Tunnel Collapse in Japan

On Sunday December 2, 2012 a tunnel in Japan collapsed on many cars, starting a huge fire and killing at least three people and seven of them are missing. It took the firemen three hours to put out the fire and rescue as many people as they could. This is not the first time a tunnel has collapsed in Japan, the first incident was in 1996 killing around 20 people. Japan needs to take action and make better structures for their tunnels, if this has happened before, they are obviously not sturdy enough and yes this may happen in other places but this cannot happen twice within a span of less than 20 years. The architecture of these tunnels may not be strong enough for them to hold and this is why they keep collapsing. Another reason would be the placement of the tunnels, if they are not in a place that can easily be secured then they shouldn’t be there in the first place. The collapsing of these tunnels is causing too many unnecessary deaths that could be prevented with secure architecture. These tunnels may have been unsecure because of natural disasters but should have been checked before they started using them again.  This is in no way anyone’s fault but because this is not the first time this has ever happened they should start making precautions when it comes to some of their structures so it does not cause any more unnecessary deaths. Before they start building they should make sure where they are building is a safe place to build. They should also make sure that the structure is very sturdy when before they let anyone drive underneath it. If the area is not safe for people to be driving, even though it may be faster, it should be left alone. I think I would rather take the extra 15 minutes to get somewhere then risk my life going under an unsafe tunnel. (327)

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/01/15606290-japan-tv-at-least-three-dead-after-tunnel-collapse?lite

Abortion in Ireland

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/29/world/europe/ireland-abortion-controversy/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Recently in Ireland a woman by the name of Praveen Halappanavar passed away from a blood infection after her unborn child had died in her womb after pleading with doctors in Ireland to abort the baby while she was alive but in a lot of pain, because of the extreme Catholic community in Ireland they refused to abort her child and now that she has passed her husband is trying to take legal action to make sure this does not happen to anyone else again. Because of this Irish parliament is debating whether to legalize abortion in Ireland or not. This situation could have been prevented, this woman did not have to die, she was in a lot of pain when the doctors refused to give her an abortion, it is not the doctors or the hospitals fault because of the strict rules but in the end this woman did not have to die. I understand that Ireland is a very strict Catholic community but when the use of abortion can save a woman’s life without killing two lives, I don’t think that it’s a bad idea to legalize abortion. This does not mean that they should legalize it for everyone but I believe that in extreme medical situations it would not be that bad if they were to abort the child. They should legalize abortion in life or death situations or if a woman can not physically carry a child. Some Catholics will be angry about it in the end and they will try to justify the woman’s death but in reality this woman could probably still be alive today if they allowed her to abort the child. There may be some backlash from the legalization but they can legalize abortion without making it available to every woman in Ireland. In the end aborting this baby could have save 1 life instead of killing 2. (317)

HIV and AIDS Spreading to China?

In the past year China has seen a rapid increase of cases of HIV and AIDs, it has skyrocketed 8.6 percent causing around 17,740 deaths this past year. Chinese Vice Premier  Li Keqiang has been personally affected by this epidemic, his wife Peng Liyuan was diagnosed with AIDS this year and they are now awaiting the results of their child’s test results for HIV right now. They believe that she caught this by giving blood in 1997 because her school encouraged her to give blood, well now she is paying the price. This is a great example of how the use of needles and other medical utensils need to be better taken care of, in order to not cause disease. This woman was encouraged by her elders to give blood and now her and possibly her child are living with diseases that were completely preventable. Needles cannot be reused and never should be, because of this she is now suffering. The United States had a similar epidemic in the 70s and I think that China should be taking a few lessons. They need to carefully dispose of every needle that they use so none of them get reused. They also need to make it mandatory for everyone, especially those that have given blood to get tested so they can stop the spread of this life threatening disease. They also need to go in to some or most of the hospitals to make sure they are disposing of these items properly, you have to start with the source of where the disease is coming from. They should start to spread the awareness of the disease to everyone but especially children so they do not have to repeat history, they need to go to the schools and inform students that this is easily preventable and that they do not have to go through the same thing their parents may be experiencing right now. Overall they need to try to control the epidemic by making sure all medical facilities are taking all precautions and are being clean and they need to inform everyone about it today. (353)
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/30/health/hiv-china-li/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Growing Up is Scary

                Remember when you were in Elementary School and your biggest worry was whether you had gym class or music class for today? When you had naptime and recess every single day? Those were the good days. Now you have to worry whether you got all of your homework done last night after you had to go to work, soccer practice and Spanish club.

