I think people have stopped reading my blog. This slightly bothers me. I mean why am I writing if no one is reading, right? I’m not sure. Well, maybe somewhere in my bottomless pit of a heart I still have slight hope for the tactless society I live in. Perhaps I should stop censoring myself.  I should write with more raw emotion. So, here are some of my observations of the world around me, that have had me biting my tongue for the longest time.

First, to every male human being who thinks that it is cool to sag your pants down below your rear: PULL UP YOUR FREAKING PANTS! No one cares what color your boxers are, I promise. I also bet that you will get to your destination a lot faster if you’re not traveling at the speed of molasses in January. Trust me, my jeans sit on my hips, and I can walk because I don’t have to hold up my pants to take a step. Isn’t that marvelous? Try it out, it might work for you.

Second, I would like to take a moment and ask every person reading this to take a look outside. Do you see the drug-ridden streets of Detroit? What about Chicago, or Los Angeles? No, you don’t. What you see is Sandusky, Ohio. Yes, it may not exactly be the cleanest place to live, but it’s definitely not the ghetto. So, will every ignorant teenage (or should I say child?) please just stop make-believing that you’re a hardened gang banger? On a serious note, if your mommy still buys you clothes, you’re not a “thug.” Stop flashing gang symbols and “representing for the hood.” If you honestly had to live one day in the life of someone who is surrounded by gang violence, you’d come running home crying. In short, stop being a poser.

To every driver who takes the time to park their vehicle oh-so-nicely across several parking spaces, you should have your license taken away. Yes, I may only be in the process of earning mine, but I know enough that you have to be able to park properly in order to get that state official card that allows you to legally operate a motorized vehicle. Am I right? So next time you feel the need to not park in those nice yellow lines they draw out for people like you (who obviously don’t know how to park), think about how much of an ignorant idiot you make yourself out to be when others see your dandy parking job.

Yes, this might be an angry rant, but you know that I’m right.

I was sitting with two of my sisters the other day, frustrated from writer's block. I was complaining about how I didn't know what to write about this week. Jokingly, my sister Stephanie told me I should write a whole blog dedicated to her. I swear she's not as conceited as I just made her sound, and the three of us laughed. My other sister, Fawna, told me that if Steph got one, then she better get one as well. Now of course I'm sitting here and penning two biographies about my older sisters, but my blog is about them, in a way.

I am one of 12 children. No, my parents are not Catholic, and my mother didn't have the misfortune of birthing 12 babies. But I still have 11 other siblings. How is this possible? Well, I come from a blended family. If it wasn't for that, I'd only have one full younger brother. But blood doesn't make family, not to me at least. My sisters mean the world to me, but not all of them share the same parents as I do. I have two sisters who have the same father as me, and three that share the same mother. However, I also have four sisters who don't have either parents in common with me. Weird thing is, I never think about the fact that they are not technically my sisters, because for the greater part of my life, they have been my sisters. We may not have the same DNA, but these are the girls that I've laughed with, cried to, sought advice from, and grew up with.

My point is, blood doesn't always make a family. I love my biological family just as much as the next person, but my sisters are my sisters, and my brothers are my brothers, regardless of our parentage. When it comes down to it, blood doesn't always mean you have to love, nor does it have any binding on who I consider my family. Family are those whom you love and trust. The people who are there for you in thick and thin, and who have your back in the worst situations. That's a real family. Who would be there if you died? If you were in a car accident, who would come to the hospital? Keep those people close to you, and  you'll understand what I mean about family.

 In the past couple weeks, I’ve taken time for myself to connect to my soul. I’ve been meditating, fasting, writing poetry of my inner feelings, and spending a lot of time alone. I’ve been researching different religions, trying to find my own spirituality. I won’t lie, I also took some time to be lazy. I sat around, watched TV, listened to music, and enjoyed being 16 during the summer time. 

But in the midst of my laziness and soul searching, I had quite a frightful epiphany.

Now, as far as pop culture goes, I’ll let Jason Singer keep you informed. That man knows more about what’s going on with celebrities, sports, movies and music than most people my age do. He’s very informed (I’m a fan of his blog). 

Yet you’d have to live under a rock to not notice how many celebrities have bit the dust in the past month alone. I mean look at the list:

• David Carradine (actor in the Kill Bill movies)

• Bob Bogle (lead guitarist of The Ventures) 

• Ed McMahon (Star Search, Publishers Clearing House and much more)

• Farrah Fawcett (actress from Charlie’s Angels)

• Michael Jackson (King of Pop, do I even have to explain who he is?)

• Billy Mays (The OxiClean and Orange Glo guy)

• Steve McNair (retired NFL quarterback)

• Walter Cronkite (CBS evening newscaster)

• Frank McCourt (author of Angela’s Ashes)

There are so many more I didn’t even mention. Even Oscar Mayer and Gidget the Taco Bell dog kicked the bucket just recently. The freaking Taco Bell dog died! On top of everything else. But why am I even bringing up this morbid discussion? 

Well, remember my soul searching? In that search, I started reading the Bible. Now I accept that not every one believes in God, but I still do ... to a point. While I was reading, I came across a verse that shook me slightly. It was Matthew 24:29 of the King James Version. It says:

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.”

I normally don’t get scared easily. I love scary movies, gore, ghosts and aliens. But this hit me on a deeper level because I read this verse not even a few hours after I watched a televised news broadcast of the Solar Eclipse on July 22. Once I managed to shake off the unnerved feeling I had, I got online to do some research. I was disturbed by what I found. A simple Google search brought up NASA’s web page that explained how the Solar Eclipse of July 22 was the longest of the 21st Century. The total of 6 minutes and 39 seconds caused a lot of attention. Not only is it a record breaker that isn’t expected to be surpassed until the year 2132, but it’s also the second eclipse in a three-part eclipse series in a month-long period (the first having been on July 7, and the next coming up on Aug. 6.)

Is anyone still confused about why I’m mentioning any of this? If you reread the verse of the Bible I refer to above, it states how “the moon shall not give her light” and “stars will fall” before the end of the world. Well, the moon isn’t giving light, and stars (aka celebrities) are falling all over the place. Let’s just hope the atomic conversion of the sun’s hydrogen atoms to helium atoms doesn’t just up and stop or we’re done for.

You can take this as a warning, or as a joke. It depends on if you’re religious or not, and if you choose to believe. Do I really think the world is going to end anytime soon? No, not really. But that doesn’t mean we should stop looking for the signs. You shouldn’t start living your life in fear of Armageddon, either, but maybe you can take this as a chance to rethink how you live your life. The end is near, or not. You never know. So don’t take a moment for granted.

*RIP to all those stars, mentioned or not, who died in the past month*