this is an old story i started in 17 and its an extreamly rough draft. However im thinking of changing it to a different era and culture (chinese possibly)
Any ideas?
Thanks!!!!!!!

The leaves rustled as they blew around my feet. I was Thirteen years old. Peoples screams filled the church. "Why! Why did this happen?". I looked down, my school socks were muddy, my legs had Goosebumps and I was shivering from the cold. My hair was wet, my school uniform torn. Within an instance, my whole world seemed to stand still. The noise’s around me blurred and for a moment. The only thing I could hear was a cry, a long and fearful cry. My mothers body lay there, as i lent down and put my hand upon hers i felt she was holding something. I took it out of her clenched fist. It was some sort of ancient pendant, silver with an inscription on the back in gold.

The smell around me was something that I was unable to determine. It was a musty smell, almost like blood or rotting flesh. I could however, smell my mothers perfume, only slightly, but it felt stronger then ever because of my complete fixation on it. It made me feel uncomfortable, it made me want hide away from everything forever.

The wind roared as i put it around my neck and fastened the clasp. A tear rolled down my cheek. But only one. No more. I wrapped my arms around myself and shut my eyes. I imagined the heavens and angels and whispered "Please, give me her back." I could hear sirens now, they became louder and louder, the tune thudding against my ear drum. I ran. I tripped. I blacked out.

Three years on, I’m still getting counselling treatment for that night. The warm sun beat down on my skin through the window, the rays of warmth filled my body with heat. Today was the last day of counselling. The last day of questions of ‘how I felt’ or how I was ‘coping’. Finally after today I could be normal…well at least try.

I watched my counsellor Jeanette walk into the room, she was tall, scrawny with jet black hair. She wore big glasses and had a strong smell of peppermint. She sat down and put her glasses on the end of her nose, whilst flicking through some past reports of my sessions. There was the occasional sigh but apart from that the wait wasn’t too bad.

"Now Mia…I know what happened to you was traumatic…I can understand that. But your 16 now, you need to get along with life."

"I didn’t ask to come here did i? And I am getting on with life I‘ll have you know." She always tried to act like my mother. I was her pity victim, her gossip, her charity.

"Mia… You haven’t been to school since you were 13…maybe you should go back."

Oh here we go. Go back? Have everyone whispering ‘Oh look! there’s that girl Mia, she was the daughter of that famous woman who threw herself off a church’. Or the constant harassment of teachers saying ’if I need to talk I can’. All I wanted to do was forget about it, not open up old wounds. Please. Save me the aggregation.

"I don’t want to go back, my income and life is fine now." I play with my fingers and try to not make eye contact.

"Mia, its a Saturday job, and you live with your father. A saturday job is not nearly enough income to support yourse-"

"Myself?" I roll my eyes and sigh.

She slides me over an envelope. it’s a brownish colour with some sort tea stain on the back. I open it slowly, inside it there’s a school, a date and a time for me to attend. I felt her touch the back of my shoulder. "Its in England, no’ one will have heard of you over there, you should give it a try…for your fathers sake at least."

In my head i began to wonder why i ever had to go through what i did. After it happened, minutes after the police arrived to hide my mother from news reporters, my father arrived. I remember waking up to him calling my name. I began to think it was all a dream. I cried. He took me in his arms and whispered "Don’t be scared princess, daddy’s here." I looked up and said "Is she really gone?" My dad turns whilst the rain beats down harder upon us. "No sweetie, mummy just had to go help the angels."

As i get up and walk out the door, i turn around. She says softly "Mia, its a chance. A chance for a new start. A new life.

I smile back but i don’t say thank you and i don’t say goodbye. I stand up, turn around and walk out.
old story i started like 5 months ago and im 17 its supposed to say

First thing you should do is print it off and read it out loud or get someone to read it to you. That way you will hear the errors and be able to correct them easier. I wouldn’t change the setting unless you are well aware of the setting you want to change it to. You mentioned Chinese but if you are not aware of what happens in Chinese culture don’t try to make it up because it won’t work.
The story flows and has its own excitement but do try to link sentences together to cut down on the number of times you use the word ‘I’. Overuse of that word can make reading a chore instead of a pleasure but otherwise keep at it and good luck.

The leaves rustled as they blew around my feet. I was Thirteen years old. Peoples screams filled the church. "Why! Why did this happen?". I looked down, my school socks were muddy, my legs had Goosebumps and I was shivering from the cold. My hair was wet, my school uniform torn. Within an instance, my whole world seemed to stand still. The noise’s around me blurred and for a moment. The only thing I could hear was a cry, a long and fearful cry. My mothers body lay there, as i lent down and put my hand upon hers i felt she was holding something. I took it out of her clenched fist. It was some sort of ancient pendant, silver with an inscription on the back in gold.

The smell around me was something that I was unable to determine. It was a musty smell, almost like blood or rotting flesh. I could however, smell my mothers perfume, only slightly, but it felt stronger then ever because of my complete fixation on it. It made me feel uncomfortable, it made me want hide away from everything forever.

The wind roared as i put it around my neck and fastened the clasp. A tear rolled down my cheek. But only one. No more. I wrapped my arms around myself and shut my eyes. I imagined the heavens and angels and whispered "Please, give me her back." I could hear sirens now, they became louder and louder, the tune thudding against my ear drum. I ran. I tripped. I blacked out.

Three years on, I’m still getting counselling treatment for that night. The warm sun beat down on my skin through the window, the rays of warmth filled my body with heat. Today was the last day of counselling. The last day of questions of ‘how I felt’ or how I was ‘coping’. Finally after today I could be normal…well at least try.

