Q1

Q4

There are many people out there that influence you, whether it is on TV, music, magazines, movies, or anything else someone can reach out to you on. My favorite cultural icon would be Wiz Khalifa. The reasoning behind this is because he grew up in a not so good area, and his family wasn’t all that wealthy, but he made it out and made something of himself, now he is making millions of dollars. I like Wiz Khalifa because he knows where he could be and he doesn’t think he is better than anyone. Wiz Khalifa knows who his fans are, and what they are like, so he makes music to inspire them and he says this in many interviews that he does. Wiz Khalifa also holds concerts for people that don’t have the money to see him in regular concert, I think that is very unique and I have never heard of an artist doing that before. Wiz Khalifa isn’t all about himself. His family, friends, and fans play a huge part in his life. Wiz Khalifa truly is a great person, and this is why he is my favorite cultural icon.

Q3

I’ve been in English class for a countless number of years, and I’ve done a fair share of reading books in class, but my favorite book would have to be “Tuesdays With Morrie”. This would be my favorite book that I have read in English because I could relate to it. The reasoning behind me relating to this story is that my Uncle Tom was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis also known as Lou Gherig’s Disease, the same thing Morrie was diagnosed with. This book touched me in a way, as if that my Uncle was right next to me reading it. This was my favorite book because it brought back so many memories of my Uncle Tom. Everything in the book that Morrie and his family went through, I went through almost the exact same encounters. I’m happy that Mrs. Schafer had us read this book because it truly was my favorite book that I have ever read.

Q2

Summer is soon approaching and I am sure everyone is excited. Because I sure am. This summer I will be doing a lot. This summer will mostly consist of hanging out with my friends and making some good memories. I will also be hitting the beach up a lot. I like going to the beach because its nice and relaxing, it’s a peaceful, fun place to be. I also like going there with Kyle because he likes to try to pick up women, and I like to watch him try. This summer I will also be going to Black Lake with my family. We split a cabin up there with my dads friend. I like to take the boat out and I also like to fish. Another thing I like doing there is wake boarding and water skiing. I’m not too good at either of them but I still have fun. I enjoy going to black lake with my family because it’s a great bonding experience and we all come together and have a lot of fun. While we are in Black Lake we will be going to Alexander Bay. Alexander Bay is where it gets poppin’. There are clubs, bars, restaurants and a whole strip of things to do. I can’t wait to go hangout with my family at Black Lake.

O4

My father is my hero. I say he is my hero because he has taught me everything that I know to this day. My father is my boy. He taught me how to crawl, walk, run, lift weights, and drive. I don’t know where I would be without him in my life. I often take him for granted though. I will stop pushing time with him away and I will start spending more time with him. He is the greatest guy I have ever met in my life, and I’m not saying this because he’s my dad but I’m saying this because it’s true. I love that man and I will never stop loving him. My mother is the best mother out. You all can say that about your mothers but my mom will always be there for me. Little or big, she will stop whatever she is doing just to help me and I appreciate her for that. My parents mean the world to me and I don’t know if they know that, and I just wanted to say thank you to them. I love you mom and dad!!!!!

O3

This blog is a choice blog, and my writing in this blog will probably wander through various topics. Senior year is quickly coming to an end, some people are filled with joy, but for me I am filled with butterflies. This is my last year at Alden High School and its quite scary because I’ll be growing up and doing adult things and I will have to start making adult choices. Time flies, I remember when I was in the middle school…8th grade moving up day looking at the High School and saying “four more years and I’m out.” Boy did those four years fly by. If anyone that is an underclassman reading this, I want to say live it up, and don’t wish that these years would fly by because I know that I will miss high school and I’ve heard people say it all the time, I didn’t think I’d be one to miss it, but thinking back on the memories and the friends I’ve made here, I know that I will miss it. On the other hand, this past weekend was my birthday weekend and it has been my best birthday yet. I spent the very beginning of my birthday which was 12 am on Saturday the 28th with my best friends, Eric Roth and Joe Foss and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. During the day after I got some sleep, I celebrated my birthday with my brothers and my parents, I am starting to value time with my family as I get older because I’ve learned that anything can happen at any time in your life. That brings me to my next thought. Ive seen kids that are completely disrespectful to their parents and I just don’t get why… they brought you into this earth and have cared for you for so long, and you think it’s “cool” to treat them like crap…. Why?

O2

I found this article to be very interesting. I agree with the fact that not going to college will be costing you a lot in your life such as job opportunities. I believe this because the economy is getting really bad and people are starting to get laid off and without a good education, you can barely get a job anymore. After high school I do plan on attending college. I will attend a two year school, then transfer over to Edinboro to get my Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. After I get my bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice I would like to move down south to become a border patrol agent. Soon after becoming a border patrol agent I would like to move to a higher rank in the Criminal Justice Field such as a US Marshall. I would like to do this because this is what a lot of people in my family have done and I have a great understanding for the Criminal Justice Field. Remember, Go to college!!!!!

