Pinterest Does It Again #image

I know I've already posted these posters but this one seemed like it was made for this class. 

Open Letter #graded

Dear Front Seat Driver,
I know that I will be seeing you tonight as I pick you up for our daily carpool, but I felt it was necessary to jot down a quick note of gratitude to you. After all, you deserve it. First of all, thank you SO much for enlightening me with your music taste. Honestly, the second you get into my car and switch the radio to top 40's music is like a daily wake-up call. Brittney Spears, if you can even give that level of autotune a personal name, wailing about sex and lust just warms my heart more than any other music ever could.
And once we start driving, wow. Just wow. When I first got my licence I was slightly depressed because I would never get to do behind-the-wheels again.Thankfully I now have you, because clearly getting my license doesn't signify capability of driving. Smelling your breath as you constantly lean over to check the speed is absolutely delightful (especially on the days when you have gum), and nothing makes me feel more confident than when you clutch the handle of the door with all of your might when I take a left turn as the arrow turns yellow. You may have taken it a tad too far when you assumed I didn't turn my blinker on and I definitely did. Just because your mom got a ticket from doing that doesn't mean I am going to. If time passing is directly correlated to the ridiculousness of your questions i may have to kick you out of my car. I mean, if you're so great at driving, you can drive yourself, right?
Until later,
Ruth

Smile! #holidayseason

I am obsessed with photography. I've had Stephen, my Sony, for about 3 years now and I have never used it as much as I have in the last few months. I was always just sitting around waiting for a time to take a perfect picture. Let me tell you this- that is never going to work. The most perfect pictures are the ones taken in the moment, capturing the emotions just as they are- raw, and sometimes shocking you with its beauty. Moral of the story: lugging your camera with you everywhere will be rewarding. I added a "Snapshots" section to my blog for some of my pictures.

Ok, thats enough deep writing, soul searching etc... Lets move onto something more shallow- Me! (holy cow that sounds selfish, but I guess it is my blog).

The days of being surprised on Christmas days are pretty much over. Well, I don't know exactly what I'll be getting, but I didn't have much on my list so I'm assuming that I'll get most of it. But you know what they say about assuming... either way, I'm excited!


Christmas List 2011:
* Garage door opener- I know this is the dumbest thing for a 16 year old girl to ask for BUT I'm currently parking in a third stall in our garage. One that I have to manually open. This means scurrying out of my car into the garage, yanking the door open, and then dashing back to the warmth of the heated vehicle. Doing this in the temperatures of Minnesota winter is grueling. Especially when I'm still wet after practice at night. Frozen hair is something I want to avoid.

*These Sperry Top-Siders. I'm really not a fan of how the normal ones make my feet look like Big Foot, so these high-top ones were a perfect find. And the gray glitter on them really just makes me smile.

*Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto album (2011). I have been resisting clicking "purchase album" on iTunes since the day this came out. Music is the perfect thing to put on Christmas lists because $15 is the perfect price for extended family members or secret santa things.

*Fujifilm Instax Mini 25 camera. I am SO excited for this. Its a small-ish, modern version of a polaroid camera. The exposures it prints are the size of credit cards. They're so tiny and cute. The only downside to it is the fact that film is super expensive. $15 for 20 exposures? yikes.

Everyones Doing It #procrastinate

Tis the season to be productive... tra-la-la-la-la la-la-la LA. Too bad theres so much juggling of projects to do.

Winter Break Countdown: 2 days

Amount of snow on the ground: zip

Even though taking a nap under the glow of my Christmas tree is the most appealing thought of my life I really need to get off of the interweb. This picture turned up on my daily Pinterest peruse. I guess I'll get back to work.

Work music of choice: Jeremy Messismith

Get Risky #graded

Please do not leave this post with aspirations to go drive at the speed of light around the sharp corners in your neighborhood. Thats not the type of risk I'm talking about, and I refuse to pay you're medical bill. Also, if it was then I would be a major hypocrite. Seriously, even though I like to pretend I'm good at snowboarding, I can only do a box on the park because I don't want to risk breaking any of my precious bones that I nurture with 3 servings of dairy everyday-- I really just can't do the whole physical risk type of thing.

Taking risks means waving at the shy person who sits in the back of the classroom when you see her in the hall, it means going past small talk and opening up to your friend; it is showing your true emotions. Being involved in your life. It is the development of your character. It can even be something like telling all of your avid blog readers (yeah, this is a shout-out to all like, 3 of you!) that you are a big baby when it comes to snowboarding.  How are people supposed to know who you are if you don't put yourself out there? I mean, sure you can just bumble along through life not voicing your opinion, choosing not to be yourself because it might make someone think of you differently or cause some tension...

But I'll respect you more if you don't, even if we disagree or if your story exposes something about you that isn't "normal."

So let loose; let your true self shine through. Just remember to be considerate of others, because if you get disowned by your family because you stubbornly disagree with them, I will not be blamed.

The Gift of Love #inspirationalwednesday

Love is patient;
Love is kind;
Love is not envying or boastful or arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way;
It is not irritable or resentful;
It does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth;
It bears all things
Believes all things
Endures all things. 
[ 1 Cor. 13:4-7]

That's what love is. Its not just this. Its this, and this, and this too. Actually, its a combo of all of these and more. 
Read through those verses again, but this time replace love (or the pronoun representing it) with your name.
Sound like you?
It sure doesn't sound like me. Especially not during this hectic time of year.

