Crystal's Personal Journal Blog

I belong with the community of body art and self-expression. Piercings, tattoos, etc. Since I was little, I loved to draw on my hands and arms, pretending they were tattoos (then having to scrub it off when I got home and my parents saw). This community values self-expression and non-judgement. Everyone's body is their own to with as they please. If they want to keep it untouched, get some earrings, get a few tattoos, or go the whole nine yards, that is their decision. Unless it was a drunk decision, tattoos usually have a strong personal meaning behind them for the individual, so they are a great way to get to know the person and their inspirations or their past.

I know this monologue is VERY brief, but Morrie is speaking to not only the field reporter but to viewers like us as well as he is discussing our own importance in life and death. I read Mitch Albom's book, Tuesdays with Morrie , in which Albom describes getting back in touch with Morrie, his former teacher, after he is diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease and is interviewed on Nightline (this video is a clip from the interview). Throughout the book, Morrie teaches Albom valuable lessons about living and how to not fear death, which was consequentially taught to the readers as well. Tuesdays with Morrie is one of my all time favorite books and the lessons I learned from Morrie's experience actually really helped me when my grandfather was diagnosed, and just recently passed away, from lung cancer. It helped me understand that things that can seem so terrible and largely unfair at the time are all just apart of the bigger picture, allowing me to keep an inne...

So far, my journaling experience has been VERY rewarding. Being able to take the time to write out my thoughts and feelings almost has a meditative effect and helps me clear my head. I like that I am able to work through issues instead of suppressing them as I would usually do, without the risk of talking to a friend about it and possibly them breaching confidentiality. I keep my journal with me most places I go (in my purse) and at night on my bedside table, that way if I have any fleeting ideas I can jot them down really quickly and go back to them at a later time. Most of the time I will set a timer for fifteen minutes or so, and before I know it the timer is up and I still have a lot more I want to say. The only challenge I have come across so far is finding the time, or convincing myself that I am not too busy, to write. To counteract this excuse-making, I try to carve out the last fifteen to twenty minutes before I go to bed to write in my journal. It still is not on a daily ...

           Both Mary Pipher, in her work Letters to a Young Therapist , and Kay Redfield Jamison, in her work An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness , are experts in various branches of psychology. I have read both pieces in their entireties, so I will be commenting on the overall piece and not just the section I chose to analyze originally in class. In Pipher’s letters and Jamison’s memoir, both authors are providing revelations about life based on what they have learned throughout their personal journeys. Pipher and Jamison come from very similar backgrounds: moving around many times throughout childhood (due to their parents being in academic careers or military careers) and had a love for learning and reading growing up. The interesting thing I found when comparing the two is how different these two women are in their lives, actions, thoughts, and words despite having such a similar background and being in the same field of...

Here is a picture of my '67 Chevy... in the middle of some body work. It is still all sanded down.

20 years old. Born and raised in Carpinteria, lived in Santa Ynez for about six years (just recently moved back to Carp). Grew up in a mechanic shop with my dad working on his race car, which led me to reviving my great grandpa's '67 Chevy C10 back in high school. Love to play volleyball and go to the beach (kind of a must when you grow up in a beach town).  Like to take quads and dirt bikes out to the desert to go riding. Work at Starbucks for the free coffee😄. Motivated and driven to get through school and make my career a reality.