Once Upon a Time I Didn't go to Homecoming...

457 words

...And I had an amazing night.

I'm a junior so I've been to two homecoming dances and its been the same two years in a row so why would this year be different? People ask, get asked, then break it off a day before or ditch them at the dance. All the dinner planning, picture planning, planning planning planning! This isn't prom, people!

My mom told me that when she was in high school homecoming was after the football game and people just went in their jeans and sweatshirts and had a good time. what happened to that? Homecoming has turned into its own mini prom and frankly, its getting ridiculous!

When I was a freshman I went with a group of friends, last year I went with a date in a small group. This year, I would have only gone if I got asked by someone I was really interested in going with...(I didn't get asked at all so I didn't have to worry about that part). As next year is my senior year, I'll definitely go then but this year, I just wanted a break from the drama. The drama of who's going with who and who's wearing what and oh my god so and so is wearing the same dress as me. Seriously! Who really cares? I could care less if I showed up to the dance and saw someone wearing the same dress as me.

That's why this year, I invited a few friends over to hang out. We went out to eat, played some Just Dance, and had a much less stressful night than if I had gone to Homecoming. I honestly think I had more fun just chilling with four friends in my backyard than in a hot, crowded cafeteria with the whole school.

Everyone I've talked to always says that what comes before homecoming is more fun than the dance: dinner, pictures, and having a reason to get dressed up. My sister is a freshman this year and she went to the dance. Her and her friends were telling me how forty people got kicked out of the dance for grinding in the first hour and by the end there was barely anyone left.

Come on people. What's fun about that? And if you re the kind of person that's into the grinding stuff, why would you do that if you knew the faculty was cracking down it? I'm not into that stuff so I find it a bit obnoxious.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say in this three hundred some word rant is that Homecoming can be fun if you make it stress free. IF not, take a breather for a year and see just how much fun you can have!

~Skooogster(:

Things You Don't See Every Day, but I Do.

455 words

To most people, the life of a band member isn't all that fun. It's all music and seriousness, right?

See that's where you're wrong. I honestly believe that if people actually knew what went on in the band hall, they would want to join. The people are some of the craziest people I have ever met and I wouldn't change them for all the money in the world.

I honestly debated posting this because I feel as if I am revealing the secrets of the band hall but I really want you guys to see some of the things that may seem extremely odd to you, but to me is basic, everyday life.

This, my friends, is modern art. It takes skill to get all of three chairs, a trombone case, and the oh so famous plunger to stay like that for a couple of hours. For this, I applaud you. It started with one chair, then quickly progressed to the above.

 

 

Shoes tied to a locker. Strange? Nope. Normal. Actually, if I don't see a pair of shoes tied to something, there must be something wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the plunger. No, I don't think it's a real plunger. I'm pretty sure that it's just a trumpet mute on a broom handle. But correct me if I'm wrong. We just call it the plunger. Fights over the plunger is a daily thing. Seriously. Almost every single day I walk in and someone is fighting over it. I bet the plunger feels special.      

 



The occasional quarter glued to the ceiling or floor. This happens to be on the ceiling. They used gorilla glue and duct tape. Once the glue dried, ta da! There's a quarter on the ceiling!

 

The oh-so-sexy band tan. Your legs get one heck of a nice tan! But unfortunately, you can't march in flip flops so, basically, this happens. Your feet are as white as a piece of paper with a nice solid line from your shoes. Fantastic.



And finally, the coolest people, with the most swag you'll ever meet. These right here are my flute babies. Swag, swag, swag on you! Yeah, we're pretty cute. Okay back to my topic. I have never met a group of people who were so welcoming and accepting of everyone before. All 115 some people in band are part of my family. We've laughed, cried, celebrated all together. I couldn't ask for better people!

 

 

So there ya are! The many secrets of what goes on in the most walked by yet unknown hallway of the school. If you think these are extremely strange, that's fine It just means more fun for me!