We're never going to be perfect, but with the potential to love like this why not try? In the end, its all that matters anyway.

"Love NEVER ends. But as for prophecies, they WILL come to an end; as for tongues, they WILL cease; as for knowledge, it WILL come to an end."
[1 Cor. 13:8]

Laugh a Little #examples

WARNING:  Dear Blank, Please Blank (most hilarious) contains addicting content. Actually, any page on this site is funny, but normally the funniest ones are found after the first page of the "Hilarious" section (that page is all "been there, heard that" boring stuff that just isn't funny anymore). I've linked you straight to that gold. Go read some.
Also, Damn You Autocorrect will give you a six-pack if you spend enough time perusing it.

Exhibit A.

 I guess that since laughing is healthy now I deserve some unhealthiness.. off to the Christmas cookie container!

Happiness Guaranteed #graded

I'm not gonna lie, Junior year had gotten pretty sucky. Allow me to spell it out for you: Junior year= homework and more swim practice= little sleep= grumpy Ruth. During Thanksgiving Break I realized that Junior year was turning me into a PESSIMIST. Which is something that I never ever, ever, ever want to be. Ever. I decided change needed to happen.

Instead of thinking "ugh, I can't wait until school is over so I can go take a nap,"
I woke up in the morning and tried thinking "Today is going to be a GREAT day!"

Yes, I know thats cheesier than Big Time Rush's performance at Jingleball but it's what I needed. Attitude really is everything. I knew this was true when even school started to get better... probably a good thing since I spend like 40 hours a week there.

I really recommend you try it sometime. 

(and if you think I'm some ignorant, naive optimist and you're laughing at this right now I guess its your loss)

"And do not be greived, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10)

"For the sorrowing every day is evil, but the joyous heart it  is festive always." (Proverbs 15:15)

"A cheerful heart is good medicine." (Proverbs 17:22)

My Own [Mini] Personal Dumpster #graded

When approaching this post I felt brain dead. What the heeeeckkkk was I going to observe and then explain? Honestly, Mama Schaefer likes to keep a clean house so everything is nicely in its spot on the main level. From this you could conclude that my family is organized, neat, and put together. If you want to keep that perception then I would advise you to steer clear of my room at all costs.

This is probably the cleanest its ever been. But that
one wall is entirely corkboard. Its awesome. I love it. 

My room is what I like to call messy-chic. AKA everything is strewn about, some on purpose and some not, but I really just cannot find what I need if its not where I threw it. Seriously, if that one blue sheet of paper that I got at camp this summer isn't sitting under the notebook on top of my pink striped box I wouldn't ever be able to find it. So I went up there to find some stuff to write about and then I saw this giant green bowl that I keep on my vanity. Wah-la. My own, personal dumpster.

I'm not sure why this bowl is where it is, but somehow it got there last year and ever since its been a collection spot for anything and everything. Seriously, its the first place I go to when I've lost something remotely small. Time to dig to the bottom and explain some of the utter crap tokens of goodness that lie deep down. 

• "In the Pink" Sleeping Mask: oh, thats where it went. Don't ask me why its located on the opposite side of my bed (not that it matters anyway, because sleeping masks don't work and are rediculous wastes of money). I imagine this is still here from a photo shoot I did in July- my friend put on all of the accessories she could find in my room, this included. Hah, she looked like one of my grandma's cabinets- overflowing with stuff that all has significance, but when combined just looks tacky. 
• A small key wrapped in plastic: alright, this key was paired with some piggy bank thing that my dad towed home from work. That bank had a lock on it. If you haven't picked up on the blatently obvious clues here, I am not organized enough to keep a miniscule key without losing it. So, to save myself from the event of locking some Ben Franks in that bank (JK, I'm not Cardona, I'm really just straight up broke) Ijust didn't even begin to store money in it. The bank is gone. The key remains with the hope of turning up on a piece of jewelry one day. 
• Autographed Quietdrive ("Deliverance") and Diana Birch ("Bible Belt") CD cases: These two CDs are my most precious albums ever. They are only in this dumpster because once upon a time it was nearly empty, so they sat proudly on display. The Quietdrive one is what triggered my obsession for the local Minnesota band. One day, 3 summers ago, my family decided to go to the State Fair. It was delicious, as usual, and as the night came around we saw that this band called Quietdrive was playing a free concert at one of the band shells. I had heard of them so we went. and they were AMAZING! I bought the album and went through the small line so that I could meet them; I was starstruck and partially in love. Moral of the story: go listen to them. 
• A folded, labeled, hand-drawn diagram titled "Hippie Sailboat": This is one of the most recent additions to the dumpster and I love it! It resides here temporarily; its original home was intended to be my bulletin board but I ran out of push-pins. One of my best friends started sailing this year and is obsessed (to the max), so she draws sailboats on nearly everything. On the way home from the band trip to Orlando she drew me my own personal green sailboat with a tie-die sail. Its perfectly labeled too, so if you want tot know where the tiller or the jib sheet is, just ask me! In addition to the boat there are also scribbles of color that accompany random song lyrics that are scrawled in the white space. I know, it seems dumb, but it represents our friendship AND that trip, and one day when I look back upon it I will be flooded with vivid memories of both of these things.
• A pink plastic stegosaurus, a stretched out octopus sillyband, a peace sign band-aid: No description needed. I just take a liking to the wierd little things you pick up during life. I couldn't tell you where they came from, but they're cute, have character, and I love them. 