O1

Now if you’re a big NBA basketball fan, you may find this blog interesting. Rajon Rondo, a star player for the Boston Celtics has been suspended for the #2 playoff game against the Atlanta Hawks. Rajon Rondo did not like a call the referee made and he let the ref know by bumping him with his chest. Now some people are saying that he tripped and accidently bumped into the ref, he may have tripped but he definitely could have easily stopped to not hit the ref. You can clearly see Rajon Rondo force his upper body at the ref. The NBA and all other sporting leagues clearly state that you cannot touch the referee. Rajon Rondo got a little worked up and let his emotions get the best of him by forcefully bumping into the referee. In my opinion Rajon Rondo should’ve gotten suspended. I believe this because these are professionals and if the league didn’t take such action kids that look up to him might think that it is okay for you or somebody else to go after a referee in any sport. Rajon Rondo was the best player on the team in game 1 of the NBA playoff series and they lost the game to the Atlanta Hawks. Having Rajon Rondo out will be a big challenge for The Boston Celtics, especially because Ray Allen is also out. This means the team will have to come together to make up for the loss. Paul Peirce will definitely have to have a stand out game while Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo are not there for the game. I picked this article because many people don’t agree with the ruling on Rajon Rondo being suspended and I wanted to give people a point of view from an athlete like myself. source : http://espn.go.com/boston/nba/story/_/id/7874196/2012-nba-playoffs-rajon-rondo-makes-bad-situation-worse

P3

In all honesty, I don’t think teachers should be evaluated by complete strangers. These teachers know how to teach, or else they wouldn’t be doing it… right? Some teachers may have a couple kids in there classes that are not learning at the rate of other kids, but they are still getting good marks and they are basing the teachers evaluations off the previous years they taught and how much better these students are doing. It somewhat seems as if these teachers have to make these kids better than the year before, but how do you do that if you have a less matured class. Or a teacher with more advanced kids going against a teacher with less advanced kids it just doesn’t make sense to me. This whole article barely made sense to me in a way and I’m sorry to say that because I have to write a blog on it. The kids in the class could be really smart, and they could have a really bad teacher but the teacher gets a really good evaluation because her kids know the material.

P2

Earlier this school year, we were asked about our goals. I just read back to my group A blog and read up on a few of my goals that I had set for myself. I’ll start off by saying this year was the best year of school I could have asked for, I kind of want it to start over. One of my goals makes me kind of sad in a way. This goal was to win the State Championship in football. This did not happen and it makes me sick because I had no way to help my team late in the season, but I wouldn’t have traded this football season and the memories for anything. In my eyes, we won the State Championship and I am proud of all the boys on the team. I also had another goal, to make the best of my senior year and as you just read; I am doing just that. This is the best year of school I have had yet and I love it. I also wrote that I would like to help the school become a better environment. I have some days where I am making it a better environment but there are some days that I am not, and that I am adding to the craziness in Alden High School. Overall I am happy with my goals that I have accomplished this year.

P1

You want to know how much television I watch? I spend a good amount of watching television throughout my day, but it depends what day it is. On weekdays I come home right after school and turn on the good old TV, I also spend a lot of time watching TV on weeknights. What else is there to do besides lay in bed trying to fall asleep because you have school early the next morning? When it comes to television shows, I am easily entertained. Therefore I watch a lot of TV shows such as; River Monsters, Man Vs. Wild, Pawn Stars, Auction Hunters, Portlandia, Sports Center, a lot of shows on MTV, I also like to spend a good part of my time watching sporting events, and watching a lot of shows on ESPN. In my house hold, we have a lot of TVs, I have one in my room, my little brother has two in his room, my parents have one in there room, my older brother has a TV in his room. We have a TV in my living room, kitchen, and in my basement. There are many positives and negatives when it comes to watching television in my eyes. If you are watching a reality TV show like Jersey Shore, I think you get stupider as you watch the series. If you are watching shows on ESPN, I’d like to say that it is a positive because you can learn about the game, learn stats, and also learn a great knowledge about sports in general. When it comes to TV everyone has their own favorite shows, and their own opinions on their thoughts about the positives and negatives but these are mine, if you don’t agree then so be it. Overall, I love television, watching TV is very relaxing.

P5 online publishing

Another choice blog… in this choice blog I will write about this class and how I feel like I’m greatly improving in it. This class started all the way back in September, I may or may have not taken this class because someone told me it was an easy class to be in, and one of my favorite teachers of all time is teaching it… I thought that would be the case at first, but I have grown to love this class. I really never wrote about my thoughts or what I wanted to write about so I really didn’t enjoy writing all that much, but being in this class changed that. I have learned to love writing. Being in this class, and having a great teacher and a great editor really changed my ways of writing. When I first heard we had to do a certain amount of blogs, and an article every week it scared the crap out of me because I did not think that I could make the deadlines, and a few times I did not. Now that is not the case, I look forward to the blogs that we have to write every week, and I really look forward to the “Items of Interest”. I look forward to these blogs because I know I will have a chance to write a choice blog about anything I want to, and express how I feel about that topic through my way of words. I look forward to the Item of Interest because we get to take articles out of the present times and discuss them between the class, I like this because we somewhat have a say, and can express how we feel towards that topic. I also saw some changes in my writing, as if the words I type come out naturally and don’t look weird anymore.

