Journal #22

      Life goals and school goals are not as different for me.        My life goal is to become a successful dancer or designer someday. I’m very into dancing and expanding my knowledge on it. When it comes to dancing, I do my hardest to make sure I am distraction-free. I will go the extra mile for my dance career.  Dancing is my passion and it’s something I absolutely love to do. If my dancing was taken away from me, I’d be upset. I don’t dance 24/7, but I am a frequent dancer. I go back and forth between tahitian and ballet. I’m constantly dancing.        My school goals are slightly different. In school, I hope to become a very bright and knowledgeable student. I love to read, especially in my favorite subjects. I get very interested in colonial times and things like the history and origin of the Constitution. My school goals reveal a whole different side of me that people don’t even see when they’re around me. I am actually very interested in school work and the busy life. Procrastination is practically my best friend, but I still manage to get things done. Sometimes it’s not right away, but I really do it.        My goals and morals are important to me. I don’t change then for anyone or anything. Even though my life has several ups and downs, I manage to maintain my life and my goals. Just by looking at me and the way I carry myself, I look snobby, stuck up, selfish, ignorant, and careless. But, in reality, I’m completely opposite. My goals matter to me. Although, to others, they might not, but to me they do.  

Journal #21

      When I was about 11 turning 12, I started the 6th grade here at Luis P. Untalan Middle School. It was an exciting time for me. I was one of the several fresh meats. On my first day, I remember making a couple friends here and there. I thought the classes were so easy and couldn’t wait to begin making the best memories of my first year. My 6th grade year went by sooner than I expected. It was a quite a short year.       Then came my 7th grade year. This year, for me, was a big roller coaster ride. Things were up and down for me, but I always had my friends and family right by my side. It was one of the hardest years for me here at UMS. I slacked off a lot in school and was never really focused or interested in school work. I always thought I was too smart or too cool for school. But now, I look back I think how bad that was. I wish I could go back and improve myself.       But now, here I am, an 8th grader. This is the year I’ve been waiting for. In some ways, it was the best, but at the same time, it had a lot of down sides that were just too much for me to deal with. This year I made SEVERAL new friends. I learned from last year, and improved my grades. Now, I have nothing less than a C. In this school year, I also lost a very close friend who was very dear to my heart. She was one of my good friends, and it sucks that she’s not here to look back and laugh with me. Other than that, my year has been a smooth ride. I’ve been more involved than I’ve ever been in school activities. I’m more responsible, and I learned from my mistakes that nothing comes easy. It never comes handed to you on a sliver platter. You have to work for it and earn it. If you don’t work for it, it’s not going to go your way.       Now that I look at it, I’ve really grown and matured over the past few years. I can’t wait to start high school now. It’s that period in every teenagers life that they enjoy the most. That’s the time when they learn true life lessons and make mistakes, then learn from them. Everything is approaching so fast. It feels like just yesterday, I was running around in my little pink outfits with my pink Barbie Jeep, and watching Barney and Looney Tunes. Life comes at you fast, you just have to be ready for it. 

Two Girls, Two Worlds.

Have you ever wondered if your classmate next to you was similar? Different? Of course, everyone has their own special qualities, likes, dislikes, etc. Have you ever thought about how the boy/girl’s life next to you is? I decided to find out.

Taylor and Pialani are two different girls at Untalan Middle. They also have several similarities. For example, Taylor enjoys listening to hip-hop music, similarly, Pialani does too. For Pialani, red is the best color because it symbolizes love. In like fashion, Taylor thinks red is a pretty color. Coincidently, Taylor and Pialani have each other for Social Studies class. This also happens to be their favorite class. Taylor enjoys this class because they watch a lot of movies. Likewise, Pialani enjoys this class because she thinks the teacher is very nice.

Of course, like all classmates, they are very different too. Taylor’s favorite book is “A Child Called It” because to her, it tells a lot of emotion. On the other hand, Pialani has a favorite number which happens to be 29. This is her favorite number because it is her birth date. They also have different hobbies. On weekends, Pialani chooses to hang out at the mall with her friends from other schools. However, Taylor prefers to stay home and eat ice cream because it relieves stress. These two girls might have several similarities, but they are still very different.

I enjoyed working with them because I talk to them often, but know little about them. Through this project, I could say that I know them a little better. I also got to learn new things about them. It made me feel like it is easier to make new friends, or even get to know some acquaintances better. This makes me feel like getting to know the people next to me! It opened my eyes to how different people are. Instead of judging them right away, I wonder if we are more like than I think or know. I really liked this project.

Cyber-Bullying?!

What is cyber-bullying? Cyber-bullying is when a person is bullied online or through the internet. Cyber-bullying can also be done through personal computers and cell phones. Posting chain letters are also forms of cyber-bullying.

Cyber-bullying can affect kids more than you think. For example, in an article I read from an online news page, there was a girl that met a guy on MySpace. Her name was Megan Meier. His name was “Josh”. They became good friends, but just months later, he ended their friendship.

Unfortunately, he was not even real. He was created by some of the girl’s friends in the neighborhood. Worst of all, the kids’ parents did nothing to stop it. These kids and their cruel acts caused her to hang herself.

Cyber-bullying needs to be put to a hault. It’s not fair that all these kids get bullied and hurt emotionally, and their hate mail-senders get to walk free. Maybe they don’t intend to let it go that far, but they should know when to stop.

I’m glad that it is trying to be stopped. It’s still unfortunate that kids got hurt from cyber-bullying. I’ve never been through cyber-bullying before. I can only imagine the pain these kids go through.

