love life? Nahh.

Most of my friends have boyfriends, but when I really think about it, it’s not something that I need in life right now. Having someone to hang out with, spend time with, and love everyday would be something very nice, but not essential at this point in time of my life. I also think that getting a good education and being involved in sports and extra-curricular activates is more important than hanging out with a boyfriend. When I hear or talk to older couples or parents of my friends about them being high school sweethearts it makes me wonder how they really did with their high school education. Most of them say they didn’t do very good and I bet it was because they were too occupied with their significant other.

My mom always complains about how she is going to be alone for the rest of her life. She doesn’t really get out too much and has been let down by a couple people online. I always tell her that meeting people online is never a good idea because anything could happen, and I don’t wish that for her. She always tells me that she has no way to meet any guys because there aren’t any good places to meet guys. I believe it has to come natural and you can’t go out and look for them because they will come to you. I am always told that I could get a decent boyfriend, but I never really try that hard, and I’m okay with that because I’m better off right now. Now that I am getting older and smarter, I have realized that having a relationship in college would only throw me off. It's one of those things that would be really nice, but not necessary. I would rather just have really good guy friends that I can just hang out with that won't be a distraction.

Another upcoming event has really been bothering me; WPA-Women Pay All dance. I don't have a date, but yet I am too shy to ask any guys. One thing that bothers me the most about WPA is that the girls have to ask the guys. This is definitely not one of my favorite things to do. I'm am never really sure who I want to go with and by the time I decide, normally its too late to ask the person I want to go with because they already have a date. Whenever dances roll around, my self-esteem gets really low because I feel like I'm not good enough for any guys because they don't ask me. I guess that is one thing in life I am going to have to overcome.

Plans for college?

For years, I have known about my step dad's involvement with Mount Mercy. He always promised that I would get a free ride to college because he works there. I never really thought about a back-up plan. Just a about a week ago, my mom informed me that he had been fired for being dishonest with Mount Mercy about something. I was torn. I didn't really know what to think. In about a year, I will be registering for college. That's something that really scares me because now I have to choose where I'm going to start off my life in the real world, unlike a week ago.

In a way, my step-dad losing his job was a good thing. Mount Mercy doesn't have any good medical classes. I am looking to go to a college that offers classes for pediatrics, which is the route I have chosen to begin my career. Lately, I have been reconsidering what I want to go to college for. I feel like I need to talk to people about it and what would be the best job for me because it's something that's going to affect me for the rest of my life.

My math teacher told me that he wants everyone to experience the dorm life for at least a couple years of the time your in college. He says it’s a great way to feel like you’re on your own. He told me that the first couple years of his college career, he messed up completely. Seeing that the advisors are nothing like the counselors during high school, you have to worry about yourself because they won’t do it for you. Being alone without my mom kind of scares me because she won’t really be there for me and I will have to rely on others to get my back. I am trying to prepare for college by creating good study habits because going to college comes with a lot of homework and much studying.

A lot of people also tell me that you have to know your limits. When its late Sunday night and you haven’t finished your homework and some people ask you to hang out, you have to be able to tell them no, even though it’s going to be very difficult. Another important factor to help in college is to actually go to class. People think its okay just to skip class because they don’t have to go, but it does indeed affect them because they miss the whole lesson for the day and gradually get behind and struggle to keep up. People that drop out of high school and expect to get a good job and do good for the rest of their life, usually don’t end up very good in the end. I also feel that waiting a year after graduating from high school is a very bad idea because college normally expects you to remember stuff from your high school classes, but people don’t because they don’t use that information during the year they take off.

The New Black President

In my opinion, i see black and white people as one. There is no difference in my mind so having a black president doesnt really effect me as much as it should. I am not one of those people that are getting out of control because its something that hasnt happened before. I really think that Obama was the best choice for Americans because he promises change. The one factor that draws me to him is his way that he connects with his audience. He is a very good public speaker and really gets the point across.

I am not racist or anything like that, but with the new black president, some blacks feel that they have more power over the whites now. Some think that they have more rights and are more important because they are dark skinned. I think that they are more respected, but just as important as white people, so they shouldn't get cocky about it. The day of the inauguration, black people at kennedy were screaming and running around like crazy idiots. Yeah, its exicting, but control yourself, please?

Iowa Smoke Free Air Act

Just recently, the Smoke free Air Act was issued. It prohibits smoking in almost all public places and enclosed areas within places of employment, as well as some outdoor areas. Is this something that was necessary? In my opinion, yes. Lately, my friends have been talking about the third hand smoke deal. They said that its hurtful to young children and others if the smell of smoke on people's hands gets into their system. I'm not quite sure if that's correct, but it's definitely a possibility. The two places i noticed the most drastic changes were bowling alleys and restaurants. It feels so different to walk into a bowling alley and have it not reek of smoke, but it is a really nice change. It is also a pleasure to not have to tell the host at a restaurant whether you want to sit in the smoking section or non-smoking section.


I definitely feel that this was one of the brightest decisions for the health of the human race. The rate of death from second-hand smoke was going up, but hopefully this will be the "saving grace" for the death rate due to smoke. When people are around smokers, they don't realize how much it affects your lungs and health. I am really going to enjoy the fresh air in the places I eat. I wish that we could do something about the not-so-brilliant parents that smoke around their children. I think that the next era of children will have an advantage because the Smoke Free Air Act was passed and they won't have to spend so much time around smoke. I hope in the future that more and more states will realize the danger of smoking and do something about it. A lot of older friends that I have are smokers. I look down upon them because of the recent chaos about it. I always encourage them to quit. I don't think that I could ever start smoking because the thing that makes me cringe is the thought that it's the reason my Dad and Grandmother have passed away. That tragedy has kept me out of a lot of trouble because I want to make them proud and stay out of trouble. I may not be able to see them, but they are always with me watching my every move.

