elarousy week 9: music

 We live in a world that is so beautifully diverse and contains many different wonderful aspects. Yet, I sometimes believe that the most beautiful things that are the ones that aren’t seen or touched and I think that saying can be applied to music. It has been one of the few things that the world shares., dating many centuries back. It has been in every culture, no matter how far away from each other, Have somehow developed a means of expression by sound alone. And I think that is truly astounding. 

Music has been an essential part of my life ever since I can remember. Its been there at the lowest points in my life and at the highest ones as well. To me, it’s like hearing actual emotions on display. it actually helps me feel better when I can relate to a song. Because it helps me realize that I am not alone and not the only one going through whatever I am down about at the time. Music always had a way of making me feel better. Because It makes me feel seen and understood. It also has a way of bringing people together no matter their differences, background, or disagreements. since Everyone can appreciate a good piece of art.

I honestly cannot fathom a life without music. Just imagine, driving a car without music, going into a store with no music, working out with no music, or even a party with no music! Life would be so dull.

Tayi Week 9 - Roller Coasters

    Ever since I was little my family loved going to amusement parks. Every family gathering ends up with at least one trip to an amusement park. The problem with that is I hate roller coasters yet I get dragged out of the house to join them every time. I hate the feeling you get in your stomach when going down on a roller coaster. When we used to go to amusement parks, I always had someone stay behind when going on a roller coaster because I was too young to stay alone. It made me feel really guilty about holding them back but at the time I was too afraid.

    Right before the pandemic, my friends wanted to go to Dorney together. This would be my first time going to an amusement park in a while. To their surprise, I agreed to go. I was hyping myself up to the point where I convinced myself I would not opt-out of any ride. The moment the rides were in vision from our car, all of my confidence left me. 

    As we walked up to the first ride, Hydra, I asked them if I could opt out of just this first ride and In return would go on the rest. They didn't listen to a word I said. They literally shoved me onto the ride while I was whining. When the ride started I thought I was about to faint and then we slowly went up the first drop. They were all good with rides, so their entertainment was watching me freak out. When we dropped I got that terrible feeling in my stomach and screamed at the top of my lungs. My friends laughed at watching me lose it. We did this for every ride and I learned that….. I still hate roller coasters. It is not worth the wait, the money, the pain, for that one 10 second part of the ride where you are going fast and do not have that feeling in your stomach.

    

    The one thing I was happy about though was that I did not hold anyone back and I was the main reason everyone had fun. Even though my torture was their entertainment.

    

Harclerode Week 9- Managing Boys' Volleyball

     Something new that I've started to do recently is be a manager for Nazareth's boys' volleyball team. I didn't really know what to expect when I decided to take part in this, but my freshman brother Josh was trying out for the team, so I thought why not become a manager? That way, it can be something for me to do during the week when I don't have my own volleyball practices, and I can help Josh through his first ever season of volleyball. This turned out to be more enjoyable than I had originally expected. Now, I never thought that it was going to be something boring that I would end up regretting, but I also didn't think that I would be having so much fun. Two of my other friends decided to be managers too, and we get to play with the guys sometimes, which is super fun. Plus, there's no stress, so if we mess up it doesn't really matter because it's not like we're competing for playing time or anything. 

    Last week, the other managers and I actually had to take on a bit more responsibility. The head coach came in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID, so he had to quarantine for a week. Because of this, the JV coach had to coach the varsity team, and we were left to be the "coaches" of the JV team. We were a little nervous at first because we didn't want to do anything wrong, but we quickly got the hang of it. I liked how I was able to help the less-experienced players with some of the knowledge that I have acquired throughout my almost seven years of playing volleyball. I would run drills, give the team pointers, and play with them at the end of practice. It was fun to be a coach for a week!

    Tomorrow (Friday) is the first game, and it is away at Pocono Mountain East High School. Us managers get to go on the bus with the rest of the team and support them from the sidelines. I'm looking forward to seeing how the JV plays, especially since this is going to be a lot of the players', my brother included, first ever volleyball game. I really hope they do well, especially since the other managers and I were their coaches for a week and hope that we made an impact in their playing. But if they don't, then they still have lots of time to improve and work hard to win the next one. I'm also really excited to watch the varsity play. There are a lot of good volleyball players on varsity from what I've seen at practice, so tomorrow's game should be good to watch. Overall, I'm just really excited for tomorrow, and win or lose, it should be fun.

