I've had my job now for about a year and half, and now that its been that long, I honestly can't remember what I did when I didn't have a job. The other day I heard someone ask "How do people with jobs and sports get things done?" but my question is "What the heck to people without jobs and sports DO all day?!"
Obviously I don't keep up on my blogs much, but besides that I'm usually able to keep my grades up well along with my schedules. But the days I get home from school and I don't have a lot of homework to do and I don't have to go to work, I have no idea what to do with myself. I clean for a while, or I play some music sometimes, but I would go crazy without something hands on to do day after day.
So what do people do? Well you could learn to play an instrument, play video games, actually do your homework diligently and efficiently (ha) or make an elaborate dinner. You could spend all your time on the internet: social networks, Netflix, browsing or watching youtube. You could read a lot, clean a lot, eat a lot, help a lot, rest a lot or support a lot. Depending on how strict your parents are and how much time you do have after school, you could go hang out with friends or family somewhere on weekdays too.
I saw a quote once that said something like "How can you say you're bored? You are the most intelligent living thing on this planet with so much around you to do..." okay that was terrible but it was something like that. All I know is it hit me that with the time we have to do what we want, we could be doing so much instead of sitting around and complaining about how there is nothing to do. As weird as it sounds I get grumpy when I'm bored, not when I'm hungry or tired like most people, so it helped with the hitting me hard. Even so, there is never enough time, so much to learn and see and experience.(366)
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Just Leave It Alone
A few weeks ago my sister came over to my house to hang out for a while before she had to go cut someone's hair. We were talking, and she told me about how mad she was because the other day for training at work, every new person wouldn't stop telling her how cute and small she is, and how they didn't want to be her partner as they were afraid of hurting her. (She was training for her work to know how to get out of a persons grip) The funny thing is that my 5'1" sister who wears size 0 pants and has the voice of a mouse took tae kwon doe until she was a black belt, and is one of the toughest people I know. She hates when people underestimate her, which is exactly what those people were doing. She kept saying to me, "I just don't get it, I know I'm small but they kept telling me it as if I didn't know." This happens a lot.
This happens a lot with a lot of things though, not just short people. I was always the quiet kid in middle school, and of course I knew people thought it, but it was always a little aggravating when people would say, "You're so quiet and nice, you wouldn't hurt a fly!" You don't know me, you just said I'm quiet proving my point. I know that I'm quiet, and one person saying it is enough, everyone around doesn't have to join in telling me things I already know about myself.
Another one of these is when people tell others that they need to gain weight. "You're so skinny" can have the same effect as saying "You're so fat" to a person, and most people don't seem to realize that. You have no idea if they like or don't like these things about themselves, and you could have just pointed out something they hate most, even if you don't see it that way.
If someone looks or acts a certain way leaning toward the extreme, it is very obvious to them, and there have probably already been plenty of people to tell them that. Also, mirrors are pretty common, they've probably figured it out for themselves. (378)
This happens a lot with a lot of things though, not just short people. I was always the quiet kid in middle school, and of course I knew people thought it, but it was always a little aggravating when people would say, "You're so quiet and nice, you wouldn't hurt a fly!" You don't know me, you just said I'm quiet proving my point. I know that I'm quiet, and one person saying it is enough, everyone around doesn't have to join in telling me things I already know about myself.
Another one of these is when people tell others that they need to gain weight. "You're so skinny" can have the same effect as saying "You're so fat" to a person, and most people don't seem to realize that. You have no idea if they like or don't like these things about themselves, and you could have just pointed out something they hate most, even if you don't see it that way.
If someone looks or acts a certain way leaning toward the extreme, it is very obvious to them, and there have probably already been plenty of people to tell them that. Also, mirrors are pretty common, they've probably figured it out for themselves. (378)
Jobs Can Ruin You
Having a job can be great; you meet more people, have fun with customers and get money all along. Although it can be great, sometimes there are times when you curse your job for what its done to you.
I work at Hy-Vee in the Bakery, and I used to love cookies and muffins just as much as the next person, but the smell can get really old really fast. When you have to wake up early after a late night to go to work, you're already not going to be feeling very well, and the last thing you want filling you nostrils is the smell of something sweet and fattening. The smell of dough and fruit mixing, the smell of the garlic bread just out of the oven, the smell of frosting as it is being carefully slathered onto a cake. When you first start, these smells are amazing, but after a while, they just become nauseating. After a few times of eating a broken cookie and it making you feel a little sick, you start to lose your love for cookies and muffins, and after making party mix causing me to smell like Worcestershire sauce all night, I definitely have lost my love for that too.
