Senior Skip Day

Many people recognize the Monday after a school’s prom to be “Senior Skip Day.” The seniors claim they are so tired from prom on Saturday that they need Monday off. This. Is. Ridiculous. I understand that prom day is long. Wake up in the morning to do your hair, then do your makeup, change into your dress hoping it fits after lunch, meet your group for pictures. After pictures, grand march at the school. Dinner follows grand march and finally you’re at the dance. Dance the night away until around midnight when you go to post prom. Post prom is a time to do recreational activities with your friends and your date. Some things my school had at post prom were a Velcro wall, jousting, and a hypnotist. Post prom was from midnight until 4 am Sunday.

I think senior skip day is ridiculous because students that attend prom can use Sunday to catch up on sleep, shower, get cleaned up, and be ready for school on Monday.  Senior skip day is just another day for upperclassmen to hang out and get drunk and high. I’m not saying every student uses Monday for drinking and getting high. I am, however, saying the students that went to prom and still come to school the Monday after are generally more responsible and care more about school than the ones that skip.

I’m not saying senior skip day shouldn’t happen, I’m simply saying senior skip day should be used to recover from the long day and night that occurs because of prom and not be another day for teenagers to party and drink.

(270)

Prom Season

Tis the season for prom dresses, tuxedos, and hair updos!

If you’re like me, you love prom because of all the photos you have at your disposal to “creep on.” Your Facebook friends make new photo albums. The preppy girl you follow on Instagram posts a billion gagillion photos at once. Twitter becomes an easy access photo timeline. I, as an underclassmen waiting for her turn to post prom photos, enjoy this part of the school year very much.

It started about a month ago when girls starting showing photos of their dresses on their hangers around to other, likely envious, girls at school. I, an envious girl, judged them from the get go. Not enough sparkle. Really? Pick ups? Could you reveal any more of yourself to me? You’re gonna wear that color when your skin tone is that of a ghost? As I got more and more bitter, the judgments got more and more harsh. That dress is too plain. That dress has too much going on. You really think that’s going to flatter your body? Think again. I can’t say I’m glad I judged so many dresses, I can say I’m glad I was wrong about many of them that I did judge before seeing them on a person.

Prom was held on different nights according to the school you attend. Wash had their prom on April 20^th. Kennedy, Jefferson, and Prairie had their prom on April 27^th. On the day of Kennedy’s prom, I was en route to St. Louis, Missouri for the last regular season NHL game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues. Thanks to social networking, however, I didn’t miss anything from prom. Girls started preparing early. I saw as hair went from birds nest in the morning, to elegant updos by early afternoon. Yoga pants and sweatshirts were shed as beautiful girls donned their formal gowns with pride.

It wasn’t long after pictures began emerging on my timelines that I began regretting the negative things I said about many dresses. With a few exceptions, each dress flattered body shapes, accentuated the ladies assets, and made each female prom goer look stunning. No dress was like another. No high school girl looked the same.

As for the males that attended prom, they waited until they absolutely HAD to get ready to put on a tux and go meet their date. The tux game was just as diverse and unique as the dress game this year. Some wore white, some gray, some the traditional black. No matter what anyone wore, everyone looked fantastic. Seeing the great memories that were made in just one night really gets me excited for the year to come. Hopefully, some underclassman will “creep” on my many prom pictures saying how stunning I look and how beautiful my dress is. Someone will be envious of me and my date as we walk in the Grand March.  Someone will see me and want to look as gorgeous as I do for their prom. It seems like yesterday I was walking into Kennedy for the first time and now I’m getting excited for prom next year. It’s crazy how time flies.

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Gettin old

The end of April always drags on forever, it seems. The end of the school year is approaching, weather gets more and more summery each day, and my birthday is a matter of a few days away. Some people feel birthdays are pointless and unimportant but I disagree completely. Because I’m the youngest person in my class, my birthday is exciting. Especially this coming up birthday because I, the baby among my friends and peers, will be turning the big ONE SIX in just eleven days.

