A couple of weeks ago I was in Disneyland for spring break. One thing I noticed was that is was slowly becoming “modernized”, meaning the happiest place on earth was slowly becoming just like every other amusement park.
If you have ever been to Disneyland, you know that Space Mountain is one of the best rides there. I went a couple of years ago and it was my favorite ride, it was pitch black inside and you had no idea which direction you were going to be jerked next. There were amazing space decorations hanging next to the track and a million tiny light bulbs made it appear that you were surrounded by stars. In general- it was really cool. Naturally I was psyched to go on it this time around, but I was more than a bit disappointed. All of the cool decorations, gone. Space Mountain had turned into Rock ‘n roll mountain. A head banging song had replaced the techno-style music, and the decorations had been replaced with strobe lights, giant orange and purple fluorescent lights, and silhouettes of people doing the disco (???). The track was now lit up by the fantastic array of color, so the previously jerky unpredictable roller coaster was in plain view and sadly, not as exciting. I’m not saying that it wasn’t fun, but I preferred the old way better.
Another thing I saw at Disneyland was that Sleeping Beauty’s Castle (the giant in front of the park) was closed. I found out that the castle you used to be able to walk through is being remodeled into a small hotel. Imagine! Getting to stay the night right in Disneyland! Pretty cool right? Now imagine all those people who will never get to walk through that amazing castle ever again. It sounds nothing like anything Walt Disney himself would have approved of.
That was only in Disneyland, the last place you would ever expect to change. Look around, beautiful farmland and open fields are quickly being made into commercial subdivisions. Perfectly good computers are being thrown away because they aren’t good enough for today’s software. Is it really necessary to make so many changes? The new stuff is amazing, but what was wrong with the old?
It’s not bad to upgrade things every now and then; in fact it is a blessing. However, I think that sometimes it’s too much. We get so caught up in the latest and greatest that we can’t appreciate what is sitting next to us. The other day my family and I went on a walk to an abandoned park down our street. The park was beautiful, enormous trees that had to be at least fifty feet tall (don’t tell me you prefer six foot trees planted in front of new houses), monuments to the first settlers of Utah, picnic tables and barbeques for family gatherings. I had forgotten all this was even there because a few years ago the park was closed. The government decided a new on-ramp to the highway is going to be built in the next year or two. The park will be bulldozed all for the sake of saving thirty seconds of your drive. Tell me, is it worth it?
Is there something wrong with leaving things the way they are?
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Why can reading help us?
Why should we read? The obvious answers come to mind: It makes you smarter, improves your vocabulary, and is helpful in surviving in society. But what underlying benefits does reading provoke?
To me, reading is an escape from an otherwise uneventful life. Compared to the characters in books, my life is incredibly dull. As I read I unconsciously place myself and my close friends in the places of characters in the story. Then as I read the story, I feel like it is actually happening to me even though I know it isn’t. Depending on the personality and physical qualities of the character, my mind takes one of my friends and puts them in place of the character, only with a different name. A specific example of this is while I was reading Eragon, my friend *Hilary suddenly became Arya without me realizing it until later. Hilary has long dark hair and a similar personality to Arya, so I unconsciously chose her for the part. This same “choosing friends in place of characters” even exists with people who are only acquaintances of mine. They are chosen as less important characters, as they are less important in my life. I don’t know if everyone does this, but I’m guessing we all do.
I think that one huge advantage of reading is this sort of unconscious thinking; which processes thoughts and transforms them into a subconscious story focusing into MY life. This is sort of like learning without trying to; without knowing it.
Everybody realizes “learning teaches you stuff.” What sort of stuff? The stuff in textbooks? I think not. I have never met a person who enjoyed reading a textbook for even five minutes. We read books because we enjoy them, not because we know they will make us smarter. So why can we get lost in a book for hours and still claim to be gaining knowledge? I don’t believe The Giver teaches us anything school related. I don’t believe A Wrinkle in Time, The Pigman, Fahrenheit 451, Great Expectations, or any other books we may have read in the past year teach us anything about science and history. No, they teach us things we don’t learn in school. The Giver and Fahrenheit 451 are warnings against a dim future. Great Expectations is telling us to take life as it comes; don’t hold on to grudges from the past or scramble towards the future. The Pigman and A Wrinkle in Time teach us to take caution in who you trust, and how much you care to give of yourself before knowing a person. This is taking five books and mentioning ONE thing they teach us. There are dozens more in each, and I can not have spotted every one of them. There are millions of books, billions. It’s not a wonder that we learn so much from reading! Every book tells us, if we care to look for it, something we can use in the real world one day. Perhaps if we read enough, we won’t be grasping for ideas when a really tough situation appears. We will already know how to handle it.
I’ve only mentioned two reasons why we should read, but there are more. Enjoy yourself and gain something useful at the same time. Why NOT read?
To me, reading is an escape from an otherwise uneventful life. Compared to the characters in books, my life is incredibly dull. As I read I unconsciously place myself and my close friends in the places of characters in the story. Then as I read the story, I feel like it is actually happening to me even though I know it isn’t. Depending on the personality and physical qualities of the character, my mind takes one of my friends and puts them in place of the character, only with a different name. A specific example of this is while I was reading Eragon, my friend *Hilary suddenly became Arya without me realizing it until later. Hilary has long dark hair and a similar personality to Arya, so I unconsciously chose her for the part. This same “choosing friends in place of characters” even exists with people who are only acquaintances of mine. They are chosen as less important characters, as they are less important in my life. I don’t know if everyone does this, but I’m guessing we all do.
I think that one huge advantage of reading is this sort of unconscious thinking; which processes thoughts and transforms them into a subconscious story focusing into MY life. This is sort of like learning without trying to; without knowing it.
Everybody realizes “learning teaches you stuff.” What sort of stuff? The stuff in textbooks? I think not. I have never met a person who enjoyed reading a textbook for even five minutes. We read books because we enjoy them, not because we know they will make us smarter. So why can we get lost in a book for hours and still claim to be gaining knowledge? I don’t believe The Giver teaches us anything school related. I don’t believe A Wrinkle in Time, The Pigman, Fahrenheit 451, Great Expectations, or any other books we may have read in the past year teach us anything about science and history. No, they teach us things we don’t learn in school. The Giver and Fahrenheit 451 are warnings against a dim future. Great Expectations is telling us to take life as it comes; don’t hold on to grudges from the past or scramble towards the future. The Pigman and A Wrinkle in Time teach us to take caution in who you trust, and how much you care to give of yourself before knowing a person. This is taking five books and mentioning ONE thing they teach us. There are dozens more in each, and I can not have spotted every one of them. There are millions of books, billions. It’s not a wonder that we learn so much from reading! Every book tells us, if we care to look for it, something we can use in the real world one day. Perhaps if we read enough, we won’t be grasping for ideas when a really tough situation appears. We will already know how to handle it.
I’ve only mentioned two reasons why we should read, but there are more. Enjoy yourself and gain something useful at the same time. Why NOT read?
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Why do we want something that will only corrupt us...
I’ve been thinking lately (scary music starts now) (JK) If you look around you see a lot of celebrities GONE BAD. You hear a new story everyday about some movie star who has some emotional problem they didn’t have before, one getting their 4th wife, one shaving their head (???) and I wonder… how can perfectly normal people end up like this?
