Blogging... Oh where do I begin? Should I talk about how much I have despised it? Or should I talk about the good feelings that rush through my body as soon as I’m finished.
I have wanted to talk about something specific to keep the entries to the main theme of the blog. But the desire was not as strong as the work and time that I would have needed to put into the blog if I were to do that. High School is a hectic time, especially if you are in multiple AP courses along with sports with which you have to miss school for. Like in mine and others case.
Blogging, to me, was just a new dimension of homework. At some times I enjoyed it, like when I glanced back at previous posts and realize how far I’ve come in writing. I also liked reading friend’s posts over topics I was interested in to hear what their view on it was.
At times I would be so frustrated with blogging. I remember times when I would tell my mom that I would rather re-shingle the roof than blog. The intense hate came from the fact that I was so far behind sometimes with how many blogs that I needed and felt stressed out about that.
Whenever I am sitting in front of a computer, I am always jittery (If I am not sleeping because of how tired I am). Even now as I write this my legs are moving back and forth. I don’t feel very comfortable sitting in front of the computer screen, just staring at this lit up screen portraying pictures coming from some cyberspace.
I try to minimize my time in front of the computer as much as I can, I would much rather be outside playing basketball, or reading a good book. Maybe I feel so awkward in front of my computer is because of it’s location in my house. It is in the corner of my living room and while sitting in front of it, I can see out side our big window. Trees fill the window every time I glance outside from the computer seat. The picture and the idea of not doing homework call my name stronger and stronger the more painful the homework becomes.
Blogs seemed to be more of the painful kind of homework. But it did help me become a better writer. So it was a good thing overall, even though sometimes i abhorred just thinking about it.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Homework Stinks
Homework stinks so much. Here is my thought process about it.
Instead of sharing my day at school with my parents and siblings at the dinner table, I complain about all the homework that I have because it means that I have to do school outside of school. This consequently means that I get to spend less time doing what I love doing and more time doing what I hate doing. One thing I love doing is hanging out with my family, whether or not we are getting along at the time. We play cards or just talk, I love it all. Instead of doing that, I do homework, not because I am interested in what we are doing in class, but because I am required to.
I remember a time in my child hood when I loved homework. This was because I loved learning. When I was very young my sisters and I would play school. Yes that’s right learning was so fun to me that it was a game. I would do the mini math booklets with simple math problems and practice my penmanship writing down random letters.
Now school has twisted the fun that I used to have learning into a dislike. I still like learning about things. But it’s about things that I want to learn and not what the school wants me to learn. I like history and if I had the history channel I would watch it all the time. I like learning about my faith and why I believe what I believe that’s why I read “More Than a Carpenter.” I like learning about math because most of the time it makes since.
The other day a teacher was talking to me about how he doesn’t mix school with home and vice versa. He does all his grading at school and never has to take tests with him when he leaves because he makes time for it at school. He also says that if he has problems at home that doesn’t affect his attitude at school even though it may be on his mind. I then praised his practices because it seemed like the perfect argument for getting rid of homework. He told me that no one in his class should ever have homework because he gives them so much time to work on it in class.
I wish every teacher gave as much time towards the homework or just got rid of homework and relied on having their students learn in the classroom.
Instead of sharing my day at school with my parents and siblings at the dinner table, I complain about all the homework that I have because it means that I have to do school outside of school. This consequently means that I get to spend less time doing what I love doing and more time doing what I hate doing. One thing I love doing is hanging out with my family, whether or not we are getting along at the time. We play cards or just talk, I love it all. Instead of doing that, I do homework, not because I am interested in what we are doing in class, but because I am required to.
I remember a time in my child hood when I loved homework. This was because I loved learning. When I was very young my sisters and I would play school. Yes that’s right learning was so fun to me that it was a game. I would do the mini math booklets with simple math problems and practice my penmanship writing down random letters.
Now school has twisted the fun that I used to have learning into a dislike. I still like learning about things. But it’s about things that I want to learn and not what the school wants me to learn. I like history and if I had the history channel I would watch it all the time. I like learning about my faith and why I believe what I believe that’s why I read “More Than a Carpenter.” I like learning about math because most of the time it makes since.
The other day a teacher was talking to me about how he doesn’t mix school with home and vice versa. He does all his grading at school and never has to take tests with him when he leaves because he makes time for it at school. He also says that if he has problems at home that doesn’t affect his attitude at school even though it may be on his mind. I then praised his practices because it seemed like the perfect argument for getting rid of homework. He told me that no one in his class should ever have homework because he gives them so much time to work on it in class.
