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)

Game Day Poem

Game Day

 

1.       Its game day.

2.       The tools of my trade are few

3.       shoes, glove, bat, and ball

4.       It is game time.

5.       The smell of fresh popped corn diverts. Wet grass and anticipation

6.       As I hear my name, snatch my glove, take the field

7.       I am alone in my thoughts, the warmth of the sun, flight of the hawk overhead

8.       Easily distracted like a child at zoo

9.       CRACK…. The ball is dancing in the air

10.   The wind tearing through the stadium

11.   I’m searching for a small white object in a sea of blue

12.   Running, eyes searching, arm outstretched

13.   The force of the torpedo against my palm

14.   As I gaze at the white sphere nestled in its bed of brown

15.   He’s OUT….

16.   The game is over.

17.   The game is won.

5. Diction- “The smell of fresh popcorn diverts.” This word is at a different level of formality than the poem is written. I used it to make this more powerful, because the smell of popcorn lingering while trying to play a game is very very distracting.

8. Simile- “Easily distracted like a child at zoo.” I am comparing my distractedness to how a child acts at a zoo by using the word like.

9. Onomatopoeia- “CRACK…” I use this word to portray the sound of the ball hitting the bat

9. Personification- “The ball is dancing.” We all know a ball cannot dance. Therefore I gave the ball the lifelike ability to dance, even though it can’t perform such activity.

13. Symbolism- “The force of the torpedo against my palm.” I use a torpedo to symbolize the baseball in this situation. I do this because a torpedo most accurately describes how a ball comes at you when playing in the outfield.

14. Imagery- “As I gaze at the white sphere nestled in its bed of brown.” This line paints a vivid picture of what has happened.  I look down and there is a ball in my glove, as if it caught me by surprise.

16, 17. Anaphora- “The game is over The game is won.”  I use the same phrase, “the game is” to bring repetition into the fact that I just made the out that won the game for my team.

The Dreaded Overlap

With track coming to a close, baseball is quickly approaching. There is no break in between, matter of fact, the overlap my about two weeks. It isn't desirable, but I'm not going to complain too much because it is a decision I made, and because of that I don't have much room to talk. Having sports overlap like that has both its advantages, as well as its disadvantages.

One advantage is that our baseball coach is pretty understanding. This means that when the rest of the baseball players are doing a conditioning workout, us well conditioned track guys get to do a lighter workout. That is always I nice added bonus. Another advantage is that we show up too baseball practice a bit late so the practice that is three hours long is now only two hours for us! That’s so ideal, and sometimes we take an extra-long time getting from track to baseball, that way our muscles have a chance to relax a bit right before we put them to work once again!

Unfortunately there are many negatives as well. One of those negatives is all of the energy it takes out of me to participate in two sports at once. Usually baseball goes until about nine and when i get home I have absolutely no energy to do homework or anything. So once track is over it will be nice to just have to focus on and worry about baseball instead of both sports. Also, baseball takes up my whole summer. It starts in April and goes until the very very end of July. It makes it so i can only go out of town very scarcely and usually can’t do anything until the weekends. I’ve gotten use to this, but every once in a while it gets old because most people have no big obligations. 

Overall having baseball and track overlap isn't too bad. It is only a couple of weeks and the workouts are never too hard. The only big negative is the amount of time it takes. Come august, however, I am free as a bird! That is when I do most of my fun things in the summer like weekend trips, day trips, and other fun adventures! So what I am trying to say, is that I can’t wait for august after a summer full of baseball. it is nice to have about a month to wind down and relax right before school starts again. (WC 411)

Let College Visits Begin!

I have officially been on my first college visit! On Friday my dad and I went down the the University of Iowa and took part in Hawkeye Visit Day. I wasn't sure what to expect because I have never gone on an official visit, and the only time I am at the University of Iowa is for football games. I, already a Hawkeye fan, am trying to go into this college decisions process with an open mind. Just because I am a die hard Hawkeye fan doesn't mean the University of Iowa is the right college for me. Maybe it is, I will have to visit more schools before I can tell.

The visit was very beneficial for me. It allowed me to see the campus, enjoy lunch, and explore a vast array of majors that I didn't even know existed. I then went to the Tippie School of Business building and listen to a professor speak about what all goes on in that building, as well as what to expect in a business major, and all the places a business degree can take someone. That got me really excited to explore all the things I might be able to do with a business degree, and all of the unique paths I can take.

There were a lot of things I liked about the University of Iowa. Some of those things include, Kinnick Stadium, the Business building, the food, and the B1G Ten feel. Being on a B1G Ten campus thinking that is where I could be living is a really cool feeling. It makes you feel like you are a part of something special and something that not everyone gets the opportunity to take advantage of, and here it is at the tip of my fingers.

