P5. Where has the time gone?

April’s coming to an end which means May will be here before you know. Compared to most, I am beyond excited for May seeing how it is the month of my birthday. Everybody in my family keeps reminding me of the number of days between now and then. There reminder just gets me beyond anxious. However, all of this excitement is also filled with mix emotions of nervousness. That reason being is because I will finally be eighteen which means I will be considered as an adult. Also, this means that soon I will be walking across stage and then entering the world of college. That thought let alone scares me. The thought of me finally being eighteen causes me to go back to the memories of the past. When it hits you that all these people you have grown up with and have known will be going their own way, is such a crazy thought. Throughout these mixed emotions, I am all together excited to finally be considered even more responsible than I already am. I have a good feeling about my birthday this year, thanks to senior year. This would be because senior year has really caused me to find myself and find my true friends. It has caused me to become so much closer with my family and me. With reality becoming closer and closer, I think I’m more than ready to turn eighteen and become one more step closer to college. I feel like I can just remember walking through the doors on my first day of freshman year, and now here I am sitting here typing this as a senior that will be walking across stage in less than two months. Its crazy how time truly flies by just goes to show that the past graduates were right. Senior year does fly by and already I’m wishing I could go back and stop time.

P4. Prom's right around the corner.

One specific event approaching would be prom. It’s crazy to think that next week Friday is finally the day that all the shopping and stress has paid off for. Thinking about it, I’m still in all shock that this is going to be my last senior year prom. Although prom is about a week away, the stress is going to continue up until the day of. Everybody worries about making sure they have all that they need such as, the dress, tux, boutonniere, corsage, garter, accessories, shoes, tickets, and lastly the transportation. Another thing that comes along with the transportation would be the location of the transportation and the location of photos. It’s hard when your friends with many people and you have so many options to choose from. That would be a major downfall of prom. However, there is always the way of working around things to make everybody happy in the end. Getting this all together is more than worth it in the end, although the entire process building up for this specific event causes a lot of worrying. There isn’t one person that doesn’t want this night to be their type of “perfect”. Luckily for me, I haven’t stressed out about prom that much this year. About a week ago, I have figured out everything for prom and I’m more than ready. If I’m going to be stressing out anytime soon, it will be the day of as I’m getting ready. Prom is supposed to be considered as the “best night of your lives” in high school and it is. You get to choose everything to your style and taste, along with it being okay with your date if you have one. However, just for this one night, it is very costly. Some people spend so much and go all out where others go all out but keep the cost in a specific range. Overall, prom is one night everybody looks forward to the most as a junior and senior. Just like others, I am very excited for this year’s prom and it couldn’t come any faster if you ask me.

P3. Teachers evaluation.

Reading the article on teacher’s evaluation in New York, I am shocked. The Obama administration is beginning to have teacher’s evaluated based on a combination of students test scores and classroom observations. I don’t think its right for a teacher’s job to be put on the line based on students test scores. I don’t think the Obama administration is clearly looking at this issue correctly. This can cause a lot of stress on the children, yet I’m sure they didn’t realize that. The kids can feel pressured and stressed to have to get perfect test scores in order to save their teachers job. Also, this issue causes a lot of stress on the teachers. They need to make sure their students are doing well enough to save their own job. A teacher shouldn’t have to worry about losing their job over some students test scores. Most teachers can count the number of students doing poorly on one hand. Pretty much it’s stating that if the student’s test scores combined aren’t as high as other teachers, then that teacher is placed down low and in risk of losing their job. That to me isn’t fair. Reading about this made me a tad nervous because I am going to major in Art education so my future can be based on this. Another reason why I don’t think this is properly thought through by the Obama administration is because it’s taking away the real meaning of teaching. Future teachers won’t be coming in for the correct reasons that they wanted to. Many teachers that are going to be coming in are coming in for the love of the job, for wanting to teach kids that specific subject. With this change from the Obama administration, teachers will be coming in and having to stress working. They will be forced for their own safety, to make sure these students test scores are as high as possible so they aren’t at risk. I honestly don’t think a good teacher should be at the risk of losing their job over a combination of test scores. I hope this doesn’t continue on because I know for sure what I want to do in my future and whether or not this will still be occurring, I’m going to do what I love and want to do.