 

 

~Skooogster(:

 

P.S. All of these pictures were taken by me. So these things really DO happen!



T-Swizzle is at it Again!(:

362 words

We are never ever ever getting back together!

These are the words that are currently stuck in my head.

Not too long ago, Taylor Swift came out with a new song from her upcoming album Red, entitled We are Never Getting Back Together. This song is very different from what she used to do years ago. In 2006, the young artist came out with her first album simply titled Taylor Swift. Every single song on that album was a country song. Since then, her songs have gradually grown away from the country style. For me and other people who weren't gigantic fans of country music, I like her new sound. Don't get me wrong, I love country music, but I love other types. Also, I love Taylor Swift so I automatically love her songs.

What I admire the most about Taylor is the fact that I can relate to every single one of her songs. That is NOT an exxageration either. In this new song, (the title is too long to type out every time, sorry...) Taylor is talking about a break up that never ends. I'm sure many people have had a boyfriend or girlfriend who keeps trying to get back together. Taylor is finally just saying "NO! We aren't going to get back together!" (Like, ever).

The song has a very catchy tune that easily gets stuck in your head. I honestly don't think there has been a day since I first heard it that I haven't found myself singing it at some point. I've even found people who claim to not like Taylor Swift or this song singing it. HA! Caught ya red handed!

Also, it has a really good beat. I find myself dancing every time my ipod is gracious enough to shuffle to that song. Me and my friends even have little dance parties together and jam out to Taylor’s awesomeness and bravery of actually telling the guy that you are driving her insane with all of this back and forth crap and that she’s had it! Gee, I wish I had the guts to say stuff like that. But that’s where Taylor Swift comes in, right? When in doubt, sing it out!  

Picture from: http://idolator.com/6809971/taylor-swift-we-are-never-ever-getting-back-together-listen

 

~Skooogster(:

 

One Direction Jargon

450 words

As you can tell from my last post and the title of this one, I'm kind of in a One Direction mood. This, for me, is kind of every day. Anyway, the fans of One Direction kind of have their own language and or inside jokes, which I can now call with my highly intelligent AP Lang brain, jargon. I understand that by writing this I will probably be judged but oh well! That, my dear friends, is the life of a Directioner!

1. Directioner. A Directioner is a full out fan of One Direction. They know everything there is to know about the five British lads. I am one of them(:

2. Vas Happenin?! This is the Directioner version of 'what's up?' Member Zayn Malik says in his X Factor video diary that this is his favorite chat up line (pick up line).

3. When you hear someone say: "'No!' Jimmy protested." they are referring to an X Factor video diary where Louis Tomlinson is reading a book and randomly shouts a line from the book. That line was 'No,' Jimmy protested.

4. 1, 2, 3 Flick. Liam Payne has his signature hair flip just like Justin Bieber. But Liam's is cooler in my opinion.

5. "Simple, but effective": In the same diary that Zayn said, "Vas Happenin," Louis's response was "will you marry me?" as his favorite chat up line. Harry Styles then goes, "simple but effective."

6. Kevin: In a video, Louis is holding a stuffed pigeon and decided to name it Kevin. Throughout the video he talks to the bird like it's a person.

(Louis is very odd but I wouldn't love him any other way!)

7. LNL: Niall Horan has an amazing laugh and he is always laughing. LNL stands for Loving Niall’s Laugh. Also, there is LLN which stands for Laugh Like Niall.

8. Then come the bromances….there is…

Larry Stylinson: This is the most popular. This is Harry and Louis. However, this one has gone the furthest as in some people think they actually are a couple and Louis’s girlfriend Eleanor is just a cover up, but that’s a completely different story.

 

Narry: Niall and Harry

Niam: Niall and Liam

Ziall: Zayn and Niall

Nouis: Niall and Louis

Lilo: Liam and Louis

Zouis: Zayn and Louis

Ziam: Zayn and Liam

Zarry: Zayn and Harry

 

As you can see, there are a lot of ‘bromances’. All five of them are best friends and within that friendship came these. The most popular are Larry Stylinson and Niam. Those are also my favorite.

