from me to you (729)

      A year ago around this time, I remember being so infatuated with someone that i would've done anything for them. I loved them more than I loved myself and that is terrifying to think about. I am living without the one person I thought I could never live without, thriving actually. You always think that things will go the way that they are planned and that is how I was. I was never emotionally ready for anything thrown my way because I was so dependent on this person to be there and be my rock.

So then what happens when your rock decides one day that they don't love you anymore? What then?

      That is what my journey was about. I hit rock bottom after that day because I thought that things would never get better and that something as "great" as us would never happen again (hopeless romantic, I know). I could've sat around hating the world and making sure that the other person got the satisfaction of seeing me down but that is not what I wanted. I found out that day that I am way stronger than I thought. I saved myself, for myself and not for the other person this time. I thought over and over and over and over and over multiple times what had happened and what I could've done to keep that person. I thought I wasn't good enough or that I wasn't deserving of what he gave me, but that is all wrong. If some one can lie to your face saying that they care about you and then completely drop you, they are in the wrong sweetheart. No matter how loyal you are, how forgiving you are, how compassionate you are, there is no way in hell you can change someone's bad habits no matter how many times they promise not to do it again. I realized that I am deserving of the type of love that I so willingly give to everybody else. I learned that you can not love someone into loving you and i asked myself why i was holding on to someone who so easily let go. You can love an old version of someone as much as you want, but it will not bring them back. It will not inspire them to treat you as their old self did. Times change as people do too and that is the first step in learning to love yourself. I realized that the past was in the past for a reason so why let it touch me? I can't remember how many ice cream cups I ate that weekend to be honest. I took it upon myself to make that month a month of special transformation in to the new person I wanted to be. I no longer wanted to be a girl that was hung up over a boy or the girl who depended on someone else so I decided to change for the benefit of myself. I gave more of my free time to my family and friends, I cooked more, I started to do things again that i don't even know why i stopped. I didn't go out and throw myself around at other guys or jump into a relationship at first because I wanted to heal myself. I will never not wear my heart on my sleeve because love that fails should not make you bitter. I realized that the person you want is the person you are sometimes better off without! I learned that you can love the old version of someone and still realize that they are different now. I looked at the whole situation as something I would never get over at first. Now, half a year later I am glad that it did happen and I am happy that this person showed me their true colors because I learned a love that is greater than any love you can have for some one else: self love.

      To any girl going through a situation like this: please keep going! Do not think it is the end of the world because things do get better. One day you just wake up and realize that you are perfectly okay with out someone that you thought you would never get over. Keep your head up and pass the time by learning to love yourself :)

Summer Fun (233)

As summer approaches and is currently inching closer and closer, we have so much time on our hands to do anything we want to. Sadly, a majority of teenagers use the time to sleep in and not enjoy the warm weather because they don't know everything that is available in Cedar Rapids.

-You can go downtown to the ampitheater for a summer concert. The schedule is available online to see when your favorite artist is available.
-The down town farmers market is a good way to connect with friends and your local businesses as they sell produce and home made goods
-Go to the pool! This might sound lame because the pool is where little kids hang out but if you are with a couple of your friends it can actually be a pretty fun time.
-Go to the beach! My favorite is McBride because there are so many fun things for everybody. You can rent a paddle boat or even kayaks. You can also just chill out on the beach for the day and catch some rays.
- Check out the cool festivals such as the freedom festival in July or Hog Wild Days in June!
- Catch up with some friends over a delicious fruit-zen sno-cone.

There are so many other things to do this summer instead of sitting inside and watching another episode of netflix so get out there and have fun!

Time (273)

    Time. As teenagers, we run through life always living off the hands on the clock. We have a schedule every day that we plan out accordingly and rush and rush and rush through the day just waiting to get home. We don't ever just stop and look around us to enjoy the life that we were given. There is always a homework assignment to be done, an appointment that needs to be gotten to, or a job that we must be at for a certain amount of time.

  24 Hours.

    That is how much time we have in a day to make it a great day. We go to school, wait to come home, and then are busy the whole night. We live off of a clock and are always wishing that we had just a little bit more time to fit every thing in the day. With there being little time in a day and staying busy, there is not time for us to enjoy what we should out of life. We think that we live off of a clock but in reality it is only a ticking time bomb on the wall awaiting our death and by that time we will regret not doing certain things because we always took the time to check the time or meet a deadline. Go to the park with your friends, meet for a dinner date, make time to see your family and actually spend time with them. So much time is wasted waiting for the clock to run out to leave, but what about when it runs out for good? Will you be satisfied?

When too much is just too much. (210)

      Warmer weather. This has been on the minds of every student at Kennedy High School for the past couple weeks. As the weather gets warmer, it is necessary to wear less clothes to be comfortable in school. Students comply to this by wearing shorts, tank tops, dress, etc. A dress code is put in place at our school to help distractions from learning because of distracting clothing. I do believe that the dress code is used to the wrong people, but some girls really do push it. I think it is okay to be able to wear shorts or show a little bit of your stomach, but please don't wear bra and underwear to school. Some girls comply to the fashions of movie stars and models and walk to streets of high fashion cities, not the hallways of a public school. In my opinion, the dress code is a little harsh, but it needs to target the right people. A girl should not be called down to the office for showing skin but another girl flaunts her belly button. It just isn't right to me. This spring let us change the dress code inequality so everyone has an equal chance to wear what they want while still being not distracting.

