Time

                                

  If you’re on time you’re late; if you’re early you’re on time

My grandma and my father both view time as a precious aspect of life,

If you waste my grandmas or fathers time the tension becomes so thick you can cut it with a knife

They see the beauty of time, my grandmother hates being late, and hates when people run late

My father works and plans around his personal clock

He is always on time and the race between him and time never stops

My grandma works, and plans around her personal clock

Only she posses the key to this intangible aspect of life’s lock

The time we spend as people, is often times wasted

Wasted on anger, and stressful contemplation

We need to value the importance of time,

Embrace time and its ability to run fast and slip through the cracks of our intertwined fingers

We often lose time when we debate over how to spend our time; we allow our time to carelessly linger

My grandmother understands that time comes and goes; she spends every moment doing something important and enjoyable

My father and grandmas habit of being on time has always been loyal

Being on time isn’t easy for everybody

People make up the best excuses for why they were late

And why they allowed, their or another person’s time to go to waste

 But everyone, I believe understand that time is a terrible thing to misuse

But only my grandmother and father understand, and value the and beauty that time posses

allowance

          I believe children from eleven to seventeen should receive an allowance. Receiving an allowance teaches children of all ages to become financially responsible. Receiving an allowance also  teaches children at young age, how to save their money for the things that they really want. Although children are still receiving money from their parents, when the money is placed in the child’s hand, a certain sense of real independence is achieved. Children will receive the sense that they are actually working at a real job when they are compensated.

    Receiving an allowance is an imperative factor for becoming well acquainted with life’s most important factor, independence. Not all children receive an allowance, however I believe in order to understand how to deal with money you must be exposed to it at an early age. Unfortunately I believe several parents give children an allowance simply for the fact of them having money in their pocket to spend. Receiving allowances should be earned through manual labor. Children should be assigned a chore list, and should receive an allowance. Most children are assigned chores such as, washing the dishes, drying the dishes, cleaning their room, mopping the floors, vacuuming the floors, feeding the dogs, cleaning the kitchen counters, and cleaning the stove. There are several different ways of earning money for the chores assigned to children. However how much money should a child receive for doing chores? I believe it depends on how many chores the child is carrying, and also how old they are. Younger children should not be paid as much as older children, because they don’t necessarily know what to do with ten or twenty dollars, or they may spend all their money on one item. If the child is performing only one chore I believe they only deserve five dollars. If a child is performing two chores weekly they should receive ten dollars. Last but not least if a child is performing three or more chores they should receive twenty dollars. I believe that children who do not perform chores should not receive any type of allowance. Although this does teach a child to be responsible, if they do not have to work for the money then they will take advantage of the money. Either way, if a child receives an allowance they are being taught to be money wise, and financially responsible.

    I have been receiving an allowance since I was in the fifth grade. I started off simply be wiping down the counters, and I was paid three dollars. When I was younger three dollars was a lot, however as I grew older, I took on more chores, and began earning more money. When I was in seventh grade I unloaded the dishwasher while my older brother loaded the dishwasher, and I was paid ten dollars. Last but not least when I began high school, I was use to unloading and loading the dishwasher, however instead of earning more money, I continued to receive the ten dollars, that I was earning when I was only unloading the dishwasher. Earning an allowance has taught me to not only be financially responsible, but has also made me more aware, and selective when it comes to purchasing my desired items.

save our world

                                                                Save our world

      “You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give-Khalil Gibran”.It is simple to donate clothes or unwanted toys, however when you give back your time, you are giving something much more than the tangible, you are affecting the world.

    I believe that giving back is the best gift you can give to the world, and it is already unwrapped. When you participate in environmental activities such as planting trees, cleaning beaches, or consistently recycling, you may not believe you are truly making your mark on the world, or helping out, but you are contributing to making the world a better place.  The world is better when it is cleaner, do we as people honestly want to ruin our future world? Do we in the future want to pay for the mistakes that we are making right now, by trashing our world? Even though we sometimes we feel we are simply throwing down a tiny piece of bubble gum wrapper, or throwing the plastic bottle into the wrong trash can, we fail to realize that we are contributing to destroying our only world. Unfortunately the uneducated, and ignorant have no sympathy for the destruction of our world, we are slowly watching our world disintegrate, but who will stop it, does anyone have the heart, and courage to stop this destruction?