                When we were little we thought it would be so much better if we were older, because being older was so cool. They could drive and their homework wasn’t that much harder than the stuff you were doing right now because you had no idea, and they always seemed to be with their friends all the time! It sounded like the life when you are 6 years old when you thought it was a horrible thing to be forced to sleep and draw all day after you had played with your friends outside for a half hour. Now looking back I wonder why I didn’t sleep when it was naptime and wish I could go back right now and have naptime during the school day. I also wish I could just spend a whole day coloring, that would be the best day at school. Ever. Not having to worry about anything but getting inside the lines. But now that I am 17, its time to grow up, yes it is scary to think about but I have to do it sometime, it’s bound to happen, becoming an adult. It’s scary to think that in less than a year, I will be a legal adult, being able to vote and live on my own. YIKES. That is a frightening thought.  If you are anything like me you are worrying about all this college stuff and how in a couple years you will be on your own. Also if you are anything like me, it’s beyond worrying it’s freaking out. Well all I can say is that you are not alone and I do not want to grow up either, but we have to face it sometime, it’s coming. My suggestion is to start looking and researching what colleges you would like to go to now and start planning your college visits now, I personally already have a list of colleges in order. My best suggestion is to start getting organized now and don’t hold off just because you don’t want to grow up, trust me I don’t want to either, it’s scary but it is coming and it is coming fast.

Parents+Facebook=Not ok.

                Facebook, twitter, tumbler, instagram and maybe even MySpace, these are all social media sites that we as teenagers has been introduced to over the past few years and now are parents have discovered them as well. Yikes. Before Facebook was the place where you could talk to your friends and see what all of them are up to without actually being with them and you could say things that you didn’t have to worry about your parents seeing it. Well now you do because parents and our elders have joined Facebook as well and if your parents are anything like mine they have tried being your friend on Facebook as well.

                In the beginning when my parents first got a Facebook I didn’t think much about it, they didn’t know what the hell they were doing when they went on there so it didn’t matter. But when they actually got on their accounts more than 2 a month and actually figured it out is when it got scary. They wanted to add you as there friend and comment on your photos, status updates, and post things on your wall. Not ok. I don’t know about all of you but when my dad requested to be my friend of Facebook I denied it.  He still tries to constantly add me as a friend but it’s not going to happen. You can give up now. Not that I don’t love my parents but they don’t need to comment on everything you do, yes it’s great to know that they are proud of you but there are ways you can do that, that is less embarrassing for your children and more age appropriate for them.  For example I posted pictures from homecoming with all of my friends and family and my mother was so kind as to post on one of my photos “My beautiful baby!” super embarrassing. Thanks mom.

                Yes it sound like I am being harsh but honestly at this point, I have accepted the fact that my parents are on Facebook and that they have fallen in love with it. I’m pretty sure my mom goes on Facebook way more than I ever have but oh well if it makes her happy go for it, I can deal with the embarrassment. (381)

Iowa Is Real

Have you ever traveled somewhere and while you are traveling have someone ask you where you’re from? Then when you answer and you say where you are from and then they look dumbfounded or they automatically think you are a hick? Yeah if you are from almost anywhere in the Midwest or especially from Iowa or Nebraska you will understand. People that are from big cities don’t understand that there is a world outside of where they live! Just because we don’t live in a huge city or state doesn’t mean we live on farms or don’t know what it’s like in to live in a big city. When I used to get this question I was very hesitant to answer but by now I state it with full confidence because even though I am from the Midwest does not mean that I have been living under a rock for my entire life. When I get asked this question, almost every time they ask me if I live on a farm after they have stopped laughing, and you may think I am over exaggerating but it has happened to me before. Yes I live in Iowa but no I don’t ride my cow to class that’s held in a cornfield. Thanks for asking though.