I watched my counsellor Jeanette walk into the room, she was tall, scrawny with jet black hair. She wore big glasses and had a strong smell of peppermint. She sat down and put her glasses on the end of her nose, whilst flicking through some past reports of my sessions. There was the occasional sigh but apart from that the wait wasn’t too bad.

"Now Mia…I know what happened to you was traumatic…I can understand that. But your 16 now, you need to get along with life."

"I didn’t ask to come here did i? And I am getting on with life I‘ll have you know." She always tried to act like my mother. I was her pity victim, her gossip, her charity.

"Mia… You haven’t been to school since you were 13…maybe you should go back."

Oh here we go. Go back? Have everyone whispering ‘Oh look! there’s that girl Mia, she was the daughter of that famous woman who threw herself off a church’. Or the constant harassment of teachers saying ’if I need to talk I can’. All I wanted to do was forget about it, not open up old wounds. Please. Save me the aggregation.

"I don’t want to go back, my income and life is fine now." I play with my fingers and try to not make eye contact.

"Mia, its a Saturday job, and you live with your father. A saturday job is not nearly enough income to support yourse-"

"Myself?" I roll my eyes and sigh.

She slides me over an envelope. it’s a brownish colour with some sort tea stain on the back. I open it slowly, inside it there’s a school, a date and a time for me to attend. I felt her touch the back of my shoulder. "Its in England, no’ one will have heard of you over there, you should give it a try…for your fathers sake at least."

In my head i began to wonder why i ever had to go through what i did. After it happened, minutes after the police arrived to hide my mother from news reporters, my father arrived. I remember waking up to him calling my name. I began to think it was all a dream. I cried. He took me in his arms and whispered "Don’t be scared princess, daddy’s here." I looked up and said "Is she really gone?" My dad turns whilst the rain beats down harder upon us. "No sweetie, mummy just had to go help the angels."

As i get up and walk out the door, i turn around. She says softly "Mia, its a chance. A chance for a new start. A new life.

I smile back but i don’t say thank you and i don’t say goodbye. I stand up, turn around and walk out.

this is very good. it still has a few typos, but it’s on it’s way it looks like. it drew me in.

Okay here it is, its only adraft so please no ‘you have mis typos’ lol. thank youu!

The leaves rustled as they blew around my feet. I was nine years old. Peoples screams filled the church. "Why! Why did this happen?". I looked down, my school socks were muddy, my legs had Goosebumps and I was shivering from the cold. My hair was wet, my school uniform torn. Within an instance, my whole world seemed to stand still. The noise’s around me blurred and for a moment. The only thing I could hear was a cry, a long and fearful cry. My mothers body lay there, as i lent down and put my hand upon hers i felt she was holding something. I took it out of her clenched fist. It was some sort of ancient pendant, silver with an inscription on the back in gold.

The smell around me was something that I was unable to determine. It was a musty smell, almost like blood or rotting flesh. I could however, smell my mothers perfume, only slightly, but it felt stronger then ever because of my complete fixation on it. It made me feel uncomfortable, it made me want hide away from everything forever.

The wind roared as i put it around my neck and fastened the clasp. A tear rolled down my cheek. But only one. No more. I wrapped my arms around myself and shut my eyes. I imagined the heavens and angels and whispered "Please, give me her back." I could hear sirens now, they became louder and louder, the tune thudding against my ear drum. I ran. I tripped. I blacked out.

Seven years on, I’m still getting counselling treatment for that night. The warm sun beat down on my skin through the window, the rays of warmth filled my body with heat. Today was the last day of counselling. The last day of questions of ‘how I felt’ or how I was ‘coping’. Finally after today I could be normal…well at least try.

I watched my counsellor Jeanette walk into the room, she was tall, scrawny with jet black hair. She wore big glasses and had a strong smell of peppermint. She sat down and put her glasses on the end of her nose, whilst flicking through some past reports of my sessions. There was the occasional sigh but apart from that the wait wasn’t too bad.

"Now Mia…I know what happened to you was traumatic…I can understand that. But your 15 now, you need to get along with life."

"I didn’t ask to come here did i? And I am getting on with life I‘ll have you know." She always tried to act like my mother. I was her pity victim, her gossip, her charity.

"Mia… You haven’t been to school since you were 13…maybe you should go back."

Oh here we go. Go back? Have everyone whispering ‘Oh look! there’s that girl Mia, she was the daughter of that famous woman who threw herself off a church’. Or the constant harassment of teachers saying ’if I need to talk I can’. All I wanted to do was forget about it, not open up old wounds. Please. Save me the aggregation.

"I don’t want to go back, my income and life is fine now." I play with my fingers and try to not make eye contact.

"Mia, its a Saturday job, and you live with your father. A saturday job is not nearly enough income to support yourse-"

"Myself?" I roll my eyes and sigh.

She slides me over an envelope. it’s a brownish colour with some sort tea stain on the back. I open it slowly, inside it there’s a school, a date and a time for me to attend. I felt her touch the back of my shoulder. "Its in England, no’ one will have heard of you over there, you should give it a try…for your fathers sake at least."

In my head i began to wonder why i ever had to go through what i did. After it happened, minutes after the police arrived to hide my mother from news reporters, my father arrived. I remember waking up to him calling my name. I began to think it was all a dream. I cried. He took me in his arms and whispered "Don’t be scared princess, daddy’s here." I looked up and said "Is she really gone?" My dad turns whilst the rain beats down harder upon us. "No sweetie, mummy just had to go help the angels."

As i get up and walk out the door, i turn around. She says softly "Mia, its a chance. A chance for a new start. A new life.