     Recycling is extremely simple; however you must be aware, and conscious about how to recycle properly. In most cases the city will distribute three different colored trash cans to people so they understand, and are being encouraged to recycle properly. The first trash can is black, which is specifically for non recyclable items, such as food, makeup, or, Styrofoam. People will also receive a green trash can which is for throwing away grass, wood, and other easily degradable waste.  Last but not least, people will receive a blue trash can which is meant for recyclable trash, such as jewelry, pop cans(metal) , plastic bottles(plastic) and light bulbs(glass). Making sure you are throwing away your trash in the correct trash can is the first step to improving our world.

     When someone gives a gift such as improving the environment, they shouldn’t expect to receive a tangible gift in return. The people that give back, and actually contribute to improving the world are receiving a gift much bigger than money, a new car, or a new house. They receive the satisfaction of knowing that they made a difference, whether it was big or small, they affected the world. Giving back is a gift within a gift, you receive a gift after you have given back to your community, and giving back is a gift for the world. Participating in environmental activities, builds character, and gives participants a humble attitude. On several occasions I have sacrificed a good night’s sleep, and a free weekend in exchange for giving back, and participating in a community service project. I give back, not only for the intangible gifts that I receive after I have given back, but I believe our world is what we make it. If we want a toxic and unlivable world, then we should continue with the efforts we are putting in right now to improve our world, which is not much. However if we want a safe, and clean world, then we should take action now, and begin to give back, and sacrifice our time to help improve our world.

fame and fortune

      Is it easy to become famous? With the use of technology it is becoming easier for people to become famous, or to become noticed in the media. However all though becoming famous is simple, it is easy to lose yourself in the midst of the “red carpet scene”. People who become famous must know that they are entering an entirely different world, full of fame, fortune, artificial people, and also corruptness.

      Decades ago it would take only the most talented, and elite to become accepted into the celebrity scene, and become admired as an icon. However, now technology has exposed that anyone can become famous. Several people of any age have the ability to upload videos of them demonstrating their talent, such as singing, dancing, or performing a skit onto the computer. The most popular site to upload videos is YouTube. People also have the option to sign themselves up to appear on a reality television show such as “ American Idol”, “Dances with the Stars”, “Real World” and more. Also people can appear on talk shows such as “Tyra”, “Maury”, “Jerry Springer” and more. Appearing on either a talk show or even a reality television show, will sometimes lead someone to minor fame and fortune, and they may not become a famous celebrity but they will become well known.

      With fame and fortune, a person’s life can change drastically. When people become famous they sometimes fail to realize that they are trading a reasonable and comfortable life, for a hectic and public life. Celebrities have all the money in the world, but have no privacy. Celebrities also, are desired by their opposite sex consistently, but always seem to have the hardest time finding someone to truly share their fame and fortune with. Life becomes harder when you live in front of millions of people, who are watching your every move. Also when one becomes a celebrities he or she must take on several responsibilities, they have to understand how to manage their money to prevent themselves from going bankrupt, and they must understand what to say, and what not to say to the media. It is not that hard to become famous, but to stay famous, and have the mental stability to understand how to control your fame, while staying humble and true to yourself is not easy.

the three bestfriends

       I use to be able to analyze and dissect someone’s outer appearance perfectly; at least that’s what I thought. This negative aspect of being human is somewhat unavoidable. People have a habit of “judging a book by its cover”. People always feel that they know, and understand who someone is by the way they stand, the way they dress, and the way they look, when in fact they know nothing about the person, but why do people do this?

   When I was in seventh grade I had already established who my best friend was. I knew that I would never replace her, or add anyone else into our circle of friendship that only I and she understood. However I didn’t know that my best friend had another close friend, however this “other girl” didn’t have the same title as me being the “best friend”. My best friend introduced me to this “other girl” and once I laid eyes on her I knew for a fact me, and her would never be friends. I walked cautiously up to her, because I had already “caught a vibe” from her, I felt as if she was negative, and completely stuck up. The way she stood, allowed me to continue with my judgmental analysis of her. She stood up as tall as a tree, with perfect posture, giving me a feeling that she was self centered, and arrogant. When she opened her mouth, she said “hi, my names Khayla”, her tone was full of a rotten attitude, and she gave me the feeling that she had already prejudged me as well.

