This is the actual list of ways my life has been ruined by turtles of the sea.
This incident was my first encounter with the fact that animals eat other animals. I should also mention that this was the first time I was exposed to the fact that animals even die at all. As I said before, it scarred me for life. I can't see anything related to turtles without thinking of that moment and I get a little emotionally distressed for a second. It's like I have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or something over it. I can't and will not watch documentaries about animals because I don't want to see anything having to do with animals and their food chains or any of that. I don't want to see ANY animal getting mauled by another animal, for the sake of the prey OR the turtles. That's right, even if it's another animal getting violently torn apart, I still flashback to the turtles for a moment.
This fear of watching the animal documentaries even led to me taking the "F" on assignments in school when I refused to watch them in Biology or Ecology. My teachers just didn't understand.
My whole family knows this story and sometimes I find myself as the subject of mockery about it. Seriously. They say it's all in good fun or whatever, but it's definitely not fun for me.
While watching Finding Nemo, when it gets to where Crush says "The little dudes are just eggs, you lay em on the beach and they hatch, and then coo-coo-cachoo, they find their way back to the big ol' blue." In the back of my mind, I'm all like "Not all of them!" *sobbing*
The next thing involving this subject is that recently I bought a pair of sea turtle earrings, ultimately because they were cute. However, I was slightly hesitant at first, because yes, I thought of the incident and it was upsetting. Once I convinced myself I wanted them, they were the best earrings ever and I loved them. When my mom saw them, she was like:
Mom: You're gonna get the sea turtles? Doesn't that make you think of...
(Already knowing what she was thinking because I was obviously thinking the same thing)
Me: *trying to sound like maybe I was moving on from that or something* Yes, I'm trying to be like Batman.
Mom: ...What?
Me: Batman chose bats to represent him because he fears them, yet he doesn't want that fear to define him. I don't want the sea turtle incident to define me for forever. I'm embracing it. I'm cool like Batman.
My mom just let me be. She didn't know how to respond to that, so she was just shrugging it off as "Whatever floats your boat, kid."
I buy the earrings, put them in and wear them all the time, they're my new favorites. Now, I'm bad about never taking my jewelry off, so I sleep with it, wash my hands with it, shower with it, whatever. One day, about 2 weeks later, I'm in the shower and while washing my hair, one of them came out of my ear. I heard it on the floor of the tub, and before I could clear my face of shampoo, open my eyes, and retrieve it, it washed down the drain. I was really upset about it, but there was nothing I could do to fix it. When I came downstairs, I told my mom about it and she just laughed and was like "Oh no", my sister overheard and she was like "Well, let's hope that that one makes it to the ocean and nothing eats it like all the other ones." Jerks.
And that is why sea turtles will never simply be awesome creatures that live in the sea to me.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
How Sea Turtles Have Ruined My Life (Part 1)
*Part 1 is back story, Part 2 is the list of ways in which my life has been ruined.*
I am an animal lover. I love them all, even the scary and/or weird looking ones. Because of this part that makes up my being, I used to watch shows about animals as a kid. Not now, hence this story.
As I was saying, I used to watch animal shows as a kid. You know, like the nature/animal documentaries and stuff. "Zaboomafoo" was my favorite, but there was one I used to watch before that. It was called "Kratt's Creatures". This was when I was a toddler, I don't know exactly what age, but definitely not old enough to be in school yet, but just old enough to have things scar me for life apparently.
So, one day I'm sitting in the living room watching "Kratt's Creatures", enjoying it as usual, with today's featured animal being sea turtles. Everything was fine, the Kratt brothers are informing me via voiceover of how sea turtles go up on the beach and lay their eggs in the sand, bury them, and return the ocean while the baby turtles develop in the eggs, all that good stuff. (Mind you, there is footage of this whole process being shown, obviously, and I'm just sitting there all fascinated or whatever, and I can't wait to see the cute little baby turtles.)
The next scene is of the baby turtles hatching and crawling out of the sand nest thingy, and they're just the cutest little things I have ever seen in my entire life at that point and I'm just gushing at the sight of them on my screen. Meanwhile, the voiceover is talking about how the hatchlings have to make it across the beach to the ocean where they can rejoin the other sea turtles, and it's all happy, happy, joy, joy for them, right? I mean, there's even some large birds coming to watch the journey! Nature being supportive of other nature! (At least, that's what my young mind must have been assuming because I kept watching and that's where things started to go wrong.)
Maybe the next bit is way more messed up in my mind than it actually was, but I don't know for sure. I just know this is how I remember my first ever traumatic event. All I remember is that the hundreds of baby turtles were still trying to get to the ocean, and I remember seeing these birds hanging around watching. At first. Next thing I know, the birds are flying around, scooping up mouthfuls of these baby turtles and CHOMPING THEM UP. Seriously, they're eating them so violently that you can see them being chewed to pieces, with scraps falling on to the ground in an awful, bloody massacre. Meanwhile, that draws the attention of these saltwater crocodiles, who begin to follow suit, only because they were bigger, they could scoop up more of them at one time! Meanwhile to THAT, nature decides to cheat the survivors by letting the waves from the tide spit the ones that did make it to the ocean back onto the beach.
