Step-Parents

Stepparents. Sometimes they are depicted as being evil and corrupt, but in other instances they are seen as being the savior. I personally dont have any experience with stepparents, but it seems that if you truly saw them with respect, that they could truly replace your birth parents. I mean love doesn't just appear because your related through blood, it comes from respect and trust. It seems as if it would be even easier to talk to stepparents, since in some instances you may see them more as friends than parents.

Sometimes in fiction you see the stepparents as just terrible people. Where they punish you for anything or they make you do all the chores, and other things like they where they are just depicted as being hard to live with. In other instances you can see them as life changing. Where they change the childs outlook on life and change his dreams. Nobody can really tell what it would be like to have stepparents from these fictional stories, the only real way is through personal experience.

I have very little experience with stepparents, and it was just my friends stepdad. Personally i liked him alot, and so did my friend. They were really close and he would always take us out on his boat in stuff. He was never this mean evil person and my friend and I respected him. Over the years my friend and his step father became really close and now you could barely tell they aren't blood related. It just goes to show that stepparents aren't all bad. I'm sure that there are some bad stepparents, but with that being said there are bad people too.

There are some positive aspects of having a relationship with you stepparent. He or she could be another role model in your life, or maybe even a parental figure. I mean another parent that cares about you and helps you out really isnt too bad. These relationships might also feel more like friendships. You could feel like the stepparent is there more as a friend and could be easier to talk to. This really isn't something i would know much about, but from the little experience I have a stepparent is really just one more person looking out for. It might be hard sometimes to listen to your stepparent because he or she isn't really your mom and dad. But eventually, overtime a relationship and trust is bound to grow. If not out of necesity, just the pure fact that you will be spending more time with this person.

Relationships with stepparents can be good or bad, just like relationships with true parents. I mean in movies they usually look like the bad guy, but that isnt always true. I mean my friend respects and cares for his stepdad. At first it might be hard to listen to or care about your stepparent, but eventually a relationship will be formed and something good will come out of it. You never know, they could become the person you trust most.

Unwatched Madness

Nearly everyday somebody can turn on their tv and find out about some important leader doing some ridiculous and disturbing thing. I mean even now in the time we live in where people believe everything is perfect when evil, corrupt people are being given the opportunity to run city's and sometimes even entire governments. I mean usually things are kept pretty tight and the people in the government here in the US, but even here knavish people make it into the US government. Just think about how easy it is for someone to take power in other countries. In other places power isn't always given, it's taken and most of the time taken by a unprincipled, terrible person. That's why checks and balances are so important, and here in the US they are used righteously, and it is the UN's job to try and take care of torn down countries, and be their checks and balances.

"Madness in great ones must not unwatched go." This is true for any age. If people of power don't have to adhere to any set of rules there is a chance that they will commit awful crimes. Between 1967 and 1998 Mohammed Suharto embezzled about 35 billion dollars and nobody was there to stop him. I mean throughout time there have been bad people who happen to have power and its still the same today. It really doesn't matter what time period we look at. There will be a ruler who has power and abuses it.

Suddam Hussien is another great example. Hussein's regime killed, tortured, raped and terrorized the Iraqi people and its neighbors for over two decades. Hundreds of thousands of people died because of Saddam, he even killed his own relatives. Suddam had even been known to use chemical agent on Kurdish villages. Suddam had had some kind of power in Iraq's government since 1963. It took 40 years for him to finally lose his position of power, even though everyone knew he was a terrible man. This all occured because the checks and balances were unused. Eventually he was brought to justice, but it just took way too long.

Even the governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich, has been under investigation for taking bribes and giving up state contracts. The federal investigators recently began wiretapping his phones and he was heard taking bids for Obamas vacant senate seat. He has also witheld funds to a childrens hospital until he donated to his campaing. This just goes to show that it can happen in any circumstance and even though we do have checks and balances people fall through.

The US government has their three branches which is how nobody really gains too much control. In other countries power is split up in different ways to make sure nobody ever has more power than anybody else. But in some places there are no checks or balances or the balance is skewed by a certain group taking control. In these instances death and hardship usually follows. It just goes to show how truly important it is for the "great ones" to be looked over and watched carefully.

Thinker or a Doer?

