**Memoir Legitimacy**

I was just reading some of my classmate's blogs about the legitimacy and two of them hit on a great point that I didn't think of when I wrote my response. Nic was completely drugged out when he was writing the memoir so there is a lot of it that could be completely made up. Everyone, including me, kept saying how nobody could make up that detailed of a story. But honestly.. that's not true. I've had conversations with people that were on drugs and it's like one lie after another. Just thought I'd throw that out there... I know I already answered the question.

Memoir Legitimacy

Nic's memoir definitely seems legitimate. If he did lie about anything, or change anything around, it was only by a little bit. He gave a lot of detail about everything, down to putting the needles into his veins and the way that it felt. He even talked about what he was thinking about at all the different times of his life.

No, I doubt any memoir is exactly the truth. Even when I try to tell a story about something that just happened I usually forget some of it and probably end up changing it.

My Job + My Accident

Mmkay, so... today I am going to blog about my job. I am actually at work right now. My job title is EMT Instructor Aide. I am an aide to an EMT-B(asic) class. I help out with practicals and I do a few lectures. The staff here is about 15 or so people. A few of them are Instructors, and most of them are aides. I used to work in a law office during the day, but I went on leave 2 days before my due date and haven't returned since then.

It's a lot easier for me to do the EMT class because I can bring my daughter with me. I have been an EMT for about a year an a half. I have been an aide for a year and 3 months. I really enjoy being an EMT and riding with my local First Aid Squad. It is a great thing to get into if you want to be a med student, but I guess I just do it for the experience, the fun, and I get to meet a lot of new people who become lifelong friends.

I was in a car accident in July of 2006. I was crossing the street and I was struck by a pick-up truck. I was in a coma for 10 days. I spent 2 weeks in the trauma center and another 3 weeks in a rehabilitation center. I don't remember anything from the night of the accident and there are a few other things I don't remember. I guess that partially has to do with why I wanted to become an EMT. I have a Traumatic Brain Injury called Diffuse Axonal Injury, and unfortunately, TBIs never go away.

Drug Problem? weed, cocaine, meth, heroin, acid, alcohol.

Is there a drug problem in the US? You better believe it. I was actually just talking to my mom about this tonight. Being a mother is a scary thing, especially being such a young mother and knowing what goes on in schools. I asked my mom, how do you make sure your kids stay away from drugs? It is crazy ridiculous how many people, especially young people, do drugs. As for the question of whether or not marijuana is a drug. Of course it is. It alters human thoughts, makes them "feel good", temporarily forget their problems and it leads to people trying other drugs. Almost all people who do heavier drugs than marijuana, started off with just marijuana.

I'm not sure why drugs are such a huge problem in the US, I disagree with my peers when they say that drugs are a problem because they are illegal. I feel that if drugs are legalized that will just make it ten times easier for teens and younger children to get them. Drugs are a big enough problem already, do we really want the children of our day to become a bunch of potheads, coke addicts, and meth users? I'm not sure about you, but I sure as hell don't.

Teenage Pregnancy

For my research project I plan to focus on the topic of Teenage Pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy is the best topic for me because I have a lot of experience with it. One of my best friends got pregnant Junior year of high school and had her baby in February, 2008. I myself got pregnant August, 2007 and gave birth in May, 2008. I don't exactly have any resources as of right now besides myself. Of course, I feel as though I would be the best resource because I have recently been pregnant.

Some other resources I might use would be the internet, and television. I haven't exactly watched it, but there is a new television show called The Secret Life of the American Teenager on ABC Family. I'm sure there is a lot of information in that show that most people wouldn't know about. Obviously, being a teenage mother I feel strongly about Teenage Pregnancy. I have strong opinions about a lot of other topics such as making marijuana legal and abortions, but I think I will stick with researching Teenage Pregnancy.

Thoughts on Tweak

I am actually really enjoying the book so far. I'm interested to know what else is going to happen because I know Nic is not done with drugs, even though he seems like he's on the road to recovery. I think the impact of books about drug addiction can either be very good or very bad. The good being, the book would scare people and they would not want to try drugs, and the bad obviously being that people would want to try the drugs because of the feelings the author explains or whatever other reasons.

I'm sure that not all books about drug addiction are scary, but I think this one is pretty bad. Nic seems like he wants to quit, but then he changes his mind, or he feels like he isn't strong enough to stick with the program. It is just scary to think that this can and does happen to real people. Sometimes I hate reading books that are true stories or watching movies based on a true story because I begin to think about that being my life or someone's life that is close to me.

ryEn, that's me.

Okay so, my name is Ryan.. here's some stuff to know about me:

• I hate the spelling Ryan, so since I was in 6th grade I've spelt it Ryen.
• I have a 14 week old daughter.
• My boyfriend is in the Army Reserves.
• I am a certified EMT-B.
• I am a certified CPR instructor.
• My major is Family Child Studies, but I don't know what I really want to do with my life.
• I am very indecisive.
• I am very outspoken.

That's about all I have to say about myself for now...