05/06/2009 "My Previous Post.. relates to Autism, because.. "

The previous post I posted connects with Autism in one specific way.. that way is that I once read a newspaper article and the mother of an autistic child said she was very disappointed with how rude people on this Earth actually were. She said she was in the doctor's office and her son was acting up, because he doesn't know any better and to her it's normal for him to act like that, but this other woman just kept staring and staring and it made the mother feel very uncomfortable. The other woman didn't ask any questions about why her son was acting like that or anything she just starred to the point where the mother felt the need to move to another section of the doctor's office. I think the previous article relates to this, because Connie Culp will get starred out for years to come because people don't understand why she has a disfigured face. It's 2009 now, people need to grow up and move on.. it's SO not about what's on the outside it's about what's on the inside!

05/06/2009 "NY TIMES STORY!"

Recipient of Face Transplant Shares Her Story and Results

CLEVELAND (AP) — Five years ago, a shotgun blast left a ghastly hole where the middle of Connie Culp’s face had been. Five months ago, she received a new face from a dead woman.

Ms. Culp stepped forward on Tuesday to show the results of the nation’s first face transplant. Her new look was far from the puckered, noseless sight that had made children run away in horror. Ms. Culp’s expressions are still a bit wooden, but she can talk, smile, smell and taste food again.

Her speech is at times difficult to understand. Her face is bloated and squarish, and her skin droops in folds that doctors plan to pare away as her circulation improves and her nerves grow, animating new muscles. But she had nothing but praise for those who made her new face possible.

“I guess I’m the one you came to see today,” Ms. Culp, 46, said at a news conference at the Cleveland Clinic, where the groundbreaking operation was performed. But, she said, “I think it’s more important that you focus on the donor family that made it so I could have this person’s face.”

Until Tuesday, Ms. Culp’s identity and how she came to be disfigured were a secret.
Ms. Culp’s husband, Thomas, shot her in 2004, then turned the gun on himself. He went to prison for seven years. She was left clinging to life.

The blast shattered her nose and cheeks, the roof of her mouth and an eye. Hundreds of fragments of shotgun pellet and bone splinters were embedded in her face. She needed a tube in her windpipe to breathe. Only her upper eyelids, forehead, lower lip and chin were left. She endured 30 operations to try to fix her face.

Ms. Culp said she wanted to help foster acceptance of those who have suffered burns and other disfiguring injuries.

“When somebody has a disfigurement and don’t look as pretty as you do, don’t judge them because you never know what happened to them,” she said. “Don’t judge people who don’t look the same as you do. Because you never know. One day it might be all taken away.”

05/06/2009 "BANCROFT"

So yesterday I went to Bancroft, it was a sweeeeet time like usual, however, I think it will be one of my last days there because next Tuesday I will be in Florida for Senior Trip. When I went there yesterday I made a copy of all of the hours I put in there and I had about 24 hours! I was really excited to count up my hours and see that because it just proves how dedicated I've been to this Senior Project class! I would absolutely love to go to Bancroft a few more times, but I just hope I get the opportunity too because these last few weeks are going to be extremely hectic!

05/04/2009 "FIRST POST OF MAY! AND ITS MONDAY"

Out of all the days of the week I must admit I hate Mondays. I don't know what it is about Mondays, but I absolutely dread them. I don't know if it's because I sleep in all weekend and them bamn I have to wake up early on Monday for school, or if it's because I know I have a FULL week off school ahead of me and Monday is only the first out of five days. Basically MONDAYS BLOW! Well I'm in English class and the period is about to end so I'll post later :)

04/29/2009 "BANCROFT - A STUDENT SURPRISED ME"

Yesterday was Tuesday and I went to Bancroft. The normal routine happened, I got there, the students were eating lunch in the classroom and then I walked them to gym with the teachers. We played a really fun game in Gym Class and my team, the green team, won! After Gym class was over we went back to the classroom and worked on Mathematics and Individualized work. One of the students, who can't talk too well, absolutely surprised me yesterday when she was working with one of the teachers. She knew ALL 10 of the presidents that the teacher showed her, she's a HUGE Barack Obama fan haha, everytime the teacher said Barack Obama, she would pick up the picture and rub it all over her body haha! She even learned about 3 new women to add to her collection. One of them being Rosa Parks. The only women I knew of was Rosa Parks, but this student knew the other two women also and I've never even heard of them! Hearing the student say the names of these two women put a huge smile on my face and I'm glad I was there to witness such a wonderful time during my experience.

