This happened to me on Friday.
I rolled out of bed at 6:05, which is forty minutes earlier than I usually get up. As I clumsily got ready for conditioning I decided to skip makeup and threw my hair up in a bun (which means that it wasn’t going to be a high maintenance morning.) As my dad drove me to school in the dim morning light I wondered if conditioning was going to be worth it. I am planning to join the track team this year and as the intercom announcements said “anybody serious about track should be there” I decided I had better go. Conditioning itself isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Pretty much we jogged laps around the gym for a half hour; that was it. Nothing I couldn’t have done at home around my neighborhood. Then I realized a horrible thing… I had left the bag which contained my change of clothes, cell phone, etc at home by the back door. I called my mom and asked her to bring me my bag, she said yes but wasn’t happy about it (it was around 7:15, she needed to drive my brothers to school and this really got in the way of her schedule.) Since I didn’t have my cell phone for her to call me on when she was outside, I had to wait by the office and watch for her. Yes, it is my fault for forgetting my clothes, but that didn’t make the situation prettier. So there I am… 7:15 a.m. dressed in gym clothes, sweaty red face, no makeup, hair falling all over the place, you get the picture. And OF COURSE this happens on the ONE morning, the morning of the talent show, that there are ACTUALLY going to be people in the commons at 7:15. Everybody even semi-involved in the talent show was required to be there at 7, so I got my fair share of weird looks from people I don’t even know. Ugh… NEVER AGAIN will I put myself through such an experience! Track conditioning is hereby canceled from my life. I will condition on my own, thank you very much. Let this be a warning to all you who go to conditioning…
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
A couple of Poems I wrote....
My Brother Ate My Homework
“My brother ate my homework.”
I told my teacher one day
I don’t know how he got it
but he chewed it and ran away.
I chased him all over
under tables, chairs, and the bed.
He thought that he could get away
“but he will not!” I said.
He ran from me for quite some time
then stopped to catch his breath.
Though tired too, I caught his arm
and said “you’ve met your death.”
Of course I would not hurt him
I’m kind and loving you know.
But when I saw my ripped up work
I wanted to give him a blow.
Fixing up the broken mess
of the homework my brother ate,
was really hard! At last I said
“homework, for you it’s too late!”
I told this to my teacher
But she would not believe me.
Instead she said “go down the hall,
the principal you must see.
That is why I sit here now
in a huge chair, soft and new.
The principal says I’m telling lies
but you believe me, don’t you?
I told my teacher one day
I don’t know how he got it
but he chewed it and ran away.
I chased him all over
under tables, chairs, and the bed.
He thought that he could get away
“but he will not!” I said.
He ran from me for quite some time
then stopped to catch his breath.
Though tired too, I caught his arm
and said “you’ve met your death.”
Of course I would not hurt him
I’m kind and loving you know.
But when I saw my ripped up work
I wanted to give him a blow.
Fixing up the broken mess
of the homework my brother ate,
was really hard! At last I said
“homework, for you it’s too late!”
I told this to my teacher
But she would not believe me.
Instead she said “go down the hall,
the principal you must see.
That is why I sit here now
in a huge chair, soft and new.
The principal says I’m telling lies
but you believe me, don’t you?
Where do my poems hide?
I smell them in
the enticing scent of the first warm breeze
which fills your lungs and tosses your hair
as spring announces it’s coming.
I feel them in the utter
stillness
that encompasses the land
as fresh snow blankets every stone and tree in the rolling hills.
I hear them in the
snap
of a leaf being crushed beneath your boot
while passing under an oak tree
shedding its autumn plumage.
I see them in the
sun soaked fuzz
of a tabby cat’s fur who is basking
in the warm soil of a vegetable garden among the
cantaloupe blossoms.
I taste them in the
sticky scarlet juice
which bursts from a plump segment of an overly ripe raspberry
drooping on its stem.
It is here I find my poems.
I smell them in
the enticing scent of the first warm breeze
which fills your lungs and tosses your hair
as spring announces it’s coming.
I feel them in the utter
stillness
that encompasses the land
as fresh snow blankets every stone and tree in the rolling hills.
