Trip to Lansing, MI and Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

I'm finally back from my week business trip to Michigan and Minnesota. It was a long, hard week. I was stressed to the max the whole time. All this traveling is starting to get to me, and now I have to go again in February to MA, GA, FL, MI, and MN again all within two weeks. I don't know if I'm going to be able to handle that. But I guess we'll find out in a few weeks.


One thing that helped me to relax was being 3 minutes away from the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. I'm not a real big shopper, I mean, I like to go with friends or my mom to hang out, but going by myself is not so thrilling to me (usually). But on this trip, it was like therapy. It allowed me to get away from the work situation for a few hours and actually enjoy myself on one of these trips.


Here are a few pictures of the Mall and of my hotels in MI and MN. It was snowing in both locations and it got down to -12 degrees F in Minnesota. It was freezing, but I made it out alive!



This is part of the new Nickelodeon Amusement park in the Mall.

There's a full size Best Buy in the Mall too!

This is a picture of the inside of my hotel room in the Radisson Hotel - Bloomington at the Mall of America. It had an indoor water park!!! Too bad it's only open on the weekends in January. That's why there are bunk beds in the rooms, they're all made for families. The rooms were huge and very nice.

The Lego Store in the Mall. It was huge, like the one in Downtown Disney.

And lastly, this is a view from my hotel room in Lansing, MI. It snowed every day we were there. It wasn't as cold as Minnesota, but it was beautiful! I've never really seen it snow like that. It was an experience to remember.

Thankful

I read this this morning and I think it speaks for itself. My life could be a lot worse and I am thankful for my family and friends for doing all they could to give me the world. Thank for giving me a better life.




"struggle Reviewer: Anonymous 12/6/08i am 16 years old.i was 15 when i lived with my mother.she was on every drug there was and an alcoholic.we lived in a motel with fleas there.failed school she was never home some times i had no way of finding a way to school.i would always have panic attacks and anxieties all the time in the middle of class suffered depression...still do.so we moved back to the place were we were raised so me and my mom lived there.her girlfriend would beat me i was a slave cleaning and doing everything they wanted or they WOULD beat me and lock me up in this little room.only a bed could fit in there.and finally got free.my dad rescued me but i used to live with him and my three brothers. i decided to move in with my mom bc they use to verbally abuse me causing me to try to commit suicide till finally i took a whole bottle of advil and almost went to the hospital to pump my stomach but i refused.after all of that its funny how noone notice.no one cared.never said sorry.cut myslf to day my brother saw it he just said i was stupid and looked away i caught my dad looking at it too he just looked away too.im struggling to stay alive to keep my mind straight.is there any place for me.....in this world?"

Someone's response to her/him:

"I don't know if you will ever visit this site again, so i don't know if you'll ever get to read this, but i couldn't stop myself to at least try.- Yes, there is a place for you in this world. Everyone has it's place, you can trust me on that, and you shouldn't feel unwanted or reject because the people you are with are not the most caring ones. I do not know how much my words can help your grieving heart, but i do hope they can bring you at least a bit of hope, because there are still good people in this world. There are still people who care and know how to love. Be strong and don't let anyone bring you down. Keep your mind strong and your heart opened because you are not alone. Whatever you do, stop cutting yourself. Hurting yourself is not going to solve anything and it won't ease the pain you feel deep in your heart. Keep your head up and when you feel that you can't take it anymore just try and to something else. Go outside and scream, break something, write (yes, write down your thoughts, every single one of them, your dark thoughts, your dreams, whatever is on your mind, write it down) or take a long walk and think about your life. Just don't...hurt yourself, it won't help you.I wish you all the best that this world and life has to offer, don't lose hope, believe and things will get better, you'll see."

I hope that "Struggle" gets the opportunity to read that person's response and takes it to heart. No one deserves a life like that. Especially at sixteen years old.