Outside reading

I recently watched the Christmas Shoes which is a story about a little boy that wants to buy a pair of shoes for his dying mom, Maggie Andrews and about a lawyer , Robert Layton, who is a workaholic trying to repair his marriage. Its really about two separate stories until the end when the families get meshed together by fate. The Christmas shoes does a good job telling the magic of Christmas and whats its really about. Christmas isn't about what you get and how much of it you get but that its about what you give and spending time with the ones you love. I think this movie has a really good message because the lawyer,Robert, took everything he had for granted until he saw the little boy try to buy the shoes for his mom but didn't have enough money so Robert gave him enough money to get the shoes. This good deed taught Robert that the littlest of things can make a big difference in someones life. It also taught him that the holidays are about spending time with loved ones and not about making tons of money. After fate brought this little boy into his life to teach him a lesson, Robert made changes in his life to become a better person and be with his family more. I think this movie is a great holiday movie with a good moral and also a great life lesson in general.

Outside reading

"Dogs are miracles with paws."Susan Kennedy. I have grown up with dogs my whole life and they really can do wonderful things. One of my dogs ,chance,that I have had since I was six is close to passing away and this quote had made me realize how much he is a part of my life and how much I love him. Chance is a black lab with a white star on his chest. My whole family believes that the star is there because he loves to be in the spot light. If you are petting another dog or doing something near him he will bark and bark until you pay attention to him. One of his favorite things is cake at birthday parites, when we sing the birthday song he will bark along to it. He does such a great job barking along that we reward him with a slice of cake afterwards. Dogs may not be able to talk or help around the house but they are such great companions that those things really dont matter, what matters is having them in your life. I believe that everyone deserves to have an animal in their life because they honestly are miracles with paws.

Outside reading

I recently read an article intitled "Facebook Users With Lots of Friends More Likely To Be Narcissists " where researchers looked at how the amount of friends a Facebook user has is coorilated with there sense of self importance. The researchers had hypothesized that users with a large amount of Facebook friends, usually over 1,000 would have a much higher degree of self importance and an inflated self image, compared to users that did not have as many Facebook friends. The researchers were right; those with a higher amount of Facebook friends were a lot more likely to be narcissistic than those with less Facebook friends. They interviewed there test subjects and studied there Facebook pages to come to this conclusion. I also have a facebook but i would not consider myself a narcissists because i feel facebook is a place to connect with friends not a place to boast about popularity. People blur the line between reality and the virtual world on facebook. There is no way you could look at someones profile and know what is really going on in their life because facebook allows poeple to candy coat the truth and make their lives look great by posting picture and videos that reflect that. I disagree that you should be considered a narcissist by what your profile reflects, it should be judged on your real life actions not virtual actions.

Outside reading

The article that I read is called The Myth of the Scholarship from the Star Tribune today, Sunday December 14. It is the first article in a three part series. I thought this article was very interesting because people are always talking about kids getting scholarships for athletics to college, but few people know the real story behind these scholarships. And, the real story is that most of these athletes just get a little money not a entire college scholarship. I thought that was interesting because in the article it says that many people believe that if a college is interested in you coming to play a sport for them that they pay your entire college costs. This article goes on to explain that this is just not true. The article highlights the reality of college sports scholarships and the exact number of how many are available and says that over 60 percent of college NCAA players do not receive any scholarship money at all. I thought the article was very interesting because whenever you hear about someone playing a sport in college then you assume that their entire tution is being covered by an athletic scholarship. I think it is good for parents and students to know that this is just not true with some of the less popular sports like baseball. The article said that talking about scholarships is similar to people talking about their salaries so that people never really get to know what other people are getting.