I smile back but i don’t say thank you and i don’t say goodbye. I stand up, turn around and walk out.
BTW ITS ONLY PART OF THE FIRST CHAPTER

Really very well done.

It has some technical problems of course, but you expected that, right?

Besides, it’s only an early draft.

One piece of advice though, and I’d heed it if I were you. Take out, "I looked up and said "Is she really gone?" "No sweetie, mummy just had to go help the angels."

It’s awful and so out of place in an otherwise promising piece.
I think you’re probably too close at the moment to notice it’s dreadful tone of over sentimentality. You must delete it.

Other than that, you appear to possess aptitude, so keep on writing, and good luck with it.

ps: Never worry about pedants wanting to correct your grammar and spelling. They are the kind of people who look at a field of poppies and only see the broken perimeter fence. You will need to learn such rules in time, of course, but they come a very distant second to skill and technique.

Steinbeck, Hemingway and many other greats couldn’t ever spell to save their skins. So if such rules don’t come naturally to you, don’t let them slow you down.

When you’re writing creatively, always, always,always, obey only the rules of your heart.

The leaves rustled as they blew around my feet. I was Thirteen years old. Peoples screams filled the church. "Why! Why did this happen?". I looked down, my school socks were muddy, my legs had Goosebumps and I was shivering from the cold. My hair was wet, my school uniform torn. Within an instance, my whole world seemed to stand still. The noise’s around me blurred and for a moment. The only thing I could hear was a cry, a long and fearful cry. My mothers body lay there, as i lent down and put my hand upon hers i felt she was holding something. I took it out of her clenched fist. It was some sort of ancient pendant, silver with an inscription on the back in gold.

The smell around me was something that I was unable to determine. It was a musty smell, almost like blood or rotting flesh. I could however, smell my mothers perfume, only slightly, but it felt stronger then ever because of my complete fixation on it. It made me feel uncomfortable, it made me want hide away from everything forever.

The wind roared as i put it around my neck and fastened the clasp. A tear rolled down my cheek. But only one. No more. I wrapped my arms around myself and shut my eyes. I imagined the heavens and angels and whispered "Please, give me her back." I could hear sirens now, they became louder and louder, the tune thudding against my ear drum. I ran. I tripped. I blacked out.

Three years on, I’m still getting counselling treatment for that night. The warm sun beat down on my skin through the window, the rays of warmth filled my body with heat. Today was the last day of counselling. The last day of questions of ‘how I felt’ or how I was ‘coping’. Finally after today I could be normal…well at least try.

I watched my counsellor Jeanette walk into the room, she was tall, scrawny with jet black hair. She wore big glasses and had a strong smell of peppermint. She sat down and put her glasses on the end of her nose, whilst flicking through some past reports of my sessions. There was the occasional sigh but apart from that the wait wasn’t too bad.

"Now Mia…I know what happened to you was traumatic…I can understand that. But your 16 now, you need to get along with life."

"I didn’t ask to come here did i? And I am getting on with life I‘ll have you know." She always tried to act like my mother. I was her pity victim, her gossip, her charity.

"Mia… You haven’t been to school since you were 13…maybe you should go back."

Oh here we go. Go back? Have everyone whispering ‘Oh look! there’s that girl Mia, she was the daughter of that famous woman who threw herself off a church’. Or the constant harassment of teachers saying ’if I need to talk I can’. All I wanted to do was forget about it, not open up old wounds. Please. Save me the aggregation.

"I don’t want to go back, my income and life is fine now." I play with my fingers and try to not make eye contact.

"Mia, its a Saturday job, and you live with your father. A saturday job is not nearly enough income to support yourse-"

"Myself?" I roll my eyes and sigh.

She slides me over an envelope. it’s a brownish colour with some sort tea stain on the back. I open it slowly, inside it there’s a school, a date and a time for me to attend. I felt her touch the back of my shoulder. "Its in England, no’ one will have heard of you over there, you should give it a try…for your fathers sake at least."

In my head i began to wonder why i ever had to go through what i did. After it happened, minutes after the police arrived to hide my mother from news reporters, my father arrived. I remember waking up to him calling my name. I began to think it was all a dream. I cried. He took me in his arms and whispered "Don’t be scared princess, daddy’s here." I looked up and said "Is she really gone?" My dad turns whilst the rain beats down harder upon us. "No sweetie, mummy just had to go help the angels."

As i get up and walk out the door, i turn around. She says softly "Mia, its a chance. A chance for a new start. A new life.

I smile back but i don’t say thank you and i don’t say goodbye. I stand up, turn around and walk out.
ITS ONLY THE FIRST CHAPTER THANKS for comments
AND im17 lol

Its really good! I myself am writing a book (i’m 12) and the age the mom died and the way you described her feelings are alike… but the chapters should be longer, really! mine are about 15 pages but you should put at least 5 pages or more! oh and one more thing… i suggest her age goes down! i mean a 13 year old won’t be that traumatized and a dad wouldn’t say that to a 13 year old! And asking "is she really gone?" i’m 12 and no way in hell would i say that! i would be sad and all but i know that angels and god and that story is true but i know what death is and all… so you her age should be around 7 or 8 !!

I was exposed to very loud music over a period of months and it has affected my nerves in and around both of my ears (this was confirmed by an ENT doctor).