                Another bias that people who live in big cities have against people in the Midwest is that we are all stupid or incompetent, and that’s not true. The Midwest has the highest test scores than all of the states in the US. We are not incompetent, stupid, people and to be honest if it weren’t for these states the US would be agriculturally starved. So whenever you get the question when you are out of town of where you are from, and they laugh at your response, just laugh right back at them for being so stupid and not living outside of their “world”. (318)

Really High School Relationships?

Serious High School Relationships?  What are those? What is the point of being in a serious relationship in High School? You most likely won’t marry that person, so what’s the point of being in a relationship? Being attached to one person in High School, when you’re still a teenager is a little ridiculous, you are still a kid, and you don’t know what it is like to be in a serious relationship so why do you call it that? You don’t need all of the attachments and commitments in High School, its High School, have fun! You don’t need to worry about whether your boyfriend is mad at you because you didn’t send a smiley face in that last text or because you forgot to see him before class started earlier today. It’s just a hassle. When you are in High School you should be worried more about what your friends think other than what your boyfriend thinks. This may sound really nerdy but you should be focused a little more on school then thinking about that date you have Friday night. I’m not saying you shouldn’t hang out with someone of the opposite sex or not care about them but don’t spend your entire high school life worrying about it because in 10 years at that high school reunion when you see that hot guy you used to have a huge crush on in high school is going to be fat, garbage man that is balding by the age of 30 and is going nowhere in life.

Teenagers also have a tendency when they are in relationships to post it on every single social site invented. What is so great about being FBO anyway? So everyone knows you’re in a relationship? Trust me if they like you they will already know whether you are in a relationship or not, there is no need to post it on several social sites as well. Not to mention when you look back at what you put on Facebook about your high school boyfriend will still be on the web 20 years from now and when you look at what you said, you should or will be really embarrassed. Why does everyone need to know that Luke loved Sarah on October 8^th and that they went on a date to Buffalo Wild Wings? Who cares? No one and you shouldn’t care that much to tweet it or put it on Facebook.

                In the end High School relationships almost always end and even though the thought of getting  married to your High School sweetheart sounds so cute, it’s most likely not going to happen. Not to be a Debbie Downer but you should be enjoying your High School career not worrying about whether your boyfriend/girlfriend is still mad at you from what you said last night. (472)

Farewell Jersey Shore

Is anyone else going to miss those big haired, tanorexic, obnoxious Guido’s? I know that I will for sure. This year MTV’s hit show “Jersey Shore” is shooting their last season and even though most adults don’t get why we teen’s love this show so much and make fun of what we watch, it’s going to be missed. I’m not sure what I am going to do on Thursday nights anymore. Even though the show is so misunderstood, it is fantastic. If you watch one season you will be hooked because even though these twenty year old Italians are crazy partiers and are pretty much getting paid for nothing, you grow with them. You go through all of the hard times they go through and learn from their mistakes that they make, even though it looks like it, it’s not always a “blast in a glass” in the Jersey Shore. You see these people go through hard break ups, struggles with themselves and you see them grow into mature young adults (due to a stupid immature mistake). These young adults have to learn (normally the hard way) what it is like to be an adult. They have to make huge mistakes that may cause them to end up in jail one night or causes them to get married earlier than they thought they would. Even though “The Shore” is leaving, there will be spinoffs so I guess we will all have to watch those to get caught up on the lives of everyone on “The Jersey Shore”. (257)

Politcal Update: No One Cares.

