What Does it Mean? (slam poetry by yours truly)

What does it mean when someone touches you and you can barely breath because the electricity in their touch is almost unbearable?
When they touch you and it's all you can think of for days?
What does it mean when you want to take care of someone and give them everything you have in you?
What does it mean when you can't form words around them?
What does it mean when they look at you that one way and you can't look back because it's to much?
When you feel safe around them?
When you trust them?
Is it lust?
Is it love?
Is it idolatry?
Is it stupid of me to want what I know I can't have?
Am I in love with an idea?
Am I just a stupid little girl?
It's all of these things.
But I've cultivated my love before and I can do it again.
I can prune it to death.
I can lock it behind a brick wall and throw away the key.
I can cut it down until its close to nonexistence.
I'll do this for my own good.
I'll live like this because I am afraid of my families judgment and condemnation.
I'll live like this because society would think I am sick lost, disturbed, I need therapy.
no.
I just know what I want.
I'm just to scared, brainwashed, pressured and conditioned to take it.
So I can do it.
I must do it.

Online Class VS Traditional Class-Essay by Carly Mathiot

Online Class VS Traditional Class

By Carly Mathiot

An online class and a traditional class are two very different ways of learning. The choice of either one is a big decision. To choose the right one for you, you should know what kind of learner you are.

SOCIAL LIFE

Online school is much less hands on; You stay at home alone all day on the computer and you never see your classmates. There are no study groups but there may be support forums. You never make physical contact with anyone including your teacher.  

In a traditional class you get out of the house, go to school, meet your teacher and get to know them in person. You sit in a class room with all your other classmates and sometimes even critique their work.

ASSIGNMENTS  

In an online class after you read the lesson and  teach yourself about the subject, you take the quizzes assigned to you, do the assignments and turn them in via internet.

In a traditional class, the teacher verbally gives you assignments and you go home, do the work and then physically turn in your work to them.

LEARNING

In an online class, if the teacher is not good at conveying their thoughts into words, then you must find a way to learn it another way.

In a traditional class, this problem is less common because you learn in the classroom and are easily able to raise your hand and ask a question or ask them to explain it to you another way.

Communication is less interactive over the internet. It's harder because you have no direct access to you teacher. If you need to ask a question, you must email them and wait for a response. If they don't get the email then what happens?

You can’t call them, you can't meet them. If your internet is down you have no hope of getting anything done and are set behind, much like when you get sick and have to skip a day out of school.

Online school is much less hands on. Interaction with your teachers and the other students in your class is important for your learning experience.

Being disciplined to sit down and read the lesson is the hardest thing. You become tempted to skim over the lesson, especially if its seven pages long with thirty questions, and to look up each question on the internet. When you sit down to do your quiz, you end up knowing nothing about the subject.

An online class and a traditional class are too completely different ways of learning and living.  

To make the right choice, you must know the best way for yourself to learn.  Making the right choice for yourself can affect your future and can make your school years much easier and pleasant for you. Not only that, you will get much more out of your education.

The Effects of Facebook-Essay

The Effects of Facebook

By Carly Mathiot

        I used to be a social butterfly; I was outgoing, I never felt like I had to make excuses not to see my friends. I was always nervous to make the commitment of seeing someone. What if I had nothing to say?

        Until I was fourteen, there was no other way to communicate other than making a phone call, making plans and talking to your friend in person. That's how I did it. I didn't text much.

        Ever since then, I slowly started hanging out with my friends less. I'd talk to them on Facebook and then when we got together in person, there was nothing to say.        

        When you're on facebook, it feels like you're being social. You are in this virtual world where you have friends and you chat with them and see their pictures. It gives you the illusion and the feeling  socialization, but you are really all by yourself.

       

        I began to be afraid of going out and talking to people because I was afraid of having nothing to say. For a while I literally became a hermit and for quite a while, I didn't text or talk to anyone on facebook or otherwise.

        I could never tell who my friends were. on facebook I currently have 188 friends. I hardly know any of them. I read their posts, like them, comment. its very rare we see each other in person and I'm sure there are some I've never met.

        Sure, facebook claims to connect people, but only virtually, not physically. Having a facebook and letting myself build a comfort zone around myself has caused me to miss so many opportunities.

        I get invited to hang all the time, but because its out of my little virtual comfort zone, where you can leave the conversation anytime, I miss out on having real relationships. There are no commitments, there's no face to face, there's no confrontation on facebook. on facebook i am safe.

       I have never been on a real date or ever had a boyfriend. i'll talk to boys on the internet, but if they ask me out face to face, I lie. I lie and tell them I can't. I'm to scared to go out. Having a facebook has affected my romantic life as well as my social life.

        once again, being put on the spot, being taken out of my comfort zone, I instantly recoil from the thought and hide in my bed to watch others live via facebook.

        I'm not blaming facebook, but I am blaming myself for letting facebook be my happy place. It's become a wall, cutting me off from the world with only a brick missing so I can see what's out there, but I can't be a part of it.

       

        I've become lonely and depressed. I'll go on facebook to seek social interaction on a holiday or spring break, and there will literally be no one on facebook. that's when I really feel alone and desperate.

        The illusion of a social life is shattered and the realization that everyone else is out living their lives without me hits home. I've slowly been reaching out again. I even joined a dating site. I call people I trust to hang out, but still its hard for me to be alone with someone.

        I still feel the need to be in a group so I don't feel pressure to make conversation. I still hide among other peoples lives instead of making a path of my own. I'm a tag along girl who only comes out at night because she's afraid of what sunlight will show her. no one really knows who she is and what she's like. This is what I have let happen to me and now I have to pick up the pieces.

Natural Facial Products vs Store Bought Products

By Carly Mathiot

Harsh chemical facial products can be damaging to your skin, and natural remedies may have many more benefits to your health and your budget.

When I used store bought products such as biore, neutrogena and other facial products such as these, I began to notice that my pores were very large and I produced a lot of facial oil. My skin was very dry. I kept switching products trying to figure out which one was best for me, but everything I used hurt my skin and dried me out.

So I did some research; I looked at what the store bought brands were doing to my skin scientifically and here is what I found; The harsh chemicals of the products were stripping my face of every kind of oil and bacteria, good and bad. Oil is actually your skin's way of keeping itself conditioned, soft and smooth.

When you strip your face of all oil, your skin opens up its pores and over produces oil then your pores get clogged from being open. When you have large pores it doesn’t necessarily mean they are clogged like the pour strip companies would have you believe. Just a side note. When your face over produces oil, you think, “i better wash my face again,” so you start the vicious cycle of stripping your face and making more oil and getting more acne.

Even if you put moisturizer on, that will only clog your oversized pores, causing blackheads and more acne. I did some research on alternative ways to clean my skin without stripping my skin of its natural oils. There are so many cheap alternatives. My morning routine is a honey masque which is full of antioxidants.  

It is extremely moisturizing and soothing, so it helps create a glow. Honey is clarifying because it opens up pores making them easy to unclog.

I also make my own gentle exfoliant that won't tear my skin, causing scarring and infections. Its made of olive oil, more honey, and sugar. I usually like to use brown sugar because its even more gentle than granulated white sugar.

Now my face has stopped over producing oil and my pores have closed. I very rarely have any acne. It took quite a while for my skin to realize it did not need to produce so much oil but slowly and surely, I am healing my skin.

If you notice you have extra dry, flakey skin, then you may think about putting on s molasses masque. Molasses that is unsulfured gently removes dead skin cells from the surface of your face and reveals the new skin underneath.

I’ve also added up the cost for natural vs store bought products according to cost per month lets say you only have to buy one container of each every other month and you use them every day. my mixture is made up of a half cup of sugar, half cup of honey and a tablespoon of olive oil. it usually lasts me up to a week and a half.

• Great Value pure cane sugar 5 lbs 2.68
• Great Value 100% extra virgin olive oil 51 Fl Oz $9.98
• Mountain Ridge 100% pure honey 35 Oz $8.96

That is over 21.62. thats at the end of two months, not just one. In a year you have only spent over 129.72 dollars.

lets say you use store bought facial products and you run out every month.

• Oil-free acne wash by Neutrogena 6 Fl Oz  $5.27
• neutrogena all in one acne control  4.2 Fl Oz  $6.97
• Neutrogena's oil free moisture $9.97
• clear pore astringent  by Neutrogena  8 Fl Oz $4.97
• Biore’ pore strips 14 strps $8.47

$35.65 dollars per month plus taxes, and a dry acne covered face. at the end of a year you have spent over $427.00 dollars (not including tax)  and you could have gotten a new laptop.

In conclusion, natural remedies for cleaning your skin is better, cheaper, and healthier for you.

decorating journals

I'm starting a new hobby! I've started decorating plain journals with fun and colorful designs! It's a great gift idea and more special than just buying some one a journal from the store. This way you can personalize it. Here is one of my favorite ones. This hobby is great for people who like to draw simple doodles but like making useful things.

Local Artist of New Bern, Hannah Mathiot

Hannah Mathiot is the co-owner of local business in New Bern called bear hands art factory. She's always been artistically inclined, I know this because shes my sister. She teaches kids art classes now at her art store and spends any extra time she has writing amazing comics or doing commissions. She has recently taken up the art of zen tangle and sometimes bombs the town with colorful rainbows of yarn. Here is some of her work. To get more information on Hannah and her business, go here http://www.bearhandsart.com/

cute little clay houses

zen tangle wave

baby bear!

clay typewriter 

tree sweater 

portrait of my mother

more zen tangle

Childhood Memory Contest Winner

Childhood Memory 

Little Bird

by Criminal Beauty 

I dreamt I was a little bird

Who flew without a care

My whims and wants were boundless

As I soared upon the air

When suddenly a cloud approached

My will it turned to dust

The gloomy, glaring uncertainty

Reduced my may to must

Yet still I flew on higher

Ever searching for the top

My mind kept racing faster

How could I ever stop?

Finally perched upon the precipice

I paused to wonder, why?

And in that very moment

I lost my will to try.

My mental cage enveloped me

I was trapped forevermore

For who could love a little bird

Who could no longer soar?

Through days and nights my wings grew limp

'Till I could barely think

My skin grew thick and tough

Yet in my armor there was one chink

Without warning the sun grew brighter

My desire had returned

The flight I'd feared I'd lost forever

Was now something for which I yearned.

But by then my wings were weighted

Though I tried with all of me

To be that little bird once more

And to finally be free.

Holiday Nails for my lady readers...

i didnt do this art, but i can tell you how to do it. :3

deep blue with snowflakes. you can get this look by using either a detail brush, or a toothpick.

light blue with snowflakes and a fading look.

you can get this look by first painting your nails light blue then, using a sponge, apply white and blend out,

then use a detail brush or stickers for the snowflakes.

first apply white to your nails, then apply a dark blue and use a sponge to fade it into the white, use a toothpick to apply snowflakes and then coat it with glittering lacquer 

apply white to your nails, when they dry, use a detail brush to apply the other colors, the place a tiny drop of silver in the middle.

paint nails light blue, then use q tips the paint the body of the now men. use detail brushes for the snowballs and the body parts of the snow man, and toothpicks for the rest.

Merry Christmas

happy christmas readers! because its christmas and im the writer and you're the readers, im going to tell you what my family and i do for the holidays. and then you can tell ME what YOU do either int he comments or the google plus forum OR the new forum page im working on. which i will explain later.

my family throws a huge christmas eve bash on, when else but, christmas eve. we all dress up, take pictures, invite the whole church over, and get happy on spiked eggnog.we sing christmas hyms, eat cookies, hold grumpy babies, and make sure the giant poodle of ours doest jump up on the table and drink all our eggnog. we dont put anything past him. we always open one present on the eve and then we go to bed while mom stays up to stuff the stockings, but we dont really go to sleep. doesnt matter how old we are, we always look forward to christmas mornings. its pretty rare that the whole family spends an entire day together.

let me know what you do with your family!

looking for author

i need someone willing to add interesting content and to be willing to work on networking to grow this community. if you are interested, contact me by email, google plus, or here.