Snow? or no Snow?..

I was very disappointed on christmas morning when I looked out the window to find no snow on the ground. Is it spring? Because it has been a winter full of rain, not snow. Every time we do get snow, it quickly melts from the tremendous amounts of rain. I am not sure why it has rained so very much, but I really want to know! I don't think we have ever had this much rain in the spring, when it's supposed to rain.

What made me quite angry when I looked outside the day AFTER christmas and saw the snow descending from the sky! Really? It couldn't just snow on christmas? For the first time ever, I could actually relate to the wonderful song "I'm dreaming of a white christmas." This has never really been one of my favorite christmas songs, but I actually enjoyed it this year because I WAS dreaming of a white christmas! It was very unfortunate that It had to snow the day after christmas, but at least we got some snow.

Christmas break is going by so very fast!! I wish it would all just slow down! It seems like I'm now scrambling for time to finish books, and projects that are due after break. I knew that I was going to end up procrastinating, but sometimes it is so hard to do homework during the holidays. I am trying to plan out these next few days before New Years Eve, so I can finish everything I need to get done. It is definitely going to be hard, but I am very committed to finishing everything before the festivities of the New Year.

Reading Pride and Prejudice has been interesting. I've probably already talked about this, but I watched the old movies with my friends a while ago so I would understand the book better. At first I wasn't sure if it would help much, but it really has made quite the difference. Now when I'm reading, I can picture the part from the movie and understand the scene. Sometimes it is hard for me to sit down and read it, but once I get reading I seem to enjoy it. It's funny how at the first of the book you don't understand they're way of talking, but by the end you read along is if you can talk the way they talk in the book. It has been kind of a challenge, but a very good thing for me.

The last thing I am going to talk about on this very random blog is how fast this year has gone by. I can't believe that we are only weeks away from semester! Half of my ninth grade year is already over! It makes me so sad to think that time is just flying by, and I am not really thinking about it. Once school starts I want to live life to the fullest and not have any regrets on what I could've done better. I know that I already have a lot of things I want to work on for the rest of the year, and I hope that I can be a better person, and leader at my school. I also can't wait for New Year's because I have a lot of goals in mind that I want to accomplish during this next year!

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!"

"You'll shoot your eye out kid!" This classic movie (Christmas Story) has started many christmas traditions in my family. With the fireplace burning and hot chocolate warming our hands, we love to sit together in our family room and watch this on christmas eve. Even though we all come from different families and cultures, we still have our own traditions. It could be baking treats, acting the nativity scene, or watching christmas movies, but it's your way of celebrating christmas that makes it special.

I think that christmas is a wonderful time of the year because it gives you a chance to thank people that you are grateful for. It kind of seems like thanksgiving would be the time to do that, but sometimes a note is more valuable then a present. Like most people say, we always get caught up in the material things and forget what the true meaning of christmas is. I definitely think that this is true. This year I am trying to think more about others and not be so caught up in what I'm getting, or what I want. When you work hard to earn money, and pick out a gift, the reward is much greater when you see their face as they open the gift.

I always think that christmas will never be the same now that I know santa isn't real, but you can still feel the "christmas spirit" if you are helping others and having a positive attitude. Sometimes the "christmas spirit" comes from watching children that are dying with excitement for santa's arrival and christmas morning. When you see their face, shocked with how santa got all of their presents under the tree, you can't help but smile.

What is love about christmas is the snow and music. I love looking out the window and seeing the trees covered in snow. There are also so many activities to do during the winter. You can go snowboarding, skiing, tubing, sledding, or just go outside and make snow angels or build a snowman. I can honestly say that you are never bored during christmas break! If you ever say that, then be mad at yourself, because there are plenty of things to do! At our house during break, the radio is on 24/7. Christmas music is always streaming through, leaving us with songs stuck in our head all day. You would think that this would get annoying, but I actually don't mind it. I love listening to the different christmas songs and singing along to them.

Even though all of these things are great, my favorite thing to do is watch classic christmas movies. I obviously love The Christmas Story, but along with that I love watching Elf, The Grinch etc. All of these movies bring me the "christmas spirit" when I watch them. I think that movies can help get you excited for christmas, and also show you the true meaning of christmas.

