Fall Has Arrived.

            Fall is finally here! The leaves are changing.  The nights are cool.  The harvest is in full swing.  Football games and the beginning of the hockey season are here.

            The leaves are peaking right now where I live.  Yesterday I was in Northeast Iowa and it is simply stunning.  The reds, yellows and oranges creating a canopy over the cliffs is just beautiful.  The first frost has already happened and the leaves are already even beginning to fall.  Autumn is in full swing in Iowa.

            My family is farmers.  Our harvest is going early this year.  Soon I will be tilling the fields for my dad to get them ready for next year.  It is not long before I will be pulling out the plants in my garden and making a map for spring to keep everything rotated.  I’ll be ordering all my seeds soon, and my dad will be busy selling corn and beans to the local farmers.

            Football games have been going on for a few weeks and it is getting cold.  Every game I end up in a sweatshirt and still shivering.  Watching the marching band and cheering on the Cougars and Cyclones means it can only be fall.  Roughrider’s hockey starts this week and I will be working the concessions there.  Watching the boys skate and fight on the ice, this is fall.

            Everything around us means that it can only be fall.  Before we know it, it will be winter and snow will be covering the ground, which can only mean one thing… Skiing!

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Homecoming!!!:)

            As I previously posted, my school had some new rules at this year’s homecoming.  Some people have viewed the opinion that they felt the dance was better than in previous years for fear of getting kicked out.  However, many of these views were said by those who left the dance relatively early.  I stayed until shortly before the end and the only difference I saw from previous years was that teachers began to push more to get to the center of the dance floor and that there seemed to be fewer students present.

            Personally, I know someone who got in trouble 6 times for inappropriate dancing.  She got in trouble for doing things on the list, that I previously posted, that was supposed to result in being asked to leave the dance.  However, she never did get removed from the dance.  I also saw many other students dancing against the rules but nothing was really done about it.  Some teachers would go up and ask them to stop, and they would for a little bit but ultimately it would just continue.

            I think that the new rules kept some students from going to the dance at all.  I believe the rules may have scared some of the freshman and they may have chosen to not attend the dance then.  I think some students also decided that they would probably just get kicked out so they didn’t even bother.  I also know some students who were coming to get pictures taken to give to their parents and then left to hang out with friends.

            A few complaints about the dance, I feel as though there should be more slow songs played.  Yes there is the group of people that get mad every time there is a slow song, but a lot of couples do attend the dance.  I know I would have appreciated getting to slow dance a little more with my boyfriend.  Another one would be the strobe lights.  A few times would be okay, but they can also get really annoying.  I have a friend who has epilepsy and strobe lights can set off seizures so she would never be able to go to our dance, and I know there must be some epileptics at my school.  I also have a genetic condition that causes tremors, and the strobe lights were giving me a headache and making my tremors very bad even though I did make sure to take my medicine.

            All and all, I enjoyed the dance and I think the idea behind the rules was good.  Although, I do think that they need to have a little bit better enforcement of them or they will never be followed.  However, I probably will go to WPA and I certainly will be going to my senior homecoming next year.

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The Second Job Called Homework

            Recently I had a very important thought pointed out to me by some other students and a parent.  Many kids these days spend 7-9 hours a day at school, 5 days a week.  If a job is considered full time, you are working 40 hours a week (8 hours a day, 5 days a week) or more.  This means that we go to school, and don’t get paid, and it is the equivalent of a full time job.  On top of the fact that just being at school could be a full time job, we are then given homework to do when we get home.

            There have been many nights that I have been given over 8 hours of homework.  My average night of homework is probably around 6 hours.  However, there has been multiple times that I have begun my homework when I get home around 3 and I am doing it until 3 the next morning when I give up and decide everything I am reading is really just going in through my eyeballs and out my ears.  One thing to remember also, all the homework done after 9 or 10, depending on the sleep the night before, is taking at least twice as long as it has to.

            Personally, there have been many nights where I have fallen asleep while doing my homework and woken up to my alarm the next morning.  However, I have learned a few tricks this year to staying up late and pulling “all nighters” this year:

1.      Drinking caffeine, it seems so cliché, but it really does work.  I usually go through all the pop in my refrigerator and find which one has the highest caffeine content because the less you have to use the bathroom, the better.

