awwwwwwberry's Xanga

New Tattoo (again)

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:40:27 GMT

Got my new tattoo on Friday.

Update 08/04/09

I decided to get roses added to make it more of a "full chest piece" instead of the words just kinda floating there. It's not done yet - I'm going to get the roses filled in red, we just didn't have time to do it all during that appointment. I'll post a final pic once I get it done, though!

It says "Ideas Are Bulletproof", in case you can't read it. My brother says the "Are" looks like "The". I can kinda see it, but I still think it looks more like what it's supposed to say.

The quote is from the movie V for Vendetta, in case you've seen it. It's my favorite movie of all time. If you haven't seen it, here's the quick story behind the quote. The setting in in the near future in England, and the government has imposed many restrictions on the population, such as how late everyone can be out of their home. They have also censored everything from classic paintings depicting nude people, to movies and music that include swearing. Drawing a parallel to Nazi Germany, they put anyone who violates any of these rules (including, btw, being gay) into concentration camps where they perform medical testing. Through one of the medical tests, the government created a bio-terroristic drug which they begin to test on the general population, starting with an elementary school, and then moving on to public water facilities. One man, named only V, escapes from one of the camps and begins a rebellion against the government, always wearing a mask, making it impossible to see his face. Many hijinks ensue, and towards the end a group of police officers try to shoot V with machine guns. When their clips are all empty, the main guy asks "Why won't you die?" To which V replies:

"Because behind this mask is an idea. And ideas are bulletproof."

Anyway, it's an amazing movie, filled with what I think are amazing messages. Others may view it as slightly anarchist, but I love it.

The reason I decided to get this tattooed on my body is because I believe in the phrase so much. Mostly, it tells people that no matter what you think, no one can take it away from you. This might not be exactly ideal in situations like terrorists and such, but the reality is that the only place we really have left to think what we want is in our head. Everywhere else there's always someone trying to take away our beliefs, but in my head I can think whatever I want to think. Although it's a bad idea to be so set in your ways that you can't discuss or be open to new ideas, being able to think what you want to is also important.

In the case of V in his movie, I think it was vital for him to have his own ideas and not allow the government to brainwash him like everyone else. When you know something it wrong with how things are run, it's important to spread your own beliefs and see if others feel the same. That's the only way that things every get changed in our world.

So, I suppose the tattoo is sort of my outlook on life in a lot of ways. I've always held strong that I should be able to believe what I want to believe, and others should have the same right. I think of the example of religion. I believe there is no God. I have many friends who believe there is a God. We talk about the subject sometimes, and tell each other what we think. But under no circumstances do I force others to believe what I do, and in most cases I receive the same courtesy.

So what do you think? HONESTLY. If you think it's really dumb, let me know. When my uncle saw it the first thing he said was "You know, the nice thing about tattoos today is that they have the technology to get rid of them if you want to." So he was being a douche. I believe my boyfriend currently isn't speaking to me because he so forcefully told me he didn't want me to get it. So any criticism you have can't be as bad :)

I was accused of having a fake ID

Mon, 18 May 2009 01:32:23 GMT

I few weeks ago, I posted an entry asking everyone how old they thought I was. As I suspected, many people guessed that I was between 15 and 17.

I'm 19, guys.

The reason I posted is that there have been many instances, lately, where strangers mistakenly thought I was as young as 14.

1. In the dining hall of my college, a group of 12-14 year old girls were getting food after a soccer game. I was in line behind three of them, and when it was my turn for some of the oddly-colored meatloaf they were serving that day, the server lady looked at me, surprised, when I didn't walk away with the group. "You aren't with them?" She asked, astonished.

2. I go roller skating with my sister Friday nights at a local rink. Last week alone I was asked out by not one, not two, but three completely separate boys. Two were 14, one was 15. When each of them asked me, I asked how old they though I was. All three replied 15. No, kids, I'm 5 years older than you. Sorry to disappoint.

