Day 41: Not rekt!

I don't want to seem really cocky, but that test was not hard. I studied, so I would not get rekt again, and I didn't, In pretty sure I got a ding this time. I think the only reason I might not get a 90+ is because I could not spell the Yahoo guy's name. Hopefully my AWESOME teacher will count that despite the monstrous spelling ;'). And that #33 question, it was not hard or anything, but I think it was a trick question. You see, the shaded area was the United States, so the president is Barack Obama. But I think some people thought that answer could not be, and they overthink-ed  it and put down something else. Mr.Schick is really clever, I like his tests.  was struggling the first semester, but now, I really, truly, enjoy his class.

The most important thing today, was that on this fill in the blank test, I did not get rekt (like last time)...

Day 40: No Teacher

So what happens when you sit down in your seat in the begging of class, and the teacher doesn't show up to the room, for 40 minutes. Are you allowed to leave class? That is what most students thought you could do, but you are actually supposed to dial 0 to call the office, and notify them that your teacher is not here. But who wants to call the office so that a substitute comes in, and then you actually have to do work? No one, I don't think any person would want to do that, specially because everyone will always recognize you as the biggest snake in snake history. They should really revise the system, I am just saying. Oh, what did we do in human geography? We talked about presidents, but you already know that. I just wanted to mention how the school should focus on true problems, instead of foolishly blocking you tube and undoing their deed in less than 2 days.

But you know, sometimes, you just have to eat a bagel.

Day 39: Goodbye Youtube?

Recently, I have been really sad :(. This is because for some reason, the school locked YouTube. I could write about the notes that we took today (on presidents), but I thought it would be better if I briefly shared my opinion on this decision. First of all, I think they should not block YouTube, but I think the reason they did that was because they feared that students may stumble upon content (videos), that do not suit the school's atmosphere. An example of this could be a student watching a prank video during a religion class. But I think this is dumb, because not everyone uses YouTube for slacking reasons. Some people watch videos in order to research for their project, or to further understand a topic better. Some teachers use YouTube, to aid their lesson. Some people may just want to relax in the library with a quick, funny video. YouTube has way more benefits than negatives, and that is why I think YouTube should not be blocked.

What where they thinking...

PS: They unblocked youtube, that didn't last long :d.

Day 38: Rap

I like Raps from subway. :d Just kidding lel plot twist

Day 37: Mini Project (Rip Internet)

Despite the lack of internet; I can now start the World Leaders Assignment.

Mexico

Federal Republic

President Enrique Pena Nieto

China

Communist State

President XI Jinping

India 

Federal Republic

President Pranab Mukherjee

Russia

Federation

President Vladimir Putin

Germany

Federal Republic

President Joachim Gauck

United Kingdom

Constitutional Monarchy

Prime Minister David Cameron

France

Republic

President Francois Hollande

Brazil

Federal Republic

President Dilma Rousseff

Syria

Republic under an authoritarian regime

President Basharal-Asad

Canada

A Parliamentary democracy, a federation, and a constitutional monarchy

Prime Minister Justin Pierre James

Iraq

Parliamentary Democracy

President Fuam Masum

Isreal

Parliamentary Democracy

President Reuven Rivil

Day 36: Dinging Geography

Today in human geography class, we started a new topic called "cultural geography." At first, I did not know what it meant, but we briefly started talking about it in class. We mainly talked about nations, and how they are distinguished locations with people who have similar feeling when functioning in society. For example, in New York, people tend to be loud, and some times mean. Different nations/states are going to have different points of view in things, but that does not mean that they will not be helpful to one another. For example, in the event of 9/11, people from all over the United States supported people from New York, despite their differences.

 It is a really interesting topic, and I like it. But despite this, I am not sure about the whole meaning of cultural geography. I can't wait for the next class to find out. Or maybe I can, but you get the point. Also, today we saw a silly cartoon on the names of all the countries in the world, and it was interesting to see that things have changed geographically since the release of the film.

Anyway, I hope to see where this unit takes us...

PS: I got a ding holy spaghetti noddles finally yesss hoepefully I get more dings before the nickel (quarter) ends.

Day 35: Free 2.0

We let other people take the test, basically a free mod. Please count this blog lel.

Day 34: Teachers

Most teachers are really wise, but do all teachers have to be adults? Today in Human Geography, two of our students were leading the class, asking us questions to help us study for tomorrows test. This style of teaching was really interesting, I guess that when a student talks to another student, its not the same as when a teacher talks to a student. I am not saying that the students are better than the teachers by better means, but when it comes to interaction, there is a special spark that only students have. That is why today's class was so fun; and at the same time, really informative. I like it. But I do have to admit, if our teacher is the one on the board (or podium) I am pretty sure we cover twice the information. After all, teachers are professionally trained to be teachers, and our human geography teacher is really not bad at all. But all in all, I am certain we could all be teachers.

