Summer...!

Hey all! I know...long time no blog, but there have been a lot of things happening lately. I went to Minnesota, and I have been volunteering at my mom's work, and I have been cleaning the house so I can actually get paid for something this summer. So, I am sorry that it has been so long since I posted last, and I am sorry that this post is so short and so, well, not very inspired or inspiring, or even the slightest bit of any interest.
I hope that all is well with all of you, and that everyone, whether they read this post or not (but moreso if they do, hey what can I say? I'm biased), is having and continues to have a wonderful summer!
Lizzie~

Writing...

I was going back and looking through all of the posts from my past, and I realized that I haven't put up any poems for quite some time. Now I have two.
They both have almost the same title, and they are both what is called a "list" poem.
One is MUCH more light-hearted than the other. But I just thought that you might enjoy them. They are in chronological order.

Things I Learned Last Week

You send two men to a fishing expo,
You will find a pontoon boat in your basement.

When in kindergarten,
People teach you to fill in the lines.
Then there is school,
Teachers tell you to write between the lines.
As an adult,
They tell you to sign on the lines.
Then someone tells you to be abstract.
You don't know how, no one ever taught you.

Never plug something into a bad plug,
You may not have power for a day.

Life goes on,
But if you are stuck,
Sometimes friends can be the best tow trucks.

It's ok for life to be a whirlwind,
But don't spin too fast,
Or all the pretty sights will be nothing but a blur.

Walking on a crust of hard snow is good,
Until you fall through.

Things don't need to have a purpose,
Some things just...are.

Money rocks, but only if you have it.

Snow is cold, really cold.
Sun doesn't help you warm up all that much!

(Inspiration: what a wierd week!, Date:1/18/07)


Things I Learned Last Week
(And A Bit of This Week Too)

Writing is good, but overrated.

When you are depressed, beware of spontaneous explosion.

Most circumstances are only as akward as you make them.

You are never really as good as you think you are,
But then again, you aren't as terrible either.

Death and suicide scare people,
Don't mention it to them.

If you have an epiphany, keep it to yourself until the "oppotune moment",
Just trust me.

Insanity sucks, but it can be good for you.

You can be independant and relationship based at the same time,
Who knew?


(Date: 3/4/08)

So, yeah. Those are just two poems that I thought you might enjoy. If you didn't enjoy one, you are bound to have enjoyed another...or not... I guess that's your choice.
I hope that you are having better weeks than both of those that I have written about!
Lizzie~

A LOT of Nothing, But Some Good Somethings too

Well, I finished waching Anger Management, and I guess it's not such a bad movie after all. But it is still wierd!!
Also, I don't know...I guess that I have been in a little bit of a funk this last week or so. It's not like I'm really sad or anything, I just am not much of anything. I haven't been feeling particularily good or bad about anything, just always so so. Whatever. (Look at that, I prove my own point without thinking!)
So, I don't know. I have just not had a lot to say, hence the two short posts right in a row. But at the same time, the only reason I have posted two so close together is because I feel like I should have something to say. You know?? I don't know. Maybe that's just me being weird.
Hope that everyone is doing fabulously!
Kunal, thanks for the kind mentions on your blog, I am SO very proud to have been a part of your creative masterpiece, and I REALLY can't wait!
Lizzie~
P.S. For anyone who read this and wondered what I meant about creative masterpiece, I highly suggest checking out Kunal's blog, he really is quite talented!!
He is one of my "favorite links" on the right side over there.

Anger Management

So guys...Guess what??
I haven't been sick for a couple of weeks now!! I am so happy!
I am watching Anger Management right now. I am wondering what the heck is going on. I don't know what is going on. I don't know what the point of the entire thing is. I don't know why I am continuing to watch it, I guess that I just REALLY want to know that it ends up all right. I don't want to keep watching but I just can't stop. What do you think of this movie?? Do you find it as bizarre and pointless as I do?
I was just wondering.
Lizzie~

Talk about under the weather!!

