Assignment 10 Harris Hawkins

The chances of survival during a zombie apocalypse are catastrophically low. Knowing this, I refuse to waste my last moments on earth fighting. Instead, with the world in a tizzy, I will complete my bucket list.
Driving a Lamborghini. Visiting California. With business owners scrambling and hiding out walking into a car dealership and stealing a car will be a simple task. Sure I may run zombies over on the way to California, but overall they will not get in the way of my fun. In case a zombie does cross my path my weapon of choice will be a baseball bat. Again, not the most effective weapon but without a doubt the most satisfying way to kill a zombie.
When death by zombie becomes unavoidable I will refuse to be mauled by man eaters. Instead, I will proudly jump to my death from the Golden Gate bridge.

Assignment 11: Who’s your neignbor?

You are juniors. You are in the Academy. You sit next to each other in Mr. Logsdon's class. You've been here for 11ish weeks and only 7ish to go until the end of the semester.

I think it is safe to say that you know at least a little about each other. Your understanding of each other may include extra curriculars, favorite TV shows, hobbies, but your level of familiarity may also extend into knowing each other's personality. Are they intimidating, carefree, honest?

This week, write about the person you sit next to in English class. What do they do? What are they like? What color would you characterize them as and why? Where do you see them in five years? What type of animal are they like?

I know you're in a seating chart, but you are writing about your peers. Getting to know for the past few months, I have seen you as genuinely nice people and so I expect genuinely nice things in your posts. It doesn't have to be all puppies and ice cream cones, but your entries shouldn't cut anyone down.

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, November 5^th at 11:59 pm.

December 3th is the last day to make up blogs 9-15

Assignment 9 Harris Hawkins

War causes significant pain for not just the soldiers fighting, but also the friends and family at home. Everybody knows at least one person who has put their life on the line to protect others. But what if was wasn't necessary. In a perfect world countries might settle conflicts through a soccer game. But in the world we live in; filled with nuclear weapons and deranged leaders a world without war is a fantasy.
Take for example Pearl Harbor. A Japanese air attack on a Hawaii naval base leaving hundreds of American soldiers dead. Leaving children fatherless and leaving our nation shaking with fear. As many know,  America responded to this attack by dropping a nuke on Hiroshima. Killing innocent people. If I wanted to justify it I'd say Japan attacked us first and had it coming. This may be the view of some, but innocent children dying seems avoidable. I understand war is unavoidable and keeping American citizens safe remains priority number one. However, in my lifetime I would love to see war become just a war between soldiers and not bring innocent people into it.

Chris Beebout Assignment 10

     Zombies have attacked, huh. Well, I myself have never really believed in such shenanigans, which has left me frightfully underprepared. I’m looking out the front window cautiously. No, I don’t see any undead. Maybe it hasn’t reached Kentucky yet CHEESE AND CRACKERS THERE’S ONE AT THE BACK DOOR

     …

     Yep. And it’s still at the back door. It moronically presses its garish mug to the glass, gurgling in a cliché manner, no doubt. It sort of flails its arms in the direction of the doorknob, not quite knowing how to operate such a protuberance. I take a moment to ponder the inherent intellectual supremacy of humankind, then reluctantly approach the door. Ugh, I’m inches from the poor sap. I make sure the door was locked GOOD GADZOOKS IT WAS UNLOCKED THE WHOLE TIME I fumble with the lock as panic impedes my efforts, finally securing the entrance nonetheless. The unruly corpse ululates audibly from the other side of the transparent divide, presumably befuddled at its inability to reach out and turn me into dinner. Whew. Mentally, I rescind my earlier arrogant boasts, reminding myself to stay humble— after all, humanity is the race falling to the zombies, not the other way around. So, trapped like a rat in a cage and wholly without the motivation to live in such a world as this, I firmly resolve eat all the food in my house (or not) and go about the unpleasant business of sluggishly expiring in my bedroom.

Assignment 10: Boo

ZOMBIES (or White Walkers) HAVE ATTACKED. Detail your survival plan.

OR

Explain what scares you the most and why.

OR

Describe a moment in which you were fraught with peril. Tell it as a ghost story.

OR

In the vein of David Sedaris write an observational humorist piece related to your daily life: school, home, social, etc.  (don't be mean)

Happy Halloween!

