Assignment 22 - Drew

Of all the fictional characters in all the universes, I would most like to be Constable Odo from Star Trek: Deep Space 9. He has a really awesome personality which kind of corresponds at times to my own, and the power to shape shift would be totally awesome. In addition, being able to witness all of the interactions between the officers on the station would be priceless. While he does have a large number of responsibilities, I think being him would be an absolutely amazing experience and a fun life to live, and would get interesting if I jumped in after he found out his people are the Dominion and then rejected him.

Assignment 21 - Drew

At this moment, right now, someone somewhere is asking someone to prom. It's deceptively hard doing so. Just like professional athletes make feats of incredible physical strength and prowess look effortless, so our media (movies, TV shows, etc.) make asking someone to prom look like nothing. It's easy for our protagonist on our favorite TV shows to do so, as they have a time specifically allotted in the script to do so, when in real life there are no such blocks of time set aside. One must find for oneself when is a good time to do so, and that is the most nerve-racking thing in the world, and no one else can really help you in finding that perfect time, as it must work for both oneself and the person whom one is asking.

Assignment 22- Julian Perry

After a long bit of thought, I'm forced to say that I would be Sam from Supernatural, a show about demons, ghouls, and death. Yes, this awful world is the one I would choose.

I don't keep up with shows as much as I'd like to, and most of the books I read are quite depressing in their own special ways, so my choices are quite limited. I picked Sam because Sam at least has a wonderful brother by his side. He's got an uncle who cares for him. Sam Winchester knows a thing or two about (the) family (business). He may die in one episode, but he'll come back the next to see his brother performing the sacrifice to allow this revival. This is much better an experience than (one of my other contenders) Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad. Even being able to say his iconic one liner B word, I would still have to deal with his emotional side. This is too much for one man, as seen in seasons 4 and 5. This trade is not worth it on my end. Therefore, I hypothetically choose emotional stability over wealth and health. Sam is content with his life, as taxing as it is at times. Few people are always able to say that. I would enjoy that very much.

22-Hallie

I get attacked to TV and book characters very easily. I feel like they become a part of me and I never want to finish a TV series or a book because I know I will loose the character. But, there is one character that I would most like to be: President Bartlet from the West Wing. President Barlet is a someone who I admire and would love to be. He is a stong leader and always knows what to say. He has all the qualities of a good president and consequently a good person. He is compassionate but will always make the decisions and that is right for the greater good. He cares deeply about his family and is grounded in his morals. He has the qualities of a great leader along with a great person. It also doesn't hurt that he is a democrat. 

assingment 22 Siobhan O'Neill

If I could be any fictional character it would be Tris from divergent. This may be the case because Divergent is the most recent book that I have read and I automatically admire any heroine in literature. I would want to be Tris because she stands out from every character in the book by being a divergent. This means that she does not belong to single faction within her society, instead she belongs to all of them, a trait which only a handful of people poses in Tris' society. She is brave, selfless, loving, intelligent, and honest. Tris' abilities to be a divergent allow her to overcome a mind controlling serum which is injected in all of the dauntless faction. By doing so she because an even larger target within her society because she can not be controlled. On a larger scale Tris represents someone who strives to be a well rounded person. She is loyal to her family who is a part of the Abnegation faction, she overcomes all of her obstacles as a transfer, and she is incredibly mentally and emotionally strong. I think that's what I admire most about Tris. She chose to stray away from the life of her parents. She didn't take the hard way out, instead she took a chance.

Assignment 22- Isaac Satin

If I could be any fictional character I would have to choose to be Ford Prefect from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Ford is one of the few central characters I can think of who, no matter his current circumstances, always manages to be peppy, cheery, optimistic, friendly, and constantly resourceful. Plus, working for the Guide has its own benefits- including knowing how to live "on less than 30 Altairian dollars a day."

Every situation Ford finds himself in, whether he's stranded on Earth for ten years, stuck in a spaceship hurtling towards a sun, or wanting to get healthily intoxicated at a flying party (yes, that all happened. Read the books if any of that sounds remotely interesting. If it doesn't, read them anyways), he always is two things- optimistic and carefree. He lives in a very happy-go-lucky way that I must admit I am rather envious of- the planet you're on is getting blown up? Head to the pub and beam up to the culprit ships. You're about to be jettisoned into space? May as well hold your breath as long as possible, anything can happen. Overall, Ford is a very happy, knowledgeable, and friendly individual, which is why I would like to be him.