   Eventually the air between, Khayla, Ashley and myself, grew with awkwardness, and tension. Khayla continued to talk, but it seemed to be a forced conversation only to occupy the awkwardness of the atmosphere that we created. After this awful encounter with this stuck up girl, I continued to build my friendship with Ashley, and avoid Khayla. Unfortunately fate brought us back together in honors algebra I class that following year. This was our first year being in honors classes, I didn’t know anyone else besides her, and she didn’t know anyone also. I didn’t want to sit next to her; however there were no more available seats other than the one beside her. Eventually comparing our schedules led us to realize we had several classes in common. In each class we stuck by each other’s side, and began to surpass the small talk, and actually began having lengthy conversations with each other. She wasn’t as bad as I thought, she was much like myself, a nice sense of humor and really down-to-earth. Ashley, Khayla, and I began to hang out with each other more and more, and the circle of friendship that was exclusive to only Ashley and I expanded allowing one more person in.

   It is unbelievable that Khayla and I became best friends, because we both judged each other, simply from the way each other looked. Judging Khayla led me to do a lot of self reflection. I began to realize that I could not tell who someone was if I didn’t get to know them. One cannot tell another person’s personality, or style through the façade that they hold up throughout the day. I promised myself, from that day forward, that I would never judge someone as far as not giving them a chance to become my friend.

reading

In the midst of my disappointment I closed my eyes and attempted to wish the pain away. The feeling of wanting to release the tears that I tried so hard to hold back, were soon about to rush rapidly through my brown eyelids. I couldn’t hold it back any longer, the hard lump of pain that I tried so hard to swallow would not disappear, I let out a loud gasp, and a waterfall of tears soon flew out of my eyes. I realized at that moment I could not hold onto the pain any longer I had to solve this dilemma that I was facing. Learning to read is hard for several people, however I was nine years old, and felt as if I was running out of time. My learning clock was ticking, and if I wanted to make it in time, in order to reach my goal in being placed in honors classes, I knew I would have to do better than what I was doing.

  It seemed as if not being able to read had been a problem that had just popped up in my life. I was wonderful at reading when I was in first grade, but once I approached my fourth year in school, I was beginning to fall behind. I was soon placed in a special reading program, which to me only seemed  embarrassing. Our small group of four to six kids, met once every two days, and worked side by side with an instructor. The instructor took us to the school’s library, and we were allowed to pick a book of our choice. My instructor helped me comprehend each word from cover to cover of every book I laid hands on.

It was on a certain day that taught me, what to truly do with my feelings of disappointment. It started out as an ordinary day in fourth grade, I expressed to my classmates, and friends who were already in honors classes, about my passion, and desire to become enrolled in the honor classes as well. To my surprise they were less than supportive, and most of the children told me that I would not be able to get accepted into the honors classes, because of “I wasn’t smart enough”. I carried their negative words by my side throughout the rest of the day. When I arrived home, I began to think about how far I was coming along in my reading group. I knew that if I truly wanted to take honors classes, I would have to put the time and dedication in enhancing my reading skills. It was in that moment of realization that my possibility of entering into the honors classes seemed higher. Despite what the other kids said, I turned the feeling of disappointment and self defeat into motivation and determination. My fifth grade year approached, and unfortunately I wasn’t accepted into the honors classes, however my reading was much better, and being told that I wasn’t smart enough to achieve my desired goal,  simply created intrinsic motivation for myself.

doctors and athletes

The inspirational lives that athletes live, is put on a pedestal higher than what it actually deserves. Several people who uphold jobs such as doctors, lawyers, and police officers feel that athletes receive too high of a  compensation. Although athletes are not saving lives necessarily or fighting justice they are providing people with entertainment. They are providing them with hope. Athletes are the tangible proof that anyone can achieve the American dream, and that it isn’t simply an intangible fantasy that Americans created some odd years ago. However athletes are inspirational but do they deserve a higher compensation than a teacher, doctor, or lawyer?

      When one becomes an athlete they are sacrificing a lot, quality time with their family , a stable love life, and also their privacy. However this is their choice. When an athlete cheats on his or her spouse, or has a child by another man or woman other than their own spouse, they are stripped of their dignity that they worked so hard toward earning. However we as people put our doctors on a pedestals, we believe they are living a life that we should strive to live also. People need to realize, they do not comprehend what goes on behind closed doors, and they do not understand what goes on in their doctor’s lives, after their white coat comes off at the end of the day. The burden of responsibility that an athlete carries is not as heavy as the burden a doctor, lawyer or even firefighter carries. A doctor is saving someone’s life, a lawyer is defending someone’s life and fire fighters are risking their lives.

