AP Napping

As little kids we hated the words “nap time” and would do anything to get out of the treacherous time we had to spend being quiet. But as we are getting older, we look back on those days and wish they were still here. Being a student at Kennedy High School is no breeze. The days are long and exhausting. And we are always being pushed to take more AP classes by our teachers and, of course, Dr. W. I strongly believe that there should be a class for AP Napping. And here’s why.

          We need more opportunities to sleep now, than we did when we were younger. Now that we are in high school, the day starts an hour earlier than it did in elementary. We are used to this from middle school, but what we aren’t used to is the amount of homework. With more homework being given out, we have to stay up later to get it all done. This is that bad if you go home right after school and start it. But let’s be honest, how many people do you know that actually do that.

          One main reason most of us can’t go home and start our homework right away is because of sports and other activities. Practices usually start right after school and last two to three hours. Then when we get home, we are worn out from the practice and just want to relax for a little bit. But there really is no time for that because the later we put off our homework, the later we have to stay up.

          Because we are all being pushed to take harder classes, we deserve a break in the middle of the day. Though, going to lunch helps break up the day and is a nice pause in between classes, it’s definitely not long enough. But if we added a napping class into our fourth hour (where lunch falls) then it would be perfect! It would break up the day very nicely and it would give us students the extra boost of energy we need to finish out our afternoon classes.

          I don’t know a single student that would oppose to the idea of AP Napping. I could see everyone wanting to take it. It would be beneficial to the students and teachers. Creating this class is probably the best idea anybody has ever had!

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Sunday Funday?

For as long as I’ve known, Sundays are the days that my family just sits at home and relaxes. They are the movie marathon, do-nothing lazy days that everyone loves. Well until I got to high school, of course…

          I can’t remember the last peaceful Sunday I’ve had. Since the first week of high school freshman year, all of my Sundays have been filled with something to do. Most of the time, my Sundays are filled with homework. It’s the word that every student dreads hearing. Homework on the weekends kills the mood of every Sunday. Now, all the teachers would ask why we wait to start until Sunday. To me, it’s really the only logical day to do it. On Fridays there are usually sporting events going on and by the time we get home from them, it’s too late to start any homework. Then on Saturdays we wake up late because we were up so late the night before from the game (and hopefully celebrating a win after). By the time we wake up, it’s the middle of the day and it’s time to start hanging out with our friends or get things done that we can’t do in the middle of the week. Like go shopping. And really, even if we did wake up at a normal time on Saturday, that’s the only day we don’t have to think about anything school related. In the end, all we are left with is Sunday.

          I would love to have my free Sunday afternoons back to just sit around and do nothing. They used to be my favorite day of the week. And they still could be if I didn’t have to do so much homework every week. So teachers, I’m begging you, please don’t give so much homework out and let Sundays make a comeback.

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Rumors

Last night I went to the play Rumors at school. I had heard that it was going to be very funny, which gave me high expectations. Then when I went to the play preview in the middle of the week, I was already cracking up at the little bit I had seen. So when I was sitting there with my friends, I couldn’t wait for it to start.

          Throughout the entire play, laughter filled the theater. The expectations I had set for the humor was definitely reached. It’s not like there were a lot of jokes in the dialogue, but there was a ton of sarcasm. The way that the characters talked to each other was very funny. Though, sometimes mean, it was funny!

          I really liked the plot of the play. It was kind of a mystery as to what happened to some of the characters. Yet it was also a comedy in the sense of how the characters acted.

          Going to plays at school is much more enjoyable when you know the people in it. Being a junior now, I know more of the upperclassmen. This is nice because it is fun watching your friends perform. Especially when they are in funny things like this!

          Overall I really liked this play and thought it was hysterical. I would definitely recommend anyone to go see this play. You will have a great time!

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Birthday Cards

Birthday cards are a signature part of a birthday. Hallmark basically created an entire store for them. They are good for people that want to send something to a relative or friend that lives far away. But lately I’ve noticed that there are some downsides to them.

          If you think about it, buying birthday cards are kind of a waste of money. When you get a birthday card, how long do you keep it? I throw mine away after a week or 2, unless they are funny or from my parents. If you ask me, sending someone a generic birthday card that they aren’t going to keep is a waste. I would rather spend my money on something extra that they could actually use.

          I personally like homemade birthday cards better because you can decorate them however you want. You can also write whatever you want in there. That makes it special for the person receiving it because it lets them know that you actually put time and thought into it. When you buy a generic one, it’s not very personal. Even though there are some funny ones worth reading!

          I think that birthday cards are still an important of birthdays. But instead of generic ones from the Hallmark store, make your own. It’s much more personal and everyone deserves a little something special on their birthday!

