Cover yourself with makeup in the mirror.

In my previous post, I mentioned that I was in a Sociology class that focuses on Social Work. A few weeks ago, each student was assigned to write a paper about a social welfare issue that interested us. After writing the paper, we would present our topic to the class; one of the students in my class wrote about domestic violence. This is major issue that effects more people than we realize, both women AND men. I just wanted to share the poem that this student read at the beginning of her presentation, since I had read it a few years ago and I realized that when I had heard it again, it still left a huge impact on me.

"I Got Flowers Today"

I got flowers today.

It wasn't my birthday or any other special day.

We had our first argument last night,

And he said a lot of cruel things that really hurt me.

I know he is sorry and didn't mean the things he said.

Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today.

It wasn't our anniversary or any other special day.

Last night, he threw me into a wall and started to choke me.

It seemed like a nightmare.

I couldn't believe it was real.

I woke up this morning sore and bruised all over.

I know he must be sorry.

Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today,

and it wasn't Mother's Day or any other special day.

Last night, he beat me up again.

And it was much worse than all the other times.

If I leave him, what will I do?

How will I take care of my kids?

What about money?

I'm afraid of him and scared to leave.

But I know he must be sorry.

Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today.

Today was a very special day.

It was the day of my funeral.

Last night, he finally killed me.

He beat me to death.

If only I had gathered enough courage and strength to leave him,

I would not have gotten flowers... today.

By Paulette Kelly

Although October is supposed to be Domestic Violence Awareness month, I don't think that it should stop there. If you know someone or see someone being abused in any way including psychically, emotionally, or sexually please help stop it from continuing. We need to be there for each other, not hurt one another nor allow it to happen.

Red Jumpsuit Aparatus - Face Down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ux6SlOE9Qk&ob=av2e

It can change your life and it never even slows down.

I started out college with one goal in mind: get a degree in Psychology, figure out something to do with it, but make sure that the final outcome is something that I can help people in. For me, life isn't about making the most money or being the most well-known woman in the world, rather, it is to help people. After all these years of trying to figure out what I really want to do, I believe that I have figured it out.

This quarter I signed up for a Sociology class not really thinking about it. Since sociology is one of my minors, I had two more classes to fulfill before I was done, and this was one of them. The class I am talking about deals with the topic of Social Work, and overall, I couldn't be happier with my decision to take it. Throughout this quarter, I have learned more about the social work profession, and I realized that this is what I want to do with my life. I have always wanted to help people in their lives, and I hope that this is the way that I can really achieve this goal.

One of the class meetings that really made me realize that this was what I wanted to do was when we watched the episode from Oprah that focused on a program called "Challenge Day." Challenge Day is a program that promotes growth and creates bonds by having people that are diverse come together and share their stories, beliefs, and hardships with one another through group activities. On this specific day, the program visited a high school where there is a lot of racism and issues that students deal with that were never handled properly, and in some cases, not handled at all. Watching these students tell their stories, cry on each others' shoulders, and ask for help made me want to do the same thing, anything, to change the emotions that were being projected onto the screen. I realized in those moments, that this was what I wanted to do: to go to youth and help them realize that they are not alone with their struggles, and that they don't have to feel the way that they do.

From previous posts, I'm sure by now you can see that I am about building up self-esteem and loving yourself, and you can probably figure out what exactly my feelings were towards the video. I sat in my seat watching, holding back tears because of what I heard coming from these students- I wanted to help so badly. Sitting in class, knowing that this is how a simple video about an exercise effected me tells me that this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing, and I can't wait to be able to truly make a difference in at least one person's life.

Challenge Day

www.challengeday.org

Carrie Underwood - Wheel of the World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgPQQ1YnYAw