Underage Drinking

Last night my mother was driving me home after spending time at my friend's house, and with no warning she brings up the topic of drinking. My mom is pleased that I don't drink, but for some reason she decided to give me a lecture of all the horrible effects of underage drinking. I was getting pretty irritated because I had heard this all before a number of times, so I decided to bring my sister up just to get my mom off my case. My sister is 21 and in college, but she did drink her freshmen and sophomore year. As I pointed this underage drinking fact out to my mom, she bluntly said, "Well, it's different in college". This made me frustrated. Why was it okay for my sibling to consume alcohol when they were 19 and 20? I don't think it's very fair that my sister got off the hook for underage drinking, while I get a lesson every time I hang out with my friends. I don't care that "most people drink in college" as my mother stated. Shouldn't she still get in trouble by my parents?

What's your take on underage drinking?

The Average American Worker

In class before winter break, we talked about a symbol that represents U.S.A. - the average American worker. When we were told to picture an average American worker, the majority of the class came up with the image of a male laborer (mailman, policeman, firefighter). Why all physical laborers? And the better question, why all men? I think it has to do with what we see and hear from the media while growing up. We obviously know there are other jobs out there and we obviously know women work, but as a child we aren't taught that there are jobs like stock brokers or accountants. We're only used to seeing the "male laborer" job. I remember reading a book when I was younger about jobs. Of course it had the big colorful pictures of firefighters, policemen, and even milkmen. I can only remember there being one woman in the book: the stereotypical teacher. So, yeah, we do know what kind of jobs there are besides the laborers, that include both men and women. But I think it's just that we've still got that male laborer image stuck in our heads from when we were little.

I actually pictured someone different for the average American worker. I had the "businessman" image in my head. It was a man, yet not a physical laborer. I think it's, again, because of the media. I've watched so many movies and T.V. shows that depict the man that goes to the office every day with his briefcase and coffee (like The Office, although not as comical). The media clearly plays a huge role in our lives.

What was your "average American worker"?

The Impeachment of Bush

In class yesterday and today, we discussed whether or not we should impeach Bush and if the impeachment of Clinton was essential. After reading Al Gore's writing, The Assault on Reason, and analyzing the evidence he provided, I decided that Bush should be impeached. Although some say that the "crimes" Bush committed weren't really crimes at all, Bush did violate the laws of the Constitution. The Constitution was set up to provide the government rules to abide by in order for the country to be run smoothly. When Bush became president, he vowed to follow these laws; yet he's gone against them. To go against the Constitution is, I think, a high crime. Committing a high crime, as stated in the Constitution, is a reason for impeachment; therefore, Bush should be taken out of office.

As for Clinton, I'm undecided. Although he lied under oath, which should be enough reason for him to be impeached, what he lied about isn't strong enough for him to be taken out of office. It doesn't bother me to have a president who had a sexual affair with someone. I really don't think that affects how someone runs the country. Apparently, Clinton had done other crimes besides his affair. Why they chose to impeach him for lying about his affair, I don't know. If it were me to decide if he should be impeached, I'd still be unresolved.

What is your stance on Bush's and Clinton's impeachment?

Injustice During 1984

Friday, in class, we watched a movie called Minority Report where they would arrest people for murder before they actually committed the crime. This reminded me of a book I read last year called 1984. It was based on a totalitarian government (dictatorship). A principle they followed was arresting people based on thoughtcrime. Basically, if a person even hinted at being against the government, even if it was a twitch of an eye, they'd arrest the person and they'd probably end up being killed. This is wrong. I think it's wrong if a government accuses people and then arrests them just off of a hunch. This also clearly violates freedom of speech. A person should be allowed to voice their own opinions on something without being killed. I believe there should be diversity in a country, not have everyone blindly follow and agree what one ruler says.

Thankful on Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was this past Thursday and one of the things I am grateful for is the five day weekend we were given. :) I was supposed to go to my grandfather's house in Indiana for Thanksgiving day with the rest of my family, but those plans got cancelled when my sister came home a day late from college. It wasn't until I found out we weren't going tht I realized how excited I had been to go. I hadn't seen my grandpa in years and I was so looking forward to seeing him. I missed his house and the inside jokes we shared with each other. It was then when I realized how truly important family is and how much we should be grateful for them. Thankfully, my sister did come home from college this weekend and it felt really good to see her-her, too, I haven't seen in a while. Sometimes, I think, you can't appreciate someone until they've left you for a while.
What does family mean to you? What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?

