Verbiage

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.

Watch your words, for they become actions.

Watch your actions, for they become habits.

Watch your habits, for they become character.

Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

Over the last couple of days I have been paying special attention the the words I use and the way I use them. I am a person who doesn't use a very "formal" type of language I speak some slang and some words that only my friends understand. My informal language also spills over in my writing. No, I don't use slang and other can understand my writing besides my friends but I write just like I talk. I have never really understood when people write so formally. We write to express our thoughts on a matter or a subject so shouldn't we use our normal language to express our thoughts? I have had some teachers who love the way I write and other totally hate it but for me it works.

One thing that I have thought about while I was examining my words is that I really want to put my thoughts and opinions into action. It is one thing to say something but until you put those saying into actions they are nothing but letters and phrases. One of my goals is to help people in anyway I possibly can. The other day a friend of mine asked me if she could vent to me. It took me off guard, not that she wanted to vent but that she wanted to do it with me. We aren't like best friends, we sit together in one of our classes but other than that we are complete strangers. It made me feel good that she knew she could talk to me and I would listen and help as best as I could. That lets me know that the words I say and the actions that go along with them are working for good.

Paths

"As human beings, we must realize that we all share the same basic desires for happiness and meaning in our lives. No one should suffer discrimination because we choose different paths to achieve these common goals." ~Mariam Rahmani

We all take different roads that make us happy and no road is shared completely. People might walk beside you for a little while but eventually there will be a fork in the path and the two might leave one another. I believe that people should be allowed to make their own choices and they shouldn't be discriminated because of those choices. I also think that it is really ignorant to discriminate people who have no choice over the matter they are being discriminated on but that is another story. No two people are alike. We look different, we sound different and we even think differently. I believe that those differences should not be discriminated on but the polar opposite, we should want to learn from others and praise them for being who they are or who they choose to be.

My Faith

We live by faith, not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7

For English we have to define our religion or spirituality. I have kind of answered this question before but I'm going to go in more detail now. I grew up in a very religious home, I was at Church everyday that the doors were open. The foundation that I formed as a child still goes with me today but now somethings about me have changed. My Faith is one of the biggest things that has changed in my life. My religion was one thing that kept me in the closet, actually, it was the only thing that kept me in the closet. I had always been told that homosexuals were condemned to hell and I believed that growing up. I had always gone by what I was told but know I go by what I believe. I have Faith in my God when it comes to my sexual orientation. I know that he created me the way that I am to make a difference in someone else's life. I am still trying to figure some things out but the one thing I know without a shadow of a doubt. I am a follower of Christ and I know that I will walk with Him in Heaven. I am gay Christan and proud of both aspects of my life, my sexual orientation and my religion.

Fire Princess

"Once a Fire Princess always a Fire Princess"

~Trent Crumpler

Yesterday I went to support my best friend since fifth grade, April (she is the one holding the flowers in the picture), at the Wayne County Fire Princess Pageant. You are probably asking yourself "What in the heck is a Fire Princess?" Each year the Wayne County Fireman's Association sponsors an Annual Wayne County Fire Princess Pageant which is used to teach fire safety and prevention. Every Fire Department in the county nominates one girl to represent them (it's a small county thing). April was in the pageant last year and she won so this year she had to give up her title. I wasn't able to go last year but she really wanted me go this year so being a good friend I went and also took Blake. It was more or less interesting. Blake enjoyed it but that's because he knew some of the girls competing this year since he went to school with them last year. I on the other hand was only there for April and she did things in the pageant but she wasn't the spotlight so it wasn't as enjoyable has I had hoped. I had fun with Blake and April's did awesome but I didn't really care for the others. I did happen to learn some things though. Did you know the cobwebs can start a fire? If there are cobwebs around a light fixture they can catch on fire by the heat. I though that was very interesting and thought it would be important to inform others.

Trent = Slacker

"Never put off til tomorrow what can be put off til the day after tomorrow"

~Rob Sweatman

So the past few days I have gone to blog and then I just haven't. I would log into blogger and even hit "New Post" and then I would just close back out, I just haven't been motivated to do anything the last couple of days. Anyhow... Today was a great day so far. My English class was canceled which made me extremely happy. Not that I don't enjoy my English class, it is like my favorite class this year, but I had the chance to sleep in today and that was amazing! I slept until 10 and didn't get out of bed until 11, I was in desperate need of that. Yesterday I had to wake up at 7 so I could go student intern in my First Grade class and I didn't stop until 12 last night. It was just a long day but it was a good day all the same. The next couple of weeks are going to be busy. I have two tests next week and then another test the week after. I should really start studying but as the title says, I'm a slacker and I most likely won't study anytime soon. I should really work on this whole "slacker thing" but when you have been doing something for almost five years, it's kinda hard to change your ways.

Emotional Break

Opposition is not necessarily enmity; it is merely misused and made an occasion for enmity.
~Sigmund Freud

So for the past few days we were off from school for Fall Break. I really wasn't looking forward to going home for the fact that my mother isn't very understanding about my sexual orientation. One way that I escape my house and my mother is by going to work so I had already been put on the schedule for the few days that I would be there. Going home also meant another thing this particular week, it was as the first time that Blake and I were away from each other for an extended amount of time. If you don't remember Blake and I are from the same town and we also go to Wilmington together. Even though we do live in the same town there is one thing in the way of us spending time together and her name is Mawan. I don't know what it is about all of these crazy mothers. I had always heard that the father was always the one who always against their son being gay but apparently there is something in the water in Goldsboro because it is the complete opposite in our case. Anyhow... to make a long story short, I did what I do best and got all emotional. I just hit me that I would probably never be able to be a part of Blake's family. Never be invited to Thanksgiving Dinner or Christmas Day and that in my mind was hard to chew. I had told a few of my friends and they understood what I was saying but I didn't tell Blake right away, I didn't want to do all of this on the phone. We had a date planned for Monday night so that was when I was going to spill my guts to him. We went to a movie and then took Starbucks to the park. I told him everything that was on my mind and he was so amazing. I have basically found out that I want to marry this boy. He comforted me and also cleared my mind which is a really hard thing to do sometimes. He told me that it didn't matter what his mother or anyone else thought and as long as we had each other we would be fine. He did say that this year probably wouldn't be the best for me to show up for the holidays, but we shall see what happens. Here is my final thought, being gay brings a ton of baggage. If it is family members that are against you or a random woman who calls your manager to complain that one of her workers was kissing his boyfriend in the store (yes, that also happened to me this past weekend but that is another story), there will always be opposition. I know we all go through opposition and as long as we have someone to love and help us in those hard times, we will all be okay.

I love you Blake and thank you for being there when I really need you. I can't wait for the times to come and I know that I can overcome anything as long as we have each other.

Lets Fix the Problem.... not really

Chancellors Walk

Before and After

One of the problems at UNCW is our main sidewalk, Chancellors Walk, that extends through most of campus. Over the years we have had tons of drainage problems when it rained, and in Wilmington, it rains a lot. We also had tons of congestion when it came to bikes and skater boards being mixed in with people walking. As you can see in the first picture there was grass that ran in between the two sidewalks, which in my opinion looked way better than the bricks they have laid there now. The bricks were supposed to add an extra "lane" for people to walk or ride and in theory that sounds like a good idea however, people still don't use the inner lane. We all still use the same two sidewalks and the bricks stay untouched. Why do you ask? The brickwork sucks! Instead of laying down a sturdy foundation to put the bricks on they used sand, which apparently is a cheap way to go about it. The bricks now, because of erosion, aren't even and bikers and skateboards risk their lives if the tread on them. So the congestion problem, not fixed. In regards to the drainage problem, before there would only be spots where water would stand, now water stand everywhere! Before we at least grass that would suck of the water now we have to wait for the water cycle to kick in. To be truthful I don't really see the drainage problem ever really getting "fixed." Wilmington is a flat plane, not many hills for the water to run down. We are just going to find the solutions that minimizes the standing water and there new solution just isn't cutting it.

These two problems aren't the only things that need to be fixed with Chancellors Walk. I'm not even going to start about the lack of shade or that there aren't many places for people to stop and sit, which would be nice so that people who like to stop and talk could sit down on the side and not stop dead in the middle causing more congestion then the bikes and skateboards. We really need to re-do what has already been done and also do a great deal more after that. Then, and only then, will Chancellors Walk be considered a nice stroll to class not a death waiting to happen.