All I could do was sit there in stunned silence. My little 4 year old brain was still absorbing the gruesome scene, trying to decipher if what I was seeing was real. When it sank in and I understood that the BABIES ARE DYING, I sank into a state of heavy sobbing and crying. My mom rushed in to investigate, and she asked me what was wrong, and all I could do was point at the screen, as I was hiding beneath my blankie. She quickly turned off the tv, and she tried to hold me and comfort me, but nothing could undo the damage and console me.
Next, I remember that for some reason I wanted to talk to my "aunt" (really just my mom's bff) about it, and I told her through another session of tears over the phone about it and that got me calm down a bit. But I didn't watch the show again for a long while.
When I finally wanted to watch the show again, several months later, how about THE SAME DAMN EPISODE came on that day.
WHAT THE HELL does PBS think they're doing?! What do the makers of "Kratt's Creatures" think they're doing, putting this in a CHILDREN'S show, AND showing it more than once?!
Needless to say, I never watched that show again.
I am an animal lover. I love them all, even the scary and/or weird looking ones. Because of this part that makes up my being, I used to watch shows about animals as a kid. Not now, hence this story.
As I was saying, I used to watch animal shows as a kid. You know, like the nature/animal documentaries and stuff. "Zaboomafoo" was my favorite, but there was one I used to watch before that. It was called "Kratt's Creatures". This was when I was a toddler, I don't know exactly what age, but definitely not old enough to be in school yet, but just old enough to have things scar me for life apparently.
So, one day I'm sitting in the living room watching "Kratt's Creatures", enjoying it as usual, with today's featured animal being sea turtles. Everything was fine, the Kratt brothers are informing me via voiceover of how sea turtles go up on the beach and lay their eggs in the sand, bury them, and return the ocean while the baby turtles develop in the eggs, all that good stuff. (Mind you, there is footage of this whole process being shown, obviously, and I'm just sitting there all fascinated or whatever, and I can't wait to see the cute little baby turtles.)
The next scene is of the baby turtles hatching and crawling out of the sand nest thingy, and they're just the cutest little things I have ever seen in my entire life at that point and I'm just gushing at the sight of them on my screen. Meanwhile, the voiceover is talking about how the hatchlings have to make it across the beach to the ocean where they can rejoin the other sea turtles, and it's all happy, happy, joy, joy for them, right? I mean, there's even some large birds coming to watch the journey! Nature being supportive of other nature! (At least, that's what my young mind must have been assuming because I kept watching and that's where things started to go wrong.)
Maybe the next bit is way more messed up in my mind than it actually was, but I don't know for sure. I just know this is how I remember my first ever traumatic event. All I remember is that the hundreds of baby turtles were still trying to get to the ocean, and I remember seeing these birds hanging around watching. At first. Next thing I know, the birds are flying around, scooping up mouthfuls of these baby turtles and CHOMPING THEM UP. Seriously, they're eating them so violently that you can see them being chewed to pieces, with scraps falling on to the ground in an awful, bloody massacre. Meanwhile, that draws the attention of these saltwater crocodiles, who begin to follow suit, only because they were bigger, they could scoop up more of them at one time! Meanwhile to THAT, nature decides to cheat the survivors by letting the waves from the tide spit the ones that did make it to the ocean back onto the beach.
All I could do was sit there in stunned silence. My little 4 year old brain was still absorbing the gruesome scene, trying to decipher if what I was seeing was real. When it sank in and I understood that the BABIES ARE DYING, I sank into a state of heavy sobbing and crying. My mom rushed in to investigate, and she asked me what was wrong, and all I could do was point at the screen, as I was hiding beneath my blankie. She quickly turned off the tv, and she tried to hold me and comfort me, but nothing could undo the damage and console me.
Next, I remember that for some reason I wanted to talk to my "aunt" (really just my mom's bff) about it, and I told her through another session of tears over the phone about it and that got me calm down a bit. But I didn't watch the show again for a long while.
When I finally wanted to watch the show again, several months later, how about THE SAME DAMN EPISODE came on that day.
WHAT THE HELL does PBS think they're doing?! What do the makers of "Kratt's Creatures" think they're doing, putting this in a CHILDREN'S show, AND showing it more than once?!
Needless to say, I never watched that show again.
Me. Or at least me, as of 1/27/13
I'm going to start off by saying that this is my first real attempt at writing a blog. I've had an account or whatever on here for ages, but that was just created in a fleeting moment of "It might be fun!", then I lost interest after registering. Things are different now, though. I have nothing better to do with my life, at the moment. So I thought, "Eh, why not, we can try it again". It's more for me, than for anyone else, but I don't care if anyone else reads it. So dare to explore later on when I've actually got something on here.
Secondly, people change. Hence the "as of 1/27/13" part of the title of this post. For all we know, you could be reading this 10 years from the day I posted this, and I'll be a totally new person. With that being said, this is the version of myself that is on record on this date.
