I am having some trouble with the word ‘resolution’ so I looked it up in Wikipedia which said this: Continue reading →

I’ve spoken little about this, although each of you has likely heard bits and pieces over the past five years. I guess it’s time to write it all down while it’s still fresh enough to remember details.  As if we’re ever likely to forget. Continue reading →

In the past two months, I know of 3 different girls who I graduated with, who have had babies (from accidental pregnancies), and kept them… and I’m 18.

Let me start off by saying that I applaud these girls by doing what is right for them, one of them even married the father of hers. But this is not the point.

There’s a huge stigma against teenage pregnancy, but for me, it honestly has nothing to do with the age. What I wonder about teenage pregnancy? Why does it KEEP happening? Continue reading →

I never had met a “Fox Conservative” before. I always assumed they were a liberal-concocted boogieman, a myth. Oh, sure, I’d met conservatives. They disagreed with me, but they knew why they believed what they believed. And I’ve met people… lots of people… who watch Fox News. They were, for the most part, normal in every way. But I’d never met a Fox Conservative until yesterday.

And it just happened to be my mom. Continue reading →

Have you ever lost touch with someone and then every once in a while, perhaps on a quiet evening, you wonder where they are?

In 1994 my family and I made our one and only visit ever to where I was born–a little village in the southern province of China called Guangdong.  I’ve been here since I was two so I really have no memory of where I was from, but my parents wanted to make that trek halfway around the world because my maternal grandfather was dying. 

I was at the height of my teenage angst back then, and was extremely resistant about the whole idea of going to some foreign, third world country, and upon our arrival I was in shock that people still lived in such horrid conditions. Continue reading →

Shy, reserved, coy, self-conscious, cautious…these words all lead to one adjective that matches me perfectly. I’m an introvert. And I hate every minute of it.

It’s quite odd, because my mom and my brother are both very out there – outgoing, talkative and very popular. But me? I’m a loner (well, with a few close friends), and I rarely ever talk to anyone unless spoken to. On my report card, teachers will have a commentary sounding something like this… “Requires more activeness in class discussions”. Oh, and my mom scolds at me for not being “manly” enough because I rarely talk.

It’s a really hard life.  Continue reading →

Yep, two more volumes this week!  There’s just too many secrets that were sent in.  After this week, I will bring it down to one volume per entry.  Please don’t hesitate to leave me some more anonymous secrets I can showcase for future editions down below.  For more information on how to submit a secret and how this all works, check out the previous XangaSecret entries:

What’s Your XangaSecret?
XangaSecret: Volume I and Volume II

Enjoy reading the following collection of secrets given by your fellow Xangans: Continue reading →

Bands used to have simple, properly spelled names like Rush, The Beatles, and The Who. And did the names matter all that much? No. All that mattered was that they played fantastic, rocking tunes. Now it seems in order to get noticed, you need a name that stands out somehow. As a result, we’ve ended up with horrifying names like Limp Bizkit, or blatant Simpson’s references like Fallout Boy.

Is band naming easy? I don’t think so, but some just don’t work. Many come across as fun and original, and others just seem silly and overdone. I say, let the music speak for itself, especially since names can lead to lofty expectations.

Here are a few of modern rock’s worst offenders: Continue reading →

I heard recently about an organization that takes “at risk” youth from the inner cities, those from low-income families and rundown neighborhoods in the U.S.,  to other countries, like Africa, to volunteer in the villages.

The goal is to show them what “real” poverty is like. The purpose isn’t to belittle their personal situation, but rather to show them that there are people out there who have it much worse. Most important, what volunteering also does for the inner city youth is give them a sense of worth. On a day to day basis they feel like they have nothing, but on their trip they are able to give to someone else, which definitely boosts self-esteem.

Under normal circumstances the last thing someone would think to do in order to deal with their own problems is help someone else with theirs. But there is an intrinsic value to being able to help someone else. Feeling down this holiday season? Not enough money for the gifts you want? Travel plans aren’t coming together?  Continue reading →