To all those clubs that rely on bake sales for their funding, good-bye. To the school field trips that are funded by bake sales, they are no longer. To all those student who love stopping by a bake sale to brighten their day, your day got that much darker.

New York will argue that the move has been made to combat childhood obesity, a seemingly growing epidemic in this country. But at what point is it acceptable to give up freedom and our individual liberties for the improvement of the greater good? And if we allow the state to uphold this rule, then why not outlaw all junk food in the state of New York? What happens when birthday cakes not made from whole wheat organic batter become an action against the state? Or what will the state of New York come to when eating Oreos and Chips Ahoys are put on the same level as other petty crimes?

Part of being an American, and part of living in a democracy is upholding the rights that are inherent to every individual. And if NEw York thinks getting rid of bake sales will stop obesity then they are wrong. Childhood obesity is not a result of worsening food but rather of failed parenting and a lack of education (another problem in this country).

This is a much deeper and more severe issue, another sign of a failing country.

Nighttime satellite photo of North and South Korea. The WWF sponsored Earth Hour has already come and gone in the Korean time zone, and the North Korean proletariat has claimed a stunning victory over its evil capitalist neighbor, South Korea. Oh, wait. Seems it is always that way

It was rough, trust me! But after years of hard work and figuring out who I truly am and what I am interesterd in, I can say that it has more than paid off. A little over a month ago I was accepted to Yale University and never in my life was I more excited. When I told my mom she broke down in tears and called every relative and friend she has ever known.

I am not really sure why I got in over the thousands of other kids. Yes, I worked hard, but I am no smarter than the countless number of valedictorians and SAT perfect scorers out there. The college process is brutal and so impersonal. The most important thing I have learned is that the people sitting in that admissions office are human too. Many of them are young and generally interested not in your accomplishments but who you are as a person. Remember that your integrity, your character, your individuality is more important than any grade on a piece of paper.

I got a letter from my regional admissions officer telling me she loved my essay. If enough people ask for me to post it then I will. I worked hard to make it simple and insightful and I guess they really liked it.

I never thought I would get into Yale in a million years and I am humbled and honored to have been accepted!

Finally I look like a human being. The swelling is minimal and if you did not know me before the surgery you would have absolutely no idea that I had anything done just by looking at me. Eating is an epic task but it is getting easier each day and I am moving to small pieces of chicken and fish. But since the lower part of my mouth is still numb I drool insane amounts when I eat.

Week 3 and 4 were the worst of the entire recovery. For all of you guys that saw me in school, you know that my jaw was completely wired shut. It was not healing correctly and my doctor decided to close it up and I could not speak, or eat, or really even breathe through my mouth. It was horrible and it was the first time I have ever had a full blown mental breakdown in my life. I emotionally gave up and my mom had to actually give me the motivation to get up in the morning to go through my day.

Today things are getting so much better and each day is a HUGE improvement. My friends have been so supportive and everyone at school has been incredible. I could never have done this without their help. It has been the hardest thing I have ever done and I cannot even believe what I have been through or how I made it this far. One more week until the biggest day since the surgery. The six week mark is pretty close to the finish line becasue it takes bones six weeks to reform and reheal so all of the bone that were sawed through are almost back to normal.

Although I still do not feel like I did 5 weeks and a day ago I can say that things are no longer as depressing and disheartening as they were. And to all of you thank you, I could have never done this without your help. The finish line is in sight and I cannot wait to cross it and be done. For a 17 year old this has been a hell of a lot to go through.

Sam

It is hard to believe that it is already two weeks since my surgery and that I am now exactly one month from full recovery. Things are starting to look better. I can actually see my face and not the two softballs that decided to take refuge in my cheeks. I am no where near back to normal but now my face just looks weirdly round. The swelling is still bad and at this point I have kind of accepted that the swelling and I are going to have to get along for the next couple of weeks because someone refuses to leave my face alone. 

fourteen pounds is now where the total weight loss stands. Finally, the drop is leveling off and I since I am approaching a very unhealthy weight this slow down could not have come any sooner. I am finally starting to drink more so that is making things a little better. The issue is that I have a splint on my upper teeth. Thus, I cannot chew any foods so I am still on a strict liquid diet. Let me tell you something, I was a kid that loved my food so this sucks major anus. What I would do to eat a cheeseburger!!

School starts in 3 days and I have no idea what I am going to do. I still cannot talk properly. 

That’s it for now, I am slowly recovering and I cannot wait until this is over!!!!!!!

PS Happy birthday to my brother.

It’s hard to believe that one week ago my face was deconstructed only to be reassembled with screws (the exact number that will remain permanently in my face will be discovered on Monday when I see my doctor again) and a new jaw line. Looking at me you would think that the surgery was yesterday, the swelling is that bad.

As of now the worst part is the swelling. When I walk outside or go in public people stare and my face looks like a rectangle but the top part is sagging into the bottom. It has not been fun If I get anything out of this swelling it is going to be a nice college essay. Going out and having people stare or point or talk about it when you know that is what they are thinking about is one of the worst feelings I have ever experienced. It’s like being judged before you have a chance to say or do anything. In so many ways I feel dehumanized, like I am different than everyone else when in all honesty it is just some bodily fluids that are trying to mitigate the effects of major surgery. But there are times where even I look at myself and cannot deal with how swollen I look, that is the worst part.  

