The Final Farewell

       Well fellow bloggers, it has been a year filled with learning, new experiences, new interactions, new skills, and 73 blogs. Blogging for class ends at the conclusion of this blog, but I might tune in from time to time. I started my blogs with sports blog after sports blog, after sports blog. Then I started to blog about random things going on and haven’t blogged about sports for a while. So, without further ado, a sports blog to end the school year:

     The NFL draft wrapped up last month and rookie minicamps are in full swing.  The Packers drafted nine players with another nine other rookies being signed as free agents. These 18 players have been working hard in practice and head coach Mike McCarthy claims this is one of his favorite groups he has ever worked with. That being said, I am getting excited for the start of the NFL season.

     One drafted player that I am very curious about is former University of Iowa Corner Back Micah Hyde. I was surprised to see him go to the backers. Although a great player, I wasn’t sure he would be able to be too successful as a cornerback in the NFL.  After some thinking, I came to the conclusion that they might have drafted him with a kick returner in mind.

     The majority of the Packer’s kicks last year were returned by wide receiver Randal Cobb. As the injury prone Packer’s receiver corps took a hit with the injury to Greg Jennings, Cobb stepped up to fill that role. Needless to say, he wasn’t returning very many kicks anymore. With Jennings now off the team, Cobb will be a starting receiver for the Packers. There is no way he will return kicks. This is where Hyde comes in to play. He is a cornerback that most likely won’t be a starting, but he has a good record of returning kicks at Iowa. He was very elusive and could really break for some great returns. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was back deep for the Pack this season as their main kick returner.

     It’s been a long journey bloggers, one I probably wouldn’t wish to repeat. I’ll still blog for fun now and again, but I won’t be having three blogs per week on the button. I look forward to blogging about whatever I want and having no requirements. Although blogging wasn’t something I was extremely fond of, it allowed me to improve my writing and therefore I am better off. (WC 422)

Wasting The Weather Away

There are only a few more weeks left this school year, and man is that exciting! With AP tests just about over, it seems although I have very little homework to do. And if I have homework, I have very little, to no motivation to get it done considering the weather is to die for! As all teachers say, just finish strong and you have the rest of the year to enjoy the weather; I on the other hand, defer that statement.

Right now the temperature is between 65 degrees and 75 degrees on a daily basis when it is around 65 degrees it is the perfect weather for physical activity outside. It might be a little chilly at first but it feels great after a couple minutes of moving around. And when the weather is on the upper end of that range it is a perfect day to just be outside the whole time. It isn’t too hot and not chilly at all. It is a perfect temperature to take the dog for a walk, or get some yard work done. Very rarely do we get into the high 80’s this time of year so it is the PERFECT month to spend outside. The only downside of this whole weather thing, is school. School is holding us back from enjoying this great weather!

Once we get out of May and into June and July, the temperatures begin to soar, 85 degrees, 90 degrees, 100 degrees, you name it, we can get there. During the summer it can become so unbearable! It gets to the point where just walking outside is dreaded because you break a sweat just standing there. There is very rarely a cool breeze, and even in the shade it is about 90 degrees. So pretty much summer weather can be unbearable many times throughout its duration. There are still some very nice days throughout the summer, but those are sporadic, the majority of the days are scorching hot.

If we got out of school at the end of April and started a month earlier that would benefit me more. That way we could get out when the weather gets nice and be able to enjoy it, rather than having to be tied down with school work. July is hot as can be so going to school might not be so bad. I know it is easier for me to study in April than it is now. Right now I want to be outside enjoying this weather. So teachers, no-we don’t have the rest of the summer to enjoy this weather, it becomes too hot. We only have about 20 more days to enjoy it. Consequently school ends in about that many days too… (WC 458)

Crime is Pride

I agree with the assertion made by Teiresias that, “all men make mistakes but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil: The only crime is pride.”  This assertion makes a realization that is so very true but is often over looked. This statement wouldn’t be the same if it didn’t start with, “all men make mistakes.”