Are you yawning to death yet? Good, you should be. These things are just plain Jane, everyday objects that, when taken at face value, don't mean much to anyone. It isn't the material or idea that makes them meaningful, it's their history. 

Thursday Night Diversion #homeworkbreak

"Keep Calm and Carry On" was actually made by the British government to boost the spirits of the public if an invasion were to happen. Little did they know that in 2011 the internet would be filled with remakes of the  original poster. And that it would be a little piece of motivation for high schoolers who just cannot manage to do homework on a Thursday night. 

(because I really wish I could surf everyday. unfortunately I live in the land of 10,000 LAKES.)

What We're Missing #quotes

Audrey Hepburn. Yeah, you know her. Shes this girl. That poster that you just got linked to is hanging in my room. I got it a few years ago for some shallow reason like, "hey! shes that one pretty girl from that old movie thats pretty good." But hey, I was just finishing middle school, cut me some slack here. During an interweb surf sesh tonight I found some of her quotes; quotes that make me proud to have her on my wall.
This one in particular.
Thats the kind of attitude society is missing today. A public attitude that boosts girls up, not cuts them down.

One, Big Happy Blog Post #graded #rhetoricalmodes

Ok, I know I'm posting this on Thanksgiving, but before you go calling me pathetic you should know that I had no internet access until now. This was all pre-typed so I'm simply copy pasting from Word, which only takes like 2 minutes. Happy reading (ha, ha).

Happiness

1.  Happiness can either be joy or contentment, usually a specific feeling or experience can be both, but not at the same time. Joy is a surge of physical energy, which I can only describe as being from bubbles of emotion that lie right under your skin, buzzing with happiness that creates a tingle in your fingers and toes. Contentment, on the other hand, is an overall feeling of satisfaction that lasts longer with minimal physical effects (except for maybe a smile). For example, after winning first place you would feel joy, and after the celebration dinner and a good night’s sleep you would find that this joy was replaced by a content feeling of pride and accomplishment.

2. Recall, for a moment, that first day Hagrid brought Harry Potter to Diagon Alley. That was one of Harry’s first days of happiness. Before entering the wizarding world Harry had lived in a world that was less than suitable, living in a cabinet under the stairs amongst his “family” that showed little love, he was lacking happiness. This all changed once he felt the love and acceptance of his fellow wizards, found a connection to his real parents, and acquired wealth to buy items that brought a smile to his face like chocolate frogs and top notch broomsticks. Despite all that had happened before that day he had a change of perspective; he was happy.

3.  Happiness is what you make it. It can be the scent of ooey-gooey that curls through your house, making a difficult study session just a little bit better. It can be silent laughter in the response to the innocent baby giggles coming from the pew in front of you at church. It can be the feeling that surges through your veins when you figure out that you have just aced an ap comp test (not like I’ve ever experienced that..), making you want to do cartwheels down the hallway until you hit the wall.

4. After a week of exhausting, brain-draining final exams I returned home and proceeded to crash into my bed. The next day, I decided, was to be my personal vacation day. I awoke nose-to-nose with the snout of my dog and the pitter-patter of rain on the roof above me. Scene: me curled up in the overstuffed chair by the fireplace. A good book hanging from my fingertips. An oversized mug of coffee sitting within reach. A warm fluff of fur that I call my dog snuggled in on my lap. The only worry on my mind was what to eat for lunch. I was peaceful, rested and content. This, I realized, was happiness in its purest form.

5. It is not uncommon to hear the phrase “I’m so happy I could die” in our society, it’s even the title of one of Lady Gaga’s songs. In an ideal world where everyone and everything was happy this phrase would not exist, but in a world where sadness lurks about in the shadows this quote holds true. Just check a thesaurus. Happiness relates to light, peace, contentment, joy, and positivity whereas sadness is dark, despair, grief, and a removal of love. For some, sadness is so unbearable that they would rather accept death at a point of high happiness then face a fall to sadness.

6. When you are happy you see the world in a positive light. Now, the positivity varies, you could be positive enough to notice that your glass is half full or you could be so incredibly positive that you feel the need to wear one of those “Life is Good” shirts. Big-picture wise, the amount doesn’t matter because you are still happy. However, the world is constantly throwing negativity your way. When something (or things) brings your perspective from positive to negative (whether it be a traffic jam or a death) you lose that happiness. But, before you get all negative, remember that there is hope. The relationship works both ways. Positive experiences, such as feeling accomplished or seeing a smiling baby, build your perspective back up and make you happy once again.

  

Short Weeks #love #hate

8 hour, day-long band clinic. 8 hour day of school. 3 quizzes. 2 tests. 1 essay. 1 project. 

finally it is 11:26 pm on Tuesday night and I have nothing to worry about.

How Wonderful.

I am Thankful. 

Very.

Much.

So.

