What does Christmas mean anymore?

Christmas is a time of the year that has greatly changed and continues to every single year. When someone says "I can't wait for Christmas!" it usually means that they can't wait to recieve gifts from friends and loved ones when really it should be about the cheerful atmosphere and the decorating and the ice skating with loved ones. This holiday was made to be thought of as the holiday that is full of joy and happiness because you can put up a tree and decorate it with your family or you can sing Christmas carols and songs while they play on the radio and just get in the "Christmas spirit". Nowadays we just look at it as the number one holiday to go out shopping and buy many unnecessisary items for yourself and anyone you care about. I get that everyone thinks that it's the right thing to do by spending enormous emounts of money on others and expect it all back in return but some families and kinds can't afford to do these things. In reality, I think that these families that can't afford to purchase many gifts for this holiday are the more fortunate because they really know what Christmas is all about. It's a religious time for most people and families that work together get to stay close and for instance bake decorated cookies just for the fun of it to spread the Christmas spirit. These families know how to make the best out of what they have and still have a great time. That's what I think this holiday should consist of. 

Beyoncé Album 4 Review

Beyoncé 4

1. Love On Top - love song she puts someones love before hers - 5 out of 5 stars
2. Party (feat. André 3000) - a feel good, late 80’s type - 2 out of 5 stars
3. Countdown - counts down the things she likes about him - 4 out of 5 stars
4. I Miss You - Beyonce says I miss you, but would I miss you if I was with you? -  3 out of 5 stars
5. I Care - Beyonce says I know you don’t care too much but I care - 2 out of 5 stars
6. Rather Die Young - “I’d rather die young than live my life without you” -3 out of 5 stars
7. 1+1 - The passion of her lyrics are almost as intense as the electric guitar - 5 out of 5 stars
8. End Of Time - Strong written song, the drums take it away - 4 out of 5 stars
9. Run The World (Girls) - The girls anthem, background music sets mood for song - 4 out of 5 stars
10. Best Thing I Never Had - Beyonce says that she’s finally moving on - 5 out of 5 stars
11. Start Over - She wants to love him in another life, her voice in it is perfect for the songs fight - 4 out of 5 stars
12. I Was Here - She wants the world to see where she was to make a difference, her voice goes  to show her determination that she was there - 4 out of 5 stars

Summer Vacation?

In my opinion, I don’t think we need a summer vacation. I think that we should have every fourth month of the year off, with a week of school off in February, June, and October. Additional days off for government holidays would be in January, July and November. As the article “The Case Against Summer Vacation” states, some kids are underprivileged than others and their families have lower incomes which means that they will be forced to stay in most of the time because they wouldn’t have the money to go out with their friends all summer long. This would bore the kids because if you have months at a time off of school, kids aren’t just going to want to sit at home and do nothing but they’re going to be forced to if they don’t have the money to do extra activities with their friends. If they can’t go out like the rest of their buddies do, then they’ll become sad and depressed and feel bad about themselves for not being able to afford the things that their friends can. If they’re feeling this way, then what is the point of three months off in a row? You’re not going to want kids to fall into depression for a whole summer just because they’re more underprivileged then their friends.

6 music reviews

1.) Entertainment Weekly

Oct 1, 2013

It's utterly fresh, a pop blitz from a hip-hop blueprint, and proof that Miley won't settle for just shocking us.

2.) Expert Witness (MSN Music)

Nov 13, 2012

I like the feisty ones, as I generally do. But "Begin Again" and especially "Stay Stay Stay" stay happy and hit just as hard.

3.) By Jody Rosen

June 28, 2011

Girls run the world. But who runs the girls? For most of the past 10 years, the answer has been Beyoncé Knowles. In the Estrogen Era - a period in which women seized pop music's center stage - Beyoncé has been the prima donna, the diva of divas: the girl with the funkiest songs, the flashiest Bob Fosse-meets-hip-hop dance moves and, as Kanye West memorably declared, the Greatest Video of All Time.

4.) Expert Witness (MSN Music)

Jan 7, 2011

No matter how cleverly he's rhyming, which varies, he could use subject matter beyond married-to-the-game and his traditional obsessions. But with Shady in the shadows, rarely are these themes lifted by Em's long-recessive sense of play.