Politics, that word is all you have been hearing lately and like most of you I am completely sick of it. Every four years we go through the same thing, battling it out for the presidential election. Now I am not going stand here and complain about it because to be completely honest I’m sick of that too, I am just sick of all of it, I don’t want to hear that word ever again. This year for the presidential election, I am seeing fights about it everywhere even on twitter! Twitter is supposed to be a fun place and now it’s getting ruined by politics, just stop! I am also hearing it around school and even though I am proud of my peers for being so involved and knowing what’s going on today, I don’t want to hear about it, I’m not old enough to vote anyway so honestly I just don’t care. Those teens that are politically involved also get very upset when you say that you don’t care, at least that’s what it sounds like from what I’ve seen on twitter. It’s not that we don’t completely care but school is already boring enough why do you have to talk about politics as well?

                The kids that just complain about the politically involved kids are just as annoying. They sit there and whine about how they hate politics and how they don’t want to hear it ever, and once that has started there is no going back, they won’t stop talking about how much they hate politics and how they don’t care. You sound just as horrible as the kids who never stop talking about it and you’re talking about politics just as much as they are. All of you can just stop. Now.  So in the end all if you are someone who likes politics, talk to the people who actually want to hear it and for those who hate it, well suck it up because you’re making it that much worse for the quiet bystanders who don’t care either way. (345)

Homework Help

Have you ever showed up to first period, thought everything was going to be okay until the teacher tells you to take out your assignment from last night and you instantly feel your heart sink to your feet? If you have well then you have forgotten more than a few assignments in your life just like any other normal teenager does but this also may mean that you may be a very disorganized person. There may also be another reason for this as well teachers give way to much homework!

                Teachers have come to believe that students do not have lives outside of school, they believe that by some miracle we will be able to do all the homework they give which normally adds up to be about 2.5 hours of homework on top of work, family, friends and extracurricular activities. This may be one of the many reasons why you are forgetting to do homework, maybe it was forgetting because you have all of the other stuff you have to do and another may be that there is just not enough time in the day. Either way if you are falling behind in school because you are not getting your homework done then you probably need to figure a new way to be organized so you don’t forget all of the things you need to do tonight, here are a few tips.

1.       Write everything down. You have a lot to do tonight there is no way you are going to remember off the top of your head.

2.       Organize all of the books, binders, folders and papers into separate places so you know where they are at when you need to do your homework.

3.       Put all of the classes that you have homework in together so you remember to take them home.

4.       Plan what you need to do tonight ahead of time, organize the subjects in order of what you would like to finish first and what you would like to finish last, in order of importance or of liking. Or organize by what is most time consuming to least time consuming or vice versa.

Hopefully these tips will help you stay more organized and you won’t have that heart dropping feeling as much! (378)

Jason Aldean, Why?

Have you been a fan of famous person that you thought was so good, so unlike anyone else who is famous who would never get into any trouble or do anything wrong like the rest of them do? Well that’s what I thought (at least for the most part) about Jason Aldean, country singing star. Last week in Las Vegas he was caught red handed kissing a past American Idol Star Brittany Kerr. Both of the stars had apologized for their behavior and said that they had too much to drink that night. Okay I understand that every star does things that aren’t right but this was a complete shock to most people. Jason has been known as a fun, party hard guy but he seemed to know what his boundaries were.

                Now he isn’t the only star that has been caught in a cheating scandal but my question is why do it? Just because you are famous doesn’t mean you should go around and try to get in everyone’s pants just because you can. Seriously. If you don’t like the person you are with then leave or if you aren’t happy but don’t drag it along because that’s just rude for the person. Try to have at least a little bit of a heart. In the end it hurt both people and many of the people they love because they just couldn’t resist. Well look where you’re at now. How does sleeping on the couch feel? Does your back hurt yet? Anyway all famous people need to start thinking about their actions before they go through with something so they don’t end up hurting the ones they truly love. (280)

Homework Blues

Homework Blues:

Am I the only one who thinks that school has just become 80 times worse academically this year? I mean seriously, the homework just keeps pilling on and on, it feels like you can never get away! I personally have been feeling this way all year and its only October. Yikes. This year it is teachers challenge to make the average teenage life a living hell. Yes I said it and for any teacher that reads this blog think about your students the next time you assign something, is it really that important? You may be a teacher reading this and you can deny it all you want but teens these days have so much to do and so much to learn it’s a miracle we aren’t all dead or in the hospital for back injuries due to heavy, exploding backpacks. Seriously.

