Z to A

Zelda yelled ‘X-rays were very unremarkable, Theresa!’ she ran quickly past octopus nests, motioning like kangaroos. Joyfully inspired, Hanson Gregory fed elephants dice cut badly angled.

A to Z

After Bonnie caught Derek eating food guaranteed healthy in Kenya like men nesting over ponds quite respectively, she took uncooked vegetables where x-rays yelled zero.

Update 2/27

     Lately, nothing all that exciting has been happening. This past week, I’ve had soccer games and practices that have really pushed me to balance out my schedule better than I have been. Soccer has been a challenging experience so far, but it definitely has been paying off and I am enjoying it very much.
     I’m also currently running for sophomore student body president for next year. It is looking like a very victorious race, for the simple reason no one else is running.
     Hopefully you are enjoying this weather, although a little chillier than earlier, but still very nice!

Update

     So far today, nothing very exciting has happened. We had the Iowa Assessment this morning, and it went pretty well. I was actually surprised that it was remotely difficult this morning. Usually, I am able to fly through and take very little time. But today, I actually had to take my time and check over answers. Most of the things on the test were from math and science classes I took a while ago, and so I didn’t remember the majority of the things on the assessment.

     Today is an early out Wednesday, which means we get out of school an hour and a half earlier than normal. I have mixed feelings about early outs; I enjoy less time in school, but at the same time I feel like it is a waste of time. We have so little time in class, and everyone is excited for less school, that nothing actually gets done at all.

     Finally, I have soccer practice after school. I am really sore from weightlifting yesterday, and thankfully practice is only going for an hour or so tonight. I’m starting to really enjoy soccer, now that practices are getting more fun and we are doing less conditioning. We had our first game on Monday, and both varsity and junior-varsity won.

Roosevelt National Honor Society

     The National Honor Society has the purpose of allowing outstanding students to better themselves and the community. It meets every 3 weeks and has members participate in projects.    

     “To become a member, you must have a 3.5 GPA, hold leadership positions and regularly do service projects.” The National Honor Society positively impacts its members, and is a quality program students should strive to be a part of.

     “I believe in this; I believe students want to better the community and themselves; they are doing so by being in this club." Mr. Marks, an officer, said of the National Honor Society.

  

  

Trayvon Martin

     Unless you have been living under a rock recently, you probably heard about the Trayvon Martin case coming out of Florida. If you have been, let me give you some brief background. The New York Times has reported multiple times of this unfortunate story.

     Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old killed outside Orlando, Florida last month. The man that killed him, George Zimmerman, has not yet been charged with anything. A final detail that brings this case into light is the fact that Trayvon Martin is black, and George Zimmerman is not. This has brought on the idea that this crime was a hate-crime.

     Zimmerman allegedly called the police to report Martin as ‘suspicious’. The police dispatcher warned Zimmerman not to pursue or follow the boy. Unfortunately, Zimmerman did not listen. He followed Martin, and soon a physical dispute occurred. Resulting in the death of a young boy.

     Regardless of my personal opinions of this case there is something terribly wrong. According to the Christian Science Monitor, millions of people are taking this story the wrong way. Before getting all of the facts, they are jumping to conclusions, and hurting a man in the process.

     Many of the key issues of this story have taken a long time to come out. The Washington Post writes about the life Trayvon Martin really lived; not just the one his family wants Americans to believe. He had been expelled from his high school on numerous occasions because of marijuana.

     Many people believe this is a hate crime because Trayvon Martin was black and George Zimmerman was white. The Economist explains this is untrue; while Martin was black, Zimmerman is a Hispanic man, who was merely looking out for his community.

There are many people who point to Zimmerman as the murderer of Trayvon Martin, and the majority point to it as an example of a hate-crime. People have gone so far as to find Zimmerman’s address and go to his house. Fortunately, the wrong address, via Twitter, was used, but many Americans do want to hurt him.

While this is a terrible crime, one that does need to be dealt with, pointing fingers and blaming everyone near the case, is the complete wrong way to find the truth of this crime.

When reading or researching anything, try to find the truth and your own opinion; not just one you read in a newspaper article. Regardless of personal opinions of Martin or Zimmerman, we must look to find justice and truth; not just a good story for the front of the New York Times.

Spring Break 2012

     Here, in Des Moines, most schools just finished spring break. Usually, I don’t care for spring break, but this year, the opposite was true. I was in desperate need to take some time off from school. Lately, I’ve been incredibly stressed out, and this past week helped me to get back in control, and focus on the things I need to do.

     My spring break was pretty boring, in comparison with the majority of my friends. We got out of school on Wednesday, and I attended parent/teacher conferences. The rest of the week was spent hanging out with friends and simply, just relaxing.

     On Sunday, my two younger sisters and I went up to Minnesota to stay with our aunt for a few days. She lives in a suburb of Minneapolis, so we were close to everything. Everyday we did something different. One day we went to the Mall of America, one day we went for a hike around the park and one day we just stayed at home, playing games.

     We returned home on Wednesday, and the rest of my spring break was spent prepping for future debate tournaments. Next week, my partner and I are going to Novice Nationals in Iowa City.

     On Saturday before we had to return to school, I went to see The Hunger Games with a few of my friends. I knew what the movie was all about; I have read all three books in the series, I read reviews and heard plenty of personal opinions from my friends.

     When I went, I expected the movie to be just OK. I knew it probably wouldn’t be anywhere near as good as the books, but still okay. Fortunately, I was completely wrong. I absolutely loved the movie. It still wasn’t as good as the book, but I still loved it. For anyone who has not seen it, I would definitely go as soon as you have time.

     I hope everyone else had a great spring break like me!