Having the quote start with that phrase creates even ground and a closer distance between Teiresias and the reader. It declares that no man is perfect and no man lives life without ever doing something he shouldn’t.  Then the quote sates, “but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong.” This states that even when those guys who seem to be perfect mess up, they catch themselves. They stop in their steps and do not continue the unaccepted act. This leads right into the next part of this quote, “he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil.” In this section it is showing that that so called perfectly good man who just messed up is now going back to make what was known as is unacceptable act an act people will appreciate. Although the initial act cannot be erased, it can be mended. And mending is exactly what the phrase, “repair the evil” means.

The very last phrase of the excerpt is the most difficult to interpret. “The only crime is pride.” That phrase alone could be the whole excerpt. How I viewed it is that having pride in yourself and your actions is what can sometimes get you into trouble. For example, if I go out and do graffiti on the side of a bridge, I might be very proud and prideful in my art work, when in all reality, I committed a crime. Therefore, pride can be crime.

One thing I feel really gives this statement validity is that fact that like I said before, it reaches common ground. It doesn’t just say that all men make mistakes and do nothing about it. It brings out the good side and the bad side. The good side being that a good man goes back and mends his mistake where as a bad or undesirable man would be too proud of himself and his actions to go back and make anything better.In his mind he did nothing wrong. In a good man’s mind, he stops the act, and makes it better. Because the statement touches on both good and bad, I fell it holds a lot of validity. (WC 430)

Fun Had by All

Well I survived the hype and excitement of prom, and I am awake to tell the story. I had a great time, and everyone in my group did as well. There were a lot of people going to different places throughout the afternoon/evening, but we all got it to work out.

The day started at 4pm when we took pictures. At this point in time we had nine out of the eleven people in our group; one of the couples was in Vinton eating dinner because the guy goes to Vinton (who’s prom was on the same night) so they ate with his friends. Next, we went to grand march. At grand march we had seven of the eleven people; another couple was eating dinner with the guy’s friends from Kennedy (whose prom was also on the same night). Next we went to dinner with the same group we went to grand march with. We ate at White Star Ale House down town. The atmosphere, food, and service was fantastic!

After dinner we went to the dance. The dance is the one and only time our whole group (eleven people) was together. We were there for about two hours before we got incredibly hot, and tired, and were ready to go. So we left the dance, and headed to after prom with nine of the eleven people. We originally went to Jefferson’s post prom. They had post prom at the bowling alley. It was soooo boring and stupid that we just got our free pizza and left. Because we had a Kennedy senior in our group, we were able to get our group into Kennedy’s post prom!

At Kennedys post prom was where we all agreed we had the post fun. There was tons of free food, inflatables, and a hypnotist.  The hypnotist was the best part. It was pure comedy. We were all fascinated and couldn’t stop laughing at how ridiculous some of the hypnotized people were. That lasted about an hour and a half and then we all went to my date’s house for post post prom. Here we played the Wii, ate more food, played other games, and watched a movie. We then, around breakfast time, had waffles, cinnamon rolls, sausage, and fruit. That was the perfect ending to an already great night.

When I got home I took a nap and now I feel fine. There is nothing else I want to do right now than to get outside and enjoy this 70 degree weather! I can’t wait until my prom next year…I hope it is as fun as it was this year. (437)

Change Sucks

Today I got the opportunity to be part of a student panel to interview one of the five principal candidates. Today’s candidate was Mr. Stecker, the Athletic Director here at Kennedy. It was a good experience to get to know him a little better and here what he plans to do him he is chosen as the next principal here at Kennedy High School.

I was very impressed with the way Mr. Stecker handled himself and every question he was asked. Us, the students, asked some very tough questions and he answered them very well. One of the most important questions to me was why does he want to be the principal of Kennedy High School.  He said that he wants to be the principal because he wants to be able to continue the fun traditions of Kennedy and it just feels like it is where he belongs. That was the exact response I was looking for. Many of us are worried about the transition from Dr. W to the new principal, and Mr. Stecker made it seem like her would make the transition the most seamless. This is important to all of us, so I hope he meant what he said.