The last thing I love about christmas is how it brings people together. Since I obviously listen to the radio a lot, I hear all of the commercials for charities and donations going on. Even at our school we did "Penny Wars" to raise money for families who can't afford to buy their kids presents. I think that people really go the extra mile and donate during christmas time because they realize how horrible it would be if you couldn't afford to buy your kids presents. I think of how bad these parents feel, but because of all the people who donate toys and pitch in money, most of these families are taken care of and don't have to worry about confronting their kids with the situation. I know that these families are so grateful for the help that they receive, and the people that donate feel even better for helping someone in need.

Christmas really is "the most wonderful time of the year!"

Letter Entry.

Dear Suzanne Collins,


You have captured the lives of millions with your amazing way of writing. Earlier this year, it seemed to me as if the whole world was reading, or had read your books. So in need for something to read, I picked up “The Hunger Games” and embarked on a journey I would’ve never expected. I am not someone who reads for hours, but I couldn’t put this book down. I loved your use of different dialogue, and the strange plot. The story is so disturbing and twisted, but somehow, you made it okay for the audience to read. Most of all, I love the different elements you put in the books. You put many different genres together to form great writing.

Even though this book is very exciting and adventurous, I was disappointed by how sad I was while reading it. I thought of myself in Katniss’s shoes, leaving her family, and going to her almost certain death. I thought of leaving my best friends, and how much that would affect my life. I don’t know what I would’ve done in Katniss’s shoes, but I know I wouldn’t have been as brave as she is in this book. She gave me a glimpse of hope, and helped me build up more courage in my life. The one thing that disappointed me about her character was the fact that she lied to Peta on a regular basis. I know that in her position I most likely would have done the same, but as a reader, it made me feel sad for Peta, and mad at Katniss. I tried to figure out if there was any other way that they could’ve won, but as I ponder back on the book, I realized that Katniss was very smart in her decisions and knew that they were for the best.

I think that you pointed out great morals in this book. Our world is just like their world, we are hanging by a thread, killing each other off one by one. Our world has been, and still is in a constant fight. We are barely surviving, but we all have people who can help us through it, our family. I think it was important to show how much Katniss loves and cares for her family, but most of all her little sister. Her character is so caring and kind, but unfortunately most people these days don’t have good character and attitudes like Katniss. This helped me realize that we all need to start becoming a little more selfless, and start caring more about others.

I was really shocked by how sad and graphic this book was, but it helped me learn important lessons while being entertained. The first thing I learned was, “Life is like a game.” You have to find your friends and know who to trust. You need to protect yourself from people who are trying to hurt you or bring you down in your life. The second lesson I learned was how to be a strong person and face trials in your life with courage and love. Being courageous and loving will help you tremendously throughout your life. These are all important lessons I learned, but the biggest lesson of all was learning to watch your actions because you never know who is watching you. People are surrounding you all the time, so you need to be making the right choices because they could change your life.

As you can see, I learned a lot of things from this book. I often think of the book and wonder if our world will ever come to that extreme. I hope that our world will never become like theirs, living in poverty, and killing for entertainment. This is something that has a very slim chance of happening, but is still a scary thought. I loved this book and the originality that you brought to it. It is not like any other book out there, it is one of a kind!


Sincerely ,
Michelle Skonnard

Disneyland!

I love Disneyland! From the second you walk in the door, you feel happy and kind of like a little kid again. It's fun to see all the little kids meeting their hero's and having the time of their lives. To me it doesn't make a difference knowing that they are in costumes, I still love meeting them and watching the way they interact with everyone. You are never too old to go to Disneyland! All of the workers have great attitudes, and patience, even though it is probably a very frustrating and stressful job. It is amazing how clean, and put together disneyland is with the amount of people that go through every day.

I love Disneyland during christmas time because they decorate it with wreaths, lights, and they also put up a huge christmas tree. They go all out with parades, christmas costumes, and christmas music. Along with the christmas parade, there are normal parades and water shows. We got the chance to go to their new water show in California Adventure called "World of Color." It was probably the coolest thing I've ever seen! They have a projector that shows scenes from different movies on the water while it's shooting up. There are also different colored lights that change according to what scene they are on. Something that made me nervous about this show was the fire. They periodically had fire that would shoot up right next to the roller coasters. I was scared that the whole park was going to set on fire, but they are smart, and I knew that it wouldn't happen.

I love going to Disneyland! I love the way you feel while you're there, and I wish that our world today could be more like Disneyland's "little world."

Getting back into a routine!

