It's the Best Time of Year!

Finally, I am one week away from Christmas vacation! The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas break could not be moving any slower. I am sure this is due to the fact that I want it to go by extremely fast, so therefore it is not. I am so fortunate though that for the next 7 daysI have so much to do and get done that I hopefully can stay busy and help the time fly by.

To start it off, tomorrow I have a swim meet in Marshalltown. This isn't any old swim meet that doesn't matter, but rather I am on 2 relays that are trying to qualify for nationals. I am really excited for the day, I get to breakout my fast suits and swim my heart out. We tried for the Q time a few weeks ago and were .80 seconds off in the medley relay and 1.2 seconds off in the freestyle relay. I am certain that this disappointment is fueling us to the finish line this time.

On Sunday I am going to spend some time giving back. The swim team at my high school has "adopted a family" for the Christmas and holiday season. I will blog more about it later, but in short we are going to go shopping with donations that we have collected and put together a nice Christmas for them because they don't have the capability to provide themselves with this. Then on Wednesday, we are going to deliver it to them and watch them open their presents! I think its going to be a really humbling experience and show all of us what the Christmas season is really all about.

Once I get through four more days of school (yuck) the fun begins. My family is going on a Caribbean cruise and we leave the day we get out of school. That night we will drive to Chicago and we fly to New Orleans the next morning. Christmas Eve we dock the boat and will enjoy a week in the Caribbean until we arrive back on New Year's Eve. I think we are going to have a great time even though we have to miss out on some great Christmas traditions. I will be sure to blog about some of our adventures that I'm sure we will be having!

I think the next week is going to be great and filled with fun and exciting experiences. I believe there really is a truth to the saying "It's the best time of year!"

Sustitute Teachers...and the Hassle Involved

If anyone has ever thought that they had a bad day, I challenge them to take a step into the shoes of a middle school or high school substitute teacher. I can't say that I have personal experience with this, but from years of observation I really can't imagine too many more jobs that could possibly be as horrible as this one.

First of all, students are always going to take advantage of their substitute teacher. They think that they can mess around and not do their work, all at the same time as making the substitute's life a living hell. One thing that a substitute teacher probably experiences everyday is the switch-seats-name game. There is nothing that they can do when students decide to switch seats with their friends and pretend they are someone else, of course giggling the whole time. This has got to drive the teacher crazy, but for their sake they better just let it go.

Second, students are always going to try and bend the rules. If the teacher specifies to work alone, no one is going to do that until a big fuss is made and the substitute is practically to tears. Once people start to work alone, that lasts for about 5 minutes and the rest of the class the poor substitute is trying to get people to quiet down.

Then there is all of the miscellaneous things as well. Kids will go to the bathroom and not come back for 25 minutes, sometimes being escorted by a principal when they return, and this is even if they do come back. They will be texting and messing around the whole time and probably line up at the door 10 minutes before class is over. Most of the time students have no respect for substitute teachers so the fill-in teachers for the day barely try to discipline the obnoxious teenagers.

At one point I would get so annoyed when kids would just skip class once they discovered that Mr. Green or Mrs. Smith was gone. But now I have come to realize that those are probably the kids that will torture the substitute so I could care less if they showed up. It ends up being less of a hassle for everyone!

The Difficulty of Sunday Nights

As I am sitting here on a Sunday night, I want to make the statement that in general, Sunday nights are not all that much fun. The feelings of dread for the upcoming week and sadness that your time of sleeping in are over is really quite sad. After staying up late for two nights, sleeping in, hanging out with friends or watching football, its hard to wind down from a weekend of fun.

Many things about an unfortunate Sunday night can probably be avoided. As far as I am aware, a large majority of high schoolers tend to save most of their studying and homework for this time. I would probably be put in this category the majority of the time. Getting stressed about having to rush through an assignment is not the best way to start off your week, but most of us still tend to have this habit. It is so hard to get yourself to do homework throughout the weekend!

In my opinion, one of the most difficult things about a Sunday night is thinking about getting up early the next five days and thinking about having to deal with homework and studying throughout the week. Once I get to school on a Monday morning it's better, but the workload never ends and the sleepiness just piles up. Sometimes I seriously don't think teachers realize that we have other classes, jobs and activities!

Now I could be looking at the positive side of Sunday nights but there just doesn't seem to be enough of it. Looking back at your weekend, whether it was full of family, friends, work or parties is fun but it doesn't exactly put you in a good mood. In order to get myself into a state of happiness on a Sunday night I have to think about the upcoming weekend and what I am going to do, for the most part it works. Staying positive is key!

The Purple Sweater Controversy

The purple sweater controversy as I like to call it has been the talk of the school this week. Being the last school picture day that the junior class will ever get to experience, some students decided to "jazz it up a bit." In what everyone thought would be a fun, hilarious and most importantly harmless "game/prank," the passing of the purple sweater soon became controversy that people were not going to let go.

The background behind this story is as follows. A large group of guys decided it would be fun to pass a funny-looking-turtleneck-purple sweater to each other throughout the day. Once they got their picture taken with this crazy piece of clothing, they passed it on to a friend an so on . The humor of this will then be remembered when the yearbooks are distributed. Throughout the junior class section, 50 guys would be wearing a funny-looking-turtleneck-purple sweater.

As far as I am told, the students got away with this through first and second hour. Once third hour was reached, the photographers seemed to have a problem with the passing of the purple sweater. I witnessed a kid going to the office to try and get backup from the administration. My question was "Why do the photographers care?" One thought would be that, parents would probably be less likely to buy the picture if their child looked that ridiculous. But that cannot be the case because the photos must be payed for ahead of time.

Much to everyone's surprise, the administration at school had an issue with the passing of the purple sweater as well. I think everyone just wanted to know why anyone cared. It is just a funny, harmless prank that people will remember forever when looking back at their yearbook photo.

Understandably, a few students got a bit frustrated with the photographers and secretaries when they told them to take the sweater off. Yes, no student should talk back to an adult, but the whole situation doesn't make any sense. The only thing that I could come up with, after asking my dad (employee of the school), is that the administration didn't want to get some sort of tradition started because sooner or later it will get out of hand.

Whatever the case may be, at least many students made a statement today by wearing purple!

Black Friday...The Analysis

The day after Thanksgiving. Twenty years ago it was probably nothing more than a casual, relaxing day to spend time with family and eat leftover turkey. Over the course of the last few decades, this day has become a phenomenon for thousands of avid shoppers.

I am convinced that the day after Thanksgiving, called Black Friday, has seriously become a sport for many people. One common tradition on Thanksgiving is to look in the ads and newspaper for sales and coupons that start extremely early the next morning. Many people probably don't even want to buy the product but because it's on sale, they will be happy to spend their money. This of course is the purpose of these ads from places such as Target, Best Buy and Sears. It seems to be a competition between stores of who can come up with the best Black Friday deals.

I remember a few years ago that the stores would open their doors around 4 or 5 in the morning with people standing in line to insure access to the best deals. I thought this was ridiculous at the time even though the idea of waking up super early to go shopping sounded kind of fun. Now the early in the morning twist is on its way out. Stories are opening at midnight some even at 10 pm, such as Walmart on Thanksgiving night. This defeats the whole purpose of waking up early to go shopping! Now all your doing is staying up really late to go shopping. In my opinion, I don't think that's quite as exciting and different.

Black Friday isn't just great for crazy shoppers and the businesses themselves, but the media also benefits. There are always new deals to announce and unheard of actions taking place on this day, in which the media is first to report. This year I heard everything from camping out for 24 hours in a parking lot, to pepper spray attacks, reported gun shots and stealing. That is just uncalled for and out of hand, people use your brain!

I have to say I have never ventured out in the middle of the night to partake in this annual craze. I am sure that most people who do have some great stories though. Last week when I went to the mall (at 1 pm) about 10 ladies had on matching Black Friday t-shirts. This seemed a bit over the top to me but that's something fun and not stupid to do! For the most part I do think that Black Friday is for the better, it gets people together, having fun and getting ready for Christmas!