Just a little respect here #graded

Alright. Its letter jacket season again and this means that I get to face the snide remarks about how easy it is to letter in the non-sport of synchro. Again. As we speak (well, I guess I'm just typing this at you) I am cold and wet and reek of chlorine, all thanks to synchro practice. I practice 5 days a week for 2-3 hours a day during the fall and winter seasons, and in spring I have both high school and club practice daily, which is about 24 hours a week. That much work does not make a sport "easy." And if you're still convinced that all we do is float about in shape-shifting patterns while wearing flowery hats, let me prove you wrong.


Ok, first go update yourself on modern day synchro. Here are some of my favorite teams.

• USA Technical Team (2007) cool suits much? This routine took gold in 2007 at the Fina championships, beating the superpower of Russia. #USAUSA
• But Russia (2006) is amazing. Just look at how close they swim, how sharp they are and how high out of the water they are. 
• This Greece Team (2007) is one of my all time favorites. They are graceful at some parts ( 0:52 is my favorite graceful part) but fast and sharp at others. At 1:47 there is a cut of of the music where they make their own beat on the water, and they all manage to stay synchronized. There's also a part later on where duet partners artfully spit water, its hilarious. 
• If you only watch one of these watch Canada's Cowboys V. Indians routine. Its fun, interesting, and also the shortest one. Check out the half-and-half make-up jobs and the half-and-half suits. At 2:04 they all pop up wearing bandannas. Crazy, right?

Common misconceptions about synchro:
1. We do not touch the bottom. Ever. Otherwise the routine score gets a major penalty, which can take a first place swim to last place. Instead we tread water (AKA eggbeater) really hard. Here's an example of how a team works together to throw a girl into the air.

2. In performance we don't get to wear caps or goggles and have to wear a ton of makeup. However, to have a good swim you can't have hair in your eyes and you have to be able to see your teammates and stay in formation. Problem? No. We wear our hair in ballet buns and glaze it with Knox gelatin (yeah, the stuff you cook with. Its nasty and gross and smells disgusting) and we just have to suck it up and open our eyes underwater.

3. Are you aware that every time you see legs in a routine the swimmers are holding their breath? In synchro, air is a precious commodity, and getting a good gulp of it between hybrids (the underwater stuff) is essential. Otherwise you'll start to see black spots, and trust me, that's not good.

Have you had enough ranting yet? I sure have. I haven't even scratched the surface of this complicated sport, but hopefully you respect it a little bit more.

Everything's a problem but these are my arguments #graded

Alright well I was planning on blogging on a prompt about problems with spelling and spell check but that wasn't assigned. darn. Maybe I'll just randomly blog that post sometime else (maybe meaning one day when I have time. Having time meaning never).
SO. Computers. Are they good or bad? The Sugarplum Fairy or Cruella de Vil? Skywalker or Vader? Ok, I actually don't know if that last comparison was correct since I've never seen a Star Wars movie, but I normally just pretend to be a sci-fi junkie. The fact of the matter is that computers are excellent and amazing and revolutionizing and all but they bring about some major issues to debate. Thanks to Chapter 4 of some amazing textbook I have some listed below with my opinions tacked on.

• Loss of Privacy- Yes yes yes. Major problem (I'm just going to address social networking) I know Facebook is supposed to be "more secure" than its competitor, MySpace, and it does but the privacy settings keep changing, allowing for more creeping on strangers (by accident in most cases). The biggest issue is that the masses don't maintain privacy settings. WAY too many people know WAY too much about eachother. I thought my privacy was high until I added pictures the other day and friends of my mutual friend through another friend (did that even make sense?) liked some pictures. Can you say creepy? I know I can. Especially because I really don't know these people at all, they could be class-A murderers for all I know (or don't know from their profiles). Don't even get me started on Twitter. It really is quite unsettling to think that anyone can see that I'm eating a vegan dinner or freaking out about a test or going on a vacation. Overall, there needs to be more education about the sharing of personal information. 

• Creation of a two-classed society: those who can afford computers and those who cannot:  Not a problemo in developed countries for 3 reasons. First, computers (and smartphones for that matter) are becoming lower priced and more accessable to the public. Not everyone needs a fancy Macbook Pro that can do everything under the sun, they just need a functioning screen with a keyboard attatched. Two, if an occupation, like student or office-worker, needs a computer they will most likely be provided with one at their place of work. If not then, third, there are public computers located from the public library to a local coffee shop.
  On a worldwide scale, there may be a problem at hand seeing that many countries in Africa are still working at feeding the majority, let alone providing technology to all. This is an obvious setback to a continent that is already bearing the weight of so many setbacks. It is our job to help them out, to spend our money on developing education of third-world countries instead of on drugs, alcohol, and fancy cars. We need to follow in the footsteps of Oprah Winfrey.

• Pornography, slander, and villification on the Web: Not a problem. Please, its not as if the internet brought these things about. If people want to read/write/view something they will find a way to. End of story.

• The death of the daily newspaper as a form of print media: As an aspiring journalist here this one broke my heart a little bit as I read it and realized that it is so true. We can already see this happening in society, the Star Trib. is having problems and was (I'm not sure if it still is) threatening to go purely electronic. As much as I love the classy factor of having a printed newspaper, I know that the internet will take over the news industry, simply because it is cheaper and more accessible. The biggest problem will be getting readers of the daily to continue to visit the online site daily so that the paper can stay in business. I'm sure a majority of readers will already know how to do this or already do it (hence the collapse of printed paper), but that minority that doesn't have daily access to a computer, doesn't know how to work one, or is just plain lazy will be a loss of readers for the newspaper which will result in less revenue and that cues the economic down spiral of capitalism. yay.  