And learn from each other every day...

Day 33: Detail

Today in class we watched a video that showed a girl, who seemed to be having a great life overall. But as the video progresses, the video turns from happy into something negative. This kind of reminds me of the "don't hug me i'm scared" videos, but they have different messages to portray. These videos may be freaky, or depressing, but I like these types of clips because they have a lot of small details. Even though they are small details, they can carry the whole meaning of the video at times. For example, the little girl was focusing on being happy, and we always saw the front of her face; but behind her; things started to change, despite the girl not noticing at first. That is why some of the details are hard to capture, because the focus of the video is the girl in the middle, but the actual plot is developing in the background only. It is just brilliant and really fascinating.

I hope we watch more videos like these in class...

Day 32: Friday's Classwork

Update: I can't fix the white boxes for some reason, so just highlight them with your mouse and you will be able to see the text. Sorry :/

Here is Friday's classwork I did while you were absent:

•  The thing with fat Buddha is that he is not the Buddha at all. The fat version of "Buddha" is rather a Chinese monk, is is an icon to their society. So, this means that the skinny version would be better, because it shows that he would sacrifice his health for the well being of others

•  On the the quiz, I got 11/20. I really didn't know how to distinguish certain phrases, and put them in certain books. But then I noticed a pattern, and it is that the most basic teachings are usually in the Quaran, but the more complex ones have a higher chance of being in the bible because they might have thoughts that go against the Jewish beliefs.

•  The Ten Commandements

1 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.
My Own Words: Do not have another god.

2 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

My Own Words: Do not make any replacements to god's image, such as making your own heaven or your own idols.

3 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

My Own Words: Do not use god's name incorrectly.

4“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lordyour God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he restedon the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

My Own Words: Work 6 days a week, but rest on the seventh day.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the landthe Lord your God is giving you.

My Own Words: Respect your parents

13 “You shall not murder.

My Own Words: Do not kill other creatures.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

My Own Words: Do not have relations with a person who is not married to you.

15 “You shall not steal.

My Own Words: Don't steal from others.

16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

My Own Words: Do not put your blame on others.

Day 31: Thursday Classwork

Well, today I have to use my blog for classwork, so were it is:

1. Top 5 Religions

Christian: 31.4%
Muslim: 23.2%
Hindu: 15%
Buddhist: 7.1%
Jewish: 0.2%

2. Abraham was respected in all the three religions.
In Judaism, he was the person with a Covenant, a special relationship with god.
In Christianity, his faith in god made him a prototype of all believers.
In Islam, Muhammad said that Abraham had a special relationship with god and the covenant.

3. I found that the practice of indulgence is to perform an action for god, in order to receive a lesser punishment for your sins. I believe that Martin Luther objected this, because it was not the correct to practice your religion, and he disagreed with the logic of an indulgence.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indulgence

4. The Hajj is a mandatory trip that Muslims must take to Mecca. This must be done at least

once in a life time, but some people go annually.

5. The Vedas:

Rigveda: Includes 1,028 hymns that are dedicated to the Rigvedic deities.

Samaveda: Includes 1,549 hymns, and is devided into two parts,

Yaurveda: Includes 1,875 hymns that are said by the priest while a individual action is peformed.

Atharvaveda: Includes 760 hymns, and is concidered the primary source for information about the Vedic culture.


That was, fun....

Day 30: Reviewing your Test

Today in human geography, we reviewed the test (or quiz) that we took last week. I did pretty good but of course, this class cursed me so my grade was lowered from an 87 to an 83. But that did not discourage me, because our teacher told us that if we reviewed these test we would do OK in the semester exams. That is good with me because that 20% will sure get me a solid B, but whatever. Anyway, we started a new unit today, concerning religion. I think this is going to be the unit where I shine because I took good notes today. If I continue to take notes like that, I will for sure do good on this unit's test (or quiz). And maybe if I am lucky, I will finally acquire that delicious ding sound and everyone will think I am the xXx_humangeographymaster_xXx. That will be a good day, I look forward to that.

Then, I will review my corrected test, with pride...

