My Earliest Memory

I was born in a city called Cambridge. My family and I lived on a street called Langs Drive in a row of town houses, four connected in front, four connected in the back. There was a small yard, fenced in, and our house had three bedrooms. I shared a room with my older sister for a while until my parents converted a space in the basement into a room for her. My brothers shared a room with bunk beds. We had a black cat named Shadow, but no other pets. We lived in this house until 1997, when I was 7 years old. I have a lot of memories living there, but what is the earliest thing I remember?

I am probably about four or five years old and I am holding my mothers hand as we cross the street. She looks down at me and asks me if I know who Janice's daughter is. Me, being a young a naive girl who had a girl named Janice in my class suggests that the young girl couldbe named  Janice as well. My mother laughs and says, "no, it's Linsey."That  is all I can recal.. It's a short memory, and a simple one, but it's probably the clearest thing I can rremember from my childhood. 

This moment sparks many other memories involving Linsey, who was a year younger than me but quickly became my best friend. We played together often, at her house, at my house. We went to the park. We did gymnastics in her basement. We swam in a very small inflatable pool she had in her back yard. She had an older brother named AJ. Her mom drove a city bus. We freaked out over Aqua, Sprice Girls, N'SYNC, and the Backstreet Boys. We were young girls who had fun. Until I moved.

When I was 7 we moved out of Cambridge and into the country, just outside of the town I grew up in. We actually moved into Linsey's grandfathers house, and her moms old family home. I thoght that meant we'd see each other often, but after a few months of living away from each other we began to see each other less and less.

I can rememeber calling her house one day, I was probbaly about nine or ten years old, and her mother answered. I asked to speak to Linsey, and we talked for maybe five minutes. It was an awkward conversation. Things had changed between us, we weren't as close as we once were. We weren't frioends anymore. 

It's sad, when you look back on your life and see how much things changed so quickly when you were a kid. Time always seemed to move so slowly when you're little, but it doesn't, not really. Time goes by so quickly, and in the blink of an eye you change from an innocent five year old to a moody fifteen year old teenager.

At fifteen Linsey and I saw each other again. Her family brought out an RV and decided to camp at our farm for the summer. We had fires, slept in a tent, and hung out some nights. One day she even invited me to go swimming with her and her family. But again, after that summer, we fell away from each other. We still talkoccasionally  on Social media, but we aren't anywhere near as close as we were.

Time changes people. Memories fade. Life goes on. But it's improtant to hold on to the things that meant something to you. And that moment, when I was a young girl of four or five walking across the street to go and meet my first bestfriend meant a lot to me. And still does. And I think that's why it's a memory I hold on to, and why it's the first thing I can recall from my life.

Til next time,

Nessie <3

Five Problems With Social Media

I was looking through facebook the other day and came across a writing related post called "the thirty day writing challenge" which gave a list of thirty different topics in which you write about- one a day for thirty days. I decided I would take on this challenege as I await the start of NaNoWriMo, however I must admit I probably won't be writing one a day.

The first topic to write about was entitled "Five problems with Social Media". Now I am a huge fan of Social Media- I have accounts on various sites including Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and more! I find Social Media a wonderful place to interact with people- new and old! It's a great place to meet new people and make new friends, which I have done. But yes, there are a lot of problems with it.

1. Social Media can be dangerous for people, especially the younger audience who don't know how easy it is to pretend to be someone else. There are predators and pedophiles and all sorts of disgusting people on Social Media, prowling for innocent children. Parents need to be very watchful of what their children are using Social Media for. They may see it as an invasion of privacy but really it's for their own safety.

2. Rumours are easily spread and started on Social Media. It only takes 2 seconds for someone to write a lie about someone and hit that enter button. And people will believe anything they read on the internet. This point lead into the next one as well...

3. Cyber Bullying. Social Media is absolutely the worst place for bullying these days. And unfortunately it's so eays for them. Like spreading rumours it only takes 2 seconds for someone to ridicule and tease you online. Insults are thrown around as if they're nothing and the person sending them won't think twice about the fact that they are hurting the person on the other end. And sadly they face little consequences for doing it. Social Media has made it so easy for these bullies and people suffer because of it. 

4. Poor Self Image. This may take a little explaining as poor self image has been a problem long before Social Media came along but I feel as if it's worse these days. 

Filters. Photoshop. These things are now at the hands of everyone and it's so easy to change a picture to make it look different. I find this is used more with girls as they are so dependant on how many likes they get on a picture. It's sad when you think about the fact that a youngperson  doesn't think they are beautiful because they only got two or three likes on a picture when they're friend may have got fifty. They begin to think they're ugly or worthless, when in fact that is not true. Their self esteem is ruined in the matter of two seconds and it's so hard to gain back. Social Media does this to so many people, multiple times a day. 

5. Nobody is talking to each other anymore. Social Media has made it so easy for everyone to know just exactly what is going on in your lifeand  communciation has become lax between family and friends. Nobody calls you up after work anymore and asks "how was your day?" because they can see on your facebook it was stressful, or on your instagram that you had a big meeting that went well, or on your twitter that everything was great that day. Nobody talks anymore. Phone calls and coffee meetups have been replaced with facebook status's and chats, which are in no way personal. No one wants to talk to each other anymore. It's a little depressing to think about. 

It's sad to see what Social Media has done to society. I can't deny it, I am guilty of quite a few of these things. When I was younger I used to go on various social media sites and, although I was a young girl of sixteen, I would get comments from strangers saying I was "cute" or "pretty" and asking for my information. Luckily I was informed enough not to give anything out to these people, but it's scary to think of what could have happened had I not known it wasn't safe. I've been a victim of Cyber Bullying. I've had rumours spread about me. I've had self esteem issues and thoughts that I wasn't "pretty" enough becaue my friend got more likes than me.  And I don't talk to people much. I use my  Twitter account relentlessly, I post tons of photos on Instagram. I'm always checking facebook (although I don't post too much these days). I prefer to inform people via social media because it is easier than calling fifty family members to inform them I'm pregnant. I am guilty of being a part of all these problems.... but that doesn't mean I think Social Media is all bad. There are so many positives to Social Media as well and as long as you are aware of how to use Social Media safely than there's no reason you shouldn't use it.

Inform your children, make them aware of the dangers, and monitor their uses. But don't let the fear of what can happen stop your children from exploring Social Media. Because I do believe there is a lot of good in Social media.

Til Next time,

Nessie <3