P4: Warren Sapp

This week we have two choice blogs to write about… crazy is it not?! Well since we have two choice blogs, I figured I’d write about something that would be easy to write about, in my case… celebrities and bashing them for their pure stupidity. Warren Sapp a Super Bowl Champion, a 5 time Pro-Bowl honoree, has recently filed for bankruptcy. Now the question you are all probably wondering, is how does a professional athlete that was one of the highest paid of his time, all of a sudden file for bankruptcy? It’s a crazy question and I believe that everyone is wondering the same thing… How did Warren Sapp go 6.7 million dollars in debt? Now I’m sorry but to me, that seems quite impossible. The guy makes 45 thousand a month working for the NFL Network, and that’s 540 thousand a year. Warren Sapp should not be in the spot he is in right now with the money he made, but probably because he is not a disciplined individual he does not have any money in his pockets. Warren Sapp owns $6.45 million in assets. These assets being 240 Jordan sneakers which is $6,500, a watch that is well over 1 grand, and a very expensive lion rug. Oh and another thing that seems to be unreal, is he lost his Super Bowl Ring, and also lost his National Championship Ring from college. That really grinds my gears especially being a football player myself, those are the things in life you can’t replace, you work all your life to get those rings, and you lost them, they’d be protected at all times, hell I’d even wear them every day, but I sure do know I wouldn’t be as careless as Warren Sapp and lose them. Someone please help this man.

N4

A grown man killing a teen… that just seems messed up doesn’t it? Well something more messed up is that the man that killed Trayvon Martin hasn’t been put in jail yet? Why do you ask… no one knows. Some people are saying that the state of Florida is being “racist” to this case, but I do not know who to side with because I wasn’t there, and I’ve heard two different stories about this case. The story I would like to believe is that Trayvon a 17 year old African American male was walking to his dads house wearing a hooded sweatshirt, holding a bag of skittles, and a can of Arizona Iced Tea, was approached by Adult Male George Zimmerman, being accused of being suspicious Zimmerman got violent and soon this altercation ended up in a murder, where George Zimmerman had shot 17 year old Trayvon Martin. I would hope this one is true because I would like to see this man in jail. I was just thinking the other day, if that were my friend, brother, any family member, I would like to hunt the murderer down.

The other side of the story came out to say Trayvon Martin is somewhat a “menace” to society. This was said because Trayvon had been suspended multiple times for multiple reasons. One of these reasons he was claimed to be a “menace” to society was because he vandalized some lockers in school. Another reason he was suspended was for having a marijuana pipe, and a baggy on him that carried bits and pieces of the drug. They also posted some of his tweets and they seemed to be very aggressive, one read something about him punching a bus driver. Officials said that he had many aggressive tweets, and a lot of them were about doing drugs..

Even if Trayvon Martin attempted to attack Zimmerman when he walked up on him, he may have had a reason, the Adult male was carrying a gun… The cops even told this guy not to approach Trayvon, but he still did…

N3

Where I work… that my friend, is a funny question. Simply due to the fact that I do not currently have a job. No I am not one of those kids that are spoiled and are handed everything in life, I just have to focus on my school work, that is my full time job, school. The reason why I say it’s a job is because I slacked off a few years back and in the middle of this year and I tied my self up. So that is why school is my full time job. I used to work at a farm… yes that’s right the farm that everyone knows about… the one right down Broadway… its called Foss Livestock. Boy oh boy, that was a fun job… most of the time. I liked it a lot, it kept me really busy and I learned a lot that I did not know before. It was nonstop working, always on the go, that is what I liked about it. When I graduate high school, I am going to school for Criminal Justice, or I am going for teaching. I have a few careers planned down the road for my self. Yes I would like to be in the Law Enforcement field; Specifically D.E.A, I.C.E, F.B.I, or a U.S Marshall. I would like to do one of these jobs because they all seem to have an adrenaline rush. And if you really knew me, I love adrenaline rushes. Another career I could see my self doing, is being a social studies teacher, simply due to the fact that I love social studies, and what is going on in the world today. I would like this job because I feel as if when I’m getting older, the kids will still keep me young.

N2

The weathers getting warmer, the sun is poking out more, everyone is excited, the Easter Bunny is soon to come, shorts, flip flops, tank tops, no jackets… SPRING IS HERE. Spring is a beautiful month, I feel as if this time of the year brings everyone joy, since the winter season is in the past! I love the smell of the fresh grass that is growing, and the smell of it when I cut it. Everyone is in a better mood this time of the year, maybe because they hate snow…? Or is it because it’s getting warmer…? Or the fact that the summer season is fast approaching us! Spring is not my favorite season, although I love it, summer is way better, but since this blog is about the likes, and dislikes about the spring season, I will have to write about that. Spring truly is a great time of the month. You see the nice fresh green grass, flowers popping up in every direction you look, the leaves on all of the trees start to fill in, and the best of all, fresh fruit!! What is dislike about spring… it’s not much due to it being such a pretty season, but I hate when it rains, I absolutely hate it! Well kind of, sometimes I love the rain, but when its down pouring the whole day it really grinds my gears. Another thing that I dislike about spring would have to be all of the bugs come out to play. :[ If I could create a bomb that would kill all of the bugs in the United States of America I totally would. They are just gross, and really annoying. I hate getting bit by them because it itches soooo bad. Well I hope you enjoyed reading my blog about the wonderful season of spring!

N1

In this blog we had the chance to sit down with a randomly selected class member to do an interview with them. The person I interviewed was Jose Blanco, aka Joe White, okay okay, aka Joseph Aaron White. Sitting down with Mr. White was quite interesting and funny. Joe moved to Alden school district in 2005 when we were still little guys. Joe is part of a band named “Larrabe” he says his job is to “look dumb”, but we all know he is the lead singer, and plays the chords. Joe hopes one day that he will make it big in whatever he plans to do.

