Make It or Break It

                Make It or Break It is a teenage hit television series that started about 2 years ago. This series is about a group of 4 elite gymnasts training in a gym with one goal: to go to the 2012 Olympics, and win. The Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Club, or “The Rock”, is a high-class training facility that also has some high-class drama. Each girl is completely different in their own way.

                Payson Keeler is the hardworking gymnast that has always been on top, and was projected to win the 2012 Olympics without contest. This all changed when Payson had an accident at the national meet, breaking her back and threatening to end her career for good. After a big-time back specialist developed a new procedure that could heal Payson’s back, she expected to come back better than before, but was held back when she found out that she must pursue a different kind of gymnastics, a more artistic approach.

                Kailey Cruz is the national champ. She had always been an underdog until Payson’s accident resulted in her winning the national championship. With all of the pressure with staying on top Kailey changed her entire attitude, training non-stop and almost over-focusing on her goal.

                Emily Kmetko is a girl from “the wrong side of the tracks” that was discovered at a nearby YMCA and brought to “The Rock” for her raw talent. Along with her struggle for being on the National team and trying to go to the Olympics, her single mother is also trying to make ends meet. Emily is the underestimated girl that will blow your socks off on the gymnastics mat.

                Lauren Tanner is the gym snob. She has extreme talent and is a definite contender for the 2012 Olympics, and will do absolutely ANYTHING to be on top. Along with her millionaire dad, that controls “The Rock”, the father-daughter duo intends to be on top no matter what it takes.

"Movie Moments"

      

There are some scenarios that people consider “Movie moments”, or moments that you think only happen in movies. Today I had a terrible experience with one of these moments. I was walking innocently down the hallway with my dearest friend Emily having a nice chat while walking to the bathroom, when BAM!!!!! I was completely thrown off the ground and on my back. Completely in awe, I stand up and realize a teacher had viciously opened the door to her classroom and hit me with it. I won’t go overboard and say I needed medical attention, but this blow definitely wasn’t something I was expecting on my peaceful trek to the restroom.

Another example of a “Movie moment” is the infamous pouring milk on the head in the lunchroom. You see it in every teen movie, with the nerdy girl who finally builds up the courage to stand up to the mean girl. Typically, the mean girl will be wearing a white shirt, or brand new expensive outfit that will be completely ruined. Let’s get real; this would never actually happen in real life. There would either be a throwdown-actually a wimpy girl fight- involving a lot of hair pulling, or a whole lot of clawing. (Note: this scene may also happen with any messy food, preferably a type of pasta, like spaghetti, that will make the scene even more dramatic)

            My final-and most ridiculous- movie moment I will mention is the in-sync singing that takes place generally in musicals. We’ll use High School Musical as an example- please take note that I have absolutely nothing against this movie, it is one of my favorites-, although there are multiple scenes where the cast breaks into song I talk about the very first classroom soon. While in homeroom listening to the drama director talk about the spring musical, Troy Bolton spaces off looking at the ticking clock with 1 minute left before summer. The students all start chanting quietly, gradually getting louder, “summer”, “summer”, “summer”… and as the bell rings, they all break into song! WHAT TIME IS IT, SUMMER TIME! And so on with the song. This isn’t the only part that bugs me, but also the way that every dancer seems to know the same routine dance. Again, let’s get real; this would never actually happen in real life.
            Not saying that these are bad things to have in a movie, but it does make the movie way less believable, as well as unrealistic.

Texting While Driving

               Texting while driving should be illegal. Not just for minors but for everyone. It is one of the most dangerous things that you can do while you are driving. Your chance of being in an accident is increased. You are more distracted and you are a hazard to the people around you.

                While you are texting and driving you are not fully focused on the road. According to CNET’s Jennifer Guevin, “Texting while driving took a drivers focus away from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds- enough time… to travel the length of a football field at 55 mph.” In that 4.6 seconds you can swerve across the lanes, hit pedestrians, be unaware of certain signs and stop lights, change speed drastically, hit other cars, or go off the road. You can also be mistaken for a drunk driver.

                Accidents are increased while texting and driving. Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that truck drivers who are texting are 23 times more at risk of a “crash or near crash event.” People stop paying attention to the road because they are more focused on the text that they are sending or reading. People may think they can multitask on the road and their phone but they cannot.

                I personally realize I cannot text and drive. I am a hazard to myself and others around me. I tend to swerve around in my lane and almost into others. I speed up without even realizing it. That could cause me to run into people in front of me because sometimes the distance between my car and the car ahead of me is not always realized.

               Texting while driving is hard to resist. Almost everyone does it at least once. Even that one time can cause an injury, a car that is wrecked, or the loss of a life. All of those are proven so it should be illegal. It is not worth the risk.

               

Homeschooling

               Should homeschooling be allowed? Some say it is a basic right, but others think it is an all-around bad idea. There are of course both advantages and disadvantages to both homeschooling, and public schools. There are many valid reasons why some parents choose to home-school their children. Some say it is due to religion, maybe their child has disabilities, or there is no transportation to get their child to any public school. Whatever the reason is, many find this controversial.
                School environments vary all around the world. Whether the environment is good, with friendly peers, helpful teachers, and a good campus, or whether the school is the complete opposite, with social problems, and low performance scores. This could be a factor in parents’ choice to home-school, because they may find this to have a negative effect on their child’s learning.

