Posts by Isabelle

Adventures

Discussion by: Isabelle on Sun, 2010-05-16 12:45 with 4 comments

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For my English project, I'm making my sister a map of some of the adventures we've had together. Like usual, I had awful writer's block, so I was half-heartedly surfing the web. I decided to type 'adventure' into the search bar on dictionary.com, and I found out that the word "adventure" comes from a Middle English word, which when translated means "what must happen".

For some reason, this struck me. I've been avoiding the thought that most of my friends will soon be moving away and the thought that I might never see some of them again. I know this has to happen. Change has to happen. It's awfully sad, but that's what makes life an adventure.

Thanks Class of 2010!

Freshman Letter

Discussion by: Isabelle on Sun, 2010-05-02 20:28 with 4 comments

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Last week we got letters written by our former freshman selves. My letter was pretty superficial: It's a nice day...I'm a little sore from my first lacrosse practice...yadda yadda. After that, I had written three simple goals to accomplish before graduation. Two out of three didn't happen, but I'm glad I "failed." Those goals are no longer important to me, and great things happened to me because they didn't come true.

I recently saw a very unofficial list of the World's Most Popular Goals. Most of them are variations on "get healthy", "fall in love", "travel", and "learn a foreign language". All pretty worthy goals. Some others, like "Watch Grey's Anatomy", were less so.

College Rant

Discussion by: Isabelle on Sat, 2010-04-17 21:03 with 3 comments

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Yesterday during the assembly, I was sitting by some people who were scoffing at in-state colleges. I'm going to one in the fall, so I took it pretty personally, but I didn't say anything. Last night, when I couldn't fall asleep, I composed the tongue-lashing that I should have given those people. An abridged, censored version goes something like this...

"You should be ashamed of yourself. My cousins in the Middle East would sprint across Europe, swim the Atlantic, and walk to ANY school in this country if they had the opportunity."

With that last sentence, I realized that I am incredibly lucky:

Senioritis as Defense Mechanism

Discussion by: Isabelle on Sun, 2010-03-28 13:38 with 4 comments

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At 12:01 a.m. Thursday morning, I will either be running through the dark streets screaming with joy or quietly crying myself to sleep. Ok...probably not, but I will find out whether or not I got into my top college, and it will finally hit me that I won't be in high school next year.

New School Standards

Discussion by: Isabelle on Wed, 2010-03-10 23:26 with 0 comments

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Drafts for new standardized guidelines for k-12 Math and English education were released today, and it is a step in the right direction toward improving the quality of our country's education. A set of simple guidelines that would apply nationwide would be beneficial for all students, but especially for those who move from state to state.

People involved in the effort endorsed by 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia said the new standards will raise expectations of student achievement in some states and be in line with the educational expectations of top-performing states and countries. U.S. News and World Report

Raising expectations (and of course giving extra help to students who have trouble meeting these expectations) of students is necessary if Americans are going to continue to be able to compete with other countries.

Mental Illness on Death Row

Discussion by: Isabelle on Wed, 2010-03-03 22:57 with 2 comments

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Today in religion class, my group and I were assigned to research the role of mental illness in capital punishment cases. I was blown away by some of the statistics and stories I encountered.

It is conservatively estimated that 5-10% of death row inmates suffer from serious mental illness. (If we expand the definition of mental illness to include severe physical or emotional damage) research has shown that nearly all Death Row inmates suffer from brain damage due to illness or trauma, while a vast number have also experienced histories of severe physical and/or sexual abuse. Mental Illness on Death Row

In 100 Years

Discussion by: Isabelle on Sat, 2010-02-13 20:45 with 0 comments

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My dad recently had surgery, and when he commented how old he felt, the nurse said that, with her help, he'd live to be 100. Even though she was joking, it may not be long before this is a reality.

Dependency on Prescription Drugs

Discussion by: Isabelle on Sun, 2010-01-31 16:19 with 1 comments

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Even though the narrators rattle off side-effect after horrible side-effect in prescription drug commericials, more Americans are taking more prescriptions than ever before. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; prescriptions, when prescribed and take properly, can help people deal with depression, treat high blood pressure, or relieve pain. However, taking medicine when you don't really need it or when you're too lazy to try other options can be dangerous. Incresed availability of prescription drugs, along with a cultural need for a "quick fix", has led to increased abuse of prescription drugs. Teens, especially girls ages 12 to 17, seem to have an unusually hard time taking medicine responsibly.