College

Thinking about college is a very scary thing, especially when you are only going to be sixteen years old when you go. I am fourteen at the moment and a junior in high school. That thought just gives me chills because it does not feel like I should being leaving for college in a year and a half. Some other people at Kennedy are a grade ahead and I wonder how they feel about it? Some may like it and others may not.

For me, it is a wondrous thing, but at the same time, it is horrible.  It is good because of the fact that it is challenging and you meet a lot of nice people along the way that gasp at the fact that you are so young. It is bad because you truly do not know very many people of the same age. Another bad thing would be that I play a sport, and probably will not be able to play division one soccer no matter how hard I work.

Being two grades ahead really did not take any time to get used to because being ahead at such a young age is often hard to remember. But trying to remember what it was like to be around people of the same age is frustrating because I cannot think of one time that I have had a class with someone younger than I am. Recently moving down to my own age group in soccer has helped me to make friends of my age and they are wonderful people to be around.

College has not hit fully yet but I know it will senior year. Not knowing where I want to go or what I want to do is terrifying, but hopefully it will get figured out soon or it could be too late. Vet school sounds pretty interesting, or being a teacher of some sort, but we will see where God takes things and that is all I have to worry about. (337 words)

Encouragement

When you play a sport, do you like when people encourage you? I feel like it encourages you to do your best and work as hard as you can, but others think that it makes them play worse and I just do not get it. Although it may seem like they are getting angry at you, they are just trying to make you better at whatever you are doing. That is why sometimes the more successful people are the ones you take criticism and use it to benefit themselves so that you can become the best player you can be.

Things like “play quicker”, “keep your head up”, and “don’t give up” and all things to take in because if you do not, then you will never be the player that you want to be. Letting something like that get into your head is very bad because you end up just playing even worse or you end up not liking the person saying it because you think they are doing it to bring you down, but that is not the case. Even if they are trying to bring you down just ignore it and let yourself shine.

If you take a look at all of the professional sports players out there you will see that they do not let what other people say effect them because if they did, they would not be where they are today. No matter how hard you work and how hard you try to be on everyone’s good side there will always be someone that will try to break you down but just take that gesture of hate and put it in your mind as a thing to work on so that you get better.

If you take criticism and work at it, you will be successful. You will feel good about yourself because not only does it make you successful, but it makes you the best you can be and a good player that a lot of people will respect. So do not worry if people are not supportive of you, just take what they have to say and make your life better as a player. Players of all ages can take this advice, but the sooner you do the better because if you learn at a young age, you will be able to grow as a player faster, and be ahead of all of the other players. (406 words)

Nature vs. Nurture

When you are growing up, you never realize how much your family influences you. Most people would say that you grew up in a normal household. But did you really? Although you may think that you did, everyone is raised different and everyone has that one thing that they say or do that is different from what other families do. You may talk differently, or dress different, or maybe even look not normal to some people. The truth is, is that each individual is different in their own way.

If you were born into a family that likes the dress and talk southern, then you probably will do the same.  Most people think their family is normal and the way they grew up is normal because they are used to it. You are raised to know your right and wrongs which is a reason that some kids or adults do things that most people would not approve of. To you that is normal, but do you see what I’m saying? If you were growing up thinking that all animals are bad and they bite and hurt you, then you will most likely think that throughout your life living in a house that people believe that in.

Who is really to judge what is normal? Maybe what you grew up knowing is right, but not considered normal in today’s society. Today, what is normal is wearing the trend of the year (which in this case is PINK, Miss Me, and Uggs) because it is the new “hot” style. But being normal is not always about that, it is doing what is right and what you grew up thinking was right. Although it may not be right, as long as it does not hurt anyone, that is okay.

As you can see, the way you nurture your kids in the future will have a big impact. Parents should teach their kids about what is right, because that is the way to get them to be successful. Growing up in a good home with good parents is a thing that some kids dream about, so if you have been raised very well then you should be thankful that they care for you. Even if you tell your kids the right thing, it may not be considered “normal” but that is the right thing to do because that is what parents are supposed to do. (403 words)

Real or Fake?

High school helps kids to figure out who and what is in their lives. Seeing who sticks with you and who does not quit on you when you need help the most is a very surprising aspect of it. Some friends are there for you no matter what you are going through, some are with you when you have good days, but not bad days, and some are just not there at all.

The ones that stay with you through everything are the people that we call best friends, the ones that are around sometimes, but not always are your fake friends, and the ones who are never there are just the people that you know, but do not really talk to. When you are in school, everyone wants to have the most friends that they possibly can, but what they do not realize is that when you go to college, three quarters of those people are not going to be there and you will not talk to them unless running into them at the store, or an event.

From a personal opinion, I feel as though the best of friends are made during sports. When playing a sport, you have to trust and depend on every single one of your teammates or you will not be successful, and that is why you become so close with them. It takes a while to get used to your teammates at first, but when you do, the friendships that you make are unbelievable, and you will most likely be friends with those people for quite a long time.

As you can see, just because you think you have so many people that will be there for you, it is interesting to find out who really is, and who is not. But no matter who is there and who is not, you should be thankful for all of the wonderful people you have in your life. (325 words)

Work

Some strive for greatness and others have to work for it. Although working for it can sometimes be hard, just remember to keep going. When you have a bad day you probably think “my life sucks” but really, it is just a minor set back of your life. You live many days so if one of your days is not working out you can just think of previous days or days that are to come. Maybe you are looking forward to holidays, birthdays, or just a get together with your friends.

