Warm Weather

                If any of you are anything like me, you absolutely love hot weather. I love it when it’s eighty degrees or hotter- and hate any time it’s less than fifty degrees outside. There is just so much more to do in warmer weather- not just between you and your family, but also between your neighbors, the community, anyone really!

                Today while working at one of our local movie theatres, there weren’t very many people there. I mean there were so many people NOT there that three of our employees were sent home early. That’s how slow today was, and I think it had something to do with the weather. It’s the first really nice day out- the weather is beautiful and everyone wants to be outside and soak up as much sun as they can. I wish I could have been outside all day as well, but I guess I will settle with doing my homework outside now.

                I mean think about it; I hardly ever get to see my neighbors during the cold winter months because none of us like to go outside in the cold for long periods of time. Today however, everyone was outside. They were out mowing their lawns, washing their cars, playing catch in the street, even starting a neighborhood game of baseball. That’s not something you see in my neighborhood on cold winter days- it’s something we save for perfect days like today.

                I think people are generally happier in warm weather than cold, just from personal experience. In my backyard, we have a pool- and you can’t exactly have the pool up in the winter, otherwise it would freeze. Days like today are perfect to jump in the pool- and the more people that show up to swim, the more fun it is!

                We also are able to use the grill more often in warmer weather. Cook outs are one of my favorite things to do in the summer, because you never know who is going to show up. A lot of the time when we invite one neighbor over for a cook out, twenty minutes later half the block is in my backyard. It’s so much fun to get to see the people you rarely see during the colder season.

                I love summer and warm weather. Today’s warm weather was absolutely gorgeous, and it’s making me even more anxious for summer to hurry its butt up and get here. I wish my dad would have let us set up the pool early this year, but we don’t usually set it up until right before school gets out for the summer. Of course, when we first set it up we always take the Polar Plunge, as the water is so cold. This year we’re hoping to get more people to take the Polar Plunge with us; any takers?

 

(476 words)

When I Grew Up

                Remember back when you were a kid, and you were always getting asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I know I answered something different just about every time I was asked; I wanted to be a ballerina one day and queen of the universe the next. My occupations ranged from teacher to monster truck driver, and I was always on the lookout for something new. Sometimes I would even mix it up and hope to become the Tooth Fairy or maybe a vampire. But the funny thing was, I was always asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, not whether or not I even wanted to grow up period. I know I was one of those children that couldn’t wait to get out of school and start a career, but I had never anticipated where I’m at now.

                When I was younger all I wanted to do was grow up. I was tired of being treated like a child, and I thought growing up would automatically earn me more respect. In retrospect, it has. But now that I have grown up I’m not sure I like it so much. I’m at the point in my life where getting asked the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is no longer just some random question with a quick, easy, simple answer. It is now a serious thing to consider. What do I really want to be when I grow up?

                The hardest thing for me is knowing that I’m where I wanted to be all those years ago. I wanted to grow up, and now look at me. There is so much more crap to deal with the older you get- it actually sucks more than way back in my training wheel days. I mean think about it; back then all you had to do to answer the question was come up with some random job and go with it. Now you are taken seriously, and are forced to actually give an answer that you truly stand behind…Which means you are expected to act serious and professional and provide an answer that is not only socially acceptable, but something for your parents to be proud of. Oh and it has to be something you are excited to be doing for the rest of your life. No pressure, guys. No pressure.

                Except all of us that have grown up feel the damn pressure. It’s horrible! I know what I want to be, but I have no idea if I’ll be able to actually get there. Growing up takes work, and a lot of it. Sometimes I wish I could just hit rewind and go back to the time when color by numbers were all you had for homework, the time when boys still had cooties, and the time when what I wanted to be when I grew up was nothing more than a mythical being.

 

(496 words)

Commercial Free

                You know what I really hate? Commercials. I know I’m not the only one out there who hates commercials- and if I am, y’all are liars. It’s not just the commercials you see on T.V, but also the commercials over the radio, on billboards, and anywhere else you might see or hear them. They are absolutely everywhere, which is kind of ridiculous. I understand that people are trying to make their products and services known, but it’s kind of a bad thing for me to say that I see advertisement every single place I go.

                If I go to my grandparent’s house: ads are on T.V. They are also on the billboards on the road to my grandparent’s house. If I go to school: ads follow our daily announcements on Channel 1 news. If I go to work: ads fill the big screens at the theatre I work at. Posters are also hung on the walls for local upcoming events. Advertisements are everywhere, and I think it’s kind of stupid.