Day 29: MFW no ding :(

My face when no ding, that is the title of this blog. Why? You need a 90% on a test to get a ding. And? I got an 87%. omg dude now everyone thinks i failed or something. Fri-king high school is so hard, but whatever I am still grateful though because I did not get rekt like last time. Last time I got a 55% on my test because I did not study. But guess who studied this time? I did. But why did I have to get 1 question wrong, it could have made the difference in between a ding or not. But whatever, I do not need a ding to motivate me into succeeding in life, I think that pretty much what I learned today. I think this quarter is going to be pretty good, I am off to a good start and I think my GPA will be higher than the average length of a giraffe's neck. Oh wait, I searched that up and its 1.8 meters. Oh no, the no ding ghost has cursed me :(((. Just kidding, but anyway, this will be a good quarter and I hope someday I get a ding.

But if I do not, I will develop a different plot (rhymes)...

Day 28: Free like a Toucan

Hello Mr.Schik today we had a free period so yeah it was pretty gud i didnt bring nmy headphones so dat completely sux xdddddddddd but ye everythign was prty gud xddddddddddd . Alrite have some copypasta m80:

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Day 27: Strange Values

Since the uniforms changed into the winter code, everything started to feel really strange. It might be because everyone looks different, or because my uniform is really uncomfortable. But the strangest thing I experienced today was my human geography class. My teacher asked everyone, should we help other countries. For the first time (23+ days later) in class, I raised my hand, and gave my explanation on how we as humans are meant to help other people. This philosophy is pretty much a christian thought, but since the United States is moving away from Christianity, opinions are rapidly changing through the nation. This really reflected on my classmates, because their views opposed mine. They said we shouldn't help them because they are meant or accustomed to their poor lifestyle. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! Others said we should invade them and make them part of the United States, which could be a solution to the poverty, but we would still be taking their country by force, which would be upsetting to the nations. Where did our values go, why are they becoming so, strange? Its like helping a homeless man, giving him food would support him, allowing him to survive to get a job. But kidnapping the homeless man and locking him in your basement, even with food, the man would be unhappy, making him want to go back to his old life style. There is so much this conversation could go too, but class only lasts so long; but the point is, we need to remember our values, and help those people in need, without expecting anything back. WE ARE BORN INTO THIS WORLD TO MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE (sounds familiar?).

We are not going to get far if we continue our lives with these strange values...

*Day 26: Kiva Extra Credit*

This will be my extra credit blog, talking about Kiva.org

What is Kiva?
Kiva is a website where you can loan $25 to people with economical problems, so you can help them kick-start their business. They are a non-profit organization that only seek to help people in deep poverty. They have a high reputation; thanks to their 98.46% repayment rate, and their high amount of lenders. They also have high efficiency across the globe because they have over 450 volunteers in 83 different countries.

What borrowers would I pick?

Sebastian
(http://www.kiva.org/lend/964299)

By loaning Andres, I could help him buy seeds and fertilizer for his farm, giving him an opportunity to start a stable business. With the reliable income, he could get his family the things they need, specially to his mother and father, who have been such a big influence in his life. Not only will this help him, bu it will help provide food for other local businesses in the area, which he will probably be selling the crops too.

Luz Dary
(http://www.kiva.org/lend/962912)

Luz is a 48-year old woman who used to struggle by working unfairly long hours in exchange for low wages. But now that she opened her own restaurant, she earns more. Her goal is too expand her business, and she wants to buy a motorcycle to be able to have a food delivery service. To Americans, the idea of a motorcycle is kind of silly, but they are not buying a Harley Davidson hardcore bike, they are buying a motorcycle that is more closely related to a scooter. These are actually commonly used by villagers to travel around, since cars are way too expensive for them. But anyway, I am certain that Luz Dary will make good use of the vehicle if she reaches her loan goal.

Why Colombia?
I would pick people from Colombia because in Colombia, there is a problem with the government, economy and safety. Rebellious terrorists called "Las Farc" force people to leave their villages and give them their possessions. There is also a considerably high robbery rate in Colombia, and people are having trouble making enough money to support their family. Maybe Colombia isn't the country that has the people that need the most help, but I have been there, and I have seen the lives of the villagers myself, so I know how my donation would impact them. With $25 dollars, I am certain these people will be able to change their lives, and the lives of people who they love. They will be happier.

Thank you, Kiva...

Day 25: Gender Equality

OK so today in class we continued to watch a video about India and how they give more power to men than they do to women. While men make almost every decision in the household and get educated, women can never speak up or are never motivated to make their lives better. I was really intrigued by this, specially because the situation made me give a hateful stare every time I saw one of those Indian husbands who control their wive's lives. There was one guy who forced her wive to have babies over and over (which put her life in danger) until they got a second son. Are you kidding me? Its pretty clear that I am not a girl, but even I know that women can be wayyyyyyyy smarter than men at times. Gender Inequality is so stupid, those stupid men think that they are superior to women and that having a boy is good and having a girl is useless. Its just really stupid and if they want to stop being stupid then they should  modify the government system in India as soon as possible. They could even solve some problems (like over population) while they are at it. We have to do something about this situation, its even kind of an easy fix, even though it goes against their "culture".

