Farewell 1st Semester!

This semester has flown by quickly. I must say walking through the corridors on the first day of school was frightening to me. I did not know what to expect from college; I presumed it would be this ridiculously challenging and unenjoyable experience, but I can conclude it was neither.

I was challenged with my writing skills and I believe I learned a lot from my first semester. I wrote at least one paper every night and I know it improved my writing; I guess I can thank my college for pressuring students to write better. Managing my time between school and work while trying to obtain a good grade point average was my most challenging task this semester. I managed to have a good social life and did many fun activities, met great new people and even joined a really nice sorority.

I am happy to say my classes gave me a lot of insight on what my future career would be if I chose it and thanks to my professors, I definately know what my career choice will be. My first semester at college was enjoyable, although I did not love every minute of it, the majority of the time was spectacular. I only hope that the semesters to follow will exceed or measure up to Fall of 2007.

Baby -> teen ->pill?

In USA Today there was an article called Others not likely to follow school’s contraception move. This article was written by Wendy Koch and it is displaying many different opinions about whether or not schools should provide contraceptives to teens, even children.

Portland public school has been providing birth control including the pill, patch and implants. They have also been providing condoms since 2000. The health center is in the school and the parents do have a say in whether or not their child can use it, but what they do not know is what the health center is providing to the school. Surprisingly enough middle schools in both Baltimore and Seattle have been providing birth control since 1990. They say the teen pregnancies have been dropping about 37% since 1990, however, others do not agree with dispensing of these ‘protections’ in schools.

Charmaine Yoest from Family Research Council says it is ‘insane’ to provide birth control to middle schools since the students are so young, some even as young as eleven. There is a big difference between middle schools and high schools. The worse part about providing the pill besides students thinking it is ‘ok’ to have sex at such a young age is that it does not protect from sexually transmitted diseases. I could not agree more with Charmaine.

There will constantly be debates on whether or not providing birth control and condoms to children as young as eleven is right or not, but I must say my opinion is significantly against it. By providing children with birth control at such a young age, I feel it is encouraging them to experiment with the opposite sex, since they have easy access to ‘protection.’ I think providing birth control to any schools is ridiculous because then students will think it is the right choice to be having pre-marital sex. Besides children having sex at such a young age, birth control has many side effects and should not be taken unless doctor prescribed for a specific reason. So not only are schools allowing sex to occur at such a young age, but they are risking dangers to their students health.

Mona Lisa Smile.

One of the most fabulous movies in this decade created was Mona Lisa Smile. It stars Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst and Julia Stiles. It takes place in the 1950's in an art history class of a well known finishing school for girls.

The girls and instructors their have one main thing in common, their purpose in life is to get engaged, marry and have children. They go to finishing school to 'waste time' before they are married and learn how to keep the proper household. One teacher in particular takes a stand by showing her class that women have more potential than is expected.

Ms. Watson teaches art history to a gorup of girls and teaches them to view art as not just a curriculum or requirement, to really see it what it was made for. What is the arts purpose and who justified it as art? The best part of this movie is the compare and contrasting of women's role in the world to art. She made a significant difference and would not change her standards to please anyone. I hope to become a Ms. Watson someday when I am a teacher.

I would recommend this movie to anyone, it is inspiring and parts of it can not be put into words.

Look how far we've come.

Feminism is an issue that I am extremely passionate about. I was always against people who looked down upon women as just a house-wife or a care taker. Women have come so far since the early 1900's it is truly remarkable.

Back then, women were not allowed to vote, become educated or hold their own opinion. They were treated basically as Caucasian slaves and their duties were to clean the house, cook for their family and take care of the children. They were like 'stepford wives' while the husband went to work and returned later that evening.

Thankfully, feminism began and women fought back for their rights as citizens of the United States and the world. No matter where they lived, all women deserved the right of freedom; freedom to speak aloud, hold positions in the government, hold jobs etc. Now women can attend any schooling they want and can afford. There are opportunities galore concerning jobs, women can become anything they set their mind too, even some positions in the army.

I hope that one day while I am still alive their is a women president to lead this country. I am curious as to see how the country will change, for the better or worse. I want the country to completely over-throw feminism and become a world leader.

Smoke your life away?

Smoking is a horrible habit that only seems to make health issues worse for everyone, even the non-smoker. I have never touched a cigarette in my life and I do not plan on it. It stinks, pollutes the air and kills many. I recently have seen commercials on TV showing all the bad effects smoking has on everyone and how much harm it truly does to the body. I somehow don't see the necessity everyone sees in smoking? If you are stressed out, eat or drink something else that won't cause lung cancer or other fatal diseases. And the worst are people who smoke to lose weight; if you are not happy with how you look physically, go on a healthier diet plan. In today's world, we have the knowledge of all the negativities smoking brings and still people have yet to come to terms with its true affects. If I were part of the government, I'd ban smoking completely.