                Socializing is an important part of life, and a large portion of public schools. I see this as a disadvantage of homeschooling because these students won’t get the opportunity to socialize like the majority of students in public schools. This is something that I think shows when a child that has been homeschooled comes to a public school.
            As mentioned earlier, disabilities can be a cause of homeschooling your child. Whether physical, mental, or social disabilities, these can have a huge effect on learning in a public school.
            One alternative, which I have witnessed myself, is partial home-schooling. I have seen a few students in my classes that are home-schooled for the most part, but come to a public school for a few classes, usually science or world language classes. In my opinion, if a child is being home-schooled, this is a good way to do it. That way the student can get both the benefits of home-schooling, and public-schooling. Such as making friends in a public school and being able to interact with their peers.

High School Volleyball "Pre-game"

           “Pre-game” is the most important part of a volleyball game. Pre-game is the way you prepare before a game, such as rituals you do individually, or with the team. 

            On our Kennedy Volleyball team, many of us are very superstitious. Some of us have to wear the same socks, the same spandex, or the same sports bra. For me, I always have to wear the same mini bow in my hair. Although my favorite bow is technically illegal to wear during matches, I can’t play without it. Good thing it blends in with my hair. Some of our superstitions get even crazier. One girl on our team had a superstition that she had to keep the same pair or shoelaces through the rest of the season. Let me tell you, these shoelaces had been through enough already. Throughout the course of the season the shoelaces ripped at least 5 times. No matter how “busted-down” the shoelaces were, she wouldn’t get a new pair. 
            Along with our clothing superstitions, we also have a set schedule of how we prepare for the game. We start by going into the locker room, doing our hair, makeup, and whatever else we need to get dressed for the game while jamming out to music. Next, we do our cardio work. Running, stretching, and whatever else to get warmed up. Following cardio we have our quiet time as a team. We get about 10 minutes to reflect in the dark with no distractions and think what we have to do as individuals and as a team to win the game. After quiet time, we get pumped up. First, we “form the banana”, a cheer where we basically yell and dance uncontrollably. After banana, we return to the locker room to dance to Sandstorm, a crazy pump up song! We jump around, clap, scream, and even have a circle where one girl shows off their moves in the middle at a time. Finally, it’s game time.  
            All of these superstitions and preparation techniques are what makes our team unique, no matter how ridiculous they are.

University of North Dakota

             This past weekend I went on an unofficial college visit to the University of North Dakota. Let’s start with discussing the temperature. We arrived on Friday evening, after a treacherous 9 hour drive through snow and rain. The temperature was around 20 degrees. We went to a volleyball match and got to hang out with the team a bit, and returned to our hotel after to get some rest.
            The next day we had a full schedule written out on our itinerary. Starting with an 8:30 AM breakfast with the coaches and other recruits, followed by meeting with the academics advisors, strength coach, and head coach. Later that afternoon we were to attend a football game. My mother and I looked up the forecast for Saturday and almost had a heart attack at the HIGH of 11 degrees!!!!! We frantically searched target for warm clothes, gloves, hats, scarves, and everything we would need to survive a freezing cold football game for multiple hours.

            We arrive the next day, with our warm gear in the car ready for the football game. The catered breakfast was amazing, along with the meetings. When it finally reached time for the football game, the coaches announced that we would be heading to the INDOOR football stadium. Yes, I said it. The stadium was indoors. Although my mother and I were extremely relieved that we would be in beyond freezing weather, we were also both embarrassed and upset that we had spend about 50 dollars on warm clothing!
           Besides the football experience, overall the visit was a success. The team was great, the coaches were helpful, and the facilities were fantastic! The university is located in the somewhat small town of Grand Forks, North Dakota. The town is perfect with many attractions and a lot of fans, old and young, who come out and loyally support all of UND’s sports.

State Volleyball Part 1

            State volleyball this year was help at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena for the first time, due to remodeling taking place at the US Cellular Center. When I first heard this at the end of last year’s season I almost had a heart attack. Immediately I thought of all of the problems I could think of with the ice arena. Would there be enough seating? How would the courts be set up? Is it going to be cold? Is the ice going to melt?! I was assured it would be alright.

            Boy, were they right. The ice arena was great! There was plenty of seating with even some leftover seats at each match. The smaller size made entering the arena much less overwhelming, in a good way. The closeness of the fan sections made us feel a lot more “at home” then the typical balcony seating at the US Cellular Center where the open floor plan makes the arena seem ten times bigger. Another concern was the noise level during the game with the student sections in a more enclosed setting. Surprisingly-although the noise level was high- this was more of an energy booster on the court having your school rooting you on so closely. As a trade-off, though, this also meant the opposing team was just as close to cheer against you.
            Our first match at the state tournament was against Dubuque Hempstead in the quarter-finals. We came into this match ranked behind so we knew we had something to prove. Being the “underdog” team at state every year gives us the extra determination we need to come out strong and surprise a lot of people. We won our first match with ease, knocking Hempstead out of the tournament. Prior to our match, Iowa City West defeated Council Bluffs. This placed us in the semi-finals with Iowa City West two days later. Being our fourth year in a row facing IC West in the semi-finals, we were pumped and ready to break the curse. 
             We came out in the first two games with obvious jitters. Nuff said. The third game was going West’s way, but we made a huge last second turnaround at 20-23 (West lead). We won a close third game. With the crowd going crazy we went on a run in the fourth game, defeating West 25-13. It was down to the fifth game, tiebreaker. West came out second-guessing themselves but took an early lead. Not being able to finish the final game, we lost 15-7, ending our State Tournament run. Iowa City West advanced to the finals along with Iowa City High, who defeated Ankeny in a close 5-gamer. The final match was won by Iowa City West in a 5 game match.