High School: Being a Freshman.

Thank you Wes LaFleur for the idea: High School: Being a Freshman. There is a lot that can be said about any high school subject, but first and foremost I am going to say for those of you who are indeed going to be freshmen next year... High school is way, way better than middle school.

Now some of you may have fears about making the step from the small pond to the ocean, but really it's not that bad. All the movies that take place in high schools are all very false portrayals. When I was a freshman I had no problems with being hazed or bullied. And actually everything was great after my first few days of not knowing exactly where I was going in such a large building.

For those of you who play sports, high school is a much different story than middle school. In middle school any scrub can play any sport they want and many kids just do sports to socialize. While socializing is still a major part of any high school sport, the majority of the people on the teams as you get older actually take the sport seriously which is a much better environment to succeed. In high school my XC and Track teams were very serious competitors, but a ton of fun as well. I dunno if I would have made it through everything during my high school years without the, "Cadillac Crew," or rather my friends I made from the team. They were my closest my family and still are to this day.

Pretty much, being a freshman is nothing to fear or anything to worry about. It's just another year of school, but much better than the middle school years. There are more events to attend and many more people to meet. Everybody finds their crowd and their niche in high school. Good luck to all of you!

I will continue posting more about high school later as right now I have to go meet some people at Upland and Scholar's Inn. Please post topics and questions regarding high school if you have any! Thanks!

::Grumble. Grumble:: I'm bored.

Alright sooo I haven't posted in quite a while... And I can't think of anything interesting to talk about since I started writing at hubpages.com instead. But if anybody has any sort of topic they want me to rant about or any question just ask! Or facebook it to me!

Sneaking Out...

Okay kiddos it's been a while again since I posted, but I'm bored and YMCA Camp begins tomorrow so I can't go out late. Tonight's topic is going to be on, sneaking out:

So, every teenager wants their freedom and the ability to do whatever they want when they want. I wanted to as well when I was in middle school and high school and I must admit I did my fair share of sneaking out. But I just want to say it isn't the best idea, there is a curfew for teenagers for a reason. I for one have two stories that were rather bad from times when I snuck out with friends.

First one was couple friends and I in middle school I believe snuck out sometime after midnight to go ding dong ditching (we were out in Unionville) and after a few successful ding dong ditches we came to a house and rang the doorbell and it just so happened some drunken idiot was pulling into that driveway in his truck and saw us running away. He got out of his truck yelled at us and grabbed his gun out of the back of his pickup and also threatened to call the police. Yeah, that wasn't fun...

Second story was when I was a junior in high school I snuck out at 2am or so to go for a late night run and when I was on my way home near the woods by Jackson Creek I was followed all the way home by a creepy ass truck that was obviously keeping pace with me. I saw it pass my house slowly multiple times after I had gotten home too. That wasn't fun either...

My main point here is, the darkness of night can be dangerous and people need to be careful especially girls. We really don't need another missing person like how Lauren Spierer just went missing a week ago. She was out walking at 4am alone, really not smart on her part or her friends that let her leave. There are lots of strange and really creepy people in the world who will act on impulse if provided the situation to do so. I know I sound like a hypocrite since I used to sneak out and I know tons and tons of kids do and will, but just think about it first and be careful.

Extracurricular Activities and Sports

I realized that I am not going to be sleeping anytime soon with how hot it is in my room tonight even with the AC blaring and three fans doing work in my room. So, I decided to write another post since I've been slacking lately. I want to discuss Extracurricular Activities and Sports:

First I want to point out that kids that become deeply involved with a sport or some sort of activity like music are much less likely to find trouble as they grow up. This is because we'll use my sport as an example: running takes up so much time that there is little time left to have a social life so to speak. Now I know many people your age hate the sound of that and don't understand, but this is not a bad thing at all. I think a problem most teens have is they have too much spare/free time and don't have enough stimulating activities in their lives to keep them occupied which is why many find themselves doing things they really shouldn't.