3. (My favorite) I went with two of my guy friends to a smoke shop near campus to get shisha for our hookah. At the door, they always check ID to make sure you are 18. I handed the man my ID, and after he looked back and forth between the picture and my face, he declared that there was no way I was 19, that it must be a fake ID, and that he had to ask me to leave. He definitely was not joking. I looked at him, confused, then said "Dude, if I was going to waste $150 on a fake ID, it'd say I was 21, not 19." He couldn't argue with that.

I suppose that in ten years I'll be happy when people assume I'm younger than I actually am. For now it's a mild nuisance. Strangers treat me like a child, even though I'm an adult, and the guys I would actually be interested in dating steer clear of me because they think I'm jail bait. Hmph.

Lets play a game: Guess how old I am!

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:05:27 GMT

People can never figure out how old I am. I've taken down my birthday and any other obvious thing sin my profile that say how old I am. So what's your guess? Here are some recent photos of me:

Ignore the tattoo if possible.

How old do you think I look?

What war?

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:57:18 GMT

In high school, we learn about the Civil War, American Revolution, and the two World Wars. We know the battles of Little Big Horn, Bull Run, and The Marne. We know the exact dates of Pearl Harbor and the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For our current war in Iraq, you are lucky to find a person who can name the day of the invasion. Good luck discovering a person who can tell you any other milestones in the war.

When we learn about the Civil War, it feels as if the battles happened in everyone’s backyards. The military personnel would march through the streets in full view of the population on their way to the next battle. We see none of this in this far-off Middle Eastern war. All of the battles, and all of the transferring of troops, are done overseas, far away from our eyes. Out of sight, out of mind.

During World War I, the women of a city would all gather together in town square to hear the names of all the men killed during the most recent battle. This type of information rarely came, and when it did everyone in the area would gather together. In our digitalized world, we see headlines such as “3 Soldiers Shot Dead” on our Yahoo pages every morning. When we see this, we think “Oh, only three men were killed? That’s not much at all!” regardless of if we see similar headlines every day. We do not see the long lists of soldiers killed in action, and so it does not seem that an excessive number of lives are lost.

Along the same lines, we become desensitized to these frequent headlines. For example, today I saw the headline “Bomb Kills 13 in Baghdad.” Our eyes easily transition from this headline to the next, without so much as a second thought. We do not click on the headline “Violent Blast Kills 10”, but instead select the much more interesting “Paris Hilton Fashion Mistakes” or “Dumped Bachelor Contestant Speaks Out”. We Americans obviously have our priorities straightened out.

In reality, there IS a war occurring overseas. Do not forget this. There are men and women who are dying to support our country. I don’t care whether or not you agree with the war itself; this is not a reason to forget about those who are fighting it. It is completely possible to support the troops without supporting the war they are fighting. Stop reading your articles about who got voted off American Idol last night, and instead read something that actually matters in this world.

Do you find yourself forgetting that there is a war going on?

**edit**
Beyond just educating oneself about the goings-on overseas... you can help as well. www.anysoldier.com is a website I have known of for a few years. Soldiers post things that their troops need (shampoo, soap, snacks, deodorant, etc.) and you can send a package to them to help out. Please check this site out, these are very basic items that will only cost you a few dollars, but they mean the world to the people overseas.

What to do when your crush is taken

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:12:07 GMT

It sucks when you have a crush on someone who is already taken. The constant disappointment can take a toll on your emotions. You know what you want, but there's always that barrier between the two of you that has the potential to ruin everything: the significant other.

Here's my general rules for what to do in these situations. I'm going to be speaking of the situation of a girl crushing on a guy who already has a girlfriend, simply because I have been on both sides of this... I have had crushes on people who were already taken, and yet at the same time I have a girl or two who are still chasing after my boyfriend (and they piss me off to no end). This same advice can be taken by a guy crushing on a taken girl... just flip all the genders. Or if you're a guy crushing on a guy, or a girl crushing on a girl... just substitute the proper pronouns. I have faith that you can.