On the other hand, there were somethings I didn't like as well. Some of those things include the dorm rooms and residence halls, the size of the student body, and how spread out the campus is. The biggest downside is the size of the campus. To get from the two farthest points it would be like a 45 minute walk. Granted there is a very good bus system that takes me anywhere, but I would still be able to to walk everywhere, because I feel like that is the typical college feel. I want to feel close, and taking a bus to class wouldn't satisfy that feeling. (WC 404)

The Time Can't Come Soon Enough

Today marks a big day in my life. Today, I sent in my Green Bay Packer season ticket waiting list request form. Yes, I sent it in at age 17. Why, you may ask. Well the answer is simple....there are already 88,000 names on the list. This means in about 30 years my time will come and I will finally be a season ticket holder. People think I'm crazy, but in all reality, I am just thinking way in the future and being smart.

Most people decide they want to get season tickets when they retire and have more time. Well, if they are a Packer fan, they are out of luck. Plus, there is a certain sense of excitement that will come each ear I move up a couple thousand spots on the waiting list. With any luck, I will get the tickets when I am about 50 years old. This will be perfect for many reasons. One reason being that by that time I will be (hopefully) financially stable and in a position where I can afford tickets. It would really suck if your name was up to get tickets and you had to pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity because you weren't in a place financially to go forward with them.

My history teacher just got his season tickets this year! He has been on the waiting list for thirty years, and has been through two stadium expansions before he got tickets. He advised me to get on the waiting list now because the waiting list keeps getting bigger and bigger and the rate of names coming off of it is lessening. I'm hoping lots of people don't renew their tickets this year so a couple thousand names get knocked off of the infamous waiting list.

I'm thinking if the Packers have a really bad season lots of people will give up their seats. Although I wouldn't want them to have a bad season, if it means I get tickets sooner, then I am all for it. I am a quite impatient person, so waiting close to 40 years for something is one thing I am not used to or can even fathom right now. Oh well, there is nothing I can do to speed up the process, so I will wait. Each year I will receive my postcard telling me how many spots I move up. One year, many years from now,I will get one informing me that they have accepted my season ticket request form! Oh man I can't wait for that day!! (432)

Quickly Coming to an End

As much as I am not a fan of track, the season as flown by! We only have three more meets left. Last year it seemed like we ran a bazillion meets and it never stopped, this year, that isn’t the case. This year, thanks to the rain, we have had three meets cancelled! That never happened last year. A cancelled meet is probably one of the best things that come out of the season. It lowers my stress level, and allows me to get more sleep. More sleep is something I will always be in favor of.

As I said above, we have had three meets cancelled thus far. That number is expected to rise next week. Just like this week, next week’s forecast appears to have rain almost every day. We have meets on Tuesday and Thursday. I am assuming the Tuesday meet will be on, but the Thursday one will probably get cancelled. Having meets on Thursdays is really rough. Most homework assignments are due on Fridays, and Friday tends to be international testing day. Therefore, having meets on Thursdays doesn’t help me academically one bit. I tend not to get enough studying in, and my grade usually slips just a bit.

For that reason, it is nice to have cancelled meets. It gives me an opportunity to catch up on work and get my grades up again. Along with a boost in grades, I am able to get to sleep a few hours sooner than on a track meet night. This allows me to be more alert during the school day, and therefore more attentive and willing to learn. SO there is another way cancelled track meets result in my grades improving.

On nights with track meets I usually get hope around 10:15. Then I have to shower, eat, and fill my parents in on how I did. Once all three of those things are completed it is usually around 11:15. Then I do my few hours of homework and go to bed around 1am. Just a blink later I am waking up and heading to school at 6am for lifting. Needless to say, Fridays after a meets are a train wreck waiting to happen. Once Friday night comes I have no energy and all I want to do is sleep. That’s why I absolutely love when people have movie nights because that is a convenient way to hang out with people and also catch a few Z’s before the night is over. Luckily, we only have one more Thursday meet to go! Then the season is over. (WC 433)

Summer is Almost Here!

Summer is only two months away!!! That is one sixth of a year, 62 days, eight weeks, however you want to look at it, away! That isn't that far away at all. I cannot wait for summer and all it has to offer. Although i am tied up with baseball most of the summer, it is still the best time of the year. Not nearly as many worries, nice weather, fun outside, water sports, pools, and sundays are no longer dreaded as the last day before we go back to school! Summer is awesome.