There was a time when me and my friends would jump around the room in tune to Brittney Spears latest songs, they were harmless back then. I remember reading about her in one of those CD pamphlets that comes with the disk, it showed some pictures of her walking by the great salt lake, of all places! She was wearing a sweatshirt and shorts, nothing like her recent attire. She my role model when I was eight years old, but that changed quickly. Within a few years she transformed into the being she is today, a bald playboy model who doesn’t know what to do with her life.
Not all cases are as extreme as Brittney’s, but it seems that every celebrity is slightly…different since becoming famous.
We are the same way. If we suddenly become popular, it most likely goes to our heads. Even worse, if we gradually become popular it slowly changes us, so that we and most of our friends barely notice it until we are suddenly at the top looking down, and don’t want to go back. I think most of us can think of several people who have changed since becoming “popular.” There are a few exceptions of course, but not many.
The strange thing is, ARE they popular? Everybody hates them unless they are one of the few who retained their former personality when they changed social status. The so called “popular” people are the ones we secretly trash because they bother us so much. Popularity is only a figment of their imagination! It only exists in their mind, yet, the majority of us still strive to achieve popularity! What is it that is so desirable about being bad mouthed? Apparently we WANT a bad reputation! I don’t understand it. Being popular isn't bad, but it is when you do what most do with popularity it is.
I had a friend in 7th grade who is a perfect example of this. “Tracy” was an average girl, a lot like me and we were good friends in Utah studies. That is, until she got a hold of eyeliner and a curling iron before most of the girls in 7th grade. Then she snagged a boyfriend and became popular. To this day I think she has a small group of friends and has had miserable dating experiences numerous times. She ignores me now; somehow I think it’s for the better.
I have to admit, I’m not sure how I would act if I was suddenly popular. Would I change like most? Or would I stay the same? I’d like to believe I would stay the same, but something tells me I wouldn’t. I hope I never have to be badmouthed because I was a person who changed for the worse.
(Rest assured, none of the people I referred to here are in our honors English class)
There was a time when me and my friends would jump around the room in tune to Brittney Spears latest songs, they were harmless back then. I remember reading about her in one of those CD pamphlets that comes with the disk, it showed some pictures of her walking by the great salt lake, of all places! She was wearing a sweatshirt and shorts, nothing like her recent attire. She my role model when I was eight years old, but that changed quickly. Within a few years she transformed into the being she is today, a bald playboy model who doesn’t know what to do with her life.
Not all cases are as extreme as Brittney’s, but it seems that every celebrity is slightly…different since becoming famous.
We are the same way. If we suddenly become popular, it most likely goes to our heads. Even worse, if we gradually become popular it slowly changes us, so that we and most of our friends barely notice it until we are suddenly at the top looking down, and don’t want to go back. I think most of us can think of several people who have changed since becoming “popular.” There are a few exceptions of course, but not many.
The strange thing is, ARE they popular? Everybody hates them unless they are one of the few who retained their former personality when they changed social status. The so called “popular” people are the ones we secretly trash because they bother us so much. Popularity is only a figment of their imagination! It only exists in their mind, yet, the majority of us still strive to achieve popularity! What is it that is so desirable about being bad mouthed? Apparently we WANT a bad reputation! I don’t understand it. Being popular isn't bad, but it is when you do what most do with popularity it is.
I had a friend in 7th grade who is a perfect example of this. “Tracy” was an average girl, a lot like me and we were good friends in Utah studies. That is, until she got a hold of eyeliner and a curling iron before most of the girls in 7th grade. Then she snagged a boyfriend and became popular. To this day I think she has a small group of friends and has had miserable dating experiences numerous times. She ignores me now; somehow I think it’s for the better.
I have to admit, I’m not sure how I would act if I was suddenly popular. Would I change like most? Or would I stay the same? I’d like to believe I would stay the same, but something tells me I wouldn’t. I hope I never have to be badmouthed because I was a person who changed for the worse.
(Rest assured, none of the people I referred to here are in our honors English class)
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
My literary analysis
Ok now I know that no one ever reads school assignments because they bore us to death, but I need time to think of better ideas. Bear with me on this one until I can think of something else to write about.
This book is about a young boy, Pip, who is born into a simple English life in the country. He is destined to become a blacksmith, that is, until a mysterious benefactor fulfills his hopes and dreams by supplying him with all the money a wealthy Englishman could want. The theme that comes across in this book is: Be thankful for what you have, don’t constantly yearn for something bigger and better, but find happiness in what you have. As Pip progresses through the story, he finds that all he ever wanted he had at his original home. By becoming an English gentleman he spoiled his chance at a happy life.
Page 344: “I would not have gone back to Joe now, I would not have gone back to Biddy now, for any consideration: simply, I suppose, because my sense of my own worthless conduct to them was greater than every consideration. No wisdom on earth could have given me the comfort that I should have derived from their simplicity and fidelity; but I could never, never, never, undo what I had done.”
In the passage, Pip is realizing for the first time what he has done to his life. Until then, he thought that his new way of life was making him happy. Then his benefactor reveals himself and Pip realizes that it was all just a fantasy and that he is actually miserable. He wishes that he could take back what he had done, but knows that by now it is too late to do so.
This part of the story is a huge shock to everyone who reads it. In fact, it was a part of the book that I really enjoyed. The total shock that the criminal is his benefactor is clearly presented in Pip, and therefore in all the readers. He is feeling sad and regretful, realizing what road his fantasies have led him down. The only reason he wanted to be a gentleman was to impress Estella and before she came into his life he was destined to be a very happy man. He It is a terrible moment for him. He realizes that he always felt safe and content with Joe and Biddy but never realized it. This is a turning point for him in the story.
The passage clearly conveys how Pip feels; he knows that without the revealing of his benefactor, he would never have gone back to Joe and Biddy. He realizes what kind of a person he was being towards those who had always been so kind to him. It’s a sad moment for him, solemn and gloomy. If he could go back he would, but it is impossible at this point.
What the author is trying to tell us in the passage is that we should be grateful for what we have and not greedily climb upward for more. Pip lost happiness by trying to be someone he could never be happy being. He tried to get more and more, and ended up helplessly falling before his friends pulled him back on his feet. The theme of the novel is told through Pip’s story, and we can learn from it if we try to.
The author is giving us advice on how to be happy in life by telling us a story of a boy who dreams of a classy life; which is a symbol of an average person like us dreaming of great fame. Overall, the theme teaches us to be content with our lives and find the good things, not the coarse hands and dirty boots, in our own lives.
My literary analysis.......
This book is about a young boy, Pip, who is born into a simple English life in the country. He is destined to become a blacksmith, that is, until a mysterious benefactor fulfills his hopes and dreams by supplying him with all the money a wealthy Englishman could want. The theme that comes across in this book is: Be thankful for what you have, don’t constantly yearn for something bigger and better, but find happiness in what you have. As Pip progresses through the story, he finds that all he ever wanted he had at his original home. By becoming an English gentleman he spoiled his chance at a happy life.
Page 344: “I would not have gone back to Joe now, I would not have gone back to Biddy now, for any consideration: simply, I suppose, because my sense of my own worthless conduct to them was greater than every consideration. No wisdom on earth could have given me the comfort that I should have derived from their simplicity and fidelity; but I could never, never, never, undo what I had done.”
In the passage, Pip is realizing for the first time what he has done to his life. Until then, he thought that his new way of life was making him happy. Then his benefactor reveals himself and Pip realizes that it was all just a fantasy and that he is actually miserable. He wishes that he could take back what he had done, but knows that by now it is too late to do so.
