Right Now - Amelia Caldwell

Right now someone is being told they are not allowed to do the one thing they love most in the world for a month or never again. They are sitting in a doctor's office with their thoughts and the quiet as those around them watch how they take the news. They are thinking about what could they possibly do that would fill the gap. They cry, thinking of all the activities they will miss out on. They realize that they will not get to see their best friends every day for a long time. They think to themselves, I need to get better so I can get back. They think, there is no way I am going to stop. They will not stop.
Right now there is someone being told they have a month to live. They see a moment from their past flash before them. They remember the time the doctor told them they could not do something for a month and they thought it was the end of the world. They remember being devastated calling their director saying it would be a month before they could come back. They remember the hard work and determination to get back. And their determination returns to have the best month of their life. They will not give in.  They will not give up.

How to - Amelia Caldwell

How to prepare pointe shoes for use

1. First you must cut the ribbon into four equal sized ribbons (two for each shoe).

2. To know where to place the ribbon, take the back of the pointe shoe and fold it into the middle of the shoe. Where the edge of the shoe lies is where you will sew the ribbons (on each side).

3. Cut four equal pieces of elastic

4. Place one end of elastic on top of the ribbon and sew. The other end goes on the back of the pointe shoe around 1 inch from the back seam; you do this with each piece of elastic.

5. After the ribbons and elastic are sewn on, you can trim off the edge of the ribbons and burn them with a lighter to prevent fraying.

After your pointe shoes are sewn, you must break them in. Here are the two easiest ways to break in your pointe shoes without “killing” them.

 1.      Find your natural arch and mark the spot on the shank (the stiff board running on the bottom side down the middle) where it lines up with your foot. Place the marked part of the shoe on a doorway, and bend the shoe around the doorway so that the shank becomes curved and fits nicely with the arch of your foot.

2.      The box, or toe, of the shoe is usually very tight. In order to avoid blisters, step on the top of the box and flatten it out so the shoe does not rub against your skin.

You now have pointe shoes that are ready for use!

Right now- Eliza Jane Schaeffer

Right now, there is a little girl watching a teenage girl and wishing that she could be older and taller and prettier. She's counting down the days until her 16th birthday. When she plays "house" with her friends and she scrambles to call the role of the "teenager." She dreams of what job she might have or what her husband might look like. 

Right now, there's a high school girl watching a little girl and wishing that she could be blissfully ignorant and care-free. She's tired of studying and worrying about college and fitting in and existential crises and familial fights. She wishes she could go back to the days when the most important thing she had to do was make her own lunch. She wishes she had the same energy and enthusiasm as that little girl. Or she wishes she could skip to being older with a job and a husband that loves her unconditionally. 

Right now, there's a middle age woman wishing she could be as pretty and young and skinny as the teenage girl across the street. She wishes she didn't need to worry about bills or taxes on laundry or idiots at work or bad drivers or cooking or getting her kids to school. She wishes she could go out on Saturday nights and have fun. Or she wishes she could be retired and do nothing all day long. 

Right now there's an old woman wishing she hadn't spent so much time wanting to grow up. Because now she's about as grown up as you can get and all she wants is to grow down. She wishes she has a job; she feels useless stuck in the house. She wishes she had the social life of a teenager; now her old friends are dying off. She wishes she had her whole life ahead of her, like a child. 

right now... brandon castillo

at this very moment, somewhere in the universe there are so many things happening. In my bedroom, I am typing this very letter, word, and sentence that you are reading about this moment. I am debating in my mind whether to go into a deep discussion, a talk about what I am literally doing right now, or making something up about the Star Wars universe. Maybe a little of everything. It is so snowy outside and this is just as the planet Hoth in Star Wars. I've recently been playing an old xbox game called "Star Wars Battlefront 2" because of the major snow storm and the boredom that can come with being stuck inside your house for nine straight days with the only people that you see is your immediate family. I'm just kidding, right now, I'm thinking about what I have done with this past week and how today I'm going to hangout with someone that I've been excited to hangout with for a long time now. But anyways back to Star Wars, the planet Hoth is my favorite place to play at for the video game. When you select rebels as your team, you can fly these awesome ships that shoot ropes from the backside and then you circle around giant, animal-looking machines of the enemies and try to wrap around its legs in order to bring it to the ground and destroy it. Right now, I am also concerned about the future, as in tomorrow if we will have school or not. Also, how as of now we are going to be in school until June 1st without anymore snowdays and how depressing that is to me. My basketball team just ended it's season and that is sad but, right now, I'm excited because the end of crossroads basketball means the beginning of track meets and March Madness. Somewhere in the universe, Montrezl Harrell is thinking about how awesome he is after he scored 20 points to beat Miami yesterday and the city of Louisville is pumped.

At this moment... Emily Salamanca

                      At this moment, somewhere in the universe, there is a person in China digging a hole. When I was about 5 or 6, I obsessed over anything relating to dirt and rocks and digging and geology and generally anything that could get me covered, head to toe, in sediment. I remember finding a buckeye at church on the ground and bringing it home to plant. In the backyard, I began to dig a hole. My parents thought little of it, as I had similar holes all over the backyard. But this hole was special because I put my little buckeye into in and was quite excited about having a tree that would grow. However, as I dug, my father always used to say to me 'Are you trying to dig a hole all the way to China?' which got me thinking. I'd never really thought about other places around the world and how there were people literally on the other side of the planet from me. There were people who had never considered me, a little 6 year old in Mrs. Fitzpatrick's 1st grade class, to be digging at the other side of the planet from them. Likewise, I hoped that perhaps, 6600km away from me, there was a little girl digging a hole through the Earth to plant a seed to reach me. When I dug that hole, I was planting a seed in my head that I never forgot: perspective.

