My Sophomore Year

    I didn't really enjoy my sophomore year. My teachers were all boring except for like three of them. The only good part about my year has been volleyball and I don't think that that counts as school work. I have been in all accelerated classes. I kind of enjoy them but it sucks because I don't get any credit for them and it only counts as another class like anybody else.

    The only fun thing that I can think of that I have done this year in school is being in show choir. I like show choir but sometimes it annoys me. When the play is going into affect, the choir teacher decides to work on the play instead of preparing us for the show choir concert.

    I can't wait for my junior year. I am hoping that school will be more enjoyable next year and that I will be in the top fifteen of my class again like I was last year. One can only hope and pray for summer vacation to get here faster.

Summer Plans

    Summer break is so close to getting here but it is taking forever. This school year has been way to much. I'm in all accelerated classes that I don't even get credit for and I do club volleyball and school volleyball. It's hard to juggle everything and still do well in school.

    This summer my family and I are supposed to be going to St. Augustine, Florida. It's one of the oldest cities in the country. If we end up going I want to ride a horse on the beach at sunset or super early in the morning. I love summer break. It's always so much fun and soooooooo relaxing.

   I really need a break from school. I think that school is just add on stress that most kids do not need (if they have a schedule like me). This summer my goal is to get a really good tan and to come back next school year with a whole new attitude. I want school to be fun but it's kind of hard to do when we never have pep rally's and only one maybe two dances the entire school year.

Summer Break Could You Get Here Faster!?!?!?

    This school year has been the worst for me. I started out my first six weeks not even remembering anything from freshman year. That is probably why I was completely lost in all of my classes. This year I was in all accelerated classes and it sucks.

   Most people say to me that I should be greatful for being in the accelerated classes. But why should I when I don't get credit for it on report cards? I think that the people who are in accelerated classes should get credit for it and should be recognized for it. On our grade cards the class should be listed with "honors" or "gifted" beside it.

    At FHHS, the principle and others say that they don't list the accelerated or gifted classes because other students who aren't in accelerated or gifted classes feel bad about themselves. I think that if accelerated classes were listed on grade cardes that it would push the other students to do just as well, not make them feel bad.

Golden Retrievers and Hip Dysplasia

    My golden retirever, Jasper has hip dysplasia. Hip dysplasia is very common in golden retrievers and in most dogs. Jasper has the worst hip dysplasia that the vet has ever seen. Hip dysplasia is an abnormal formation of the hip socket that, in its more severe form, can eventually cause crippling lameness and painful arthritis of the joints. It is a polygenic trait, that is affected by environmental factors in the production of the final phenotype.

    We figured out that he had hip dysplasia on a weekend in September. I woke up and my mom was crying and I heard Jasper barking like crazy in the back yard. I asked my mom what was wrong and she told me that we might have to put Jasper down. When she told me that, I started crying too and got really scared for him.

    I went outside to see what was wrong with him and found out that he couldn't get up. I started coaxing him and begging him to get up but he wouldn't. After trying for a very long time, I called my dad to come home and see if he could do anything. When my dad got home it only took him two tries to get Jasper up and walking. After that my mom and dad took him to the vet and got him checked out. I think that had to be one of the most saddest days of my life so far.

The Invisible Killer! Oh NOOOOOO!!!

    Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is colorless, tasteless, odorless and sickens almost four billion and kills over two million people each year. Most deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO, but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide don't end here. Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion may include excessive sweating and urination, and possibly a bloated feeling, nausea, vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance.

    Dihydrogen Monoxide:
   

• is also known as hydroxyl acid, and is the major component of acid rain.
• contributes to the "greenhouse effect."
• may cause severe burns.
• contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
• accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.
• may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.
• has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.
• contamination has been found in all floodwaters where death has occurred and violent thunderstorm rains containing destructive lightning.
• changing from crystalline to liquid is a leading cause of the destruction of arctic ice and glaciers.

