Blog # 59: Dance Con't

The best part about jazz dance was performing in front of an audience. Every year in my town of Wellington there would be one huge dance recital for the whole town to see. It was held in the junior high school auditorium. It was a very competitive time of year when we performed. We would all get ready in the empty classrooms getting our hair and makeup done. I remember one year there was a bag of candy in the 8th grade teacher’s desk and being the obnoxious little girl that I was I decided to have a few suckers before I performed my jazz dance with my fellow dancers. When it was time to perform, my entire mouth including my lips and teeth were stained blue from the sucker I had just ate before. I drew unnecessary attention to myself. After performing our dance I got lectured by my dance teacher, but I thought it was hilarious.
When my grandmother was younger she took tap dance lessons. She told me how much she loved putting on her tap shoes and tapping away at lessons. I begged my mom to put me in tap lessons because after 2 years of doing jazz I was pretty much tired of it. My mom didn’t care what type of dance I did, she just wanted me to be involved in something other than gymnastics since that was only once a week. However, I had to choose between jazz and tap, and I obviously wanted to try something new and picked tap dancing. So when I was about 10 years old my mother enrolled me into tap. I enjoyed every minute of it. It was quite different from jazz but in a good way. I liked the fact that tap was still dance, but it was a form of music too. In my opinion I was a much better tap dancer than a jazz dancer. I think one of the main reasons why I wanted to take tap dance lessons was because both my sister and I were gymnast and then my mom put both of us in jazz dance together and I wanted to do something that was completely on my own without my sister by my side.
I did tap until I was 12 years old and a seventh grader in Junior High. Every since I was in elementary school I knew I wanted to be a cheerleader throughout my junior and high school days. I wanted to try out for cheerleading and knew I couldn’t be a cheerleader, gymnast, tap dancer, and a full time student, so I dropped out of being a tap dancer, even though I was sad to leave. I used my skills of being a gymnast to get bonus points at cheerleading tryouts. I made the seventh grade cheerleading squad along with 7 other girls, because only 8 were allowed on the squad. I was so excited to cheer for the “Blue Knights” football and basketball team that following fall and winter. During the summer is when we would learn all the cheers and dances for the upcoming year. We would learn dances so we could perform them during halftime at either a football or basketball game. I remember one dance either my seventh or eighth grade year we did it to “hey Mickey.” Cheerleading dances are very different from a jazz or tap dance. The movements of a cheerleading dance are more stiff and choppy than the elegant moves of jazz. Also, in cheerleading dances we might yell words occasionally like “GO BIG BLUE, BEAT THE BULLDOGS,” which you would not hear that in a jazz or tap dance.

Blog # 58: Dance

It all started when I was just six years old. My mother put me in gymnastics because I was constantly bouncing off the walls. She thought that the exercise from the gymnastic class would wear me out so I wouldn’t be so hyper at home. She obviously didn’t realize that my class was only once a week. The gymnastics class was held in Derby, Kansas on Tuesday evenings called “funtastics.”
I consider gymnastics as a form of dance. There are movements in gymnastics that involve dance-like rhythm, such as when you do a routine. When I became older and significantly became a better gymnast I started to do “show-team”. Show-team was basically an individual made up routine showed in front of an audience to music involving gymnastic moves, such as back flips, back hand springs, aerials, front or back walkovers, and cartwheels, and then the dance-like moves such as elegant arm and leg movements, wrist and ankle pops, running straddle jumps, and down on the floor movements. I really enjoyed doing show team because it was a very competitive sport for me and I won many trophies.
In my small home town of Wellington, Kansas there was absolutely no dance studio for young girls to do ballet, jazz, and tap. When I was about 8 years old our town turned an old shoe and clothing store into our very first dance studio. It was gigantic in size and would accommodate many rooms to dance in. Upstairs in the balcony was a huge room filled with mirrors that held tap and jazz classes. Down stairs underneath the balcony was a huge gymnastics room filled with a tumbling floor, uneven bars, vault, and a trampoline. Another area downstairs was a room for ballet classes that included mirrors and poles. This building was an odd building for a dance studio, but it seemed to work out greatly.
After the dance studio was finally opened my mother decided to put me in jazz dance lessons. There were only about 12 young girls in my class, but that was plenty for me because I had no clue how to “dance” like a real dancer and needed all the individual help as possible. At first, I didn’t really like jazz because I felt like an outcast. All the other girls in my class have taken jazz before elsewhere, but I was obviously a newbie to the sport. I was the only gymnast in my jazz class and every time I had the chance I would try to sneak away downstairs to get on the trampoline and do a bunch of back flips before I got caught because I would rather bounce around than be instructed what dance moves I had to learn. I just learned the basic jazz dance movements because my heart was more towards being a gymnast than being a dancer and I didn’t really focus on becoming a really good jazz dancer.

