Are fire drills really helpful?

Every school is trained for an emergency. Each room in a school has a laminated paper hanging on the wall directing the teachers down a certain staircase and across a certain street to make everyone safe. Being that there has been many terrorist attacks who wouldn't think that these drills wouldn't be helpful. Behind close doors many students feel differently. Students have began to feel as though fire drills are a way to get out of class and everyone takes their time down the stairs. How are we suppose to know when it is serious and when we are just practicing?
I believe that schools should start taking a more active role in fire drills. Teens like to take their time get separated from their class and wonder around outside. Drills teach you many things such as a way to keep yourself safe as well as others. They introduce safety and conduct in to the teens life in case of emergencies. Drills are very helpful and should be used with caution.

The Boy in the stripped Pajamas

I recently saw the movie The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas and it was by far a movie that all must see. It was about a boy whose father was a Nazi and they moved near a concentration camp. The boy being an explorer that he was decided to search the grounds and soon found the camp. Not knowing what it was he would play with a boy behind the barbed wire and give him food and no one ever found out. They soon became very close and boy ended up digging a hole under the wire. I will not spoil the ending but it is a movie that moved many people. It helps keep the memory alive about what happened those horrific years. Some choose to forget and others just call it the past, what is done is done.
The holocaust is a time in history that needs to be remembered for the mistake that was made, for no one speaking out against it and for the millions that died. People still live with it day by day having first hand experience. History is told to repeat itself. Not keeping the memory alive is as if we are letting it happen again and no one wants that.

Body Image

Being healthy is an important part of a persons life. Different things are expected from different people based on their life styles. Looking through magazines such as Vogue or Seventeen all you see are the "perfect" figured women. How do we determine what is perfect and what is not?
The media corrupts people. It makes you believe that you should look a certain way and weigh a specific weight but the truth is that everyone is different. Men and women have different bodies. Different women have different bodies, no two people are going to be exactly alike in weight and height have the same eating habits and want the same things. Now a days you occasionally see a plus size person in a magazine. What is to say that is not beautiful?
Teenagers are at high risk when it comes to body image. They want to fit in , they want to be like there role model in a television show or magazine. Teenagers will go to all lengths to get to what they believe is "perfect" or what they have been taught is "perfect". Both boys and girls are suffering because they are being diagnosed with different diseases that effect them both physically and mentally. This effects the youth majorly and needs to be stopped. People die from not eating because they think they are to fat. This is a subject that needs to be dealt with so why isn't anything happening?.

A different experiance

For our final project I went to MOMA or otherwise known as the museum of modern art. This was truly a great experience. I don't believe i would of gone if i didn't have to for this class. I recommend everyone to go to MOMA even for just an hour and look at some of the art. This was an experience I will never forget.
What is truly considered art? Is folded paper art? According to MOMA it is. I have heard many different theories as to what is art such as anything can be art, it is the feeling you get when making the master piece. It is believed to be emotions and the ideas that are behind it and the feelings the observer gets.
Art can be interpreted in many different ways. Each person has their own ideas and thoughts as to what the art means or as to whether it is art or not. Is this what the artists want? Is an artists goal to make an observer think or do they actually want to get their point across? If I made a sculpture or a painting I think I would want my own thought and idea to come across to the people that saw it and for them not to form their own theory. This is a very difficult subject. I suppose it depends on the artist and what they want and how they want their art to be viewed by others.

An important decision

Being that we are all juniors and very soon becoming seniors a huge decision for us is picking a college that is right for us. We are influenced by many things such as our family and our friends but the most important thing to remember is that it is our future. Some of us are afraid to go away to college and others just don't want to but you have all these teachers and adults saying that it was their best experience ever going away to college. Then we have been with some of our friends since we were babies how do we let go of that. All these aspects play an important role.Going to college is the most important part of our lives. We have gone to school and prepared for it for many years now. We are entering the adult life and starting our lives by ourselves, being independent. You have to remember to pick what is right for you, what interests you and what you want. Everyone else is their to help and you can take their helping hand but in the end its all about us and our decisions.

Traveling around the World

Traveling can become a huge part of who a person is. Traveling and seeing different things can influence you in your life and help you realize different aspects of the world. Seeing new things brings new meanings whether they are good or bad. The whole world isn't perfect. You have third world countries that have sick children and poor families barely able to live and then you have a place like America where everyone wants to live the "American Dream". The truth is that people don't realize what happens around the world, they only see what is actually in front of them. To me this is a huge problem, we want everyone to live a fair and healthy life but every individual needs to help in order to do this. Seeing starving children helps you get involved, makes you want to do something for them and for other children. Seeing the way people live is not the only way seeing the world changes you but also seeing art. How many people can say they have been 2 feet from the actual Mona Lisa? Or went to the top of the Eiffel Tower? I can, and it has made a difference to me. You see all these beautiful things the world has to offer and you learn to appreciate them. Being exposed to different cultures or religions also goes along with this subject. These things can change a person because you learn. You learn different things about people and about the world.

Swine Flu

The Swine Flu or now also known as H1N1 has had a great impact on countries world wide. Between the amount of outbreaks, the amount who died from it and the amount of panic it has caused the Swine Flu is known as to of "just begun".
I believe that the Swine Flu has caused major panic throughout the people. People have begun staying home, wearing masks and even not eating pig. To some extent people have blown this out of proportion. We have had outbreaks of different things before and it is an expected thing for the people to panic. People have a way of believing in the worst rather then in the best.
There are many known symptoms of the Swine Flu. Doctors say that as long as you detect it early it is treatable. Many people who have died from this H1N1 outbreak was because they didn't have the right care or they did not have strong amune systems. I am not saying that this isn't serious and we shouldn't take precautions but people have a way of making it bigger then what it truly is.