1. Do not call him "babe", "hun", "sweetie" or any other pet names. Those are reserved for his girlfriend and her only. If she finds out you call him any of these things (whether it be in texts, over AIM, or even to his face), she WILL be pissed. It makes it obvious that you want something more than friendship. This makes her suspicious of your relationship with him.

2. You may think it sounds like fun to fuck with his girlfriend and make her think there really is something going on between you and her bf. This is a BAD idea. When she gets mad at the bf, more than likely she is going to want him to STOP SPEAKING TO YOU. This means that you lose out. Not exactly what you were going for. You may think that he would never let a girl control him like that... but the reality is that after fighting about it for a week, he'll do anything just to make her shut up. If it comes down to a choice between you and her... I know it sucks, but he'll probably choose her every time. If you were more important and he wanted to choose you every time, he'd be with you, and clearly he's not.

3. When the two of them get into fights, give advice IF ASKED, but never let your bias show. If every time they get into a stupid little fight you tell him to break it off, he's going to learn that you give shitty advice and he'll never listen to anything you have to say on the subject. When giving advice, try to give it from the same standpoint you would if giving advice to your brother. Do not give advice just because you think it will be good for you in the long run. If he asks you, he values your opinion. Keep it that way.

4. Don't be overly flirty with him. OK: laughing at his stupid jokes, having inside jokes with him. NOT OKAY: playing with his hair, hugging him (except for a hug good-bye), holding his hand, or any other unnecessay physical contact. Whether his girlfriend is there, or you're hanging out with other friends, or even if you're alone with him, it doesn't matter. No matter who the audience is, he will know exactly what you are doing. He may or may not like the attention you are giving him. If he doesn't like it, then he will make a mental note in his head that you are looking for more than friendship, which will detrimentally affect your friendship in the long run. If he is interested... even if he WERE to break up with his girlfriend to be with you... do you really want the type of guy that will fall victim to any flirtatious girl that crosses his path? Furthermore, this situation will cause a bad relationship between him and his new ex, which will make him unhappy (and trust me, you don't want him upset), and turn the ex into a vampire-esque cannibal that wants to suck your blood dry (you do not need this complication either).

5. Don't complain to him about how him having a girlfriend sucks. Even if he blatantly knows that you are crushing on him. He OBVIOUSLY won't agree with you. If he did, he WOULD'T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND. This is a stupid pity-seeking move. He will think you are pathetic in this attempt, which gets you nowhere.

6. Hanging out with him is fine. Getting mad at him when he's HAD plans with his girlfriend and you want to make last minute plans, on the other hand... You have to accept the fact that in most cases she will come first. It IS ok to let him know how upset you are if he cancels plans with you to hang out with his girlfriend. Don't automatically turn it into an argument - let him know that you are hurt by it and say that he owes it to you to make a new set of plans for some time soon.

In general your plan should be to:

Hide your feelings (it's ok to tell him, but not okay to say it more than once, or to show it physically)
Be his friend first and foremost. That's what he wants out of you right now
Let things play out between him and his girlfriend, without interfering

Keeping to these allows you the greatest chance of EVENTUALLY getting with him (although I make no guarantees). It also gives you the best quality of friendship in the in between time.

I just lost ALL my scholarships...

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:04:44 GMT

(for some reason my font is weird and I can't get it to change)

Fuck it all... Just found out I lost both of my college scholarships for spring semester. Why? My GPA currently stands at 3.13 for last semester. I needed a 3.2 to keep my $500 a semester honors scholarship. I'm not heartbroken over losing that, but it stills sucks. But the other one? I needed a 3.5 to keep my $8,000 a semester one. Seriously. I'm boned. Fall semester I had to pay $3000 in tuition, but now I'll have to fork out an extra $8,500 if I don't get this fixed. (I pay out-of-state, but I get lots of financial aid because my family doesn't have much money)

I've sent e-mails to 2 of my professors... one to ask if I can re-write my final essay for a re-grade (which will hopefully bring my B in the class to an A), and one to ask him to round a 79.86% to a B (seriously, who wouldn't do that?). If either agrees, I'll definitely get to keep the $500 one, and if they both agree I MIGHT get to keep the bigger scholarship.

