Favorite Holiday

There are not too many holidays throughout the year that you actually celebrate with all of your family, but out of the ones that I do, I would have to say that Christmas is the greatest holiday of all. All of your siblings come home and you get free presents, nothing beats it. I open up all of my presents on Christmas Eve at night, and then deal with everything in the morning. It makes it easier to sleep at night, and since everybody is already home, you may as well open up the presents that are there. The dinner on Christmas is one of the best as well. Eating ham with the whole family is such a good feelings and knowing that everybody around you is happy only makes you happier. Another positive to Christmas means that there is snow outside, and that means ice hockey. I started playing hockey with my friends at the park a few years ago and it’s always been fun. One of the greatest parts of Christmas is the break off of school. It’s about a week off of school and it’s nice to just relax and not have to worry about homework all of the time. Once Christmas is over, you know the New Year is right around the corner and it’s a whole other chance to set goals for yourself and have another chance at things that you didn’t get to do the year before. Christmas is going to be here in a little less than 2 months and I have no clue what I want for Christmas. It seems that the older you get, the less you really want to get anything big. Giving to others starts to become more important than getting the presents. This year I am going to focus on giving people presents rather than expecting people to give me presents.

Influential Teacher

There are not too many teachers that have really impacted me, but there is definitely one guy in this district that has changed my high school life in a huge way. That man would be Mr. MacCowan. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be working out as much as I do to this day. Way back in 9th grade, somebody pointed out that I was putting up impressive numbers, and he confronted me in the hallway asking me if it was true. After I agreed, he was quick to tell me that the weight room was open three days out of the week every week, and that he was there every day. The first day I went there, I obviously wasn’t as strong as most of the kids in there, but those kids were definitely there to help me whenever I needed some motivation or something as simple as a spotter. Working out is one of my favorite parts of going to school, because when I am done with a workout, it always feels good to know that I accomplished something that day. Not only does it make me feel better physically, but also keeps me in check emotionally. Some of the kids I work out with have definitely made some memories with myself, and I have made some great relationships with them. They motivate me and help me put up bigger numbers than I ever even imagined on doing. Now that I am a senior, it gives me the opportunity to the kids that are starting to work out. I was in the same position they were in, so I know exactly what they need to get their head on straight and make sure that they are working out correctly and getting the right forms. They are there for me as well, especially when I don’t think I can handle a certain weight and I need a spotter. If it wasn’t for Mr. MacCowan, high school would definitely not be as enjoyable as it has been.

Post-High school Plans

Even though it’s only October, I can already tell that I am going to miss high school as soon as it’s gone. It’s the place where you can socialize with your friends and learn. You don’t see half the kids you see in school over the summer. That’s one thing I have learned to appreciate about school. You get to see everybody, every single day. Unfortunately, it has to come to end. I’m not entirely sure of my plan yet, but I think I have an idea of what I want to do. Accounting is coming really easy to me compared to most of the kids in my class, and I think I might want to go somewhere with that. I want to get all of my basic classes done at ECC or GCC and save up enough money to get to a decent college and get a degree in Accounting. I don’t have the best grades in the world, but I think that if I get a good enough grade on my SAT’s, that will show that I do have the wits to do whatever I want to do. I still need to find a job so I can start saving up some money. My total income is zero at this moment which obviously isn’t a very good start. I also have to start saving up some money so I can make my sister’s wedding in Jamaica in August. According to my sister, I have to save up $1900 dollars which is going to be quite the challenge if I want to have a good time with my friends without wasting too much money. I’m sure there are more kids out there that have their future more planned out than I do, but that doesn’t matter to me. I’ll be fine with whatever I happen to do.

Favorite Class

Senior year has fewer classes than all of the other years, so it’s much easier to choose a favorite class. Out of all of my classes, I would have to say my favorite class is, without a doubt, Online Publishing. The first and main reason behind my decision is because Mr. Rob Currin is the teacher. He is the easiest going teacher throughout the school and he makes the class fun by keeping a smile on everyone’s face. Also, the things we do in the class are relatable to you in real life. You have to write blogs that actually relate to you rather than having to do research on different things and trying to find information on different people. This makes the class much easier and you don’t have to worry about getting a topic that you don’t know about. Another good part about the class is that you write articles for the school newspaper, and everybody gets to see your published work. The thing that I write about each week is called “Teacher Feature”, and I choose a teacher each week to interview about their life and what they enjoy about teaching. Not only do kids get to learn about some of their favorite teachers, but teachers get recognized and noticed. These kinds of things can really boost a teacher’s confidence and make their day that much better. It makes me feel good that I can make a teacher’s day, because not only will they respect me, but then I will be a remembered student. Nobody wants to be the kid in school that isn’t remembered by anybody. You want to be able to visit the school in years to come and still be able to have a conversation with any teacher and bring back memories. Those are several reasons on why I enjoy my Online Publishing class so much.