5.) Lee Brice’s album ‘Hard to Love’ feels like a half thank you note, half apology to his soon-to-be wife and their son. Not all of the 13 cuts were written by the ‘A Women Like You’ singer, but put into the context of what is going on in his life, many come across as extremely personal love letters.

6.) Hayes shows he’s a more than capable vocalist on this sincere and emotional cut from the ‘Hunter Hayes’ album. He is perhaps the most well-rounded country newcomer since the Band Perry, who posted multiple chart topping hits from their debut album. 

Is playing the lottery an addiction?

Ethos: Imagining winning the lottery activates the 'motivation' part of the brain. This motivation causes a person to buy more lottery tickets. 

Pathos: This causes people to become more superstitious and believe that they can win. The lottery can cause your mind to get hooked on playing because brains can't cope with how little the chances are of winning it.  

Logos: The odds of winning the lottery are so complex that it confused people's brains. If you keep spending money of tickets that have the slimmest change of ever getting picked, you will slowly become more addicted and keep losing money which could potentially put you in debt which would then make you very upset. 

High Interest Question

Would you rather be wealthy and sad, or poor and happy?

Limit Technology?

I disagree on the article “Docs to parents: Limit kids’ texts, tweets, online”. In my opinion, I believe that kids should not be limited and should be able to use their cell phones, electronics, and watch television. In some cases, students might have to use the internet or computer to submit their assignments, or they might need to research information for more than just the two hours that they’re given to finish a digital project and pass it in. This is because in today’s society most of the teachers are relying on the fact that we students can use electronics to an advantage so we don’t waste paper and so the teachers don’t have to carry piles of papers home to grade. For example, in my Journalism class, the way we pass in our work is we post it to our blog that way my teacher can go home with a lighter load of work to correct. Another reason as to why I don’t think electronics should be banned is for communication purposes. If a kid doesn’t have their phone on them and doesn’t come home right after school, their guardian or parent wouldn’t be able to contact them to see if they stayed after to make up a test, or stopped at the store on the way home. This factor also falls under the category of what is something bad happened to the kid and they can’t get in contact with anyone. Some kids I would imagine don’t even use the internet and electronic devices for the mischievous things most parents think they do. They might just need twitter to ask a fellow classmate or student what their homework was that night or maybe they need help on a problem in math. These are all reasons that support my opinion in stating that kids shouldn't be limited to electronic usage.

Seventeen Magazine Review

 The Magazine that I chose to analyze was “Seventeen”. Ironically the magazine named “Seventeen” has an article in it written for an eleven year old. The Fry Graph has proven by the amount of sentences in a one hundred word article with the amount of sentences and syllables that it is suitable for an eleven year old. The ratio of content pages to advertising pages is 81:66. This means that the magazine “Seventeen” has many pages that have nothing to do with what the magazine is about. There were various advertisements all throughout it. My magazine compared to others at my group has a lot more advertising. This says that “Seventeen” magazine is taken less seriously because it has a lot less content pages for actual articles. This also goes along the lines that it is for eleven year olds so they aren’t even going to notice the ratio between ads and content pages. A profile of this magazines prototypical target reader would be an eleven year old female, with a not so good reading level because there are few articles and they’re all decently short. They would be interested in fashion, life tips including boys, ways to eat healthy and also just plain old gossip.

Transitions From High School To College

     How do freshman in college view the transition from high school to college? Do you think that some students are able to adapt better, or do you think some find it difficult to even adapt at all? What about both? I was very curious and wanted a heads up for when I go to college to know how well the average student views his or her transition from high school to college. In doing so, I emailed my sister who graduated Norton High last year and is now a freshman at Regis College in Weston, Ma, asking her to forward the email in which I sent her, to other students attending Regis as well. In my email I wrote, “How do freshman in college view the transition from high school to college?” and I got five responses.

