70's

If I had to go back to one time period it would be a difficult choice. I like the time period I live in now. I especially like the technology that is around. I don’t think I would want to live in a time that didn’t have texting, Facebook, Twitter, cell phones, and iPods. However, a time period that does sound fun to live through would be the 70’s. One thing that appeals to me from the 1970’s is the fashion. Not that I would wear clothes form the 70’s now, but if I lived then I would like them. Clothes such as jumpsuits, clogs, platform shoes, and bell bottoms would be fun to wear. I also would have really liked the music throughout the 70’s. I would have really enjoyed artists such as John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Queen, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, and The Doors. Another thing from the 70’s that I would like was the style of art that was popular, pop art. I think it would have been fun to participate in anti-war movements during the 1970’s. I think the whole “hippie” kind of thing seems like it would be fun too. Things I would have liked to own when they came out in the 70’s would be mood rings, a lava lamp, Rubik’s cube, smiley face stickers, and pet rocks. Negative things about the 1970’s that I wouldn’t enjoy would be the Vietnam War and The Beatles breaking up, as long as Elvis Presley dying. Woman started getting more political rights in the 70’s and I would like to have lived to see that happen. Shows that I would have liked to watch if I grew up in the 70’s would be The Brady Bunch, Sesame Street, Happy Days, and Saturday Night Live. Overall, I would have liked to live during the 70’s.

Bad Things Happen to Good People

                I can honestly say that no one in my family has ever fought a major battle with cancer. My grandpa had skin cancer but they caught it early on and removed his ear. He has been fine ever since then. So cancer has never had a big impact on my life. However within the last week that has changed. My uncle’s girlfriend’s mom, who is like a grandma to me, was complaining of back pain. She went to the doctors and they found a mass on her lung. The doctors wanted to find out what it was, and its lung cancer. She got surgery to remove the mass from her lung on Tuesday, December 20^th. While in surgery the doctors found out that not only does she have lung cancer, she has bone cancer. It is difficult to think that unless a miracle happens this will probably be the last Christmas she will be alive for. It’s really hard to think about losing someone and knowing that they might not be there tomorrow. I think that cancer is an awful thing and it negatively impacts so many people and families. It makes you ask yourself why these things happen to people. I think that something positive comes out of bad things though. As much as it hurts to lose someone it makes you realize how thankful you have to be for everyone in your life. You can’t ever take someone for granted, because they might not be there tomorrow. Also, when bad things do happen you have to learn to keep your head up because that person wouldn’t want you to be upset for them, they would want you to be happy for the time you got to spend with them throughout their life. Bad things really do happen to good people all the time, and that is just life. You just have to get through it, and at the end of the day it is worth it to be happy no matter what.

Waitin' on the World to Change

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.  ~Anne Frank

            If I could change the world, I would have a lot to change. The first thing I would change is poverty. I would give every homeless person a home and every hungry person food. I think that alone would do a lot of good for people. However, without education, a home and food wouldn’t impact a person too greatly. Without an education people have a higher chance of being criminals and turning to negative things like drugs, alcohol, and violence. I would make sure everyone could read and have at least a high school education. I would give every person a good supportive family. Everyone needs a family to always be there for them and to be behind them with every choice they make. I would also like to get rid of drugs. Drugs impact people so negatively and without them it would save a lot of lives. It would protect people from dying from overdosing on drugs or from being in other drug related violence. If every person had a home, food, and education, a supportive family, and there were no drugs I think the world would be a much better place to live in. There is also other things I would change, they may not seem as important but they would still make all the difference to positively impact the world. I would make sure that there was no such thing as prejudice people. I would make sure everyone got along, whether they were black, white, gay, or straight. Hatred is a very negative thing that harms many people. Prejudice people hurt people violently, or bully them to the point where they harm themselves. Overall, I think that getting rid of just a few things could make all the difference to so many people.  

Bill Penny

                Bill Penny’s favorite color is red. He likes the color red because he said it looks nice. Bill has two pets. He has a dog named Moose who is a Cotton Maltese and a dog named Sophie who is a Maltese Poodle. His favorite brand of shoes is Nikes. He likes them because of the fact that he bought them. Before Bill Penny moved to Alden in 6^th grade he attended Cleve Hill. A hobby of Bill is playing the guitar. Bill’s Favorite restaurant is Alton’s. Bill said that his favorite holiday is Christmas because he likes receiving gifts. When Bill was asked if he would consider himself to be a selfish person he responded no, because he is always there for people. When Bill grows up he said that he wants to be a professional rubix cube solver. Bill Penny’s favorite movie is “Shawshank Redemption.”  Bill Penny said that his favorite 17 year old male celebrity is not Justin Bieber. Will’s favorite color of clothing to wear is red. Bill does want to go to college. Bill said the cleverest place his Easter basket was ever hidden was in the sock basket. It was hidden in a basket of clean socks, not dirty socks. Bill Penny’s favorite sophomore is Samantha Serra. Bill Penny’s favorite animal is a male lion because they look awesome. Bill Penny does not like the show Jersey Shore because it is redundant and ridiculous. Bill Penny’s favorite baseball player of all time is Derek Jeter who plays for the New York Yankees. Bill Penny looks up to his older brother.  Bill Penny does not like cats because they have claws they are hairy and they don’t interact with people. Bill Penny’s favorite plant is a rose. He likes roses because they smell good, they looks beautiful and pretty and he just loves roses.