This part of the story is a huge shock to everyone who reads it. In fact, it was a part of the book that I really enjoyed. The total shock that the criminal is his benefactor is clearly presented in Pip, and therefore in all the readers. He is feeling sad and regretful, realizing what road his fantasies have led him down. The only reason he wanted to be a gentleman was to impress Estella and before she came into his life he was destined to be a very happy man. He It is a terrible moment for him. He realizes that he always felt safe and content with Joe and Biddy but never realized it. This is a turning point for him in the story.
The passage clearly conveys how Pip feels; he knows that without the revealing of his benefactor, he would never have gone back to Joe and Biddy. He realizes what kind of a person he was being towards those who had always been so kind to him. It’s a sad moment for him, solemn and gloomy. If he could go back he would, but it is impossible at this point.
What the author is trying to tell us in the passage is that we should be grateful for what we have and not greedily climb upward for more. Pip lost happiness by trying to be someone he could never be happy being. He tried to get more and more, and ended up helplessly falling before his friends pulled him back on his feet. The theme of the novel is told through Pip’s story, and we can learn from it if we try to.
The author is giving us advice on how to be happy in life by telling us a story of a boy who dreams of a classy life; which is a symbol of an average person like us dreaming of great fame. Overall, the theme teaches us to be content with our lives and find the good things, not the coarse hands and dirty boots, in our own lives.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
We are such complainers.
From watching my friends and stepping back to take a look at myself, I have realized that we teens are really obsessive. About what? Well… our grades (some of us), our looks, but mostly if seems like we obsess about are the problems in our lives.
I think that realistically, our successes outnumber our mistakes. But whenever I talk to my friends, four out of five responses to "what’s up?" are about some sort of way that they messed up or how somebody else messed up and caused them problems. I am positive that a bunch of good things happened to them also, but they chose to focus on the bad. When I realized this, I thought that by chance I had chosen every pessimist in the school as my friend. Then I realized that I do it to! Everything I tell my friends is usually about some injustice I have been unfairly faced with in the past twenty four hours. Just yesterday I realized I had accidentally forgotten to bring home an important homework assignment I was supposed to finish over the weekend. It was a group assignment, so my mistake affected four other people’s grades. Through some luck I found a way to work it out. But when I got home late last night from a regional dance, I realized that one of the topics I used when an awkward silence happened between me and the person I was dancing with was the story of my magnificent mistake. Of course I presented my story in an amusing way so that I didn’t sound like a complainer, but I being negative nonetheless. *Slap myself in the face* Why was I using my shortcoming as a topic for friendly conversation?!?! Like a complete stranger cares that I messed up! Like they will fondly remember me as "the girl who told me all about her forgotten homework assignment." Obviously I need to think twice about my attitude before I let things slip out of my mouth!
The sad thing is that I hear stories of woe much like mine from friends almost every day. Why do we complain so much? Is there some unwritten rule that we must complain no matter what? Do we WANT our friend to pity us? Are the good things that happen to us extremely boring in comparison to the bad? Depends on the way we present it… I think many of us find it easier to make a C- we got on a math test sound exciting than the A we got on the science test. If we say "Mrs. ______ is so dumb! She gave me a freakin’ C- on the math test!" then we get sympathy from everyone. In comparison if we said "Guess what! I got an A on the Science test!" then we could expect people to say "so and so is such a bragger, all they can talk about is their good grades."
We hate the people that brag, and I complain about the people that complain. How do we stop the circle? We are drawn to those who are positive and happy all the time; they are the ones who are fun and calming to be around. The people that complain constantly we generally draw away from, they only add their problems to the ones you already have and make you stressed.
So, how about when you see your friend in the hall, you tell them one good thing that happened before telling them the dozen bad things you have been longing to tell someone all day? Who knows… it could work.
*How ironic… I am complaining in a blog about not complaining*
I think that realistically, our successes outnumber our mistakes. But whenever I talk to my friends, four out of five responses to "what’s up?" are about some sort of way that they messed up or how somebody else messed up and caused them problems. I am positive that a bunch of good things happened to them also, but they chose to focus on the bad. When I realized this, I thought that by chance I had chosen every pessimist in the school as my friend. Then I realized that I do it to! Everything I tell my friends is usually about some injustice I have been unfairly faced with in the past twenty four hours. Just yesterday I realized I had accidentally forgotten to bring home an important homework assignment I was supposed to finish over the weekend. It was a group assignment, so my mistake affected four other people’s grades. Through some luck I found a way to work it out. But when I got home late last night from a regional dance, I realized that one of the topics I used when an awkward silence happened between me and the person I was dancing with was the story of my magnificent mistake. Of course I presented my story in an amusing way so that I didn’t sound like a complainer, but I being negative nonetheless. *Slap myself in the face* Why was I using my shortcoming as a topic for friendly conversation?!?! Like a complete stranger cares that I messed up! Like they will fondly remember me as "the girl who told me all about her forgotten homework assignment." Obviously I need to think twice about my attitude before I let things slip out of my mouth!
The sad thing is that I hear stories of woe much like mine from friends almost every day. Why do we complain so much? Is there some unwritten rule that we must complain no matter what? Do we WANT our friend to pity us? Are the good things that happen to us extremely boring in comparison to the bad? Depends on the way we present it… I think many of us find it easier to make a C- we got on a math test sound exciting than the A we got on the science test. If we say "Mrs. ______ is so dumb! She gave me a freakin’ C- on the math test!" then we get sympathy from everyone. In comparison if we said "Guess what! I got an A on the Science test!" then we could expect people to say "so and so is such a bragger, all they can talk about is their good grades."
We hate the people that brag, and I complain about the people that complain. How do we stop the circle? We are drawn to those who are positive and happy all the time; they are the ones who are fun and calming to be around. The people that complain constantly we generally draw away from, they only add their problems to the ones you already have and make you stressed.
So, how about when you see your friend in the hall, you tell them one good thing that happened before telling them the dozen bad things you have been longing to tell someone all day? Who knows… it could work.
*How ironic… I am complaining in a blog about not complaining*
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Goodbye Fairfield...
Recently I realized that 4th term is in two weeks. Where did the year go? Where did junior high go? There is only one term left in our junior high experience! To me that is really scary!
We have spent our last three years of life at Fairfield, from the time when we were puny 7th graders trying not get stepped on in the halls to the present day where we are trying not to trample the shorty squeezing past us in the hall. I have spent my best and worst years of school here at Fairfield. Every day for the past three years I have walked the same halls and seen the same people. I know the names and faces of 95% of the 9th grade. For years I have swapped stories with my friends of the times the hall nazi terrorized us, the time we almost got caught with our cell phone out, the time we DID get caught with our cell phone out and had to go get it from the office. I don’t know if I can even explain it, but Fairfield feels like a second home to me and I’m sad to leave it in three months.
It’s not that I’m not excited for high school, I am. High school sounds like it will be really fun, and I got lucky enough that most of my friends will go to Layton with me. Still, there are the other friends whom I have made these past two years, whom I will really, really miss when we have to say goodbye on the last day. Among them are my two oldest and dearest friends, ones I have shared classrooms with since third grade, who will not be going to Layton (and they happen to be in our honors English class, you know who you are.) To all my other friends: I love you guys tons and I look forward to seeing you in high school! Even all the people whose names I know, but nothing more about them. I’m still sad to see them go, I don’t know them but I have heard their jokes, seen them in the halls, and been their rivals in the war to get good grades (we all know we secretly compete, just a little.)
