Freshman Year Reflection

One change in myself that I have experienced during my first year of high school is my maturity level when it comes to my academics. Before I came to high school I would put my personal life before my school work because it would bore me to death, not saying that it doesn't bore me to death now, but I know that my school work is more important for sure. Before I came to high school I would just wait until it got extremely late to do my homework and go to bed really late and wake up and be tired during the day. Now I come home, rest for a little while, then do my homework and focus, that is, when I have homework. Sometimes I get behind but in the end I always get done what I need to do.This change that I have experienced has been very good for me because now I put my school work first because it's what I know I'm supposed to do and it will help me in the long run to do it when I'm supposed to so I don't get very far behind and have a lot of work to do at the of the marking period. Even though sometimes I still get behind a little, it's never as bad as it was before. I believe now that my grades are very important now because of the colleges and because I've never wanted to fail anyway and I always wanted to make sure I got good grades. I remember one specific time when I had a science project due the next day and I hadn't started yet, then I fell asleep and woke up around almost 1:30 am and did my project. I think that my grade was okay but I knew I hadn't put a lot of work into it and that I was really tired. Overall, that is one of the biggest changes that I have made in my first year of high school, focusing on my work more, and I think that it has been a good change for me.

Will Smith Slaps Reporter.

Recently, Famous Entertainer, Will smith slapped a reporter for being too affectionate. The reporter tried to kiss Will Smith in the mouth and he pushed him away then slapped him in the face. Some say that Will didn't have to slap him but I think that the reporter shouldn't have tried to kiss Will Smith. They say that the reporter that Will Smith slapped is a television reporter who often kisses celebrities-- it's his schtick but obviously, Will Smith didn't like it at all. I think that Will Smith had a right to slap the reporter because why would you try to kiss somebody you don't know, celebrity or not, you shouldn't do that, especially if it is another man and you don't know if they like stuff like that. I think that is getting too personal and too comfortable. I think everybody has their standards and needs to have their personal space. After Will Smith slapped the reporter, he stated to another reporter "He's lucky I didn't sucker punch him!". Some of the camera people and the other reporters were shocked that Will Smith had slapped the reporter and thought that he over exaggerated and that he didn't have to smack him, but you don't know certain people and how they might react to certain situations and how they might feel about certain things so thats why he shouldn't had kissed Will Smith and he deserved what he got. For more information on this new story go to: http://www.tmz.com/2012/05/18/will-smith-slaps-reporter/

This I Believe " Just Say No"

"Just Say No" is what Jessica Paris from Juneau, Alaska seems believe. She believes that it is more than just a slogan from the 1980s, its a credo that gives her the freedom to discover the things she truly wants to experience in life instead of succumbing to the instant gratification pushed by so much marketing. She believes in saying no to sugar before lunch, no to high heels, no to a cell phone, no to artificial sweetener, no to pierced ears, no to bottled water, and no to carrying a balance on my credit card. I think that her belief could be right in many ways, for example saying no to things that mostly everybody does like eat fast food or eating sweets, or spending their money on things that you may not think are that important and theses things could actually help someone in a big way, for instants, it could cause you to be more healthy and also save money. She also agrees that every no is a yes to something else and I agree with that 100 percent. Her saying no to other things gave her a chance to do better things, for example , instead of buying a car, she used that money to go on a trip to India, where she road trains,camels, and a festooned elephant. She also believes saying no to some of life's shimmering pleasures buys her a moment of peace and find out what her heart truly desires, and that no is not deprivation, its deliberation and that no is not loss, its freedom. Overall i think that Jessica's believe is not bad at all and that it is true in many ways.

Career Day at Parkway.

Recently at Parkway West, there was a career day. Each class had three visitors and each visitor had 15 minutes to present. The three visitors that I saw were Ms. Singleton who is an Attorney, Mr. Hegler who is a Commercial Banker, and Mr. Hanible who has his own Tax Business. I thought that these presenters were very good and that they were interesting when talking about their careers and what they do for a living. Ms. Singleton, the Attorney gave some background information on her were she came from and were she got her education from. She went to Overbrook High School, She graduated College with a B.A, then she went to Law school for three years and also said that you need seven years of school after high school to be a lawyer. She also said that she does mediation which is dispute revolution. Mr. Hegler ,who was a Commercial Banker said he loans money to starting businesses, small businesses, and to help businesses. He also said that he has a Business Management Degree and has his Bachelors Degree. He also said that he went to Delaware State University. lastly, Mr. Hanible, who has his own Tax business, he said her left high school in the 11th grade. He went to Vanguard, then he got his G.E.D., and that helps people with retirement, complaint letters, and other things like that. I liked that all of the presenters made me interested in their careers and made them seem like really good jobs.