Assignment 22- Megan Woodrum

Choosing just one fictional character I would be is a super difficult task, so I'm going to choose two. I will choose one from the science fiction world which would be Rose Tyler, and one from the fantasy world, Arwen. Rose Tyler is the companion the The TV series Doctor Who and travels with the ninth and tenth doctor. I would Love to be her for two main reasons, the first being that I would get to travel through all ace and time and see anything I desired, the second being the tenth doctor. Traveling would be magnificent enough but add that pretty face you've got gold. Arwen is an elf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and gives up for her immortality so she can be with someone she loves, and kicked ass while doing so.  Now is would choose to be Arwen because I love elves and everything they represent, she has always been a person that I looked up to and wanted to be like, plus I'd love to be that in tune with nature as elves tend to be. Oh and not to mention that Aragorn is pretty great too.

Assignment 22 - Hannah Pulley

If I had the choice of being any character in the literary or visual world, I would choose to be perfect, beautiful Carlos. In the podcast Welcome To Night Vale, Carlos is a newcomer to the desert town of Night Vale, a scientist working as part of a team that appears early in the series to study the many phenomena which seem bizarre to outsiders, yet the locals pay little attention to. It isn't exactly stated what kind of scientist Carlos is, but popular theories state that he is researching cryptography and its connctions with the happenings in the town. Overall, Carlos is dedicated to his work and facinated by the world around him, though sometimes to the point of obliviousness, including the way that Cecil, the story's narrator and voice of Night Vale Radio, openly fawns over Carlos in the beginning. Carlos makes me laugh, and then makes me wonder if I could accept everything I saw if I were to end up in the story as well. A very well written and important character, but I think reality is enough for now.

Assignment 22

If I could be any fictional character, it would probably be Special Agent Dale Cooper from the television series Twin Peaks. The main reason for this would just be the opportunity to live in a universe from the mind of David Lynch, and Twin Peaks seems like the most peaceful of all of his work. Just imagine having characters such as the Log Lady, Pete Martell, and Audrey Horne as your friends, it would be a dream. I also like Cooper's personality quite a lot. He is a very lovable and eccentric man, and anyone could improve by taking on some of his traits. What better way is there to inherit someone's personality than to be them? As an FBI agent, his job would also be very interesting and fulfilling, seeing as though I am someone who loves mysteries. Being Dale Cooper would be a fantastic trip, dancing midget dreams and all.

Assignment 21

At this very moment, somewhere in the universe, Prince is likely doing something mundane and common place. What a strange image that is, the man behind Purple Rain completing household chores or eating junk food on the couch. We always let the public persona of celebrities get to ingrained in our conscience that it is impossible to imagine them "out of character." Prince is just a human being, like you or me, but can you really picture him picking up KFC at the drive-thru or doing the dishes? And even if you can, don't you imagine him in some sort of ridiculous purple regalia in the most Prince-like manner possible? What does Prince even wear as pajamas? That's a major danger of celebrity. One goes from person to character, and when that's the situation, can you really blame him for changing his name to a symbol? Poor Prince.

Assignment 23: the perfect playlist

A Blast From the Past

"High Fidelity" (2000) was a film that was remarkably ahead of its time. The film tells the story of Rob Gordon, a washed-up music junkie (played by the fantastic John Cusack) who spends his days creating perfect 5 song playlists. There's his playlist for his worst break up ever, his playlist of the top 5 soul tracks released between 1955 and 1965, and his playlist for his ex-girlfriend's dad's funeral.

Today, thanks to Limewire, iTunes, the "genius" Itunes feature, and Pandora, creating a "perfect" playlist has never been easier.

On the other hand, Rob probably would be appalled by the slapdash way some of us throw together any group of songs above a certain tempo before we head to the gym, or take all those below a certain tempo and thoughtlessly label it “chillaxxx.” As Rob forewarned, “The making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art. Many do’s and don’ts. You’re using someone else’s poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing.”

So for this blog assignment, create a "perfect" playlist for something. It could be your perfect playlist to listen to at the gym (boring!), perfect playlist for a rainy day, perfect playlist for anything. . . be as creative as you can. Once you have chosen a topic, select 5 tracks for this playlist, noting the song and artist, and write a few sentences explaining why you chose this song, what this song adds to your playlist, why you put it where you did, and how it works with the other songs you selected to create a cohesive perfect playlist.

