ME

Being a teenager is flat out hard. You have all kinds of people telling you what to do and treating you like a child, but expecting you to act like an adult. You have all kinds of people that you have to see every day at your high school and you have to figure out how to handle everyone one. My personality is unique, like everyone’s. When I first meet you, I am extremely shy and I don’t really talk that much. When I get warmed up to you, which could take some time, I talk a lot. I don’t like to talk to you if I feel like you are going to judge me for everything I do or if I feel like I am annoying you. When I am finally totally warmed up to you, I don’t care to tell you how I feel about you and I don’t care what you think. I typically don’t do that, but if you make me really mad, then I will tell what I feel, but you have to make me really mad. I love to laugh and I love people that make me laugh. I like to make people laugh because I know how I feel when someone makes me laugh and I want to make someone feel that way. My best friend and I are crazy close and we kind of have a love hate relationship. We make fun of each other all the time, but we know it is out of love. I am in a class with like fourteen people in it. We are all close like a family and we treat each other like family. I know that if the boys in my class make fun of me, it is out of love. For a teenager, I think you have to have people like that. They always make me laugh. 

boys

Boys.

                Some people think that boys are all irresponsible, immature, remedial people. Most teenage boys are, but some of them aren’t. As for myself, being a teenage girl, I am pretty interested in boys. I have “talked” to some and not all of them were complete jerks. Some of them were actually really sweet. I think, if you don’t go out looking for a guy, the right one will come to you. I have talked to some who were fake and turned out to be complete jerks, but some are so sweet and were very understanding of my feelings. It is best to become really good friends before you get into the dating part. I have many friends that are boys, but I know that I will never date them. I know them too well and they are way more of friends than boyfriend material. I don’t want to risk our friendship, so I wouldn’t date them even if they were. Some things that guys do that girls totally do not like is, number one, ignoring the girl. That is the rudest thing that you could ever do as a guy. She’s obviously thinking about you and wants to talk to you, so at least either text her back and have a conversation, or tells her that you don’t think you all should talk anymore and go on. That is if you both feel as of one day you might date. People are really crazy when they judge people that they don’t even know. I feel like on all teenagers, there is a stereotype. I don’t get it because adults were once teenagers back in the day and they should know that all teenagers aren’t absolutely crazy. I think that they compare us to them but say that we are worse because we have phones and social media networks so we could ‘do more stuff.’ I’m sorry, but even when cell phones weren’t invented, people were still bad. Teenage boys are typically a little on the immature side, but , come on, they aren’t all absolutely immature freaks. My best friend is a boy. His name it Dylan and I love him to death. I would totally recommend him to any girl that would like him. I mean, they would have to be a good girl for me to say that’s its good. I can tell him anything and he helps me with any of my boy problems. We give each other advice and I love having him there because he had helped me so much. I know when he gives me advice, he does it out of love and I can trust any of it. He also tells me if I am doing something wrong with a guy. He tells me if I’m being too pushy or clingy. He’s there for me if something happens between me and a guy. My point is, all guys aren’t the same. There are all different types. You can’t judge.                                              

Phones

Why I think Students Should be Able to Have Their Phones in Class.

Brittani Simpson

Okay, let’s be honest, I completely understand why teachers don’t want students to have their phones in class, but also you have to look at the students perspective too. In today’s world, cell phones are one thing that keeps some people stable and on time. I am personally not like that, but some people are. In a classroom setting, phones are I guess as teachers say ‘not appropriate.’ In some cases they are though. Let’s say that you are in an emergency and there is no way that you can get to a phone are you need your parents. How are you going to reach them? My school says that you have your teachers there and there is no reason to worry about that. I am the kind of person that I like to go to my parents and if  I have an emergency, I don’t like to go to someone I really don’t know too well. I know there has been plenty of times that I don’t want to tell the teacher my problem, but I have too because there is no other way to reach my parents.

                        Another reason is that phones aren’t just used for texting. On a smart phone, you can take notes, read the Bible, read other books and have a planner for after school activities. I think that we should be able to have our phones, but have rules. Some of them could be:

1.     When the teacher is teaching in front of the class, you are not to have your phone out at all.

2.     During a test, you are to put your phone on the teacher’s desk so that you are not temped to use it.

3.     You can text and use your phone between classes, at lunch, and when the teacher is not teaching.

I understand that some of the teachers think that if you have your phone you are automatically going to be tempted to text, but some people aren’t like that. I know that if I was allowed to have my phone, I would most definitely not use my phone

One Directionnnnn!!!

