Faith

Faith is a very deep topic that by some is resented, while in other cases is welcomed. In the past week or so, I have questioned the definition of faith. In some cases it is believing without seeing, believing the unimaginable, or far fetched. Faith can be what binds people together because believing in something of someone can be hard. I have heard the quote that belief is passive, but faith, faith is active. It is in theory a verb. One does not just have faith, one actions on faith, making it an action verb. In the words of Martin Luther, "one is saved by faith alone", but along with faith, one needs the deeds. Anyone could say they have faith, but are they willing to stand by it?
My mom once told me a story that there were two men on a cliff. One man had a wire going across the cliff to the other side with a barrel on top so that it could roll across the ravine. The man that owned the contraption asked his friend, "do you have faith that this contraption can work and that a person would be able to roll across?" The man looked at his friend and replied, "of course I do!" The owner then responded by saying..."then get in the barrel." The other man refused.
Acting on faith. It is easy to say that you believe or have faith in something, but to act on it and stand by it is difficult. In life, faith is important. In a way it is your last string of hope because you are believing without seeing. We have faith that air is real because we breathe it everyday. For religion it is more difficult to follow because it is more complex and bashed.
Overall, faith is a topic that most people do not like to talk about, but is something that they stand on as well. No matter what you believe, faith is vital. Faith is personal and is located deep in the heart of the person.

Family

Family according to Merriam Webster Dictionary is a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head. This definition is very vague and to me is not the true meaning. A family is so much more than a group of people living under one roof. But to be fair, I do not think that there is a perfect definition for the word because a family can be put into the category of just about anything. They are your support, the people that know you the best, the people that love you, and the people that are there for you.
In my immediate family I have my mom, dad, brother, and two dogs. My mom is a preschool teacher, my dad is an accountant, and my brother is a freshman at U of I. My two dogs are Echo and Fetlar. It has been different with my brother off to college, but when he comes home it is always fun.
On my mom's side I have three uncles and one aunt. For the most part they all live around here, but my aunt (who I am named after) lives in Arizona. I have six cousins and they live all around the country. All together they live in New York (soon to be Hawaii), Minnesota, and Springfield.
On my dad's side I have one aunt and she lives in Houston, Texas. My grandparents live in Springfield.
Overall, my family is very important to me. I love catching up with them and seeing them on the holiday. With all the years that we have spent together, there are bonds in a family that make it special. In today's society, I think that the importance of a family has been disgraced and disregarded as insignificant. In my opinion I think it is quite the opposite. The family influences so much about our lives and helps to shape who we are. No matter where you are or where you go, your family is something that you can count on. Family...irreplaceable.

Spring Break 2010!!

For me, Spring Break is the last hill to get over before the best break of all...summer. After Spring Break, you just have to toughen up and get through the last couple weeks of school. It is a good feeling, but also a bad because you also realize that finals are approaching. It is sometimes funny because Spring Break this year felt like a little taste of summer and then next thing you know, it is time to go back to school. It is like school is teasing you with a week off of school and then you get to go back. This Spring Break was different just because I had my license this year. To start off, on Thursday we had soccer practice and we had to run a 5 and 8 (five laps around the soccer field in eight minutes). For the first time ever, I actually made it. This was pretty sweet and a nice way to start my break. Then we had Friday off and I got to sleep in!! That day I basically relaxed and read. On Saturday we had a soccer game against Southeast and we won 8-0. It was non-eventful. Also on Saturday, my grandparents came over for dinner for Easter. That was fun because I don't get to see them very often and my brother was home. Being with the family is important, especially on holidays. On Sunday, I got to go see the movie The Last Song. I do not usually cry during movies, but this time I did. It was super good!! Then on Tuesday, we played Rochester. That was an intense game and after eighty minutes we tied them 1-1. On Wednesday we played the Riverton. We won 8-0 and after the game Kaylyn and I wrote in the game summary a story. It said, "Once upon a time...the Riverton hawks flew into our nest with 43 attacking. Even with the big numbers they could not defeat the almighty Cardinals". We consisted to have Thursday off, which was also very nice and enjoyable. On Friday, I got to go to a friend's house that I had not seen in forever and catch up with them. That was probably one of my favorite things I got to do over Spring Break. On Saturday we played Williamsville and that was a hard fought game and also very hot. We ended up winning that game as well, 4-1. On that night, I got to have a girls night with my friends and we went to DQ and watched a movie.
Overall, Spring Break was awesome. I had a lot of fun and can not believe that it is over. Spring Break 2010 was unbelievable.

My Job Shadowing Experience at SHG

On March 30, 2010, the whole Junior class participated in a job shadowing day. It was an opportunity to see the line of duty you were interested in action. An experience that we could all push in our back pockets and take it out when we are trying to decide the job of our future. It was helpful to see what an average day was like. For my choice of occupation, I chose to job shadow a AP US History teacher and for the location, I chose SHG.

The teachers name was Mr. Lavin and he is a well-known teacher at SHG that is known for his wealth of knowledge in history. It was fun to watch as the class asked questions and he would either shoot back an answer, or honestly say that he did not know, but he usually gave an educated guess on the matter. Personally, I know what the teachers are like at Plains and know their style of teaching. It was interesting to see other teachers teach and what their techniques were. That is something that I won't forget. I learned things about the styles of teaching, that if I decide to teach, I can combine what I liked about the teachers and make my own unique style of teaching. While I was there, I also got to view other teachers to get a broader view. I also sat in on Mr. Bloom's AP English class. They were discussing my all-time favorite movie, Pride and Prejudice. They were reading the book for homework and then in class, they were discussing in detail the thought process of the book and what they observed or thought was interesting. In order for the students to better understand the book, Mr. Bloom would put the situation into a current day matter. He took a ball room setting with the polite manners, to what happens at prom. Techniques like relating the material so that the students can better understand, are techniques that I won't forget. Mr. Bloom was extremely nice and offered information on what type of things he teaches and how he does it. The other teacher that I visited was Mrs. Fox. She was also a English teacher and her class was discussing the book The Great Gatsby. Her teaching style was different by the fact that she used an overhead projector and wrote out questions for the class to discuss. Mr. Bloom, walked through with his students the main points and asked their opinoin on the topic. Two different styles, but both seemed to be effective.

Overall, I got to see multiple different teachers, all of which were very kind and informative. Mr. Lavin was the main teacher that I observed and I am very glad I had the opportunity to watch him teach. Also while there I got to see what it was like at a different school. There were some vast differences between SHG and Plains. I learned a lot of things by just watching what was going on around me. It was like being in a different pair of shoes. I enjoyed being there after I got over the shock of not being at Plains with my friends. It was a bit of a culture shock at first, but after the first hour or so, I got to the point where I felt pretty comfortable. I am very glad that I had this experience.