                If I can’t even go to work without seeing advertisements, where can I go that doesn’t have any ads? Think about it: where was the last place you went that didn’t have any advertising? I was thinking it might have been camping, but on the drive to our campground we saw a thousand different ads plastered on billboard after billboard. Mile after mile after mile is covered in billboards, so where can you go without advertisements, and without seeing any on the way there? It’s a tough question to think about, because there really aren’t any perfect answers.

                I think the one place I can go to escape ads is my backyard. No one is trying to sell me anything when I’m swimming in my pool, reading a book on the back stoop, or helping my mom pick tomatoes from the garden. It’s the one place I can go and not worry about what fancy items I will be tempted to buy, which is very refreshing.

 

(336 words)

Sunday Nights

                My favorite part of Fridays is getting to go home, sit on my couch, and do absolutely nothing. I don’t have to do homework, I don’t have to go to work right away, I just get to sit around and relax. That’s always the best feeling.

                On the other hand, the worst feeling: Sunday night. We’ve all been there before. Y’all know what I’m talking about? The Sunday night dread? It’s basically the worst thing ever; actually I don’t mean that, but for the sake of this blog, I mean it. After a long weekend of hanging out with friends, shopping, working, whatever it is that you do with your weekend, you have to come home and finish the crap-ton of homework you were assigned for the weekend. Sunday nights include: homework, homework, oh and homework. For procrastinators like me, Sunday nights are even worse than you’d think. All of our projects, essays, packets, and note taking are pushed aside or skimmed or half-assed until Sunday night. That’s when fingers literally fly across the keyboard, penmanship becomes illegible, and eyes droop a little lower with each passing hour kept away from their pillow and forced to stay open and focused on homework.

                If you’re like me, your parents made you get a job to pay for all your expenses. For those of us involved in extracurricular activities, working during the weekdays doesn’t exactly fit in the schedule, so you are left with working on the weekend. I have worked every single weekend for the last six months, and I can easily tell you that my homework has not been getting done the way it used to. Back before my weekends were filled, I used to spend as much time as I wanted on homework, to make sure it was excellent and would get me an A. Now I do my homework to get it done, hoping it was done right.

                Sunday nights create a lot of pressure for me. I’m sure I’m not the only person out there who stresses out a little (or a lot) when Sunday night rolls around. Just remember to do your best, and try to keep your eyes open. Splash some water on your face and suck it up. You can do this- you are better than dumb homework.

 

(384 words)

Cheetah Poem

1. My skin is not perfect, flawed with dark spots.

2. My amber eyes watch you from tall green grasses.

3. My ears are sharp, my ears are soft.

4. My legs run 75mph and silently.

5. My fur flies at top speed.

6. But you?

7. You- who, who, who might you be?

8. You- whose beak resembles the talons on your feet.

9. You- with your pristine feathers so ruffled.

10. You- who, who, who have no idea I’m here.

11. You- with your eyes so large,

12. You- whose eyes meet mine at the last moment.

13. The last moment before survival of the fittest wins.

14. You- the Prey.

15. Me- the Predator.

 

Lines one and eight are allusions. For line one, I thought of the Clinique commercial with the spotted egg that was made to be smooth and one color by using the makeup. They referred to black dots as “dark spots,” so I referenced that in this line. The beak in line eight looks curved, kind of like a talon. I referenced the appearance of the beak to the talons on the feet in this line.

Line two is an example of visual imagery. The way it’s worded makes you see an image of a cheetah with amber eyes poking through tall green grasses. I thought it sounded kind of neat as well… but maybe that’s just me.

Line three is an example of an antithesis. The ears are both sharp and soft, which contradict each other. They are sharp because of their ability to hear sounds so clearly while others cannot hear them hardly at all, and soft because of their physical feeling.

Line four contains a zeugma: “run.” Not only do the legs run at 75mph, but they also run silently.

Line five personifies fur flying, even though it’s not possible for fur to fly on its own.

Lines six and ten-fifteen are fillers. They just needed to be there… mostly because I thought they should be there for dramatic effect.

Lines seven and nine use diction. Both of these lines contain “who, who, who” which gives insight as to which animal is the predator in this poem. (The predator was an owl, in case you didn’t get it).

Line eight was an oxymoron between “pristine” and “ruffled.” When I think of something that is pristine, I think of it as very clean and perfect, not at all ruffled or out of place.

