Behind the Inhaler Pt. 4

I'm writing my fourth response on Wednesday night as apposed to Friday since I'll be in Lexington all weekend.

Why will I be in Lexington? Thanks for wondering!

To answer your question I will be in Lexington, KY because the World Equestrian Games are going on as you read! What are the WEG's? The WEG's are in a sense the Olympics of the equine world (Dressage, show jumping, and cross country are also in the Olympics).

The Blue Grass state has built a brand new multimillion dollar facility just for this event! People from all around the world will be attending, competing, and reporting on this event.  This is the first time in the history of the WEG's that they are being held outside of Europe (look at that I'll be a part of history)!

Let's go team U.S.A.!

Roman Emperor Hadrian once said "brick by brick. my citizens, brick by brick." Tom Robinson was convicted of rape which was really no surprise. What was a surprise however is how long it took for the jury to come up with there decision. The jury took hours to come up with a decision leading us to believe that there were discrepancies amongst them. Which was one step, or brick, closer to a world where a white mans word would be equal to that of a black mans.

This particular quote by Hadrian is one of my favorites because it can relate to most life themes. I quote it often and was more excited than I should have been to make the connection between the quote and what Atticus considered to be a different kind of win.

I guess you could say that brick by brick, I am getting closer to my departure for Kentucky (this really is a big deal to me...it's just like the World Cup this past summer).

Or that brick by brick, I am getting closer to ending this blog and will be forced to study even though I've been trying my hardest to procrastinate.

What I will be watching at the WEG's

This is Peter(AKA Headliner). He is your stereotypical thoroughbred.  As you can see the camera has caught his attention. About two milliseconds after this was taken Peter decided to headbutt me. He had determining that  the camera was in fact a killing machine.

This picture is five years old (holy cow). I'm riding Edward (AKA Deluxe Edition). You'd never guess by looking at him but this massive gelding is a Quarter Horse. This horse was not named after any Twilight character let me make this very clear to you. I am so sick of people asking if I named a horse after a fictional sparkling vampire. Edward has been alive since before Stephenie Meyer could determine the differences between 'to,' 'two,' and 'too.'

Have a nice weekend everybody!

Response #3

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Behind the Inhaler Pt.3

It's nearly October and we all know what that means...Homecoming! Which I will conveniently be missing to attend a concert with my brother and best friend. Ironically enough last year I skipped out on homecoming to attend another concert. You might as, was it worth it? My answer is simple, yes.

Last year I attended the Alternative Press "Fall Ball" tour which one of my favorite bands happened to be headlining. The gimmick of the "Fall Ball" was that they offered a "dress to impress" contest. The group or individual who dressed the most insane had the opportunity to win backstage passes. I lost a lot of dignity that night in my purple dress, fluffy orange fedora, rainbow boa, multi-colored converse, all while draped in beads but it was all in good fun. Plus three of my closest friends dressed just as ridiculous as I did. My lost dignity was soon forgotten when a nice young hipster looking girl named Nicole approached us in line informing us that she was incredibly impressed by our outfits, and promptly handed us four backstage passes.

Favorite band + backstage passes + homecoming dress (and some interesting choice accessories) > Homecoming.

It just so happens that this year that one of my other favorite bands Jimmy Eat World (yes they're 'older' but they have some insanely amazing songs, and a new album coming out) will be in Columbus on the same night as homecoming in the exact same venue.

Irony at it's best, I know. Thankfully this year I wont have to dress like an idiot. I'll be perfectly happy in the mosh pit.

You might ask how this all ties into English class, well I'll tell you.

Attending the concert with me will be one of my best friends Emily, and my twenty-one year old brother Jimmy. Jimmy and I are very different from Jem and Scout but at the same time we are very simular.

Jimmy and I are five years apart. Growing up I followed his every move. When Jimmy went through a phase, I went through a phase. When Jimmy became a moody teenage, I became a moody child. When Jimmy matured, I matured. It's just how it went. Like Scout I look up to my brother in many ways growing up. We spent  our better days keeping each other company as our parents went about their busy lives just as Scout and Jem do. And like Jem and Scout we eventually started to fall apart. Suddenly I wasn't the most important girl in my brothers world, I wasn't 'cool,' and his bedroom door was scarcely found open. We maintained a close, relationship from a far. We never fought and if we did it was usually settled within minutes. Jimmy now  attends BGSU and I see my Japanese Grandma more than I see him. It's become very evident over the past three years that my brother is much more important to me, than I am to him. I'm the first to text, first to call, and first to reach out. My pleas for his comfort usually go ignored. I feel as though Scout might be going through the same unsure feelings with Jem .