Wickedly Good!

On November 7th, 2007, I sat in my not so confortable seat high above the crowd below me. I anxiously waited for the red curtain to open and for the magic to appear. And as the curtain lifted slowly, the band chimed with its intense music. The audience felt alive at that very instant, or atleast, I did.

The stage was covered in Emerald green decor. The singing and dancing was magnificant, there were joy and sorrow filling the air with every note that was sung. For the most part, I love broadway plays. It is New York City's way to unleash true talent in a formal setting.

To sum it up, if you have ever seen the original Wizard of Oz movie, seeing Wicked will change your mind completely. It is about Elphaba, who is the "Wicked Witch of the West." She is green colored and is treated poorly because of this rare condition and has the obligation of taking care of her not so appreciative ill sister. She meets "Ga-linda" who is your typical prototype of a shallow, ditzy blonde. I have nothing against blondes, since I am one myself, but she portrayed blondes as dumber than a stump. They become good friends, but their wits lead to different, even fatal paths, or so you would think.

The acting and singing is quite possibly the best I have seen in years. The played poured with emotions and laughter. I refuse to give any significant details of this play, all I can say is buy your tickets now!

CHRISTmas.

Christmas has become an advertisement holiday. The decorations, lights and stores have advertised it since before Halloween lately. It is ridiculous how every other holiday is completely ignored and not even compared to Christmas.

Halloween is pretty big on decor, but Thanksgiving is not even considered a holiday anymore. Everyone is in a bustle, rushing around to buy the latest gifts. Thanksgiving is a traditional holiday and does not require gift giving, besides the delicious foods. Just because their are no material rewards in Thanksgiving, does that mean it's justified to just forget about it all together?

Don't get me wrong, Christmas is my favorite holiday. The season is absolutely joyful, i love everything about it. I just hate how everyone forgot its true meaning. Christmas is a Catholic holiday, celebrating the birth of Christ. It's not about presents or even Santa Clause. It should be a family oriented holiday celebrating love, friendship and happiness.

Saving lives or playing ball?

The media produces in the news daily how much money baseball players and celebrities make. They just so happen to selfish enough to request more and more millions. In today's world, a million for playing baseball is not enough. They always want more. And actors and actresses, forget about it. Most of these people won't dare act unless they're are getting paid a couple of million dollars. Fame today is worth more than a life.

Doctors, nurses, firefighters and policemen are underpaid. They save lives everyday, but somehow that is not more important than the entertainment world. What the government fails to realize is without people, the entertainment would be worthless. All of these doctors and nurses have to go to school for a long time and it's costly. But how are actors and sports players educated? Most of them do not even attend college, let alone save lives. Firefighters and policemen are the most underpaid. They work in extremely poor working conditions and don't even get paid a quarter of what these so called 'entertainers' are paid.

The government should get their priorities straight and pay accordingly to how worthy the person is to society. To me, a life is worth more than a program shown on television.

Eye see you.

The eyes are the most magical part of the body. On any human or animal, the eyes are the one colorful part of the face. They pop, like a tiny version of the world. Eyes are mystical, they come in different shades. Brown are the most common, blue, green, hazel and grey are the other colors.

All colors have its own unique meaning. Brown is reliable, light brown is genuineness and dark brown is the color of the earth; it also could symbolize sadness. Blue is calming and tranquil. Green is the color of nature; dark green symbolizes strength and masculinity. Hazel is a mixture of brown, green and blue. Sometimes there is yellow and red in certain eye colors.

However, eye colors are not derived from meaning and they are not chosen. When a female and male reproduce, their child receives the eye color of the dominant chromosome. Sometimes the chromosomes mix and produce a completely different colors than the two parents.

Eyes are spectacular wonders. You can sometimes tell a person's emotions through their eyes. I am definitely a contender for this trait.

Music to my ears.

The sounds that echo back and forth of loud instruments and strained voices rock the earth. Most elderly people despise the sound of the rock 'n roll guitars and the screaming voices of both men and women. I personally, prefer the music at a mediate level, but when it comes to rock, the volume should be turned up. The rhythm and sounds boil my veins and I get so excited I feel like my soul can dance and jump up and down out of my skeletal body. The talent is seen and heard, but I do declare the talent does not stop at rock 'n roll.

Some R&B artists like Alycia Keyes, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston have the most extraordinary voices the public has ever heard. They can reach high notes that can not be done by many. Their voices actually give me the goosebumps, that's how amazing they sound. Talent can be found in so many different genres of music.