 

That’s just the beginning of the many terms of One Direction. There is so much more but it’s a start!

Directioner Forever! XX

Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson

~Skooogster(:

Live While We're Young

372 words

Okay so as some of you may know, the boys of One Direction came out with their new single earlier this week called Live While We're Young. I had been waiting for so long to hear this song that I was beyond happy when it came out four days early. For people who don't really care about One Direction as much as I do, it probably sounds a lot like their other songs they've done. But to me, I can hear a difference. Their other album was two years ago. Since then, they have become better singers and have grown together as a band.

I was equally excited when I heard that my beloved Niall Horan had a solo. For those that don't know, Niall is the adorable blond, Irish one. However, he is now going back to his natural brown hair. Earlier, their management had said that Niall would not be singing as much as last time and would only be playing guitar. This made me so sad because in their album Up All Night, he barely sang. But when I listened to LWWY for the first dime and heard his solo, I was so happy! I like how they kind of mixed it up this time too. In the past, Liam was the lead, this time it was more Zayn. In the video, they also included other members of One Direction.

Whoa what? I thought there were only five! WRONG! You're forgetting the band. Their drummer, Josh Devine, was spotted in the soccer scene and in other parts too.

Some people may think that this new song has inappropriate references but that's not how some people interpreted it. Me included. In the chorus it goes, "tonight let's get some and live while we're young". If you think about it, song lyrics need to rhyme and 'some' and 'young' are close. In the video, they are just jumping around, messing around in a pool, and having just some good, clean fun. Not once do they touch a girl, kiss a girl, or anything like that. Yes there are girls in the video, but they are playing soccer with the boys, swimming with the boys and doing what normal people do...have fun.

Picture from: http://www.mjsbigblog.com/one-direction-live-while-were-young-music-video.htm

LIAM PAYNE:

Hey girl, I'm waitin' on ya, I'm waitin' on ya

Come on and let me sneak you out

And have a celebration, a celebration

The music up, the window's down

ZAYN MALIK:

Yeah, we'll be doing what we do

Just pretending that we're cool

And we know it too

Yeah, we'll keep doing what we do

Just pretending that we're cool

So tonight

ALL:

Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the sun

I know we only met but let's pretend it's love

And never, never, never stop for anyone

Tonight let's get some

And live while we're young

Woahhh oh oh oh

Woahhhh oh oh oh

And live while we're young

Woahhh oh oh oh

Tonight let's get some

HARRY STYLES:

And live while we're young

ZAYN MALIK:

Hey girl, it's now or never, 

it's now or never

Don't over-think, just let it go

And if we get together, yeah, get together

Don't let the pictures leave your phone, ohhhh

NIALL HORAN:

Yeah, we'll be doing what we do

Just pretending that we're cool

So tonight

ALL:

Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the sun

I know we only met but let's pretend it's love

And never, never, never stop for anyone

Tonight let's get some

And live while we're young

Woahhh oh oh oh

Woahhhh oh oh oh

And live while we're young

Woahhh oh oh oh

Tonight let's get some

HARRY STYLES:

And live while we're young

ZAYN MALIK:

And girl, you and I,

We're 'bout to make some memories tonight

LOUIS TOMLINSON:

 I wanna live while we're young

We wanna live while we're young

ALL:

Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the sun

I know we only met but let's pretend it's love

And never, never, never stop for anyone

Tonight let's get some

And live while we're young

Crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the sun

I know we only met but let's pretend it's love

And never, never, never stop for anyone

Tonight let's get some

And live while we're young

Wanna live, wanna live, wanna live

Come on, younnngg

Wanna live, wanna live, wanna live

While we're young

Wanna live, wanna live, wanna live

HARRY STYLES:

Tonight let's get some

ZAYN MALIK:

And live while we're young



Lyrics from:  [ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/live-while-were-young-lyrics-one-direction.html ]


~Skooogster(:

Concussions

446 words

Okay so all of you athletes out there, and even non-athletes, are aware of how dangerous a concussion can be. Your brain is extremely fragile and can easily be injured. I am currently recovering from one as I'm writing this. It happened five weeks ago tomorrow and I’m still missing school and in the recovery process.

