14 Days Untill Santa Visits :)

*free choice blog due 1/08/10


Christmas... oh Christmas. With the joy, love, stress, and anxiety it brings, is just around the corner. You can't walk into a single store without being bombarded with sales adds and catchy carols. In search of the perfect presents for those special people in your lives brings a smile to your face that you hope to see reapear on their's when they tear through the brightly colored wrapping paper you gave them. Neighborhoods filled with twinkling lights and trees peering through windows makes you basically smell Christmas lingering in the air. Not that the evergreen trees don't help too :) Snow has finally touched the ground and now we can all look forward to having a white and chilly holiday.

Hannukah has also arrived! Today December 11th is the first day of Hannukah 2009 :) People may or may not know this about me but I am half Jewish. Baptized as a Christian but by blood Jewish. Every year, especially around the holidays we try to embrace our religion and celebrate the holidays. We make Latckes (potatoe pancakes), play with dredels, and open our Hannukah presents! Although I don't practice Jeaudisum year round, I am proud of my backround and enjoy celebrating the traditions associated with it. Each year I think I learn more about the Jewish when I'm older I hope to pass it along and teach my kids all about religions and not only Christianity.

Another excitement that comes with this time of year is when we take our yearly trip to Iowa. Now I know that sounds like torture; driving 10 hours with your family who can’t seem to listen to the radio without singing and dancing, living in farmland miles away from civilization for a week, and every time you walk outside being greeted with a not-so pleasant scent but it actually is a blast. My mom being one of 8, our family gatherings are always huge and exciting events we look forward to all year long. Catching up with the cousins is always a highlight of the trip! When we get together after being separated for months, we sure have a good time. Since they are just about my age we have so much in common and could share stories for hours.

Finally, over our winter break we have New Years Eve. Say goodbye to 2009 and welcome 2010 with hope for a better year than the last! Every New Years Eve, I think back and reflect on everything that happened that past year and I haven’t been disappointed yet. It is a time of year where my appreciation for everything I’ve gotten to experience in my short life is greater then ever.

Rwanda

I learned so much from the group activity we did! Starting from searching the internet and databases for articles about our topic, to writing questions other groups might ask us in the debate. Rather than learning out of textbook or taking tests, I think this was a better approach to learning because it was more "hands on" and directly involved us in what took place during the Rwandan genocide. Occasionally doing activities like this is a good idea because it helps accommodate people with different styles of learning, such as hands on learning and we all had lots of fun in the process.

The debate put us in the position of the main people who led to the killing of thousands and thousands of innocent Hutus and Tutsi. I personally was the United States which was a challenging topic for a couple reasons. For one, with all the research we did I learned that the events that took place in Somalia, with 18 American soldiers being killed and dragged upon the streets of Somalia on live television embarrassed the US as a country greatly. This led to the removal of troops from Rwanda out of fear of being embarrassed again in another African country. The event made America and the United Nations very reluctant to involve themselves in the genocide. Therefore America removed troops from Rwanda and basically stepped back and did nothing. As a world power, this led to great controversy because people believed that since they had the resources to help they should have and ultimately could have prevented the genocide or at least stopped it from getting out of hand.

The activity itself was actually lots of fun. I think it brought a lot of shy people out of their shells and had a lot of people that don't usually involve themselves in discussion, talking and debating with each other. It was difficult to put myself in the mind set back to 1994 and what a world leader would do in a disaster such as this. I think this was the hardest part of the whole activity because most of the events that took place would not be tolerable these days and so defending them is very hard the way we've been raised. It taught me a lot though. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is an extremely difficult thing to do but it is necessary to get along with people and solve group problems.

"The American Scholar"

Emerson's argument in "The American Scholar" about American society still holds true today.