Incoming freshmen (726)

Dear incoming freshmen,
       It's scary thinking about high school, isn't it? Next year you will be spiraled into a school full of kids that are older and wiser and yet again you will be the baby of the school. I'm just going to tell you straight up that high school is probably not what you think. Once you enter freshmen year, the idea that you are too "cool" for anything will soon be washed away. Your best friend group won't stick together. I can guarantee that everything will be different. You will soon come to be thankful for your study halls because the homework load increases dramatically. Speaking of classes and homework, sign up for something different and please challenge yourself don't go through high school trying to take the easy way out because you will not get the entirety of Kennedy's opportunities. I signed up for sculpting freshman year and it ended up being my favorite class of the entire day. I have also never had a free period or study hall because I have jam packed my schedule of a variety of classes because our school is so awesome in offering classes for different levels in intellectuals. You will soon learn to pursue your passions. Kennedy is so very diverse with something for everybody. Choosing from activities like sports, show choirs, or even knitting club it is important to find your niche and stick with it so you have something to escape to when things get hard. You will always learn about the drama which is the equivalent of middle school drama magnified by one hundred times. There are ways to make sure to avoid these problems, though, and that is with the biggest lesson you should learn while you are here. You should not care about whats others think about you, only about what makes you happy. You will become thankful for the attendance ladies because who do you think writes the thousands of passes to call you out because your parents so kindly called you out of school. The teachers at Kennedy are phenomenal. They put in several more hours then they are required to because they actually care about your academic success which is something i don't think could be found anywhere else. You will soon become thankful for the longer lunch that got blessed to us from the district Gods because it is what allows the athletes, the writers, the artists, and the hard workers a chance to get their homework done or to get extra help. The classes offered at this school are by far the best that you will get the opportunity to take. The artists get their art classes, the athletes get gym, the social studies lovers can load up on different classes in that area. When I tell you that your friend group changes, please do not take that lightly. It will guaranteed. This is not a bad thing at all either! When you enter high school there are so many different directions that you can take to fit where you belong and your eight beloved friends will not have the same interests and that is okay! You meet new friends that share your interests and you may or may not lose the girls you spent your middle school years with, and this is all just a part of growing up and is perfectly normal. Another thing i want to touch on is relationships. They are not like the movies and expecting them to be like that is just one cause of failure. Your high school boyfriend, if you chose to get in to a relationship, will most likely not buy you designer hand bags or diamond rings, but that does not make him a bad boyfriend! Be happy if he takes time out of his day to get you your favorite ice cream, it's the little things that matter anyways. I personally recommend no relationships so you can just have fun with your high school years. I was in a relationship for over two years which ended this year and girl let me tell you it has been the best year of my life figuring out who i am! The choice is yours for the next four years to find out who you are and who you want to be, so make it great :)

Fad Diets (287)

While recently scrolling through my Facebook feed i came upon the "GM Diet". This diet consists of eating one type of food a day for 7 days and at the end of the week, you are supposedly going to be 10 pounds lighter. I like fruit and i like vegetables so i thought why not try this? I was looking to shed off some winter weight and this looked like a good idea for quick weight loss and on top of that i work out nearly every day. On the first day, i strictly ate pineapple and cantaloupe. The cravings were quickly diminished and i thought i was doing pretty good. The next day i started with the baked potato and i was supposed to eat vegetables all day. I went to workout on the second day and i was completely exhausted. I couldn't do anything that i could do before because i was pretty much starving myself! This is not a healthy way to shed the pounds and please let me be an example to all not to try this. I felt so tired and weak only on the second day that i couldn't imagine how i would feel on the last few days. It's scary to think that girls do this so much to meet society's idea of what people should weigh. A more healthy and realistic diet plan should include enough fruits, veggies, and protein to get you through the day and still be able to work out to build the muscle that is necessary to lose body fat. With fad diets, the weight gets packed back on when the person begins to eat like normal so it's just like torturing yourself for nothing.

Promposals (71)

       Prom is write around the corner! With it being so close, promposal season is in full swing. If you are trying to figure out a way to ask your significant other, it can be hard because you want to make it perfect! What you should do is just find what that special someone likes and incorporate it into the question and make sure it is a surprise because girls love that!

Rules for Kennedy (237)

        I have called Kennedy my home for almost 3 whole years now and through each crazy school day, I feel as though there are some things that freshmen should know before they come to school here.
1. Never eat school meals. Rice krispies and pop tarts are acceptable but everything else is disgusting.
2. Get a locker even if you don't think you will use it a lot. When you don't have to carry around 3 bags a day you will thank me.
3. Don't take the easy way out, take some AP classes and fill your free periods with classes. It will help you in the long run.
4. Don't pay your parking tickets. It's really not that serious, and yes you will still graduate.
5. Make friends in all your classes. Don't be the stuck up girl that just sits on her phone and doesn't talk to people.
6. The door by the west gym isn't blocked for SMART lunch, you're welcome.
7. Take AP pysch with Mrs. Melone but drop if you get Corey
8. Use the teacher avoidance list during registration towards your advantage.
9. Avoid AP seminar at all costs
10. Don't walk .84759 mph in the foyer. Thanks :)
11. It isn't cute to make out with your boyfriend under the stairs. Keep that shit at home please.
12. Actually do your homework it's not that hard to pass a class

social revolution (827)

Bullying has always been an issue with adolescents. The introduction of technology and the shows depicting “mean girls” warped the minds of the youth to think that this behavior is okay. Adolescents are so vulnerable during their teenager years that it is easy to make someone feel low. Girls and boys pick and tear at their peers until they have no other choice but to end it all. This sickens me as I watch people around me make fun of others for something they can’t change, but what also bothers me is the way the adults in our lives handle this. Instead of a whole school assembly to teach us to be “kind”, we are in need of a huge social revolution if we want to create a better society to eliminate bullying and suicide.