Blog # 57: Audie

An innocent baby, who entered life in the year of 1990, never knew that she would have such a short, difficult life. Her name was Audra Benge and she was born on March 7, 1990; barely 3 months older than me. She was the youngest of four children.
When she was only two years old, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Her parents wanted to fight for her life so they put her through chemotherapy. An ordinary toddler probably wouldn’t have made it due to such an underdeveloped immune system. Audra on the other hand overcame her disease of cancer, and the doctors had gotten all that there was; so they thought.
Audra was a healthy little girl for the time being. She happened to relapse at the age of five, again diagnosed with leukemia. Since she made it through the first time, she probably would be able to beat it again. She overcame cancer once again. Everybody was just praying that was going to be the last time. This was only the beginning of her strenuous struggle for survival.
I remember playing on the trampoline when I was about seven years old just wondering why my cousin was so much smaller than me. As Audra was sick, the chemotherapy took toll over her growth. I was easily six inches taller than her, but I still always looked up to her. I didn’t quite understand why we always had to go to the hospital to visit her when I was younger. She was always laughing and making jokes around us, even while she was at the hospital under the care of doctors. She truly had a huge heart, and didn’t seem bothered at all while she was sick.
Audra lived a pretty normal childhood after she beat cancer for the second time. Soon after she turned twelve she was again diagnosed with cancer. This time it wasn’t leukemia; it was bone cancer. Bone cancer is extremely hard to treat, and a lot of my family had lost hope at this time, but not Audra. Audra’s older brother, Jason did a bone marrow transplant for her. He had saved her life this time. I think Audra’s hope throughout her life of becoming healthy has kept her going this long. Doctor’s were extremely confounded why this beautiful little girl kept relapsing. It wasn’t over yet; it was far from over. Audra had a few more years of being healthy, and routine checkups to doctors. Doctors noticed a tennis ball size tumor on one of her lungs. It was cancerous. She was fifteen at this point. Teenagers should be able to enjoy their young life; instead Audra was spending her teenage years at the hospital with other cancer patients. From when she was about the age of fifteen and sixteen, the lung cancer never went away. Chemotherapy just didn’t seem to work this time. Instead, the cancer started to spread throughout her whole respiratory system. It even reached her tongue, where the doctors had to remove a portion of it. During the summer of 2007, Audra had completely stopped taking chemotherapy. She was extremely spent from the years of the constant struggle for her life, but she wasn’t entirely giving up. She came to the lake with us on my birthday in June, and I have never seen such a tiny and thin little girl. She looked like she could have been in the third grade, at the age of seventeen. She never was able to do the fun things as a normal teenager, like attend her high school prom. I never understood why God picked such a sweet individual to put through misery. I guess everything does happen for a reason.
Doctor’s estimated that Audra wasn’t going to make it till Christmas, but this miracle child started to get better and she kept trying to fight. Audra made it through the New Years. Doctor’s then said she had about four to eight weeks left.
On Tuesday March 4, 2008 Audra Benge lost her battle with cancer in her home with her family. She was only three days away from becoming an adult. The funeral was in her home town of Conway Springs on March 8, 2008. She has inspired my life greatly for the fact that she kept fighting for her life even when everyone else was giving up. She never seemed scared to die, even when she knew she only had days left. I completely look at life differently now and no longer take life for granted. I try my hardest to live my days to the very fullest. I guess everything really does happen for a reason. I will miss her very much but God had a better plan for her.