Let’s help make the cyber-world a better place. Stop the bullying!

Journal #19

      For my research project, I decided to pick something I like. I chose Hello Kitty. I decided to make this my topic because lately, Hello Kitty has been growing and growing all over the world. It also happens to be my favorite brand. Some may think it’s way too overrated, but others, like me, just can’t get enough of that little kitty.

      In my reseach, I learned that there were a couple other names before they came up with Hello Kitty. It was interesting to research this character because I found out SO MANY things I didn’t know about Hello Kitty! I learned that she has several friends and family members. She also has pets of her own! Hello Kitty, of course, grew up a little and met her boyfriend “Dear Daniel.” Also, learning  how and where  their names were taken from was an interesting thing to learn.

      Hello Kitty is growing all over the world. This character can be seen nearly ANYWHERE. They make shoes, bags, jewelry, clothes, all kinds of electronics, appliances, etc. I’m glad I chose something I like instead of something else. I find it easier to work with something you like and your passionate about,than to work on something you’re not very interested in. That way, everybody wins :] 

Journal #18

      My experience with the handhelds has been pretty great so far. I’ve learned a lot of things I didn’t know about these devices before. I thought the handhelds wew just boring things that held data in them, but there is actually more to them.

      Later, I learned that they are capable of so much more than holding data. They can hold numbers and games too. Some of them also have Blue-tooth features, which is very popular now-a-days. They are just like cell phones! They have so many cool features. Handhelds are just the beginning of our very advanced future.

Journal #17

      It’s finally 08! It’s a new year, which means new resolutions. I have three resolutions this year. Hopefully, this year I will fulfill them all.
      My first resolution is to be a more kind and peaceful person. This is one of my resolutions because in the past, I feel that I have not been as kind or peaceful as I should’ve been.
      My second resolution is to contribute more to the environment. I care so much about the environment more than ever before. I believe that the world could be a better and safer place if we all remember to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
       My third resolution is to stay focused on my priorities and to keep myself organized. I would like to stay more focused and organized so I can move forward in life. In my personal opinion, I think that if one can stay focused on what their doing, and keep themselves organized and orderly, they can and will excel.

Html Codes

<br>My favorite website is MySpace. I’m on it everyday..LITERALLY! I think it’s an excellent way to communicate with</br> friends new and old. It’s great to see friends from the past and catch up. You can sometimes meet great people there too. Every once in a while, an old friend finds me on MySpace and we talk about all the good times we’ve shared. We even look back and laugh at how silly we were sometimes.

<br>Although MySpace may sound all nice and dandy, it had it’s down sides. Sometimes the site is under construction and</br> takes pretty long to fix. Other times, things dont work and it’s hard to figure out. Another issue is friends on MySpace and phishers/hackers. Some people on MySpace can be very rude and mean. Sometimes, they say things to you and try to start a “MySpace Fight.” It’s really pathetic when people do this. All they do is say things to you to try and put you down. C’mon now, it’s the internet for crying out loud! Phishers/Hackers are a big issue that the people at MySpace are trying to work out. Peoples’ accounts were getting hacked by all these websites and webmasters that only tried to send viruses. But now, they are doing their very best to prevent it. They now have “Captcha Codes”. I’m not exactly sure what these codes do, but I do know they prevent hacks from taking place. MySpace is only the beginning of good things to come in this cyber world.

This is a link to the website.

Journal #15

      Do you ever wonder why some people choose to become vegetarians? Do you ever feel bad about chickens and pigs that had to be killed so the world can be fed? Well today, I am here to stand up for them. These animals get taken from their habitats and get slaughtered and killed, then made into food. It’s just like humans getting kidnapped and killed. With chickens, they lay eggs in hopes of having little baby chicks. It’s the same way we get preegnant and hope to have babies. But instead of leaving these animals alone, we go and take their babies before they even had a chance to be born. I’m sure we wouldn’t like it if we were them.

      I hope that after reading this entry, you will be encouraged and inspired to become a vegetarian. Some might not agree with me, but maybe some people will. I just hope we can put a stop to all this cruelty. Please consider this. I promise you will never regret making a choice such as this. By doing this, you have no idea how many animals you could save. You could possibly even change the world by saving animals. Look at these endangered species! Maybe we won’t have so many. And besides, avoiding all that fat could make you lose some weight. Vegetarians live longer too! Long live vegetarians!

Journal #11

      Yesterday, October 31, 2007, I attended the dance. It was pretty alright for me. I thought it was a little hot, but it was still good. I saw a lot of my friends, and we had a great time. 

      Some things we could improve are the locations of the activities, the set-up/layout, and the time. Since not everyone goes to the dance, we could have it in the cafeteria. That way, drink and snack sales can be made, and no one feels as hot. That also gives King’s a chance to sell their ice cream, drinks, snacks, etc. Also, locating the dance to the cafeteria would make it easier to decorate!

      We could also change the set-up/layout of the area. We could possibly have some tables and chairs with little centerpieces. I also think that the decorations could’ve been much better.

      Last, but not least, time. I don’t think that we should have the activities during school hours. “It takes away a lot of instructional time. It would be pretty nice to have our dances somewhere, outside of school. To me, that would feel like a real dance.

       7th grader, Pialani .V, says she went to her teacher’s classroom during the activity. She was asked about what she did and if she had a good time. She replies, “We sang in front of the whole class, we played games, we also had a “Cougar Idol.” Clearly, you don’t have to be at the dance to have a good time!