Hooray for the Holidays!

I don't have homework today, and I won't be having it for the rest of the week! Tomorrow we are going to have pizza and a movie in my class. We don't even need our binders! This part about the holidays are great, but there are other parts to the holidays too.

Think about all the families that don't have the money to buy their kids presesnts. Think how sad it is to go downstairs on Chirstmas or light candles on Hanukkah and not find any gifts. It's always a good idea to donate to homeless shelters during the holidays. It always helps with the spirit. Sometimes, what I say is that you don't know what you have until you don't have it. During these holidays, be thankful for what you have. Enjoy your life. If you think your life is right down the drain, think about other people that are less fortunate than you and give thanks for what you have! :)

Happy Holidays

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Meyer's next new book to be released will be The Host. The release date will be May 6, 2008. This is great news to all of her fans, including me! All of her books have become such a success, and I am almost certain that everyone will like The Host.

Being Yourself

One of the most important things in life is to be yourself.

If you have to act like a different person to get people to like you, then they aren't your true friends. Everyone deserves friends that like them and have fun with them just the way they are. The best person that you can be, is you. You are the only one that can make people like you. You have that power, just be yourself. Eventually, people may find out too. It is always good to be honest when you start out making friends.

Once you decided to be yourself, people may actually decide that they like the real you. No one is perfect, and that is no reason to hide who you are. All that is important is to be yourself, and to be confident!

Lights lead to Adventures

Today was quite an adventure for me. My mom and I were running all over the place getting Christmas lights and extension cords. What a mess! We were going back and forth all day. We were going to get blue lights, and somehow they ended out of the cart and we never bought them(I am suspecting my mom took them out by accident). So then, we went to the Ace Hardware close to our house, and then we bought the lights there.

We started to put everything around the tree including the ornaments, and all the little nick knacks. On top of it, we had a smaller tree to decorate, and the whole process took the whole day. I don't even want to imagine what it will be like putting them back in the boxes at the end of Christmas! My mom and I were both snapping at each other because we were both tired, and everything was a disaster.

Do all families go through this? Does your family? Don't be shy, leave a comment! I would love to hear your Christmas tale of adventure! :)

Being Popular

Being popular isn't everything. As I have previously stated, only insecure people want to be in the spotlight. Since they are insecure, they make themselves feel better by getting all the attention or making other people feel bad to make themselves feel better.

There are two kinds of popular. One kind, is when they make other people feel bad to make themselves feel better. They usually are in a clique. The other kind of popular is when people just like to be around you. You may have a lot of friends, and that could just be because they like your personality. It is true that they should be happy that they are popular, but if you know who you are and you are confident, then there is no need to be popular. Insecure people go for the spotlight, not confident people. You don't have to be popular to know who you are on the inside.Popular people only pick on others because they are jealous of you, or it makes them feel better about themselves when they make other people feel miserable. The best way to get rid of them is just to ignore them. They are really the weak ones, and if you are brave enough to go up and confront them, then you are definitely a strong person.

Like I said you usually find popular people in cliques. They have a little group of people, and they don't let anyone else be their friend. There is a difference between a group of friends and a clique. A group of friends are just people that have fun together and they have fun, and it doesn't have to be one gender. Everyone is welcome in a group of friends. A clique, is usually made up of insecure people that rely on the people in their group to make them feel better. They make other people feel bad, and it is usually one gender. You can't exactly declare yourself popular. They assume the force of being popular. When people just like you, they come to you. Like in Greece, a Tyrant was a King that assumed power by force, that is exactly what popular people do.

Just because popular people think they are popular, it doesn't mean that other people like them. People don't usually like popular people for who they are. Just because they may be popular, or again they think they are popular, they don't have to be popular in your book. You shouldn't feel like they are a giant cat and you are the mouse. It's the exact opposite. You shouldn't be threatened by popular people, they are really the weak ones. This is what I always try to remember day-to-day.

Egos and People

Today has gone like a bore. The same thing happens every single day. When does something interesting happen once in a while?

The only thing that I hate more than bullies is people with big egos. I know that they are insecure and they just want to seem like they are confident, by being stuck up and always wanting attention. They usually make fun of other people to make themselves look and feel better. I, myself stay away from making fun of people to make myself feel better. If you are really smart, or you do a perfect back flip, not everyone needs to know. If people accomplish something and they brag, that means that they are insecure. Believe it or not, the only people in the spotlight are the insecure people. You should be happy with who you are, and just be intact with yourself as a person.