I hear them in the
snap
of a leaf being crushed beneath your boot
while passing under an oak tree
shedding its autumn plumage.
I see them in the
sun soaked fuzz
of a tabby cat’s fur who is basking
in the warm soil of a vegetable garden among the
cantaloupe blossoms.
I taste them in the
sticky scarlet juice
which bursts from a plump segment of an overly ripe raspberry
drooping on its stem.
It is here I find my poems.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
This makes me sound like an ET chaser… great.
Ok I have been thinking lately. In science we have been watching these movies on whether or not there is “intelligent” life like us out there in the universe. It goes through all these reasons why there could be and why there couldn’t be life out there. All of their reasons make sense, but even before seeing that video I always sort of assumed that there was something else out there. I mean, the universe is huge! Earth is tiny compared to our sun, our sun is tiny compared to our galaxy, and even then there are hundreds of billions of galaxy clusters scattered throughout the universe. In my mind, there is no way that we are the only ones that exist in the huge inter workings of it all! There is tons of space out there, how can we be the only dot of life existing in the universe?
There is no way to prove it of course. We have never ACTUALLY seen life from other planets, but who’s to say that it makes it impossible? I realize that we ourselves are only beginning to consider travel to Mars, a planet only a few thousand miles away from us. In a few centuries, if at all, may we even be able to send humans to another star. And we say “well, if there is life out there at all, then they would have visited us by now.” I don’t think so; I think that they probably just having as much trouble getting to our planet as we are to theirs. If there are planets close enough to us who have life, have the resources to make some sort of spaceship, and even care enough to wonder if we exist, then maybe one day we will meet them. But so far we are doing a pretty lousy job of creating the sort of “war of the worlds” simulation for other planets that we so often dream will happen to our own; we have yet to attack another planet. Since we cannot leave our planet and “invade” theirs, they probably can’t do the same to us.
I am not trying to prove anything; there is no way to know for sure that there is life besides us. But there are slim chances that we are the only ones out there. Whatever way you want to look at it… if you believe that God made us and we are the one and only then that’s your view, and if you think that God made multiple planets then that can be your view. If you believe that we were one of the lucky few whose planet came to support life then you can have that view. There is no right answer. My view just happens to be that there must be more than us in the universe, that’s all I’m trying to say. There is too much space out there to have us be the one speck of life that exists.
Ok I have been thinking lately. In science we have been watching these movies on whether or not there is “intelligent” life like us out there in the universe. It goes through all these reasons why there could be and why there couldn’t be life out there. All of their reasons make sense, but even before seeing that video I always sort of assumed that there was something else out there. I mean, the universe is huge! Earth is tiny compared to our sun, our sun is tiny compared to our galaxy, and even then there are hundreds of billions of galaxy clusters scattered throughout the universe. In my mind, there is no way that we are the only ones that exist in the huge inter workings of it all! There is tons of space out there, how can we be the only dot of life existing in the universe?
There is no way to prove it of course. We have never ACTUALLY seen life from other planets, but who’s to say that it makes it impossible? I realize that we ourselves are only beginning to consider travel to Mars, a planet only a few thousand miles away from us. In a few centuries, if at all, may we even be able to send humans to another star. And we say “well, if there is life out there at all, then they would have visited us by now.” I don’t think so; I think that they probably just having as much trouble getting to our planet as we are to theirs. If there are planets close enough to us who have life, have the resources to make some sort of spaceship, and even care enough to wonder if we exist, then maybe one day we will meet them. But so far we are doing a pretty lousy job of creating the sort of “war of the worlds” simulation for other planets that we so often dream will happen to our own; we have yet to attack another planet. Since we cannot leave our planet and “invade” theirs, they probably can’t do the same to us.
I am not trying to prove anything; there is no way to know for sure that there is life besides us. But there are slim chances that we are the only ones out there. Whatever way you want to look at it… if you believe that God made us and we are the one and only then that’s your view, and if you think that God made multiple planets then that can be your view. If you believe that we were one of the lucky few whose planet came to support life then you can have that view. There is no right answer. My view just happens to be that there must be more than us in the universe, that’s all I’m trying to say. There is too much space out there to have us be the one speck of life that exists.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Culture...where would we be without it?