                On average students have at least two classes that they have homework in a night, which may not sound like much but for me that is the bare minimum and that never includes the actual length of the assignment. Enough already! We do this work in school why do I need an extra six hours tonight on top of the six hours I have already done today? I personally know that each night I have at least an hour and a half of homework. Now sprinkle in a part time job, family, friends, clubs, sports and any other appointments after that. It just doesn’t work; there isn’t enough time in the day. Every night I stay up until at least midnight to get half of my homework done and even then it’s only half! I’m not saying teenagers shouldn’t have any homework (even though I wouldn’t mind) but at least cut back so I don’t have to be a zombie walking around school with absolutely no social life. I know I am not the only one feeling this way so if you’re reading this and you have a ton of homework tonight, I am sorry because I know I’ll be up until about 12:30 tonight finishing whatever I didn’t finish for my teachers today. Good luck! (358)

Pop Culture Hook Up

Okay this next blog is going to be about everybody and anything that is famous, popular or that you/I love. Ok so it’s mostly going to be about famous people and who are my favorites, if you want to tell me about some you love comment and I’ll discuss them! Okay so lately I have been obsessed with watching Jenna Marbles videos on YouTube. This girl is so funny, she will tell it like it is and yes they are pretty inappropriate but they are so true. She imitates famous people or acts out real life scenarios but in a way that makes you laugh so hard, you know you got a good ab work out from it. My favorite video by her is the one she does about Ke$ha called Deep Thoughts With Ke$ha, if you haven’t seen it, I would advise you to watch it after you are read this post. Unless you are in my class and we are in class because that would be weird.

                The next person I am going to be talking about isn’t just one person, it’s a band. The band I have always loved but recently I cannot get enough of is Maroon 5. They came out with a new cd this past month called OverExposed and I’m listening to it right now, that’s how good it is. So if you haven’t heard it, go listen to it! I have always liked Maroon 5 but for some reason right now I cannot get enough of them! Their lead singer Adam Levine is a judge on The Voice and if you haven’t seen or heard about this show, you are probably living under a rock and/ or using internet for the first time!

                The next person I am going to talk about is also not just one person. It is a family. I bet you already guessed what family I am going to talk about. The Kardashians! This crazy family is literally famous for almost no reason at all and that’s why you either love them or hate them. There is absolutely no in between for the Kardashians, you either love them or hate them and I personally love them! Even though they are all super busy and famous they are still a regular family that love each other and that’s why everyone watches it! That or you want to be them or be their best friend. If you are one of those people, I know how you feel. I personally want to be best friends with Kendall Jenner and you can judge me all you want but if you met them you would probably freak to. Anyway if you have never seen the show I suggest you watch at least 2 episodes and you will probably be hooked. Don’t judge it before you watch it! The end! (474)

Twitter Buzz

Okay so today we are going to be talking about the newest social media site that everyone has become obsessed with. Yes this post is going to be about twitter. What is so great about this site? Why is it so incredibly popular now? I don’t have the answer to the second question but the first one is because it’s so much fun! Not to mention it is super addicting! It is so nice to get on twitter and follow whoever you want and see what they are up to constantly, even though that makes you kind of sound like a complete stalker, it’s still fun! I’m also not the only one who does it so it’s ok.

                I first got a twitter when I was in 8^th grade when almost no one had one. When I first got it, I said what almost everyone else says when they get it, this is stupid, why did I just get this account? When you are just starting out on twitter, it is super confusing and you ask yourself why the heck am I following this random chick named Jenna Marbles or itweetfacts? Then you keep going back on and you become obsessed with what these people are constantly doing or what interesting facts they are tweeting about. When I first got twitter I was on it for about 5 minutes, then the more I kept getting on it the more I just couldn’t get away from it! On twitter you can be whoever you want to be and follow whoever you want! If you have a twitter that your kind of embarrassed about my suggestion is don’t use your first and last name and don’t use your actual picture of yourself. You can also get another account with your first and last name that you are okay with everyone in the entire school seeing it. Which brings me to a precaution about twitter and pretty much the entire internet period, don’t post anything on twitter that you don’t want your classmates or friends to see! People will be talking about it because almost everyone has a twitter now a days.

