10 Things I'm Thankful For ...

1) I am thankful for my home. I'm thankful for my home because there are people in the world who don't have a home. I'm also thankful because it's a place that I can relax and know that I'm safe. I'm thankful because I know that I have a house to come home to when I'm having a bad day or I just want to be warm and comfortable.

2) I am thankful for my I-pod. I'm thankful for my I-pod because a lot of people don't have the money to have one and you can do so much with it. I'm thankful because I love listening to music and I honestly don’t know what I'd do without it. Also because if I'm having a bad day I can just turn on my I-pod and block out the world and just relax and sometimes it helps me to fall asleep.

3) I am thankful for my swimming. I'm thankful for my swimming because It's something that I love and that I'm good at. It's also helped me to make a lot of new friends that I would never had because they live in other cities. Also I'm thankful because It gives me exercise and I need to exercise or I can't fall asleep at night because I still have tons of energy.

4) I am thankful for my friends. I'm thankful for my friends because I know I can talk to them when I'm having a bad day or if I'm bored I can just call text them and see if they want to hang out. Also I'm thankful for my friends because they help me get through the school day because I can talk to people throughout the day instead of just doing school work.

5) I am thankful for my education. I'm thankful for my education because I will need it if I want to succeed in life. I'm also thankful because you can do so much more when you know things. You wouldn't be able to get a steady job without an education so that's another reason why I am so thankful for my education.

6) I am thankful for my sister Kaylee. I'm thankful for Kaylee because I don't what I'd do without her, probably fail math. She helps me a lot with swimming and always knows what to say. Another reason while I'm thankful for her is because I get to learn from her mistakes so I don't get in trouble.

7) I am thankful for my parents. I'm thankful for my parents because they are always there for me and they always know what to do or say. They help me with school, and they drive me to swim practice at 5:30 A.M. Without my parents I would be nothing. They help complete me and allow me to live a great life.

8) I am thankful for my swim coach, Greg. I'm thankful for my swim coach because without him I'd probably be nowhere considering when I came back to swimming I was so slow because of my surgery. I'm also thankful for him because he has always been there for me and he believes that I can do anything. Another reason why I'm thankful for Greg is because he always gives me a good laugh even when he shouldn't and he means to be serious like his quote "We may be halfway there, but were not living on a prayer!" It makes me laugh.

9) I am thankful for my doctors. I'm thankful for them because they’re the reason why I'm as straight as I am. if my doctor hadn't found my scoliosis then when I had my surgery I wouldn't have gotten as good results. I'm also thankful for my doctors because they help me with my swimming by providing me with an inhaler because without it I don't know what I would do.

10) I am thankful for my cell phone. I'm thankful for my cell phone because when my parents

drop me off at places forgetting that whatever I'm at was cancelled I can use it to call them. I'm also thankful for my cell phone because when I get bored I can just take it out and text people or when I need help with someone I can call or text them.

Old Friends, New Friends

My old friends and I still hang out all the time we just don't see each other at school as much. I have made a couple new friends within my time this year at Stevenson. Most of them are swimmers because for the first couple months of school we have spent five hours of they day together because of swim practice.



SHS Activities Attended

I haven't gone to too many SHS events this year except for all of the swim meets because I am on the swim team and I have to swim at everyone. I have gone to two football games, one JV, and one varsity. The JV game was the first one I attended I went with my friends Karely, Bridget, and Nicole. I also attended a choir concert because my friend Karely made me go. The choir concert was actually better than I thought it would be because I almost knew some of the songs. I also went to the freshmen dance as well as the welcome back dance after the varsity football game.


Funniest, Weirdest, Scariest Moments


The funniest moment that happened to me this school year was probably when the swim team got to watch the whole freshmen cheer squad get on a short bus. That was probably so funny because their was so many of them and they all fit! I don't know what the weirdest thing that happened to me this year. Nothing scary as really happened to me this year, it has gone pretty smoothly.


Hardest, Easiest Class Assignments


The hardest class I have so far this year is Geometry, it's been the hardest lately because i have a hard time doing proof's. They confuse me, and I always think to much. The easiest class this year is Science because I am good at it, we haven't had too many hard tests in that class either. The hardest class assignment was probably the Current Event project for Global Ed. It was the hardest mainly because I had never done one before and it required a lot of work.



Top Five Current Events

1. The top five current events this month are Governor Granholm Vetoing part of a bill and making Livonia Public Schools District lose 7.7 million dollars in our budget.
   



2. The Weather problems in the Philippines like the Tsunami's, Typhoon's, and flooding.
   



3. A painting By DaVinci That was thought to be 109,000 dollars went up to 150 mil. because they discovered that it was the original painting.
   



4. Dow went up to 10,00 which is the highest it has been in a long time.
   



5. President Obama wont he Noble Peace Prize.

Faces in the News

Some faces in the news are Sonya Sotomayor, she's in the news because she is new newest member of congress and congress has recently started. Another face in the news is Hamid Karzai, he's been in the news because he recently ran for election in Afgahnistan and tied with Abdullah, Abdullah and now they are going to run again to see who wins. Along with Rush Limbaugh because he tried to buy the Rams but they said no so now he is suing the team.