I get nerve aches (or pains, whatever you want to call it) in and around my ears (the aches originate in my ear but travels down as far as my lower jaw and cheek and travels across my neck and up my trapezius to the back of my head). i only get these aches when i hear noises, which the intensity, duration, and location of the aches determined by the level and duration of noise exposure. also, if i engage in conversation at a normal volume level (like 65db), after a while i can feel my jaws sort of get stiff, and if i sway my jaw to the left or right, i feel and hear a popping or sometimes a cracking sound, which is very worrisome.

as for treatment, I’ve taken ginkgo biloba, zinc, lipoic acid, vitamin b12 and b6 with no luck. It seemed like lipoic acid was helping but it make my left arm numb, so i had to abandon that. I regularly use Bengay pain-relieving cream and hot-compresses to temporarily alleviate my discomfort from the aches but i need to solve this from the inside-out. Currently I’m trying Inositol and if this doesn’t help, I will try acetyl-L-carnitine.

Are there any other options I have to deal with this problem?

foam rubber ear plugs. cut them to size.

i had this loud high pitched noise the first week then it went away and now its replaced with this low pitched buzz that begins later in the night. its been two weeks now with the low buzz going on and everytime i bite down on my teeth, the noise goes away until i quit biting down. I used the ear wax remover on the first couple of days and that got rid of the high pitched noise, should i continue treatment with the earwax remover?

You could try it again or go to a doctor that looks into your ears.

I apologize, I know this is long.
But I’m getting very desperate.
Here’s the story:
For about 3 or 4 years, I’ve had a ticking noise that seems to come from the center of of my head. For the past 6 months, a ringing noise has accompanied this.
I am really sensitive to sound and light, and for the past month or so, I’ve been seeing spots as well.
I always have moderate to severe headaches.
I feel a pressure in all parts of my head, though not at the same time.
I often get earaches and sometimes dull, mild eye aches (both eyes).
I get dizzy easily, and I feel this slight popping in my ears every so often. Recently I’ve had this burning sensation in both my ears and the center of my head.
Sometimes my ears or head hurt to the point of feeling numb.

I went to the doctor this morning (ear, nose, and throat).
He prescribed me some sort of nasal decongestant.
That’s all very well and good, and my allergies are probably part of the problem. If these symptoms don’t clear up, said Doctor, go to a neurologist.

I am frustrated, though, because he didn’t hear all of the symptoms that I’ve listed above.
Whenever he asked me a question, my mother would answer for me. At times I would try to cut over her, but she wouldn’t quit. I wanted some time to get to talk to the doctor/nurse/somebody alone for mostly this reason:
About a year and a half ago, my mother hit me on the side of my head until my nose bled (she’s only hit me twice, and only once had she hit my head).
I want to know if she had done anything to me.
I so badly wanted to mention it, but that time to talk to the doctor myself never happend, and please understand that it is very hard for an introvert to shout suddenly, "Guess what she did!" while my mother was in the room, sitting next to me.

A while ago, I did a bit of research.
I found out that it could be possible that I could have gotten a concussion (or rather, post-concussive syndrome).
It’s also a possibility that I am developing migranes.
Some of the symptoms are similar to each other.

Most likely, I would like to forget about my "mother" theory, and believe that I have migranes, HOWEVER, I feel like my short-term memory was affected somehow.
I can only remember a small part of what I did after my mother hit me, and I can’t remember anything after that until I started the 8th grade.
So, the span of that is about a couple of months of not remembering anything.
After my first day of 8th grade, trying to remember things is still a bit difficult, and until about Christmas, I still cannot remember what I did.
I simply remember small pieces of holidays, and one "normal" day in particular (that was the second time she hit me, thus the reason I remember that particular day).

I can remember things all the way back to when I was a toddler, but I’ll be racking my brains to try to remember what homework I had or why I had entered a room.
I am also a very anxious person, and I have been for a while. Whether I have developed anxiety before or after the incident, I can’t recall.
Most days I have trouble falling asleep, though I am not sure if I would call myself an insomniac, because I doubt it is a chronic problem.
Both insomnia and anxiety are symptoms of post-concussive syndrome, but it could also be a coincidence that I have these issues.

Please, given the information I have shared with you, what is the problem that I have?
I don’t want to be given wrong treatment/medication.

I agree with the first answerer to call the dr office and explain this to them. A nurse or even the dr may want to talk to you. But then again you said that if the treatment your dr didn’t help, you would go to a neurologist. They might be able to help you more.

Dr’s know more than we do, but your dr really needs to know all the information to help you get the proper help you need.

my daughter, age 4, has always been more active than my son, age 9, ever was. She is especially hyper when excited about something, or when we have company. She often will, quite literally, bounce around the room, and from person to person, climbing on people, climbing off, giggling, jumping, etc.

She is very needy of physical contact with others, and will often come up to me and touch me, or touch my face, or want to look at parts of my face with great interest (ie. the mole below my ear is a great fascination to her, or my crooked tooth.)

She is very talkative, and will come up to me and start conversations without having anything to say. ie. "mommy, um, mommy…. um uh mommy, um mommy, " It is almost like she wants to talk for the sake of talking. Quite often when she does say something other than "mommy", she will obsess on a particular topic. ie. for the two week christmas break, every chance she got she reminded me that when she is 6 her friend was going to sleep over at our house. She would carry on in great detail (and with great repetition) about all of the details of this event that is far off in the future.

She also is very intelligent, and has an excellent memory of stories and lyrics to songs that she may have only heard one or two times. She is very good at memory games, and practises them sometimes obsessively, until she gets better and better (ie, such as games on her leap pad).

She also has the nasty habit of picking her nails and skin around her nails until they bleed. We have tried to get her to stop this, but she even does it in her sleep. One month ago, her thumb became very infected and required medical treatment after one such "picking" injury. She also puts non food objects in her mouth (This had stopped when she turned 2, but returned again just a few months before her 4th birthday). ie. she will chew her collar, sleeve, ties on her jacket, her mitten, small toy animals, the plastic "eggs" inside of a KinderEgg, a piece of paper, her shoe, etc.