How To Prepare for Long Trips- Joshua Strange

Over the years, I have been fortunate to go overseas into Europe and Asia on three seperate occasions. Each of the times I went, I stayed in each place for about 6 weeks.  Packing for each of these occasions took a long time but it was well worth it once we arrived in each of the countries we were thankful we had what we needed.
For these especially long trips, my family owns extremely big backpacks and we pack them full and carry them everywhere we go.  Aside from your basic needs like toiletries and clothes, a few things you may want to pack are: a neck pillow for the plane (so you don't get cramps on the long plane flight or drive), personal toilet paper (especially over seas, outside of airports most locations don't have toilet paper), baby wipes (during long flights or drives these feel really refreshing on your dry skin), hat (in hotter locations this helps shade your face, in colder places it keeps your head warm), personal food (over seas personal favorites may not be available, peanut butter is also extremely expensive overseas) and last but not least always carry around some american money and/or objects with you (overseas, people are constantly interested in Americans and American culture so you may be able to get a major bargain if you give them American currency or American items (levi jeans, American flags, footballs!!, American sports jerseys, etc.) .
That is some extra tips for how to pack for really long trips!

Plastics- Josh Strange

During church, one day in the middle of a conversation someone said that "indifference is the greatest failure".  He told us it was a slogan for a company (unfortunately I can't remember which one), but those words ring true in everything.  At times I am indecisive, and those words always encourage me to make a decision quicker. If I don't make a decision, that is worse in my mind than if I made the wrong decsion.  This advice will play a large role in picking which colleges I apply to, which ones I visit, and many other things down the road. In any situations in which I have options, I will be have to make a decision.  This advice has helped me become more decisive and I hope in the future it will help me be able to help me make the right choices faster.

Buckets and Buckets- Joshua Strange

Before I finish high school I want to get accepted to an out of state college. I would love to be able to go out of the country again on a mission trip. I would also love to be able to have a go to the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls on a vacation.  I also want to be able to have a state championship ring with the soccer team next season.
Before I finish college I want to study abroad, participate in a school sport for the university, and go on a fun trip with friends to a place I've never been.
Before I finish living, I want to go to each continent on the planet, graduate from college, have a wife and kids, do something honorable, and to make a difference in my community.

The most important thing I want to do is to have a family. I would love to have a wife and a couple kids and be able to take them on trips and teach them how to play soccer among other things.

How to...- Olivia McCrary

How to Study for a Test
-Gather and organize all the papers, notebooks, etc, that you might have relating to the subject you are going to study. Look for any paper that might possibly be helpful. It is very easy to overlook helpful studying materials, especially when you are disorganized.
-Decide on an amount of time you are going to study. I recommend starting with about 30 minutes. Set a timer. After the 30 minutes, judge how well you know the material. This will affect how long you will continue to study. If after the 30 minutes you think you have studied everything, you can stop. If not, continue to set up 30 minute time periods. After each, take a short break from studying.
-When you are done reviewing the content for the test, make your own study guide or review. Think about everything you studied. Condense all the main concepts into a review outline. Just making this study guide will help you review the material. It's necessary to recognize which topics or details are the most important.

Assignment 21: Right Now

At this very moment, somewhere in the universe...

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, March 1st at 11:59 pm

Plastics- Olivia McCrary

Though I have received great advice on many occasions, the most inspirational thing to me is a quote. I stumbled upon this quote on the internet about five years ago and it has really changed the way I think about things. It gave me a new direction in my life. The quote is from Oprah Winfrey: “The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.” Because of this quote, I decided that I should live every day to the fullest and view everything I do as bringing me one step closer to becoming the person I want to be. This quote inspired me to realize that no matter how absurd my "dreams" or hopes for the future might be I should follow them regardless. Sometimes following your dreams can be a risk and I want to ignore that. I want to be able to live my life without worrying about what other people think. (I'm still working on this). Whatever I decide I want to do with my life, I want to be confident in that I will succeed. I don't like to think of anything as impossible.

Hooray for Hollywood - Jeb Brumley

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/id/969033978/ratings

How to... - Jeb Brumley

How to hit a golf ball:

1. Put a tee in the ground and place a ball on it
2. Grab a club on the grip with your left hand, then place your right hand directly below your left hand on the grip (for right handed players; reverse for left handed players)
3. Rest club head behind the ball and tee and stand a comfortable distance away from the ball
4. Spread you feet out to shoulder width and bend over slightly at your waist and slightly bend your knees.
5. Take the club back as you twist at your torso and waist towards your back foot while putting more weight on your back foot
6. Once the club has wrapped around your body and is behind or above your head, begin twisting the other way and start shifting your weight towards your front foot as your hand and arms swing the club back to the ball
7. Once your club has made contact with the ball, allow your body and arms to follow through with the club and watch the ball soar through the air
8. Practice completing steps 5-7 in one quick, continuous and flowing motion. It may be tough at first, but keep trying and you will improve!

