This week I celebrated my 17th birthday. I realized that there are really no perks in turning 17. For girls especially, you celebrate your "sweet 16." I never wanted to throw my own extravagent sweet 16 party, but I enjoyed going to my classmates. More importantly, one of my guilty pleasures is the MTV show where you can watch the spoiled girls throw fits, test drive $100,000 cars, and have gigantic parties.
Then there's your 18th birthday where you become a legal adult. There are negative consequences, like after you turn 18 you're responsible for your own actions, and there's the famous line, "now you can get arrested..." But, turning 18 is such a big deal because you enter adulthood.
Then there's 17. You're not an adult. Traditionally, you don't throw a giant party. It's just a stepping stone between two major events. The only thing you can do is buy rated-R movie tickets for yourself without an adult.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
sustainablity
On Friday, we had a sustainability fair. I had class and a track meet, so I didn't have the opportunity to go. Now I'm rather jealous of my classmates who are able to fill a cup of soda for $.50 as opposed to the normal $.70. I think that a great message is being promoted: we need to be more conscience of our environment and what we are doing to hurt it.
I picked up a few bits and pieces from my friends who had the opportunity to see the different exhibits. For one, I didn't realize just how long it takes for a plastic bottle to decompose. Obviously this "sustainable" cup policy is not only saving the students money, but helping our environment. Because this weekend was Earth Day, there were a lot of stories on the news about sustainability and helping to conserve the environment. As for the biodegradable silverware, I personally don't like them. I think they look "dirty" and taste funny, but I'm willing to use them becasue they are helping our environment.
I picked up a few bits and pieces from my friends who had the opportunity to see the different exhibits. For one, I didn't realize just how long it takes for a plastic bottle to decompose. Obviously this "sustainable" cup policy is not only saving the students money, but helping our environment. Because this weekend was Earth Day, there were a lot of stories on the news about sustainability and helping to conserve the environment. As for the biodegradable silverware, I personally don't like them. I think they look "dirty" and taste funny, but I'm willing to use them becasue they are helping our environment.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
"the look."
My friend was recently hired at Abercrombie & Fitch, a chain that has gained a poor reputation over the years for producing clothes and advertisements that degrade women, for being racist, etc. This friend of mine informed me about "the look." Apparently, employees have to follow a series of restrictions in order to work at the store.
1) Employees are not allowed to wear black. My guess is because Abercrombie & Fitch has gained a reputation for being "preppy." If the employees were to wear black, the store might gain a reputation of being "gothic." Also, after investigating the store website, I realized that there are only a few articles of clothing sold at Abercrombie that are black, I've been in that store countless times and I never even noticed.
2) Female employees have restrictions to what kind of makeup they wear. I don't really understand this restriction and how it adds to "the look." I mean, I can understand that they are trying to eliminate girls from wearing way too much makeup and looking "gothic," but you're not allowed to wear eyeliner - somewhat of an essential for any female teenager/adult. I think this contradicts the store's image of having attractive girls working? Or, is the store trying to recreate a more natural looking image?
These were the only restrictions that my friend told me about. I guess it's just something that I never noticed about the store or its employees.
1) Employees are not allowed to wear black. My guess is because Abercrombie & Fitch has gained a reputation for being "preppy." If the employees were to wear black, the store might gain a reputation of being "gothic." Also, after investigating the store website, I realized that there are only a few articles of clothing sold at Abercrombie that are black, I've been in that store countless times and I never even noticed.
2) Female employees have restrictions to what kind of makeup they wear. I don't really understand this restriction and how it adds to "the look." I mean, I can understand that they are trying to eliminate girls from wearing way too much makeup and looking "gothic," but you're not allowed to wear eyeliner - somewhat of an essential for any female teenager/adult. I think this contradicts the store's image of having attractive girls working? Or, is the store trying to recreate a more natural looking image?
These were the only restrictions that my friend told me about. I guess it's just something that I never noticed about the store or its employees.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
camp.
Spring Camp is at the end of this week, and I'm pretty stoked. I'm also feeling really stressed becasue I have so much school work that I'll need to catch up on, but overall, I'm pretty excited. I had the opportunity to go to camp last spring and I was lucky enough to be able to staff this camp.
It's kind of scary how this simple concept is taken for granted by so many students. There were a lot of students, especially seniors, who applied as campers, and were not accepted because there were just that many students. Many of them were really upset. I would be too. It's one of those things that I believe every student should have the opportunity to experience and then they can form their won opinions about the camp experience.
Camp is one of those urban legends. Most people have no idea what goes on, but everyone has heard bits and pieces about it. "They force you to cry..." is the biggest issue. And everyone always asks, "Did you cry at camp? ...What about that guy?" Regardless of what other people think, I think camp is a very important part to the academy and all students should try and take part in it, and don't wait until spring of your senior year because you might not have the opportunity.
It's kind of scary how this simple concept is taken for granted by so many students. There were a lot of students, especially seniors, who applied as campers, and were not accepted because there were just that many students. Many of them were really upset. I would be too. It's one of those things that I believe every student should have the opportunity to experience and then they can form their won opinions about the camp experience.
Camp is one of those urban legends. Most people have no idea what goes on, but everyone has heard bits and pieces about it. "They force you to cry..." is the biggest issue. And everyone always asks, "Did you cry at camp? ...What about that guy?" Regardless of what other people think, I think camp is a very important part to the academy and all students should try and take part in it, and don't wait until spring of your senior year because you might not have the opportunity.
Monday, April 9, 2007
we learn to procrastinate better...
