Tattoos and Piercings

As young and rebellious teenagers, we all have thought about getting a tattoo and multiple different piercings. But because most of us aren’t 18 yet we can’t do them without our parent’s permission. This pretty much sucks in our minds right now, but, in all honesty, is probably for the best. We all hate to admit it, but our parents are wiser than us and have had more experiences than us and when they don’t let us do something, it is probably for a good reason.

          Getting a tattoo is a big deal. It is there forever so if you do get one, you better make it count. I, personally, really like tattoos—well, some of them anyway. I think that a tattoo should have a significant meaning to you. It’s dumb to get a random tattoo just to get a tattoo. And depending on what it is, I would say smaller ones look better than ones that take a whole leg or arm. Like I said before, it is permanent and you are going to have it forever. So think about how it is going to look when you are old and wrinkly.

          Because piercings are not a permanent mark on your body, I feel like people experiment with them more. I would say that the most common places teenage girls want to get them are their nose, belly button, and every inch of their ears. I won’t lie, I have considered getting all of those before, but if I ever do, I don’t think I will until college. One thing I absolutely can’t stand are gauges. I just think they are so ugly and are honestly kind of gross (mainly the big ones, the small ones I can handle).

          I guess the point of this blog is to convince everyone to think about doing something to your body before you do it. You don’t want to regret getting something later in life that you can’t get rid of. On the other hand, it is ultimately your body and you are going to do whatever you want to it. So go for it. Live your life.

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Happy Easter

In my family, there is a set tradition for every holiday. And now that me and my sister (the babies in the family) are almost all grown up things are changing. When we were younger, we would always go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house on the farm and have an Easter egg hunt with all of the cousins. But a couple of years ago they moved out of that house so that was not the case today. Today we went to my aunt’s house for lunch and then proceeded to play cards and watch basketball. Not only did we not have an Easter egg hunt, but not all of the cousins were there.

          Although, there was only one cousin missing, it was still weird because she is the one that I always hang out with. She wasn’t there today because she recently moved to Florida for a year for a work opportunity. This goes to show how things really are changing as we grow up. We all missed having here there today, but we did however get to FaceTime her after we ate. This was nice so everyone got to talk to her, at least for a little bit. Even Grandma and Grandpa got to and let me tell you, watching them try to figure out how it worked was probably the funniest thing that happened all day.

          I guess I am not really sure whether or not you would consider FaceTime as social media. But if you do then it shows the complete opposite of my last post. Today FaceTime gave us the opportunity to see my cousin and talk to her as if she were there with us. So while she was on the beach and we were sitting around the kitchen table at her mom’s house, we got to be together on this holiday just like always.

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Social Media

There are two kinds of relationships: business and personal. And when it comes to social media, there are pros and cons for both. Within the business world, social media is mainly pros. One of the biggest is that it gets advertisements out to a lot of people and it spreads quickly. The only con I can think of is that not everyone has a Facebook and Twitter account. But even then you can argue that most of their friends probably do have at least one of those accounts and will most likely hear it from them.

          When it comes to personal relationships, it is a much bigger argument on whether the cons outweigh the pros or vice versa. Personally, I think the cons outweigh the pros; especially in romantic relationships. As David Wygant said in The New York Times debate, “Social media is what I’d call a romance contraceptive.” I agree with this statement because it’s not real life. So, yes, technically you are talking to real people and having a real conversation. But here’s the thing: when you sit behind the computer or cell phone screen, it is not the same as a face to face conversation. It is basically like you are hiding behind the computer and when that happens you aren’t the same as you are in person.

          Dating sites, in particular, is one of the biggest ways people hide behind the computer. I definitely think that dating sites are great ways to for a more timid person to start finding their special someone. But having a relationship online is not real. People want to join dating sites because they here success stories on commercials and from friends. But they didn’t get married over the internet. They had to meet and person and actually figure out who the real person was. An online profile is only going to tell you the good parts about a person and none of their flaws; you learn those when you are getting to know them in person.

          A lot of people find it easier to text or talk to someone online easier than in person or on the phone. And that is because of all the opportunities given to us to do that by social media. We all want to take the easy way out sometimes and it is given to us daily. For someone who is shy around new people and has trouble finding their special someone, they will give in to these opportunities. And once they realize how much easier it is, what is left of their personal communication skills will be gone.

          Facebook causes an insane amount of unnecessary drama just by one little post or a ‘like’ of someone else’s post. When couples are on Facebook, they are always looking at each other’s walls and seeing if anybody new posted anything. And all it takes is one person to get jealous over something probably not that important to either have a huge fight or even break up. “Twenty percent of divorces involve Facebook,” wrote Demetria L. Lucas in The New York Times Debate. To me this is not only shocking, but incredibly stupid. If you are going to get that upset or jealous over something that happened on Facebook, you and your partner probably shouldn’t be together in the first place.

         Social media is debilitating important communication skills that we need to get by in life. Yes, it can be good, but romantic relationships are difficult enough by themselves sometimes, so why add in social media on top of that? By making it a part of a relationship, you are pretty much setting yourself up for a loss. So just be you…in person.