I asked Mr. Joseph Aaron White, how he got the name “Joseph Aaron White” just joking around, but he actually had a very interesting reason why his parents had named him, what they named him. Joseph Aaron White was named Joseph Aaron White because of a family friend. His dad grew up with the Bruskee’s. Joseph Bruskee which was like Joe’s dads second father, was in the Navy and sailed on a ship named the Aaron Ward. This is why how he got the name Joseph Aaron White.

With Joseph Aaron Whites talents as a musician, you would think he was born with a guitar and a microphone in his hand… but this is not the case… In the 6th grade, Joes dad had bought him a guitar, and he practiced on that any time he could. He soon started playing with random people, watching live concerts on DVD, and his dad would always play the Beatles. Joe said he liked the sound of the guitar and the way people could sing. Joe stated “I liked the sound, and wanted the fame” while asking him what inspired him.

On Fridays and Saturdays, Joe usually has band practice or a show. On weekends Joe says you can find him down town, on Allen St. Elmwood, and on Chippewa. Joe calls his Sundays “Consumption Days” he says that he likes to relax and eat a lot of food on Sundays.

Jose Blanco loves to travel, he says he drives an estimated 500 miles a week, from going to school, East Aurora, the city of buffalo, and Akron. Joe also stated that he looks forward to road trips and touring, but he does not like driving when its late, but he loves to fly at all times of the day.

Finding out that Jose Blanco likes to travel, I asked him where his favorite place he has traveled to, and why. After Joe was asked this question, he sighed and yelled, “THAT’S TOUGH, but it would have to be Louisiana because I am there all the time. It’s a nice place to relax and write music, I also like crawfish boils.”

M4

Another choice blog, I kind of am excited about writing this choice blog. I will write about some of my favorite players in the NFL. Yea I know its way past football season, but with a lot of the professional athletes having their contracts up I thought it would be a good topic to write about, plus its football, I can easily write about football. My all-time favorite NFL player would have to be Mike Vick. I have followed Mike Vick since he was playing for Virginia Tech. Mike Vick is my favorite athlete to watch because of the simple fact that he is a play maker. I say he is a play maker because he is always making the game exciting, and when there isn’t anyone to throw the ball to, he takes it himself and runs, he is a very fast runner and it is hard for defenses to handle him. Another one of my favorite players would have to be Marshawn Lynch. I like Marshawn because he is a very explosive running back. It is very hard to stop a player of his size and strength, he also has killer speed. Peyton Hillis an Arkansas graduate is another one of my favorite fact due to his size and strength. If you watch him run, you will see him hitting the players trying to tackle him before they hit him. Peyton Hillis is the true definition of a beast. He is one of my favorite running backs because when I watch him play, it kind of reminds me of my self in a way because he runs hard and low to the ground. You never see him dancing in the backfield waiting for something to happen. He hits the holes very hard. Well here are some of my favorite NFL players and some reasons why they are my favorite.

M3

In my short 17 years of my life, I have had many embarrassing experiences. I hope no one reads this blog that I’m about to type because I am embarrassed to write about these experiences I have faced, and if you are reading this do not judge me for what I am about to write, because I would not be writing about this if I didn’t have to get a good grade in Online Publishing. When I was just a little guy playing Pee-Wee football, I was hit with a tragic experience. It was my first year ever playing football and I had just ate a big dinner before football practice. I was just a little guy 6 or 7 years old, keep that in mind. I was a shy kid when I was little and kind of kept to myself while practicing because I didn’t really know anyone on the football team. We were warming up for practice and I just had this sick feeling in my stomach. My stomach felt like it was twisting and turning a million miles an hour. I didn’t know whether I had to burp, let out some gas from downstairs, puke or go number 2. Thinking the best of the situation being the optimistic person I am, I thought I would just have to burp or release some gas from the basement. I started forcing a ton of burps out and everyone thought it was funny so I kept doing it. I then had the urge to let some gas out of the basement and since everyone was laughing at my burps I decided no big deal let it rip. Well I let it rip and my stomach was fine after that and we all shared a good laugh. I didn’t think anything of my previous action and I sat on the ground and felt a mushy feeling in my pants, it was so embarrassing. I told my coach and he laughed and said “That a boy racing stripes go to the bathroom and clean yourself up” jeez, I will never forget about this day, and to this day my Pee Wee football coach from 10+ years ago still won’t let me live what happened down, he is always greeting me with “what’s up racing stripes? “ Do not judge me.

M2

This blog topic on distracted driving; Let’s face it almost everyone has been texting and driving, or talking on their cellphone and driving at one point in time, but would they be doing this if they knew the dangers? CBS states that Teens are most at risk while texting and driving, or talking on the phone and driving and getting into an accident. I feel this is stated because teens are seen to be “more rebellious” in this day and age, and we think that we are “invincible” to everything. I’ve had a lot of family members that have gotten into big car crashes and have gotten seriously injured, and some that crashed and died on the scene of the accident. Whether or not they were texting while driving, or talking on the phone and driving, they were distracted in some way. I put myself in their shoes, and their parent’s shoes, and it made me think about my actions while driving before I perform them. When I first got my license I was texting and driving a lot, and holding many conversations at once. I thought I would be fine with it because “I’m invincible” but that’s not the case. Seeing a lot of my family get into car accidents and suffering serious consequences changed my driving experience. I am still guilty of texting and driving, but it’s to tell the person I’m talking to that I will text them back when I get to my destination, or at a red light. If I have someone in the car with me, I give them my phone so I am not tempted to text and drive, and I will have them text for me. In my eyes, my life is not worth sending a text message, and neither is yours. Before you pick up your phone while driving, think about the risks… your life is in danger, whoever is in your vehicle, life is in danger, and other people driving on the roads life is in danger because you WANT to text someone back, texting is not a necessity, it can wait.