Despite the dangerm DHMO is used:

as an industrial solvent and coolant.

in nuclear power plants.

in the production of styrofoam.

as a fire retardant.

in many forms of cruel animal research.

in the distribution of pesticides. Even after washing, produce remains contaminated by this chemical.

as an additive in certain "junk-foods" and other food products.

to dissolve medicines before giving them to children and older adults.

    Quantities of dihydrogen monoxide have been found in almost every stream, lake, and resercoir in America today. But the pollution is global, and the contaminant has even been found in Antarctic ice. DHMO has caused millions of dollars or property damage in the midwest, and recently California. DHMO contamination is even found in most cells in the human body.

The Horror Must Be Stopped!!!!

Lost Boys

    The video that the class watched was very interesting and sad in a way. I could not imagine being taken away from my family at the ages of seven and eight. I could not even think about walking so many miles at that age either.

    Why would people want to go out and kill little boys? That is just cruel and in-human. I feel that the people going out and trying to find and kill the boys are acting on a type of genocide. I still can't believe that people would want to go out and kill people especially little boys.

    The two men who spoke in the video have great survival skills and methods. The way they walked for hundreds of miles a day and still managed to stay alive is amazing. Being in Africa and walking with all of the dangerous animals that live there is a challenge in itself.

    I have great respect for those two men. I know that I could not have done what they did and lived through it. I don't even think I could walk as much as they did.

Dig900 Green (but our uniforms are turquis)

    Dig900 Green is my club volleyball team. My team is the third best team in the whole sixteens division in Ohio.  So far my team has had only one tournament and we have only lost one match against this in-human team from Canada. The shortest person on the Canadian team was 5'9.

    When you are short like me, Ashley, 5'9 is ridiculously tall for a teenage girl. I don't think it is unusual for teenage girls to be six feet tall or taller in Canada. Anyways, at the tournament the people played the United States national anthem and the Canadian national anthem. I enjoy "O' Canada".

    When we have tournaments, we have to be there at the crack of dawn. We usually have to be there around seven or eight. Pool play usually starts around 8:30 or 9 depending on what tournament your at and what time you get there. Tournaments are probably one of my favorite things in the whole world. They are really fun and if your angry you can get all the anger and frustration out. Okay so world, and whoever reads this, try some volleyball in your spare time, its great exercise and you can get really cool scars that are like tattoos but they have better stories!!

Why Its Good To Remember Things

     It's good to remember things because aparently the solo concert is tonight and I had no idea that it was in fact tonight. So at the moment I am freaking out because I have no idea what I am going to wear or what shoes I'm going to wear or what I am going to do with my hair. I thought that the concert was going to be next week but boy was I wrong.

    I am usually the person that remembers everything but all of the stress of school and other dramas gets me completely side tracked. It totally sucks and I think I might go into an anxiety attack. At the moment I believe that I need to higher a personal assistant to help me remember things. Maybe that would keep me on track.

    It's good to remember things if your a very busy person like me. I am in volleyball and have to remember when I have practice and tournaments. I am in choir and have to remember when there is a rehersal or concerts. I have to remember to do school work all in the midst of this. This is why it's a good to remember things.

Show Choir

    Show choir is so much fun when we don't talk about the play because we won't get anything done. In show choir, we sing some days and then make up choreography for the songs on other days. Sometimes we will even sing a few songs and then work on the dance moves for them all in one day. That only happens when we are way behind though and those are the "work out days" as I call them.

    If you want to do show choir you have to be super dedicated to it. You have to put a lot of energy and time and memorization and practice into everything you do. If you don't you probably won't get to perform in the concert and it will effect your grade for sure.

    I think that show choir is for someone who is creative and full of ideas and ready to do something out of the ordinary. My favorite part of show choir is picking out new songs and making up dance moves for them. It may take a bunch of time and you may get brain farts but once I get moving, my creative juices start flowing. I think that more people should be interested in show choir and the whole concept of it.

Club Volleyball

    This club season I will be playing for Dig900. I am very excited for this season because I will be on the gold bracket team. Being on the gold bracket team means a lot. Since I will be on the gold bracket team, I will be looked at by more colleges that are very good in their sports area thingy.