Lia cohen week #6 Jordan

    I remember the first day Jordan, my dog, came home with us. I was so excited to have a puppy since it took some major convincing, since my mom didn’t really favor dogs. Jordan is a shitzu/poodle or in other words a silky-poo.  He was very bad the first 2 weeks though before he was potty trained, he went to bathroom anywhere and everywhere. He thought our toes were food and he would constantly nibble on them. Overtime he eventually learned to be potty trained to the point where he can walk himself on his pad in the basement. During this pre potty training phase my parents were really thinking about bringing him back since we had a total of 7 whole days to decide if we wanted to keep him or not. We kept him.

    I don’t know how my life would be without Jordan honestly. I love him like a brother or even a son. Here is always there for me when I’m sad, mad, or lonely. Many of the times I didn’t go out bring covid Jordan would be there for me always comforting me. I always played with him when I was younger  but  not as much as I should have, but now that his years are winding down I realize just how important every moment is with him. I walk him as much as I can, feed him as much as I can, run around with  him as much as I can, and I take him with me whenever I can.

Lia week 5. America's food production

    Just this week I watched a film in APES on the production of foods now in America. It discussed how all of food production is changing in not just our country but the world as a whole. These companies are like a political machine taking over all of production and bringing along their inhumane ways of business with them. I knew animals were treated badly in the food industry, but seeing them slaughtered live did something to me. I just feel so bad for the animals, but I know our country has to eat some way. I just wish they would at least take better care of them before I guess. The video even went into how cows contracted E coli, and believe it or not some cows got it from being fed corn. When you think of a cow you usually think of them munching on the grass fields, but these companies and farmers feed the cows corn to fatten them up even if it’s not good for them.

    Some companies have been actually trying to come up with new and improved plant based foods. One of the ones we learned about was a plant based burger. They take samples from real burgers to do their best to duplicate the taste. I did some research on this topic and many people said the taste actually was relatively close, if you put your mind past the fact that it’s not actual meat. Hopefully there is more progression within the plant based food world, that way we can work on limiting our business with their inhumane food production political machines.

Zhang Week 9 - This Season's Mindset

Recently, it's been getting warmer outside, and the weather is nice as well. I usually am not a fan of the spring, because it's always entailed a lot more than usual in terms of extracurriculars and school. To top it off, I always get horrible allergies during this season. But, this year I have a more positive outlook. In general, I am liking the warmer weather much more than expected. When I study inside, I can now open my windows and let in some fresh air. My room is blue, and I have a large window that covers a good portion of one of the walls, so on the days that it's nice out, and the sky is clear, my room seems to have much more space, and this lets me think more clearly. For some reason, my room is extremely susceptible to outdoor noise, so I can hear the birds chirping all the time. Although this is refreshing at first, sometimes it gets a little too noisy, so I've been trying to close the curtains in hopes that they will help drown out the noise--but I doubt this is working, and plus that means I don't get to enjoy the natural daylight. The nicer weather has also caused my family and friends to start talking about fun things to do once we have more time. Last year, I was very nervous about the AP exams, so I spent the whole season living in dread, and I felt that any social functions scheduled during those times made me even more stressed. But this year, even though I know that the exams will be extremely difficult, and that they will be much different since we have to take the full version of the tests, I still feel a little better about them than before. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to having a little more freedom after the exams to relax with family and friends. This season will definitely end up being stressful for me, and probably everyone else as well. I know that after I post this, life might get very busy, and I will have an entirely different view of spring this year. But, I think that once this is over, I can breathe a little more freely.

Karve Week 9: The Butterfly Effect

The butterfly effect can be summarized in six words. Small changes can have large consequences. The literal meaning or application originated from an MIT scientist studying tornadoes. The scientist, Lorenz, was running a simulation on tornado trajectory. He had stepped away for a minute and noticed that the course of the tornado had changed because of butterflies. The seeming miniscule flapping of their wings was able to move a tornado, hence the name: The Butterfly Effect. While this information is fascinating, it is not enough to intrigue millions of people, so what makes the butterfly effect so fascinating? The simple answer is that the literal application can be applied metaphorically to the events of life. One small thing has the power to change the course of someone's entire life, without their knowledge. Maybe, in the first grade you were randomly assigned to sit next to someone, and 10 years later, that person is your best friend. It can be correlated to the idea that "everything happens for a reason." Personally, I think it's incredible how something so real, and clearly scientific, can be turned into something that affects the course of people's lives.