I don’t know how to explain it, but I am really going to miss Fairfield. The teachers I’ve had were amazing (for the most part) I have met some very close friends here, I have spent my life five days a week here, and I can’t imagine what I will be doing on the last day of school, when we are signing yearbooks and saying our final goodbyes to the halls, the amazing teachers, and our beloved friends; never to see them again. We can visit, but it doesn’t replace it. Somehow the previous summer vacations were much more inviting because I knew that I would see everyone again in a mere three months.
Does anybody else feel this way? Or am I thinking too far ahead and making a big deal about nothing? In closing I say this: A tribute to Fairfield! Those new 7th graders have a great experience ahead of them!
We have spent our last three years of life at Fairfield, from the time when we were puny 7th graders trying not get stepped on in the halls to the present day where we are trying not to trample the shorty squeezing past us in the hall. I have spent my best and worst years of school here at Fairfield. Every day for the past three years I have walked the same halls and seen the same people. I know the names and faces of 95% of the 9th grade. For years I have swapped stories with my friends of the times the hall nazi terrorized us, the time we almost got caught with our cell phone out, the time we DID get caught with our cell phone out and had to go get it from the office. I don’t know if I can even explain it, but Fairfield feels like a second home to me and I’m sad to leave it in three months.
It’s not that I’m not excited for high school, I am. High school sounds like it will be really fun, and I got lucky enough that most of my friends will go to Layton with me. Still, there are the other friends whom I have made these past two years, whom I will really, really miss when we have to say goodbye on the last day. Among them are my two oldest and dearest friends, ones I have shared classrooms with since third grade, who will not be going to Layton (and they happen to be in our honors English class, you know who you are.) To all my other friends: I love you guys tons and I look forward to seeing you in high school! Even all the people whose names I know, but nothing more about them. I’m still sad to see them go, I don’t know them but I have heard their jokes, seen them in the halls, and been their rivals in the war to get good grades (we all know we secretly compete, just a little.)
I don’t know how to explain it, but I am really going to miss Fairfield. The teachers I’ve had were amazing (for the most part) I have met some very close friends here, I have spent my life five days a week here, and I can’t imagine what I will be doing on the last day of school, when we are signing yearbooks and saying our final goodbyes to the halls, the amazing teachers, and our beloved friends; never to see them again. We can visit, but it doesn’t replace it. Somehow the previous summer vacations were much more inviting because I knew that I would see everyone again in a mere three months.
Does anybody else feel this way? Or am I thinking too far ahead and making a big deal about nothing? In closing I say this: A tribute to Fairfield! Those new 7th graders have a great experience ahead of them!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Track conditioning=good. Not in my book
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…
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…
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!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Time, why is there never enough?
Every notice how nowadays everybody seems to be in a hurry? Where could they be going that they need to get to so fast?
The other day I was walking in the hall at school when one of the seventh graders flew past me, almost knocking me and a few other people over and dashed into a classroom a few doors away. By the time I got to my own class a few minutes later there was STILL two minutes before the tardy bell would ring. Sure we all have been worried sevvies, always afraid of being late to class and so forth, but you have to wonder what exactly was so important that he needed to be to his class before a full minute had passed between periods.
Again, there are always going to be the people on the highway going not ten, but twenty miles over the speed limit practically causing an accident with every car they pass. You again wonder, where could they be going in such a hurry? Is the capital building on fire? Is their first grandchild being born at that exact moment? Or is there simply a clothing deal they can’t bear to miss? My point is that except in rare occasions we don’t have a reason to be in such a rush that is inconvenient to those around us.
I admit, I have many times been in a hurry for a stupid reason and people around me give me the looks that mean “could you slow down a few hundred miles per hour please?” For example, I hate getting up early in the morning, like I REALLY hate it. So I push the time to its limit and end up dashing around the house trying to pack my backpack, grab some breakfast, find my shoes, etc. all in the last five minutes before my bus comes. This seems to happen on a daily basis. So I did a little experiment. A few days ago I set my alarm clock five minutes earlier thant I usually do. That morning I actually got to eat breakfast at the kitchen table instead of on the bus. Just five minutes made my morning way easier.
As I thought over this experience later I realized how much this could help us all be less stressed. The more I thought about it the more it made sense. The more time we allow ourselves to do things the less stressed we are when we don’t have to crunch a ten minute task into a two minute time period. Assuming that I don’t normally encounter a day where I absolutely cannot drag myself out of bed in the morning, I will start setting my alarm five minutes earlier to put less stress on myself. What if everyone else did this too? I think that everyone could be a lot less stressed if we did this. Think about it, when we really get stressed it is because we don’t have enough time to do something. If you have an incomplete homework assignment it is because you didn’t have time to finish it (or because you are a slacker). You are late and you needed ten minutes to finish wrapping the birthday present. Just allow yourself a little more time by not packing your schedule to the brim and you will probably be a lot happier.
Haha. Sure. That is way easier said than done, but seriously if you choose what to fill your day with and say no to a few things then we could all be much happier; the people who are the victims of car crashes due to speeders and those of us who just need more time.
The other day I was walking in the hall at school when one of the seventh graders flew past me, almost knocking me and a few other people over and dashed into a classroom a few doors away. By the time I got to my own class a few minutes later there was STILL two minutes before the tardy bell would ring. Sure we all have been worried sevvies, always afraid of being late to class and so forth, but you have to wonder what exactly was so important that he needed to be to his class before a full minute had passed between periods.
Again, there are always going to be the people on the highway going not ten, but twenty miles over the speed limit practically causing an accident with every car they pass. You again wonder, where could they be going in such a hurry? Is the capital building on fire? Is their first grandchild being born at that exact moment? Or is there simply a clothing deal they can’t bear to miss? My point is that except in rare occasions we don’t have a reason to be in such a rush that is inconvenient to those around us.
I admit, I have many times been in a hurry for a stupid reason and people around me give me the looks that mean “could you slow down a few hundred miles per hour please?” For example, I hate getting up early in the morning, like I REALLY hate it. So I push the time to its limit and end up dashing around the house trying to pack my backpack, grab some breakfast, find my shoes, etc. all in the last five minutes before my bus comes. This seems to happen on a daily basis. So I did a little experiment. A few days ago I set my alarm clock five minutes earlier thant I usually do. That morning I actually got to eat breakfast at the kitchen table instead of on the bus. Just five minutes made my morning way easier.
As I thought over this experience later I realized how much this could help us all be less stressed. The more I thought about it the more it made sense. The more time we allow ourselves to do things the less stressed we are when we don’t have to crunch a ten minute task into a two minute time period. Assuming that I don’t normally encounter a day where I absolutely cannot drag myself out of bed in the morning, I will start setting my alarm five minutes earlier to put less stress on myself. What if everyone else did this too? I think that everyone could be a lot less stressed if we did this. Think about it, when we really get stressed it is because we don’t have enough time to do something. If you have an incomplete homework assignment it is because you didn’t have time to finish it (or because you are a slacker). You are late and you needed ten minutes to finish wrapping the birthday present. Just allow yourself a little more time by not packing your schedule to the brim and you will probably be a lot happier.
Haha. Sure. That is way easier said than done, but seriously if you choose what to fill your day with and say no to a few things then we could all be much happier; the people who are the victims of car crashes due to speeders and those of us who just need more time.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
A little privacy please!
