My Bucket List

Short Term

• Graduate high school- This is definitely a short term goal for me, mostly because I am a freshman and I and already not a big fan, so it is probably going to suck trying to keep my grades up when most of my classes are really not that interesting.
• Do an exchange program-  I want to do an exchange program so that I can travel and become proficient in another language and really just experience new countries.
• Get better at horseback riding- I really like horses and I am around them with my sister a lot, who is really good at riding, and i still kind of stink, so I want to get better at that
• Meet my family on my dad's side-  I am half Iranian on my dad's side, and since all of his brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews live in Iran and it is really hard to visit there because of money and the government, I have never been able to meet them so that would be pretty cool.
• Learn how to do a headstand- I could never do a handstand, I would probably crack my skull, but I really want to be able to do a headstand.

Long Term

• GLADIATORS!!- So, this will most likely never happen and it might be a weird thing to put on a journalism assignment, but heck. So I think it would be super duper if I could go to the Colosseum in Rome and just watch a full out, roman clothes, gladiator fight. Like that would be pretty awesome. Just a thought.
• Dracula-  I am big on travel ever since I went to Australia, so I will travel anywhere I get the opportunity, and if I happen to find myself in Romania, I would love to visit Dracula's castle because I read the book and it was really good.
• JD ALL THE WAY- OK, I am totally Johnny Depp's biggest fan, and it is definitely on my bucket list to meet him, because he is legit the coolest person ever. And he wears pretty cool hats. So lets not forget that.
• Speak Russian-  Every time I hear Russian I'm like: wow, that is a boss language. And their accents are really awesome and hilarious and I really want to learn it sometime in the future.
• Disney World-  I have never been to Disney World, so it would be cool to go there but I really want to go to the one in Hong-Kong, because it would be really different and cool.

Sports In American Schools

       Although high-school sports can be beneficial to those who play, some changes need to be made in order to prioritize academics.In the article "The case against high-school sports," the author, Amanda Ripely, demonstrates the ups, and mostly downs, of mixing academics and sports.
      
     On one hand, sports can be a good thing for those students who do play. "Though the research on student athletes is mixed," Writes Amanda Ripely, "it generally suggests that sports do more good than harm for the players themselves." Studies show that "increases in the number of girls playing high-school sports have historically generated higher college attendance and employment rates among women," suggesting that sports gives athletes motivation to show up and do well so that they can play their sports.

       On the other hand, not many students do play sports, and their resources are being taken by the athletes: "But only 40 percent of seniors participate in high-school athletics, and whats harder to measure is how the overriding emphasis on sports affects everyone who doesn't play." Sports can be beneficial to the athletes themselves, but it affects the majority who do not play sports in a negative way, even bringing down their grades.

      Lastly, high-schools and colleges spend way too much money that could be spent on better teachers and for academics on sports equipment and coaches: "Each year, Spelman was spending $1 million on athletics-not for those students, but for the 4 percent of the student body that played sports." Schools with overweight and diabetic students spend their money on sports for the athletes, when they could be spending it on a gym or fitness center for all of the students, rather than just the athletes. Some schools thought sports were so important that they even took resources and even whole wings from the other students: "The elementary school hadn't employed a music teacher in years; and the high school had sealed off the science labs, which were infested with mold. Yet the high school still turned out football, basketball, volleyball, track, tennis, cheer-leading, and baseball teams each year." The high school had mold infested science labs, and still prioritized sports over academics.

     In conclusion, high schools and colleges should, without completely eliminating sports, focus more on improving their academic situations.


Ripely, Amanda. "The Case Against High-School Sports." The Atlantic Oct. 2013: 72-78. Print.   

Ethos

"I wasn't paddled until junior high. I couldn't tell you what my offense was. The principal offered me a choice between detention and "swats." The detention would have taken hours. The swats would be over in seconds. It was a no-brainer. I stood, as instructed, with my hands against a desk in the principal's office. I don't remember what I was hit with, how many times, or whether the principal did the deed. I wasn't looking."

Pathos

"Adrian Peterson, the NFL running back, has been indicted for injuring his 4-year-old son. According to sources in law enforcement, Peterson used a tree branch to discipline the boy, leaving cuts and bruises. Peterson's lawyer says his client meant no harm. "Adrian is a loving father who used his judgement as a parent to discipline his son," says the attorney."

Logos

"You start out thinking that you're going to teach your child a lesson. You talk, or you gesture, or you spank, or you withhold. You're trying to convey a message. But your kid doesn't focus on the message. He focuses on you. What he experiences is the talking, the gesturing, the spanking, or the withholding. That's what he learns. You're not an instructor. You're a model."

"The strongest predictor of whether a child thinks it's OK to hit kids, and whether he'll grow up to do so, is how often he's been disciplined that way. Light spanking isn't as bad as wielding a tree branch,. But it's part of the continuum. Researchers call this the "hidden curriculum." Corporal punishment teaches itself."


Article Link:
 http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2014/09/adrian_peterson_and_corporal_punishment_hitting_children_teaches_them_nothing.html

My Pet Peeves

My Pet Peeves

1. When people try and have conversations with me while I'm doing something else: Sometimes I will be watching TV or reading a book or doing my homework or really anything that takes up my attention, and when people decide that that would be a great moment to strike up conversation with me, it really bothers me, because I am clearly focused on something else. And even after they have tried to talk to me, and i reply with a grunt of sorts because I am really not focused on what they are saying, they get annoyed. Which just makes it double annoying for me.

2. When people respond to a question with, "sure.": When i ask someone a yes or no question, for example if they want to do something, and they say "sure," it really bothers me because it was a yes or no question, so you reply with yes, or no. When they reply with something other than yes or no, like sure, for example, I can tell you don't really want to but you just did not feel like expressing that.

3. When people text while we're hanging out: This would mostly apply to my older sister, but it is extremely frustrating when I am with her and she literally cannot physically put down her phone. Now, this is annoying even when we are not really doing much, but especially so when I am trying to talk to her, the reason being I have to repeat myself several times for what I said to actually register into her brain. 

4. When people sneeze loudly and unexpectedly: So I will just be sitting there, doing my thing, and suddenly, out of nowhere, a gargantuan noise erupts from someones face, shattering my unsuspecting ears and making me jump six feet. I really hate that.

5. When teachers correct you from "can" to "may": I hate it when i ask a teacher if i can go to the bathroom and they're like, "Uh, I don't know, can you?" And I'm just like ready to kick something and in my head I'm saying, "I don't know, can I? will you let me physically walk to the restroom?" But then I have to suck it up. So that is super annoying.