04/29/2009 " CRAZY SUV FOLLOWED ME TO Bancroft Yesterday"

So yesterday, I went to Bancroft and had a really great time like usual. However, I was a little scared on my way there because this car was following me from the Paint Works turning onto 561 to Bancroft. Every time I switched my lane this SUV behind me would too and I was absolutely freakin out! Finally I was about two minutes from Bancroft and the SUV was still behind me, I didn't know what to do. I put on my blinker to turn into Bancroft and bamn what do you know.. the SUV was also turning into Bancroft. I was so scared! I pulled into one of the parking lots and the SUV turned into the lot before, whether or not that SUV was truly following me and trying to scare me to my destination or whether they actually were going there I will never know, but it was an expericence I never want to encounter again.

04/29/2009 "DICTIONARY GAME"

Jab/Jabber! That's the fasinating word that I had to talk about for a minute and half in the wonderful dictionary game. I talked about different situations such as jabbing with sharp objects and how I once saw a Lifetime Movie about a daughter who jabbed her mother with a knife because she wouldn't let her go out for the night. Crazy much!? Uhh yess absolutely! Well anyways the dictionary game, I believe is a great game because it helps people work out their public speaking skills, something that many high school students fear. I believe this game, has helped many people in my class prepare for our final presentations for Senior Project!

04/29/2009 "BANCROFT'S PLAY"

Last Friday, I went to Bancroft because they had their Spring Production at Haddonfield High School. Each class had a different theme, based on a certain month. The class that I usually visit at Bancroft had the month of June, so they did a 4th of July theme and it was absolutely adorable. They marched out to independence music and showed how proud they were that the United States of America was finally free! In the background of their skit they had a banner that was painted on a white, felt sheet, with the White House drew out. The students took so much time making this, so I was glad to see that it looked great when it was displayed behind their skit. I brought Natalie with me and I hope she had a fun time. I was planning on introducing her to the Occupational Therapist at Bancroft, but every time I wanted to call out her name someone else had gotten to her before me. I also wanted to introduce her to my class, but they got to the production right as it was starting so I didn't get to do that unfortunately. However, as soon as my class started to perform, I shouted out every one's name and started to clap, I even started to shed a few tears!

04/23/2009 "BANCROFT YESTERDAY"

Yesterday, I went to Bancroft, it was a bit different because I usually go on Tuesdays. Every Tuesday the students have Gym Class, but on Wednesdays the students have Art Class. It was really cool going there yesterday, because every Tuesday it's the same routine over and over again, but Wednesday was a complete change for me. Normally when I go to their class on Tuesday there eating lunch in their classroom, but on Wednesdays they ate lunch in the Cafeteria. It's nothing too big of a thrill, but it was just cool to have a change at Bancroft. Also it was one of the teacher's birthday so when we got into the Art Room, the students surprised her with cake and ice cream! And also since it was Earth Day yesterday the students cut out pictures of the Earth and cut out pictures of people to stretch out across the Earth. It was a really neat project! :)

04/22/2009 "MR. VICK AND MR. PAUL COME TO LINDENWOLD"

Yesterday Mr. Vick and Mr. Paul came to Lindenwold High School during 7th and 8th period. During those periods they discussed the importance of making your final presentation as exciting as possible. The actual presentation needs to be Atlas 40 minutes, so if your talking for 40 minutes and not engaging your audience they will fall asleep or look extremely bored/dead in their seat. There are a few good ways to keep an audience involved and if you follow those ways you will turn into a great presentator. The first, NEVER play a video clip of more than 40 seconds (you can however, do more than one video clip), and next ENGAGE THE AUDIENCE, I can't stress that anymore!