    Last club season I was on a team that was okay. We would always win silver or we would get so close and just give up. This season I can't wait because my team is very skilled and very, very well rounded. I have been in tournaments with this team so many times I know how they work and how they play with each other. I hope that they will except a new player like me.

    I hope to win at least eight of our ten tournaments this season. I say this because like I said before, my team is very good. I think that winning eight of ten tournaments is a very good goal for my team. I absolutley can not wait for volleyball to start. I am so excited and hope to gain good friends and another good volleyball experience as well as being looked at by colleges. Hopefully division one but that is only in my dreams. Maybe they will come true. Anything can happen!!

Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! and Insects.

 

   Never, ever, ever, never would I eat a bug/insect. There icky and disgusting. Why would someone want to eat a bug when they have no idea what its been on and what it has ate. If I was to ever try a bug (which I won't), I think I might throw up or pass out.

    Marcel said he was a vegetarian. What I want to know is how can he be a vegetarian when he eats bugs? Aren't bugs a form of meat? I  thought so. Well I guess that's not important right now.

    Marcel talked about bugs being a delicacy. When I heard him say that I thought "Eeeewwwwiiieee!! Never in my life!". But I guess when you live in a third world country you got to take what you can get. I still would never eat a bug. Ick!

'Tis The Season

I can't wait for Christmas break. My mother however can. For some reason she cannot stand Christmas time at all. She told me that she likes the church part of Christmas but all of the other stuff she hates. She hates the wrapping, the buying, the baking, the cooking and anything else that happens during the season.

I love Christmas time. It is my second favorite time of year. My first is Fall but I already told you about that. Anyways I like Christmas. I like it because of the snow and people pretty much seem happy, unless they're Scrooges like my mother! I just ignore her complaining the whole season. Ha!

I like the church part of Christmas just as well as my mom does. We are both in the choir and each year around this time we put on a musical for the whole church. This weekend, we are opening the new sanctuary with the musical. I personnaly can't wait. It should be pretty cool and our choir is truly the best out there.

So if anyone out there would like to come and experience this amazingly amazing choir, come join us in opening our new sanctuary at Cypress Weslyean Church on Alton and Darby Road in Galloway. I'm so sure you will leave the church refreshed and renewed and will want to experience more!

Tennessee Road Trip!!!

 

 I can't wait for Thanksgiving Break. My family and I will be home the first two days of break so we can cook and eat. But on Friday we're all getting up early and going to Pigeonfordge, Tennessee. We are going to Tennessee because my mommy wants to go to Dollywood and I would like to go to the Dixie Stampede's Christmas show.

   My mom and dad have been wanting to go to Dollywood around winter time because I guess it's supposed to be really super pretty. I'm kind of hoping that it will snow while we are down there. I like to see the mountains covered in snow. I am so ready for the car trip down there. I just love the scenery!

   The only down fall to this trip is that I have to get up at the crack of dawn on Friday so we can get to Tennessee on time. I'm kind of hoping that since it will be Black Friday, not everybody will be on the roads going places. I hate bumper to bumper traffic!

   I think the ride down will be quit uncomfortable. I'm only saying that because we're going to have three people crammed in the backseat of our car. Not very fun for a car trip thats more than five hours long! I hope I'll survive. My younger sister DOES NOT travel well at all. She always asks if we're almost there like every five minutes. It gets annoying by the time we're in Circleville, Ohio and I'm on the verge of basically throwing her out of the window. Oh well I still can't wait for the road trip it's going to be so much fun!!

Thanksgiving

  I can't wait for this Thanksgiving. My older sister is supposed to come over and her three kids. Her boyfriend Andy is supposed to be coming too. My older sister is really my half sister. She lives in Wellsburg, West Virginia. I don't get to see her often because she works all of the time and because of how far away she lives.