If you're still reading this I congratulate you. It takes some endurance to make it through my rambling of opinions (especially because I'm stuck in a bit of a parenthesis rut). 

The Life of a Teddy Bear #opentopic #graded

I have this teddy bear named Peanut Butter. She was born at a Build-a-Bear birthday party in grade school (probably around 3rd grade). She is currently sitting on the ledge right above my desk, but she hasn't always been there. Over the years her career as a bear has shifted, molding itself around the life I create for myself.

Peanut Butter (I'm just going to call her PB for short) began her life as my teddy bear with the role of a comfort giver. Perched on my bed, right next to my pillow, PB was my care taker, always protecting me from the things that go bump in the night. With cuddling as her only job she was really living the life. 

Next PB moved to the basement. This was last year- the year of Euro. This being my first AP class I had to find a way to efficiently study so I decided to teach my teddy bear ( literally using the "classic" example given by Prod). Hearing the story of Europe from the Renaissance to Napoleon to the Cold War, this was the start of PB's years of education, her life becoming a little more dense. 

Now moving on to tonight, another addition to PB's "job description." I, along with about 17 million (well actually 19, but it seems like so many more when there are only 3 spots to compete for) other people, am trying out for the position of Drum Major. So what have I been doing tonight? Not partying, not studying, not vegging out on the couch while watching countless hours of T.V. no. I have been conducting "The Incredibles" for PB. I imagine she is quite different than the audience I will (hopefully!) be conducting for on Monday, but practice is practice. And now PB has acquired musical skills. 

To be honest I have never thought this much about a stupid stuffed animal, but I thought it was interesting how much her role changed. I wonder what will come for PB once I go to college. Will she even be in existence when I have a family of my own? I have no idea, but for now she's stuck with trekking through high school right along with me, offering a cuddle or two along the way if necessary [emoticon resisted here]. 

Writing Doesn't Even Begin to Explain It #graded

Although I love to write a little part of me dies when a teacher announces that we will be writing a paper. Why? Because I know the tedious process that is to come. How deceptive the word "writing" is; it makes the assignment seem like a simple little task when it is really a monstrous process. Writing a paper means going through the complex and confusing process of filtering ideas. Brutally constructing a first draft at the pace of a snail. Destroying that draft with an editing process, and then destroying that draft, and then that draft, and then... you get the picture. It means picking through a dictionary for 5 minutes to find the right word and then changing it back to the original word later on. But most importantly it means going through that intensive night-before feeling of deadline dread and stress as you work off of adrenaline alone to perfect the beast during the last few hours you have with it before its judgement day. And then comes the pride.

That's how I feel when I write an assigned paper. I think everyone goes through a similar process. What makes everyone different is how we write. When I write, everything needs to be prepared before I dive in. My workplace, which is my basement, must be remotely tidy; there should be a cup of coffee or water by my side, depending on the season, and I have to be a comfortable temperature. Since the basement is not well insulated this usually means that I have on sweats, a pair of thick wool socks, and my zebra-print snuggie (which is so dumb because I usually end up wearing it like a robe anyway). If I want to get work done my phone has to be far, far away and I have to nuke all of my social networking on Stay Focused. Once I am finally ready to work I avoid my laptop like the plague. I think I was born in the wrong century or something, because I simply CANNOT draft my ideas on a Word document, which is probably because I was that kid who barely passed her typing test due to the slowness of her WPM. I need to write them out, preferably with a pen. I need to scribble out the bad ideas, draw arrows that connect, and pour out my ideas; I need to make my roadmap. Then I will type. Once I have my first draft I will go through editing, again with the pen on the paper, because any editing on the computer just confuses my already confused mine. Oh, and music? I love it, but its not allowed until at least the third draft because I need to work out my ideas. And when I do listen to music I only do classical. If its anything with lyrics I guarantee you that the lyrics will end up in my work.

Yes, I can write at school, the library, or even on the airplane (like I did just a few days ago when I came home from Orlando) and still produce good work. The difference will be the fact that I will not be nearly as productive when I am outside of my comfortable work space in my basement; my writing "bubble."

Is this what its like to be nerdy? #thisisodd

So my goal for this afternoon was going to quickly finish up a ton of random assignments so I wouldn't have to worry about them all weekend. I'm so early the weekend assignment isn't even on Cardona's blog yet. Man, I feel like an overachiever right now. But while I'm blogging I may as well toss in my latest obsession.
the Freelance Whales.
Fall is the season for indie music, so if you like indie music you must go listen to them right now. and if you don't like indie, you should still go check them out. NOW.
[[ If you need a starting point, First Floor Generator and Second Floor Generator are the classics.]]

Things I want but can't have #opentopic #graded

So that saying about how you always want what you can't have? I'm just going to state the obvious here, its 100% true. Heres to linking practice and a list of some of my dreams.