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday,

October 29th at 11:59 pm

December 3th is the last day to make up blogs 9-15

Assignment 8 Griffin Coates

Fears - Buried alive, spiders, losing all my friends, heights
Annoyances - bug bites, little brothers
Accomplishments - survived this long, maintained good grades
Confusions - why is school so hard and why does math hw take 8 hours
Sorrows - not enough time in the day to get done everything I want to
Dreams - Own my own business someday
Idiosyncrasies - I prefer to learn from a person and not solely from a book or website
Risks - procrastination
Beloved Possessions - Then - legos now- phone and car
Problems - procrastinations, not making enough time for everyone in my life

I hate heights. There's no way around it. Ciffs? No way José. I hate the feeling of looking down. The sheer fact of knowing that one misstep can leave you helpless and plummeting to your death rattles me to my core. I have no idea how dare devils can hang freely off of a cliff or jump off of a skyscraper, even the thought of these feats freaks me out.  I believe this fear started around the time I was 7 or 8 years old. My family went hiking at Natural Bridge, where there are no guard rails or anything. Just me, some rock and a billion  foot drop - or so it seemed to me. I remember looking over the edge and immediately jumping back and refusing to go anywhere near the edge again. To this day, this fear of heights still lingers. It's still very present on plane rides and hikes, leaving me to wonder; will it ever go away?

Assignment 8 Julia Meadors

Fears: Failure, death, disappointing people or myself

Annoyances: people feeling entitled, hypocrisy, arrogance

Accomplishments: grades, friendships

Confusions: math, judging others beliefs

Sorrows: not having enough time to do everything, people not liking me

Dreams: study abroad, travel a lot

Idiosyncrasies: I’m not good at saying no to things, I’m awful at remembering names but I hate asking someone’s name multiple times

Risks: belay certification (did)

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then: my phone, my saxophone

Problems: procrastination, overbooking myself

The moment when you look up and realize that you are literally holding someone else’s life in your hands is actually quite terrifying. This is what I thought about the first time I got to belay someone on the rock wall at camp. I had gone through the training, pull down with the left hand, pull right then immediately down with my right hand, reach down with my left hand, move my right hand up, and repeat. Every motion smooth, quick and deliberate. Just never let go of the rope. But even after completing the training, it’s almost surreal when you realize just you and the single rope are keeping a person from falling to the ground. You must be alert the entire time, ready to catch the girl if they fall without any warning at all. Your heart skips a beat, but you know you kept them safe. 

Assignment 7 Julia Meadors

Looking toward the future, I have always considered college an important part of my life. It’ll be a time for me to get away from my home and have many fun new experiences and make tons of friends. Currently, I am interested in a business major and possibly to minor in French. I have also wanted to have the opportunity to travel and study abroad during college. This would fit well because I want to continue learning French and there is no better way to do it than traveling and being immersed in the language and culture. The reason I want to go into a business major is that I have always enjoyed selling things such as Girl Scout Cookies or even pull tabs at bingo. While selling Girl Scout Cookies I have always been interested in finding where the best place to sell is and when is the best time to go to maximize the number of sales I’ll make. I really want to be able to continue this in the future and having a degree in business is the next.  

Assignment 6 Julia Meadors

For the past 12 years, I have attended Camp Judy Layne which is a Girl Scout camp. When I was little the camp was always full, you had to register for the summer camp the day they opened up registration or else you wouldn’t be able to get a spot. Each year, my two sisters and I would work tirelessly to sell 3,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies in order to attend the camp for free. I also learned many things during each week of camp I attended such as outdoor skills and leadership and was just free to be myself. But, as the years have gone on, the registration has dropped dramatically. This has concerned me because I do not want the young girls to miss out on this camp which I feel like has helped shaped me into who I am today. Recently I have become a counselor at this camp and I have heard about the problems in getting people to want to register for a session of camp. My sisters and I have worked on going to troops in our area and telling them about the camp and helping to get the word out about it and to help get registration up. I have found that kids are more likely to get excited about camp and want to come if they have an older Girl Scout come and talk to them and talk about it instead of just getting an email or having an adult come and talk to them about camp. 

Assignment 5 Julia Meadors

I watch TV because it is a good way to relax and unwind after a long day of school and extracurricular activities. When I ‘watch’ TV I typically also have my phone and am half paying attention to both screens. I like having a little time each day where I’m not expected to give my full attention to one thing. I really enjoy shows such as Survivor and Big Brother where the contestants are involved in social games as well as in competitions. While watching these types of shows I will watch the competitions and zone out during parts of the social part of the game especially in the first few episodes where I don’t really know the characters. I don’t really like shows that turn to be super ridiculous scenarios such as Scorpion. I really enjoyed this show at first but then the scenarios became very outlandish and I stopped enjoying it and eventually stopped watching it.

