R3. Who's Mr. Currin?

       Mr. Currin is definitely a big deal. I’ve only had one class with Mr. Currin but it’s been one of the best classes I’ve ever had. Online Publishing is definitely a class that I look forward to coming to just because of the comments that are made. It’s unreal how much a person can make you laugh over something so stupid. Mr. Currin has helped me so much in the past and I know he’ll always be there if I ever need something in my future. At one point in time, I was Mr. Currin’s teacher assistant (TA) but I sort of, kind of, quit; long story short, I stopped showing up. Mr. Currin helped me make a college decision and gave me so much advice that’s helped me along the way. I like coming to Mr. Currin for advice because he’ll always tell you how it is. He’s never mean about it but he doesn’t want to see someone make the wrong decision. Teaching can be a very stressful job dealing with all the students but I’ve never seen a teacher love his job more than Mr. Currin does. It makes it that much better having one of his classes because he loves what he does and he wants everyone to be happy and like what they are doing. Mr. Currin and I have had good times and bad, like when I left his class to go to the “bathroom” and I never came back. That didn’t change our relationship though; our sarcastic comments towards each other are always a pleasure. A teacher like Mr. Currin is what’s going to make graduation so hard for me and I’m sure many other seniors.  As much as I hate school, I know that when I’m sitting in college, I’m going to wish that I was still sitting in Online Publishing joking around or getting teased for a terrible article I wrote on summer. Thank you Mr. Currin for all the help and advice you’ve given me, you will be missed; after all, you are kind of a big deal.

R2. Say It How It Is

1.       What I love about writing is that you can write about anything you want; you’re in control of it. I personally writing about my opinion or feeling on something that I have a special interest in. Like, I don’t really like the writing assignments we get in school because you’re restricted from what you want to right about, the teachers make and tell you what you’re writing about. I like the freedom of being able to say what I want. Writing has helped me a lot of the times dealing with multiple problems I’ve had. For example, if I have something that I want to say/to someone, I’ll write in a letter format and say everything I want to them. I write it as if I was going to give it to them but usually, I never end up giving it to whoever it may be. It may sound stupid to do but it’s an amazing way to vent and get things off your chest that you need to. It’s not good to bottle things up inside but I’m not one to run to others and tell them all about my problems so I turn to writing. It’s weird, the feeling that you get after you write/vent. I feel so relieved, even though the person or the situation I’m in hasn’t changed, I feel better because I got it all out. I have so many notes of things I’ve wrote in a shoe box and from time to time, I’ll look back to see how things use to be; good and bad. I’ll re-read the things I’ve written and realize how much better I’m doing without the situation that I was in and it makes me feel really good about myself for the amount of things that I’ve gone through and that I have accomplished. Writing has really helped and impacted my life for the better.

R1. The End is Upon Us All

      The best part about the end of the school year is the happiness everyone comes to school with, majority of the time. It’s the time of the year where the weather is at its best, the sun is shining through the school windows making it hard to sit in class. It’s hard to walk around school and see people in a bad mood because of the weather. For me, this is such an exciting time because each day, I’m getting closer to graduation and being finished with high school. The part that I don’t like about the end of the year is the laziness that comes with it, especially having it be senior year. People have always told me that I’m going to miss it so that I need to make the most out of it but I can’t. Towards the end of the year, teachers find pointless activities and projects for us to do just to have some work to do. I think that’s the hardest part of it. The moment I got my acceptance letter for college is the moment my senioritis kicked in. It’s the realization that we’re done and all the work paid off so why try anymore? That’s not the right mindset to have but it’s hard not to have it. The best part about the end of the school year in previous years was getting a break from everyone for two months because by the time we come back, we’re ready to be back and see everyone that we haven’t. My favorite part about coming back from school was seeing how different everyone looks. This year it’s different though, there’s no coming back and there’s no seeing everyone that I see every day like now. That’s what is hard from me to realize. I’m excited to be almost done!

Q5. The "Stunt" of the Century

Many might have heard months ago about the guy that was asking to cross Niagara Falls on a tight rope from the US to the Canada side. It was brought up months before and US agreed to it and Canada took some time to think about but later approved the stunt. The daredevil’s name is Nik Wallenda, 33 years old is planning on really doing this event.  ABC is will be turning Nik Wallenda's attempted tightrope walk over Niagara Falls into a prime-time television event next month. The network said Friday it will devote its entire prime-time schedule to a three-hour special on June 15 with the daredevil's attempt. Part of the show will be an examination of the greatest stunts of all time. I wrote about this idea when he was first talking about this for a current event in Mr. Wild’s economic class and I thought it was crazy but awesome that this guy really wanted to do this. I honestly didn’t think he would get approved to do it but now I know why he did. Wallenda will be attached to a bungee cord, like string, in case he falls. Now, I’m not trying to sound like a mean or a bad person but I feel like it ruins the whole point of it. Being a daredevil means doing crazy stunts that put your life on danger. Stunts that put the people watching it on the edge of their seats in silence waiting to see what is going to happen next.  This stunt is exciting and I’m sure that a lot of people will go and watch Wallenda do it. But, the fact that we all know he’s going to live whether he does or doesn’t do it ruins it. It ruins it for me at least and I know that sounds bad but come on. It would be so much more interesting if there was nothing connected to him. Not that I’m saying I would want him to die, that’s not the case at all. But what’s the point of being a daredevil if you know you’re going to live either way? It takes the entire point away, I think. Anyone can attempt to walk across a wire, I’d do it, if I fall, I’m going to get pulled up anyways so I don’t find it a big deal. Also, I don’t understand why he’s spending months training for this, if he wasn’t going to be connected to anything while do it, it’d be completely understandable. It just proves how times are changing.