Competition @ LINN-MAR

Well as you may know, I am currently in the prep show choir at Kennedy High school. This past weekend we had a competition at Linn-Mar High in Marion. We had one of the best performing times out of all the groups; nine at night. Since we were performing one of the last, we had to take advantage of that opportunity to impress the crowd and the judges that night. I didn't really think we were that prepared for the competition, but I was totally blown away by the outcome. Personally, when I'm on stage performing in front of hundreds of people I get really tense and worry about every little thing I do. It's not that I'm not physically ready, but the mental part of everything gets to me.

The factor that gets me the most about stage fright is that anyone could be "all eyes on you". It makes me wonder how many people actually look at me verses the people that don't even notice I'm there. Being in the front row, I think about how much it would affect the group. If I mess up, chances are that someone behind is going to be looking at me and repeat the same movement as me. After our show was performed and we were off stage, we had some chill time until finals. I couldn't stop thinking about whether we did really good or really bad. From what I had heard we did spectacular, but I wasn't going to trick myself into thinking that so I wouldn't be upset with the results. Sure enough, finals time rolled around and everyone got more and more stressed about how the turnout was going to be. We ended up getting the award for FIRST place. Yeah, I know. It was sweet. Being in show choir has taught me many things. Before every performance, I make sure I go on the stage with an open mind and am prepared for anything that gets thrown at me. I have learned to perform to the best of my ability and no matter what place we get, we are number one in my eyes and things couldn't have gone any better.

One thing I hate about competitions is the way people act differently and sometimes immature. As of a couple days ago, Protege is no longer able to wear Happiness jackets during their performances because a couple of the kids in Protege were complained about by a Jefferson mom and were said to be 'laughing at a Jefferson performance'. I talked to them about it and they said they were only telling each other that Jefferson's show was "legit". One big factor that brought this upon us was the amount of competition between Kennedy and Jefferson. It really aggravates me to hear that we are no longer able to wear Happiness jackets due to a big misconception. Wearing Happiness jackets during their performances has been a tradition for over twenty years and it kills me to see it be taken away.

We were told that this year’s Protégé ensemble is the best one Kennedy High School has ever seen. And to think I didn’t want to be in it at the beginning of the year? I didn’t expect the season to start of this great. I have to remember that the season isn’t over and we still have to face many really good competitors. We need not to get big heads about winning grand champs.

Preparing for college

Looking ahead, going to college is something that can be looked at in both positive and negative ways. Sure, going to bed whenever you want and having the freedom to do whatever you like may seem heaven-like now. In reality, it is a privilege you have to keep strong control of. Tonight at youth group, nine college students came in to talk to the high school kids in preparation for college. Most of them said that getting away from home seemed like such a good thought until they actually went through with it. One girl talked about a phase called 'freshman fifteen'. It's where you're bound to gain at least fifteen pounds by the end of your freshman year due to pigging out beyond control and eating unhealthy foods. This definitely seems like a typical freshman in college. For me, I am not going to Kirkwood, unlike most of my friends. I have a free ride to Mount Mercy College because my stepfather is a professor who teaches computer science there. I am hoping to receive a scholarship to some other out-of-state college so I can meet other people and have more career opportunities. I am planning to go to college for pediatrics, to be a children’s doctor. Seeing as Mount Mercy doesn’t have anything to do with that, I am going to have to take nursing classes for two years and transfer to get my PhD at another college. In order to make the right decisions while in college, I have been told to get a accountability partner. This person must be trustworthy and willing to talk to me at any time of the day. They should also probably be a Christian, so that they know what’s right and what I should stay away from just in case I need them.

StReSsED

Do you ever have those days where everything seems to be going on all at the same time? I have that problem daily. Currently, I am juggling three sports: wrestling cheerleading, show choir, and bowling. For some strange reason, they always schedule practices and games on the same night, so am often finding myself skipping practices to attend another one. Tomorrow, I have a mandatory choir practice from 3 until 6, cheerleading starting at 3:45 until 6:15, and show choir from 6:30 until 9. That would be the story of my life; always crammed with activities. Being a typical teenager comes with the life-outside-school. I have the tendency to argue with my mom and brother, which is where most of my stress comes from. Getting homework done is one of my LEAST favorite things to do. I always find myself procrastinating, putting everything off until the last minute or night before its due. When competition season arrives for show choir (about 2 weeks), I am going to find it extremely difficult to finish my homework. The assignments that get me the most are big projects like posters and presentations. Most times when I get those type of big assignments there’s more than one I have to, for multiple classes. When discussing cheerleading this year, well, its kind of a train wreck. We currently have 2 members on the wrestling cheer squad, Michaela Caldbeck and me. That is putting stress on us because if one of us is ill, there is no hope of any cheerleaders attending the meet because no girl is going to want to cheer by herself. When I am stressed, the method I use to calm me down is just by relaxing and having a hot cup of tea. This assures comfort and helps take cares away, even though it sounds really cheesy. Another thing I do to help calm me down is reading. It takes my mind off of everything.