Early this morning, I was visiting Jeff to see how he was dealing with the news of Wesley's confirmed suicide. He was on the phone with his uncle, Wesley's father. Well...the information Jeff received about Wesley's motive to take his own life...is disturbing, at the most.
Apparently, Wesley had been dealing with a bully that transfered to his school last year. It seems that the bully had decided to take out his frustrations on Wesley. And from what Jeff has told me, it sounds like the bully took it too far the week before Wesley took his own life. Of all the cheerful, happy and mellow teenagers I've met, it's hard to believe that a bully would have been able to break Wesley. It isn't pleasant to know that bullying is a very big problem in schools not just in America, but worldwide.
News like this is difficult to hear news about a young student taking their own life as a result of being bullied. It's very difficult to accept the fact that bullying happens everyday aroud the world in many schools of all age levels; elementary, junior high(or middle school), high schools, and colleges. And hearing news of a young student taking their own life as a solution to get away from their bullying problem at school is...just absolutely heartbreaking. I work with many students who have learning disabilities, K-5. As a teachers aid, it absolutely hurts me to hear about bullying that goes too far.
My heart hurts a lot...I don't know how Jeff is going to cope with this knowledge about Wesley. But I know that he's having it harder than me, as he was much closer to Wesley than I was. Those two were almost like brothers. However, I still feel the pain he feels of his loss, as I not only met Wesley two years ago, but Wesley also asked me to help him with his summer reading project paper. He was such a sweet kid, and his Australian accent just added to his cuteness factor. I don't think I'll ever forget those charming blue eye's of his, his very large freckles, and his long, messy red hair. It truly is a shame and heartbreaking that he became the victim of a bully, and even more heartbreaking to know that he took his own life to escape it.
I just wish that something would be done already about bullying in schools, because there's just been so many students who have taken their own lives due to bullying in the last year. As a teachers aid, I don't think I can handle another story of a student committing suicide.
I only hope Jeff is able to overcome his depression. He obviously hasn't been this depressed since he lost his own little sister. I also hope Wesley's parents don't beat themselves up for not noticing the signs of Wesley being bullied. I hope no one here on FA will ever have to deal with news like this themselves. I hope those of you who have children of your own recognize the signs that your child is being bullied, sit down with them or your childs school administration, and have the bullying resolved. No one should have to go through a tragic event like this. No one, not even new parents.

Dani

Hey everyone. It's a really sad day today, because Jeff's relatives in Australia called today with news about the Australian authorities investigating the apparent suicide of Jeff's 16 year old cousin. It's heartbreaking to hear that the authorities were able to confirm that there was no foul play involved...Jeff's cousin, Wesley, did in fact commit suicide on April 10th. The relatives have yet to reveal any further information on what they have found in their investigation. We still don't know what would drive Wesley, a very rambunctious and lovable teenager, to take his own life all of a sudden.
But, because of this news, Jeff has just informed me that he is leaving FA, that he has quit and will not be returning to the site. Please, if anyone has the time, please post your condolences here if you'd like. I think he'd appreciate it.

Dani

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.
~ Havelock Ellis
Ah, a quote that summarizes life perfectly. There are just some things that one will forever hold onto, yet there are also those things that one must simply let go of.

A great artist is always before his time or behind it.
~ George Edward Moore

Wow, almost forgot about putting up a quote today. I had a hangover pretty much the whole day today, so it slipped my mind.
But time for a lovely art related quote!

A gift consists not in what is done or given, but in the intention of the giver or doer.
~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Well, it's Jeff's birthday today! He turned 21 today, which means he's LEGAL! Yay! So, I thought I'd find a nice little quote pertainig to birthdays for today's quote.
Happy Birthday Jeff!!! :)

Tomorrow is Jeff's birthday! I completely forgot, was so busy with work and the kids that his birthday slipped my mind! Gah! I don't even have a present yet, and don't know what I should get him! Last week when I asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he couldn't decide on anything. So I'm left wondering what I should get him.

Anyone got any suggestions for birthday presents?

"Aren't most romance heros, or heros in fiction of any kind, generally superior to real men? Same goes for heroines and real women."
~Nora Roberts


And I can vouch for the second part of the quote. ;)

"Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?"
~ Sun Tzu

Imagination. It's what keeps the world turning, and keeps us from losing our sanity.

"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."
Mahatma Gandhi





Ah, but if the ocean is dirty, then a few drops shall also become dirty.