It's crazy how hard it is to get back into your normal routine after a break! Thanksgiving break was a party, but now it is kind of effecting my week. I have been forgetting about some of my assignments, and have just been kind of "out of the loop." I'm hoping that I will be able to catch up on everything and not feel so stressed. I feel like there are so many things that are due in the next two weeks! All the teachers are just cramming everything in before christmas break. I am trying to make habit of reading daily, which is not going to swell! I need to get going with Pride and Prejudice, but it is so hard for me to get into it. This weekend, me and a couple friends in this class are going to watch the old Pride and Prejudice movies so we will be able to understand the book. I am excited to watch them, and to read the book as well!

Weather...

What is up with the weather???? First, I have to do 50 weather assignments in cobia, and now the weather is going to ruin our break? I'm not sure why "weather" is out to get me, but I wish we could just have blue skies this weekend! I was really surprised this morning as I listened to the announcements as they read "We will not be having any after school programs or meetings today, and want all of you to leave the school immediately." This was because of the warning for a blizzard that was sent out this morning. Because of this lovely warning, our game against Kaysville got canceled. We were all looking forward to the game, but It was also a good thing, because a lot of the members were feeling sick. Most of the reason I am mad about this "blizzard" is because of our drive to Arizona tomorrow morning. There is no way we can drive after a huge blizzard, there will be traffic, accidents, and delays. I am really bummed right now, but I am crossing my fingers that it won't be as bad as we all think it's going to be. The blizzard is supposed to take place in one hour, so we will see what happens! It's going to be pretty funny if there isn't even a blizzard!

Reflections Entry

“Together We Can.....”


Trying hard to change the world
One step at a time
Growing closer every day
Even though we’re not the same
Taking chances every day
Hoping things won’t stay the same
Eager, willing, lovingly,
Responding to those in need

Wanting more than anything
Earnestly awaiting

Chaos coming left and right
Anybody left to fight?
Nothing is impossible, because Together We Can.

Thanksgiving!!

I can't believe how fast school has been going by! We have been having a lot of long weekends and vacations in the past month. I am very excited for thanksgiving this week! I can't wait to take a break from school so that I can spend time with family and have fun! It's crazy to think that when we get back from thanksgiving break, we only have a couple weeks until christmas break, and then term will end a couple weeks after that. Before we know it, we'll be going into high school!

Part of the reason I am so excited for thanksgiving this year is because of the exciting things I'm doing. On Wednesday, we are driving to Arizona to spend thanksgiving day (Thursday) with our cousins. On Friday afternoon, we are getting back in the car and driving down to California, so we can spend Saturday and Sunday at Disneyland. I am so excited to see my cousins, and to party at Disneyland. Tomorrow is going to be pretty chaotic, packing, getting ready, and making sure we have everything. We are nowhere near ready to leave, so It is going to be a pretty interesting day tomorrow.

Photography

Photography can be fun, but pretty frusturating at the same time. I love taking pictures and editing them, but hate using the film cameras. If you've never used a film camera before, taking a picture and getting a final result is a very long process that I am going to tell you about. The very first step is putting film into the film camera correctly, if you don't put it in correctly, the pictures won't turn out. When your camera is ready, you take the pictures until your film is full. After this, you wind the film back into the canister, and then take it out of the camera. Sadly, this is only the beginning.

When the film is in the canister, you get all the supplies you need for the next step. You put everything into a black bag that has little holes in the side for your arms. (you put it into a bag so it doesn't get exposed to the light.) You take the film out of the canister, and put it on a little reel, and then into a black bucket with a lid, and then take it out of the bag. You must be thinking...ahh finally! It must be coming to an end!..But wait, cause it's not! When you have the black bucket ready, you put chemicals into it to develop the film. You put the developer in it for 6-7 min., the stop for 30 sec, and then you put it in the fix for 4-7 min. You rinse your little bucket and then take the film off the reel that was in the bucket. At this point, your film is either a piece of crap, or looking really good. Yesterday, after this VERY VERY long process, mine looked like a piece of crap! So lucky me, I get to do this whole thing over again on Tuesday.

If it did turn out, you would blow it up in the dark room with the machine that projects the picture onto the table. You turn off the light on the machine, put a piece of unexposed photo paper under it, and then turn on the light for 2-5 seconds. When this is done, you repeat the cycle of chemicals again, only this time for different amounts of time. You put it in the developer for 60 seconds, in the stop for 30, and in the fix for 7-10 min. After all of this is done, you should have a beautiful black and white, maybe blurry, film picture!!!

