The Christianville Spirit: My Brother is Awesome

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Inspires You

October 27, 2010- TCS # 222

So, Yesterday was My Brother Michael’s Birthday, He turned 22 Years Old. So, as a treat to him, what’s a better birthday present than to Write about him in My Newsletter. Michael Centeno was born on October 26, 1988 in San Antonio, TX at the same hospital as I was. Michael has always been a great brother to Me; although when we were younger, he didn’t like it when I touched him in any way or If I hurt him he would start hitting me until I cried but, you know that’s typical brotherly behavior at that age. Now, please know that He didn’t hit me very hard, it was just enough to get me upset. When We lived in San Antonio, there was a park that we used to go and play at. My Brother would always give me a boost up to get on the slide or the merry-go-round. He put would get behind me and push me up from My Bottom. When we lived with Mr. Jeff, Us and The Barsis‘ would jump on the trampoline and all of them including Michael wanted me to do what we called “Butt Busters”. When I did “Butt Busters” it bounced everyone high in the air. You See, how “Butt Busters” worked was that all of us would jump on the trampoline and I would land on my butt with perfect timing then, everyone would fly in the air and everyone stayed on the trampoline. My Brother would always say “Thank You Christian” and he would always including when other kids came to play and that continued all the way through High School and even today. Also, around the time he was in Middle School, he became more interested in Art and then, he started doing his own drawings that are very unique. At Rice Middle School, they even asked him to help design and paint the school mural, since when we went there, it was a New School. Today, he still does drawings of different things, his art work is awesome! Michael says that in the future, He wants to have his own TV Show based on his animations. His TV Show will be similar to Family Guy and The Simpsons. I want him to know that I’m very proud to call him My Brother and I can’t wait to see his show, which I know He’ll be very successful. All in all, I have an awesome brother and If there was a sticker that said “My Brother is BETTER than Yours!”, I would get it. Until then, I’ll just keep hugging and loving him.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Cherish The Brothers or Sisters that You have.

The Christianville Spirit: AWOL On The Appalachian Trail

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Inspires You

October 20, 2010- TCS # 221

So, A couple days ago, I finished reading something that I’ve been reading for while. You see, When I went to Atlanta for what I’m going to call “My PTLS Gathering and Birthday Week” this past summer, My Mom, My Grandma Honey, My Cousin Gram, and I went up to a place in the North Georgia Mountains called Amicalola Falls State Park, While there I saw the southern end of The Appalachian Trail. Anyway, Just before I got a souvenir Map of The Trail, the guide that I was talking to turned me around and showed me a shelf of books written about The Trail and showed me a couple really cool pictures, from the book that I just got done reading, and told me about some of the things that were in it. So, after some consideration, I decided to get it to read when I got home. This Book that I got is called AWOL On The Appalachian Trail by David Miller; Anyway, This book was a really good book and I learned about what it was like walking 2,000+ Miles on The Appalachian Trail. He taught me about where hikers sleep, What they’re thinking, The Weather on The Trail, and Trail Lingo. Like for Example, a Northbound Hiker is called NoBo(meaning Northbound) and GAME(for Georgia to Maine) and A Southbound Hiker is called SoBo(meaning Southbound) and MEGA(for Maine to Georgia). Now, the GAME and MEGA, I already knew but, here are some that I didn’t know; “AYCE” , Hikers say is their favorite saying because it means an All You Can Eat meal which is wonderful when you go several days with small meals like Trail Mix or freeze-dried food. Also, I learned about the types of “Thru-Hikers” and methods of Hiking. There are 2 types of hikers, a Thru-Hiker who hikes the entire trail in one year and a Section Hiker who hikes the trail in sections. There are types of Hikers in the way they hike, There are “White Blazers” named from the White Blazes on the main trail. Then, there are “Blue Blazers” who take the Side Trails ( The Side Trails have Blue Blazes) to either get around a Mountain or cut the mileage down. Next, there are “Aqua Blazers” who take Rivers or Creeks to points on The Trail. And, finally there are “Yellow Blazer” named from the double yellow lines of The Road. Now, there are different methods of hiking, You can just walk with a 50 pound pack on your back or You can do something where you don’t carry anything and have a team meet you at a road crossing at the end of the day. Then, they take you to a hotel. But, I don’t think that sounds Natural as easy as it may be. My Favorite Part of this book is reading about how pretty the scenery in the mountains are and passing all the milestones that come with a hike that is 2,000 Miles long, go’s through 14 States, and takes an average of 6 Months to Hike. Now, It is really peaceful and wonderful to walk in the woods that long but, it can also be dangerous because of the weather sometimes and The Animals that roam around like Bears, Snakes, Mice, and Moose (in Maine and Northern New England).Now, I have to warn you that this book has alot of Big Words in it and it took me a while to read the word and figure out what it means. All in all, AWOL On The Appalachian Trail was a really good book to read and I highly recommend it if you are a Nature-Lover or someone who is ready for Adventure.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Cherish Nature and Everything in it.