The 3 Looks of School Pictures

The day that school pictures are taken is a great day to just observe the people around you. I don't know if you have ever taken the time to do this, but if you get a chance I recommend it. First of all, I think most students probably act/dress like however their parents have addressed the topic. If the parents care and are going to fork out 50 dollars for these ever so wonderful pictures, their children might put a little effort into looking decent. But if the parents don't care at all/slash have no idea that it is picture day, the student is probably more likely to not care at all either.

So here I am, going to stereotype the three different kinds of "looks" that I see on picture day....

--The I totally forgot or don't care at all look: These kids tend to be wearing the average casual/lazy attire. This most likely includes a t-shirt or sweatshirt and sweatpants, maybe jeans. The hair might be combed and you can definitely tell if it's someone who forgot because they are desperately trying to fix their hair. The pictures aren't typically any worse than the others except for the akward wrting that is on the t-shirts and sweatshirts. Many times the words are half-way cut off.

--The I just came to school in my normal clothes/I kind of care but I'm not going to try that hard look: This is the category that I would fit into. I don't get any more dressed up than normal but I also don't look like a slob. This is the category that most people fit into. Jeans, sweaters, nice shirts and tops are most common. Basically its what the majority of high schoolers wear to school on a typical day. The hair might have a little extra volume or one more swipe with the brush. The only thing most people think about is the fact that it will be in the yearbook.

--The I care about this picture more than anything/my parents care about this picture more than anything: These are the kids that are at one end of the bar all by themselves. They are in dresses, skirts, high heels, ties and sometimes even suits. For girls the hair is probably curled and guys it is brushed through. They look uncomfortable throughout the day and I just wonder why they would ever care so much about their school pictures, until I think....it must be the parents.

A Girl's Heaven

There are many things that can make a girl extremely happy. Shopping, chocolate, flowers, hanging out
with friends, perfume and shoes. Shoes are something girls can't live without.

I don't know why us girls have such a fascination with shoes. I think that we think it is kind of a staple to our outfits. You can't have a cute outfit without cute shoes! Now, I am not excluding myself from this statement. I have many outfits in which the outfit wouldn't be complete if it weren't for my pink sandals or my white Keds.

There are so many varieties of shoes that I don't even know where to start. There are tennis shoes, boots, moccasins, clogs, flats, flip-flops, sandals, stilettos and many more. You can even get more specific with these types of shoes. You cannot only have boots but you could have rain boots or gladiator sandals and with every kind of shoe you can get the dressed up version or the casual version.

I know many people that have their own closet or dresser just for their shoes. This seems a bit ridiculous to me. Like I said before I understand that certain outfits call for a certain type of shoe. But having 10 different pairs of boots or flats in different colors? I would rather spend my money on a different outfit! Sometimes I think buying shoes must be a competition for some people. At least you are stimulating the economy!

Here is a list of a few of my favorite shoes and how to make the best outfit possible:

--My white tennis shoes: These are one of my favorite pairs of shoes. Just a simple, flat white pair of tennis shoes. In the spring, summer and fall they make me look extra tan! They look the best with the perfect sundress or jean capris and a cute top.

--My chocolate brown moccasins: Basically this my staple go to pair of shoes in the winer. They go with basically everything, most importantly jeans and yoga pants.

--My black flats: Every girl should have a simple pair of flats. They look adorable with skinny jeans or with a skirt and leggings.

--My flip-flops: I have so many pairs of flip-flops! Not only casual-2.50 Old Navy ones but dressy ones and everything in between.They are extremely practical to where to the pool, to work, out shopping or to school.

"The Help"

Stockett, Kathryn. The Help. The Berkley Publishing Group: New York. 2009. (534 pages)

                I had an absolutely amazing time reading this book. It had been recommended to me by a lot of people and when my mom bought it for me I decided to give it a shot. I was somewhat used to reading a different style of book because the last book I read was The Lucky One. When I started The Help, I fell in love with it during the very first chapter.

                This book was very addicting yet at the same time quite challenging. Because the book took place in the South during the 1960s and two of the three narrators were African American and not well educated, the language was hard to follow at times. The slang and uneducated use of English made the read a challenge, but gave the book a quality that I wasn’t used to reading. The use of three narrators resulted in a unique set up that allowed the story to be told in a variety of ways. Each narrator, Miss Skeeter, Minny and Aibeleen had diverse backgrounds, which made the plot complete and well rounded. The variety of narrators and the quick introduction too many characters at the beginning made the first 50 pages or so confusing. Once the plot thickened and I started to get to “know” the characters better there weren’t any problems differentiating the between them.

                Another aspect that made The Help challenging to read was the content within the book. The story deals with the horrible lives of how African Americans were treated in the South during the Civil Rights movements. I am used to reading about these types of things in textbooks, but reading it in a different setting, such as in this book, it was heartbreaking. I felt like I grew close to the characters and seeing how they were treated was so difficult to read.

                On the other hand, reading about this historical time period was really enjoyable. I tend to read books that take place in modern times, so reading this book was a new experience. It was neat to “see” the cultural differences and to experience something new. The combination of compelling stories, bitter attitudes, heartwarming relationships, and shocking accounts resulted in a wonderful book. There wasn’t too much of one person or story, it was a well thought out, balanced book.

                The Help was similar to the last book I read, The Lucky One because each told the story through the eyes of three narrators. I really began to enjoy this set up in the first book and became accommodated to it by the end of the second. The two books are different because The Help was not a love story whereas The Lucky One was a book based on a romantic love triangle. This is also what made The Help unique to me because a great percentage of the books I read happen to be romance novels. I learned through reading this book that I can enjoy different genres as well.

                Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. The courage shown by the women in the South at this time was extremely motivational and was great to read about. The depth that the story goes into the character’s lives is unbelievable and it becomes impossible to put down.

The Future....I Don't Even Know Where to Start

As I am sure that all juniors in high school and sophomores and seniors for that matter, are hit with that scary C word. College. Where do you want to go to college? What do you want to study? Do you want to go to a big school or a a small school? In state or out of state?

Last year is when I started to really get the mail and e-mails from colleges across the country. Some schools it was kind of exciting to receive something from them, such as Columbia University. Others I have no idea were the heck they even are located. This is a topic that probably scares and excites us all. At times there is nothing I want more than to get out of town and start a new chapter in my life. But then I don't know how I would ever bea able to tear myself away from my friends, family and the life I have built previously.

Having to deal with the pressure of the ACT, SAT, scholarships, applications, college visits and recommendations takes the excitement out of the entire process. It doesn't help having a dad as one of the school counselors! Nah he isn't that bad, it is actually quite helpful having access to his knowledge. He knows what to look for and has good ideas on how to approach the whole process.

Up until recently, I have always blown this whole part of my life off. My parents would always say, "Read these brochures" or "Look at this website" and I would, but I never really put much thought into it. Recently it kind of hit me that I need to seriously start thinking about this, as do all of us juniors. I do know that I want to stay in the Midwest region of the United States and that I don't want to stay in Cedar Rapids. Other than that I don't know if I want to attend a private or public school, if I want to swim or not, or even what I want to study.

I'm not too worried yet because I still have time to take college visits and do some more research. But I feel like there is a lot of pressure put on upperclassmen to succeed not only in our academics and athletics in high school, but to be figuring out what our plans are for the future. I don't even know where to start!

So Many "Ones!"

Today's date is November 11, 2011. Or in other words the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year of the 21st century. This is a rare occurrence folks, it only happens once every one-hundred years. What is it about this day that is making everyone so excited?

I'm not going to lie, just a few hours ago I watched the clock and when it struck 11:11.11, I made a wish. Thousands of people probably did the same. Even in our own school, students were tooting party horns and throwing confetti all over the place. It might as well be a reason to celebrate. Isn't that what us Americans do? Just come up with more reasons to throw a party?