I ask myself regularly why we are doing this, when the technology is so much better now. It's not like we are all going to go out and buy all the supplies so we can make film pictures. I think it was good to learn how to do it once, but I don't think we should keep doing it with every assignment. The pictures NEVER turn out, because kids are always screwing up the chemicals, and exposing the paper. I think that instead of wasting so much time on this, we should learn how to use the technology we have today.

Nutcracker!

Next week is the Clytie Adams production of the Nutcracker! I am so excited to perform, and spend time with my friends. It's going to be pretty crazy though. The week is going to start out with our dress rehearsals on Tuesday, and Thursday. We will be at Weber State from around 5-10. It is a long time to be there, but it seems to go by pretty fast. Tuesday is always the longest day, because we run through the whole show, but stop and correct things that need to be fixed. On Wednesday they try to avoid stopping it, and try to run it as if it were the real show. Thursday, Friday, Saturday Matinee, and Saturday evening, are all performances. I love performing in front of my friends and family, because it gives me an opportunity to show them how I have improved since the previous year. When I get out on stage all I can see is the bright lights, and everyone in the audience is a black blur. I guess this is a good thing, because then you aren't as nervous. It's still really scary though! Every year people get refunded because there aren't enough tickets. It almost seems like everyone in our little "Kaysville-Layton" area goes to it. The only thing that is hard about nutcracker week is homework! It is so hard to keep up with everything during this week. You have to make sure you have everything you need for your performance, make sure you have your hair and makeup done, and make sure you find time to do your homework. I always hold of on my homework until I get to Weber State, but then usually don't end up doing it until I get home that night at 11:00. This year, there are even more things to do on top of nutcracker! I still need to go to the boys basketball games, other dance classes, and the Harry Potter premiere. I'm sure next week is going to be quite the week, but I am very excited because it is full of fun!:)

Memorizing 195 countries!

When Mr. Carter first told us we would be memorizing all 195 countries I was very scared, but as I started studying and learning them, I thought it was fun. A lot of people are very mad that we have to learn them, but I don't mind it. I think it will be good to know all the countries, so later in life we will know what they are.

Me and my family are fans of "The Amazing Race" T.V. show, where 12 teams race around the world to win a million dollars. A couple weeks ago, one of the challenges on the show was finding what country in Africa they were in. It was funny to see how many people didn't know where they were. They kept missing it, and only a few people got it on their first try. After this episode I thought to myself, "I would've known that." Even though it will be hard, I think it will be a good experience. On my last test we had to know the first 30 countries in Europe and I got 100%. Europe is hard because they are all so close together, but if you study, and try, you can memorize them. I've realized that if you study, it really does help. I'm excited that I will soon be able to say I know all the countries in the world!

Science Class

Well let me tell you right now that science is my favorite class in the whole world! I would just die for science, since I love it so much! I just love how we have some sort of project every week! I don't know how it is possible to think of so many things for us to do, but nothing is impossible for my amazing science teacher. She loves to give us challenging 30 word vocabulary quizzes a day after we write down the words. All of us students do very well on these quizzes! I'm guessing that our average is probably a very high 50%. Let's not forget the Wednsday Webwork! Oh how I look forward to webwork! It is so fun to do each webwork 6 times before even getting close to 100%. I especially love how it mixes up the questions every time you do it, so there is no possible way for you to get 100%! Term Projects have to be my absolute favorite though. It was so very fun to make my replica of a Green Sea Turtle last term! I even got to write a report about it! After researching about the turtle, and making a replica of it, I felt like we were best friends. I will treasure the hours I spent that night painting my beloved turtle for the rest of my life. For my project this term I am learning all about clouds! I am so happy I get to learn about clouds! I am going to take pictures of all the types of clouds, and make a very cool book out of it. I should probably get started on that, because I keep forgetting. I don't know about you, but I don't really look at the sky very much. Hopefully I will do okay on this project!
The other day she gave us a worksheet we were supposed to fill out every day, and guess how many days I've done? Well my grand total comes to 1 day! I know what your thinking, "Wow, Great Job!" but I just have so much spare time on my shoulder to write down the wind direction, temperature etc. I just love learning about weather so much, that it doesn't really matter! I know I will find some way to catch up! As you can see I enjoy science very much, and that is why it is my favorite class in the whole world! ;)

The craziness of life!

