Reasons (362)

Due to recent events, I thought a blog post was needed with a list of reasons to live. Suicide and mental illness are real issues that need to stop. Hopefully this list will remind people why life is so beautiful.
Reasons to live:
1. That moment when you're in the car with your friends and the music is blasting and you realize how much you love them.
2. The smell of taking a walk after rain
3. Eating puppy chow
4. Fresh sheets
5. When you wake up in the summer to birds chirping
6. Old middle school songs that you know every word too
7. Lunch dates with your best friend
8. Sunny days and 80 degrees
9. Beach days in the summer where you get sand everywhere but you don't care
10. Boating
11. When your cat comes and cuddles with you
12. When you come home and your dog jumps on you
13. Hearing old stories from relatives
14. Hot chocolate on Christmas Eve
15. The first snow fall
16. Your birthday
17. Getting older and things changing
18. When you lease your first place and get to decorate it how you want
19. Getting to know your parents way better than you already do
20. The feeling after a good workout
21. The feeling after a win with your team
22. Senior prom
23. Getting your drivers license and first car
24. Krsipy Kreme
25. Newbo Pizza
26. Getting your nails done and having a fresh set
27. Driving with the sun roof open
28. First loves
29. Getting a really good grade on a test
30. Trips with your bestfriends
31. The big city
32. College visits
33. Cram sessions
34. Cookie dough from Coffee Smith's
35. Going to PetLand and playing with all of the puppies
36. Music that brings back memories
37. Getting a new hair cut
38. Graduating high school
39. Being happy and healthy because that is the biggest thing that we need to be thankful for. Go home and hug your parents, siblings, and friends because you never know when the last time you will get to talk to them will be.

Why it's better to be on your own in high school (191)

       It's the biggest cliche. Wanting to have a high school boyfriend to go to every dance with, then college, and then marriage and blah blah blah happy ever after. But what if it all get's switched up? I have come to realize that finding yourself and being on your own makes a better you than any boy or girl could. Here are a few reasons why it's better to be single anyways.
1) More money in the bank. With out the money it takes to keep another person (food, presents, etc.) you will be rolling in the dough and being able to make purchases for yourself. More money = more ice cream for you!
2) No time wasted. Nothing lasts forever so don't waste your time on someone that will eventually end.
3) You don't have to share the blanket or any of your food while watching netflix.
4) You can do whatever and whenever without the need to make time for that special someone.
5) More time with your girlfriends
6)You get to find yourself without the need to make someone happy
ITS WAY BETTER OK THAT IS ALL.

Put the guns down (339)

       It has been a tough time for our district the past few weeks as we have lost some of our own. Most recently, a sophomore from Washington has lost his life because of a gun and it has shook the community. He was part of the basketball team, baseball team, and football team so he was very well known. Guns are so easily accessed now a days and gun violence and laws are being pushed in the media because of recent issues. Political candidates go back and forth in debates about whether guns should be as easy to get as candy and people everywhere have strong opinions on this issue. It never really hits us how easy guns are accessed until it hits home, though. When movie theaters are shot up, when innocent elementary kids are at risk because of a psycho with a gun, or when an innocent African American teen gets shot and killed does it only become prominent to us. This time, though, it was a child that had so much going for him. It was a team mate and a peer who now leaves an empty spot on the field or court and an empty desk in the class room. People always use the justification "the person shot the gun and the gun didn't shoot itself", but the shot wouldn't have gone  off if the gun wasn't accessible. Little kids carry around guns just like they carry around books because we have been desensitized to the multiple shootings around the world. When another mass shooting happens we shrug it off because it happens all the time, when we should actually be asking ourselves what is wrong with the world. Instead of handing out guns, we should be handing out our heart on our sleeve and making this world a better place for our children and our children's children. We always talk about global warming and leaving a better world for out children with a smaller footprint, but what about leaving better children for our world?

Effort: Failed (534)

        Thursday at school, there was an assembly held. One that never really addressed the reason why we were there, just beat around the bush which annoyed me. We were all gathered in a gym listening to a person with a microphone because someone was not there, which is what the person with the microphone didn't address. Brielle Thompson, a sweet and loved girl, took her life because of bullying. There i said it. I feel like just those words spoken from a person of authority would've had a bigger impact on us than a video, some speakers, and a group of kids singing (no hard feelings). One assembly talking about bullying will not change us. What we need is a social revolution if we ever want to change the suicide rates, the bullying rates, the mental illness rates. Many people take mental illness as a joke, but do they not realize that we most likely cause them? Telling us to write kind words on a clothespin was a nice gesture, but these people must be crazy if they think it will change anything at all. I still saw people write mean things as jokes which makes me wonder if the assembly was just a waste of time because of the misleading words from the speakers. Mr. Kline preached kindness because we are surrounded by negativity, Amanda Goodwin preached that we can't let others define us, and Nina Yu preached about accepting everybody. But it is not that easy. In my opinion, the adults babied us in this situation. A child, our classmate, is dead because of girls actions and words. A little girl will never get to experience love, a marriage, kids, graduation, or another summer day. Why does that not seem like a problem to adults? We need to address this situation head on if we want people to change. We need to put them in the shoes of Brielle's friends and family to feel what they are feeling. I don't think others get that being nice goes a long way that's why i try to say "hi" to everybody in the hall ways. You never know when someone is having a bad day, you never know when someone has problems at home, you just never know when someone is dealing with a certain type of hell so why make it worse, ya know? It's scary that our society and this generation pours hurts out of their mouth and crawls out of their fingertips on to a keyboard to show the world. Do we not care? Have we lost feeling? We can spew "slut" and
whore" so easily at someone that we used to call our bestfriend and it doesn't even phase us. We can talk so much crap about someone and make fun of them and it doesn't even phase us! We need something much more than an assembly and we need it now if we want this to change because people keep dying and nothing is changing. For Brielle and for the rest of the innocent lives that have fallen victim to suicide, we need to rise up and unite in kindness if we want any of the statistics to change.