Plastics - Jeb Brumley

One piece of advice that has really stuck with me is to learn from your mistakes. Although this is a common saying, it has been very useful to me. When we make a mistake, our first instinct is to feel bad or get frustrated, but we need to put a new perspective on failure. When we doing something wrong, we must figure out how we can do it right. For example, if you do not get a good score on a test at school, think about why this could have happened. If you think you put a reasonable amount of time into studying, maybe you did not get enough rest, or did not eat a good breakfast. There will always be a reason to why you make a mistake and you can learn from it by finding why it happened. For the next test, make sure you get plenty of sleep, eat a healthy breakfast, and be sure that you studied enough. You are sure to not make a worse mistake than before. This advice can be applied to school, athletics, and our everyday lives to keep you from making the same mistake twice.

Assignment 16: Hooray for Hollywood Emmet Allen

A few weeks ago I went to see the film American Sniper. Overall I enjoyed the movie, am glad I saw it, and would recommend it to anyone looking for an hour or two of entertainment, but there were some issues I took with it.
As a form of entertainment the film was excellently directed and acted, and as a work meant to reflect on the effects of war on soldiers and the life of a single man it was quite successful.
The only flaw I saw was the slight simplification of the entire topic. I understand that an analysis was not the purpose of the movie and that without such examination it is by many measures a success, but I feel that it would have done best to explain the issues in more depth than it did.
For the majority of the population, the representation of a single perspective is entirely acceptable, and is what is given in almost any film. Unfortunately, there are those that take the events of the big screen as a larger influencing force than they should. It was by no means the fault of the producers, but when I spoke with a man on the bus in lexington who advocated for "bombing all of them, even if some innocent ones die," it was hard not to wish for a change.

Assignment 20: How to- Madye Moore

How to Get to Chick Fil A from my house:

1. Take a right out of my driveway

2. Go to the end of the street and take a left onto Cooper

3. At the light, take a right onto Chinoe

4. At the first light, take a left onto Alumni

5. Go all the way to the next light and merge right onto New Circle Road

6. At the second exit, get off and take a right onto Nicholasville Road

7. At the light, take a right

8. Chick Fil A will be on your right!

Buckets and Buckets - Jeb Brumley

High School

• Get good grades and graduate
• Get into a good college
• Practice golf more and do well in my senior season
• Procrastinate less
• Be friendly to everyone
• Get good scores on my ACT and SAT

My top goal is to procrastinate less because it will help me throughout college and the rest of my life.

College

• Meet a lot of new people
• Study abroad for a semester
• Play golf
• Get good grades

My top college goal is to get good grades to help me graduate with a good GPA and get a good job that I will enjoy.

Life

• Travel to many different countries
• Have a family
• Go to big time sporting events (NCAA Tournament Championship, Superbowl, World Cup)
• Get a good job that I can do for a long time and will like doing
• Stay healthy

My top goal is to travel to learn about other cultures and experience different parts of the world.

Assignment 18: Buckets and Buckets Emmet Allen

1. Goals in High School.
My goals in high school include keeping a passing GPA, avoiding death as I have for so long, and continuing my education outside of school. The first two are essentially for the sake of the continued ability to write blogs and not starve, but the last is slightly more complex. I have considerable respect for teachers who do their jobs well,  but the curriculum offered does not always encompass the things important to me.
2. Goals in college.
See above.
Additionally, learn what the answer to step three should be.
3. Goals in life.
Entirely dependent upon step 2.
4. Reject societal guidelines (Capitalist poison) that attempt to force me to go to high school and college and create a plan for my future in the name of worldly pleasure and happiness. If not in conflict with the previous steps, all will be followed. If in conflict, step 4 will be prioritized.

Assignment 20: How to make Munchie Tarts Emmet Allen

The following steps outline how to create a fantastic snack anytime one is in need of empty calories.
1. Be in the mood for munchie tarts.
2. Heat up two cinnamon or chocolate pop tarts.
3. Remove the tarts from the toaster and place them on your favorite plate.
4. Smear peanut butter generously on one of the tarts.
5. Smear nutella generously on the other.
6. Place the two tarts together, smeared side in, so as to create a food that resembles a sandwich in shape and function.
7. (Optional) Place marshmallows or marshmallow cream in between as well.
8. Retire to the sofa.
9. Enjoy the glorious bounty you have created for yourself through hard work and the perpetuation of American values.
10. :)

Assginment 19: Plastics Emmet Allen

Of all the recommendations I have received throughout my life, one of the most important was given by my brother. He told me to take life moment by moment. Many of the things I've been told to do were saturated with ridiculous amounts of hypocrisy from the giver of the advice, but my brother showed through example and held to it. While his three day consideration of which tattoos to scar his body with permanently may be an extreme example of the message he was trying to send, a more moderate interpretation has been incredibly important in my life. 

I like to think that my decisions lack the impulsivity that could prove detrimental to my own future, but there have been very important reactions made which have greatly influenced my life and which could otherwise have been overturned through consideration of possible detriments. From procrastination of homework in the name of personal relationships to the burning of bridges that allowed me to grow as a human being, if I had abandoned immediate goals in the name of future repercussions I wouldn't have most of the things I love today. 