I got my concussion from getting hit in the head with volleyball. I was on one side of the net when a ball from the other side was served and hit me on the right side of my face. To be honest, I was more concerned about if I had broken my nose or not than about a concussion. I told my coach that I was fine to finish the drill but about half way through my head started to throb horribly. Once we stopped, I started to see black ripple across my vision but it only lasted a few seconds. It wasn't until we started running lines that I almost threw up and knew that something was wrong.

Not too long after I sat down, another girl got hit in the head. This time with an elbow of another player. The coach thought that she was more likely to have a concussion than me but when both of us went to see our school's athletic trainer; the other player just needed some ice and a few hours rest. Me? I needed, well, five weeks of recovery.

I am currently in therapy to help recover but it hasn't been easy. I've missed a lot of school and a lot of practice mainly because I’ve been so exhausted. When your doctor tells you to rest for a certain period of time...DO IT! I didn't really follow those directions and I feel like it has lengthened the recovery process. Rest is the best, best, BEST thing for your brain after a concussion.

I'm writing this for two reasons. 1. To tell you that just because one injury may seem more severe than another doesn't necessarily mean it is. Even just a small bump can lead to other problems. Go and see a doctor as soon as you think something's wrong. And 2. To tell you to make sure you follow resting directions. Your brain isn't something to mess with. Don't try and push yourself and see how far you can go. Get eight hours of sleep every night if possible. Also, don't worry about missing class and things like that. All of my teachers have been very good with helping me catch up. I don't think any teacher would want to make your life harder than the concussion is already making it.


Stay safe!!!
~Skooogster(:

Twas the Night Before Marching Band...

355 words

Okay so tomorrow I have my first marching band competition and I am super excited for it! We are going to be performing our opener, ballad, and closer and drill fro the opener, ballad, and parts of the closer. (For those that don't know, drill is your specific spot on the field. We have about 70 sets of drill in our whole show). But you can't just wake up in the morning and go perform. Here is a list of things I recommend taking on your trip.

1. A pillow. Charter buses can get uncomfortable so we just make do with what we have. A pillow can really help out with that.

2. A blanket or sweat pants. The ride home can get pretty chilly so bringing something warm is definitely a good idea.

3. Activities for the road. I highly recommend coloring books and crayons. You can never go wrong with coloring and it really helps to pass the time.

4. Ipod or music player. The buses can get pretty loud so if you ever need a moment to yourself, turn on your music and zone out for a little bit.

5. $ome ca$h. Most likely you will stop at a fast-food restaurant for dinner and have lunch at a concession stand. You don't want to go hungry so money is always good.

6. Shorts and/or leggings (if you're a girl). For me, when I'm competing in cold weather, just wearing shorts under my uniform isn't enough. Sometimes i will wear leggings under my shorts for a little extra warmth.

7. BLAAAACCCKKKK SOOOOCCCKKSSSS! (or the color that you need. Some may need white depending on your uniform color). If you don't have your socks, you might as well not even come. More than anything you need. your. socks. Or if you really have something against wearing your socks of the appropriate color, you can wear socks that haven't been washed in three years. Your choice.

And finally...

8. Get some sleep the night before. The last thing you want is to be half asleep during your performance. You need to be alert and focused.

 

 



~Skooogster(:

The Wonderful World of Disney...or is it?

Okay so I have a confession to make. I am a sixteen year old junior in high school and I still watch Disney Channel. Yes, it may be weird but honestly, there isn't anything else on. Disney for me used to be good, clean, and funny shows about everyday life. We could relate. Please tell me how I can relate to a bunch of fish in a tank in a pet shop! Yes I get it. They are fish in high school...school...fish....school of fish...ha ha ha ha ha...no.

