What Not to Do in High School

1.      Don’t steal anyone’s parking spot. It’s rude and inconsiderate to take a spot that was rightfully paid for by another student. Did you pay $100 for the spot in the front of the lot? No, you paid for the one in the very back…so get moving.

2.     Don’t make teachers your enemies. Although they can often drive you nuts, they are there to be of assistance to you. They are a resource for succeeding; use them to your advantage.

3.     Don’t consistently ask throughout every class if the assignment you are assigned is going to be worth points. Just do the work like everyone else has to, and hope that you are rewarded.

no.

4.     I know it’s tempting for some girls, (especially freshman), but it is strongly suggested that you refrain from wearing jean skirts and uggs, or uggs with any type of skirt for that matter. 

5.     It is also tempting for some girls, once again, typically underclassmen, to wear excessive amounts of eyeliner or some crazy accessory to make them appear “edgy.” You don’t look edgy, you look ridiculous.

6.     It may sound cliché, but don’t procrastinate. It may seem like everything can be put off until the last minute, but if you do the work ahead of time, it relieves a lot of unnecessary stress.

7.      Offer help to friends that need help with an assignment if they’re struggling…you never know when you’ll be needing their help.

8.     Remember the Golden Rule from Elementary School? It still applies in high school. Treat people how you want to be treated. Don’t gossip about one of your friends behind their backs and get all out of whack when you find out they’ve been talking about you in return…what goes around comes around.

9.     Never write one of your friends a note consisting of extremely embarrassing things and address it with your real names. It could be misplaced and you and everyone that witnessed reading that note will be scarred for life.

10.  Enjoy yourself. This is the last chance you get to spend time with a lot of the people you’ve known for nearly twelve years of school before they all go their separate ways. You only have four years of high school. It may seem like forever, but don’t wish it all away.

Marlena and August's Dysfunctional Relationship

In Water for Elephants, one relationship I didn’t much care for was Marlena and August’s marriage. August was a paranoid schizophrenic who drank too much and pushed Marlena around one too many times. He was an extremely masochistic man. For example, when Marlena’s prize horse, Silver Star, had to be put down, August feeds his remains to the lions in the circus. The importance that that horse served in Marlena’s life should have conquered the poor, inconsiderate choice that August made. August also gets violent with Jacob Jankowski, who Marlena eventually ends up with anyways. She should have been with Jacob from the beginning and the moment she met him and saw the kind of person he was. Nearly seventy-five percent of the novel is about Marlena continuing her abusive relationship with August while Jacob just waits around for her. I think the novel overall would have been better if it shared more of Jacob and Marlena’s happy life together rather than her and August’s dysfunctional one. However, as a reader, I understand that it makes for good reading for the audience to watch the “damsel in distress” persona that Marlena portrays, but I also feel like so many books I have read have the kind of character. It would have been nice for a book for once to just have a solid relationship from the get go, and for the audience to read of different troubles and struggles other than an abusive husband that a woman just can’t seem to get away from. My intent is not to dismiss abusive relationships as ones that have little or no importance, but a nice change of pace in this novel would have made it a little more interesting.

Aunt Tootie

If I had to pick one supporting character from Saving CeeCee Honeycutt to go to lunch with, I would pick Aunt Tootie. She is a very loving and fun woman and she has a very warm nature to her. I feel like I would feel right at home with her and I think we could have a lot of interesting things to talk about. I think we would go to Red Robin because they have awesome milkshakes and chicken caesar wraps. I’d ask her about her late husband Taylor and all of the adventures they had together when they were married and before he passed away. Then I’d probably ask to move into her giant estate in Georgia with her because she has a super sweet house.

Main Character: CeeCee Honeycutt

CeeCee Honeycutt is a young girl who has had a really hard life. Her mom was, well…for lack of a better word, crazy. Her dad was never around and did not want to deal with the issues that were going on at his home. Not to mention, her father is having an affair at the peak of her mom’s illness. Her mom’s death is a Godsend in a sense, because it allows CeeCee to move to Georgia with her Aunt Tootie and try to have a normal life. Her life in Georgia is so different than her life in Ohio, and it’s interesting to watch all of her experiences in her new life. It’s bittersweet when she leaves her lifelong friend Ms. Odell in Ohio, but it is something that she needs to do in order to have any shot at a normal life. When she gets to Aunt Tootie’s extravagant estate, she has no idea what to think. She often has flashbacks of her mother and her fits, and they always cause her pain. They seem to cause her pain because she misses her mother, but her only solid memories of her mother are when she was unhealthy. I found myself tearing up when CeeCee’s mom died, but I immediately felt comfort when she is introduced to Aunt Tootie and her new and better life.

