High School Years

            Before starting my blog about high school I would like to give a shout out to my boy, Andrew Cooper. He also has a fantastic blog called hardindapaint, you should check it out. He has encouraged me to reflect on my high school years in this blog.

            High school can be the most memorable part of some people’s lives considering that not everyone goes off to college. In my life I will have many high school memories and friends that I will not forget. When I first started out as a freshman I was excited for the upcoming challenges that I would face. Being a freshman just feels like a new start and your opportunities are endless. At first you are a little nervous but when you overcome these fears you can strive to be the best you can be. As a freshman I woke up every morning excited for school.

            Sophomore year. As a sophomore I started to settle in high school and began to notice the different crowds and type of people. I feel like your sophomore year you decide what kind of kid you want to be. There’s many choices when it comes to high school. You could choose to be a nerd, Goth, emo, jock, bully, ghetto kid, gang member, preppy, druggie or a nut. In my opinion all these cliques have unique and interesting ways. They all are exciting in their own way but they all are different in many ways.

            Junior year. Junior year for me is when I started to get myself together and realize what I went to high school for, and that was to get an education and move on to college. I started to study more and get my grades up to make it easier for my upcoming senior year. I also joined many clubs to interact with the people that I was not familiar with in my school. But towards the end of my Junior year I started to get the mentality of “eff” school. At this point high school gets repetitive and boring.

            Senior year. I started my senior year a little excited. Being a senior has its perks but also its stresses when it comes to applying to college. But all the senior year hype only lasts in the beginning. I am nearly half way done with my senior year and I cannot wait for it to end, in a way. High school just gets really repetitive and boring after a while. As a senior you start applying to colleges and when you start getting accepted to schools you start to get excited for the future and want to get rid of the past. I cannot wait to start college as a freshman and get that freshman feeling all over again but on a bigger scale. College is much bigger than high school and you have a lot more opportunities in college than high school.  Senioritis is starting to kick in and I cannot wait for it to end. I am currently dragging myself through these last couple months of highschool.

A Little Too Late

The Philadelphia Eagles season were supposed to be a super bowl contender and a favorite this year for the 2011-2012 season. They were labeled “the dream team.” They picked up a lot of big time athletes in the offseason and were building together a solid team. They picked up big names such as Vince Young, Dolphin’s starting running back Ronnie Brown, and the biggest free agent Nhamdi Asmough. Nhamdi was being compared to the current best corner in the league, Darrell Revis. They started out the season 1-0 and it looked like they were going to live up to the hype. But the next couple games were a disaster. They blew 4^th quarter leads and dealt with injuries. Their biggest concern was not being able to have a fully healthy Mike Vick. Vick is the star quarterback and he has suffered everything from concussion injuries throughout the season to broken ribs. The Eagles finished mid way   through the season with an ugly 3-5 record. At this time many Eagles fans, including myself, were taking this season as a failure and thinking about next season. The playoffs were not even in mind. With a losing record and the way they were playing people lost hope in the Eagles.

                Another main concern for the Eagles besides the injuries to Mike Vick was the terrible defense and the lack of performance in their “overpaid” “blockbuster” corner. Nhamdi Asmough has not been playing good for the Eagles at all. He has blown coverage’s and has given up multiple touchdowns this season. Not only him, but the defense in general was playing terrible. There were even rumors about firing defensive coordinator Juan Castillo. On the other side of the ball, DeSean Jackson has not been playing to his potential. He wants a bigger contract and on the field it just looks like he has no motivation to play at all.