At this age (young teens) however it seems like many people do try different extracurricular activities and sports especially as they are trying to figure out what they like and who they are. But come on, most people just do it for the social aspect and really don't give two shits about the sport they are partaking in. Look at middle school track for example, I guarantee most people that go out for track are only there to socialize because they realize it is a coed sport and think it's just a time where they can screw around and let their hormones run wild. But I guess they are at least during that short period after school doing something. However those kinds of kids are the ones that have too much time and also think they are really doing a sport hardcore and think they are awesome. Totally untrue, very few kids actually understand at this age what true participation in a sport really is and what it requires.

For example in high school multiple times a week I was doing two a day practices, both before and after school. And in any given day we could run up to close to 20 miles (including warmups and cool downs) if it was a distance day or on speed days do workouts like 8 repeat miles on an 7 minute cycle, 10 repeat kilometers (1,000 meters) on a 4 minute cycle, or even 20 repeat quarters (400 meters on the track) on a 2 minute cycle. With so much work there is little time let to socialize outside of your sport. But what I came to realize is, is that my sport was recreational. My friends in XC and track with me became my family and even outside of school and practice when I had some time to hangout it was usually with them while others were off doing "bad things." I dunno where I'm really going with this now since I'm getting really tired and my coherence is severely plummeting as I continue to type...

But what I'm trying to imply here is that kids should become involved with something and really invest time and effort into it, it will pay off. Studies show that kids that are deeply involved with a sport or something are much more likely to succeed later in life as they learn the skills of dedication and hard work. It also just simply keeps them out of trouble most of the time, due to the lack of free time if that makes sense. It just disallows kids like that to have the opportunity to make stupid decisions.

Age Restrictions: @ The Movies

Alright I haven't posted in a little while and instead of cleaning my bathroom and doing laundry today I've decided to blabber. Recently a student told me about how she and some friends were kicked out of the movies for being in an R rated movie without an adult present.

Okay, so there are lots of things I disagree with that teens do. But this is ridiculous, kids watch R rated stuff on television all the time. I would consider a TV show like Jersey Shore to be R rated content wise as well as many others that appeal to teens and young adults. I realize R means you need to be 17 to purchase the tickets, but this person's parent or guardian bought the tickets for them. Which means they had consent to see the film and plus who wants their parents sitting around next to them when hanging with friends? Obviously that ticket taker or w/e at the movie theater hates their life and had nothing better to do than harass people younger than him/her to seek satisfaction with themselves.

I just think that this is a bit extreme, going to the movies is one of the only things kids can do in this godforsaken town and going to see a PG-13 or R rated movie is SOOOO much better than going to that Club Envy shithole or to house parties of fornication. Please movie theater peoples don't discourage kids from going places like the movies, it's a safe activity for them and much better than other things they can do to occupy their time with these days. Those bastards.

Hell if I need to I can sit in the movie theater and be like, "YO, THESE ARE GOOD KIDS AND I BOUGHT THEM THE TICKETS! LOOK AT MY SEXY ID AND I AM PRESENT SITTING AROUND HERE, SO THERE IS A RESPONSIBLE ADULT ABOUT! SO, KISS MY ASS AND LEAVE THEM ALONE!"

/babbling over

WTF is Club Envy?

I was bored and have shit for brains now after Java-ing for about 7 and a half hours since 10am this morning. And I've heard about this before at work, and this afternoon came across it on FB. What in the hell is Club Envy exactly? To me it just looks like a slut club for teenagers, is this really necessary? In all honesty it looks just like Kilroy's Sports on North Walnut and well, that isn't a type of environment that needs to be fed to young people.