Guess what!! I'm sick. No, not just "sick-of-something" but sick. I have a head cold! Isn't that fabulous!?!?!? Yeah...I hate being sick!
During band season and the school year I get sick all the time (but espcially band season) because of the late nights and some stress from school work. But now, I'm not stressed, I don't have school work, and even though I have had some late nights, they have been self-imposed, and I have slept in the next day. (Not like band where we can get home at 10 and I will wake up at 5:45 a.m. the next day for school.) So I just don't get it!!!
I am coughing, sneezing (and I wish I would sneeze more, 'cause that is better than just sniffing and attempting to blow my nose all the time!!), and all yesterday I felt miserable. Arg!!!!!
I HATE being sick!!!!!!!!!!
Well, now that I have officially ranted about being sick and hating it, I can continue to say that the day that the whole sick thing started was the afternoon and evening on the day that I had my Graduation party!!! Yay!! Luckily that was in the morning! Good timing for a let down of the immune system! Yay for my bodie's good timing!
Also, I am proud to say, that I got my new MP3 player on the day of Graduation, and I am super stoked!! Now I have a way to listen to music again!!
So, that is about all that I have to say. I think I would have had more had I not had a head cold, but I don't really know! I also don't know if that is a bad thing...hmmmm...
Oh well!
Have a super, hopefully not as sick as me, day and week and whatever.
Lizzie~
P.S. Happy belated Memorial Day!

Wow! Graduating already!

Oh my gosh! It just now hit me, that I am almost no longer a high schooler! Wow!! I really don't know what to say. Hence the very little being written.
In just a few short days I will graduate, and then all the time I spent in the walls and halls of my high school will be over, and it will be time for a new beginning.
College, don't even get me started on college! I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. And now it seems so, well, imminent...
Grrrrrrrrr
AHRRGHH!
(Yes I did just make that spelling of "arg" up, but it suits my mood, so there spelling freaks!! ;) Ha!)


I don't have a whole lot to say, other than thank you. Thank you to all of the friends that I've met on blogger, yeah, all two of you that have continually commented on my blog. Thank you!!
I know that I will continue blogging, but I just don't want to one day not blog for a while, and then never forget to thank you guys (Alyssa and Kunal) for reading, or sort of reading (I know that there were many times when I just "sort of" read) and not thinking that I was just some crazy girl with an overactive imagination and too much time, and way too much spunk for her own good.
So, yeah, thanks.
Thank you also for putting up with my interesting grammar, and days and weeks and months when I was not quite sane or myself.
Thanks again!
Hope to continue hearing from you (and Kunal, you can't just stop being amazing because I thanked you, you have to keep being amazing, ok?).
Lizzie~

And just when you think it's going to get better...

It does!!

I have been feeling so much better than the last time I posted. Even though little Tehilla is gone with her family, and I am still in "love" with my ex, some good, no, great things have happened.

I asked a guy to prom, and he said yes (!!!!!!!!!) and I am very excited. I learned a new thing about my blog (I put a new puppy on under Giggles the purple monkey), and I have been haveing a blast celebrating Passover.

This post is almost as long as the Wisdom Teeth one, and much less...umm...profound, but what can I say?

NOTHING!!!

Well, I hope that everyone out there's lives are as good as or better than mine right now. And I wish you all a happy Tuesday, may this week go more quickly than the last one!!

Lizzie~

P.S. It's my brother's birthday today. Sam is my brother, anoying and crazy as he is supposed to be as a younger brother.

P.P.S. IT'S SPRING!!!!!

What a year this has been, and will be!

WOW!! Oh my G-d!!! This year has been the most wonderful, crazy, hectic, aweful, terrible, sweet, amazing, bizarre, confusing, chaotic, creative, empty, full, overbooked, boring, and every other good or not so good adjective that means any of the above things ever invented in the history of the world in any and every language.

