Facebook

I had done a previous entry about how teenagers are so immersed into technology (texting/cell phones), and Facebook is another example of this. Facebook is a way for people to communicate with each other and for you to share photos and videos with your friends. It is also a way to keep in touch with people you don’t see or talk to on a regular basis. All in all Facebook is a real effective tool of communication, but how many times a day does one go on? Are you spending all your time on facebook? I have noticed in the past couple of months that the amount of time I go on facebook has increased dramatically. I heavily rely on facebook to communicate with others and I don’t even notice the amount of time I spend on it. I might be talking to a few friends and commenting on a few pictures and then realize that hours have gone by. Technology plays a huge role in our lives and they are always coming out with new things. I am proud to say that my amount of texting has decreased but that is only because now I use facebook more. Especially since I have internet access on my phone and easily get on facebook. As stated previously, people are so addicted to technology, especially teenagers. Hopefully I can reduce the amount of time I spend on facebook and do something more productive instead.

What's your favorite?

What type of music do you like? There are so many varieties of music. Some examples are hip-hop, rap, country, rock, and classical. Music has many meanings. There are many different types of music. It can change for everyone who hears it. It may be because of the taste, or the type of music. All music has a different feeling. I personally love hip-hop/rap. My favorite artists include Akon, Colby O Donis, Usher, Rihanna, and Lil Wayne. Since music plays a big part in my life, you will always find that I carry my ipod with me at all times. I love listening to songs, especially ones with a good rhythm and beat that is easy to dance to. One thing I really wish I could do is to be able to play the guitar. Once in a while, all my cousins and I have like a cousin get- together where we spend time with each other playing pool, listening to music, playing football, watching movies, etc. When we get to the music part, my cousins get out a guitar and start to play. I am always impressed and amazed at how amazing they sound, especially when they play a tune of my favorite song. Also with that we have karaoke, where we can go up and have a good time embarrassing ourselves. All in all, music is way for people to get together and have fun.

Spring Break

As I walked into school, people were all asking me how my spring break was and if I went anywhere. Sadly I wasn’t able to go anywhere this spring break, but I was able to do one thing that was a top priority on my list and that was to catch up on sleep. A week of no school meant time to hang out with friends and family and relax. Out of all this, sleeping was the main highlight. This probably sounds depressing, but I was actually happy about it. As I reflected back on the school year so far, I realized I wasn’t getting enough sleep. From after school activities, friends, family, church, homework and studying for tests, getting an adequate amount of sleep was not possible, and so break was a time to catch up. Sadly though, break is over and now it’s back to school and studying. Despite this, I’m still on spring break mode. Hopefully I can get back to my normal routine soon.

Super Bowl lesson

Half an hour before typing this entry, my friends and family were watching the Super Bowl. The usual scene takes place, a table filled with food and drinks, in a living room crowded with people ranging from 2 to 70 years old. Everyone having their pick on whom they wanted to win, either the Pittsburg Steelers or the Arizona Cardinals. If someone walked into the room, they would see that there was a divide in the group, people wearing the colors of whom they wanted to win. I personally wanted the Steelers to win and so I had on black and gold. With all the chaotic screaming and music, one would easily think that it was a mad house. Little kids running around, bored because they didn’t know what the Super Bowl was, while the others are all yelling at the plasma TV. for a team to make a touchdown. I had my share in it as I was mad when Santonio Holmes had failed to make the touchdown they needed to win. The ball had slipped through his fingers and I remember the disappointment I felt. But also the share of happiness, when Holmes had made an impressive play of catching the football on his tippy toes, before falling out of bounds. Thinking back to the gathering, I realized how fortunate I was that I was able to be surrounded by my family and friends. People don’t always realize the value of life and take things for granted. I wondered how much more gatherings we would have with everyone in perfect health. This makes you realize that you need to be thankful and make every minute count and actually have a healthy relationship with your family. There are many kids I know, who don’t even take the time to talk to their parents. This is bad, as the relationship gets further away and one day your chance to talk to them would be gone. All in all, despite our contradicting views on who should have won the Super Bowl and all the chaos, I realized how much my family and friends mean to me.
(STEELERS!!!)