Interesting New Words

So far this year I have learned quite a few new and interesting words thanks to global ed this month. A few of them are Paroxysm, Vehemence, Palpitate, and Exhilarating. They're probably most interesting because I have been able to use them in my daily life, such as at swim meets or just when I'm talking with my friends.


Popular or Memorable songs

recently there has been tons of great songs that have came out, but the ones that are most memorable have to be Down, by Jay Sean, mainly because everyone knows it and no matter where you go you can't help but sing along. Another one is Don't Trust Me, by 3OH!3, because it is just a great song. Fireflies, by Owl City, is also a memorable song because one day my friend told me how her older brother randomly walked into her room and started singing along with her Ipod. Trust me he is the last guy you would expect to sing.

Popular or Memorable Movies

Some popular movies are Where The Wild Things Are because almost everybody has heard of the book or read the book so they will want to go see the movie and because it just looks like a good movie to most people. Another popular movie is Saw VI, it's popular because a lot of people have seen all of the other Saw's and they think that this one will be just as good. I wouldn't know if the movie was good or not because I have only seen Saw II. Then Also Paranormal Activity is a popular movie because tons of people have gone to see it, it's memorable because people say that it's one of the best Movies they have seen in a long time.

Rumors or Gossip



A few rumors that have been going around are that Taylor Lautner wasn't going to play Jacob in the second Twilight series book, which was proved false. I honestly don't pay attention to rumors or gossip so I don't really know of much to write.


Fads and Trends


A few fads and trends that are in right now are yoga pants, Ugg boots, checkered and plaid shirts, and Moccasins. Most everybody that I know has at least one of those items. They are probably a trend because they are so cute and they look good on just about every girl. Not to mention how incredibly comfortable they are.


First Cultural Event

My first cultural event was going to the Plymouth Historical Museum in Downtown Plymouth. For that cultural event I focused on the Lincoln Exhibit because it was the best one at the museum. When I went I went with my dad because it was sort of a last minute thing so I really didn't have time to ask people. All in all i learned a lot about Abraham Lincoln and about all of the different jobs that he had.

Homecoming

I don't even know where to start on homecoming. I had so much fun at the dance and before it. Before I had 10 people come over my house to take pictures, then we went out to eat at Applebee's. We had so much fun at dinner all of our food was great and it wasn't that expensive because everyone except for me got the two for ten deal. I was the only one who got a regular meal, almost, I actually got a appetizer as my meal. It was called Chili Cheese Nachos and the were some of the best nachos I had ever had.

Advice for Incoming Freshmen



My advice for incoming freshmen would be to make sure you know where all of your classes are because the last thing you need when you come to a school this big is to get lost. Trust me the six minutes you get in between your classes really isn't that much time considering how far you have to walk to get to some of your classes. Also for the incoming freshmen it helps to remember your locker combination on the first day because when you forget it, it doesn't go so well because in order to get your combination you have to wait in line forever which is not fun at all, actually it's not even worth it I just ended up carrying my things all day.


What I'm Looking Forward to



I am definitely looking forward to the coming back dance because when my sister went she said that she had a lot of fun. Another thing that I'm looking forward to would have to be Christmas break because it's always good to get a brake from school. I am also looking forward to my conference meet for swimming, mainly because it will be my last chance to get my state cut in the 100 Back. If I do get my state cut then I will be looking forward to going to state meet because it's on the other side of the state so we get to hang out in a hotel where it is always fun.



Other Noteworthy Achievements or Events

Some noteworthy achievements for me this month have been getting my MISCA cut in my 100 Back, it's noteworthy because it was a really hard time to get but now I'm working on my state cut. Another noteworthy achievement was having the highest grade in my Principles of Biology class because last year at this time I was having a really hard time in Science.

Culture, Culture, Culture

Shaelyn Dolinski
9-24-09
American Culture
My definition of American culture is being able to say what you want, when you want, and do what you want as long as you’re not breaking a law or endangering others. Also being able to have your own freedoms, and live your life how you want to is another way to define the American culture. Our culture is a combination of hundreds of different cultures combined. The American culture can be described as a “Me” culture, meaning that we tend to be self centered. We tend to be a “Me” culture because when we are working in a group we try to get things done rather than caring about working together as a group. Another trait of American culture is that we like to be independent with what we do for example how we dance. We tend to do our own thing when we dance instead of doing the same dance that everyone else is doing.

My Culture
I define my own culture as my family and I going to church and baseball games together. Then by us sitting down every night and eating dinner together as a family. My experiences with culture compare to others by my family living out of the state and by us traveling to go visit them a lot rather than other people whose family mainly live within the state. It compares because we get to see what other states’ culture is like rather than just Michigan’s. I also define my culture as special because our family is different than the family next door to us and so on, we don’t all live the same way, we do our own thing, and it doesn’t matter what other people think. My culture is just as important as everyone else’s and no one’s’ is the same.