Having Dr. W leave Kennedy will suck, there is no question there. She has built Kennedy to where it is now, THE number one school in Iowa. Without her, we wouldn’t be where we are. It is hard for students to believe that Kennedy won’t go backwards with a new principal. We just don’t want to accept change and are very very scared for what the future holds. Kennedy without Dr. W is like a river without water…a dry wasteland. She is the life of this school, the voltage behind the battery, and the reason for everyone’s success. Dr. W is Kennedy, and Kennedy is Dr. W

However, after the interview with Mr. Stecker, I believe a transition without drastic changes is possible. Stecker knows what Dr. W did to make Kennedy go; therefore I believe he would be able to continue those traditions, morals, and ways going. He also had some good thoughts on what we could improve here at Kennedy to make sure we don’t take a step back, rather a step or three forward. To me Mr. Stecker should be the next principal here at Kennedy. He provides the best opportunity for Kennedy to continue to succeed and continue to be the #1 school in the state. He might just make us a top 100 school in the nation. (WC 424)

The Stress of Prom

As a junior, I am lucky enough to get the opportunity to go to Prom! Although I won’t be attending Kennedy’s prom, it is still a prom! I will be attending Jefferson’s prom, and all of their festivities. I can’t wait to go, however there is a lot of stress building up because of everything that has to get done and arranged for the night to be fantastic.

To start out, I had to go fins a tux. This was difficult because we couldn’t find a tux that both I liked and that would match her dress. Finally, we found one and could move on. Next I had to make reservations a month ago because there are four proms on the same night here in the Cedar Rapids area. I then have had to call back three times to change that reservation due to indecisive prom goers.  On top of that, I and my date had to find time in our already packed schedules to go get flowers. I’m glad she knew what she wanted because I had no idea what to pick!

The next step is to pick up my tux tomorrow. They said it could take up to three hours since there will be so many people getting their tux at the same time. So I have to find a time that works for both my dad and I, and then go waste my night away. Next, it is all for show. I have to clean out the car, vacuum it, wash the windows, shine the interior, make it smell good, and give it a car wash. That is the part I’m dreading the most because it is pretty messy and dirty!

Finally after all the planning and everything, it is time for pictures. We will then go from the pictures to Grand march, to downtown for dinner then to Prom. I just hope all of those things go smoothly with minor delays. After that is post prom…here’s where it gets tricky. Some of our prom group members go to Kennedy and want to go to Kennedy’s after prom, and others want to go to Jeff’s. So here is the plan. We are going to Jeff’s for an hour and a half and then high-tailing it to Kennedy’s after prom. After the after prom, we are going to someone’s house, all ten of us, to have a post post prom party. This will go until 8 am the following morning. So all in all I will be up for about 26 hours. Other than the extreme tiredness, I’m sure prom will be a fantastic experience for all. (WC 440)

So Much Hate

There is a lot of hate in this world. People have malicious thoughts and don’t have a conscience smart enough or sane enough to tell them to stop.  This was extremely relevant in this past week. Monday, America was under attack. At the Boston marathon two bombs went off, separated by only 12 seconds. These explosions happened around 1:50pm on Monday afternoon. Thousands heard the blast and many were injured. If it weren’t for the heroic acts of American civilians, many many more lives would have been lost.

The explosions killed three people and wounded 170 others. Doctors, nurses, everyone still able rushed to the scene or stopped running the marathon to help aid the wounded. Many people lost limbs, and others lost a lot of blood out of their horrific wounds. However, Americans acted, and we as a notion, got those people to the hospital in a timely manner in an effort to stunt the death toll at three. Stories keep emerging about the people who rushed to the scene to help and the inspirational stories of how different situations unfolded. This is how it should be. We should be hearing news about the wounded and the ones who helped out, rather than the bombers. Of course everyone still wants to know the latest on the bombers, but our main focus should be on the people affected, not the criminals.

Many times people’s motives are never known, and this might be one of those occasions. What could possibly possess someone to set off two bombs at a marathon where thousands are gathered? Who knows? All I know is that it is an absolute act of god that only three lives were taken. A bazaar twist in this story is that the bombers thought they would get away with this! The younger brother who is currently in custody attended classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. He even went to a party Thursday night before images of him and his brother emerged.

Once they were pursued, it was obvious they had no get away plan. They just tried to hide in town, thinking they wouldn’t get found. They didn’t try and get the heck out of dodge. Matter of fact, after the shootout, the younger brother just hid in a boat. How long was he thinking he would be able to stay in there before he would have needed to get nourishment? Well, in all likelihood he probably was planning on dying in that boat, given his condition when he was found. I am just very impressed that the WTPD was able to capture him alive, I thought he would be found dead, for sure. (WC 444)