Taking a Stand: Yay or Nay?

In fourth grade, a student named Maria moved to Batesville from Mexico. Maria was lovely and sweet. Some people, however, treated her badly simply out of jealousy.

When she first arrived, almost everyone appeared to want to know Maria better, with the exception of a few girls. They seemed not to like her because of her beauty and personality. Whenever Maria would sit down at lunch, these girls would cease their conversations and sit in silence, leaving Maria and I in conversations of our own.

Finally, I had taken enough of their stupidity. I marched over to the monkey bars and told the girls what I thought. That was that they were just making themselves look bad. The expressions on their faces went from triumphant to defeated.

A few days later, after out little chat, the girls attitudes toward Maria had made a complete turn-around. When walking through the halls, I could barely get a word in for all the girls standing around Maria. Maria gave me a very rewarding smile. That smile made my talk with the girls worth all the effort.

When I felt the need to take a stand, I did. Maybe that is one of the joys of being children. We speak what we feel and think, which can be a good thing and bad, but in this case good. I still always try to take a stand when I feel the need. I cannot ever tell if my effort will make an impact, but I might as well take a chance and find out.

One Down and Five to Go!

The first semester of my high school career has been somewhat that of a roller coaster ride. There are harder classes, more drama, and more boring World History movies than I could have ever imagined possible. There are also, however, more good times than I could ever have hoped for. For example, tastier lunchroom food, funny phrases learned in Spanish, and Mi Ranchito chip and salsa. Yum!

As far as classes go, my most difficult are Pre-AP Chemistry and English. Chemistry sometimes drives me to the point of insanity. But once I master a million-step problem, I feel like I have actually accomplished something extraordinary. English is the same way. I never knew, until this year, that I could chart a sentence. Now I know that, and also that this could very well be my least favorite thing to do. Though the classes are hard, the teachers are amazing.

The chip and salsa from Mi Ranchito, I must say, is my favorite aspect of Spanish, besides the people I take the class with. We have an amazing woman for a teacher who cares about our grades as well as our stomachs.

As I look forward to the next semester, I can only hope that the upcoming session of school will be half as amazing as the first. Until then, I will be studying hard for semester tests and relaxing over the Holidays. Merry Christmas!

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

When I first read the Tragedy of Julius Caesar, I realized that my attention was not focused on Caesar, but Brutus.

Brutus, to me, appears to be the one who suffered most out of the whole ordeal. He was foolish and untrustworthy, and as the play neared the end, he realized this about himself.

Brutus was foolish enough to believe that the Roman public favored him over Caesar. Only days earlier people had gathered in the streets to sing their praises to Caesar. Also, Brutus allowed Cassius to sway his opinion of Caesar. Deep down Brutus knew that Caesar was an honorable man who wanted was best for his country. After only a few moments of talking to Cassius, Brutus had begun to question his opinion of his best friend.

Brutus was unfortunately untrustworthy also. He acted like Caesar's best friend right up until the moment he stabbed him. To be that two-faced is absolutely unbelievable.

At the end of the play, Brutus commits suicide. The cause of this, I am sure, was because Brutus had realized the person he had become.

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar should have been renamed The Fall of Brutus, The Most Noble of Romans, for this better suits the play.

Follow the Leader

After having read The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, I noticed that the actions performed by Cassius not only took guts to accomplish, but also superb leadership qualities.

Being a leader means choosing what is best for your subjects, thinking issues out before acting, planning ahead, and perhaps being a bit manipulative.

Having a good head on his shoulders, Cassius seemed to have all of these attributes.

When he started his conquest to kill Caesar, he believed that what he was doing was for the best of the Roman people. He told Brutus that he thought Caesar was becoming too ambitious.

Also, he planned out the assassination of Caesar, the great warrior. He and his accomplices decided how, when, and where they would kill him.

They knew that they had better be able to have one good excuse for murdering the most beloved Caesar, which is why they thought ahead.

Cassius was also quite manipulative. He was the one who convinced Brutus of the power he held inside. At first Brutus wouldn't hear the words oozing from Cassius' mouth. But Cassius knew what Brutus wanted to hear and told him willingly.

Cassius, a man of questionable character, had one of the best attributes possible. That attribute was leadership.

I Win, You Win, Everybody Wins!

Have you ever felt that there is absolutely no way to successfully solve a difficult problem or situation? We all have.

But don't give up hope. Because for every door that is shut, a window is opened. The key is thinking Win-Win.

When having a Win-Win attitude, it is important to always be open minded and think positively about any situation life brings. You must give and take.

For example, you and a friend get in an argument at school about who should have the higher grade in lab because one of you did more work. You know that you deserve the points because you worked hard. You MUST think about how the other person feels and why.

Your friend is probably feeling the same way you do, so the best thing to do is sit down and figure out a way to split the points. Take each others feelings into account.

Doing this will not only make a deposit in your PBA, or personal bank account, but will also make a deposit in your RBA, or relationship bank account. Be the kindle to the fire in your relationships.

You will find yourself happier and with more friends if you find yourself living Win-Win.

Needed: Proactive People

After reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey, I realized that in our world today, there are two types of people, active and proactive. Our planet has many problems, so what we need are less reactive people and more proactive people.

One particular issue, that needs educated "proactivaters" is AIDS. All most people know is that this particular disease is sexually transmitted. People should know all about this disease. Education could make an enormous difference in the cause.

But the spreading of news does not happen over night or magically. This takes work and effort, which is where our proactive workers come in short supply.

More Health teachers should take the time to educate their students on this matter. Seeing a lesson gone out of a nine weeks is alot better than seeing someone you know with AIDS. One lesson could mean one life.

Also, in foreign countries where this potent disease is spreading like wild fire, we need people to volunteer their time, money, and effort to help a fellow people in need. Mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers are dying because of a lack of knowledge.

Stopping, or even causing a large decline in this disease, will not be easy.

The task will be hard. The task will take more than just a few proactive people to accomplish this goal.

Changing attitudes is never easy, especially if an attitude becomes a lifestyle. Changing a lifestyle is difficult, but would be well worth the effort.

Dear Mr. President

As November 4th draws near, I ponder who will be the next President of the United States. I believe that the candidate John McCain is to be the man for the job.

McCain is morally more where I stand than Obama. My main issue is abortion. McCain is against abortion which makes me very proud to say I would cast my vote for him. However, I wish he would try to get an amendment passed to outlaw abortion all together instead of letting states individually decide.

As I right a letter to the the future President, John McCain, my goal is to try and persuade him to make abortion illegal.