Lines 1-5 contained an anaphora, as well as lines 7-12. The first set of lines all began with “My” something. The second set of lines all began with “You-”something. Line six and fifteen were just oddballs and weren’t cool enough to be anaphoras.

 

(456 words)

Mechanical Pencil Rule

                For those of you out there who have ever been forced to sit down and take a standardized test, or were required to take the ACT to get into your dream college, or even spent a day taking an AP exam, you know the rule: #2 pencils only. I remember when I was younger, being of middle school-ish time, and we found out we were able to use mechanical pencils on the types of tests listed above. Everyone was so excited- we finally weren’t forced to use those silly wooden pencils that constantly broke, we finally didn’t have to worry about bringing extra in case they did break, and we didn’t have to mess with jammed pencil sharpeners in the middle of the test. Times have changed back though, as we are no longer allowed to use mechanical pencils on these tests.

                Over the weekend, I took the ACT for the first time. I had been planning on taking one mechanical pencil with extra lead inside of it, but it turns out I couldn’t do that anymore. Now I am forced to use the old-fashioned yellow pencils that I’ve always disliked. I was curious as to why we were now forced back into the old ways, and the answer I received surprised me.

                We are not allowed to use mechanical pencils on standardized tests anymore because test proctors think that we have rolled up a small slip of paper with the answers on them and stuck this slip of paper into the inside of the mechanical pencils in order to cheat.

                Really? They think we cheat from rolling up a tiny scrap of paper into our pencils? I’m not sure if one of the proctors just woke up one day to realize that someone could cheat by this method, or if someone out there in the world was dumb enough to try to sneak in test answers by this method. Obviously something had to have gone wrong with a mechanical pencil somewhere along the testing line, but I still am surprised by the fact that we can no longer use them on standardized tests.

                I mean really- my math teacher lets me use mechanical pencils on my tests. I usually get A’s on them, but that doesn’t mean I’m cheating. He knows that I study enough to learn the terms to do well on his tests, and that I’m not just unrolling a slip of paper I had snuck into my mechanical pencil so that I could get all the right answers.

                Standardized tests have enough rules already, so why do they need another? It’s a pencil for goodness sakes, and I don’t think they should really have to enforce that rule on us. At least they provide us with non-mechanical pencils these days- it’s the least they could do with this new rule.

 

(474 words)

How Animals Eat Their Food

                Today I would like to share with all of you something I found extremely hilarious. As with the rest of all you fine folks out there, I like to watch funny YouTube videos. Props to those who are comically inclined to make such humor known to the world. I am not one of those few who can come up with a funny idea and make it work- I mean I could try, but I guarantee you it wouldn’t end well.

                I’m sure many of you have seen this video before, but that’s okay. I’m going to share it anyway. “How Animals Eat Their Food” is the title of this one minute and twenty six second long video. For those of you who have already seen this video, move on to the next paragraph. For those of you who have not seen this video yet, please pause your reading and click here. Or here. Maybe you are more comfortable clicking here. I don’t care which one you click, as long as you stop reading and watch the video now. (Here works too).

                Now that everyone is familiar with the video, we can discuss. I don’t know about you, but I just about die laughing every single time I watch it. In case any of y’all were wondering, I have absolutely no idea how many times I’ve seen this video- but I have a feeling it would take a few hands for me to count on.

                Do any of you out there have a favorite of the animals he acts out? I’m thinking I like the lizard the best, but they are all so good! I also really like the flamingo, mostly because my best friend eats like that all the time- and we consider it normal for her… She’s mentally sane, I promise.

                I’m curious how they came up with this idea. I mean, how did they think to have two guys sit at a table made of two boxes with a red tablecloth over them, drink out of sippy cups, and eat some leaves off of a paper plate. It sounds so simple- and I’m sure it was- but how did they come up with it? I wish I was that creative.

                In case you missed it while you were busy watching the video or laughing your head off, you may have missed the total number of views this video has had: over thirty million. Yeah, you read that right: Thirty million. That is absolutely insane! Good for them!

                I seriously love this video. Not only is it funny as hell, but it reminds me of the great times my best friend and I have had together. I know that sounds cheesy, but that’s okay. I hope I was able to introduce you to something that will make you laugh when you are feeling down, because I know this can change my mood in an instant. It makes me laugh every single time I watch it, and I hope it does the same for you.

 

(505 words)

Obsessions

                I firmly believe that everyone out there in the world has a small obsession. Whether it be an inanimate object, a person, a thing, some other form of noun that I don’t have the right words to describe; you’ve got an obsession with something. Everybody does.