"Saving CeeCee Honeycutt"

The book I chose to read is Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. This book was recommended to me by my aunt and mom and so far is a really good book. Although it had me in hysterics at page twenty two, I still really like it. It’s about this girl whose mother is mentally ill and her father is never around. Her mother passes away at a young age and CeeCee goes to live with her aunt in Georgia. Her whole life is turned around and she finally has the opportunity to be happy and have a good life. It’s a very sweet and heart wrenching novel and it’s hard to not feel connected to each of the characters in the book. I’m looking forward to finishing the story and learning more about CeeCee’s new and better life.

SRP Reflection

Overall, I think I did a good job on the paper. I did a good job integrating and finding quotes that supported my thesis. I wish I would have looked further into my sources and found more support. I didn’t take enough time to really see what my sources said when we did modules; I was more focused on just getting them done. When it came time to highlight the sources, I struggled. Had I actually saw what the sources had to say from the beginning, I feel like the whole process would have been a little easier. I’d like to work more on introducing my paraphrases and quoting less. While reading back on my paper, it seemed like I was quoting too much and not using my own thoughts. If I could recommend anything to future seniors, it would be to spread their time out wisely. Although the paper may seem stress free, the week before its due is one of the most stressful weeks I have ever had in my whole high school career. So use your time wisely. Don’t wait until the week before it’s due to really crack down on it. Do it piece by piece over the month before it’s due so you can leave yourself enough time to revise and edit it as many times as you wish without feeling rushed.

Finding Nemo

I don’t care if you’re fourty or four, Finding Nemo is a movie for all ages. I can watch this movie, start to finish, a million times, and never find myself bored. The characters, the effects, and everything else that contributes to making a good movie a good movie are all in this Pixar animated film. It’s a movie that makes you want to laugh and cry all at the same time. It’s sweet and funny, and not to mention has my girl Ellen Degeneres as the voice of everyone’s all time favorite character, Dori the forgetful fish. Her antics and lack of memory are guaranteed to make anyone watching crack up. Everyone has those movies that they can watch over and over again and never get sick of, and for me, it’s this one. It always puts me in a good mood no matter what. Maybe it’s because I’m really a kid at heart, or maybe it’s because it’s just plain funny…but all I know is that this movie is hilarious and anyone who hasn’t had the privilege of viewing such a fine piece of work should go see it. Right now. Or, for those who are missing out on the greatness of life, we can always watch it during our 7^th bell English class. Just throwin’ that out there…

Justin Bieber

This is Justin Bieber. Isn’t he beautiful? Yes, I know. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not like one of those psycho girls in his new movie Never Say Never that hyperventilate when they seem him and claim that they’re going to be Mrs. Justin Bieber. Ok…I would probably hyperventilate, and cry, if I ever had the opportunity to meet the kid. But it’s hard to say otherwise. I’ve always liked this 16 (17 on March 1^st) year old Canadian from Stratford. But seeing his movie definitely made me admire him and see him in a new light. The child of a teen mom, he is extremely talented and had a normal life growing up. He not only sings, and also plays various instruments. The movie shows his true colors and the fact that he’s really just a kid who’s caught up in the limelight. Not that he doesn’t love and enjoy being a performer, but several times throughout the movie he talks about how much he just wants to go home and be a normal kid. The viewer sees the Biebs for what he really is: a kid that had a dream and followed it. I didn’t expect the movie to have the effect that it did on me; meaning that I didn’t expect to get goose bumps or find myself singing along to all of his songs along with the four year old down the row from me. I’d like to pretend I’m ashamed, but what can I say? I’ve got Bieber fever.

Blackout

This basketball game was a blackout theme against Reading during winter break. It was a really interesting and close game. Basketball games are always fun when there are good themes. Any theme is a good theme, except for jersey night. It doesn’t make sense to have seven people wear player’s jerseys and have the rest of the student section just sit there and look awkward. There are only three games left in the regular season, and I’m really excited for them. I really hope the boys can pull through and get the CHL title because that would be awesome for our senior year. This season has been really eventful and it’s always easier to have school spirit when your team is actually, well…good. Example: our football team. Football season was less than enjoyable because we were awful. The game against Indian Hill Saturday night is for the league title and it’s going to be so intense. Senior night this past Saturday was really fun. I can’t believe we’re seniors and we only have four months of school left. It’s a bittersweet feeling and it’s going to be crazy to be on our own in only a few short months! Anyways, I know this blog is supposed to reflect this picture in some way but I mean really, what can you say about this picture besides the fact that Mariemont’s student section is amazing and I love basketball season?