Things that I don't like

There are many things in this world that I don’t like. I don’t like losing. I don’t like bears. I don’t like people who complain about things in their Facebook statuses. I don’t like swimming in gym class. I don’t like math. I don’t like having to get up early. I don’t like choice blogs. I don’t like naming articles. I don’t like fouling out of basketball games. I don’t like snakes. I don’t like quiet music in cars. I don’t like school buses. I don’t like when mechanical pencils run out of lead or their erasers. I don’t like having to take down the Christmas tree. I don’t like sitting still for long times. I don’t like waiting in waiting rooms. I don’t like bad music. I don’t like jammed lockers. I don’t like typing essays. I don’t like research projects. I don’t like the dark. I don’t like it when people don’t try in school or do their homework. I don’t like forgetting things. I don’t like it when time goes by slowly. I don’t like school pictures. I don’t like high school. I don’t like getting sun burnt. I don’t like not having gum. I don’t like how skinny jeans and running shoes look together. I don’t like it when I spend money. I don’t like that I can’t drive until January of my junior year. I don’t like being rushed to finish a blog at the end of a block. I don’t like 4^th block. I don’t like school lunches. I don’t like diet pop. I don’t like earth science lab. I don’t like when people make fun of Justin Bieber. I don’t like it when the bills lose. I don’t like getting sick. I don’t like boring weekends. I don’t like homework on Sunday nights.

The Back Scratcher

The first back scratcher I ever bought was at ECMC with my friend, Kirsten. We were at the hospital because my brother got injured in a hunting accident. To pass the time of waiting in the waiting room we went to the hospital gift shop. While we were there we saw a back scratcher and bought it because we knew it was a two dollar and fifty sent investment that would keep us very entertained. I was able to convince my brother’s friend, Boomer that it was $10.00 and I bought it because it was made of 100% bamboo. We scratched each other’s backs, and my parent’s backs. After my brother had surgery and he was still sleeping from the amnesia I scratched his back for him. Once we finally got home after a long day we brought the back scratcher with us everywhere. I scratched my dogs and cats with it I would use it to reach for things. Our back scratcher was very entertaining. When my brother’s friend Kelly would come over with her baby, Mckenna, I would scratch her with the back scratcher. She liked it almost as much, if not more than I did. She would hit it against the floor and play with it and at one point she tried to eat it. After a week or so I wasn’t as entertained by my back scratcher. On thanksgiving weekend my grandma always takes my cousins and I to pick out an ornament for Christmas. While we were at hallmark looking around I found an extendable metal bear claw back scratcher. As soon as I saw it I know I had to have it. My grandma agreed to buy it for me and give it to me for Christmas. I am really excited to get it on Christmas day! It’s most defiantly going to be the best Christmas gift ever.

$200

I was with my friend, Beatrice Czup and she asked me if I wanted to help her cater for her cousins business with her. At first I was hesitant because I didn’t know what I was going to be doing. After she asked a few times a said I would go with her. Her sister and cousin came and got us and we started to drive to Batavia. On the way there we had to stop and buy 40 pounds of ice from a gas station. When we arrived in Batavia we pulled into a driveway of an extremely huge house. I didn’t even think it was a house at first, I thought it was something like a banquet hall. As we got closer up the long, long driveway I saw a dog and then realized, this is someone’s house. We walked it and it was a really pretty house. You could tell the people that lived there were into the outdoors because the house had a deer and bear theme. The house had a four car garage and I had never seen a house so big. People hadn’t started arriving at the party yet and we had to prepare for the party. Bea asked me to clean off glasses with a cloth. I was standing there for a while and when I looked up and to my right I saw a huge mounted giraffe on the wall. Giraffe’s are my favorite animal and it really freaked me out. Finally people started arriving and there was 6 snobby rich people standing in the bar of the house and Becca, the caterer, asked me to go offer them hor d'oeuvres. Not only did I have to remember the names of them I had to know what was in them. She sent me out with the tray first to offer them. I walked out and the 6 people all said they didn’t want anything. I didn’t know what to do so I just was standing their awkwardly with a try of food that no one wanted. Thankfully Bea walked out with food and again, everyone said no so we just walked away together. Later when more people arrived I had to keep going around offering them food. After a long night we finally got to clean up and start packing things up getting ready to leave. The owner of the house then came along and gave me and Bea both 2 one hundred dollar bills. Overall, it was well worth it.