It's crazy how busy life can get sometimes! Today I was on the phone, trying to set up an appointment to get my hair done when she asked "When do you want to do it?" After this question, I asked her to tell me the times that were available. Whenever she told me a day and time, I had something on that day at the exact same time. This went on for about 3 weeks worth of appointments when I just asked her to give me an appointment in December. I couldn't believe how hard it was for me to find time for one little appointment. After the phone call I realized that sometimes you have to make room for other things in your life, so I called back and changed it again. Oh, and yes I do realize that the lady is probably very frustrated with me. ;)

Boys Basketball...:) haha

As an officer, you have the wonderful privilege of leaving class early to go to games. Our volleyball season this year was horrible! We lost every single game, and there were 11 games! All of us were very excited to start fresh and hopefully have a good season. As boys basketball tryouts came, I kind of got nervous because I wanted all of my friends to make it. In the end, all my friends made it. We had our first game on the last day of 1st Term and we completely killed the other team. We beat them 66-18. Since we were so far ahead, the coach took out all the varsity players and played everyone else. It was fun to see everyone play and have fun. Everyone in the crowd was freaking out because we were winning for the first time this year.
Out of the four Jr. High sports, Boys Basketball is probably the best one. I'm not just saying this because I'm a girl, (that's part of it) but it really is the most intense sport to watch. Jr. High boys are really competitive and do not want to loose. They will pretty much do anything to win. You are constantly watching the game because everything happens so fast. Girls Basketball is different, they are slow and don't really touch each other. The boys don't really have a problem touching each other. They push and shove each other until they get the ball.
I'm really excited for this basketball season, and hope we do better than the girls volleyball team!

1/4 of the year is over!

I can't believe how fast this year has been going by! It seems like just yesterday I was rushing to the bus, late on my first day of school. (Go to my first blog post) Everything has changed so much since the summer ended and school began. I have met so many new people, and made so many new friends. I've been able to study and work harder then ever, in order to get good grades. Last, but not least, I've also been able to support our school as an officer.
Like I said earlier, this week has been a living heck! There were so many projects, tests, and other things to study for, that I couldn't even keep them straight. When that bell rang on Thursday, I felt like 50 pounds had been lifted off my shoulders! I was so relieved and glad that first term had ended. I was a little worried about my grades at first, but everything worked out great in the end. I ended up getting all A's and 1 A-! Even though that is really good, I still wish I had a 4.0. I hope that I will try harder next term and get a 4.0.
The other day my dad was talking to me and my brother about colleges, and was telling us that it would be really cool if one of us got accepted into Harvard, Stanford, Princeton etc. I laughed and said, "Well that's never going to happen!" After that night I really started thinking about college and where I wanted to go. I thought about how cool it would be to go to great school that everyone dreams of going to like Harvard or Stanford. After the little talk I had with my dad that night, I realized how hard I really do need to try if I want to go to a good college. I don't care if I end up going to BYU or Utah, but it is good to have a big goal to work towards. I think that if you don't have a goal your working towards, you don't really have the motivation to work hard. I know that if you work hard, you can accomplish anything!

Halloween!

Halloween is a pretty weird holiday! I mean really, you go around asking people for candy dressed like an idiot. I don't really know what the point of halloween is, but I guess it can be pretty fun sometimes. When I was younger I enjoyed halloween a lot more than I do now. Me and my family would dress up together and be some sort of theme. One year we were the Scooby Doo clan, and another year we were the people off The Lord of the Rings. We had fun buying costumes, wearing wigs, and most of all getting candy. I would try to get as much candy as possible whenever I would head out to go trick or treating. I would usually fill up my pillow case around half full, and it would last me for a LONG time. Our family parties were pretty fun too. We had chili, treats, and would put dry ice in our drink (that was in a cauldron) to make it look like steam was coming out of it. All of our extended family would come over dressed up, and we would have tons of fun!
As the years go by though, life gets harder and it is sometimes to complicated to do everything. Its hard to get together in my family because of the amount of grandchildren we have. There are SO many kids, and they get tired and restless very quickly. Part of the reason is because now that I am older I would rather just go hang out with friends on halloween. This year my family isn't really doing a party, which works out for me because now I can go party with friends! I'm not sure if I'm going to dress up or not because it isn't as fun to do it now. It's funny how when you get older things get less exciting. For example, when you are older you don't really want to dress up or go trick or treating, you know that santa isn't real, so christmas isn't quite as exciting, you know that there isn't an easter bunny, etc. Holidays are still way fun, but they are never going to be the same as they were when we were little kids.

