Thursday, December 18, 2008

Sophmore .5

This was the first semester of my sophomore year. Was this year much to my liking? No. I feel like I'm on overdrive all the time. I miss 9th grade. But, don't get me wrong this year was pretty fun. Homecoming was crazy fun, I danced the whole time and hung out with friends. The year is going by fast and personally I can't wait for it to be over. When school ends I will finally be sixteen and hopefully my car will be in by that time. But back to what has happened so far this year.

Nothing to terribly exciting has happened. There has been very little drama and I haven't gotten in a fight with anyone, so I guess that is a good part of this half year. Managing for basketball is sometimes mentally stressing, only because some games we get back late and I'll have homework that I have not done to do. But, managing is also rewarding, it makes me feel like I am still apart of the team, basketball was a part of my life for to long for me to completely get away from it.

I look forward to the last semester of this year, and I pray that it goes by as quickly as this one has.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Fate?

Fate, it is a widely discussed topic. Fate is discussed today and it was discussed back in the time of Shakespeare. So the question is do you believe in fate? Or do you believe in free will, or maybe even a mix of the two? Back in the time of Shakespeare, most people believed in absolute fate.

Shakespeare used fate in many of his plays including Julius Caesar. In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare shows his belief in fate by using the Soothsayer and the ghost of Caesar. The Soothsayer tells Caesar to beware the Ides of March, and as it comes to pass, that is the day that Caesar is murdered? The ghost of Caesar warns Brutus that he will see him again at Philippi, which means that Brutus will die that day. At the Battle of Philippi, Brutus commits suicide by running upon his own sword. So is it fate that Brutus and Caesar die on the designated days, or was it free will? Is it fate that guides us through the day, our own free will, or a mix of the two, fate that has set a path for us but gives us decisions for which path we will take? Think about it.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Leadership

Leadership, a great characteristic to have, is very important to the world and to society. Without leadership the world would easily fall into chaos. We have to have followers as will, but what would they do without someone to lead them? Without leaders, nothing would ever get done. In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, leadership is a main role for the many characters of the play. In Act 3 Scene 2, Antony took control of the plebeian crowd. Antony turned their hearts and changed their minds. He turned a Caesar-hating crowd into a Caesar-avenging mob. That act took a huge show of leadership.

Act 3 Scene 2 reminds me of my summer. This summer, I went to an FCA leadership camp. Leading in a gentle way, our teachers, our leaders, taught us how to lead. They taught us the skill of leading and also the skills of team work and following commands. They taught us in fun methods that struck home with us, while is also showed the leadership skills of the staff. After every day we would go into a cathedral and listen to the main leader preach. Although, there were some exceptions, especially on the last day of camp while everyone was riled up. Taking control of the crowd, the preacher started to talk, and we all shut up and listened. Without his skill of leadership, we would have continued to be a chaotic crowd. Leadership is necessary in everyday life.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Genuine Listening?

We are currently reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, a book by Sean Covey, and in Habit 5 the book talks about seeking first to understand and then to be understood. Reading Habit 5, I learn to listen genuinely.

When I read about genuin listening and all the other wrong types of listening, I thought I hardly ever do the wrong listening and I almost all ways listen genuinely. Then I called one of my friends just to talk. During the whole conversation I was spacing out and selective listening the whole time. And I realized that maybe, just maybe, that I wasn't the great listener that I thought I was.

When I went to school the next day, I was confounded that I spaced out and selective listened again. It is now my goal to space out and selective listen less, and to genuinely listen more. I understand that it is important to understand someone before they can understand you.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Patadigms of Life

I have been reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens and paradigms of life, one of the subjects, really made me think. Paradigms help us to see what we center our lives on. The story on paradigms said that we should center ourselves around principles rather than other things. The list of center items are friend-centered, stuff-centered, boyfriend-centered, school-centered, parent-centered, and some other possible centers. When I read the school-centered paragraph I immediately thought of myself.

Early in the year I had completely centered myself around school and homework. I would get home and go up to my room and start on homework, the bane of most students. I would start at about 5 p.m and end at about 9 p.m, I would work on the homework due for the next day and for the homework assigned for the day after that. I was exhausted at school and I didn't sleep well at night. Pretty soon all I thought about was homework and what assignments were due. Homework had completely taken over my life, and I had let it.