This summer I am extremely excited to go on lots of little trips and go on adventures. I love doing new things and being outside. If I could camp multiple times a summer...I would. There just isn't enough time with baseball to go camping at all. When camping you get to experience all of the fun things that take place over the summer. Some of these things include Bon fires, s'mores, hiking, going boating, swimming, sleeping outside, and staying up late talking with friends. I just can't wait for summer.

Another fun part of summer is the Fourth of July. Every time my family get together with family friends and have a big dinner. After that we have our annual baseball game followed by dessert. Then we go watch fireworks and have more food that night. It is always a great time had by all and is always a highlight of summer.

The last big bonus of summer is no homework. The stress and burden all of this homework really takes a toll after 9 months of school. During the summer the stress is minimal and everyone is usually pretty carefree and relaxed. I wish it was like that all the time, but sadly, that isn't the case.

Well folks, only two more months! We can do it. In a month ap tests will be done and school should become a tad bit easier. Having a relatively relaxed last month of school is very helpful. It is really hard to study for finals the day before the last day of school because you know summer is right around the corner. However on the bright side, once we get through finals it is summer! Two months of freedom then we start or senior year. We can do it folks, it is just a matter of getting this year under our belts, and doing it I. A quick fashion. (WC 413)

AP Anxiety

With AP tests in exactly a month from today, there is no such thing as free time. If I am not doing homework and studying, I am running in a track meet. If not a track meet, i am playing baseball, and if not baseball I am fast asleep on the couch because I have no energy left.There is simply not enough time in the day to get everything done.

This past week was absolutely horrible. I had a total of eight tests, a track meet thursday, ap chem test friday, as well as a track meet friday, on top of track practices and other little things to do. Needles to say, the chemistry test did not go well at all. It is hard to be a student athlete when the athlete part takes priority over the student part. Sadly, that is what is happening.

What if people cared as much about doing well in the education realm of things as they did about doing well in sports? If that were the case, there would be a lot more great students in this country. However, coaches often times prevent that from happening. Every coach says, "School is a priority" but then when you say you cant make a practice because you have to make up a test, the are disappointed.

This makes everything extremely hard now that AP tests are almost here. It is so hard to get all the studying in required to do well. I would be curious what would happen to students test scores if sports were non existent for a year. By no means am i suggesting this happens, but I am curious how sports effect our test scores. I know some people say that being involved in things makes a better student because they manage their time better. I disagree because if you aren't involved in anything, you have all the time in the world to whatever you want, and study more!

If education was a priority in a school rather than their sports, I'm sure we would have a much brighter and better educated nation. Sports take us out of school to go compete, why cant school take me out of sports without consequence? Needless to say being a student athlete at the end of the year can get to be very rough. Trying to finish strong is hard enough, and it certainly doesn't help when your time is very limited. (WC 408)

Iowa Basketball on The Rise Despite Loss

Tonight Iowa flopped. The Iowa basketball team has struggled year after year to even put up a fight against most of their opponents. Recently, Iowa has started to give every team a run for their money. This year especially, Iowa has really shown up to play. They have had the best season they have had in many years, and actually sold out Carver Hawkeye Arena multiple times!

This year Iowa played well until the end of the game. They managed to blow 10, 15, even 20 point leads.  They were about one win short of getting invited to the NCAA Basketball Tournament.  So, they were shuffled into the NIT tournament. Not as impressive, but post season play nonetheless. The Hawks showed up, they showed up big.

Iowa had grown as a team, and made the adjustments needed to finish out games. When I say finish out games, I mean blow out teams. Once they got up, that lead kept getting bigger and bigger. They never let up, and as a weary Iowa fan that was great to see. It gave us hope for the rest of the season, but most importantly gave us hope for the future of Iowa Basketball.

As the tournament continued, the team continued to improve, game after game, play after play, hope was being instilled into Hawkeye fans around the world. Then they got to the championship game. This was not pretty. There was a lacking desire to win, and they just looked tired. They lost pretty badly, but that doesn’t overshadow the strides they took this post season. There is still a large amount of excitement for Iowa Basketball next year and everyone cannot wait to see what the team and the organization has in store.

Iowa is currently projected to be ranked in the top 25 next season! I can’t even remember the time Iowa was a top 25 team. I’m pretty sure it was in 2004, they were ranked eight I believe. Next season should be an exciting one! My only hope is that they don’t get overconfident and cocky and end up blowing those expectations. Everyone is expecting a great team with great energy next year. If that isn’t what is produced, there will be some very upset Hawkeye fans next year. They have a great run going; it would be nice to see them go deep into the NCAA tournament next year. I would be satisfied with a sweet 16 finish. That would be quite an accomplishment. (WC 418)