Where would we be without culture? Without our art, literature, music, dance, etc we would be nearly as uncivilized as our ancestors of thousands of years ago. It is these elements of fine art and culture that set us apart from them.
I sat down and pondered this for a while, and came upon the following ideas:
Without literature or even a written language we would have a completely different lifestyle. We wouldn’t have computers for there would be no binary code, the written bits of data that make our computers run. With no computers there would be no television, no cars, no microwaves, no calculators (now isn’t that a scary thought, we rely on them so much we could not function without them) and many other things which we rely on daily to perform simple tasks we have grown so accustomed to have the computers perform for us. Without writing we would have no way of recording history and would still bargain for things with objects instead of money, since there would be no way to write down a price for each item. Can you imagine going to the market (if there even was such a thing back then) … you step in with a chicken under each arm, stroll up to the manager and say “I will give you these two chickens for a pound of apples and a new hunting knife.” Then with your new hunting knife and the pound of apples you return to your shack (there are no bulldozers or other devices to build the sort of houses we have today since the way to make them involves writing.) For the rest of the day you work in your garden to grow a few crops or wander in the surrounding valleys to find food (since there is no other option now that you have traded in your only chickens.)
Sounds pretty fun right? Not in my opinion. Luckily someone invented writing so that all of our modern conveniences exist.
And again, where would we be without art, acting, dance, etc.? Since almost all of our forms of entertainment revolve around these things, without it we would have no fun, ever. Think about it, television- it all started with actors and actresses which then turned into cartoons and soap operas. Before that there was acting on stage to entertain us with stories much like those we would see on TV nowadays. Then there is dance. We can go see dance performances or participate in them for entertainment. And art… besides enjoying drawings, photos, and paintings, we would not have writing without it because writing evolved from art. So basically, without culture, we as humans would be NOWHERE. So don’t take for granted electronics, entertainment, even the books we read for school. Somebody somewhere in time had to invent these things and without it our lives would be incredibly different.
I sat down and pondered this for a while, and came upon the following ideas:
Without literature or even a written language we would have a completely different lifestyle. We wouldn’t have computers for there would be no binary code, the written bits of data that make our computers run. With no computers there would be no television, no cars, no microwaves, no calculators (now isn’t that a scary thought, we rely on them so much we could not function without them) and many other things which we rely on daily to perform simple tasks we have grown so accustomed to have the computers perform for us. Without writing we would have no way of recording history and would still bargain for things with objects instead of money, since there would be no way to write down a price for each item. Can you imagine going to the market (if there even was such a thing back then) … you step in with a chicken under each arm, stroll up to the manager and say “I will give you these two chickens for a pound of apples and a new hunting knife.” Then with your new hunting knife and the pound of apples you return to your shack (there are no bulldozers or other devices to build the sort of houses we have today since the way to make them involves writing.) For the rest of the day you work in your garden to grow a few crops or wander in the surrounding valleys to find food (since there is no other option now that you have traded in your only chickens.)
Sounds pretty fun right? Not in my opinion. Luckily someone invented writing so that all of our modern conveniences exist.
And again, where would we be without art, acting, dance, etc.? Since almost all of our forms of entertainment revolve around these things, without it we would have no fun, ever. Think about it, television- it all started with actors and actresses which then turned into cartoons and soap operas. Before that there was acting on stage to entertain us with stories much like those we would see on TV nowadays. Then there is dance. We can go see dance performances or participate in them for entertainment. And art… besides enjoying drawings, photos, and paintings, we would not have writing without it because writing evolved from art. So basically, without culture, we as humans would be NOWHERE. So don’t take for granted electronics, entertainment, even the books we read for school. Somebody somewhere in time had to invent these things and without it our lives would be incredibly different.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
My Persuasive Essay, Privileges for Teens
There are times when a rule could save our lives, and the again there are times when they can cage us beyond reason. We could be in trouble and a rule could prevent us from tipping over the edge of disaster. At other times certain rules are unnecessary and only prevent us from being free. At our school, Fairfield Junior High, we have a lot more rules than many of the other schools around the country. Students at Fairfield should have more privileges than we currently have.