I finally got balance in my life, and now I don't stress to much over homework. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens says that we focus so much that we forget why we are even going to school, which is to learn. It says if we focus on principles then all the items we could center on will get better then what they would if we did center on them. That is just something to think about.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Sci-Fi... Good or Bad?

I would recomend reading Sci-Fi books. This is one of my favorite genres to read. Sci-Fi and fantasy books are some of the only I read. Science fiction books let you get a different understanding of the world. It focuses on ideas that while not true now could easily be true in the future. In "The Invisible Man" the main character is invisible, that is not possible to be invisible at this time, but scientists have already started looking into that idea. Although I normally like Sci-Fi, I did not really enjoy this book. "The Invisible Man" was a little to boring and dry for my taste. One Science Fiction book that I have really enjoyed is "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer. There is always something happening in every chapter so it holds your intrest up to the very last page and then leaves you dying for more. So think about it ,maybe Sci-Fi is that genre you never thought twice about, I hope this makes you think twice.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

My Thoughts On Politics

I feel that McCain has more expirence than Obama. Obama would not be ready to take on the position of president. McCain has a better plan on economy, the war in Iraq and energy. Though McCain does have some faults, he has less than Obama. McCain made a great choice in choosing Palin as his running mate. Palin attracts female and feminist voters. Palin has done little wrong in her career as govenor and she is a hard working American. Over all McCain is the better choice.

Enter Bella!

Bella, my character, is an amazing creature. For one thing, she is a vampire. She feeds on human blood, but that does not necessarily mean that she kills them. As a vampire she has to have human blood to survive, but drinking their blood does not kill them or turn them into vampires. She has the pale white skin, the unbeating heart, and the almost perfect beauty, as all vampires do. She does not much like the term vampire and prefers to use the term true Nellucian. Vampires have only one enemy and they are the werewolves. The vampires and werewolves have been locked in an age old battle for as long as they can remember. It is only fate that the werewolves live on the same planet as the vampires. Both sides want to rule the planet for their own. The werewolves call themselves Wolvericans, but Bella sees them as barbaric dogs and calls them the title she feels they deserve which is werewolf. Another thing about Bella is that she is the daughter of the emperor. She is the next in line for the throne, should anything happen to her father. Although many true Nellucians encourage her that she would be perfect for the crown, she does not feel she would rule as well as her father. And she is not keen at the thought of becoming the empress. She knows it would limit what she would be able to do. No more would she lead the assaults upon Wolver. Because of her position as the emperor’s daughter, she was able to climb the ranks of the military and take command. She often leads the attacks on the werewolves, and is always looking for an opportunity to. Whenever there is a battle, she is always at the front lines encouraging the others as she hacks into her opponents. She is a master of the battlefield and also of politics. As commander of the Nellucian army and as the emperor’s daughter, her political views are highly valued in the Senate. Though by true Nellucian standards she is very young, the Senators usually agree with her views, and she is highly respected within the Senate and without. Being a war hero, the people of the Nellucian Empire adore her and they feel she has their best interests at heart. The last thing about Bella is her strengths and her weaknesses. She did not merely gain such a high rank because of her father. She is incredibly strong, even for the Nellucian standard. She can easily lift an object weighing a ton in one hand. She uses her strength to her advantage when fighting the Wolvericans. She is deadly with the long, heavy, silver sword when she attacks a group of werewolves. She is also amazingly fast, though not as fast as some others in the empire. She is a blur when she runs, human eyes can not follow her nor can they detect that she was even there in the first place. With this strength and agility combo she is a dreaded creature to the Wolvericans. Though Nellucian standards are high she exceeds all of them. But like any creature she has weaknesses. All true Nellucians are terrified of steel. Steel is to vampires as silver is to werewolves. A serious wound struck by a steel weapon will kill a Nellucian. Bella shows no fear of steel, even though it is able to kill her. She wears a red, steel cross as a necklace to show her bravery. Nellucians can only be killed one other way, the Wolvericans prefer to use this method, which is to be torn apart and be lit on fire. Most Wolvericans do not have steel weapons and many that do would rather tear the Nellucians apart with their teeth and burn the bodies after the battle. Bella is also a kind, trusting person to other Nellucians, some consider this a strength and others see it as a weakness. She is always willing to help a comrade or help a family in need. Though she is extremely trusting of people, she is also aware that there is treachery everywhere. She is a role model for many of the children, true Nellucian and human alike. All in all Bella is a rare and marvelous creature.