                Social media was the catalyst and we were the chemicals. Introduction of social media was meant to connect with others, share ideas, and know what’s going on in the world around us. Adolescents use it in a satanic way; bashing others with words typed by fingers because they think they are protected by a screen. They do it to get likes or favorites, anything to get people laughing and gain followers. What no one really thinks about is the person on the other side of the screen. It is fairly easy to type out “You’re ugly” and hit send without batting an eye. If you were face to face with this person, though, would you still hurl nasty words at them? Probably not. Hurting feelings is the last thing on people’s minds when throwing mean words at a screen. These people are cowards; they have enough power and strength to type out words thinking that they have the false protection of the electronics’ screen. I will not act like I am innocent, I have too fallen victim to the false satisfaction of saying mean words through social media, but I have never been so hurtful to another individual that they feel like their only way out is to take their own life. Wake up, people! Do we not see the problem with being so lenient on the adolescents that chose to use hate speech for fun on social media? This past month we have lost one of our own. Another face eliminated from the hallway, another person eliminated from the football game crowd, another friend eliminated from the slumber parties.  There are positives to social media, as it connects the whole world, but the exposure and freedom that adolescents have on these sites without consequences is astonishing.

                When something bad happens, adults feel as though we need an intervention. They host assemblies and try buckling down on bullying to preach kindness, but the affect is limited. If these reactions worked, why is the suicide rate still counting and the average age for suicides getting lower? A few words scolding us to be kind to everybody won’t help, we need complete social destruction so we can build a better us. Schools are not taking this issue as serious as is needed to prevent and that in its own also needs a makeover. No more mean words, no more hitting, no more body shaming, no more exclusion. There are harassment signs hung up around the school that state that there are always people here willing to help you. Although this may be good to know, we are not being picked on by a bully at recess anymore. It is the laughing. It is the gossiping. It is the way other’s look at you at school. It is walking the halls alone because you have no one. All of this is built up on an individual until they can’t take it anymore. Instead of preaching kindness, the administration needs to teach it. In a certain way that hits home to all to stop this massacre by words. It is always preached that we need to leave a better earth for our children, but what about leaving better children for our earth.

                You never know what someone is going through so why be an extra problem for a person to worry about. Adolescents need to start worrying about what people think of their character rather than appearance because beauty gets you a long way but character keeps you there. A beautiful face without a beautiful personality is a masterpiece painted on a napkin. We must teach our kids to be kind and start it from the home. Teach them that personality always comes first. Parents need to teach their children earlier how to respect one another so they can grow off of love instead of hate. It should be planted in the home and blossomed through our peers and teachers. One thing my mother taught me that I will never forget is that the homecoming queen is never the one with the pretty appearance, it is the girl who was beautiful to everybody inside and out. 

The unknown (123)

     We all know the feeling of not knowing where to go when going out to eat with friends, family, or significant other. What people usually settle on is the basic pancheros, panera, or another food chain. There are so many cute and unique places in cedar rapids that have yet been discovered and are way better than a chain tortilla. So instead of going to the regular joint, take some time to pick a small business and support local!

the end (673)

It is April 3^rd, 2016. For the class of 2016 that makes only about a month left of walking the halls of Kennedy. For our class it means that our senior year is nearly approaching and soon we will have to make a ton of decisions about what we want to do with our futures. Will we go to college? Will we go in to the air force? Will we take a year off? All of us will go in completely different directions and we may never see each other again. We are being pushed off in to the deep end with our parents and friends as our floats for support. It is still so terrifying knowing that in just a few months I will be writing essay’s to the administration offices of colleges I would like to attend and next year I will be leaving Kennedy behind? Why does it feel like just yesterday I was getting ready for freshman orientation?

                Senior year will be filled with a bunch of unwanted goodbyes. We will have to say goodbye to our favorite teachers that we spent every SMART lunch with because they became more like friends to us. We will have to say goodbye to team mates and coaches who were there every step of the way. We will have senior night’s that seem to go by in a flash. We will have the last performances and the last games. We will have to say goodbye to the locker that volunteered to hold all of our crap for the last four years. We will have to say goodbye to the crowded foyer during passing time, and we will miss this even though we dread it now. We will also have to say goodbye to our best friends and peers that have been with us from the start. No more cram sessions, no more going to your best friend’s house when you need a home away from home, and no more seeing your friends every single day in your circle. It all ends next year and I can honestly admit that I am not one bit ready for that next step.