How to… - Meagan Hale

How to…pick a lock

You need a tension wrench which is basically a piece of metal bent at a ninety degree angel and a pick, a hook pick or an S-rake pick are the best. Then you take your tension wrench and put it in the bottom of the lock slot and apply light pressure whichever way the lock gives to. Next you slide your pick into the lock all of the way to the back. If you have never picked a lock before it helps to shine a light inside so you can see what you're doing until you can just do it by feel. The way a lock works is that there are several pins inside and until all of the pins are pushed up exactly right the lock remains locked. A key is cut in a way so that the pins to that specific lock are all pushed up at the exact right time in the precise order. The same thing can be done using a pick but the pins are pushed up individually. With the tension wrench, each time a pin is pushed up the wrench will turn slightly like a key, just one pin at a time instead of all together. So while applying a small amount of tension to the wrench rake your pick upward along the top of the lock to push the pins up. You will know you are getting pins to stay pushed up with the tension wrench turns. When all of the pins are correctly pushed up, the lock will open and you will have successfully picked your first lock. Happy picking!

Plastics - Meagan Hale

Out of all of the helpful and non helpful advise I have gotten from my family there is one expression that always sticks with me and that is "don't spit in the wind." It's not exactly a Hallmark kind of phrase but when you think about it it does make sense. If you spit into the wind it's going to blow right back into your face. You can take this saying many different directions, but the way I have always understood it was to not put yourself in situations that you know are going to hurt you. Well, that and don't make stupid decisions. This advise has stuck with me and most likely always will. Through out life you will have the option to go certain places and do certain things and if you go to the wrong place with wrong people and do the wrong things there can be some nasty consequences that result. And then you'll wish it was just spit hitting you in the face instead of what's coming. This kind of advise is good for anyone and everything. The situations you choose to put yourself in can shape your life for better or worse. It's kind of like the game chutes and ladders, do right and you climb a ladder, do wrong and you slide down the chute. So whenever I'm faced with a decision, I just think for a minute if doing it will get spit in my face and it helps me make better choices and I'm very glad my family taught me this lesson. I just feel bad for the first person who had to spit into the wind to learn not to do it.

Buckets and Buckets - Meagan Hale

High School:

• Make meaningful relationships with my friends and teachers 
• Get good grades
• Get into a good college
• Talk to knew and different people that I wouldn't normally socialize with
• Be kind and helpful as possible to everyone 
• Graduate and get my medallion 

College: 

• major in a science 
• play intramural sports 
• enter a pre-med program
• intern at a hospital
• make new friends
• keep my options open
• score high on my MCATs
• get into a good medical school  

Life:

• Visit as many places as I can
• Become a doctor (hopefully surgeon)
• Help veterans medically and emotionally after losing limbs in the service 
• Have a family 
• Climb a mountain 
• Scuba dive
• Move to and live in Chicago 

Hooray For Hollywood - Meagan Hale

One of my favorite directors of all times in John Hughes and The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off are two movies of his I love. Across the board, Hughes shows fairly ordinary events in his movies but the underlying messages are alway very meaningful. This is consistent in both The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

In The Breakfast Club, five kids are all stuck together in their high school's library for detention on a Saturday. Each student comes from their own world. As said in the movie they are a princess, brain, jock, basket case, and a criminal. This seemingly regular storyline may lose some but when watched, the audience starts to realize that there is more to this film than just detention. Their teacher tells the to use their time in detention to write an essay about who they are. Spending the entire day with each other helps them learn who they are and that they aren't just one thing but many things. Each of them have something in their life that bothers them whether it is abuse, pressure from parents, or being ignored by their family. Hughes turns an ordinary movie about kids in detention into a lesson of the importance of knowing who you are and that the world does not revolve around you.

Likewise, in Ferris Bueller's Day Off a kid fakes sick to miss school and then helps get his friends out of school so that they can run around Chicago doing basically whatever they want. Though this movie is full of humor its underlying purpose is much less humorous. Ferris has an arrogant mentality and with that mindset comes the illusion of being untouchable. Hughes shows his audience that there are always consequences for your actions and that your actions affect not only yourself but others around you. Luckily for Bueller and his friends everything works out for the most part in the end but a lot goes wrong along the way. We are responsible for our actions whether good or bad and this movie shows us this.

How to Help People Understand Relatively Simple Technology- Max Kaufman

This is geared mostly towards the assistance of a parent who might not be the most skilled when it comes to the technology available to us in the 21^st century. First a set of guidelines, you should generally avoid saying harsh words like “old” and “simple”. Generally you should not reveal how easy the task actually is, for instance treat attaching a word document to an email with the same respect you would a heart transplant surgery. A second word of advice, do not get emotionally invested in the teaching process, you will find yourself becoming irritated with your pupil for their lack of comprehension, you must remind yourself that it isn't your fault that they are having difficulty grasping a given topic. One last very imperative piece of advice is to be wary of helpful ways to teach children a given skill even if it seems applicable to teaching your pupil, most elder folk see this an insult to their intellect and in the grand scheme this conflict is quite hindering, regardless of how helpful your catchy song might actually be.