2.      Setting an alarm on your phone and then hitting the snooze every time it goes off so that if you do doze off, it wakes you back up and you don’t end up waking up in the morning with nothing done.

3.      Texting someone else doing the same thing you are doing, it makes your homework take longer, but it keeps you awake throughout the night.

4.      Only do the homework that you have to do.  Don’t bother with reading assignments unless you have a quiz the next day.  Generally you are safe with waiting till the next night to do the reading.

5.      Do all your homework on the weekends that you know you have due the next week.  You will really appreciate having less during the week and getting more sleep.

The biggest thing is, many times we, as students, are being given homework to double the hours we are spending at school.  This means, that many of us are doing the equivalent of working two separate full time jobs, one at home and one at work.

Teachers really should give us less homework.  Many times we are asked why we are so tired at school and told we need to get a better night of sleep.  However, we are being given too much homework to allow this and therefore should not be blamed when we fall asleep during class.

 

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Re$tAuRanT$

            Restaurants can be a great way to get away from the everyday normal.  They allow us to have an off-day from cooking and cleaning.  They are also an easy way to have a party or family get-together.  At the same time, you are dining with people you don’t know and your food is being prepared by cooks you never see.

            We can go out-to-eat and relax.  It allows for everyone to choose their own meal and prevent arguing over what to eat.  All of our food is prepared for us, the table set and drinks brought to us.  Restaurants can also give us time to talk to those we have with us and catch up on things that are new in their lives.  The food is then brought to us and when we are finished eating, you don’t have to clear and clean your own table and dishes.

            A party or get together can also be done at a restaurant to prevent the need for cleaning.  A restaurant generally allows parties and may even allow you to rent out the whole restaurant or a room.  This way, the food is prepared for you and you don’t need to worry about anything except inviting the guests and showing up like they do, oh and of course the bill.

            However, when dining in public, you don’t generally know those at the tables around you.  There may be a screaming baby or toddler running around.  I’m sure we have all been in a booth when the person behind us is bouncing and that’s all we can feel.  Then there are the giggling, loud, teenagers that are disrupting the whole restaurant with their loud chatter.

            Many times while dining out, you never meet the cook or cooks that prepared the meal you ate.  The cook may prepare your food differently than you would prefer, and you also never know if that food was prepared after you ordered or was done that morning and just reheated.  Then there is the chance that they may have not washed their hands as often as they should be, which really could bother some of those germ phoebes that we all know.

            However, dining at a restaurant allows us all to get away and enjoy a meal without all the added work involved in preparing it at home.

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Partyin' Partyin' Yeah!!!

            Parties, we all love them, but many times we don’t think about the work that the host and hostess put into making that party happen.  We enter their home, eat their food, play their games, and then leave.  We may have only been at their house for a few hours, but most likely they spent all day cleaning and cooking for just those few hours.

            The hostess may have been picking up all their belongings for the past few days.  They probably then dusted that morning and vacuumed that afternoon.  Most likely there is food, because how could it be a party otherwise.  Not only was time spent on preparing all the food, but the cost alone could turn many people away from hosting a party.

            Make sure while attending the party you show proper manners.  No one likes a rude or grumpy guest.  Show that you are truly happy to be there and don’t be the party pooper that no one wants to be around.  Participate in the games the host and hostess have planned rather than trying to run your own.

            So the next time you go to a party, make sure to thank the host and hostess.  It shows that you appreciate the time they spent preparing to have you over as a guest.  If it is possible, offer to help by bringing some food or invite them to the next party you host.  It is only right that you make sure they know you appreciate everything they did to allow you to have a good time.

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Taking Over Dances

Today we were told to go to homeroom and were given expectations for our Homecoming Dance coming up.  The paper reads as follows:

“Behavior Expectations for

Dances at Kennedy High School

The Following expectations have been developed by members of Kennedy’s Student Government and endorsed by the Kennedy staff and administration:

1.      It is expected that all students will wear clothing for a school event

2.      It is expected that clothing will be worn as intended at all times.  Boys are expected to keep their shirts on.  Girls are expected to keep their dresses and skirts at the intended length.  Pulling skirts/dresses up is unacceptable.

