Shopping during the Holidays

The holidays have changed over the past few decades. It used to be all about family and spending quality time with each other. Now all it is is going to extremes to get good deals on Christmas presents. Shopping in my opinion takes away from the spirit of the season. People are getting injured and even death has come from competitive people going crazy for a material gift.  Black Friday is the most famous shopping day of the year. It is the Friday after Thanksgiving. The greatest deals on electronics and other products are on sale with only a few in stock to be sold. Since there is a limited number of items people feel the need to camp outside the store before they let the customers in so they get a prime spot in line, and ensure that they get the discounted item.

Black Friday has been extended in recent years. Now the sales start on Thursday night and continue throughout the whole weekend. With the shopping starting on Thanksgiving Day it takes away from the holiday. You are supposed to be with your family and giving thanks for what you have, not waiting in a line in front of a store. It is ironic that people come together to give thanks on one day then have to rush out and go buy more things when they just celebrated what they already have. The feeling of the holiday gets lost. With shopping starting Thursday it pressures families to have their thanksgiving meal early in the day as more of a lunch than a dinner. The shopping extremities force people to be on more of a time limit than they were before. This causes family gatherings to be cut short.

Are people becoming more and more materialistic? I think so! All people talk about is what they have and how they are able to afford different things. These pressures are affecting younger kids in school and other environments. If they don’t have the coolest and the latest gadget they “don’t fit in” or “aren’t cool.”  If some student can’t afford the newest thing then that makes them feel bad.  A classic example is with the product Ugg boots. These are expensive boots that come in various patterns and styles. They have real fur on the inside and are a fashionable way to keep your feet warm. This also means that they are very expensive.  There are tons of knock off brands, and if you are wearing a knock off brand you are looked down upon and shouldn’t be caught dead in them.

The fact that people are so concerned with what they can buy and look at what other people have take away from the spirit of the season. We shouldn’t have to grow up in a society where you have to compare your Christmas presents to your friends or other people. This could cause people to feel bad if they didn’t get what their friends got. No one needs to feel bad during this time of year. We need to be more concerned with being with our family and move away from the presents.

Shopping has become something that is dangerous and not fun to be a part of. Be jolly and enjoy being around the people that you love. (551)

Winter Pep Assembly

Tomorrow is the winter assembly. That means that a bunch of kids will be going crazy to celebrate the good fortune that the fall sports had and introduce the winter sports. This year volleyball will not have anything to present which is very sad but at least none of us have to go up to talk in front of the whole school. I am pretty sure that the only fall sports that did anything noteworthy is the girls swimming team, men’s gold and possibly football.

Having a pep assemble makes that day much better since there are shortened classes and it is a Friday! Everyone loves that it is on a Friday, especially because there is a big game of basketball that night and it brings the students together for a great time to support each other in their sports; bringing out our cougar school spirit!

This is my second to last school assembly, it is getting to the end but that is okay. All good things have to come to an end. But I will be ready to cheer as loud as I can and win the spirit stick. Seniors will win. (193)

Senior Picuters

 Picture day was today and I am so glad that I did not have to participate in this year’s rounds! Since I am a senior all I had to do was submit my senior picture that was previously taken and I was done. In past years this was one of the most nerve wracking days because my hair had to be perfect, make cup just right, and of course so nasty acne.  

During the summer and early fall is when most seniors get their senior pictures taken. I wanted to have mine be different from everyone else’s so I traveled to California to get mine taken. My grandparents have a house in Malibu, so my thoughts were that’s perfect I can get ocean shots along with on top of a mountain. They live about 10 minutes from the beach and have about 50 acres of land, tons to choose from for the perfect shot.

My cousin had gone to visit them during his spring break of the previous year and had taken a picture that was literally on top of the world and on a rock that overlooked the open canyon and other mountains. I had to find this shot. I showed it to my grandfather and he knew exactly where the location was. So the photographer and I traveled our way up the mountain. The shots were flawless and I was happier than ever.

Our next adventure was the beach. When we go to the location is was quite windy so my hair was looking flowing, as if a fan was moving it around. I was scared to go into the water because it was very cold, but I got close enough.