                If you don’t have a twitter my advice is to try it! Trust me, everyone has said that twitter is stupid because to be honest with you twitter is kind of stupid and I have absolutely no idea why the heck I am so obsessed with it but if you try it I can almost guarantee that you will be almost as much in love with it as I am or more. If you’re not, that’s okay, just delete the account or never go on it! No one cares but at least try it! You cannot knock it until you try it. I know you think it is probably a dumb idea but let me ask you, did you think the same thing about facebook? When I was younger I never wanted to get a facebook either but I did and I still check mine, not as much as twitter but still. Okay so the morale of this story is get a twitter, it is awesome. You will end up loving it forever. (532)

Summer Time High

This next post is going to be about summer. You know that time of the year when you get to sleep in everyday and hang out with your friends all night and you have so much time to do whatever you want? I think most teenagers would agree that it is their favorite time of the year. I’ll be honest my favorite part is the sleep! During the school year sleep just does not exist with school, Work, extracurricular activities, friends, family and whatever else you can squeeze in between all that.

The next best thing about summer is hanging out with your friends every night! It’s like your Friday is constantly on repeat and who doesn’t love it? During the summer you make the best memories with your friends and you become closer with them to.

The next best thing about summer is all the time you have. I don’t know about you but my days are so busy just because I have so much more time to do them! This is not always the best thing though because for me that means spending more of my money… Oh well! When I’m not spending money then I’m trying to make it, it’s a constant cycle.

Even though summer is the best time of the year, by the end of the summer you are kind of ready to get back to school and seeing all of your friends every day and seeing the people you don’t normally see over the summer. Also when you go back to school something about Friday just becomes more fun and you tend to have more fun on the Friday nights where you’ve been at school all week because you’re ready to release all that stress! When Sunday comes around though and you haven’t started any of your homework you know you are ready to start the whole cycle all over again. Although this was the best summer I have ever had, I will admit I was ready to go back to the old school cycle again and see my friends every day and learn I guess…

(353)

Meatball Problemz

Today this post is going to be about Nicole Polizzi or as we all know her Snooki. Snooki became famous on her first season of MTV’s hit show The Jersey Shore which started in 2009. For those of you who do not know about the show it is about eight strangers (in the beginning) that live close to New Jersey, to go to the Jersey shore for a summer and live with 7 other strangers. These Italian young adults went out every night clubbing and having fun (always included drinking) for the entire summer. This in turn made them come closer as friends. They are all like family to each other now that they have gone through 5 summers of living together; you become closer with your roommates. They were also many quarrels as well. In the first season one of the roommates, Angelina, caused so much drama between everyone. After the second season she never came back. Throughout the seasons you will find another instigator or trouble maker, Mike “The Situation”. He causes drama between all of the roommates because he gets into everyone’s business and spreads rumors. Mostly with Snooki. Another big drama is between Sam and Ron, and their constant fighting. Their relationship is the most unhealthy I have ever seen. They care about each other so much but all they do is hurt each other. In the end they will always care about each other but they cannot stay in a relationship with one another. At the end of each season though, everyone realizes how much they really do love each other and how they are going to miss each other when the summer is over.  Now that you know about the show she became famous from, let’s talk about Snooki. She recently just had a baby boy named Lorenzo and today we the discussion is going to be about whether or not she can handle being a mother. When she first told everyone she was pregnant, everyone was shocked. It shouldn’t have been such a shock though because Snook had sex so much and sex obviously leads to pregnancy, so it was bound to happen sometime. You see her journey of her pregnancy on the Jersey Shore spinoff Snooki and JWOWW and in the beginning you can tell she is not ready to have the baby. In my honest opinion I still don’t think she is ready to have a baby, even though she already has but I also don’t think she will be a completely horrible mother. Snooki had to go from being a hardcore partier to a mom within a year. I still don’t think she understands the whole concept of being a mother but I can also tell that she will try her hardest. Most people agree that Snooki is not ready to be a mother but ready or not she has to be one. Luckily she has the support of both families and all of her roommates, so she and the baby will be fine. Snooki in the end will learn all the things there is to know about motherhood and if she has another child, she will be prepared for it.