This question is very similar to the question, which came first the chicken or the egg? I mean truthfully you can't have a doer without a thinker, but a thinker is worthless without the doer. Unless doers are just incredibly stupid wouldn't the doer at least have to think about what he or she is doing. Take this for example. A thinker is sitting around thinking and all of a sudden he was like lets build a bridge all the way to the moon, obviously he was not the best thinker, probably should've just been some other thinkers doer. But just like the usual thinker he was like, "NO way I'm going to do that'. So he found a doer. The doer looked at his plan and was like wow your dumb, jackass. So you see this doer actually had the ability to do both, think and do. And that will take me to my next paragraph.

You see I believe I'm actually a thinker and a doer. I mean i think about a lot of things and sometimes i actually do it, I'm what some call a double threat. I mean truthfully it depends on the situation I'm a thinker. I like to really think things through and make sure I'm making the perfect decision. But in times of need like lets say a football game, I'm simply a doer, I dont really make too many decisions I just do exactly what I am told.

Truthfully I would rather be a thinker. I hate when things aren't perfect, or for example, I hate having to listen to someone explain something to me, when i could explain it better myself. I would rather be the one thinking something through then telling other people what to do. I want to be a leader rather than a follower, and I want to control what happens.

There are many times though where I just do. I don't look at the consequences and I just go with the flow. Sure its not the smartest thing, but its not so bad if you learn from the mistakes you make. I mean if you do something dumb dont do it again, or find a way to not get caught. That's when the thinking side comes in. Really everyone is a doer sometime in their life, whether it be when you hit your brother in the head with a rock, or when you play on an athletic teams, there will be a time when you can't or just act on impulse. And at that time you will be a doer.

Parental Control

I believe that parents do have the right to "spy" on their children. I mean they are just doing because they worry. They try to protect their kids from any bad and i mean truthfully thats just human nature. That being said parents need to let kids make their own mistakes, and then punish them for their mistakes. But parents can't just try and stop their kids mistakes before they happen because the lesson is never learned.

Parent should also trust their kids. If they dont have enough confidence in the way they raised their kids then thats just ridiculous. You have to trust that your kids have been raised right in the first place. Not every teenager is retarded and they do need their own space sometimes.

Maxed-out Nation

I believe that people thriftiness is going to be around for a while. I mean things really arent terrible here but it isn't like it used to be. People are forced into trying to save money at every chance they can becuase of the recession. People have to be smart with their money and these lessons that they are learning right now about getting the most bang for your buck isn't just going to dissappear.

People are going to continue to try and save what money even if the economy goes back on the rise. For one they still arent going to feel completely safe in the economy and some people will continue to try and save money out of their fear of the economy going under. People will continue also continue to spend thriftily because its what they are used to.

My family really doesnt spend any differently. I mean my parents both have great jobs, but i know that as soon as i leave and go out on my own things will be tough. I mean truthfully we spend exactly the same, actually even better because my parents have good jobs. Instead of either one of them going back to college. Now that all of their college loans are paid everything is fine for us.

When i go off for college things are going to be very hard. I mean with the way the economy is it could be hard to find a job after i get done with college. Things are just tough and thats how it is. People cant fix this over night, but things will change overtime especially because everyone knows generation Y is clearly the best.

Fatherly Advice

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel; but do not dull thy palm with entertainment of each new-hatched , unfledged comrade.

This comment by Polonius is very valueable. I mean you can't go out and try to make friends out of every person you meet. You will end up being backstabbed or put in a bad position. You must know your friends true character not just what you saw him act like after meeting him for the first time. Yes I use it alot, or else i would be stuck with friends that just get me in trouble. I mean you can't just follow other people because of a hunch you have of their personality. The people most important in you life are they people who truly support you, the people you know will stand up for you. Enjoy the true friends you have and don't make your goal in life to make all these new friends because in a time of need you arent going to want call upon someone that you can't truly trust.

I played sports against this guy from Corning since i was like 10 and we both really respected each other. We were always really competative and we always seemed to be our respective teams captain. Over time we talked more and more and we kinda became friends. Then we ended up being on the same team and we continued to get to know one another. So eventually I invited him over with the rest of my friends who I had grown up with. I quickly learned that was a mistake because he was a completely fake person. He wasn't who i thought he was and I quickly disliked him. This shows that you can't just trust people, you have to make them earn your trust.