                Just as I was about to give up on the Eagles, there started to be a little hope. The two teams in their division, Cowboys and Giants, started to lose crucial games and were keeping the Eagles in reach. The Eagles have played well in their division losing only once. Now at the end of the season the Eagles actually have some playoff hope. They have won their last two games and are heading into Dallas next week in a must win game. They also need some help from other teams. They need the Giants to lose their next game leaving them 7-8. Then the week after that they need the Giants to beat Dallas. Therefore Dallas needs to lose next week (to the Eagles) then lose again to the Giants. If all this happens all 3 teams will finish 8-8. But because the Eagles will have a better division record being 5-1 they will make the playoffs over both of these teams. So all the Philly fans out there don’t lose hope just yet. There’s a very slim chance this could happen but it is defiantly possible

Winter

            Today in my town this is the first time in a month we have gotten a significant amount of snow. It is December and we normally have snow earlier in the year like around November but this was snowless. In my opinion I do not snow. I feel like that the older you get the less you start to appreciate snow. When I was younger I always enjoyed winter because that meant it was near Christmas time but mostly I enjoyed it because of the snow. As a little kid you can not wait to wake up and just see a blanket of snow covering your yard. It is kind of like having a play land in your backyard. There are many activities you can do in the snow. I use to build snowmen, igloos, have snowball fights and my favorite, sleighing. I use to go to the hill in my local park (Frear Park) where the hill was a good size and there were even some bumps that you could catch air off of. Everyone went to Frear Park. Many kids went and even some older adults joined in on the fun and started sleighing. I use to have races with my friends and we use to hit the jumps to see who could catch the most air. After sleighing we would have snowball fights and build snowmen. After building the snowman we would find creative ways on destroying it. But as I got older these traditions started to bore me and they became boring.

            Being older I have come to a realization that I do not like snow. Its too cold, it’s a time for the flu season and there is just too much ice to slip and fall on. Especially now that I am a licensed driver I hate the snow even more. Most drivers hate the snow unless you drive a gas guzzling tank. But I drive a Dodge Avenger and they are not the best cars to have in the snow. There is too much sliding and it takes forever to get places because you have to go 15mph in a 30 so you do not get in an accident and total your car. Also I do not like the cold. Being able to wake up in the morning and throw shorts and a T-shirt on is how I like to get dressed in the morning. But in the winter it’s a different story. You have to bundle up so you don’t freeze your ass off. Some days you need a scarf hat and gloves on top of your 50lb coat that you are already wearing. Then when you get outside it’s a struggle to move because of all the clothing you have on. Overall I just think that winter has become a hassle as I got older. You do not really enjoy the things about winter that you use to enjoy as a kid. They eventually die out and get boring. That is why I like Summer much more than winter.

Plattsburgh

              This weekend I went to SUNY Plattsburgh with a friend to visit my sister. This was my first taste of what college life has to offer. After the 3 hour drive we arrived and immediately ate. This was my first time eating college food. I got a flatbread with a whole bunch of meats in it and a cheddar bacon cheeseburger. Overall I thought it was good. The cheddar bacon cheeseburger was my favorite. I also had fries. I can only imagine eating that food every day. The food may taste good but I do not think that it is the healthiest option. The college does have other healthy foods to eat like salads but for me, I would choose a cheddar bacon cheeseburger over a salad every day. No wonder why many freshmen gain “the freshman fifteen.” I do not find it hard gaining fifteen pounds with all the food options available to you.

                After eating we went back to her dorm and I met some roommates. One of the hardest things about college that some people say is meeting new people and making new friends. I do not think I will have that much difficulty doing that because I made a lot of friends that night. Almost everyone I met was really friendly.  I also thought that the dorm sizes were pretty fair. My sister, who is a sophomore, had a double and only had one roommate she lived with. Then I got to see her boyfriend’s apartment, who is a junior. There is a major difference between the living space of a college apartment and a college dorm. In the apartment you are able to have any appliances that you want such as stoves and microwaves etc. I definitely like the apartment better but for most colleges they are available to the upper classmen first before the under classmen.

                After checking out the dorms she showed me around the campus. For the most part all the classes are relatively close. They are all in a short walking distance so there is really no need for a car. The only complaint is that when it gets really cold it might be a pain to walk to your classes. Also I liked how everything was close to the campus. There were many stores and places like Burger King, McDonalds and a lot of places near the campus. The campus is not in the middle of nowhere like some colleges. Overall I enjoyed staying the night at Plattsburgh. There is always something to do and you will never be bored while on campus. All the people are friendly and their food is good. Plattsburgh may be a college that I am now interested in and I might even apply there. Anyone who wants to go away for college I would strongly suggest Plattsburgh. My only complaint is that they do not have a football team. I enjoy watching the games. But on the plus side they do have a basketball team.