Have some respect guys...

Day 24: My brain has been flexed

Its kinda late. I wanna go to sleep. I just finished my brain flex for Mr. Perry. I have to do this blog though. I need this grade though. Alright so today in class we went over the extra credit that has been made official. Our teacher described how the school told him that he should have not started this but he can finish it. I mean, theres really nothing wrong with it, our teacher was really smart and he planned the assignment so it wasn't "paying for your grade". You can still do it and not pay a penny so if I was the school I would be like "m8 this extra credit is awesome, this teaches kids how to donate to a good cause instead of throwing their money to someone who wants to make a potato salad. You know what, this idea is so good, you should be promoted now and increase your salary by 1 million percent." Ok, maybe not too exaggerated but the school should appreciate what Mr.Schick is dew-ing for us instead of being kind of rude and making him feel bad for what he did. In summary, what I learned right now was that, ITS A GOOD EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENT STOP READING TO COVER OF THE BOOK ANALYZE THE GENIUS IDEA THAT MR.SCHICK HAS!!!

Lel whatever, im tired so yeah that's what I had 2 say sorry for spelling don't kill me thnx...

Day 23: Potato Salad

Today in class we looked deeper into the "Kiva" Website, where you can lend a person 25 dollars to kick-start their financial life. Something that I found really interesting is that the rate in which they pay people back is over 98%. That is more than the rate in which US citizens pay back their loans. Those people may be poor, but that does not mean that they are wise and intelligent in the way they invest their loan. A lot of Americans think that poor people are poor because of their fault, but they need to understand that there are a lot of outside factors caused by our harsh society. A really good reason why people should loan $25 to someone who needs it is because we need more people to invest their money correctly. Smart people would invest $25 to save a family (and get their money back), while other people, well, they invest (or throw away) $100 so someone can make potato salad. This is a complete joke, and they even funded 55 thousand dollars, even though the people on kiva are only asking a few thousand, and its a LOAN. You don't even get your money back if you invest on the potato salad project.

We really need to make a change in where our money goes to...

Day 22: A double sided Benefit

Today we went over the test (which I got rekt by), I fixed all the things that I got wrong so I can study for a future test. Good for me, but the interesting thing that we also talked about is the "extra credit" assignment that we can do. This really got my attention because it will certainly help me end the quarter with a B, even after not doing so great on that test. We only talked about it for 5 minutes, but our teacher got to mention that he will give us points if we help fun someone's business in a foreign country. I guess that is a good idea. Sure, I need help getting my grade up, but there are a lot of people needing help to simply be able to live. Funding someone will be life changing to them. Even though I am not sure if I am donating or loaning, people who loan to these humans in need get payed back 95% of the time. That is actually higher than in a lot of countries, even for online funding cites such as https://www.kickstarter.com/ .

But yeah, I guess in the end, we will all get that extra boost we need...

Day 21: I got rekt

OK so I somewhat studied for the human geography test because you know, I supposed it was a simple multiple choice with a word bank or something. Well, I was wrong because when

Mr. Schick handed out that test, I think I got really wrecked. I was positive that I knew what globalization meant, but of course when I have to fill out one word to complete the definition, I have no idea what to insert. I was relieved when I opened the third page to find multiple choice questions instead of fill in the blank (with no word bank), but then the multiple choice questions where little facts that were in the power point that I reviewed for 2 seconds. Seriously, I underestimated this test so much, now I feel like an irrelevant donkey. I had a whole free mod before the test, and I reviewed the power point for a few minutes, even looked at my notes, but clearly that wasn't enough. And that is not at all my teachers fault, that was my fault. This is a life experience that I will be reminded of before I go and take a test. I have to make sure I know everything, that I am making good use of my resources.

But most importantly, I have to make sure not to get rekt by another test...

Day 20: Okay

Today, everything was OK. In human Geo, we talked about the SAT's and the PSAT's, I think it will all be okay. We also talked about what we needed to know for next class's test. I think I will do OK, but a ding would also be OK. But you know, life has its moments, its ups and downs, but in the end, everything will be OK. Ok? Alright.

Well, what else can we talk about. I mean, right now I am sitting in class, with 30 minutes left of human geo, and we aren't going to do anything else. Right now, I just want to play games on my computer, but I still need those 150 words, dang it. But you know, now that I think about it, anyone can write a 150 word paragraph, but in the end, its what you write that matters. There is endless possibilities to what the 150 words can portray, the paragraph could be a masterpiece, or it could be a pile of garbage. But yeah, let me check if I have 150 words. Oh, its over 180 words, I usually pass the limit.