                From the first day of school, we get it drilled into our minds that high school goes by fast but I never really understood that until today I realized that I am almost a senior. The long classes we spent counting down the clock have passed quickly and nobody ever really stops to take in the time. Now, we start writing our application essays and we start getting ready for our futures wherever that might be. Next year we will experience all of the “lasts” that will be embedded in our heads forever as memories. The last first day of school where your mom cries more than you do. The last football game at Kingston where we’ve spent the last four years cheering our team on through the freezing cold or boiling heat. The last Christmas and Thanksgiving breaks at home where you get to put up the tree and spend time around the table with family and friends. Your last finals and last cram sessions at Coffeesmith’s the night before. The last spring break where a bunch of friends take a trip somewhere to try to stretch it out as long as possible. And then right after spring break comes what is called the beginning of them end. In a flash prom, graduation, and the last day of school all come and go so quickly that you don’t know how you got into summer. All of this is on the horizon for us next year and in all honestly I am not ready for one part of it.

                Kennedy has become a home for me from the best friends that walk the hall to the amazing faculty that actually cares. It will be extremely hard to say goodbye and I can’t even imagine what the seniors are feeling as they spend their last few months in the best high school in Iowa. 

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 

Quick and Healthy (163)

          As teenagers, we always hit the snooze button to get more sleep and then end up rushing out of the door at the last minute. We are always told that we need a good breakfast before we head out to school in the morning but because of the time crunch, many teenagers settle for unhealthy substitutes. Taking a zero hour for many years, i feel like i have perfected the art of running late but i still want to eat healthy so i chose one of these many options instead:
-Smoothie Bowl (strawberry smoothie in a bowl topped with granola, blackberries, blueberries, and chia seeds)
-Chobani Greek yogurt
-banana or apple
-granola bar
-Pomegranate seeds
-bagel topped with organic peanut butter and raspberry preserves.
-A piece of wheat bread topped with organic peanut butter, banana slices, local honey, and chia seeds

        There are many more but the point is to just get something quick and healthy to fuel your brain for the day.

STRESS RELEASE (621)

        In the upcoming week the students of Kennedy High School are yet again victimized by the ugly Iowa Assessments These standardized tests that allow the state to see our progress and  compare students are given to all students in Iowa. At our school, 9th, 10th, and 11th graders take these tests and run off of the 2 hour delay schedule for the three days (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) that we are given them. This schedule gives us 30 minute classes and yes, no SMART lunch leaving kids with activities after school stressing out wondering how in the world they will get it all done.
      If you are one of these kids with work, sports, or other activities you will get stressed this week no doubt. There are some things that you can do to try to curve this stress so your week can flow just as the others:
- Try using a planner. Buy a cheap one from Target or you can even just use your phone, but this really helps. Writing down what you need to do every day and checking it off or even just planning out your day can really help you feel better about what you need to do and be less clustered.
- Eat right. Fruits, yogurt, veggies, and healthy food will help you feel better and smile. With healthier foods that give you brain power, good eyesight, and other health benefits. Also, healthy food gives you a healthier body which gives you self confidence to make for a great day.
-Take time for yourself. I know the days get busy and this week you might feel like you have no time at all, but you have to take even just a few minutes a day to make yourself feel better. Get yourself a coffee before school, make a good breakfast, go to bed early, take a hot shower, drink some tea. Something to make you feel good about yourself and keep you motivated to get through the day,
-Turn your phone off for the day. This one is super hard for me to do because I, like many of my peers, use the few minutes before the class ends everyday to check Twitter or Instagram. If we used those minutes to get a start on our homework, we could clear up some time that we would be using outside of school to get it done. This one might be hard but our phones are really a huge distraction and it would really be helpful to just turn them off.
- Go for a walk or just go outside for a little bit. The fresh air and sun can really make a difference in how you work, After a jog or run, your brain functions better and faster so you could do this before you start your homework to make for a more progressive study time. If you have a dog, like I do, and have to do chores like walk it, this is like killing two birds with one stone.
-Breath. It may be probably the last thing you are thinking of these days but honestly just take deep breaths when you need to. It will help a lot and you need oxygen to keep your brain going and to keep good thoughts. Don't let anxiety get the best of you. Breath.

With all of these techniques to release the stress of being a busy teenagers, i hope it helps you in being successful this next week. Take your time on your tests, eat well, sleep well, get a good breakfast, and breath and you will come out on top. Don't let these tests get the best of you. You can do it! Believe in yourself.

Dreams to Dust (302)

       As teenagers, we like to have fun. After a long week of the stress of school and activities the weekend is all we look forward to for a mini vacation. Some of us like to have movie nights with friends, some spend all weekend at sports events or activities, and the rest spend their weekend at a party doing illegal activities. Things such as underage drinking and the use of illegal substances are activities that can easily ruin your future if you get caught, and for some that could even mean losing their job, respect from adults, and even a scholarship to the school of their dreams.

              In today’s society, it is very easy to get even the hardest of drugs. It is also easy to get alcohol and that is what is scary. The drug dogs come to school at least once a month and catch at least one student with something. Some students throw away their future to get high or to get drunk and they don’t realize what it does to them.

              Our school has a strict code of conduct that if you are caught with either then you must sit out or even get kicked off of a team or out a group for participating in this. Some colleges could also choose to rip away a scholarship for one’s dream school just for getting in trouble with the police for illegal activity. Think about if you were in basketball and you were very talented and had a full ride scholarship to your dream school. Would you risk that all for one night out with your friends? That is the problem with kids today. We think about what our friends will think and not about the consequences and how it will affect our future. This needs to change. 