Turning sixteen is a big deal for me. The best part of being 16 is getting my intermediate driver’s license. No longer will I have to find rides to work and gatherings with my friends. No longer will I be the “wittle bebe” who can drive to and from school and school events in my district. Finally, I will be free to drive wherever I need to go between 5 am and 12:30 am. To some people, driving is an everyday thing that isn’t important to them. To me, this freedom is going to be a huge privilege to have.

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STL, MO

Yesterday morning, my family and I left Cedar Rapids for St. Louis, Missouri. It was finally time to use the tickets I bought my brother for his birthday. We were going to my very first NHL hockey game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues. I was incredibly anxious to get on the road because I knew if we wasted time, we would be late to the game and I wanted to see my favorite player during warm ups. We left our house and stopped to eat. Ugh. After we wasted 15 minutes eating, we left and stopped at a gas station to fill up. Ugh. Finally, we were on our way.

The drive to St. Louis takes about four and a half, maybe five hours depending on traffic, who is driving, and the number of stops that need to be made. Fortunately for my family and me, we were in fast paced traffic and didn’t stop more than twice. We made it to the hotel just in time to check in, get ready to leave, and go. We stayed at the Marriott at the St. Louis Airport. The name alone implied a hint of prestige in the hotel. Many business people stayed here on a regular basis when they fly in to St. Louis or before flying out. Despite the pool and hot tub being closed while we were there, the hotel was amazing. It was also apparently the hotel to stay at if you were a Blackhawks fan. Lucky for us, we are Blackhawks fans so we fit right in.

We had dinner in the bus station across from the Scottrade Center where the game was held. The bus station had KFC, Pizza Hut, and a deli to choose from. Not much selection, but we didn’t have much time. After we finished eating, it was about 6:10pm. We headed across the street to go in to the arena. Because the game started at 7, we didn’t want to miss warm ups nor did we want to be late to our seats.

We waited down by the glass for warm ups in hopes to see some of our favorite players: Toews, Hossa, Kane, and Sharp just to name a few. It wasn’t long before I realized none of these players were on the ice and instead, many names I didn't recognize were dressed and warming up for the game. I frantically went to the official Twitter of the Blackhawks and found out 15 players were resting for playoffs. I kid you not, I cried. I should have known then the night was going to be bad.

Our seats were fantastic. We were in a position to see the entire ice and see when the puck crossed the goal line on one side. My family and I quickly realized many players were called up from the Rockford Ice Hogs, the Blackhawks second team. The Blues won the game 3-1 which, although upsetting, didn’t really matter. The Blackhawks still won the President’s Trophy and home ice advantage for playoffs. I had a lot of fun with my family in St. Louis and I think we will be going to more NHL games now because of the great time we had at this game.

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Closer than most

My brother is so much more than a brother to me. He is a mentor, role model, and more than anything, he is my very best friend. He was seven and a half when my mom gave birth to me and now, 15 and one half years later, my brother just turned 23.  It’s amazing how much happens in 15 years of someone’s life. A few examples would be getting a baby brother… or sister, playing a sport… or multiple, moving out of the house… or state, making a mistake…or two, graduating high school and getting a job… or a few, and so much more. I’ve been lucky enough to see my brother go through most of these milestones.

Obviously, I didn’t see my brother get a little sister since I’m the littler sister he got. I’ve just seen pictures and some videos. It was very obvious that my brother loved me from the day I was born and I have yet to see that love diminish. He had no problem watching me while my mom made lunch or dinner. He didn’t whine when I needed a diaper change, and he knew that singing “You are my Sunshine” to me put me to sleep. The same caring and loving brother still exists in my life today, just without the babysitting, diaper changing, and singing me to bed. Now it’s hanging out with me, helping me pick out what to wear for a date, and being there for me when I need someone to talk to.

