A letter from Mr. President

I never really thought I'd get a Christmas card from the White House until I got one today. I got it as I believe many people did, for volunteering for the president's election campaign which was something I liked doing because I felt like I was doing something that helped someone. Anyway,  I thought Christmas card was fun because as you can see it's a pop up card. Plus, it's fun to get letters and cards in the mail.  It's like a bright spot when I come home at the end of the day. If I could, I'd send everyone who reads this a letter (providing they want one of course) just so people could have something nice in their mailbox. If I could send such a message this is what I'd send:

Here's a letter from me to you in the hopes your holidays are happy ones and I wish you the very best!

Just because its National Microwave Oven Day

December 6th is National Microwave Day! I'm not sure how it got started but I thought I'd take this opportunity to describe what I like best about microwaves. After all, everything should feel appreciated, even inanimate objects!

Things I love about microwaves:

• It can cook me dinner in 5 minutes or less!
• Sometimes when I feel like being fancy but not spend too much time doing it, I can use the microwave to make fancy frozen dinners and pretend I'm in a fancy restaurant when eating them. 
• It makes great popcorn fast which tastes great and is nice to eat while watching a good movie. 
• Even if food explodes in it (which I have to admit unfortunately ticks me off) at least the mess is contained to the microwave and is thus relatively easy to clean.
• It has led me to make new discoveries in the art of cooking as it has helped me cook random things like British custard. (Not that it's that different from custard in the US.) I managed to find a custard mix in the store that is the same type my grandmother made us when we'd visit my grandparents in the UK. After a few attempts (one of leading to a minor explosion of pudding mix) I managed to make custard that was warm, creamy and that tasted good! 

So here's to microwaves, don't know where I'd be without one!

Until it is done

"It always seems impossible until it is done." -Nelson Mandela.

I like this quote very much and I think it speaks to Mandela's life because he broke down so many barriers despite the tremendous amount of adversity he faced. I think that things seem impossible when one faces them alone. What inspires me most about Mandela was that he believed in his people and that he was able to unite people against all odds. To me this reaffirms my belief that all we have in this life is each other and as long as we can stand united, there is no limit to the great things we can accomplish. 

3 things I love about holidays

Since it's exactly 3 weeks to Christmas, below are  things I love about holidays. Even if people don't honor the same days, I still think that they all are causes for celebration and thus a lot of happiness!

• I love how holidays are days when people make more effort to see each other. I see more relatives and friends on holidays and I love them all very much which is yet another reasons to love holidays. I've found that as long as I'm with people I care about then I'm happy.
• More often then not, holidays have a few songs involved. This is especially true of Christmas and I particularly like how it's perfectly acceptable to go down the street singing Christmas carols. (Not that anything's really ever stopped me from going down streets singing in the first place but somehow it seems a little less odd to me in December.)
• Gift giving on holidays is fun. It's nice to get to pick out something special for someone you care about. Being on the receiving end of the gift giving process isn't so bad either! ;)

Whatever holidays you celebrate and whatever it is that you like about them, I hope that holidays are always happy ones for you.

Happy International Day of Persons with Disabilities!

The UN established December 3rd as International Day of Persons with Disabilities in 2012. it's meant to promote accessibility and eliminate barriers that prevent people with disabilities from accessing the services they need. What I like best about such a day is that it is meant to encourage people to work together to ensure everyone, including people with disabilities is provided with the same rights and services so that society can make even more progress. 

In some ways I think having a disability is one of the best things about my life. Since I was diagnosed with epilepsy as a teenager, I have found that having this condition has caused me to have even more faith in humanity's goodness. I take medication but if that medication stops working and I have a seizure in some public place, I have to trust that someone, out of the goodness of their heart and mind will be willing to help me. I'm happy that people, even complete strangers have indeed helped me in such cases. I'm also glad to have a disability because it led me to meet people who continue to work hard to help their peers with disabilities to get services and the support they need to be independent and fully functional in society.  In short, I think what I like most about having a disability is that it can be a source of unity on many levels and if enough people unite around a cause like that, they can accomplish so much. Indeed, a lot has already been accomplished in terms of helping people with disabilities have equal access to all aspects of society and daily living. I realize that people with disabilities still struggle with many things and this reminds me of a Swahili quote I heard once that says: "Life has meaning only in the struggle. Triumph or defeat is in the hands of the Gods… So let us celebrate the struggle!"  So I use International Day of Persons with Disabilities to celebrate the struggle because I want to believe that as a result of the struggle one day true equality will be a reality rather than an idea. When that day comes (and hopefully I'll see it!) I'll party like a rock star!

Celebrating a special education!

Today marks the 38th anniversary of the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Act which was signed into law by President Ford in 1975 and as of the law's 30th anniversary in 2005, December 2nd was declared Special Education Day. The IDEA is meant to help ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to education. I've directly benefited from this law and I think I was able to achieve more academic success because of it. 

Although I was never placed in a physical special education class, I did receive services throughout my education. In high school for example, I met once a week with a woman named Mrs. Raad who was a great help to me. Even though she was there to teach me things, the time I spent with her was like spending time with a good friend since as much as we did work, we also laughed and talked a bit too which made my meetings with her a lot of fun. With Mrs. Raad's help I was able to keep my grades up and do well. My experience in special education showed me that as long as I was willing to put forth the effort, there really was no limit to what I could do if I wanted to learn something. I think I'll always have a soft spot for special ed because education and knowledge should be available for everyone and since special education helps make education even more accessible, to me that's something worth celebrating!

Favorite Holiday Movies

Since it's December I was just thinking of things I liked to watch with my family when I was younger (particularly on days when it was bitterly cold outside.) In the off chance you haven't seen some of them, here's a list of films my family and I especially like. I hope you enjoy them as well!

• The Snowman-It's a short cartoon movie about a boy who builds a snowman that comes to life and they go on a trip to the North Pole to see Father Christmas. Other than accompanying music and a beautiful song sung by a choir boy called "Walking in the Air" none of the characters actually speak in this movie but it is a rather beautiful film. I always liked it.
• Miracle on 34th Street (the 1947 version) Father Christmas is hired by Macy's to work in its store over the Christmas holidays. While there, a skeptical little girl questions whether the man in the jolly red suit is really Father Christmas and eventually comes to the conclusion that Santa really does exist after all. I still believe in the idea of Santa since to me he symbolizes faith and love and well, everything that holidays are typically about. 
• It's a Wonderful Life: Follows the life of George Bailey and the difficulties he faces and how he grows to see that despite his troubles his life still has a lot of value to the people around him  and he learns that he really does have a wonderful life. I like this movie because it shows that even when things see really hard, life is still worth living and wouldn't be the same if we weren't here. Everyone has the capacity to touch so many other lives for the better which is an incredible gift and that to me is one of the many things that make life great.
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas-A green monster decides to steal Christmas from the Whos in Whoville with the help of his long suffering dog. However, the Grinch's heart grows bigger when he meets a little girl who helps persuade him to bring Christmas back. There's a song in this cartoon that I think is sung by Orson Welles that I liked because when I was in my high school's choir we had a lot of fun singing it!
• A Christmas Carol: Ebenezer Scrooge-a man obsessed with money learns the errors of his ways through being visited by 3 ghosts who show his past Christmases, what's happening in the current Christmas and what might happen in the future because of his misdeeds. After this he becomes a better man and helps people. I like the 1970s movie version because it's a musical and to me stories seem happier when set to music somehow.