If you want link it to a spotify playlist and share a link.

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, April 13th at 11:59 pm

(Last day to turn in make up assignments 21-23)

entry courtesy John Cowgill

Assignment 22- Kaylyn Torkelson

If I could be any fictional character in the world, I would be Queen Elsa from Disney's Frozen.
C'mon. Having Elsa's ice magic would be so useful on a daily basis. (Once I learn to control it.) Forgot about my homework? Suddenly there's a polar vortex surrounding Henry Clay High School. Snow day! Really not feeling that test you have at the end of the day? We're getting out early! That girl in fourth hour won't stop talking and she's driving you nuts? Make her into an ice statue. (Kidding. Kinda.)
But beyond that, Elsa is an inspiring woman. She's kindhearted, and always worried about others more than herself. She's independent, but learns to balance that by still letting people in, instead of isolating herself. She's not focused only on finding her prince or being a princess, but on running her own kingdom and creating close bonds with her family.
It's impossible to truly realize how much I love Frozen, having grown up in a golden age of Disney movies and more specifically, Disney princess movies. For the first time, the Disney princesses are teaching children what I would want my children to learn. You can be a strong independent woman. You don't need to worry about when your prince will come. You're not some beautiful girl trapped in a glass case or in a castle waiting for someone else to come and save you. You're a beautiful girl, with her own thoughts and dreams- whether they're visiting an interesting festival, or starting a privately owned restaurant- who is capable of defending herself (be that with frying pans or bows and arrows), and is, in the end, her own person, separate from any prince she might choose to love.

Assignment 21- Kaylyn Torkelson

At this very moment, somewhere in the universe, some high school girl is shopping for a prom dress. Amid rows and rows of bagged dresses, faintly reminding a patron of full cadaver bags strung up on hangers and left to rot, females hustle around, searching frantically for the "perfect" dress. Because obviously, there is only one dress per person in the world that can properly suit the occasion. One wonders if its really worth it- waiting in lines of anxious, worried teenagers trying to see if the dress of their dreams fits. And if it does, is it really worth spending four hundred dollars for a dress you're going to wear for a maximum of five hours? I'm pretty sure highly-paid call girls still cost less than that. And they're not going to hang out in your closet for three months. So maybe the prom dress hunt is a little outrageous. But at least we all do it together?

Assignment 21- Brittany

At this very moment, somewhere in the universe someone is having serious writer’s block. The kind of writer's block where you literally cannot think of anything else but the fact that you are blocked. They are sitting there getting frustrated because they hoped to write about something interesting or funny, but no their brain is empty. They can’t help but groan as they discard yet another idea when they deem it to be too ridiculous or too dumb. They just want to bash their keyboard in because there is nothing more infuriating than not being able to come up with something to write about. Thinking they may just need a break, they pace across the floor and go eat something and procrastinate more. It’s such a small assignment and there are so many things they could write about. Why can’t they think of anything?! When they are just about ready to pull their hair out, they decide to write about the only thing they can truly think about right now: writer’s block.

Assignment 21-Eliot Smith

     At this very moment, somewhere in the universe, a tired, strained man is worrying for the future.  He is worrying for his life, his health, his family.  He is remembering how fast he spent his last paycheck, and how fast his next will be nullified as well.  He worries himself to a sweat over the impending dues of his life, and realizes that he cannot spend on himself...for he lacks the funds to buy what he pleases.  He is in a rut, and sees no way out.

     Like every other night, however, he pushes his thoughts and worries to the back of his mind to relax, to enjoy the small bit of freedom he currently has.  He reaches his hand into his old jeans pocket, pulls out a crumpled piece of thin paper and tosses it on his plastic desk.  Though his current life had left him doubting the existence of the force of luck, he had always stuck to his same set of lucky numbers--these were the numbers printed on the paper.

     The lottery was the only source of entertainment, although diminishing, in which he was able to engage.  It was his only origin of chance; his whole life had, up to this point, been one bland routine...but the lottery was different.  It was an infinite number of random numeral combinations strung together in a line of wonder, and it was this that drove the man to the gas station across the street every week, and motivated him to open his computer at this exact time.  It was this pinch of spice to his everyday practices that punched the website into his internet browser.  And it was this same wonder that lifted his head from the keyboard every Thursday to compare his numbers to the numbers on the screen.