Austin Hopcia

Once upon a time Austin Hopcia begged me to play him in a game of pig. After I finally agreed it was an interesting game. I shot the first shot from the elbow. Swish. Austin then shot from the elbow…nothing. Austin already was losing after the first shot. Then I shot a three point shot. It went right in the net. Austin tried to take the same shot. He hit one thing, and that was the air. You may be asking thee Austin Hopcia shot an air ball? Well yes, yes he did. Now he was at pi. The next thing Austin said was, “Can we play horse instead?” Basically admitting he knew he was going to lose. I declined Austin’s offer though. I wasn’t going to let him think he had a chance. In the end I beat Austin in pig, which wasn’t a surprise at all. It also brought back fond memories of 7^th grade. Austin begged me to play a one on one game with him. When I accepted his offer the game began. It was actually like playing a 3 foot kindergartner who has never played a second of basketball. It was no problem to beat Austin in a game of one on one. Austin was a sore loser about that game and the thought he could beat me in any other sport. So we played a one on one soccer game. I won again. So then we tried to play tennis. Much to Aunstin’s surprise I beat him again. Once again, this summer, my friend Kaysie and I played a basketball against Austin and his friend, Al. Kaysie who is not even 5 feet, and I won against goony Austin and Al. Overall, Austin is an athlete but he is no match for me, I can beat Austin Hopcia at anything, any day, any time, And ANYTHING.

I wish, I wish, I wish

If I had three wishes I would do a lot with them. Even though it would be easy to use three wishes in selfish reasons I would use them to help everyone. I would wish for peace with everyone, every child and adult would have a good home to live in, and I would also wish for a cure for all diseases.

I would wish for peace so that there would be no more wars. Peace would really help so soldiers’ lives wouldn’t get taken. I believe that war doesn’t settle anything; it just kills young men, women, and civilians. I think peace is something that would be very important to have throughout the world. It is also something that would almost be impossible to have. There will always be bad people in the world no matter what.

The reason I wish that everyone would have a good house to live in is because it is so sad to see homeless people, and young children not having a good home with good parents to live with. It is really a sad ting, and I think that if kids could grow up in a good home and be around good influences they can become good citizens in society.

My last wish would be used to cure all the diseases. Illnesses such as cancer and aids have a great impact on the world. It would save so many lives and make the world a happier and more positive place. For example, I have a cousin who was adopted from Ethiopia. Both her parents died of aids. If this disease didn’t kill her parents her life would be totally different. She wouldn’t have had to go through getting put through adoption. Even though she has a good life now, no child should have their parents taken away from them.

Fallout

I never really liked reading until the end of this summer. I started reading a book called “Fallout.” When I finished the book I started another one right away. “Fallout” was a really good book that really sparked my interest in reading. It is about three different young people. The first one is named Autumn. She lives with her grandpa and aunt. Her dad is in jail and she never met her mother. Another is a girl named Summer. She is a foster child who is always bouncing home to home. The third is a boy named Hunter, he lives with his grandparents and never met his mom or dad. Each of these people has completely different stories but somehow all relate to each other. Autumn has a fairly good life and is very thankful to have her aunt, until her aunt meets a man and moves out and gets married. Summer never has had a home until she gets kicked out of her foster home and lives with her dad, her life was going good. She got a boyfriend and everything turned around for her when her father went to jail and she had to go to another foster home. She runs away from that foster home and goes with her boyfriend where they become homeless. Hunter has the best life of the three. He has a good job at a radio station and he has a good relationship. As the story unfolds the reader soon realizes that each of the children have the same drug addict mother, Kristina. Each of the young adults have different father though. The kids all meet one Christmas after a series of events. Overall, “Fallout” was a great book and it really kept my attention. I would recommend it to anyone. I’m glad I realized that reading isn’t boring and lame like I used to think.

Movies

I rarely go to the movies. I’m not really a big movie person just because I hate sitting still for a long time and the fact that you have to be quiet too. Most of the time when I watch movies it is because I am bored, sick, or it is a movie I really want to see.

One of the best movies I think I have ever seen is the Justin Bieber movie, “Never Say Never.” The movie told the story of Justin Bieber’s life from beginning until the present. It included from how he got discovered, and how he sold out Madison Square Garden. I think the movie changed many people’s opinions on Justin Bieber. It showed people how he really is a talented kid and he worked hard for everything he has. The movie included Justin Bieber and his friends and it also showed him at his shows, and at the end during the credits it played his new song “Born to be somebody.”

Another movie that I really liked was “Dear John.” It was a chick flick about a boy who was in the war who fell in love with a girl when he was at home. When he got shipped back out John and his love interest wrote letters to each other and after a while he received a letter from her telling him she was marrying another man. This crushes John and he burns all the letters from her. At the end when he comes home he finds out who she married and why she did it. Everything works out in the end, and it is just a sad touching movie.