I know that this is entirely my fault. In that class I have a C in right now, I forgot to do my homework nearly every week and I didn't do the bonus essay because I thought I didn't need it. All through high school I got mostly A's with some B's, and now it's coming to bite me in the ass.

*crosses fingers*

EDIT: Yea, it eventually all got worked out, and I got my GPA up to a 3.3 :) I'm working hard this semester to keep it that way, but it's really pretty difficult. (Calc 2 BLOWS)

Fashion Designer vs. Lawyer

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:52:59 GMT

Ever since 9th grade I've had teachers and family members constantly ask me what I want to do with my life. In my freshman seminar class we took personality tests to see what career would be best for each of us. It told me to be a welder. That's not exactly what I was hoping to hear, and I decided not to trust stupid personality tests ever since then. I've gotten tons of advice, and yet I still am not entirely sure what I want to do. So here are my current career choices, and the pros and cons of each.

1. Fashion Designer - I really enjoy my creative side. I'm an avid painter, drawer, and all around artist. About a year and a half ago I was introduced to "T-Shirt reconstruction" and have since been obsessed. I scour the clearance racks at places like Hot Topic for old XXXXL shirts to turn into something cool and interesting. I got a sewing machine last Christmas and have since began to sell my clothing. I have been told by many people that I should pursue my interest and go to school for fashion design. My art teacher in high school went to far as to find me applications for local schools I could go to.

2. Model - *sigh* I so wish. I know fashion and have a better runway walk than any of the girls on America's Next Top Model (which I watch obsessively). I could kick ass in any of the challenges that require creativity or acting. Problem? I'm not crazy beautiful, I'm covered in random scars from my childhood adventures in the woods behind my house, and I stand a measly 5' 3". The main thing holding me back is how short I am; on ANTM, they require a height of at least 5' 6". If I was that tall I'd try out in a heartbeat, although I'm completely at peace with the fact that I probably wouldn't make it too far anyway.

3. Lawyer - This is what I've been planning to be for the past 4 years or so, thanks mostly to my obsession with Law and Order. I'm amazing at making arguments to support my ideas; I've kicked ass in my 12th grade debate on gay marriage and my debate last semester on Conservation vs. Preservation in my environmental policy class. Con: I want to have a social life. I always hear about how people who are lawyers are never home and work pretty much 24/7. I also want to have a family. I don't want my husband and children to never have me around, that's always the beginning of serial killer children. My mother was a stay-at-home mom, and she always had work to do all day long... So I don't really have a previous understanding of how the working moms do it all.

4. President - My secret. I try not to tell people I know that this is what I really want to do because I know they'll just tell me why I'll never make it. I think I'd do well for all the same lawyer reasons. I'm intelligent and I can reason for what I want. I can speak in front of crowds rather well (not that afraid of it, unlike many people). So many problems with this one though. First of all, I will never get elected mostly because I'm an athiest. I have lots of piercings which could be taken out if I had to (which I will once I have a serious job) but I have a tattoo on my back and will have one around my collar bone on the 26th. Visible tattoos are a big no-no apparently. That'll get in my way for the lawyer thing too, but hey, they have that movie tattoo cover-up stuff.

The option of stay-at-home mom is always there... Perhaps it's just me being vain, but I think I'm too intelligent to waste it by not going to school and getting a career in the areas I'm good at.

Right now I'm studying political science and environmental science, and I've been telling people for a long time that I want to go to law school. Now I'm not too sure. I'm am sure though that some job opportunity will present itself as I get farther in school.

UPDATED The Five People I'm Allowed to Cheat on my Boyfriend With

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:32:32 GMT

Idea from antisoccermom's ingenious list :)

5.