That is why I think my blogs are pretty okay...

Day 19: World Fact Book

Today in Geography, we browsed the world fact book some more. Here are 10 interesting facts I found:

1. What country has the highest obesity rate?
- American Samoa

2. Which is the smallest country is the world?
-The Vatican city, which has less than 1 sq km of land.

3. What country has the highest budget surplus?
The country with the highest Budget surplus is Macau, with a surplus of 35.50%

4. What country as the highest money worth of exports?
-China, with $2,252,000,000,000 worth in exports.

5. What country as the highest money worth of imports?
-United States, with $2,334,000,000,000 worth in exports.

6. What country spends the most money in their military?
-South Sudan with with a 10.32% GDP.

7. What country has the highest amount of money stored in their bank?
-Germany with $257,700,000,000 

8. What country has the lowest amount of money stored in their bank?
-United States, with -$385,800,000,000


9. What country has the highest production of electricity?
-China, with 5,169,000,000,000

10. What country has the highest amount of internet users?
-China, with 626,600,000 users.

Day 18: CIA

Today in class, we went into the CIA world fact book website to search up certain statistics. I was really impressed, they had an extensive amount of information of most, if not all countries in the world. It was interesting to see how much info the CIA has collected, and I think it is also really effective for it's purpose. Not only does it collect information for our people to study and examine, but it also helps protect the United States from threats around the world by keeping track of what every country is up too. Aside from the fact book, the CIA also has access to rather personal information. They have access to any person's phone calls, e-mails, text messages and many other things. I honestly think its a bit strange, but it is important for the safety of people. This method doesn't always work though, because there have still been mass shootings around the country, even though warnings have been ignored by people. That is why the CIA has a "report a threat" button on their front page, and I think it will help prevent a lot of disasters.

All in all, the CIA was an interesting topic...

Day 17: Grateful

Today in class we had a pop quiz. To many, including me, it was a surprise. But at the end, it wasn't too bad because it was only 6 questions, 5  of them which I got wrong. But then while we were reviewing our answers, I started to think about how fortunate I was to be able to take a pop quiz. I mean, in developing countries, many don't get to learn how to read, or even write. A lot of people would do anything to get an education. But meanwhile, here at John Carroll, there are people who are just failing classes, wasting the opportunity they have to get an education, to have a successful future. I am not here to judge anyone, it just seemed interesting to me how different could life be in the opposite side of the world. But right now, I am grateful for everything I have.

I am even grateful for that pop quiz...

Day 16: Sleep

Today in class we further discussed about the video that we saw yesterday, you know, the one with the stupid CEO refusing to talk with people who want to make the world better place. I would have liked to give some of my thoughts and add them to the soup of the discussion, but I almost passed out. I literally had this hardcore drowsiness that made me feel like I was high and I had no idea what was up xdxdxdddd. I tried to listen to the conversation, to gain knowledge from multiple points of view, but everything was just spinning, and my eyelashes were heavier than Nike's annual profit. Ok but for real at the end of the class my teacher complimented my drowsiness in the classroom. At that moment I felt kind of bad because I didn't want the teacher to think that his class was boring. I actually really like human geography, but I need to raise my hand to get the full kick out of it. You know what, I will make it my goal to raise my hand next class (even though I said that 10 blogs ago). No only that, but I will also avoid not getting enough sleep, because sleep is good. Change is good.

It is never too late to change...

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Day 15: Are you kidding me Nike ?

Are you serious? This guy went to India and lived in in the terrible wage that the Nike payed its workers for a month. This guys went through all this trouble to save thousands of people, but the CEO of Nike doesn't want to talk because he is having lunch with a friend. This just amazes me because it shows how greedy can people veg for money. While we are in america, enjoying Nike's products, people in India are living miserable lives. It really does upset me. But i am proud of that guy because I know that he will make a difference, and will actually change the life of many. Can you imaging changing the life of thousands of people? Maybe that's the feeling I will seek in the future. I mean, having an impact on so many lives has to be great, specially because you are helping the world become a better place.

But seriously Nike, please be more humane...

Day 14: Two Sides

Today in class we continued to discuss globalization, but one particular part of the conversation really got my attention. At one point, we started talking about who would we vote for to be the next president of the United States. Some said Donald Trump, a business man with a sense of humor. People where saying that he would be a good president because he hasn't really been involved in politics, and he "understands" the average citizen. I found these facts to go into Trump's favor, but then my teacher started commenting on trump's negative side. He wants to build a giant wall to block off migrants, even though the statue of liberty in New York is supposed to welcome immigrants from all over the world to America. Donald Trump is missing the whole point of the statue of liberty! All in all, this conversation made realize learn something important;

Everything is like a square; because it has two sides to it...