"I Want to Do Well"...No You Don't, Your Parents Do

I was at the Girls State Meet yesterday. It is the meet that concludes the swim season-all the teams from Illinois came together to compete at the natatorium in Evanston. As I was watching the girls compete, I noticed the parents' reactions to their child swim. One set of parents stuck out to me-they cried from joy after their daughter swam. Which made me think of the complete opposite reaction in some parents. Since I'm a swimmer, I've been to many swim meets in my day, and with that, I've seen a number of parents who have gotten made at their child for swimming poorly.

And my question is, why? It doesn't make sense, and it doesn't seem right, for parents to yell and punish if they're child doesn't do as well as they want. And this includes all sports, not just swimming. I think it comes down to competitiveness. Parents want their child to succeed so much, to be the best, that some I think will do anything to "motivate" their child. They want their child to be better than other children. I've seen people crack under the pressure of their parents: they'd rather do well for the sake of their parents than for themselves. And this just seems unfair. So my other question is, what is your take on over-competitive parents? Why do you think they act like this?

Being Part of History

Our 44th president of the United States was finally decided this past Tuesday and with it came a huge historical moment. Barack Obama is now our first African-American president; and I'm happy to say that he won by a large amount in electoral votes. I think it's so cool that I was able to witness this election...if only I was able to vote in it. When I'm older and have children and grand-children, I can share this historic event with them. To just think back to when slavery and segregation was around, it's amazing to see how much our country has grown and changed. I still think, though, that it will take time for our country to unite as a whole and accept that he's our president-obviously there were people that were against him.
Now it's just time to see what change Obama can bring. Starting in January, he'll start his presidency. My mom told me today that he's thought to be one of the most intelligent presidents we've ever had. It will be interesting to see how he deals with the crisis laid out in front of him.

Prayer in School

Earlier this week, I came upon an article about religion in public schools. It stated that religious ritual in public schools would be the only way to teach "values" and ethics. This article also said that the banning of practice of bible and prayer recitation is the blame of rising teen pregnancy rates, crime, drug use, and violence. I realize that everyone has their own opinion and some people are more heavily into religion than others, but I think this went too far. Putting the blame for all these terrible things on no practice of religion is just crazy.

I feel that public schools should be a "religion free zone." It wouldn't be right for teachers to promote their religious beliefs to students; especially when there are so many families who have no religious ideology at all. What is your opinion on religion in public schools?

My College Applications are Done

Lately my mother has been on my case with college stuff...and I'm not even a senior. I realize getting into a good college is ideal for everyone, and I too want to get a good education so that I can then get a good careeer, blah blah blah. But already my college counselor has come in and discussed our future. I'm barely 17; my future right now is what I'm having for dinner tonight. I don't want to look into colleges that I like; I'm just trying to get through the school day. For me, there's a lot of pressure to be looking at colleges already; not only from parents but from peers. It's scary to hear of students who have been preping for ACT tests or have been going on college visits since they were in junior high. What is the need to be looking into our future this much?

The First Amendment!

Today in class we discussed our opinions on citizen/student rights. One of the topics was whether or not it was okay for newspapers to publish articles that contained false information. My group was torn in half. Two said that it was false advertisement, so therefore should be limited. Another group member said, however, that newspapers have the freedom of speech and press and so this act should be protected. I feel, too, that people have the freedom to write or say whatever they want. But at the same, writing false statements about people or things could be harmful to others. So I came up with the conclusion that it should be prohibited unless causing harm to others.
There are other topics like this that have caused controversy, like wearing shirts with obscene writing on it. Do you think it's okay for newspapers to publish false advertisement or for citizens to wear shirts with obscene writing on it?

To Take the Test or Not?

Yesterday during school my advisor mentioned that I was the only one in my advisery not taking the PSAT test. I didn't think anything of it. But then later that day I realized that I was the only one of my friends not taking the PSAT. And while talking to one of my friends about the PSAT, she sounded surprised at the fact that I had opted out of it. That made me start to worry. I had always thought that this test was no big deal. Yeah, there's a possibility to earn a scholarship, but you have to be pretty dang smart to get one of those, and I knew I was not a candidate for that. But this test does give you an idea of what your SAT scores will be; kind of like the PLAN test. Which got me thinking, should I take the SAT test?

My parents have always told me not to follow what everyone else does, but it worries me considering this has to do with getting into a college. I realize that getting into a good school is ideal to everyone, but are the SATs really that important especially if less and less colleges are looking at them?