From Israel Study Tour, visiting Poland and Israel, to being a senior. From having the best boyfriend ever, to losing him. From having the most kick ass marching band show in the history of our marching band, to just barely missing first place, and knowing that we deserved it. From gaining many new friends, to feeling like I'm slipping away from my old ones. From writing some of my best "poetry" ever and creating a whole new style, to feeling like I couldn't write for a while. From starting speech, to finding out that the amazing speech coach, Mrs. Graham, is not going to continue to be able to work at our school any more due to faculty cuts that our school has been forced to make.

I don't think that I can recap the whole year in one post, so I don't think that I am going to try, just because no matter how much you like to read you certainly wouldn't get all the way through it.

I now need to make decisions about where I am going to go to college, and I have really NO idea how in the world I am going to make those decisions. I am so lost and confused about everything espcially about college and all that comes along with it.

I don't know what I am doing for prom. It is coming up just as quickly as the college deadlines are.

Also, when we came home from Salida where we went on spring break, the house next door was completely torn down. And I am really, well, torn up about it. I have told some of the people that I am close to how I feel about it, and all they have to say is "but it's not like it's your house".

And they're right. But, at the same time, it was a very influential house to me. I never lived there, but I learned many important lessons there. I learned not to kick down my neighbor's front door. I learned that my dog doesn't like water. I also learned that once the dogs get out the kicked in front door, it is very difficult to chase them down and get them back inside. So, as you can see, that house had a huge impact on my life!

Another thing is that just yesterday my older brother, his wife, and their little girl Tehilla all just came from Israel to visit. Now we have a little girl running around our non-baby-proofed-house. So, yeah, that will work out really well won't it?

Also yesterday, I made a huge realization. I am still "in love" with my exboyfriend. He is one of my best friends in the world and I still haven't ever felt like I was ever not in love with him and I wish that I could just get over it now and get it over with. What makes it worse, is that even though I don't think that he is planning on dating her (but there is some speculation) but he is planning on taking this other younger girl to prom. I am going to prom so I don't know how I am going to deal with the fact that he is with her, and even more so if he is planning on dating her!! Arrrrrrrgggh!!!!!!!!!! I don't know why I didn't go through this earlier. I know the dating thing changes things a bit, but I was feeling this before I found out, so I just don't know.

Last, bit definatly not least, I have been having troubles with my writing. I know that I still have some talent at it, but I don't find my own skills quite as great as I once thought I was. I used to really like everything that I wrote, and I thought it was all the greatest writing in the world, but now I'm not so sure. I guess I just seem to be floundering around and around and not going anywhere of any consequence. I just don't know why!

This year is almost over, and I just don't know what the heck I am going to do with the rest of it and how I am ever going to survive. Whatever!!

Lizzie~

And Now I Have No Wisdom...

Wisdom teeth...
That's about all I have to say.
Along with a few choice words.
Like:
Stupid
and
Painful
and
Really
and
Stupid
and
REALLY REALLY STUPID!!!!!!!
Yeah...
I am really good at writing today, don't you think?
Well, enjoy your day, because I just know I'll be enjoying mine!
Whoop-dee-tap-dancing-doo!
Have a fabulous-not-pain-filled day!
Lizzie~

I'm back

If you have read my blog previously, you will remember that I didn't know what was going on between my boyfriend and I. Well, now I know. He and I broke up about a month and a half ago. I guess I just didn't know that I was ready to tell you yet. But, I guess I am. I was really afraid of this time, because I didn't want to lose him. Not that I needed him as a boyfriend, but I just needed him. I now know that I didn't lose him, we just took a step back down the relationship ladder, from boy/girl friend, to friend, really close friend. That is the best thing that ever could have happened, no matter how sad it may sound.

I also have had some trouble writing my poetry in the recent past, and just now I have refound my talent, but it is the talent that i had, but it is now very very different than it used to be. Instead of the very organized very structured form that I used to use, it is now mostly stream of thought writing, and despite the wierdness of it, I find myself loving it!!!!