I feel like TV can be what you make of it. TV can be a good form of entertainment due to the large variety of shows that air every day. It can also be a good conversation starter between people if they have a show in common that they like. It is also a good way for companies to show their product to the public who are watching the show. Some shows are just on the TV to be fun and may be seen as an inane use of time but if you are watching TV to mainly unwind, you are basically just taking time to yourself which I do not feel is a bad use of time in many regards.

Assignment 4 Julia Meadors

From a young age, we are often told that we are too young to do something we want to do. This may not affect us when we are little and have to sit at the kid's table with all your cousins at family gatherings, but recently I’ve noticed people, especially adults, looking down on me for my age. Recently I went to a Girl Scout training for adults and was by far the youngest person in the room. I overheard the adults sitting next to my sister and I commenting that “This training isn’t for kids.” Before the training, I turned my phone off and paid attention through the entire presentation. We then split off into small groups to talk about our ideas. The adults quickly turning to each other as if they didn’t expect me to have anything to add to the conversation. I quickly piped up and gave an idea that left the adults in shock. I feel like even though someone may be younger and have as much in age, they can still have the same ideas or even a different take on an issue that someone who is older may not even consider.

Assignment 3 Julia Meadors

Over this past summer I traveled to France for a cultural exchange. I lived with a family for three weeks and was able to improve my French in real conversations and also see how even basic tasks such as grocery shopping is different. I feel like the trip really opened me up to trying a lot of new things such as food and experiences. For example, I have not had the chance in Lexington to eat a lot of seafood because we are so far from the ocean. In France, I was staying 5 minutes from the English Channel so I was able to eat a lot of sea food during my stay. I had mussels for the first time and they were one of my favorite foods that I got to try. After this trip I feel like I’m a lot more likely to want to try a new food or activity that I would have previously been skeptical or not tried at all. 

Assignment 2 Julia Meadors

I have read very little over the past year due to a lack of time. I read the final book in the Selection called The Crown which I had already read the rest of the series previously as well as many Sarah Dessen books such as Along for the Ride and The Truth About Forever. One other book I read but I don’t remember the name was about intergalactic travel and the main character was a fugitive running away from the law and was trying to find a better opportunity for her life and independence from the law. None of these books really challenged my beliefs because I normally don’t read to find a deep meaning. I don’t have a ton of time so I tend to choose books that are really easy to read and I can get through quickly without a ton of thought. I don’t really stop in the middle of books because I don’t like to leave a book unfinished.

Assignment 1 Julia Meadors

Hello! My name is Julia Meadors. For this school year, I want to pass all of my AP exams, especially AP French, AP Calculus and, APUSH. I also want to remain involved in band and Girl Scouts through the Teen Leadership Council (TLC). I am also starting to work on my Gold Award project for Girl Scouts which is the equivalent to the Boy Scout Eagle Award. Over this past summer, I went to France for three weeks through the Lexington Sister Cities program. The entire trip was an amazing experience but the most meaningful moment occurred the day before I left. I sat down to breakfast with my correspondent’s mom and we had a long conversation entirely in French. This seems like a really small moment, but in this moment I realized that I could actually hold a conversation, both speaking and understanding, without falling back on the fact most of my family knew English. It helped to boost my confidence in French and helped me believe in myself. One thing that geeks me would for sure be band. I am very involved, attending jazz band every morning and marching band from July through the end of October as well as being in the Wind Ensemble during the day. Here is a video of our latest marching band performance as well as a picture I took at the American Cemetery in France.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWHRTpoNHS8&feature=youtu.be

Assignment 8 - Lindsey Angel

Fears : losing the people I love, incompetence/disappointment, murky water (in the past for the most part)
Annoyances : unrealistic expectations, arrogance
Accomplishments : my grades and test scores, (hopefully) making others happy, embracing myself, facing my fears
Confusions : the future
Sorrows : incompetence, indecisiveness
Dreams : self-actualization, happiness, love (is that cliche? probably)
Idiosyncrasies : being "extra", I'm a little bit O.C.D. sometimes
Risks : vulnerability, honesty
Beloved Possessions : While not exactly possessions, my niece and nephew (bet you didn't see that one coming - if you know me you totally did) plus laughter (I love to laugh).
Problems : indecisiveness, procrastination