Outside reading

Today I read an article in the Pioneer press about a family that lives in Hugo who lives will never be the same. The dad is a dentists that was diagnosed with lymphoma and two months after that devastating news they found out the mom has a fatal disease called ALS which means amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Its really scary because both of these diseases are fatal. The mom has a quick progression of ALS and is paralyzed from the neck down. The dad has a two stem cell transplants and they find out in a month if the most recent one actually worked. These parents have two kids who are know twelve and fourteen who live with their grandmother in Edina. They held a benefit Sunday night for the family to raise money for medical bills. They are currently living on the generosity of family and friends because the parents have no way of making an income because they are so sick. My family has chosen to make a donation to help them during this holiday season if anyone else would like to make one the contact information is Houston Benefit Fund, 4700 Clark Ave., White Bear Lake, MN 55110

Outside reading

For my outside reading tonight im going to summarize a book i recently read. The Book i read is called Beach Blondes by Katherine Applegate. Summer Smith is just a normal girl that is from minnesota who goes to live with her cousin and aunt in their huge masion in Florida for the summer. Summers life in Minnesota is pretty normal and low key, she has a best friend named Jennifer Crosby whom she tells everyhing to , a crush on a boy that doesnt even know she exists and school work that seems endless. When summer arrives in Florida eveything seems to change. She ends up meeting three boys, Adam, Diver and Seth and making new friends. The only bad thing about being in Florida is that her aunt is an author so she travels a lot and is gone for most of the summer and she doesn't really get along with her cousin , Diana, but she learns how to deal with her and stay out of her way so they don't fight. Summer didn't realize how much three months could change her until she got back. She can't wait until next summer to come back and make new memoies and friends.

Outside reading

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning but anyone can start today and make a new ending.". I think this quote by Maria Robbinson is very real and inspirational. To me this quote means that no matter how many mistakes one has made or things one has done in life that they regret, one can always start over fresh. Starting a new chapter in life doesn't mean erasing the past, it means forgetting about the bad times and learning to accept the things that happened and the things that are unchangeable. A person can not go back in time and change things that didn't work out the way they wanted to or things that they regret. A person can however decide to change and live their life in a new way. There is always a new day and a chance to change.

Outside reading

For this outside reading I read an article about a walmart worker that got trampled and died. The worker was killed after opening the doors at 5 a.m. to a New York walmart for black friday sales. About 2,000 people were lined up outside the doors and when it was time to open the doors shoppers broke down the doors and pushed workers to the ground. The choatic shoppers killed a 34 year old man and injured four other people including a pregnant woman, who were all rushed to the hospital immediately after it happened. Even though the shoppers knew they had knocked people to ground they kept running to the sales. The walmart was closed for the rest of the day after the stampede happened and the police are still looking into the situation. Many workers around the country are claiming that they got injured from the shoppers of black friday sales too.

Outside reading

In chapter five of Lock and key Rubys sister, Cora, realized that Ruby didn't have any clothes to fit in at school. Cora gave Ruby $200 to go shopping and buy herself a new wardrobe. Ruby has never really had the chance or opprotunity to shop given her old situation. Ruby lived her old life just getting by on small amounts of cash and wearing clothes that she has had for most of her life. Ruby is so used to taking care of herself and surviving on her own that she isn't used to people just given her huge amounts of money and doesn't really know what to do. She was on her way to the mall and decides that she doesn't want to shop just yet but she wants to visit one of her friends from her old town. When she gets to her friends house she wants to talk to him about how Coras house isn't really her home and she how she feels like she doesn't belong, but instead she just makes small talk with him and tells him how she has to go shopping-something that she doesn't normally do. When Ruby got to the mall she didn't want to buy anything but knew she had to to please Cora so she bought two pairs of jeans, a sweater, a hoddie and five t-shirts. Ruby knew that these clothes wouldn't make her fit in but at least they would help.
I think that in that next few chapters Ruby will be surprised to find out that her new life isn't as bad as she thought it to be and that things will end up surprising her.

Outside reading

I decided to take a break reading lock and key because the book isnt very interesting. Instead I read an article from Cosmo girl December/January issue about a girl who saved her own life. This article was about a teen girl that was having severe back pains that caused her a lot of pain. She went to several doctors to try and find out what was causing the pain and they all said the same things like - you pulled a muscle, its from your period, and just basically blew her off, but she believed it was more complicated than that. She went on pain killers to dull the pain because it was so bad. After about four months of this horrible pain she decided to take matters into her own hands and try to figure out what was wrong with her. She went to a new doctor and made them take X-rays of her lower back where they hadn't taken X-rays before. When the X-ray results came back the doctors found a tumor that had grown on her spinal cord. The doctors were amazed she was still walking because of the location of the tumor. She had to have surgery to get it removed and is still recovering from it. If she hadn't made the doctors take the X-ray she could be paralized or even worse, dead.