Well, I saw The Hunger Games last week, so this has everything to do with The Hunger Games. And ever since then, I've had this scene from like an alternate universe or something playing in my head.
WARNING! SPOILERS!
A year after Katniss and Peeta win the Hunger Games, a new advanced civilization is discovered on Panem. This civilization has remained hidden from humanities eyes for centuries...until a young one stumbles out of the forest in District 12 as it's being chased by a pack of hungry wolves. (I bet you all know by now that I'm talking about sergals, lol) Katniss and Peeta are walking through the market when the witness the young sergal stumbling out of the forest, shouting for help...in English.
Reminded of her own little sister, and of Rue, Katniss acts impulsively, and saves the young female sergal from certain death. However, the young sergal is paralyzed from the waste down when one of the wolves chasing her sinks its teeth in the back of her neck.
Katniss takes care of the sergal for weeks, finding out that her name was Deesha. That's when a young adult sergal ventures out of the forest, looking for Deesha. Sheeno is Deesha's older brother.
And thus, the humans of District 12 make peace with the sergal civilization.
Months afterwards, sergals are granted the privilege to participate in the Hunger Games by the Capitol, just in time for the next Hunger Games to start. Sergals and humans alike of District 12 prepare to have their names drawn, and being the same age Katniss was when her name was picked, Sheeno's name was included as well. His name was chosen, and so was the name of Triska, a 17 year old human girl.
Skipping ahead to the actual Hunger Games of this little...story, Sheeno is disgusted by these Hunger Games after he witnessed the slaughtering that occurred outside the tubes at the start of the event. He knows that it is a tradition that the humans hold. But he has an epiphany. These Games weren't solely designed for competition and survival, rather these Games were purely for entertainment...for the rich folk. And it disgusted him that the rich folk found it amusing to watch children slaughter each other. So, along with Triska, he and Triska befriend the last survivor of District 5...a 12 year old boy(Deesha's age) named Cheje(CHEE-JEE).
Sheeno refuses to kill anyone that he comes across. He refuses to kill the top competitor next to him, Teren, a 17 year old boy from District 2. Instead, he scares Teren off. All the while, he's protecting Triska and Cheje from the other tributes, while still refusing to kill them.
As the Hunger Games near the final days, Sheeno decides to move Triska and Cheje to the Cornucopia after the announcement of much needed supplies had been placed there. This was the critical moment where Sheeno had had enough of the Hunger Games.
He stands in front of the Cornucopia, guarding the entrance to it. Teren, and the other three remaining tributes of Districts 1, 3 and 8 all attack him at once, but he blocks their thrown weapons with his large samurai-like sword. He then shouts at all of them to stop, and they do.
Then he goes and has a nice long speech, saying that the Hunger Games weren't about achieving fame and glory. Rather, they were meant for the sole purpose of entertaining the rich folk.
And the rich folk are listening to his speech.
Sheeno says how he is disgusted by the rich folk, saying how they are heartless and indecent fools. He even goes as far as saying that even though he isn't human, he has much more humanity than the rich humans do. He tells them that they all should be ashamed of calling themselves humans, calling them all monsters.
Sheeno goes on to tell Teren and the tributes that they aren't dogs, like the rich folk see them as. He tells them that they are human beings, and that human beings have the right of free will and freedom to make their own choices. Sheeno tells them that they don't have to kill each other for false fame and glory, that they don't have to participate in these Hunger Games. He tells them to live by their own rules, live their lives by making their own decisions, not by what the masterminds of the Hunger Games force them to do.
He then asks each tribute individually the question, "Are you their dog...or are you a human being?"
Slowly, each tribute says they are a human being, and convert to his side. But Teren is hesitant. So Sheeno places a hand on his human rivals shoulder and says, "We don't have to be enemies, Teren. You have the choice as a human being whether or not you'll let those monsters judge you and tell you how to live your life." That is when Teren converts.
Thus, Sheeno declares that from that day forward, him and all of the tributes present were free from the masterminds of the Hunger Games, free from the Hunger Games.
But the mastermind of the Hunger Games is enraged with the rebellion. Intent of still giving his audience the bloodshed they want to see, he sends in monsters that one of the event control workers has just finished creating, a crude replication of a sergal. Only this monster has more teeth, more power, and the ability to use weapons that it has on itself.
After battling many of the creatures the mastermind sent, Sheeno is exhausted, but is very persistent. Then the mastermind sends in another crude sergal monster, only this one was much more powerful and much more fierce than the others.
This is when Sheeno utters this statement; "You can break my bones...you can break my body, you may even take away my ability to fight...but I swear upon my very soul...I will forever protect these children, even after death!"
And that is the story behind that random quote I put up recently.
What do I mean when Sheeno says "even after death'? Well, after battling the powerful monster sergal, it slowly kills him with his own sword, which it plunged through his back while he is on the ground. But Sheeno still has enough life left in him to give another shorter, more moving speech to Teren, Triska and the other tributes. His last words are, "And remember that...you're not their dogs...you're...human...beings. And he lets out his last breath as he dies.
Teren snaps after seeing the sergal who had saved his life from the Hunger Games die in front of him. He charges forward, attacking the brute sergal with his small sword. The monster plays with him in a short dual, tiring Teren out.
But just before the monster is about to lay the final blow with its sword upon Teren, the monster is sent backwards a hundred yards into a tree.
Looking up, Teren sees that Sheeno stood over him, with his back facing towards him...with the hilt of his own long sword still protruding from his back. Teren was glad to see that Sheeno was back on his feet, but expresses his uncertainty to Sheeno...because he had just seen the sergal draw its last breath.
Sheeno, however doesn't reply. After saying Sheeno's name several times with no response, Teren gets up and steps in front of the sergal while the monster sergal is still recollecting itself from the blow Sheeno had given it.
But Teren...saw no life in Sheeno's eyes, for Sheeno's eyes had already clouded over, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth with blood steadily dripping from it. Waving his hand in front of Sheeno's eyes resulted with no reaction, not even a blink. Then Teren noticed something else; Sheeno wasn't breathing.
Sheeno was still dead...yet he was still standing...and fighting.
That's when an announcment sounded, but no announcement came. It seemed that a recording of Sheeno's words were being played(much to the confusion of everyone in the command room of the Hunger Games); "You can break my bones...you can break my body, you may even take away my ability to fight...but I swear upon my very soul...I will forever protect these children, even after death!"
Thus is the meaning of "even after death!" Sheeno upheld his promise. Even though he had already expired, he was still on his feet, protecting Triska, Cheje, Teren and the other three tributes.