04/17/2009 "Last Official Day Of Spring Break"

So today is Friday, the last official day of Spring break and I haven't done anything too productive this whole week. I did a few things here and there, but nothing exciting, unfortunately. However, I did think about Senior Project, I think for sure I'm going to make a brochure advertising what a great non-profit organization Bancroft is! In completing that, I can also use my Public Relations skills to advertise my brochure and make Bancroft a better known school for people who don't really know about it.

04/13/2009 ......

I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GRRREEEAAATTT EASTER (:
ENJOY SPRING BREAKK ENGLISH CLASSS! HAHA.

04/09/2009 "SET IN MOTION FOR PROJECT"

I am very stoked to begin this wonderful project portion of Senior Project. I feel as if I’ve been waiting all year for this and this moment has finally arrived. I have decided to create a brochure to show awareness of autism and the affects it has on people today. Since I am doing my Senior Project at Bancroft I plan to add them to my brochure and talk about what a great non-profit organization they are. I plan to have my brochure catch the eye of the reader. I hope to incorporate bright, colorful colors so the reader will be like “wow, what’s this brochure!?” This project is unique and creative because autism is an ongoing issue all over the world and there is NO cure for it. People need to know what autism is because it seems like more and more people are getting diagnosed with it everyday. This project will fit into my presentation because my whole experience for Senior Project took place at Bancroft School in Haddonfield, New Jersey so I would love for people to learn about what a great school Bancroft is.

After volunteering and observing at Bancroft, I’m not too sure if I want to get into Special Education anymore. I’m thinking about getting into Public Relations. Public Relations can pretty much fit into anything. By creating this brochure I will be telling about my experiences at Bancroft and creating it on a Public Relations aspect, by presenting it to many people to raise awareness for such an ongoing issue across the world. It will help me speak in front of large groups of people for whatever I decide to do in my future. It will help get rid of my stage fright and my stutter. I think the only person who can help me with this project is myself. I started this project on my own so I believe I must finish it on my own. An obstacle that I know I will face through this project is timing myself at a good pace. I am a huge procrastinator and I hope this project will help me manage my time a little bit better.

04/08/2009 "BANCROFT YESTERDAY; BREAK A LEG!"

Yesterday I went to Bancroft and the whole arrangement that usually happens when I went there happened. However, Friday April 24, 2009 all of the Bancroft students attending Bancroft are going to perform a school play at a local high school. The class that I always work with are doing a 4th of July play and I'm so happy for them. The teachers in the classroom yesterday asked me to come on Friday and it truly did mean a lot to me. I wish all of the students in the whole school the best of luck and to "break a leg!" I will let you know how it went once I see it!

04/09/2009 "SPRING BREAK SENIOR PROJECT"

Who is SUPER EXCITED for Spring Break!? I know I am! Over Spring Break I don't plan on just being lazy and totally forgetting about Senior Project. I was planning on going to Bancroft on Tuesday, but they have off too. So during my break I hope to gather some more ideas for what exactly I plan to do for my Final Presentation. I got a lot of ideas from classmates yesterday, but over the week break I plan to have something set and stone on what exactly I plan and want to do. As soon as I know I will keep everyone informed. Also tomorrow I will be meeting with my mentor so I will discuss some ideas with her.

04/06/2009 "ROOMMATE for WVU :)"

So yesterday I applied for housing for WVU and I found out who my roommate is. I took a survey and my top 20 results came back and this girl, Molly, came back with 100%. She threw me a friend request on facebook and we've been chatting so I'm pretty excited to have her as a roommate. I'm glad that I'm getting a chance to meet my roommate in advance, so I don't have some crazy roommate who I absolutely hate and don't get along with. Finding a roommate definitely is getting me more stoked to start my future :)

04/03/2009 "PROJECT aspect of Senior Project" hollaaaa!