Outside reading

Outside reading

In chapter three of lock and key Ruby starts her new school. Rubys new school is a private school and it is also the same school that Jamie went to when he was her age. Ruby is really nervous about starting school because it is the middle of the semester and she is used to going to a public school not a private school. Ruby is afraid of people finding out that she lives with her sister and not her mother and having to explain her living situation to others. She doesn't want people to treat her differently if they do find out. She just wants to be a normal teenager and fit in with the crowd. But to her surprise her first day at the new school actually goes pretty well. She ends up making friends with a boy named Nate who lives in her neighborhood and a girl named Olivia who ironically used to go to her old school and that made he feel better. Ruby now feels hopefully about going to this new school and she isn't as worried as she was before.

Outside reading

In chapter two of lock and key Ruby tries to escape from her living situation. She lives with her sister, Cora and her sisters husband ,Jamie. Ruby does not get along with her sister that well because of things that happened in the past. Ruby feels like she doesn't really belong and fit in at Coras house because it is nice and clean and she has things that Ruby didnt even know existed.Ruby feels so out of place and alone that she just wants to get away from everything and live on her own. One night Ruby gathers up her belongings and tries to run away from her sisters house. Ruby only gets as far as the fence before Rubys sisters husband, Jamie, catches her. It's a fluke that he catches her because he was walking the dog and the dog hears her and then runs to her. She's returns to their house with Jamie, but she is still really upset. She still wants to run away from them, really away from the pain that she is in becasue her life has been so messed up for so long she doens't even know what it's like to live in a family. I'm excited to read the next chapter and find out what ruby will do next.

Outside reading

For this quarter of outside reading I'm reading a book by Sarah Dessen called "Lock and Key." The first chapter of Lock and Key is about Ruby, who is the main charcter and her Mom. Ruby's Mom has a lot of issues and is not very responsible. She doesn't pay their rent on time, sometimes she doesn't come home at night, and she doesn't always pay the bills. Ruby is always worried and scared. Social Services finds out about Ruby's living situation and they take her to live with her sister that she hasn't seen for about ten years. Ruby's sister is married to a successful business man who has a lot of money, but Ruby isnt used to living the way they live. Ruby has to learn how to adapt to her new life, school and friends and to learn how to just be a kid again. She also has to learn how to have a relationship with her sister.

Outside reading

For this outside reading i read a quote by James Dean that says "Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today." I love this quote because it reminds me that you have to grasp life and have lots of fun while you can. I want to do things because I want to do them and experience them. I don't want to give up on my dreams because I am afraid of what might happen in the future. I think that when you have dreams you want to acheive, that is was keeps you going and makes you want to acheive more. I think that you have to move through life taking chances and making decisions that might take you out of your comfort zone because they could end up being the best thing for you when you look back at them later in your life. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that when one door closes many more open so live every moment and take chance because you never know when its too late.

Outside reading

For my outside reading today I read a quote that says "A rich person is not one who has the most but the one who needs the least." To me this quote means that in order to be "rich" you don't have to have tons of money or lots of materal things. You just have to take what you have and appreciate it. The things in life that make you rich aren't cars , clothes or money but the relationships you have and the good times you share together. I think that people forget that what makes us truly "rich" is the connections we make with other people and the way that we feel about ourselves. It is not the new TV we get or the car that is more expensive than our friends. While those things might make us feel good for a very short time, they are all emply feelings. To truly be happy you have to be at peace with your life and the people in it and those things really cost nothing.

Outside Reading #8

For my eighth outside reading I decided to explain a quote from Coco Chanel. The quote says “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”- Coco Chanel. To me this quote means that if you want to be your own person and stand out then you shouldn't follow what everyone else is doing. You should live your life doing the things that make you happy and fire you up. You should wear what you want to wear too and not just what everyone else is wearing. You should have your own style and your own way of putting things together that relfects who you are and what makes you feel good about yourself. If you are not different then you would have to be like everyone else, and just fade into the background. If you choose to be the same then no one will remember you for being special.