Taylor Swift Download

This next post is going to be about Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift is a country pop artist that who at this moment is very popular. Some of her more popular songs include her song Love Story, Teardrops on My Guitar, Should’ve Said No and Back To December. She started singing at a young age but her talent really started showing when she was 12. She wrote her first song by the age of 14. She made her big debut in music around the age of 17, when she released her first album Taylor Swift. Since then she has won several awards and has been named Entertainer of the Year. Recently Taylor has released a new single called We Are Never Getting Back Together. This song is different from anything Taylor has ever done before. It is a mixture of pop and alternative/indie music; the song has a more pop feel than any of her other songs have had. This newly released song sound nothing like her country songs she released before. It still has all of the same concepts as all Taylor Swift songs. They are all about relationships. What I like about this song is because it is so different than anything she has ever done before. I like that she is venturing into different types of music but still staying with the same things she always has. It’s like she’s trying to expand her views without venturing away from who she was/is. Also the song is different because there is some comic relief in it as well. Taylor also performed this song at the VMA’s on September 6^th and it was the best performance Taylor has ever done in her entire career in my opinion. This is because she never went out of her range and she could hit all of her notes with ease. She also seemed incredibly comfortable on stage with her dance moves, singing, and with the outfit she was wearing. Instead of wearing a big glitzy dress like she normally does on stage she was wearing shorts and a stripe t-shirt on stage. She also looked like she was having so much fun on stage with the dancers and the song. I think as Taylor gets older, she will understand what works for her and what she is comfortable doing and this will make her career soar even more than it already has, even though she is incredibly successful already I think she will get better as she ages.

How To: Shop For Homecoming Dresses

Today I am going to be talking about how to: Shop for a homecoming dress (or dresses for special occasions). First, when you are shopping look at dresses that fit your body shape and flatter them. Also look for something that is a little more comfortable, you don’t want to be in an uncomfortable dress all night that you can’t breathe in and people will be able to tell that you are very uncomfortable as well. If you are curvy, A line dresses would be a good choice. If you are smaller, dresses that show off your curves would be best. Second, shop early, the earlier you shop the faster your dress will come and you can take more time to pick it out because you started earlier. Also when you get your dress early it is easier to get any alterations you need done to your dress done earlier, so in the end the alterations will be cheaper because there is no rush. Also if your alterations are done wrong you have time to fix those also. If your dress does not fit correctly you also have time to return it. Third, find the styles you like before you start picking dresses out. If you are buying online and you don’t know what kind of dress you like or what kind of dress flatters you and you purchase one, you will most likely not be happy with your purchase and because dresses do not come cheap you will be even more upset about your big purchase. A good way to pick what you like is to go to a dress shop first and try on dresses to find out what your style is. Another way is to look at the popular styles on television at the moment and see whether you like them or not.  These are just a few tips that will hopefully make it easier for you to find your homecoming dress this coming fall. Have Fun!