A movie that I would consider one of my favorites is The Hangover. The Hangover is a very funny movie. The plot of the men having a bachelor party and almost not being time in home in time for the wedding is great for a movie. The Hangover 2 is also a great movie, even though it is like the same plot as the first, it is still very funny.

Music

I like a lot of music. My favorite genre of music is country music. I love Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean and many more country artists. I like country music because it is actually about real life, not about partying and drugs, like most rap music is.  Most country songs have a deeper meaning behind them. Whether it is about life, death or love it is always meaningful. However, I don’t limit myself to just country music. I like pop music, especially Justin Bieber. I like pop music because it is upbeat and happy sounding. I also enjoy a lot of rap music. I like Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Mac Miller, Kid Cudi, Eminem, B.O.B, Wiz Khalifa, and Drake. I like rap music because it is catchy and fun to listen to when you are driving around. I believe that rap artists, and people that like rap can be stereotyped very easily. Not everyone who likes rap music does or believes in what the lyrics are about. Mainly my favorite genre of music depends on the mood I am in. Most of the times in the winter and around basketball season I start to favor rap and hip hop music. During summer I lean more towards country music. I mostly only listen to the radio, unless an artist I really like releases an album, then I listen to just that for a few weeks. I don’t think that there is one person who doesn’t like music. There are so many genres of music and at least one appeal to everyone. Music is used for many different things, whether people listen to it to get through a boring study hall, listen to it on the way to work, or make music for a living, music is present in everyone’s life.

The Rugby Game...

On the morning of Sunday October 23rd I was preparing to take the hour and a half car ride with my mom, dad, grandpa, and grandma, to St. Bonaventure to watch my sister's rugby game. I made a shirt with my sister’s and her two friends names on it in support of their team. After an eventful car ride of getting lost and pulling over so my grandma could throw up, we finally arrived in Olean. We met up with my aunt, uncle, and two cousins to watch the game. This was an important game because they were undefeated and so was St. Bonaventure. My sister’s team was losing at the end of the first half. My sister went in the game for the first time in the beginning of the second half. Not even 5 minutes into the game my sister was on the ground screaming, and we all heard her yell, “My other knee!” As soon as my family and I heard this we knew it was bad because during the last rugby season she dislocated her knee.  Before I knew it my mom and dad were running on the field. Surprise! She dislocated her other knee. First, an athletic trainer showed up, then a St. Bonaventure van. After that, two police cars and an ambulance came. Luckily, there was a hospital down the street. My aunt and uncle took my grandma and grandpa home so they wouldn’t have to wait at the hospital. When my mom, dad, and I got to the hospital they said only two people are allowed in the room with her. I had to wait in the waiting room. There are a lot of weird people from Olean, and I was very uncomfortable. I overheard people talking about how they wanted to kill their dogs, and the people sitting behind me were eating terrible smelling soup. My sister ended up driving back to her college with her teammates and was fine. Overall, it was a very eventful day.

Thanksgiving Traditions

Throughout my life, I have done many different things on Thanksgiving. I used to go to my aunts in Amherst, but then she moved to New Jersey. After that, we celebrated Thanksgiving at my house for a few years. Three years ago we started to go to my other aunt’s house. Ever since we started going there, our Thanksgiving has been fairly interesting. The first year, my Aunt cooked the turkey in a pan that wasn’t strong enough to support it. When my Uncle Chester when to take it out of the over, the pan bent and grease splashed on the floor and he slipped. My Uncle Mike went over to try to save it and grease got in the oven and a big flame shot up and singed his eye brows off.  Two years ago on Thanksgiving, my Uncle Chester’s mother had a long hair hanging off of her plate, it was disgusting and I wasn’t hungry anymore.  Last year on Thanksgiving, my aunt and uncle decided to invite their creepy neighbor over, who was just being creepy to my cousins and I. 

Since I don’t have any young cousins, I don’t really play games or anything on the holidays. Mostly my cousins and I watch the football game together or just sit and chat with each other. My aunt isn’t really a good cook so Thanksgiving isn’t too exciting anymore. The best part of thanksgiving is seeing my cousins from New Jersey and getting to spend time with my family that I don’t see often. Two days after Thanksgiving my cousins Kayla, Rachel, my sister, and I get money from my grandma and we spend the day shopping. We get the things we buy with my grandma’s money for Christmas. It is nice to be able to pick out your own gifts. Overall, Thanksgiving is always a fun time.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

My favorite holiday is Christmas. I have always loved Christmas. When I was younger I used to just love it because of the gifts. Now that I am older I love it for many reasons. I love getting to spend the day with family I don’t see often. I love Christmas music. It is just such a jolly time of the year and it seems like everyone is nice to everyone around the holiday season. I love walking into the grocery store and seeing a person ringing a bell and everyone donating money. It is so nice at the mall seeing everyone doing their holiday shopping. I love decorating the tree with my family. I also really like making Christmas cookies with my mom. Christmas lights and decorations are all so pretty. I never really like snow, but I love it during Christmas time. On Christmas Eve, I go to my cousins’ uncle’s house and we spend time together talking, laughing, and telling funny stories. Later, when I get home, I get ready to go to midnight mass with my cousin, Kayla, my uncle Rich, and my grandma. When I get home from midnight mass I am tired and am able to fall right asleep. I always get up early on Christmas because I am so excited. First, my parents, siblings, and I open our gifts. Then we all get ready and start cleaning up, baking, cooking, and getting ready for our family to come over. People start arriving at around 3. I always get really anxious to see everyone, and hate waiting until 3. When everyone arrives we all enjoy each other’s company and make many new memories. When Christmas is over it always makes me sad because I have to wait an entire year for the Christmas cheer to arrive again.