I grew up watching shows like Lizzy McGuire, Phil of the Future, That's So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, and Kim Possible. Sure I can't go into the future or see the future like in Phil of the Future or Raven. And sure I'm not a cheerleader by day, super hero by night like Kim, but I am not a fish going to school.

As a sixteen year old watching these new Disney shows, I'm realizing that what used to be rated PG is now a G rating. There are young children watching these shows so I don't think they should be referencing Katy Perry's 'California Gurls' song in the show Shake It Up. Am I just being weird and has our society changed so much that young kids know what Cici is talking about when she says, "Daisy dukes, bikinis on top" or has Disney walked away from good, innocent fun?

Sometimes I wonder if it is because I'm sixteen and when I was younger I just didn't understand the references but then I go back and watch The Lizzy McGuire Movie or Kim Possible and don't find anything. So that kind of rules that option out. But then you go back even further to even older Disney and you find that even those shows that I thought were innocent were worse than ones before it.

Some of my all-time favorite movies are Disney. In my opinion, Disney movies have just gone down hill ever since the first High School Musical. Yes, the first one was good but every Disney movie after that, I feel has mediocre acting and odd story lines.

Shows too. For example, the show Jesse has an okay plot: a small town girl spending her days being a nanny for four spoiled kids. But I can barely stand to watch it because I honestly feel that I could do a better acting job than Debby Ryan. But that's just my opinion. If you go far enough back, you'll find that Disney actors and actresses used to be a lot better then they are today.

I would pay big money to see Kim Possible, Lizzy McGuire, Phil of the Future, and That's So Raven again on TV. And so would a lot of other people. I think people just get bored easily if the shows are good and clean but I don't. I don't think people should forget about the old Disney that we all grew up with because Disney will keep going the way it is and we may never get another Kim Possible. (But honestly, Kim is so awesome anyone trying to be her is just wasting their time).

Picture from : http://disneyinfonet.com/disney-channel-auditoning-for-new-series-disneychannelpr/

~Skooogster(:

Drop Dead Diva Dilemma

553 words

Every week I anticipate Sunday night at 8 o’clock. You may laugh but one of my all-time favorite shows is Drop Dead Diva. For just a quick summary of the plot line before I get into what I want to say:

Drop Dead Diva is about a model, Deb Dopkins and a lawyer, Jane Bingum. Both of them die on the same day. Deb dies in a car accident and Jane gets shot. When Deb gets to Heaven her record is checked over and when the angel, Fred, tells her that she is his first adult zero-zero (meaning she hasn’t done one bad act or good deed) and that she, “is simply shallow.” Deb doesn’t’ like this so she decides to take matters into her own hands and presses the return key on Fred’s keyboard. This causes her soul to take over a recently emptied body. In her case, Jane. So now there is the soul of a model in a lawyer’s body. The whole show is about how she learns to get over Deb and accept her new life as Jane.

Anyway….the fourth season just ended last night and let me tell you. I was not happy at all. Jane (slash Deb) is getting married in the finale to a judge named Owen. As a viewer, I was in love with their love. They were such a cute couple (and yes I do know that this is television and not real life but still!) and I really wanted them to last. But real Jane up in Heaven isn’t so pleased with the way Deb has been controlling and changing Jane’s whole world. So she decides to step in and fix it. At this point I was yelling at the TV out of frustration. She goes to find Fred and figures out how Deb got to go back. At this time back down here on Earth, Jane is only a few minutes away from marrying Owen. (Also, this all happened in the last ten minutes. I kept glancing at the clock because I seriously thought they were going to run out of time!) Her dress got caught on a table so Grayson, Deb’s boyfriend who just happened to work at the same law firm as Jane, comes to help her.