Jake chose to take hockey more seriously than the rest of his sports; baseball, soccer, and track. He was also in show choir but it was obvious his love was in hockey. Before his sophomore year of high school, he was scouted to play for Triple A team in Omaha, Nebraska. At age 15, he made the courageous decision to move to Omaha and live with a housing family in order to play for this team, the Omaha Energy. This was by far one of the hardest times of my life with my brother. My parents, Jake, and I took the four hour trip to Omaha to drop Jake off for his sophomore year. Saying goodbye to my brother was beyond depressing and writing about it right now is making me tear up. I knew losing my best friend wasn’t going to be easy but I had no way at all to prepare for the tears, pain, and heartbreak that overwhelmed me as I looked out the back windshield and waved goodbye for however long it was before I saw him again.

I know I’m the person I am today because of my brother and I wouldn’t want it any other way. I love him and he’s still the closest person to me, 15 years later. There have been times when I thought I was going to lose my brother, whether to a girlfriend or sport, or worse, when my brother could have died. I’m beyond lucky and blessed to have a brother who is my best friend and I can’t imagine my life without him nor would I want to. I love my Bubba.

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I'm a girl with lovely dreams

The first car I ever drove was a 1997 Ford Explorer. Preceding that, I drove tractors for my grandpa an uncountable number of times. I'm not sure if this is the reason I love SUVs now or not. Whatever the reason is doesn't matter. All I know is, mark my words, I will own a Range Rover. At this point in time, my dream model is a 2013 Sport Supercharged V8 S/C 5.0L. This is one sexy piece of automobile and I can't wait to get my hands on that precious, black, leather steering wheel. I can't wait to get control of my dream SUV. I can't wait to be the car on the road that people gasp at when it passes them and I especially can't wait to say I've done enough in my life to afford and own an 85 thousand dollar car. The 85k for this sexy thang doesn't even include taxes, registration, or insurance but honestly, I don't care. My baby will be white. Shining... glistening... white. The interior will be white. White seats, white center counsel, white white white. The only things that won't be white will be the wheels, the front bumper, and the interior trimmings including the steering wheel and gear shift.

Beyond a gorgeous, luxurious SUV is my dream sports car. A black 2013 Audi A7. This beautiful baby has a base cost of $66,150. After I customized this pretty piece of metal to meet all of my expectations, I ended with a grand total of $76,745. Again, that doesn't include taxes, registration, or insurance. Again, I don't really care. In order to contrast my SUV, the exterior is shiny black and the interior consists of velvet beige leather. Don't forget the "Innovation Package" which is a collection of driver assistance. The head-up display shows a digital read out of the road ahead on the windshield so your eyes stay on the road. Night vision assistance alerts you of pedestrians within 300 feet of the car. The corner camera assists the driver in parking and also monitors the drivers blind spot to ensure no trouble when executing a lane change. Audi side assist prevents accidents caused by blind spot trouble and adaptive cruise control can maintain a preset distance from the car in front of the Audi. Last, Audi pre sense plus kicks in if an accident seems unavoidable. Pre sense plus protects passengers of the Audi by pretensioning the seat belts, boosting brake pressure, and shutting the windows and sunroof. How perfect is that

Now the question arises: why does one dream of something so materialistic, expensive, and luxurious when a much cheaper item can execute the same things? My answer? I like pretty things that impress other people. Another answer is if you have the money to spend, why not spend it? No matter what the reason, it is nice to own things that other people want. It's nice to get compliments on your possessions. For me, it will be extremely satisfying to say “I worked hard, was successful, and I finally own my dream cars.”

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Poem Analysis

1. The land that sleeps makes the people weep.
2. The land that's strong grows on and on.
3. The land that sings to things passing by 
4. like birds flying in the sky.
5. As evil souls try to break us down,
6. we all join together and stand our ground.
7. All around us, blood stained streets.
8. The horror will not defeat.
9. The soldiers are like a brick wall,
10. standing solid they will not fall
11. Try to break us as hard as you can!
12. United together our nation will stand.
13. The land we love will forever last.
14. The land we love will never pass.
15. The colors red, white, and blue
16. stand for the land that's forever true.

