PLN 27

School, for me, has never been something huge. I never really put 100% into my work, and I always had other things that I thought were more important. But now, after my first year at Arapahoe High School, I realized my mistake. I was wrong. School is the most important thing. It gets you places. It opens doors into the next steps of your life. Without school, people would get nowhere in life. You have to have an education to succeed. Yes, school is boring and I would much rather be doing something else, but in the long run, it is what will help me fulfill my dreams. I want to be a sports reporter or work on ESPN when I’m older, but I realized, that if I don’t start working harder in school, then this will never come true. My first semester was not my best. I know I can do so much better than that. So, next semester is a fresh start for me. I am going to do all of my assignments, study for all of my tests, and put 100% into all of my work. My goal is to get all A’s and B’s. I know if I do this I will make my family very proud. I love seeing my family happy, so if it is my grades that will please them, then I will put everything I can into my school work for them. I will not only raise my grades for them, but also for me. So by the end of high school, I will be on the right path to be a sports reporter. This next semester will be a great one. I can already tell.

PLN 26

After reading the article, “Santa, The Real Joy of Christmas,” I felt like a little kid again. The article says that Santa brings the happiness to Christmas; it’s not the presents, or the cookies, but the magic and imagination that Santa puts into little kids. When I was little, I remember sitting up in my bed, thinking about Santa and his reindeer. The thought of how he flew around the whole world in one night and delivered all the presents to every boy and girl fascinated me. I loved trying to stay awake and listening to “Santa’s” heavy footsteps in our family room above me. But sadly, my big brother ruined this for me. One day he told me that Santa wasn’t real. I was devastated. Christmas, for me, was no longer fun. All the imagination and magic that I once thought existed was gone. The amount of presents I received really didn’t matter anymore. I just wanted Santa to be real again. From this experience, and from growing up, I learned that no matter how old you are, it doesn’t matter how big your imagination is. There is nothing wrong with believing in Santa, because he truly is the one who brings the joy and magic back to Christmas.

PLN 24

In the article, “How Basketball Began,” it says that Dr. James Naismith created this game in 1891. It started in Massachusetts in a YMCA gym. The first game was played on December 21st. Naismith was given 2 weeks to invent an indoor game that would help a rowdy class to settle down during the winter. His idea was to bring soccer and lacrosse together instead of playing them outside. For me, I am very thankful that he invented this sport. Basketball is what I love doing. It’s what I do in my spare time and without him I wouldn’t have anything to do. My family is also very big on basketball. We are always talking about it at dinner or watching it whenever we are together.

PLN 25

In the article, “Global Warming,” it says that global warming has become such a big problem in the world. Yes, I agree with this. Our world is slowly falling apart. The ice caps are melting and more and more of the animals living in Antarctica are becoming extinct. Our world needs to do something about this. Whether it be changing our lifestyle or conserving energy, we need a change. I think that every person should try to drive less, use less electricity, and not burn fossil fuels, then this problem will eventually get better over time. If every person makes a little change, then the world will notice a difference.

PLN 23

In the article, “Carmelo’s Big Game,” it gives many reasons as to why Carmelo is an awesome player. It says that Carmelo is the leader of the Denver Nuggets. It states that without Carmelo, the Nuggets wouldn’t be a team. I disagree with this. I think Carmelo is an awesome player, but he is too cocky. He worries too much about himself rather than the actual game. I believe that Chauncey Billups is the Nuggets key player. He shoots, rebounds, and leads the team every game. Without him, the Nuggets would not be a complete team. He brings his team together and gets their minds ready for the game. He is also an awesome guy off the court. He helps the poor, young kids, and he sets a supreme role for all the kids that look up to him. Unlike Carmelo Anthony, who got caught got doing some bad things, Chauncey shows all the kids what the NBA Is truly about. It’s not about the drugs and drinking that Carmelo displays, but it is about hard work, determination and drive. That’s what gets you places. He portrays these things on and off the court. This is what makes him such a valuable player. The amount of points a player scores is not what people should be concerned about. They should pay more attention to the type of person they are, and how they carry themselves on the floor. If a player carries themselves very arrogantly and they do stupid things off the court like Carmelo does, they should be looked down upon. But if the player is smart, plays hard, carries themselves confidently but not arrogantly, like Chauncey does, then they should be the ones getting all the spotlight. They are the ones that are truly working hard. These kinds of people have their minds and hearts in the right place.

PLN 21

Everybody feels pain; mentally and physically. Physical pain is on the outside and can heal. Mental pain, sticks with you. Sometimes, pain builds up to be too much to handle. I know people say that pain can be tucked away by distracting yourself, or thinking positively, but this is not always true. Yes, it may help, but deep down, there raises a pain so ridicule and so unbarring that there is nothing that you can do to stop it. Sadly, I do not know this from the countless psychology articles I have read, or the heartbreaking stories you read in the news, I know this from my own self-experience. Whether it be broken relationships, a broken heart, or a broken family, everyone goes through something that’s hard on them. In the article, “Jaycee Lee Dugard and Other Kidnapping Stories Where the Missing Child was Found Alive,” it talks about a little girl who got kidnapped at age 11 and was not found until age 29. Her family told the writers of the article how devastated they were. They said their hearts were literally broken in half. I know I am not able to understand the pain that Jaycee’s family was going through, but I know that I have felt the pain of losing a friend. It’s not easy. You feel like your second half is missing. You feel as if you’re not complete and something huge is missing. I know this is nothing compared to Jaycee’s story, but sometimes even the littlest of pain can feel as if your heart was “literally broken in half.”

PLN 20

The United States is said to be one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but yet it is one of the unhealthiest countries in the world. In the article, “Obesity In America,” it asks the question, why American people? What do we do that is so different than the rest of the world? I believe that the reason Americans are so obese is because the lifestyle is very poor. People are falling back on microwave dinners and fast food sprees. This is instead of eating a pure diet, with wholesome foods that will keep your weight under control. Also, technology is being advanced in the food department. More and more food is being processed, and we have found ways to produce food in mass quantities that make it last longer and taste better. Throughout this process, food is being lost. These machines highly process the foods; load them with sugar, and oils. If this were to continue, America in the long-run will definitely be the most obese country in the world, by far. To solve this problem, I think we should set a law that everyone in the United States must work out at least an hour every day. This will lower the obesity in the country and it will also help people live longer. The article also says that America is one of few countries that is least knowledgeable about nutrition. This, I think, is absolutely ridiculous. This shows that majority of America don’t care about their own health and the health of others. People need to take matters into their own hands and do something about this problem. This will help America become a cleaner, healthier, stronger country. Death rates would go down and people would live longer and happier lives.