J3. Jbiebz and Bpaisley

My favorite musician is Brad Paisley. Country is my favorite music genre and I like most country artists but Brad Paisley is my favorite by far. All his songs relate to real life and have a meaning behind them. Also he is a very family oriented person. He has a son and unlike most famous people, he and his wife never had a nanny for their child. They took on all the parenting duties and I really respect him for that. I would really enjoy going to one of his concerts. I was going to get tickets to see him this summer but I didn’t have any money… This summer though I will make sure I see him live! I also really like Brad Paisley’s voice. All his songs just put me in such a good mood.

Another one of my favorite musicians is Justin Bieber. Ever since I was in 7^th grade me and my best friend, Kirsten have loved just Bieber. We loved him so much and spent all our time watching YouTube videos of him. When we were in 8^th grade we learned dance moves to his some “One Time” and we danced to it in the talent show. We also went to a Justin Bieber concert in September of 2010. I love all of Justin Bieber’s songs. I am not as obsessed with him as I used to be, but I still really like him. I’ve watched his movie, “Never Say Never” so many times and it never gets old. I really like him because he isn’t famous because his parents were rich, he is famous because he is so talented and got discovered on YouTube. There hasn’t been one song Justin Bieber ever recorded that I haven’t liked. Justin Bieber and Brad Paisley are my two favorite musicians.

J2. Favorite Teachers

                From kindergarten to 5^th grade I had a handful of completely different teachers. I can honestly say I couldn’t put my finger on a favorite. I liked all my teachers in different ways for the most part. I really liked 1^st grade. Mrs. Soltman was my teacher and I thought that it was a really fun year and I liked all the kids in my class. I remember Mrs. Stoltman went on maternity leave when I had her, so I didn’t have her the whole year and I was upset about that. My next favorite teacher that I can remember is my 3^rd grade teacher Mrs. Wittliff. I remember she was nice a lot of times but she was strict too. She used to give out tickets and take them away and if you had a certain amount at the end of the week you would get a prize. I really liked it when I got a prize from her; I remember I got a butterfly bracelet from her. My 4^th grade teacher was really mean and I remember how much I hated her. Both my brother and sister had her and when I used to come in to see her she was really nice to me when I was like 4 but then when she had me as a student she wasn’t as nice. When I was in 5^th grade I had Mrs. Ciezki, I really liked her. She was really fun and made school a lot of fun. Other students and I used to go into school early to get math help and she would bring us food and it was fun. I was quite sad when I went to middle school because I wouldn’t have her as a teacher anymore. Overall, looking back at grades k-5 I really liked most of my teachers.

J1. Heroes

I think that a hero can be defined in many different ways. I think you could call someone a hero who has made a great impact on your life. Some people may call someone a hero who has saved your life, or someone who has helped you make an important choice. I think heroes are doctors, fire fighters, soldiers, and other important figures. I would consider my parents and my best friend my heroes. However, if I had to choose people who have made the biggest impact on my life I would say my grandparents. My grandparents have always been the people who I looked up to. My grandfather never graduated from high school because he had to start working to help support his family. He still works to this day doing construction and he is always outside doing something. Not only is he a very hard worker he has a great personality. He is so funny and has so many friends and people that like him. He can make anyone like him by just telling one of his funny jokes. My grandma is also my hero because she is always at all my soccer and basketball games and supports me with everything I do. She is the sweetest woman I know and I am so thankful to have her in my life. So many people love my grandma. She is always doing something and striking up a conversation with someone. Her and her sister are always together and cherish all the time they spend together. They tell me and my sister that we will be the same way once we get older. My grandparents are two people I look up to so much. This year will be their 56^th wedding anniversary and I really admire that about them that they are still in love after all those years. When I grow up I want to be just like my grandparents.

I4- "Hows it hit ya when you get that kind of news"