Line 1: "The land that sleeps" is personification. Land cannot sleep, I can barely even sleep!

Line 5: The choice of words when saying "evil souls" suggests an indignant tone because it is expressing anger at anyone trying to break the country down.

Line 7: Describing the streets as "blood stained" paints a vivid and hopefully shocking picture in the mind of a reader

Line 9: Simile "The soldiers are like a brick wall"

Lines 13-4: "The land we love will forever last. The land we love will never pass." is an example of anaphora because of the repetition of "the land we love"

Line 15: "The colors red, white, and blue" is an example of two literary/rhetoric strategies. The first is allusion. Red, white, and blue is alluding you to the American flag. The second is symbollism, the symbol being the American flag itself. The flag connotes freedom and democracy as well as pride in our country. 

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Pitch Perfect is PERFECT

Ever since I saw Pitch Perfect, I can’t stop watching it. I watch it when I get home from school, when I’m with friends, when I’m bored, before I go to bed, while I’m doing homework, anytime I can watch Pitch Perfect, I do. It is easily my favorite movie for many reasons. The actors are attractive, there’s a good story, and it’s freaking hilarious.

The movie is about a college student, Beca, who wants to be in Los Angeles producing music instead of getting a college education because her dad works at Barden University and she is taking classes for free. When Chloe, a member of Barden’s all girl acapella group, The Bellas, hears Beca sing, she insists Beca try out for the group.  Beca becomes a Bella with ease. After practicing for a while with the group and realizing how the group hasn’t changed for numerous years, she wants to change the way they do things.  Aubrey, the leader of the group, has a huge problem with that because she believes in tradition. Aubrey also doesn’t see how the audience is bored with hear the same set of 3 songs each year. At one competition, Beca is spontaneous and ad-libs a modern song while Aubrey sings the worn out set. Although the audience loves it, the group doesn’t make it to finals and Beca leaves the group because the rest of the members are mad she messed them up. SPOILER ALERT: The group that beat Beca’s group is disqualified because the members must be in college and one member is in high school. Beca’s group gets a call saying they are next in line so they get to go to the championships. The ending is predictable. The group wants Beca back because of what she brings to the group. Aubrey lets Beca choose the set list and they win against their rivals from their school. It shouldn’t be a surprise to you that throughout the entire movie, Beca has a romance with Jesse, a member of the rival group. They of course suffer heartbreak and of course end up kissing and making up at the end of the movie.

The movie stars Brittany Snow as redheaded Chloe, Anna Camp as Aubrey, the controlling leader of The Bellas, Skylar Astin as Beca’s romance, Jesse, and Anna Kendrick as Beca. My favorite character in the movie is “Fat Amy.” The plus size actor is absolutely hilarious. Rebel Wilson, known for her part as Brynn in “Bridesmaids,” Wilson brings a certain “spunk” and unique sense of humor to the movie. She calls herself “Fat Amy” so “twig girls” won’t do it behind her back, she doesn’t seem to think before she speaks, and she has no problem embracing her weight and poking fun at herself.  Overall, the movie is absolutely hilarious and I would recommend it to each and every person that might ask if they should see it. Beside the point of humor and a decent plot line, it features great covers of modern music as well as some older stuff. Pitch Perfect is the perfect movie for anybody. If you think it’s a chick flick or is going to be stupid, watch it. If you love comedies, watch it. If you love movies with music in it, watch it. If you want to sing along to a movie, watch it a few times. If you’re bored, watch it. Seriously, just watch the movie. You won’t regret it.

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I hate people

Why are high schoolers so immature? Maybe it's the hormones raging through our bodies or MAYBE we're just ANNOYING and STUPID.  I don’t understand much about people in general, but I really don’t understand high schoolers. That’s odd, however, since I am one. Teenage girls find joy in hurting other girls our age. I like to refer to my gender as VULTURES. Males in high school are very focused on things not so appropriate. You know what I mean so let's not elaborate on that. 