White Week 9, Chainsaw Man Manga

 I've run out of ideas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chainsaw_Man

        As stated I've completely run out of ideas to talk about because my life is dull.  Anyway, I mentioned this last week but I've been thinking about the chainsaw man series for a while because I think it's cool. So I'm going to talk about the reasons I liked the series as a way to find enjoyment in this assignment. If any of this sounds interesting in the slightest Id recommend reading it because for me it was actually worth reading for once. 

https://medium.com/making-comics/chainsaw-mans-control-and-chaos-fa7974bb78bd

    

    So the first thing to probably talk about is the story. In short, it's wack, like super wack. I talked about it for a little bit if you read last week's discussion post (you probably didn't and I can't blame you). But basically, it follows Denji who is basically a homeless child who sold part of his body to make up for his father's unplayable debt to the yakuza clan (basically think of a gang or the mafia). The world around him doesn't care at all and everyone will try to use you. Denji barely keeping on living off minuscule meals meets a 'dog' which he dons the name Poochia. This 'dog' however is a demon which in this world demons eat people (makes sense) and their power resonates from how much people fear them or the concept of them. Moving on the Yakuza no longer wants Denji as their 'slave' and outright kills Denji. Moments in his death Denji makes a contract with his 'dog' that allows him to serve as Denji's heart as long as he can have Denjis's dreams. with this Denji can become Chainsaw Man, a humanoid with chainsaws coming out of him. That is a very brief summary of the first chapter so if this is your sort of thing them check CM out.

Comic Book-USEASLY

    The last thing I'm going to talk about is the art style and the characters because I liked them a lot as well and also I'm tired so I don't want to write a lot. So for the characters, there's obviously Denji (I'm gonna talk about the main ones only but there is a lot of people I could talk about). Makima is a strange woman who works for the Public safety Devil Hunter Organization, she in short is super manipulative and scary. Next is Aki Hayakawa he is a PSDH who has contracts with two demons, he is very controlled and calm so he in a way is the sanest character in the story. Lastly is Power who is my personal favorite of the series, she is a blood fiend of the PSDH and only craves violence.  The last thing I want to talk about is the art in the story, its all black and white but there are renditions of the story in color, and it's super colorful. The style is super clean and messy so it's fun watching a Gorey story headed by a man made of chainsaws. That's all I feel like talking about so If this sounds interesting You can read it on VIZ and you can buy the paperback on like amazon. 

 

 

Lia Cohen Week #9 Blog

    Today we read an article in class. It was called, “When success leads to failure”. The article was all about a student losing her love for learning because of her fear of failure. I chose to blog about this today because I feel like I can relate to her, especially right now. I used to love learning, but now I feel like everyone only cares about grades because we are scared of failing. With everything going on with covid my learning habits have changed. With the hybrid schedule it’s all about learning, and then testing, learning, and testing again. Scratch that it’s not learning it’s just memorizing and forgetting and without final exams there isn’t a reason to truly retain the important information.

    I see this occurring in my math class. I feel like the pace is so fast I can’t even catch on, we learn three lessons and then quiz and repeat the process. With this crazy year, we have to watch youtube videos that she makes to learn the lessons and I think that is honestly the main issue since learning at home and learning in a classroom are two different things entirely. In class, I can focus and the teacher keeps us on schedule, at home not only do we teach ourselves but we have to manage our time and keep ourselves on track which is what creates such a difference. 

Allen Week 9: What I've Learned

    I am still young and I hopefully still have a long and happy life ahead of me. I have had the privilege to analyze what I left behind and have realized that we all make our lives difficult, not just to make ourselves better people, but because as people who strive for achievement and excellence, we want to feel satisfaction. We run that extra mile, do that extra rep, write that extra sentence not because we want to and not because we need to, but because we aspire to. We make our lives difficult not to prove a point, but because we wouldn’t have it any other way.

    Sometimes, however, we need to take a step back and experience the satisfaction of living life at our own pace, so we can get that much more joy and feeling of achievement when we decide to pick it up that extra notch. Life is short and although we always want to make the best of it, then we’ll never get to enjoy it. If you pay too much attention to the road, you’ll never experience the views. So many people focus so much on being the best of everyone. They focus so much on winning the big game or getting the best grade that they fail to focus on themselves. The real success and satisfaction comes from knowing that you pushed yourself to your limit and you improved in the process, whether it be in the specific skill that you were challenged in or as a person in general. As long as you do your best and are true to yourself, then that’s all that matters and you can come away from a win or a loss with your head held high.