1. Long, straight hair that I can brush while its dry... without getting a huge afro of frizz.
2. Glasses. like these. I feel like bad eyesight is a horrible wish, but they're just so cool.
3. An Up house so that I can travel anywhere and everywhere.
4. Time. For living life outside of homework. But then again, there are those weeks were time doesn't go fast enough.
5. A pet emu. Seriously, this thing is so ugly its cute.
6. Natural guitar-playing talent. Like Gungor. The beatboxing could be an added plus too.
7. This truck. or this car. or this Nimbus 3000. What classy ways to get around.
8. High School Musical as my real life. Really, who doesn't want a continuous, cheesy musical happening at all hours of the day?
9. Healthy but delicious school lunches. Like veggie burgers (YUM-O).
10. Discipline from all procrastination devices like Facebook, Twitter, and Spotify. I had Stay Focused (for Google Chrome) but then I stealthily figured out how to disable it, so it is now useless. Wonderful.

Alright, well there you have it. A little glimpse of me in a nutshell. If I'm ever in a complaining mood around you I'll probably be complaining about one of these. Except for the emu and HSM ones. For some odd reason they strike me as unreachable dreams. But maybe someday.

Things that really annoy me or get me heated.

People who think they have the right to talk smack about anything and everything and then do nothing at all to help the problem.

Cliques, and the fact that lunch time can be the best part of the day for some people but the worst part of the day for others.

Stereotyping, judging, excluding etc. I know I'm guilty of doing these too, but they still annoy me.

People who completely disrespect teachers. Especially substitutes.

The fact that Autotune > actual voices in music. I have no problem with top 40s music, but it the fact that most high schoolers have such a narrow opinion on what good music is really annoys me.

When teachers play favorites.

Homework assignments that are due during the weekend. Also, when teachers don't check an assignment that you spent time doing the night before.

5th graders having a Facebook and a smart phone.

How society shuns the sharing of religion.

To steal one from Jessica, when people say "No offense but..." really? Because I'm taking offense.

The fact that relationships are built off of texting and internet chatting conversations. If you can't have that same conversation with someone in person then you probably aren't friends in real life.

Political parties. Have some nationalism for Pete's sake and work together.

Two Million Minutes: Too Much Fun, Too Much Stress #graded

I'm just going to start off by saying this: last night I dreamed about writing this post. And it was not a pleasant dream. I dreamed about being shunned via Blogger for not doing a good enough essay and for turning it in late because I was too busy having fun yesterday. Having fun. Yes, I was doing it. If you were Hu Xiaoyuang from China, you may be gasping in horror, and continue on to say that all Americans do is "Live the dream," and don't spend nearly enough time studying.

I am an American student, and my life is not a dream. 

In the documentary "2 Million Minutes" Robert Compton displays the argument that America is being to lackadaisical with its high school education system; that students aren't working hard enough, which results in a decline in global status. Compton uses the comparison of students (two of them) from the countries of the United States, India, and China to show just how differently the United States focuses on education. Yes, through the use of logos appeals-- showing statistics on the number of American students who take rigorous science classes, and displaying the fact that both China and India spend more time studying than Americans-- the argument really does make perfect sense. Unfortunately for Compton,  "2 Million Minutes" is obviously skewed. 

Hello logical fallacy. Within "2 Million Minutes" there is the logical fallacy of hasty generalization (educate yourself here). Americans, Neil and Brittany are NOT a good representation of the entire population of students in the United States. How many students live in a privileged environment, one privileged enough to have a sunglasses hutch in the entryway of one's house (like Brittany did)? How many students can not study for the PSAT and become a national merit scholar, like Neil did? In comparison to ALL of the classrooms around the country, how many teachers tell their students that a multiple choice problem on a test has 3 correct answers, like Brittany's teacher did? The list goes on, but even from these few statements above it is clear to see that the American students weren't good representations of the entire population, and I'm sure this hasty generalization was present on the Indian and Chinese side of this documentary too, although I'm not an expert on their culture, so I wouldn't know. Actually, I don't think it's at all possible to sum up a nation's diverse body of students with just two select students. By dramatizing the differences between the "typical" Americans and the "typical" Chinese and Indians Compton is not only playing the pathos of American views, making them feel grossly lazy and selfish, but also destroying his ethos, for viewers know of this dramatization and take in his argument with caution. 

The underlying question here is, what are we, as Americans, going to do to improve our number of math and science graduates, so that we can compete with the world once again? By the way this argument is displayed, we assume that the only way to reaching success is through a cultural shift; we need to become more like the Indians and Chinese. However, one of the speakers in the documentary, a graduate from Harvard, said something worth mentioning. He pointed out that it is not how MANY graduates in science in math we have but how many GOOD science and math graduates we, as a country have. Its not about shoveling in information and doing work 24/7 just to graduate and have a career, for those graduates are acquisitive, only aiming at getting the job done for money. In his essay "I Don't Wanna Be Average" Mike Rose talks about how one's actions in life change based on their attitudes. Taking the student mentioned above, this student would have the attitude that the only way to success is through graduating in science, and so he would spend all of his time doing the necessary work needed to gain this success; his whole life would revolve around finishing the necessary homework, and doing the right extracurricular activities. But what if us students took on the attitude of passion; finding that one subject to study that makes the student feel excited and leaves him hungry for more information, eager for development so that he can continue to expand his knowledge. If the United States had more students with lives revolving around the attitude of passion, not completion of school for a successful job, then we as a country would have more quality graduates, which would help us to compete. 

