Class Activity - The Spot

Visual Perspective, Place, Observations
Alexander benches. How convenient to have a bench that is nearby the library where everyone goes to and from everyday. Not to mention that it is also nearby classrooms, lockers, snack bar, cafeteria, locker rooms, etc. It stays pretty shady here on most days. However, it doesn't protect you from the rain. It is also somewhat quiet, except when the freshmen invade the SENIOR spot. Couple things I'm noticing is that there are way too many birds congregating in one area, and there is litter everywhere along with the massive amount of backpacks left unattended. For the most part, it is safe. A couple days ago one of my classmates' bags was taken from where she left it, taken into the boys bathroom, got raided and left there. I guess this story contradicts my observations in terms of safety in our bench area, and also on campus. There are policemen who roam the areas quite frequently, but they never seem to catch culprits in the act. Are they not doing their job? This is not a place to chill and do homework because there are too many people who walk by the area. It is a common pathway to also get to and from different classes.

Different Perspective
From another bench area about 10 feet away from the Alexander benches, another perspective emerges. As I sit and observe the original bench itself, I notice that it is a calm and quiet place to just hang out whether it is doing homework or talking with friends. There is no shelter from the rain. Yet from where I am sitting, there is somewhat of a roof overhead that barely covers most of the bench. It looks like there is too little space for the amount of people who hang out here. However, on breaks, there are less people, so everyone can pretty much fit.

final 3 day weekend

man, how does that feel to have your last 3 day weekend of your entire high school career? i woke up on monday thinking to myself, "how am i going to survive the remaining 7 weeks until graduation?" SEVEN STRAIGHT WEEKS OF SCHOOL, ONLY TWO DAYS OF THE WEEKEND. senior sing is going to start, and once that begins, everything will go by in a flash. we will long reminisce the long days of school, the friendships we've had since we were little, and the teachers who helped guide us through our journey. i don't know how we are going to survive the remaining seven weeks of school. it's not like teachers are slowing down the work load, and we're continually learning new things everyday in class. we're fourth quarter seniors! we have senioritis! get over it! we're going to college, and starting off somewhere new! if you add senior sing to that everyday after school starting in may, and homework, our remaining days as a high school senior will still be demanding.

polynesian talk

as the polynesians join our student body each year, we all, at one point become friends with them whether we want to or not. they are obviously not the quietest students on campus, but stereotypically, the spontaneous and loud ones. for the past 4 years, i've been on the basketball team with a bunch of them, where i've learned to catch on to their "lingo." i also realize that i am not as sheltered as i once was when i first came to this school. the way that they stick up for themselves ad each other, and the "mokeness" in their sentences. i have come a long way since the times i was using proper english. i guess it isn't such a good influence in a way because my english isn't so good, but at the same time, it's like we all sort of caught on to a new way of communicating. a lot of hawaii kids who go up to the mainland for college talk about how their roommates slash friends at the school can't understand what they're saying. it's like listening to some person from another country speak a foreign language that you can partly understand at the least.

prom

prom. the new buzz on campus. "who's your date? what are you going to wear? what are you doing after?" we bought prom bids last week, and that's what everyone has been asking each other. because it is one of the last few events where the class of 2007 can spend time together and enjoy our remaining weeks as high school seniors. i guess you could call it a feeling of joy. graduation is right around the corner, too. it's kind of weird to think that girls have to buy their own dresses and spend hundreds of dollars for a dress that they will probably only wear once. then there are the guys who rent their tuxes. shouldn't girls be able to rent dresses too? it all seems like a total waste of money. add that to prom bids, pictures, flowers, shoes, accessories, the works. but after all this hard work from school and the college process, aren't we deserving enough? it's like our reward for being such excellent students. :)

librarians

Does anyone ever understand why the librarians at school are so strict and grouchy? I'm not talking about all of them. Probably just two, no wait, one in particular. Just yesterday, she went on a rampage trying to keep the library free of noise and chatter. She roams around to each table, tries to shut them up, and goes on to the next. She claims that the 4 seater tables (newly put in this school year), were meant for group studies, but conversations are to be held within the table and the noise level cannot go beyond so other people at other tables can hear you. All the college kids who've come back to visit say that these are the dumbest things EVER created. And who could the person who came up with the idea be? Obviously the one who ends up dealing with the noise control. It's actually quite a laugh for everyone when she comes over to scold us for making too much noise, and when no one is doing anything wrong, she still walks over and tries to look for a table to bust. One of my college friends said that in his college apps last year, there was a question about what kind of environment he studies in; complete silence, some noise, or lots of talking. This made us realize that those were the exact three study environments we have in the library; the silent zone, the independent study tables, and the group tables. If there are people studying on the group tables and don't want noise, why don't they simply just go to the silent zone if they cannot handle it? It's confusing what the school is trying to do because the thought behind it seems so pointless, but it's hilarious for everyone to crack jokes out of the whole issue.