I think for the PROJECT aspect of Senior Project I want to go to a meeting or convention of some sort and listen to people talk about Autism. While I'm there I hope to take tons of pictures, even videos! I have to find out where I can get this take done at though because I haven't been looking. I think I want to now major in Public Relations, so if I could go to this meeting and discuss what I've been doing that would definitely get me a head start in that department! I'm super excited and this is just an idea that I would like to do for Senior Project, so when I know for sure what I want to do I'll keep you posted :)

04/02/2009 "First Track Meet Today"

Today is the Girls First Track Team Meet! So I'm pretty excited, I'm not on the Track team itself, but I'm on the Field Team, but the fielders run like we're on the track team. We run so much and I hate it, but I guess it's good because I will be getting in shape, and I'm not in shape whatsoever haha. I needed a fourth blog so I decided to blog about the track meet today and I will let you know how it went!

04/02/2009 "School #4 Yesterday"

Yesterday, I went to School #4 and sat in on a preschool classroom. The kids are so adorable, three of them were sleeping when I got there. I got there around 1ish, which I guess was lunch time because most of them were eating. The teacher asked me to pick a book for each of the students to take home and read so I did that and I enjoyed doing it. It was a little difficult though because I wasn't sure if the student already read that book or if they'd even like it. After I put all the books in the students book bags, I helped clean up the room a little bit, by picking up the blue mats that were laying on the floor and putting them to the side.

After the other two students woke up, we had circle time, and I read about three books to the students. I had such a fun time!! The one book so was.. "If your happy and you know it" so we all sang along to that.. I had a great time and I hope to go back soon!

03/31/2009 "RESEARCH PAPER"

I just wrote a thing about my research paper, but it didn't save when I hit "Publish Post" so it got deleted :( Basically, this six page reasearch paper is due tomorrow and I only have three pages, but I believe that there three good pages. I don't know what else I could add to my paper, because I feel as if the paper is already strong. I wasn't in class yesterday because I was in West Virginia, but the class told me that my teacher said to hand in what we have completed, if it's not six pages that's ok. So if I can't find any more details to fill my paper in with I might just hand in the three pages I already have completed.

03/31/2009 "WEST VIRGINIA EXPERIENCE"

So Sunday and Monday I went to West Virginia and West Virginia University, the University was so much more than I imagined in a great way! Once we arrived in Morgantown, West Virginia I noticed that there were flags everywhere with the "WV sign and GO MOUNTAINEERS!" I was so intrigued by the University it was pretty much love at first site. About 3/4 of the students I saw had some sort of WVU gear on.. it should just how much they love there school! The tour group drove by the Football Stadium and I can honestly say I thought I was going to cry, it was the Stadium that drew me to WVU in the first place. A group known as the "MOUNTAINEER MANIACS" are a group of students that buy a membership to get into all home football games and sit in the maniac section and cheer on there Mountaineers, that is a group that I've been wanting to join since the beginning of my Junior Year in high school. I definetely plan on attending WVU in the fall and I'm so happy I got to go there for the weekend with my mom :)

03/24/2009 "WEST VIRGINIA FINANCIAL AID MAIL"

Today when I got home from Track Practice my mom told me that I got mail from West Virginia University! I always look forward to receiving mail from them because my heart is sent on going there. I opened up the letter and found out that I received a lot of money from WVU, my mom calculated it out to be that I would only have to pay about $1400 for my freshmen year! WOW! What a sweeeet deal, right!? I got a job promotion this summer so that can easily get paid and I'm so excited! I'm going to West Virginia on Monday. My mom booked a hotel room today actually for us to check in on Sunday and Monday we're going to a tour that WVU is having. When we're finished with the tour my mom wants to meet with a financial advisor to varify this EXCELLENT deal that I have received! I honestly cried, I couldn't believe this wonderful opportunity.

Also.. when I go to WVU I plan to meet Marilyn Potts, she was the woman who sent me the letter saying that I was on the waiting list than my acceptance letter on February 21, 2009. I emailed her a few times and she responded and she seems like a really great woman! I will keep everyone informed about the experience I have this Monday!