Dungeon Case

Earlier this week four developmentally disabled people were found chained to a basement in a Philadelphia apartment. Three people, Linda Ann Weston, Thomas Gregory, and Eddie Wright are facing many charges. These charges include Criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, trespassing, kidnapping, simple assault, reckless endangerment of persons, unlawful restraint, and false imprisonment. A spokeswoman for the Philadelphia police department said, “As the investigation goes on there may be more charges added.” It is believed that the four developmentally disabled people were taken from Texas, through Florida, and then brought to Philadelphia. One of the people who were kept in the basement is suspected to be Linda Ann Weston’s child. This is suspected because he said, “My mom brought us from Florida to Philadelphia.” The reason that these people have been kidnapped and locked in a basement is so the three people that were arrested could collect their social security checks.

I think that this incident is so sickening. I don’t know how somebody could live with themselves if they were treating someone else like that. It really makes me angry that this went on. To do that to a developmentally disabled person just for money is so cruel. The way they had these people, locked in a basement, chained up, and a bucket to go to the bathroom in, is so extremely inhumane. Since now it is expected that this could be going on other places throughout the country, it’s even worse.  What is worse is that the developmentally disabled people were aware of the fact that they were being kept from the outside world. Tanya Little said, “"They were able to communicate that they do know all parties that were withholding them from the outside world.” More information keeps coming out about this and today another arrest was made in the case. This person is the daughter of the leader of what happened. Authorities are now trying to up to 50 more fraud victims. Hopefully the FBI and other authorities will be able to put an end to what is going on.

Decisions, Decisions...

Every young child aspires to be an astronaut, a teacher, a firefighter, a doctor, or any different number of things. However, when I was young I would say, "I want to be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." Since that point there have been many things I have had my heart set on doing. When I was about ten years old I wanted to be a crime scene investigator. I always watched C.S.I and Law and Order with my mom and that sort of sparked my interest. In the years after that I had my heart set on being a lawyer. Throughout middle school that's what I said I wanted to be. In 8th grade we did a career research project and I researched becoming a lawyer. After I finished the project I came to the conclusion I didn't want to be a lawyer. The hours were too long and I plan on having a family so I didn’t think that would work out too well. When I entered high school I had no idea what I wanted to be. I knew I would go to college but I had no idea what for. This year my thoughts and feelings on college have changed a lot. I'm starting to think college isn't for me, maybe I will go to a cosmetology school? Or maybe, just maybe, if I get a scholarship to play basketball I will go to college and become a secretary. I am still interested in Criminal justice though. So maybe I will go to school and become a paralegal. I have so many choices of what I can do with my life. Although at this point I am completely clueless on what to do. I think within the next year or two I will get an idea and everything will go from there. I still feel so young and it's weird to think that in the next few years I will have to make a decision on what I will probably be doing the rest of my life.

English

My favorite class so far this year is English. I like reading and writing, so I enjoy going to English. I have English first block, so it is a nice way to start out my day. So far we have been reading short stories and I have found the majority of them interesting so far. I also really like my teacher, Mrs. Schaefer. Also, English comes easy to me and it is my highest average. I have a 98 in it as of now. The only con to English is that I really don’t like research papers and even though I like writing, that is one thing I do not like to write about. Another class I really like is online publishing. Like I said I like writing so that is the reason I enjoy online publishing. It is also fun because I get to pick what I would like to write about, so I can write about sports teams I play on and I enjoy writing about that. Also, the blogs we write aren’t about boring things so it makes them interesting. Another class I really like is sports marketing and entertainment. I find it enjoyable because we learn about things that I like to learn about and find interesting, like sports. We also watch movies and that is always fun. Even though study hall isn’t really a “class” I really like it. I can get a lot of homework done, and it is nice to have a little time to just relax a little bit instead of having to have another class. Also, I was able to drop Spanish this year, which I am very happy about. I have never really liked Spanish but I will still be able to graduate with an advanced regent’s diploma without 3 years of Spanish. Overall, I like most of my classes, but English is my favorite.

