Nerves

As I sit in the hotel room in Massilon on my coach's laptop, my mind cannot concentrate on anything besides swimming. This weekend will reflect my entire life of hard work and dedication to this brutal, yet rewarding sport. My mind is on autopilot, similar to the poem we studied today in class- "Out of Sight, out of Mind". I am constantly thinking, "drink some water, shave my legs, stretch my shoulders, eat a power bar" in a rythmic pattern in order to prevent myself from becoming incredibly stressed out. The more systematically I think, the more I will be able to push out my dramatic emotions and think logically. This idea is very similar to an audience and purpose of today's poem. The author speaks to those who act on their heartfelt emotions, and encourages them to make decisions and think more from a logical and mindful standpoint. If I acted on my emotions right now, I would probably curl up in a ball and cry out of nervousness. So, thank you group one for indirectly helping me prevent a nervous breakdown.

Although I am about to rip my (leg) hair out...

College preparation.
Less Time.
Papers Win.

Some Days You're the Bird, Some Days You're the Statue

I always find myself staring at this poster in Ms. Serensky's classroom, and I equally enjoy this message each and every time I read it. So, I came up with a list of how you know when you are living your day as the bird, and another list of how you know you are living your day as the statue. Feel free to comment with additions to the list!

You Know You're The Bird When...
1). In class you rudely cut someone off during the discussion and do not feel bad about it.
2). You glance over at your writing partner's graded poetry paper and nonchalantly shove yours in their face showing them you got a higher score.
3). You make the blog banter.
4). Ms. Serensky comments on your comment during a discussion.
5). Ms. Serensky praises your blog banter theme song

You know you're the statue when...
1). You forget to do turnitin.com
2). Someone steals your best point during the discussion.
3). You are belittled and ridiculed about your pathetic attempt at a blog banter theme song.
4). You walk into the classroom and see the journals sitting anxiously on your desk.
5). On the calendar you see the words Data Sheet Due

Mother Kills Two Children for Being "Mouthy"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41319561/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

How many of us "talk back" to our parents or say something they deem "disrespectful"? If some people say they do not then they are definitely lying. It is teenager's second nature to question authority and challenge the status quo. First, "talking back" is a term used very very commonly by many parents in the average argument in a typical American household. I feel as though this term is made up by parents for them to assert their "authority" over the younger ones. For example, today, when I forgot to clean the dinner dishes, my Dad stomped up into my room and demanded why I did not do my chore. I simply replied (without an attitude of course), "I'm sorry Dad, but I forgot". He then proceeded to yell at me for "TALKING BACK". This tends to happen a lot in my house with me and the rest of my siblings. And every time, I find myself scratching my head with confusion. Does my Dad not want me to respond? Because If I do respond, I will be "talking back". However, if I do not respond, that would be "disrespectful". What is a kid to do when they're damned if they do and damned if they don't?

This article included shocked me and definitely makes me begin to watch what I say to my parents, because apparently, this mother of two from Tampa "was your average housewife and soccer mom who loved spending time with her family and neighbors". This description probably describes about 75% of our mothers. So, this blog post is a warning to all of you disrespectful back-talkers out there. Wear a bullet-proof vest even when you're blogging just in case your mom decides to get revenge for all of those times when you questioned her authority.