A hope unseen post

At Ballou High School, bright students like Cedric learn that “distinctiveness can be dangerous, so it’s best to develop an aptitude for not being noticed.” How do you think Cedric’s experiences would compare and contrast (pattern of Development!) with the educational experience here at Kennedy?

Here at Kennedy the administration put its students under the microscope in academics.  Are principle Dr. W is always encouraging us to do well on our standardized test and to take hard Ap class. When we have awards in our class level; almost everyone gets a t-shirt and an award sheet saying they are doing well. This gives the idea that almost everyone is a kind of bright student not just a few like those that are at Ballou.

Ballou the school that Cedric attends, the administration works hard to single out only the students that go above and beyond the standard of everyone. This makes them targets in ways that here don’t happen.  Cedric has been forced to be alienated by the fact that he wants to succeed in a different none convention way. To the students of Ballou to succeed is to come out and be alive. They don’t have plans to for a true future; At least most of them.

The thing I feel that has been pushed here the most is AP class. These classes are hard core and they put a lot of pressures on the students.  Maybe like Ballou the taking of the AP class is the normal and like Ballou if you don’t take it some people make judgment on your worth to this school. Not just the students but teachers also.  This makes students feel that to be a good student they need to take up the challenge and take that AP class even if it will inhibit them from doing other things like sleep and maybe have less stress.

 At Kennedy the normal is to go to college, while being just a high school degree and not carrying on with more education is not the normal. It is what you would say is the Cedric’s of Kennedy. This can be a sad thing that everywhere we go there are outcast; they have little friends and with that they have a drive to stuff the different so as to keep what they are special. Where it’s dropping out or going to a better greener pasture.  

A game of throne

The game of thrones is a book about the houses of a Lannister , the starks and the ruling family Baratheon, there is also one more family but that family has lost power and they are the Taragaryen’s. That family has been exiled across the sea. This book is their way of living while tring to play the game of thrones. What you find out is that nothing good ever happen.  The families live in melodramas that will lead to the death of a lot of people.

This whole book is a melodrama of people. Each family has problems, each character a secret. The Starks head of the clan is Eddard but everyone calls him Ned. He rules the north from winterfell.  His wife was originally supposed to marry his older brother but he was killed by the mad king, her name Catelyn and she is of the house Tully. They have five kids and Ned has one bastard. The five children are Robb, Snasa, Arya, Brandon,Rickon who is only three. Ned’s bastard name is Jon Snow. The last name Snow is the way of telling the world that Jon is a bastard. He can't use the last name Stark. He has never known his mother. Ned stark brought him back from the fight over the last time the iron throne change houses.

Now it belongs to the Baratheon family. The king is named Robert and he is good friends with Ned. Ned helped him get his throne from the last Taragaryen king.  He was suppose to marry Neds sister who he was madly in love with, but she died, which broke his heart. Now he is married to Cersei who is queen. She is of the house Lannister. The Lannister house is the riches house of all others. 

Queen Cersei has two brothers. Her Twin named Jaime, he killed the last king he is also a knight and heir to Casterly Rock. Her other brother is called the “imp” he is a dwarf, his really name is Tyrion. While his brother is strong of sword Tyrion is a great thinker and planner.

The final house that is of great know is the Taragaryens, they were the blood of the dragons, and ruled for over 283 years. The family was mostly massacred at the sacking of kings landing. Prince Viserys and princess Daenerys are the last of the Taragayens and they are only children. We find out that The people call Viserys the beggar king. He has no money but wants to take back the iron throne. Daenerys is at the beginning married to Khal Drogo of the Dothraki. They are strong warriors and raise great horses. They are nomadic people.   Danny is only 13 when this happens. She has never been to her homeland having been born on only a small rock while the king ready his forces to come and kill her and her brother. One of her wedding gifts that she is given is three dragon eggs. The dragons have been gone for a long time the eggs are sad to be dead but we will find out.

This book has a lot of stuff going on in it, Rarely any of it good. A problem that might come from the north is that in the back of the country is a great ice wall. It separates the country from the wilds of the frosted woods. There you would find magical and strange creatures like dire wolves and ice people who bring back the dead..

Being human

The idea that we are human is a big one. We breathe air, we eat food, and we live. What sets us apart from other animals? Is it that we live in houses or that we can build many amazing things? What makes us human?

The first thing that sets us apart is the way we communicate. It’s not just between, person to person but we can communicate with other animals. We use are voices to tell each other what we want or how we feel; also tell a dog to sit. This is something unique about a human are ability to learn.