     In one last comparison of the paper and the pixels, he stared into the gray city outside his window, and knew in that moment that his life had new opportunity.

Assignment 21 Schuler Ravencraft

Somewhere in the universe some high school student is sitting at home procrastinating. They have sat and sat doing absolutely nothing when that is the last thing they have time for. Instead of working on physics homework they have been on their laptop “trying to figure out” how to solve the wavelength of a sound wave but really they have some how ended up on buzzfeed doing quizzes titled “Which Friends Character are you?” Instead of getting dressed and going out to get some fresh air and exercise, they have sat in their pajamas watching all the shows they have recorded for the week or watched countless episodes of Revenge on Netflix. Instead of cleaning their room they got distracted by that old I pod nano filled with Hannah Montana and Jonas Brother songs. Now somewhere in the universe that high schooler is frantically cramming to finish everything they didn’t do for the day. 

Assignment 21- Omer

Right now, somewhere in the universe, a discovery has been made. A discovery so grand that all of human achievement pales in comparison. This discovery make an alien species unbeliveably powerful. Within a very limited amount of time, it will lead to the ultimate destruction of a galaxy, or the complete enlightenment of the species. I like to think that the speed of sound has been surpassed, or that wormholes have successfully moved entire planets across the universe. But we can only guess. 

1000 years ago, you wouln't be able to show someone a cellular device or tell someone that we made it to the moon without them assuming that magic of God had something to do with it. Obviously, we have advanced, but the idea is still the same. Perhaps the energy of black holes can be harnessed. Or maybe pulsars can be used to travel to different dimensions.

More than likely, none of this will happen for us. But somewhere in the universe, something has been discovered that will lead a species into the next level.

Assignment 21- Julian Perry

Right now, somewhere in a quaint little corner of the world, someone is getting ready for the 8-hour shift at a barely-above-minimum-wage job. They don't particularly want to work, sure, but they'd rather have the job secured now than have to look for a new one in the summer. This individual is entirely bored of the weekend routine: Homework, work, sleep. Wake up, work, homework. Hello once again, Monday my old friend. 

You've heard of "working for the weekend," but this man does the opposite, certainly not intentionally. This is the result of a fantastically convenient "e-scheduling" system which gives a whole day's notice on the employee's next schedule. No longer will the employee have to come in on Saturday to find if they're working the following day. Simply wait until 6 o'clock that night, and the knowledge will be instantly  delivered through the highest internet speeds this side of the Appalachians! This wonderful system also hasn't scheduled the person in question to work any day but saturday and sunday 8 hour shifts for a month and a half.    

Somewhere in the world right now, there is a man not thinking fondly upon technology. 

Assignment 21- Gibbs

At this very moment, somewhere in the universe, someone is dreaming. What are they dreaming about? It may be something as simple as the test they have the next day or perhaps they see themselves traveling. The incredible, fantastic thing about dreams is that they can be literally anything. There are infinite possibilities for dreams; there are no restrictions whatsoever. Perhaps this one person who is deeming is having a nightmare. It is a 57 year old woman and she has fallen asleep after a long day at work;she is a factory worker somewhere in Sweden. Last month her 5th and youngest child left for college. Recently she has been incredibly lonely-her husband is very little company. She feels hopeless at times-except for the occasional night when her dreams show her a happier world. In this moment she is sitting with her children-all 5 of them, despite the fact that one died years ago. In this world, that does not matter. Everyone is happy and balloons keep materializing-baloons are her favorite. After all, it's her dream-shouldn't she get to choose the decoration? Her husband is laughing and talking and engaged in a away that he never is. In this moment, the woman is happy, because dreams can make you truly believe the impossible.

Assignment 20- Kaylyn Torkelson

How to be awkward:

Being awkward is probably the only thing I'm actually good at, so its one of the only things I can write an experienced how-to on. However, no one actually wants to be awkward. So I don't suggest following my instructions. Maybe avoiding them is the best step.

Step One: Have Severe Social Anxiety
It's pretty simple. Dread talking to people you don't know, and you'll always set yourself up for failure when you do.

Step Two: Be Incapable of Carrying on a Conversation
Fidget. Get lost in your own thoughts. Just generally suck at trying to say what you want. Spend half the time trying to think of something to say in response to someone, and then when it comes time to actually say it, completely forget what you were thinking of. Everyone loves blank minds, right?