A few weeks ago my aunt’s mother who I am quite close to was diagnosed with stage four lung and bone cancer. The doctors said she had between six and twelve months left to live. When I think about it I wonder how I would handle news like that. Sure, I would want to go out and live my last months to the fullest. Although another part of me wouldn’t even want to leave the house, I would probably be so upset I wouldn’t be able to do anything. This is a question that really makes you think. How would you spend the last months of your life? That is such a little amount of time. Being told on such short notice is a scary thing. Knowing what you are leaving behind when you go, all your family and friends. I guess it all depends on how the person who was diagnosed thinks of it. Pat, my aunt’s mom seems to be making the best she can of the situation. My mom went over to fix her bandaging from where she got surgery and my mom said she was being her usual perky self. That made me happy to hear, I wouldn’t want Pat to spend her little time with us being depressed. What really shocked me though was what happened yesterday. My team and I were warming up four our game at JFK and I saw my family walking in. My aunt and uncle live in Cheektowaga and my two cousins go to JFK so they came to watch. I saw my mom, dad, sister, grandma, grandpa, and much to my surprise Pat. She never came to any of my games before, but she always was at my two cousin’s games. For some reason it made me really happy to see her. I got tears in my eyes when I saw her because I just thought about how strong she must be. She got told she only had 6-12 months to live last week, and now here she is at my game. It really meant a lot to me that she was there. After the game she said to me “I’m glad I got to see you play.” I’m glad she got to see me play too. Not only that, I’m glad she is making the best out of the situation she is in. I look up to her, and will be sure to cherish the time I have left with her.

Alden State Bank Holiday Tournament

This past holiday break went by way to fast. It did not even feel like it was Christmas because there was no snow. That alone kind of ruined my break somewhat. I did a lot of cleaning and getting ready to have people over for Christmas. Christmas was alright, but kind of boring just because there was no snow and it didn’t feel like it was Christmas. I got almost everything I wanted, and it made me happy that my parents really enjoyed the presents I got for them. I really enjoyed seeing all my family that I don’t get the opportunity to see often. The best part of my break though was the annual Alden State Bank Holiday tournament. For our first game we played Pembroke. It was a very close game, and with 5.2 seconds left we won the game by 1 point. It was a very good and exciting game. Us winning against Pembroke meant the next evening my team would be playing Depew. The game against Depew was even closer than the Pembroke game, except the outcome of this game wasn’t in our favor. The game was tied and Depew got to shoot three foul shots with only a few seconds left in the game. The Depew shooter missed the first 2 shots and made the third. So we got a feeling of what it is like to win by 1 and what it is like to lose by 1. It really was a heartbreaker, but it wasn’t all that bad because it wasn’t like we got killed in our own tournament. Overall, my Christmas break wasn’t that fun. The basketball tournament was definitely a highlight of my break though. I hope time flies and February break hurries up because I am already sick of school.

My Bucket List

Everybody has a lot of things they want to accomplish in their lives. Whether they’re goals are big or small, it is something they really want to accomplish. I myself could easily think of three things I wish to accomplish before I die. The things I want to do aren’t huge accomplishments, but they are things that would make me happy, and I believe life is about being happy with who you are.  First off, I want to marry someone and be truly happy and spend my whole entire life with them. I think that there are too many broken families, and growing up with a close family and parents that barely argue I would want the same for my children. I always look at my grandparents and want to be like them. They have been married for over 50 years and still love each other a lot. Another thing I want to do is have a job that I enjoy waking up and going to every morning. As of now, I don’t have anything I could do for a living that I am extremely passionate about. I do know that I want to do something I love though, and I know I will figure out what that is within the next few years of my life. Another thing I have on my bucket list is to play basketball in college. I feel like basketball is just that one thing I have and will always love. I know I’m not the best basketball player by any means, but I know if I work really hard I can accomplish a lot. I don’t have to go to a division one college, even though that would be nice, but I just want to play. I love everything about basketball and to play it after high school is something I would be so thankful to be able to do.

New Year, New Person?

                I’ve tried to make New Year’s resolutions in the past but I have never followed through with them. I do not think a new year can change a person. Sure, they can try to break a habit, but a new year won’t make them a new person. I think that one of best New Year’s Resolutions is quitting smoking, or something else significant like that. Saying you want to do something unrealistic for New Year’s is cliché. One thing I do want to do is start trying harder in school. This year was a lot harder than last year and my grades dropped a lot. I know a lot of people probably have the same resolution, but I am actually putting more effort into my school work. For example, I stayed after from much needed math help for the first time this school year. I stopped trying in school because I really hate school. I have no motivation to try hard in schools because I feel like a lot of teachers just teach for a pay check and don’t care about what they are doing, so why should I care about what I do? I realized that I am only a sophomore and I have more than 2 years left in school, for that reason I need to start putting an effort in. I spend over 6 hours in school every day so I should at least try to get something out of it. Not to mention next year is going to really count for college so I can’ get into the habit of not trying and getting less than decent grades. I conclusion, I don not have an official New Year’s resolution but I truly do want to start putting in the effort and getting better grades in school.