Blog # 56: Abstinence-only Sex Ed

http://www.avert.org/abstinence.htmhttp://www.itsyoursexlife.org　Abstinence - only sex education is a form of sex education that emphasizes abstinence from sex and often includes many other types of sexual and reproductive health education, particularly regarding birth control and safe sex. These types of programs promote sexual abstinence until marriage and talks about using contraceptives that count as birth control and the use of condoms. This program also talks about ways to avoid sexually transmitted diseases that are caused from intercourse. Many young teenagers fell invincible when having sex at such a young age. They think they are unable to get pregnant and they will never get a STD from their partner. Many religions, such as Catholics believe it is morally wrong to have sexual intercourse before wedlock. I am catholic and I believe this “belief” is pathetic and wrong. It is extremely unlikely to get married before losing one’s virginity because TIMES HAVE CHANGED. Maybe a thousand years ago this was likely and I think the religions belief need to be updated. There is a new popular television show called “16 and pregnant” that airs every Tuesday night on MTV. I think this shows has some good points to on how being pregnant and a teenager is hard to deal with, but this show clearly glamorizes the whole meaning of teenage mothers. It makes other girls think “those girls are getting attention and paid a great deal of money to share their story on television because they got knocked up, maybe if I got pregnant, I could be on television too.” This statement is ridiculous because this show makes it seem okay for young girls to have sex and get pregnant at a young age. In contrast, this show clearly states how to prevent pregnancy by the use on contraceptives- birth control and condoms. There are many different types of birth control drugs that include oral pills, liquid shots in the arm, and a female “condom” that is placed inside the vagina that is supposed to prevent pregnancy for 5 years. Anyways, do I agree with having Abstinence - only sex education programs within school? Absolutely yes! The reason why I agree with this programs is because some young teenagers live in a house that is so conservative that they do not learn about abstinence inside their own home, which is a place where most learning of life is taken place. I think when a child ask about sex, a parent should be straight up with them and tell them the truth instead of lying about the birds and the bees talk. Some places do not allow sex education because they think it is promoting sexual behavior. No, in reality sex education just tells the truth about it all. Teenagers are going to have sex if they really want to. No one in their right mind is going to be able to stop them unless they are locked up for their entire teenage years. The only right way, is to be completely supportive of their child’s decisions and to have open discussions about sex.

Blog # 55: KFDI

Recently on the Wichita, Kansas radio station KFDI, my brother whom is currently serving his third deployment in Iraq as an United States Air Force security forces called the popular station to ask an important question for the entire world to hear- to ask his Girlfriend, Robyn Koehn for her hand in marriage. It was on Monday, March 8, 2010 when he called the radio station via skype. This proposal was actually video recorded because my brother was unfortunately on a secret mission that did not allow him to call the United States to talk live that day. He actually called to station weeks before Robyn’s birthday, because he knew plenty of time before the “taped proposal” that she was “the one.” Anyways, he called KFDI and had the radio station “record” his proposal via skype. Skype is basically an internet operating tool that allows you to video call or phone call or BOTH to someone who also has skype. He e-mailed KFDI and told them what exactly what he wanted to do and for them to call Robyn on her birthday at exactly 8:10 AM to release the recorded phone call from my brother because he knew for a fact that she listened to KFDI every morning on her 30 minute drive to work. He did not want KFDI to automatically call her with the question from my brother because that would have been weird for both Robyn and the listeners. My brother came up with an amazing plan for KFDI to have a “reason” to call her.Since my brother has been deployed several times, he knows what life is like over there for the Iraqi children. Every time he drives by the children in his Humvee they all have on dirty clothes, no shoes, and are holding their hands out expecting something. What was it though? All they wanted was a soccer ball to play with. As my brother was analyzing the Iraqi children, he came up with a plan to get the community involved to help these children live a better life. My brother and his girlfriend Robyn invented the “Soccer Ball Drive” for Iraqi children. This drive came well know all over Wichita and even made it all the way to California. Since it was impossible to have him develop this drive, his girlfriend helped out by making fliers. She was interviewed by several news broadcasters. To make a long story short, KFDI called Robyn to again interview her for the Soccer ball drive.The whole KFDI radio station that interviewed Robyn was really legit. She just thought she was getting yet another phone call for an updated story on how the soccer ball drive was going for the Iraqi children. She explained briefly how many balls she has collected and how my Brother was documenting a video of him actually giving out the soccer balls. The story really is touching in many ways.To Robyn’s surprise, KFDI then said “we actually have something to ask you.” Robyn hesitated for a moment then said “ok…?” MY brother’s heart warming recorded phone call then came on the air. He basically said how much he loved her and that he wants to spend the rest of his life with and then finally came to the terms “Robyn, will you marry me?” She gasped with excitement and said “Well yea! I will marry you, Derek!” Since this was recorded, my Brother had no clue if she said yes or no. For him to find out, was obviously her relationship stated on face book. It was such a touching story that listeners called in to give KFDI their input. It was the first ever live proposal on KFDI. Congratulations Derek and Robyn!!!