Okay so the thing about Grayson is he was about to propose to Deb if she hadn’t died. But she did so obviously that didn’t work out. Jane couldn’t tell Grayson that she really was Deb because then that would just cause so many other problems. So she moved on to Owen but deep down she still loved Grayson. When Jane questioned him about how he had gotten over Deb he simply said, “Because I moved on.” To whom did he move on you might ask? Well. The answer is simply…

 

Asl;kdgasiohklsdjfk asiouysjdflaskiodtyaklsdjf;ao siutklasjdf wtuio.

 

Hmmm…I guess my computer is malfunctioning. I guess you’re just going to have to watch to find out!

But in the end I was a little confused because of what happened with real Jane and what Jane’s reaction was to Grayson’s answer. I honestly wanted to throw something at my TV and call it good. Other viewers may have liked how it ended. As for me, I’m just very interested on how season 5 is going to go…

Picture from: www.dropdeaddivatv.com


~Skooogster(:

Never Give Up: Danny Gans

349 Words

This story is a little different than the other two I shared earlier. The previous two were about people who had a dream and met it, despite their difficulties. This last one is about someone whose dream never became a reality but was able to make the best of it.

As a child, Danny Gans wanted to play baseball for the rest of his life. The Kansas City Royals drafted him after high school and after college, he was drafted by The Chicago White Sox where he was an All-American. Unfortunately, his baseball career ended with an Achilles' tendon injury. As most of you would be, he was devastated. But he didn’t think, “Well if I can’t play baseball, I guess I can’t do anything.” He made do with what he had and ended up being a great success.  

Danny was always able to make people laugh. While in the hospital, he started impersonating different people and realized that he was pretty good at it. He decided that if he couldn't play baseball, why not make people laugh for a living? So he traveled the US learning more and perfecting his skill. He would perform in huge stadiums all over and people from everywhere would come to see him perform. He has performed on Broadway, at the Las Vegas Stratosphere Hotel, the Rio Hotel, and The Mirage. The Las Vegas strip marquee has his face on it and is the largest free standing marquee today.

Just because Danny couldn’t play baseball anymore didn’t mean that he couldn’t be amazing. You can only play baseball for so long but you can always impersonate people. In my opinion, he was more successful being a comedian than he probably was playing baseball.
You should always be optimistic in life because bad things do happen. Not everything will go perfectly as planned but that doesn’t mean you have to stop living your life. Maybe the reason you do the thing you love isn’t because that is what you’re supposed to do. Maybe it’s what that will lead you to do in the future.


~Skooogster(:

Never Give Up: J.K. Rowling

441 Words

Everyone knows who Harry Potter is. Well, most people. The young boy wizard who has lost both his parents and has a dark wizard after him is well knows by the entire world. J.K. Rowling, the author of these famous books, is one of the richest women in the world but she didn't always have it this good. In five years she went from relying on social security to being a multi-millionaire. Here's her story.

 

On October 16, 1992, Rowling married Jorge Arantes but in November of the next year, they separated. Years after graduating, Rowling thought she was "the biggest failure I knew". She didn't have a job, her marriage had failed, and she had a daughter that needed her. Rowling was later diagnosed with clinical depression.

 

Finally, in 1995, Rowling completed her first manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (later published in the US as the Sorcerer's Stone). She sent her book to twelve publishers, all of whom rejected her idea. One year later, Barry Cunningham from a small publisher in London thought her idea was a good one. In June of 1997, Bloomsbury published only 1,000 copies. Since then, millions of copies of these books are in print and J.K. Rowling became the twelfth richest woman in the U.K.

 

What if Rowling had given up when the tenth publisher turned her down? That answer is easy. We wouldn't have Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling has done something not many people can do. They have united generations and rivals. Everyone around the world can agree that Harry is good and Voldemort is evil and grandmas and grandchildren alike can enjoy Harry's adventures. If Rowling had given up before the lucky thirteenth publisher, she wouldn't be the multi-millionaire writer that she is now.