This week in my English class, my teacher handed us all a copy of a newspaper article published a few years ago stating that teens don’t have the right to privacy. The reason? Columbine high schools shooting spree. The woman writing the article believed that it could have been prevented had the students involved been more supervised by their parents. Perhaps she is right, but the ideas that she laid down to supervise us went too far in my book. She said that until we get old enough to be responsible, we don’t deserve to have privacy. By no privacy, she meant zero privacy. That meant no phone, computer, TV, and other things like that in your bedroom. It meant no retreating into your bedroom with or without a friend accompanying you, they said that if their kids ever did that then she would pull them back upstairs and involve them in a family activity. She also said that her kids could never have a personal journal that she and her husband were not allowed to read.
I talked to my friends after class and they all agreed that her point of view irritated us. Some of her points were valid, but many of them we saw as a little extreme.
To start off, I agree that perhaps we shouldn’t have our own computer passwords. I can see a few of us getting into trouble with stuff online. As for the rest of her arguments, I think that there are ways we can give and take on each side. For example, having a computer in your room is ok. Many of my friends have one in their bedroom but their parents have put locks on certain websites and the computer is connected to the one upstairs, so that the parents have access to the places they go online.
A part of her article that really bothered me is the part where she stated that there would be no retreating into your bedroom no matter what, if you did so then your parents would be “wise” to bring you back out and involve you with the family. I am the oldest of five children, and at my house it gets REALLY hectic with all the little kids running around and having arguments here and there, not to mention half the time one of them has a friend over which adds to the chaos. My bedroom is my escape from this, and I would go insane if there was no place for me to retreat when everything is crazy. My brothers have a little game they play whenever I have a friend over, it’s called “annoy starchild as much as possible until her friends leave.” Again, in the article it mentioned that if your children had a friend over and went into their bedroom, then parents should drag them out and have them do something with the family. When my friends come over, my bedroom is the only place I am allowed to push my siblings out of, the rest of the house is fair game for them. I don’t believe that my friends would ever want to come to my house again if they had to play a board game with a five year old every time they visited.
Another point I want to address is where the article stated that we should not be allowed to have private journals. Our blogs are different; the whole world can read them, so I put things I would be ok with the whole world knowing in them. But I also have a private journal. The things in my journal are things that I would never repeat to anyone. In my personal journal I vent frustrations on my family and peers, say things about others which would be pretty embarrassing if they were repeated, and organize my thoughts about personal stuff my friends have told me about themselves. Therefore, if anybody were to read my personal journal, it would be catastrophic to me and everybody mentioned in it. I mean I don’t write horrible stuff in it, but if it were to get out then me and my friend’s personal experiences and problems would be exposed to whoever happened to get a hold of the knowledge. How am I to know that whoever reads it will not let something slip? I am sure that my parents are trustworthy people and wouldn’t tell anyone what was in my journal, but it is nice to have one place where they don’t know the innermost details of your life, you know what I mean? And I hardly think that we are going to plan a murder in our journals.
To all you parents out there: GIVE US SOME PRIVACY PLEASE!
I talked to my friends after class and they all agreed that her point of view irritated us. Some of her points were valid, but many of them we saw as a little extreme.
To start off, I agree that perhaps we shouldn’t have our own computer passwords. I can see a few of us getting into trouble with stuff online. As for the rest of her arguments, I think that there are ways we can give and take on each side. For example, having a computer in your room is ok. Many of my friends have one in their bedroom but their parents have put locks on certain websites and the computer is connected to the one upstairs, so that the parents have access to the places they go online.
A part of her article that really bothered me is the part where she stated that there would be no retreating into your bedroom no matter what, if you did so then your parents would be “wise” to bring you back out and involve you with the family. I am the oldest of five children, and at my house it gets REALLY hectic with all the little kids running around and having arguments here and there, not to mention half the time one of them has a friend over which adds to the chaos. My bedroom is my escape from this, and I would go insane if there was no place for me to retreat when everything is crazy. My brothers have a little game they play whenever I have a friend over, it’s called “annoy starchild as much as possible until her friends leave.” Again, in the article it mentioned that if your children had a friend over and went into their bedroom, then parents should drag them out and have them do something with the family. When my friends come over, my bedroom is the only place I am allowed to push my siblings out of, the rest of the house is fair game for them. I don’t believe that my friends would ever want to come to my house again if they had to play a board game with a five year old every time they visited.
Another point I want to address is where the article stated that we should not be allowed to have private journals. Our blogs are different; the whole world can read them, so I put things I would be ok with the whole world knowing in them. But I also have a private journal. The things in my journal are things that I would never repeat to anyone. In my personal journal I vent frustrations on my family and peers, say things about others which would be pretty embarrassing if they were repeated, and organize my thoughts about personal stuff my friends have told me about themselves. Therefore, if anybody were to read my personal journal, it would be catastrophic to me and everybody mentioned in it. I mean I don’t write horrible stuff in it, but if it were to get out then me and my friend’s personal experiences and problems would be exposed to whoever happened to get a hold of the knowledge. How am I to know that whoever reads it will not let something slip? I am sure that my parents are trustworthy people and wouldn’t tell anyone what was in my journal, but it is nice to have one place where they don’t know the innermost details of your life, you know what I mean? And I hardly think that we are going to plan a murder in our journals.
There are other things that me and my friends didn't like about the article, partcularly her know it all voice, but i won't go into those at this time.
Frankly, I bet that the kids that cause the problems like the ones at Columbine High School are the ones who are either REALLY troubled, or cannot find another way to express their frustrations on the world besides shooting some stranger. I mean I wonder what I would do if I couldn’t get the stress from everyday problems out somewhere. I imagine it would build up until you burst and do something irrational, like shoot someone. Being in your kids face every moment of every day would drive them farther below the surface than where they started. If a parent is trying to get you to open up, then I know from my experiences that the absolute worst way to do so is to give them no opportunties to retreat. Please, if we want to talk to you about something, we will come to you. Forcing it out of us will not work!To all you parents out there: GIVE US SOME PRIVACY PLEASE!
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Respect
I was thinking not to long ago about what causes most of the problems between people. As far as I can figure out, excluding wars, almost every disagreement between two people is caused by lack of respect for each other. I mean think about it, if you and your parents do not get along it is probably because you think they are wrong and therefore disobey them a lot. Your parents also don’t have much respect for you, for each time you disobey them they trust you less and less and see themselves more and more as the one in charge of you, this almost always means that they don’t respect you.
If there is a quarrel between friends it is because they don’t respect each other enough to view each others ideas as anything important, or they don’t care about them enough to respect their image in front of other people so they gossip and say bad stuff about them.
Say that someone doesn’t complete a task they were assigned at work. It is probably because they don’t view the project as important or urgent because they don’t care what their boss thinks about them.
Here is something that happened to some people I know: They owned a duplex and the people occupying one of their apartments had zero respect for their landlords. In the six months they stayed in the apartment they did not once pay their rent on time, they kicked five holes in the walls, they broke a window and the door, and then moved out without paying a penny towards repairs. This caused a huge conflict between the renters and the landlords which all could have been avoided had they shown any respect for the landlords or the house they were occupying.
I am sure that there are more examples, but my point is that there is more to stop having conflicts between each other than merely not fighting, if we would respect each other than I think almost all problems between us could stop.
The way to do this is harder than it seems. To some this may be easy, but to others it is the scariest thing in the world. In order to stop conflicts between parents and teachers, we have to admit that most of the time they are probably right. You sluff class, Mrs. Hall Nazi catches you. Well frankly, there is hardly a chance anybody is going to believe you when you say that you are doing nothing wrong, and if you complain that you got twenty points there is really no point to doing so. In reality I don’t think anybody besides the friends that sluffed with you are going to give you an ounce of sympathy. You can say that the teachers aren’t fair as much as you want, but the more you think like that the more you are going get in more trouble and it is all because you are trapped in the silly mind frame that teachers are not justified in giving you disciplinary points, and if you are one of these people then it is obvious that most of your problems at school are caused by your own lack of respect.