Blog # 54: Teens and Texting

I think the age that teenagers are now receiving cell phones is ridiculous. Why does a 12 year old need a cell phone? They can’t drive and they are not even close to being in high school. In my personal opinion, I think teenagers deserve the right of having a cell phone when they have a car and are in high school. I did not get a cell phone until I was 15 years old and a sophomore in high school. I was one of the last kids in my class to finally get one.
The reason why I think kids need to have cell phones if for security and safety. If something were to happen that they needed direct assistance- such as, they ran out of gas, or they got in a car accident. But the reason why teens are using cell phones today is absolutely ridiculous. Some teens are reported to send over a few thousand texts a day. Which means, they are obviously not paying attention in school and are on the verge of getting carpal tunnel.
I do not think that Schools should be allowed to “ban” cell phones from school. To see a student texting in class is one thing, but in the halls and at lunch is fair game. I remember one time when I was in high school that my teacher walked by my desk and head my cell phone vibrate. She immediately asked for me to give it to her. Being the stubborn person that I am, I felt like I had the right to refuse to let her confiscate it because I was not disrupting class and I was not on my cell phone. If a school bombing occurred, or a fire occurred, then students could easily whip out their cell phones and call the authorities much faster than a teacher calling down to the office to report the incident because in most cases, it might be too late.
In addition, texting completely ruins the meaning of “being social.” I personally rather text than talk on the phone because it is easier because talking via text messages, you can delay your responses rather than having to immediately respond when you are on the phone. Teens that over-text are losing the ability to become social by talking face to face. At this age is when teens learn how to be social, so is texting replacing this whole meaning? Talking on the phone is much more personal, real, and sophisticated. When calling in for work, people are more likely to call their boss, rather than text them because it is more believable to call them on the phone that they are sick than text them.

Blog # 53: Meditation

I am taking a meditation class this spring semester for many reasons. I am the type of person who is always stressing and worrying about school. I work two different jobs to support myself and I attend Wichita State University as a full time student. Since I am double majoring, my classes are extremely hard. My day-to-day life consists of waking up at 3:30 in the morning for work and then I am on campus in class for around 8 hours a day. I am also taking this class so I can cope with my insomnia that I was diagnosed with. I sleep approximately between 2 and 4 hours a night a week because I am constantly thinking about my next day’s festivities. My brain can never relax so I am unable to get restful nights of sleep.
My favorite meditation that we did in class was when we used a stone. I placed the beautiful colored stone on top of my forehead as I laid back onto the blue mat for meditation. I was surprised at how quickly I drifted off into my meditation. It usually takes me at least five minutes, but this time it was only a minute or two. As I was meditating I saw some neon colored lights behind my eyes. These colors ranged from a bright aqua blue, deep purple, sea blue, and a lime green. The color then began pulsating and appeared hypnotic. The feeling was indescribable and felt amazing during this time of meditation. After I brought my awareness back to the room I was instantly awake and felt like I received a full night sleep.
Another meditation I want to talk about is the last meditation we did in class. This meditation dealt with listening to a soft drumming sound. I particularly did not like this type of meditation for many reasons. I am the type of person that likes complete silence. I thought the sound of the drums was really distracting. However, I surprisingly went into a deep meditation stage quickly. I was uncomfortable throughout the entire meditation because I laid in fetal position on the mat and lost feeling in all of my limbs. Halfway through the meditation, I bit my tongue! This meditation was not for me, but I am sure it would fit other people’s desires for meditation. I did feel better after I came back to my awareness, but I just did not like the constant sound of the drums beating.