One reason Emerson's argument still holds true today is people are getting more and more specfic with their jobs. Instead of doctors we have allergy, sports medicine, vascular doctors, and many more. We don't have teachers, we have Geometry teachers and Biology teachers. Emerson points out, "the mechanic a machine; the sailor a rope of the ship". By this he is saying that society is so broken up from a whole, people are no longer "thinkers". Instead of looking at the big picture people are so focused on whatever they specialize in they no longer can form oppinions of their own and just rely on what others say about anything outside of their personal field. For example, Ben Franklin. Probablly one of the smartest men to ever walk the earth, yet half of his talent is no longer recognized. Aside from being a scientist he was also a politician, inventor, statesmen, economist, printer, and musician. These days it would be extremely rare to find anyone this multi talented because once someone finds something they are good at, it is all they focus on and never think of trying something different.

Today, Emerson's ideas still hold true because our society depends so highly on the assembly line. Everyday countless amounts of people wake up, drive to work at Ford Motor Company, and place the same part on car after car as they did the day before. They never look outside of their own little world to think of something bigger. Like Emerson says, "the parrot of other men's thinking" refers to how after doing the same thing over and over you get to be just a mere thinker. Yours thoughts are repetitive and no longer your own.

Halloween Parties at Dance

The last week in October rolls around once again, but the times we have at the dance studio during this week just don't get old. Year after year, it's a chance for all the little girls to show off their brand new costumes, never yet reavealed to anyone other then the people that saw them while they modeled it throughout the house the weekend before. They enjoy stretches and warm-ups to spooky Halloween music and finish off class with an endulgance of treats they bring f0r each other. I can still remeber how much these days made me smile, when we would sit around in a circle, munching on candy and telling our dumb ghost stories.




Now, Halloween at dance is different. All the planning that went into treat bags for everyone and having our costumes perfect for their debue is forgotten. You walk in that Monday, and ofcourse your head is spinning from the calculus lesson you just learned to the boyfriend you were just fighting with to see atleast 50 little Hannah Montanna's, cow girls, and faries pracing around your feet. "Crap!" I totally forgot about Halloween! But, were in a dance studio now. It's really not that difficult to find a costume, infact it would be a challenge to go anywhere amongst those studio walls and not be bombarded with spandex and sequins. So, when your just about 12 and to the point of forgetting your costume you just walk on over to what we call the COSTUME BOX :) Here is where you find anything you could possibly want. A ghost? Got it. Little Red Riding Hood? Got it. An alien? Yup, that one too. Hunchback of Notre Dame? You would be fooled if you thought we wouldn't have it.

So your all dressed up in some rediculous conjecture of fabrics, with the head of Kermit the Frog, a body of a clown, and shoes of a gangster when you walk into class. Surrounded by 20 other fools, it's a sight to see. We then fake it through warm-ups, stretches, and going down the room so we can get to the party! Where just like the 5 yearolds we all sit in a circle, criss-cross applesauce and pass out our treats to everyone, each bringing either a smile or a thought of, "I might get sick", to every person's mind. Finally, we sit around for 30 pointless minutes, having the time of our lives just catching up with dance friends, taking pictures, and just being plain stupid. Dance parties can't be beat... and Halloween just gets us even more excited for when Santa visits :)

Brooke Hitchcock's blog inspired me to write this piece :)

House fires are devestating. A simple mistake and your house, along with all your posessions you've been saving your whole life can be destroyed within minutes. You stand outside so your safe from the excruciating flames but you watch as everything special to you burns to the ground. This really got me thinking, if my house caught on fire... These are the items I would make sure to grab before I got myself out.

1.) My cat, Stripes would be my first priority. As much as I love my family I know they can fend for themselves and would be able to get themselves out of the house safely, but on the other hand my kitty would have no idea. I consider my cat a member of my family and if he wasn't able to get out we would all be devestated. I'm sure with the alarms, smoke, and flames he would be in total panic so anything I could do to get him out safely with me I would do, no doubt.

2.) Next, would be all my photographs and my camera. I probably have 300 pictures hung up in my room alone but I would do my best to get everything I could. Pictures represent memories, good, bad, and ugly, and if they were to be demolished in a fire I don't know what I would do with myself. Pictures are a main component of how I live my life. If I'm ever having a terrible day all I have to do is step foot in my room and I am immeditaley reminded of such amazing things I've been able to expirience in my life. To me, pictures are what makes up for what the brain can't do; they remind us of the small but remarkable details we would otherwise forget.