I could go on but let me leave you with this, if you have a lot of problems with other people and can’t seem to get along with anyone then try looking at your view of the people around you. I am not perfect but I know that I get along with people so much better if I respect them. If you find that you look at most people as idiots then you probably need to switch your view. It will make your life tons less stressful.
If there is a quarrel between friends it is because they don’t respect each other enough to view each others ideas as anything important, or they don’t care about them enough to respect their image in front of other people so they gossip and say bad stuff about them.
Say that someone doesn’t complete a task they were assigned at work. It is probably because they don’t view the project as important or urgent because they don’t care what their boss thinks about them.
Here is something that happened to some people I know: They owned a duplex and the people occupying one of their apartments had zero respect for their landlords. In the six months they stayed in the apartment they did not once pay their rent on time, they kicked five holes in the walls, they broke a window and the door, and then moved out without paying a penny towards repairs. This caused a huge conflict between the renters and the landlords which all could have been avoided had they shown any respect for the landlords or the house they were occupying.
I am sure that there are more examples, but my point is that there is more to stop having conflicts between each other than merely not fighting, if we would respect each other than I think almost all problems between us could stop.
The way to do this is harder than it seems. To some this may be easy, but to others it is the scariest thing in the world. In order to stop conflicts between parents and teachers, we have to admit that most of the time they are probably right. You sluff class, Mrs. Hall Nazi catches you. Well frankly, there is hardly a chance anybody is going to believe you when you say that you are doing nothing wrong, and if you complain that you got twenty points there is really no point to doing so. In reality I don’t think anybody besides the friends that sluffed with you are going to give you an ounce of sympathy. You can say that the teachers aren’t fair as much as you want, but the more you think like that the more you are going get in more trouble and it is all because you are trapped in the silly mind frame that teachers are not justified in giving you disciplinary points, and if you are one of these people then it is obvious that most of your problems at school are caused by your own lack of respect.
I could go on but let me leave you with this, if you have a lot of problems with other people and can’t seem to get along with anyone then try looking at your view of the people around you. I am not perfect but I know that I get along with people so much better if I respect them. If you find that you look at most people as idiots then you probably need to switch your view. It will make your life tons less stressful.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Pride and Prejudice
Surprisingly this does not have anything to do with the extraordinarily long book that many of us have chosen to read for our honors English requirement. What I have chosen to write about is how many of us have something we are very proud of: our amazing artistic talent, our good looks, our athletic ability, our good grades and so forth. There is NOTHING wrong with having a something special that no one else has; in fact without our individual talents the world would be incredibly boring. What happens, though, is with our individual gifts we sometimes raise ourselves above others and think that whatever it is we have makes us a lot better than our peers. We become proud and sometimes a little conceited and that can make us prejudice against others. Don’t try to say that you haven’t, we all have at one point or another done it, myself included.
What I mean by saying that we are prejudice, is we judge others before we know them. We see someone that does not have the talent that we have, and write them off as a “not as special” person.
Let’s say that you have a great ability to make friends and meet new people without worrying about what they will think of you. There is someone who is in a few of your classes that is obviously extremely shy because they never ever talk to anyone, as far as you can tell all they do is hunch in their chair at the back of the room. Whenever they are forced to answer a question or get up enough courage to say something they stumble over their words in a tiny voice. Their statement comes out sounding silly and everyone in the class exchanges disgusted glances. You know that you are “much better” at speaking in public situations, as they have little or no friends, and so you write them off as a “socially impaired” as does most of the people in the school. What you don’t know about them however is that around their few friends they are the most trustworthy, caring and wonderful person you could ever meet and if only people would reach out and talk to them instead of making them start the first conversation they could have the best friend they have ever met. Your talent is meeting people, theirs is keeping friends, the two are very different and if people would look past the outer shell and see the true person they would see how special the person actually is.
This is only one example of how we are prejudice against others before seeing the hidden gifts that we all have. If you ever find yourself ridiculing someone you hardly know behind their back for some stupid reason, realize they have something in them which you will never have, and without their certain talent something in someone else’s life, perhaps someone whom you know and love, would be a bit darker and less happy. You never know if the very person you are making fun of is highly respected by another person standing nearby for a reason that you don’t know about. Think about that the next time you are tempted to bring into the conversation something nasty about another human being.
What I mean by saying that we are prejudice, is we judge others before we know them. We see someone that does not have the talent that we have, and write them off as a “not as special” person.
Let’s say that you have a great ability to make friends and meet new people without worrying about what they will think of you. There is someone who is in a few of your classes that is obviously extremely shy because they never ever talk to anyone, as far as you can tell all they do is hunch in their chair at the back of the room. Whenever they are forced to answer a question or get up enough courage to say something they stumble over their words in a tiny voice. Their statement comes out sounding silly and everyone in the class exchanges disgusted glances. You know that you are “much better” at speaking in public situations, as they have little or no friends, and so you write them off as a “socially impaired” as does most of the people in the school. What you don’t know about them however is that around their few friends they are the most trustworthy, caring and wonderful person you could ever meet and if only people would reach out and talk to them instead of making them start the first conversation they could have the best friend they have ever met. Your talent is meeting people, theirs is keeping friends, the two are very different and if people would look past the outer shell and see the true person they would see how special the person actually is.
This is only one example of how we are prejudice against others before seeing the hidden gifts that we all have. If you ever find yourself ridiculing someone you hardly know behind their back for some stupid reason, realize they have something in them which you will never have, and without their certain talent something in someone else’s life, perhaps someone whom you know and love, would be a bit darker and less happy. You never know if the very person you are making fun of is highly respected by another person standing nearby for a reason that you don’t know about. Think about that the next time you are tempted to bring into the conversation something nasty about another human being.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Change
A fact of life: people change, not always for good and not always for bad. We have all seen our close friends turn into “one of those kids” and we have seen our friends turn into some of the nicest people with the best reputations around. There is no stop button in the direction of change; you are always going either one way or another, towards being a better person or a worse one.
There are people in our lives who affect which direction we are changing, obviously we have our families that for the most part, pull us in the right direction. We have our teachers who will also push us in the right direction. But everyone knows that these are not what influence us the most. I have to say that our peers definitely affect us the most at this time in our lives. I know that I look to my friends as examples on how to dress and act. I don’t mean to sound like I copy my friends; I am just saying that when a friend of mine has an admirable quality, a fun personality, a cute style and so forth, it makes me want to have it too. So I guess you could say that I take all the things I like about my friends or all the things that make life good for them and squash them together to make me. I don’t know for certain, but I suspect that most people do this too.
The problem with this is different people like different things about other people. Say that a friend has a quality that you admire because they look cool or everybody knows them because of it, but it is something frowned on by society unbeknownst to you, and then you want to be like them so you try to apply that quality to yourself, now we have two people with a bad quality influencing their friends in bad ways. It can go the other way too, someone has a good quality and then a few of their friends take on the quality and you have more good people. In this way people are constantly changing, by influencing and being influenced by other people.