                I will even admit to the world that I have a few obsessions. To name a few: movies, Josh Hutcherson, music, Luke Bryan, my purple “Just Drew It” bracelet, Victoria’s Secret perfume, shoes, polka dots… The list goes on and on and on and on, but I’ll keep it to a minimum.

                I’m curious though as to what others are obsessed with (and by obsessed I mean you just tend to gravitate towards the things you really like, not obsessed as in you have a restraining order from being too creepy or something). Are we similar in our obsessions or are they completely different? I’d like to think I’m not the only one who is obsessed with something as simple as polka dots, but what do I know.

                While I was at work recently, there were a couple of kids that ran by arguing about which flavor of seasoning to put on their popcorn. (I work at a movie theatre, in case you were wondering). One of the kids was willing to go with whatever the other kid wanted, which was a good thing because this kid was literally obsessed with nacho cheddar seasoning. He stood there for a solid five minutes making sure every piece of popcorn looked like it had enough nacho cheddar seasoning on it. Am I the only one that found that obsession weird? Nacho cheddar seasoning? I guess I don’t really have room to talk about weird obsessions, but I don’t think obsessions are supposed to start at that young of an age.

                Whatever your obsession, or if you’re like me obsessions, own it. Don’t be creepy about it, just make it known to the world what you like and maybe they will surprise you someday with something random that involves your obsession.

 

(344 words)

Coke vs. Pepsi

                We have all been down that road before, the one where our brains are forced to make a very important decision. The road I happen to be talking about is a road not only challenged by the brain, but more importantly by our taste buds. I know there are many people out there who could tell you their opinion on ketchup vs. mustard, stripes vs. polka dots, or dogs vs. cats. (The correct answers would be: ketchup, polka dots, and dogs). But no disagreement has been more prominent than that of Coke vs. Pepsi.

                From the looks of both soft drinks, they look identical. Pour each into an identical glass and compare; both are dark brown, fizzy soft drinks. So what? They look the same, so they should taste the same- right? Wrong. That’s why there’s a “rivalry” between the companies: they both think they are better than the other.

                To me, Coke is the better option. Hands down, my preference is Coke. I think Pepsi has some sort of weird chemically taste that doesn’t taste quite right to me. Maybe that’s just me being weird, but I’m not a big Pepsi fan.

                I did some research to find out how this carbonated rivalry began. Turns out this whole rivalry began in 1886 when Coca-Cola was introduced. Years later Pepsi-Cola came about, and that ladies and gentlemen is where Coke vs. Pepsi began. From the beginning until 1979, Coke had been America’s favorite soft drink. Pepsi took the lead in soft drink sales, but it didn’t last long. Seventeen short years later, America was polled once again, and soft drink sales were analyzed: Coca-Cola was back to the top.

                Personally I think feuds like this are silly. It’s just a preference for goodness sake. Everyone should be able to make their own opinions, regardless of what others tell them. If you like Pepsi better, good for you! We just aren’t agreeing on that one simple little thing. And to be quite frank, I think this whole “rivalry” is dumb. It’s just a little competition in local grocery stores everywhere. Oh, and just because I prefer Coke over Pepsi doesn’t mean Coke is my favorite soft drink; I’m more of a Dr. Pepper kind of girl. I mean come on, twenty three flavors in one drink? Can Coke OR Pepsi say the same about their soft drinks? No, I didn’t think so.

 

(402 words)

Fortune Cookies

                Alright. Call me crazy, but I am one of those few who believe that fortunes and wishes can come true. I’m being completely serious right now. You know, the whole wishing at 11:11, wishbone, fortune cookie thing: It’s real. I believe it.

                Laugh all you want, but I think they can come true. Actually it’s more just the fortune cookies than anything because none of my birthday wishes have come true yet, but all of the fortunes I’ve ever gotten have worked out to my advantage. For instance, when I messed up two words at this year’s Large Group State Speech Competition, I received a fortune that told me I didn’t have to worry about my future. And guess who made it to All State? Yeah that’s right, we did.

                Or how about the fortune that stated I would receive unexpected support in the near future: well that came true too. When I got home from school after reading that fortune, my mom had bought me a new bra. Unexpected support at its finest. You think I’m kidding, but think about it…Would I really kid about something as serious as this mind blowing evidence that fortune cookies actually work?