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Blog, Blog, Blog

Is it just me or is the third blog always the hardest to do? I mean I have already come up with two decent topics and have made them drag out over 800 words. And now, I’m here, stuck with this third blog and nothing to write about. If you have read some of my other blogs, you may have noticed that I like to make lists. So sometimes, in class, instead of blogging I make lists of possible topics that I could write about. Some of the ones I had for this week were: Spring break, St. Patrick’s Day, and bad drivers. I only used two from the list. Even though, I think of a lot of topics, when it comes to writing about them, I don’t have that much to say about them so I don’t use them; leaving me with blog #3.

          So what’s the point of this blog? Well, to help out people like me that just can’t think of last topic (or any topics). Sometimes it takes me hours to think of that last topic and by that time, I don’t feel like doing it anymore or have already given up. Which leaves me with a lower grade and that doesn’t help anyone. So here are some tips for anyone who needs a little help:

1.     Look up/think of current events: It doesn’t have to be strictly news topics. Use things that are happening at school or in sports (ex: March Madness)

2.    Look at other people’s blogs: Personally, I don’t like using the exact same topic as someone else because I don’t want it to seem like I copied them. But if you find one that you like and think you could write a lot about, twist it in a different direction; add something new.

3.    What do you do in your free time?: Think about a hobby you have or something you like to do and write about why you like it.

4.    How-to: Writing something about how to do or make something is always easy whether it is making a meal or painting your nails.

5.    Google!: there are always many great topics that people have written about on Google

This term, it has helped me to make a list of topics at the beginning or sometime during the week just to get started. I hope this helps!

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Driving

When we are young we rely on our parents for everything. We rely on them for feeding us, buying school supplies, and most importantly driving us where we need to go. As we get older—middle school years—we start to get embarrassed and frustrated by the fact we have to rely on our parents to get anywhere. So when we turn 14, we rush off to get our learners permit and take Driver’s Ed. not long after that. But still, we can really only go to school events and only during a set time of the day.

          Then we turn 16 and can finally get our license. Though it still has restrictions, we can go anywhere we want. Not only do we love this, but our parents love it too. Why, you ask. Well it’s simple, really, now you can run errands for them and, if you have younger siblings, you can take them where they need to go so they don’t have to.

          So, now that all of us probably have a year or two of driving under our belts (no pun intended), we have gotten the hang of what to and what not to do while driving. We have figured out where some cops like to sit and no longer speed in those areas. And we have realized just how bad and how many people suck at driving. Before I started driving, I would ride along in the car with my parents and then all of a sudden they would cuss or yell at another driver and I had no idea that driving could be so frustrating. But now, I completely understand. I have made my fair share of mistakes on the road and I know it. I also would like to apologize to anyone out there that I have pissed off while driving because I know how annoying and frustrating it can be.

          One of my biggest pet peeves while driving is when people drive UNDER the speed limit. I do not understand this one bit. Like, honestly, just go faster. You aren’t going to get pulled over for going the speed limit. It’s there for a reason. Another big one is when people don’t use their turn signals. It makes me wonder why they are pressing their brakes. Like, thanks for the heads up, bro.

          I guess, what I’m trying to say is that I may have some slight road rage. Maybe. But it’s not like I’m going to do something violent that will hurt anyone. I just get annoyed easily. And I’m guessing a lot of other people do, too. Just a warning, though, if you go under the speed limit, I will ride your ass. And nobody likes that. Not even me.

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Spring Break

Spring break has a high reputation as a time for parties and trips to warmer places. A lot of people go to Florida or somewhere in Mexico. And then there are the people that are stuck at home in Cedar Crapids. Like me. And if you are like me, staying home over spring break while all your friends go on trips, then you are probably going to be really bored all week with nothing to do. So I have been brainstorming some things to do instead of just sit around and watch TV all day long, because really that gets boring quick! So here it goes…

Staycation ideas 2013:

·         Arts and crafts: do something that takes up a little more time than the usual task by making something for your room or anywhere, really. Pinterest.com is a great way to find fun things to make and a lot of the time you can find something that you could actually use after making it!

·         Movie night: there is always a movie that is either in the theater that you want to go see or one that you haven’t seen in a long time (maybe a childhood favorite). So find the friends that didn’t leave for a trip and invite them over to watch them.

·         Tour your town: find something new to do in your city or in a nearby city that you’ve never done before and try it out.

·         SLEEP: we could always use some more of it

·         Plan a trip for next year!

Even if we do fill up our time with the above ideas, we are still going to envy the people on vacation. So when I decided to do the last bullet (plan a trip for next year) here are some places I found that I might want to visit next year:

Vacation ideas 2014:

·         Panama City, Florida

·         Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

·         Punta Cana

·         Bahamas

·         Miami

·         Tampa

·         And pretty much anywhere else on a beach!