I am an extremely loud person. I am incredibly clumsy. I make stupid jokes. I am very blunt. And I have an affinity for laughter. Growing up these things about me were never issues, in fact, I loved being outgoing and wild. In middle school, that started to change. I was afraid to be myself, afraid of being judged for my opinions, and my actions. For example, back then I would have never been able to post something like this publicly, really expressing my thoughts and opinions, and if I did so I would have been a bit nervous about people judging me for it. Anyway, going into high school, I knew no one (except for a few acquaintances), and had no real friends. I had to start completely over, and maybe that was for the best. At the very beginning of freshman year, I still tiptoed around being myself, in an attempt to get everyone to like me. I don't really remember when it changed, or why I changed, but over time I became WAY more comfortable with being myself. Looking back, I think it's because I finally found the right kind of friends. I didn't care about popularity anymore, and I didn't have to try to be someone I wasn't, or hide away parts of myself in fear of embarrassment. In other words, I stopped trying. While seemingly insignificant, looking back, that is my greatest accomplishment. Finding true friends, who embraced all parts of my personality, and in turn, I did so to myself.

Assignment 8- Will Gregory

 Fears: Small spaces, heights, stickers

Annoyances: Assumptions instead of inferences (in the context of people)  

Accomplishments: I've hopefully improved some of the lives of the people I've encountered, Stuck with a sport for 11 years 

Confusions: How did Sherlock fake his death in the last episode of season 2, Why is my thing with stickers a thing

Sorrows:I tend to help people too easily and often get taken advantage of, weight, general self loathing

Dreams: To change the world for the better somehow, to be a father

Idiosyncrasies: The sticker thing ( I have an inexplicable fear of stickers), I have a really deep voice, I have never lost an eating competition (you can tell by looking at me, which leads back to the self loathing).

Risks: Scuba diving, Flown plane, Football (possibly the biggest risk of them all)

Beloved Possessions: My football pillow- my sister bought it for me in fourth grade and I've rarely slept a night without it(I know, I'm a 16 year old boy)

Problems: Insomnia, Organization, Depression, and a wandering mind

One of the problems I've apparently dealt with my entire life is being oblivious to when I'm being taken advantage of. I was raised by an Engineer and a social worker, one taught me that there's always a way to fix things and the other taught me to help the less fortunate as much as humanly possible. I took to these characteristics at a young age but to an extreme. I would do anything to help others and it took an unhealthy turn. It changed from me doing anything to help others to doing anything to please others. As a small child, I would give away my lunches to kids just so they'd like me. In middle school I'd do homework for the "cool kids" in an attempt to become one of their crowd. One time, in 8th grade, I spent $168 of my own money on a friend of mine to buy him a futon for his birthday. I received a few thankyou's but none of the appreciation it deserved. I was never even invited over to spend the night on it while my door was always open for him to stay. 

This trend carried on into high school and the most intensely when my "dating life" began. In my first few relationships I spent upwards of $700 (yes, I've done the math) on these girls and saw no such return. The most tragic loss however, were the many T shirts I still see worn today.

So yes, from an outside perspective one may think me simply idiotic for my ignorance over all of these years. I would very much agree with that opinion. A few friends I deeply appreciate, have made me aware of this aspect of my personality and I can't thank them enough. Have they changed my perspective on helping others? No. I still firmly believe that when a person is in the position to help another human then it is the obvious thing to do. I do however believe that we must be aware when helping others, of thew people who need it, and of the people who don't. 

Assignment 7 - Lindsey Angel

Overall, my priority when choosing a college is scholarships. As I've said in previous blog posts, I do want to go to medical school, which is often accompanied with a hefty price tag. With that said, my goal is to leave college debt free (preferably after receiving a full tuition or full ride scholarship). Now, I'm not saying that I'll go to any college that offers me money, I do have a few requirements. I would prefer a mid-size to large school, preferably in the south, but I don't mind moving far away from Kentucky (my parents most definitely do not like that idea). While I want a large school, I do still appreciate a tight-knit community and a lot of student involvement within the school. Last, but not least, I do want to attend a "good" school - in this case, good is kind of objective as different things are beneficial for different people - meaning the school has great academics, but I don't want that extremely competitive ivy league experience. Overall, what I hope to gain from college is not only an excellent educational learning experience but also a life learning experience. I can not wait for independence, for living (somewhat) on my own, and experiencing life without having my parents there as a safeguard. I hate to admit it, but I do notice a shift in my behavior when around my parents.  I'm not as confident and often rely on them without even thinking about it. However, when I am just with my friends or on my own, I am much more outgoing and sure of myself and my hope for college is to enhance that part of me, embracing my independence. While I'm sure living away from your parents is the origin of most highschoolers excitement for college, I believe that this aspect of college is extremely important, if not the most important. While I one hundred percent recognize the importance of education, I also recognize the importance of finding yourself, and figuring out how to live your life, using the educational tools college has given you. I guess that is what I want out of a college, the total package.

