The Paw Print

The past week i tried to get an interview with an immigration lawyer and today i called around 4 and i talked to the lawyer and she gave me an appointment for Friday at 11am. I am really excited because i am finally going to interview the lawyer and also because i have my expert source. I am very excited about writing my article.

The book, Graceling, by Kristen Cashore is one of the best books I have ever read. Personally, I loved it because it is science fiction. The setting of the book in during the Medieval Times, which is another reason why I love it. This is not your typical love story, like Twilight (ew). The book have a very cool view of superpowers. It is not you typical “if they have superpowers, they are loved by everyone because they are heroes” thing. The people with special powers in this book are outcast because the norms (what I call normal people) are scare of not knowing what powers they have. How are these special people distinguish? The have two different eye colors. Our heroine, Katsa, have a blue eye and a green eye. While my favorite character, Po, has a silver and a gold eye. The book is unpredictable, not in the way that it does not make sense. The only thing I did not like about it was that the beginning was a little slow. Surprising secrets are found out in the book and it shows how our heroine deals with people using and outcasting her.

Yesterday guest speaker Caroline Linton, the online webpage editor for the Daily Beast, was great. She was funny and I know that I and a few others laughed at some of the things she said. I am thankful for the free Newsweek magazine given i’ve never read articles from Newsweek besides what I had for homework. Her description of an editor’s job was good as well and it gave me an idea of what I want to do since i’ve been considering editing instead of reporting. During the newsroom war I got a taste of what it was like to be a managing editor and I have to say it was difficult because I tried to please everyone and put their quotes in the story. Later I spoke to a teacher of mine who’s friend is an editor of a magazine who said, “I know i’m doing my job right if everyone hates me at the end of the day.” Next time I know that its about getting the story done in the most effective way and not about pleasing everyone.

Growing up watching TV, like every normal kid, we watched channels such as Disney Channel. Disney Channel used to have shows such as Hannah Montana, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, That’s so Raven, Lizzie McGuire, and etc. Those were the shows of our childhood and have sadly ended as our childhood idols grew up and move on with their lives and careers. Disney Channel replaced those old good shows with pretty stupid new shows that teach completely different lessons and morals to children. The shows of our days had actors that had a normal look and weight. Most Disney Channel shows now have actors that are very skinny and on one Disney Channel show a joke was made about eating disorders, which is not something to joke about or teach young children about. Also the shows just seem to have gotten stupid as if they have ran out of interesting ideas that people can relate to. It is sad to see what Disney Channel turned in to because our generation has grown up looking up to those actors and watching it. It is sad to see our childhood kind of be replaced by stupid shows that have little meaning and worst morals.

Music is an interesting way for teenagers to express themselves and find ways to get through their every day lives. They can connect to the music in very special ways. There are many different genres of music and every genre category that a person likes could say a lot about a person and what he/she is like. For example someone who listens to a lot of metal music may have a very hardcore and somewhat dark/deep personality and someone who listens to pop music could be very bubbly and outgoing. However, genres are not the only thing about music that speaks to teenagers. Song lyrics are the main reason why teenagers see music somewhat as their own voice. Lyrics give teenagers a voice when they are constantly being limited of having a voice by other people and by their own selves. Lyrics usually convey the things or emotions that teenagers have a tough time expressing or telling someone. It is almost as if the lyrics just take words from our mouth and thoughts from our head. It is easy to be friends with people who have similar music tastes because it forms a path of connection between two people. Two people with different music interests can obviously still be friends but they just will have to find another common ground. I know a lot of my friends who have had issues in the past with their personal lives have used music as a way to get through their problems by listening to lyrics that relate to their situations. We are very lucky to have something beautiful like music in our lives. Listening to music, generally, is good for the brain and can be very relaxing in tense situations.

Heal is a day were families that have lost a loved family member to tragic experience meet up in one room, to discuss and mourn. H.E.A.L the charity organization that holds the day every season, wants to gather various families from different backgrounds to discuss how the lose has affected them.

There plan is to separate the children’s attention with various activities and games to remember the person that they had lose. While this happens the adults discuss how they fell on a personal bases.

They discuss who there loved one was to them and how that loved one passed on.

The answer has never been pleasant to hear most of the volunteers and workers said but it has to be said so the person can open up more to the people around them.

The trend usually goes from gun violence to terminal cancer, usually young or/and in pain for a number of years before the end of the thread.

The people in the therapy section vary, there are people returning to discuss what is going on in there lives since the lose and there are people who just lost a family member recently.