Completely agree with antisoccermom on this one. I was totally obsessed with him when I watched the first 6 or so seasons of ER a few years ago thanks to NetFlix. After Lucy was stabbed, I wanted to comfort him instead of all those drugs. (she was all wrong for you anyway!) Too bad he's like 35 now :(

4.

Orlando Bloom
My mother and I would fight to the death over him. Not sure if I like him better with or without the long bleach blonde elf hair :) Like Noah, he's still on the older side for me, but hey... think that'd stop me?

3.

Zac Efron
I know, I know. "You and everyone else!" you say. I haven't watched any more of HSM than the previews, but Jesus Christ he's hot.

2.

Daniel Radcliffe
I've had a crush on Harry since I started reading the books 8 years ago. Really want to go see Equus up in New York still...

1.

Shia Lebouf
Oh, Shia. I watched him on Even Stevens, fell in love with him in Tru Confessions, and have wanted to sex him since Disturbia. *sigh* I'm in love.

My boyfriend's list:

5.

Renee Zellweger
(I really don't think she's that hot...)

4.

Emma Watson
(I'd like to think he picked her cuz she reminds him of me! Or perhaps it's the other way around...)

3.

Victoria Silvstedt
(have to agree)

2.

Angie, of course.

1.

Gemma Arterton
(I would have put Angie at #1 personally)

Are you gay? Hope you didn't plan on giving blood.

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 01:23:55 GMT

Along with the organ donor thing, I'd like to talk about donating blood.

Two years ago I went to Penn State's main campus to give blood to get a backstage pass to Warped Tour. They wouldn't let me though because I was under 110 pounds at the time (haha, no worries about that one now!). I still got the pass though because my friends and I were the last ones there and they had a bunch of extra ones to hand out. We each got a bunch and sold them for $25 each at Warped. Good times.

Anyway, in front of me in line was also told he could not donate blood, but for an entirely different (and completely medically unjustifiable) reason. He was told he couldn't donate because he was gay.

WTF.

After the lady signing people in told him that he couldn't donate, he came over to sit next to me in the waiting chairs and called the 1-800 number for Red Cross to complain. He told whoever he was on the phone that the policy was completely uncalled for. He said that if it wasn't for the fact that their company saved lives he would pass the word to boycott. He spent a good 15 minutes talking to them and when he got off the phone I turned to him and told him I could not agree with him more.

When my two friends were giving blood I talked to their nurse about it and I asked why. She said it was because during gay sex there is more "ripping and tearing" and therefore it is easier to transmit HIV, which would obviously make the blood unusable.

I want to call it the equivalent of sexist or racist, but I don't know which -ist word fits this situation. (orientationist?) I'll just go with "homophobic", which is exactly what this is. This is just another example of prejudice against gays for no justifiable reason.

I don't care if it's a common belief that gays have HIV more frequently than heterosexuals. I don't know if that's a fact or not, but it's completely beside the point. The nurses never asked if my friend Ronnie (who is straight) ever engaged in heterosexual anal sex. If he had, then there's just an much chance of him getting HIV from his female partner, because, you know, of all the "ripping and tearing". Actually, when the nurse said that, she showed how uninformed she was on the subject. HIV is most commonly transferred during sex not through blood, but through semen. So it doesn't matter at all if anything rips, both partners would have to have an injury in order for the virus to be transferred that way.

In order to make sure no HIV is present in any of the blood donated, they always test the blood for HIV after they have taken it from you. Why can't this be the policy for EVERYONE, not just those who have passed the "heterosexual test"? I guess they don't think it's worth it to perform the test on "gay blood". Gays obviously aren't worth that little bit of extra money for the test. Forget that the blood they give may help save a life. We'd rather extend our racism against gays than give some random person a better chance at living.