Plastics- Max Kaufman

Throughout my life my parents have always imparted to me that if you enjoy something enough that skill will follow. This has had a very large effect on my as a person, without this piece of advice I wouldn't have one of my favorite hobbies not to mention that music is easily thirty percent of who I am. At an early age playing piano I had always been frustrated by my respective skill level. But this advice really resonated with me; it taught me that you do something because you enjoy it, not because you want to be better than someone else. Now at the age of 17 I have accumulated quite a few instruments under my belt, about six, and I realize that I am far from the best at any of them but I do it for myself and no one else. This is why I value this piece of advice so heavily.

Buckets and Buckets- Max Kaufman

High School Goals

• Keep my GPA above a 3.3
• Get 5's on all of my science AP classes
• Get into a good college
• Gather more insight on where I see myself in 10 years

Getting into a good college of my choice is my most important goal seeing as this will have a huge effect on my life to follow.

College Goals

•          Get above a 3.5
•          Get into a good Grad School
•          Decide what I want to do with my life
•          Keep in contact with my High School friends

Keeping in touch with my High School friends is by far my most important priority because without your friends you are nothing and what really matters is the connections you have in life.

 Life Goals

•          Have a family of my own
•          Eventually retire
•          Live to a reasonably old age
•          Travel through Europe, South America, and Asia

My biggest priority is to have a family of my own, because I know how important my dad is to me and I would like to hold that same impact on someone else’s life.

Horray For Hollywood- Max Kaufman

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/id/919602554/

In case the link doesn't work here is what I wrote...

If you have not already seen The Wolf of Wall Street, I would add it to your list of must see movies. An account of real life events through the eyes of Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street, has a good balance of heavy drama and dark humor sprouting from the excess drugs, sex, and money of Wall Street. Possibly one of the best qualities of this movie is the seamless storytelling, nothing is left out. Along with this, the narration by Leonardo DiCaprio is magnificent. The supporting characters as well are spot on, the waspy Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill) provides not only humorous relief but depth into the poisonous effects of greed. Through the movie we watch as the 22 year old Belfort metamorphoses from an ambitious youngster ready to make his mark on the world to a multimillionaire poisoned by greed and copious amounts of Quaaludes and Cocaine. 

How to Babysit a Preschooler - Maya Creamer

1. Arrive at the child's home, and immediately distract them so their parents can finish getting ready to leave (watching a movie, coloring, playing pretend and having a dance party are always good go-to activities).
2. Make sure that you know exactly what you need to do for the child until their parents return; if you need to feed them a meal, make sure you know how to prepare it, and ask about their nighttime routine if you will be putting them to bed. Don't be afraid to ask questions if you're unsure about something!
3. Try to keep the child busy while their parents are leaving. They may throw a temper tantrum; don't worry or get flustered, because they will probably calm down soon after their parents are out of sight.
4. Once the parents are gone, its time to have fun! Preschoolers are very opinionated, and want to do everything for themselves, so let them choose what activities you do (within reason).
5. If you need to prepare a meal, be sure to do it before the child complains about being hungry. Again, let them choose when to eat. If they say they aren't hungry, don't push it; they will let you know when they are ready to eat.
6. If the child is in the process of potty training, or can already use the toilet on their own, be sure to take frequent bathroom breaks. They may not tell you when they need to go, and you don't want them to have an accident.
7. Continue playing until the parents get home, or until bedtime. Be sure to give them plenty of warning before it's time to go to bed; start counting down about 10-15 minutes before their bedtime. Don't ask them if they are ready for bed, because they will probably say no. You are the authority figure, and they need to go to bed when you say it's time!
8. If you are putting them to bed, try to follow their normal bedtime routine as closely as possible. Preschoolers are smart, and may try to trick you into drawing out the preparations and letting them stay up later; they are less likely to do this if you get them ready for bed exactly like their parents do.
9. Once the child is asleep, enjoy your alone time until their parents get home.
10. Once their parents get back, be sure to be very thankful of whatever they decide to pay you; after all, you want them to offer you another babysitting job in the future!
11. Feel very proud of yourself for successfully taking care of a young child for a few hours.

How to-Isabelle Rinker

How to make the most out of your day!

1) Start your day as early as possible. On school days, I typically rise at about 6:30, but on weekends, I simply try my hardest not to sleep past 9.

2) Grab yourself a cup of coffee. To many, including myself, a cup of coffee is a morning ritual that provides a jolt of energy and promotes productivity throughout the day. So head down to your local coffee shop, or simply brew some yourself (this step is optional for those who don't care for coffee, but this step is crucial to me)

3) Write a list of tasks you have to get done that day, and keep it short. (i.e. laundry, homework, etc.) and check off the items as you complete them.

4) Make time for friends, family, and your spiritual life.

5) Exercise your mind and body. I like to read novels and go for long runs in my spare time.

6) Smile. You'll put yourself and everyone around you in a better mood. :)

How to... - Kevin LaZur

How to play the drums (how to hit things with other things at a specific speed)

1. Develop your inner metronome: For this I recommend listening to a lot of music; if you have been recreationally listening to music for a significant amount of your life then I think you're fine. If not, then I alternately recommend finding a metronome (digital or otherwise) and listening to it for long periods of time. Maybe fall asleep listening to a metronome, and try to keep insanity at bay at least until you learn to drum properly.