If I could change one thing about high school, I would. I want teenagers to realize how cruel it is to harass and bully one another. Bullying is an important subject for me because a very close friend committed suicide one year ago, just after the beginning of the school year. He was a very well liked, very nice and polite young man who, unfortunately, was made fun of because of rumors another boy at my school started. The news of his death spread quickly but wasn't accepted at first. Students thought it was another cruel rumor someone started. About one-fourth of the student body was at this young man's funeral service; about one-half attended the visitation and gave their condolences to the family. I strongly wish kids at my school would remember more times like this when we all came together to support one another in a time of need. High school would be much better if there were more good times rather than cliques, rumors, and bullying.

Drama is found anywhere you go in high school. Whether you’re in the halls, in class, at a dance, or at a sporting event, someone in the same area as you is dealing with petty drama. I prefer to avoid drama and enjoy my high school career rather than sit in a bathroom crying because a friend stabbed me in the back or a boy ditched me.

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Kids

I love kids of all ages: newborns, toddlers, and even elementary school aged kids. I love to spend my Friday nights babysitting and I would rather babysit than go out with friends.  Babysitting is enjoyable for me because I don’t look at is at a job but rather a time to play with younger children and make sure they stay safe while their parents are gone. My favorite thing to do while I’m babysitting is to build a fort for the kid or kids. No matter the age, they can always find something to do in a fort. Babysitting, for me, is also fun because it’s practice for when I get married and start a family.

My love for kids also contributes to wanting to be a neonatologist. A neonatologist works with infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). A few reasons for a child to be admitted to the NICU could be heart problems, under developed organs, respiratory issues, or severe illnesses. I always knew I wanted to be a pediatrician. It wasn't until I was 9 years old that I decided on specializing in neonatology. I entered an essay writing contest about what I wanted to be when I grew up. My essay scored in the top 9 so I got to job shadow with someone in my profession choice. I was placed with Dr. Scott Nau, a well-known local pediatrician. He is one doctor that works in the NICU. He showed me an incubator and how they work as well as how small the diapers and pacifiers of newborns and premature babies are. Although this part of the day kind of scared me, it made me want to be a pediatrician even more because I liked the thought of helping innocent babies and their families. I haven't changed anything about what I want to be when I get older since I shadowed Dr. Nau.  

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I really hate diabetes

There is nothing worse than when I, a poor teenage diabetic, am sitting in class, not paying attention, and my daydream is interrupted by the monotone beep of my insulin pump. I wish I could switch roles with my pancreas. It does nothing at all, hense "diabetes." If you are unaware, type one diabetes is a severe form of diabetes mellitus. Type One diabetes means the production of insulin by the beta cells is impaired and results in the dependence on externally administered insulin. Because I'm sure you're interested, here's my diabetes story.

Two years ago, I was diagnosed with Type One diabetes. I spent three days in the hospital learning about insulin shots, carbohydrate to insulin ratios, taking my blood sugar, and controlling my blood sugar so I don't pass out, or worse, die. I gave myself insulin shots each time I had something to eat and one at bed time for 6 months. After 6 months, I started the process of getting an insulin pump. It started with selecting which pump I wanted. Each pump is different but I chose the most different one, the one without tubing. It is a wireless pod that sticks on my stomach by adhesive. I use a cell phone sized monitor to check my blood sugar and deliver insulin when I eat. Instead of taking "long-acting" insulin at bed time, my pump gives me insulin throughout the day. I still give myself "fast-acting" insulin when I eat but instead of having to take a shot, my pump delivers a "bolus" to me. Bolus is just a fancy term for fast-acting insulin. Fast-acting insulin helps break down the carbs I eat for that meal which keeps my blood sugar down. My target blood sugar is between 80 and 180 mg/dL.