I wish every teacher gave as much time towards the homework or just got rid of homework and relied on having their students learn in the classroom.
Monday, May 18, 2009
I like Summer
Winter is a terrible part of the year and because of it summer just has to be splendid. I believe that it is, compared to the school filled winter. Sure here in Iowa the humidity is always like a million or something, but at least when I go outside it doesn’t require me to put one about five extra pounds of clothing just to walk outside to do a simple chore, like taking out the garbage.
Summer is great for a number of reasons. Probably the greatest reason of all is the absence of homework. School is awesome and a great opportunity to spend time with people that you often don’t get a chance to, but that’s not why people dislike it. It’s the homework, at least that’s how I feel about it. I know that it is necessary to help a student learn because a class period isn’t enough time to get everything accomplished that the teacher wants. I also know that it helps significantly increase your knowledge if you spend time with the subject outside of school. What bugs me is the time that is taken away from other very important things in one’s life. It takes away time, from your family, from your friends, from your sleep. These are all things that I consider extremely important and I feel that if you prioritize homework in front of those things now, that later in life you will put your work in front of those priceless facets.
During the summer you get to spend time with friends and family. This means camping trips with campfires accompanied by some kind of adventure and with this adventure sprouts hilarious stories usually of ones own embarrassment that can be shared and enjoyed many times. In this time of fellowship we grow closer to our friends and family. During that time of year you are able to do those exciting adventurous activities that you wouldn’t be able to do during summer or any colder time of year like going in caves. If you have ever been in a cave then you know that it is relatively cold in there and if you don’t have gloves your hands are sure to be very cold at the end of the trip. If you went at any another time in the year it would be even colder and when you exited the cave you wouldn’t be warmed as much if it wasn’t for our humid Iowan summer air surrounding us.
This is why summer rocks.
Summer is great for a number of reasons. Probably the greatest reason of all is the absence of homework. School is awesome and a great opportunity to spend time with people that you often don’t get a chance to, but that’s not why people dislike it. It’s the homework, at least that’s how I feel about it. I know that it is necessary to help a student learn because a class period isn’t enough time to get everything accomplished that the teacher wants. I also know that it helps significantly increase your knowledge if you spend time with the subject outside of school. What bugs me is the time that is taken away from other very important things in one’s life. It takes away time, from your family, from your friends, from your sleep. These are all things that I consider extremely important and I feel that if you prioritize homework in front of those things now, that later in life you will put your work in front of those priceless facets.
During the summer you get to spend time with friends and family. This means camping trips with campfires accompanied by some kind of adventure and with this adventure sprouts hilarious stories usually of ones own embarrassment that can be shared and enjoyed many times. In this time of fellowship we grow closer to our friends and family. During that time of year you are able to do those exciting adventurous activities that you wouldn’t be able to do during summer or any colder time of year like going in caves. If you have ever been in a cave then you know that it is relatively cold in there and if you don’t have gloves your hands are sure to be very cold at the end of the trip. If you went at any another time in the year it would be even colder and when you exited the cave you wouldn’t be warmed as much if it wasn’t for our humid Iowan summer air surrounding us.
This is why summer rocks.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Video Games
Most adolescent males would say that they love video games. I am among those males that would generally say this, but the other day, when working on some homework and thinking about life, I came to a different conclusion.
While working on homework, my brother was playing one of his favorite PS2 games. Frequently being distracted by his game I was not able to fully give my attention to my homework. However frustrating this was for me, because of how little of progress I was making, I kept dividing my focus between the two.
Then I thought of what my grades might be like if instead of playing video games, studied for classes or did my homework. I also thought of all the books I could have read, all the knowledge I could have possessed, but missed out and spent that time playing a game that doesn’t and isn’t real. Believe me I’ve asked myself why I waste my life away, in front of a TV in an imaginary world that’s impact is not felt in reality.
I wanted the time back. Some games record how much time you’ve played on it. I’ve come to hate it; it only reminds me of how much time I threw away to the game.
I feel it is a prescription drug to the adolescent male. If used appropriately it can be beneficial. For example occasionally playing a friendly game with a couple of friends can be fun and entertaining, while building friendships it is productive and possibly healthy to a male of that age. But if you overdose, it can corrupt and destroy your life. It will control your moods, content when you win or beat the game, but aggressive and quick to become angry after a frustrating defeat by the video game.