Your unhappiness to make themselves feel better. You don't have to tolerate people with big egos. You can just tell them straight up to stop. Humility is important, and if someone says they are so smart, they have to have humility. You are smart to have humility, because it is in human nature, to make other people feel bad. Don't say it an in insulting way and think carefully of how you say it. Once, when I was sitting at a table with this annoying boy, I was finally fed up. He was making fun of the girl sitting next to me, and occasionally me. Finally, I just told him how insecure he sounded. I said, "You are insecure. You make other people feel bad to make yourself feel better." He hasn't bothered me ever since. Sometimes people need to know how bad they make you feel.u come across people with big egos everyday. I am trying to work on tolerating. If they don't have a big ego, then they are just insecure and they feed off of other people's

Bullies

I have always been thinking about bullies and why the do the things they do. I have always found bullies, and what they do to other people very interesting. I think about why they do it. I want to find it out, and then I don't have to be afraid of them. :)

I had a friend, who wouldn't bully me physically, but emotionally. I know what you are thinking... "Why was she your friend if she bullied you?" Well, it wasn't always like that. Even though she did that, she was still a friend, because I forgave her. No one else wanted to try being her friend because they didn't like her. But, I have learned to tolerate it, get this, BULLIES ARE INSECURE!!! They only pick on you because it makes them feel better to make other people feel bad. My friend, was insecure. Most of the time, bullies are jealous of you. But, be humble, they have feelings too.

Whenever the people in the class always made fun of her, I was there to stick up for her. Mostly the boys did it, though. Once she went to the bathroom and cried, and I came after her to calm her down. I told her exactly what I am writing about. People pick on others to make themselves feel better. I have figured out that there are two kinds of bullies. The first kind, like my friend, will do anything to make a friend, and they may sometimes be your friend, but they also get bullied for their appearance. The second kind, is where they bully you physically, and like in shows, everyone goes running when they see that one person.

They may be two kinds of bullies, but they are actually alike. They are both insecure, and what they do to other people could have come from their childhood. For bullies that hurt you physically, you need to get an adult's help. The first kind of bullies, can be lightly taken care of, and they make do it again. They are just like us, and we shouldn't make fun of someone for their size, shape, and race. People are all people. We all have beating hearts, and brains. Just because someone is different, it doesn't give you a free pass to pick on them. What they look like is what makes them unique.

Bullies also bully people, if they get bullied. That is what happened with my friend. They just want to give anyone a taste of what it feels like to be bullied. You are insecure if you bully someone to make yourself feel better. So, to make a long story short, it is like a chain reaction. People are insecure because other people make them feel insecure. Or, they could just be unhappy about who they are in general. I have learned to ignore bullies, and feel sorry for them. They are really the ones less fortunate than you.

Music, Thoughts, and Paper

I find it interesting, that any type of music that I listen to gives me different thoughts. I am sure that lot of other people feel the same way. It's almost like your thoughts are connected to the music, and it can make you think of something sad or something happy. I like to listen to music that gives me good memories, or makes me think about my future. I like to think about the things that make me happy or think about a really great book that I just started.

I wonder sometimes why people are made fun of for the way they look. I see this happen and it makes me wonder what they feel like. Sometimes, I have fallen into that trap. Guilty as charged. :) I am sure that we all have fallen into that trap once in our life. I try to keep myself from doing it, there is nothing that can be hurt more than a person's feelings. Before I say something out of hand, I think about how it would make the other person feel. I had a friend that was made fun of because she was different. Nothing is wrong with being different, it's what makes us all unique. If everyone looked the same, it would be boring.

Many people have some weird like and dislikes. Me? I love the smell of paper. Not all kinds though, sometimes some books smell really bad. It may sound weird, but that's what makes me unique.

Everyone may have something goofy that they like. There is nothing better than the smell of rain other than curling up by the fire with hot cocoa, the fire burning, and snow outside. I hope that is snows this year. So many people dispise it but, I like to see it's beauty. Each flake is so different form the next one. There are so many things that you can do with snow in my opinion. During the summer, all you get is a really bad sun burn and a swim suit wedgie! Spring, well, all you can do is pick flowers. With winter, you can make snow men, have a snowball fight, sled down your drive way, and have hot cocoa by the fire place. I remember wheneve I do swimming during the winter, I loved coming outside after a good work-out and to be in the cold. I know it's weird, but I liked getting my towel on, and waiting for the heat to kick in. I love going outside in the cold, I like getting ready to go out in the cold. Everything about it seems fun to me!

Avatar High

Avatar High is a harmless and interesting 3-D high school adventure. There are so many things that you can do. You can name your high school and choose a mascot, you can design your students, choose their names, make them have crushes, and even B.O. You can have real life events like the prom, big test, big game, a party, and graduation. But, on the screen, you won't virtually be present. A day will pass and it will give the details of how it went. For the big test, big game, prom, and the party, it shows the results the next day!

Crowd vs Individual

Everday middle schoolers face the pressure to be part of the crowd or to be an individual and be your own person. Which is right and which is wrong?

I have always wanted to be an individual and be my own person. As I entered middle school, I noticed that there were popular brands that most people were wearing . The popular most popular ones are the first three and the last two are less popular but still popular. Abercrombie and Fitch, Aeropostale, Hollister, and American Eagle. I saw them everywhere. Even in gym, on the girl's bottoms. I liked that brand, but I couldn't figure out if I wanted to wear it because everyone else was wearing it, or if a just liked it. Recently, I got an Abercrombie sweater. I was so happy, and actually excited to go to school.