     In the five responses I received, they all wrote a few opinionated sentences on how they felt about the transition. Between all of them, two out of the five said that the transition is made out to be more scary and intense than it actually was, and three of the five said that it was very for them to adapt. The emails varied from missing home, families, siblings, old friends and getting used to the work load of staying up till 1 am to study for a test to expecting all of this work and preparing your self to stay up late and study as long as you can. Some took the summer to mentally prepare for the life on your own and even preparing for the amount of work given and expected to be done while others took the summer to live in the moment and take their last few weeks with their families and friends to relax, enjoy their freedom, and try not to stress out as much before school actually starts. Sydney Castagno, a current freshman at Regis, states that “overall, I think this transition makes people learn a lot about themselves, and what they’re really capable of”. Coming from Rachel Baldrate, she says how the classes are a lot more difficult than high school classes considering that you are more independent. She conveys the general message that “the professors will not hold your hand through an assignment” so you are on your own. Throughout all of the hardships in the transition such as work and time spend on assignments; they all seemed to love the freedom they are given. They are expected to do everything on their own but as two of the replies mentioned, they love the freedom that is given to them.

     As a result, you can conclude that two fifths of the survey thought that the transition from high school to college was about what they had expected and prepared them selves for while the other three fifths said that the transition was not easy and a pretty tough especially the first few weeks. This shows that more than fifty percent of students that I surveyed agreed that the transition was more tough for them than not.

Research Question:

How do freshman in college view the transition from high school to college?

My First Cursive Word

     I sat there staring with my mind in a knot. How could something look so beautiful, yet be almost impossible to follow. As my eyes went in circles tracing the thin black line it felt like it just was never going to end. I sat back and attempted to take it all in. As I looked around all the others were already in deep thought staring blankly at their papers. I then looked down and let my thoughts race.

     I dragged my hand over to my paper as I gripped my pencil with my sweaty palm. As the tip touched the dotted line it felt like the temperature of the room had risen fifty degrees. Up, then down; swinging left to right. Loopty-loop, then a flip at the end for a finish. My mouth dropped as I looked at the squiggle on my paper. I looked to the left then to my right to see my classmates work. I then looked back down at my own paper and saw that my classmates were far ahead of me. With panic, I quickly started trying to copy the board. By this point I was not even in the lines anymore. It was official, I was incapable. The devastation that filled my head became aggravation that was apparently noticeable because my teacher had walked over to me. She said that if I took my time I was capable of anything. She grabbed my hand and swung it in little circles as my mouth dropped in awe. It was like she sent a magic touch through my hands onto the paper. After a sentence of swirly lines, it was then my turn.
     I wiped the sweat off my hand onto my blue jeans. I sat up straight, then grabbed my pencil that my teacher had just quickly sharpened. As I gripped the thin piece of wood I dragged it back and forth through the dotted line. I picked my pencil up off the paper in excitement and relief. I had just written my first cursive word. With applause, my teacher smiled and said “I told you so.” My grin was shining from a mile away. I could not wait to go home and tell my parents that I was just like them and could write in cursive. It felt like I was a grown up for the first time.
     Before I knew it I had written an entire sentence in cursive. The exaggerated loops and swirls became my signature mark. It was fun to see how fast you could write, or even how sloppy or pretty you could make it. It was a habit now and made writing enjoyable. Cursive had turned into a mature trendy thing for us third-graders. As class ended it felt like only a few minutes had gone by. But, one thing was for sure, cursive became my new hobby.

Meeting Nicole Littlefield

Nicole Littlefield was born in Norton, and as she says “I’ve been here all along.” She is currently 16 years old and a junior at the Norton High School. Her birthday is on April 18^th. Nicole did gymnastics for ten years and now loves to longboard. In her free time, she likes to do yoga, make jewelry and long board. Her favorite pro sports teams to watch are the Boston Bruins and she also likes to watch the Olympic Gymnastic Games. For her hobbies, she enjoys making necklaces, baking, and drawing, especially drawing tattoos. One of her many talents is that “she can roll a mean burrito.” Nicole has one older brother. Her favorite colors are green and blue. If Nicole could be an animal, she would be either an owl because “they just get to fly around by themselves whenever they want” or a wolf because “they’re amongst animals and they travel and go around controlling a lot, and we are alike because I like the moon, too.” Nicole’s favorite memory was when she went to Jamaica and climbed up a waterfall. “I got a lot of blisters from it, but I didn’t mind because they were from legitimately climbing up a waterfall.” Another favorite memory of hers is going to New Hampshire. She says, “When I’m there I always have a good time.” Her favorite school subject is science or biology class. “You’d be pretty surprised with what you learn especially because in biology, it’s all about you and what’s inside” is what Nicole expresses about her interests in those classes. Her opinion about school is that she has never liked it, but she also adds “it is really a good opportunity for most people, but too many take it for granted.” She says that if she could do anything at all with her life after school, she would move to Hawaii and buy a shack on the beach. Realistically, after she finishes school she says that she would like to become a tattoo artist but if that doesn’t turn out so good, her “plan B” is to become a baker.

