How My Lenten Season Is Going So Far

My Lenten season is going okay so far. I was SUPPOSED to be giving up sweets, but that kind of failed...so when I confessed that in Confession, Father suggested that I give up gossiping instead because gossiping is a problem at Peoria Notre Dame High School and I shouldn't contribute. This has been going better, but it's rather difficult to discern what is gossip and what isn't. However, I am trying very hard and putting in the effort. I am also trying to be more patient and controling my temper better so I don't lash out at unsuspecting people. This also is working out quite well and I feel much better. To add to all this, I also attempted to go to bed earlier and not stay up 'till 12 am texting...but that turned out to be more than I could handle so I just stuck with what I had before.:) Overall, Lent has been a challenge for me, but I'm determined to be better.

My Irish History

I was glad to see that the blog topic was something Irish because that's a topic that is pretty close to me. My dad was adopted from Ireland when he was two years old. My family's true last name is "Leonard". That doesn't sound very Irish, I know, but it's one of the oldest Irish family names. It means "lion-bold" which I thought was pretty neat. "Brost" is my dad's adopted last name. It's German, but I'm not German at all. I am 100% Irish and as you maybe can tell, I'm more proud of that than anything. St. Patrick's Day is my favorite holiday because I grew up as part of the Peoria Irish community and I just love the amazing people. They have such fascinating stories about their families. I've walked in the parade since I was a toddler and I always enjoyed it because all the older Irish generation would see me and call me things like "Wild Irish Rose" which made me feel special. It's a really close "family" there. I love Irish music and have many of the old traditonal songs on my ipod, but also newer music like "Flogging Molly". The food is amazing as well. My best friend, Caroline Toner, is also like 100% Irish. She's the stereotypical Irish with the red hair and the blue eyes, while I'm "dark Irish" like my dad. Carrie and I joke that we're racist against anyone who's not Irish...we're joking, of course, but we are both incredibly proud of our heritage. I met my dad's family two years ago in a little town of Tullamore in County Tipperary, I believe. It was amazing to learn about them and get to know them. My dad's real mom and dad have since died, but there was a sister still. It was all very interesting because apparently, my dad was born of a "scandal" between his dad and mom, which was the talk of the little town for years. It was like a soap opera. For this reason, the older generation of the town was resentful of us at first and standoffish. Finally, they came around when they realized that all me and my family wanted was to meet them and learn about our history, not to bring up bad memories or demand some sort of inheiritance. It was an amazing trip and I learned many things, like that one of my ancestors was the King of Connaught, a rugged and wild and to the west of Ireland. I was amazed by my family history. I am more proud of being Irish than I am of ANYTHING and I am excited for St. Patrick's Day to come.

My Role Model

There are many people I look up to, but my role model is Scarlett O' Hara. She's not a real person; she's a character in a book, but I respect her and hope I can be like her one day. Not many people like Scarlett. Many think of her as the bratty girl in the classic book, Gone With The Wind. But I think she's just misunderstood. She's actually headstrong and spirited and the reason she was so cruel is that she had a very difficult life. So many tragic things happened to her that of course she hardened. I also admire her because she reminds me a lot of myself. We're both headstrong, impetous, determined, and bad-tempered. I admire her because she never let life get her down. She fought for herself and those she loved. Also, she acted out against the ideas of the Civila War era and went to work to earn money. This was scandalous to people around her, but she ignored the criticism because she knew what had to be done. Some people said she didn't have a heart, but there were many moments when her compassion showed. She truely loved her parents, her daughter Bonnie, and even came around to liking Melanie. She was clever and practical and I hope to have her confidence and self-assurance someday. These are all reasons why Scarlett O' Hara is my role model.