Fancy Inspirational Sunrise

Moore Week 9 - New Job!

 

Recently I got a job working at a Barnes and Noble's Cafe!  This past week was my first week working there, and it was full of a lot of ups and downs. My first day was a little overwhelming since it was really busy, and since I didn’t know how to make any food or drinks yet I  just watched and attempted to help wherever I could. I was a little overwhelmed looking at all the drinks I had to learn too. 

Although on my second day, it definitely went a lot smoother. I had already learned how to make a few of the basic drinks, which serve as the building blocks for the rest of the drinks. As long as you know how to make the base drinks, it gets easier learning how to make all the other extravagant drinks. I also started to get the hang of frothing milk, which doesn’t seem like it’s very hard but if you do it wrong you’ll just end up spraying milk all over yourself (unfortunately, I learned that the hard way on my first day). A lot of the hot drinks require foamy milk, so it’s important to know how to froth it. 

By my third shift, I was finally comfortable using the cash register and taking orders. It took me a few days to get the hang of finding certain drinks and baked goods on the cash register and then translating the orders onto the cups. We have to write on the cups abbreviations for the customer’s drink and any additions or changes they want. It takes some getting used to having to juggle writing down their order on the cups with finding their order on the cash register. Though by my third shift, I felt a lot more comfortable doing this!

I think that by my next shift I’ll get the hang of everything! It takes a lot of getting used to knowing all the drinks, but I’m confident that I’ll eventually learn everything. I also hope that I’ll get to meet some more of my coworkers since all of my shifts have just been with the same two people. 

Link

Rosynek Week 9 - Bowling

     My family and I moved to Pennsylvania when I was 8 years old. We moved into Wind Gap, where I would go to school in Pen Argyl School District. Naturally as a child, I wanted to try different sports to see if there were any I would like to do through school. I tried soccer (was very, very bad at it) and softball (I accidentally hit a mom in the face twice with a softball) and bowling and horseback riding. For those who know me, it is common knowledge that I have been riding since I moved here. I love it, and it's one of my favorite things to do in my free time. 

    I started to bowl shortly after I started riding. It was through school, but PASD did not have a team for it; which is common for schools in the Lehigh Valley. Typically, bowling is a fun activity to do on Friday or Saturday nights with your friends. For me, it became my sport. I quickly moved up in leagues and was beginning to get really good as I learned more about it. I always joke with my friends that "bowling is a game of luck, and you don't really have to have a strategy," but I know that's not always true. It requires talent by those who are seriously invested in it. 

    A few years ago (I believe when I was 15), I really hit my stride with bowling. I was the highest girl of the year in my league and I had moved on to having two balls instead of one. I knew how to work them, and I even did well in my tournaments. I was the District 9 Pennsylvania State Pepsi Scholarship Tournament champion, and I was second in the Lehigh Valley Junior Masters tournament. It was all going according to plan, and I was set to go on to my next season on a high. 

    Unfortunately, I suffered a rotator cuff injury that is still haunting me to this day. There are no real solutions besides surgery to them, so I was given physical therapy by my coaches to heal it by myself. Looking back, I really should have listened to them and done the physical therapy when I needed to because now, I'm still not 100%. My father bought me a new ball this past November for my birthday, and we decided to go down to 14 pounds instead of 15 to make sure what's left of the rotator cuff in my right arm can still continue to heal. I wear KT tape on it every time I practice and I leave it on for a few hours after for extra support. It has gotten much better recently and I rarely have to wear my tape. 

    This year, it was a struggle to get over a plateau in my performance. I was only really getting 170's every game and I wasn't doing anything extraordinary like I did before my injury. Quarantine also really killed the flow of my practice and being able to bowl consistently. In January, I started to get better and I've been more confident in my talent. The seasons will end in June, but I plan on practicing at least once a week to make sure that my last year in the junior leagues (18 and under) will not be underestimated. 

Vaughn Week 9 - Eclairs

 This past weekend I made eclairs. Eclairs originated from France around the early 1800s. Although it's not 100% proven, eclairs were invented by Marie-Antoine Carême, a pastry chef for French royalty. The french eclair meaning is “flash of lightning”, It was named this because eclairs are typically eaten quickly. 

The main ingredient, which is the dough, is called choux. Choux dough is used for many other pastries such as cream puffs, profiteroles, and churros. It was invented in 1540 in France by Pantanelli, who was the head chef of Catherine de Medici of Florence. The dough was simple and pretty easy to make, I had to make a few changes but it was basically a 2:1:1:2 ratio of water, butter, flour, and eggs.