I would also like to point out that when my friend Ronnie gave blood, the nurse never asked what his place of employment was. For all they know, the people who are prostitutes could give blood. So in other words, we have to deny a man from giving blood if he has had gay sex with one other man, but if a woman (or a man) has had hundreds of hetero partners, that's okay. Those people are worth the HIV test.

The rule is also hard to enforce. Anyone can lie and say that they aren't gay and then give the blood anyway. PWND Red Cross.

This really needs to change. I'm sure there are plenty of Human Rights campaigns against this policy, and I'm definitely going to search them out. I agree that I can't morally tell everyone to boycott donating. Even if their policy is homophobic, the Red Cross does save lives. By boycotting we could be hurting hundreds of people. So I don't really know how to fix this, but I'm sure other people have had much better solutions.

Do you think the ban on gays donating blood is justified?

***UPDATE***

A brief summary of the comments and my response to them. (note: I haven't changed any of the above text)

First of all, I would like to fix my mistake. This is a law made by the FDA, not the Red Cross, so they are not to blame.

Secondly, some of you think I stated that HIV isn't spread through blood. I know that it is. My point was that if you're having sex with someone who is HIV positive, it's going to spread by semen (or vaginal fluids) anyway, so any bleeding is irrelevant to the spread of HIV. Perhaps blood is more potent with the cells that spread HIV, but more than likely it'll get passed anyway.

The girl I spoke to said she was not asked if she had anal sex. Perhaps she forgot which questions she was asked, or maybe she really wasn't asked.

On the statistics... it was given that 51% or HIV positive people are heterosexual, and 49% are homosexual. Assuming this is true, this gives the appearance that hetero people are more likely to have HIV, but in reality there are so many less homosexual people, which means that these statistics are hugely skewed and the gays really are more likely to have HIV.

The rule may have been instated decades ago when HIV was the "gay disease" but the people who have mentioned this seem to all think it should be repealed now.

It's been stated that there are other reasons one cannot give blood (traveling to certain countries, getting a tattoo/piercing). I never said being gay was the only reason, I just don't think it's a good reason. I know that it asks on the survey if you've ever been paid for sex or if you've paid someone for sex. When I mentioned the prostitute thing, that was for my example of people being able to lie, I didn't say that they didn't ask.

The guy who was in front of me in line was asked if he was gay, and when he said yes he was told he could not donate. When we were discussing it, he said he had not had sex and that the nurse had never asked him if he had ever actually had sex. Perhaps this was a mistake on her part and she should have actually asked if he had had sex with another man.

I never called this issue "racist". I don't know what blog some of you are reading, but I only said the word "racist" so that people would understand what I was trying to figure out (it's racist when you're prejudice against certain races, sexist when you're against a certain sex, and __________ when you're against homosexuals).

huginn seems to have given the best evaluation in my opinion. He sees both sides of the argument and understands them accurately. Here's his argument, infused with a bit of what I think as well...

The issue is a balance. We want to let gays give blood, but there are risks as well. There have been cases when people have gotten HIV infected blood (whether it was from someone who was gay or not, we don't know). The problem is that by allowing the gay community to give blood (a group that is more likely to have HIV, as I said above) we increase the likelihood that HIV infected blood will make it through the system. For example, right now assume that 1 in every 1000 units of donated blood makes it through the system infected. If gays donate (who may or may not know that they are infected) then the number may be raised to, say, 5 in every 1000. Even though every unit of blood is tested for HIV, it can take a while for the HIV to show up. If someone gets infected the day before they donate, it won't show up on the test but the blood will still be able to pass the infection to others.

I think that the best solution is to ask men who have had sex with another man when the last time was that they did so unprotected. If it's less than six months, they can't donate. If it's more than 6 months, they must have had an HIV test since then.

DO NOT insult my thinking skills, that's just a really stupid comment for you to make. I was talking with the information that I had in my arsenal (studying law, though I didn't mention it). I never expected this to be featured, I never expected so many people to read it. I had my usual 10 or so readers, and I enjoy having them point out my errors. I never expected to have quite so many people reading this, it's usually just a log of my thoughts. Also, it irritated me when people refer to me as "honey" it's condescending and irritating. You do it specifically to make yourself feel bigger than me, how about arguing your points like an adult, like so many of the commenters that disagree with me have been able to do?

The main thing I'm glad this post achieved is how many people have commented saying they didn't know about the rule. At least people know now.

An Atheist Christmas

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 23:38:51 GMT

I often get asked what Christmas means to me. I am an atheist for anyone who didn't know

First of all, I'd like to say that I don't try to convince any Christians to abandon their beliefs. I feel that as long as you allow me to believe what I want to believe, I'll let you believe whatever you want to believe. I really think this is the way it should work in the good ole USA. I'm actually fascinated by religion. I love learning about all of the different religions in our world. Most of all I'm interested in why people believe what they believe. It's just that I do not subscribe to any of the beliefs I learn about. Another misconception about us atheists is that we all run around worshipping the devil commit scandalous crimes all day long. I'm here to tell you that I (although I cannot speak for ALL athiests) have my own set of morals. Morality and religion have their own specific definitions. Therefore, I have morals and I do believe that I am a good person.

Since I do not believe in God, many find in unfair that I still celebrate Christmas. I, however, would like to point out how un-Christian Christmas has become for (what I think is) the vast majority of families in the United States.

Just to clear it up though, I know that there are a group of families that still do make Christmas mostly about Christ. I have an Aunt and Uncle whose kids open gifts Christmas Eve so that they can go to mass on Christmas morning. For them, Christmas really is about the religious aspects.

For everyone else, Christmas is about something completely different. Although both of my parents were Christians, we never once went to church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Most of my friends are the same. Especially when we were little kids, we wanted to get up at 7 am to open presents, and our parents didn't want to object just to make it to the 8:00 mass.

So what do I think Christmas is about? Family and gifts. That's pretty much all I see.

I know that I love Christmas because of the family. It starts with (for us at least) driving to at least 5 different places that sell Christmas trees to make sure we have the perfect one. It's always an adventure to cut the trunk of the tree and get it up. Decorating is always a day-long endevor filled with candy canes, Christmas songs, and memories about how we got each ornament that hangs on our tree. Christmas Eve is always 'family time' with only me, my mother, my brother, and my sister. We hang our stockings over the fireplace, and then my siblings and I share the gifts we have gotten each other. The family extends when it comes to Christmas day and we head to my grandmother's house to eat dinner with my mom's half of the family. Especially now that I'm at college in FL and my family is all in PA. I don't get to see anyone for months at a time, which makes it all the more better to see everyone at once. I also know that Christmas means spending the day with my father's side of the family a few days later for their Christmas party. It's fun to see everyone and catch up on what has happened during the (in some cases) whole year in which we haven't seen each other. Sharing stories and just hanging out is a really amazing thing to do at that time of year.

I know no one really wants to admit it, but Christmas is now also about the gifts. We all want things, and Christmas is the time of year when we stand the most chance of getting them. As kids, this is the greatest time of the year. We don't even care about the family at that point, all we know is that this is the only opportunity to get that Easy Bake Oven from Santa. Now that I'm older I realise that even though I receive so many gifts, I must also buys gifts for the same people that give them to me. This would make the whole gift giving process pointless, but for some reason it's still nice to have that nicely wrapped gift to open on Christmas from your best friend.

I really don't find an Christian connotations to putting up a Christmas tree, although I know there are arguments against that. I also see nothing Christian about Santa Claus, his elves, Rudolph the Reindeer, Christmas stockings, Christmas lights, wreaths, etc. You can have fun with friends and family on Christmas without being Christian.

I see nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas with my family.

And along those same lines, I don't think my fellow atheists should try to discontinue Christmas (although this is nearly impossible to accomplish) for the same reasons. So much of it is not Christian, so why try to stop people from celebrating it however they wish?