the hills

Alright, I'll admit that I am addicted to MTV...The Hills to be exact. Each episode is filled with so much drama that you think the next one will get better for Lauren, when in fact, it gets worse. Who could ever imagine getting screwed over by two best friends? Many people believe and are assured that most of the drama going on in each episode is stupid, which makes them think that the show in its entirety is a waste of time to watch. I could agree on that in some sense. I hear people say, "Lauren should realize what a backstabbing friend Heidi is, and that if Heidi doesn't trust her "best friend" about the things that Spencer was doing, they really in fact, shouldn't be friends anymore." Ah, how much drama girls cause. I'm not gonna lie, whereever girls are, drama occurs...inevitably. As much as I hate to say it, the more girls are caught up in their boyfriends, the less they see wrong about them, and the less they listen to what other people have to say both positively and negatively. Which brings me to connect to Ami's whole blog post on "What is Love?" Middle and high school relationships seem so sketch to me too because people end up taking their relationships so seriously, and get themselves to believe that they are truly in love with this person, and that nothing can come between them. Reality check. You are only in high school still. You are not out in the real world. Grow up. You know what else irritates me? When the whole college issue comes up and people are like "Oh yeah I'm gonna go to college with so and so." When it's like "What about your goals and what you want to do with your future?" People these days are so caught up in love, that they forget about themselves and what they really want instead of trying to be everywhere where that significant other is. Don't get me wrong, I don't totally disagree with high school relationships. In some cases I do think the love that people have for one another is surreal, but it's just those couple instances that make me feel like so.

we caught SENIORITIS

Ever since second semester has begun, every single senior has senioritis. Yup, I said it. Senioritis. One of the biggest occurences on campus. Homework, tests, and projects just seem so pointless. What makes it worse is that along with school, comes BASKETBALL. Although I plainly just love playing the game, it's recently taken up most of my "homework time." If it weren't for the long hours of practice and games, I could be using that time to get other stuff done, and cruise through second semester senior year. Oh the stress.

broken friendships

It's funny and depressing to think about how friendships can fall apart because of a boy. It's rather quite lame and retarded. I will never forget what happened at the end of my junior year. I've decided not to go into further detail, but I'd imagine that by now, you've gotten the point. I guess when people say "In high school you find out who your true friends are," they sincerely mean it. I realized through this experience that this person who I always thought was my best friend ever since 7th grade, wasn't what she really was. You know who your best friends are when you go through a tough situation, and in the end, your best friend is side by side with you. I'm not going to lie. I really miss the person who I believed to be forever and for always my best friend. It's hard to go through the rest of my high school year without her listening to my new stories, gossiping about boys, and laughing about the moments we've had spending time together. At the same time, I still have feelings of disappointment and betrayal that I know will never fade from my memory. "To forgive is not to forget." But, I have moved on. I've found another friend who I semi lost contact with through the first half of my high school career. But ever since the summer going into my senior year, we've hung out so much and she has really been there for me through the ups and downs. She is such a genuine person who I hope I will never lose my friendship with.

college apps

College apps are probably one of the most stressful things I've ever been through during the school year, especially in the first semester of senior year. Where do I even begin? College guidance classes were extremely helpful in the process, I will admit, but the actual process is harder than it may seem. I was always told and reminded by my parents to start all my apps, finish and proofread my essays, and submit them as soon as possible. Me, being the procrastinator that I am, choose to find out that the less time I have, the more I get stressed, and a slimmer chance of getting accepted into a particular school, especially if that school is rolling admission. I also think that the student/parent/counselor conference was incredibly helpful for me and the application process, but I felt that the counselors didn't really help me that much in finding "good-fit" colleges with the qualities and specific programs I was looking for. I mean, I know it isn't guaranteed and possible that they will find each and every college to match. However, now that I am finished with all of my applications, my mom found a website where you can input preferences or location, intended major, size of campus, while also inputing your GPA, test scores, and extracurricular activities. When you are satisfied, you can submit it, and they will give you a list of collegs which they feel would be a "good-match" for your tastes and interests, also listing safety and reach schools. I noticed that some schools that showed up under good fit schools were schools my college counselor kept me away from. I talked to my mom about it and I now regret not giving it a shot and applying there. It's really a shame that I now regret so much from the college search and application process. However, now I know what to do and not to do and I can pass this information on to my sister who will end up going through the same processes I once did. Hopefully she will take my advice to heart, and she will end up becoming successful in finding the perfect college that she will be satisfied with.