Outside reading #7

For my seventh outside reading I'm going to explain a quote. The quote is about perfection and it says " Perfection is a trifle dull. It is not the least of life's ironies that this, which we all aim at, is better not quite achieved. To me this quote means that being perfect isn't about having it all or having the perfect body or hair or the best smile, it's about accepting the imperfections and flaws that you have and making the best of them. You shouldn't live your life trying to reach something that is impossible to obtain. No one is perfect and life isn't about being perfect. Even though it may seem like someone has everything and everything comes easy to them, its wrong because nothing comes without a price . If you spend your life trying to reach perfection then you will let most of life pass you by, so love your imperfections and make the best of them because the beauty that really matters lies within our hearts and our souls.

Heores

9/11 Heroes.

http://www.imagecross.com/myspace-image-hosting-9/84509-13-01.jpg
This is a picture of the firemen helping rescue others.

http://www.militaryplaques.com/EMS/Fallen-Heroes-L.jpg





"To those who died when the towers crashed down A deep memorial in our hearts,of pain, of shame, of love, of blame,In these mixed feelings we must admit.Thou know none who's gone in vain.Though people think they died in vain,yet their legacy still lives today.Of valour, of peace, of love, of courage,These men gave their lives to serve and save." - Posted on 9-11heroes.US site by Anonymous


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZFkZiwMLZ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klhqVEO0eyU



http://media.philly.com/images/RudyGiuliani.jpg

Hereos come in many different forms. When I think about heros in my lifetime I think of the heros of 9/11. The firemen, the policemen, and all the people that helped to respond to the horrible terorist attacks that day. There was also another hero that emerged from that tragedy and that was the mayor of New York for all of his efforts to calm the nation when we were all scared and unsure of what was happening to our country.


What I learned: I learned that the heroes of 9/11 didn't think twice about their own safety when they entered the twin towers. They were focused on the roles as first responders, as fire men and police men, trying to help other people and guide them out of the buildings. They entered those buildings not knowing what would happen to them but determined to save the lives of other people and lead them to safety. I also learned that not only were the first responders heroes but so was the mayor of New York City at the time: Rudy Guiliani. He stepped forward to calm a nation and took charge of the situation. He is truely a hero to the country.

Conclusion: I think that the heros of 9/11 are the greatest heros of my generation. In my opinion everyone who helped that day is a hero. It doesn't matter if they died trying to rescue others or if they were lucky enough to live. Everyone that contributed to helping others is a hero. I think this is a remarkable aspect of being an American. That people are willing to risk everything to save other human beings. I also think that as Americans we look to people to guide us through tradegy.

Outside reading #6

For my six outside reading I decided to explain a quote from chicken soup for the teenage soul volume four. the qoute says "friendship is a horizon--which expands whenever we approach it."- E.R. Hazlip. I think this quote means that friendship can only grow stronger and better when you want it to. You can't sit around and wait for a friendship with another person if you don't put time and effort into it. Friendship is something that is very valuable and something that should be greatly cherished. You need friends to be there when times are rough and also to share the good times with you. You have to put effort into friends so that when you need them they are there for you and when they need you you are there for them. One of the most important things about being friends with someone is giving them complete trust and that you can confide in them and not worry that they are going to talk about you behind your back.

Outside reading #5

For my outside reading number five I read a short story in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul volume four. The short story is called "Happiness" by Sarah Provencal. Happiness is about Sarahs school assignment to write a paper on happiness. At first she didn't know how she was going to write a paper on happiness when she felt like she wasn't happy because she didn't have the best grades or the cutest clothes. She later realized that happiness doesn't come from material things like clothes and money but from the little things in life like a sunny day or your favorite dessert. There is a quote in the story that says " Happiness depends upon ourselves." I think this quote is very true because you can choose to be happy and accept things in life the way they are or you can choose to live life always wishing for more and wanting things to be different. I think the best way to find happiness is to accept what you have and make the best out of it!

Outside reading #4

For my outside reading number four i read "life is a gift" by lindsey ann parker in chicken soup for the teenage soul volume 4.
This story is about losing someone you love. Lindsey lost her best friend, gray, and at first had trouble accepting the fact that he wasn't coming back. It took her a month after gray's death of visit the grave site and when she did she finally realized that he was in a better place and wasn't coming back. It took losing her best friend for lindsey to understand the importance of life and how easily it can be taken away. There is a quote in the story that i think is very true and it says " Difficult times have helped me understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever." Life is a gift that can be taken away at any moment and should not be taken for granted, so live your life and love every moment of it!