Other thing that we share with mammals but we have taken to the next level is affection. We present each other with gifts not just to a person we may have a crush on but to a family member for a holiday or their birthday. Animals don’t do that; they may present a shiny rock to a potential mate but not a family member.  

Do animals have feeling? We say they. A dog can be guilty, a cat aloof, a hoarse playful but is that a human thing? Humans are the only ones who characterize feelings, but they hardly call them happy or sad.

As human beings we are special in the way we look at the world, the only thing close is Are evolutionary tree family member the apes. Who also show the closes thing to human emotion? I do believe that we are up high on feeling and emotions but is that a good thing? 

Swimming

Yesterday was regional swimming, next week State for the high schools of Iowa. With the times getting hard it’s starting to feel like we are all just getting faster.  While not every high school has a swim team that means that they aren’t unheard of.   Kennedy went to Clinton for Regional's this weekend it was pretty good. We got second place just losing to Pleasant Valley and we had some good swims. Next week state will be at Marshall town and we hope to swim fast. We will find out what it takes to be fast in Iowa. They only take the top 24 in the state for any event. Relays are a lot better because you have your team mates to cheer you on. Swimming is both a team and individual sport. It is one of the rare ones.  

STRESS

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110809092045.htm

http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2011/09/academic-stress.aspx

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2011/01/its_not_the_job_market.html

Stress level is high at school and it is. We spend all our time studying for class and stress relief is hard to find. Think of it this way. If you are a student athlete you have to get up go to school then practice, then at least eat something then do homework. You have to shift gears a lot.

Now students aren’t the only ones who are stressed.  In a slate article the author Taylor Clark tells us that “the united states is the most anxieties nation”.  Here in the U.S. A, we are just a bunch of worry warts.   

Stress is affecting everyone. Children at school have pressure from their teachers at home their parents. Adults have bosses and children to stress them out.

To change this trend of a stressed out America, we may need to take a look at finding ways to calm down. Stress can do bad things to the body when not used right.

Stress was originally used to protect us from dyeing at the hand of disease and other protectors. Now today stress makes us gain weight and not sleep well.

We need to relax. To do this a healthy diet, lots of sleep and excises can help. Also some time to relax and do nothing  can unwind this tight nation. 

Taylor swift.

Music is a thing I live on. It falls in love with me and it tells of long. One of my favorite artists of all times is Taylor Swift. Her music just makes me smile and it just tells of things like passion, and heartbreak.

Taylor swift has risen to her fame buy her ever changing music. She started as a country singer and is now a pop start, but having been to one of her concerts live I must say she knows what she is doing. Her concert had that enchanted feeling and when she rose out from under the stage to the spraks of sparks fly you knew that this was going to be a night to remember.

Army Strong

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46297361/ns/today-relationships/t/marriage-retreats-combat-high-rate-military-divorce/

Last year nearly “30,000 marriages” ended last year, all those marriages where of military families that had severed overseas in combat. My family wasn’t one of them. I have a father who is in the military. He wasn’t around a lot sometimes.  He has working in the Middle East and here in Iowa. My mom has raised my brother and a lot by herself.  What it has been is hard for both sides of their marriage and on if they should stay together in this marriage. They have but it’s been a lot of work.

When you spend a lot of time with a person you come to know them and their habits, but if that person was to leave and go to war then come back they never come back the same.  Sometimes they lose a leg or an arm. Even when they do come back physically sound mentally they may not be.   Nearly “20% of the total returning troops” from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.   http://operationmilitaryfamily.com/guides/mental-health/  That can put pressure on a marriage or on a family member.  Post-Traumatic stress disorder is a reaction to a traumatic event in your life, like combat. It can cause many mental issues like the inability to express feeling and cope with change.  http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/what-is-ptsd.asp

My family is truly lucky.  We are still one family. After over 5 years together of my dad being gone we are still a family. It had taken a lot of hard work on are part but it has been worth it. My uncle has also severed in the military; he has severed overseas 3 times but has also had a divorce and is into his second marriage. It was not his fault that the marriage ended it was his wife’s choice and he tried to stop it but she had moved to Texas already by the time he could come home.  

The army has a saying “there is strong, then theirs army strong.”  I like to believe that even if I haven’t ever really been in the army that I am army strong just for my father. He is my idol in his strength to leave his family and go to war. My mother is also army strong in that she can stay here and raise to children and support him. She is home front strong and I idolize her from it.  So luck is just really hard work to stay a family.