Step Three: Afterwards
After going through a conversation that could be described as very awkward, blush and think about what you did wrong. Run over it in your mind a couple thousand times. That way you can never get over the awkwardness.

Assignment 22 - Jacquelyn Engel

June Iparis from Legend. This girl is a teenage prodigy but is really just a regular girl. She’s very strong headed, courageous, and independent. She is capable of doing tasks, whether big or small, by herself; she doesn’t particularly need any help (within reason given her situation). As mentioned she is also courageous but only because she knows right from wrong. Some of her actions and choices are very risky; others wouldn’t question or ponder like she would because they don’t want to disobey and get hurt, but she does them anyway because she knows it’s for the greater good. Aside from her personality and traits, she does something sort of like parkour. She can scale buildings and jump across them, do flips, and all that parkour activity. She is an expert at spying/FBI type agent, combat, and using guns. Personally, I think that’s pretty cool, and I think it's neat she can defend herself both mentally and physically.

Assignment 21 - Jacquelyn Engel

If you don’t keep up with the news then you must not have heard of the plane disappearance in Malaysia. If you do watch the news then you are aware of what I am talking about. A passenger plane in Malaysia went missing. They are still trying to locate the plane but have not had much luck. Unfortunately, they are either lost and stranded or dead. Hopefully, they are still alive. If they are, I couldn’t imagine the panic and all other emotions that are going through them. You would think with all the new technology we have today, we would be able to locate them easily, but we haven’t. Are they still at sea just floating or have they come across an island? Imagine having to sleep in the ocean at night. I’m not going to lie, it would be pretty to see all the stars but other than that it would be very scary. Hopefully they are found soon.

Assignment 20 : How to be Organized - Jacquelyn Engel

My sister and I are complete and absolute opposites. Every time I walk pass her room, I fathom at how she can possibly live like that. Clothes are all over the place, stuff is just randomly lying out, junk is piled on one top of another, and there is just a spew of random, unnecessary crap everywhere. It may not sound bad, but it is. I’ve tried numerous times to help her get organized, but her definition of being organized is definitely not what mine is, and she doesn’t listen to me. So, maybe this advice will work better for someone else in need of organization. Step 1) Clean something of yours everyday This can be anything, and it does NOT have to be more than 15 minutes. Clean something like putting all your clothes into the laundry basket or put all your papers in the right binder/folder. This takes no time at all. Step 2) Make sure everything has a spot Remember your parents telling you something along the lines of “put it back where it belongs”. This should be applied to all your items. If you tend to forget or lose things than putting things in a proper place will easily help you to stop losing them. That science worksheet belongs in your science binder not your Spanish, and your dirty clothes go into the laundry basket not on the ground or back in your draw. These aren't a lot of steps, but it’s all in the details which will help you to create better habits for a more organized life.

21- Hallie

Considering I have read the Harry Potter series 27 times, I feel like my favorite book character should be from Harry Potter. I love Harry Potter and I love Luna Lovegood. Being the ultra-feminist liberal person that I am, I am drawn to strong woman characters and Luna Lovegood is just that. Luna is a character that does whatever she wants and she doesnt give a rats spatz about whatever people think about her. She does what she wants even though it might not be conventional, this is the kind of person that I strive to be. Luna is a free spirit. Along with being a strong female character, Luna is kind to everyone even if people arent nice to her. She defend Nevel when other people are being mean towards him and has respect for everything from house elves to pure bloods.

Assignment 21- Thomas

At this very moment somewhere in the universe, our doppelgangers are enjoying life on their respective planets. If the universe is indeed endless, then I like to think other life forms that resemble humans exist. And somewhere, somehow, people like Dennis Rodman are intelligent and become leader of their planet or Honey Boo Boo wins a Nobel Prize for curing cancer. The chance of us finding any life on other planets during our lifetime is pretty slim, but it’s crazy to think that someone could be living a life similar to ours but light years away. This brings up the whole parallel life possibility- that elsewhere people live the exact same life as we do. I’m not sold on that yet, but I do think other creatures are out there in space waiting to be discovered. Who knows, maybe people in the universe have already figured out time travel and communicate with each other, and Earth is just the odd man out. If that’s the case, then it might be for the best because humans in general are petty and we would want to take over every planet that we could find.              