Finally, I read one of the best books ever. I am not just saying that. It is amazingly outstanding. It is the book for anyone who can read, and who wants a book unlike any other, with writing so outstanding that it moves you in your core. It got many children's book awards, but it is MOST DEFINANTLY NOT a children's book! It is The Book Theif by Marcus Zusac, and it is...wow!! It is the book for anyone who likes to taste words, just bite them off one at a time, swish them around in your mouth so you can taste every aspect of them, and enjoy them to the fullest before you swallow. If you just want to sink into a good book, this is the one for you!

Hope the best for all who read my posts and those who don't!
Lizzie~

Winter Break

Wow! It's been a long time since I've been on Blogger, but I am back! I only have a little time, so I will try to make this short. At our house, it has been a whirlwind, what with college preparations, remodeling, my brother's crazy antics, his friend's crazy antics, and the winter holidays all at the same time it has been seven kinds of chaos!
Our house looks really good now that we have been remodeling, and it is really cool to see the house change right before my eyes, but at the same time it is kind of sad at the same time.
College is coming up and getting closer and closer, and it is kind of weird to think about leaving next year.
Winter Holidays. What to say about that. Channukah came really early this year, and it was over even before we got out of school. Not to mention the amount of times that I have replied my wishes for a Merry Christmas, even when I was not planning on celebrating Christmas. Finally, in my tale of the holidays, I actually had the chance to celebrate Christmas. It was great fun! I love Christmas feelings that you get, and love decorating the tree (despite how small ours was, it was still fun!).
Well, I promised that I would keep it short!
Wishing everyone a much belated Happy Channukah, a slightly belated Merry Christmas, an “I-don’t-know-if-I-am-early-or-late” Kwanza, and a very happy New Year! To all you seniors out there, I know that I am not the only one, You Did It! Only one more semester left!! Yeah!!
Lizzie~

Band, Law, Boys, Brothers, Girls, and a little bit of School in Between

Wow! It has been so long since I have even been on here, nonetheless actually posted! Since that time, my band has taken second in state (though if we had gotten to actually perform a second time like we were supposed to we would have won!), gotten an intrest in law, had times of wondering about the stability of my relationship with my boyfriend, wondered about whether my brother is really the person he seems to be, been completely fed up wiht some girls and gotten closer with others, and then had to keep up with my school work even with all these important things going on.

First off, let me tell you the darker news. I have no idea what is going on with me and my boyfriend. Sometimes we are the closest people on earth and he isn't just a boyfriend but also a best friend. Other times I can say "hi, how are you?" and all I'll get is a shrug and "good". I just want to say "yeah, whatever to you too", but I don't. I guess that I am just very very confused!!
Now for the lighter stuff. Law! I love law! I thought that people who said that they thought that I would do well in law were completely off their rocker, but now that I get into it, I love it!!!

Then, band. I know that what I said about us winning sounds like what everyone who gets second says, but this time it is true. The judges that Dr. C talked with almost all told him that they knew that had we been able to perform again we would have taken state!! Then Dr.C said that this last football game that we did was like our finals performance, and if that is true then we so totally win, becuase Legacy (1st place band) was so scared that they didn't even show up, meaning we win by default!!

Next, my brother. So, he has had some problems in the past; lighting his pants on fire, drinking, setting things other than his pants on fire (the bank of the canal for one), going to court for arson, ect. But just this weekend I learned something about him that I would never have guessed. He told me his "little secret" (which he will never actually know I told you becuase you won't tell!!!!!). His "little secret" is that he actually watches and enjoys the show on MTV Americas Next Top Model. We spent all of Saturday night watching the reruns that I had taped from that day. It was a wierd sort of bonding time for us.

Girls. I have been getting kind of fed up with some girls (in band) and at the same time I have grown closer with others. I will stick with telling you about the good not the bad. There is this girl who I first really got to know when I invited her over to talk with me on my trampoline (a VERY good place to talk), and we talked about all the things that we thought were really important, but were really nothing. This weekend I saw that she didn't look so happy, so I sat her down on the sidewalk and told her to spill it. After she did, I gave her advice on what to do (it was a guy problem) and then when I was done she said that the sidewalk was not nearly as comfortable as a trampoline, but that she was glad that I would give her advice any way. Just this morning she said that she had done what I told her to do (advised her to do) and I was thinking oh no it made him hate you and you are blaming me, then she continued to say that there was a rumour going around that he was going to ask her out sometime this week. I was so proud of her for sucking up her pride just like I told her to!