A letter to a future me (553)

Dear me,

        As I sit here with bags under my eyes due to never getting sleep, my mind wanders to how all of this homework will actually help me in my real life. Better yet, what will my life be like? Will I live in a big city making the big bucks and living in a pent house or will I be living in a little apartment here in Cedar Rapids? The future scares me as it should scare everybody because it is 2016. Next year is our graduation year and also the year that we take our knowledge and venture out into the world beyond us to follow our dreams. I hope you have followed yours. Right now I often tell myself that I need to follow what I would do if money weren't an option and it's hard. Life is kind of hard right now with the stress of school and decision making.
        I wonder how society is when you are older. Do girls still get shamed for showing their shoulders in school or do people go to school naked by them? Has marijuana been legalized? Who won the 2016  presidential election? Please don't say Donald Trump. I hope that society has finally found out what is wrong and makes it right. I hope racism is gone as it is very prominent right now. I hope boys are taught not to rape and that society actually sees rape as a problem because rape is rare;y reported right now.
        Right now i really think i would want to know how i end up and who i end up with. Right now i think i would want to know all about my life. When i will get married. to whom, when i will have kids and how many, what job will i have, where will i live. I always think about this and what i would do if i had a story of my life in front of me and i honestly believe i would not read it. In our opinion, life throws at you only what you can handle and everything happens for a reason. If i lose my job in the future i won't want to know that in a week i will be offered a bigger and better job because i want to learn the value of hard times and good times.
       I also wonder when i will read this. It's so scary to me that it is our senior year next year. The people that you went to freshmen orientation with finally all graduate next year and walk cross the stage to their futures. Each and everyone of us feels like a family by now. We know school spirit and we know each other almost way too much. You know who plays basketball, who is in knitting club, and who honestly is just ready for this chapter to be done. People always say not to take this part of life for advantage and i see why now. We are closing in on our junior year and our friends are closing in on their senior year. Everybody is leaving and leaving us with the legacy of seniors that we need to live on. I am scared but i am also ready for this upcoming year. Let's get it.
-You. 

When the internet goes too far (173)

On friday, my friend showed me a video that was posted on twitter. In this video a male takes a video of a boy named Daniel walking around every day with new shoes which the narrator responds with "Damn daniel". He sports different shoes everyday and wears his white Vans around a few more times which has the narrator say "Damn daniel back at it again with the white Vans". This video went viral in a short time and honestly made me laugh a lot. In recent news reports, it says that Daniel was hospitalized due to someone robbing and beating him up while taking his famous white Vans. They then proceeded to try to sell them on Ebay for 3,000 dollars. This time the internet went too far in my opinion. People are honestly crazy and can't just take a joke they have to actually freak out about something that goes viral. I feel like these people need to go to jail or face a fine if they think it's funny.






http://huzlers.com/damn-daniel-teen-daniel-lara-hospitalized-after-being-beaten-and-robbed-for-his-white-vans/

Today's society (236)

From the TV to the news papers
We are exposed to another tragedy everyday
In a world full of murderers and rapers
What are we supposed to tell our children?
That when we were their age
It was okay for the caucasian police to shoot an unarmed african american man?
A bottle of tea, a packet of skittles, and a hood up
Some of the criteria to let some one shoot
In the cry for self defense, yup.
What are we supposed to tell our daughter?
When she wants to go out in a short skirt
That she needs to cover up because all men think of her as is meat to slaughter?
Girls and Woman shouldn't be imprisoned
By the concept that we need to hide our body for a males disadvantage
With the show of skin and people's harsh words we are beaten
Slut, Whore, Thot
All tossed around like it's ok to say
By boys who got rejected by a girl who said he didn't have a shot
What do we tell our son?
In a world where slut shamming a girl is considered funny
His chances of being a nice guy is close to none
We must teach boys that rape is not ok
We must teach society that we are all equal as one
Since the day the law was made
Skin color is nothing, Gender is nothing, Character is everything

Valentine's Day (155)

Another year, another 14th has come and go.
Valentine's Day is  a pointless holiday in which couples feel the need to chose one day a year to make their significant other feel spoiled and then the other 364 days a year they do nothing. I don't know about any body else, but the holiday kind of blows my mind. Sure i liked getting a present and flowers but i feel like the holiday kinda contradicts the whole point of being in a relationship. Wouldn't you want to show them that you love them every single day of the year? Not just on one cold winter day? The holiday in which is supposed to make single people feel like crap and the ones in a relationship on cloud 9, it just doesn't make sense. Valentine's Day is a pointless holiday that in my opinion is just used for the economy and for making singles feel horrible.

To a younger me (575)

What i wish i would've known before high school:
1. Never sacrifice bringing coffee to school in fear of getting judge, the tiredness will feel worse. Trust me.
2. Your friends from middle school probably won't stick with you, and that's okay.
3. Getting bad grades is not cool and not something to brag about. Being pretty with no brain is like a masterpiece painted on a napkin.
4. Enjoy it. Because it goes by quick (we are already juniors!)
5. Get involved, whether it be choir, sports, or even chess club, find what you love to do and stick with it.
6. Don't let people walk all over you. If you have an opinion say it and say it loud.
7. Never wear a dress and heels to school if it is -10 degrees out.
8. Learn to not care what other people think. They will judge you anyways so why not have the judge you for something you like?
9. Be nice to every one, even your teachers. You don't know what is going on in every students life and being rude could just make it worse.
10. Don't procrastinate homework until midnight because the next morning there will be permanent bags under your eyes.
11. Always bring your own lunch, trust me.
12. Never give up. Even if it's late on a Sunday night and you still have 3 more essays for an AP class, keep going. You will thank yourself in the future.
13. Take school seriously. You are building your resume every single day and setting your self up for a bigger and better future.
14. But not too seriously. You can't allow yourself to be so consumed in school that you miss out on life. If one of your friends need you never say no because of homework.
15. Be a good person, don't be a jerk.
16. Don't be bitter about what life throws your way because everything happens for a reason.
17. Don't go to the party that everyone is talking about. Trust me, a night in bed watching gossip girl is way better than anything in the world.
18. Make Quizlet your bestfriend.
19. Don't let anybody tell you that you can't do something.
20. Learn to love what you look like without make up because you will get more sleep and sleep is way better than trying to impress people you don't even like.
21. Don't stress over stuff that you won't even remember in a year. You failed a test? okay. You were late to a class? okay. Just go with the flow.
22. Don't ever put your happiness into anybody because then it can just be taken from you. Find happiness in yourself and never let it go.
23. Be your own bestfriend.
24. People come and go but when you are at your absolute worst look around and see who is right there, stick with them,
25. Spend time with your parents. Even though we are growing up, they are growing older and we often forget that.
26. If a boy cheats on you, leave.
27. Don't act like school events are lame because they aren't. Roll cougs,
28. Enjoy the ups and downs because one day we will all be off and on our own and we won't be just a 5 minute drive to our bestfriends house. Enjoy high school while we have it and don't take advantage of it.

Teachers and the new budget cut (373)

Imagine that you’re working at your part time job on a weekend and your boss asks to you to work another shift. But the catch is that you don’t get paid and if you say no then you are fired. Teachers technically get paid 7:30 to 3:30 every day and with 30 extra students there will be 30 more of each assignments to grade.

                This is how one of my teachers explained their view on the new seven period schedule next year.

 Instead of thinking about how it is only impacting students, some often forget that the load put on teachers is gaining also. Teachers face longer hours (more students means longer hours grading), a shorter prep period (even though there is an extra class to prep for), and some even facing unemployment. This seven day period is our districts way of saving money by cutting teachers.

To try to have a voice for our students, a group of high school kids from our district (including 21 Kennedy students) ventured to Des Moines to speak to representatives about changing our funding. They came back humiliated. They were led on a tour around the capitol that they weren’t even there for and in all only got about 40 minutes to talk to people. From what the people who said that went, the representatives pretty much didn’t care at all. Of course they got tons of pictures with the kids though to show that they care, right? 
I don't think the governor really thinks about how this is going to impact teachers. More kids means more supplies and teachers can barely afford the supplies that they provide with their own money let alone for 30 more kids. Each year we have to bring in tissue boxes just to have enough to get through the year because we don't have enough money.
How are teachers with kids supposed to tell their children that they got laid off because the state of Iowa doesn't care enough about education? What if this budget cut limits the amount of passion and success a student gets to show because they are taught that education is not important enough to be funded by our own state.
Wouldn't that be a shame.

Super Bowl

         Tonight was the night where everyone in America tunes in and pretends that they care about the two teams going head to head but in reality, if you are like me, you are in it for the commercials and the half time show. Being my favorite part every year and being that I had to blog anyways, I decided to review the show.
         I didn't really understand the theme of the half time show which was quite a bummer. Coldplay opens up in  casual outfit surrounded by flowers and vibrant colors. Nobody really explains this but we are then whisked away into a dark show by Beyonce and Bruno Mars. Dressed in both black and gold, they just didn't fit. They didn't coordinate and it honestly just didn't work for me.
5/10

Budget Cuts (463)

Budget cuts. This is all we have been hearing for the last few weeks. But what is really ringing in our ears is the constant “Our governor doesn’t care about our education”.

                In response to the new budget, Kennedy High School had to make some changes. Instead of a 6 hour school day, the day will be extended to 7 periods. This allows for more classes by one teacher and, yes, means we don’t need as many teachers resulting in a layoff. This announcement came as a shock right before school one morning and then the teachers were released to teach their classes. It broke my heart as my homeroom teacher explained that she would have to search for a new job because she would probably get cut.

                May I also add that this is my third homeroom teacher? All of my friends have gotten the pleasure of keeping their one homeroom teacher for all years of high school and every year my homeroom gets a new one. 

                It came as a huge slap in the face because it scares me that my own governor does not care about my education enough to fund it. We have the funds, but to Branstad something is more important than the future. What are we teaching our kids when we tell them that each year the budget gets lower and lower, leaving longer school days and loved teachers let off because we are not allowed the amount of money needed to maintain excellence. 
               I attend the number one rated high school in Iowa. Kennedy is known for its diversity in students, passion in extra circulars, and of course our AP test numbers and scores. How in the world will we be able to stay at this  level of greatness at our school if we don't have enough money? How will students be able to show their passions during art classes when there are no art teachers? Future careers can easily be shot down if a student doesn't even know they like the activity if there is no opportunity.
              How is the governor supposed to look at all of the kindergartners of next years classes and explain to them that he doesn't care enough about the artist, the astronaut, the singer, or the painter in the group that they don't deserve the opportunity. That he doesn't care enough about their education to show them their passions and their future. I am glad that when i was in kindergarten, i looked into my elementary school education knowing i had a chance every day to go to music, gym, or art. Places where kids around me found their passions and are following them now.
             Fund us. Fund them. Fund the future. Make us believe that you actually care, governor.  

A topic that is often ignored (472)

 In the Torch this week a certain topic came up that is very sensitive but in our society today we have become sadly desensitized to it do to the frequency of it. Rape. It happens all the time around the world and it is rarely reported. Ever since I was little I was taught to not expose my skin and to always wear something that won’t make boys look. Why should I have to take extra time to plan around something that a boy should be able to control. Sadly, this has become the norm.

                If girls wear a short skirt, they are “asking for it”. If girls are out too late by themselves they are “asking for it”. If girls drink too much they are “asking for it”. So as a girl I am always told to be home by curfew, not wear revealing clothes, and to follow a buddy rule when I stay out late. As a girl I feel as though this should not be pushed upon me to have to protect myself from another human being. It’s not my fault so why should I have set and strict rules just because of my gender? Better yet, why are we always skipping over the idea that boys should just be taught that no means no?

                It’s enforced even in my learning environment, also. At school there is a dress code obviously but to me it seems as though it is just pushed upon females. Girls can’t wear crop tops that show a little bit of their stomach, but there was a guy walking around school on country day during Spirit Week with no shirt on, just overalls. Do you think he got sent home or even talked to? Of course not.  This is also carried to sports. It’s ok for guys to work out in nothing but shorts and shoes but in the hot weather, girls are not allowed to work out in our sports bras.

                From a young age, girls are enforced like this so guys don’t have to “suffer” or be distracted at school. All this tells me is that a male’s education is valued more than mine, which is not cool. At all.  Instead of treating women like a piece of meat or looking at us as just a sexual symbol, we deserve the same respect that boys get. Instead of teaching girls that their sexuality is all that matters to men, it needs to be taught that they are so much more than that. Women are worthy of education, of respect, and of everything that a male is worthy of.

                Instead of teaching the “cover up”, “don’t be too late”, and “have a friend with you when you walk to your car”, we should teach “Women are beautiful”, “women are worthy”, “women are not property.”

Celebrity Twitter Fights (187)

        Every week there's a new one. Celebrity twitter fights happen almost daily and really cause fights between others as well. In my opinion, it's just for the popularity and for attention because they all look stupid and don't make any sense. This past week Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa got into it because Wiz Khalifa tweeted "kk" and Kanye West thought he was talking about his wife, Kim Kardashian. Kanye West went on a rant that wasn't even needed and called Wiz Khalifa out in numorous ways that did not need to be on twitter. Then, Kanye's ex girlfriend got into it and it just went all down hill from there. In my opinion, it's super trashy and shows the whole audience of twitter that if people with higher popularity can do it and get tons of retweets and likes, that it is okay to do it themselves. It is showing the younger population that popularity comes from the wrong things. They don't see celebrity doing charity work and have them be their idols, but their idols are the one's starting dumb drama all over social media.

Fictional Characters death (298)

         Everyone knows the feeling. When you are watching a movie or TV series or reading a book and a character just dies. In the moment, it feels like you die a little too. You invested time in getting to know that person and the director or author just completely rips your heart out. In my opinion, I think it's genius to do something like that because it hooks the audience and makes them feel something and show emotion towards their work but I also think it is pure evil.
       Remember when John Green showed us that beautiful cancer love story in The Fault In our Stars? Everyone reading wanted so badly for a happily ever after and for both of them to get cured. He totally rejected our wishes. I remember exactly what I was doing when I read that Augustus had died. I was sitting out in gym due to a broken arm and i full on started bawling. Even through my anger against Green i bought another one of his books so it's pretty much free advertisement.
      Or what about when people sent death threats to Shonda Rimes for killing off the beloved Derek Shepard? We were all crying watching him bleed and Meredith cry, but yet didn't we tune in to watch the next episode to make sure she was okay? You bet. Rimes builds up our relationships with the characters and then rips them from our grip. Remember Izzie, Burke, Christina (:(), and many others that kinda just let unexpectedly?
      The art is all in the connection with the audience and the product. If there wasn't anybody ever leaving, why would we tune in? Why would we read books? The fun is all in the plot twist.

P.S. i still hate you Shonda Rimes

Do our grades REALLY matter? (486)

