Letter to the Editor: Is this the year of the potato?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12005/1201206-34.stm

                I found the article “Is this the year of the potato?” interesting, because It caught my eye, and I did not understand what it meant.  Personally the thing that interested me the most was the mention of vegan fries.  I have heard of many vegan versions of foods, but never french fries. I’m not a huge potato fan, but I would like to try the different varieties of fries that Oakland is introducing this year. Potatoes are a very diversial food, and could be used in many different recipes that I would like to cook myself.

i dont reallly know....

I guess i'm just pretty irritated for the fact I have been getting 0's on math assignments for minor reasons that brought my whole grade down. For example, alledgedly talking, which I do not remember talking to anyone that day. Also, I got a 0 for forgetting my stuff in the cafeteria and leaving to get it, and the reason I got the 0 was because it took me "two minutes" to start working. The reason I didn't was because I was trying to get my stuff together and organize myself. I'm not going to whine and complain anymore, but I'm just saying, why should a student that does well on every test, completes every assignment, and respects the teacher be treated this way?

Kate.

When I was in the hospital, I met a 28 year old woman named Kate. Kate had been in the hospital for most of the last decade, rarely coming home to see her family in Philadelphia. Her brother lived out here and visited her a few times a week, but she was usually alone. At first when I met her, she didn't talk much and seemed depressed and afraid to interact with others. I remember the first conversation we had, It was about the game bananagrams.I never have played it, and she spent an hour teaching me. I saw how happy she was and it made me smile back. We had conversations about life, struggles, everything. I remember the one night we got out of our rooms, and took out all of the springs out of pens and spread them out everywhere to make the nurses crazy. Anyways, when i finally got to go home, she wrote me a letter. She told me to never give up my dreams, and how she wants a better life to me. She told me to enjoy my teenage years because i'll never get them back. She died in April, and i will never forget her short hair and long eye lashes, and her kind words. Rest in Peace Kate<3 stay strong with the angels.

Lady.

One snap shot image that sticks out in my mind is at my fifth birthday party, when I received my dog as my present. She was just a sheltie puppy, wrapped in a pink baby blanket, only a couple months old. My grandma had died 5 days earlier, so everyone in my family was in mourning, and we all needed something to smile about. I had begged my parents for a dog for such a long time, I was pretty much convinced that I was never going to get one. She was so small and shaking when I got her, I could see the fear and excitement of new people in her eyes. I remember how I instantly thought of the name Lady, because she was so pretty. I petted her head and held her in my lap to comfort her. Nowadays, she’s old and slowing down, but I will never forget how special that dog is to me.

Christmas:)

When I was nine years old, I came to the hard realization that Santa was not real. I remember pestering my mom with my questions about Santa, inquiring an explanation of how Santa gives me presents if we do not have a fireplace. She did not have an answer for me, so I continued to bother her. Eventually, she told me that "Santa is real in our hearts". Then she explained to me how he lived a really long time, and how family and friends do presents. I was kind of upset about Santa, but the reason I was crying was because I was mad I was lied to for nine years. I told my mom I couldn't trust her anymore and she ruined my Christmas. Obviously, I got over it within the week and had a wonderful Christmas. Nowadays, things are a little different. Not as many gifts, and a lot less exctiting. The gifts don't really matter to me, unless I'm giving them. Speaking of which, I still haven't done ANY of my shopping. This Christmas has been the weirdest probably. My dad has been stationed in Toronto and Calgary for the last 6 weeks, and doesn't come home until the 22nd. I'm used to him being gone for a week or so, but never this long. I realized how much I love him and miss my Dad when he's away. The holiday's are just strange without him. We currently have no oven, which meant I couldn't bake any cookies, except for my special chocolate chip ones that I made at my neighbors house. Ususally we have a whole bunch of people coming over on Christmas Eve, but it's small this year and not many people are coming. I feel kind of blue about it, and I dont know why. I'm not sure if ir's because im getting older, the weird warm weather, or the fact I've yet to put all of the ornaments on the tree. The point is though, Christmas is all about sharing the Holidays with people you love. If that's all I recieve this year, I'm blessed.:)

true friends show true kindness.

I started dating my boyfriend Spencer a little over a year ago. But, before we started dating, we were really close friends. We met in the summer of 2010, the worst summer of my life. I was going through one of the hardest struggles a person could go through. At the beginning of the summer, I didn’t know him that well. I knew him through my best friend Molly, and at first, I thought him and Zach were slightly obnoxious.  We only had hung out a few times, before I was hospitalized in July. I was miserable, alone, and even though Molly visited me numerous times a week, I longed for some more visitors, especially since it was summer and all of my friends were out having fun, and I felt as if they all  forget all about me.  However, I didn’t know that I was loved by so many people, especially Spencer and Zach. I remember 4 weeks after I was hospitalized, I got a phone call from Molly saying “She’s bringing some special visitors”, but eventually told me it was Spencer and Zach. I remember how happy I was to see them, but also shocked, because I actually didn’t know them that well. When they first came into visit, they were themselves 100%, hilarious. They tried to flirt with one of the medical assistants, because me and molly found him extremely cute.  But the hour and half I spent with them in my room will touch me forever. They didn’t have to come and visit me, but they did. Their kindness they showed me think of Spencer in a complete different way. I would have never thought I would have ever dated him at the time, let alone fallen in love with him. Seriously, we are complete opposites in certain personality aspects, but that’s what makes it so great. He has taught me so much, and I know I have taught him some things. The fact he showed up on a weekend night at the hospital just to spend time with me, after they left, I just cried, and thanked god for blessing me with such people in my life that would do that for me. Thank you for all you do for meJ

Cheers to the Freaking Weekend.

Okay, so on a happier note, it's Friday and I'm so excited to get some sleep....maybe. Anyways, Christmas is coming up soon, and I'm actually unsure of what i want. I really would like a portable coffee mug that i can take to school and would keep my coffee warm throughout the day. Of course there are tons of things that would be nice to get, like yoga pants, new make-up, giftcards, etc. But, I would rather spend the time with my family and friends. I love buying gifts for people actually. I get the thrill when I see the smile on people's faces when they open my gifts. My favorite parts of Christmas are putting up the tree, baking cookies, going to the mall and looking at the stores, and watching Holiday movies.

What do you want for Christmas? What's your favorite part of the Holiday Season?