Anyway, I'll start by telling about myself. If any kind of even semi-success comes out of this, this is the post to read if you want to know who this (insert adjective you think is most relevant) chick is.
All You Need To Know About Me:
*My name is Briana.
*I'm 20 years old.
*I live in Tennessee.
Why? I ask myself that question every day.
*I like movies and tv.
When it comes to movies, I'll watch pretty much anything. Except scary movies. Just no. I don't like being scared, and when I do get scared of something, its pretty ridiculous (which is also a good thing to know about me, because my tendency to get scared of things will probably come into play later.)
Tv is great too. Good tv, mind you. And by "good tv", I mean something with a plot; something that will rot my brain at a slower rate than that "reality" crap. I'm talking awesome shows like Doctor Who (THE best show ever, by the way), Supernatural, Sherlock, The Big Bang Theory, and Prison Break. Those are some of my faves. The other ones aren't fictional, but they're not stupid like things on MTV. The other ones are Whose Line Is It Anyway?, SNL, Impractical Jokers, and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.
Which brings me to my next topic.
*Jimmy Fallon: I'm pretty sure that he's my soul mate.
He was my first love, and he still is my love. I adore him, and am a fan of pretty much everything he's ever done in his career. So to anyone else out there, no touchy, he's mine. Haha Also, I apologize in advance over not being sorry for posting things about how great he is.
*I Am A Fangirl.
I'm just telling it like it is as a fair warning. First of all, if I like something, I'm dedicated. I freak out about it, I obsess, buy all the merchandise I can get my hands on pertaining to the new addiction, scavenge the internet for anything about it, all that. You name it, I'm probably into it. Star Wars (albeit its a lesser interest than some things), Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Supernatural, LNJF. So many fandoms... This will probably pop up later on, too.
*I Am Socially Awkward
Mostly because I'm introverted, shy around strangers, and I hardly ever leave my house. And when I do leave, its like with my highly dysfunctional family. I don't have friends I can go chill with. But whatevs.
*I Talk A Lot
When I get to talking, that is. And that's only when I'm comfortable enough with it. Which is why posts may be lengthy. Just a fair warning. (And yes, I had to add this in as an update because I didn't realize it til after posting my first story.)
So yea, that's all I can think of for right now. Well, all I can think of that may be relevant in the future. I suppose if there's anything else worth mentioning, I'll say it later. Or if I'm asked a question about something else, I'll divulge. Until then, this is what you get.
Secondly, people change. Hence the "as of 1/27/13" part of the title of this post. For all we know, you could be reading this 10 years from the day I posted this, and I'll be a totally new person. With that being said, this is the version of myself that is on record on this date.
Anyway, I'll start by telling about myself. If any kind of even semi-success comes out of this, this is the post to read if you want to know who this (insert adjective you think is most relevant) chick is.
All You Need To Know About Me:
*My name is Briana.
*I'm 20 years old.
*I live in Tennessee.
Why? I ask myself that question every day.
*I like movies and tv.
When it comes to movies, I'll watch pretty much anything. Except scary movies. Just no. I don't like being scared, and when I do get scared of something, its pretty ridiculous (which is also a good thing to know about me, because my tendency to get scared of things will probably come into play later.)
Tv is great too. Good tv, mind you. And by "good tv", I mean something with a plot; something that will rot my brain at a slower rate than that "reality" crap. I'm talking awesome shows like Doctor Who (THE best show ever, by the way), Supernatural, Sherlock, The Big Bang Theory, and Prison Break. Those are some of my faves. The other ones aren't fictional, but they're not stupid like things on MTV. The other ones are Whose Line Is It Anyway?, SNL, Impractical Jokers, and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.
Which brings me to my next topic.
*Jimmy Fallon: I'm pretty sure that he's my soul mate.
He was my first love, and he still is my love. I adore him, and am a fan of pretty much everything he's ever done in his career. So to anyone else out there, no touchy, he's mine. Haha Also, I apologize in advance over not being sorry for posting things about how great he is.
*I Am A Fangirl.
I'm just telling it like it is as a fair warning. First of all, if I like something, I'm dedicated. I freak out about it, I obsess, buy all the merchandise I can get my hands on pertaining to the new addiction, scavenge the internet for anything about it, all that. You name it, I'm probably into it. Star Wars (albeit its a lesser interest than some things), Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Supernatural, LNJF. So many fandoms... This will probably pop up later on, too.
*I Am Socially Awkward
Mostly because I'm introverted, shy around strangers, and I hardly ever leave my house. And when I do leave, its like with my highly dysfunctional family. I don't have friends I can go chill with. But whatevs.
*I Talk A Lot
When I get to talking, that is. And that's only when I'm comfortable enough with it. Which is why posts may be lengthy. Just a fair warning. (And yes, I had to add this in as an update because I didn't realize it til after posting my first story.)
So yea, that's all I can think of for right now. Well, all I can think of that may be relevant in the future. I suppose if there's anything else worth mentioning, I'll say it later. Or if I'm asked a question about something else, I'll divulge. Until then, this is what you get.
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