For the past two or three weeks, she has started making a "sniffling" noise all the time, and has started "clearing her throat" on a regular basis. (both are unproductive) There doesn’t seem to be a cold or sinus problem of any kind, and her nose is not running. I am considering taking her to the doctor for allergy tests, but there is no evidence other than the "noise" of sniffling and throat clearing.

When she was younger, we thought she might be autistic, because she would have very intense periods of concentration that would last for 45 to 90 minutes at a time. She would kind of "zone out" when engaging in certain play activities (ie. doing a puzzle, repetetively covering up a dolly with a blanket) If you interrupted her in these activities she would become physically agitated and angry and would fight to get back to the activity. She still gets in a "zone" like this often, but not as frequently as before, and she doesn’t get quite so agitated if you gently interrupt her zone. Also, she has good eye contact, and plays with her peers quite well.

The daycare hasn’t pointed out any problems to us. Her kindergarten teacher said she has noticed that she has a bossy side when interacting with her peers.

Sometimes the looks she gives me are disturbing. If she doesn’t like what I tell her, or if she wants me to do something for her and I tell her she will have to wait a few moments, she sometimes gets this very angry look in her eyes, grits her teeth, and pushes her fists towards me. She holds this pose for about 15 seconds and growls and grits her teeth at me the whole time. She always is very apologetic afterwards, but still wants her way. I can actually remember her doing a version of this when she was an infant and I would be breast feeding her. If she coudn’t get the milk, or couldn’t latch on right away, her fists would grab me and she would literally "shake" with anger.

I am not sure what to make of this. Is this normal behaviour for a 4 year old? I can’t really tell. I should mention that my older son has Asperger’s, so I am not really sure what normal 4 year old behaviour should look like. She is certainly MUCH more outgoing, social and agressive than my son ever was (or likely ever will be!).

Thank you for any input you may have – I have read some web sites about ADHD, but it is hard for me to judge whether my daughter’s behaviour fit into the criteria or not. They don’t seem to me to fit the Asperger’s or ASD critera. Also, most of the descriptions of OCD don’t ring true. Your opinions are appreciated.

At age 4 it’s normal behavior. ADHD is more easy to identify when children are around 7. I got diagnosed when it was a little too late to get ‘reprogrammed’ or whatever term you want to use. It was around 10 years old and I’d already lived with it too long to get that behavior out of my mind.

You’re not gonna find this information anywhere else.You’ll find some really important information here as well.If you think it’s long, copy it and read it patiently whenever you have time, and answer after some thought.
I believe that if you spend 10 minutes reading this essay, you will be better informed than if you listen to a lifetime’s worth of Major Media news. This article has two parts:
1. Cultural and general info
2. Political info.
Note: I’ve explained everything.Any answers before reading the whole thing will prove to be wrong.Specially the political part.
****
Part 1: Cultural and general info
Hi. I’m an Iranian who has spent his life in Iran.I study English.When I chat with people from other countries, I am shocked to see how totally wrong their ideas are about Iran. I wrote this article in an attempt to help correct those ideas.
The first thing America, and the West in general, accuses our government of is that we don’t allow personal freedoms. Actually, Iranians disobey laws they don’t like as much as anyone.There are only a few restrictions.It’s cool over here. People here do whatever they wish to! Many strict rules in other countries don’t even exist in Iran. Also, you should understand that what may seem so normal to you, may be a nightmare for us and vise versa.Some of Iran’s laws are based on OUR culture. You look at our country from "your own point of view"! In Iran every single house has a sattelite dish. Sattelite television has a serious influence on our people, and Iranians wear very fashionable clothing. Maybe it is a kind of imitation, but we still have our own unique Iranian style. A visitor might wonder if this is a country or a fantasy pageant of beauty queens! Almost women wear half their their hair out, and make-up and fashionable clothing are everywhere.I ignore a few fuddy-duddies though!
You would be surprised to see the difference between what you imagine and what Iran really is!
In my view, everything is great, if you ignore unemployment, drugs, inflation and air pollution. (Common problems in today’s world?) Also, you can’t compare Iran today with the Iran you remember. The Shah and the Iatollah Khomini are both some 30 years in the past! 70% of Iran’s population is a new generation (Under age 30) without the biases of the past and we’ve transformed everything.
Ever heard Iranian girls are terrific?I’ve collected some photos showing Iranian girls! Look! Poeple are like this!
http://www.salijoon.ir/bazigar/hedye%20tehrani/30nema4251159.JPG
http://www.30nema.com/images/gallery/30nema4252403.jpg
http://i10.tinypic.com/4clk3us.jpg
http://tinypic.com/2d0nfao.jpg Enough proof?
Some people think women don’t have any rights in Iran. But in my view, women are overrunning the place. They’re very respectful, and they’ve been the winners in so many cases: They get into the best universities because they’re very smart. And they get the best jobs because they can do so many of them better than men. They’ve got Islamic rights, and that has in some cases made it difficult for men to marry them, because husbands are supposed to buy them expensive things and treat them very well, otherwise women have the right to ask a great amount of money (called Mehr) according to the law, which most husbands cannot afford, so men will be imprisoned.The only thing that women are not allowed to do in Iran is getting into public football stadiums and that’s because such places are full of cheeky guys. They do anything from taking part in rallies to singing pop songs.Anything! I’ve put a sample here.
Another funny thing: Your footage about stoning the women who have committed adultery. Have you ever asked yourselves how many years ago that footage related to? Are they balck and white or colourful? But in one case (related to many years ago) the thing that had happened was incest not adultery. Most of those footages are from Afghanistan which was ruled by freaks (Taliban). What exactly makes you think women are treated differently?The way they were/are treated in Saudi Arabia? Try to think of the racism in your country too. Each country has its own problems.I found a BOOK of the U.S problems and I got dizzy! Iran has its own problems too.
Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan are ——— SEPERATE COUNTRIES! ——— Even within Iran, 60% of us are Persian and 30% are Turkish! Iran is a normal country like any other in the world. The Media are very good at creating really scary stuff: "IRAN BEHIND THE CLOSED DOORS!!!" "IRAN UNDERCOVER!!!" Some of that garbage would be enough to scare ME away! But in truth, Iranians are far more open-minded than you have been led to believe.
There are lots of Iranians today who are geniuses and scientists, and are all under age 25. For instance a 17 year old boy has invented 72 amazing inventions. Every year a special scientific compeition is held here and students assemble to show off hundreds of inventions. Iranian students and sportsmen win gold and silver medals in different competitions in the world all the time, in robotics, biology, maths, physics, sports, anything! Why don’t the Media talk about them? Please don’t summarize our nation and culture with the single word "nuclear". Although we’re proud of this achievement because we believe that having nuclear energy means that a country is developed.Did you know that the countries having the highest number of scientists in the world are in this order? 1-India 2-Korea 3-Iran