Then school, well, other than the fact that I love having a whole class dedicated to poetry, there isn't much I can say!!

And now that I have thouroughly bored you till your brain turned to mush and dripped out your ears (see why I don't often write in the morning), I have a poem for you.


Roses are red,
Violets are purple,
NOTHING RHYMES WITH PURPLE!!

So we say that
violets are blue,
so we can rhyme it with words like
You, to, two, too, and achoo!!

So, roses are red,
and violets are blue,
but they're really not blue,
they're really violet which is
a kind of purple,
but nothing rhymes with purple-
or orange- unless you say it
wierd 'cause then it sounds like doorhinge.

But doorhinge doesn't make for
very good poetry-
or does it?

Roses are red,
Oranges are orange,
Nick Weiber* I want you to run into a doorhinge.
The end!

*You probably don't dislike Nick like I do, so you can insert the name of anyone you dislike in Nick's spot and it will work the same (though first and last names or a 2 syllable name works best for flow and rhythm)

Marching Band is Starting Again

Well, yesterday is the beginning of the end. We (in marching band) are now finally in competition season and are going to be out from about 8:00 a.m. till about 1:00 a.m. the next morning from Saturday till Sunday. We say goodmorning to each other when we come, and say goodmorning to eachother leaving. It is fun, but a lot of work and time! I am really excited about this year, and I really think that our band is going to do well, but I really hope that even though we are doing so well, that the freshman know that we still have to work to keep our place as first (we got first at our first competition last night!!) Ashley, if there is any way you could see us at a competition, email me I would LOVE for you to come!!!!!!!!!!! Also, for all marching band fans out there, Marching Band State Championships are going to be at in Fort Collins and on Oct. 20th so if you want to come that would be awesome!! I really hope that my band can keep it up and make it there for the 4th year in a row!! Well, I am really tired because of the competition yesterday, and I hope that you are all doing well!!
Lizzie~

Homecoming Again

I've been to homecoming before, I went my freshman year, but I hated it! This year I am going because it will be different as a senior. I also will be going with my boyfriend. I don't think that those things will make the music better, or the dancing more fun, but I still think that it will make me have more fun at the dance. I don't have too much more to say, so I guess I will go.
Lizzie~

What a life this is turning out to be!

Hey all you out there!

I am back from a long break from blogging. I was initially planning on sharing more of my experiences from Israel, but right now I feel a little differently. I guess that I have just been having a weird time in my life, and I don't exactly know why. My family is getting ready for some remodling on my house, my grandmother just moved here from California, and other weird things. I have a set of really good friends and I feel like even though I am still really close to all of them, that they are falling a little away from each other. I also am worried that my boyfriend (who means SO much to me) may not be as into our relationship as he was in the beginning, and the person that I have always felt that I could talk to about things like that, well, I guess that I feel like I can't tell her that for no good reason. I don't know why I can't just tell her. Is it because I am insecure, or because I am embarrassed about my insecurities, or because I feel like she is going to tell me that I am just making it up and I am going to feel stupid, or maybe because I feel like if I say it out loud that it makes it true. I don't know!!

I really don't know what to do about anything that is going on in my life, it feels like I am losing all my control that I once had and that I no longer hold the horse's reins, and that the horse is holding mine. And not only is the horse holding my reins, but the horse is runnign with them. I am trying to hold on to everything, but it is just slipping past me and into oblivion. I just wish that I could push pause and keep things from happening so quickly, but I just can't.