Before the bakery, I was a checker. This changes your views on a lot of items people come through and buy. Sometimes it makes you like them more; the smell of a rotisserie chicken 15 minutes before you're break when you're starving causes you to just love the smell. Other times though, it just loses its value. Now when I see a banana, I think 4011, because that's the number I push in when weighing the bananas people buy. This happens with a lot of produce. Another thing is when I'm at a Hy-Vee, even when I'm not working, I cant help but fix something on a shelf or push a cart to an area if it bugs me enough. It's also made it so I've asked strangers how they were a few times, then realized that was probably really creepy considering I'm in regular pedestrian clothes, and not my Hy-Vee clothes.
I'm sure things like this happen with any job people get. Instead of just sitting there, you start to notice things and help the workers wherever you are, just because you know how they feel. It can be a good thing, but sometimes it can get really annoying. (408)
I work at Hy-Vee in the Bakery, and I used to love cookies and muffins just as much as the next person, but the smell can get really old really fast. When you have to wake up early after a late night to go to work, you're already not going to be feeling very well, and the last thing you want filling you nostrils is the smell of something sweet and fattening. The smell of dough and fruit mixing, the smell of the garlic bread just out of the oven, the smell of frosting as it is being carefully slathered onto a cake. When you first start, these smells are amazing, but after a while, they just become nauseating. After a few times of eating a broken cookie and it making you feel a little sick, you start to lose your love for cookies and muffins, and after making party mix causing me to smell like Worcestershire sauce all night, I definitely have lost my love for that too.
Before the bakery, I was a checker. This changes your views on a lot of items people come through and buy. Sometimes it makes you like them more; the smell of a rotisserie chicken 15 minutes before you're break when you're starving causes you to just love the smell. Other times though, it just loses its value. Now when I see a banana, I think 4011, because that's the number I push in when weighing the bananas people buy. This happens with a lot of produce. Another thing is when I'm at a Hy-Vee, even when I'm not working, I cant help but fix something on a shelf or push a cart to an area if it bugs me enough. It's also made it so I've asked strangers how they were a few times, then realized that was probably really creepy considering I'm in regular pedestrian clothes, and not my Hy-Vee clothes.
I'm sure things like this happen with any job people get. Instead of just sitting there, you start to notice things and help the workers wherever you are, just because you know how they feel. It can be a good thing, but sometimes it can get really annoying. (408)
Spring has Sprung!... Someone Go Knock on Wood
Finally it is beginning to look and feel like spring! The sun is warmer and the wind is lessening and although there's a lot of cold rain, at least it isn't snow, and I am so excited. Spring is my favorite season because everything is so bright and new after the snow and gray colors covered it for so long. I live near a park with a big pond, and for the first time this year I saw ducks chilling in my front yard, something that is almost a daily occurrence in the summer... I squealed a little.
The problem is living in the Midwest can be a little bit frustrating. It can go from one day being sunny and hot to the next day having snow on the ground. So far it has been rainy but it's supposed to get better soon, starting with the 70 degree weather that is predicted for this Saturday. After that, we are all hoping that it stays warm. This is especially true because a week from today it will be May. We all know April showers bring May flowers, and considering all the showers we've gotten, we better be getting a lot of flowers.
Now that the weather is getting better, people are able to do so much more than they were before. Going outside and playing sports or just going on a run, taking a pet on a walk, and driving with the windows down are some of the best things about it all. Even watching it can make you happy, like when you drive down a road and see a bunch of kids playing outside, causing the most audible of "aww"s.
People have gotten so excited for this new season that many have already started wearing shorts, despite the 30-40 degree weather. All of the excitement makes it harder to concentrate on getting homework done, because everyone just wants it all over so that summer can come and school will be over until the next year. Even though everyone is having a bit of difficulty with it, they seem to already be in such a better mood.(356)
The problem is living in the Midwest can be a little bit frustrating. It can go from one day being sunny and hot to the next day having snow on the ground. So far it has been rainy but it's supposed to get better soon, starting with the 70 degree weather that is predicted for this Saturday. After that, we are all hoping that it stays warm. This is especially true because a week from today it will be May. We all know April showers bring May flowers, and considering all the showers we've gotten, we better be getting a lot of flowers.