extraordinary seniors with extraordinary talents

Sophomore Luau was this past weekend, and my friends were scheduled to play at it. (Auana) Sophomores heard many hawaiian songs by local artists they knew well being played. I always find them jamming during breaks outside of the library with the ukes and singing for everyone to hear. Not only do they sing and play the uke, but one of the guys are starting to write his own music. When he asks for help on what to put into his chorus, it feels accomplishing. It's like, I took part in his process of song writing! My friend and I were discussing the whole idea of the group Auana, and thought it'd be a really good idea for them to make a CD and give it to all of their friends when they graduate. Comprised on the CD would be songs they regularly sang and liked, and ones they wrote. We all knew how talented they were in what they were doing, so we assumed it would be a success. When a whole bunch of us are just sitting around on the benches outside playing and listening to the harmonizing boys, we know we will all miss just being in everyones presence once we all graduate and leave the high school setting. As my senior year slowly comes to a close, I've realized that there is more than a handful of students who are so talented in my grade. From the skilled athletes, to the musicians, to the speech and debate teams, to the intellectual individuals, we are the ones who've made our grade, the class of 2007 a huge success throughout the years we've been here.

make-up class

My 30 minute walk around my neighborhood was one of the most insightful experiences I never thought I would experience. I decided not to take any notes during my walk, but wait until after to reflect on my thoughts. One of the biggest things I noticed was that the thoughts in my head seemed to be like I was putting words through my mouth...except not. Nothing came out. Just thoughts flowing through my mind. Things like, "What's for dinner? I'm hungry." "Why is that dog barking? It's driving me nuts." "Why are my legs hurting? I haven't even been walking for that long." I liked how being solitary within my own thoughts got me to a deeper level of thought; somewhere where I haven't been recently because I've been caught up with homework, school, and sports. It was one of the most relaxing and chill moments this week. I live on a hill, and I so happened decided to walk down the hill. However, I forgot that I would have to walk back up to get home. Next thing I knew, I was out of breath and put on some sweat. It was indeed a humid day for a walk, rather, to be outside. As my journey through my neighborhood was almost at its end, I could hear at the house at the corner of my street, a conversation; quite faint, but I could somewhat hear and understand what was said. This made me think about what other people who randomly walk by my familys house hear when conversations between myself and my parents or my sister arise. I guess some of it may be embarassing because of certain things I bring up within my family which I normally wouldn't in front of other people. I guess you could say that from this experience, I've tried lowering my voice when sharing secrets, and understanding the new, and unfound things I never thought I'd discover from a walk in my neighborhood.

what's with the dress code?

I've realized that more than half of the student body at school doesn't even come to school in dress code each day. I'm not gonna lie, dress code at school sucks, and a handful of people always have to rebel and alter it in some way, shape, or form possible. I'm not even joking. Have you not seen the students who walk to and from classes in their attire? Shrugs, leggings, spaghetti straps, and non-approved polo shirts. It's actually quite frustrating; Not because people aren't in dress code (I could really care less), but because the deans and teachers complain about it 24/7, but do absolutely nothing about it. Even though we have a dress code, people NEVER follow it. It's not exactly what I call "fair" for the people who are always in dress code and abide by the rules the school sets for us. I don't mean to sound harsh, but violators should receive consequences, or be given demerits to. But, it doesn't matter for the seniors, really. Most of the seniors could say for themselves that they don't even care about whether they're in dress code or not. Second semester senior year. All the college apps are in and being reviewed. It doesn't matter. So when and if they do get into trouble, they can just get the demerits taken off with secret connections. Whoever decided to make up a dress code for our school needs to take a new and improved action on this situation because it doesn't seem like this new change is doing anything positive for the "educational" environment (or whatever the reason was for creating a dress code in the first place). There are so many teachers who always complain about the students who dress obscenely, but what do they do about it? Absolutely nothing. So why even come up with a dress code if it's not following through and being enforced? Why is it that only the high school students have to follow a dress code when the middle school students dress pretty much the same? (Which is why the A.D. created the new rule anyway.) Someone should do something to change this current situation, or otherwise stop complaining about it.