Love These Days...

The song that I chose is “Your Body is a Wonderland” by John Mayer. From an outsider’s perspective, I would think that love is something that happens between two people that love each other, and is not just a lustful relationship but also an intimate relationship. Whereas several other songs portray love as only one of sexual desire, Mayer discusses everything he likes about the woman he sings about and expresses his love for her through a song. He takes a more romantic approach towards his relationship other than speaking solely of sex.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5EnGwXV_Pg

Merlin Buddy Weiner

Merlin Buddy Weiner was the best dog that ever walked the earth. Even if you aren’t a dog lover, you could never deny Merlin. When we got him, I was five years old. My mom and I went to the pound one day to “browse” and ended up coming home with a beautiful black lab. His arrival completely spontaneous, my dad, not a dog lover who was returning from a business trip, was shocked to see the lab rolling around in our yard as he pulled in the driveway.  However, he grew to love him just as everyone else did. Shortly after adopting him, he became my best friend. He would lay on the landing of our steps everyday and would greet anyone who came in the door with a cold wet kiss from his nose. He was perfect. He was gentle around Sam and I when we were little and was always careful not to snap. While on a walk one day, the little redheaded boy down the street started to pet Merlin. He sat patiently, tail wagging and content, and then the little boy proceeded to poke his fingers in Merlin’s little brown eyes. Still remaining patient and calm, never snarling or showing any sign of discomfort, he allowed the little boy to keep his fingers in his eyes for as long as he pleased. Last fall, we had to put our beloved dog to sleep. I never imagined it would be so incredibly hard to say goodbye to a dog, but Merlin was part of my childhood and some of my best memories of growing up included him. While we have Mr. Big and Shawnee to entertain us these days, there is not a day that my family and I don’t love and miss our dear first dog.

The Tale of Shawnee and Mr. Big

There once were two dogs named Mr. Big and Shawnee. Mr. Big was purchased as a full bred Chihuahua (ha…yea right) and Shawnee, a beagle. When the two met each other, it was like they had known each other all along. They liked to do everything together. They liked to eat, sleep, and play with the other every moment they could. Mr. Big, a native of Lexington, Kentucky, belonged to his owner, Sam. Sam attended school in Kentucky, and would only bring Mr. Big home on her breaks. Every time the two dogs would be forced to separate, Shawnee would become thoroughly depressed. He would wander through the house, wondering where his friend had gone. In May of 2010, Sam graduated and moved back home and brought back none other than Mr. Big. Shawnee’s mood was better than ever. The two were finally reunited, and Shawnee finally had reason to live. One night, as the boys were dining over a delicious meal of AIMS dog food, Shawnee told Mr. Big that he could simply not deal with the heartbreak of him leaving again. The small dog looked at the bigger dog and told him he would never leave him again. The boys have since then made other friends on the street, such as Max, a golden retriever puppy next door, or Amy, the chocolate lab down the street. Both are happier than ever and shall be best friends for the rest of their lives. 

John Boehner: New Speaker of the House

In case you didn’t know and live under a rock, John Boehner is the sixty-first speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was born in Ohio and didn’t have the easiest life growing up. He had eleven siblings and they lived in a two bedroom house right here in Cincinnati. He started working at his parent’s bar when he was just eight years old. He went to Moeller High School and graduated from Xavier University (Go Bearcats) in 1977. He is a very accomplished man given his circumstances growing up. He has really made a name for himself and the fact that he now holds a position as respectable and admirable as speaker of the House is most impressive. He is one of the few people from Ohio that have been chosen over time to hold this position. With all that being said and with all due respect, John Boehner is a cry baby. He was interviewed, on live television, and he cried. A lot. Not just a tear, but literally bawled. What grown man gets extremely hysterical on national television? John Boehner. He didn’t even make an attempt to control himself. The reporter interviewing him asked him if he was ashamed that he cried, and he simply responded that the public could take him for who he was. I for one would not like to witness a grown man, holding the third position for the presidency, to cry like a baby on national television. I mean really…has he never heard of keeping composure? 

