This Sad Home

Our world is a very sad place.

Usually, I am an optimistic person. I underestimated the cruelness, the violence, the crime, the hate - everything unpleasant going on around me. Perhaps it was because I live in a community where everything still seems pure, completely untouched by the bad things, happening on the outside, to everyone else. I thought that this was a safe haven, a sanctuary. Maybe it is for now. But how long do I have before that changes?

Only twelve years ago, Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo lived a happy life in St. Catherines, Ontario, about an hour from my house and twenty minutes from my cottage. I've been there. I thought of it as a peaceful place, quaint and sweet. It was like a small community from a movie where everybody knew each other. Karla's 15-year-old sister Tammy idolized her older sister and never would have suspected her deep psychotic desires until December 23rd, 1990. Paul and Karla brutally drugged, raped, tortured and eventually killed the innocent young girl. This behavior continued when the couple went uncaught in the murder, ultimately claiming the lives of three young girls, all of them only a year older than me and completely innocent.

This is a sad story to tell, but a very relevant and significant one. In seemingly happy, average communities all over the country, North America, and the world, this happens daily. How can I tell if someone close to me is actually not who they seem? How can you know who to trust? I have never questioned my judgement on the people around me, but researching this story and thinking about it has really put my guard up and my opinion of the world around me down. Of course, I still appreciate the happy moments in my life and enjoy them thoroughly... Maybe even appreciate them a whole lot more. I'm just so happy to be alive. I could've been one of those poor, slaughtered girls, we're really no different. And maybe one day it will be me, or someone I know. The chances of these incidents increase as our society spirals faster and faster into this corrupt hole of sorriness and sadness, and soon I won't be able to live on this world. Soon, it will be unbearable, until we'd sooner abandon our world than call it home.

The Fame.

"Andie, Andie Hunt! Over here!"... "Smile for the camera!"... "Who are you wearing tonight?"... "Can I have your autograph?" I turn and look at the girl, and smile. Taking out my sparkly, pink Gel Pen, I lean over to sign her notebook.
"I want to be just like you when I grow up," the girl says, giggling with excitement. She is only about seven years old- about the age when I realized that this was my destiny.
'You are a star on the rise,' I write. 'I'll see you in Hollywood soon!" Again, I smile at the girl, and she grins back at me so wide that her mouth will probably hurt for a few hours. Then, I wake up.

I have big dreams for my future, and I have these dreams an awful lot. I know there are so many people out there with the same ideas. There are girls my age who are similar to me, but have come farther, like being on popular TV shows and working with the 'Teen Dream' of the moment. I wonder why those people - and the others, who haven't been quite as fortunate - chose the life that they did. Did they do it for the money, the fame, the designer sunglasses?

There are a lot of reasons why I aspire this life, and they do not include those I have already listed. There is a little girl, named Rachel, that I babysit from time to time who lives just down the street. Rachel smiles and hugs me every day that I see her. Rachel has my picture, clipped out of a Sears ad, up on her wall - right beside my own idols, Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez. Rachel looks up to me as a role model. I wish I could be a role model to other kids too, in the same way. And wouldn't I be, if I was well-known, like Taylor or Selena? Imagine for example, being on stage, and drinking in the screams and shouts of "WE LOVE YOU!", feeling on top of the world for that moment. I could be just like them, connecting with my fans through Twitter and making them super happy just because I replied to their comment. I would give back to my fans and use my seat of power to set an example, maybe give more money to that earthquake in Haiti. If I did that and told my young fans to, they could follow my lead. Being famous isn't just about the money or having people know your name.

andie, xoxo.

Double Sour Skittles.

The little things in life are often overlooked these days. It's hard not to sometimes. When you're in a hurry, there's no time to stop to pet the cute little doggie in the park or pick a little flower for your mom. It doesn't seem like it would make a big difference in life, but really, I know, it's the little things that keep me happy. One little thing is small; a thousand little things are big together.

My favourite, amazing little sensation that nobody usually thinks about? Double Sour Skittles. People find it funny that I would rather feel the perfect combination of sweet and sour when I toss that teensy pink skittle in my mouth than, I don't know, go to a concert or something. But I honestly would. That deliciously electrifying zing as it touches your tongue, and the fruity after-taste. It makes me smile just thinking about it, it's funny because noone takes this seriously.

Double Sour Skittles really are my passion. If you wanna make me smile? Surprise me with a bag of skittles. It'll make me happy and bubbly on any day! If everyone just found some little thing that made them happy the way skittles did for me, the world would be a better place. Because everyone would always be smiling. They just need to slow down to experience them first. Hey everyone, little things can be a big deal! :)

andie, xoxo.