Today I set a new calorie record. Previously my highest stood at 275 and I was losing weight very quickly, so much so that my chest is becoming very rounded and rib-like. So this morning I got the go big or go home mentality and had a shake from Cold Stone (awarded that most fattening drink of 2009), two lattes, two bottles of chocolate milk, and a homemade shake. I probably hit 1500 calories and it was quite the achievement. I feel so much better having fuel to burn. In all honesty my diet before was hardly enough to feed an anorexic model no less a teenage kid recovering from that kind of trauma. 

Again thank you for the support. I have gotten more letters and emails and packages than I ever thought that I would have ever gotten. The other night when I couldn’t fall asleep (which are most nights because it is very hard to breathe at certain times) I was thinking about how much it meant to me, how I had meant something to so many people, how I was praying to get better but so were so many others. It’s something you cannot appreciate until you are in this situation. It wasn’t my grades, or stupid standardized test scores that came and supported me. It wasn’t all the hard work I have put into school that matters, its the hard work that I have put into being a human being and appreciating each person for what makes them different. Thanks to all of you and I cannot wait to be done with all of this and celebrate with everyone.

Sam

PS I will do my best to start posting more frequently. Also, once the swelling starts going down I will post pictures but for now I am going to save myself some of the criticism.

This is my last update before surgery. Thank you to everyone who has been supportive through this whole process. In all honesty it means so much to me and I have no idea how I would have made it this far without it. My post yesterday got over 300 hits and it made me feel like people care and that I am not going into this thing alone. I can promise it is not going to be fun, and throwing up blood, permanent numbness and whatever else can be thrown at me is going to make for one hell of an experience. 

Tomorrow I will wake up nice and early just to drive to the University of Miami Hospital and have my face deconstructed and then reconstructed with a little less lower jaw and a lot of screws and plates. To say that i am dreading the next 24 hours would probably be the biggest understatement of my life. It is going to suck and I am just going to have to bite down and say goodbye to the face I have known for 17 years. 17 years in the making, 5 hours in the destroying.

It’s hard to be optimistic when the next six weeks will consist of only jamba juice, protein shakes, and a face the size of a beach ball. I will do my best to keep everyone up to date on my recovery. All of the support has made it that much easier for me and I can walk into that operating room tomorrow knowing that it is going to be alright.

Keeping my fingers crossed and constantly hoping that it will all be worth it in the end,
Sam

PS, Tonight was my last dinner for 6-8 weeks. I will be on a complete liquid diet until the beginning of October, just more things to be excited about. Any good ideas for a liquid drink and I am open to it.

That is all that is left until the surgery. Ten years of knowing what was at the end of the road and it is finally here. I don’t think anyone understands how scared I am for this surgery but at this point I am just going to cross my fingers and hope all goes well.

The exact procedure should take around five hours. There is a 5 millimeter gap between my lower and upper jaw. My upper jaw is going to be pulled forward about 3 mm and my lower jaw will go back about 2 mm which should make up the gap. I can give some more details tomorrow. 

The recovery time for everything could be as long as six months and my biggest fear is permanent numbness in my lower face which does happen about 10% of the time. There are two large nerves that run along your jaw line and if those are cut I can never get feeling back to that part of my face.

There are times I am excited for Thursday. I know that I can finally smile like a human being, eat foods that you need to use your front teeth to bite, and most importantly lose my lisp. I will continue to update everyone but at this point I think nerves and fear have taken over and I just want it to be all over. I just hope I don’t regret it.

And as much as I have never let my jaw define me or let people who make fun of the lisp get to me I have always been bothered by it. I’m not one to pride myself on looks but I think that I will be a lot happier when it is over, or at least that is what I keep telling myself.
Well one more day of food and then good-bye old Sam and thus begins the 3-6 month recovery.

Well I am a 17 year old who has lived with a moderate to severe underbite for my whole life and next Thursday that all changes. I am going in for surgery which will pull my upper jaw forward and push my lower jaw back. Hopefully it will eliminate my lisp which all of my doctors say is a a product of my underbite.
However, I am terrified. It is really extensive surgery and I am so nervous about how it is going to work out. Is the surgery really worth it? Am I only doing it for aesthetic reasons and if so is that a good enough reason to do it? I think I am getting so nervous because the surgery is so close. I will keep everyone up to date and would appreciate any support or words of advice.

For the past six weeks I have been working for a Republican Assemblyman in California. Although I am neither a Republican nor a Californian, the job was a lot more than I expected. Everyone should learn their local assemblyman and state senator’s names. If you want to see something get done then don’t waste your time calling US Senators, they honestly do not care and are not going to listen to what you have to say. I did not even know my local assemblyman’s name but this summer has taught me that democracy at its fundamental levels still works. It was incredible to actually see something get done in politics.
Unfortunately, local government is always overlooked. So in the future I dare every voting and participating American citizen to get involved in their community government by attending local meetings, morning breakfasts, mixers and all of those events that so many of us think are pointless. I promise that someone is always listening. As I learned this summer, there is still a place in the United States where politics and those involved care about who they are representing.