To all of those who think we are "Living the dream" here in America, I would just like to say that I am an American student and my life is not a dream. I spend my nights doing homework; I face competition with my peers; and sometimes I get test scores that don't seem to reflect the amount of effort I put into studying. But maybe I do seem like I am "Living the dream," for I am not running the race of monetary or competitive success, I'm not trying to please anyone other than myself; I have a passion, and someday, when I'm doing a job that I love to do, then I will feel complete satisfaction-- true success. 

I'm a Smelly-Footed, Camp Obsessed Girl #opentopic #graded

I was absolutely thrilled about having to write a blog this week. Especially because I'm working at a retreat at Camp Shamineau. Ok, the part about being thrilled was a lie, I'm currently sitting all sketchy-like in the dining hall, secretly doing this blog post when I should be helping referee a volleyball championship, which is so funny because the church leaders get SUPER heated.
I work at camp during some weekends of the year and I spend 7 weeks here during the summer so you could say I absolutely love it. I love teaching kids about God; I love wearing no makeup; I love working with my best friends; AND even having smelly feet due to the fact that my Toms are so ripped up and worn. I normally hate having smelly feet, because come on, who doesn't. But at camp everyone just goes with the flow and they love you-- even if your feet smell. And trust me, I'm pretty sure I'm not the ONLY one who has smelly feet, and I DEFINITELY don't have the worst smelling ones.
Well, I would love to stay and write my heart out about camp, but I have games to ref, kids to make Shrink-e-Dinks with, chickens to chase down and hold, and delicious campfire donuts to eat ( to quote Rachel Ray, "Yum-O!"). Most importantly,  I have to go back to my wonderful camp bubble, a place where school is not talked about, and technology (shouldn't) exist.

If you have time, familiarize yourself with the goofiness of camp. It'll give you a smile or two (oh, its difficult to resist using an emoticon here). http://shamineau.org/CampShamineau/VideoGallery.html

Obama has got to be a good dad #graded

The biggest component of Obama's educational speech (given September 28th, 2011) that really jumped out at me was his warm, understanding tone that he set. The very first thing he says is, "Hey!" and he delivers it with a smile. This type of normal diction continued throughout his speech, making it easy for all to understand what he was saying. He then went on to recognized the principle, mayor of Washington D.C., and the secretary of education. This appeal to ethos sets up a humbling character- he IS the president of the Untied States after all, he could have basked in the hoots, hollers, and cheers that welcomed him to the podium but instead he quieted them down and acknowledged others. His confident posture only made the warm welcome and establishment of character more believable and made the audience (or at least me) more willing to listen to what he had to say. After only a few minutes I felt like I was having a conversation with my uncle, not listening to a speech presented by my nation's president.


Next he goes on to the most important part of a speech. He recognized his audience, students, and their struggles in life, like grades, friend groups, sports, marching band, and even the economy. These are all stressful  additions in a students life and to make the speech less serious he throws in some humor with the mention of drama on Twitter (a pause before saying "Twitter" gave the humor more effect). He even goes on to display ethos with a personal story about finding school boring at times during his teen years- showing that he connects with his audience. He had bonded with his audience. He had achieved the most important step.


He then (finally) proceeds on to his argument: American students are the future, they need to set their standards high and find interest in always continuing their education so that they can aid our country. A combination of logic and emotionally loaded wording (paired with heightened intonation) develops this argument. Logical appeals such as the statement that 60% of jobs will need more than a high school degree,and examples of successful teenagers show that education IS needed and will help to develop and better our nations. He involves patriotism when he says that America has dropped to 16th in the world (in the case of having the most college graduates) and that action is needed NOW to bring our country back to number one. Students need to "color outside of the lines" to develop new discoveries, they need to "perservere" because they have the chance to let America, "fall behind or race ahead" in education. Throughout the speech "now"  is frequently used, and usually accompanied by a finger point and a raised, clear voice, which adds emphasis to his argument that we (the students) cannot just sit around, we need to take action. Finally, he adds another personal experience of parenting in towards the end of his speech, which develops his character, making him more believable because he is a parent and sees students from a parents perspective. 


I feel the need to note some additional presentation strategies that Obama uses, since he uses many. He is frequently gesturing, which adds emphasis on the main point of a phrase. In addition, he uses syntax to his advantage, always tossing in short sentences such as, "I dont like being 16th. I like being number one. Thats not good enough." and these sentences not only catch the audiences attention but they pack a punch- they challenge the audience to carry out what he is asking America to do. He also uses intonation to his advantage, making phrases like "Not done [learning]" clear, bold and loud so that the audience pays attention. Also, the minimal use of reading his transcript subliminally builds his ethos, for it makes the audience feel like his speech is coming from his core values and beliefs, not some speech writer's values that hes reciting. 


All in all, I felt encouraged by this speech. I felt like I was having a friendly conversation, and that I wanted to carry out Obama's challenge to "Set my standards high" because he had convinced me; he had made it seem appealing. Not because he was forcing it on me with fancy language and charts, graphs, and statistics. I felt like he actually cared about my education, as much as he cared about his own daughters. 


