Interesting Monday

I only got two hours of sleep last night so I'm very tired.

I had a full day today. I went to bed after three in the morning because Doran and I stayed up talking. I woke up around six thirty to take a shower, got my stuff and headed out. Because the truck still isn't fixed, my mom had to drive me to school and my dad to work.

School was kind of boring, but surprisingly I didn't fall asleep during class. Although, we did talk about a lot of interesting stuff surrounding family. I can't remember any details though, which kind of sucks. I think my memory cells failed me today.

At lunch I had dance in the gym, but we just marked our positions on the floor rather than actually dancing. I was glad for that since I was wearing boots. When I was back in the AP room with everyone else I started talking to Adam and Jon about some issues they were concerned about dealing with the school. One of the issues bothering Adam was the school dress code. He spoke of how cheerleaders, on game day, often wear their uniforms too short -- their skirts are several inches shorter than what the dress code calls for. I have to agree with this, because I've seen those cheerleaders and their skirts are so short that I can pratically see their hind end -- something I really wish was more concealed.

However, Jon pointed out that that issue was too small scale for it to be of any real importance to school authorities. So Adam instead proposed moving onto the next topic of discussion: school dances. He and Jon got very fired up about this, denouncing the school board for limiting school dances from around eight to only three. They want to start a protest in the school, first appealing to the masses for support and then heading over to the school board.

I would join them, but my cynicism of authority keeps me from doing so. I often assume that no matter what we try to do, those "higher ups" will always push us down and exercise their authority over us simply because they can. So I just stay out of it and go with the flow. Besides, I'm going to be leaving the school anyway, and if the newcomers want to deal with the issues we left them with then they can go right ahead and do just that.

Anyways, I'd have to say the most interesting part of my day was biology. After we graded our homework and took a few notes we watched a video about how DNA is being used to give African Americans an idea of their genealogy and where they came from. It's so amazing to think that we've come so far in science that we can now take a DNA sample and trace those genes centuries into the past. Some of the African Americans participating in this study (and in the movie) were Tina Turner, Chris Rock, Morgan Freeman, and Maya Angelou.

I sat at my desk, transfixed at what I was watching. To be honest I was shocked to find that most of the African Americans who did the DNA test had at least 1/3 European ancestry. Their reactions were most interesting, because it all came as a shock to them to know that they had so much white in them. Maya Angelou had by far been the most perceptive of her past. When the DNA test showed she was a Zole, she calmly stated that she had known this, and proceeded into a story of a trip to Africa she once took. The others, I believe, were simply glad to finally have a claim of African descent, to be able to say that they had an ancestor that truly did come from a tribe in Africa. I teared up at some parts, because I felt that this newfound knowledge was ruining so many things the testers believed in. Especially when they tested them for traces of Native American for the testers. A lot of those results turned out bad -- many of those who had believed they had Native American blood in them found out that they had zero percent. I was upset at the thought that the scientists who had done the DNA tests just ripped up the bulwark of beliefs in these people.

And then I thought, "What if I found out I actually wasn't Hawaiian? What if no one in my family is Hawaiian?" I couldn't help but let the thoughts ravage through my head. What if I actually had been lied to all my life? I know that I'm Hawaiian through my grandmother on my mom's side, but how far does that trace go back? Am I really related to King Kamehameha's eighth wife like my grandmother claims? All of these thoughts made me want to get myself tested, to find out my own genealogy.

To think that I actually can though, is quite frightening.

Anyways, after biology school was over and I immediately headed toward the front where I knew my mother was waiting in her van. She was eating a hamburger from McDonald's when I got inside the car and the smell of food made me realize just how hungry I was. She drove me t Carl's Jr. to get a guacamole burger. Our conversation on the way there provided some closure to some issues I was having that I hadn't quite gotten over.

It started off with my mother showing me her new boots (Uggs, in case you want to know) and she told me that I should get a new pair that are flat so I can wear them in New York. From there the conversation turned to what happened on Friday with our little shopping spree with Danielle and Alexa. I told my mom exactly what had been bothering me and why, by the end of it, I refused to shop any longer. I also told her that I would be willing to go shopping again if it didn't turn into an issue on my appearance.

I'm really glad I got that stuff into the open with her, because now I feel a whole lot better.

After we got my food she dropped me off at home and after I ate I went upstairs to get on the computer. Then I took a nap around five, hoping to get up at five thirty but sleeping until six thirty instead, then took another short nap before heading off to dance. Practice didn't last as long as it normally does because Sami hasn't completely finished the new routine so we could only learn a little of it, and we didn't really need to practice our current performance because we all knew it. Oh, which reminds me, I have to wear my uniform tomorrow.

When dance was over I came home, finished homework, and am now just relaxing before I fall asleep. I've got a big day tomorrow though, so I should go. Toodles.