Outside reading #3

For this outside reading I read a poem in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul volume 4. The short story was called Live Your Dream:By Katie Hays. Her poem was about how life is difficult and we all have dreams, but sometimes, well really, most times, your dreams get lost in the day to day of living. She encourages you to keep your dreams alive by making them part of your life even if it will never be all of your life. She says it's ok to cry when things don't work out the way you planned, but to pick yourself right back up and to keep trying. I really liked this poem because I can see how easily life interfers with your dreams. Things seem to go so fast sometimes it's hard to stop and think about what really makes you happy. It is also easy to walk away from something if you don't succeed at first. I like the idea to not give up and to keep your dreams alive!

outside reading #2

A smile gives birth to a smile
by Alexey Kondakov

For this outside reading I read another short story from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. This story was about how giving a smile to someone else results in another smile. There was a very inspirational quote in the story that said "Share a smile with other poeple and a smile will return to you." I think qoute is very true because you may think that giving someone something as little as a smile has no effect on them, but in reality it could brighten their day just knowing that someone cares for them. Alexey talks about how when he was in the hospital and felt that nothing could make him happy that he realized that putting a smile on your face and looking at the brighter side of things really makes a bad time in life seem better. It's like passing on a little bit of happiness to others.

Outside reading #1

Lost Time
by Patricia Harris


Patricia Harris wrote a short story ,in the book chicken soup for the teenage soul, called lost time. She talked about how her aunt was diagnosed with lung cancer at the young age of thiry-eight years old and how difficult it was for her.
In her story there is quote from Benjamin Franklin that says "lost time is never found again." This quote is so true because time is something that people take for granted. You never know how much time you have left until its gone. Each moment should be lived like its your last because the gift of life is so fragile and could be taken away at any moment.

Amazing Abigail Cookbook

We just bought the Amazing Abigail Cookbook which is a fundraiser for Abby Taylor from Edina who died after suffering for many months after having a horrible accident where her intestines were sucked out of her by a pool drain. It was very interesting to read the forward where they have an appreciation section which talks about how much support they received from so many in our community after this horrible accident. They also describe the goals of Abby’s Hope Charitable Foundation.

There is also a section that tells all about Abby’s short life of only seven years. It was very interesting to actually read about her and what type of person she was and the things that she enjoyed doing. Before reading this, I felt like I knew about her without really knowing her. Now, when I think of her or remember the night we all lit luminaries to honor her memory. I will remember the little girl that became more real to me when I read her life story in the Amazing Abigail Cookbook.

Favoirte book

Twilight

My favorite book of all time is Twilight by Stepenie Meyer which is part of the twilight saga. Twilight is about a girl named Bella who moves from bright and sunny Arizona to a small and gloomy town called Forks in Washington. When Bella arrives in Forks she immediately doesn’t like it because of its constant rain and dreary weather. Bella changes her opinion about Forks after she meets gorgeous and mysterious Edward Cullen. She falls hopelessly in love with him even though he is aloof with her. At first it seems like Edward was just an ordinary fun loving boy but she soon finds out that he has a dark and freighting secret. Edward is really a vampire and has been one since he was sixteen years old which unbelievably was back in the 1920’s.

Edward shows Bella a world that she never knew existed…the world of a good vampire. The adventures that they share starts the series of books that make is so I can’t wait for the next one to come out.

Double Bubble

Good listener

Others say I am a good listener because when they come to me with their problems I always have an open ear. I love the satisfaction of helping people around me and making their lives easier. I think the time spent helping others will end up coming back to me when I need someone to listen to me. An example of when I was a good listener was when one of my friends was going through a tough time with her family, I made sure I was there for her and listened when she needed someone to talk to. I feel that everyone needs someone like this in their life.

Hall Of Fame

Ansley has had many great accomplishments in her life since she graduated from EHS in 2011. One of her greatest accomplishments was becoming a world renowned fashion designer. Ansley started her career at the fashion institute in New York City. Her first internship was with Vera Wang, who she luckily sat next to on a flight to London. Vera took Ansley under her wing and helped her become one of the world’s greatest designers for all levels of incomes. It was her ability to design for everyone that made her so popular. Ansley recently made a very generous donation to benefit our school. She now lives in New York City with her husband where she continues to expand her design philosophy by mentoring other young designers.

HEY

heyy.