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Start Decorating

Everyone deserves a little space to themselves in their homes. For most people this space is their bedrooms. If you are like me, you spend most of your free time in your bedroom. Because I spend so much time here, I think it’s very important to personalize it and make it your own.

          There are many different elements into making your room your own. One of them is painting. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve wanted to paint my room with my favorite color. But since I shared a room with my sister, my parents wouldn’t let me. Once I had my own room for a while, I got to pick out a color and a design to paint my room. I picked my favorite colors—blue and purple. This was just the beginning of personalizing my room.

          Another element is bedding. When it came to bedding, I wanted something that would match my wall colors and also something that was warm and comfortable. There are lots of different designs of bedspreads. Once you choose one, you have to get sheets that match—regular ones for the summer and flannel ones for the winter. For me, I really like pillows. They make it seem much more comfortable.

          As I have mentioned before in a previous post, I love pictures. I have always had an enormous amount of pictures hanging up in my room. Recently, I have been trying to use some ideas off of Pinterest (also previously mentioned). One idea that I found and really liked was to hang up Christmas lights and then take some type of clip—such as clothes pins—and clip the pictures to them. I like this idea because it is really different and not something that you see very often. If you aren’t feeling the Christmas lights, there are tons of cute picture frames out there too! I have a ton in my room. There are even some pretty cool DIY ones that are easy to make!

          There are lots of little details that can go into making your bedroom personalized and all about you. You just have to find your style and what you like to accomplish it. But in the end it is definitely worth it. So go for it. Make it your own. You deserve it.

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Picture Perfect

They always say “A picture is worth a thousand words.” And to me it truly is. Pictures are what capture the best and worst of times. Though they only capture a single moment in time, the story behind it has a much bigger meaning.

          Pictures are everywhere in our everyday life. And without them I think life would be pretty boring. They tell stories, good and bad, and help us learn new things. When babies are born, parents, friends and family members take thousands of pictures. This is because they don’t want to forget a single moment of their life. My parents still have my baby pictures and to this day we still pull them out every once in a while. Even though, I can’t remember what was happening, my parents can and I think it’s important to them.

          I broke my leg in third grade. It was a long process in the hospital and physical therapy to get back to normal. Along the way, my mom took tons of pictures trying to capture those significant moments. Even though, they weren’t the happiest or most fun times, they are a big part of my life. And when I look at them, they remind me of the wonderful people that helped me get through it and made it just a little bit better.

          You could say I have a passion for taking and looking at pictures. In my room I like to surround myself with them. There are at least 10 picture frames in my room already. Not only do I like to just have pictures up, I like to put them up in creative ways that are somewhat out of the ordinary. For instance, I bought some Christmas lights to hang up on the wall and when they are up I’m going to hang pictures from them in between the lights. I also bought a picture frame that isn’t your usual square/rectangular frame. This one is a bunch of oversized paper clips put together. Pictures are a one of a kind piece of work. And I like to display them like that.

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Pinterested?

Pinterest is a website that is basically a bunch of pictures that usually link to websites where you can find out how to make it or buy it. It pretty much has everything you can think of. To sign up, you have to be invited to join by a friend or by the site itself (you can ask to join). When you are invited, then you begin creating your account. A lot of people like to sync it to Facebook so they can find their friends easier. Once you create the account you are free to browse through all the pictures and ideas. On your page you can make boards for different categories, such as clothes or food, so that when you are browsing and you find something you like you can ‘repin’ it on a board to look at in the future.

          This site is one of my favorite things to do when I’m on the computer. It has tons of great ideas that you probably wouldn’t think of on your own. There are different ways you can look through all the pins (ideas/pictures) as well. First, you have your own personal page with all the things you have repined, categorized by your boards. There is a page to see the pins of the people you follow. Then there is a page to see the pins of everybody on Pinterest. Lastly, you can select a category, from the ones that are preset on the website. I like to look at all the different pages to get a variety of different things.

          The pages separated by categories are really helpful when you are trying to look for something more specific to one topic. For example, I was trying to find ideas/inspiration on how to do my hair for homecoming. So I picked the Hair & Beauty category. I also looked at my board that I created only for hairstyles. This cut down on time spent looking at other pins I didn’t necessarily want to see at that time.

          You can use this site on the computer or your phone because they have recently come out with an app for it! I have the app and sometimes I find myself slightly addicted. It’s just one of those things I go to when I’m bored and there is nothing else to do. It’s not a good situation for my phone battery, but it’s whatever. I’d recommend this site to anyone!

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Netflix Addiction

I have had Netflix for almost a year now and ever since I’ve gotten it, I have been pretty much addicted. When I first got it, I had recently had surgery, so I was thankful that I had something new to keep me occupied for the next couple of days. Little did I know that it would keep me busy for the next couple of months!