        As I'm sitting in my bedroom at my desk at 12:07 am on a Thursday night, only half done with the load of homework I have, I think to myself: What is this all for? Do grades really mean life or death like everyone in high school is shouting to us every five seconds. A lot of time I don't even bat an eye when I don't get the full 8  hours of sleep that high schoolers are supposed to have. Why? Because i'm lucky to even get 5 hours a night on a daily basis. I'm sure every highschooler with multiple AP classes can comply to that.
       What is all that for though? Why am i letting my health go down the drain every extra hour i stay up just to boost my GPA? Every teachers tells us to study and to get good grades but I don't think adults really understand what we are doing to our selves. I am not in an extra curricular activity so I can only imagine what it's like for people that are. I do understand that homework is a neccesity to learn the material taught to us by the school, but I think something needs to be done about the hours that students spend on their grades.
        We are not just numbers and statistics for the school. I feel like I am robbed of my high school experience every time i have to deny an invitation to a sporting event because I just have too much homework. There needs to be a compromise in some way so that students can enjoy life before college and stop focusing on what they think defines them: grades. I'm not saying to just stop trying but i would much rather enjoy myself in school now than when it gets even worse in college.
        That's another point. College. Do colleges even care about our GPA's? Actually some don't. I visited my dream school, Northwestern in Chicago and the first question that was asked by concerned parents was what GPA you needed to get into a top school. The answer? They don't care. The tour guides told us that every single school has a different grading system. Some are on a 10 point scale, some on 3 (like Kennedy), there's even a school in Colorado that goes by stars. Saying this, they explained that there is just no way that they could compare students all around the countries based on their GPA. What they do look at, though, is what you took advantage of in High school. Like did you challenge yourself and take that new AP course even though it mean you have to take an early bird class? Or did you not even try and only take 3 classes just to graduate? They look at your struggles and how you overcame them not just a silly little number that averages your grades.
     

Where actually is frank ocean (156)

         Frank Ocean used to be one of my favorite artists with one of my favorite songs being, "Thinking Bout You". My best friend introduced me to him when we were in 8th grade and I have been a fan ever since. Lately, though, I have gotten a weird vibe from him. There have been so many album releases in the past couple months from big artists like Drake, Future, Justin Bieber, etc., but Frank Ocean is no where to be found. I have actually been starting to think he got kidnapped because he is literally MIA. I, like many of the people who like his music, wish that he would just drop another album or couple songs to keep our fandom alive. I guess when the tornado flew around his room, it took him with it.

Caribou Vs. Starbucks (488)

            Having relatives in Minnesota, I was excited every time I got to go up there. Not only because of the huge mall or Valley Fare but because of Caribou Coffee. So after years of the same old Starbucks, I was very excited when I heard that Cedar Rapids had gotten one located in the Oakland Road Hy-Vee. For years since Caribou blessed us with one of their coffee shops, I have been going back and forth about whether they or Starbucks is the better coffee shop. Of course Starbucks has the most popularity but is it really better in quality?
          I wanted to test this to see which one was really worth getting up an extra 15 minutes before I had to every morning just to go to one place or the other. One of my favorite types of drinks is a mocha. At Starbucks you have a variety to choose from. The peppermint mocha, white chocolate mocha, or just a plain mocha all have a special place in my heart. At Caribou, though you can also have the option of a dark chocolate mocha which is my all time favorite drink. To test which one was really worth it I first went to Starbucks to grab a normal mocha which is said to be the equivalent of a dark chocolate one from Caribou.
          It took it awhile to cool down which I didn't like. In my opinion, Starbucks makes it's drinks too hot so you can't even drink the coffee that you're craving for awhile. I also didn't even think it tasted like "dark chocolate" like the barista had told me. The taste was very smooth, though, and I really liked how much milk they put in it because it was just the right amount. A huge problem I have with Starbucks is it's prices. I paid almost six dollars just for a medium and I personally think that is ridiculous.
        At Caribou, it's a little more time consuming because you have to actually walk into Hy-Vee to get the coffee because they don't have a drive through. To my surprise, the prices were way lower than Starbucks which was a great benefit. I ordered a dark chocolate mocha and enjoyed it much more than the one I got at it's competitor. The chocolate taste was way more prominent and it actually tasted dark. One down side I do have is that when you get closer to the bottom of your drink, the bottom is usually filled with a grainy chocolaty substance.
      In conclusion, I think Caribou has the better bang for your buck. With the better tasting and less costing drink, it's a win-win for your wallet as well as your taste buds. From now on, I will be spending a little extra time on my morning commute to get the delicious mocha, but that doesn't matter to me as long as the drink is good.

New Year SAME you??? (396)

      Every year when the ball drops in New York City at 12am on New Year’s Day, the people of the world think that this is a clock that automatically starts over who they are as a person. They set resolutions of multiple things such as losing weight, quitting smoking, or just becoming a better person over all. There are multiple reasons why people set such resolutions but they don’t realize that if that thing was important to them, they would’ve changed something earlier. It is said that most resolutions fall through early on anyways so I figured I would challenge this.

              My challenge this year was to eat better and to overall just be happier. Throughout the holiday season I’m pretty sure everybody has that point where they don’t even want to look at anything sweet due to the sugar overload that is pushed upon us from our relatives. It is also winter so the thought of even moving sends a thought of a blizzard through our minds. With family in town it is really hard to let your stomach rest because there is just so much food and it’s hard to stay on even the smallest of diets. This year I made sure to work out once a day to ensure that I wouldn’t pack on the pounds from the extra food. This actually worked because I stayed the same size which proves a point that if someone actually matters to you, you won’t wait until the New Year to get it done.

              Another thing I tried was just to be happier. To do this I just surrounded myself with the best people-my friends. If you’re with people who constantly make you laugh you can’t really be sad and this winter break I definitely spent pretty much every waking moment with them. I began to see myself feel more uplifted and smile more which was my absolute intent of the whole thing. It’s easy to do the simple things to reach your goal if you really want it.

              So to all of the people running their hearts out and eating like a bird to get a bikini body before that amazing spring break beach trip, if it wasn’t important for you to start before the new year you won’t stick with it because you need the motivation for yourself not a date on the calendar.