I will admit though, I do like going out and I love Sports and other bars like Brother's etc. And the party culture that Bloomington has due to IU is surely appealing to youngsters-- the idea of staying out all night dancing the night away with friends and what not. But my point here is I'm 24 years old and I view myself as a responsible and well rounded adult at this point in my life. However it has taken me forever to find myself, I really don't think I would have considered myself a "mature adult" until I was 22 and people since high school have always told me how mature I was for my age. Nothing against you kids, but very, very few of you have any idea about much at this point. I sure as hell didn't when I was in middle school and high school, I thought I did, but had no idea. This just seems like a bad idea and I dunno why a business like this is even allowed to be in existence, it's retarded.

Down with Club Envy, it looks like a cesspool of immaturity and ignorance at its finest.

Bored and wanting to rant... Need topics!

Sitting at Scholar's Bakehouse working on Java development and decided to take a look at my blog. I would like to get more followers and do another post. However I want my readers to give me my topics of things they want to discuss or have questions about. This isn't a blog for me, it's for my readers and followers.

So, please post topics and questions what YOU want to hear about! And also if you like my blog please share it with others or post a link to your FB or Twitter!

Thanks!

DoubleU Tee Eff?!

It's the month of May and just 30 some degrees outside. How crappy is that? I don't feel like doing anything today, but I suppose I should and have to.

Anyways, as for this blog I will not be posting anymore of my own topics for the time being. Please reply to THIS POST if you have a topic for me to write about. I am open to anything just try and keep it appropriate, as I said some things if I feel are over the top I will ignore them. But anything else I will make note of and post about due request!

My parents caught me _______! Oh wait, they don't care.

After a nice hot shower, I believe I have found 10 minutes of clarity tonight in which my head is clear enough from allergens (damn you spring time!) to form rational thoughts. So, here's my blog topic tonight: Parenting.

Pretty much my main question here is, what the hell is wrong with parents these days? I keep hearing about all these "parties" and "get togethers" that parents host for their teenagers every weekend. As if that isn't bad enough they then proceed to not even supervise them. Let me tell you, when I was in middle school I never was allowed to have a girl over or go over to a girl's house. And then in high school in those situations they were always heavily supervised.

Are that many parents totally oblivious to what their kids are doing during these little gatherings where 4 girls invite 12 boys over to their basement on a Friday or Saturday night? Parents are supposed to prevent these kinds of situations and be role models for their kids. Instead with T.V. and video games being the modern day babysitter, it's safe to say role models for kids are rather poor. Teen pregnancy and STD rates are on the rise as well as young alcoholics and drug abusers. Parents are supposed to teach their kids safe practices and the potential consequences of such actions, but it just seems like many don't care at all anymore. It's sad really.

All I can really say, as my sinus pressure and allergies are beginning to build back up is... Many parents nowadays are complete and utter failures at their most important job, raising sensible offspring. Oh, and for those of you (kids) who choose to engage in such activities, I hope you enjoy sharing herpes and mono with each other. I hear both are a lot of fun. Kudos!

My head is melting!

Today, my head is a total mess. Allergies suck. A lot. Enough said.

Post some responses with questions and topics you all want me to discuss. I have plenty of other ideas, but I want to appease my readers.

He loves me! He loves me not... He loves me! He loves me not...

Today's topic will begin to cover Middle School Relationships (will cover relationships at different ages as well later). There will be many more posts covering this topic and the different aspects of it, so here's my 2 cents, well maybe more like 74 cents since I could ramble about this stuff all day:

This post is mostly for the ladies or at least the perspective of it, as it seems that it's the girls especially that seek "relationships" from an early age. Today we grow up in a society that preaches the "Cinderella Story" or find "Mr. Prince Charming" to everybody. From a young age it seems to me at least that young girls especially are targeted by such fairy tales. Everybody seeks human affection and the feeling of being loved, but with such stories being instilled so early and the fact that girls mature earlier than boys do-- it's the inevitable that girls are going to be seeking relationships sooner and more often. Many relationships become traps for young women as well (this will have it's own post at some point).

