Sammy Keyes and the Girl Who Couldn't Appreciate Her More

I woke up this morning with a headache, my eyes crusty and heavy, and I just wanted to go back to sleep forever. Instead, I looked at what time it was, rubbed my eyes clean, and pulled out my new book Sammy Keyes and the Power of Justice Jack to read.

The Sammy Keyes series is one that I am embarrassed to tell people I read because it's aimed toward girls 10 years younger than I am. It's not a big deal, except the writing and plots are obviously aimed for preteens, the protagonist is in 7th grade, and the whole thing is just really cheesy.

A good cheesy, but most people wouldn't really understand.

I started reading Sammy Keyes when I was in 8th grade and fell in love with her almost immediately. I have been faithfully following her since then, buying every single book as they came out. Sammy Keyes is everything I want to be: smart, kind, spunky, funny, brave, and an all-around good person. She's just a fictional character, but I've always read her books and imagined myself in her shoes, doing what she does, and I always finish the book wishing I were really her.

Don't get me wrong, Sammy Keyes isn't perfect. She secretly lives in her grandmother's government paid senior apartment where kids aren't supposed to really even step foot in because her mother decided she would rather be a movie star than a mother, and her father is completely absent and has been for all of Sammy's life. Since Sammy isn't supposed to be living with her grandmother, everything she owns fits in one drawer and she only owns 2 pairs of jeans, 3 t-shirts, and a pair of high tops. She unwittingly gained an archenemy on the first day of 7th grade who's made it her life's goal to destroy Sammy's. She doesn't have the best grades at school, never has any money to play at the arcade with her rich best friend (and refuses to take money from anyone) and almost every adult, including her grandmother, thinks she's just another delinquent trying to get into trouble, even though that's exactly what she's trying to avoid!

But, of course, trouble is exactly where she always seems to find herself.

So why would I want Sammy's life? Because despite all of this, she has good friends who would do anything for her, a grandmother that adores her so much that she's willing to be kicked out of her home for her, a 75 year old grandfather-like man who makes the best hot-cocoa and gives the best advice, and most of all, she has adventure.

It also doesn't hurt that Sammy is the greatest person alive without even caring or trying. Well... she's not alive, but I sure wish she was.

Usually when I'm done reading a Sammy Keyes book, I'm jealous and envious and I wish that I could trade my comfy house and loving parents for Sammy's senior apartment with her grandmother. I wish that my brothers would become Sammy's best friends Marrissa, Holly, and Dot. I wish I could trade my serene little neighborhood for crazy Santa Martina. I wish that I could be brave and cool and take down gangbangers, thieves, and drug dealers.

This time, however, things changed. When I was finished reading the newest adventure of Sammy's, I found myself thinking about how far Sammy's come in 15 books and a whole year and how I can't wait to see what happens next. I thought about how fun it would be fun if I had the same kind of adventures with my friends as Sammy did with hers.

And then I walked into the living room and saw the mess it's in and realized that I did have adventures, they just weren't as scary and crazy as Sammy's were. And why would they be? This is real life. Having a 20 hour Harry Potter movie marathon is an adventure. Going swimming in a swimming pool that we're technically not supposed to swim in is an adventure. Playing night games in the bushiest part of the park until midnight is an adventure.

Once upon a time, I didn't have friends like Sammy and her friends and didn't go on adventures every other day. But that changed and I do have friends who I can do things with and go out and just live life, real life. I've always known that my life has changed since I became a part of my little brother's group of friends, but this realization I had today sort of puts it in sharper focus, makes me appreciate what we do more, and reminds me that it's not going to last forever.

To me, it's interesting that I'm not starting to like Sammy Keyes less now that I don't want to be her anymore. I do, in fact, like her stories so much more because I now I can relate to her and I can picture my real life being just as great as hers, which is much more achievable.

Standing Up

For a long time, I was quiet in my support for Gay Marriage outside of my family. It's wasn't known to very many people that I don't agree with making any kind of marriage illegal, and I never really posted much on Facebook about it. I'm not sure if it's because I was afraid of what people would think or say or if I just never really had a push to make my beliefs known.

I've decided to change that, however. As a member of the LDS church, it's really hard to support something like this and I was conflicted for a very long time. The Church doesn't support Gay Marriage because it's immoral and not ordained by God. I stand by that belief. Marriage certainly is between a man and woman, that is how God intended it to be and that is how I am going to continue to celebrate it as.