Road Trip Drama's

Hello everyone that is reading this! Today I am going to be writing about Family road trips! You know when you pack up everyone in your family in a tight car compressed with your entire luggage? Yea those fun times are what we are going to talk about today. Okay so your family has decided to take a road trip to somewhere that is over 4 hours away for a “fun” weekend of being with each other all the time and sleeping in the same room as all of them and trying to share one bathroom with them all. Sounds like a trip of a lifetime right? Well for me they are the best. Yes I like the big vacations where you take a plane to somewhere tropical more but that isn’t always the easiest to come by so the next best thing is to take a road trip. Wouldn’t you rather be somewhere you have never been then being in your hometown that you know like the back of your hand? I would! So when you first hear that you are going on a road trip with you ENTIRE family, what is the first thing you think? The first thing I think is that this should be fun but then you start thinking of the consequences. Oh my goodness I will never be able to be alone! There won’t be any space! My family is already really annoying! Well yes those things may be true and by the end of the trip you will either be closer with them or you will be ready to run away from home. Hopefully by the end of the trip it will be that you are closer. Here are some things to think about when they start annoying you: think from their point of view also and why they might be annoyed with you or take the easy way out and take a walk around the hotel, or go visit with another family member that isn’t the person you are irritated with so you don’t get in a fight that you don’t end up forgiving each other for another 30 years or so. Instead of thinking about all the things that will be annoying the entire time, think of all the fun things you are going to be doing, for an example going to The Dells, you will be going to incredible water parks and doing fun activities like go-carting or mini golf, it should be a blast if you don’t let small annoyances get to you. Also another way would be to think of how to avoid the more than possible bad situations.  In the end you will hopefully have a legitimately fun time with your entire family and you will remember the trip forever. Thanks for reading!

Newbie Problems

This next post is going to be about life as the new kid at school. This year I am going to a new school by choice, I wanted to change schools because the previous school I was going to was not the right fit for me. Going to a new school so far has been going really well, I’ve already made a few friends in the first full week of school. Going to a new school is not as easy as I thought it would be. It’s like being a freshman all over again and even though my freshman year was not a bad year for me, I still wouldn’t want to do it again, I mean who would? Who would want to go to a giant school and go through the whole awkward, I don’t know anybody stage. No one. One of the biggest challenges of moving schools is that it is so much bigger and it’s so different from what you know. For me I went to small schools my entire life, I went from a student body of almost 700 to a student body of over 1,000. If you are reading this blog and you are also new to a school this year here are some positive things to think about. Yes, you probably don’t know anyone at your school for the moment but that isn’t always a bad thing! Show them who you are and they will probably love you for it. If they don’t at least they know you aren’t fake person. Also if you are having a hard time in school making friends, like you only have a few, be grateful that you have some because the friends you have probably like you for who you are and will most likely be your friend for a long time.  For me one of the biggest thing is to not writing people off right away, you wouldn’t want them doing that to you, would you? Just give everyone the chance that you want other people to give you. Hopefully if you are having a hard time in school it will get better and hopefully some of the things I said helped you and if not, well, oh well. If you are new in school too, just remember you are not the only one! Good luck at your new school! Hopefully you have a great 2012 Year!

Introduction

Hello my name is Maddie and today I’m writing a blog for my AP Lang class. I’ve never written a blog before, so if you are reading this please bear with me. My first post is going to be about myself. So in general it’s going to be really boring. Sorry! Okay here we go. As you already know my name is Maddie and I live in a very small place in the United States that almost no one remembers except for the ones that live here. I have a Mom and a Dad and two siblings, a brother and a sister, both are older. Yes I am the baby so some of you will probably think I am spoiled and get whatever I want. To be honest with you it’s pretty much true, I love being the baby of my family. Everyone is super protective of you and you DO get spoiled but I can promise you I am not a spoiled brat. I am really close with my mom’s side of the family, I think of all of them as my immediate family. I have 3 Aunts, 4 Uncles, 6 cousins and 2 grandparents. Now the person I look up to the most in my family is my uncle Jerry. My uncle Jerry was like my second father, my siblings and I were very close to him but sadly my uncle passed away 3 years ago. It was the most devastating thing that has ever happened to my family, none of us had lost someone so close to us in our entire lives, it was like losing your best friend, father, uncle and role model all in one day. To say that it is still excruciatingly painful to think about is an understatement, no one can or will ever replace him. He was an amazing person, the best person I’ve ever known. Even though it has been three years, to this day it still affects my family every day. Hopefully my family will grow from this the best they can and we can all hopefully do my uncle Jerry proud. So that is a little bit about me. Thank you for reading this blog if anyone actually did. Sorry if it was boring!