Q1. THE Smart Car

      For this blog, I’m going to tell a story about something that happened about three months ago. My parents were looking to buy a new truck, they wanted a Lexus or a new Tahoe; we went to many dealerships.  On a Saturday, we were car shopping all day and we went to Fusillo and we were all tired of walking around all day. We were walking down a line of big SUV’s and pickup trucks and all of a sudden, we passed a smart car. Now, there wasn’t a line of them, it was a tiny little smart car, in the middle of huge trucks. So we just stopped, stared at it, then looked at each other and started dying laughing. A salesman came to talk to us about the vehicle because he thought we were interested in it. For some reason, my Dad went along to being “interested” in the car. The guy went on and on about the car and how much power it has. I was laughing so hard that I eventually had to walk away to not make the entire situation obvious. He then asked if we wanted to drive it, my Dad thought it would be a good idea to say yes. My Mom wanted nothing to do with this because she was so embarrassed. So, my Dad and I get in this… “car.” We couldn’t even sit in it, although I’ll admit; there’s a lot of leg room inside of it. Anyways, the car was an automatic and Fusillo is located right off of the thruway so we just chose to drive it to next exit and then bring it back. Well we’re driving and we just felt stupid and we got off of the exit and made a right and we look after we turn and we drove for about 1.4 of a mile and we see a huge hill and we start looking at each other and laughing. So as we approach the hill he pretty much floored it and it sounded and felt like we were going up this hill so fast but in reality, we were going 25 miles per hour up this hill. The funny part is, once he floored it, we got sucked back in our seat as if we were about to go 200 miles per hour but no no, 25. I guess you might have had to been there but it was hilarious.

Q4. Audrina Patridge

A celebrity icon that I’ve looked up to for the past five years is Audrina Patridge. If anyone has heard of her, it’s probably from the show Laguna Beach which later turned into The Hills that use to be on TV but no longer is. Audrina attended El Dorado High School in Placentia, California. Audrina was born on May 9^t in 1985. Audrina was always going out and dating guys through the seasons of the Hills and she’d always spread how she felt on it. Looking back now, it’s easy for me to relate to some things that she had been going through. It’s very obvious that Audrina Patridge is known for her looks and that’s something I admire for so much. She’s not one of the female celebrity’s that flaunts everything she has, every chance she gets. “There’s a time and a place to flaunt it.” Audrina Patridge is a really down to earth girl. She may have no worked for everything she has like she should of but she still has worked for some of her money. During the show, there was a lot of drama with her close friends, such as Lauren Conrad. Audrina often got left behind and betrayed numerous times. As I went through high school, I could relate and I came to find that things like that aren’t worth it. If someone is worth and meant being in your life, they’ll find their way back to you. In May of 2008, Audrina starred in her first move, Into the Blue 2 which also starred Jessica Alba. Audrina didn’t have a big part in the movie, but she didn’t like it, she said that “acting is way harder than I always thought it would be.”  In the same year, in June, Audrina appeared on the cover of TV Guide with PEOPLE's Hottest Bachelor Mario Lopez as "The Bod Squad." Audrina has always modeled her own shoots for numerous reasons but this was sort of a big deal because it was out more than any of her photos had ever been. In 2011, Audrina took center stage for her VH1 reality show, Audrina, where she returns to her roots in Orange County, California. "I honestly did not say 'no' to anything they wanted to shoot," she said of filming the series. "They caught everything on camera, so it was very organic." The show costars her mom Lynn, her father Mark and her three siblings. I look up to Audrina Patridge because of her life and how real she is. She knows her life isn’t perfect; while watching the show, there were constant fights with her and her family. She didn’t care though, she knows that’s her life and that it’s never going to change and she’s proud of what she has and who she is. I do admit that there’s more people to admire that have worked harder and deserve it more but still. If I could be any person in the world, I’d want to be Audrina Patridge. 