M1

Saint Patrick’s Day falls on the same date every year, which is March 17th. The celebration of this day dates all the way back to 1762 where it was first celebrated in Boston. Every year I go to Buffalo with my family to watch the Saint Patrick’s Day parade. My family and I randomly started this tradition. I don’t know how my parents got the idea of going to Buffalo to celebrate and watch the Saint Patrick’s Day parade but I don’t mind it at all. It is fun to go to watch the Saint Patrick’s Day parade because everyone there just has a good time. It is fun to sit back and watch the parade, and the non-sober people celebrate because they go crazy. Last year I saw a guy passed out in a bush… it was kind of weird. Another reason why it’s fun is because people dress up in weird and random Irish clothing. It is also cool to see what this culture has to offer. This year I planned on running the Shamrock Run to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, but due to my knee surgery January 31st I was not cleared in time and able to run. On Saint Patrick’s Day my family and I go to an Irish Pub and we eat corned beef and hash. Yummy. I like that my family has a tradition planned for such events such as the Saint Patrick’s Day parade and going to an Irish Pub and ordering corn beef and hash. I like this tradition because I am with my family the whole day and we get to do stuff together. This is nice because everyone in my family is always busy and we barely have time to be together. With this said I cannot wait for Saint Patrick’s Day this year!

L4

Yet again another choice blog, I’m running out of ideas to write about for these choice blogs, but that’s probably because I’m not using my thinking cap to its full potential, or maybe I’m thinking too hard to figure out something to write about, because you can write about anything!!! This choice blog I guess I will write about a movie that I saw this weekend. I went to the mall to go to the movies. The movie we wanted to see was for 7:30 and it was sold out so we had to buy tickets for the nine O’clock show. The movie we saw was “Project X”, and boy was it all about what it was made out to be. This had to be the funniest movie I have ever seen. I don’t want to get into detail about the movie, so I don’t spoil anything for anyone that hasn’t seen it, but if you’re on the edge about seeing it, let me tell you a little something… If “The Hangover” and “Super Bad” somehow had a baby, “Project X” would be the outcome. You might now want to go see this movie if you don’t want to see illegal substances, such as alcohol, or drugs, because there is a lot of both of those in this movie. Another thing is if you don’t like vulgar language this movie is not for you, there is a lot of sexual remarks and foul language. There is also nudity in this movie so if you don’t want to see that then I advise you not to go. I enjoyed this movie though because it was the funniest movie ever. This movie had a great ending too. I wish I could spoil the movie for you guys reading this because the ending was too funny. GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!!

L2

There are many things that people fear in this world whether they have a phobia or they just had a bad experience with this “thing” they are constantly fearful of. I don’t have a phobia nor am I constantly worried about something that I fear, but I am afraid of a few things in this world. The number one thing I am afraid of is a bomb being dropped on the United States of America. Why am I scared of this you ask? Well because these countries that are not so friendly with the United States of America have big nuclear bombs, and at any minute can be set off and hit us! Another thing that scares me is losing my parents or something bad happening to them. This is fearful to me because they have been around my whole life and have always been there for me. I honestly don’t know what I would do if something bad were to happen to them. I don’t think about it a lot, but when I do it gives me a sick feeling, and I don’t think that’s good. Another thing I am afraid of is not being successful. Everyone has goals and dreams including myself, but have you ever thought “what if this doesn’t work out the way I planned on it to work”. It’s kind of scary isn’t it…? I’m not saying that I don’t think I am going to be successful; I’m just looking at everything that could happen in life. Something I deeply fear is snakes. If I see a snake I freak out, wherever I am. I don’t care if I seem like a “girl” IT’S A FREAKIN SNAKE. Snakes are scary and weird. They’re just this long scaly thing that slithers through grass, and sometimes swims in water. It doesn’t have arms or legs… it’s just really gross looking.. ew

L3

What makes me angry…? There are a lot of things in this world that make me very angry. I hate when people pick on someone for something that they can’t control. There is no reason for someone to be treated like crap because they were born into something. If you go that low to do that, you deserved to be hit. Another thing that makes me angry is when people talk behind peoples backs. Yes I have done this a few times, everyone has, but when someone is constantly talking crap behind someone’s back it irritates the hell out of me. It makes me even angrier when you see these people that were talking crap about their “friends” hanging out with them. It’s ridiculous that you can say this stuff and behind their back and an hour later you’re “best friends” with them. Another thing that makes me angry is when people chew with their mouths open. You are not in a barn, please chew with your mouth closed. This makes me mad because I don’t like seeing what your food looks like when its chewed up, if I wanted to, I would’ve asked if I could see, or I could chew my own food and look at it. Another reason why it makes me angry when people chew with their mouth open is because you can hear the food getting chomped in between their teeth, or they’ll be spitting their food out while their chewing. Its gross, I don’t think it’s that hard to chew with your mouth closed… maybe people that do this are hoping that a fly or something flies in to their mouth to maybe give it a little extra flavor… I don’t know, but it’s gross! Well now you know a lot of things that make me angry, don’t TRY and be funny and do these things in front of me on purpose.

