Read Much?

Read Much?

                Reading is something that every person should do daily. Especially, teenagers should be reading more often. I know that for a fact most teenagers do not read. I believe that needs to change because you learn a lot from reading. Most teenagers do not have a decent vocabulary, including myself. Reading will help change that and will later give students a larger choice in their vocabulary.

                To just read a book, is not going to benefit you as much as you could. You need to read a challenging book.  A book that you don’t know vocabulary and that will make you think about what is going on. Some people think that if they don’t know the vocabulary they will not understand the book, but that is not true. If you don’t understand a word that you come across, look it up. It will help you remember the word and its definition the next time you come across it.

                Most teenagers will say that they hate to read and that they will not do it. I think that if they actually had a book that had a topic they were interested in; more teenagers would start to read. So many teenagers out there do not read and I feel like that will hurt them in the end. I know reading is time consuming but really once you get into a book, you may actually start to like reading.

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It's Fall Time

It's Fall Time

If you were ever asked what your favorite season is of the year what would you say? I know for sure my answer would be the fall going into the winter. I love the sweatpants and sweatshirt weather so much. It is the most comfortable outfit out there. Most people would disagree with me on their favorite season because it feels like everyone loves summer. People love the summer because there is more to do. People like to play outside, tan, go boating, go camping, and grill out. Don’t get me wrong I love to do all of those things and I do love the summer but the fall is by far my favorite. 

When I think of fall I think of football, leaves, Halloween, haunted houses, sweatshirts, and volleyball. Probably the best thing about the fall is being able to go to the Iowa football games and watching my cousin play. He is an offensive lineman, number 60. Yes, every time we get together as a family he eats all of the food and I mean all…he is a pretty big guy. The Iowa football games are so fun. You are able to experience so many different things when attending an Iowa football game. It will always be a memory of mine after attending one.

         Now I would have to admit the next best thing about fall is the cuddling in your sweatshirt on the couch watching movies on Sundays’. I look forward to Sundays’ every day because of the fact that I get to be lazy most of the day. During the week I am so busy with my sports and homework that I never have time to just sit on the couch and watch TV. It is actually kind of depressing. I hate coming home to see my family all together in the living room while I have to go straight down stairs to do my homework…not fun.
        
          Also Halloween and haunted houses...how could you not love them! Halloween you receive tons and tons of candy and haunted houses you get the crap scared out of you. Both of these events are what make fall, fall. Not attending a haunted house during the fall would break my heart. I have attended a haunted house every year with my friends and am always the one that has to lead the pack. I hate that because you are the one that has to feel around to figure out where to go when it’s completely dark.
        
         Volleyball is another reason why fall is my favorite. Volleyball takes place during the whole season of fall. It is one of my favorite sports and I have always enjoyed playing it. Towards Halloween, our team goes on a scavenger hunt as we are dressed in our Halloween costumes. That is a memory that I will never forget.
        
        The last thing that I love about the fall is that it’s almost Christmas time. Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. People then ask why isn’t winter your favorite season and that is because I don’t like when it is extremely cold. I can handle the 40 and 50 degree weather but once it becomes colder, it is not my thing. Fall is my favorite season of the year and I don’t think I will ever think differently.

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HC 2012

HC 2012

            This past Saturday night was a night for everyone to remember. Except, many people were very angry with what was happening at the homecoming dance. At the very beginning of the dance we were yelled at because of people “bumping” and “grinding”. Let’s admit it, every high school student does it. In the rules stated by the student government, we were allowed to “bump” and “grind” just not to do it in a disturbing way, which is very understandable and I agree 100%. I don’t think it is necessary for girls to have their dresses pulled up and hands on the ground rubbing against the male. If you’re going to “bump” and grind” then keep it clean.

            As we were trying to have a good time keeping it clean, we were yelled at by an administrator to get off of each other and face the male while dancing. People were then starting to get kicked out of the dance for “bumping” and “grinding”. I think that is very stupid because that was never stated in the rules. People were allowed to dance like that, just not to have their hands on the ground and doing it in a disturbing way. What I was seeing were students dancing cleaner than what they were doing the previous dances.

            Students were then complaining to Dr. W to see why they weren’t allowed to dance like that and she said that it was ok to “bump” and “grind”. Other supervisors did not get the memo and were still yelling at students who were doing it. It was just very frustrating because all of the supervisors heard different rules. I will be surprised if a lot of people go to wpa.

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Support the Cougs

Support the Cougs

Every sport needs fans cheering at their competitions. Having no fans at an event makes the people competing very upset. They are representing your school and they deserve fans out there cheering them on. Even just attending an event would help the players. Some schools don’t even have a crowd in the bleachers and some schools have every row filled up in the bleachers. It is kind of sad going to a game and seeing no one there supporting them.

I am currently in two sports and have experienced many different crowds the past few years. Whenever we play Xavier, Washington, and Jefferson there is always a large crowd in the stands. That is mostly because they are our rival schools. All of the other games we don’t have as many students in the gym. Some games we only have one or two rows filled. When we only have one or two rows filled it is very upsetting. It makes you not want to go to other events and cheer them on.