While I sit here typing all this out, I feel so silly. I just don't know what else to do. Oh, I forgot! To top all these things off, my brother. He has been so all over the place lately. First he sets a fire and gets a court summons and has to do yard work for my parents, then he goes and gets a girlfriend, then he realizes that a girlfriend are going to want him to pay a lot of attention to her, and I don't know if he is ready for that. Then seeing him with his new girlfriend reminds me that I don't know where I stand with my boyfriend and it sort of hurts.

My mom has noticed that I have been a bit off all day today and has asked me what is wrong and I keep telling her that it is nothing. I just don't want her to think that there is anything wrong between Eddie and I and then have nothing wrong at all. I also don't know how comfortable I am with telling her all about my personal relationship and the life that I lead outside of the house.

Now that I have ranted till you couldn't stand my ranting anymore, I will leave you. Hope that none of you have half the problems that I have in my life, but rather have all the joy and much much more!

Lizzie~

More From IST and now Israel

Hey! It still amazes me how amazing it is to be back home! I just love it!!

I told my friend Alyssa that I would have a story about pickles, so eventually I'll get to that, but let me start with some intro to this particular blog, post, thing.

I decided, back when I first blogged after coming home from my 6 week trip, that I would DEFINATELY NOT post about my trip in the order that it happened, and however confusing that is going to make it for all my dedicated readers out there, I apologize in advance. Unfortunatly with my first post that was specified, I went against my own rule and wrote about the first week, well, first. So, now I will follow my rule, and I will write this post on my trip through the desert.

We went into the Negev, the desert in the south that makes up about 50% (or something like that) of Israel. We went into a part of it called a maktesh(I don't know how to spell it, but this is it phonetically: mah-k-tay-sh), and did our hiking in that (Second pic is of the maktesh before we entered). A maktesh is a geological phenominon that only occurs in Israel. It is like a crater that is so big from each side to the other side that you can hardly see the opposite side at the widest parts. You could almost compare it to the Grand Canyon, but instead of being long and made by a river, it is round, and was made by layering of hard and soft rock. Then an ocean covered it, and it turned into a mountain of sorts. After that there was a crack on the top of the mountain, and when rain and other forms of water got in the crack it made the crack bigger. Finally the crack got so big that it widened out to look something like a bathtub. A G-d sized bathtub, that is what a maktesh is.

So, that is what we were hiking in. It was not a desert like what you would see in Aladdin, but it was many rocks and tall walls, a few scattered plants and the very occasional oasis surrounded by greenery.(Third pic is us in the maktesh hiking) The hours from 1 till 3 we were not allowed to hike because it got to be so hot that if we stayed out for more than 15 minutes we would be completely dehydrated and would not be able to rehyderate ourselves fast enough, so we had to sleep in the shade under a rock.

Before we got to the place we were to start hiking from, we got to visit an Alpaca farm. I am a knitter, and I love alpaca yarn, but the animals that the yarn comes from, I don't like as much. They are like bad tempered, ugly llamas. (First pic is of alpacas)

Now, to rapidly change subjects again, I will tell you the story about pickles.

When we were hanging out under the rock during the hottest part of the day in the desert, not everyone could sleep (me included). Right before we were told to go to sleep, we had been given lunch (last of the pics above). One of the things we were given for lunch was pickles, and very few people actually ate them, so we ended up with about a can and a half left over. Well, all the people who couldn't sleep were bored, so we went about trying to find something to do.

One kid found something to do that entertained all the people who weren't sleeping. He took a pickle from one of the cans, and slowly placed it in one of the sleeping kid's hands that was only open enough for a pickle to fit in. When he didn't wake up, we all had to try to keep from laughing, because that would have surely woken him up.

Then someone who did not have as steady hands as the first guy, tried to put a slice of orange in the kid's other hand, but he woke up. When he woke up, he looked at the orange in his hand and was unhappy to find out that we had found it funny that it was there, but it took him a whole three minutes more to even realize that the pickle was in his other hand at all. Had he noticed it right away it would have been funny, but the fact that he didn't notice it for the first while was even funnier! This story is probably one of the most boring stories you have heard in a while, and I apologize for that. Now that I have used up your time, bored you to tears (if not to sleep), and shown/told you more about my trip, it would seem that my work here is done.