L1

The Super Bowl is the greatest holiday out of any holiday in this world, simply because it’s all about football, junk food, and real good food. Every year for Super Bowl Sunday my family gathers at my grandmother’s house and everyone brings a dish to pass. I love going to her house for Super Bowl Sunday because she has a huge T.V and has a plethora of food. A lot of people go out and watch the Super Bowl with their friends or strangers, but I don’t like to do that. I like watching sporting events with my family because you can actually concentrate and sometimes learn from what the professionals are doing. This Super Bowl Sunday I sat in my favorite chair at my grandmothers and I don’t think I left that seat once. The sweetheart that my grandma is just brought food over to me, I didn’t even ask her to!! We usually have family rivalries at while watching the Super Bowl t at my grandmas, due to who everyone is rooting for to win the game. This year there wasn’t any of that due to the fact that the Giants are well just to Giant for the Patriots to handle.

J4

I’m really starting to hate choice blogs, especially two of them in the same blog group!! I guess I can talk about my winter break. Well you see it started out great, I was hanging out with a lot of friends the whole break, 4 friends I was with all this break were John R, Eric R, Nick M, and Dom B. We started off hanging out with a lot of other friends and that was just a good time. We then went downtown and went hood ratting… what an experience that was, we missed the last subway for that night and almost had to walk all the way back to the Amherst station which is quite a hike… we were walking down main street for a good hour or 2 before we saw the first taxi of the night. We all jumped in front of it and he came to a sudden stop. We asked him if we could get to our destination with 14 dollars and he said it would be enough, we spent another 20 some minutes in his car and it ended up being 11 dollars. The scariest moment would have to be when some random hood rat came up to me and asked me if i wanted to “Eff with him” and proceeded to go on about how he was “G’d up” I don’t know about you… but that scared me quite a bit. I also hung out with my Depew friends and we went to Clarence to see a movie and get some food. There is way too much to write about for this break so if I get another choice blog anytime soon, I will post more blogs about my winter break, because this was absolutely the best break that I ever had.

K4

There once was a house in the middle of the country that belonged to a wealthy family. The wealthy family would donate money to every cause that they could because they were really nice. Every time they donated money a new dove would fly into the room and plop onto the wall. Don’t ask me why it worked like this, because it just did. These doves brought the family good luck. One day little Bobby got in trouble at school; a dove instantly flew off of the wall and out of the room. Little Bobby and his family were losing their luck because they were not acting as they were previous to having the doves in the room. One after one, the doves flew out of the room. The family was losing all of their luck. Little Bobby’s dad lost his job, as well as Bobby’s mom. All of their sources of income has been lost. Little Bobby started getting in more and more trouble and had to be kicked out of his school. Little Bobby decided to leave school for a year because he wanted to look for the doves that abandoned his house. Little Bobby walked up and down the road; he went to the mountains and back and still could not find the doves. Little Bobby was starting to get discouraged after spending so much time trying to find the doves but he was having no luck. Little Bobby thought he had looked everywhere but he knew that there was one place where he did not look; the homeless shelter. Bobby walked 10 miles to get to the homeless shelter, he donated his last bit of money and soon he saw the sky fill up with doves. Bobby was cheering for joy at this point. He ran back home and heard the good news; his parents got their jobs back, and they will not stop donating to the poor.

K3

There was a little town called Shoreston and it was on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. A lot of people lived here, and there were a lot of sailors as well, pretty much everyone that lived there was a sailor because that was all there was to do there. One family called the Jackson’s lived for sailing. They ate, breathed and dreamt about sailing. They were a small family made up of a Mother, Father, and a little boy. The father was barely ever home but when he was he spent as much time with his son as he could. The father is on a big trip to sail across the ocean. His son came running out of the house to say goodbye to his father because he wouldn’t be seeing him for a while to do his trip he was going to take. His son was standing by the shore with a little light waving it back and forth to his father and his father knew that he was going to miss his son. The father jumped into the water and swam to shore. He didn’t tell anyone that he was going to jump into the water and stay back, so everyone was really surprised, even his kid. The father swam to shore and gave his son a big hug and told him that he was staying with him and he wasn’t going to travel across the world. He took his sons light and used Morse code to tell the ship to leave. The father didn’t want to be a traveler anymore so he soon started his own fishing company with his own boats. He was able to see his son every day because he would stay near Shoreston and fish with his crew. They all lived happily ever after.