According to USA Today, the last time there were more marriage licenses in Las Vegas was the week of 07/07/07. What is it about these dates that make people want to get married? Walt Disney world will be hosting 11 weddings today. At the Crowne Plaza Times Square Hotel in New York, 11 ceremonies will be performed by one matchmaker (US Today). I don't know the answer I'm just wondering. I am aware of all of the prophecies, theories and everything else but where did that come from?

In my opinion people are taking the date way to seriouly and analyzing it way too much. According to Fox News, people have predicted everything from end-of-the-world scenarios to the start of a new spiritual era. Seriously? Just because of a bunch of ones in the date? Of course there are business trying to cash in on this historic day. Apparently there is a movie set to be release today called "11-11-11" and the plot consists of a scary, mysterious force that enters the realm of Earth at 11:11 on 11/11/11. If you have nothing to do tonight, I suppose you could tell me how it is.

In the end, I think its just kind of a fun thing to talk about. Personally, I hope there are some crazy stories floating around the internet tomorrow about some babies being born at 11:11.11 on 11/11/11 and who knows maybe they were 11 pounds and 11 ounces!

"The Lucky One"

Sparks, Nicolas. The Lucky One. Grand Central Publishing: New York. 2008. (332 pages)

I really enjoyed reading this book because it was different from most of the books I have read in the past. Typically, I have chosen the average girly teenager books with a fairly predictable plot. I liked how the main characters in this book were adults because it was something that was brand new to me. The combination of drama, light-hearted moments, and funny scenes was just right and made the story enjoyable.

There were also a few parts of this novel that made it challenging. The three narrators: Beth, Logan and Keith each incorporated their point of view to make the story complete. The chapters went back and forth among the three narrators. The switch of narrators kept me on my toes as I read this book. It was really fun getting the story from three different people and their varying opinions and thoughts. I felt like I grew close to one character as they were telling their story, and then that chapter would end and I would have to change my mindset for the next character. Then it would happen all over again! Once I got used to technique I began to really enjoy how Nicolas Sparks set this book up.

Former U.S. Marine, Logan Thibault, also had quite a few flashbacks to earlier events in his life throughout the novel. The flashbacks were really helpful because as a reader I gained more information on what it was like to be fighting for your country while in Iraq. The time change and difference of characters made it a little bit confusing at times but overall it was pretty easy to follow. The vocabulary in this book was fairly average. A couple of times in each chapter I would come across a word that I didn’t know and tried to figure it out by looking it up, asking someone or using the context clues.

Overall, I appreciated this book to the fullest. Many times I had a hard time putting it down because I just wanted to know what horrible thing Keith was going to do to Beth next or how Logan and Beth’s relationship would evolve. As I said earlier, I have not read many books like this before. One of my favorite series is the Private Series by Kate Brian. There are currently twelve books so the characters and plot are carried from to book to book. They are always left on a suspenseful note so you can’t wait until the next one. The Lucky One was different because, the conflict and relationships were solved within one book. Now that I have experienced this type of read I can’t wait to start another book just like it. The adult characters are more sophisticated and have to deal with more in their lives than the characters I have read about in the past. This created kind of an eye-opening experience for me. I also feel like I have a better understanding for what a challenging book might be for me. I want to continue to read a variety of books with multiple narrators or a range in age of the characters. I know that I can go above and beyond my comfort level into a new world of characters, settings and plots.

Freezing Conditions and Winter Weather

Oh the joys of winter. Even though it is only the ninth day of November, it seriously is starting to feel like winter. There are so many things about this season that are just a pain. Today when I woke up, it was snowing or sleeting, I don't even know. Its depressing!

The bad weather of winter causes so many problems. First of all, it takes forever to scrape off all of the ice and snow from your car every morning. I have to go outside five minutes before I'm ready to leave and start the car so the defrost can be running. Then I have to freeze by butt off while scraping the car. This is all before I even get on the road. Then because the weather is so yucky, you have to drive slow. I admit it, I hate driving in bad weather, even rain! I don't like having to plan five extra minutes to get from place to place. Even though I'm caustiously driving because of the slushy slipperiness, doesn't mean everyone else is. The ridiculous fools that drive crazy when the weather is bad are endangering themselves and everyone else around them. Therefore everyone has to be even more careful just to avoid these people.

The task of having to wear a coat everywhere is also a pain. Big, bulky coats are not the most comfortable and annoying to have to either wear in the store or carry around when shopping and what not. Why does it have to be so cold? I get cold so easily and I always find myself dressing in layers. It makes me feel depressed when I'm all bundled up. All I want to do when the weather is bad in the winter, is curl up with a blanket, hot chocolate and a good book. Its not appealing to go outside into the frozen tundra and risk your life with the maniac drivers.

Now that I am done venting about the ever so horrible conditions of winter, I suppose I should go grab my sweatshirt because of course, I'm freezing cold.

Reflect and Relax

Exhausted. That is the word that describes me mentally, emotionally and physically right now. I am sure that all of my fellow teammates could attest to this same feeling as well. I promised in my post "All Season Long" that I would update and reflect on how the rest of my swim season went.....

Unbelievable. This is the best description of my regional swim meet that I talked about in that previous post. It was our first shaved meet, our brand new Fastskins (read "Hightech Swim Suits) were ready to go, it was a home meet, we were just plain ready. Everything started off great with the first race of the day- the medley relay. I happen to be the breaststroker on this relay and we raced to a second place finish right behind our arch-rivals Linn-Mar. We both broke the pool record but that red and black team touched us out. The unbelievable swims just kept coming. Every swimmer having lifetime after lifetime (personal best) in every race and the crowd roaring was incredible. My 200 IM was my best time by three seconds and I just missed the podium by .09. This was so hard to swallow as the swimmer right ahead of me was from you guessed it--Linn-Mar.

The battle for first place (between Kennedy and Linn-Mar) continued. Then, one of the most exciting things that has ever happened to me in swimming occurred. My 200 free relay broke the school record! Once again we broke the pool record as well, but Linn-Mar touched us out. The feeling was indescribable. Anyone who has ever received any type of reward for work that they have put in knows what I'm talking about. The moment of screaming and hugging my teammates will never be forgotten by any of us. The meet followed with more fast swims and it came down to the last few events. Unfortunately we lost by 1 point. 1 point! Oh my gosh this was like trying to swallow fire. The amount of emotion, excitement and disappointment, was so large I felt like I was just hit by a truck.

Well, off to State it was! The following week was filled with more technique based practices and goal setting meetings and lots of pasta dinners! The school send off was a blast, with the whole State team wearing our classy, Nike half zip jackets. We headed up to Marshalltown on Friday to get settled into the hotel and to watch the diving meet for awhile (we didn't qualify any divers this year). Saturday, after shaving we arrived at the meet. The butterflies and anticipation started to kick in immediately after we got to the pool....

The swims were all really great. As a team, we hoped for a little bit more but all in all we swam very well. Our medley relay got 7th place (one off the podium), the 200 free relay got 10th place and the 400 free relay got 9th place. We had great individual races as well. Part of the whole State tradition is that we go to Dairy Queen after the meet. Being able to hang out and relax was really good for all of us. It was so fun to celebrate our success!

So here I am now, reflecting on this past season trying to relax. I can't believe how much fun I had and how sad I am that it is over. The team became such great friends and it's going to be weird not seeing them everyday! For most of us it has been since August since we have had a weekday without seeing each other. I will take a few days off  and then I will start my other swim team. It's much more laid back, so I don't have to deal with so much stress. Most importantly I just need to relax!

Internet Sensations, Taking a Turn for the Crazier

Planking. Planking is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. The hands must touch the sides of the body and having a photograph of the participant taken and posted on the Internet is an integral part of the game. (Wikipedia.com) I am sure we have all seen pictures on the internet, seen people doing it or maybe you have actually "planked" yourself. I find this internet sensation kind of amusing. Its like a world wide contest with the goal consisting of who can come up with the most unusual location. I have seen pictures of people on lampposts, on top of garbage cans, on football fields, on top of trucks and so many more odd locations.