Rap is not exactly my favorite genre, but it also involves a unique talent. Speaking at a very fast pace, while rhyming and remaining on the same beat as the music is not simple. The outcome and sound is much different from that of R&B or rock 'n roll, but it still involves effort and time.

I sang in the choir for all of my Middle School and High School Careers. It was a true joy to make music with some of my fellow peers. The reaction of the public, the feeling you get when on stage in front of hundreds is indescribable. I'd give anything to go back in time and feel it all over again. I was first soprano, even though I could not sing the highest notes, it was an experience I will keep forever.

Music to me is a mixture of sounds, voices and rhythms no one can copy quite the same. Everyone sounds different when they sing, in a good or bad way. To me it is a true talent to be able to sing, write a song and then combine instruments and the latest sound technologies. Producing a song is hard work, listening to it on the radio, little to no effort. So the next time you hear a song you like, remember all the time put into it; maybe then harsh judgements would be used less frequently.

A Futurastic Choice.

I recently had to observe a Special Education Class for one of my college courses. I did not know what to expect because I was always surrounded by regular Education classes. Well, the experience I had there was one i will never forget.
The classroom was of a small size, ten children with one main teacher, an assistant teacher and three personal paras. The children had conditions such as: down-syndrome, fragile x and cerebral palsy. They seemed to be on an intellectual level of pre-school children, only they were thirteen and fourteen years old.
The students and teachers made me feel very welcomed by showing a kind and friendly greeting. I sat in the back of the room and observed a boy undressing himself, then getting scolded for it. Very strange sounds and noises. The interaction between teacher and student was so caring and touching I felt the tears come out of my eyes.
Working in a personal and secluded environment is extremely important while learning. Each teacher worked one on one with a student, including myself. I had the privilege of working one on one with four children ranging from writing the letter 'c', reading and completing worksheets to follow. They touched my heart and I truly loved working with them and being helpful.
Those children made me realize that my future is coming quickly. I need to decide what kind of teacher I want to be, four years is a short time away. They have made me come to an easy decision, that is, it would be a privilege to work with handicapped students. And I can honestly say I could picture myself doing that for the rest of my life.

Not exactly a Honeymoon.

When I was a young girl, I loved to read mysteries or books in general for a short period of time. I went through a stage of hating to read anything besides a magazine. Television and the computer appealed much more to me than reading. However, working at a library has made me want to read fictional books. The usual romance stories interested me, ones especially by Nicholas Sparks, who is a fantastic author. My friend Bridgette recommended a best selling book called "Honeymoon" by James Patterson. I figuered I'd give a new author a try, since he was very well-known and his books were always being borrowed. This book changed my view of reading completely.

This paperback was a little shy of 400 pages long, with small font. Seems like a lot, but I took two days to read it. I spent six hours on the last night finishing over half of it, that's just how great it was. This particuliar author grabbed my attention so drastically I actually caught mself reading this book at any spare moment I got, even during class! By far my favorite book I have ever read.

It opens with this woman Nora Sinclair, she is a beautiful lady that draws the attention of many men. She becomes engagged to one of her many wealthy boyfriends and suddenly he dies after eating one of her 'famous omlettes.' An investigator named O'Hara has to 'dig up' the boyfriend's grave to see how he died. Somehow both Nora and the investigator are not who they claim to be. Do they fall for eachother? Or do they discover who they really are? Read it and find out!

drawbacks of the media.

The media puts so much attention on who has the worst and best bodies or what is considered to be the "best" and "worst." They critique stars from weight problems to a slight chip on their tooth. The celebrties may be wealthy and famous, but they don't have it "made" exactly. Like Britney Spears, she was never a horrible person, but the media made her go kookoo! Half of what the media reports is false information anyway, it just must be hurtful to read such crazy things.

The perfect figuere is one who is slim, curvey and average height. I do not agree with the whole 'perfect body image.' Everyone has a different taste for what they like, whether it be heavier or thinner, human beings are beautiful no matter what. People are so superficial these days, only judging a person on how they look or dress when quite possibly they could be even more beautiful on the inside than out. How do u think men & women get eating disorders? The media publicizing all these different drugs or weight plans just to look skinnier.





Working out and exercise to keep up with health reasons and to look nice is totally different than starving yourself. Daily exercise and routines can help you become a more fit individual as you grow older. It may even make you live longer.

Every person is unique and beatiful in his/her own way. People should look deeper than the human flesh to realize that.

shop til you drop.