To our perseverance:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Lvn__6VIJ4&feature=fvst

Ashamed of America #graded

After reading over just some of the Jim Crow laws I am shocked with how unreasonable Americans were. Sure, I've learned about racism and Martin Luther King Jr. in school before, but reading these laws really hit home with me. They are so ridiculous.

Being a huge history buff I've always been proud to say I'm an American while learning about the Founding Fathers and how bold they were in standing up to the European superpower, England. I've learned about the founding of our country and our great accomplishments for "good" in class about a million times (hyperbole) but  something we always skim over is the not so great things our country has done. Like these laws, or the complete mistreatment of Asians in the mid 1900's.

I recognize that racism was present but a lot of the Jim Crow laws take it MUCH too far. For example, one law doesn't allow white and Negro children to use the same textbook (in different years), and restaurants are required to have physical, seven foot tall barriers between white and Negro seating- what? Do Negros have some sort of germ that will kill white people? And the fact that there was to be no intermarriage or child custody (with mixed guardian and child) just removes pure love from society. It limits people to only being with their race. If there was a helpless, orphaned Negro child on the street a white person could not take him or her in, he would just walk right by. 

I have such a strong opinion on these laws now, but I live in the future where I have lived such a great, freedom-filled life. I wonder how I would have treated Negros if I had lived in the 1960's. I hope I would've stood out but we will never know...

These laws helped set a precedent that still hasn't been wiped clean from the American society. I hope we, as Americans, continue at working on removing it, to give Negros the justice they deserve (the justice MLK Jr. fought for in his "Letters to Birmingham")

2Pac brings the voice of African Americans to the musical world:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKqaOJmqInE

Everything is beautiful #graded

This weekend we had to read through a bunch of short essays for AP Comp and I must say, I actually enjoyed reading them. What I liked about reading through these essays was the fact that they were all written on random topics that the writer appreciated because they helped the writer grow in someway or another. Key word: appreciated.
In the essay by William Kennedy he writes about how he wrote a short story on eggs. It wasn't a controversial essay about chicken farming for eggs, it wasn't an essay describing every detail about an egg, but it was an essay about ordering eggs. Thats it. But the fact that he appreciated eggs enough to write a story about them made ME appreciate that story. I didn't just blow it off like his father had.
My thoughts about how a writer's passion towards a random topic draws my interest were later reflected in the essay by Annie Dillard. In her essay she writes about learning to draw through a book. Dillard drew everything, and anything so that she could have practice at getting better, sometimes spending hours working on the shading of a baseball glove. She closes the essay by saying, "All things in the world were interesting, infinitely interesting, so long as you had attention to give them." This really impacted me, leaving me feel inspired for future writing assignments in this class (especially free writes which I adore), because now I know that I have the power to make whatever is on my mind interesting. Even if it is something as minuscule as ordering eggs. Because everything really is beautiful in its own way.


I'm going to try my hand at this. Stay tuned during the next week for a posting on Mr. Potato Head.

Rainy day music that ties in with the topic of this post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR7VOKQ0xJY

Why I Write #graded

I've always been a writer, I just have. To be completely honest here, I've never actually sat down and thought about why I write. That is, until I took AP Composition.

You see, I'm not your average, run-of-the-mill girl. I think a lot about anything and everything, and, as I have learned from discussions with family, friends, and teachers, I tend to think abstractly. I like to call myself "different" (though I'm not sure what everyone else thinks about me). I write to express my thoughts, with the hope that by presenting my opinion on a topic, I can bring change to the world. In my opinion successful change doesn't have to be monumental, such as persuading a reader to completely change a political stance on a highly debated topic, but it merely means to make the reader think and consider the topic; to enlighten the reader and bring him out of his "bubble" of what he considers to be the truth. While this is my main purpose for writing, I also write as a means of satisfying my creative side. Generally, when I talk, the words come out in a big, jumbled, and sometimes humorous mess and it takes me a few times to correct myself so that I get the point across. Writing is different. It is your very own creation, and you have the power to do whatever you please with it.  After creating a piece of writing, it isn't abandoned. It is changeable. It allows for editing; for shifting, cutting, and piecing together plain old words so that together they have the power to be a breathtaking, tear-jerking, or infuriating statement that conveys your point to the reader. In addition to making a change and being creative and all, I write to get good grades (I am a student after all!).

God knows what I will be doing in the future. Will I be an author? A journalist? Or will I choose a completely different career path? I don't know. What I do know is that writing is the most powerful tool of expression and change that I possess, and whatever I end up doing with my life I know I will be using writing to get there.

Listen and Love #britishmusic

I Find the Light in You

Go check out Joe Brook's new EP "A Reason To Swim" Best music I've heard in a while. Except for the Wayzata Marching Band... maybe (;

What a Wonderful World. #masterprocrastinator

Blogging. Yet another procrastination device to add to my list. I've been home from school for what, an hour now? and all I have to show for it is a below-average blog page. Yay.
On the positive side of things school has gone surprisingly well so far. I even cried of laughter during lunch when someone sat down in the seat across from me and he was wearing the same shirt as I was. Yes, you read that right, he. Hey, don't blame me, how am I supposed to know guys actually shop in the men's section at Target
Sorry for the randomness, I'm a major beginner at this whole blog post thing.