Here are a few pretty great pictures.....65 More Great Planks Around the World

The reason I'm bringing this topic up is because a knock-off of planking has risen to popularity over the past few weeks. Tebowing as its called is referring to the current Denver Broncos quarterback, Tim Tebow. Tebow is known for his religious beliefs and act of prayer in public, especially at football games. According to the official Tebowing website (in which your supposed to upload your best tebowing pictures) Tebowing is the action of getting down on one knee and start praying, even if everyone around you is doing something completely different. The original "Tebow" is posted above.

 I think that this sensation is even more amusing than planking. Having my dad being a Denver Broncos fan, adds to the humor a bit more for me.

For those of you concerned with the fact that this might be mocking Tebow, this issue has already been addressed, Tebow is officially fine with it. For what became an overnight sensation I think its pretty creative. Here is the authorized Tebowing site: Official Site of Tebowing. The media has also caught on to this ever-so-silly phenomenon, here is an example of an article and people's thoughts: Introducing Tebowing. Its like planking, but dumber.

All I have to say is, if you choose to participate in this spectacle, stay safe and have fun!

High-Tech Swimsuits

Over the past few years in the "swimming world" one thing has been consistent, the controversy over high-tech swimsuits. In the 2009 World Championships, a ridiculous 40 something world records were broken, all swam in these suits. Questions soon came up such as "Is this even swimming anymore?" "When will it stop?" "Is it an unfair advantage?"

First of all, you might be asking, what are these high-tech swimsuits? In summary from Wikipedia.com, "These swimsuits are made with scientifically advanced materials with features to reduce drag against the water.The fabrics include features that increase the swimmer's glide through the water (said to mimic marine animal skin) and reduce the absorption of water by the suit as opposed to regular swimsuits." The suits are extremely tight and as I said in my last post, take on average 10-15 minutes to get on.

The mental aspect is something else to think about. When your in this type of suit most people truly  believe they are going to swim faster, so they do. I have personal experience with this. Now whether it was the suit or just my mentality, it worked.

So in the competitive world of swimming, when record breaking was such a common happening (about 2008-2010), something needed to change. In 2010, the "swimming governing body" (yes, there actually is one!) banned suits below the knees of swimmers and past the shoulders for women and nothing above the waist or below the knees for men. This made a difference, but still swimming seemed to be more about the technology rather than the swimming.

Now, I am not sure of the specifics but all high-tech suits must be approved by FINA (International Swimming Federation is what it is translated to). This is supposed to decrease the "unfair advantage" of technologically advanced suits. Will as many records be broken? I do know, that now when records are broken it is a big deal as it should be. This is just something that time will have to tell.

In case of any curious readers here is a picture of today's fastest suit (Speedo LZR Elite)
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=LZR+Elite&um=1&hl=en&safe=active&biw=1280&bih=883&tbm=isch&tbnid=o0S8J0od7O-4kM:&imgrefurl=http://www.pureblueswim.com/Speedo_LZR_Elite_Recordbreaker_Kneeskin_p/7190804.htm&docid=c_HFxhnc5vRIHM&imgurl=http://www.pureblueswim.com/v/vspfiles/photos/7190804-2T.jpg&w=172&h=250&ei=yfaqTsjxF-fDsQKT8IygDw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=831&vpy=395&dur=873&hovh=200&hovw=137&tx=93&ty=128&sig=116184635868371563299&page=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=96&start=0&ndsp=30&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0

All Season Long

It's that time of year again! The final two weeks of high school swim season. On average we have worked 250 hours over the past two and a half months just for these two weeks. Its a time of excitement, stress, team bonding, and swimming fast!

Last week most of my team started our "taper." This is the term used for less yardage, more rest, more sleep e.t.c. Its an exciting thing after all of our hardwork from the season. We all get decked out in our crazy tights to see who can look the most ridiculous. The point of wearing the tights is to increase drag so then once we shave for our championship meet we are so much "smoother" in the water. Were also starting to have less practice, so we can be building up our energy and catch up on sleep. This week I don't have any early morning practices!

In the next few days, as a team, we will start to make goals for the rest of the season. This is so exciting to talk about the possibilities, and you get closer to your teammates throughout the process. With only two more meets left (Regionals and State) there is a lot of pressure to swim fast. One really important aspect of this part of the season is to have positive thinking. This is incorporated into any competitive activity such as football, show choir, orchestra, academic decathalon e.t.c. If you really want to do something you have to believe that you can do it. So as this week continues as I try not to get stressed out about schoolwork and swimming I just have to stay relaxed and think about the positives.

There are so many things to look forward to in the next two weeks that I can hardly wait. I want it to get here quickly but at the same time I don't want it to end! Like a lot of sports we have our team dinner on Friday night, the day before our Regional swim meet (the meet to qualify for state). After we shave (which is also really disguisting, you could basically confuse me with a boy) we all eat Zio Johnos to load up on carbs. It's delicious! Then on Saturday, the real fun begins, and the nerves, and the pressure, and the excitement. Putting on our LZR suits is always a great experience haha. These are the suits that are really, really tight and engineered to "create buoyancy", its exciting to think about that you have on the "fastest" suit in the world! (I will blog more about these at a later date). On average it takes between 10-15 minutes to even get them on.

After were rested up and suited up its the moment swimmers' wait for ALL SEASON LONG!

Trick-Or-Treat....How Old is too Old?

Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat, if you don't I don't care, I'll pull down my underwear! This was one of my favorite little sayings to chant when I was a younger child. This then brings up the topic of trick or treating. One of many kids' favorite things to do during the fall, including finding a costume and obviously getting a TON of candy. But how old is too old? Should there be some sort of maximum age for trick or treating?!?

I am sure there are many opinions on the topic at hand. There are also always exceptions. But here is one article I found on the matter. This article is similar to my blog, just bringing up the topic to see what people's opinions are....How Old is too Old for Trick or Treating?

I think that there already is kind of an "unwritten rule" for the appropriate ages for trick or treating. Probably somewhere around age 12, I'm guessing. I know that when I pass out candy (which I just love doing, the little kids are sooooo cute) and a group of high schoolers come to the door I get a little bit annoyed. I guess that if they aren't pushing the little kids, or running them over than they aren't harming anything. But the problems come when the older kids start being stupid. Like, coming by your house waaayyyyy too late, or running over little kids or taking all of the candy from a "Please take one! Happy Halloween!" box. Now don't get me wrong we probably have all done that before but it still doesn't make it right:)

So for some ideas to do on Halloween night if your to old to trick or treat.....
----Pass out the candy! This sounds really boring, but its actually kind of fun. You get to see all of the cute little kids plus you can stay warm in you house!

----Go to a Halloween party. This is an excuse to still dress up and probably have some really good junk food, all while not disturbing little kids

----Scare the OLDER kids that come by your house. This can be pretty fun to do with a group of friends. Come up with a little plan for when some of the older kids and/or parents come by. One time my sister and a friend hid in the garbage can with a chainsaw and jumped out every so often. I heard that a mom sprinted away at un-humanlike speeds screaming her head off.

----Host you own Halloween party. If your the type that likes to host events, have your own party! Come up with a theme, good food and music and of course a perfect costume!

So to everyone out there, Happy Halloween!

Lovely Lasagna

Cheese. Noodles. Tomato sauce. Hamburger. Spices. Lasagna. Yum. The combination of these wonderful ingredients create one of the best meals ever. There is nothing quite like the wonderful experience of eating lasagna. Lasagna happens to be on my mind today, because tonight were having a swim team dinner at my coach's house. His wife happens to make some of the BEST lasagna I have ever had. I don't know what she does but, it turns out fantastic. I guess, I could say I am really looking forward to tonight's dinner.My mom also makes a great lasagna.