Many of the online recipes I used said it could be hard to make, and I think this is because there are a lot of little factors that can easily mess it up, such as releasing too much steam when opening the oven for too long, or forgetting to poke holes in them once they're finished. The ones in the first batch did not come out right, but luckily on the 2nd batch I didn't forget any of the key details, so the whole process went smoothly even though it was still time-consuming. 

For the dough, you have to slowly combine the 2:1:1:2 ratio of water, butter, flour, and eggs, then once it gets into a slightly stiff ball, it has to go into a pastry bag. You then put the dough onto a cookie sheet in 1.5 X 4-inch strips. Once you bake them, you have to make the filling. The filling is just pudding mix, milk, vanilla extract, and confectioners sugar. Once you finish the filling, you cut the top off the pastry and fill it. Then you can put the chocolate icing on top and they're done.

Overall this recipe only took me a little under 2 hours which is surprising since I made a lot of them. They were much easier to make than I initially thought they would be, and I'd definitely make them again. I also learned a lot about french pastries and french culture throughout the process.  

Picture link

Post Week 8 - I Took My Childhood For Granted

    I remember being in 5th grade thinking to myself how excited I was to grow up, and be able to go out without my parents. When I was younger, I was so focused on the 'freedom' aspect of growing up. I've always been a super independent person and done things on my own. I never really ask for help unless I seriously need it. As I got older, around middle school, I was so excited to get my license, go to the mall with my friends without my mom, and just be older. Freshmen and sophomore year, getting my license was all I thought about. I couldn't wait to be able to do whatever I want, whenever I want. When I was younger growing up seemed so exciting.

    Well now we're all juniors in high school, and most of us have jobs. Many of us have responsibilities we didn't when we were younger.  Like paying our car insurance, going to work, and paying for our own things. I work 6 days a week while trying to balance the loads of schoolwork I get from all my classes combined. Friends I had when I was just a little girl, I don't talk to anymore. I'm old enough to see all the bad that happens in the world. I'm old enough to do my taxes. I'm old enough to drive myself places. When I think back to when I was little, I thought growing up was going to be fun.  When I was little, I used to ask my mom if i could press the '87' on the gas pump when we had to go to the gas station. Now I do it all on my own. I love having freedom and I love working. I love being almost an 18 year old. I love being older, but nothing will ever compare to my younger years, where all I worried about was whether or not my friends could play that day. I took my elementary and middle school years for granted. I never took the time to sit and enjoy how simple life was at that time. My brothers dad used to always tell me that 'growing up is a trap' and I never really understood him until now. I just wish I would've enjoyed being little while I was. 

Apruzzi Week 9 - Trisha Paytas

    Trisha Paytas, an American Youtuber, singer, model, actress, speed-talker, and muk-banger is truly one of the few lights in my life. I'm sure most people my age know of her and share the same interest in her. Her past has been rough, but she found the light at the end of the tunnel, which is truly inspiring. You're probably reading this wondering why in the world would he write a blog post about Trisha Paytas, and that is actually the exact reason why I'm doing just that. People see her as a joke, a laughing stock, someone whos completely oblivious, but her persona and confidence easily become someone's comfort area. I admit, each and every one of her mannerisms has me dying on the floor, but there is so much heart and thought behind her eyes. Not only has she become an incredibly financially successful individual, but she has managed to finally surround herself with people who make her truly happy. The moral of the story is, she has grown to be someone who makes me and many other people around the world happy when they need it the most, and I have learned so much from her journey to break out of her stereotypes. 

Vakiener Week 9- Blogging

 Since it is the last week of our class blog I figured that it might be a good idea to write about my experience throughout these past weeks, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think that giving everybody the freedom to write about whatever it is they wanted really led to me being able to not only see other people's writing styles to learn from them but also me being able to learn about them as a person. I think that especially know people need some kind of connection so when you are given an outlet to talk to other people like we were given with these blogs it makes sense that a lot of people made good use of that option.

    That wasn't to say that blogging didn't come with its challenges. I am a teenager after all and I do like to procrastinate rather than think about topics. Sometimes I really tried hard to think about an original idea for a blog that could still spark some kind of conversation and the ideas I had seemed forced. However, just because my idea seemed forced didn't mean my blog did. The freedom to voice my own thoughts in my own writers' voice I think really made me more attached to the writing that I did more so than any other writing I have done in a while. The only issue that I experienced was with commenting. Sometimes the blogs for the week would be really fleshed out so there wouldn't even be any questions to ask because they had covered everything so neatly. So in cases like that, I would simply agree with their statement or relate it to my life, but at times like that, it felt like a cop-out.