                So today when I cracked open my fortune cookie, I read that I would pass a difficult test. Of course I read this fortune right as the testing season begins. I have no idea if that means I passed my AP chemistry test, or if I will do really well on my ACT next Saturday, or if I will do well on my AP exams this May. Guess we’ll find out soon enough!

                I have no idea how fortune cookies work, or why they always come true for me, but there is something strange about them. Of course, I have my theories. Theory One: someone follows me around and makes sure that all my fortunes come true. Theory Two: James Bond is secretly behind all this mysteriousness. Theory Three: magic. And Theory Four: Illuminati.

                I am totally a believer of fortunes from fortune cookies. They haven’t failed me yet, so I don’t see why anyone would disregard them and just carelessly throw them away. I mean unless they don’t work out to your advantage, which would be really dumb. Maybe y’all just need to broaden your horizons to let these wonderful fortunes come true; they won’t come true if you don’t believe. Don’t make me go all Polar Express on you and make you start to believe. I will if I have to. I’m not really sure how to end this so I think I’ll just put something relevant yet dumb and somewhat confusing at the same time. Fortune Cookies.

 

(449 words)

Ice Cream

                I would be willing to bet that everyone likes ice cream. I would also be willing to bet that if you don’t like ice cream there is some sort of psychological disorder or something wrong with you. Actually I wouldn’t be willing to bet on either of those because I’m only making minimum wage and it wouldn’t be fun to lose my hard earned paycheck on something as silly as an opinion based bet.

                Anyway, ice cream is probably one of my favorite things ever. I mean I have a lot of favorite things, but ice cream pretty much takes the cake. Or maybe cake takes the cake, and ice cream is just left on the side… I might have a slight problem with decision making when it comes to desserts.

                Today I met someone who didn’t like ice cream, and I thought those of you reading my posts should know that disliking ice cream is some sort of crime. Or at least it should be (again, totally opinion based). And the best part is that you can pick just about any flavor known to man and make it into an ice cream flavor, so why strange individuals have distaste for ice cream will always be a mystery to me.

                If you don’t like ice cream, you have something wrong with you. You might want to be evaluated by a psychiatrist or something because maybe you were deprived as a child and that deprivation spilled over to your current life. Ice cream is amazing. Goodnight everybody.

 

(257 words)

We Should Be Kicked Out

                Why don’t we ever have class outside? Remember in middle school how some teachers really liked having class outside- my elementary school liked having outdoor class so much that they built an outdoor classroom. In middle school they took away recess and let us go outside during lunch, but that was the only outdoor activity built into the everyday school schedule. So what happens when you get to high school? The outside world is completely gone from the high school day, replaced by the four walls of tests, quizzes, homework, and essays that every teenager hates. For each transition we go through in school, we lose more and more outdoor class time.

                Am I the only one out there who has those teachers that tell you what a nice day it is out, and that they want you to go get some fresh air after school, but then assign a crap-ton of homework that you have to do? They assign all this homework that you have to stay inside and do, but they encourage you to soak up the UV rays that have managed to burst through the clouds. If they insist on piling on the homework, why not give us the outside time we want while we are at school? You could easily bring a whiteboard outside and teach us math or physics or anything really. It’s not that complicated- when teachers say they would love to go outside and have class they need to just do it. The only ones that are going to complain are those prissy little girls who don’t want their hair to blow around and look a tad bit windblown.

                I don’t know about the rest of the student population, but I actually prefer learning outside every once in a while. I mean really, we go from being outside twenty four seven during the summer to stuck within those four confining walls for eight hours a day. And then winter rolls around and we are stuck inside even more so because none of us can drive anywhere without sliding on the slick roads. So finally spring comes along and all we want to do is finish the school year and make it to summer, but the hardest thing to deal with is the fact that we can’t just sit there and enjoy school with a three month break from school just a few weeks away- no, no, we start to get pumped up. We want to go outside and smell the roses- I don’t even like the smell of roses, but if smelling roses is what it took for me to get outside, you can bet I wouldn’t take my nose out of those dang flowers.

                I think y’all have seen my point by now: high school needs to install some sort of free time for teenagers to get their butts outside DURING school. Some of us are extremely busy after school and don’t have time to make it outside, others of us are just feeling restless with summer a handful of weeks away. Just because we are older, doesn’t mean we don’t have the same desire to go outdoors as we did when we were little pipsqueaks playing at recess. I spend eight hours a day, five days a week stuck inside at school. You’d think five to ten minutes outside a day wouldn’t hurt anybody, but obviously I don’t know anything because it hasn’t happened yet.

 

(574 words)