Boing, boing, boing…so there’s this bubble. Yea its round, yea it’s moist, and it glistens (kind of like a big version of Glenda-the-Good-Witch’s in The Wizard of Oz.) The top spreads in a charming blue color and puffs of cotton-candy-like clouds drift by. The bottom portion remains a deep green, with crisp leaves of golden orange that salsa along the sidewalk with every swift breeze. I’m familiar with this bubble because I live in it everyday. The bubble seems like utopia, huh? Hell no. Everyday hassles occur such as stress with homework, hairdos, and making sure I don’t miss the “O.C.” I have to get to the crew bus on time, make sure my earrings coordinate with my shoes and, of course, Ican’t forget to sign in. I have hard decisions to make such as: vanilla or chocolate frozen yogurt with lunch (luckily they have twist or else I’d be holding up the line with my pro and con list-making.) Do I do my laundry now or wait until tonight? And of course, who should I sit next to in biology (cutie with the accent or smarty-pants with the dimples?) Life in the bubble is tough. An amazing occurrence happened just last night. I forgot to put the shower curtain inside the shower while I shampooed my hair and belted out “You Are The Wind Beneath My Wings.” When I turned off the shower and stepped onto the tile floor, my feet sank ankle deep in the soapy residue that seeped out. I screamed and whimpered because my towel and bedclothes were drenched. I stomped out of the bathroom sulking at the fact that I wouldn’t be able to sport my Polo PJs to bed. To get over the tragedy, I turned on the radio, searching for salvation in a Clay Aiken ballad. While fiddling for the station, I stopped to wipe a tear from my cheek and heard a reporter describing the scene in Haiti, where floods from Hurricane Jeanne killed at least 1,100 people and left many more homeless. Something comparable to Amy Prosper’s curveball hit my heart. I kept listening to find out that blah blah will add more international news. I turned on the television for the 9:00 news to uncover a little more about other parts of the world… my hair, although recently blow-dried, felt damp. I found a newspaper and read up on the international news…drops of wetness trickled onto my shoulders. I then went online and researched different countries and their situations…I read on and on, burying myself in international happenings until POP! I was soaked. It wasn’t the shower curtain this time…it’s just that the bubble had burst. This story did not truly occur but it is much more interesting than how my bubble world really popped. My first Phillipian assignment was to discuss international news. I fumbled through last Sunday’s Globe and quickly checked the New York Times online. I hadn’t a clue where to start. This simple request, write an article about something going on outside of the US, baffled me. While I sat at my laptop stressing out, I figured I’d use this opportunity to reach out to anyone else currently residing in bubble land. Look beyond the cozy sphere…pop your bubble.