End of Term!

The end of term is always a crazy time! Term projects, Term tests, and many other things that come from it being the end of term. Sometimes it is just too hard to keep up with it all! I have been studying like crazy this week in order to raise my grades before end of term. I know this is going to make me sound like a complete nerd, but I try really hard to get good grades. When I have all A's and 1 A-, it pretty much kills me. This year the pressure is even higher with grades counting towards our college education. It is weird to think that even though we are so far away from college right now, the choices and actions we make now will affect us for the rest of our lives. I realized that I need to make sure I am doing my best, because what happens now could effect my future!

The joy that comes from procrastinating!

pro·cras·ti·nate 
verb (used with object)
2. to put off till another day or time; defer; delay.

This is the lovely definition of procrastinating! This word, procrastinate, is used very much in my daily life. I love using this word! (sarcasm intended) I often procrastinate, for example, I procrastinated reading my book for this class. I read all day today, and am going to be reading like crazy to finish it in time. I think a lot of us have problems with procrastinating things. We often "forget" or just say "Oh, I can do that later." I think we all need to try harder to do things early, or before, instead of later. I definitely learned my lesson of procrastinating.

UEA

Well first of all lets talk about the concert on Wednsday night. It was going pretty well I think until Concert Choir (9th graders) came on stage and ruined everything. We were singing our song and started to mess up a ton, so Miner stopped us in the middle of our song and had as start again. It was really embarrassing, and most of us were just laughing cause we knew that was going to happen. After the concert was over I hung out with some friends and it ended up being a pretty fun night. Thursday was okay, I cleaned my room and got all my crap that was laying around organized. After I was done cleaning, my mom took me and my friend to the Gateway so we could look around. I hate going "window shopping." Really, what is the point of that? You just go look at clothes that you really want, and can't buy them. Even though we couldn't really buy anything, we still enjoyed our adventure at the gateway. Yesterday and today haven't been really exciting. Yesterday I stayed home, babysat, went to dinner, and then went to a friends house to watch a show. It was fun, but I felt like I had "wasted" my day, and I hate feeling like you haven't accomplished anything. I'm not really sure what is going to happen today, but I'm hoping it's something fun to end my UEA weekend with!

An eventful weekend!

This weekend is supposed to be super fun and exciting with UEA and everything, but I'm not going anywhere! Everyone is going on vacation, or doing something fun, but what do I get to do? Oh yes...thats right, I get to stay home. Lucky me:) Tomorrow is going to be just great as well! We have our first choir concert and we don't even know our songs very well! The thing that is going to be interesting about the concert is the fact that there is a Layton football game at the same time as our concert at Layton High. The parking is going to be crazy, and everyone is going to be wishing they were either at the Layton game , or at the Davis game. The funny thing is that I'm kind of looking forward to the concert. I think it will be fun to hang out with all of my friends and sing our hearts out! haha;) I'm really tired of going to the football games anyway so I wouldn't mind going to the last half hour, or even missing the game. Even though I'm not going anywhere this weekend, I hope it is still fun and exciting!

Without music life would be a mistake. ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Music expresses feeling and thought, without language;
it was below and before speech, and it is above and beyond all words.
~Robert G. Ingersoll

What do you think about when you read this quote? When I read this quote, It reminded me a lot of how I feel when I listen or play music. Music has been a big part of our world for a long time. We learn to express ourselves through music, instruments, and singing. It seems like everyone plays some kind of an instrument these days which is very good. Music can change our personalities and can make us smarter people. Like it says in the quote, "Music is beyond all words." I really do think that you can say things through music that are too hard to say in person.

I don't think most of us realize how much our lives revolve around music. We listen to it on the radio, our iPods, and some of us, play it daily. Music is a huge part of our lives, and I think it is really cool that it is so important. Most of our schools now have music classes or choir classes, even if you don't play an instrument, you are still involved, and learning about music.

Another thing I think of is the lyrics in the songs. People have done such a good job in making lyrics relatable and telling stories through their songs. Most songs are about relationships or love, which some of us can't relate to, but they still make it so you want to listen to it all the time. Songs vary so much that it is impossible to hate music. There has to be at least one genre of music that you could stand to listen to. There is Pop, Country, Rap, Hip-Hop, Classical, Children, Alternative, Jazz, Singer/Songwriter etc. Music is used in so many ways as well. You may sing at church, or dance to music, or even just listen to relax. I love using music to dance to.