2. Learn about music, mainly rhythm: If you have already studied music you can skip this step. The key to drumming is knowing the structure of rhythm, and to be able to visualize this while you play. You don't even need to learn about musical notes, you just need to know how to count. I can't teach it all to you here, so go talk to your local band director and get all the information you need. I'm sure if you ask him in a way that makes you sound eager to soak up every ounce of musical knowledge you can get, he would gladly sit down and tell you about whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, and all of the rest.

3. Exercise your wrists: Before even getting behind the drum set, you have to make sure you have the muscles capable of throwing down those steady beats because it is very, VERY important to be perfectly in time. My favorite drummer, a very talented individual named Ringo Starr, is said to be considered a human metronome. That man is the best drummer you will ever hear. Now, you're not going for the fastest speed here, leave that to the professionals. Do you know where they started? Steady drumming. Don't push your wrist muscles, instead refine them to comfortably move at a constant rate. If you can get 2 notes per beat (those are eighth notes) at 100 beats per minute, you're doing fine. And be sure to listen to that good old metronome while you exercise, you want your inner metronome to fuel your muscle memory. I recommend using small free weights, and simply curling your wrists. You can do palm faced up and palm faced down.

4. Exercise your feet: You have to use both feet while playing the drums, one to keep the hi-hat closed or open, and one to use the bass drum. It's all in the calves, baby. At any good gym you'll find a calf-raise machine. It is your new best friend.  So plug up that sweet metronome from your phone right into your earholes, and lift those calves with all the rhythm you can muster.

5. Let the battering commence: You're finally ready to get onto the drumset. Really prepare yourself, and take in every detail from the elegant combination of percussive instruments, from the difference of size between the crash cymbal and the ride cymbal, to the subtle differences between the high, mid, and floor toms. Now pick up your drumsticks, and place your feet onto the hi-hat and bass pedals. Let your instincts take over, and bash away in perfect time. Release every animalistic urge, every cognitive tension that you have bottle up. Get mad! Tell those drums that you know your rhythm, and you're going to let everyone in a half-mile radius know too!! Yell out  the counts of the beats at the top of your lungs!! Let the musical knowledge propel your arms down and clobber that tiny circular pad in evenly spaced intervals!! You're a master of rhythm!!!!!!!

Plastics- Madye Moore

I have been given plenty of advice over the years, from many different influential people in my life, yet the piece of advice that has stuck with me and has proven to be very beneficial over the years is from my mom. This piece of advice was to never second guess myself, always go with my first choice, whether it's on a test at school or just dealing with a decision I have to make in general. This piece of advice has stuck with me over the years because it's proven to be right in many situations. On tests, I tend to over think the answers, and most of the time I end up going back and changing what I had in the first place, only to get the test back and find that my first answer was correct. Although this is very frustrating, I've learned to just go with my first choice in whatever situation I may be in, because second guessing yourself never proves to be beneficial.

How to- Eliza Jane Schaeffer

How to make my favorite brownies:

1. Gather your ingredients, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit, preview the recipe to make sure there will be no surprises, and grease a 9 x 13 pan with a block of Crisco. 

2. Sift your flour, baking soda, and salt. Do not skip this step- this ensures that all of your dry ingredients are evenly mixed and not clumpy.

3. Place the butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe ball and microwave for one minute. Stir and put it back in for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat this process until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and mixed. 

4. Crack your eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until the yolk and the white are fully mixed. Slowly add in the sugar and beat until it is light yellow and glossy, at least 2 full minutes. 

5. Add chocolate to eggs and stir. Add flour. Avoid mixing any more than necessary. 

6. Stir in vanilla extract and chocolate chips.

7. Bake for 25 minutes in the middle rack of the oven. Before taking out, make sure that the middle is not jiggly and the top has developed a bit of a crust. 

8. Allow to cool for at least one hour before cutting. Otherwise, you'll make a huge mess. 

Hooray for Hollywood- Olivia McCrary

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/id/968924856/ratings

Buckets and Buckets- Olivia McCrary

Before I finish high school:

-Learn to stop procrastinating, develop time management skills

-Control my anxiety and stress

-Get all A’s, pass my AP tests, get a high score on the ACT and/or SAT, etc.

-Get into a good college

-Figure out my career plans

Top Priority: Figure out my career plans. I need some sort of idea because it could affect where I attend college. It’s embarrassing that I currently have no clue. I am way too indecisive.   

Before I finish college:

-Study abroad

-Overcome my social anxiety disorder

-Gain some level of confidence in myself

-Dedicate time to my hobbies (reading, art, writing, music, photography, etc.)

Top Priority: Overcome my social anxiety disorder. (Is this even possible?) I really shouldn’t live my life afraid of people. I need to stop avoiding communication.  Unfortunately, I have no idea how I will accomplish this.

Before I finish living:

-Travel the world

-Direct a film

-Find a stable job that I enjoy

-Keep in contact with my friends

-Maintain a healthy lifestyle

-Make a difference in the world, change someone’s life

Top Priority: Travel the world. I would love to visit at least 15 countries. I want to have a better understanding of the world and all cultures.