    So overall I really enjoyed the blogging process and I think that I learned a lot, but I am wondering how each of your blogging experiences was as well. 

Febbo Week 9 - My Dream Vacation

     I'm sure we all have different places in mind that we would all love to visit one day. I am, personally, a really big fan of traveling and getting to experience all kinds of different cultures. Hopefully, throughout, my life I get to travel to all different kinds of places around the world. Obviously, right now that's not really possible with COVID and all, but I'm hoping that one day soon traveling will be safe to do again.

    I have traveled to several different places, thus far, in my life. I've been to most of the states in the US, Mexico, Canada, Jamaica, and France. All those trips were something I will never forget. It's crazy to me to see how other people live in different countries compared to how we live in this small town. I also love to admire all the beautiful scenery. 

    One place I've kinda always wanted to visit is Iceland. I'm not sure why I have always picked this country, but I think it is absolutely beautiful, at least through the pictures I've seen online. Iceland is such a gorgeous and peaceful country, why wouldn't anyone want to visit there. Hopefully, one day I will be able to travel there with my mom, who shares a strong desire to visit Iceland, as well, for whatever reason.

    There are SO many other places I want to go and visit like Italy, Australia, Spain, etc. Right now it's just a
matter of when I get to travel to those places.

Blackham Week 9 - Runaway Dogs

    A little background, we have two 3-year-old Shih Tzus named Lexi and Penny. We have an electric fence in our backyard, and they love playing outside. They crossed the border only once a few weeks ago when we had the huge snowstorm. They didn’t have their fence collars on and got disoriented with the snow. We found them within a few minutes in the neighbor’s backyard shivering and hardly able to walk because of all the snow stuck on their legs. We warmed them up and gave them a bath, and soon they were perfectly fine. Well, the story from this week is a little scarier. 

    I was up in my room doing homework around 3:00 on Tuesday. I heard a knock on the garage door and opened it to find the dog groomer. Shih Tzus are hypoallergenic dogs and don’t shed, so they have to get groomed every 1-2 months. Anyways, I went back inside to bring the dogs out, and I couldn't find them. I ran outside whistling and calling their names - nothing. I ran back in, searching again, and told my brothers and mom to start looking. We all ran outside again but still couldn't find them. At this point, I was getting really worried. Other than into the neighbor’s yard once, they’ve never left our backyard. We also have a busy road behind our yard with only a thin tree line; they could have easily run through the trees and into the road. We couldn't find them anywhere. My mom started driving up the street while the rest of us rode bikes. Three of our neighbors came out to help search too. Eventually, we got word that a neighbor had them at the top of the street. My mom picked them up and brought them home. We were searching for a good 30 minutes. They’d been outside for close to an hour. After we got them home, I heard the story. They had run through the backyard, crossed the street, and run into the field behind our house. This neighbor from up the street was driving home when our dogs ran out in front of him (this could have been a much worse situation). The neighbor had to drop off his own dogs first before he came back to pick up ours. He left them in his backyard as he walked up and down the street, looking for who was searching for missing puppies. 

Honestly, that was one of the scariest moments in my life. I’m just so grateful they’re ok, and we were able to find them.

Lexi (left) & Penny (right)

Ernst Week 9- Volunteering

 About four years ago, I joined the National Junior Honor Society, which I soon realized would end up changing my life. To be in the club, I had to do a certain amount of volunteer work. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but then my mom and I remembered that she used to volunteer at an animal shelter a few years ago that isn’t too far from our house. We went there and almost immediately began volunteering, and we’ve been doing it ever since.

My mom and I go at least twice a week (more in the summer). We volunteer with the dogs, walking them and socializing with them. The staff is great, but there’s only so much they can do in such little time with so many dogs, so volunteers are very important. I technically can not walk the dogs since I am not 18 yet, but I walk with them and spend lots of time with them in the play yard (a big gated area). Soon I will be able to walk them myself! 