As fun and occupying as the staycation ideas are, I would still much rather go somewhere for spring break. I would also have to say that this year is going to suck more because it supposed to snow on Monday and is barely going to get to 40 degrees all week. It’s gonna be awesome.

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DCOMs

Okay, so for those of you who don’t know what a DCOM is, it stands for Disney Channel Original Movie. Yes, judge me, I’m going to write about Disney movies. But really, how can you not like Disney movies? And for anyone who thinks there are too old for Disney, well shame on you. You are never too old for Disney.

          We all remember our favorite movies from when we were younger. And most of mine were DCOMs because really, well you can’t go wrong with a Disney movie. Some of my favorite ones were:

·         Wish Upon a Star

·         Zenon: Girl of the 21^st Century, Zenon: The Zequel

·         The Thirteenth Year

·         Smart House

·         Johnny Tsunami

·         Genius

·         Horse Sense

·         The Color of Friendship

·         Miracle in Lane 2

·         Quints

·         The Ultimate Christmas Present

·         Double Teamed

·         Cadet Kelly

·         Get a Clue

·         Gotta Kick It Up!

·         You Wish!

·         Right on Track

·         And many, many more

There are so many good ones, it’s hard to choose my favorite. What I love about DCOMs is that they are all different. If I were to spend a whole day watching Hallmark movies, it would like basically watching the same movie with different actors/actresses. The main female and male actors will be shown in the first two scenes. They meet not long after that and then fall in love—usually with a fight/argument thrown in the middle to make you think that they are going to break up. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like Hallmark movies too, but after a while they get sooo boring and very predictable. But with DCOMs, there are new actors, new settings, and new storylines every single time. It’s great. They really never get old!

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Where's Sping?

In the months of December-February am totally okay with snow. I love to have a white Christmas. And then New Year’s comes around and I still expect there to be snow. Then when we come back to school after break, I am okay with the snow, but hope that the end is near. Now it is March 10^th and there is STILL snow on the ground. I’m pissed.

          When I think of third trimester I think of the weather warming up, leaves back on trees, green grass, and flowers taking bloom. Last year at this time, most of these things were happening. And on the first day of the third trimester I was wearing capris and sandals. This year, that was not the case. This year I wore jeans and boots. That is simply just not okay with me. I am ready to stop wearing jeans. I want to wear shorts and not have to worry about whether or not I should bring a coat.

          Like I said above, when I think of spring I think of green grass and leaves back on trees. It seems like every time the snow melts, we get another snow storm. With this we get more snow days which are now being added on to the end of the year—in June. So that should probably just stop. But if you take a quick look outside I’m sure you won’t see much more than snow. Earlier today, I was watching the news and they were showing the forecast for next week. It showed that we are supposed to be getting MORE snow yet again tonight. Although, it’s only 1-3 inches, it’s still more snow.

          I think I made it pretty clear how much I am over snow for this winter. I want to wear shorts. I want it to be nice outside. I got a new tube top and I want to cut the tags off (Bridesmaids reference). OKAY not the point. But seriously, CAN IT JUST BE SPRING ALREADY?

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Food

We all eat at least three times a day. We can’t survive without it. And a lot of our free time is spent thinking about what our next meal is going to be…or is that just me? As high school students we don’t often stop to think what the healthiest choice is. Often times, we just grab whatever is in the pantry, such as a Pop-Tart or granola bar, on the way out the door before we go to school or practice. But when we stop to think about it, what really is the healthiest choice? Personally, when I think of a healthy meal I think of foods like yogurt, salad, fruits and vegetables, fish, etc. But how healthy are these things?

The documentary “Food Inc.” really made me wonder what actually goes into these food products. The main focus of this documentary was how mass produced animals and crops are raised. And it definitely did a good job of getting its point across. It showed how poorly the animals are treated. Some of the stuff they showed was really disgusting and I can see how someone would want to be a vegetarian after seeing that; especially after hearing the story about the little boy dying from e-coli. But what was the purpose of the film?

To me it was all very confusing. One second it would be talking about how animals are treated poorly and the next it was talking about how farmers that grow crops like wheat and corn, aren’t allowed to clean seeds. First off, the only reason the animals are alive is to die. I know that sounds harsh but, as humans, we are meant to eat meat. That’s how we survived since prehistoric times. And second, why the hell does it matter if you clean the seeds? At least, that’s what I was thinking during the movie. I had no idea that “cleaning seeds” meant using the seeds from the plant that you grew with the first seed. They definitely should’ve cleared that up so people like me knew what they were talking about. Again this comes down to what the purpose of the movie is. Are they trying to get us to become vegetarians? Or do they want us to stop buying processed food?

Because the video was so unclear and vague on what the purpose was, it didn’t prove much of anything to me. What it did prove is that processed food isn’t always the best or healthiest thing you will ever eat, animals are treated poorly, and big manufacturing companies make it hard—nearly impossible—for farmers to get out of the business. But really, most of us already knew at least 2 out of 3 of these things and haven’t done anything about it yet. So, yet again, I ask what the purpose of this documentary is and what are we supposed to take away from it?

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