Spring Break

Spring Break is a time to get out of town and take a BREAK. For seniors, the typical location is Mexico and everybody tries to get somewhere warm for a week after a long and brutal winter. If you are like me and are staying back home in Cedar Rapids, you get pretty bored throughout the week. Here are a few things to do so you can stay productive.

-Go to the NewBo City Market! It’s a fun, fresh, and local place that is home to many local stores and restaurant. Make sure to bring lots of money though, because I guarantee you will not leave with a penny left.

-Go on a walk or a bike ride with your best friends. With the Cedar Valley Nature Trail winding throughout Cedar Rapids, you can make a day of this activity! Start one way and venture down the trail and make sure to stop at cute restaurants and local stores on the way!

-Make a day trip. Even if you aren’t going to the beach, Iowa City is only a short drive away and there is so much to do there. You and your buds can stop and see the friendly faces at PetLand, you can shop till you drop at CoralRidge Mall, and end the night with a Hawkeye basketball game!

-Get a job! Even if it’s just for the week, you are rolling the dough in! You can babysit your neighbor’s kids while they are at work or ask your neighbors if they need help with yard work. Pretty much anything to keep you busy is what we are aiming for!

                Whatever you do on your spring break, make it a good one with tons of memories to share with your friends when the dreaded school week starts again. 

live

This week has been filled with tragedies, including losing a friend to many due to a car accident. Kennedy was hit hard because many were friends even though he had moved to Illinois in the middle of my freshman year. I will always remember Payton as my science partner who always wanted everyone to be laughing and happy, as many will too. It has also impacted me and my peers as a reminder that life is so short and shouldn’t be taken advantage of. It’s scary to think that just a week ago, he was alive and now he won’t get to graduate with our class. Tell the people you love, that you love them. Make sure you never leave some one angry. Stay happy and live a positive life because you just never know when your last time seeing someone will be your last. Also, be careful of what you do and don’t be reckless. When you are driving put your phone down and away and slow down. Put your phone down when you are with the people you love because they want to see you and talk to you other than just looking at your phone. In all, just make sure that you live with no regrets and that you build relationships that will last a life time. Never take time for granted because you never know when it can be stripped from you or someone that you love. The truth is: You just never know. 

Words that needed to be said (627)

      Dear Brielle,

                The shock of your death has shaken our school from your best friend to someone like me who didn’t even know you. Although I wish I did. It is horrible that I have to meet you this way and I wish I knew how much you were hurting before you made the decision to end it all. I think what you did taught a lesson to our whole school, that no action should go unnoticed. The signs of depression are small but prominent and it hurts me that nobody noticed yours. What also sucks is although this has changed the way people have treated each other in the last few days, I’m afraid that it will stay in those few days. Kennedy needs to change this, for you, because nobody should ever have to feel as lonely and hurt like you did. We need to start treating EVERYONE like a human being, not just our friends. Being nice goes a long way and it could make someone’s whole day. This situation made me want to get to know every single person at Kennedy because I am saddened that your sadness went unnoticed. I wish we would have learned this sooner and that it shouldn’t take an innocent teenage girl with her whole life ahead of her to finally wake up and realize how we need to treat people. My prayers go out to your family in this horrific situation. Rest up.

To everyone reading this,

                Please don’t ever feel like you are alone. There is always someone who has an open door and ear and would love to help you out of feeling down. Girls are mean, there is no doubt in that claim. They tear each other a part even if they were best friends only a year ago and the harsh words really do get to you. I can’t stress enough how important it is to be kind to one another. You never know who is going through what and one dirty look could put them over the edge. So I challenge you: Don’t criticize anybody for an hour, then a day, and then a week, and see how much better you feel and how many feelings you didn’t hurt. Teenagers are losing the fight to suicide at an astonishing rate now and it sucks that it took one of our own to commit it to realize what needs to be changed. Why can’t we just be decent people? Surround yourself with positivity and positivity will come out of you. Just be kind.

To anyone feeling like they have no one,

                You matter. That’s the first thing you need to hear. I don’t care if girls are tearing you down with mean actions and words and making you feel worthless, you matter. You need to believe this and believe that you will get through ever feeling that you are feeling right now. But do not end it. Think about your mom finding you and wondering where she went wrong. Think about your dad having to stay up all night because he is haunted by the fact that he couldn’t help you. Think about your best friend and how she wouldn’t be able to deal with coming to school because she couldn’t deal with the reminder that you won’t ever walk her to 2^nd period ever again. Think about your significant other and how they would be broken. Most of all, think about the impact. A suicide effects everyone even the people who never even heard of you, like Brielle and I. I never knew her yet I’m stuck thinking about her for the past few days hurting because of how she was hurting. You matter. You can do it, Don’t give up.

-Brooke