This is probably one of the main reasons why I listen to music so much. I love dancing to the beat of the music and just letting go. It feels so good to turn on a song and dance! Dancing to music is a very good way to express yourself, and your personality. Even if you can't dance, you can still do it for fun to let out your extra energy..if you have any:) haha...Some people may never get to experience what music can do to you. If you want to know how it feels to have music be part of your life, listen to it more often, or tell your parents you want to learn an instrument.

A lot of us that do have the opportunity to play don't use it very well. I know that I haven't fully used my opportunity to play the piano. I have been playing the piano since I was 7 or 8 but have never really practiced or done what I've supposed to do. Now I regret not practicing and trying harder to learn new songs. If I would have tried harder, I would probably be a much better piano player now. Even though its hard to wake up and go to lessons before school, I am so glad I have the opportunity a lot of people in our world don't have. I am trying harder to practice more often and become a better piano player so one day, I can pull out a song and play it.

Babysitting....haha:)

Babysitting is just GREAT!...Brothers chasing screaming sisters, food mishaps, and much more! The worst is brothers that won't listen to you! Yesterday when I was babysitting, I forgot to defrost the rolls so I could make mini pizzas with them. It was already about 5:00 and I couldn't let them sit out for 4 hours, so I followed the instructions for the fast way, and put them in the oven at 200 degrees with a pan of water underneath. I let them rise for about a hour in the oven, and I thought that my plan would work, but when I took them out of the oven and tried to stretch one out, it immediately broke into pieces. I figured at this point I could just make rolls to eat, so I put the rolls back into the oven and turned the oven to 350 degrees. I started to make mac and cheese, which was pretty successful (except for the fact that I had to borrow butter from my neighbor). I went to look at the rolls, and they were solid as a rock! So that ended in a failure, but at least next time I will remember to let them sit out and rise, instead of trying to make them rise in the oven. Last but not least- when you see your 10 and 12 year old brothers chasing your 3 and 5 year old sisters with rubber bands, and launching the rubber bands at your sisters, you know that something is definitely wrong! Oh, and don't bother to tell them to stop, because (quote) "You are not my mom!..I'm not going to listen to you." This is pretty much a day normal day of babysitting! :)

Intervention...and a long day....

I don't know how I feel about the whole enrichment/intervention thing yet. I LOVED my homeroom with the officers and wish that we could still have that. I guess its nice to be able to come to the lab and work on this, but it hasin't been as fun as I thought it would be.
Yesterday could have been one of the longest days of my life. I thought that the Explore test would never end! I kept getting distracted and would run out of time on every section. The day seemed to go by slow at school, and continued to go by slow once I got home. After school I had to go buy fabric for the quilt I am making in clothing. We spent quite a while at the fabric store because I couldn't decide on what to buy. After we had been there for an hour I finally decided and we bought all the supplies. Of course my brother insisted on tagging along and kept bugging my mom about buying binoculars for his "journey" at school. We ended up going to Wal-Mart which was crowded, as usual. We went inside searching for his beloved binoculars and couldn't find them, so we asked for help. We went to the isle and saw that there were only four choices. The cheapest pair were $25, of course my brother gets whatever he wants, so he got them. As we walked out of the crowded Wal-Mart, my brother saw the Halloween costumes out of the corner of his eye. He found his ninja-GI Joe costume, and we finally departed the crowded Wal-Mart! When I got home I went to yw's and when that was over, my mom picked me up and took me to my Nutcracker practice. By the time I got home it was almost 10:00, but since I am in love with glee, I insisted on watching it. I ended up going to bed at around 11:45 which resulted in a very brutal awakening this morning.

Experiences of a lifetime!

This week went by much smoother than the past couple of weeks. There was a lot less homework, and the stress level was a lot lower. Midterms were Friday which was good and bad I guess. I got all A's, so that made me pretty happy! I have been pretty busy after school with dance, YW's, and volleyball games. Every day I seem to have something to rush to. Nutcracker practices for Clytie Adams have been fun, and I can't wait until opening night!

