If Only There Were More Hours In a Day

Many students argue that teachers and homework are responsible for all of the stress they feel during their junior year of high school. I definitely agree to this statement, but I do believe there are also other reasons why high school students become so stressed out. We are in school for almost 7 hours a day, for 5 days a week. Besides being in the building for 35 hours a week, ten months a year, many students participate in extra curricular activities, such as sports and clubs, which also consume extremely large amounts of time. I do not think it is inordinate to wish that there were more than 24 hours in a day. If this were physically able to happen, I think students and teachers would be much happier, because they would have more time to finish their homework, study, and even relax. Also, we would be less tired, because we would have more time to sleep. This would genuinely improve our work, and provide for a much more lively class. Also, we need to learn better study techniques, and ways to reduce the pressure that we constantly feel, because of huge loads of school work and projects. Everyone knows that junior year is the toughest, because of the SATs and the courses, and it would be a pleasure to have more time to juggle all the elements of this year. Although we as students are culpable for piling the stress upon ourselves, I think that if we figure out the so called "labyrinth" of junior year school work, the pressure will diminish.



(for some reason the picture never uploaded because of how the layout was messed up like i had told you, so I had to re-upload it today)

Power and Prestige

Every day I hear about people rising to the top of their game, and reaching new heights, whether it be in sports, politics, business and the economy, or globally. Living in a world so obsessed with power and prestige, I am imbued to "step up my game" just as well. Even in history class, we have been learning about the omnipotent Theodore Roosevelt, who completely altered the Republican party as president, and through his chauvinism, brought a new level of respect and dignity to America.

Although I may be only sixteen, one of my goals in life is to become a person like this; someone who is a role model and sets an example that is followed for years to come. Not that I can juxtapose my life with Teddy Roosevelt's, but it would be amazing to be working in a job where I can use my gregarious attitude to create a team of people who are willing to work with me towards a common goal, such as Roosevelt's cabinet helped move America towards Progressivism in the 1900s. I don't want to be President of the United States, and my dream is not to walk on the moon or discover the cure for the common cold. Who I want to be in the future is being built right now, and if I could have any of Teddy Roosevelt's characteristics in the future, my dreams to be a leader would be right on target.

The Weekend of October 16th

This weekend was very exciting, although it was no aberration from what usually goes on. On Friday, I had tennis practice after school, and we had to stay outside for two hours, even though the wind was blowing so ferociously that I thought I was going to be swept away. After tennis, I went with my mom and sister to It's Nail in Hillsdale, to get manicures. Carly, my sister, is always trying to emulate my style, and she chose the exact same nail polish color as I did. Usually she chooses a color such as neon pink or purple, but my mom told her it was too eccentric for school. At night, I went to my friend's house, where we were importuned by her ten-year-old sisters to play games with them, and add brio to their Friday night. On Saturday, I came into school at 8:30 am to partake in the ACT/SAT combo test, hosted by Kaplan. Although it was the antipode of what I would have liked to be doing before 9:00 on a Saturday morning, the four hours of sitting in a desk in a classroom was worthwhile. I have been stressing out more and more as the actual SATs approach, because I cannot believe that I am a junior and actually have to start thinking about applying to college. My mom and I are visiting schools over Teacher's Convention in November, but it is hard to believe that I have less than two full years left of high school. My weekend concluded with a very special event: the Walk for Wishes, hosted by the Make A Wish Foundation. Through the pouring rain, my friends and I, along with their families, walked in Liberty State Park, to raise money for the foundation. This was truly a great end to the weekend, because to me, nothing is more important than helping others. This walk helped me do so, and while I had fun with my friends, I also helped change the life of a sick child.

In response to "Don't Talk Behind His Back " by J.Oh.

Some may say that our behavior is flagrant, but that is only if you are Mr. Asciutto, or Jamie calls him, "Mr. A." Jamie's blog talks about how I am always the one dragged into situations, and blamed for talking along with Jamie and Chrissy. Together, the three of us are a combination of three people with completely different personalities – although we all have more in common than one would assume from the outside. Although Jen sits a few desks down, she is never an pariah. Usually during history, we are not allowed to have our computers out, so our desks are occupied with simply a notebook and pencil. Since I sit next to Jamie, I usually steal a few of her pretzels, and draw hearts all over her notes. I try to pay attention and listen to what Mr. A says, because I'm the type of student who writes down every single word into her notes. However, sometimes I am exhorted to defy the norm, and engage in a whispering conversation during class. We may seem really chatty, but I promise that is not our true demeanor; all three of us have been in Mr. Asciutto's class once before, and he knows us well enough to know that we would never interrupt in a rude or obnoxious way. Instead, we fill his class with paroxysms of random and useless information, such as why some pretzels are flat, or that Chrissy is always doing her hair in her computer camera :). Our chatter during class may impede my education sometimes, but then again, these are the halcyon days of our lives, so we may as well enjoy ourselves.