One Direction.

My friend Kelli and I are crazy about a boy band from England called One Direction. The band is made up of five boys. Their names are Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Naill Horan, and Zayn Malik. The cool thing is, they didn’t start out as a band. They all individually tried out for The X Factor in England. The X Factor is a reality show where the common man can come and show his talent and the judges they choose and the public can choose who they think is the best talent. The director and producer of the show, Simon Cowell, recognized each of the boys talents and thought they would do better at a band than individually. Liam had tried out for the show the couple of years before all the other boys auditioned. He only made it to the round where they actually go to Simon’s house, which is not very far in the competition so he was able to return and audition again. All the boys made it through the first round. In one round, they had a X Factor Boot Camp where all the contestants come and practice their talent along with other talents with a professional. After this round, all of the boys were voted off as individuals. This is where Simon thought that they would be better as a band so he decided to try it. They were walking out of the building after getting voted off and a producer from the show told them to come back and that Simon wanted to talk to them. They were devastated so they thought that maybe he just wanted to encourage them in their future plans. When he brought them back, he informed them that he wanted the five boys to practice a song together and them come to his house and he would personally listen to them. They did as they were told and learned the song and came back. Simon listen to them sing and thought that they would do well as a boy band and be very popular. They went through each week working very hard to try to win the finale of the X Factor. They made it to the finale and they ended up getting third place, but they became way more popular than the actual winners of the show. They are known all over the world today and are going on a world tour next year. They performed in the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Their first hit was “That’s What Makes You Beautiful.” They made the video for the song in California and that’s probably how they became so popular. The boys are very grateful to be in the position they are in. I’m going to tell you a little about each boy.

· Harry Edward Styles- He was born on February 1, 1993. He is 18 years old and from Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, England. His parents are Anne Cox and Des Styles. They divorced when Styles was seven years old.

· Liam James Payne- He was born on August 29, 1993. He is 19 years old and from Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. His parents are Karen and Goeff Payne. He has a bladder problem where it is scarred and dysfunctional. He was bullied in secondary school, so he decided to begin doing boxing.

· Niall James Horan- He was born on September 13, 1993. He is 19 years old and from Mullinger, County Westmeath, Ireland. His parents are Maura Gallagher and Bobby Horan. They divorced when Niall was five years old. Niall has been playing the guitar since he was five years old and is very interested in his Irish heritage.

· Zain Javadd “Zayn” Malik- He was born on January 12, 1993. He is 19 years old and from Bradford, Yorkshire, England. His parents are Yaser and Tricia Malik. His father is British- Pakistani and his mother is English. He did not fit in having a mixed heritage in high school.

· Louis William Tomlinson- Was born as Louis Troy Austin, but changed his name. He was born on December 24, 1991. He is 20 years old and from Doncaster, Yorkshire, England. His parents are Johannah Polson and Troy Austin, but took the name of his step father, Mark Tomlinson. Before becoming famous in One Direction, He did a number of jobs as an extra in television shows.

They got the name ‘One Direction’ from Niall imagining the announcer of the X Factor saying it and he thought it sounded good. They are known around the world and this pass summer they came out with their new album “Up All Night.” This album has their recently popular single “One Thing” and they have more songs such as “Got To Be You” and “Up All Night.” They are getting ready to go on a world tour for their new album. They are making millions doing something they love. That is why so many people love them so much. They are truly just like many teenager and we can relate to them just like they can relate to us. They are so funny and make it known. They all have different personalities and they don’t clash. When they preform, you can tell they really get along. They get each other and help each other with the problems they are having. They are a really fantastic band, in my opinion.