Like most girls, I absolutely LOVE to shop. Shopping puts me in a better mood, I could shop for practically anything. I will always have to buy something if I go to a mall or any random store I browse in. Shopping tends to get expensive sometimes, but than again that is the beauty of sale items. When I get clothes, shoes, accesories or anything for a really cheap price, it's awesome! My favorite places to shop would probably be a New Jersey Mall, the Outlets in Lancaster, PA and especially NEW YORK CITY. New York is such a busy and crazy place; it's shopping is fabulous, from really expensive designers to really cheap bags on the street, you can always find something to buy in the city. I love to shop with friends or family but especially by myself, it's so much easier shopping by yourself. There is no one to bother or rush you and you can always go to your favorite stores. Shopping is one of my favorite hobbies; I simply adore everything about it!

falling.

The word fall has many different meanings. Automatically, I think of the season. It's crisp and beautiful weather, the leaves change into unqiue shades of orange and red. I absolutely love the fall. Lately, the weather has still been zoned in the summer, even though it's October.

Another meaning for fall is tripping. Fall can be an embarrasing moment or a funny one, depending on the type of person you are. I trip over my own two feet often, but I tend to laugh it off and not take myself too seriously. A fall can be a tragedy, even death.

When a person falls for someone, they fall in love with them. They fall for everything the person says, does etc. Falling can lead to true love or heartbreak. Whatever happens, you will never know how to love if you don't let loose and fall.

Fall is one of those complex and interesting words. Who knew love, death, laughter, embarrasment and a season could all be wrapped up into a single, four letter word?

memories..

a photograph captures moments so you can treasure them forever. you can make memories with your friends and family or with anyone you meet. it may be a cliche but "pictures say a thousand words." everyday in your life is a memory, whether it's good or bad. life is full of memories; a life without happy memories is not worth living.

EL. OH. VE. EE

Love is one of those indescribable feelings. It gives you the butterflies in the pit of your stomach, it may even cause nausea. It makes you smile from ear to ear and then in just a second you're crying over something that happened. In all relationships there's always love moments and then there are hate moments. We cannot live without love; we do not only love the person we are with but we love our family anf friends as well. We love life and that is the most important thing to love, the life you lived, and the life you will live. Life cannot exsist without some kind of love and love cannot exsisit without life <3

cake of life.

Let's bake a cake with emotions. We'll add one cup of happiness mixed with 2 teaspoons of tragic events. You must add three pints of love and mix it all with a few drops of sadness and just a pinch of laughter. The laughter spreads all over the cake so don't forget to just add a pinch! Bake for 18 years and then you can frost it with your family and friends (= Excuse me but I am extremely hungry and I am actually going to bake a cake now.

change.

change is like anything, it has it's pros's and con's. for the most part i do not like change; it makes me upset when things are different. everyone makes mistakes, we're not perfect human beings. forgiveness is a funny thing; most people say go on with your life do not dwell on past events when they do not forgive. i try to forgive everyone, unfortunately, some do not feel the same. i guess you could say change is for the best. one of my favorite quotes is "there's a reason why your past didn't make it to your present." even if you don't know what that reason is just yet, you will. if everything happens for the best they say, why does it hurt so bad when things change?

queen of stress.

overcoming stress is difficult, sometimes unbearable. you have the extraordinary stress of family; you have to strive your best in school otherwise you'll get yelled at. along with family, there are your teachers giving assignments like crazy, there's hardly a break away from work. then the troubles of having a part-time job, when it's really all not that part-time because i have to go in five days a week, mostly after school. i teach ccd on saturday mornings at 8 in the morning. and now i am pledging a sorority which i don't know was the best decision on my part, although i have made nice friendships with some of the girls, it's just another thing to worry about. and somehow in between all of this i have to abserve a special ed class for 12 hours of service. i absolutely HATE when people boss me around so who knows what's going to happen with that. by the time i come home at night i want to pass out and go to sleep, but i can't because i have school work and chores to do. there is no escaping from stressful situations, especially ones you choose to put upon yourself. but i've learn to just deal with them and take them for what they are. having a positive attitude really helps me from going crazy. =)

Hello everyone! I am in a really happy/excited mood. This weekend the weather was absolutely perfect; not too hot, not too cold. It was a great start to fall. I went to Mambo Italiano's for my best friend's birthday & it was really cute. I decided I love Brooklyn, the little shops & busy streets, it's almost like a smaller Manhattan. I am really looking forward to October with Halloween & all the leaves changing colors. After that happens then i know Christmas is almost here! My favorite time of year when everyone decorates and the tree is up it's just an amazing feeling. I do feel bad for Thanksgiving though, it's definitely one of the 'ignored holidays'. Well I'm off to do some lovely homework! Talk to you all soon!