Removing some rules or adding a few privileges will not only make students at Fairfield happier, it will also make the teachers and administration less stressed. For if there are fewer rules that need to be enforced then they can deal with the bigger problems and not have to worry about all of the little problems that go on. They will be able to handle the really serious problems with drugs and violence instead of spending their valuable time reprimanding a student for having a small dress code violation. Also, students will be much happier and willing to come to school if they know they will not get in trouble for reasons some of them don’t even understand. I remember vividly nearly receiving points for breaking an unknown school rule. The rule? I forgot to put the time I left class on the hall pass I was using. It was terrifying to a young seventh grader like me. The rule I was in trouble for was unnecessary and only put pressure on me and the woman giving me punishment. Some may say that every rule exists in order to make the school run smoothly, but I beg to differ. Some of the rules at our school could be eliminated, and we could still have a peaceful school. To name a few of these rules, the rule that you have to sign in the time and reason of leaving class with the hall pass, the rule that you must pick up trash as you walk down the halls with the hall pass, the rule in which you cannot wear clothing with holes in them, etc. Having unnecessary rules puts unneeded stress on faculty and staff at our school, and the students build resentment toward the punishers who are only doing their jobs. By eliminating some rules, the faculty, staff and students will all be much happier. Besides creating a peaceful school environment, giving us more privileges will allow students to express their individuality.
One of today’s teen’s favorite ways of expressing themselves is through dress. Our school, Fairfield Junior High, we have many more dress standards than many of the other schools around the country. This isn’t all bad, but many of us would enjoy being able to wear a greater variety of clothing. My friend told me of a time when she and her friend from another school went shopping and got matching hats. Her friends wore hers to school; my friend did not and really wanted to. Another way that we like to express ourselves is through our talents. We have many programs at our school but we are not allowed to use cameras. Many of my friends and I scrapbook and to me it would be fun to be able to put together a scrapbook of my friends. However, I cannot take pictures of very many of my friends because I only see them at school. I believe we should be able to use cameras at school. There will be consequences for using them inappropriately; the privilege of using them will be taken away if this happens. If we cannot be allowed to use cameras all the time then perhaps we will be able to use them on the last day of school. It may be said that teens are not responsible enough to handle the privilege of dressing according to our wants and carrying cameras, but I have observed at our school a great many responsible students. By this time in our lives most of us are responsible enough to handle these privileges in the correct manner. As for the few who are not, as soon as the rule is broken by them, the privilege will be suspended from them for an amount of time appropriate to the offense. Besides letting us display our individuality, giving us simple privileges now will prepare us for the future and making good choices in behalf of America.
Teens need to have more privileges so that we will be able to make wise choices when we are the future of the country. We are the ones which will someday be the presidents, lawyers, military commanders, teachers and other important figures of our country. We need to learn now, in our youth, how to make wise decisions. If we were able to choose the sort of language we use, the sort of things we carry with us at school, and so forth, the more prepared the future generation will be to run our country one day. According to Parent Trust for Washington Children, it is wise to eliminate rules or add privileges to produce better behaved children. Also, since we will be running the country one day, we need experience in leadership privileges. The student government has plenty of opportunities, but the rest of the school does not. If the privilege of leadership responsibility was given in more ways the rest of us could learn how to lead our peers early on, so that we can be the leaders of the future. Of course some may say that we are not prepared enough to hold positions of leadership, and that we may abuse our power. The power given to the leading students will be supervised power and the decisions given to them will be limited. Therefore there is no need for concern on behalf of the leading students.
By giving students at Fairfield Junior High school more privileges, we will be in for a brighter future here in our country because we, the future commanders of this country, will know how to make good decisions when the time comes. The students at our school should receive more privileges. The students will be much happier because they will feel less confined by dress code and other rules that limit heir capabilities to express themselves, and the teachers and administration themselves will be much less stressed because they will not have to enforce so many rules. If we simply give teens more privileges, we can look forward to a wonderful future!