Hooray for Hollywood- Silvia Todorova

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/unbroken_2014/reviews/?page=2&type=user&sort=

Plastics- Silvia Todorova

The best piece of advice I've ever been told is to go with your gut. I'm a very indecisive person so I have a hard time making decisions, especially big ones. Whenever I don't know what to do I turn to my mom for help and she always tells me to go with my gut and do what ever my instincts tells me to do. I believe this is really good and valuable advice because it usually helps me make the right decision. Even though sometimes at first it doesn't feel like the I've made the right choice, when I follow my gut, in the end everything seems to work out.

Buckets and Buckets- Silvia Todorova

High School Goals

Maintain a high GPA

Get a 32 on my ACT

Pass all my AP tests

Get into one of my top colleges

Work with shoulder to shoulder in Honduras over the summer

Read more

The top item on this bucket list is to get at least a 32 on my ACT. this is a goal I have set for my self and I hope that I'll be able to achieve this score.

College Bucket List

Do a year abroad 

Be in a sorority 

See my friends that go to different schools

Meet new people

Make time for my family back home 

Go to medical school

The top item on my list is to meet new people. I love meeting new people and learning about them and making new friends. I belive it's really important to have a lot of connections in life and you do this by becoming friends with people.

Life Bucket List

Backpack through Europe

Visit every country in Europe

Learn to cook 

Work with Doctors without Boarders

Sky dive

Learn to surf 

Have a family

The top item on this list is to work with doctors without borders, it's an organization I've wanted to be a part of for as long as I can remember. I hope than being apart of this will make me grow as a person and help me learn a lot about different cultures as well as change/save other people's lives.

How to paint your nails- Silvia Todorova

1. The first and most important thing when painting your nails is to pick a color! For me this is always very difficult because I'm never sure what color I want my nails to be, I usually just go with a dark grey or nude because they match everything! 

2. Next make sure you have removed all of your nail polish and consider  trimming your nails before you begin

4. Pick a safe location where you won't get the nail polish on anything.

3. Now you are ready to apply the nail polish. Start by applying a light thin coat on your nails gently.

4. Once you have applied the first coat on both hands wait a few minutes for it to dry completely and then apply a second and possible third coat of the same nail polish color if needed.

5. Once you are satisfied with the color and the amount of coats apply a clear nail polish on top. The clear nail polish makes the color more shinny and also helps keep the nails from chipping. 

6. After you have applied the clear nail polish make sure you have waited long enough for the nail polish  to have dried completely  before you starting using your hands and touching things

Hooray for Hollywood- Tapan Darji

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/million_dollar_arm/?search=million%20dollar
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/user/id/968916812/ratings
Million Dollar arm was a good movie. The theme of the story was presented very well in a humorous way. It needed to do a better job depicting India, but the scene where they had to give money to the guy in the truck to get the shirts was genuine a thing that happens in India. It is a movie that I recommend for people to watch. It is a good family movie.

How to learn a new piece of music- Tapan Darji

How to learn new music.
1. Scan the piece and look for the road map (do you have to repeat a part, etc.), the key signature, and time signature.
2. Listen to a recording of the music.
3. Play through the whole piece, figuring out the hard sections.
4. Play the tough sections slowly and then gradually speed up as you get better at that part.
5. Work on the transition from the hard parts to the easy sections.
6. Put the sections together at the written tempo and then you are done learning the piece.

How To Do Math - Emily Salamanca

1. Pull out your homework, determined to understand and work meticulously until you do.
2. Not understand how to do the first problem.
3. Pull out your rushed, barely comprehensible notes. (You may have been asleep when the teacher was explaining how to do them.)
4. Try to understand your notes.
5. Fail whole-heartedly.
6. Begin doing other homework.
7. Nervously stare at your math as it approaches 7:00PM at night.
8. Struggle through the next 20 problems, making things up as you go along.
9. Feel bed, so you consciously try to understand at least 1 problem.
10. Surrender to Wolframalpha.com
11. Write down the answers at the back of the book.
12. Repeat every night until you realize that you understand, somehow.

Hooray for Hollywood - Sam Flomenhoft

Christopher Nolan is an acclaimed director with many famous movies to his name. Two of the biggest are Interstellar and Inception, both very trippy movies. One striking similarity between the two movies is I left the theater understanding less than when I entered and entered a continued state of mind blownness that lasted for weeks. I would not recommend watching these movies back to back just out of fear of forgetting everything you ever knew and having all logic turned upside down. In reference to director choices both movies also share similar qualities, such as the wide shot during action scenes and close shots during emotional moments. Both also use anti gravity and extreme use of computer generated images considering both are future concepts. Both were fantastic movies that I do recommend your viewing of at some point, just not back to back. Also, prepare to feel weird during and after trying to grasp what exactly you just experienced. After finally orienting yourself, due to your lack of understanding of the movie you will decide it must have been good and recommend it to others as well. If you have not yet seen either of these films, make plans to (safely) as soon as possible.

Buckets and Buckets - Sam Flomenhoft

Before I finish high school I have many goals for myself. Currently my number one goal is to improve as much as possible at track and help my four by eight team win at state (which is highly unlikely) but with enough hard work I could get there. I also hope to be accepted to Stanford.
Before I finish college I hope to become and expert at the piano and guitar, and become a sufficient singer and start a fun band with some friends just for fun.
Before I finish life I want to take a trip around the world by myself or with a few close friends and experience the amazingness of nature and new cultures. This has been a long time dream of me and this trip would take at least half a year. I might join the peace corps as well which would be good for experiencing other cultures. In general I'm excited to see the whole world.