3.      It is expected that all students will dance appropriately.  Simulating sex acts, dancing with hands on the ground, etc. are inappropriate.

School staff and administration will enforce the expectations.  Students who do not follow the expectations will be asked to leave the dance.”

            Now I don’t know about anyone else, but the expectations are just sad.  However, I feel as though they are the same rules that have been in affect the last few years, but were just only written down now.

            I think we have all always known these rules, but at the same time everything will still be the same.  I didn’t attend homecoming last year, but I did go to WPA and I saw many of these things be done, and the rules were not enforced properly.  I feel as though either the same thing will be done this year, or they will be over-enforced and similar to another local school, kids will instead start having outside parties.

            I know our school does not want to necessarily set strict rules that prevent kids from coming to the dance.  By doing that, it opens up kids to have their own parties that may include illegal activities that could have been prevented, such as drinking.  I know our school also spends a lot of money on homecoming and does not want to lose a lot of ticket sales.

            There are a few things, however, that these rules leave open for your own interpretation.  The first rule could either mean that we should not show up naked, which in that case I could come in a bikini if I really wanted to; or they could mean to wear appropriate clothing which in that case I might want to wear a dress.

            There are a lot of things that could be interpreted in the second rule.  First, boys have to keep their shirts on; however, it doesn’t say anything about pants.  Now this may or may not be a shocker to you, but I have heard of guys whipping it out on the dance floor.  The second thing wrong is that the intended length for many skirts on homecoming dresses nowadays, means there is no need to pull up the dress in the first place.  I also know a guy that wears a kilt occasionally, and according to these rules he would be allowed to pull that up as much as he wants.

            Now I come to the third rule.  One concern of this rule could mean that there would be no more grinding allowed.  In response to a school that made a rule stating just that there was a dance last year called “Grind Fest” outside of the school event which like I said earlier, could lead to illegal activities.  I feel as though this rule should almost just go right out there and instead of saying simulating sex acts, just say having sex.  Everyone at my school knows it happens, even the teachers.  The whole hands on the ground thing has always been a rule, only enforced by a few teachers in the past.

            The biggest thing with all these rules, the real culprits won’t be caught.  The girls with their skirts up dance in the middle of the large mob or people, and the kids having sex are also in the middle.  I really think the rules are not going to change anything except give us all something to talk about going up until the dance.

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Surprise Parties!!!

            Surprise! I have always wanted to hear those words as I walk through the doors on my birthday.  It would be awesome to have a surprise birthday party in my favor.  In order to have a surprise birthday party, someone or a group of people have to care enough to do a party in your honor, the way you would want, but without you knowing.

            I want one of those surprise parties where the cars are all hidden, and you have no idea until the moment they jump out at you and you almost pee your pants.  My parents even told me that they went to a surprise party where the girl ran out of the room screaming.  At the same time, I don’t want to be so surprised that I show up at my party in something like my pajamas.  I would want to have a warning, such as a dinner or something, so that I would look good for pictures.

            I also think it would be awesome to be in charge of a surprise party for someone I cared about.  To plan for everything, send out all the invites, and then see their face when you surprise them and know you caused that would be great!  In fact, this entire post is making me think I should do this now, for the next birthday person I know.

            I want to give a few hints for all you surprise birthday party throwers, make people car pool, and hide the cars.  If the person you are surprising recognizes a car, it can ruin everything right before the party begins.  Also, make sure everyone knows it is a surprise and if inviting younger children, don’t tell them ahead of time, just have their parents bring them that night.  Nothing ruins a surprise like when the youngest cousin tells them they are going to their surprise party, and many times a younger child doesn’t understand they can’t tell the birthday person.  One more hint, hide the pizza.  Tonight, I went to a surprise birthday party, and the birthday girl thought it was very strange there was a huge pile of pizza on the table, and knew something was up.

            The most important things to remember, have fun and don’t ruin the surprise!!!

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