 

This story gives me hope and encourages me to not give up when I feel like nothing is going right. Because just when you think the world is over, try one more time. That one time may be all you need to get back on track. There’s a quote that I like that goes like this: “When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place.” Rowling loved to write and she felt confident in her work. She wanted to share with the world what she could do. So, she didn’t give up. She never expected her books to sell as well as they did. She just wanted some money to get her life going straight again.

 

Thank you, J.K. Rowling for giving us inspiration to never give up and to keep going until our dreams come true.

 

~Skooogster(:

Never Give Up: Bethany Hamilton

416 words

Has there ever been a time when something happens and you just can’t see the good in it? Or maybe you have been working at something for so long but you just haven’t been getting the results you want and you just want to give up. This week I am going to share three different stories about people who didn’t give up even in the toughest of times.

The morning of October 31, 2003, a young girl by the name of Bethany Hamilton was lying on her surf board in Kauai, Hawaii with her best friend Alana Blanchard and Alana’s family. Bethany had dreams and aspirations of becoming a pro surfer and was already sponsored by RipCurl. As she floated atop the water, left arm hanging in the water, a shark came up and bit off her left arm right under her shoulder. She didn’t even scream. In her book, Soul Surfer, she says that she barely felt any pain, just a slight tugging feeling. Alana’s dad and brother helped get her to land and met the ambulance on their way to the hospital. Bethany is a living miracle. Not many people can survive a shark attack especially after losing over 60% of her blood but doctors believe that her calm composure saved her life.

About a month later, Bethany got back into the water. She took a couple of spills before she could successfully stand up on her board. She never gave up on her dream. She competed in the National Scholastic Surfing Association in 2004 and got fifth place

Bethany trained endlessly to get back to where she was before the accident. When you only have one arm it’s hard to simply make a sandwich or get dressed let along surf. But she was determined to not let this get in her way.

She also was very strong in her faith. Bethany knew that God had a plan for her. Even though at the time it was hard for her to see how this I jury could help her in the future. But when she went to Thailand to help with tsunami relief and realized there that there was much more to life than surfing.
Bethany is such an inspiration to me and many other people because she overcame a huge obstacle and was still able to make her dream become a reality. Whenever you are in a tight spot or are doubting yourself, think of Bethany Hamilton and how far she came and know that you can do anything.

~Skooogster(:

Become a Pro Navigator

440 Words

 

 

If you have ever seen the movie, High School Musical, you know that in that movie, they portray the hallways as being empty enough for a flash mob dance. In reality, that's not how it is. To be honest, I bet there are schools out there that are that small but that isn't my school one bit. On my first day of school freshman year, I must say I had no idea what to expect. I knew there were a lot of students but to the extent of how crowded the hallways were, I had no idea. That is why I decided to post a list of five tips and twists that have helped me in my years in high school.

Tip #1: Avoid the most crowded part as much as you can. In my school, that is the front foyer and luckily, we have back hallways that I always use. Trying to squeeze your way through backpacks and people is just stressful and no fun.

Tip #2: If you have no choice but to go through the crowd, make sure you close the space between you and the person in front of you. If there are even a few inches of space, an annoying underclassman who thinks they are cool enough to cut people off will, well, cut you off.

Tip #3: When you are in crowds, you can't be nice and let people through. It's like being in a crazy traffic jam. If you let one person through, everyone assumes you will let them trough and you will never move. So the trick is to walk and keep walking and just push your way through all the people.

Tip #4: DO NOT STOP IN THE HALLWAY! For me, that is one of the most annoying things anyone can do. When other people have places to go and you and your group of twenty friends are congesting the hallway, there is no way for them to get through. Talk and walk at the same time. It isn’t that hard, honestly. I’ve done it.

Tip #5: If you get pushed against a locker, don’t get mad at whoever did it. Most likely, they didn’t mean to do it. Usually, they just turned to talk to someone and their bag swung around and hit you. This has happened to me plenty of times and by now I’m used to it.

 

I hope those five tips will help if you are going to be new to high school! And just remember that no high school has people dancing on cafeteria tables and singing in the hallways. There’s just no room for that.  

~Skooogster(: