Change in an instant

Tonight, as I sit down to write this, I am reminded of how quickly life can change.  In January of this year, my mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer.  The events unfolded so quickly.  What started of as a cold that she could not kick, turned into a life changing event.  At the end of March she fainted, that turned into a week in ICU because her blood counts had dropped to levels that were almost unsurvivable.  Fortunately, she has bounced back amazingly. Tonight I am putting the finishing touches on a room for her, because tomorrow she moves in with me. Feeling blessed that I have the opportunity to have her in my life today, I have come to the realization that there may not be a tomorrow.  Just before her diagnosis we were discussing my children's graduation, my graduation, and the day that my sister has children of her own.  Now I wonder if she will be here the next day or next holiday.  The idea of her not being there is emotionally overwhelming.  Not only is she my mother, she is my best friend and confidant. Life can change in a instant! Do not take one day or one moment for granted. 

A difference of opinions

After listening to other people talk about drug addiction, it has become clear to me that everyone has a differnce of opinions on what drug addiction is and how it should be treated.  Even addicts talk about other addicts as if their own addiction is somehow better than someone else's.  Addiction is addiction, whether it be to alcohol, prescription medication, cocaine, crack, heroine, or crystal meth. The one thing that has surprised me the most, is the number of "functioning addicts".  They get up every day and go to work and take care of their children.  They appear no different than anyone else, yet behind closed doors they are secretly abusing drugs or alcohol.  If society would spend less time belittleing addicts and more time trying to help them recover our society would be stronger. It is high time to stop standing on the sidelines and reach out to someone in need. Even if it is just to be someone they can trust to talk to, being there for them can mean so much. Just think, most of them have already lost everything else.

Importance of writing in legal studies

Writing is an important tool in the legal studies program.  Legal studies requires the use of apporiate text, correct punctuation, and citing.  Making a mistake on a legal document by improperly citing a case or using the wrong verbage, could be devistating to your case.  Learning more effective writing styles and fine tuning my writing skills will prove to be very valuable in my future studies.

Dangers of the road

This past week I have seen some of the most dangerous driving ever. The other night my daughter was driving to practice for her drivers license when a car passed us, while we were doing the speed limit, using a turn lane.  Once the car was in front of us it began to swerve into the lane of oncoming traffic and then the other side of the lane into the grass.  Needless to say, we were speechless watching these events unfold. My daughter increased her distance in the event that the car collided with someone or something.  This went on for five miles, until finally, the car turned onto another road just before we got home. It was definitely a good example of the dangers of the road.

I experienced the most dangerous driving on my way home from school Wednesday night.   As I was driving down a two lane road the lanes merged to one.  I was forced to slow down due to the merging traffic in front of me.  In the mean time, behind me, there was a car attempting to force its way in between my SUV and the truck behind me.  I watched the events in my rear-view mirror.  The two vehicles began playing bumper cars.  NO KIDDING!  They were literally bumping into each other and neither of the two were going to let the other car win. The road had now narrowed to one lane and they were still trading paint.  It was a little nerve racking because I could not distance myself from this as the cars in front of me where driving under the speed limit.  Trying to pull over would have been dangerous because the construction on the road way has created sand and dirt shoulders.  All I could do  was continue to watch.  Finally the truck turned off onto a side road.  It seemed like it went on forever, yet it was only a matter a minute or less.  The dangers of the road are always there and can present themselves at anytime.

Drugs

Drugs have impacted my life in many ways.  I have seen members of my family change drastically and lose their jobs, homes, and children.  Their addiction caused me a significant amount of stress.  Their addiction negatively affected everyone around them.  The children were so confused to be separated from their parent.  It is just simply put...devastating!