After the day of taking my picture was done I was so happy with all the results. They were all so beautiful and it was difficult to choose one for the year book, so I just had my mother choose.  Not having to deal with the stresses of picture day was wonderful and glad I am done with that crap. (343)

Drew Wall

Drew Wall was a 15 year old boy that lost his battle with cancer on November 26^th, 2012. He was one of the most courageous boys that inspired many people. He was diagnosed with cancer of the bones at a very young age. When he was in middle school he had to get his leg amputated because there were too many complications including blood clots, bone density problems and the cancer was just eating away at him. He had to either be put into a wheel chair the rest of his life or choose to get a prosthetic leg. He was a very active child and loved to play sports, so he went with the prosthetic leg. The only down fall to the fake leg was that it cost 20,000 dollars for one, and he got it at a young age where he wasn’t fully grown yet. So it was very costly to his family to keep getting new legs for when he substantially grew, which was often, he was a very tall young boy. The hospital became his new home after a while because his health condition kept getting worse and worse.

Every year the volleyball team has a cancer night, usually for breast cancer, but in 2011 it was livestrong night. Drew was a part of this organization and the night was dedicated to him. In between the games he gave a moving speech that made you want to help people in his same position.  That night really showed everyone how you can have a positive outlook on life even when you are dealt the crappiest cards. He always had a smile on his face and was a joy to be around. Drew Wall was like no other.

 He participated in swimming, and golf. He had a love for all sports but golf was one that he could still participate in and grow in his game even with his fake leg.  He went to many sporting events at the college level such as the Hawkeyes football and basketball team and grew a strong relationship with them.  At his visitation there was a display of a huge poster with all the football players’ signatures and a few game balls from their season. There were also photos of him on the sidelines at the games. What a lucky guy. He even got to meet Kirk Farenz at a lunch for other children fighting the battle of cancer.

Attending the visitation I got to see all the things that this child has accomplished during his short life, and it was more than most people will be able to do in a lifetime. He trained in tyquando and reached the brown belt, the one right before the black belt. During his visitation his instructor placed a black belt with his name embroidered on it and a huge plaque with a certificate giving him his black belt. He had to stop going to the sessions because he didn’t have enough energy and it wasn’t healthy for him. He also rode in a few livestrong bike races with a few famous cyclists.  There were all his awards that he had accomplished pertaining to academics and they were astonishing. He had the time to maintain a 4.0 and get a 5 on the AP Human Geography while being so busy with everything else and fighting his battle.

The funeral was one of the most touching. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. The Happiness group sang some songs in his remembrance. Many people spoke during the service including his golf coach and his grandfather who had a hard time talking with all the emotions running through him. The whole golf and swimming team attended. All of his friends and family were there to support his family. Dealing with the death of a loved one is not easy at all, my prayers and thoughts go out to his family. It is rough.

The death of a child is a very sad time. It was so wonderful to see how everyone on twitter and throughout the whole community comes together after the loss of such an amazing guy. If you had a chance to look through twitter the night he passed, every tweet at something about Drew in it. We got #DrewWall to trend and even got famous people to retweet us. Even livestrong retweeted some of our tweets. People from all over, all different schools and all over the country joined in to mourn the loss. Nike is doing something that is very kind to the Wall family and Kennedy High School. They are giving the whole basketball team purple shoes of their choice for the cancer night that is going to be all about Drew and donating 5,000 to the Wall family.

This was a very special boy, he touched many hearts and he is now in heaven with his Father. He is out of pain and will be missed by all. Thank you Drew for all that you did. (837)

Kennedy Volleyball Season

 

                Kennedy volleyball has been a big competitor for the past 6 years. Coach Michelle Goodall has been coaching varsity volleyball for 15 years at Kennedy. She played college ball and volleyball has been a part of her life since she was little. Her day job is with the national volleyball association and oversees the beach volleyball and boys leagues on the west coast and in the Midwest. When it comes to volleyball she knows her stuff. Goodall is assisted by Tim Johnson and together they have been very successful. They bounce off each other nicely and really become our mother and father from August to October.  We are with them more than we are with our own families. They have taken this program and made it one that is known.