 I think it must be an art to come up with the correct amount of each ingredient. The balance between, cheese, hamburger, sauce and noodles needs to be exact. I am not much of a hamburger person in my pasta, just give me the carbs. But I do like some because it gives me some protein in my meal. There can't be too much cheese either because there is nothing worse than just getting a mouthfull of cheese. The best lasagna uses multiple kinds of cheese. I know that my mom uses cottage cheese, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese and it turns out great!

The sauce, noodles and spices need to be perfect as well. I am not too picky on these ingredients because I love noodles and most sauces are going to be the same. Spices are probably what makes the taste in every lasagna different. So if you want to have a famous lasagna come up with something creative!

Its not just lasagna that makes the meal great. In my opinion, you have to balance the main dish out with some garlic bread. I absolutely love garlic bread. Just spread some butter and garlic salt on basically any kind of bread and throw it in the oven to get toasty.

Once you have the lasagna and garlic bread maybe add a vegetable (I reccommend green beans), fruit salad and dessert. Then you have one of the best meals EVER!!!

Officially Fall

Red, orange, and yellow leaves, new sweaters, football, apple pies and cool weather all perfectly describe Fall in my opinion. The weather all of a sudden changed this week and it hit me that it really is Fall!

There is something kind of exciting and at the same time kind of depressing about the chilling temperatures of mid-October. There are many things to look forward to such as Thanksgiving, football games, and indoor activities. But the thought of the never-ending Iowa winter soon enters my mind. Snow, sleet, and freezing cold temperatures are not my most favorite thing in the world. So now, I am going to take some time to tell you some of my favorite things about the current season: Fall.

--Leaves: The beautiful colors of leaves that you see as you drive about are just unbelieveable. I love driving down a street that is just surrouned my big trees with lots of leaves. The scenery looks picture perfect! As a child, I was never one for jumping into a pile of leaves, I preferred to just rake them and have contests to see who could make the biggest pile.
--Football: I love football. As most people who know me half decently will tell you, I love football. I have started to enjoy going to high school football games as long as its a nice night and were not loosing by unimaginable numbers. Most importantly, I need to get my fix of cheering for the Hawkeyes on Saturdays and switching gears to the pros by Sunday. My life pretty much revolves around football and homework on these days. I love watching the sport with family and friends while relaxing and eating a yummy snack!
--Apples: There is something about apples that just scream "Fall" to me. I think its because when I was younger, my family and I would go to the apple orchard and pick apples. I absolutely loved doing this and being able to sample several different varieties of apples just by picking them off the tree. Then we would make homemade applesauce and turnovers. This is the perfect Fall snack! To this day, there isn't much that gets better than a good ol' apple turnover.
--Halloween: This holiday has always been one of my favorites. I never go too crazy but the atmosphere is always fun. I love handing out candy to all of the little kids who come by in their cute little costumes! Plus this gives me a great opportunity to steal some of the candy:)
--Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving is another great holiday that occurs in the Fall. I don't know if its all the terrific food, seeing family and friends or getting a whole week of off school but its pretty great! I am already looking forward to the green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, turkey and cranberry jello. Yum!

Smashn' Smoothies

Yummmmm the delicious taste of a perfect smoothie. I don't know about you but I have to say that smoothies are one of my favorite foods. Everything is so perfect about a smoothie. The cool, crisp, refreshing fruity taste that quenches your thirst and hunger is a superb snack!

One of the best things about smoothies is that no two ever seem the same (unless you buy one at a restaurant which I will address later). At least for me I always blend my own and come up with my own concoction based on whatever my heart desires. I tend to prefer the tart variety rather than the sweet/tasteless ones. Most of the time my smoothies consist of juice, fruit, yogurt and lemonade concentrate. Sometimes I will add lemonade or milk depending on how I want the final product to taste. Every ingredient has a very important role in order to perfect each smoothie....

--Juice/liquid: The liquid is the base of each smoothie. Probably 90% of the time I use apple-raspberry or apple cranberry juice. Pineapple juice is another fantastic addition, a little goes a long way! The juices give off a solid fruity taste. If I'm going for an afternoon thirst quencher, I tend to add some lemonade as well. To make the smoothie healthier, like for breakfast, milk might be added but I don't prefer that as much.
--Fruit: My favorite part! The fruit in each smoothie is what makes each recipe different. I either go the tropical route or the wild berry path. Tropical includes strawberries, pineapples and peaches. Wild berry consists of blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. For the best smoothie ever-add freshly picked raspberries!
--Yogurt: The yogurt is what thickens this ever so delicious snack. I always put in a cup or so of plain Greek yogurt. This has lots of protein which provides a nutritious aspect  to the drink! Then I follow up with raspberry yogurt to balance out all of the other flavors.
--Lemonade concentrate: This is my specialty! Every smoothie receives a spoonfull of pink lemonade concentrate. This adds to the tartness that I love while providing a lemony flavor!
--------With each of these ingredients, I have got a perfect snack!

Now, to talk about restaurant smoothies. For the most part, there is something about them that isn't just right. I have triend a lot of smoothies from a lot of different places just because I am always craving one. There either to sweet or sugary. You don't get that natural, healthy and tart flavor! Over my years of smoothie tasting I have found a few places that hit the spot just right....
--Coldstone: Yeah, I just broke my rule of healthy and natural but I do love a Berry Lemony smoothie from here. Its tart, fruity and fun!
--Maui Wowi: These smoothies are some of the most delicious ones I have ever had. I first became aquainted with them up at a swim meet in Minneapolis. That was the only place I could ever get one and each year I would look forward to that just as much as my swim meet. Then they stopped catering there and I found them at Valley Fair! Strawberry Banana is the way to go here.
--Caribou Coffee: These are very good, not too sweet/sugary smoothies that quench your thirst and hunger! Wild Berry is my suggestion and the purple color is fun too!

Now after writing this ridiculous post I have made myself crave a smoothie....good thing I have left overs from this morning!

What is in a Name?

Your name is something that identifies you from everyone else in the world. Yes, I am sure there are plenty of repeats but probably not in the people that you know. I would hope that most parents give serious thought before naming their children. A name could haunt someone for their whole life or it could help them in some ever so weird way.

In recent surveys, parents are starting to regret their baby-making decisions. Now, I have never had the experience of naming a child (thank god) but I would think that you would make 100 % sure that you have it right. Here is a link to an article discussing the matter: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting/do-you-have-baby-naming-remorse-youre-not-alone-says-new-poll-2579685/

This is totally off the top of my head and in my opinion but it seems that more commonly parents are spelling totally normal names in a totally weird way. What is the point to this? I understand that having a unique name is important to many but how far is too far on the spelling account? These children are never going to get their name spelled correctly. Here are some of the most ridiculous ones I have seen:
-Geoff instead of Jeff
-Mykal instead of Michael
-Katelynne instead of Kaitlin
-Jourdan instead of Jordan
-Hayleigh instead of Hailee
-Aleezah instead of Alisa
This is just a small example of poor children who are never going to have their name spelled right.

Its not just spelling that is getting a little crazy. There are definitely more parents going for the unusual names in about the last ten years. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of names that are unique that I really like. Another technique parents could think about would be going for the common first name and unusual middle name. For example, one of my friends has a common first name and her middle name is "Cosmo."
To wrap up this completely random post up here is the list of most popular baby names for 2010:
Top 10 Names for Boys
1. Jacob
2. Ethan
3. Michael
4. Jayden
5. William
6. Alexander
7. Noah
8. Daniel
9. Aiden
10. Anthony

Top 10 Names for Girls
1. Isabella
2. Sophia
3. Emma
4. Olivia
5. Ava
6. Emily
7. Abigail
8. Madison
9. Chloe
10. Mia
http://shine.yahoo.com/event/mothersday/the-most-popular-baby-names-welcome-back-jacob-so-long-elvis-2480957

Marathoners in the News

A marathon is something that very few people can say that they have accomplished. A grueling 26.2 mile race is a challenge that few people take up. It takes weeks, months and maybe even years of training, healthy living and mental toughness to be ready for the event. I have had multiple relatives participate in marathons and I have witnessed this lifestyle from them.