Obama Repeals "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Seventeen years ago, the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was put into effect under President Clinton. Last Wednesday, President Obama signed off on repealing this law. This law allowed homosexuals to serve in the military as long as they kept their sexuality a secret. Clinton’s intentions were good:  in order to prevent gays from being ostracized from the army, he simply took out the factor of them being homosexual. However, in this day and age and considering our nation’s history with racism, segregation, and several more issues, the thing to do is not to keep someone quiet, but to get them to be open and make people accept them for who they are. Just because a person of a different sexual nature is enlisted does not mean they will defend their country any differently than a straight person. Their homosexuality does not make them any different than any other soldier on the field.  They should not be forced to live a lie or keep their life a secret just because being a homosexual is not necessarily the norm. As Obama put it, “Our people sacrifice a lot for their country, including their lives. None of them should have to sacrifice their integrity as well.” Although it will not be an entirely smooth transition among all branches of the military, people will begin to accept that it truly makes no difference whether someone is gay, straight or bisexual. Regardless, these men and women are fighting for our country, and have every right to express who they are.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/23/us/politics/23military.html 

John Irving and The Cider House Rules

John Irving was born on March 2, 1942. His fame has increased over the years and his career took off after he wrote his famous novel The World According to Garp. Two of his novels, The Cider House Rules, and A Prayer for Owen Meany have been best sellers and also made into very successful movies. Irving grew up as the son of an Exeter faculty member. It is believed that his father, Colin F.N. Irving, and uncle H. Hamiltion “Hammy” Bissel are portrayed through characters in many of his novels. The Cider House Rules movie won a 1999 Academy award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Irving began writing when he was twenty six years old and published his first book, Setting Free the Bears. The novel got fair reviews, but didn’t gain the popularity he had hoped for. John Irving published The Cider House Rules in 1985. The book is focused around abortion and many have paralleled it to Oliver Twist. The story is set in rural Maine in the first half of the century. Dr. Wilbur Larch is the founder and director of an orphanage in the town of St. Clouds. The story is about the doctor and his favorite orphan, Homer Wells, who is never adopted. Dr. Larch performs abortions secretly due to all the back-alley abortions of the time, and upon learning his secret, Homer expresses his discomfort and disapproval of the doctor’s actions. Homer then meets Candy Kendall, and they have a child named Angel. Angel then meets a girl and they get pregnant. Homer performs the abortion, and goes back to the orphanage to take Dr. Larch’s place. This book is going to be very interesting to read and I’m looking forward to learning the history behind the time period of the book and more on John Irving’s life.

http://john-irving.com/The_Cider_House_Rules.asp

MHS Needs a Snow Day

The weather reporters are calling for four to five inches of snow between now and 11 in the morning tomorrow. It’s one of those nights where all of the teenagers of Mariemont High School are desperately wishing for a snow day. So just give us one already! It’s exam week, and all of the students are cramming in preparation. As if that’s not bad enough, the seniors are absolutely swamped with work… (Thanks, Mr. Becksfort.) Not only do we have to worry about our final this week, but we are also loaded down with SRP modules, which, don’t let the name deceive you…they aren’t fun. At all. It would be so tremendous if we could have a day tomorrow to prepare just a little more for this miserable week. We would come back on Tuesday ten times stronger and ready to dominate on finals. Not to mention, an extra day off would give those hooligans who have yet to give senior items into the prized Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook, Katherine A. Weiner (ever heard of her? I heard she is an extremely dedicated staff member and never complains)…even though the deadline was DECEMBER THIRD. Nine days ago. Deadline, shmeadline...right? As I said before, hooligans. Regardless of this mindless rant that is a blog, one statement holds true: we desperately need a snow day. I say this speaking as a student whose backpack may or may not still be in her car from Friday when she left school. I’ll leave that up for debate.

http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Cincinnati+OH+45227

Lowering the Drinking Age to 18

Binge drinking is defined as:  the modern definition of drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time.  It is a growing epidemic, especially in the United States. The legal drinking age has not always been 21, and was raised in the 70’s. The issue with the raised drinking age is that it has given drinking the contraband status, making the younger generations wanting to drink…and in excess. There are stats showing that in other countries such as Europe where the drinking age is nonexistent, there are far less issues with binge drinking. When something is permitted, it is highly less desirable to do. It does not really seem fair that at the age of eighteen, one can legally vote, smoke and buy tobacco products, get married, and enlist in the army, but cannot have a beer. If these people are granted all these rights as “adults”, it does not make sense to restrict them from legally drinking alcohol. Binge drinking would not be nearly as big of an issue as it is today if the legal age were just lowered back down to eighteen. There were of course issues back when the legal drinking age was lower, but they weren’t quite as extreme as the issues the younger generations face today. If the contraband status of drinking were eliminated, it would not be nearly as attractive and desirable, causing less and less people to be facing the dangerous consequences due to excessive drinking. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20249460/ns/health-addictions/