Choice Blog 2 - Doodler

Since this is my choice blog, I have decided to dedicate this one to my good friend, Michael Steffan. When I first moved here in sixth grade, I had no idea the kid even existed. In middle school, there were teams. We happened to be on separate teams in the sixth grade, so we didn’t have the chance to meet each other. Pretty much all of middle school was the same without Michael. Although, when ninth grade rolled around, we finally conversed and befriended each other. Ninth grade Spanish is when the memories started to come up. It all began with Michael, myself, and Ryan Snyder. I think the most memorable part about Spanish was when we made a project about Tom Brady falling off of a roller coaster and breaking all of his bones. There was another time when Mrs. Zimdahl put on some weird music, and us three started laughing extremely hard and Ryan got moved to the other side of the room. The worst part about it was that she kept the music on and we could still see each other, so it was still difficult to maintain our composure. When we hang out, literally anything that happens around us gets us to laugh. No matter what it is we can find something to laugh at about it. If it wasn’t for Michael, there is no doubt my high school experience would not be nearly as enjoyable as it has been for the past 4 years. My senior year has basically just begun, and I plan on making several more memories with my good friend, Michael. Since we are in the same Online Publishing class, which is why I’m doing this blog, we get to see each other every other day and we get to laugh about whatever comes to mind. If it wasn’t for Michael, my life would not be what it is today.

Bullying

As you may all know, there has been another recent death out here in Western New York. The reasoning behind this one seems a little less ethical compared to others, and it’s because the kid was gay. He had been tormented for a few years in school for being gay, and a lot of the kids in school were saying there was no point in him living and he may as well kill himself because nobody cares about him. Some of you may say that the kid should have stood up for himself, but it’s a lot harder than you think when it happens to you. Day after day he was being bashed for being gay, and it’s not like he could control it. Teenagers in school need to learn to accept people for who they are and move on, rather than constantly being on their case about what they are doing. You should let people live their lives the way they want to, and worry about yours in the meantime. Just because somebody isn’t the same as you doesn’t mean you should make fun of what they do, just because you don’t do it the same way. I think Lady Gaga deserves a lot of respect for reacting the way she did, because people pay more attention to serious situations if a celebrity a somebody well known is taking action on the topic of bullying. Bullying is and always will be around, but actions should be taken if students are caught doing it. It’s not right that kids have been committing suicide because of bullying. It’s basically murdering somebody, because it’s somebody that drove them to do that. There should definitely be serious consequences if a teenager is caught bullying another kid, because who knows how many more will end up committing suicide over something so stupid.

Favorite Alden Restaurant

When you think of restaurants in Alden, not too many come to mind except for pizzerias. Carbones, Geoffanos, La Paloma’s, Town Line Pizza… But those get old. If I were to pick a favorite restaurant, I would have to choose the WAK. For the people in Alden that don’t know what that means, it’s the West Alden Kitchen. It’s somewhat secluded, and not something you really notice when you pass it. I have personally only been there once in my life, but the hamburger I got there was one of the best that I have ever had. The service there was great, and the food didn’t take too long. Also, it wasn’t very crowded at all which is something that is very important when it comes to restaurants, because nothing is worse than waiting in line to sit in a restaurant. Because then, you have to wait even longer to even get your even since there are so many people there. I definitely plan on taking many more trips there in the future, because it’s been a couple months since I have gone. Another nice little restaurant in the town of Alden is Weber’s Grill. I have only been there three times, but each time has been a successful experience. I once when in there running on zero hours asleep, because I had already been up for about 26 hours. The breakfast there woke me up and allowed me to carry through about 42 hours without sleeping. That’s probably one of the greatest things I have ever accomplished, but that’s a different story. Out of all of the pizzerias in Alden, I would have to say it’s a tie between Carbones and Geoffanos. Geoffanos definitely has the more superior pizza, but their wings do not even compare to Carbones. They both have their ups and downs, and that’s why it is tough for me to make a final decision on which one I would rather choose.

Favorite Schools Lunches

There are many enjoyable lunches here at Alden High School that kids look forward to when they wake up in the morning, but the one that stands out in particular for myself would have to be the chicken patty. Everybody else chooses tacos, so I figured that would be kind of cliché. Chicken parry doesn’t come often either, unlike tacos which come once every two weeks. There is no specified day for chicken patty, which is what makes it best because it will catch you by surprise when the day comes around, and it makes that day so much better. There are some benefits to taco day, though. They come with the churros, which are always really good. They basically make taco day. I think the closest contender to chicken patties would have to be the hamburgers. They give you so many options to put on them (lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, relish, cheese). At first glance, the hamburgers are nothing to drool over, but the taste of them really surprises you, they don’t taste how you think they would taste. But chicken patties are still much more superior. Next in line for one of the best lunches that nobody really talks about is the meatball bomber. It consists of a sub roll, four meatballs, spaghetti sauce, and some shredded cheese, which basically tops it off. I don’t know why that lunch isn’t talked about, or why it doesn’t have its own specific day. It’s definitely a lunch that should be looked forward to. One lunch that would have been added to this list is the pizza. Unfortunately, the school’s pizza does not compare to what it had last year because something happened with the Big Daddy Pizza Company. Not really sure what, but either way we don’t have it anymore and now the school’s pizza kind of sucks.