Removing some rules or adding a few privileges will not only make students at Fairfield happier, it will also make the teachers and administration less stressed. For if there are fewer rules that need to be enforced then they can deal with the bigger problems and not have to worry about all of the little problems that go on. They will be able to handle the really serious problems with drugs and violence instead of spending their valuable time reprimanding a student for having a small dress code violation. Also, students will be much happier and willing to come to school if they know they will not get in trouble for reasons some of them don’t even understand. I remember vividly nearly receiving points for breaking an unknown school rule. The rule? I forgot to put the time I left class on the hall pass I was using. It was terrifying to a young seventh grader like me. The rule I was in trouble for was unnecessary and only put pressure on me and the woman giving me punishment. Some may say that every rule exists in order to make the school run smoothly, but I beg to differ. Some of the rules at our school could be eliminated, and we could still have a peaceful school. To name a few of these rules, the rule that you have to sign in the time and reason of leaving class with the hall pass, the rule that you must pick up trash as you walk down the halls with the hall pass, the rule in which you cannot wear clothing with holes in them, etc. Having unnecessary rules puts unneeded stress on faculty and staff at our school, and the students build resentment toward the punishers who are only doing their jobs. By eliminating some rules, the faculty, staff and students will all be much happier. Besides creating a peaceful school environment, giving us more privileges will allow students to express their individuality.
One of today’s teen’s favorite ways of expressing themselves is through dress. Our school, Fairfield Junior High, we have many more dress standards than many of the other schools around the country. This isn’t all bad, but many of us would enjoy being able to wear a greater variety of clothing. My friend told me of a time when she and her friend from another school went shopping and got matching hats. Her friends wore hers to school; my friend did not and really wanted to. Another way that we like to express ourselves is through our talents. We have many programs at our school but we are not allowed to use cameras. Many of my friends and I scrapbook and to me it would be fun to be able to put together a scrapbook of my friends. However, I cannot take pictures of very many of my friends because I only see them at school. I believe we should be able to use cameras at school. There will be consequences for using them inappropriately; the privilege of using them will be taken away if this happens. If we cannot be allowed to use cameras all the time then perhaps we will be able to use them on the last day of school. It may be said that teens are not responsible enough to handle the privilege of dressing according to our wants and carrying cameras, but I have observed at our school a great many responsible students. By this time in our lives most of us are responsible enough to handle these privileges in the correct manner. As for the few who are not, as soon as the rule is broken by them, the privilege will be suspended from them for an amount of time appropriate to the offense. Besides letting us display our individuality, giving us simple privileges now will prepare us for the future and making good choices in behalf of America.
Teens need to have more privileges so that we will be able to make wise choices when we are the future of the country. We are the ones which will someday be the presidents, lawyers, military commanders, teachers and other important figures of our country. We need to learn now, in our youth, how to make wise decisions. If we were able to choose the sort of language we use, the sort of things we carry with us at school, and so forth, the more prepared the future generation will be to run our country one day. According to Parent Trust for Washington Children, it is wise to eliminate rules or add privileges to produce better behaved children. Also, since we will be running the country one day, we need experience in leadership privileges. The student government has plenty of opportunities, but the rest of the school does not. If the privilege of leadership responsibility was given in more ways the rest of us could learn how to lead our peers early on, so that we can be the leaders of the future. Of course some may say that we are not prepared enough to hold positions of leadership, and that we may abuse our power. The power given to the leading students will be supervised power and the decisions given to them will be limited. Therefore there is no need for concern on behalf of the leading students.
By giving students at Fairfield Junior High school more privileges, we will be in for a brighter future here in our country because we, the future commanders of this country, will know how to make good decisions when the time comes. The students at our school should receive more privileges. The students will be much happier because they will feel less confined by dress code and other rules that limit heir capabilities to express themselves, and the teachers and administration themselves will be much less stressed because they will not have to enforce so many rules. If we simply give teens more privileges, we can look forward to a wonderful future!
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