The FDA and Warning Labels

We all know smoking is bad for us, yet so many have a hard time truly beating the addiction. Among other failed attempts of trying to get consumers to overcome the addiction, the FDA has proposed one that just might work. Out of thirty extremely graphic pictures of the result and risks of smoking, the FDA has proposed to choose nine of those pictures to put on each pack of cigarettes. These pictures will serve as a warning to the users that cancer from smoking is absolutely not a myth. Smoking is so hazardous; just one cigarette takes seven minutes away from your life. Yet so many continue to smoke pack after pack. Something must be done to inform consumers that this is not a joke. This is their lives that they are playing around with, and we must do everything we can to stay healthy and live as long as possible. I believe that the FDA’s current proposal will certainly lead current users in the right direction. The pictures to be used are so alarming and hit so close to home that they should only convince people to immediately drop the pack and never pick one up again. There are enough cancers and sicknesses that we can’t control and have no say in if we get them or not, where as lung cancer (from tobacco) is completely under our control. We all must do our best as a whole and as a nation to prevent the preventable and enjoy our lives to the fullest.

http://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/CigaretteProductWarningLabels/default.htm 

Behind the Assassination of JFK: Is the CIA to Blame?

http://www.fff.org/freedom/0992a.asp

There are many conspiracies that revolve around the assassination of the late President John F. Kennedy. Many believe the mafia was behind it, many believe a group of communists did it, and others believe that the CIA did it. Considering the facts, it seems like the only plausible group would be the CIA. After the dreadful Bay of Pigs invasion, a failed U.S. attempt to sabotage Cuba and overthrow Castro, JFK reportedly threatened to “splinter the CIA into a million pieces.”  After the misfortune, the next year consisted of high improvements in the CIA. Only a little over a year later, the president was shot in Texas on November 22, 1963. During the year or so that the CIA was undergoing improvements, that was also a year that could have been dedicated to plotting the assassination of the president. Certain aspects from that dreadful day simply do not add up. For example, the route of the parade in the Dealey Plaza was changed last minute. The president was being transported through the parade in an open car. Several of the men who were part of Kennedy’s secret service have claimed that it was okay for him to be in an open car because it was a “different time.” I beg to differ. Two presidents had been assassinated prior to John F. Kennedy, and the CIA and secret service should have taken certain measures to assure the safety of their president. Also, the Warren Commission, which provides a detailed chronological report of what exactly happened that day, states that the secret service did not check all the buildings within a certain proximity, which they are required to do. It also records that the CIA was not “properly trained” to protect the president. It just doesn’t add up. Lee Harvey Oswald, who is assumed to be the lone gunman who killed the president, was transported so openly from his jail cell to his trial that Jack Ruby was able to shoot him at point blank range. If he truly was a key suspect and not just a man the CIA picked to pin the murder on, they would have taken certain precautions to be sure he made it to his trial. The CIA was involved in the assassination of the president, and eventually the real story will unfold.

Taylor Swift Never Struggles to "Speak Now"

The talented nineteen year old singer and song writer is known for a lot of things, and speaking her mind is definitely one of them. Never afraid to speak out and express how she really feels, her new album “Speak Now,” released in late October, was nothing short of phenomenal. With many of her songs targeted at past relationships gone wrong, it would sure be unfortunate to be one of Swift’s exes. In her song “Dear John”, assumed to be targeted at heartbreaker John Mayer, whom Swift had a relationship with for about a month or so earlier in the year, she writes: “Dear John/I see it all now that you're gone/ Don't you think I was too young to be messed with? /the girl in the dress/cried the whole way home /I should've known.” As if that’s not a deep and emotional message to Mayer, she continues to go on about his history with past women and his selfish ways. She might as well have just written a song saying, “Hey John, I hate you and here’s why.” In another song entitled “Better than Revenge,” Swift takes swings at ex Joe Jonas’ girlfriend Camilla Belle, who Jonas reportedly left Swift for after breaking up with her via text message. Swift writes: “ She’s not a saint/ And she’s not what you think/ She’s an actress/ She’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress.” Yes, it is definitely safe to say that if you mess with Taylor, she will come at you with the horns. She can also show her soft side though, as shown in her track called “Back to December” where she voices her regrets of letting ex Taylor Lautner go. What’s so special about Swift’s songs? They all have meaning. She writes about past experiences and there’s always some truth to her songs. Not to mention, she often writes songs that any teenage girl can relate to. Her new album has songs along these lines, but also takes a turn in a different direction with more mature songs, which older listeners can even relate to. In the song “Never Grow Up,” she sings, “Oh, darling/ Don’t you ever grow up/ You should never grow up/ It could stay this simple.” Writing songs that  relate to all types of listeners, the young talent has done it once again and has managed to leave her listeners wanting more.

http://www.neiuindependent.com/arts-life/speak-now-review-1.1766255