Our school is very well known for being so prestigious and for sending the most well-prepared students to college. It's actually really strange how this happens. Everyone is always procrastinating, but everyone says that our school teaches us how to manage our time. My hypothesis is that we just learn how to procrastinate better.
From experience, we were given countless assignments from the time we were young. On top of that, we learned to balance extracurriculars like sports, music, etc. It's ridiculous to think that we had so much on our plates. So, obviously, growing up, our study habits were not as sharp as they should have been. Because of all that was piled on us, we never had as much time as we wanted, so naturally, we picked up this habit of procrastination. As we grew up and started middle school, we continued our similar study habits. I can vividly remember staying up past midnight to work on our 7th grade science project.
As we continue through high school, we learn to procrastinate better. We are able to study for our finals in only a few hours, we can write adequate papers the night before, and cram our homework into half hour breaks. That is why we are prepared for college, not because we have excellent study habits, but because we excell at the art of procrastination.
From experience, we were given countless assignments from the time we were young. On top of that, we learned to balance extracurriculars like sports, music, etc. It's ridiculous to think that we had so much on our plates. So, obviously, growing up, our study habits were not as sharp as they should have been. Because of all that was piled on us, we never had as much time as we wanted, so naturally, we picked up this habit of procrastination. As we grew up and started middle school, we continued our similar study habits. I can vividly remember staying up past midnight to work on our 7th grade science project.
As we continue through high school, we learn to procrastinate better. We are able to study for our finals in only a few hours, we can write adequate papers the night before, and cram our homework into half hour breaks. That is why we are prepared for college, not because we have excellent study habits, but because we excell at the art of procrastination.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
the home stretch
We just ended our last 3day weekend of the actual school year. The next one, Memorial Day weekend, comes right before finals, after the "real" part of school has finished. Now, we have SEVEN, yes, SEVEN long weeks left. I believe this is the longest stretch we've had all year. I already feel stressed and tired and bored with school that I can't even imagine how I'll feel three weeks into the home stretch.
At least this week is camp, so for me, it's a three day week. That's what I like about camp and the peer helping program in general. While you're there, you're usually having a lot of fun and/or relaxing. You forget about everything, you're so much less stressed. You never realize what time it is or how much homework you have to do. But then reality comes at you really fast because you have no weekend to catch up on your schoolwork.
I just feel like there's not enough time to do all that I need to do. We have six more cycles to finish everything and learn everything that we need to (even less for AP classes). On top of that, as a junior, I have to study for the SAT, SAT II's, and the ACT. I don't think it's all quite kicked in yet, I'm kind of glad that it hasn't. But when it comes down to it, and everything kicks in, I'm sure it won't be so pretty.
At least this week is camp, so for me, it's a three day week. That's what I like about camp and the peer helping program in general. While you're there, you're usually having a lot of fun and/or relaxing. You forget about everything, you're so much less stressed. You never realize what time it is or how much homework you have to do. But then reality comes at you really fast because you have no weekend to catch up on your schoolwork.
I just feel like there's not enough time to do all that I need to do. We have six more cycles to finish everything and learn everything that we need to (even less for AP classes). On top of that, as a junior, I have to study for the SAT, SAT II's, and the ACT. I don't think it's all quite kicked in yet, I'm kind of glad that it hasn't. But when it comes down to it, and everything kicks in, I'm sure it won't be so pretty.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
text pain.
A friend of mine pointed out this article in today's advertiser about text messaging becasue he believes that I text message too much. The article basically discusses how we overuse the tiny buttons on cell phones and palm pilots and how eventually, it will lead to injury due to repeated stress.
This article made me think about how fast technology is moving. It said that the average American sends about 50 text messages a month. This number is far behind other countries, it is 100, 200+, and 60 in Ireland, the Philippines, and Britain respectively. A few years ago, having a cell phone was a luxury. Now, a plain cell phone with only the basic phone functions is unacceptable. All cell phones have text message features and I'm quite sure that teenagers worldwide overuse this feature. Also there's instant messenger, mp3 players, cameras, internet access, video features, bluetooth, etc.
The article says that our generation is going to be the one with the most medical problems due to technology. I totally agree. If you think about it, I cannot spend one day without using something that requires pushing tiny buttons (like a cell phone, calculator, gameboy, digital camera, etc.) or typing on a keyboard. If this theory about repeated use causing injury is true, in 60 years or so, I probably won't be able to use my hands very well.
And to add to this, on the news, I just saw a story about a teenage text message competition in the US where teenagers were challenging one another to who could text message the fastest. The prize: $10,000.
This article made me think about how fast technology is moving. It said that the average American sends about 50 text messages a month. This number is far behind other countries, it is 100, 200+, and 60 in Ireland, the Philippines, and Britain respectively. A few years ago, having a cell phone was a luxury. Now, a plain cell phone with only the basic phone functions is unacceptable. All cell phones have text message features and I'm quite sure that teenagers worldwide overuse this feature. Also there's instant messenger, mp3 players, cameras, internet access, video features, bluetooth, etc.
The article says that our generation is going to be the one with the most medical problems due to technology. I totally agree. If you think about it, I cannot spend one day without using something that requires pushing tiny buttons (like a cell phone, calculator, gameboy, digital camera, etc.) or typing on a keyboard. If this theory about repeated use causing injury is true, in 60 years or so, I probably won't be able to use my hands very well.
And to add to this, on the news, I just saw a story about a teenage text message competition in the US where teenagers were challenging one another to who could text message the fastest. The prize: $10,000.