Am I ugly?

There is a new topic of videos being uploaded to the internet, especially YouTube. Kids, girls and boys alike, are asking viewers to tell them if they are ugly or pretty. Putting videos like this on-line, is just asking for people to be mean to you. No one in school thinks that they are pretty, even the so called "perfect" ones. If you have self-esteem issues and you decide to post a video on YouTube to make yourself feel better, it wont work. All my life I have been told that anything put on-line, will never disappear. I do not understand why these kids are asking complete strangers if they think they are ugly or not.

One of my favourite sayings is: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is very true. The only "beholder" that you should care about is yourself. All your life you are going to run into someone who thinks that you are ugly. But does their opinion matter? No, it doesn't. The sooner you start to love, or at least like yourself, what other people think wont matter.

Everyone is so worried about what people think of them. Unfortunately they are forgetting to get the opinion of the person that matters most: themselves.

Been bullied?

We've all been in a class where the teacher says, "Put up your hand if you've ever been bullied." How many kids usually put up their hand? None. Unfortunately we all know that's not true. We have all been bullied in some form or another, whether it is by a sibling or by a class mate.

If we've all been bullied then why are we so afraid to admit it? Perhaps because we are only focusing on one  reason why people are being bullied, being gay. We often forget about other reasons like being socially awkward, mental capacity, looks, speech patterns, religious views, and so many more reasons than we can fathom.

I would never say that some bullying is more or less important than another. What I will say is that some is not talked about enough. The media does not talk much about bullying unless it has to do with someone being gay. I think that this is a main reason why kids are afraid to admit that they are being bullied. Children don't feel like they can talk about being bullied because they don't think people will listen, believe them, or care. Another fear could also be that talking about it would make it worse.

On top of all the fears that a child may have about talking about being bullied, there are people that think that being bullied is part of growing up. I am hear to say that bullying is NOT part of growing up. Many kids get bullied from a young age and they get bullied all their life but that doesn't make it part of growing up. Being bullied starts at a certain point in time because of an event, effecting the bully or the one being bullied.

When a kid starts to be bullied they change in many ways. Their attitude toward school changes, or life, eating habits can change, grades can drop, and so many more things. Unfortunately people don't pay attention to these signs. I am not saying that if you see any of this that a kid is being bullied but you should be paying enough attention to notice when something is wrong.

When I was younger I was often bullied, but not in a way that most people would notice. I would be alienated from a group of kids, people would say comments that would insult me, and on sports teams people would ignore me. I also had a friend who turned out to be not my friend at all. Never did I think that it would ever stop. But the bullying did stop and I started to notice others being bullied.

I am proud not to admit that I was bullied, but that I allowed myself not to care. It took a lot of will power, friends who were true friends, and a family who I could talk to. I used find myself picking on someone the way that I was bullied. Luckily I put a stop to it and I started using my anger and shame to stand up for others.

The point of my ranting is to say that other reasons for being bullied are put on the back burner. People would rather talk about someone being bullied because they are gay than because they spoke differently. I am not saying that one type of bullying is worse or less important than others. All I want is to make it so that all reasons for being bullied are talked about (even if there are a lot). I want kids not to be ashamed because they were bullied.

Three A's of Awesome

Recently I watched a TED Talks video, with one of my classes, about being able to appreciate and be thankful for all the small things in life. While watching the video we were instructed to participate in a chat about the video. The idea of discussing the video was a great one, unfortunately it distracted many of us. Many students had started chatting before the video had started and that caused them to be distracted before anything happened. Reading the comments also took time away from watching the video because there were many conversations going on at once. There were many things that distracted us, but next time the chat will benefit us more.

My next read

At school we are doing a book club with other schools. Instead of reading the same book as the whole class, we get to pick a book from a list. This list includes books recommended by other schools. When I went through the list of books, I looked at the review and there were a couple that immediately get crossed off. There was a book about Mt. Everest and one about vampires and witches. In the past I have read books with similar topics and they did not grab my attention. There are others that I have either already read, or seen a movie based on the book. The two books that I have chosen as my top two are Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher and Wake by Robert Sawyer. These two books are very different but I believe that I would enjoy them both. Of the two Wake by Robert Sawyer interests me more. I like the idea of reading a book from the point of view of a blind person. Not many books that I have read, deal with being blind. Wake is also part of a series and I enjoy reading series. When I pick a book it is usually part of a series or is a new concept. Hopefully I will get to read the book and I hope that I will enjoy it as well.

re:Parenting

In my previous post I talked about a father who shot his daughters laptop. At the time I was not able to access the YouTube video. I just finished watching the video. My views on what he did remain the same, but I do understand why he was so angry now. What I don't understand is why she complained about making her OWN bed, doing her OWN laundry, putting the dishes in the DISHWASHER and sweeping the floor! That is nothing compared what many people have to do daily, like doing their OWN laundry, sweeping the WHOLE house, doing the dishes BY HAND, cooking for the WHOLE family, taking care of kids, and WORKING a FULL-TIME job. This generation of kids are spoiled. We don't know what hard work is, or what work really is compared to what our parents had to go through.