Day 13: Ding!

Today I got my graded test back from human geography. I got an 84%, which certainly works for me. But now, I want to improve and get a higher grade, perhaps a 90% or higher. This is because if you do get a 90% or higher on your test, our teacher rings a bell when he gives us our test. The bell makes a "ding" noise, which I can now remember and hear it in my mind. Now, I want to hear a ding when I get my test back. But why? What drives me to want this to happen? Well, if you don't get a ding, it tells the class that you either got a B, a C, a D or even an F. Even though I got a B, I am still in the same category of the "no ding", which also includes an F. This feeling somewhat makes me fell, unsatisfied. Next time, I will work harder to get an A.

And I will be proud, when I get that "Ding"...

Day 12: Globalization

Today in class we discussed about Globalization, which is; "The process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and government of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology." (dictionary.com).

This term has been popularized as "Americanization" because America has expanded tons of their businesses across Oceans to distant lands. Food chains like MC. Donald's are a common cite in a handful of countries, despite the fact that it was originally founded in America.These food chains can adapt their menus depending in which country they are located in, but they also can have some negative impacts, such as affecting local culture and businesses. But they also provide benefits on both sides. A business that spreads over the world can significantly increase the owner's profit, and provide the people in that region with multiple jobs, decreasing the number of poor people in a country. This statement can be questioned though, because in other countries, these businesses can pay below minimum wage to increase their profit.

Anyway, the business world is full of wonders....

Day 11: Did you know?

Today in class we saw a video with a bunch of "did you know facts". Most of the facts, if not all of them, were really interesting. Now I have to answer 3 questions about my feelings towards the video, here they are:

What was your initial reaction to what you saw?
My initial reaction to most of these facts was "wow" because I really didn't think about those topics before I saw the video. So it was interesting to being reminded of ideas that have been hiding in the back of my brain.

How are these changes manifesting themselves in your personal life?
The rapidly increase of numbers in these facts are quite amazing. I can't believe that there is as 4 times more people in India than in the US, and India has a smaller land to live in I will definitely keep these thoughts in my mind for a while, and it will help me be more grateful for my life.

How much of a role does technology play in your life?
I really don't know where to start on this one. I believe that technology has a really big place in my life. I don't know what I would be doing in life without my desktop and laptop. I am actually now really grateful that I have access to technology, and I am glad that it can take a role in my life. I might be a little dependent of my electronics but that is not really a problem these days.

Now here is my question to you: Did you know that I was about to fall asleep without doing my blog, so I sneaked into my laptop, wrote this assignment under my bed and put a decoy pillow to take my place while I did wrote this?

Yep, I bet you didn't know that one...

Day 10: Tests and Quizzes

These things can either be your best friend, or they can become your worst nightmare. Tests and Quizzes show what you have learned in class so far. But today in Human Geography, we took a pretty casual quiz. The reason I call it "casual" is because all the events that usually happen to me during testing happened.

First of all, I did review the power point in order to study for the quiz, like I usually do. But there is always this sense that tells me that I did not study hard enough. This probably happens because there is always that one question that you remember reading about, but for some reason you can't remember the answer. And then there are questions like "how many people attended to Socrates's trial?". These questions just make me ask myself, "did I seriously miss this while I was studying ?".  On this one I  took a wild guess, and wrote 300. After the test I checked back and it said "500", which made me want to flip the table, but you know, I think that is part of the fun of tests. Sure, you are going to get a 100% some quizzes, but the fun of it is to see what you did wrong, and learn from it for your next quiz/test. Then, you will have the satisfaction of getting a 95% or higher on a mayor test, because you learned from your mistakes.

After all, learning from your mistakes is a big part of life...

Day 9: Obligations

Most of us have obligations in life. I, for instance, have the responsibility to attend school, while my dad has to go to work. I gladly accept my obligation to go to school because I know it will serve me in the future. But what I really don't like are the obligations that we talked about today in Human Geography.

If you are a man, and you are in the age between 18 - 24, you can be drafted into the military in case of an emergency. I really dislike this, I understand the country might need help, but what about my dreams? What about if i don't want to be the one risking his life? I know, I sound selfish, but I never really dreamed of being a soldier.

But you know, one obligation that I did appreciate is that when you are 18, you are allowed to vote. This is not really an "obligation" but I consider it to be because it is our duty to make sure that we vote for people who we trust. But unfortunately, a lot of young people do not vote, because they are simply not interested. After all, like my teacher said, young people prefer to watch Netflix instead.