Age

Age is nothing but a number. What exactly determines that when we are 18 we are adults, is it science?There are so many things in our life that are all determined by our age such as when we are legally allowed to drive all the way to when we are expected to retire. Who made these decisions?
Over the years these things have become laws by which we all follow. So many things don't make sense like we are allowed to vote at 18 but we are not allowed to drink. I personally know that the past election was very important and a lot of teenagers were upset for the fact that they couldn't take part in the election due to the fact that they were under 18. They too had been following the news and had extreme interest but never had a chance to make a change that they believed in. I understand that of course a child does not have the mentality to make such decisions but what is the difference between a 17 year old and an 18 year old?
Maturity comes with the years, the older you are the more experience you have. I suppose that is why they pick the oldest age as possible. The reason the driving age went from 17 to 18. We don't have much say when it comes to things like this, they just are what they are.

Does technology really help us?

Does technology really help us?
So many people these days own sidekicks and blackberry's including my self, but why? They have managed to put cameras, aim, games, calculator, etc. on to one tiny hand held object, of course it is handy to have but how much trouble do cell phones really get you into?
I believe that cell phones have to be one of the worst inventions. There are many reasons as to why I believe this and only one reason as to why they would be good and helpful. One reason that are good to have is in case of an emergency. If something ever happens you know There is a phone right in your pocket where you could easily call for help. Back in the days before cell phones people would just use house phones. They would be more active and talk to people face to face. Cell phones today keep us occupied sitting on our butts, talking to 10 people at one time. You have aim on your phone and texting, people never really have a civilized conversation. A proper and intellectual conversation involves actually hearing voices, hearing their emotions on a subject. Cell phones limit this greatly. When you I'm people or text people you never really know if what they are saying is nasty or sarcastic. So many things can be taken the wrong way. If you talk to a person to much you are eventually going to have an argument,and someone in eventually going to get misunderstood. I believe that cell phones numb our brains down. We talk in "I'm" using abbreviations and never really have a true conversation. We are limiting ourselves

The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka was a great novella. I believed that it had so much thought and emotion in it that although we found it to be out of the ordinary it made it that much more interesting. Kafka intended his novellas to be different. He wanted to go beyond what was expected and allowed during that time and allow all, the freedom to express themselves. In The Metamorphosis the main character was Gregor. Gregor was a grown man that all his life was expected to support his family with no ones help. Gregor woke up one morning and had become a human size bug. To any other person this might have been a shock but not to Gregor he seemed to be perfectly fine with it. Gregor had become the burden of his family rather then the provider he always was. He was something that needed to be taken care of and be given food. His family had no more use for him and no longer cared for him therefore they didn't care or mind when Gregor died. Gregor's family showed no emotion and simply got rid of him and they carried on with their lives. I believe I enjoyed this so much because it left you in suspense. You never know if Gregor was really physically a bug or he just believed he was. Gregor was always living the life his family needed him to live. This novella shows that Gregor became a bug because he wanted to be different he wanted to be able to do something else besides work all the time and provide while his father stole. He lived his life everyday the same way and needed change. Kafka often expressed his own life in his novellas. He too wanted to let things out and be different. I am very interested in Kafka's ways and would read many more of his novellas.

What's going to happen next?

This weekend I went and saw the movie Friday 13th. It was a horror movie about a guy who as a child drowned and for payback of no one saving him he kills all people who return back to the camp. I enjoyed this movie a lot for the simple fact that the thrill of horror movies attract me. One thing that I have grown to realize about scary movies is that they are predictable. How could this happen? Most movies have different stories behind them, different characters and different plots, yet you can guess everything that happens next. You can sit through the movie saying who is going die or when something is going to pop out at you. Why do we all still have an interest?

Most listened to album of the year goes to...

The most listened to album of the year in my opinion goes to the Script. The Script is an english band that I discovered over this past summer while visiting in London, England. I have listened to about every single one of their songs ever made and I instantly had fell in love. Music has great meaning to me, it is a way to express myself. Lyrics are a great part of music not only the beat or rythme. The lyrics explain whats going on and the feeling behind it. For me to enjoy a song the lyrics have to have meaning behind them.
I believe that the youth of america is more into the beats and the "hits" rather then the true meaning behind every song. Music originated from poetry with meaning and a story to be understood and today especially artist lose the meaning behind what music really is. It is very rare in now days that you find an album that you enjoy everything. The Script is my first album that I have been able to enjoy every song. I recommend it to everyone.

human instinct.

Human instinct is a way of life. What is human instinct? It is the reaction time of an individual when something bad happens. It is when a person has to make a decision that they may not of ever thought they would have to make. A persons human instinct can save themselves and others. I recently read this weekend an article about a man who went skydiving for the first time ever. He decided to take this daring thrill seeking attempt with an instructor. The one possible thing that never even went through the first time skydivers mind was the one thing that gave him human instinct to save his own life.

Before sky diving many thoughts go through your head like what if the parachute does not open and how do we land? One question that does not go through your mind is what if my instructor has a heart attack in mid air, how am i prepared to handle that situation? February 3rd a man named Daniel Pharr decided to go sky diving. After leaving the aircraft his instructor suffered from a heart attack. Pharr soon realized when he was unresponsive and his head appeared limb. Pharr having no experience used his human instinct to guide them to land safely. When on land Pharr used CPR hoping to revive the instructor but it was to late. Daniel Pharrs human instinct saved his life that day.