A few months ago Iran uncovered the most effective anti-H.I.V medicine. I searched for news of that on the internet, but there was no single sign of it.Now, I found it among the English news: "The medicine is produced from herbs using nano technology" The link to read about it is: http://www.payvand.com/news/07/feb/1032.html
The Media are unjust. They never talk about facts!
Some interesting facts:
Iran is a pioneer in medicine and genetics, and Iranian surgeons have found lots of new methods for treating spinal defects, and many diseases (mainly the treatment for different types of cancer) and the best brain and heart surgeons are Iranian. The head of the Mars Mission in NASA is Iranian. One of the best designers of sports cars working in Germany is Iranian. Some of the best 3D animators are Iranian. Iran is one of the best countries in counter-engineering. Holds the second place in building dams and in loads of other things! It’s one of the top countries in bio-technology and nano-technology. The 4th highest tower in the world (Milad tower) is in Tehran (visit it at this link from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Milad.jpg ). 51 of the top 100 universities in the Mid-East are in Iran, and they’re among the top universities of the world as well. The champion weight-lifter, a woman the nobel peace prize are Iranian. The 6th top movie director in the world is Iranian.(Abbas Kiarostami) http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,12102,1084266,00.html
Iranian Director’s Film Wins Spanish Festival Top Prize – VOA News (September 25, 2004) These are just small samples.I can’t put every news about Iran here.Then you should visit press TV website.
Iranian girls are famous for being terrific. We have Persian rugs and Persian literature, many Persian poets, artists and scientists that are world famous. Iranian culture is now westernized and only a little of the ancient culture has survived. According to statistics Tehran is the cheapest capital city in the world (one Dollar =about 950 Tomans! For example you can buy windows vista for 1 Dollar here instead of 700 Dollars!!!wow!) There are many other things. How many pages would you need to describe a country? Iran has nearly all the industries and technologies found in ‘developed’ countries. Oh, and we have four seasons! We get a lot of snow and there are skating rinks! lol The list is endless.

I’m gonna introduce Iran’s international news website to you (Press TV) which was established recently. It’s fully in English. In the "Sic / Tech" section you’ll always see Iran’s discoveries. The address is: http://www.presstv.ir/news.aspx Press TV news: Iranian scientists have registered more than 4800 inventions during the last Iranian calendar year of 1385 (April 21 2006-April 20, 2007). 4800 inventions in just one year!
The list of highly-respected Iranian scientists in the world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Iranian_scientists_and_engineers#T
The list of notable Iranian figures and pioneers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_Medicine_in_Iran
An extract: Iranian medical community is a significant part of medical community in US and Europe
Enough evidence?

Some people think Iran is a desert! Well, it is, if you consider California a desert. We share the same latitude. Iran is a modern country with breathtakingly beautiful nature and lots of historic places to visit. Please take a look at the following links to see if Iran looks like what you think or not! This is a photo of Tehran (Awesome, Isn’t it?): http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Tehran-2-1600.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran

If you like you can visit these too, hundreds of pretty photos from the cities, nature and historic places: (It’s like a free tour!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hills_south_west_of_Sanandaj_near_the_village_of_Kilaneh.jpg
http://www.pbase.com/k_amj/throughout_iran&page=all
http://www.pbase.com/k_amj/throughout_iran&page=2
http://www.pbase.com/k_amj/throughout_iran&page=3
http://www.bigsoccer.com:80/forum/showthread.php?t=199709&page=4
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199709&page=3
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=199709&page=13
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran

Some people think music is forbidden in Iran. "Music of Iran and Iranian musicians have received countless awards in the course of history. Every year from 1977 to 2007.Evidence? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Iran
I send Iranian music to my American and Canadian chat friends and they all say they’re some of the best songs they’ve ever heard.
Here’s a sample of the latest hits from two official Iranian music websites.You can just right click on the links below and choose "Save Target As" to download them.I guess you’ll fall for it! Iranian music is just modern pop and the best sort of it.
1.(You know this: 2007) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Top33/128/Neorin%20-%20To%20Ino%20Miduni.mp3
2.(Hold my hand: 2007) http://www.sarzaminmp3.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Mansour%20-%20Beautiful/09_%20Dastamo%20Begir.mp3
3.(The wetness of your eyes: 2006) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Top33/128/Ehsan%20Gheibi%20-%20Khisie%20Cheshmat.mp3
4.(I just want you: 2003) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Mansour/Crazy/Delam%20Faghat%20Toro%20Mikhaad(www.Bia2Music.com).MP3
5.(The rain: 2007) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/Sunset%20to%20Sunrise/64/Siavash%20Ghomayshi%20-%20Sunset%20to%20Sunrise%20-%2005%20Baroon%20(www.Bia2Music.com).wma
6.(The window: 2005) http://www.sarzamin.org/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/03_%20Panjereh.mp3
7.(Keep me in your memory: 2005) http://www.sarzamin.org/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/07_%20Yaade%20Man%20Baash.mp3
8.(Farangis "A female name" 2007) http://download.bia2music.com/Music/Irani/Siavash%20Ghomayshi/Sunset%20to%20Sunrise/64/Siavash%20Ghomayshi%20-%20Sunset%20to%20Sunrise%20-%2001%20Farangis%20(www.Bia2Music.com).wma
9.(The distance: 2007) http://www.sarzaminsong.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi%20-%20Sunset%20to%20Sunrise/03_%20Faseleh.mp3
10.(Sunrise: 2007) http://www.sarzaminsong.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Siavash%20Ghomayshi%20-%20Sunset%20to%20Sunrise/04_%20Tolou.mp3
11.(Stop world:2006) http://www.sarzaminmusic.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Reza%20Sadeghi%20-%20Vaysa%20Donya/01_%20Vaysa%20Donya.mp3
12.(You can’t: 2007) http://www.sarzaminmp3.com/Sarzaminmusic/Persian/128KB/Mansour%20-%20Beautiful/06_%20Nemitooni.mp3

And so on and on!

It’s now 2007 and most people still think we are uneducated people living in deserts, riding camels!

Part 2: Political info.
Let’s clarify some political issues as well: Some of the Americans think that president Ahmadinejad hates the U.S and Israel and wants to nuke them!! The Media are good at putting lying comments out there. I really don’t get the point why our politicians defame themselves by talking about things that have got nothing to do with us. The thing is that they occasionally make some statements that the media would make them controversial topics to interest its viewers! For example they pick up some specific phrases of a long speech (without refering to the main points and reasons for that speech) and put so many bad comments on that.
First of all, Iranians don’t hate anyone. If our government complains about some injustice going on in the world, it’s not bad, is it? (Although what we want from them is to shut up and not get us into trouble by talking about things that are none of our concern) We hate neither Jews nor Americans. How would our guys dream of America, want to be like them as much as possible, and hate them at the same time?! SECRET: Iranians are the only people in the Mid-East that are pro-American! Being agaisnt the U.S policies is a different story!I’ve got to say that for Iran, Israel is not equal with Jews! Israel is a gov’t. Jews are faithful people! A few of them live here in our neighbourhood and they live just like the rest of Iranians. (20,000 Jews and lots of Christians live here! Iran’s different!) And two of Iran’s parliment members are Jews. Who says we want to force others to convert to Islam? Have you ever found a Muslim knocking at your door asking you to do so?
Christians and Jews are both God-believers and respectful to us. In Iran, religion is one of the least important factors. Where you come from and what your religion is are not important to us at all.

I wonder who Iran is really a threat to. Is it logical to say someone’s guilty because we THINK / PREDICT that he’s going to do something wrong? And they repeat the same "nuclear weapons" tosh over and over and brainwash people! Correction! It’s "nuclear energy". Besides, how many "nuclear weapons" do they have themselves? Hundreds of thousands? Has Iran ever attacked any countries? No. Has it developed any nukes? No! That’s what nuclear agency says. Only Iran’s opponents are pulling Iran’s leg and what they say is just based on political conflicts. What we’re doing is legal. Iran is a peaceful country. Why? It’s the regional super-power and if she wanted, she could easily invade the countries in our neibourhood just like what Saddam did to our country, but as you see Iran has peaceful relations with all of them.

Some people say he said: Israel should be wiped off the map! the thing is that he exactly said: "The Imam "Khomeyni" said this regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time."They’ve only told you this phrase not the whole thing and it’s mistranslated intentionally. Besides, they’ve been saying such things for a long time.It’s their habit.Here’s an article."Wiped off the map….The roumor of the century.Read how the media and the U.S newspapers have twisted it into a controvertioal topic. http://www.antiwar.com/orig/norouzi.php?articleid=11025
Now you see that you were wrong.Iran has always defended itself, but it’s not an offensive country.

Some say he’s said: "The Holocaust is a myth!" Again, this is a single phrase taken from a long speech and there are totally logical reasons for saying so. If 6,000,000 Jews were killed, that’s terrible, but 300,000 Shiite Moslems killed by Saddam aren’t important at all? Over 650,000 Iraqi people are killed and that’s not important?! When Fox News simply says that America and Israel are capable of destroying and killing Iran’s population of 69,000,000 within two weeks, it’s OK and no one says they’re threatening other countries to nuke them (I saw this with my own eyes on the Fox News website) Millions of people killed in Afghanistan, Hiroshima & Nagasaki and the Vietnam war are not considered human beings at all! Now I think you’d get the point why he’s IRONICALLY said it’s a myth. Moreover, don’t you believe in freedom of speech/mind? I’d judge people by their ACTIONS rather than by what they say / their religion / race / culture and the colour of their skin!