K2

Little Christopher was all cuddled up in his bed one night during the summer, he and his 10 brothers just got in from and event filled day. Christophers brothers were Jared, Jimmy, Jake, Jack, Phil, Domenic, Christian, Corey, John, and Eric. They all loved being outdoors, and loved spending time with each other playing around outside, which they did all day today. Christopher started his day off by waking up to find only Corey, John, and Eric in the house. They had made Christopher a big breakfast to start the day because Christopher always helps them with their chores. They made him a big breakfast which consisted of eggs, toast, bagels, ham, bacon, sausage, milk, and orange juice. Christopher was debating whether they made it themselves or not because it was the best breakfast he has ever had. After that Corey, John, and Eric walked to the park with Christopher only to find Jared, Jimmy, Jake, and Jack playing with a sailboat in the lake. Christopher was a big boat enthusiast so he loved seeing them play with a sailboat and asked if he could join them. Of course they said yes, but that wasn’t the only thing they said… they told Christopher that he could have the boat. He was so happy he almost spent all day at the lake until Corey, John, Eric, Jared, Jimmy, Jake, and Jack told them that Phil, Domenic and Christian had another surprise at the baseball diamond. They all walked peacefully and joyfully to the baseball diamond where they found the rest of their brothers. They gave Christopher a new baseball bat because he was a good baseball player. They all played a friendly game of baseball with a ball that they found in their dads room… What they didn’t know is that it was an autographed ball their father caught at the World Series hit by Babe Ruth. The first hit was from Christopher and he launched the ball, the kids could’ve sworn that it landed in a cloud he hit it so far. They had no more baseballs left so they all walked home and went to bed. Christopher was lying in bed, shut his light off but it was still light in his room, he was wondering what it was so he asked. It was Babe Ruth’s spirit, he came to congratulate Christopher on a great hit.

K1

One stormy night in a little town somewhere far, far away, there was a little house on top of a huge hill. In this house lived a large family. The family consists of Papa John, Mama Mary, and their kids, Mike, Matt, Joe, Phil, Sarah and Madeline. On this stormy night, there was rain, hail, and a bunch of debris flying into the house. It was hitting the house so hard that Mike and Madeline were scared to sleep because they thought they heard a monster. They searched the house to find nothing but a little puppy. The puppy couldn’t have been larger than a soccer ball. Mike and Madeline soon went to wake up all their brothers and sisters so they could see what they found. The puppy was so scared of the storm because it was stranded until it landed upon the house on top of the huge hill. The kids were having a great time with the puppy, they forgot all about the storm because they were occupied with the puppy. Papa John was soon woken up from all the commotion with the puppy… this is what the kids were scared of because they know that their father hates animals. Papa John started screaming and yelling and throwing a fit. He started chasing the puppy around the house trying to capture it but it was too fast for him. He was trying everything to get the puppy. He started chasing it around with a broom stick… Papa John has the puppy in his sights and CRACK he tacks a good whack at the puppy, but completely missed and broke the broom in half. He scared the puppy so bad, he hid under the carpet. The dog didn’t know where to go from here and Papa John picked up a chair, lined up the puppy and BOOM he threw the chair at it, but the puppy disappeared and no one knows where it went.

J-2 Choice

This blog is a choice blog, I will write about how far behind I am in online publishing. Well first of all let me start out by saying this class is taught by my football coach, the one and only… wait for it… Mr. Currin!!!! Okay so I tore my meniscus during football season and I just recently had surgery on it to fix it. I had surgery January 31st, but I believe I was absent the day before due to a stomach virus. So I had my knee surgery, and I got tons of work done, but guess what work I didn’t do… that’s right, my Online Publishing blogs, AND my newspaper articles, and I’m starting to see why I should’ve wrote down a reminder to do my blogs and articles, because back work is no fun at all… it is quite stressful. Scratch that, it’s really stressful, and just the kind of guy Mr. Currin is, he has moved me by all girls so I can finish my blogs and articles because he wants me to excel in school and especially this class because there is no reason why I should be failing this class, especially with such a wonderful teacher, and a wonderful editor.

J3- Favorite Muscians

I have a lot of favorite musicians at this time in my life, and they all don’t make sense to most people… my favorite music genres are Rap and Country… it’s a weird mix, I know. My favorite musician at this time would have to be Wale. Wale is one of the best rappers I have ever heard… he doesn’t rap about stupid things like drugs, girls, and money. He raps about his life, and how it was growing up. He says in one of his raps “I’m just an artist, I’m just a man, may not change the world, but let me inspire someone who can.” To me that line just screams a motivational person. Wale made his first album in 2009, but really became hot in 2011. His first album was named Attention Deficit, followed up by a mix tape named, “More About Nothing” which was followed by up by 3 “hot” albums, “back to the Feature” “The Eleven One Eleven Theory” and his newest album “Ambition”. Wale has insane flow as well, though some of his songs may have explicit words in it, doesn’t make him a bad person at all… People get there points across in different ways. Another one of my favorite rappers is Mac Miller strictly because of his lyrics, and his flow is great. But my favorite rapper of all time would have to be Lil Wayne; he is my favorite because he is a lyrical genius. The words he puts into his songs are truly amazing… I would like to see more rappers match his expertise. He has been around for a long time, and I don’t think I heard one album that I did not like… talking about these rappers is making me think… What is the rap game going to be like in the future??

J-1 My Hero

A hero is defined as, - Noun:
1. A person, typically a man, who is admired for courage or noble qualities.
A hero to me has to be someone that I look up to, and someone that has always been there for me. A hero to me generally would have to teach me things I didn’t know, and get me out of sticky situations. A hero is well disciplined, while knowing how to discipline. My hero would have to be my dad. My dad is my hero because he’s always been there for me since I was born. I would define him as my hero because he taught me a lot in my 17 years on this earth. Me and my hero get into fights sometimes but that doesn’t stop me from looking up to him, because 99 percent of the time, the reason we fight is because I had done something wrong, and knowing me, I always want to be right so I argue it. My dad is my hero because he pushes me in everything I do. He pushed me to start football at an early age. He pushed me so much, I gained true feelings for the game of football and I never want to be separated from it. My dad is also pushing me to excel in school. He’s always pushed me in school but I kind of just brushed it off, but I have learned growing up, that I need to make the best of my grades to be successful in the world today. There was never a time where I would go to my dad for advice and he wouldn’t have anything to say. I know this whole article sounds cliché, but it’s true. My dad is my biggest hero, I owe him a big thank you for everything he has done.