Wow, where did this journal go? Lol, maybe I should have Jeff write a story for this, cause I've had this scene playing through my head for the last week now.

"You can break my bones...you can break my body, you may even take away my ability to fight...but I swear upon my very soul...I will forever protect these children, even after death!
~ Dani

"Say what you want, do as you please. But just remember, that one day when the world has gone to hell and you're the only one left, you'll regret not treating me, your friends and your family better."
~ Anonymous

Finding random quotes on the internet is actually proving to be quite interesting. There's so many good quotes out there, but since this is only a single random quote thing, I'll just post up this one I found.

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." ~Harriet Tubman

Inspiration quotes are very motivating, are they not?

Hey all! I just thought I'd post up this journal to let anyone looking for a commission know about this talented artist! http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2884853/

Also, if you advertise the ABOVE journal link, you have the chance to win a FREE COMMISSION from said artist, and post a comment in this journal with your journal: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3373004/ And more importantly to know about this opportunity is if you advertise it in other places, and do the same with posting your advertised journals in the artists journal, then your name will be entered a number of times, depending on how many times you advertise the artists commission journal! Go ahead if you're looking for some free art! If not, but still looking for a commission, then take a look at the first link if you're interested!

Dani

"There is this thing called love. Do you want to know what it is? Love is the deepest part of yourself that not even you know about. It's your true self. You may say you love someone, and people will believe you...but do you believe yourself?
Love isn't just a feeling you have towards someone. Love is the very nature of your soul connecting with someone that you can relate to. Love cannot be taken away from you, because it's part of you. Someone can take away the person you love, tell you that you'll never see them again so it's best that you move on with love, that you should forget about the one you love. But the fact of the matter is, love is undeniable. It is forever a part of you, written in your very soul the moment you connected with whom you love. You may never see your loved one again, but you will forever love them, no matter what.
Why is that? Because, it is the nature of your soul. Your loved one may pass away due to various reasons suddenly, but you will continue to love them even after death. Love is the most powerful thing a person can have. Love cannot be destroyed, and it cannot be denied. Love is...eternal." ~ Dani

Yes, that is my quote. All this writing about love, and seeing Jeff dealing with the loss of his cousin, whom he loved dearly, inspired me to write this. This is more for Jeff than it is for myself. I dunno, I might make this a daily thing for me to do while I'm bored. Either daily, or every other day.

Hey all! I just found out about this awesome raffle going on! If you win, you get to ask whatever artist you want for a commission, and the one hosting this raffle will PAY FOR THE COMMISSION! Awesome right?
Here's the journal:
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3352612/

Hey everyone. I have a bit of sad news today. Remember in my last journal I said that Jeff will be offline for longer than a week due to personal situations? Well, today he told me it's alright to tell you guys what happened. He doesn't want to keep you all in the dark.

Apparently for reason's not quite clear at this moment, one of his Australian cousin's, a cute sixteen year old boy I happened to meet two years ago while he was visiting here, committed suicide on Tuesday night. Australian investigators are suspecting foul play, that someone did it to him, but they have yet to release any details from their investigation.
But the news of his cousin's death hit Jeff really hard. It's tough seeing him all depressed. I don't think I've ever seen him this depressed before. But I know he's not taking it very well, because I'm pretty sure that the news reminds him of his little sister. I'm not at liberty to discuss the details about what happened to his little sister.
I know that Jeff and his little cousin were close. They were always hanging out together when his cousin was here, always doing guy stuff together. I know that this is going to be another tough point in his life.

It's hard hearing news like this. It's not easy to talk about news like this as well.

Hey all! Just wanted to let you all know that there's a raffle going on for a free reference sheet!
Here's the link to the raffle journal: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3358086/

Hello everyone! It's me, Dani, Jeff's girlfriend.

So, Jeff probably already told you guys that he won't be on for the next week. But due to some complicated reasons, he probably won't be able come back online long after that. I won't say why that is and what exactly happened that he will be offline for longer than a week, but I will say that it is something personal to him.

And now, this account is under MY CONTROL!!! MWUAHAHAHAHA!!!

Lol, jk. I'm a nice person once you get to know me. So, if there's anything anyone wants to know about me, who I am and what I do, just ask. I'll be glad to answer any of your questions! :)

So, my Criminal Justice professor "reminded" my class today that a project that none of us even knew about is due in two and a half weeks. She said that she announced it at the beginning of the semester...not a single one of us, not even myself and the other four wizkids who have photographic memories knew about this project...

She was really pissed off at us when we all told her that she never announced ANY project. Then she went on to claim that she's been reminding us ALL semester long about it. Yet none of us remember her EVER mentioning ANYTHING about a project. That really ticked her off. I don't know what her problem is, but if the ENTIRE fuckin' class you are teaching tells you that you NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT A FUCKING PROJECT, then that most likely means YOU NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT A FUCKING PROJECT...

So, now I've gotta do all this research about some random topic that interests me in the field of criminal justice, and write a 5 page paper about it. I don't understand how writing a PAPER about a topic makes it a project, but okay. I'll just go with it and do this shit. If she wants to get mad at the entire class for no reason, that's fine by me. Actually, kind of a plus that she announced this "project" she's been talking about "all semester long" today, cause that's basically kind of a free and easy exam grade for me. Another A for my grade.

So, just to let you guys know that I won't be on for a week. My gf Dani will be taking over the account for the whole while I'm gone. So, remember that it ain't gonna be me talkin' to you for the next week, but that it'll be Dani. Starting Friday, it won't be me faving and commenting. Later guys! ^^

If anyone wants a shot at getting free art, then go check this out and read the rules! There's lots of opportunities!

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3337078/

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3329831/
Go check it out if you're interested!

So, my boss has reduced the amount of hours I have to work in order to make up for the almost half a year I was absent from work. I guess he saw how beat I was today...I could not function properly at all today. Pulled an all nighter last night to study for a stupid exam I thought I was going to flunk...and today it turned out to be an absolute joke of an exam. Absolutely nothing I studied for was on the exam. And to make it even funnier, there was only one question on the exam.
I. Nearly. Flipped. Shit. As soon as I was done with that exam(which the answer for was nearly three paragraphs long), I walked out, don't even remember driving to my apartment, went to my room, and didn't even make it to the bed before I passed out. Woke up with my forehead leaning against one of the bedposts.
But now, at least I FEEL ALIVE!!! And so happy that I don't have to stay up til 4 in the morning doing classwork and homework anymore. Hopefully, my mood with get better than it has been for the passed month. Oh yeah, I don't know if I've said this already, but my perfect memory, aint so perfect anymore. I think as a side effect of still getting used to having only one kidney, I've become rather forgetful. Though, that should go away once I'm used to the one kidney thing.
As for my gf, her life has returned to normal. Still missing those memories from a month before the accident though. Those will never come back, and the docs are sure about that. And I think the more important thing is that since we both got out of the hospital, our relationship has become stronger. I don't think we've ever been this close to one another since we first started dating.
But other than that, life is good. Life is good.