          When I first started using Netflix, I was just watching random movies that looked interesting and trying to find classic ones that I loved. I didn’t have much intent for it being what I relied on in later months. Then one of my friends told me about this show that was really good called Gossip Girl and said I would love it. So I started watching it and it became addictive. The story line was interesting and you never knew what was coming next. I would keep telling myself that I would just watch “one more episode.” But then the end of the “last” episode would have a huge cliff-hanger and I would just have to watch the next one! This is just the beginning of my addiction to Netflix.

          The next show that got me hooked was One Tree Hill. It only took me two days to watch the 21 episodes in the first season. I realized that it was even better than Gossip Girl, even though it was still one of my favorite shows. I continued to watch it and around three months later, I was finished with all eight seasons. Whoops. I guess time flies when you are having fun… I know what everyone is thinking, you must’ve done nothing but stay home and watch it all the time. But nope, I still hung out with my friends and went to a ton of school activities. But two of my friends are the ones that got me hooked, so whenever I hung out with them, we would always watch a couple of episodes. And then whenever I went home from friends’ houses or school events, I would watch a couple more episodes. It sounds crazy, but it was definitely worth it.

          When I finished both of those shows, I started watching two more shows. Although, they aren’t as good as my other two, they were still interesting and full of drama. Recently, Netflix updated their shows and added the newest seasons of my three favorite ones. Of course I was ecstatic when this happened and just had to rush to my laptop to watch them! So here I am today, still addicted to watching all of my favorite shows. But I’m finally coming clean about my addiction to Netflix.

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F is for Fall

F is for fall. Now that it is finally fall, it is weather is getting cooler and it’s time for bonfires, haunted houses, and carving pumpkins! Fall is my favorite season of the year. It isn’t too warm and it isn’t too cold…well, yet. The past couple have days have been a little colder than my liking. But that’s not the point. I love going to haunted houses and having bonfires with friends. And of course the season favorite is carving pumpkins. We have all done it since we were little kids and the creativity gets better and better every year!

            F is for football. Friday nights: high school football. Saturday nights: College football. Sunday nights: professional football. Once football starts for the season, it seems like it doesn’t end for a long time. The weekends are full of it. For most students the biggest night is Friday because they know the people playing and they can go all out for the theme of that night. Even though, it gets ridiculously cold at night, no one seems to care when they are surrounded by friends and fun!

            F is for falling leaves. During the fall the scenery gets so pretty. I love when the leaves start changing colors. Driving down a street with trees lining it all the way down is the best feeling ever. It’s also a nice Kodak moment.

            F is for flannel sheets. It’s getting cold outside and that only means one thing; time to break out the flannel sheets! I’m not going to lie; I broke them out about two weeks ago. But more people are doing it now that it is getting even colder. Flannel sheets are a definite feeling of fall.

            F is for fun cooking. Pumpkins are a staple of October and Halloween. There are tons of fun pumpkin recipes to make; especially with family members. One of my favorites is pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. They’re so good and pretty easy to make. Even food places are getting into the pumpkin mood. Starbucks has a pumpkin spice flavored coffee drink.

            F is for fall. Fall is finally here and I’m so excited. All of the reasons above are examples of why I love this season so much! Fall is here ladies and gentlemen, fall is here!

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For The Girls

October is breast cancer awareness month. The chances are very high that you will know someone who has or had breast cancer during your life time. It’s very sad to think about how many women are diagnosed with it and even worse, die from it. Today was the breast cancer walk in downtown Cedar Rapids. Hundreds of people pay to walk/run a 5k to raise money for breast cancer research. A lot of businesses and schools get people to sign up as part of their group. There are also people that make their own groups in honor of someone that have fought or died of breast cancer.

            Last week I was watching an episode of Ellen before I had to go to volleyball practice. In honor of breast cancer month, she had a guest on her show that fought and beat breast cancer. Her and her sister talked about her story and what she went through. They talked about how one of the hardest parts was how she couldn’t play with her kids as much as she used to. The woman who had it was really grateful that her sister was always there to help out with anything she needed. While I was listening to this story, it brought me to tears. It was very inspiring. It makes me see how good most of our lives actually are. I can’t imagine going through that or having my sister go through that.

            Having to go through an experience like cancer would probably be the hardest thing you would ever have to do. Most people that beat cancer are really strong people after. Personally, I think that is a trait you gain while going through that experience. I can’t imagine someone being very strong at the moment they are diagnosed. But during later stages of the experience you have to enough strength to beat the cancer. Whether that strength comes from you are your family, it is a very important part of beating it.

            Cancer stories are some of the hardest things to hear or read about. They are also some of the most inspiring. And I will always have a ton of respect for anyone who has battled cancer.

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