I want to wish everybody a Happy New Year. I know everyone makes New Year’s resolutions, but I wanted to suggest some in case somebody can’t think of something.

• Be a friend to somebody with special needs
• Help somebody in a bad situation
• Spend more time with somebody with special needs
• If you promise to do something with somebody, do it. Don’t break the promise

These are just some resolutions people can make to better themselves. However, there’s always the question of commitment.  If your goal is to better yourself, you need to work on it every single day. People with disabilities can also better themselves by having a more affirmative outlook on themselves, making the best out their situations and don’t let others put them down.

So Happy New Year and have a good, healthy year.

I had a great Christmas and it was full of  surprises.

On Christmas morning, we opened presents. I got many gifts, but my top 2 favorite gifts were the iPad and iPod. I received books, clothes and more. I got some pretty jewelry along the way. And that wasn’t all…

I was at my aunt’s house, hanging with my cousins and we’re waiting for supper to be put on. We’re talking and all of the sudden somebody walks in. It was my best friend from college! He came to visit me! He even brought me a present. I opened it and it was a beautiful necklace. On one side, it said, “I am a better me because of you” and the other side said, “The story of friendship is written on the pages of the heart”.

My friend stayed for dinner and the conversation at the table got interesting and my one uncle was being a wiseguy and my friend was wise right back. It was hysterical to see my friend go back at my uncle like that. All of my cousins liked my friend a lot and they said he was very nice.

I was so shocked to see my friend for Christmas and it was a nice surprise. I had never had a friend as nice as him. He’s a godsend to me and I’m grateful for that. I hope we remain friends for many more years.

Well, ’tis the season for joy and happiness. And this college student has some great news for her audience.

I aced my American History 2 class. I actually did better in American History 2 than  American History 1. For some reason, I feel American History 2 was easier than the first one. I hypothesize the reason for this is that I’m more used to college than I was in my first semester and I was less stressed this semester than the first two.

I did great on my Prehistoric Archaeology presentation. I only had to program 4 buttons on my Dynavox. My group listened to it and said it sounded great, which made me feel so much better. The class was split into 3 groups and 2 out the 3 groups did great; mine and one other. However, the last group wasn’t that great since only one person spoke and nobody else contributed. Nevertheless, I feel my group aced the project.

The end of any semester is stressful for anybody, but for me, it’s even more stressful since it takes longer for me to do the work. Nevertheless, it’s time to unwind and celebrate Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all.

I know many of you college students are home and done with classes, but others have one more week to bare. Like me, you’re probably wondering how you’ll survive one more week with essays and tests. Well, here’s how to do it.

• Start it in class if possible.
• Use time wisely. If you have break, set aside time to do the assignment or study.
• Break up the assignment.
• Study in a group.
• Don’t procrastinate.

These are just a few tips to help you get through the last week. Don’t worry-you’ll do fine. Good luck on your finals.

The end of any semester is stressful, doing final projects and  whatnot.  But it is especially stressfully for because I have to do a presentation for Prehistoric Archaeology. I don’t mind speaking in front of a crowd, but putting it onto my Dynavox is tedious.

Don’t get me wrong. I love talking in front of people, but cramming a powerpoint and programming it into my Dynavox is crazy. But I guess I shouldn’t complain too much since these scenarios occur all the time in the real world.

Anyway, I think everything will work out fine. Like people say, good things come in small packages.

I have finally completed the rough draft of my book Poetry From A Misunderstood World. Now that I’ve proofread and edited it, my dad is now illustrating it. Next step, finding a publisher.

I’ve never been so excited in my life. I’m finally seeing my writing career come to life. I have been writing since first grade when I entered a reflections contest and I was writing a poem about my dreams for the future. It was called  “The Jump”. I wrote it and after I finished I was really struggling for a title. I looked back over the poem and I decided to use the title “The Jump”. When it was entered into the contest, it was about 3 weeks later and the principal of Sapphire Elementary came into the room. She was holding a small gold trophy as she walks into the room. She walked over to my desk, holding the trophy above me to announce that I won third place for my very first piece of writing.

And from then on, I’ve been wanting to become an author. I might not have entered every reflections contest, but I have kept up writing throughout the years. In my opinion, writing is the greatest form advocacy for people with disabilities. I will keep everybody up-to-date as my book progresses.