P2. Less than 2 months to go!

Looking back at Group A blog number two, I got to re-read my thoughts and goals for the school year.  At this point in the school year my goals are similar but not fully the same. Also, some of my goals I have already accomplished and I didn’t realize that until re-reading what I posted. My goals consisted of learning new things such as different reading and writing skills. It also consisted of branching out this year, meeting new people, and making it the best year possible. As the year is coming close to an end, I have realized that I truly did branch out this year. I learned a lot more than I thought I would have learned and also I have become friends with people I never imagined. As for my goal of this year being the best it can possibly be that I believe is almost 100% accomplished. This year honestly flew by and has been the most eventful year in my high school career. I had more fun than I imagined and now I realize why past graduates say senior year is the best year ever. From my classes, I haven’t just learned different techniques from work, but also I’ve learned things from my teachers and friends that have made me a stronger individual. Everything with this year will play a big toll in my life when I go off to college. One of my goals that have yet to be completed would be my goal of taking all that I have learned and grown to, off with me to college and into my future to help make me better. This goal will be accomplished once I walk across stage in just a little less than two months. The only new goals I have for myself as of right now would be to continue making this year the best and to continue to doing my best because in the end I know it will all pay off and will make me more of who I am.

P1. Invention of the television

Many watch hours upon hours of television, whereas for me, I prefer to only watch it at night. The reason I do this is because that way I’m active and busy throughout the day where at night I can simply relax. Also, it limits my time of watching television. In my home, we have a total of seven televisions. One in the living room, one in my room, one in my sisters room, one in my brothers room, one in my parents room, one in the kitchen, and one in our basement. I watch a wide variety of shows. It would honestly take me a while to type out the names of all the different shows that I watch. However, some shows I do tend to watch consists of Swamp People, PLL, Tough Love, The Voice, Ghost Hunters, Ridiculoussness, and Fantasy Factory. Not only do I watch shows but I also watch movies. There are many positives and negatives to having a television. Some positives would have to do with it being informative and entertaining. It keeps you informed with all of the things going on in the world. It also informs you of sales at specific stores and there locations. It keeps you up-to date in many ways. The television is very entertaining due to the different shows and movies you can easily access at times where you find yourself being bored. Some negatives that go hand-in-hand with watching television would be the amount of time some spend in front of the TV. I realize that many do nothing but watch TV, this causes laziness. The television tends to draw people in and they forget all about important things such as exercise, family, friends and school. Another thing it can cause is drowsiness which will lead to many losing their focus in school. Overall, I think TV’s have many advantages and I, just like others, love watching TV. However, it’s the amount of time spent watching TV which brings bad effects, causing the negatives of owning a television.

O4. My mother is..

My mother is definitely somebody I look up to. I’m very close to both of my parents but my dad and I have always been closer. The main reason would be due to hunting and fishing because my mom isn’t into that stuff. However, this year my mom has really become somebody that I go to for a lot. Being that this year is my graduation year, she has been the number one person there to help me through everything dealing with college. She also is the type of person who is always on top of the game whereas my dad is extremely laid back. This helps me because she constantly is there pushing me along. This year I’ve realized that my mom has opened up to me much more. I’ve seen her cry which hurts me inside tremendously and I’ve also seen her laugh so much more then she has before. I admire all of her hard work that she puts in just so she can do her best. I know many don’t see or don’t care about appreciating the little things that their parents do and I’m not saying I always do myself, but parents should definitely be appreciated for what they do in the end. Of course I get into silly arguments with my mom like anyone else does, but in the end I don’t know who I’d be without her. She and I may have many differences but she’s always attempting to understand me the best she can. This year I’ve been going to her more than I can count for issues regarding boys, friends, and college. Even if she’s busy I’ve noticed that she always makes time for me and the things going on inside my life. My parents are the best and I couldn’t imagine not having them in my life. Everything they have done for me has made me who I am today and I couldn’t thank them enough for that.

O3. Summer vacation, please hurry up!