Afghan Girls , Scarred by Acid, Defy Terror, Embracing school.

In this article it explains how young girls in Afghanistan are being burned in scarred by acid that is being thrown on the by men because they are going to school but the man don't want women to go to school and get knowledge because they want them to remain uneducated and for them not to be able to do anything. One Morning, two months ago, Shamsia Husseini and her sister were walking through the muddy streets to the local girls school when a man pulled along them on a motorcycle and posed what had seemed like an ordinary question. He asked the girls if they were going to school, then he pulled Shamsia's burqa from her head and sprayed her face with burning acid. Scars, jagged and discolor, now spread across Shamsia's eyelids and most of her left cheek. I think that it is horrible that young girls have to go through something like this. Why would men not want women to learn and get an education? I think that this is unfortunate for these young girls, they should be able to get an education and not be bothered with these kind of problems. The sad thing is that these two sisters are not the only ones that had to go through such a horrible tragic, it was a lot of other young girls also. I think that whoever has sprayed these girls faces with burning acid does not deserve to be walking around and not suffering consequences. I hope that this situation is resolved soon because these girls shouldn't have to go through this.

SongeBob Bad for Learning?

In this article it talks about how watching the cartoon  " SpongeBob SquarePants" is bad for preschoolers because just nine minutes of watching the program can cause short - term attention and learning problems. A study was done and it turned out that children performed worse on tests than kids who didn't watch the show. In the study scientists examined a group of 60 4-year-old preschoolers. The scientist divided the children into 3 groups and gave them nine minute assignments. The first group would watch SpongeBob, the second group would watch Caillou, and the third group would not watch T.V at all, they were asked to draw pictures instead. After the nine minute assignment researchers gave the preschoolers some common tests of thinking skills , after examining the results, the scientists learned the group that watched SpongeBob scored worse on the test than the other kids did. I dont think that watching SpongeBob could affect a childs learning because it is just a cartoon and if SpongBob can do that, than im sure other cartoons could to. I know that kids way older than preschoolers that watch spogeBob and it doesnt affect them at all. I think SpongeBob is just a fun and cool cartoon that kids like to watch because it is ammusing. I kbow that kids that age will conyinue to watch SpongeBob because that study doesnt seem right because that means that is a lot of other cartoons that could have the same results as that study.

Dirt Bike Tragedy!

14 year old Jermaine Alexander was killed in a bad dirt bike accident in Frankford. He was riding his bike when he collided with another car by accident. His family thinks what had caused the accident is that the cops was chasing him and he ran into another car and then past away. The cops say that is not what happen but a friend of Jermain's said that he saw what happened. I feel bad that this has happened to Jermaine and his family. I think that if the cops did chase him and made him crash into another car then it is their fault about what happened. I also think that the cops shouldnt chase people who have those kind of  bikes because of their speeds even if they are illegall to ride on the streets because the something like this could of happened at anytime. Dirt bikes are dangerous and cops should never chase them because most likely the dirt bike will get away anyway because of it's speed. I hope that justice comes to the Alexander family and that they find out what actually happened to their sun for him to die. I also think that people should be safe when they are riding dirt bikes and wear their safety wear so that they do not get hurt as much.

Trayvon Martin!

On November 26, 2012 , 17 year old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by the neighborhood watch because he "looked suspect". Trayvon was coming from a convenience store carrying a Arizona iced tea and a bag of skittles talking on the phone with his girlfriend when Zimmerman, his killer was following him and decided that he needed to shot Trayvon because he confronted Zimmerman and asked why he kept following him, they got into a dispute and Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin. After Trayvon was killed Zimmerman was not arrested and justice was not brought to Trayvon Martin's case a month later but now Zimmerman is now in jail charged with 2nd degree murder. When Zimmerman was free i thought that he should be in jail. A lot of people think that Zimmerman killed Trayvon because he was an African -American male and he was walking with a dark hoodie on. I think that Zimmerman was 100 percent wrong about shooting Trayvon Martin and killing him. He had no right to kill a young teenage boy and also i don't even think neighborhood town watches should even be able to carry guns at all. I hope that justice was brought to the Martin Family because they have been through a lot and lost their son Trayvon. I think Zimmerman deserves to be in jail and that he was absolutely wrong for his actions and he knows that now that he is in jail.

