Pick yourself back up and keep going!

         As you may already know, our Basil was defiled by a kitty. All the pretty little green leaves were scattered and eventually died off. The remaining unsprouted seeds were pushed around and scattered to heck and back, burried either far too deep or unearthed and exposed. All that hard work to develope roots, sprout, push up through the dirt and grow had been litterally pooped on. What will happen now? Did the Basil give up? Did it cry and yell and complain that life was just too hard and unfair? Nope, it most certainly did not. (Not that I was aware of anyway.)  About a week later I observed little sprouts once again pushing out through the soil. Starting the process all over again, the Basil shook off the insult the kitty dumped on it and kept going as if there was no more threat of this happenening again. I couldn't help but wonder, Why would the Basil even attempt another go at surviving? Why even try? There's still a chance that our feline enemy will just come back and do the same thing, and with nobody there to protect it our Basil was vulnerable to another attack. Where's the government run BPA (Basil Protection Agency) to stop this from happening? Well there is not such agency and there never will be so my Basil took responsibility for it's own survival and pushed on. There is no "safety net" (as Romney claimed the American poor people have) for Basil who run into bad luck, and the Basil doesn't cry about it. The Basil didn't run to it's local Congress person and demand that the Government step in and intervene with regulations and funding.
         So, this applies to my life in at least two ways: school and my financial status. Financially I have been on both extremes as well as middle class. At the moment I am considered middle class. During the times I fell into the lower extremes the government had certain safety nets in place for me to fall back on if needed. I worked my way up in life and eventually got pushed up into the other extreme. I had money. Lots of money. I made significantly more than I ever had before and happened to be in a relationship with somebody who made more money in one month than many people see in a year. Financially I had no worries. We paid high taxes, and our financial life was complicated with investments, property etc. But we had options. Money could be shuffled, investments either sold or shuffled around, downgrade one of our vehicles if needed. Those are just a few options I had available to me if needed. I am now middle class. I have never felt so financially vulnerable and unstable. I pay taxes, I don't get earned income credit etc. I definately do not have money and investments to shuffle. No free school, (contrary to what some believe, my husband paid for the G.I. Bill I am using, he paid with not only money but his spine so this was not free and when it runs out I will have to pay for my school) food, housing, medical. To be perfectly honest I do not want any free handouts. I don't whine about doing my fair share. I will complain about freeloaders, but I will still pay my taxes and hope they help the people who truly need temperary help in order to get back up and try again.
        How does this tie into my schooling? Well, not to beat a dead horse but, I may just put a bunch of effort into something and get bad feedback. That's life, suck it up. Do better next time. That simple. The end. 

It's a little weird watching a plant grow, because it reminds me of how people grow up over time. A seed is like when we are baby all the way through to second grade lets say. Sprout-lings are from third to fifth. And then it just goes from there till we are ready to harvest and become adults. This class has been interesting for sure, but it has made me see some things that I didn't realize. It has helped me learn new things, and remember some old memories. I think that while watching these plants grow that I have grown with them. I have learned to manage my time a little better, and i have begun to eat differently. When you read about some of the things that Fast Food Nations tells you, you don't want to keep going on the way that you have been all along.
I am glad that I was able to take this class and do the things that I was able to do.

OMG George is growing like a weed in a jungle. LOL. Wow, can't believe it. It seems like it was just yesterday that he was just sprouting.

Oh, a cat ruined the other half of our pot. Stupid Cat. That is so annoying when animals try to use your garden as a little box. Not to mention rude.

Huh i guess this didn't publish when i went to post it.

Our Basil is no more

A cat deficated in our Basil. There's not much left.~ Melissa

Melissa 5/17/12

Our Basil is doing really well and smelling great already! I saw that some wonderful people watered my Basil for me today and I didn't even have to ask. Thank you!!! I was off doing my math homework when they did me that favor. My little plants got the help they needed from somebody other than me... Hmmm... So the world really CAN function without me controlling everything! This leads me to my next thoughts...
As school progresses I'm realizing how fast time flies by when you are doing what you enjoy. I love challenging myself and growing. I've known for a long time that a person won't grow unless they move outside of their comfort zone and try new experiences. Even though I may not understand or like some of the changes I go through I never regret making the changes in the end. I find myself in a rut every now and then and feel the need for some sort of change. This week I've learned to let things go... Really, I did! Life is not always fair, and people may not see things the same way I do, I may not get a perfect grade on an assignment or get my entire to-do list done every day. And the world will not end because of my mistakes. I've also learned once again that we can all benefit from the help of others. Sometimes I have a hard time giving up control and trusting that somebody else really can help me to learn a better way of completing a task or that I can rely on them to give me a boost when I need one. I'm also realizing right now that I do not enjoy writing a blog very much. I feel really silly throwing all this out to people that I don't know. As I said before;  Like it or not, I'm venturing out of my comfort zone and it's not killing me.

George as of this morning. This kind of reminds me of a four leaf clover but missing some leafs. It is cool to watch the growing process. It reminds me of watching a child grow, but the stages are much faster.

Well George is doing very well from all of the rain that we had last week. He is growing really fast. Sniffle, Sniffle. I'm going to feel so bad about eating him when the time comes to make our salads.

First week

Our plants aren't much to look at right now, most of what is happenening in going on under the surface. They have sprouted and are now growing their roots to gather nutrients and secure themselves so they can withstand any weather rain or shine that comes at them.
When you think about it, my learning experience is at the same exact place right now. I'm now building the foundation I will need to flourish in college. Most of the important changes are being made under the surface, similiar to what the seeds are going through it's the hardest part. My roots must push down through the soil, either going around or moving any obstacles in their path. If I don't create a good root system I won't be able to withstand the hard times I face. If I do create a good root system then the results will be visible just like the leaves that are slowly sprouting up toward the sun. If I take careful measures to allow my roots to reach further out, I will gather all the nutrients (knowledge) that will create help to create the fruit that benefits everyone.

Picture of our plant!

This is our plant, and we shall call it George! And it shall be our George!