Mrs. Landers

Throughout my life I have had many coaches and teachers. Some I have really liked, others I wasn’t too fond of, but one coach really stood out to me. My modified basketball coach, Mrs. Landers, has made the biggest impact on me. Basketball is my favorite sport and she was the best coach I ever had. When I entered 7^th grade I had only been playing basketball for one year and I wasn’t too good. I loved basketball a lot though and I worked really hard to improve. Mrs. Landers was a great coach and really helped me become a better player. Given, I barely ever played, except for in the 5^th quarter which is for girls who didn’t get playing time, I really enjoyed that basketball season and it was a lot of fun. My first year of modified the team was undefeated, we were 11-0. I will never forget that season for the rest of my life. I was really looking forward to having Mrs. Landers as my coach during my 8^th grade year. However, I was never able to have her because when basketball season came, she was on maternity leave. I remember being really upset and let down. What I really liked about Mrs. Landers was that she really loved basketball and you could tell. She was a really tough coach, but in the end that was the best. Any team needs a coach that will push them to succeed, and she did just that. When I was in 8^th grade I would always compare our coach to Mrs. Landers and they just couldn’t relate. Mrs. Landers wasn’t just a very good coach, she is my idol. I really admire her because of how hard she worked for our team, and overall she was a really kind person, and I would do anything to have her coach me another year in basketball.

"Love yourself and you're set. ... I promise you, it will get better."

Bullying is something that everyone goes through at least once in their life. People might think they are joking but what they are saying can really hurt someone. The internet really adds to bullying, cyber bullying is another very hurtful thing. Bullying, however, is taken way too far when someone kills themselves because of things said to them. Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14 year old from Williamsville North High school took his own like on Sunday September, 18^th. Jamey had only just started his freshman year. Comments were made on his formspring account (a website where people can write things anonymously to someone) such as "I wouldn't care if you died. No one would. So just do it :) It would make everyone WAY more happier!" and "JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT ANND [sic] UGLY. HE MUST DIE!" This tragedy was recognized by Lady Gaga (Jamey’s idol). Gaga tweeted “Bullying must become illegal. It is a hate crime,". I completely agree with Lady Gaga’s statement. Jamey was such a young boy and had his whole life ahead of him, but yet he killed himself because of other peoples’ cruelty. I think that the saying ‘sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can never hurt you’ is completely false. Words can do a lot of harm to a person mentally. I also believe that the kids who pushed Jamey to kill himself should be punished. It is their entire fault he took his own life. Furthermore, I don’t agree with bullying someone because of their sexuality. If someone is a homosexual it doesn’t make them a bad person whatsoever. Jamey said, "Love yourself and you're set. ... I promise you, it will get better.", I think it is very sad that Jamey obviously felt this way at one point but bullies just pushed him over the edge. I would really like to see an end to bullying. There is nothing positive about bullying; all it does is hurt people.

Alden Restaurants

My favorite restaurant in Alden is the Town & Country. I’ve been going to that restaurant ever since I was little. I remember when I wasn’t in school yet and my older siblings were once in a while my mom would drop them off at school and then she and I would go there together. My grandma would also use to take me and my cousins there. My friend, Sarah’s brother recently bought the Town & Country restaurant so I think it’s cool that he owns it. My family and I always go out for brunch on Easter and the place we went to went out of business so we had to find a new place to go. We tried out different places and none were good until 2 years ago we went there, and now that is where we will be going every Easter from now on. Another restaurant I like is the West Alden Kitchen. I went there for my first time before my freshman year as team bonding for soccer. The JV and varsity soccer teams went there together again this year and I really enjoy it there. I also like John and Mary’s. It is in a convenient location right in the village and it is easy to walk to go there to eat with friends. I also like the Chinese food restaurant in Alden. I don’t get Chinese food often but it’s always good when I do. I like Geofanno’s also, chicken fingers are one of my favorite foods and I always get them from there, I don’t really like their pizza though. When Tim Horton’s comes to Alden I think that it will be my favorite restaurant because I really like coffee and bagels from there.   Overall, I like a lot of the restaurants in Alden.

Taco Day

       I have never been a fan of school lunches, but I have also never been a fan of bringing a lunch from home. During freshman year for lunch I either bought a bagel or a pop tart. I don’t know why but that was all I ever got and this year I’ve only gotten a bagel a few times.  This school year, however, I find myself buying salad almost every day. On occasion I find myself buying pizza. The only one exception to this is every other Thursday when it is taco day. Taco day in my opinion is the best school lunch. The only negative thing about it is that the line is always really long. Even if you run down to the lunch line right away there is always already a line. I always just sit at my table and wait for the line to get short and then go wait. By the time I go and get it line it is always half way through lunch. I had my first taco in a bag last year, and now that is what I get every taco day. Another school lunch I like is French toast. Overall, I really do not like the school’s food and there are a few exceptions to what I do like.

Justin Bieber!!!