Assignment 21- Genghis Goodman

At this very moment, somewhere in the universe there is a black hole moving at millions of miles per hour. I know what you're thinking, a black hole couldn't possibly move, let alone move fast. That's what I thought, and unfortunately I was wrong. A team led by an astrophysicist named Francesca Civano discovered said black hole to have been ejected out of its galaxy at 3 million miles per hour due to a collision. Based on this observation they have hypothesized that there are other unknown black holes like this one. That's right, other unknown balls of such incredible gravitation force they suck up light itself are out there traveling at millions of miles an hour, if you want to imagen how fast that is you can try to- actually you can't try, that is way too fast for the human mind to comprehend. If you want to try to understand the size of a black hole you... can't comprehend that either. So in conclusion, at this very moment, somewhere in the universe there are UNDISCOVERED masses of inconceivable size and descrustion traveling at speeds just as unthinkable. Yep, the universe is pretty cool. And scary. Mostly scary.

Assignment 21- Megan Woodrum

Right now somewhere in the universe there is another civilization. One that has developed its own cultures and beliefs, they have languages, writings and temples to their gods. These people have families and they find ways to keep each other alive on a daily basis. Who knows how advanced they actually are, but they can be primitive, painting pictures of their foreign landscapes, or so technologically advanced past our comprehension, making us the primitive ones and them that can work the world with what's like magic. They can be completely foreign in their appearance but so I similar in mind. They can look up at their second sun setting and their third moon beginning to rise and ponder at the universe just like us humans do. They can be deeply profound or shallow, but completely and utterly alive in every sense of the word. The universe is far too vast for us to be alone there are others out there, they are out there.

Assignment 21-Garrett Uebelhor

Somewhere in the universe Garrett Uebelhor has been given the award for the crappiest day ever. Not only did Garrett write a blog post and have it deleted he has now wrote two blog posts and has had both damn blog posts deleted so I honestly am sorry if this is not what you were thinking of Mr. Logston for this writing prompt but hey I am in the universe.  So any how I have had the worst day in a long time, my uncle died this morning and I ended up tied up with unexpected things all of today surrounding that. So anyhow i have not finished any of my homework and it is already 8:44 on top of the crap the universe had already thrown at me today it decided that of all the things I needed to finish on my extra extra large american super sized plate the waiter that is the universe decided it would be kind and would bring me two deserts called failed blog post one and failed blog post two. So yeppeeeee for that, thank you so freaking much universe. :) :) :)!!!!!!! #Lol #rotfl # screwgarrett

Assignment 21: Hannah Pulley

At this very moment on the far hemisphere of a planet, someone is walking on a beach before dawn. With wind howling through trees that have anchored themselves on the dunes in the distance, the first traces of an artificial sunrise are leaking over the horizon. Lights behind a perforated dome dim as the sky lightens, mimicking stars in constellations as they used to be seen. There’s always been a chill in the air and the smell of salt in the mist blown up from an impossibly large pool of water, which rolls and crashes in familiar patterns. Rocks and shells strewn across the sand in crescent-shaped trails marked the highest point that the waves reached, only to be washed away several hours later. The holograms of a lighthouse in the distance aren't here anymore, neither are the lights of shipping vessels that would be passing miles from the shore in the night. When morning fully arrives, it will be much brighter. Almost as bright as a few people remember it was elsewhere. Which is not here.

Assignment 22: Fictional Character, Fictional Life

Out of all of the books, all of the movies, and all of the television shows you have watched, consider your favorite characters. Then, answer the following:

If you could be any fictional character, who would you be and why?

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, March 23th at 11:59 pm

Assignment 19

All adults want to give advice. On everything. All the time. As a teenager all I seem to get is advice, so much that I have started tuning out when adults give me the same advice over something it seems I have heard a million times. I know that adults are really trying to help and are being sincere in their thoughts so sometimes I do try listen and sometime I do learn something. The one piece of advice that I will always remember is something my 7th grade social studies teacher at SCAPA told me- "Be nice to everyone because you don't know what kind of battle they are fighting." I don’t know why this resonated with me but it did. After that whenever I was considering saying that wasn’t the nicest, I would consider what kind of situation the person might be going through. I found if I did this that I was generally a nicer and happier person. Even though I don’t listen to many adults, for once I did and it paid off.  

Assignment 18

High school is almost over and although I have had some great experiences there are still some things that I would like to do with what people call "the best 4 years of your life." Once in high school I want to skip, school- not on senior skip day, I actually want to really skip school.

