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    When I watch dancers dance a ballroom dance, I always pay attention to how sharp their moves are, their face expressions, their emotions and how well they tell a story through the dance. Since I have been paying attention to Latin- Ballroom dancing for a while now, I have noticed that each dance almost always has the same story line. For example, the Rumba is always a love story, a Foxtrot is always starring a couple in love and a Paso Doble is always about bull fighting. Bull fighting is when a woman is the cape and a man is the fighter or in other words, a couple caught in a very anger situation.

    I personally like Latin dancers to dance the Cha-Cha. This dance is all about using your hips and legs at the same time; basically flirting with your partner on the dance floor. My favorite Ballroom dance is between the Tango and Waltz. The Tango demands you to feel sexy, passionate and angry. This dance makes you move very fast and sharp! While I dance the Waltz, it makes me feel like a lady. It is a very lovely dance, and it’s the dance that is usually danced at your wedding.

    I think Latin- Ballroom dancing is the best dance out there. Even though it is a really competitive dance, people can try it for fun. The Latin dances are Samba, Cha Cha, Paso Doble, Jive, Salsa and Mambo. The Ballroom dances are the Tango, Argentine Tango (which has more leg action), Foxtrot, Waltz and Viennese Waltz (which has more turns). Trust me, you will love the experience.

I remember, when I was little, nap time was a sort of punishment for us. I always wanted to stay up as late as I could. Being able to stay up until 9pm was a privilege. But when you’re little, you end up going to sleep early anyway. It’s just how it works when you’re small. Especially when you’re in daycare or kindergarten. The teachers force you to lay your head down on your mat and close your eyes. It was the worse when you couldn’t sleep for the whole 45 minutes.

But now, being 17-years-old, I enjoy napping. I enjoy sleeping overall. I love staying up as late as I can and waking up when I’m refreshed and ready for the day. I haven’t met a person that doesn’t enjoy a nice rest and the comfort of being in bed. In the summer, I love being able to sleep in as the fan hits my skin and the sun shines through my window. Waking up at 6:50 am to get ready for school was never the highlight of my morning. I love being able to sleep for a long period of time and not wake up exhausted.

I am unnerved by the fact that so many kids are being killed, raped, and molested. Kids are innocent. I don’t understand how people can find it within themselves to hurt a child, like Caylee Anthony. No one knows exactly what happened, except that she was murdered and that justice was definitely not served. I guess we will never know who really murdered her. Just this week, eight-year-old Leiby Kletzky was killed and dismembered by a person from his own community for absolutely no apparent reason. What normal person would do that? It seriously makes me question what’s wrong with people these days. Parents need to start teaching their children not to talk to strangers, or at least not go with them. If little Leiby hadn’t gotten into Levi Aron’s car, he’d be with his mother right now. I hope that other innocent kids never end up having their lives cut short like Caylee Anthony and Leiby Kletzky’s. 

Just yesterday a little Jewish boy named Leiby Kletzky was killed. He was only 8- years-old. Leiby was walking home from day camp for the first time and got lost. He asked a stranger for help. The man he asked was Levi Aron , a 35- year- old man who led the innocent boy to his death. According to Aron, he saw that there was a search for the boy, so he “panicked” and suffocated the boy with a towel. Then, he chopped his body up and put it in a suitcase. The parents of the boy were filled with grief. This was the most random and senseless murder to date. All the boy did was ask for directions.         

In my opinion, this man must have a mental disorder to murder an innocent child. This story reminds me of an episode of “Law & Order” or “Without A Trace.”  The crime investigation and conviction all happened within two days. It’s hard for me to really think about Leiby’s murder, because he just wanted a chance to be a “big boy”. Last night his funeral service was held and thousands of people went to show their support for the family.  The family is Jewish, but the people who came were Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Regardless of religion, it was a senseless act of violence that touched many hearts. Since the family is Jewish, it is against their religion to do an autopsy. They will never know exactly how Leiby died, except that his body was dismembered. The only question still existing is WHY?

Samira Abdallah, 17, attends Murry Bergtraum High School, where she is an active advocate and serves as the secretary of the student government. The rising senior plans to major in psychology with a long list of choices for college, and has already started applying early. Her favorite sports include wrestling, football, running track, volleyball and competitive swimming. She loves all food, and her only request is that it tastes good.

     Recently I met a guy, a friend of my aunt’s actually; named Steven. Steven has full blown AIDS and has been living with the virus for 36 years. At first I did not know how to react. Obviously there isn’t a proper way or behavioral technique used around people with aids; they’re still just like us but sick. So as I noticed everyone in the room singling Steven out, I decided to speak to him. As I spoke to him, he had so much confidence that I felt a little intimidated. I wished I was that confident and down to earth when I first met someone. I would described Steven as funny, blunt, and simply real. He would not “sugarcoat a thing,” because he feels there is no reason to. He also told me not to fear anything, because I’ll live my whole life being scared and regretful. 
    It’s amazing how we take the simplest things for granted, like being able to get up and dance, something Steven wishes he could have done for 36 years. One thing that truly stuck with me was the moment that Steven asked me how was my day and I said, “it was ok I mean I can’t complain.” He then replied, “You can but no one will listen.” At first I thought , wow this guy is bitter . But then I thought about what Steven said and realized what he meant. Steven was saying that the small things that went “wrong” during my day are unimportant, because I’m healthy, happy, and still have my whole life ahead of me. So what is there to complain about without sounding unappreciative? That’s it- there is no answer. So if I learned anything from Steven, it’s live life, be happy, and do not let the little things upset you. And most importantly, be thankful.

    Recently I met a guy, a friend of my aunt’s actually; named Steven. Steven has full blown aids and has been living with the virus for 36 years. At first I did not know how to react, obviously there isn’t a proper way or behavioral technique used around people with aids; they’re still just like us but always sick. So as I noticed everyone in the room singling Steven out I decided to speak to him. As I started speaking to him he had such a reassurance of himself as an individual that I was intimidated. I wished I was that confident and down to earth when I first met someone. As we continued our conversation I described Steven as funny, blunt, and simply real. He would not “sugarcoat a thing” because he feels there is no reason to. He also told me not to fear a thing, because I’ll live my whole life being scared and regretful. It’s amazing how we take the simplest things for granted like being able to get up and dance, something Steven wishes he could have done for 36 years. One thing that truly stuck with me that Steven said was when he asked me how was my day , and I said “it was ok I mean I can’t complain” he then replied by saying ” you can but no one will listen” at first I thought , wow this guy is bitter . But then I thought about what Steven said and realized what he meant. Steven was saying that the small things that went “wrong” during my day are unimportant, because I’m healthy, happy, and still have my whole life ahead of me. So what is there to complain about without sounding unappreciative? That’s it there is no answer. So if I learned anything from Steven, it’s live life, be happy and do not let the little things upset you, and most importantly be thankful.

This past weekend I went to the free Celebrate Brooklyn music festival in Prospect Park. I watched performances by native Brooklyn rappers Joel Ortiz from the rap group Slaughterhouse and Raekwon from the Wu-Tang Clan as well as the rap group Boot Camp Click, which consisted of rappers: Sean Price, Rock, Smiff-n-Wessen and Heltah Skeltah. The turn out was successful; the performances were on point and left Prospect Park buzzing. These classic hip-hop performances were one out of a series of free concerts to celebrate the music culture  born in Brooklyn. The performer made it an important point to give the borough it’s recognition as their birth place, which made the concert feel authentic.