The Christianville Spirit: Love is Louder

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Inspires You

October 13, 2010- TCS # 220

As You all know, Lately on The News, they’ve been talking about many things like The Trapped Chilean Miners and Election Stuff. But, there is one thing in The News that is happening that someone is trying prevent from happening again. You See, Lately there has an increase in suicides because of bullying and other people tormenting others. So, when I heard what was being done about it, I had to write about and cheer. You See, I was watching CNN and they were talking about all of it and then, they introduced the person who’s doing something. This Person is Actress, Brittany Snow from Gossip Girl, she said that when she heard about the increase in suicides and bulling that she should create a movement defending those affected or those who just want positivity in the world. This is called “Love is Louder”, “Love is Louder” proves to everyone that Love is Louder than ANYTHING! She says it can be applied to anything whether you were bullied or not. I will give a couple of examples, LOVE IS LOUDER Than...

• Hate
• Bullying
• Depression
• Misunderstanding
• Anger
• Fear
• and above all, Anything Negative

So, as you can see Love is Louder than anything. As for Me, I applaud Brittany for making this movement to Stop and Stand Up to anything Negative. Because any of those things, we can all relate to and I mean, when I was in 5th Grade, I was bullied so, I know how it feels. I also understand being misunderstood because I have Special Needs. All in all, We should all stand up and join Brittany’s Movement.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Scream Out Love because LOVE IS LOUDER!

The Christianville Spirit: The Travel Warning in Europe

The Christianville Spirit

The Spirit that Inspires You

October 6, 2010-TCS #219

So, The other day I was Watching TV when My Mom came home and told me something that really shocked me, There was a Travel Warning issued for all of Europe because of possible Terrorist Attacks. After I watched the News to confirm it, I was disappointed. The reason I was disappointed was that Europe to me is one of the most fascinating and one of the safest parts of the world. Not only that but, I can’t think of why the terrorists would want to attack Europe and Europe isn’t necessarily in the “Western World”. You See, Lately I have gotten interested in reading about individual nations through The State Department’s section on Travel. Every Year or so, The US State Department updates the information about different countries. You can learn a lot of interesting things about each country, like Their Laws, Crime Issues, What Americans should do if their a Victim of one, Where the US Embassy and Consulates are, Road Conditions, and of course the typical things Americans should or shouldn’t do when in another country like dress like the locals, don’t look like a tourist, act like you know where your going even if you don’t, and let The State Department know where your going so, they can inform you of any warnings or issues in that country, which is optional. Now, if you were to ask me about any of those things, I would recommend all of them and The Most Important Thing, Know where the US Embassy/Consulate is in that country just in case you into Trouble. Now, I know a lot of you wondering about the difference between a Travel Warning and a Travel Alert. A Travel Alert is a temporary precaution of that country due to Natural Disasters, Terrorists, Political Issues, other issues. And, Travel Warning means to totally avoid that country. In the case of Europe, it’s only a Travel Alert even though the media say, “Travel Warning”. The point is it disappoints me that The Terrorists have to threaten the people of such a Great Region. All in all, You can learn interesting things about The World from The State Department and I hope that The Terrorist will stop threatening everyone.

Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Cherish The Great Places of The World and The People that Live There.