College is a place that has so many opportunities that no one can experience all of them but there are a few things that I want to make sure that I get to experience. First, I want study abroad, I want to experience more than egocentric, consumer culture than America surrounds itself with. Mostly in college I just want to make stories and memories that I will remember forever. 

Before I die I want to know that I've put all that I have into life. I don't want to look back on my life and say that I didn't take enough risks, I want to look back and be fulfilled with what I have done. Mostly, I want to make a positive impact on the world. I want to make the world a better place than it was when I got here.Because the only thing that you take with you when you're gone is what you leave behind.    

Assignment 20 - Katy

How to turn your cheek at rudeness

Seeing as I have come into contact with extreme rudeness the past couple of weekends, I will explain how I easily got out of these situations without being rude back.

1. First of all, you need to wait for the opportunity to present itself. I wouldn't exactly suggest that you ignore the person and/ or complete these tasks unless someone is being rude to you. So wait for someone to insult you or be rude.
2. Acknowledge what they say. I know most people would say "ignore, ignore, ignore" but I believe that ignoring them only "fuels your fire" a little more. So hear what they say.
3. Respond back politely. This is going to be the hardest step of course, I struggle with it myself. However, I have learned that to respond back politely does not only show that you are the bigger person, but irritates the other person. The other person is intentionally trying to get under your skin, and by being polite you are showing that you are not bothered by them. This will drive them crazy!
4. Give a smile. Whether sincere or fake, show them that you are unscathed and unchanged by their words. Once again, this will drive them crazy. They have obviously failed at making you mad when you smile back at them!
5. Walk away. Before they can start the cycle again and you forget these 4 easy steps, just walk away. I'm not saying that you or anyone else does not have the will-power to stay polite, but I know that I do not. So after I show a smile (usually fake) I turn my heel and walk the opposite way. Once again, this will bother them more than it bothers you.

Example:
This past weekend I had a debate tournament and went against 2 very snobby girls from a private school in Louisville (the school shall remain unnamed). I ASSUMMED (hehe) that they would be polite enough to carry out a sense of professionalism in the tournament, but I was mistaken.
We had beaten them in our round and my partner and I were going on to Finals. They were not. As my partner and I walked towards the Final round location, we saw that a group of people, including the two snobby girls, were waiting to watch.
One of the snobby girls (the more snobby one I might add) turned to me. With a disgusted face she asked "YOU made it to finals?" I could tell that she was being condescending. She thought she was better than me with her private education and fancy school laptops.
I simply said "Yes!" in a cheerful voice. I added in my special fake smile. She widened her eyes and turned away from me to whisper to her friends. And I felt great.

20-Hallie

How to read textbooks 

As a high school student, reading textbooks has become a daily activity for me. As a person who doesn't enjoy reading, getting through countless pages of dense textbook everyday can be a struggle. But, I've leaved some ways to make it more enjoyable. First, pick some good music to listen to. My favorite music to listen to right now is the "my 2009 prom" and "2000s club bangers" stations on Songza. The second step is to take lots of breaks, I mean lots. When I read text books I stop about every 15 minutes and go do something, wether it be check twitter or Instagram or go run up and down my stairs a few times to get my energy out, breaks help keep you focused. My favorite trick for reading text books is placing a gummy bear on ever paragraph on the text book page and when you read that paragraph you get to eat that gummy bear. This is the best inspiration of all because I can eat as much candy as I want and not feel bad about it because I know I'm learning. These three tips are the only reason I've made it through reading all these textbooks in high school. 

Isaac- Assignment 20- The Art of Organized Chaos

In order to truly master the art of organized chaos, there are a few things you'll need:

• A good memory
• The ability to not compulsively clean things
• A lot of things you might need later. You're not sure, but they might come in handy at some point, so you keep them around.

There are, as the name implies, two parts to this craft: organization and chaos. Let's start with chaos.

Creating your chaos is a slow process, but what you'll need to do is designate an area to put your maybe-important things. Then you put them there. As time passes you will compile more and more things that you're keeping. The reason this is called chaos is because from an outside point of view the fact that you have a great many papers and items staked atop of or next to one another may be seen as chaotic.

The truly difficult part of mastering organized chaos, however, is the so-called "organization." Without a good memory, this section of your task is probably impossible. The idea is that you remember both what and where each maybe-important item you've kept is so that you can find said item as needed. Without being able to master this crucial element, you won't have mastered organized chaos. You'll just have a bunch of stuff everywhere and you probably won't even know what most of it is.