Even now as I blog my brothers are being consumed by the screen that portrays their digital character, fighting off the bad guys. If one has immersed themselves in video games their whole lives, at the end of their life they will undoubtedly wonder, “What have I accomplished?” This could be many great things, but the excessive time used on that game could have been used to impact someone’s life for the better or do something study harder and get into a better college.
I have spoken to many older people who all agree that it was just last year when they were in high school. All of them wish they could return to take that opportunity that they had let pass to affect someone for the better.
While working on homework, my brother was playing one of his favorite PS2 games. Frequently being distracted by his game I was not able to fully give my attention to my homework. However frustrating this was for me, because of how little of progress I was making, I kept dividing my focus between the two.
Then I thought of what my grades might be like if instead of playing video games, studied for classes or did my homework. I also thought of all the books I could have read, all the knowledge I could have possessed, but missed out and spent that time playing a game that doesn’t and isn’t real. Believe me I’ve asked myself why I waste my life away, in front of a TV in an imaginary world that’s impact is not felt in reality.
I wanted the time back. Some games record how much time you’ve played on it. I’ve come to hate it; it only reminds me of how much time I threw away to the game.
I feel it is a prescription drug to the adolescent male. If used appropriately it can be beneficial. For example occasionally playing a friendly game with a couple of friends can be fun and entertaining, while building friendships it is productive and possibly healthy to a male of that age. But if you overdose, it can corrupt and destroy your life. It will control your moods, content when you win or beat the game, but aggressive and quick to become angry after a frustrating defeat by the video game.
Even now as I blog my brothers are being consumed by the screen that portrays their digital character, fighting off the bad guys. If one has immersed themselves in video games their whole lives, at the end of their life they will undoubtedly wonder, “What have I accomplished?” This could be many great things, but the excessive time used on that game could have been used to impact someone’s life for the better or do something study harder and get into a better college.
I have spoken to many older people who all agree that it was just last year when they were in high school. All of them wish they could return to take that opportunity that they had let pass to affect someone for the better.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
More Than A Carpenter
I recently read the book "More Than a Carpenter" by Josh McDowell. In this book McDowell discusses many arguments put forward about Jesus and really researches who he was historically. One of the first chapters is about Jesus and what people think he was. To many he was a great moral teacher and nothing more. That was what frustrated McDowell to dedicating a chapter to the topic. He says that Jesus could not have been just a good moral teacher, while proclaiming to be God. He was either, lying about being God and knew it, was crazy and really believed he was God or was actually God. He goes through each topic and debates whether or not each one is correct or not. He also talks of the validity of Biblical records and how they are reliable. There was a theory that the New Testament was a second century document and he researched the legitimacy of it. When researching these topics he goes to ask professors for the truth about the subject, what they do and don’t know, what they are sure of and what they think could be. I think that because the people he interviews are real with him it strengthens his logical stance in the book.McDowell, however, waits until the end of the book to state why we should consider this book as anything more than a stubborn Christian just justifying his beliefs. He mentions at the end of the book though, that he was once a skeptic. Not just a skeptic, but a hard core hater of Christians and religion in general and wouldn’t hesitate to argue against them.
He changed however when he sought out to look for evidence discrediting Jesus and who he and other people claimed him to be. He was challenged to do this research by a couple of Christians on his college campus. When he finally accepted their challenges, he became a very influential professor.
Anyone curious enough to read the book, whether someone who believes in Christ or not, I would recommend it. Throughout the book he cites where he got his information so one can follow up on it if you have some doubts. I know if you are a teenager, you are thinking, “Who cares about that kind of stuff?” Here is the thing though, if you find out that there is someone or something bigger than yourself. Lets say you find this one thing later in life and decide that you should be living for this purpose, than why waste the days you have in your youth to live for something that you will later determine worth dying for.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Practice
My dad has suggested that I get used to talking about myself because of interviews that I will eventually face. So I was asked "What are your strongest leadership skills and what are you doing to improve your weaker ones and how will you use your leadership skills to impact your future?" This is my response.