                This season the girls volleyball team was ranked number 2 going into the season and had some tough losses at the beginning to the number 1 ranked team, Iowa City High, and a huge competitor Dubuque Hempstead.   Getting those loses knocked us out of the rankings right away, making it a battle to climb back to the top.  The coaches let us know that they were very disappointed in us and showed us their weakness. To be honest it probably was because this group of girls has never played with each other and they have been blessed with tremendous talent that took over in the past and that spark wasn’t there this year. D1 talent had graduated and we were left with D2 D3 material to work with and the coaches weren’t used to having to actually having to work with the players to improve them. Another obstacle that was put upon us was that there were 7 freshmen on the team.

                With all the obstacles given to the coaches we didn’t make it to the state tournament this year, making it the first year in 5 years that Kennedy didn’t qualify. It was sad to be over, but better luck next year.  (333)

Presidental Election

As we all know the presidential election this year was a head to head race between the current President Obama and the Republican candidate Mitt Romney. They both have very good attributes that would make them substantial presidents, yet they are different.  This campaign season was different from all the rest, just adding to the difficulty to choose who will be the next president.

The main difference between the two candidates is that one is a Democrat and the other is a Republican.  That then divides them about certain issues right off the bat. An example would be abortion; Obama was for it while the conservative Romney was against it because he believes that life begins at conception. The road was more difficult for Romney because Obama had his time to shine in his four years of presidency and people were already used to his policies and some liked what he was doing with America. The lower class and people who were having a hard time finding jobs were really in favor of him because he was spreading the wealth around and giving them money. Romney needed to come up with a convincing plan that people would like just as much, if not more than Obamas plan.

Some of the major issues that both people faced were unemployment, the fiscal cliff, the destruction that was going on in Israel, and the national debt. This is not something easy to be given right off the bat to a new president. But then again Obama had his chance to change these and people saw his progress.

My economics teacher predicted that Romney would win because of the undecided vote, but he was wrong. Obama won, yet in each state it was down to the nitty gritty. (294)

Christmas Spirit

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Families get together to spend time together and exchange gifts. It is a time of year where the motto “It is better to give than to receive” is prominent and high spirits are everywhere. Little kids getting excited for Santa Clause to come, indulging in the traditions taught by their parents. Christmas is a favorite holiday for many people, is it yours?

When you were a child there were many stories told to you about Christmas and all the things that go along with it. They range from Rudolph the red nose rain deer to the angry Grinch that stole Christmas. All the Christmas Eve antics that you must complete before you go to bed are set in as soon as you are able to understand what the heck is going on. These would be setting out cookies for Santa Clause and his helper elves, as well as leaving carrots for his rein deer.  Your parents may say that if you don’t complete these tasks you will not get presents from Santa.

The naughty or nice list is one of those things that you want to make sure you are on Santa’s good side because you always want to be on the nice list. If you are stuck on the naughty list you will only receive coal in your stocking; something no one wants.  Parents seem to hold the naughty or nice list over your head when you seem to be misbehaving. They threaten to tell Santa even, and then you know you are screwed.

For my family Christmas means putting up decorations all over the house as a family with the holiday music filling the house. Then you have to conquer the tree…so many ornaments. But first before we can fix the tree up, we have to pick out the tree that is just the right height and fullness. We happen to have high ceilings in our home so we typically get a huge tree. When it first arrives to the house and you walk into those front steps you get hit with the smell of fresh bristles and pine tree, the smell that indicates that the season is here and it is time to cheer!

Families come together at these times and it reminds them that family is forever. Aside from all the distractions that life has to bring you, you will still have the holidays and family to keep you going through it. In my family all the aunts, uncles, and cousins gather at my grandparents’ house on Christmas Eve to rest together then wake up the next morning to rip through all the gifts that everyone has to give. Even though all the little kids are spoiled, we have to be thankful for everything that we receive. Next year will be the first year I will be off to college and get to come home for all the Christmas joy, I have a feeling that I will be more thankful than ever and be happy to see everyone just a little bit more next year.

Some families don’t celebrate Christmas, if they have different religious beliefs they might celebrate in a different way such as Hanukah or Cuanza. They don’t have all the little stories or imaginary things like Santa.  The feeling is still present.

Christmas is the best times of year; you get a refreshing two weeks off and get to celebrate it in the Christmas spirit. No wonder it is everyone’s favorite holiday. But we can’t forget what the real story is all about though. The Jesus Christmas story of his birth in a manger, with all the wise men coming to give him gifts is what it is all about. (627)