Growing up, every Sunday felt ominous. Even though it was a day off, I would spend it in fear of the Monday to follow, when school would resume, homework would be due, and playtime would be drastically reduced. It got to the point where I would want Monday to come, just so I could stop worrying about its arrival and get it over with. This sort of cuts down on potential weekend happiness, but the phenomenon persists for me in a larger scope, too, to the point that my last week of winter vacation has been spent with the specter of school’s resumption looming over me. Even though I know I’m probably spending too much time worrying, the thoughts of biology labs gone awry, essays unwritten, and problem sets unfinished persist in haunting me. I guess the good side of this is that it encourages me to look forward to the start of the semester, so I can stop worrying about phantom assignments and actually start doing them.
- Will
Apprehension
January 27th, 2012
Reality TV Bubble
January 26th, 2012
I don’t usually judge what other people watch on TV. You can have your I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant, I will have my Chopped, and we will coexist peacefully. But a few days ago, a line was crossed when I walked in on my mother watching Jersey Shore. This is wrong. I should not have to see this, nor should I have to hear my mom say “Snooki” or “Jwow.” This has to be some sort of sign that reality television has infiltrated our lives to a dangerous extent. When our parents start watching this stuff, something is wrong. Reality television has been going strong, ever since the first Real World season on MTV. But it seems like it’s on every channel now, at all hours, not to mention available on demand. I can only hope, for my own comfort and our collective future, that this is some sort of bubble. When it pops, we’ll realize how foolish we were to spend hours watching people interact in painfully contrived circumstances, and we’ll go back to spending our television hours watching important stuff, like Top Chef Masters.
- Will
Grades
January 24th, 2012
Grades are a very important part of and about school. You need to have good grades to be able to get to where you want to go in the future. I need to focus on grades, and working out. Going into high school and wanting to play football I need to up my game. I heard that I shouldn’t even have C’s. Now I have fairly good grades. A’s, B’s, and 2 C’s. I still work hard on grades but, I also started working out again and it has helped a lot. I even started eating better. For a 14 year old that’s asking a lot from. I don’t have a gym membership but, working out at home I have gotten great results. I am going to get a gym membership within the next week and it’s close to home so I know it will help, as long as I stay with it I’ll be on my way to success.
- Jamal
Dentist’s Office
January 23rd, 2012
I had to go to the dentist last week, which is always a harrowing ordeal. First of all, there’s a buildup that makes me really nervous. I have to schedule the appointment, confirm the appointment, travel to the appointment, and sit in the waiting room, all the while thinking about how any of my seemingly healthy teeth could be secretly harboring a cavity or some other dental monstrosity. Then, when I finally get in the patient’s chair, with the sun-like light bulb shining directly in my eyes, I start perspiring as the dentist sternly tells me, with a tone of disappointment and disgust, that I clearly have not familiarized myself with the concept, much less the practice, of flossing (I do floss, but I think I have the mechanics wrong or something, because the dentist would not believe my assertions). It strikes me as strange that dentists are so direct with their patients and will baldly tell them to stop eating so much sugar, while doctors tend to be nice and roundabout and avoid telling the patient to stop shoving fast food in their mouths. In any case, regardless of my poor flossing technique, I escaped the dentist’s office with nary a cavity, which gave me a satisfied smile that I imagine creeped a couple people out on the train ride home.
- Will