Now that the weather is getting better, people are able to do so much more than they were before. Going outside and playing sports or just going on a run, taking a pet on a walk, and driving with the windows down are some of the best things about it all. Even watching it can make you happy, like when you drive down a road and see a bunch of kids playing outside, causing the most audible of "aww"s.
People have gotten so excited for this new season that many have already started wearing shorts, despite the 30-40 degree weather. All of the excitement makes it harder to concentrate on getting homework done, because everyone just wants it all over so that summer can come and school will be over until the next year. Even though everyone is having a bit of difficulty with it, they seem to already be in such a better mood.(356)
Social Media
What was twitter and facebook made for?
"Someone bring me Starbucks" "Im going to be alone forever" and "Im so sick of this!" ... Just a few of the things you will see about every time you scroll down twitter. It has come to the point where twitter has become a place for the people to throw themselves a pity party.
Facebook isn't as full of these complainers as much as twitter. Instead people post pictures and statuses about things they consider positive. Some might argue that selfies, the duckface, and you with your arm thrown over the shoulder of your friend while in your bikinis as not positive. Some might also argue that the reason it is a little more censored than twitter is because now cousins, parents, and even your grandparents go on facebook. Almost everyone can say they have that one annoying aunt or uncle that loves to comment on all of your stuff.
Social media has the intention of giving the users more opportunities to communicate. You can do group messaging, private messaging, post pictures and statuses to people across the world, or just a few people that you select if youd rather not let someone specific see. People take advantage of it all, and get caught up in the blue and beautiful screens that give them more opportunities to show everyone things best learned by meeting them in person. Where's the privacy?
Nowadays you can know a lot about someone without even having to talk to them face to face. It ruins the way most people judge others, because they see who they are on the internet and assume that's who they must be in person too. They can see someone they barely know, but decide they do or don't like that person because of the pictures and statuses and tweets posted. It can make it harder and more complicated to have longer lasting friendships and relationships.
It's great to be connected to more people easier, but at some point it can be too much. Cyberbullying, creeping and catfishing are just a few things that you risk running into by just signing up for a social network account. It can also become very addicting and can get in the way of the things you might otherwise be doing or be interested in. (387)
"Someone bring me Starbucks" "Im going to be alone forever" and "Im so sick of this!" ... Just a few of the things you will see about every time you scroll down twitter. It has come to the point where twitter has become a place for the people to throw themselves a pity party.
Facebook isn't as full of these complainers as much as twitter. Instead people post pictures and statuses about things they consider positive. Some might argue that selfies, the duckface, and you with your arm thrown over the shoulder of your friend while in your bikinis as not positive. Some might also argue that the reason it is a little more censored than twitter is because now cousins, parents, and even your grandparents go on facebook. Almost everyone can say they have that one annoying aunt or uncle that loves to comment on all of your stuff.
Social media has the intention of giving the users more opportunities to communicate. You can do group messaging, private messaging, post pictures and statuses to people across the world, or just a few people that you select if youd rather not let someone specific see. People take advantage of it all, and get caught up in the blue and beautiful screens that give them more opportunities to show everyone things best learned by meeting them in person. Where's the privacy?
Nowadays you can know a lot about someone without even having to talk to them face to face. It ruins the way most people judge others, because they see who they are on the internet and assume that's who they must be in person too. They can see someone they barely know, but decide they do or don't like that person because of the pictures and statuses and tweets posted. It can make it harder and more complicated to have longer lasting friendships and relationships.
It's great to be connected to more people easier, but at some point it can be too much. Cyberbullying, creeping and catfishing are just a few things that you risk running into by just signing up for a social network account. It can also become very addicting and can get in the way of the things you might otherwise be doing or be interested in. (387)
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
What would you do for a good grade?
Today a student came into one of my classes, just casually visiting before he was going to leave for the day. After my teacher asked how the student was doing, he said he was mad at his Spanish teacher. Teacher asked why, and he told us his story of how his Spanish teacher had ripped his math homework out of his notebook and asked him to get on his knees and beg to get it back. All because he was working on it in her class.
Here's something teachers seem to never understand: We students have more classes than just yours, and even if you think yours is the most important, it probably isn't. If every teacher tells a single student to prioritize their class first, where would that student be?
Nowadays grades are more important than learning. In classes you see kids rushing to get homework done, not because they are just so eager to learn about that subject, but because the class is next and they don't want it to be counted late, docking them points. There is so much pressure surrounding each student to get good grades, that they aren't learning so much as memorizing the information enough to pass the next test. If you ask a student a question they would have known in a heartbeat first term again in third term, chances are they don't know the answer.