Plastics - Sam Flomenhoft

Over the years I have gotten myriads of advice phrased in many different ways. One piece of advice that has always stuck with me is "he generally gave himself very good advice, yet he rarely benefited from it." This quote is basically saying that people often know the correct course of action yet we choose not to follow it. Through learning the hard way I realized that my gut feeling is there for a reason and I should listen to it.There have been numerous times in the pass where I ignored my instinct and ended up worse for it. Now when making decisions I always carefully evaluate what my natural tendency would be before going further and although sometimes I still ignore it, it is always on my mind.

how to... Brandon Castillo

How to... run a 10k for beginners (to the best of my knowledge)
1. Set a goal time and pay to enter in a city race in the foreseeable future as this will make you want to push yourself and more than likely actually do it as you have already payed for it.
2. Go on your own pace for as far as you are comfortable with on the first day to see where your base level of fitness is. Don't push it, as it will progressively get harder every time.
3. Once you found your baseline of fitness, try to build mileage overtime and don't worry about the speed of it at all! If you run one mile this week, try doing two next week, then three the next, and so on. This will build cardiovascular endurance for your race, which is about 95% of what energy is expended when running over two miles. Every time you do this, you should feel better than the week before and feel like you can do it.
4. Make sure to rest at least once a week in order to give your body a chance to recover to avoid injury or burnout (repeatedly doing something without break, to the point you don't enjoy it anymore).
5. Do a 5k in between in order to see how you've progressed and feel the distance in an actual race setting if possible.
6. If you aren't really worried about your time then I would recommend to just keep building mileage and aerobic endurance as this would be the easiest way to get into race-shape, but if you have a time in mind, then you could possible start adding some new stuff. This could include speed workouts to help your muscles get used to running faster. Also, doing sit-ups and push-ups go a long way when you're wanting a good time.
7. Run the 10k. When its the big day, eat normally and drink water, do what you would do on any given day is the best advice I have as I believe routine is key in order to run a good race. Do the same stretches before your race as you always do and same cool down as you always do.
8. Be happy its over with

Assignment 20: How to...

Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What's a sundial in the shade?
--Benjamin Franklin

Ben makes a good point. For this week, put your gifts and skills on display by developing a "how-to."Choose something that you have a level of expertise in and explain step by step how it is done.

No repeats though! If two people are both really talented at making ice and one beats the other to the post on "How to make ice..." then, second person - you need to reflect upon your other talents.

So, stop standing in the shade and astound us!

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, February 15th at 11:59 pm

(Last day to make up posts 18-20)

Plastics-Tapan

The piece of advice that has stuck is from my mom. She told me to not dwell on the past but focus on how you can fix those mistakes in the future. I would get sad or mad if something went wrong and I would only focus on that mistake. I would get mad at myself or cry. This advice helps me in my life because I don't dwell on the past anymore. What happened happened. Now I think about how to improve next time and not make the same mistakes. I don't get mad at myself as much anymore. This advice has built up my confidence and self esteem. I now accept my mistakes and don't dwell over my failures. I take them as lessons about what not to do next time so I can succeed next time and don't make the same mistakes and repeat history over and over again.

Plastics- Isabelle Rinker

"When you know your worth, no one can make you feel worthless." This was a quote I stumbled upon about a year ago, and it has helped me get through each and every day since then.

This school year, I have participated in Catholic Leadership Institute, the EAP mentoring program, Youth Salute, and other leadership programs. To be honest, if you had asked me freshman year if I saw myself as a leader, I would have said "no". But throughout high school, I have grown to be a strong, confident woman who does, in fact, posses leadership qualities. And I have always been a natural leader, but my lack of confidence freshman year prevented me from applying to leadership programs and utilizing those skills. I was afraid of what others would think.

But the thing is, it doesn't matter what others think. And when I realized that, I discovered my true potential as a leader. I knew my worth. And no one was going to make me feel worthless. So many people have told me they admire my confidence, and I thank those people. But confidence wasn't always something I had. I had to realize my worth enough to step outside my comfort zone, regardless of what others would say.

Plastics- Eliza Jane Schaeffer

The best advice I've ever gotten is from my mother. Ever since my brothers and I were little and would complain about something being "impossible" that we "can't do," my mom always responded with "can't never could." I used to absolutely hate it when she said that. It would bother me because she would never acknowledge that I couldn't do something. "I can't go to swim practice, it's too cold." "I can't jump off the high dive, it's too scary." Her response was always "can't never could!" 

As I got older, the meaning behind the saying really hit me. Can't never could. If you say you can't do something, there is a one hundred percent garuntee that you won't do it. But if you believe you can for just five seconds, enough to say "sure I'll try," you might just be able to.

So in middle school, when I really wanted to break a 6 minute mile but struggled, I told myself can't never could and I did it. Freshman year when I was overwhelmed by the size of Henry Clay and was scared to talk to people I didn't know, I told myself can't never could and I did it. This year, I almost chickened out of running for KYA Governor because I was certain I'd fail. But can't never could, so I gave it a shot. 

Now every time I hear someone say they "can't" do something, I only respond with my mother's advice. It probably bothers them as much as it bothered me when I was little, but one day it'll hit them and they will thank me.