3.) Finally, I would grab my purse. I honestly think I could live out of there for atleast a week. My purse could be compared to a Grandma's purse because if you want it, I have it! Toothpaste... check. Water... check. Cell phone... check. Hand sanitizer... check. Anything else you need? Well, my bet is I have it in the massive black hole I call a purse.

Swine Flu- Small Problem or Pandemic?

Everyone has heard of H1N1 Flu, better known as "Swine Flu". Years ago it was completely unheard of but not any longer. Once a disease only related only to pigs, is now a worldwide issue. Fear of it becoming a pandemic, H1N1 Flu is spreaing like wild fire. This year, the Swine Flu virus may cause a more dangerous flu season with a lot more people getting sick, being hospitalized and dying than during a regular flu season. H1N1 is a new virus first seen in the United States. It is contagious and can spread from person to person.

With the current flu situation people are working harder then ever to stop the spread of the virus before prime flu season. Recently a vaccine came out, but the succes of it is not yet known. It could be sucessful and make a big differnce in this years flu season or it could be a fail, yet people are being advised to get the injection anyways. People being strongly advised to get the vaccine are, pregnant women, caregivers for children under 6 months of age, health care workers, and people of any age who have bad health conditions because these people are all at high risk of having complications if they are to get H1N1. Since the injection is so new, the negative side is, whenever you get a vaccine there is always a chance of reactions. Sometimes when people get flu shots they come down with the acctual flu, worse then if they had not gotten the vaccine. Luckily, there are doctors constantly working to revise the injection hoping to have more of a success rate.

On June 11, 2009 the World Health Organization declared that a global pandemic of H1N1 flu is underway. More then 70 countries have reported cases, yet the United States still has the largest amount recorded (http://www.flu.gov/).

In my oppinion, it's important to stay sanitary by washing your hands, staying home if your sick, and just being healthy and hygenic. Those are all everyday things that people can do to help prevent the spread of Swine Flu and even the common cold. Even without the vaccine, if everyone did simple things to stop the spreading of disease, we could have a much less fatal flu season.

Dance Of Course

There is nothing like the feeling of being on stage. You're announced, you walk on, you pose, and then the lights come on and you simply lose yourself in the dance. The stage is the one place where I feel safe. Although I'm being judged it just feels so natural. I get in the zone and not a problem in the world could affect me. I forget about past problems, I dont think about what could go wrong; I just dance from the bottom of my soul and leave my heart on the stage.

I commit my life to dance. People ask me all the time, "Don't you get sick of it?!". But honestly, no not at all. By choice I go everyday immediatley after school and remain there until it's bedtime. When your as dedicated to something as I am to dance, you have to give somethings up. I give up alot for dance but don't regret a single thing.

The friendships I have made from dance are unexplainable. I dance in a different city then where I go to school so I have made so many new friends. I spend everyday with them. We do homework at the studio, eat dinner, take naps, and most of all dance together! When you dance with a friend it is so much more enjoyable to watch because the chemistry reflects in the dancing and you can tell how much they love doing what they do best, with the people they love most. My competition team has became like a family to me, I have someone all ways there for me and no matter what kind of day I've had I cant always count on my girls to make me laugh and put me in a good mood. We also have so much in common that it makes it way easier to get along then friendships I may have with people at school. I am truly grateful for them all.

Bahamas, LA, Chicago... Oh my! Dance has given me the opportunity to do so many different things and expirience things people may never get to do in a life time. I am so grateful for my parents that have worked so hard so that I am now able to live out my dreams. They support me to the highest extenet and are willing to do just about anything for me to suceed and I love them for it.Love and passion, my two words to describe what dance means to me. It has taught me so much and has made me a better person. The countless hours at the studio and litterally the blood, sweat, and tears, yet I wouldn't trade it for the world. People say their dance studios are like their second homes... I call the studio home, that place where I sleep? Yeah, that's my second home. Dance has given me a work ethic unlike many others I know. I try my hardest constantly and never back down from a challenge because if you do, it was a waste of an oppurtunity and one you could never get back.
And finally, I would like to dedicate this blog to my parents. I bet 12 years ago when you dropped me off at my first dance class, you never imagined that it would lead to all this :)