Holidays

          When the holidays come around people get together with their families to celebrate and enjoy the holidays together. This past week Thanksgiving came around. Thanksgiving is a holiday where people are suppose to look back on what they are thankful for and learn to appreciate what they have. It is also known as “Turkey day.” An American tradition is to have turkey on Thanksgiving. Families will cook an entire turkey and gather with their families. Some other traditional foods on Thanksgiving are mashed potatoes and stuffing. Also there are many desserts such as pies, mainly pumpkin pie. Basically almost every food is good to have on thanks giving. It’s a day you can eat as much as you want and not have to worry about if there is going to be enough because there is always going to be leftovers for everyone. This Thanksgiving I had it at my house and my family came over. Like every American household we ate dinner together and enjoyed the turkey and all the food. I tend to think of Thanksgiving as a normal day because most people look at Thanksgiving as a day where you eat a lot and as much as you can, but, for me, I do that every day. I always eat until I cannot eat anymore. Also on Thanksgiving there is football. All the fans love football on Thanksgiving and if you are lucky your favorite team will get a chance to play on Thanksgiving. This year my favorite team, the Eagles, did not play but I still enjoyed watching the other games that were on. Not only do I watch football on Thanksgiving, I also play it. Before the Thanksgiving “feast” me and a couple of my friends will get a pickup game of football going at our local school. We tend to play hard because all of us want the “Turkey trophy.” It is not physically a trophy it is just bragging rights up until next year. This year the team I was on won the game so I can talk smack to my friends for a while until next year. After the game when I am tired and starving, I will go home and enjoy the endless food that is at my house.

                Of all the holidays I guess I could say that Thanksgiving is one of my favorites because of the football games and all the football that surrounds it. I really enjoy watching the games and even playing in a game of my own. Also after Thanksgiving, Christmas is on its way which is mostly everyone’s favorite holiday due to all the presents. Christmas is kind of like Thanksgiving combined with presents and more. After Christmas is New Years which I did not enjoy that much when I was younger but as I got older it started to appeal to me more. Overall the holidays are a fun couple months considering that all the other months are boring with no excitement. I look forward to the holidays every year.

College

                This weekend I went on a college visit for the first time. I’ve been to many colleges but never actually went on a tour so I guess you could say that it was actually my first official college visit. I visited UAlbany and I thought it was pretty nice. My only concern was the place where students live. I feel like there is not a lot of space but I guess all college dorms are very similar. Also I was curious to see the food they had. When I saw what they had to offer it amazed me. They had everything you could possibly eat. But after seeing all these food options I started to wonder why they would have all this food. America today is suffering from obesity, especially in teens. Most college students are in their late teens and this made me wonder. Maybe the college cafeterias and food choices contribute to obesity in teens. In UAlbany they had a Wendy’s in their cafeteria. Most meal plans include an unlimited buffet and you can eat at specialty food places twice a day. I myself would not recommend eating Wendy’s twice a day.

                If colleges provide unlimited food to teens how do you watch what you eat? The answer is that you don’t. There may be some few teens that watch what they eat but for the most part they do not. In my opinion I feel that obesity will always be a problem in teens because of all the available options that are given to teens. There are so many local fast food places available to teens while at home and I do not think that putting them in colleges is helping. When Teens have many options available to them they tend to not always pick the best one. While Wendy’s and McDonalds may be good at the time and satisfy you, in the long run it is not good for you at all. There is really no way to solve this problem because there is a valid argument that you cannot leave kids hungry. There is no fixed amount of food that everyone eats so there is no way you can have a set amount of food for everyone. Every student eats a different amount of food so it would be unfair to set a food limit because some people may be still hungry beyond the food limit.

                Other than the small living quarters I think that college will be a great experience, although everyone says it is much harder than high school. College life provides more freedom and opportunities. I plan on visiting other colleges to compare to UAlbany since I have not toured many. I plan on visiting Plattsburgh in the near future. I am hoping that Plattsburgh will be just as exciting as UAlbany. I also plan on blogging about my Plattsburgh later in the future.

