Camear08’s Blog

I feel really guilty for not writing about my family. I love my family, don’t get me wrong, but something I couldn’t live without, and couldn’t imagine my life without is friends, plus I wanted to be original. I’m so fortunate to have a great loving family but, I think my life would be difficult without good friends. Therefore, I’m so fortunate to have good, loving friends that are great influences on me. Not having many friends, or good friends, can make life difficult. Raise your hand if you want to be the social outcast at school! Let’s face it, nobody would raise their hand. Over the years I’ve weeded out the bad friends, until finally I’ve gotten down to the ones that I know I can count on to be there for me. Living across town, or being on different teams and talking to each other twice a week, hasn’t ruined our friendships. I genuinely like my friends, and I know that they genuinely like me. They never betray me, backstab me, or do anything untrustworthy. I can sit down at the computer or on the phone and talk to them for hours, the whole time laughing. I know everybody says they love their friends but sometimes I wonder how truthful they are being. There is a difference between a bestfriend and an aqquaintence, and I think sometimes people get that confused. People sometimes go their whole lives without bestfriends, and just have aqquaintences. I’m so fortunate to have not only one, but a handful of people I can consider true friends. Sure, my friends might not be the coolest, in fact some of them act kind of dorky sometimes, but that’s why I love them.

The best thing about living in my state would have to be the weather, and the fact that we get to experience all four seasons throughout the year. You can’t fully appreciate summer & spring until you’ve been through a long cold winter full of ice and snow. Also, my state has the best of both worlds. You can go to a big city, go to the country, or the suburbs. It’s a pretty calm/pleasent place to live. Also, it’s only a short ride to New York, or Massachusetts.

My school is unique in a few different ways. Firstly, there are a select few teachers that I feel have really influenced me & my whole education. Most of the classes are enjoyable & I have to admit that I’ve learned a lot in my three years here. Also, I really enjoy the oppurtunity to not only have academic classes but also have other classes like wood shop, art, sewing, and cooking. Lastly, There is some freedom of choice. You get to choose what sports you do in gym, etc. There are a lot of different types of kids, and even if somebody isn’t on your team, you still have oppurtunities to see them in school.

In the last month I’ve corresponded with several children in New Zealand. In the last month I’ve received comments on my work from a student in Thailand. In the last month, I’ve watched students from Kansas challenge children in my class to a debate. How else would this all be possible without the technology that the computer has provided my class and I? Easy, it would be impossible. Through my blog and wiki I have learned about other countries and what it is like there. The world seems like such a big and vast place but somehow the computer makes this big and vast place seems slightly smaller. Corresponding with people from around the world has made my schoolwork actually interesting for once, which is a shocker. Suddenly, there is some form of surprise in my day. Who knows if I will sign onto my blog and have a comment from somebody in England, Australia or Asia? There are no words to describe that besides plain old exciting.

The real question is why shouldn’t we use technology in school? The whole world is moving over to computers but yet kids are still sitting in desks writing with pencils and pens in school. When my peers and I go and get jobs what will we be working with? The answer is technology. If school is supposed to prepare us for the future then why are we not using technology in the classroom if technology is the future? School administrators all over the world are too stuck on their old ways. They are unwilling to move over to this new way of thinking because the internet is “scary”. The internet is anything but scary. It is a roadway for new and exciting opportunities if used the correct way.  Administrator’s unwillingness to change will lead to failure in America when children show up for their jobs the first day and don’t know how to click a mouse (okay, maybe not that far but still I hope my point gets across.)

Some days I sit at my computer and think, what is the point of writing a blogs since nobody is reading it anyway? I think that the expectations for writing blogs are too high. Everybody expects a thousand people from around the world to read their blog. I think the more important part of blogging is for your peers and teachers to read your blog. I have read the blogs of kids in my class that I hardly talk to. I have learned things about my peers that I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t read their blog. It seems like students are more willing to open up on their blog and wiki. You can open up and share hard things that you probably wouldn’t be comfortable saying in person. I’ve learned so many interesting things about the people who surround me everyday in the classroom. I’ve learned more about them on a blog then I have in 8 years in a classroom.

Other than my parents, I would have to say my sister has influenced my life a ton. Without her my life would be tremendously different. First of all, I don’t know what I would do if I did not have a twin sister. I probably would have totally different friends, act differently, and just have had an extremely different life experience. My sister is basically my best friend. For some reason, I imagine my life as being really lonely without her. I am never alone because of her.  A lot of my friends will complain that they are bored, but I never am. I have a constant friend at my house sleeping over every night. Sounds fun, huh? We go through the same things at the same times. We also have the same issues with friends. We share most of the same friends and know the same exact people. My sister has taught me to be a person who does not let fear get in their way. For example, because of her I decided to try playing a sport. You probably don’t understand how big of a step this was for me. To put it lightly, I am HORRIBLE at sports. I am the least athletic person and gym class scared me beyond belief. Except, She did not care. She practiced with me until I was just as good as her. My sister, taught me to be less uptight. She showed me all these amazing bands and new things to do. The bond my sister and I have can’t ever be broken. We are best friends but millions of times closer. I would trust her with my life. We might not always get along but I know I can always depend on her. This all might sound corny but this is exactly how I feel about my sister. She has influenced my life so much. Without her I would be a different person in many ways.

I wonder why people are so quick to waste things. I have to include myself in that and I am sort of being a hypocrite. Simple things, for example, when I brush my teeth I leave the water running. It runs for five minutes while I’m in the bathroom. Gallons of water are completely wasted. Why are we so quick to waste things? How can people waste thousands and thousands of dollars on silly things? How can people go out and buy thousands of dollars at a store like Chanel for one, single piece of clothing? How can people spend $2,000 on a Louis Vuitton purse or $400,000 on a sports car when people are starving and dying of AIDS? Please tell me because I don’t understand. There are dirt poor people and the filthy rich are spending their money on trivial things. They are completely wasting it. How can people waste their lives always worrying about bad things happening like getting kidnapped or shot instead of just living and letting fate do it’s work? I think humankind is also really wasting the world and it’s natural resources. Oil, for example, is taken for granted. I don’t think I will ever understand how much people seem to waste everything, it’s something I will always wonder about but I doubt an answer exists.

Comments: Airhead101, Smart’s Blog