Have fun with whatever is left of your summer, I know that there is almost nothing left of mine! And I will hear from you later, and post again sometime soon!

Lizzie~

Poland Writing

In Poland, on IST, we went on what I call "the tour of the death of Poland". We went to death camps, labor camps that turned into death camps, we went to a shtetl, (a cute, little village like Anna Tevka in Fiddler on the Roof), but after seeing it- we saw where all the people from the shtetl died. So we got a full tour of death in Poland. So, being the person that I am, I wrote alot when I was doing this touring, and this is one of my favorite writings.

Singing Eli Eli

I'll never sing that song
the same way again.

Suddenly it all means more to me.
And to think,
it meant so much to me before,
that I had no idea how much more
there was.

The sand,
stuck between my toes from the beaches
of my past.

The sea,
the calming sound you search for in shells.

The rush of the waters,
washing away the dirt from my feet
when walking in the woods.

The crash of the heavens,
lights flash, and loud booms shake the earth.

The prayer of the heart,
every poem is a prayer from my heart,
soul, mind, and every fiber of my being.

Just being there,
just seeing all we saw that day.

Feeling all the tension and emotion
in the air.

It made the words feel different,
as if I put blue sunglasses on my
thoughts.

I had mever cryed while singing
that song before,
it was a song of hope,
and still is.

That hope seemed so small,
when sung after seeing a world of hate.
Yet it was so strong.

People,
yes- people we didn't know,
came to listen to us,
yes- us , a bunch of tone deaf
Jewish teens.

People came to the edge of our oval,
I'm not even sure if they could
understand a word we were singing.

It didn't matter,
sadness, mingling with hope is the
samd in all languages.

I will never sing that song the same way
ever,
ever,
ever times six million,
again.

Ever again.

~Lizzie Rose~

Explaination:

I wrote this poem after going to Majdanek (pronounced my-don-ick). After touring Majdanek, you end up at a huge dome. Under the dome there is a huge pile of ashes that were collected after the camp was liberated. All of the 98 teens and the 6 American councelors and the 2 tour guides that we had in Poland all gathered in an oval next to the dome, and we sang Eli Eli. It was the first time that I had cried when singing that song. So that is where I got the inspiration for this poem. (The picture at the top of the post is of the pile of ashes under the dome, it was said that each handfull was one person, and there were uncountable numbers of handfulls of ashes in that pile. Even that picture does nothing to show the size of the pile.)

Further Explaination:

Eli Eli is written by a woman Chana Senesh, a female paratrooper. She was caught and killed, and after the Nazis killed her the found some of her writing in her pocket. It was the poem Eli Eli. This is the song (I will leave off the Hebrew and just write the English).

Eli Eli (Oh Lord, My G-d)
I prey that these things never end.
The sand and the sea,
The rush of the waters,
The crash of the heavens,
The prayer of the heart.
The sand and the sea,
the rush of the waters,
The crash of the heavens,
The prayers of all.

~Chana Senesh~

I wrote this poem after going to Majdanek (pronounced my-don-ick). After touring Majdanek, you end up at a huge dome. Under the dome there is a huge pile of ashes that were collected after the camp was liberated. All of the 98 teens and the 6 American councelors and the 2 tour guides that we had in Poland all gathered in an oval next to the dome, and we sang Eli Eli. It was the first time that I had cried when singing that song. So that is where I got that sing.

I'm Home!!!!!

Oh my goodness, it is so GREAT to be home!!!!! I have done so much since I last posted that I don't even know where to begin! I have gone to Poland and experienced the five day tour of death of the Jews. I have gone to Israel and seen the Western Wall, and toured so much that I almost feel like I could lead a few Israel tours myself with all my new knowledge. Not to mention all the hiking that I did. I not only did some really really fun dayhikes, but I also went on a 4 day from six in the morning until you made it to the next campsite (around sunset which is approx. 8:00 p.m.) every day.
On that hike I was one of 18 kids and 4 councelors to go from Sea 2 Sea (the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee) or from one side of Israel to the other. 18 teens might seem like alot, but compared to the 98 that were on the entire trip, it was a very intimite group. In that group many boarders were broken, and ties were made, and so many inside jokes were made that if I were to see one of them in the grocery store I could say all of 3 words (and that is at most three) and make them crack up.
On this trip there were two kinds of madrichim (councelors), there were the madrichim that came with us from the US (all but one came from Colorado), and there were the Israeli madrichim or Israeli staff members. That was very exciting! It was such a change for me to have native (or almost native) Israelis with me on a group tour, though they were only there for the part spent in Israel.
In Poland we had our US staff members (not called madrichim until in Israel) and two tour guides. One was Devorah and the other Rabbi Levi Cooper. They were two outstandingly amazing people. When I say that I mean that they were not only fantastic tour guides, but they really knew how to talk to people, no matter what age, and they had great hearts as well as great heads.
I don't want to bore you any longer, so I will finish telling my story(in bits and pieces) filling in random pieces of the puzzle that is called IST (Israel Study Tour) until you get as clear a picture as I can paint in your head. I hope that everyone here has been well, even without my superb presance, and that you will still be my friend!
Have a super day and Happy Belated Birthday to me (on July 12th) and one of my bestest best friends Ashley (on July 14th, yes I am two days older!)!!!!
Lizzie~

Hello, Goodbye

Hello Blogging world! And at the same time, goodbye! I am about to embark on what is bound to be one of the most exciting, saddening, beautiful, life-changing, amazing trips of my life! I am leaving on Monday morning to go to Poland and after a week in Poland, I will fly off to Israel.

I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I am being torn in two by emotions that are both the same and irreconcilible. I have spent the last week and a half in band camp, (with my boyfriend as drummajor, which is so exciting! and my "band daughter" Alyssa) and I have been told by my boyfriend and "daughter" that I will be missed very much for the six weeks I will be gone and that it is sad that they will not see me for that long (being the longest time I have ever been away from them!) !

I have also been struggling through the difficult yet really really cool music. But I will be able to get that memorized by the time I need to.

When I am in Poland, I will see the concentration camps, and that is going to be one of the hardest times for me in my life. I will write so much poetry, that I think I may have to get a new poetry book. So, when I get back I just might have to throw a bunch of poetry at you when I get back in six weeks!

Lizzie~

P.S. I had so much more to write, but I have to go eat dinner!

Asking Questions

Have you ever asked questions that you never wanted to have answered, but you can't help but ask. I keep asking myself questions and don't know if I want them to be answered. I can never really tell that I am asking the questions until I try writing a poem, and they just sort of come out on the paper. One of them came out in this poem.


Untitled

When he looks at me,
can he see me smile inside?
When he smiles,
does he know I blush bright red?
Every time, no matter where,
I feel my heart soar.
It can't be held down,
it is too strong, it's wings beat too fast.
When I'm with him,
can he tell I'm nervous?
When he holds my hand,
does he feel it shaking?
Does he really love me?
Or can he really not tell?


(Inspiration: Eddie Lyon)


So, I don't know if I am the only one who asks questions like that, but if I am, thank you for bearing with me. I really want the answers, but I am afraid that they will be ones that I didn't want to hear. Am I the only one who feels that way? I don't know!

Well, I am having a fabulous time not being in school, so far!! I saw the Pirates of the Carribean 3! It was amazingly fantastic!!!!!! I loved it so much! I really think that it is one of my favorite movies I have seen in quite some time! The first in a trilogy is always the best, but this one was really close to surpassing the first for the title of "the best"! I didn't like the second one as much, so we didn't buy it, but we are going to have to so we can buy the third and have it make sence!

Hope that everyone is having a wonderful begining of summer!! I send my love to all my friends and family bloggers or not.

Lizzie~