Under 30, Most Births Outside of Marriage

In this article by Jason DeParle and Sabrina Tavernise , it talks about how for women under 30, most births occur outside of marriage. I think that this article is true in some ways because in this generation it is a lot of teenagers getting pregnant now a days and it's most likely for a teenager to get married in this day and time. I don't think that this situation is good and that women should wait until they are married to have children.This article also tells about how women might get pregnant while in school and then not be able to finish school. Researchers have consistently found that children born outside of marriage face elevated risks of falling into poverty , failing in school, or suffering emotional and behavioral problems. However i don't think that statement is all true because i know people in my school who were born outside of marriage and their grades and behavior are good. In this article it is also saying that it has become normal to have children outside of marriage and i think that is true because now a days nobody really cares about getting married before having babies and people are just getting pregnant not even acknowledging the fact that women are supposed to get married before having kids and it's like they just don't care anymore in today's time. Also a lot of children's parents get split up when the kids are young and i believe that could effect a child in a lot of ways. Such as behavioral problems, depression and thinking it is their faults their parents split up.

"Im a Criminal"

In this article by Michelle Alexander, she talks about how she is a criminal and so is everybody else. What she means by this is smoking pot, drinking underage, sometimes speeding on the freeway, getting behind the wheel after having a couple of drinks, or even just broken a law. She doesn't mean killing anybody or stealing something. She believes that everybody has committed a crime even if it is a small crime or just breaking a little law. I can say that i half agree with the this opinion because everybody talks about how people who committee really crimes are the worst people on the universe. Even though they might be bad people and do really bad crimes, regular people that committee crimes to, they just don't get caught or the crime is a small ones. It doesn't mean that just the big crimes are crimes but also the little crimes are crimes too. I think that this could also be not 100 percent true because usually when somebody does a crime, it a serious one and whenever the news or something comes on or something and it says somebody committed a crime , it would most likely be violent, not like somebody was smoking pot. I think that she has a point with what she believes but also it isn't completely true because usually a criminal is usually somebody who has done something really bad.

Photoshopping Article

This article is about how celebrities use photo shop on the pictures they take. For example, in magazines or pictures online, the photographs of celebrities and models in fashion advertisements and magazines are routinely buffed with a helping of digital polish. The retouching can be slight such as things like colors brightened, a stray hair put in place, or a pimple healed. Or it could be drastic like shedding 10 or 20 pounds, adding a few inches in height and erasing all wrinkles and blemishes done using Adobe's Photo shop software, the photo retoucher's magic wand. I don't think it is a problem using photo shop but it just shouldn't be taken to the extremes. I think people should be happy with what they look like and not try to change for anybody. I think it would be okay to brighten the light a little bit or something to that extent but nothing to serious. The article says that they want to band photo shopping or at least get people to stop using it because it is not showing people the truth. I agree with this decision but i don't think they should have to want to keep people from using it. Today photo shopping is taken to a whole different level and some people dont look like their selves when they photo shop but i think people should sto doing that.

iPad Article

This article is about how iPad factories in curtain parts of China are having explosions. A man in particular named Lai Xiaodong was hurt pretty badly. The Explosion happened because of the iPad dust that was everywhere and ended up causing an explosion. People even died from this explosion. The people working wanted working conditions to improve but Apple didn't pay it any attention until after the explosion. I think that the explosion didn't even have to happen and that Apple should have been more concerned and should have taken more responsibility of what was going on in the factories that were making their products. It shouldn't have had to get to the point where people had to die for Apple to start paying the situation any attention. Because of this, 22 year old Lai Xiaodong died and has left behind a girlfriend and family members. It was very irresponsible for Apple to let this happen and know what the consequences would be with this iPad dust situation. Many have died and many have been injured badly. I think Apple needs to take more control and responsibility and pay more attention and aslo care a little more when it comes to factories and their products being made. They could also care more for the peoples working conditions that are working for them.

Biggest News of 2011

One of the biggest news stories of 2011 was the killing of Osama bin Laden. A lot of people thought that it wasn't true and that Osama was still out there somewhere, but President Barack Obama said that it was true and that they had been looking for Osama bin Laden and couldn't find him, but they found him and killed him. Some people even thought that it was wrong for them to kill Osama bin Laden and that he was not responsible for 9/11 and that he wasn't a terrorist. On Facebook there were pictures of Osama bin Laden dead and all bloody but it was said that the pictures were fake. I don't think that it was okay to kill Osama bin Laden like that even if they did think that he was a person responsible for 9/11. People have been making jokes about Osama bin Laden for years, in movies, cartoons, and T.V shows. I also don't like how Obama agreed on the situation but i guess that so much things happened with bombs, and war and other things like that, that made them think that Osama was responsible for it all and that he was a terrorist.