I really love eating things I know aren't the best for my blood sugar. These things include fruit, pizza, and pasta. When I eat these things, my blood sugar spikes faster than when I eat any other food. When I was in the hospital, I acted really strong and mature but deep down, I was very scared and overwhelmed by all of the new information and changes I had to make because of diabetes. Two years later, I feel like a normal teenager. Just a normal teenager who has to be a little more careful of what she eats and how her blood sugar is during show choir.

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Cats Cats Cats MEOW

When my parents agreed to fostering a mother cat and her six new born kittens, they had no idea we would end up adopting 3 of the kittens as soon as they were available. Emerald, the mother, had 6 kittens. Three were yellow, one black, and one tortie, just like her mommy. It was fun for my family to watch the kittens grow up. We witnessed them open their eyes for the first time, watched them stumble across the floor trying to walk, saw them grow into cute little cats right before our eyes.

When we returned the kittens to the animal shelter, they were taken back to be prepared for neutering and spaying. The next day, they were available for adoption. We adopted two of them; Squirt, a yellow one, and Reeses, the tortie. We had just the two kittens for a few months before my mom realized one of their brothers hadn't been adopted yet. He had gotten sick and was put in the "Sick Bay" with other ill animals so they didn't infect the healthy animals. When we found this out, we went out to the animal shelter and adopted him. He was another yellow one that we named Simon.

At first, Squirt and Reeses didn't like having Simon around. They avoided him, hissed at him, and swiped their claws at him when he passed them. We were really worried that we wouldn't be able to keep Simon so we called the animal shelter and asked them about the situation. They told us that it was normal for our original pets to be uncomfortable with the new one. The first two had grown so used to just each other, they weren't sure if they should be okay with the one they saw as an "intruder" of their territory. The animal shelter was right because eventually all three cats got along and were acting as family.

Now, a little over a year later, my cats are getting big. With the exception of Squirt, they're fat and look like grown cats. They like to sleep on the kitchen table because the sun shines directly on it but they'll sleep anywhere. We call Squirt our homeless cat because his fur ends up in knots and he enjoys sleeping in boxes. Simon doesn't like people very much. If someone new comes to my house, he runs away instantly and hides. He truly only likes my mom. I'm not sure why he's like this but it makes me sad that he won't let the rest of us pet him.

I'm very happy my parents let us adopt our kittens. They are so cute, they always cheer me up when I'm upset, I'm never lonely, and they're fun to play with. I understand I sound like a cat lady and honestly, I am. I love my dog also, but my cats are my favorite part of my house. I feel sorry for people that are allergic to cats because they can't experience the wonderful companionship between cats and their owners.

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Ain't nobody got time for PDA

PDA is not necessarily a bad thing. I’ll admit I like to see people happy with someone but DEAR LORD PEOPLE this is school, not your honeymoon. With that being said, acceptable PDA consists of the following.

• Hand holding: Let the rest of us miserable high schoolers know how darn happy you are with one another by holding hands. Hand holding is not disruptive, doesn’t want to make anyone vomit, and is a nice gesture to your significant other saying you’re proud they are yours.
• Hugging: Please notice I said “hugging.” Nowhere will I ever say “nuzzling.” One particular couple at Kennedy thinks it appropriate to nuzzle when they say good bye to each other between classes. I don’t use the term “nuzzle” lightly, folks. The boy in this relationship is shorter than the girl and he rubs his head on her chest as a pet would do. This is not only disturbing, but just kind of weird to do at school. Nuzzle on your own time, please.
• Kissing: I enjoy when my significant other gives me a kiss before we leave each other. One. Kiss. Barely a kiss, actually. In public, it’s a peck on my lips or forehead. No one wants to see me make out with my significant other so I doubt anyone wants to see you make out with your significant other. Give it a rest.

PDA at school is a controversial topic because teachers and students feel differently about it, but also because students are conflicted themselves. If you aren’t sure what’s appropriate for school, think of it like this: If your grandma walked up on you and your significant other, would you be embarrassed by what she would see? If so, don’t do it in public. Chances are, it’s making other people uncomfortable, not just Grandma.

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