Every person has a bad day at some point and that is just something that people have to deal with. Some examples of bad days are when you may have made a mistake and gotten in to trouble, or your parents yelled at you, or you got in a fight with a friend. These are all things that are quite easy to get over although you may not think so.

Apologizing, that word seems to be the most difficult word to say. It is the word that could make your day better. The reason that some do not like to say it is because it means that they are wrong, or that they did something that was not allowed and approved of. Parents are a good example of this because they like you to say sorry for being wrong and that make you feel like they are superior over you. Some also do not like it because sometimes, you are not wrong, they may think you are, but you know you are right.

Sports are another example of hard days. You may have a running day where all you do is run your heart out and you get no cheer for it, the only thing you get is the satisfaction of knowing that you worked hard and that you gave it your all. Maybe you had an easy practice, where you feel like you went for nothing because you did not learn anything new or get better at anything. And lastly, maybe you had a practice where you were just off of your game and you were making a ton of mistakes.

The truth is, is that everyone has these types of days at some point in life. You just have to learn to face it and try harder to make it better the next day because that is how you will succeed in most of the things that you do. (414 words)

Growing Up

Love. Trust. Friendship. These are all words to describe the relationship with a family. Although sometimes you may feel like they are not always there for you, they are. Fight break out here and there, you may say a few things that you wish you could take back, but just realize that you have grown up with these people, and they have never given up on you. Just think, did your family ever support you at games? If so, that is a thing that you should be thankful for because they took their time out of their schedule to come and watch you.

From the time you were little, until now, you have probably though to yourself, “wow, my relationship with my family has changed so much.” Whether it is a good change like getting closer and building a strong relationship, or a bad change like getting farther apart as the days go by. Growing apart from your family can be a good thing, or a bad thing. A good thing would be becoming more independent, but a bad thing would be not have a relationship with them anymore, knowing that you used to know what it was like to be close.

Most of your younger years are spent with your family. Holidays, going to sporting events, or just taking a road trip, these are the kind of memories that you want to remember for the rest of your life. Without those memories, you would not be the person you are today because the things that you have done with your family have impacted the person that you are today. Even the littlest of things can change your life and you should charish every moment that you can. Becoming you is the most azaming thing the think about and process because you have changed so much from when you were little. (330 words)

Just Be You

Have you ever heard someone say “be who you want to be, not who others want you to be”? Lately I have realized how many people do not follow this saying. Kids try so hard to fit in with the popular crowd because if they are not “cool” enough to be in that group, then they are judged because people wonder why they are not good enough for some kids. For some kids, it is a big deal to be a part of school activities because they like to be social, but others just like to keep to themselves. Neither of these things are bad, but some think you are weird if you are not in the group that they are in.

In high school, it seems like everything is a popularity contest. Whether it is how loud people cheer for you at games, homecoming king and queen, or how many people say hi to you in the halls. Even if you are the most popular girl or boy in the school you will always have people that do not like you or that do not want to see you succeed. The key to succeeding is not letting any of those people get into your head, and not letting them make you feel like you are not a good person.

Some are shy, loud, joyful, sad, to themselves, or just straight up annoying, but they are all similar to you in a way. Judging them is the wrong thing to do, just think about how much you would like it if someone did that to you. I bet most people would not like it. So next time you feel like saying something bad about others, don’t because they are just being the people that they want to be. (300 words)

Music

When you ask a teen if they can live without an ipod in school, the answer will most likely be no. In our generation, music plays a big factor in everyday life. Mp3s Became ipod touch screens and every kid wanted to have one to listen to music on. What kind of music do kids listen to? Well the thing is, is that you cannot really point out a certain kind of music for different types of people. Some like country, some like rock, pop, rap, or maybe even reggae music. Everyone has their own opinion and that is what you have to deal with.

From a personal stand point, I love all types of music, but that does not apply to all people. Pop and rap have become very popular over the years but country made a big gain on popularity. Country music is what people listen to so that they can get things off of their minds, relax and just enjoy the music that they are listening to. Country is also a thing that you listen to when you are feeling down and need to be cheered up, or of you need an inspiration.

To some people, rock music is an old kind of music that your parents and grandparents would have listened to back in their day, but rock is still alive today, just not as popular. Parents, especially dads, are fond of rock music because that is what they grew up listening to just like we grew up listening to pop and rap. Rock is a good kind of music to listen to when you want to dance, or just have a good time.

Pop and rap are very popular today. Sure rap sounds like a big mess of words that are being said, but in my opinion, rap music has the most meaningful lyrics depending on what artist you are listening to. Pop is popular because that is the most common type of music to sing, and people enjoy the way it sounds.

Reggae music has never been very popular, but some people do enjoy it. Reggae music has a certain “chill” factor about it. It just makes you want to sit and relax, and maybe even sing along. It has been sung on shows like American Idol and that was entertaining to watch, but still isn’t sung enough to remotely come close to other types of music. Sometimes I think that because it seems foreign, like it belongs in a different country because it sounds different, but it is still enjoyable. (430 words)