When I got to school on Monday, I actually fell into the trap of being like everyone else. I felt guilty that I had done it. I wore it for a few days and got used to it. I realized, that no one looks at you differently when you wear a brand name. I don't want people to like me for what I wear, but what they see in me on the inside. I will still wear it, but not think that people look at me differently. I am who I am and that will never change.

There is nothing wrong in wearing things like Abercrombie, but you shouldn't do it to fit into the crowd. No matter what you wear, people will still see you as you, and you don't have to wear a brand name to show them that.

Harry Potter Movies

There have been five movies released based on the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. They have made all the movies up to the fifth, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. There are still two more to come. The Harry Potter movies are just as great as the books.

The movies that have been released are Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I love all of the movies, but I would have to say that the third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban and the fourth, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire are the best. In the third, I like the suspense and mystery. It has a good plot, and it is pretty much self explanatory. In the fourth, I like all the challeneges that Harry has to go for, when he is not at the age to do it. I like how Voldemort shows himself in this movie and there is nothing that I don't like about it.

Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling is a wonderful author. She has written the whole Harry Potter series. All the books have become movies up to the fifth book. She has written the series up to the seventh book, and sadly, that is the last of the series.

It is about, Harry Potter, a young wizard who faces the most feared wizard in the wizarding world, Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort has been after Harry since he killed his parents but failed to kill him. Slowly, as Harry starts to find out more about him, it is Harry's destiny to fight Voldemort and finally kill the person that cost his parent's lives. Will he defeat Voldemort and more importantly, will he survive?

J.K. Rowling is a really great author. I have loved her books since I have been in third grade. I was very sad when I found out that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows was going to be the last book of the series. This is one of my most favorite series and I recommend it for all ages!

Class on Time

As an average middle school kid, sometimes I have problems on getting to class on time. I am never late, but it is always hard to make it. Here are some tips that could help you get to class on time.

First of all, try not to run but, you can fast walk. If some people are slow, just find a space and cut in front of them. Whether or not you have a top or a bottom locker, these tips can help for both. If you have a top locker and the person on the bottom is blocking your way, don't just waste your time! Find a clear space, and get what you want out of your back pack. That way, you will be ready when he or she is done with the bottom locker. If you are a bottom locker, the same thing can work. Or, careful try to get yourself in if it is taking a while. Also, try not to get too distracted by talking to your friends. After that, there is not much you can do but fast walk and have good time management.

The Ultimate Gift

The Ultimate Gift was originally a book by Jim Strovall. It has now become a movie, and it is available to watch and to read. I have just seen the movie, and it was definitely one that touched my heart.

I starts with a young man, Jason Stevens, who has all the money in the world and he has never had to work a day in his life. A tragedy happens and his rich Grandfather dies. Not many people, including Jason seem to care that Red Stevens, his Grandfather has just died. All of his sons wanted inheritance to get all of his money. In the beginning, Jason believes that his Grandfather has left him nothing. But, his Grandfather leaves 12 tasks for him to perform in order to get the inheritance. Jason soon embarks on journeys that he could never imagine doing. Will he survive the tasks he is being asked to perform?

Hilary Duff CD- Dignity

One of the CD's that I am currently listening to is Dignity by Hilary Duff. She combines the song genres, pop and rock. Some of my favorite songs are Gypsy Woman, Dreamer, Burned, and Outside of You. Outside of You is my most favorite because when I went to the mountains, I listened to it 7 times on my iPod. Gypsy Woman has a very nice rhythm to it. It makes me want to tap my foot. Dreamer has a nice beat to it and gives a very interesting input in the human condition. I like burned because it seems like the slowest song and and has a good tone and I love the music she uses to sing it.

Global Warming

Global Warming has become a big problem all over the world. Scientists and News channels everywhere are warning us of the consequences if this problem can't be fixed. There are many things that you can do to help against global warming. Try using less paper and more importantly, try to recycle. Instead of taking a car, you can walk and get some exercise. There are so many things that can be done to save the environment. Scientists have discovered a whole in the ozone layer bigger than Europe across Antarctica. This causes the ice to melt. If the ice melts, we will soon have tsunamis and this will cause the waves to get out of control. This may not happen for some time, but scientists say that future generations could be under water.

Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer

The recent series the I have been reading is the Twilight series. The author of the Twilight series is Stephenie Meyer. Her official website is stepheniemeyer.com

The first book of the Twilight series is Twilight. These are the kinds of books that you will not be able to set down.

It starts as 17 year old Bella Swan ventures to Forks, Washington to go live with her Dad. While being there, she meets a boy, Edward Cullen. Edward and his family do not interest Bella in the beginning, but as their friendship and love for each other grow, she becomes more attached to Edward than ever before. But there is one complication, Edward is a vampire. Can their relationship last?

Stephenie Meyer has two more books out on this series, and there is more to come.

In my opinion, this series is miraculous. When I read her words, it's like I am there. You feel like you are actually in a teenage girls mind. The friendship and the love seem so pure, and the words are un-forgettable. This is one of the best series I have ever read.

This series can be for all audiences, preferably middle school and older kids!