 Normally, this would not be a frequent top story of the nightly news. But in the past week, two different marathon participants made the headlines for two VERY different reasons....

A man disqualified after cheating: http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/London-man-DQ-s-after-taking-bus-for-final-five-?urn=oly-wp779

A pregnant women finishes marathon hours before delivery: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Moms/marathon-mom-pregnant-woman-amber-miller-finishes-chicago/story?id=14706286

Crazy stories right? Let's begin with the cheating dude. You have got to be kidding me! This is the most pathetic thing I have ever heard of. Why would you spend your time in effort and training just to cheat and make a fool of yourself? Especially because he has done a marathon before so he obviously knows that finishing isn't the problem. Why would anybody think this is a good idea? Now, he has built this reputation of a bizarre weirdo and no one will ever be able to look at him the same way again.  M yquestion to Mr. Rob Sloan is, "Was it worth it?"  Taking a bus to finish a marathon, lying to the press and then being called out on it? If you ever get a hold of this blog, please let me know.

Now, on the other side of things. This woman should be now called Wonder Woman. I heard about this on the radio the other day and was just amazed. This is one crazy feat considering the amount of pregnant women who probably just sit at home all day with people doing things for them. She too, like Rob, has competed in other marathons before. As the article states Amber Miller has completed 8 marathons, three while pregnant! I doubt any of the other ones were day-of-giving-birth marathons but still, give the lady some credit!

All I got to say, is if your in the news for some odd headline, don't make it as ridiculous as catching a bus to finish a marathon.

Check it Out!

Reading books is a very simple thing. How come it has become such a big deal? I know that in the days of technology that we are in, reading is the last thing on a lot of people's minds. There are some days that the only thing I want to do is curl up on the couch, with something yummy to drink, and read a good book. But I also feel that I am mostly alone in these feelings.

Reading is not for everyone, I get that. I just wonder if once you start to get to "that age" (probably around 13) and everyone is getting a facebook and cell phones, reading becomes "not cool." I don't care what people say, I like to read. I don't read every single day, 5 hours a day, but I think it is important to keep our minds open to knew experiences. When I read a good book, I don't want to put it down and can't wait to pick it up. Sometimes I think about the characters and what they are going to do next (especially when I'm swimming). I believe that everyone, and especially those of us still in school, need to have this opportunity more. Even if that means 20 minutes less on facebook to read a chapter or two.

Now I am extremely guilty when it comes to book genres. I get in a rut that I am comfortable with and don't make many exceptions, ever! I know this isn't the smartest idea, but at least I am still sitting down with a book and not staring at screen (unless I'm using a Kindle, which I don't even have, but some of you might). For those of you (probably teenage girls) who might decide to pick up a book and read it here are a few of my favorite authors/books. These are not meant to be that challenging, especially because I read them a few years ago, but they are great for a fun read!

The Private Series by Kate Brian-I started reading this in eighth grade, and became hooked. There are over 12 books in the series and the last one came out last month. If you like drama and suspense these are the books for you!

Christy Miller Series, Katie Weldon Series, Sierra Jensen Series by Robin Jones Gunn- These are definitely more for early teens, but I loved them so much I had to include them. They are great-fun-loving books that incorporates a little bit of a religious lesson.

Any Books by Sarah Dessen- For those of you who may be confused, its not a book titile but I have loved every book by this author. They all deal with a girl going through a different problem in her life and you get to live their story through the ups and downs of everything involving their life!

Thats what I've got, now go check it out!

Review: Seussical the Musical

This past Friday night, I had the opportunity to see my school's production of Seussical the Musical. It is a story for the young and the old based on a compilation of the best Dr. Seuss stories. Some of these stories include; How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Green Eggs and Ham, Horton Hears a Who, The Cat in the Hat and Oh, the Places You'll Go plus many more! Once all of these crazy adventures were combined into one story, it made for one cute and fun musical!

An aspect that made this production a really great one was the costumes. The bright colors and different fabrics made the show very appealing to watch. All of the "whos" were decked out in yellow dresses, aprons, vests and shoes which created a very bright sight! The monkeys outfits were cute, consisting of brown pants, vests and monkey tails. Horton the Elephant's costume would also be ranked high on the creativity scale. The gray Converse, socks, shorts, shirt, tie, and ski hat were perfect for the role of an elephant. More bright colors were added to the stage when the birds were taking part in the show. The red, purple, pink and orange bird's costumes entailed dresses, tights, shoes, feathers, belts and flowers!

The set was also very well done. I have heard a lot of positive comments about how the set was perfect! The bright colors and crazy settings of Dr. Seuss's stories came to life in the Kennedy auditorium. A colorful slide was center-stage which just enforced the fun-loving, crazy story even more!

Of course we can't have a muscial without singing. The music was fantastic. It's amazing how a group of students can come together and memorize so much music. I'm sure it takes lots of practice! All of the songs were great to listen to and many of them were upbeat. The dancing and choreography that went along with the singing was fun to watch as well. The catchy songs were entertaining for everyone and I still have them stuck in my head as I am writing this post.

Overall, I give everyone involved with this production of Seussical the Musical and A+!

First Time for Everything

Oh those joyous times when you decide to check your grades and something pops out at you, totally unexpected. There is a first time for everything and today I had my first experience of a big fat F staring right back at me.

So go ahead and call me a nerd. I have never failed a test in my life. I care about my grades, sometimes more than I probably should. I consistantly take challenging classes and spend hours doing homework, but I think its all worth it in the end. What I don't understand is how are people just ok with poor grades and failing tests? It makes me feel defeated inside. I believe in most cases students have to try to fail. Now we can be talking about two different instances here. My F was on a test, which was bound to happen sometime or another. But failing multiple classes? There is no excuse for that.

Now I am not terribly worried about this F. It was in spanish class, which I have been an A+ student the past two years. I'm still getting used to the teacher and how the tests are graded. This doesn't mean that it is ok though. I also have the opportunity to retake this poriton of the test, which will hopefully be to my advantage. I plan on studying the information again in preparation for the retake. The worst part about this whole situation is that I didn't expect this at all. I knew that I misunderstood an "essay" question that was worth a lot of points. But other than that, I thought I did pretty good! Now, I don't know for sure what I missed because I have only seen the test on Powerschool.

With all of this just adding another stress point in my life (yes, maybe you still want to call me a nerd) I still want to know why people are ok repeating this "behavior?" I am disappointed, and hoping my re-test goes better. It's also a little bit embarrassing, I have an A on everything else in this class but this one portion of the test. But people, come on, getting multiple F's seems like a problem to me.

AP Classes: What is realistic?

Ahhhh the joy of AP classes. The lovely reading, writing, studying and of course the final exam in May. Do the benefits outway the drawbacks? Sometimes I think that taking AP classes is too hyped up and not very realistic.

The benefits of taking AP classes is extensive. Students learn material in new or more sophisticated ways, gain confidence in college-level work and learn new study habits. The self-assurance once you reach college is also a plus and helps get you through your first college classes. Students also have the potential to be "excused" from beginner classes in college if AP credit is taken. Taking AP classes also gives a student a higher chance to be accepted to the school of their choice.

In, my opinion every student should take at least one or two AP classes throughout their four years of high school. This gives them the opportunity to take a rigorous class in preparation for college. The final exam is also great practice in conclusion of the course. The question is how many is too many?

I know of many examples of people who take anywhere from 5-6 AP classes a year. That is a full schedule! I don't see how people do it. If you are one of those people, tell me how you do it! I understand the benefit of a GPA boost but is it worth it? I know people who would say yes and others who would say no. Currently, I am in three AP classes and have taken two in the past. It has been difficult, but they have taught me how to manage my time (along with swimming and having a job). If I had three more to handle I think I would seriously breakdown. It's not healthy (read my other post about sleep)!