Assignment 8 - Dani Fauzi

Writing Territories

List:
Fears - disappointing loved ones
Annoyances - the cold, discussion devolving into chaos at philosophy club
Accomplishments - I made a zine… once, big long bean harvest this year
Confusions - religion, why does anything matter
Sorrows - widening income inequality, abuses of human rights
Dreams - college, retreating into nature, raising chickens or goats

Idiosyncrasies - gardening
Risks - defying family’s cultural mores
Beloved Possessions, Now and Then - deluxe crayola crayon set (then), friendships (now - cheesy? I think not)
Problems - organization, time management, lack of self -confidence and -esteem

In our backyard, my family keeps a small garden. This year, we’re growing swamp cabbage, long beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplant. I value the moments I spend in the garden. All the careful planting of seeds saved from the previous year’s harvest and straining over to wrestle weeds out of the earth is worth it when we get to reap the fruit of our toil.

Working in the garden is relaxing, it’s a welcome reprieve from worldly duties like homework. When I garden I’m focusing on securing sustenance for myself and my family. The process of planting and harvesting is reassuringly simple, far from the complexities of relationships or schoolwork. I’m not being graded on anything, but the ability to fulfil at least part of my family’s nourishment from food I had a hand in raising is wildly fulfilling. I planted it, I tended to it, I consumed it. Nothing is simpler than that.

Assignment 8 - Will Graves

Will Graves

Fears: rejection, spiders, failure

Annoyances: arrogance

Accomplishments: n/a

Confusions: politics

Sorrows: stress

Dreams: going to college and getting a job I like

Idiosyncrasies: foods can’t touch each other

Risks: taking the road less travelled

Beloved Passions:  toys (then), friends and family (now)

Problems: procrastination, lack of creativity

I imagine a high school student’s life like a triangle. On one point you have good grades, on another is a social life, and the last one is sleep; and you only get to pick 2. One of my biggest character flaws used to be procrastination and always putting things off until the last minute, like this blog post for example. I used to struggle a lot more with getting things done on time, whether it is small homework assignments or studying for AP tests. I think mainly it was because of my lack of motivation or fear of failure. Assignments I didn’t want to do or ones that I might have found challenging were ones I put off. I’ve been working at getting better at this as I realized it was affecting my work. Typically doing things at the last minute means I rushed on them and the product wasn’t as good as it could have been. The idea of college being so close motivated me to work at this problem, being more proactive has helped me become a better person and student.

Assignment 7 - Will Graves

Will Graves

Even though it may seem daunting at points, the fact that I will be applying to colleges one year from now excites me. You can’t put a monetary value on a college education. To me, the value of higher education means much more the cost of tuition or whether or not you attend a prestigious university. Right now high school is preparing me for college, the final stage of my education before I go off into the real world. I’m not exactly sure what I want to study but I want to go to a school with reputation in engineering and sciences that would offer various job opportunities after graduating. My ideal college is one that challenges me to be the best that I can be in a community of diverse people who offer different perspectives on issues and ideas. Colleges also provide opportunities to meet new people and make connections that can open doors later in life. With the many new freedoms that come with college also come new responsibilities that will help prepare me for the rest of my life.

Assignment 6 - Will Graves

Will Graves

As frustrating and as difficult as it was at points, Chemistry was hands down my favorite class sophomore year. I’ve always loved to learn how and why things work and why they do what they do. Leaning about how different chemicals and substances react with each other got me interested in materials science and mechanical engineering. Take the automobile for example; the most successful car companies are applying these sciences to improve their products. Germans have always been at the top of food chain when it comes to engineering. Mercedes, Porsche and Volkswagen are prime examples of this as some of the most reliable and efficient cars in the world. New developments in materials such as carbon fiber and carbon ceramic brakes are being used in both Formula 1, and everyday cars making them stronger, lighter, safer and more efficient.

Today our society is increasingly dependent on technology for daily tasks and jobs. I certainly couldn’t live without it. But there will always be a need for engineers who apply science and materials to find solutions to problems that are applied to almost every aspect of our lives.