Halloween

When you hear the word Halloween, what do you think of? Candy corn, pumpkins, costumes, and ultimately, trick-or-treating...

About a week ago, my mom picked out two large, orange pumpkins from the grocery store. We are a little behind this year because tomorrow is Halloween and we haven't even emptied out all of the seeds and gross stuff inside the pumpkins! Then, it will be time to carve the pumpkins. In my family, no one is very artistic so we rely on the pumpkin carving books and the designs labeled "easy." Chances are, my mom will end up carving them just hours before trick-or-treaters start to arrive.

Every year, I love going to Haunted Houses. I remember when I was younger; my mom would always take me to the one at Wilson Barn. I didn't get the opportunity to go this year and I really wish I would have. Another thing I love about Halloween is the candy. Weeks before Halloween, as you walk through the store, there are aisles filled with Halloween candy. My mom tends to buy candy early, and then my family finds it. Days before Halloween, she usually realizes she might not have enough and better buy more. Candy corn is just about one of my favorites, and the "Fall Mix" they have where theres all different types of it. Besides, candy corn, I absolutely love Resees Peanut Butter Cups. I've never missed a year trick-or-treating. Now, what will I be doing this year?

Saturday night, I'm going over to Sam's house with some other friends from school and people from our Homecoming group. Halloween is tomorrow and I haven't even decided what I'm going to dress up as. I'm running out of time, so I better act quickly! When I think back to each year, I can almost remember what I dressed up as every time. There are so many pictures from my first couple Halloween's. Once the night is over, and all of the houses shut their doors and turned off their lights, it's time to go back home.

The day after Halloween, that's when everybody starts focusing on one of my favorite Holidays. Christmas! You can pretty much turn the radio onto any station, and you will start to hear Christmas music. The next few days they begin to clear out all the Halloween decorations out of stores, and prepare for the next holiday, Christmas.

Traveling

Traveling is just about one of my favorite things to do. Whether it’s traveling to another state to visit a relative, or traveling across the world to a new continent, it’s an exciting thing to me and something I love doing. Packing for a trip is the hardest to me because you never know what you might need and what you will not. I tend to over pack and come pretty close to the suit case weight limit at the airport. I prefer flying rather than driving, but I’ve done both so many times. Someday, I hope to visit all of the continents, and would love to go to Australia next.

When I was about five years old, I went to London, England. Looking back at pictures now, I see all the exciting places I went to. We visited Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and Wimbledon, just to name a few. I remember the guards outside of Buckingham Palace, dressed in red and acting so serious. One memory I have was the plane ride there. Yes, out of the whole trip one of the things I remember to this day was the plane. We had ice cream, pizza, and all other kinds of food. Looking back on airlines today, you’re lucky if you even receive complementary pretzels. I don’t have many memories of going to London because I was so young, but I would love to go back.

The summer after 6^th grade, I went to China and Tokyo. Weeks before, I couldn’t wait. I had heard so much about China because my dad travels there for two weeks at a time multiple times a year, but finally, I was going to be able to come with him. Seventeen hours on a plane is a long time to occupy yourself for. Eventually, you get bored of listening to an i-pod or watching movies and you’re desperate to sleep. However, when you’re sitting up in an airplane seat and there’s noise all around you, falling asleep is impossible.

When we finally arrived in Tokyo, it was time to switch airlines and board the one to Hong Kong. Another four hours passed, and we arrived. I absolutely enjoyed being in China. There’s so much to see there and it’s like one big city. Seeing a girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin isn’t too common there, so I did get a few stares once in a while. I saw the Victoria’s Peak, a Buddhist Temple, went shopping, and did so much more while there. On our way home, we stopped in Tokyo and went to Disney World there. I’ll never forget this two week vacation.

Besides traveling to other countries, I’ve been many places inside the U.S. I can’t think of all of them, but I’ve been to Florida, Ohio, New York, Indiana, Kentucky, North & South Carolina, Georgia, and Chicago, just to name a few. I think I’ve been to Florida about eight times, and went for the first time when I was about two years old. This was also my first plane ride, and I’ve heard many stories because occupying a two year old on a plane for two hours isn’t easy. I would love to go on a cruise because I’ve never had the opportunity. Traveling and visiting a new place or culture is an important and enjoyable thing to me, and I can’t wait to see other parts of the world.

Swine Flu

Currently, in the news the H1NI influenza A virus, otherwise known as "Swine Flu" has been a major deal. The virus was given the name "Swine Flu" because laboratory tests showed the genes in the virus are like the virus that occurs in pigs called swine. In April of 2009, the virus was identified in Mexico, and the "epidemic" began. The H1N1 virus has many noticeable symptoms including a fever, sore throat, and headaches which can last up to a week. Those affected worst by the virus are people who suffer from asthma, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and pregnant women.

The sad thing about the H1N1 virus is that many deaths have been linked to it. A total of 4,747 deaths worldwide have been confirmed from the virus to this date. To this date, there have been cases of the H1N1 virus in a total of thirty-seven states, and more are expected. It is believed that half of the U.S. population will have the virus, causing 30,000 to 90,000 deaths.