High school is supposed to be a world of school AND involvement and friends. Doing hours of homework and projects isn't living life to the fullest! When AP classes are pushed so much I feel like people are being pressured into taking them sometimes. I know I have felt that way. Just this last year, I couldn't decide what classes to take, but I felt pressured into taking as many AP classes as I could. It shouldn't be like this. Everyone should get the opportunity and once you have completed a few successfully isn't that enough?!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz's

As I am writing this, I might fall asleep so we will see how this goes. According to webmd.com the average teenager, ages 12-18, needs 8-9 hours of sleep per day. Sleep is vital to our health and growth for the future. For many students in middle school and high school it is very difficult to get their needed amount of sleep. This in turn probably causes a decline in grades, lack of attendance at school and a better chance of getting the yearly flu. I know its hard to stay awake in class sometimes but what can be done about it?

One problem that is hard to fix is the amount of activities that teenagers are in these days. I know that myself for example get so rundown during the swim season that I can harldy function somedays. Getting up at 5 am to swim and then go to school and come right home to do homework until 11:00 is exhausting. In addition, the physical fatigue is difficult to cope with too. I have found myself numerous times doing the "headbob" trying to force myself to stay awake.

Its not just sports that cause for a lack of sleep. Jobs are very time demanding in a teenager's life as well. I know people who work until 10 at night and then have to get up and go to school the next day. This kind of lifestyle is just not healthy for teenagers. Can't these employers find adults to work those shifts?

Homework is another problem that puts a damper on everyone's life at some point. I COMPLETELY understand the point and benefits of doing homework, I just think that sometimes it gets a little excessive. I mean, we have lives and jobs and sports that are sometimes just as big of a priority as schoolwork. There isn't much of a worse feeling than staying up until midnight and even later to finish some stupid homework assignment. The result of this is additional stress and once again, lack of sleep.

So to all of the teenagers out there-I don't know what to tell you to find a new way to find some sleep but if you come up with something, let me know ASAP!

P.S. I made it through this post without falling asleep!

The Amazing Amazing Race

As I'm gearing up for tonight's season premiere of Amazing Race Season 19, I began thinking about what makes a tv show good? I am a sucker for Amazing Race, maybe its nerdy but I love the different aspects of this show.

First of all, I relish the thought of adventure. I haven't had the opportunity to travel a lot, but I hope I will be able to in the future. The idea of racing around the world and seeing so many awesome sites and cultural events is so intriguing. Second, I am competitive. As any one of my swim coaches or teammates would say I am "cut-throat-competitive." I pick a team within the first few episodes and support them all the way through the race. Then I start to hate the rest of the teams and hope they make dumb mistakes:) This is also why I think I would make a really good competitor on this show. I hope it continues on the air so once I am old enough I can apply. Sometimes I think about who I would want my partner to be. My dad? No we would get too frustrated with each other. My sister? We would fight too much? A best friend? Heck I don't know, I guess I have time to decide.

Another reason I am a fan of Amazing Race is that it is one of the only shows that seems real to me. There are so many reality tv shows that are just ridiculous in my opinion. Full of preventable drama, drugs, sex and fake relationships. You really have to be pretty smart to be successful on The Amazing Race. There is a great combination of physical tasks, mental tasks, a little bit of drama and competitiveness. These are the qualities I think make this such a great show. Don't get my wrong there are other good shows out there, I just like the uniqueness of this one.

This season is definitely going to be fun. With a pair of snowboarders, showgirls, dating couples and a former NFL player its definitely going to be an amazing race!

Film Fees

Going to a movie theatre to see a movie is a really fun thing to do, but is it worth it? According to wherenberg.com/index an adult movie ticket (for a night time showing) is $9.25! The other theatre in town (Carmike Cinemas) charges $9.50 for an adult ticket on a Friday or Saturday night (carmike.com/showtimes).

I am not denying it, I love seeing a movie on a hot, cold or gloomy day but it has become such a rip off. In addition to the ticket, we all need a drink, popcorn and sometimes candy. THIS is where the theatre makes their money. I don't know for sure and the prices weren't on the theatre websites (I wonder why), but paying five bucks for a medium drink and seven dollars for a popcorn is insane. This can be done because people are willing to pay. I mean who really wants to watch a movie without popcorn?!?I will admit, I have begun to bring my own drink into the movie sometimes. It's soooooo much cheaper and you know that it won't hurt the theatre any.

But what about the movies that are meant for families to see together? Just for a family of four it could range anywhere from $50-60 for two and a half hours of entertainment. This is ridiculus and I don't see how many families can afford it. I'm not trying to support some anti-movie theatre thing its just something to think about!

Honestly, I don't even remember the last movie I went too. Now, I don't have a lot of free time and I'm much less likely to see a movie in the summer, but still. It has gotten to the point where unless my friends and I really really really want to see it, were not about to spend the money until its four bucks at the cheap theatre, or two bucks at Blockbuster.

Sometimes, it's just as fun having a stay-at-home night with your friends. You can pick up a movie or order one from mediacom or directv. Pop a few bags of popcorn, munch on some candy bars, sip from cans of soda and your set. Plus you can wear your pajamas and grab some blankets and pillows and all of a sudden you have a MUCH cheaper movie party!

Seniority

Seniority is a sketchy topic that a lot of people have different opinions about. The most prominent example at Kennedy High School is when it comes to the football games.

In a perfect world, seniors would sit up front with the juniors behind them, followed by sophomores and then freshman. But we all know that nothing is perfect in the world that we live in. In my opinion it should just be expected that the seniors sit in front and so on, but there are always exceptions which just cause a lot of problems. Last night at the homecoming football game, "seniority" did not exist. Being a junior I feel that the past two years of being pushed around earned me the right to sit closer to the front. Yes, I could have gotten there a little bit earlier than I did, but thats beside the point. Every year the new senior class takes over because they FINALLY have the chance to do whatever they want-I know that I will do the same thing. All the underclassmen should just suck it up and understand that in two or three years, the turn will be theirs.

Every Friday on the announcements the "student section leaders" as I like to call them come on the announcements and remind everyone of how the students should sit by grade level. For once can we just do it like that? I'm not being that picky here, if you have one friend or two in a different grade than that's fine but whole groups of people gets a little annoying. Most of the time, students don't even watch the game so why do  they care if they have to move back? In the end, just deal with it underclassmen, we had too.

Another prime example of seniority is when it comes to certain tasks on the swim team. None of these are that big of a deal, but they come to my mind when thinking about this topic. About once a week or so we have to take the lane lines out at night and put them back in the morning (so the pool can be vacuumed). This is a job that is SUPPOSED to be done by the freshman and sophomores. Now like I said, it's not a huge problem but the past two years I did it. The other day at practice, two of the four people putting the lines in were upperclassmen. Why do you think you can just sit there and watch us?

Overall, seniority is going to be something you hate as a freshman and sophomore, but love once you become the big kids on campus.  Just remember if you don't want problems to ensue-respect your elders!

Why I am a Swimmer

Why? This is one word that can become such a hard question to answer sometimes. "Why this?" and "Why that?" are typical questions we hear everyday. Humans are curious creatures, we ask questions. I think the hardest thing to do is to ask yourself "why?"

I remember my first day of swim team practice. It was the last day of fourth grade and summer had just begun. I was nervous and excited and from that moment I had know idea what I was getting myself into. Haha. I continued to practice, compete and take stroke clinics. I began to believe that this could be the sport for me. That winter I qualified for my first state and regional competitions which was so exciting. I think at this time is when my mom and dad figured out that we were in it for the long haul.

I have been swimming ever since, on a total of four different swim teams. To this day, it is so hard to answer the question "Why do you swim?" It is a combination of things, most definitely, that make this sport such a huge part of my life. A part of me believes that only other swimmers can truly understand the answer to "why."