Parenting

I recently read this article about a Dad's strange way of punishing his daughter. His Daughter had written a post on Facebook, complaining about her home life. Her dad found the post and decided that he should punish her publicly. The father recorded himself reading the post his daughter had made and then shooting her laptop 9 times. He then posted the video on YouTube.

Being a teenager myself I think that his punishment is harsh. I would have understood if he just took away her laptop for a period of time, but shooting the laptop was taking it a little too far. His punishment was also very childish. He is supposed to be the one setting an example for his daughter. Shooting the laptop, video taping it, and posting it on YouTube, is something that a teenager would have done, not a grown man with children.

If I think about this as an adult I would come to the same conclusion. Punishment is very important while someone is growing up, especially in the teen years. There are many different ways to punish your child, and I'm not saying he is a horrible father for doing this, but this is not excellent means of punishment. She may not run to a social media site anymore to let her feelings out, but ruining her laptop, which he probably bought, was not the best or only way to punish her. He claims that what he did was "tough love", unfortunately it sounds more like a lack of control.

This day in age everyone has their own idea of healthy(effective) punishment. I think that most people would agree that you need to think before you punish your children. And when you are punishing your teenager you probably shouldn't act like one yourself.

Grade 11

With every new year of school comes new challenges. This year it happens to be finding courses that I want to take. After high school I would like to become a teacher. Getting the opportunity to teach young children the knowledge and wonder of the world is what interests me. I have almost met all the requirements for courses. Choosing the electives is so hard when I don't know what I need. I think that I will take some courses that focus on the early years. Hopefully I will get all the courses I need.

Intelligence

Next time someone tells you that you are stupid, that you are a waste of time, that there's no hope for your future, I beg of you, remember this. Intelligence does not only come in the form of book smarts. Knowledge is unique to each and every person.

Medical Death

Euthanasia should be made medically legal. When someone is on their death bed and suffering, they should be able to end their life. Allowing someone to end their life is humane if they are in more pain than they can handle. Euthanasia should only be done under certain circumstances and only by a doctor. The possibility of ending someones life should only arise if they can not recover from what is causing them pain. Also, if someone is in a coma and they will not come out of it, their family should have the right to pull the plug. A patient or their family should be able to choose between a life of suffering and a humane death.

Flying

If I could fly

What would I do?

Where would I go?

The only way to find out is to try

So when it all came down to it

I closed my eyes and jumped

I reached out my arms

Hoping just hoping

That I would soar into the night sky

Waiting for my life to end

When my body and the ground gracefully met

The moment never came

So I opened my eyes and saw the world

From the view

Of the birds of the sky

At that moment I longed to see

The world in that way everyday

A doubt jumps into my mind
 I could really fly

Or was just a dream

I went up to the balcony

Praying that it was real

And jumped

Words

Ostracize : to exclude, by general consent, from society, conversation, privileges, or friendship

Cleave has two opposite meanings: to part into
                                                      to cling to

I don't have an attitude! I have a personality that you can't handle!

Barking up the wrong tree.

Minding your P's and Q's

Til the cows come home.

Fat chance and Slim chance mean the same thing.

If you knew what you were doing, you'd be bored.

They're only trying to make me LOOK paranoid.

Finnimbrun : a trinket or knick-knack

Confuffled

halfpace: a platform of a staircase where the stair turns back in exactly the reverse direction of the lower flight

nudiustertian: the day before yesterday
HIGH ON THE HOG
         Meaning: Luxurious, prosperous.
         Origin: The tastiest parts of a hog are its upper parts. If you're living high on the hog, you've got the best it has to offer.

Literary Devices

I noticed irony in "Out of Control" by John Reuben
     ... Irony, I had to suffocate before I could breathe...

Winston Churchill loved paraprosdokains. Here is the definition: a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation.
      To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

There is a simile Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran
     ...and I'm hungry like the wolf...

Metaphor in Naturally by Selena Gomez and The Scene
     ....you are the thunder and I am the lightning

Personification in Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars
    ....the whole world stops and stares for a while.....

Repetition in Romeo and Juliet
      "Romeo, Romeo, Where art thou Romeo" 

Oxymoron in Romeo and Juliet
    "Beautiful tyrant! fiend angelical!"

Punny Book titles
      Now I'm in Business!: M. B. Yay
      Get Up, Lazybones: Y. R. Yewsleeping

Alliteration in the book "Wake"
      "Locals walking, tourists gawking, vendors hawking."

Personification can be found in a P.C. Financial ad
      Hungry for a better way to bank?

Links to comments

I got the pleasure to read a lovely poem that was very inspirational.

I love reading people's opinions on touchy subjects.

There is now another book that I need to read.

High school is not something that I would love to do forever. It looks as if a fifth year will also not last forever.

I don't think I could EVER do this.

The government seems to think that all these new bills are good.

The courage to admit you have problems and to ask for help.

Creativity at its finest.

I love my weekends.

Somethings that people can't live without.

Pick up lines after my own heart.

Cutest stuffed animal stories.

Just some quotes.

Amazing poetry.

Not the" twinkle twinkle little star" I grew up with.

Clothing affects the way you are treated.

Bad guys.

Learning?