Another way that people are influenced is by example, and not necessarily good example. If someone is actively trying to be a better person, then they can learn from example in two ways, the first is by good examples, and the second is by bad. I have learned not only from the good people in my life but also from the ones that made bad choices. I know people who were happy and then started on a bad path and are now unhappy, I now know from observation how to not accidentally get on that bad path. We learn from the bad people what NOT to do to be better people. I think this applies to everyone except for those who are trying to be bad, and in their case I see no purpose in them doing so.
“I do believe I have been changed for the better, because I knew you.”- Wicked
If that could be said about all of us, what would the world be like?
** I have heard from a lot of people that my blogs are “really serious” and “make you look like you have no fun.” I guess that they are, but I want everyone to know that the topics for my blogs are things that I think about when I am on my own, the things that I explore in my mind when I am in a thoughtful mood. Please don’t think that I go around school and discuss philosophical questions with my friends, except with a choice few who also have lots of things going on inside their minds. I like to do other things than ponder the mysteries of mankind. **
There are people in our lives who affect which direction we are changing, obviously we have our families that for the most part, pull us in the right direction. We have our teachers who will also push us in the right direction. But everyone knows that these are not what influence us the most. I have to say that our peers definitely affect us the most at this time in our lives. I know that I look to my friends as examples on how to dress and act. I don’t mean to sound like I copy my friends; I am just saying that when a friend of mine has an admirable quality, a fun personality, a cute style and so forth, it makes me want to have it too. So I guess you could say that I take all the things I like about my friends or all the things that make life good for them and squash them together to make me. I don’t know for certain, but I suspect that most people do this too.
The problem with this is different people like different things about other people. Say that a friend has a quality that you admire because they look cool or everybody knows them because of it, but it is something frowned on by society unbeknownst to you, and then you want to be like them so you try to apply that quality to yourself, now we have two people with a bad quality influencing their friends in bad ways. It can go the other way too, someone has a good quality and then a few of their friends take on the quality and you have more good people. In this way people are constantly changing, by influencing and being influenced by other people.
Another way that people are influenced is by example, and not necessarily good example. If someone is actively trying to be a better person, then they can learn from example in two ways, the first is by good examples, and the second is by bad. I have learned not only from the good people in my life but also from the ones that made bad choices. I know people who were happy and then started on a bad path and are now unhappy, I now know from observation how to not accidentally get on that bad path. We learn from the bad people what NOT to do to be better people. I think this applies to everyone except for those who are trying to be bad, and in their case I see no purpose in them doing so.
“I do believe I have been changed for the better, because I knew you.”- Wicked
If that could be said about all of us, what would the world be like?
** I have heard from a lot of people that my blogs are “really serious” and “make you look like you have no fun.” I guess that they are, but I want everyone to know that the topics for my blogs are things that I think about when I am on my own, the things that I explore in my mind when I am in a thoughtful mood. Please don’t think that I go around school and discuss philosophical questions with my friends, except with a choice few who also have lots of things going on inside their minds. I like to do other things than ponder the mysteries of mankind. **
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Traditions and Habits
Tradition: (dictionary definition) the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, etc, from generation to generation by word of mouth or by practice.
I am not sure that I really like that dictionary definition, it is really boring and does not tell me what a tradition really is to most of us, things we do every week, month, year and so forth. A weekly tradition could be to always go to the movies with your friends on Saturday night. A monthly tradition could be to go to your grandparents house every fourth Sunday. I have never met a person in my life that does not have at least one or two traditions they do on a regular basis, most have at least fifteen.
Habit: (dictionary definition) Compulsive need, inclination or use, addiction.
Once again, I am not sure that I totally agree with the dictionary definition, as it doesn’t really state what a habit is, though it comes a lot closer than the tradition definition. To me a habit is something you do because you have always done it, or something you do because you can’t seem to stop yourself from doing it. As with traditions, everybody has habits, and everybody has good ones and bad ones.
What exactly are traditions? I guess you could call them habits, if that is an accurate way to express them. They are more advanced habits. By that I mean that they are things you always do; only they are more elegant, they have more meaning to them and involve more planning than the average habit. That is why they have a nicer name than habits. From my point of view, I think you could probably call brushing your teeth before you go to school in the morning a tradition because you do it every day at a given time. This means that we could likewise say that going to neighborhood Easter egg hunt at Easter every year could be called a habit.
Of course, nobody wants to use an elegant word like tradition for brushing your teeth, so we gave that the word habit, and let tradition be used for bigger, better events that we would much rather look forward to. Every family is different, we all have different habits and different traditions, I can not speak for everyone, but I really look forward to my family’s traditions every year. Traditions can range from huge to very small, my extended family always has a big Christmas Eve party with all of my aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins; this would be huge tradition. A small tradition that also happens at Christmas, my cousins and I do this wooden Santa puzzle, and it is always near impossible but we do it every year because we call it a tradition.
Traditions vs. habits, they are really not that different from each other, but when you say the words one after another you think of a big elaborate party when you say tradition, and you think of a nervous compulsion when you say habit. Why is that? Nobody has a good reason, but all I can say is I love my traditions a lot more than my habits. Anybody who reads this, please tell your favorite tradition in a post, I have heard some wild ones from my friends and it is entertaining to see what fun things everyone else’s families do.
I am not sure that I really like that dictionary definition, it is really boring and does not tell me what a tradition really is to most of us, things we do every week, month, year and so forth. A weekly tradition could be to always go to the movies with your friends on Saturday night. A monthly tradition could be to go to your grandparents house every fourth Sunday. I have never met a person in my life that does not have at least one or two traditions they do on a regular basis, most have at least fifteen.
Habit: (dictionary definition) Compulsive need, inclination or use, addiction.
Once again, I am not sure that I totally agree with the dictionary definition, as it doesn’t really state what a habit is, though it comes a lot closer than the tradition definition. To me a habit is something you do because you have always done it, or something you do because you can’t seem to stop yourself from doing it. As with traditions, everybody has habits, and everybody has good ones and bad ones.
What exactly are traditions? I guess you could call them habits, if that is an accurate way to express them. They are more advanced habits. By that I mean that they are things you always do; only they are more elegant, they have more meaning to them and involve more planning than the average habit. That is why they have a nicer name than habits. From my point of view, I think you could probably call brushing your teeth before you go to school in the morning a tradition because you do it every day at a given time. This means that we could likewise say that going to neighborhood Easter egg hunt at Easter every year could be called a habit.
Of course, nobody wants to use an elegant word like tradition for brushing your teeth, so we gave that the word habit, and let tradition be used for bigger, better events that we would much rather look forward to. Every family is different, we all have different habits and different traditions, I can not speak for everyone, but I really look forward to my family’s traditions every year. Traditions can range from huge to very small, my extended family always has a big Christmas Eve party with all of my aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins; this would be huge tradition. A small tradition that also happens at Christmas, my cousins and I do this wooden Santa puzzle, and it is always near impossible but we do it every year because we call it a tradition.
Traditions vs. habits, they are really not that different from each other, but when you say the words one after another you think of a big elaborate party when you say tradition, and you think of a nervous compulsion when you say habit. Why is that? Nobody has a good reason, but all I can say is I love my traditions a lot more than my habits. Anybody who reads this, please tell your favorite tradition in a post, I have heard some wild ones from my friends and it is entertaining to see what fun things everyone else’s families do.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Promises promises...
