My Bloody Experience

I wrote about the first time I gave blood here so I figured, why not write about the second time! Although the second time wasn't as successful, as you will soon discover... here goes...

A friend and I were supposed to go out for coffee and she said she was giving blood after school. I said I was too and we realized we were going to the same drive. So we went together. I had made an appointment for six ox'clock, not realized I would get there so early. I "read" the information booklet (way too graphic for my tender Bais Yaakov mind) and took a seat. The drive we went to was MAJORLY understaffed and only four donations seats were set up.

I waited for what seemed like HOURS til I was called in for questions. I went through the whole song and dance of answering my name, birthday, address and age and handed in my donation card (O Positive!) And then, the lady asked for my parental form because I am not 17 (ok, now you know my age). I explained that I had already given before. She said I needed the form. I asked if I could call my mother and have her speak with my mother. She said I needed a form. I stormed out of the cubicle, ranting to the girl I came with. I called my mother who said it was kinda stupid. But I ended up going home to get my form because I did not wait all that time to not give blood. I went home, got the form, returned to the drive and put up a whole stink that I needed to go back... I was first... half an hour later.

After answering the questions AGAIN and taking the quiz (which I think all respectable Bais Yaakov girls should be excused from) I went to the waiting area to give blood. Twenty minutes later I sat down in a right armed chair even though I gave left armed the last time. The needle was SO painful as it went in. Now you are expecting me to say I passed out, but NOPE! I don't really do that. It just REALLY REALLY hurt... My friend brought me apple juice, and only after I started drinking did I think to look for a hechsher, and guess what! It wasn't kosher. The blood drive, IN A SHUL (well, not a frum one AT ALL) was serving NON KOSHER APPLE JUICE! My friend called her rabbi to see if it was ok, i called my sister, was texting meanwhile, pumping with my right arm and freaking out cuz I was late to work... And then the lady who was taking the blood said my blood wasn't coming out. I was ready to plotz. She rearranged the needle (OW!) and eventually, after a bit more rearranging, said my blood was no good because it wasn't coming out. After two and half hours of waiting I only filled the bag 3/4 of the way.

Then, after not drinking anything except one small waterbottle for two hours, I went to work till 10:30, didnt eat anything real, besides for the cookies at the drive (which were kosher) until around 11. I was up til one in the morning, and til today, I have a bruise on my arm... I had a lot of fun showing it to my friends in school and watching them squirm... *evil laugh*

So even though it wasn't a successful donation, I knew Hashem was testing me. It was hard to keep my cool, but on the bright side, my blood may be used for something like testing and I can give again in less than two months! And I did learn a lot from this drive....

1. If your sister says she had to wait two hours to give, don't go to the same drive
2. CONSTANTLY DRINK! I hadn't which probably was why my blood wasn't coming out.
3. ALWAYS CHECK ANYTHING BEFORE EATING! Since moving to my current location I have gotten really comfortable knowing everything I eat is kosher and I can go to an all-kosher supermarket and everything I touch is kosher, but as always, I still should check.

In the end, it wasn't so great, but Baruch Hashem, I did learn a few things... and I have an awesome story to tell and a beautiful (not so purple anymore) bruise to show off...

And that my friends was my bloody experience... Hope you didn't pass out!

Lessons on Life Learned in Math Class

The nice weather the other day got me to thinking about how math and life are a lot alike. I wrote it down and wanted to share it with y'all (that's my southern accent if you couldn't tell)
Really, I am posting it more for me. I really need the chizuk right now, and if anyone has more to share, feel free!

Lessons On Life Learned in Math Class

1. There is logic to everything
a. to every math problem there is an answer, even if I don’t know it

b. to every life situation there is a reason for its occurrence, even if I don’t understand it

2. One things builds on another
a. if I don’t understand variables, I cant solve inequalities (which happens to be what I am learning in math now)
b. If I don’t know how to accept mussar or chizuk, I’ll never know how to overcome challenges

3. There are tools to help
a. If need be, I can use a calculator, protractor, ruler etc. so solve problems
b. One word: Torah

4. There is always someone who will know more than me
a. There will be times when I won’t know how to answer. When that times comes, I can ask my teacher for help
b. Times of trial are inevitable. When these situations arise, there is only one person I can to turn to for help. Hashem

The Candyman

There are two reasons for this post, the second reason only came about because of the first. The first reason is, I wanted to sure a poem. I wrote it last year and if you read it closely you can find a very relative lesson that is applicable in every persons life... so read closely, take a moment to think about it, and let me know what you get out of it!

Between perilous slander
And mean fortune
Methinks nothing
But forswear a friend
Which idle change yield tantamount wicked
Only so we loathe
That which never learned our tender minds

The second reason for this post is because when I was locating the above poem on my computer, I found some notes from a speech I heard in camp. The way this speech worked was that the speaker stood in the middle of us (his audience) while we all watched a movie. Every so often the speaker would pause the movie and teach us how each part of the movie and explain how we could take a lesson from the movie. It was incredible to realize that something as gashmius-dik as a movie could have sparks of ruchnius that are so relevent and inspiring...
The movie we watched was the old version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At the beginning of the movie, Charlie goes into the candy store and the owner breaks out into song and sings:

Who can take tomorrow, dip it in a dream
Separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream
The Candy Man, the Candy Man can
The Candy Man can 'cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good

The speaker explained that the candy man is compared to Hashem. Hashem makes the world taste good. He could have made it bland and tasteless, He could have made food one taste and that would have been it. But Hashem wanted us to enjoy His beautiful world so He added flavors and tastes!
Now, while the above is nice to hear, I gained a different lesson from it based on my day. Hashem made the world taste good. But what tastes good to one person, may not taste the same way to another. Certain situations can be dealt differently based on the person who is experiencing it. Just like different candies taste good or bad to different people. For example, my mother LOVES the candy Good and Plenty… you know that weird licorice candy? Well, I cant stand it! It makes me gag. And while I like milk chocolate candy, and don’t like dark chocolate, my mother likes dark chocolate and doesn’t like milk chocolate… And a friend of mine HATES chocolate, while I love it! (But still I wonder, how can you not like chocolate???) So too, different situations and events sit well, or not so well with different people.
Life has different situations, events, people… and flavors… I think with time we all can learn to acquire the palate to enjoy them all, or at least manage them to swallow them politely.
(The actual lesson I learned in camp differed a lot from the above, which I just chapped around in like five minutes, but if interested, I can share the other one, which is really incredible and inspiring!)