Waking up at 5 am and jumping in a pool, riding on long car trips and enduring hours of training everyday would not be in the top reasons of why I swim. Swimming is such a mental and physical sport and it takes a lot of determination and drive to succeed. I absolutely love the feeling of finishing a race and touching out my oponent, qualifying for competitions, making new friendships, continuing lasting friendships and knowing that all of my hard work is paying off. THESE are the reasons why I swim.

Over the years I have won races, earned awards, been named to the All-Star team, and made it to State along with many other accomplishments. These achievements make all of the hard work worth it. I also know that the drive I have built up for swimming helps me in other aspects of my life. I have to be dedicated and motivated to get my school work done, swim and to have a job- I believe I first got these qualities because of swimming.

All in all, to answer the question "Why do you swim?" I would have to say that the feeling of triumph when I swim well, the friendships and relationships I have gained, and the drive to succeed are some of the most important things I will ever experience.

What does it take to be a leader?

Leadership is a word that can be interpreted in a lot of different ways. Dictionary.com defines leadership as a person who guides or leads a group. What does that mean? How do you do that?

Being a leader is thought of being such a nerdy or weird thing that only people who want college scholarships think about. I don't think that is the case at all. There are lots of different kinds of leadership out there. Someone could be the typical captain of the football team, but there are ways that show leadership that people don't normally consider.

I think that something as simple as raising your hand in class or studying and getting a good score on a test can show leadership. These actions are actions that people will look up too and want to follow even though they don't admit it. Silence and observation are almost just as important as verbally motivating. I have been known on all of my different swim teams as one of the hardeset workers. I am typically quiet during practice yet I have been told numerous times by my coach that my working habits are just a way of silence leadership. This is important because I think that every person out there can in some way be a leader!

This past summer I attended a leadership seminar called HOBY, the idea being to strengthen leadership skills and to learn new ways to be a leader. I will admit it that being the "counselor's pet" I was somewhat forced into applying and did it just because it would look good on a college application. It was the first weekend of summer and the weekend of my birthday, to be perfectly honest I was dreading it.

The first thing I did when I arrived to Central College in Pella, Iowa was through a tunnel of 10 screaming guys. A little intimidating right? The "Jufas" (junior facilitators) as they were called did something crazy to everyone, just to get us out of our comfort zone. So here are 200 sophomores from across Iowa completely freaked out of our minds. Throughout the weekend we participated in small group activities, large group activities, seminars, speakers, dinners and dances. I ended up having an amazing time.

Overall, from observations and personal experiences I think that our community (especially our generation) can use more leadership. Were always so concerned with what other people think and just waiting around for someone else to step up. Thats the most important thing I learned at HOBY, just be yourself and do what's right!

Teen Jobs

Ahhhhhh the feeling you get when your parents tell you its time to get a job. "You've got to be kidding me!" "No way!" "I don't want too!" It probably happens to most teens at some time or another. Your getting older and therefore your responsibilities become larger. The world of workforce is a scary thing. Its the fear of the unknown and the idea that you will have a boss and have to be responsible. Then the task becomes where your going to apply, having to interview and actually get the job.

For me, deciding where to work wasn't a big problem. I had been swimming for years and knew the aquatics director at the YMCA. It was the spring of my eighth grade year and I knew I would want to be working there once I turned fourteen (that was before the law basically required workers to be 16). I shadowed swimming lesson instructors so I would be framiliar with how that process works. Then the first weekend of my summer (and my birthday) I took and completed the lifeguard class. After that I was hired and officially had my first job!

Making minimum wage isn't the greatest but its really nice to feel like you have some extra spending money. My parents require me to pay 15 dollars a month for a portion of the cell phone bill and since I have turned 16 I pay for insurance on my car. Besides that I don't spend a lot of money, I like the idea of saving it. In my opinion I think every teenager should have a job and have to pay for something. This creates great experience for when you have to make money somehow and then pay your bills.

There are some pretty cool part time jobs out there. I have had friends that have had difficulties finding jobs but I think you just have to look in the right places. When you go to restaurants, stores or businesses just ask if they are applying and take an application! You don't HAVE to take the job, but then you have options. I know of lots of lifeguards who make sooooo much money and have a great tan by the end of the summer. I know people who are hosts at restaurants, referee for soccer games, make pizza at Happy Joes, and sell concessions at the movie theatre. There is something fun for everyone!

The downside of teen part time jobs come when your working too much. How many hours a week are too much? How late is too late to be out on a school night working? I know that before I was sixteen I wasn't allowed to work past 7 p.m. Now on Fridays and Saturdays that seems ridiculous but during the week its not. I have friends who are working till 10 or 11 at night on a school night! This is when you have to tell yourself that school comes first and your job shouldn't take priority.

Overall, I think teen part time jobs are great. The experience is totally valuable for your future plus its a great way to meet new people and have managers that can write you reccomendations later on. I just think that as a teenager you also need to focus on school and being involved in other activities as well! If you don't have a job----get hunting!

Rivalry.....its Soooooo Worth it

Rivalry. According to dictionary.com it is the action, position, or relation of a rival, rivals or competition. Now that is such a "textbook" definition. What does rivalry mean to you? Is rivalry a good thing? Everyone has experienced the feeling of rivalry in some aspect of their life. Whether it be in sports, speech, mock trial, jobs, acting or even just between friends. I know for me, rivalry comes with sports. I am an EXTREMELY competitive person and rivalries just bring that out in me.

Being an NFL fan, definitely allows my inner competitive self to come out AT LEAST a couple times of year. I feel like I know what a rivalry is. Packers vs. Bears?!? Colts vs. Patriots? These are the two that mean the most to me. The feeling of anxiousness, nervousness, and excitement before a game is so strong and you feel like you would just do anything for your team to sack Tom Brady or Jay Cutler:)
When the wrong team looses lets face it, it sucks. But does that make the next time, when they win, better? Then you want the win even more than the time before.

On another personal level, and being a swimmer I definitely have some more rivalries. Lets just say the Cougar swim team does everything they possibly can to beat the red and black team and the blue and red team. For those who didn't follow that, Linn-Mar and Washington are the two biggest rivals we've got. The practice, the stretching, the pep talk, the cheering and the swimming are all a "step-up" when we swim these teams. (By the way we did beat the Warriors last night). This is the case for any sport, especially across-town rivals in high school athletics. You just want to beat the crap out of them and NOT GIVE IN. The feeling of accomplishment, pride and excitement is so overwhelming when you beat a rival, that the hours of pain and practice is sooooooo worth it.

How Hard Can This Be?

Well here it goes, my very first AP Lang blog. When told that we are required to blog at least 30 times per term and that you can write about pretty much anything, it sounds really overwhelming! I am feeling a little bit anxious and curious about how this whole experience of blogging will end up. So as I have been told repeatedly, "Just give it a shot!"

As were coming up on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks there are television specials, news reports and most of all remembrance. Most people can remember September 11 like it was yesterday. The horrific videos, pictures, and personal accounts are enough to make someone tear up in an instant. Some remember more than others, and for some its impossibly hard to think about that one day.

Being a first grader at the time of the attacks makes it hard for me to remember a lot of detail about that day. It was a typical Tuesday morning in a first grade classroom when my teacher said she had an announcement. I didn't completely understand what was going on, but by the tone in my teacher's voice I could tell it was serious. The rest of the day continued to unfold with kids being pulled out of school (I had to stay the whole day!) and just a lot of confusion. My most distinct memory was singing "God Bless America" as a class, which I thought was very unusual to be doing in class. Today I think of it as something really simple that a bunch of first graders did but I think it was neat that we were able to that for everyone in our country.

There are many ways in which people will commemorate the tenth anniversary of this tragic event.
I urge everyone to take a moment and remember those who have died for our country, whether its a small patriotic act or being part of a large celebration, be proud to be an American!

American flag display during the singing of the National Anthem at the Green Bay Packer Game, Thursday, September 8, 2011. (http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/packers-crowd-gets-patriotic-huge-american-flag-display-174019710.html)