Choice Blog

A choice blog again? I think everyone as well as myself is kind of getting sick of these choice blogs because we are all wondering about things to write. I don’t know if I told you all about myself so I guess I’ll do that. My full name is Justin Joseph Patterson and I am currently 17 years old. My birthday is April 28th and I was born in the year of 1994. I have lived in Alden all of my life and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I’ve experimented with many sports throughout my life such as soccer, basketball, hockey, and baseball. But my one and true love, my passion, would have to be football. I’ve been playing football for a little over 10 years now, and I would have to say it’s the best thing that came into my life so far. I do not know what it is about it that gets me, but it’s just awesome. My position in football is running back and I would have to say that I’m pretty good at it, I like the feeling of going full speed and running over people when they try to tackle me. I live with my mother and my father, Marlene and Jeff. I have two brothers as well, Jeff who is 19 and AJ who is 14. My family pretty much means the world to me even though I may not act like it. I have a lot of best friends as well. And when I say best friends I mean it, because they don’t back stab, talk behind my back, and they’re always there when I need them, these friends are Tyler Cole, Joe Foss, Jordan Koziarski, Nate Berry, Eric Roth, John Riddlespurg, and Phil Bifulco. But the best friend that stands out most would have to be Chase Huston because of many reasons, we’ve been through a lot of fights and we hated each other, but we were that close of friends that we got over it. He’s been my best friend for a long time now and I would trust him with anything.

Best Holiday Break Ever

Every year I look forward to the Holiday Breaks for school, but this year I was extra excited. Yea you can say you had the best break ever, but I honestly can say I had the best break anyone could ever ask for. I spent time with my friends and my family, shared some jokes and some laughs, but that wasn’t even the best part. The highlight of my break would have to be one of my best friends returning home from Afghanistan on Christmas night. I’ve been looking forward to this day ever since he told me what day he would be returning home and I didn’t stop thinking about it. The night he came home was the night our group was waiting up for him. He came in and everyone as well as myself had a huge smile on their face. It was unreal, like he wasn’t even there. Jordan spent the night with the guys and I. The next morning we went out to Mighty Taco since he has not had it in the 7 months that he was overseas. It almost seemed like he was in heaven when he was hanging out with us. After eating at Mighty Taco we went over to the mall. Jordan was over excited to see this many people at once, especially the girls since he has barely seen anyone the past 7 months. I was kind of nervous at first because I thought that he wouldn’t be the same, but I was wrong. He was the same fun loving kid that we all knew. He left the morning after we went to the mall so it was kind of soon that he left, but one day with that kid was the best thing that happened to me this year. This is why my Christmas break was the best.

3 Item Bucket List

A bucket list seems like a good idea to write about. I have never thought about making a bucket list before so this will be a fun blog. The first item on my bucket list is to travel around the world in all types of ways of transportation. I would like to do this because traveling the world is something I thought about doing for a long time. I think traveling the world using more than one type of transportation would be cool because you get to see the world from different views, and different customs of the different people in the country that you are in. Another item I would like to put on my bucket list is conquering food challenges throughout the United States. I would like to do this because I like challenges and I like doing things that most people cannot do. Just going across the country and defeating food challenges at a number of restaurants seems very fun. This is something I have wanted to do since the middle school days, after spending a lot of time watching Man vs. Food. The next item I would like to put on my bucket list would be attending the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl on the field. I would like to do this because football is pretty much my life and when you get to go watch the biggest games there are in football would be nuts.. Especially on the sidelines. Mostly all of you probably won’t understand where I’m coming from with these items for my bucket list… but they would mean a lot to me if I accomplished them. I like setting high goals for myself and I feel like these goals are within my limit to reach them. That’s it for my bucket list!

New Years Resolution

The New Year Resolution I have is to not text and drive. I want to stop texting and driving because it is not safe and it is very illegal. Every time I get in the car and start driving I end up texting and driving. It’s a bad habit that has to stop, not only for my safety but the other drivers’ safety. I have gotten pulled over once for texting and driving… Luckily I got off of it. It should’ve changed my perspective on texting and driving but it didn’t. This is why I will stick to my New Year Resolution. Another New Year Resolution that I have is to eat healthier. I want to eat healthier because I want to get in tip top shape. I want to get into shape and eat healthy so I am ready for College Football. This brings me to another resolution. I will get into the gym and work out every day. Another resolution that really needs to happen is that I need to start buckling down on my school work and get high 80’s and 90’s. To do this I will need to study every day and not slack off in class and pay attention. The most important New Year Resolution I have picked this year is to treat not only my family with more respect, but also everyone I know/ see. I want to make this happen so I can possibly start a chain reaction and help others respect anyone and everyone. I would like for this New Year Resolution because kids aren’t getting the respect and kindness they deserve and they take it out on themselves. These are my New Year Resolution and I am going to do my best to stick to it.