Since volunteering at the Center for Animal Health and Welfare, I have learned so many new things and gained so much. We got two of my dogs from there, Hero and Jack. I have met so many amazing people and dogs. My favorite dog right now is Riggs. I love all the dogs, but I am closest to him. He is a border collie mix and is about two years old. He has been at the shelter for over a year now! He is scared of strangers and does not like other dogs that much, but other than that he is perfect! He loves to cuddle and play fetch. I really hope he finds a home soon! Sometimes it can be very sad and stressful because of how long the dogs have been there or their past stories, but it’s so rewarding to see them go home.

Post Week 9- Campus Life

 May of 2019, my friend Ashleigh introduced me to this after school program at Pen Argyl High School. Campus Life is focused around Christianity. Eli Tyler runs the program at Pen Argyl. Over the past two years I've gotten super close to Eli and the students who go to Campus life. The group accepts everyone religious or not. Its not all about religion. We take trips to the beach and the lake and do fun activities all year round. I think Campus Life is more about making everyone feel included despite their differences. Their saying is "We aren't going to tell you what to think, but we want to get you thinking". I've never been a super religious person, or go to church. 

    When I first went to campus life, my life wasn't going really well, and I was in a super bad place. As I got closer to Eli and the Campus Life counselors, I realized I had a solid group of people who had my back. As I learned more about Christianity my life honestly took a huge turn. March of 2020 Campus Life went to a conference in Ocean City Maryland called Breakaway. It was a weekend long trip and everyday campus life groups met up from all around the east coast and we had a worship in the morning. By the end of the trip I was getting baptized in the ocean on National Women Day. It was the best experience ever. Without campus life and all the people who had my back I wouldn't
 know where Id be today. 

Voloshen Week 9- New Phone?

     It is amazing how much technology can provide for us. That being said, it is also amazing, and slightly scary, how dependent we have become on technology. Digital device companies, such as Apple, obviously know just how dependent we are and tend to take advantage by coming out with "better" versions of their previous products. I understand that they have to constantly release new innovations to stay relevant and in-business, but I feel like it gets to a point where having a "better" phone makes things more complicated. You have to pay for extra parts that you lose and the newer phones have all these fancy features for their cameras and software that makes them more efficient. I barely work or take photos on my phone so I really don't think it is necessary for me.

    I have an IPhone 6 which I am PERFECTLY happy with, but I've had it for so long that if I'm on it for even 10 minutes the battery will drain from 100% to 20% over the next hour. I came to the conclusion that there was no point in having a phone if I couldn't use it for half of the day and if I ever faced an emergency situation I would be scared of my phone dying the entire time. I've been looking at the new models such as the IPhone 11 and 12 and I may get one this weekend. I'm really grateful that I can afford a new phone, but a rebellious part of me really doesn't want the "hot new item" being sold. I like having a smaller phone with a home button and headphone jack, but I know I will probably get used to the differences on my new phone and be happy with it. 

Level week 9 - Rainy Mood

     Whenever it rains, I become the laziest person I have ever meet. This morning was already off to a bad start. The gray sky and sound of rain made it so hard for me to wake up this morning to attend my first class on zoom. I dreaded waking up, I wanted to do anything but to log onto my computer. As always I pushed through it and attended, watching the rain through my window the entire time. Completely mesmerized by the weather. Once my first class was over, I eat my breakfast and just sat in my kitchen contemplating whether or not I should attend my second zoom. 

    I knew I had to so I waddled back upside and sat at my desk. Still in my pajamas and slippers taking notes half asleep. No matter how many cups of coffee or showers I take on rainy days I am always extremely tired. This type of weather drains my energy for some reason. Most of the days that it rains, I stay in my pajamas and in bed all day. Alternating between sleeping and trying to motivate myself to do work. It is safe to say that I am never productive on rainy days, no matter how hard I try or how much sleep I get.

    The worst part of rainy days is when I have to work in this weather. When it is gross-out not many are out and about. This results in me having to clean and walk around for 5 hours while serving few customers. As nice as a slow day at work sounds, it is actually unbearable. The time goes by so slowly that it is painful. You try to find little things to do take keep yourself occupied. Working on rainy days is my least favorite thing. Luckily for me, I have to work in the beautiful rainy weather that has been going on all day. I have no motivation to change out of my pajamas and work from 3-8. 

    I cannot wait until the weather gets nicer. I get more energy, happiness, motivation, and calm with the sun. We have had ugly weather this past winter and I can officially sick and tired of it. I want it to be sunny and warm out so that everyone cause have some happiness. 

