A Small Introduction

For the past two weeks I have been trying to sift through the madness that is the blogosphere and decide what the focus of this blog should be. My intention has always been for this to be a blog where the average person can find out about all sorts of different things: a) news stories, technology, ways to better one self and the environment, shopping, book reviews, movie reviews, personal commentary on different events, and even celebrity gossip and b) asking questions about those stories because questions are fundamental to human learning and understanding.

I suppose what I am trying to say here is that this blog will be relatively unfocused, encompassing my many different interests and my attempt to help and inform those who choose to read this blog.

My next few entries will be focused on those things that do interest me and I (hope) to write about. However, first I have one story to direct you to that absolutely stunned and frightened me.

This morning I read a story on Yahoo! News about how a mother suffering from postpartum depression called 911 after killing her 3 1/2 week old son and eating three of his toes and his brains in San Antonio, Texas.

How is it that things like this can happen? Especially in a state where tragedies like this have occurred before?

While I cannot speak as to the mother's mental sanity, we as a country need to take more steps to take care of women after childbirth. Homicidal acts resulting from postpartum depression are one of the most horrifying and horrible things that can possibly happen to a new mother or to any mother. The possibility that a woman could kill her own baby due to not being kept a close watch on when it is known that the woman has suffered from mental illness in the past is completely insane.

The fact that this is possible is quite frightening in and of itself and now counted among the many things that make me fear ever becoming a mother. While I realize postpartum depression does not occur in every woman that does not change the fact that it does happen and it is something to be taken very seriously. Tragedies like this can be averted, but it takes a village. We must ask others if they are okay, even if we do not particularly like that person if we feel that something is wrong, seriously or otherwise. Sometimes all it takes is a little kindness to keep things from getting out of control.

My name is Elizabeth Velez and I am asking you to look at the world inquisitively.

Just to get started...

Right now I am unsure of which direction to take in this blog. I hope to find ways to inform and entertain with this blog, but as of right now I don't know how I am going to do that. In any case, this is just a post for me to get a feel of Blogger.