So the question is, what can we do to prevent this? A vaccine has been recently created and available currently. There is flu shot form of the H1N1 vaccine and also a nasal spray. The flu shot form comes as a double dosage with four weeks in between each shot. On October 6th, an estimated 600,000 nasal sprays were delivered. This nasal spray is currently in high demand, but it's expected that anyone who wants to be vaccinated will have the opportunity. A total of 250 million doses of the vaccine have been purchased by the US federal government.
In the state of New York, it is now mandatory that all health care workers who come in contact with patients be vaccinated for the regular flu and the H1N1 virus, or could potentially lose their job. I think this should become mandatory in all states, along with teachers being vaccinated because they come in close contact with students.

I feel that kids and adults should be vaccinated to prevent the H1N1 virus. As a parent, having your child vaccinated is the responsible thing to do. Receiving a double dose shot or a single nasal spray is much better than having the virus. Some people may think that they will not get the virus this flu season, but it's best to be vaccinated just in case. Some parents have began hosting "swine flu parties" in order to expose their kids to the virus. They do this in hopes their child will become immune to the H1N1 in the upcoming flu season. So when it comes down to it, I think that with the way the H1N1 is spreading, the smart choice is to become vaccinated and take precautions to avoid the virus.

Running

Running to most people seems like a dreaded thing when you just think about it. However, to me running is a sport, a hobby, and something that I truly enjoy doing. Running takes a lot of discipline and you have to be dedicated to the sport. When it comes down to it, running isn’t the right sport for everyone. You have to be willing to handle the pain and injuries, and most of the time, run through them. Running is one of the hardest sports physically on your body, and is truly a mental sport. It’s about telling yourself to keep going and to not give up, no matter what your body tells you.

I’ve been running for about seven years total. In third grade, I ran my first cross country race which was 1.2 miles, and joined track in fifth grade. Some people have asked, “Why do you like running?” I simply respond, “I just love the sport”. I’ve given up playing travel soccer to focus on running track and cross country, and especially during the winter off-season between the two sports. Once you begin running, it’s something you just can’t give up, and can't live without.

After a long day of school, coming to cross country practice and running is something good to end the day with. I can put aside my entire day and just let me feet run. When you finish a run, you feel such a sense of accomplishment. Whether you just finished a three-mile pre-race day run, or an eight-mile road run, you get a feeling that is hard to describe. In your mind, you tell yourself, “I did it.” The training involved in running can be a difficult and hard thing. During a hard workout, you may feel like you want to quit, but it’s all about pushing yourself because the pain you feel is what makes you better in the end.

Once a week of hard practice is said and done, its time for races. Races are what really matter, and when all of your hard work pays off. This is the time where the effort you put into those mile repeats you did earlier this week all become worth it. When the gun goes off, it’s like an adrenalin rush throughout your body, and immediately you tell yourself, “it’s time to race.” You forget about all of your worries and your mind is focused on now, this race. It’s about running your hardest and giving this race everything you have, so when you cross the finishing line you have no regrets. A Boston Marathon Runner named Tom Fleming said, “Somewhere in the world, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win.”

First Day

“Beep, beep, beep,” were the loud buzzing noises that awoke me at 5:45A.M. I opened my eyes slowly and thought, “It’s all over, and summer is done.” But I knew today would be a new beginning, a brand new school, and new people. While lying there awake in my bed, I kept thinking about how many hundreds more students would be in my freshman class, and how many thousand in the hallways. It was a fresh start and my home for the next four years. As I got myself out of bed and dressed for school, I told myself, “You won’t be the only freshmen who gets lost or comes to class late.” That thought kept rushing through my mind as I ate breakfast. I ate my waffle slowly, bite by bite. I knew it was time to leave when my sister yelled, “Let’s leave now.” As we drove to school, the nerves built up, but so did the excitement. When I walked in, over 2,000 students stood in a hallway that seemed just like a crowd at a busy concert or sports game, the people just kept coming. The hall was full of excitement and smiling faces as everyone greeted each other and right away, I knew I would like the school. Moments later, the echoing of the bell sounded the hallway. Lucky for me, I could stand round at my locker and talk to my friends because my first hour class was nearly twenty steps away. We were all so excited to see each other finally after a long relaxing summer, but then the second bell rung and we knew we had to be on our way to class. I walked up to Spanish, D19, and double checked my schedule just to make sure I was in the right place. Sure enough, it was right. I walked toward the seating chart in the front row and found my seat. I walked to the seat in the front row and just so happend to be a few seats down from a friend of mine from Elementary and Middle School. I was unaware what supplies we needed for the class, so I came prepared with a spiral and folder. We all anxiously sat in our seats, ready to begin our frist High School class as a Stevenson Spartan.
The room became silent as our teacher, Ms Dyer walked in. Ms. Dyer welcomed us all to Stevenson and began the class with the "typical kind of class" on the first day. We heard all about the classroom rules and procedures. It felt just as if the hands on the clock were moving in slow motion. We were given our first assignment, a syllabus. "Easy enough," I thought. The second portion of the class consisted of some basic Spanish words and phrases. A majority of them sounded familiar from last years Spanish curriculum.