Ellis Week 9 - The Urge to Travel

        Over quarantine I have become really anxious to get out and travel more once this is all over. I have been to a few different places for vacation, but not as many as I would like. I really want to leave the country and visit these beautiful places that I have only seen in pictures and tv. The two places I really, really want to visit are Greece and Austria. 

Personally, I think Greece is the most gorgeous place with all of the buildings and clear water. I have always wanted to go, and so has my sister. We will probably end up visiting some time in the next few years, and I honestly cannot wait. We will have to save up our money, and make sure we plan it just right, but I think it’ll be possible and of course super fun. I have heard nothing but amazing things about that place, and I think it would 100% be worth the trip. 

As for Austria, the main reason I want to go is because I took German 1-4 and I think it would be an amazing experience to go there and actually understand some of what they are saying. Also, my mom and I really want to see the Sound of Music set, as well as other historical buildings. Like Greece, I think it is a stunning country with so much landscape and apparently, really good food. 

Honestly, I would be perfectly happy with going to any European country. I think they are all so beautiful and it would just be so much fun. I have already started researching things like where we could stay on vacation and what kinds of restaurants we would have to try out. I am just so excited to be able to leave the house again and start traveling a lot more. 

Henchy Week 9 - The Best Doggo

     I am running out of blog post topics, so this week's is going to be about my dog.  Her name is Lexi and she is a mix between a border collie and a beagle.  She is almost six years old now, which seems insane because I remember the day we got her.  At the time, I was ten years old and I was playing Monopoly with my sister at the kitchen table.  If I remember correctly, my grandparents were playing also.  Knowing my luck, I was definitely loosing because Monopoly has quite a bit of luck associated with it.  I am the worst at luck games.  Anyways, Lexi was barely as big as a shoe when my parents walked in the door with her.  She was incredibly nervous and would not leave my mom's lap.

    Now, six years later, my pup did not really grow that much.  She is shorter than my knees and still the best.  She spends most of her time sleeping and eating now.  She used to be the most energetic dog when she was younger, but in the past year she has slowed down.  Whenever we take her on a walk, she sleeps the rest of the day.  She also gets very tired whenever cousins or friends come over.  She is very excited while they are there, but once they leave, she passes out.

    It is funny, though, how much of a routine dog she is.  Every night at 10:00 she wakes up, walks over to my mom, and bumps her on the leg.  They go outside and she uses the bathroom then comes back inside, gets a treat, and walks upstairs to my parents room where she falls asleep.  She has done this every night for the past year now, and it is like clockwork.  It seems like she can read a human clock; it is incredible how she does it every night at almost exactly 10:00.  She will not go to sleep unless she gets her nightly routine.

    That is about all; there is a picture of her down below!

Lexi

Kane week 9 - Adventures of Housesitting

 This weekend my friend Kiley and I housesat for some of our close friends. I figured I would write about each day and the experiences I encountered. 

Thursday: Promptly after school let out I headed over to the house to let the dogs out. Their dogs love me so I assumed this would be a very easy task. I pulled into the driveway and there were other cars there. I was debating if I should go in or not. I did and turns out it was people just doing construction on their basement. I took the dogs out, made lunch, and sat and waited for Kiley. She came around 4 which was one hour before our cheer practice. We went to cheer practice, and got our district medals as well! We returned home and took care of the dogs before going to our friend's house for a bit.

Friday: Kiley and I were woken up by the sound of howling dogs at 4am. This was absolutely terrible. They wanted us up so bad that we eventually gave in and stayed up for a bit. We then fell back asleep. Kiley had school Friday morning, and I had a doctor's appointment so we met back at the house around 11 for brunch. I picked up food from the bagelsmith and she got fuze for us. After this, we worked out and spent the rest of the day relaxing and playing with the dogs. Until dinner came around. We went out to get some food and we had no idea what we were in the mood for, so we went to ritas and just got some icecream. 

Saturday: The same thing happened Saturday morning with the dogs, but this time the cats joined in too. We had an early practice Saturday morning so this was the last thing we wanted to deal with. After cheer practice, we went back to our houses to visit with our families for a bit. I quickly returned back to let the dogs out. I took them on a run and played ball with her. Kiley came back and we left to get a late lunch. When we came back, we watched some tv and tried to do school work. We quickly realized we had no wifi and had to complete what we could on our phones. We went to bed super early after a long day. 

Sunday: FInally we cleaned the house all up and made sure it was nice when they got back. We ran some errands for our parents and then went home. 

This weekend was indeed crazy, but Kiley and I figured everything out and we got the job done.