My strongest leadership qualities are my coaching-style and unifying abilities. My coaching-style of leadership enables me to encourage people within my group no matter the circumstances. It also helps me to lead by example. With my hard working example and encouragement, the group usually does a job well. As the middle child of my family, I have grown up being the peace maker most of the time. When fights would develop between my siblings, normally I was there to either point out how pointless their fight was or to separate them from each others grasp and then tell them how stupid it was to fight over that particular item or idea. My negotiating skills have taught me how to unite members of my team, because with them quarrelling it is 100 percent more difficult to complete the task.
One of my weaker leadership skills is the ability to refocus my group on the task. When something or someone diverts the attention away from the original reason of a meeting, then I usually get caught up in it as well. I am working to improve this weak skill by leading an accountability group. This way I am able to practice getting my group back on task when something distracts us from the point of the meeting.
The leadership skills that I have acquired and the ones I am currently developing will help me in the future no matter what professional field I decide to go into, from engineering to missions. I will have fine tuned my ability to unify a group. This will help in situations where I find there is a conflict between members of the team and I will be able to deal with it and overcome that obstacle because of my past experiences. In the future I will have developed the skill to keep my team on task, working productively and efficiently to complete the job without being distracted. When I am older and have a family, my productivity and efficiency will allow me to spend the maximum time possible with my wife and family. My coaching-style leadership will not only help me achieve in the work place by encouraging co-workers, but also at home. Leading by example and encouraging my children to work with me on chores and house projects; I can teach them invaluable lessons on leadership.
My strongest leadership qualities are my coaching-style and unifying abilities. My coaching-style of leadership enables me to encourage people within my group no matter the circumstances. It also helps me to lead by example. With my hard working example and encouragement, the group usually does a job well. As the middle child of my family, I have grown up being the peace maker most of the time. When fights would develop between my siblings, normally I was there to either point out how pointless their fight was or to separate them from each others grasp and then tell them how stupid it was to fight over that particular item or idea. My negotiating skills have taught me how to unite members of my team, because with them quarrelling it is 100 percent more difficult to complete the task.
One of my weaker leadership skills is the ability to refocus my group on the task. When something or someone diverts the attention away from the original reason of a meeting, then I usually get caught up in it as well. I am working to improve this weak skill by leading an accountability group. This way I am able to practice getting my group back on task when something distracts us from the point of the meeting.
The leadership skills that I have acquired and the ones I am currently developing will help me in the future no matter what professional field I decide to go into, from engineering to missions. I will have fine tuned my ability to unify a group. This will help in situations where I find there is a conflict between members of the team and I will be able to deal with it and overcome that obstacle because of my past experiences. In the future I will have developed the skill to keep my team on task, working productively and efficiently to complete the job without being distracted. When I am older and have a family, my productivity and efficiency will allow me to spend the maximum time possible with my wife and family. My coaching-style leadership will not only help me achieve in the work place by encouraging co-workers, but also at home. Leading by example and encouraging my children to work with me on chores and house projects; I can teach them invaluable lessons on leadership.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Kevin's Birthday Present
This was a poem that I wrote a friend of mine, Kevin. It was his birthday and since I hadn’t got him something goofy like I was planning on. I decided to write him this poem during my release after school.
Hey I’m Kevin Riley, look at me
I’m kind of great and now nineteen
I like to pick on rosie, I think I’m a star
Like that one time I kept him out of his car
Then I tackled him to the ground and made a scene
But its ok, cuz I’m nineteen
Hey I’m Kevin Riley, look at me
I’m kind of cool and now nineteen
I like to throw the bottle discus really far
And I’m still enjoying guarding his car
Then I faked punched him, right in the spleen
But its ok, cuz I’m nineteen
Hey I’m Kevin Riley, look at me
I’m kind of stupid and now nineteen
I take pleasure in running around
Making sure that rosie’s not homeward bound
Then he started to bleed on some grass that was green
But its ok, cuz I’m nineteen
Hey I’m Kevin Riley, look at me
I’m kind of stinky and now nineteen
There were video cameras in the parking lot
The whole event was on tape and now I’m caught
I’ll just say “what’s up man” and I’ll be clean
But its ok, cuz I’m nineteen.
Hey I’m Kevin Riley, look at me
I’m kind of smelly and now nineteen
I finally let that awesome, good looking kid run away
After the managers came out to see if everything was ok
Yo I’m Kevin Riley and I’m kind of mean
But its ok, cuz I’m nineteen
Your welcome for the awesome poem
If you read one of my earlier blogs describing the event that I alluded to than you will understand all my references. After I gave it to him for his birthday I asked him if he was going to frame it. Of course he replied with a resounding yes. Whether he does that or not, well that’s debatable.