Everybody loves a person who keeps their promises, but is there anybody who honestly can say that they keep EVERY one of their promises? I don’t think so. We all would like to, but it is impossible unless you are a superhuman. Everybody is human, so we all forget about things that we promised someone else we would do; we accidentally are late for a dinner we promised a friend we would be on time to; sometimes we even purposely break a promise. Wouldn’t it be great if everybody kept all of their promises? Actually it would not be, we would have no free will and our lives would be ruled by the things we told each other we would do. There would be no “I actually don’t feel like going to work today, I will take a sick day.” No, that would not happen, we would have to go to work because when we took the job we told our boss we would come in every day unless we were deathly ill. I think the world is actually better because every now and then we don’t keep our promises.
One example of what I am saying is in politics. I think most of us know that there is hardly a politician out there that keeps EVERY SINGLE PROMSE that he makes while running for office, they might be able to keep most of them, but not all of them. They can say that they will keep us completely safe from terrorism. That would be nice, but it is a really hard promise to keep. Now, nobody wants to be killed by terrorists, but I’m saying that if we were 100% safe from them then we would be in trouble if one somehow snuck in, we would not know what to do or how to handle the situation if that happened. Do not think that would ever, ever want a terrorist to attack us, and I would love to be 100% safe if I could, but the fact is, it’s never going to happen. It’s impossible to be certain we are completely safe. (Also, if it sounds like I am saying we are doomed because the government can’t protect us, I’m not, I’m just saying we should always be on our guard because it is one of the promises the government can’t fully keep.)
There are a lot of examples I can go into besides the one about the government. Who hasn’t ever told your parents that you will clean your room, do your chores, homework etc. after you go to your friend’s house and then don’t do it? Who hasn’t left your homework until the next day to do during reading time so you can play video games or something after you promised yourself at the beginning of the school year you would always do it the night before?
All I’m saying by this is that life is more interesting, and possibly more enjoyable because of the promises we do and don’t keep. Am I saying it is ok to break promises? No. I’m just saying breaking one now and then is not the end of the world because it makes interesting experiences for us as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone in the long run.
One example of what I am saying is in politics. I think most of us know that there is hardly a politician out there that keeps EVERY SINGLE PROMSE that he makes while running for office, they might be able to keep most of them, but not all of them. They can say that they will keep us completely safe from terrorism. That would be nice, but it is a really hard promise to keep. Now, nobody wants to be killed by terrorists, but I’m saying that if we were 100% safe from them then we would be in trouble if one somehow snuck in, we would not know what to do or how to handle the situation if that happened. Do not think that would ever, ever want a terrorist to attack us, and I would love to be 100% safe if I could, but the fact is, it’s never going to happen. It’s impossible to be certain we are completely safe. (Also, if it sounds like I am saying we are doomed because the government can’t protect us, I’m not, I’m just saying we should always be on our guard because it is one of the promises the government can’t fully keep.)
There are a lot of examples I can go into besides the one about the government. Who hasn’t ever told your parents that you will clean your room, do your chores, homework etc. after you go to your friend’s house and then don’t do it? Who hasn’t left your homework until the next day to do during reading time so you can play video games or something after you promised yourself at the beginning of the school year you would always do it the night before?
All I’m saying by this is that life is more interesting, and possibly more enjoyable because of the promises we do and don’t keep. Am I saying it is ok to break promises? No. I’m just saying breaking one now and then is not the end of the world because it makes interesting experiences for us as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone in the long run.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
More than 7 wonders of the world
America is absolutely amazing, we live in the place where we can do practically anything we want, we can worship whoever we want in whatever way we choose, we can say anything we want, we can do anything we want to do as long as it is legal, we are all given equal opportunities to do whatever we dream we can do, providing that we are willing to work for it. There are plenty more reasons that I love living in America. There are thousands of people around the world that would give anything to come and live here. So why do some people want to get out of it and live somewhere else?
My guess is because they want to have a change of scenery, or have a new experience, or something else like that. I personally plan on living in our amazing country for the rest of my life, but I, like others, would love to experience a change every now and then. I am not talking about ever living there, but I think it would be cool to be able to go to all of these other places that I see in pictures and movies that look so beautiful and different.
I guess i'm one to talk about wanting to see the world, I spent a year in Western Europe when I was four years old because my dad was relocated to Germany, and then again when I was eight years old. While we were there my family and I took mini trips within our big trip and saw most of the countries surrounding Germany and The Netherlands where we stayed. This is something that most people can't say they have done, most have never left our country before. I wouldn’t have except that my dad’s work paid for our air fare and stay there. Because of going to Europe, I know that there are things out there that are really cool I never knew existed. Which means there are other wonders somewhere on the earth which are beautiful and worth seeing.
To name a few things i've heard about and want to see are the Aztec ruins in South and Central America, Sydney harbor and the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the coral reefs in the Caribbean, Mount Everest. I want to see everything in New Zealand, Ireland, and Norway because the pictures I have seen of them are so beautiful. I want to see Africa, all the animals and the beautiful sunsets there that I hear about all the time. I want to see penguins in Antarctica! There are lots of other things I want to see elsewhere in the world, and I am positive there are other things in every one of these places which are equally special yet not as publicized. Of course, these are all wants, with a lot of hard work and a little luck I may be able to someday see a few of these places.
My point in writing all this isn't to share my wants, but to point out that our planet is filled with beauty, it’s all around us and all we have to do to find it is look. Most of us don’t realize there are people around the world who hear about our one of a kind Great Salt Lake, and want to come and visit our vast salt flats. We (me included) don’t realize the beauty of the lake, because we see it drying up and it has always been around us. That may be how others see their things, and they don’t realize they're beautiful either. I guess that all I’m trying to say is we may not be able to ever see penguins in Antarctica, we want to, but it will never happen. Instead we should notice what we have and be thankful for it.
My guess is because they want to have a change of scenery, or have a new experience, or something else like that. I personally plan on living in our amazing country for the rest of my life, but I, like others, would love to experience a change every now and then. I am not talking about ever living there, but I think it would be cool to be able to go to all of these other places that I see in pictures and movies that look so beautiful and different.
I guess i'm one to talk about wanting to see the world, I spent a year in Western Europe when I was four years old because my dad was relocated to Germany, and then again when I was eight years old. While we were there my family and I took mini trips within our big trip and saw most of the countries surrounding Germany and The Netherlands where we stayed. This is something that most people can't say they have done, most have never left our country before. I wouldn’t have except that my dad’s work paid for our air fare and stay there. Because of going to Europe, I know that there are things out there that are really cool I never knew existed. Which means there are other wonders somewhere on the earth which are beautiful and worth seeing.
To name a few things i've heard about and want to see are the Aztec ruins in South and Central America, Sydney harbor and the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the coral reefs in the Caribbean, Mount Everest. I want to see everything in New Zealand, Ireland, and Norway because the pictures I have seen of them are so beautiful. I want to see Africa, all the animals and the beautiful sunsets there that I hear about all the time. I want to see penguins in Antarctica! There are lots of other things I want to see elsewhere in the world, and I am positive there are other things in every one of these places which are equally special yet not as publicized. Of course, these are all wants, with a lot of hard work and a little luck I may be able to someday see a few of these places.
My point in writing all this isn't to share my wants, but to point out that our planet is filled with beauty, it’s all around us and all we have to do to find it is look. Most of us don’t realize there are people around the world who hear about our one of a kind Great Salt Lake, and want to come and visit our vast salt flats. We (me included) don’t realize the beauty of the lake, because we see it drying up and it has always been around us. That may be how others see their things, and they don’t realize they're beautiful either. I guess that all I’m trying to say is we may not be able to ever see penguins in Antarctica, we want to, but it will never happen. Instead we should notice what we have and be thankful for it.
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