Suicide Essays (1602 words) - 9, The Mother-Daughter Book Club

Suicide Can you single out just one day from your past that you can honestly say changed your life forever? I know I can. It was a typical January day, with one exception; it was the day the Pope came to St. Louis. My brother and I had tickets to the youth rally, and we were both very excited. It was destined to be an awesome day- or so we thought. The glory and euphoria of the Papal visit quickly faded into a time of incredible pain and sorrow, a time from which I am still emerging. That day. The date was Tuesday, January 26, 1999, and the entire city of St. Louis was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Pope. The day started with a bus ride to Laclede's Landing where thousands of high school students joined together and marched to the Kiel Center where the Papal Youth rally was being held. When the Pope finally arrived at around 7:30 PM, it was absolutely breathtaking. The Holy Father's words covered everything from baseball, and Mark McGwire, to teen suicide. Even though I did not realize it at that moment, his words were about to become a huge part of my life. By the time I got home, my brother had already arrived and was enthusiastically recounting the day's events to my mom, who had obviously been crying. When he finally stopped carrying on, my mom told me to sit down and then she told me. I will never forget her exact words or even the way she said them. ?Megan committed suicide today.? I stared blankly at her, I knew she had to be lying, she had to be wrong, Megan would never do that. We had been too good of friends for too long, I knew her too well. Megan was always happy, she always had a joke to tell. She had such a bright future, she was an excellent athlete and it seemed as though she succeeded in everything she tried. We played Volleyball together, we were co-captains of the soccer team and we even managed the wrestling team together. I never imagined the word suicide could even be a part of her vocabulary. That is why I knew there had to be some mistake, my mom had to be wrong. My mom then went on to tell me the details of what happened, but it did not matter, I did not hear her. Even though I was exhausted after a long day, my mom drove me to my friend's house. I still had not cried, we just sat in the car in silence. I knew there had to be a mistake. However, as soon as I saw the tear stained face of my friend, I knew everything was true. That is when the tears came, and I'm not quite sure when they stopped. They lasted for hours on end. The days that followed that day are still a little blurry. I did not go to school; but then again most people did not. Most of Megan's friends got together to make a cross and collages of pictures; however, I could not bring myself to get off the couch. Everyone was nice enough to include me in everything. They put my name on the cross and put tons of pictures of Megan and me in the collages. My phone rang off the hook with people checking to make sure I was OK. Our old soccer coach even flew in from Georgia to help us deal with everything. As the funeral neared, I was suffering from many mixed emotions. I could not figure out whether to be upset or angry, or what to feel at all. Not only did I have to deal with the loss of a friend, but also I had to deal with the fact that she did it herself. Then came the subject of her parents. I wanted to blame everything on them. It made everything so easy; who else could be blamed? Maybe if they had cared just a little bit more, this all could have been prevented. I just did not know what to think. Then came the funeral. The day of the wake, I was totally convinced

How to Make Glow-in-the-Dark Alum Crystals

How to Make Glow-in-the-Dark Alum Crystals Alum crystals are among the quickest, easiest, and most reliable crystals you can grow. Did you know you can make them glow in the dark by adding a common household ingredient to the crystal growing solution? Glow in the Dark Alum Crystal Materials Fluorescent highlighter pen (I used yellow, but you can use another color for different colored glowing crystals. Check to make certain the highlighter will glow under an ultraviolet or black light. Pretty much all yellow highlighters glow, as do most other colors. Many blue pens will not glow.)Alum (sold as a pickling spice)Water Grow Glowing Alum Crystals Carefully cut open the highlighter and remove the strip that contains the ink. You may want to wear gloves since highlighter can stain your fingers.Pour 1/2 cup of hot tap water into a clean container.Squeeze the highlighter strip into the water to color it with the fluorescent ink. Discard the ink strip when you are finished.Slowly stir in alum, a little at a time, until it stops dissolving.Loosely cover the jar with a coffee filter or paper towel (to keep dust out) and allow the jar to sit undisturbed overnight.The next day, you should see small alum crystals at the bottom of the container. If you dont see crystals, allow more time. You can let these crystals grow, though they will compete with each other for material. Alternatively, you can use one of these crystals to grow a large single crystal. Growing a Large Single Crystal If crystals are present, pour the alum solution into a clean jar. Collect the small crystals, which are called seed crystals.Tie nylon line around the largest, best-shaped crystal. Tie the other end to a flat object (e.g., popsicle stick, ruler, pencil, butter knife). You will hang the seed crystal by this flat object into the jar far enough so that it will be covered in liquid, but wont touch the bottom or sides of the jar. It may take a few tries to get the length just right.)When you have the right string length, hang the seed crystal in the jar with the alum solution. Cover it with the coffee filter and grow a crystal.Grow your crystal until you are satisfied with it. If you see crystals starting to grow on the sides or bottom of your jar, carefully remove your crystal, pour the liquid into the clean jar, and put the crystal in the new jar. Making the Crystal Glow When you are satisfied with your crystal, remove it from the crystal growing solution and allow it to dry. Just shine a black light (ultraviolet light) on the crystal to make it glow. Depending on the ink you used, the crystal may glow under fluorescent light or sunlight. You can display your crystal or store it. You can wipe dust from a display crystal using a cloth, but avoid dampening it with water or else you will dissolve part of your crystal. Crystals kept in storage may be wrapped in paper for added protection from dust and changed in temperature and humidity. True Glow in the Dark Crystals If you want the crystals to really glow in the dark (no black light), then you stir phosphorescent pigment into a solution of alum and water. Usually, the glow will remain on the exterior of the crystal rather than get incorporated into the crystal matrix. Alum crystals are clear, so another way to make the crystals glow is to mix phosphorescent pigment with clear nail polish and simply paint regular alum crystals. This also protects the crystals from damage by water or humidity, preserving them.