   I love my neices and nephew. My oldest niece is Raegann. She is five years old and is a diva. My second oldest niece is Madison. She is three years old and is crazy as could be. My third and youngest nephew is Jacek. He is two years old and is the cutest little guy you will ever see.
   They all came over for Thanksgiving about two or three years ago. It was so much fun and we made plans for Christmas and New Years. Everybody had a blast and wanted to do it again. I can't wait to stay up late with her and catch up like we always do. I just wish she lived closer to us so we could hang out a lot more. I love them all so very much and like to hang out with them.

Hungry Hungry Hungry........

    I thought the video was pretty cool. I felt kind of sorry for the kid in the video. I can't remember what his name was or what he is suffering from. I do know that he wants to eat all of the time and he is special.
    His dad looked like he was exhausted and that sometimes he doesn't know how to handle his son. I couldn't imagine having to figure out what was wrong and trying to keep him under control. It would be extremely tiring. I know that I couldn't do it. You would have to put a lot of time into things that are very small.
    I thought the person who put the video together did a great job. I liked the beginning where she has the kid with the disorder saying "Hungry, Hungry, Hungry.." over and over again. I also liked how she took pictures of the two of them. I thought that her photography was awesome. I can't wait to be in a photography class next semester.

Halloween

   Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year other than my birthday. Just because I like Halloween so much does not mean that I worship the devil. The reason why I like Halloween so much is because I like all of the decorations and costumes and things. Especially the little kids that have very creative parents.

   My favorite month and season of the year is October and Fall. I like October because my birthday and Halloween is in this month. I like Fall because the leaves change color and I like the cold air. I love the way it feels on my skin.

  October is my mother's favorite month as well. She also likes Fall as well. My mother and I have a lot of things in common. She is like my best friend. I think it's funny that we also share the same frustrations. It's hilarious when we're watching a game and we scream the same thing.

  I can't wair for beggars night. Yes even though I am 16 I still love to go trick-or-treating. My boyfriend and I are going out as Thing 1 and Thing 2. We might even dress up as each other or hippies or something funny like that. Anyways, I can't wait untill Halloween night so I can watch ghost movies and eat all of my candy that I got!!

People Just Don't Care

    The only reason why the Earth is suffering is because people just don't care. Some people may care but they probably don't have the time or money to help save the Earth. If naturalists want us to help they should think about making the things less expensive so more people will help.

    I liked the video only because it was an eye opener. I never knew how much plastic people used. It was a lot. When I was watching the video, I noticed all of the trash in the rivers and oceans and things. That whole time I was thinking to myself "Is it that hard to take your trash to a garbage can or recycling bin?"

    My mom is starting to make us recycle. I think it's cool that we are recycling because it makes me feel like we are helping the Earth and making it a better, healthier place to live. In the video, I couldn't belive all of the birds that eat plastic and trash. The turle picture wanted to make me cry. I thought that was really sad.

Post Traumatic Stess from War

    I thought that the video was well put together. It really opened my eyes and I'm sure that it opened others' as well. Most people probably don't know how much goes on over in the war. I know that I don't. All that I know is that it can really mess a person up.

    My grandpa was in the Vietnam war. He was over in Vietnam for a long time, considering that's what my mom says. My mom said that while he was away it was a really hard time for her and the rest of her family. When he got back, my mom said that he would wake up screaming in the middle of the night and crying. My grandpa has this issue where he shakes all of the time and it's hard for him to eat because of that. He shakes really bad and has to take medicine for it. He has went to the doctors' and they can't find anything wrong with him. My mom thinks that it's just from being at war for such a long time.

    My moms' friend Nicole is going to Iraq in November. She will be gone for seven and a half months. She is also in the Airforce. When she deports, she will go to Iraq and do office type work. Even though she will be working in an office, she will have to carry guns and ammo on her. The other day she said that the places she is going to work get bombed every now and then. Right now, I'm terrified for her. I asked her if she was nervous in going to Iraq, but she said that she was but then she got informed that she could carry guns and ammo and a lot of other cool artillery.