I would have to say we have more fans at volleyball matches than our girls’ basketball games. Some games for basketball, we wont even have one student their supporting us. When the boys have basketball games everyone goes to them. Even when they are away and us girls are home; students still go to the boy’s away game. That hurts us even more because students don’t even come to our home games to watch us.

I know that there is a way to fix all of this and it has been brought up before. The administrators say that it will most likely not happen but I don’t understand why. I will explain this marvelous idea in another blog. But really, no athlete likes to play in front of no one. They want someone to perform for and they want people cheering them on.

Also I am not a swimmer but I know that swimming here at Kennedy does not have many fans that attend their meets. I bet that is very frustrating on the swimmers because they are performing for just their parents. Obviously every student would appreciate their parents being there for every one of their events but its not the same when you have students from your school going to them also. I know that the first people I look for in the stands are my parents and then I go over to the student section to see who is there. When no one is present it makes the athletes very down.

Next time you are sitting at home and don’t have anything to do, call some friends and attend one of the sporting events going on that night. You will feel better about yourself and your classmates will appreciate it very much!

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Sun Tan City...the place to go

Sun Tan City...the place to go

In one of my previous blogs I discussed the effects of tanning and how it is very likely to get skin cancer after years of tanning. I gave away other methods you could try to make yourself darker than what you are. One of the best options I said was to get a spray tan. Many people do not like to even try to get a spray tan because they are scared of what the color will look like. In this blog I am going to give some tips on ways you can become not so worried about a spray tan.

I have received two spray tans before. The two times I got a spray tan they were both free because the place I went to was having a special. The special was just a free spray tan to try it out. Both times I received my spray tan I loved them. I was a little darker than what I was but I wasn’t orange. That is the only thing that I cared about… I did not want to be orange. The place I went to is called Sun Tan City on 16^th Ave in Cedar Rapids. If you are scared to get a spray tan but are thinking about it I would highly recommend going to Sun Tan City. Every person that I know that has gone there and received a spray tan has loved it. They loved the new look they were given.

When you go to Sun Tan City you are given three different color options. There is a light, medium, and dark color. If you have more of a pale skin color I would recommend getting the light spray tan. Choosing a darker color could and would result in your skin possibly turning orange. That is why if you choose light, you should be no matter what safe. Also this sunless tan appears within just hours after being sprayed.

The two different types of spray tans at Sun Tan City are the Versa and the Mystic. Both of these are highly efficient. During the tanning application, a mist is evenly put across your body. After the mist is complete, there is an automatic drier that dries your body. After the drying is complete you are allowed to leave dressed without feeling sticky. Some people wonder what the difference is between the two different machines. One difference is the Versa doesn’t tell you exactly what to do during the process. The Mystic will say put your right arm up and the Versa will just refer to position one. So going into the machine you will have to know the positions that are up on the wall before you enter.

If you are looking for a great spray tan for homecoming this weekend, go to Sun Tan City. Their machines do a great job making the color very natural. Don’t be scared because spray tans usually only last for 4 to 6 days. So before you know it, it will be gone. Be brave and go for it!

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Cook Much?

Cook Much?

            Have you ever cooked? No, don’t think so. Most teens would say that they don’t need to cook because their parents do it. Well yes, parents usually cook dinner but have you ever thought about who is going to cook your meals when you’re in college? Yeah didn’t think so.

            

          I believe that every teenager should learn how to cook and start cooking meals for their family once in awhile. When you go off to college and don’t know how to make anything but mac n’ cheese then your screwed. Of course you have the microwave and can just throw pre-made food items in there. But what happens when you decide to get married and you can’t cook?

            

          That is why maybe when you see your parents cooking by themselves; ask if they need help so that you can learn. Knowing how to cook will be very helpful in life. You will save a lot of money not going out to eat every night!

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Ask before Entering

Ask before Entering

 

I am sure I will have another blog about some of my pet peeves in life, but here is one that I hate. I become so irritated when my sisters go into my room and take something without asking. I know that they would get mad at me for doing that, so why do it to me? This past couple weeks I have caught my younger sister taking clothes from my room. My room and my older sisters’ room are the only rooms down stairs. Considering that my older sister, Olivia is at college her room consists of a bed and drawers filled with nothing. So when I see my younger sister walking down stairs, I know that she is obviously going into my room for something. Most of the time, it is some kind of clothing that she wants to wear.

A couple weeks ago after she came up from down stairs I asked her, “Kendal, what did you get from down stairs?” She then says “Nothing…” I knew in my mind that she took something from my room because of the little smirk she gave me after answering that question. I ended up finding out she grabbed one of my favorite shirts. I ripped her new one and told her not to do it again and that it makes me very angry. Then a couple days ago she was sitting on the chair at the computer when I saw the same shirt on her. I then asked her if it was my shirt and she said no it’s mine. So I go over to her, look at the shirt and confront her that it is my shirt that she is wearing not hers. She then said it was hers because mom put it in her laundry. I started laughing and said just because it was missed place in the wrong laundry doesn’t mean it’s yours.

Even though I love my two sisters very much I become very annoyed and angry when I come into my room and see that I am missing something. Yes, I do notice what is missing because I am very organized. I know my younger sister would probably be upset that I share this story but maybe she will see that I do actually get mad about it.

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