               

SATS

Almost every high school student knows what SATS are. If you’re not familiar with what the SATS it is a test that all high school students take in order to compare themselves to other students across the country.  The SATS can either make or break you as a high school student. Majority of colleges look at SATS score. Having a high score can be the difference between getting into the college you want, or having to settle for another college. I took my SATS this past Saturday. In my opinion I do not think that the SATS actually measure how smart you are or how well you do in college. Sure the questions are challenging and require you to think but maybe some people just are not good when it comes to test taking. A student may know all the material but does not do well on tests. But then again the only way colleges can know how smart you are is through SATS.

                Colleges use SATS because the curriculum in Texas could be tougher that the curriculum in New York. So someone that may have a 90 average in New York would not do so well in Texas and may have like an 80 average in Texas. In my opinion I think there should be a better way for students to show colleges their intelligence other that the SATS. There are many other universal tests such as the ACTS and subject SATS but I still do not think they show how smart a student. I am not sure what other way there is but I guess for now, the SATS are the only way.

I personally think the SATS are a little too challenging on the reading portion. Some of the vocabulary that is used on there I feel is way beyond high school level. Majority or the students have no clue what the word is so they make educated guesses on the reading portion. If all students are taking educated guesses and getting questions right does that measure how smart they are? Or that they are just really good at taking educated guesses. So basically I think they should tone down the reading section. As for the math section, I feel that it is pretty fair. They make it so that all the questions in the math portion can be answered without a calculator. On the test you are allowed to use a calculator so that puts you at an advantage. Basically the math part tests you on many basic math concepts. But the only problem is that many people take different math classes. So for me, being in calculus, I was a little rusty trying to figure out all the algebra and trig problems that were on the SATS because I have not done anything like that since 10^th grade (took pre calc in 11^th).

                Other that the few flaws I feel that the SATS are overall fair. But I do think they should come up with a better and more efficient way of testing the intelligence of students.

Halloween

Halloween is a fun holiday where kids, and even some adults, go out door to door and get candy from everyone around the block. It seems like a good time but there are many dangers that go along with Halloween. The world we live in today is filled with paranoia and the best of this paranoia comes out on Halloween night. Parents take extreme caution when letting their kids go out trick or treating. Even being in your neighborhood there are still dangerous threats everywhere. Kids on Halloween have been reported lost, stolen and sometimes even beaten for their candy. Such a nice sounding holiday can be one of the worst days in a kid’s life. When I was young and went trick or treating my parents would always tell me to never eat the candy that was not fully wrapped. If the candy was unwrapped they said people could have poisoned it. Now when I look back, I feel that the whole “poison candy” thing was ridiculous. But from all the stories you hear today I can’t blame my parents for taking those precautions.

Another controversy today with parents and Halloween are some of the costumes that parents let their children wear. While in driving on my way to school, on the radio they discussed this topic. One parent argued that she let her 11 year old daughter wear a somewhat sleazy outfit because it was only one night and that her daughter never dresses like that daily. The other parent argued against this. She said that if she allows her daughter to dress like that then she is setting a bad example for all her other friends that see her. Also she said that it increases her chance of being kidnapped by sexual predators. In my opinion, I feel that it all depends on the location of where you are trick or treating. But I completely disagree with sending your 11 year daughter that looks like a hooker out on Halloween by herself. All over the news you hear of these tragic stories of girls being rapped and taken advantage of. Having young kids trick or treating by themselves certainly is not helping the cause. It only increases the risk.

So as Halloween approaches this Monday I am going to pay more attention to the costumes that some people wear. Some people wear them to celebrate Halloween and some other people may wear them for attention. Such as in my school. There has been an increasing amount of inappropriate costumes every year and some kids even get sent home for it. In my school sometimes the Halloween costumes students chose can say a lot about them.  Some girls will wear costumes that are extremely revealing and majority of the time they are the girls who are considered, for a lack of a better term, “easy”, in our school. So as Halloween approaches tomorrow I have made predictions of what girls will look “easy” and chances are that I will be correct, like I am every year.