Volleyball Against Watkins Memorial

Thursday night the volleyball team had a home game against Watkins Memorial. Junior Varsity and Varsity had just finished warming up the Freshman team. They were already on the court, in their positions and ready to play. The official blew the first whistle and the opposing team served.
 Suddenly the standing official blew his whistle like crazy and the Athletic Director told him there was a tornado warning and that both teams and everybody in the gym had to go into the locker rooms. The parents had to go into the hallway and "take cover". We were all sitting in the Varsity locker room when coach came in. Coach DeWalt said that the tornado was expected to hit the school at 5:55 pm.
 When she gave the team this news we all started panicking and calling people we knew to tell them about it. Some of us even started crying. I started praying and kept repeating "Please don't let there be a tornado..." in my head. When the warning expired I was so greatful.

 After all of that drama, we still had all three games. The freshman ended up beating Watkins Memorial. Junior Varsity was close to winning. Varsity won three out of four games against them. All in all it was a very exciting night. I just hope nothing like the tornado warning thing ever happens again!

The Secret Life of the American Teenager

 

This t.v show started broadcasting about a year ago. Since then, it has become one of the most watched shows in the nation. Just about everyone who watches it loves it. When I first seen the comercials to it, I was so excited and couldn't wait to see it.
  The very first episode was awesome. I don't remember all of it but I do remember that the main character's sister (Ashley) was very relatable, for me anyways. The main character was Amy Juergens. She ended up getting pregnant at band camp. She was only going to be a freshman in high school too.
  So far there has been about three seasons of this show and I love it. I think it was in the second season of the show that Amy was going to give birth. Afte she gave birth to healthy baby boy, she still didn't have a name for the baby. Amy let her younger sister Ashley choose what the baby's name should be. Ashley chose to name the baby boy John Juergens.
  The father of Amy's baby boy was a drummer named Ricky. He was known for getting with a lot of girls. When Amy first found out she was pregnant she was not going to keep the baby. But now that she has decided to keep him, she is very happy and may even get back together with Ricky.

My Thoughts on Doll Face

When I first seen the video I was immediately hypnotised with it. I thought it was extremely cool and creepy at the same time. I liked how the beginning was. She had a porcelain doll face (hence the title). I thought she looked pretty without the makeup and color.
 I think the video was to represent that people change their personal features to become more like other people. I also believe that teenagers are the ones who get pulled in a lot by famous people and what their friends look like. I think that we all just want to look alike because we don't want to be judged by others for not looking like them or not having the "right" make-up or clothing.
 I believe that all people should be happy with how they look. I mean God gave them those certain characteristics that they may not like for a reason. I also think that if you change your appearance that it's kind of an insult to your parents. You do have their traits after all.
 All in all I thought that the video was inspirational and can really make people think about things like changing appearances and other things. I'd like to see other videos like Doll Face so people can think more about what they do instead of thinking first. Can't wait for the next blog!

My Summer Vacation

  

 This summer I went to Orlando, Florida and New Port Richey, Florida. When I was in Orlando, my family and me went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. At Islands of Adventure I got to see the new Harry Potter section. That was my favorite part of the whole park. While at that section I got to ride the new roller coaster called "The Flight of the Dragon".
  That roller coaster was so insane and so quick I got a headache after riding it. After riding "The Flight of the Dragon", my family and I rode the indoor roller coaster-ish ride called "Flight of the Broomsticks". (I think that's what it was called...). Well anyways while I was at the Harry Potter park, I had the privilege of drinking butter beer and pumpkin juice.I also got to eat chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts' every flavor beans, and chocolate wands.
  I got to go into the famous shops from the books and the movies. The only store i didn't get to go into was Olivander's. The line to get into that store was crazy and super long. My family and I went on a "tour" of the Harry Potter Castle. On the tour of Hogwarts, there were holograms of the three main characters, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I thought that was pretty cool.
 At the park I got three t-shirts. Two of them were "thing 1 and thing 2" shirts for me and my boyfriend Tylor. I got those from the Dr.Seuss section of "Islands of Adventure". I got my last t-shirt at the Harry Potter section. It says "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Orlando". I had tons of fun on my summer vacation and I really want to go back to the park when it will be less crowded.