      Athletes are role models even if they do not wish to be. I believe athletes often times earn a bad reputation, due to the fact that they live their lives in front of the public eye. Being an athlete is a passion driven career. You must be mentally and spiritually strong in order to live the life of an athlete.  As an athlete you must live an almost perfect life, because the public and media, are all anticipating the moment in which an athlete will “slip”. Being an athlete is a riskier career decision. Although I am not understating the obstacles that doctors, must overcome in order to earn that title as “Dr. “ I believe if someone has the passion to become a doctor, lawyer, or police officer, they can channel this passion over into a institution of higher learning such as, medical school, law school, and the police academy. Unfortunately there is not an athlete academy, or athlete training school. There is no transition from being an average Joe into becoming a well known icon. Several children dream of becoming an athlete, but only a small number of children will actually achieve this dream. When children dream of becoming doctors, or lawyers their chances of reaching this goal is higher than becoming an athlete.  In medical school they can teach a student how to become a better doctor, by teaching them to be more in touch with their patients needs, but a coach can only teach an athlete so much, the rest of his or her success is all dependent on natural talent.

Athletes, doctors, lawyers, and firefighters all, live stressful and inspirational lives. In my opinion they all deserve the same amount of compensation. I would compare doctors and lawyers field of work, to people who work behind the scenes of a big play toward its opening night. Whereas athletes are the actors. Doctors, lawyers and athletes all take a small role in affecting someone’s life, so shouldn’t they receive the same amount compensation?

uniform

The easiest way to express your personality and true spirit is through clothing.  Who has the right to tell anyone to cover their personality, or true spirit up? A uniform is a way to make a student feel just like everyone else, it takes away from their individuality. However although a uniform takes away from self expression, it has its advantages.

     It is a popular aspect to private schools, that wearing a uniform is mandatory. However this is what sets them apart from public schools. I am against wearing a uniform in public school. I’ve had the opportunity to attend both a public, and private school. I felt happiest when I was able to express myself freely, and not having to worry about looking like everyone else. I understand that when attending school, no student should focus on the way they look. However when you feel good, you carry a positive attitude, which makes you open to wanting to learn more. When someone feels healthy, and happy inside, the happiness that is achieved through freely expressing one self, will become bluntly obvious to those surrounding them. When I dressed the way I felt inside, I enjoyed school a lot more. Also when students are allowed to dress the way they wish, the environment is more carefree, and not so uptight.

    When I attended private school. It was mandatory that the students wore uniforms. Although the school still allowed students to have a free dress day on Friday, with restrictions of course. The environment was somewhat uptight, and overly strict. The restrictions were overbearing, they didn’t allow us to wear shirts with logos on it, and girls were not allowed to have painted nails, unless it was a neutral color. I am completely against wearing uniforms in school, however wearing a uniform has its advantages. The advantages to wearing a uniform is that students don’t have to contemplate what they are going to wear in the morning. Also students who wear uniforms do not have worry about buying new clothes, or searching for clothes that are “in”. Although wearing a uniform has its advantages, it still limits students to fully expressing themselves, and truly discovering their personal style.

  School is a place where young students are suppose to, not only be educated, but experience a mature growth within, they are suppose to develop, and discover who they truly are. If they are not given the opportunity to express who they truly are on the outside, how will they understand how to deal with what is going on, on the inside? I understand that teachers do not want students to be overly exposed. Most schools that do not force students to wear uniforms have restrictions. The most common restrictions for students who attend public school is no spaghetti straps, no open toe shoes, and no white tees. Although not every student will agree with the dress code, it is better than wearing a uniform. A dress code does limit a certain

poems

The soul runs freely throughout the world.

Covered in nothing, but our true colors.

Eventually finding its home again.

Envy clings onto the backdoor.

Buried in its own misery and covered in its dirty green coat.

Searching throughout the world for someone to hold onto.

Fate awaits its signal to run at its owner’s front door.

Bare within its own outline.

It chooses the path, and life you will live.

Time fly’s in and out of my life.

While I wear a blindfold, blind to its beauty.

Uncover my eyes and let me discover the true power of controlling my time.

A  voice is seen and not heard in a empty room.

Covered in a vivid combination of letters.

Silence takes over this voice, killing its chance of being heard.

A light illuminates the room.

It wears a bright robe walking in any room of its choice, commanding attention.

The light leaves a room leaving people, craving for its presence once more.

swine flu

It seems as if, every year America informs common citizens about a new disease that has tragically killed thousands of people. Americans rushed out to hospitals, complaining to doctors, and nurses about, what most thought were just common flu symptoms. Unfortunately, unlike the common flu, this new flu was becoming the death of several people. This unknown virus, was known as the Swine Flu. Quickly, doctors began to produce a vaccine protecting people from getting the swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus.

   The swine flu rapidly swept across America killing several men, women, and children, in 2009. What is the swine flu exactly? The Swine Flu simply is a higher level, and more deadly version of the ordinary flu. When the weather becomes unpredictable people are more prone to catching the common cold, such as when the weather moves drastically from, hot weather to cold weather, or vice versa. People believe that because the weather is somewhat more stable then what it used to be, they will not catch the Swine Flu, however if they are even in the same room with someone who may have it still, they can catch it. Although Swine Flu is not airborne if someone carrying this virus, coughs, or sneezes, the people around them could possibly catch Swine Flu.

          To prevent yourself from getting Swine Flu, you can make sure you dress appropriately for the weather. If it is cold outside, don’t wear anything showing too much skin, make sure you have a scarf and if it is really cold wear two pairs of socks. Dressing appropriately for the weather will be worth it when winter time rolls by.

smoking

Is smoking cigarettes” cool”? Smoking cigarettes is not “cool”, smoking is deadly. So why do so several teenagers smoke cigarettes? The common misconception about smoking, is that it makes the user look cool. What is cool? Is being cool, following behind your friends buying a pack of cigarettes only to eventually find out you have lung, breast, or oral cancer.

   Smoking is not the thing to do, it is extremely hazardous, and not only causes cancer but it makes the user loose a lot of weight. When someone picks up their first cigarette, he or she may think, its only one, or it is completely harmless. However smoking cigarettes can be extremely addictive. Someone may think that they are only smoking one, but sometimes that one cigarette can turn into two, three or even four cigarettes a day.  Several young people smoke, because it gives them a sense of “fitting in”. Whether it be curiosity, or influence no one should smoke, let alone when they are a teenager. It is worst to smoke when you are young, because when you are young, you are still developing physically and mentally.

   The wonderful feeling or sensation that is achieved when one smokes, is not worth a lifetime of regret. Often times teenagers smoke, because it relieves stress, and makes them calm. However there are other ways of feeling calm, or peaceful, you can draw listen to music or even paint. The creative and relaxing outlets dealing with relieving stress is unlimited, but no one should ever smoke cigarettes in search of a release or escape.

math

      Without math where would we be? Math is important, and we use it on a daily basis, whether we use it while we’re out at the mall calculating our total cost for the new outfit we have been dying to purchase, or ordinary but necessary groceries. Unfortunately mathematics is taken for granted, several people feel that math is not necessary, or they feel that math isn’t necessary after they have learned how to add, subtract, divide, and multiply. This common misconceptions, is rudely proven incorrect when someone decides to dine out to a fancy restaurant, and they aren’t sure how much of a tip their waitress is suppose to receive.

   Regardless of someone’s career choice mathematics is necessary. Math is also the most avoided subject, possibly due to the fact that math is somewhat difficult to most, or because within a moment math can go from being simple to challenging.  People should attempt to realize the beauty, and significance of mathematics. Math is difficult; however math is most likely the only subject that you will only find one answer to the equation or problem. The world that we live in would not be able to survive let alone function properly without math. We as people don’t realize how many times a day we actually use math. If mathematics would have not been discovered or taught to people we would not have houses, cars, medicine, or clothes. When an architect begins to build a house he or she must know simple measurements, and how much wood they need to build a house. A nurse must understand how much medicine a patient needs, if she didn’t know the correct amount of medicine the patient could possibly overdose. The importance of math walks through our world unnoticed, but consistently is used throughout our everyday lives, we must appreciate the power of math.