Since most of my life revolves around dance, I want to tell you about something that I got to do this weekend. You may have heard of a T.V. show called So You Think You Can Dance. This is one of my all-time favorite's, and I'm going to explain it to anyone who hasn't seen it. On this show, three judges who go around the United States holding auditions to see who will be America's next best dancer. They do different dances every week that are incredible. The dancers on this show are nothing but the best. Last year was the 7th season of SYTYCD so there have been many amazing and inspiring dancers in the past years.

Last week I signed up for a dance workshop with three of the best dancers that have been on SYTYCD. These dancers are Twitch, Lauren, and Legacy. I got there at eight, and gave them my waiver so I could receive my wristband. I put on my wristband and went into the room that I would be dancing in. Once everyone got in the ballroom, we warmed up and got ready to meet them for the first time.

When they came out it was amazing, I kept thinking, "Wow, the people I have been watching on T.V. are right in front of me." I couldn't believe that they really were in front of me. After introducing them, we headed out to learn a dance with B-Boy Legacy.

"B-Boy" dancing is when they spin on the ground and on their head and do crazy tricks. I was kind of worried that he would make us try, but luckily he taught us a Hip-Hop routine. The dance we did was really fast, but fun. It was so cool for him to give us advice and teach us about dance. He told us the you have to do what you love, and love what you do. After an hour and a half with Legacy, we went with Twitch to learn another Hip-Hop routine.

Twitch is the best Hip-Hop dancer that has been on this show, and was one of the main parts in the new movie Step Up 3. The routine he taught us was cool because he put parts of the dances he did on the show, in our dance. His was kind of hard to understand, but after practice, we did alright.

After a long morning of dancing, we were all ready to go eat some lunch. We went to the mall, ate, and looked around for a little bit. When we got back we only had one class left, Lauren's class.

Lauren is a contemporary/jazz dancer. The hardest part about her routine was remembering everything. It was pretty long, but it felt so good to dance with emotion and not be sharp. When the last class came to an end, we surprised Twitch with birthday cake as we all sang happy birthday to him. It was really cool because he was totally surprised. What I loved the most about them was their personalities, and how nice they were to everyone. Taking pictures with 300 people, and signing 300 autographs takes some serious patience, but they happily did it with some of the most positive attitudes I've ever seen.

I was so grateful that I got to meet them, and dance with them. If you are a dancer, It is a big deal to meet Twitch. I hope that in the future I will be able to be a part of other great things like this.

The start to a great 9th grade year!

This summer was one of the best summers of my life, and I did not want to go back to school at all! The thought of waking up early every day, doing homework, and having so many commitments didn't sound very fun to me.

The Sunday before school started I was joking around and saying that it would stink to wake up late on the first day of school. I set my alarm that night, and checked it at least 5 times to make sure it would go off. The next morning I woke up to the sound of a honk. I jumped out of bed and looked out the window to see that my neighbor (that is in high school) was being picked up. I went to see what time it was and lucky for me, I had a whole 15 minutes to get ready, eat, and pack a lunch before getting on my bus. I kept saying to myself, "Really! I woke up late on the first day of school!" but after getting on the bus and going to school the day went pretty well.

I got to wear my letterman jacket, which keeps me nice and warm in our non-air-conditioned school.:) I also got to go to some of my favorite classes, seminary and clothing. It was really great to see all of my friends that I hadn't seen for a while and go to all my new classes. As years go by life gets better, but harder. I hate the fact that school will never get easier, It will only get harder.

This year, I have something that will get me through it all, being an officer. I love being an officer so much. When I didn't make it in 7th grade I was bummed, but I didn't give up and tried again. Even though its a lot of hard work, it is so worth it. I love all of my officer friends and all of the fun we have together in homeroom, and at games. Even though our volleyball team isn't having much success, it is still a blast to go to all of the games and support the team and our school. Our adviser is awesome and I am so thankful that she puts up with us every day. It can get pretty crazy in homeroom, but she deals with it.

After not making office in 7th grade, I tried out for cheer thinking I wouldn't make it. When I went on the computer to see, my name was on the list. I was so excited and couldn't wait. We had a lot of summer practices and early morning practices, but even with all of that it was still fun. I loved all the friends I met, and all the girls on the team. I loved cheer, but decided it wasn't the right thing for me.

Even with all the homework and stress that school brings you, it is so much fun. I think that even though last year was a blast, this year could very easily beat it. I can't wait to see what else 9th grade will bring me!

Blog Post #1

Hello World!