Hey I’m Kevin Riley, look at me
I’m kind of great and now nineteen
I like to pick on rosie, I think I’m a star
Like that one time I kept him out of his car
Then I tackled him to the ground and made a scene
But its ok, cuz I’m nineteen
Hey I’m Kevin Riley, look at me
I’m kind of cool and now nineteen
I like to throw the bottle discus really far
And I’m still enjoying guarding his car
Then I faked punched him, right in the spleen
But its ok, cuz I’m nineteen
Hey I’m Kevin Riley, look at me
I’m kind of stupid and now nineteen
I take pleasure in running around
Making sure that rosie’s not homeward bound
Then he started to bleed on some grass that was green
But its ok, cuz I’m nineteen
Hey I’m Kevin Riley, look at me
I’m kind of stinky and now nineteen
There were video cameras in the parking lot
The whole event was on tape and now I’m caught
I’ll just say “what’s up man” and I’ll be clean
But its ok, cuz I’m nineteen.
Hey I’m Kevin Riley, look at me
I’m kind of smelly and now nineteen
I finally let that awesome, good looking kid run away
After the managers came out to see if everything was ok
Yo I’m Kevin Riley and I’m kind of mean
But its ok, cuz I’m nineteen
Your welcome for the awesome poem
If you read one of my earlier blogs describing the event that I alluded to than you will understand all my references. After I gave it to him for his birthday I asked him if he was going to frame it. Of course he replied with a resounding yes. Whether he does that or not, well that’s debatable.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Before School
Studying sometimes, most the time notEveryday I arrive at school around 7:20 and head to the library. First hour starts at eight and so one might ask why I would get to school so early. For a couple of reason, I choose to come early to school.
The first of the reasons is that our parking lot gets very full, very fast. When I drive to school I want to get as good as a parking spot as I can. Parking closer to the school for some reason is a big deal to me. I’m not sure why, but just knowing that I parked closer to the exit because I got here early is relieving.
Another reason I come to school early is to finish some incomplete homework that I chose not to do the night before. In the library I am able to focus on doing home work if it is due that day. I also ask friends if there was any other home work that I had forgotten to do. This way I can do the assignments I remembered and the ones I forgot. It also helps that many of my classmates are in the library in the morning because if I have a question on the home work, I can ask them for help.
One more reason that I come in that early is that it helps me get ready for the day. I come in very drowsy from the lack of sleep that I got from staying up too late the last night. The time consisting of sitting at a table in the library, whether doing home work or just talking with friends prepares me for the day of interaction. It is like I am a wind up toy that is wound up during the first 40 minutes of the day at school. The 40 minutes of winding keeps me going until about 5:30 at night when I find myself doing working on school work when I suddenly get extremely tired. At that point I either choose to take a nap, or stand up and go eat something to rewind myself for another period of time in the day.
To me coming in early is my morning coffee. I don’t really like coffee at all, but I know people who drink coffee every morning to help prepare for the day. Fortunately, my technique of becoming alert and attentive doesn’t stain my teeth.
The first of the reasons is that our parking lot gets very full, very fast. When I drive to school I want to get as good as a parking spot as I can. Parking closer to the school for some reason is a big deal to me. I’m not sure why, but just knowing that I parked closer to the exit because I got here early is relieving.
Another reason I come to school early is to finish some incomplete homework that I chose not to do the night before. In the library I am able to focus on doing home work if it is due that day. I also ask friends if there was any other home work that I had forgotten to do. This way I can do the assignments I remembered and the ones I forgot. It also helps that many of my classmates are in the library in the morning because if I have a question on the home work, I can ask them for help.
One more reason that I come in that early is that it helps me get ready for the day. I come in very drowsy from the lack of sleep that I got from staying up too late the last night. The time consisting of sitting at a table in the library, whether doing home work or just talking with friends prepares me for the day of interaction. It is like I am a wind up toy that is wound up during the first 40 minutes of the day at school. The 40 minutes of winding keeps me going until about 5:30 at night when I find myself doing working on school work when I suddenly get extremely tired. At that point I either choose to take a nap, or stand up and go eat something to rewind myself for another period of time in the day.
To me coming in early is my morning coffee. I don’t really like coffee at all, but I know people who drink coffee every morning to help prepare for the day. Fortunately, my technique of becoming alert and attentive doesn’t stain my teeth.
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