Some countries are using Iran as a scapegoat to put the blame (for their own faults) on.
This part is just for Americans:
Those of you who say why Iran says "Death to America":
1. ‘America’ to us means the U.S govt, not the people. How do you expect Iranians to mean "American people" when our media admires Americans for marching and holding up "no war" placards?!
2. The new generation don’t say such things and if some of them occasionally march in the streets that’s because some of the stupid guys enjoy making noise and they mainly go out there to meet their girlfriends/boyfriends! Strange. Isn’t it?
3. Such mottos are not just said in Iran and as you know whatever you hear is a response to the U.S govt’s terrible actions which has made life for many people hell (You wouldn’t deny that attacking countries is a mistake. Would you?)
4. The U.S gov’t helped Saddam attack Iran and I hope you know which country gave Iraq biological weapons which killed a million Iranians.
5. America hit an Iranian airplane over the Persian Gulf and killed 200 passengers for no reason.
6. America places sanctions on Iran, promotes a false image of Iran and Iranians, scares tourists away, and harms our economy, development and credit. To what purpose?

When you call Ahmadinejad a nutcase for what he’s said, what do you call Bush for his actions? If you open your eyes, it’s c;ear who is dangerous.I mean it’s a good idea to consider what Bush is doing to the world with his wrong decisions and lies. Bush is powerful and influencial, but Ahmadinejad is nothing.He’s even failed to control the inflation
.
To those who are upset with American hostages taken for 444 days:
1. Firstly, It’s related to so many years ago and it’s almost a part of history, and don’t forget that when there’s a revolution, there’d be chaos and people may do things that they should not, moreover they’re all alive and healthy. Aren’t they?
2.The U.S has arrested Iranian diplomats in Iraq and had tortured the one who was freed. Now you decide who has the right to be upset with whom. How do you believe in their lies about politics when they hide both the most and the least important things from you considering the fact that politics is the world of lies in its nature?!!!

Final word: "Don’t accuse Iran of something it hasn’t done.Neither has it developed nukes nor does it want to invade anywhere.Currently, the world sees who is ivading other countries.One needs to clean his own closet before thinking about cleaning others’.Agree?"

If you’re too stubborn to stick to your groundless theory of attacking Israel, I’ll tell you our logical theory: "The moment that Iran attacks Israel, Iran will be wiped off the face of the earth by the U.S and its allies.(Thought this twisted phrase is familiar to you) and Iran is far more logical than doing such a stupid thing" So, forget about it.I’m quite sure you know that all the events and lies in the world are a part of a pre-planned scenario by major world-powers (Iran as an important country has always been a part of their plans)And the first step is to brainwash people.They excactly know what will happen even 50 years later! I think Iraq is such a good example.Attacking it with the excuse of removing Seddam while they’d put Seddam there themselves and had supported him for years! The same is true with Al Qaida if you do some research! But in this particular case Iran and the U.S were co-operating in fighting the terrorists in Afghanistan.

One more thing: When we think of the U.S, we think of its greatness and its countless "positive points" not its president.When you think of other countries, you think of their presidents or a nation as a whole?! No gov’t in the world is representative for its people.Try to judge everyone righteously not just by a few things that you find as "negative points".

Isn’t it better for both countries to forget past conflicts and to have peaceful relations? Our two gov’ts are like 10 year old children playing a stupid, harsh, rhetorical game. They don’t care about hurting people’s feelings. They just try to make our two peoples enemies to achieve their own goals. We, as the people of these countries, MUST NOT allow these conflics into our hearts. Now, what do you think? You’ll have elections soon and we’ll have one in 2009.You just vote for a Democrate and we’ll find someone who’d get along with the U.S (Our former pres is a nice bet).Deal?No matter how much they hide this fact, but if Iran and the U.S co-operate with each other, not only the Mid-East crises will be solved but also it’ll have a great positive impact on the world.I can’t wait to see both nations in peace. It’d be marvelous!
Thanks for your time

I enjoy reading about Iran and the Middle East in general. Sure hope that I can visit there someday.

This sounds bad but I need help. My husband has been diagnosed with throat cancer but has refused treatment or any kind of help. I looked into leagally forcing him but found out that I cannot do anything. Right now both his legs and his stomach have filled with fluid. He is in constant pain and lives on Advil etc. The pain from his neck has moved up to the ear and he is real sensitive to any noise. He is obviously not himself and gets agitated real easy. Where on the internet can I find out what to expect (without treatment). Please Help

From your information, it sounds like you are really limited in doing much for your husband if he feel the way he does because of his rights. As long as he is alert & responsive, he "calls the shots" & can refuse all treatment. If he had no Advanced Directive written down & became confused, then legally you could advise the medical people on what you want done.If he is having swelling involving his stomach & legs, his liver probably also has cancer in it (or he may have other liver disease involvement). It’s hard to tell without knowing his full history, like if he was a drinker which would also damage the liver.( Throat cancers don’t usually cause this swelling you described) You really need to get hospice in to help you deal with the pain & agitation he is going through for it may get worse & it will be hard for you alone to deal with. Advil alone will not help & he needs to be put on morphine for pain as well as meds for the agitation if the morphine is not enough. No one should have to go through terminal cancer pain without the proper medications. When he is controlled with the meds it will also help you to deal with this for the cancer involves not just him but also the entire family. In a sense, you all have it for you all must deal with it. I don’t know where you live but ask your doctor or the hospital social workers for the names or names of the Hospice organizations servicing your area. You will also get help with obtaining equipment like a hospital bed, oxygen, commodes, nurses aides (5 times a week visits), nursing visits as needed, spiritual, and social workers as well. Medications that he needs related to the disease (like the pain meds) are covered by hospice too. Please be careful about the amount of advil your husband is taking, too, for I have had patients who think advil is safe to take, & they pop them against the recommended instructions, resulting in intestinal & rectal bleeding, which became severe.Call Hospice, please, for help is available & is just a phone call away. God bless.