in responsibility is obviously the leading cause of the community crumbling epidemic: paternal abandonment.

Sadly, fathers unable to bear the burden of such a life altering event relinquish their parental duties and opt for a much less intimate relationship (be it support from afar such as child support or complete disertion) with the child, which truly causes confusion and instability. I’ve personally witnessed the devastating effect this has on not only the children, but the mother as well. My sister, Jessica Pope and her three children–Demetrius, Dorian, and Danielle Chatman–live in a fatherless household; and, although the children are well provided for, the effects of an absentee father are evident. Upon observing Demetrius’ slightly feminine behavior, Dorian’s questioning of his father’s whereabouts, and Danielle’s unruly manners toward male authoritative figures, one can begin to acknowledge the consequences that fatherlessness creates.

Many individuals would deem my niece and nephews’ case as mild. To them the repercussions of fatherlessness extends much further. It is generally believed that the lack of fatherhood in our communities attribute to the rise in crime, teen pregnancies, and overall deterioration of our culture over the last few decades. Many also feel that if we, as a nation, can eliminate teen and unplanned pregnancies then we can effectively reverse the trend of paternal abandonment and regain a grip on delinquency in our communities.

So, if you’re sexually active, please take heed! Commit to using birth control each and every time you have sex and we can invert the progressively upward curve of fatherless homes in America. In the words of BET, “Rap it Up”.

It’s suspended teasingly, perhaps even a bit threateningly, above the crib. At first there’s silence, but then with a gentle flick of her wrist two sounds fill the room–one of which melts her heart completely. The soft clash of the beads in the star shaped rattle evoke joyous giggles to escape the infant’s lips. Alone, she relishes the sound; and for a moment allows her mind to be pleasantly distracted from the frightening images of her and her child’s future.

She looks down at the two eight pointed stars–one a vibrant orange with a transparent orb filled with small colorful balls in the center and the other a brilliant yellow with a solid orange orb in the middle. Her fingers grasp tightly around the two intertwining tubes connecting the stars and shakes again. Once more the baby happily kicks, coos, and laughs. She smiles at the innocence…at the innocence that she has yet to realize can, regardless of her situation, be molded into prosperity.

There exists devastating statistics in circulation. For instance, supposedly 75% of children and adolescents in chemical dependency hospitals are from single-parent families. Not completely horrified? What if I told you that children in single-family households are allegedly three times more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems? Well, that’s just a beautiful and promising outlook to paint for single parents, eh?

Personally, I think these depressing statistics are a bit askew. Sure, it may be stressful balancing finances and providing emotional support, but if any of the statistics formerly mentioned has any credibility the negative effects would stem from poor parenting skills and technique. Being raised by a single parent has absolutely no bearing on a child’s behavior. Think about it–if you take the unequipped parent of these unadvised ‘delinquents’ and couple them with some random unfortunate soul, wouldn’t the end result be the same?

Many of my friends and associates are from single-parent households and are successful on their chosen paths; not only that, but they all inspire me, a product of a two-parent family, to constantly self-improve. Add that my sister is a single mother of three blossoming children, and you can see why I’m offended by such ridiculous claims. So, I ask–instead of condemning the poor little children, how about we try and teach single parents how to rear kids correctly?

     Wooptido! It’s a black picture frame with a mother and her two daughters in it. What’s so important about that? Well in this case it’s important because that’s my mother with me and my sister in that picture. It was taken in Jordan towards the end of 1990. I was only a year and four months at the time, my sister was about five, and my mother’s age… well, lets just leave that part out.

      We were outside on my grandmother’s balcony with the view of the trees behind us, and a few houses of course. My mother was standing in the middle, looking sensational as usual, wearing a black top and a gold thick chain necklace. Her hair was shorter back then, it suited her well. Then there was my sister to her right, a cute little five year old with long black hair and a big white bow to top it all off. She hates this picture because she was wearing that pink and white striped dress. She hates pink! I, on the other hand, was in my mothers left arm in a lightly colorful flowered dress. Looking kind of confused.

     This is the only picture frame I have in my room. I’ve always felt like frames clutter the room a little too much, which is why I never bothered framing anything else. But this one is special. This is the only family portrait that wasn’t posed. Not in the sense of our positioning in the picture, but in the sense of our smiles. We were all truly happy, not just smiling because my aunt said “smile at the camera.” We were just happy to be there together, as a family.

      Mostly everyone has parents, some just one, and others sometimes have none. But for those that do, what’s your relationship with your parents like? Is it as bad as most articles claim American households are? And why is it that bad? Why is it that you can’t get along with your parents? And this, of course, is aimed at those who don’t get along with their parents, not at those who do.

    Not many people today are as family oriented as people used to be. It’s sad when you think about it. Either parents are sick of their kids and kick them out by the time they turn eighteen or It’s the other way around were the kids just cant wait to run away from their parents, sometimes even before their eighteenth birthday.

     I just wish more people could consider themselves lucky to have parents who actually took the time to raise them and take care of them. If they truly hated their kids they could have just given them up for adoption or worse, kicked them out on the street. The fact that they spent so much time working just to be able to support, not only themselves but their children as well, should earn them some respect.