In the end, some obligations are up to us to judge...

Day 8: An Open Mind

Today in class we went over certain topics about Ancient Greece. It was all mostly review, but the topic that interested me the most was Socrates. Now, Socrates was a philosopher, who taught young people how to think, and to have a mind of their own.

To me, this sounds great, but to the Athenians, it wasn't really good news. Instead of complimenting Socrates for his efforts, they perceived what he was doing as "corrupting the minds of young people". They were hostile to Socrates because his ideas where different from most Athenians, and in society, different can be seen as bad. 

So, they sentenced Socrates to a painful death with poison. I really don't get it. How can you do that to a man who was trying to help society? His intentions were good. If the Athenians appreciated different ideas, maybe Socrates could have gone a little further with his purpose.

Atleast Socrates taught some people how to think, with an open mind... 

Day 7: Ancient Greece

Back in Ancient Greece, there were certain terms that had strong importance. Here are some of the terms from back them:

Agora: The central spot in Ancient-Greek cities.
Polis:  A small community.

In ancient Greece there was also a man called Socrates. An important, Greek, philosopher. He died by execution. He is famous for the "Socrates method", in which he questions his students for a long period of time, searching for the truth.

Additionally, in ancient Greece, an idiot was someone who was not interested in politics, but was not necessarily stupid.

Finally in 508 BC, there were reforms in the democracy.

Another thought on ancient greece is that they had a different way on living their lives, making us realize how far have humans come to modernize and bring forth their society. Maybe in 100 years, people will make research about our lives today.

After all, time does go by fast...



Cites Used:
http://study.com/academy/lesson/greek-polis-definition-facts-quiz.html
http://www.greece-athens.com/page.php?page_id=574
http://www.biography.com/people/socrates-9488126
http://entertainment.omgfacts.com/nerd/7538/The-word-Idiot-has-a-completely-different-origin-than-what-you-might-think-ab630-2

Day 6: Viral

You and I have witnessed the amount of videos that go viral through the years. Nowadays, even the stupidest thing you can come up with can get you 10 million views on you tube. But, how did something get popular back in the day? Well, luckily , that is what we discussed today in class.

A message to Garcia was a short essay that was published in 1899. The story took place in the Spanish-American war. The inspirational story became so huge that it sold over 40 million copies, and was translated into 37 different languages. It became so popular that almost everyone knew about it. They were using the story all around america to withdraw workers from slouching. It certainly had a positive impact in america.

Some new words that I learned today included:
Imbecility: Incapable, Stupidity.
Stenographer: A person who takes note of a dictation in short hand.
Missive: A letter, specially a long or official one.

This literary work is actually really impressive, and we might see work like this in the future, specially with today's technology.But honestly, I think most people will just stick to six second cat videos...

Day 5: Five things

Today, my teacher was talking to us about how high school is the hardest part of our educational career. So he let us write our blogs today in his class, and we have to write 5 things that I could do to not make high school so bad. So, its day 5, I have written 5 blogs so far(including this one), and now I have to write 5 things. High-5? No? OK, sorry about that. Anyway, here are 5 things that I could maybe do to make high school better;

1. Do not procrastinate:
Now, when I was in 3rd grade, I never did my homework, which got me into vast amounts of trouble. So over the years, I stopped being really lazy and started to acquire quite a good work ethic. Now, in middle school, I liked to leave some homework for the last minute every now and then, which really stressed me out. So if I just stay consistent with doing my assignments in a reasonable time, and get a good grade on them I feel I will have a good school year without much stress.

2. Join the Film Club:
I haven't really seen any recent movies because I haven't gone to the theater in the longest time. But I really like to analyze pieces of art, such as videos and movies. I find it really interesting and I think I could meet new friends, and get into those, interesting conversations. I think it would make high school much better; I will give it a shot.

3. Balance
As long as I keep a good balance in between doing work and having time to relax, I think it will greatly affect my high school experience in a positive way, because I wont have a negative/gloomy mood most of the time.

4. Getting Along
As long as I can along and be friendly to my fellow classmates and teachers, high school should be enjoyable, because you will always have someone to express your passion for a subject, or a hatred for a class.

5. Doing something unique
I want to do something original, that almost no other person does. Something that I can impress people with. I have yet to find this, but I wish to find it someday. You may call this step filler, but it is actually really important, because it will show you part of your true identity, part of who you are.

Man, there goes 5 future titles for blogs.
Whatever, high school awaits...