Phil and K

I have two amazing best friends. One, of which, I have already written about but oh well. Shania Kelli Blackburn and Phillip Logan Hall are both my best friends. I love them just like they are my brother and sister. They can get really annoying, but I love it. Phillip is one of those people that can joke with you and play around with. He is super funny and always finds a way to make me laugh. He can usually tell if something is wrong with me so he can always help to make it better. He makes fun of me all the time but I know it is out of love...well I hope it is. haha. Kelli is one of those people who is honestly trying to help me, but makes me laugh. She knows when something is wrong with me and makes me tell her what it is. I don't have a problem with that at all, I just have to have my time to be able to talk to her about it. It typically after I have thought about it in my head. I can tell her everything and anything. She knows the good, the bad, and the ugly about me. I absolutely trust her with anything. Kelli and I aren't like typical teenage girls, we keeps secrets, we aren't immature (like some people), we totally rely on God for our decisions. We are very respectful of each others opinions and support each other in the decisions we make. We usually clear our decisions with each other before we finally make them. Most of the time, we agree with the decision. I love them both and hopefully they both know that.

Pa..

This is my way of saying thank you to my great- grandpa. I am going to present an award to him that is very important to me. I am going to present him with the hero award. This award goes to me great-grandpa Albert Ray Roper. This award is given to him because he was my hero and inspiration. I want to grow up and be like him in so many ways. There are several things I will remember about my Pa. He always had a STRONG love for his country. He was willing to die on the stop for it. Another thing is that he had a lot of love for his family. If you ever needed him, he would drop what he was doing and come to help you. Love was a huge part of his life and that was really important to him. He had to go through so much in his life and I think that it made him a stronger person in more than one way. My Pa had to go through five of his nine children dying. When I talk to my grandmom about she says that that was the hardest thing for him as it would be for anybody. My Pa died on September 7, 2010. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was on my way home from volleyball practice and we were taking Ellie home. After we dropped her off and I knew something was wrong. It was just my mom and I in the car and turned to her and said mom what’s wrong, I know something is wrong. She said that my pa had died in grandmoms arms at 12:00 that day. I broke down. Even though we were all expecting it, knowing that he was gone was too much for me to handle. The mood of my house changed for a long time. You may think oh it’s just your great- grandpa, but to me, no he was more than that. He was my other papaw. He had cancer all over his body and was always in pain. It’s hard to think about but I know that he is in heaven with no pain and seeing his family and sitting so me where loving on my granny. They were married for 73 years. He died first and I couldn't watch my granny lay on the bed missing him that much. It was too hard. I wanted to cry every time I looked at her. The main reason my Pa gets this award is because through everything he went through he still kept his faith i n God and to me, shows a real man of God. Yes, it is still hard to go back to Harlan and not make our visit to see them or be able to hear him say "Hey there Britt"! every time I walked in their house, but I know where he is and I know that September 5 was not the last time I was going to hear him say Hey Britt. I will be seeing him again and when I know I will not see him the same way I did, September 5, 2010. He will be strong and healthy. That is why he gets the hero award. To this day, it still hurts. I know that when I go to Harlan to visit, I can’t go and visit him. I want to just walk in the house just one more time but I can’t. Every time my family and I go to visit family in Harlan, we always drive by his old house. In some ways it’s hard and sad, but it also brings back good memories that I remember I had with him. I miss him so much. 

Best Friendddd(:

My best friend is Kelli Blackburn. She is my best friend for many reasons. She has the best advise and is just absolutely amazing. I don't know what I would do without her. She doesn't lie to make me feel better about something I have done. Being real is the most important thing to me. I don't like liars and people who think they are better than everything else and she isn't that way. A good friend is always good for people to have. Kelli and I have a thing we call "Therapy Sessions." Basically, a therapy session is where we go somewhere, such as, my house or hers, a restaurant, or just a chill place, and we vent about everything in our lives. We have cried, laughed, got mad, and screamed in just one session. I can trust her with anything and I don't keep one thing from her. If you hurt me, then she is going to know. I am one of those people that has to tell someone about my problems or I just might burst. She can tell if something is wrong with me and tells me when I need a therapy session. If we can't handle our own problems, we usually go our moms. Our moms are always up to help either one of us. They look at us  as both of their daughters and loves us with everything in them. She is always the first one I go to for anything. She is one of the most loyal, real people I know. I love her with anything. I am truly blessed to have her in my life and anyone should be able to have a friend like her. She is beautiful inside and out. People just don't show up in others lives...God put her here!(: