Life and Stuff

I have always grown up with dogs. I spent my childhood running around to county shelters rescuing and fostering animals in need. I currently have three dogs all of whom I rescued during high school. Two of them had behavioral problems and one was sick with Parvo, therefore I ended up keeping them due to no adoption inquiries. My dogs have proven to be protective, loyal and great company. I often take them for walks, though my youngest, Buddy, drags me down the street every time. He even managed to tear his oh my dog collars one day. They love the outdoors and our walks are by far the thing they enjoy the most besides climbing on my bed and stealing my pillows. Despite the behavioral problems and the numerous medical bills, I love my animals and am grateful I had the chance to have them be part of my life. Like they say, dog is man’s best friend and I have seen this proven year after year with my three pups.

Come March 15, I’ll no longer be financially crippled. I will finally be able to move back home, and pay an actual reasonable rent and be able to treat myself! I’ll be able to buy the Xbox 360, the HDTV, the iPad, and the games/movies that I’ve been pining for. Really, aside form losing the independence, it is perfect. What isn’t perfect is that I’m growing older. This would not be so bad for me – I came to terms with the fact that my life is finite years ago. However, I have not come to terms with losing anyone close to me. My Grandmother had a heart attack, and even though the surgery has made her more healthy than ever, I fear that this is the next step to her demise. My Grandpa had a heart attack as well. Before this, I was able to think that we all had a lot of time left, but as I grow older, it seems like time goes faster and faster…

This year was my first year living away from home. I moved in with a girl named Ashley, thinking “oh boy, this is gonna be great! Independence, a cute gal, and the ability to define how my living space is!” I picked the groceries, I picked the décor, and I picked the furniture arrangement. Sounds awesome, right? Except that Ashley barely purchased groceries, she ate all of the ones that I purchased, and she was constantly late or absent with her rent payment. In the end, she owed me $780, and I’m pretty certain she stole my Nintendo DSi when she moved out, which must have been worth a total of >$400 with all of the games. Good thing I’ve put my foot down and basically threatened to take her to court if she doesn’t pay it back!

Really, aside from children or cancer or something of that nature, there isn’t anything nearly as deserving as donating to help the homeless. While some homeless people bring it on themselves, there are people out there without a home, starving, and pushed to crime for a variety of reasons. Bad luck, bad people, bad situation… the list goes on. Homelessness is increasing, poverty is increasing, and if there was anything I could do to stop that, I would. I would take every single cent of that million dollars – and then some – in order to fight to help save these people.