     My mother is one of the most important people in my life. Not just because she feeds me and puts a roof over my head, but because she is my best friend. When she cries, I cry. When she’s sick, I actually get sick too. We have such a strong bond that even when we are hundreds of miles away, if one of us feels even the slightest bit of pain, the other one feels it too. She has always been there for me, just as I have and will always be there for her.

     If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be here today. Not just in the sense that she gave me life, but also in the sense that she kept me from losing it as well. I trust her with everything, even my deepest darkest secrets. I just wish more people could look at their parents the way I look at mine. I wish more parents could be their children’s idols, like mine is for me.

     If you have parents to go home to, do me a favor. Think about what they have done for you. If they have raised, sheltered, and cared for you throughout your life, when you get home, give them a hug. Tell them that you appreciate everything they have done and may have even sacrificed for you. Then watch their eyes glow with happiness, and maybe even flood with tears. That one statement and hug from you will mean the world to them. It may even push your relationship one step closer to something like what my mother and I have.

Have you ever imagined that a diamond necklace could cause a day without lights in the house? Well, it’s possible. As a matter of fact, it occurred in the life of an adopted child who lost her mother in her pre-teen years. The necklace was given to the child by her mom before her mom passed away, when she used the money for her light bill to pay for the necklace.

One day, when the girl was still little, she told her mom that she wanted a diamond necklace. She really didn’t know how much it cost or what was so special about owning such an item. All she knew was that she saw someone on TV with it on, and she wanted one. Her mother told her that she could get one when she got older. When the girl approached her eleventh birthday, her mom started showing signs of sickness from multiple myeloma. Her mom bought her a necklace and missed paying a month’s electric bill in order to cover the cost. They went a day without lights in their household.

The necklace is real silver and diamond. It is composed of an 18-inch silver link chain with a silver heart bordering the actual diamond. The diamond is still very shiny, considering how much the necklace has been through. The girl always wore it right near her heart wherever she went. The smaller diamonds appear to be dull and dirtier, and a few pieces of the upper right corner of the heart are missing, while the back of the heart is hollow and very rusty. The necklace is broken because the clasps can no longer shut. They can connect, but the necklace just falls off shortly after.

This necklace is so special to the girl because her mom always went out of her way to give her what she wanted, because she loved seeing her daughter happy. When the daughter looks at her necklace, she thinks about how much her mom loves her. She also thinks about having to live a day without lights, but she was ok with it because she finally had her diamond necklace.

I have not experienced how it feels to be left alone at a young age without my birth parents. Don’t get me wrong; I have experienced situations that somewhat relate to not having parents such as growing up without a father and getting kicked out of the house multiple times, but I have never been to a funeral where I had to bury someone who gave me life while still being underage. Hopefully, I will not have to. I also appreciate having my mom around due to the fact that my best friend is currently dealing with the hardships that come with losing parents and getting adopted, which has allowed me to have an outside view of how that type of lifestyle is. If that happened to me, I would probably be a whole different person who dropped out of school to slave at McDonalds all my life for minimum wage. But it didn’t happen, which makes me appreciative because I wouldn’t be where I am today without my mom’s support and guidance. I give my respect to all the children who were able to survive such a long, hard, and confusing journey, especially if they did it alone, because its’ tough surviving in the real world without their most precious loved ones to guide them.

A Token of Friendship

I want to express my immense passion towards friendship and hopefully inspire others to expand their thinking on the topic of friendship.  Hopefully, by reading this blog, individuals will walk away with confidence to let someone know how much they care and to consider friendship bracelets.  

The definition of friend, as stated in the Webster Dictionary is one person attached to another by affection or esteem.  Friends are something which every human being yearns for and needs.  All through life people experience hills and valleys which can either aid them or destroy them.  Going through these circumstances alone can be too much for one to handle.  This is why people find friends and relationships.   

This bracelet, located at the bottom of the blog, may look insignificant, yet it shares many life stories.  A unique style and fabric allows the bracelet to represent the extraordinary and unique closeness of friends.  It is creatively braided, entwined with vibrant shades of blue, which can brighten up any day.  It is one centimeter in width and eight inches in length.  What makes this bracelet stand apart from any other is that it is hand crafted so no one else in the world can mimic its extraordinary design.  

The braiding is woven neatly with light blue forming a one of a kind design all along the middle of the bracelet.  The ends are simply braided with blue and light blue to form a creative tie to fit any wrist. The calming blue colors symbolize honesty and understanding in a relationship. This is more than just a set of strings or fabric, this is a simple treasure. 

 In addition, this allows friends to have a constant reminder of memories and special times shared.  An individual can choose to wear the bracelet on the wrist or the ankle.  Either way, it allows the person to have a token of his/her friendship.  While some may say it is a waste of material and money, I must say it proves the relationship of two individuals.

 I am hoping that individuals will relate with the topic and grasp the importance of friends and making memories.  I hope I have shown a vivid picture of my feelings and inspired young adults to give the friendship bracelet a try.  A person can get creative and hand craft their own bracelet.  I find that if a person braids their own bracelet it is more heart felt and has more meaning.

I am a true supporter of the friendship bracelet and it has significant meaning to me.  When I am upset, and feeling low, I can take a look at my bracelet and know that I am not alone.  This simple reminder is a treasure to my heart.  Friends are a major part of life and I honor people who choose to wear and cherish these bracelets.