Q3. Tuesdays with Morrie

 The best book that I have read throughout an English class would have to be Tuesdays with Morrie. I read this book this year; we just finished reading the book and watching the movie. I don’t normally connect with books, let alone enjoy reading them.  Mrs. Schaefer told the class before we started reading that we were going to love it and I honestly didn’t believe her at all, I was so wrong.  The book is so easy to relate to, it teaches you so much. I’ve personally never been in the position that Mitch or Morrie was in but we’ve all went through something hard. Many times I have had to say goodbye to people, maybe not because of death but a goodbye is a goodbye; especially when you know they’re not coming back into your life. I’ve never been much of a positive person; I’m the one that thinks of the worst possible thing that could happen. Seeing and reading about Morrie and his attitude on life and everything else literally amazed me.  It’s amazing because I know that Morrie isn’t the only person like that out there. Morrie was literally on his death bed and he still managed to smile like he never has before. Tuesdays with Morrie represents the quote “live today like it’s your last” and “make your own happiness”.  This book has changed my outlook on myself and on life. My goal from now on is to make the best of each situation, no matter how bad it is. Things aren’t always easy but eventually, after you pretend you’re okay, you start to be okay and there’s no need to pretend anymore. The more a person wants to be happy, the harder they should try to reach that point.  After reading Tuesdays with Morrie, I’ve learned a lot about myself and a lot of things I would like to change.

Q2. $UMM3R 2K12

I think that this upcoming summer is going to be the best one yet.  It’s the summer before I start college and it’s the first time I don’t have to worry about passing grades and exams. This summer I want to go all out and have the best time of my life, one last hoorah before it’s time to grow up. With that being said, I do need and want to grow up a lot this summer. It still hasn’t completely hit me that I’ll be starting college this upcoming fall. I’m looking forward to this summer because my family and I are taking a cruise to Bermuda and three weeks we get after we get back we’re going to Germany for two weeks. I’m really excited to travel and experience things that I never have before. I hope that traveling to such different places changes my outlook on a lot of things. I would like to change a lot about myself and get more of a positive attitude about myself and life in general. I’ve made a lot of mistakes throughout high school and I’ve been really lazy, I’d like to change all these bad habits and go in with a fresh start. Throughout college there are so many new and different people to meet other people choose to go to class, keep to themselves and go home. Throughout high school now, I tend to keep to myself and try to somewhat focus. I’d like to concentrate on school and do well but also meet a lot of people. This summer I want to make a bucket list of fifty things that I want to do before the end of summer. Every year before summer I always say it’s going to be the best one yet and it never is, this year, it will be.

P5. Selfishness

1.       There’s a lot of people in this world that take things they have and people that they have in their life for granted. I am definitely one of the people that do both of these things. I take my parents for granted so much. My parents have always been there for me doing as much as they can to make me happy. I honestly never realized how much they do for me until I stepped back and actually looked. The worst part of it, I hardly say thank you to either of them. It’s like, AI just expect them to do these things for me because they’re my parents. Looking at the situation now I realize that they don’t have to do any of these things.  I’ll get in a fight with my Mom and I finally realize why she gets so upset and mad about them.  We’ll spend the day together and something will happen that will cause a fight between us. She’ll spend so much money on me and then I’ll get an attitude.  The problem is that in today’s world, money is often buying people’s happiness. Although, there’s so many people that I would do so much for. Most people just expect it though, that’s what I hate.  For example, my friend said that he had to work on his Birthday and I felt bad because he was upset that he had to. I drove to his work with balloons and a card to make his work day a little better and when I got there to give to him, he didn’t even say thank you; he just expected it. It’s not something he should have expected because I was surprising myself by doing it. It’s just ridiculous how unthankful people are. By doing things for others, I realize that I’m putting myself in my parents’ shoes; this is how I make them feel. It may be a little different but it’s an awful feeling to go out of your way for someone and not even receive a thank you. People are really selfish and self-centered; I know that I am definitely like this and I’ve never wanted to change more.

P4. Times Are Changing

      For this blog, I wanted to write about how the present generation and the older generations are so different. Generations are different in a lot of ways; such as technology, attitude, communication, careers, and media. Many generations before the present didn’t have cell phones or computers. Technology has and is still increasingly incredibly. It’s hard to believe that people had to live without the technology that we have today. Many people, including myself, depend on my phone and my computer; I couldn’t imagine living without either one. Next, people’s attitudes towards things have differed so much. So many people complain about things that aren’t even worth complaining about. For example, in class a teacher that never gives out homework, hands us a worksheet to do that night; the entire class has to wine and moan about it. I’ve come to notice that the little things don’t make people the happiest anymore. Most people today care about money and about themselves. I think there are a lot more selfish people today than there used to be. Communication is a lot different due to technology. In today’s world, we have Facebook bullying and years ago, if someone had a problem with someone else, they’d settle it face to face. There are positives and negatives to how it is and how it used to be, but it’s just amazing how much has changed. It’s so much harder to get a job these days, whether you’re seventeen or thirty.  Most, if not all decent jobs today require at least 2-4 years of college. Years ago, college wasn’t nearly as important as it seems to be today. Finally, media has completely changed. Television shows use to be mainly cartoons, now almost every show I watch there is some sort of drama, there’s not enough lessons being taught. There’s a lot of media that is persuading people to do things that they shouldn’t; giving situations and examples that is making people try things they shouldn’t. I just think it’s incredible how different the generations are and it’s only getting worse.