In one of my classes we barely have any homework. We take notes during class in a way that is fun for everyone, yet we get through a lot. We have a study guide due at the end of each chapter that needs to be turned in on the test day. Not a lot of pressure, and yet everyone does well in the class. I've learned a lot in that class too, and we can have discussions about things we learned in first term like it was just the other day. This is because we don't always have to worry about reaching deadline, just about paying attention and actually learning the things taught in class so we can do well on the tests.
It could be fixed if every teacher just took a breath and allowed the student to do the same soon after. It's okay if the class is hard, but the point is to teach and help the students, not to bombard them and make them work themselves to exhaustion. (405)
Here's something teachers seem to never understand: We students have more classes than just yours, and even if you think yours is the most important, it probably isn't. If every teacher tells a single student to prioritize their class first, where would that student be?
Nowadays grades are more important than learning. In classes you see kids rushing to get homework done, not because they are just so eager to learn about that subject, but because the class is next and they don't want it to be counted late, docking them points. There is so much pressure surrounding each student to get good grades, that they aren't learning so much as memorizing the information enough to pass the next test. If you ask a student a question they would have known in a heartbeat first term again in third term, chances are they don't know the answer.
In one of my classes we barely have any homework. We take notes during class in a way that is fun for everyone, yet we get through a lot. We have a study guide due at the end of each chapter that needs to be turned in on the test day. Not a lot of pressure, and yet everyone does well in the class. I've learned a lot in that class too, and we can have discussions about things we learned in first term like it was just the other day. This is because we don't always have to worry about reaching deadline, just about paying attention and actually learning the things taught in class so we can do well on the tests.
It could be fixed if every teacher just took a breath and allowed the student to do the same soon after. It's okay if the class is hard, but the point is to teach and help the students, not to bombard them and make them work themselves to exhaustion. (405)
The Term "Dirty"
Everyday as a high school student (or even simply as a human being) we encounter judgmental people. The type of people that will find something wrong with everyone they meet. People that without knowing the person next to them, will criticize a movement, an appearance, or a vibe. People that don't care what it means to the person they are critiquing, but care what it doesn't mean to them.
But why?
If you get to know the person, you could find you like them a lot. If you don't then fine, that's your choice, but you cant just claim a fact about something you know nothing about. That, my friend, is simply hasty and ignorant. The problem is, sometimes its the people you least expect to say something that just for a split second makes you feel sick.
One thing I hate is when people categorize people into a group called "The Dirties" These people are those who may have greasy hair, who may not have the best complexion, who may not have "normal" clothing and who may sometimes smell bad. People who are in band are generally assumed to be a part of this "group". People who call others dirty say things like "Eew, they look so gross." and "How hard is it to shower? I'm gonna throw soaps at them" and "ugh its just disgusting"
You don't know them. All you know is what they look like. You don't know why they look like that, or even if they choose to look like that at all. Why cant people just be people, no matter what their clothes and hair look like? You stay friends with people because of their personalities, not because of their amazing personal hygiene.
Some people are just too quick to judge, and don't even give others a chance to say what they want to say. There is no possible way you can understand a person by a few conversations either. If you haven't lived what they have, you have no right to say anything about them at all. (344)
But why?
If you get to know the person, you could find you like them a lot. If you don't then fine, that's your choice, but you cant just claim a fact about something you know nothing about. That, my friend, is simply hasty and ignorant. The problem is, sometimes its the people you least expect to say something that just for a split second makes you feel sick.
One thing I hate is when people categorize people into a group called "The Dirties" These people are those who may have greasy hair, who may not have the best complexion, who may not have "normal" clothing and who may sometimes smell bad. People who are in band are generally assumed to be a part of this "group". People who call others dirty say things like "Eew, they look so gross." and "How hard is it to shower? I'm gonna throw soaps at them" and "ugh its just disgusting"
You don't know them. All you know is what they look like. You don't know why they look like that, or even if they choose to look like that at all. Why cant people just be people, no matter what their clothes and hair look like? You stay friends with people because of their personalities, not because of their amazing personal hygiene.
Some people are just too quick to judge, and don't even give others a chance to say what they want to say. There is no possible way you can understand a person by a few conversations either. If you haven't lived what they have, you have no right to say anything about them at all. (344)
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