I suppose that if I didn't have a lesbian mother, I wouldn't have any problems with this issue and I would be against it. But I do have a lesbian mother, and she has helped me see the other side of the story. I still believe and will continue to believe that any sexual relations between members of the same sex is as immoral as any sexual relations between an unmarried heterosexual couple, but I don't believe that should make taking someone's right to choose away the right thing.

And that is why I support Gay Marriage. I support equal rights for everybody. I support the right to choose. That's really what this is about. It really bothers me when people bring religion into this because marriage is only a religious thing when you make a religious thing. Otherwise, it is an acknowledgment between you and the state that you are going to take care of another individual and they are going to take care of you. And when we take someone's right to get married, that isn't right.

The way I look at this is that Jesus said love everyone. He didn't say love everyone except the gays. He didn't say love everyone except for the people who disagree with you. He said love everyone. You don't have to support their actions, but you do have to love them for who they are. And unfortunately, their gayness is a part of who they are.

I believe fully in the Gospel and I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ. It saddens me greatly to see so many people in the Church forget that. People are so mean, they are so cruel, and they call themselves disciples of Christ. But you are only a true disciple when you learn to love unconditionally. And that includes loving the Church even when they don't agree with you.

Someone said that they stopped going to church because they don't believe in their stance on Gay Marriage and some people congratulated her for standing up for what she believed in. But she didn't. Leaving the Church because you disagree on something is not standing up for what you believe in. Continuing to go to church and doing what you know is right despite what people may say is standing up for what you believe in. Ceasing to go to Church isn't going to help anybody, it's only going to hurt you.

And so that's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to stand up for what I believe in - equal rights - and doing what I know is right while doing it. I will not be making a statement by breaking the rules.

I will be participating in the Gay Pride Parade on June 3 to show that I still love everyone who may be struggling with Same Sex Attraction.

The PJ Project

Today I was trying to tell my little brother, PJ, to lighten up because he's being really grumpy and just plain out rude, even though I'm totally being the nicest I've ever been in my life. He says what he always say, "I'm sorry, but I can't." Which is total bull. Because you can do anything, and being positive when you don't want to be is probably one of the hardest things to do, but it's possible.

I know because I've been doing it for the past month. And sometimes I fail, but I just remember that life is always better when I'm happy.

So, I'm trying to tell PJ this, but he says that he can't be happy or positive and that he's not negative every day.

Yeah, he actually is. And it's really starting to get on my nerves. If I could move out, I would have done it a long time ago just to get away from the horrible energy he projects everyday.

Since PJ never listens to me no matter how nice I'm being or how loud I'm yelling, I've decided to try something different. Every time PJ's being really negative or being a jerk, I'm going to record it. And then I'm going to put it in my folder on my computer titled "The PJ Project" and leave it there until I have so much footage, it's ridiculous. And then I'm going to make a video out of it and show it to him.

He'll probably not even watch it. He may even break my camera while doing this. And he might never learn anything from this. But I think if he can see how negative he really is, then maybe, maybe he'll start listening to everyone who wants to see him happier.

So, he may think I'm being a jerk right now, and I would hate it if someone recorded me being negative all the time, but I think it's worth a try.

Plus, it might make me more conscious of when I'm being negative as well.

Halfway Through a New Year

It's been nearly a year and I'm back! I just need somewhere to put my thoughts because I have a lot of them and I would like to see them somewhere besides in my head.

So, here's what you can expect from me:

• Boys. Lots of boy talk. Especially about a certain boy who confuses me very much.
• Religion. I'm an LDS member and have been for my whole life. It isn't a religion for me, it's a way of life. And so I'll be talking about it from time to time.
• Writing. One of my biggest dreams is to be a best-selling author and I haven't even finished a "real novel" as my friend told me. I'll probably elaborate on that in a post.
• Gay Marriage and other liberal ideas. I'm liberal. Not extreme, but I have this belief that all men and women are equal and deserve to have the right to choose. So, I may rant a few times about these kinds of political issues, particularly gay rights because my mom is gay.
• School. I'm graduating with my Associates in Business Management and Accounting soon, but that doesn't mean I'm done with school. I'm hoping to get a Bachelor's in Psychology, so I have a lot more schooling to go.
• Family. There's lots of drama going on lately, and there will probably continue to be drama. We are family, after all; together forever.
• Friends. I have this group of friends and they're crazy and we do crazy stuff together. I didn't live until I met them.

Of course, that's not all that I'll be talking about. I'm just giving you a heads up on all the crazy, boring, and completely ridiculous things you'll be reading here. I'll probably be talking about boys and friends the most. And I'll probably change names, just for confidentiality reasons.

I hope you enjoy!