I strongly believe that there is absolutely no point to being in a relationship in middle school. What do you even do? You can't drive to see each other or anything, the couple "dates" I went on in middle school were awkward because parents (modern day parenting is going to be a major topic at some point) were always around. And the rumors and drama at school and even outside school just weren't worth the headache. Most relationships I see and hear about only last a couple weeks if not only a couple days. Then people move onto somebody else and then often times rebound back to their ex only to break up with them again for some idiotic reason. The drama and rumors that circulate are also just absolutely absurd and cruel. Save yourself from the hurricane that is middle school dating! It's pointless!

Also, I bet hardly anybody this age would be able to tell me truly what a good/healthy relationship requires, especially the guys. No offense boys, but most young males only want one thing from their lady friends and only care about themselves... And unfortunately the desperation for attention from the girls can make this very easy for them to attain. There are many, many negative repercussions to these actions that I will get into later on. Another thing I hear a lot is young people saying, "I love you" to each other all the time. This annoys me as I can assure, young teens do not know the meaning of those 3 words and use them too loosely. Do you kids not realize your school is just a pond in a giant ocean filled with approximately 7 billion other people? You should never force relationships or be in a hurry to find one, the best things actually come to those who wait and who aren't necessarily looking all the time. Too many relationships are forced for whatever reason, no wonder the divorce rate in the U.S. is so high.

Point here is, just live your lives right now. Save yourselves from all this asinine drama provided by ignorance and immaturity and just have fun growing up. Young people want to grow up too fast nowadays and trust me, I was the same way, but now looking back I would do almost anything to relive some of my younger years. Treasure your youth as it only makes up about 1/3 of an average person's entire life. Don't soil it.

Are you too cool for school?

Okay, so may my rants begin! Today's topic is on, School and Education:

Nearly every student that talks to me or that I talk to tells me the same thing regarding public education. They hate it and never learn anything they feel is important to their future. To be honest with you, it's semi true. There isn't much that I "learned" throughout middle school and high school that I still use today on a normal basis. (ie. history or biological sciences) However, the reason for having to take classes in certain subject areas is so that you all become well rounded educated people and to expose you to something you may find great interest in and want to pursue later on. School is and can be very boring, but it's something everybody has to deal with. And remember school is actually a privilege, there are millions of uneducated people out there that would die for the opportunities given to us.

When I really think about it, some things I learned long ago I do use nearly everyday or at least often enough that it is important to pay attention. I just may not realize it. I am sure some things I picked up in school as a teenager like basic algebra, basic keyboarding and computer skills, good reading comprehension, critical thinking skills, an understanding of physics, etc. (all of which I deemed worthless at the time) are in fact helping me right now as I teach myself the Java language and how to program it.

Imagine where you'd be right now had you been able to just drop out of school after 6th grade or if you did after 8th grade? Or at the eligible age of 16 to drop out? You would lack the knowledge necessary in order to make your way into adulthood. Jobs would be severely limited to you and dropping out so young would make it very difficult and even embarrassing to go back to school.

While I do agree that public education is pretty terrible as a whole since people don't seem to realize that different students learn in different ways and often times school codes and structure aren't always in the student's best interest... I cannot stress enough how important it is to not totally blow off middle school and then graduate from high school and even go to college (we will get into this in a different post, times are changing and so is college education).

Point is, nobody is too cool for school so don't be a tool.

My First Post!

Okay guys and gals. Since many or perhaps even most of you that I talk to tell me repeatedly that you learn absolutely nothing of any value in school, this is for you. I think kids, especially teenagers these days need a true, "life skills" class. However, there is no such thing offered in school. So, how do you learn how to grow up to become savvy, responsible, and successful adults? That is what I am going to try and provide to you all with my blog. I will share my knowledge with all of you and maybe even some personal experiences to illustrate my points better.

Feel free to make comments on my posts! Please share and express your thoughts and opinions. Also, please feel free to ask me questions and give me ideas on what YOU want me to blog on as long as the context is kept appropriate!

Thanks! And if you enjoy my blog please subscribe and share it with others!