Rolling Stones

  

Despite the inappropriate photo placed as the cover on the Rolling Stones magazine, the article was rich in detail and said a lot about Jahars background information and told a lot about his life.  On April 15, 2013 at 2:49 pm, Boylston Street in Boston Massachusetts had an unforgettable tragedy. The annual Boston Marathon was bombed by a young foreign boy named Jahar Tsamaev and his older brother, Tamerlan. America’s heart had been wounded in this sudden attack. However, shortly after this attack Boston had become “Boston Strong.” People were becoming heroic for chasing the wounded down instead of running for their own lives. It seemed as if this tragedy had brought the city of Boston together. However, the minds of these lowlanders suddenly turned when the famous “Rolling Stone” magazine put out a bizarre article and cover of “The Bomber” himself, Jahar Tsamaev.               

“The Bomber” edition went viral when it was released on July 17. The caption read “How A Popular, Promising Student Was Failed By His Family, Fell Into A Radical Islam And Became A Monster”. This article turned the heads of thousands, including myself. The expression “don’t judge a book by its cover” was the first thing that popped into my head when I heard about this article. The position this article takes follows this saying. People agree stereotypically thinking that because Tsamaev’s ethnicity is Islam that bombing America was in his blood. The Rolling Stones are arguing the opposite stating only what is truth. Tsamaev was “so sweet” and “never picked on anybody” exclaimed friends of the suspect. Rolling Stone stated that “during their first month in America, Jahar and his parents lived in Boston” where Jahar’s friends were a “diverse group of kids from both the wealthier and poorer sections of Cambridge…” Parents called his group of friends “the good kids”, so how can one judge a normal teen?

               My older sister has many friends that attend Umass Dartmouth who were friendly with Jahar. One played soccer, and another had dinner with him the week before it happened. In my mind, he was a normal teen. He was a genuine friend and person from what witnesses have said. Jahar bombed America’s most beloved city so either way he was never getting out easy. He bled on the floor of a twenty-two foot motorboat, dry locked behind a white clapboard house locally in Watertown. Jahar attempted suicide but failed. As he bled on the floor, police took him into custody where justice would then be served.            

    The sources that stated these facts about Jahar were either friends or family. My own sister has friends who were agreeing that he was a genuinely nice teen. These sources are more than reliable. “Don’t judge a book by its cover” was something every person learned by the age they could speak. "There are kids we don’t catch" says Peter Payak, "but this guy was seamless, like a billiards ball." He says that Jahar was not like those kids who fall through, "No cracks at all." Doesn’t it seem so hypocritical of America to be so cruel just because of his ethnicity? But, isn’t it just as hypocritical of “The Rolling Stone” magazine to put out such an article when they should be jumping on the “Boston Strong” bandwagon? These are the questions that we need to ask ourselves. Whose responsibility is it to go against stereotyping and defend a well raised teen that made the biggest mistake of his life? Was this bias of America’s most famous magazine? Or was it “The Rolling Stone” who tried to make the valid point subliminally?            

    Obviously justice will be served and Jahar will suffer for his gruesome, disturbing actions. Personally, I believe that “The Rolling Stone”  magazine was outputting a valid conception that could be strongly argued. This edition was clearly made to turn heads and that is exactly what it did. Jahar himself has become such a controversy around the world. But, didn’t you ever learn to not judge a book by its cover?