Love for the game

Playing sports is fun and helps you stay fit. There are so many different types of sports and people have different opinions of either liking one or not. My favorite sport is soccer. I love to play any position, but my favorite is playing forward. Each position is important and has value, and each is needed in order to be successful. Being a forward, I love being able to run across the field, trying get the ball away from the opposing team. The feeling of satisfaction you get, when you are able to successful do a trick, after practicing so long, and then being able to apply that in the game. The best feeling is when you score and the crowd cheers, signaling that you have gotten your team a point. Playing soccer requires you to be fit and have a lot of endurance. There are many ways to build up endurance, but the classic running is the best. It helps you to build endurance, stay fit, and have an overall feeling of happiness. Whenever I watch soccer games, I try to successfully imitate the various tricks players do, to fool their opponents. Soccer players I admire the most are: David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Mia Hamm. Whenever I see them play, I am always in awe at how amazing and talented they are. I have played soccer previously, but due to my asthma I couldn’t play last year. I hoping that I am able to play this year and the years following. All in all, I feel soccer is a fun and competitive sport.

Stressed for Finals?

Finals are approaching and you might be stressed out (I know for a fact I am!). Finals are tests that are there to see how well you remember all the things you studied so far in the year, in the various subject areas. Whenever I think of tests, I start to worry and start thinking of all the possible things that I might do wrong, like if I’m careless and mess up or if I completely blank during it, etc. There are many things that could go wrong, but preparing for it ahead is a smart way to go.
Don’t try cramming the night before the test, because you probably won’t remember much and that is not good because in a short amount of time you are trying to memorize half a year’s worth of stuff. Instead study a little each day. Go back to homework assignments and see what problems you had and go back to that and reread that lesson. Don’t try reading the whole book cause that might just make you more confused. Why bother studying something when you already know it? Better to go back and spend time on parts that you don’t understand. Also when studying make sure your not on Facebook, MySpace, Aim, etc. and also make sure your cell phone and ipod are away from you, because they can be very big distractions. I also find it very helpful when you take breaks along the way. Don’t study nonstop, but maybe study for 20 to 30 min, take a short break and then continue that way you don’t feel so overwhelmed and intimidated when you see all the textbooks and papers.
Finally the night before the test, make sure you sleep early, getting a good night sleep that way you are prepared and ready to take the tests. Also make sure you have a good, healthy breakfast, and not sugary things, because they could make you sleepy and make you not concentrate well. Make sure you eat something though! It would be very bad if while taking you test, if your stomach starts grumbling. Then during the whole time you will be concentrating on that and worrying if people could hear the growling, instead of trying to successfully do the test. All in all, don’t stress! Be smart and plan according and you will do fine on the finals!

JK Rowling's new book!

So recently in the news I saw that JK Rowling, the author of infamous Harry Potter books, has written a new book called “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” which is a spin-off to the original Harry Potter series. Originally there were only 7 copies of the book, which Rowling had handmade. Six of the books were given to the people who had helped make the Harry Potter series so successful and the last book was given to auction off, the profit going to Children’s High Level Group. Amazon had bought the book for $4 million making it the highest achieved at auction for a modern literary manuscript. The book was published for the general public on December 4, 2008, with the proceeds going to the Children's High Level Group.

I am a Harry Potter fanatic. When I read the Harry Potter books, I couldn’t put them down! They were so amazing and full of detail; I couldn’t believe that someone could write a book that breath taking. As the Harry Potter books became more and more famous, my friends and I couldn’t wait as the next books to come out. We were all so excited when they had made movies out of the books as well (although I feel the books were much better than the movies). The books were so good, especially the Half-Blood Prince that when the “terrible thing” happened at the end of the book I was crying hysterically (don’t want to ruin it for people who didn’t read it yet). Finally when the much anticipated, Deathly Hallows came out, we were all so excited. I remember how my friends and I had gone at midnight to Borders, to be able to get our copy of the 7th Harry Potter book. After hearing that JK Rowling had made a new book, I was literally screaming with happiness. Although I had not gotten my hand on the new book, I am eagerly waiting to get my copy. I feel that the Harry Potter series IS and will remain the best series of books to come.