A Beautiful Mystery...

At first I thought of it as this big bright ball in the sky that lit up all the surface of Earth. 
Then it was the thing I looked at it, and instantly looked away. 
(I think it was just so pretty, I couldn't look at it for too long!)
Now as always, it's the wonder I wake up to in the morning,
one of the first things I see when I walk outside for the first time every day.
It can give my skin a nice tan tone in the summer,
or it can give it a real red color that real painful if i'm not careful.
This is what shines through the clouds at the end of a cold, stormy day.
Looking at the horizon at the break of dawn is where it's majestic sight appears first,
then at the end of the day, as all comes to a closing is where its sucked back down 
just to come up once again in a matter of hours.
This beautiful mystery is simply, the sun...

What's so great about the Kindle?? (Blockbuster)

by Kelsey Armstrong

The Amazon Kindle is one of today’s most known reading devices. Wherever you are, whether at the beach in bright sunlight or in dark surroundings (though with a book-light), you can pretty much read anywhere. What most people don’t know is that there is more than just reading on this device. With the exception of the version with the internet that is not built in, you are able to use wifi wherever you are: in the car, in the park…or at Applebee’s. Something as simple as the capacity and battery life of this is astonishing. Without using the internet, your Kindle will last up to a month with no charge. On the other hand if you do use the internet, it will still last you two and a half to three weeks. The Kindle stores up to 3,500 books with more than 180,000 to choose from and over 150 that happen to be #1 New York Times bestsellers. One of the best parts about the Kindle, even with the ability to access the internet, it stays at a reasonable and affordable price. Kindles are available for the advertised price on Amazon or on ebay.

Con on Grading Policy (Blockbuster)

by Kelsey Armstrong

At West Potomac High School in Washington DC, they are simply taking F’s off the general grade book. Instead, the school is replacing the F with an “I” for incomplete. The purpose of this is to decrease the amount of failing grades in students and increase the majority of the students’ GPA. In simple words, it is pretty much impossible to fail a course. This school is the only one in the district taking these drastic measures.

The whole facility of West Potomac is being very easy on their students. Teachers are livid on the decision made for their students and the school is definitely cutting the students too much slack.

This whole change lets the students think they are free to turn in assignments whenever they want on their own agenda. With the new policy, the student’s grade in a course wouldn’t decrease because they didn’t turn in an assignment on time; it would stay the same and go up when the student finally decides to turn it in.

Think about it: why should students who don’t turn in their work on time and don’t pay attention to lectures soon end up with an equal grade like students who do because they happen to get all their work in last minute?

Students soon began to not care like they did before this approach was taken. Half of the sophomore class at West Potomac received an “I”. Since, technically, they are not failing, the subject will not need to be repeated.

It is becoming necessary for teachers to spend time after school and on Saturdays to help the students. If students fail to clear up their incomplete rank, they will end up taking summer sessions in order to do so.

With all the positive aspects this policy may hold, overall it is not beneficial to students or teachers.

True Colors by Cyndi Lauper

You with the sad eyes
don't be discouraged
oh I realize
it's hard to take courage
in a world full of people
you can lose sight of it all
and the darkness inside you
can make you feel so small

but I see your true colors
shining through
I see your true colors
and that's why I love you
so don't be afraid to let them show
your true colors
true colors are beautiful
like the rainbow

show me a smile then
don't be unhappy, can't remember
when I last saw you laughing
if this world makes you crazy
and you've taken all you can bear
you call me up
because you know i'll be there

and i'll see your true colors
shining through
i'll see your true colors
and that's why I love you
so don't be afraid to let them show
your true colors
true colors are beautiful
like the rainbow

Theatre

I feel so lucky and so relieved that I have something I can fall back on right now. Even though I am still in the beginning and still being introduced to so many things, I feel like I've known this life for so long. Depending on the production and the role I am in, there is always a whole different aspect of myself that I can show to people. I wish I had auditioned during freshman year but you can never look back and say "I wish"!!! I love everything about it so much now than I did before. The other day during lunch the cast and I had just finished the teaser and lunch just started, I was just walking around and stumbled onto the stage. There was nobody there and I looked out into the house and it was as if I felt something inside of me. I was just on the urge of having a tear fall down my cheek as I was standing there in awe knowing just about all 600 of those seats were going to be filled with people who came to see what hard work, dedication, effort, determination, and perserverance (the list can go on and on), was displayed to put on that show in just a few shorts hours. I laid my body down on the stage and just thought. Nothing will ever compare to how amazing that feeling of satisfaction was to me...