One woman lost her beloved a week before coming in with her young daughter she did not say one word until a certain event occurred.

When it was her turn to speak she started moaning uncontrollable until the group huddled around her and embraced her. “We have all been there,” said a fellow moaner.

Through her moans she was barely able to get out her story but she held through and spoke and shared, and then the next person went on.

“I remember my father,” said a young girl about to enter the fifth grade. Her mother started moaning “But it’s been 2 years and I’m starting to get used to life without him, it feels like a new beginning.”

“Yes,” a worker responded, “that’s what they would all want to be the final outcome.”

– For personal reasons no names will be stated in this article

     I remember when I first used a computer. I was eight years old, healthy, and had twenty-twenty vision. Now, I am sixteen years old and I have very bad eyesight. Within eight years, I’ve seen people, both adults and children, become more dependent on computers. It is a good thing since computers have helped people be able to communicate with friends and family all over the world through email, web cam, and instant messaging. It’s how I keep in contact with my friend in China. It also allows people to send information around the world, for example the Egypt riots were told all around the world starting through Facebook.

     Computers have helped people communicate, however it also is a bad influence in my opinion. Computers have allowed people to stay inside and have fun. Once in a while, if it is an extremely hot or cold day, it is acceptable. But when the weather is good, people will still rather choose to stay inside and watch YouTube videos or play RPG – Role Playing Games – all day long than go out. This lack of exercise and fresh air are, in my opinion, contributing factors in the rising number of obese adults and children. Computers also allow access to available information, like videos and games. This access allows children to see rated R movies and videos on YouTube and play violent adult games. I remember when I volunteer two years at my old prep school that I was watching over the Kindergarten going onto First grade class. A boy came up to me and cursed at me. I yelled at him and he said that he didn’t even know what it meant but that he saw a boy on YouTube say it. This access to information and videos allow children to have excuses to be disobedient and disrespectful to others.

     Computers are also a health hazard. When you stare at a computer screen, the screen slowly burns your eyes out. If you only spend like an hour a day on the computer, your eyes should be fine. However, when you have to be on the computer for several hours a day due to schools’ dependence on them, your eyes will get worse and you will sooner or later be forced to wear thick lens glasses. Also, if you have multiple computers in a room, dust will gradually meet up at where your computers are and spending too much time at your computers will mean that you will breathe in the dust.

     At this point, if anyone even reads this sentence, you will probably not get off the computer anytime soon. All I can say is, at least stand outside of your house or the building you’re at for five minutes and breathe in some fresh air. Or go and toss a disc around with a friend or something. I hear that Ultimate Frisbee is pretty fun.

The printing press for years has been printing out our newspapers. However, people are reading printed newspapers less, because they know they could read the same articles online for free. Which brings up the question,is there really much need for printed newspapers?
I for one do like reading the newspaper on my own, but I don’t exactly enjoy having to pay for it, especially if I’m only going to read something once, and then throw it away.

Living at 231st street in the Bronx, when you go school in downtown Manhattan has its perks. In my daily commute (one way) I take one bus and three trains, one of them being the N or R train. One can think of it as an annoyance, but I think of it as a way to see new things. In the N/R 23rd street station there is mosaic artwork all over. Particularly interesting, there are all types of different mosiaic hats belonging to different people. I have always been curious as to what the hats were doing there, and what they actually represented. After doing a little research I found out that the artwork was a permanent feature called “Memories of Twenty-Third Street” by Keith Godard. Goddard got his inspiration to create the hats from the neighborhood he had lived in. Living in the Chelsea Hotel in the late 1960’s, Goddard felt connected to Chelsea and researched prominent people who also were a part of it. After reading the book “Turn West on 23rd Street” by Robert Baral, Goddard learned that the men and women of Chelsea in the 1800’s and the 1900’s did not leave home without a hat. His discovery inspired him to create artwork that incorporates subway riders daily. Hats belonging to people such as 18th-19th century sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 19th century actress Anna Held, as well as 19th century dancer Loie Fuller grace the walls of the station, allowing riders of the subway to stop and take pictures with the hats. Not only did Godard create the hats, he incorporated the height of each person the hat belonged too, so it gives an accurate detail about the person. “Memories of Twenty-Third Street” was placed in the 23rd street station of the N/R line in 2002, and will surely entertain subway riders for many years to come. If you would like to find out more about “Turn West on 23rd Street” by Robert Baral, it is out of print, but used copies can be purchased at http://www.abebooks.com/. Also, Keith Goddard explains a little more about “Memories of Twenty-Third Street” in this interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81TnXFH6p8M