The best concert I have ever been to was the Justin Bieber concert. I faced a lot of problems due to the concert, but looking back now it was all worth it. First off, my best friend, Kirsten was who I went to the concert with. Her mom’s boyfriend, Patrick bought us the tickets. The tickets said “obstructed view” on them but he said that didn’t mean anything… Anyhow, the day the concert was supposed to be Kirsten and I woke up and we were getting ready to take the 3 hour drive to Syracuse. I walked out of Kirsten’s room to find her lying on the hallway floor crying. The concert was postponed. We were so upset. We loved Justin Bieber so much, and now we were not going to be seeing him the day we have been counting down to all summer. Two days later was when the concert would be postponed to. When we arrived in Syracuse for the concert we sat down in our seats and to our surprise there was a huge metal pole right in front of us, it obstructed our view of the stage. This didn’t ruin our concert though. There were a lot of people opening for Justin Bieber. One of them was Sean Kingston. He is not an enjoyable act to watch at all. He was shout a few words and be out of breath and panting into the microphone. Finally, Justin Bieber walked out on stage. I’ve never heard people screaming so loud in my life. Normally I always make fun of people who cry when they see famous people, but I have to admit, when I knew Justin Bieber was right there, that close to me, I couldn’t help but cry. I couldn’t see him thanks to the pole, but I was able to see the screen he was on. I will never forget the best concert of my life.

The Semifinals

                Basketball has been my favorite sport since I was in 6^th grade. In 7^th grade, my first year of modified I was really an awful player. I would only play a few minutes out of the whole game, and there was a 5^th quarter for people who didn’t play that much, that was when I really got the chance to play. That never bothered me though. From 7^th to 8^th grade I improved a lot. I had a lot of playing time in 8^th grade and I was a captain of the team, I was also the top scorer of our team. When JV tryouts came around I made the team, and was a starter as a freshman. I worked so hard all season and made a lot of improvements. When the varsity play offs rolled around two of the three JV captains were pulled up to play for varsity, I was not. I was somewhat disappointed but there was nothing I could do about it. I went and watched the varsity playoff game against JFK, Alden won, and after the game the varsity coach came up to me and asked if I wanted to play in the semifinals game for him, of course, my answer was yes. The day of the game came and I was so excited to be able to be playing with the varsity team as a freshman. It was a very close game, and after half time Coach Delzer called my name. I was going in the game. My stomach dropped I was so, so nervous. I played for about 6 seconds, but those 6 seconds really meant a lot to me. We ended up losing the game by 3 points, it was upsetting, but there was nothing I could do. This is a game I will never forget and it was a great moment in my life.

Falling.

My favorite season of the year is autumn. The fall has been my favorite season since I was little. I used to pick apples and help my grandpa make apple cider with them. I always looked forward to helping him, and then drinking the delicious apple cider! I also used to love the fall because it was hunting season. I would always get to go to my grandma’s because my dad and uncles would be there so I would spend a lot of time with my cousins. Now that I am older in still love the fall, I love the fall for many reasons. First off, it is the perfect weather. It isn’t too cold and it isn’t too warm either. Also, it is very beautiful. The leaves are so pretty when they change color and fall to the ground. The carved pumpkins, gourds, and cornstalks in front of peoples’ homes add to the beauty. Soccer season also goes on throughout the fall. There is nothing better than playing a soccer game on a beautiful fall day. Friday night football games are also a highlight of fall. It is nice to sit in the bleachers cheering on the team sitting under a blanket with all my friends around. During the fall I love going to Mayer Brothers to buy apple cider with my mom. There is nothing better than waking up and having hot apple cider on a cold fall morning. Fall is also the beginning of the school year, which means I get to spend my advisement everyday with Mr. Currin and this year I am fortunate enough to have a class that he teaches.  Thanksgiving is another thing that I love about fall. I really enjoy spending the day with my family and watching the football game.  I still really like all the other seasons, but fall is by far my favorite.

FACEBOOK!

I have a Facebook, and I go on it almost every day. I use Facebook to stay in touch with people, including friends and family. I talk to people from other schools I've met through things like basketball camp and school sports. I also talk to family from out of state and my sister who is currently away at college. Staying in touch with people is probably the greatest thing about Facebook, along with any other social networking site. Facebook is not only popular with young kids, but with adults as well.  On Facebook you can update your status so people know what you are doing, and then your status can be liked or commented on. It is also easy to share pictures and videos with people. Posting on peoples’ walls is another nice thing about Facebook. If you do not want to post something publically you can send them a message, or if they are online at the time you can instant message each other on Facebook chat. Yet another positive thing about Facebook is you can send a text from your phone and it will make that your status, you can also send pictures and videos from your phone. Along with positives always come negatives. The negatives of Facebook are people who start drama on it. There are always the people who direct nasty status’s towards others. Another negative are pictures get posted of people doing things they shouldn’t be doing, including underage drinking. If coaches of teams or peoples’ employers see them it could potentially be very bad. Another negative is cyber bullying; it is so easy to be mean to someone over the computer because it is easy to not be mean to someone’s face. Overall, Facebook is a very good and popular website and it will probably stay that way for a while.

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I Feel Comfortable Writing About...