For my choice blog this week, I’ve decided to write about spring break seeing how we have just returned. I can honestly say that this has been the best spring break that I have ever had throughout high school. Although the weather wasn’t too great, I still made the best of it. A few highlights would be spending Easter with my family and hanging out with one of my best friends. This Easter was terrific compared to some in the past because for once my mom’s entire side of the family was all there. I usually don’t get to see them all together in the same place so it was nice. My favorite part of Easter though would definitely have to be seeing my second baby cousins. We now have three on my mom’s side with two on my dad’s. Although I still have yet to meet the two on my dad’s side, I was able to see and meet the three on my mom’s. Two of them will be turning two years old in a few months and one was just recently born about two months ago. Seeing the three new additions to the family was very exciting and everybody had a blast with their little personalities.

Over break another thing I did was spend a lot of time with one of my best friends. She and I used to never be so close but this year we have become closer than ever. Her brother and her boyfriend also tagged along both times that we hung out. Pretty much over break it was us four all the time and I truly didn’t mind. We went to the mall to help the boys pick out tuxedoes and just drove around together. I enjoyed the feeling of being free and laid back. After that, we had a bon-fire with another bon-fire three days after. Our time together always ended with a nice bon-fire at the end, even though it was slightly cold it was well worth it. This break truly made me realize how fast this school year is ending and I soon will be graduating fairly soon. All of the fun I had on this break definitely gave me relief, for once I didn’t have to worry about school or any other weight on my shoulder. Sadly, the break came to an end fast but I can say I really enjoyed this break and I’m more than ready for summer vacation!

O2. College, here I come.

After reading the article on college education, I can honestly say that I’m more surprised. Some of these statistics I didn’t know. However, I did know that college education students go farther. It’s amazing how todays college grads earn 80% more than anyone who doesn’t go to high school. In the article it states that spending money will save money. This I agree with because people that do spend a lot in college end up with a higher lifetime return. The costly amount on education does pay off in the end.

My own plans after high school do consist of college. Although one of my parents went to college and the other didn’t, they still both are determined for my siblings and me to go.  I’m going to college because I know that many jobs these days do look for a college degree. They look for this because they then know you have been educated for a job in that particular field. I will be going to college for Art Education. I decided to go to Erie Community College, the south campus, for two years. After that I then will be attending Buff State for two years. I chose to start with a community college because it’s the smart way to go and it’s less costly. I decided to go for Art Education because art has always been my thing. I’m good at it and I enjoy it. Also, I’ve been doing art since I can remember because my dad is big in it. Another reason I chose to be an art teacher has to do with the fact that I volunteer on Saturday’s and work with younger kids. I started out dreading it but I’ve grown to love it and will be volunteering for almost three years now. This made me want to work with children because I like being around them. I’m very excited to pursue my plan and to have a successful future. I’m going to miss high school but I’m so ready for college!

O1. "Firefighters win lotto, donate to one of their own."

The article I chose to read I ended up finding on CNN. It was tough to choose a specific article to read but once I found this one, I was very interested in it. It was titled, Firefighters win lotto, donate to one of their own. A group of Albuquerque firefighters ended up winning a piece of the jackpot.  Everyone in Station 8 decided to get in on it. This included the captain, lieutenant, two drivers and a firefighter. It was said that they all walked away with about $1,400 each. Although it wasn’t $640 million, it was $10,000 which is still a lot of money. Many think about many things they would love to do if they won the jackpot, but what these firefighters decided to do was purely amazing. One of their own firefights, Vince Cordova who is 24 years old, was diagnosed with a rare and serious brain tumor called, Jugular Foramen Schwannoma. He will be getting specialized surgery to get two golf ball-sized tumors removed from his brain. One of the men say, “Firefighters are family and when firefighters are called upon to help one of their own, they do.” Their donation will be going to the Firefighter Survivors Fund. This fund will mostly be helping out Vince Cordova but also it will be helping out and benefitting other firefighters that are in need.

Reading this made me much more proud of firefighters. I already personally look to them as my hero seeing how my dad used to be a volunteer firefighter. The fact that these men are fully there for one another and have each other’s back is just amazing. They are truly there to fully help out one another to their very best. It’s amazing that they won and ended up giving it to that fund to help benefit others but most importantly, to benefit there friend. They knew the cost of the surgery would set the man’s family back with money so they did this for him. It’s just absolutely amazing what firefighters we have out there helping us and also helping one another. They truly are heroes.

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/04/02/firefighters-donate-mega-millions