Cracking Teenagers' Online Codes

I think that teenagers using the Internet is a good thing since being out side and roaming around the city is not the safest thing to do. A lot of teenagers get on the Internet and get on different websites like Facebook or Twitter. It's not all the time that teenagers spend all their time on the Internet because some teens still do go out and roam around. I also think that teenagers should be able to have freedom to be on the Internet and not have they're parents on their backs and watching over them because it makes us uncomfortable and its makes us feel like we are not trusted. it also makes teens feel like they're little kids that don't have any freedom. The Internet is like a way for teens to communicate with each other and get away from they're parents and i don't blame them for that. Sometimes teens just wanna be around they're friends and be comfortable to do and say whatever they want and the Internet gives them a chance to do that in some kinda way. Most teenagers went from Facebook to Twitter because parents are getting Facebooks and they feel like they are invading they're privacy.The Internet is a way for teenagers to have they're own lives and be crowded by they're parent or guardian.

Rihanna " Over 2 Billion Strong Music Video Views on VEVO"

Its been said that recently, singer Rhianna is the first female artist to clock over 2 billion strong music video views on VEVO. Many people love Rhianna's music including her new album "Talk That Talk" some of the songs that are loved on this album are " We Found Love", " Cockiness", " Birthday Cake", " Talk That Talk", " Red Lipstick" and " You Da One". I think Rihanna is a good music artist but I'm not all that crazy about her music videos because some of them look crazy and look creepy. Rihanna has millions of fans including me, who love her music and think she is a great music artist. Although Rihanna may have some crazy videos doesn't mean that her music is bad. Rihanna has been making music for years and I'm sure she'll be making some for many more years to come. Everyday i hear Rihanna's music weather its on the radio or I'm in school or on the bus on my way home from school. I think that Rihanna's music is a big part of the music that is made in this day and time and will continue to be. Congradulations to music artist Rihanna for her big accomplisment.

Teaching Kids

Teaching kids is not the easiest thing to do. It takes time and patients. If people do not have patients then i don't think that teaching kids is the thing for them to do. Everything cant just be taught to a kid once then you expect them to know it. Some thing have to be retaught. For example teaching a kid how to write or potty training them. These things are not easy, it may even take them years of practice. You also have to teach kids the right things to do or to say and how to have manners. Also kids need to be taught how to read and how to count because these things are very important. Another thing that kids have to be taught is how to stick up for them selves and let no one bully them. I think if people are not mature enough then they shouldn't have or teach kids because kids are hard to handle, sometimes they may not listen and have bad behavior and thats where the patients come in at. When being patient with kids, thats means that you cant just yell at them the first time they get something wrong because im sure it wont be the last time they get something wrong and to teach kids means that you should always set a good example for them and even show them the right way to do many things.

Plan B

Plan B is a pill that prevents teenage girls or adult women from getting pregnant. I don't think that the pill Plan B is a bad thing at all. I think that if teenage girls don't want to get pregnant then it's their choice.I also think that it should be over the counter and so that  girls did not have to be 18 or older. That causes a problem for girls who are younger than 18 and need to take the Plan B pill. If girls under 18 don't want their parents to know that they need the pill then they should be able to get the pill on their own. Also if young teenage girls didn't have anybody who was 18 to get it for them then that would be a big problem and it might cause them to get in a lot of trouble with their parents so i think that is unfair. I don't really think that Plan B is harmful it just prevents pregnancy so i don't understand the big complaint about it being over the counter to teenage girls. But i also think that teenage girls should think before they act because if they did, it wouldn't be a reason to have to take Plan B at such a young age. Plan B is not only taken by only young teenage girls but by women who are not ready to have any kids yet.But if teenage girls need to take it then they should be able to.

Beyonce and Jay-Z's Newborn Baby

Just recently music artists, Jay-Z and Beyonce had a baby girl. It is said that they have named the baby Blue Ivy. A lot of people think that it was crazy for them to name a baby Blue Ivy, but to me its not that bad. Most likely when she is older she might just want to be called Ivy. Also they say that Jay-Z payed the hospital 1.3 million dollars to close down the whole west wing of the hospital just so Beyonce could deliver her baby. I think that was kind of selfish for Beyonce and Jay-z to do something like that. What about the other women that are in labor and having babies. People said that because of the a man couldn't see his wife giving birth to twins and didn't get to hold them right after they were born and the man wanted to sue. But the hospital said that they did not block of the entire west wing of the hospital so Beyonce could have her baby even though Jay-Z payed them to.

Teaching Kids How to Break Up Nicely.

What I think about this article is that it is a good example of how young teenagers do really break up on facebook. I see it all the time. Teenagers always change their relationship statuses from married, to it's complicated, in a relationship, and to single. Sometimes they even right statuses like "Single!". or something like "Single life is good". Some friends even de-friend their ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend because of the fact that they're really mad at them or they can't get over them and all they do is go and look at they're ex's profile. I don't think it's okay how some of my facebook friends put single on their profile without notifying their boyfriend or girlfriend. I think that it's kind of childish and that if your mature enough to have a girlfriend or boyfriend then you can break up with them. But, sometime teenagers dont have healthy breakups.