Day 4: Raising our Hands

While the topic itself sounds simple, raising a hand to participate in class has a lot more depth that it appears like. Today in human geography, our teacher was mesmerized at the fact that most of us didn't say a thing, or raise our hand even once. But, in my point of view, raising your hand floats above the idea of a high risk and reward system. You see, when you raise your hand, three things can happen:

1. When you get called on, you will give out a smooth, perfect answer that will shock the teacher on how delicious that answer was. Following this, the teacher will exclaim "Very good!" and continue on with the lesson. Afterwards, you will be in your seat, feeling amazing about yourself, while showing off to your classmates how smart you are.

2.You will get called on, you are confused and ask what the question was again. After that, you still don't know the answer, so you either say you have no clue, or you murmur what is barely qualified as an answer. The teacher will then proceed to give you the "what is wrong with you kid" look and then won't take the class's pressure off of you until you get it right. This will make you look like quite a idiot, and you will cringe to the memory of that moment for days, months, or even years.

So yeah, this is how the experience of raising your hand can go (from my point of view). Of course, there can be all sorts of variations depending on the different situations, but you get my point. But you know, I think raising your hand is like real life, there are always ups and downs. Despite this, we always learn from our success and from our mistakes, so after all, maybe raising my hand a little more often might be worth it. We have so much to say, but the dread of what others might think of our answers just keeps us down, but we should stop thinking that. Indeed.

Oh, I almost forgot about the third thing that could happen, you can use your real life hax and ask if you can go to the bathroom instead of answering the question, and you will put your cool guy fedora + glasses and walk off to the bathroom, avoiding a bad situation like a true high school master...

Day 3: Motivation

Today, I read a letter called, "A message to Garcia". Our teacher told us that it was written over 100 years ago, so I thought it was going to be lame and boring. I was wrong, it turned out to be really interesting to me. Even though it was written 100 years ago, I can still relate the general idea to today's modern society.

Before I go into detail, here are some words that I didn't know the meaning off:

Perihelion: The point in orbit of a planet nearest to the sun.

Slipshod: Careless, untidy.

Slumming: Poor part of a city.

Conveniently, Slipshod and Slumming are words that closely relate to the idea of "A message to Garcia". Here is why:

As how I perceived it; the general idea of "A message to Garcia" is that a lot of people in our modern society are lazy about their jobs and normally perform bellow the expected because of mediocrity, or Slipshod. The author of the letter, was looking for someone to send a message to Garcia, but the task was so important, he couldn't just have a regular person send the letter, because that person probably would not take the job tat seriously. They would need something like "extra pay" in order to motivate them to do their best at the task. But, in my view, I believe that motivation should not always come from other things, but often times it should come from yourself. This is because not always in life you are going to get rewarded by others for the positive things you do, but this should not stop you from doing those good things.

That is why you should motivate yourself, give it your best effort...



Definitions found in dictionary.com

Day 2: How do I Blog?

What did we do in class today? Well, I went to the bathroom, I guess that's cool. I mean, our teacher
was just helping everyone with their blogs, and that was pretty much it. It might sound like a waste of time, but it is actually not because we made sure that everyone could post on their blog. Since we are going to be posting on it for the next 150+ days, we might as well dedicate a class to making sure they work. Anyway, after that class, the rest of the day went pretty smooth, despite that I didn't have a free block/unscheduled period today. Not much homework, I wasn't as tired as yesterday and I think I feel fairly positive. I think being positive will get you really far in life, because it helps you jump or solve any obstacle that comes your way, and allows you to have a happier life. Well, I hope I can stay positive through this school year, or even better, I can stay positive through my 4-years of high school.

And maybe if I try hard enough, I can stay positive through the rest of my life...

Day 1: A New Class

Today was my first day at the John Carroll High School. It was good, I say that because it could have gone way worse. I would like to describe one particular class; Human Geography.

It was the very first class on my schedule. I was a little late, which made me kind of nervous, but I sat down and started listening to what the teacher had to say. Boy, it was weird being back in a classroom, listening to a teacher. It has actually only been 2 months, but it seemed forever, specially because a lot of the memories from my old school were starting to fade. Anyway, we discussed what human geography meant. Only a few kids participated in the discussion. I think most people felt like I did, we kind of knew the answer, but we did not want to share it to the class, because we weren't certain if our answer was accurate. Eventually, we went to John Carroll's TV studio. There was a student playing in a guitar. I have my own guitar, but I haven't practiced in months. Maybe later in high school, I should resume my guitar lessons. I think that is the wonderful thing about high school. You finally get the freedom to make your path, to choose elective classes that you like,  to participate in activities that you enjoy. I feel like at John Carroll, your opinion finally matters, and you can do things that you are actually passionate about. I think John Carroll will be a good place to be in, and to learn. When the Human Geography class ended, I headed for the door and asked myself, whats next?

I hope this will be a good year...