Blechh...

I was hoping to wake up yesterday morning in a good mood and ready to go, but no. I woke up with a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I had a track meet too, so I was only hoping for the best. I don’t know if it was nerves or if I was just sick, but it was not fun.

Throughout the day I was feeling good, than bad and when the track meet finally came…worse. I went down to the field to warm up for my event and I could feel myself getting hot.

I kept wondering how in the world I was going to run my 800 without regurgitating my nonexistent breakfast. I tried to brush it off, telling myself it was just my nerves, but that didn’t work out too well.

I went up to the stands after the announcer called down the event I was running and told Burns that I had gotten sick. She found a quick replacement for me and I sat down watching my Distance Medley team kick ass.

They finished first in their heat, all thanks to the replacement 800 runner who ran 18 seconds faster than my time. I might want to watch my back or else she might be the permanent replacement runner for me.

Roosevelt Girl's Track Team!

The girl’s track team, who practices every day after school, seems to be doing very well this year. With top times in the state in the 4x100, 4x400, the 100 and the 400, they hope to be winning the state title this year.

                “We start pre-season training in December focusing on weightlifting. In February, we focus on form running and agility drills. I try to make things fun, but still challenging,” says Mrs. Burns, the girl’s track coach.

                It is important to the track team to keep their grades up, so they try to balance out academics with track.

Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin was a 17 year old boy frequently finding himself getting suspended and kicked out of school. According to the New York Times, he was caught with many things varying from burglary tools to women’s jewelry to marijuana.

Putting aside his criminal offenses, Trayvon was also the victim in a shooting that put him to his death. Sources like the New York Times and The Independent say that George Zimmerman who was on neighborhood watch, thought that Trayvon was “up to no good” because he was wearing a hood and he followed him.

Even though when Zimmerman called 911 about a suspicious boy (Trayvon) they told him not to follow him. Obviously Zimmerman did not listen to the dispatcher and continued on following him.

The New York Times also brought up that Zimmerman had made over one hundred calls to the police about suspicious people. This sounds like Zimmerman is just asking for trouble if you ask me.

Once Zimmerman lost Trayvon, he allegedly got back in his vehicle, when Trayvon came up behind him and they started a heated conversation. That is when Trayvon hit Zimmerman and started smashing his head into the sidewalk.

Eye-witnesses were telling ABC News that the person on the bottom was wearing red, which was identified by Zimmerman. He was also yelling, ‘Help, Help!’ (The Washington Post)

This gives Zimmerman a reason to shoot and kill Trayvon doesn’t it? I mean it is self defense, and Florida’s Stand Your Ground law says that. However, Trayvon was unarmed and just walking home in the rain.

Many people, even little kids are participating in protests for the Trayvon Martin case. One protest that was organized by a Democratic Congressman, Bobby Rush was the Hoodie protest.

People of all ages and ethnicity groups help signs saying things like ‘Black and Suspicious’ or wearing sweatshirts with words on the back saying, ‘I am Not Suspicious.’ So many people are supporters of Trayvon Martin, so stand up for what you believe in and fight for what you think is right.

Spring Break!

                Well, I must say that I am not too thrilled about being back in school after Spring Break, but I mean who is. I needed a break and Spring Break happened to come just at the right time.

                My parents attended parent teacher conferences and I seem to be doing just fine, so that’s good. I hung around at home for a couple of days before I was off to Colorado for a week!

                We left early Tuesday morning to get to my uncle’s house before it got dark. The drive was 11 hours and 11 hours too long.

                My uncle took us to Downtown Denver on Wednesday to do a little shopping, and then again on Friday at the mall in Littleton. In my opinion, I kind of like their mall better because they have more stores and I love the atmosphere there.

                On Thursday, we did some sightseeing at the Red Rock Amphitheater and Echo Lake. They were beautiful places and I wish I had remembered to bring my camera with me.

                The view of the mountains from Echo Lake was absolutely amazing. I looked like it was straight out of picture book.

                I was sad when we had to leave the mountains, but I guess on the bright side, I can breathe a little better now. J

Decisions, Decisions..

This 60 minutes interview I watched was on whether you should send your child to Kindergarten at the age of five or wait until they are six. If your child has a late birthday, people are saying that you should wait until they turn six, which is called redshirting.

There were two sides to this story, one side being that if they are five in Kindergarten, the child may not be ready to take on that learning experience, or they would be the youngest in their class among many other reasons. The other side was that if you waited to send your child to Kindergarten, they could get bored in their classes and are more likely to drop out.

The reason I chose this video was because I was in the exact same situation. My birthday is in September, only four days before the cutoff date for sending your child to Kindergarten.

My mom asked my preschool teachers for their advice and they told her to go ahead and send me. I was five when I started Kindergarten and yes, I was the youngest in my class.

I still am the youngest and sure, I may not be able to get my license until I am a senior, but it does not really bother me.

I am glad my parents went ahead and sent me because for one, I cannot stand the eighth graders at the middle school I went to and second, I get good grades and I am doing perfectly fine.

I know there are so many people out there with fall birthdays in this same predicament, not knowing what to do with their young children. I am thrilled that there is an interview about it discussing people’s different perspectives on how they look at this situation.  

If you want to know more or would just like to watch this interesting video, click here

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7400898n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox

My Sister's Keeper

     Last night I watched the saddest movie I have ever seen. If you just want to watch a movie that will make you bawl your eyes out, My Sister's Keeper is the movie for you.
     Aside from the fact that it was depressing, it was very heartwarming. Kate, a young girl who had leukemia was very strong throughout the movie and tried so hard to fight for her life.
     Kate's family was right along side with her and supported her through all of her ups and downs. There may have been times when her parents got into fights and breaking points, but somehow they managed to hang on and never let go.
     To me, this movie sent out the message that you should keep on fighting and never give up no matter what gets in the way.
     During the movie, the children in it, all had flash backs that either had to do with their problems, or what point in their life they were at when Kate was diagnosed with leukemia. The flashbacks were my favorite parts of the movie because they were all very touching. 
     This heart filled movie made me laugh, cry, and feel so many different emotions. My Sister's Keeper was an amazing movie and I enjoyed watching every second of it.

Brrrrr...

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-57384848-10391709/how-body-fat-helps-this-elite-athlete/?tag=contentMain;contentAux

This video about Lynne Cox amazed me. For her to be able to try and swim a mile to Antarctica in freezing temperatures that kills is beyond me.

Cox was trying to make a record that no one had made before. I liked her ambition and how brave she was willing to be.

It really surprised me when I heard she had been swimming in these temperatures since she was a little girl. Cox has blubber as she likes to call it and that is what helps her get through the pain.

When Scott Pelley asked Lynne if he could talk about her body and then how much she weighed, he asked in a very polite manner. I thought that was a great way to ease into it.

I cannot believe someone would be brave enough and have the mental ability that Lynne had to be able to do what she did.