That's why my brother driving down from BGSU to take my friend and I to this concert is so special to me. It was Jimmy who introduced me to Jimmy Eat World, and it was five years ago when we decided one day we'd see them together sometime before either we, or they died.

The concert is about two weeks away and I can't wait. I hope everyone has a safe fun time at Homecoming.

I now get to go straight to the barn until about 10:30 then I get to wake up at 5:30AM to go back to the barn and work a horse show. No sleep will be done this weekend and I can guarantee that I will be antisocial and cold all week due to my lack of sleep. Considering I did the same exact thing last weekend.

Hope you all have a great weekend, sleep in for me.

Backstage ;)

Response #2

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Behind the Inhaler Pt.2

It's Friday late afternoon and I need to get this blog done by tonight. My weekend is pack with horse shows, barn work, horses, horses, and more horses. Usually I'd be extremely excited to horse show especially since it's the first show of the IEA (Interscholastic Equestrian Association) Zone 5, Region 2 show of the year which just so happens to be at my barn. But I won't we showing this weekend or maybe even this whole season thanks to my once fractured, now irritated spine. Eight weeks of physical therapy, and two sessions of Functional Rehab have done nothing but push me to the brink of insanity. I went from a full season of varsity track, and horse showing to no physical activity at all. All physical therapy does is remind me of how much I can no longer do. Sure I've recently started riding horses again but it's not the same. I went from jumping well over three foot fences on our barns elite horses to "you can walk while being supervised for ten minutes on a horse." So here I am stuck on the sidelines praying that my back recovers enough for me to jump in towards the end of the IEA season (no pun intended).

In the first chapter of To Kill a Mocking Bird, Scout informs us of Jem's genuine fear of never being able to play football again because of his once badly broken elbow. I can tell you first hand that there is no worse feeling in the world than that of doubt over whether or not you can ever return to what you love. I'm a self confessed horse freak, I'll admit it. They're my life they keep me sane. I'm not sure how deep Jem's love of football goes but I sure can empathize with him.

It's like taking a public speakers ability to speak away. You just don't know what to do with yourself.

Until next week,

Steph 

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Behind the Inhaler Pt. 1

Pretty clever title for my first blog, huh?

Let me introduce myself, I am Stephanie and I have asthma (among other things). You can call me many things a "human guinea pig," a pin cushion, an asthmatic, an Asian who commits high treason by default (I am horrible at math), a "human error," or just simply a girl.

I'm the most stubborn person I know. It's blatantly obvious that I have asthma. But what most people don't know is I am also allergic to almost everything that can move, has a scent, is intended to better your life, or is needed to survive. For example the sun. I am "ultra sensitive" to UV rays. Which is a nice way of saying you're allergic to the sun. Easy way to get around this right? Move to Alaska or some other vacant place that has almost no sunlight everyday...well that could work if I wasn't also allergic to cold. Yes cold. You know those great frozen drinks at Starbucks? They constrict my airways. Cold is in fact a proven allergy. Anyway back to how this ties in with me being stubborn. Maybe you've noticed my profile picture. In it I'm standing next to a horse. This wouldn't be so crazy if I wasn't deadly allergic to horses, hay, dust, and anything else that can dwell in a barn. I was told one day when I was very young that I "can't" ride horses because it would basically be asking for death. Like most stubborn people I outright ignored the "can't" and started riding lessons the next week (I was and still am heavily drugged before I step foot in the barn) and guess what...I'm still alive.

My stubbornness and love for horses leads me straight to my tie into Mr. Potter's class with this blog post. This week we read poetry. I'm the first to admit...I really dislike poetry. It seems like a lot of work when you could simply come out and say "I took the hard path in life and I don't regret it." But their is one poem that I have always loved because I can directly relate to it. The poem is called "Just a Horse" it's writer is unknown and I'm only going to share a stanza since it's insanely long.

From time to time, people tell me,
“lighten up, it’s just a horse,”
or,”that’s a lot of money for just a horse”.
They don’t understand the distance travelled,
the time spent, or the costs involved for “just a horse.”
Some of my proudest moments have come about with “just a horse.”
Many hours have passed and my only company was “just a horse,”
but I did not once feel slighted.
Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by “just a horse,” and in those days of darkness,
the gentle touch of “just a horse” gave me comfort
and reason to overcome the day.
If you, too, think it’s “just a horse,”
then you will probably understand phrases like “just a friend,”
“just a sunrise,” or “just a promise.”

-Anonymous