                I feel comfortable writing about most sports, except golf, bowling, cheerleading, baseball, softball, or swimming. I like writing about sports because I am an athlete and have an interest in athletics.  I would especially enjoy writing about girls’ basketball and girls’ soccer. I feel like I could do a good job writing about them because I am at all the games and I know most of the girls’ pretty well, and know a lot about the teams. I would also like to write about school events, including homecoming, snowball, prom, battle of the classes, etc. The reason I would like to write about these events is because I am involved in school activities and I would be attending them so I would know about them. Another thing I could write about would be clubs, I wouldn’t mind talking to the officers of different clubs and interviewing them to see what their club is doing, and is planning on doing. I also would like to write about the upcoming Puerto Rico trip, and I could interview Mrs. P and kids going on the trip to see if they are excited and what the students are doing when they go there. I would also write about chorus concerts or band concerts. Another thing I would enjoy writing about is the play and musical. Furthermore, a topic I would be interested in writing about is the curriculum showcase, I could see what the parents think of it and if they find it helpful.  I would also be interested in interviewing students to see what they think of the new schedule and see the pros and cons of it, and also find out what different teachers think of it. I feel comfortable writing about almost anything, so I am willing to take on any topic.

My Fav Year, Freshman Year

   After going to school for over 11 years I have experienced many different things and had an array of many different teachers. Looking back I have enjoyed each year of school, but my favorite year was freshman year by far. Freshman year was so different from every other year for many reasons, for one it was completely different than the primary, intermediate, and middle school. There was so much more freedom and the teachers treated us more like adults. My personal favorite thing about high school during freshman year was I only had half of my classes at one time; it made things so much less stressful. It was also fun going to school with kids I have never been in a school with before. Another thing I liked was that we got to choose electives so we got to take classes we actually had an interest in. Advisement was another thing I really enjoyed; I was blessed with getting Mr. Currin as my advisement father. I preferred high school sports to middle school sports too, there was more freedom with sports study hall and they were also taken more seriously and playing time didn’t have to be equal with everyone. It was also nice that I was in school with my brother for the first time ever, and I got rides to school with him every morning. Another thing that was different was you could be in classes with people who aren't in your grade and I thought that was cool and it was also a way to meet many new people. Regent’s week was also new and I only had two exams so it was basically a whole week off. There were new experiences every day and I am sad freshman year is over, it went by so fast for me. But now I have the rest of sophomore year and then junior and senior year to look forward to.

Successful Sophomore Year

This school year I hope to have a good soccer season and have more wins than losses. So far this year we won our first league game three to nothing but we lost a non-league game to Iroquois 9-0. I am captain of the team, and that is one thing I hoped to accomplish this year. I also hope to have a really successful basketball season, and hopefully I am able to play on the varsity team. Another thing I want is to have good grades throughout the year, last year I had good grades but I wasn't in any clubs so I didn't get an academic letter. This year I plan to join a club and to get an academic letter. Also I want to be able to get over a 90% on all my regents exams, because freshman year I got in the 80's on my regents exams. I also hope I can stay organized and not get too stressed because of the new schedule. I want to join a club and be an officer in it. Another thing I want to do is start doing community service to prepare to try to get into national honor society. I was in National Junior Honor Society and Nation Honor Society is something I would really like to be a part of. Also this year I would like to study more because I don't normally and I think it is something I could really benefit from. Furthermore, I plan on taking the PSATs for math just to start getting ready for the SATs. Yet another thing that I hope to accomplish this year is to run for a position in student government at the end of the year, I want to run for treasurer. Overall, I hope I can have a successful sophomore year all around.

Meghan's Summer!

   This summer I spent a lot of my time playing travel soccer and summer league basketball in buffalo. I got the opprotunity to play up with the varsity basketball team all summer which was a good experience. My summer was going really well until the middle of July when during a soccer game I hurt my back pretty severly and had to go in an ambulance to the hospital. After that I couldn't play any sports for the rest of summer, so that was not fun. My moms side of the family came from Seattle, Washington to visit for two weeks, and I guess it was nice because I only get to see them once a year, even though I don't like that side of the family too much. Another thing I did this summer was I went to New Jersey with my grandparents and sister for a few days to celebrate my cousin's graduation, it was nice to see them because we usually only see them around holidays. While I was in New Jersey my grandpa, uncle, cousin, and I went fishing on the ocean, it would have been fun but both me and my grandpa were the only ones to catch anything and we only caught one fish each, and they were both too small to keep. This summer I also went to Oswego where my sister goes to college to see her new house she is renting there with her friends. It was really cool and now I am looking forward to being able to have my own house too. All my other time was spent with my friends just hanging out and having a good time. Summer ended for me as soon as soccer started because it was in the middle of august from 8am-11am everyday and when i got home I didn't feel like doing anything else and i couldn't stay out late or anything because i would have to get up early the next day. Overall, summer 2011 was really fun and I'm already looking forward to next summer!