03/24/2009 "BIRTHDAY DAY AT BANCROFT"

Today at Bancroft was a terrific day! When I got there the students were so excited to see me, probably because I didn't go last Tuesday. Well today there were two birthdays in class! One student turned 14 and the other student 13. When I got into the classroom the students were watching 'Spongebob SquarePants' and then I walked them to gym. In gym class we participated in playing catch and a little bit of basketball with beam bags getting thrown in a crate. After gym we went back to the classroom and the students worked on their hygiene. They all brushed their teeth, washed their hands, went to the bathroom, and groomed themselves. After hygiene time it was time for individual work, so I worked with one of the students (the birthday boy) and another teacher. The young gentleman now 13 years old, was working on index cards on how to do laundry. I thought it was so cool considering that I don't even know how to do laundry.. so after he was finished.. he quizzed me and I passed and I thank him! He gave me a sticker with a star on it and wrote.. "Good Job Girl" it made my day :) After individual work we celebrated two of the students birthdays with Vanilla Cake and Chocolate Chunk Brownies. And before I knew it, it was time to get the students ready for their buses to go home.

03/23/2009 "The Start of a Terrific Research Paper"

Today in class, I decided to finally start my Research Paper! I decided to base my Research Paper on Autism. Autism is a growing issue all over the world and it's an issue that I think everyone needs to know about! I accomplished three paragraphs in class today. I just started to write away and before I knew it three paragraphs were formed. I didn't cite the information yet, I just wrote everything that I wanted to put in my paper. I will probably go back Wednesday and cite everything that needs to be cited and then finish off the rest of my paper. My mentor, Mrs. Distasi wants to see a minimum of atleast half of my paper on Thursday when I meet with her during 6B so I'm trying to reach that goal. Tomorrow I'm going to Bancroft so I probably won't work on my paper tomorrow. I'm excited to write this paper because I think Autism is an issue that people should know about!

03/20/2009 "IT'S FRIDAY! UHH GLOBAL WARMING MUCH!?"

So today was the first day of Spring, but it wasn't an ordinary Spring Day outside.. it was SNOWING! My dark brown eyes widened as I walked outside dismorning to go to school. Global warming is such a HUGE issue and honestly it really hasn't hit me until I saw SNOW on the first day of SPRING haha! Tyana is doing her research paper a little bit about global warming and the environment and I'm very intrested to see what she has to say. Earth is crazy and I just so happen to be a part of it!

03/19/2009 "I SAM" - CINDI

In first period today we were all working on different things for different classes and out of no where I just started to SINGGG! I randomly just bust out with singing, it's crazy! I sing at least ten random songs a day! So today in Phys. Ed Class Cindi and Tomasa gave me the name "I SAM!" I'm sure you know what the IPOD is.. well it's a device that stores A LOT of songs and Cindi and Tomasa believe that I have a lot of songs stored in my brain or something haha! And honestly, I believe I do because I sing in the most randomest of places!

03/19/2009 "I MET WITH MY MENTOR TODAY!"

Today during 6b I met with my mentor and we discussed my research paper and went over my blogs. I didn't realize it, but I ONLY HAD TWO BLOGS THIS WEEK! I couldn't believe it. I just feel like I've been slacking to the extreme this month and I'm not too sure why. SENIORITIUS much!? I'm not really sure, however, I plan to start blogging a lot more like I did before. I'm happy tomorrow is Friday because I feel like this week has been so "blah". Aliccia Hans' 18th birthday is tomorrow so I'm gonna go to her house for some cake and all so I'm excited about that! Happy early Birthday girl =]

03/18/2009 "I HAVEN'T BLOGGED IN A WHILE"

I just realized I haven't blogged in a few days. So I'm going to tell you about my day yesterday. Yesterday, after school the Leo Club went to the Leo Club Forum in Bridgeton, New Jersey. It was exciting yet disappointing because I knew it was going to be my last Leo Club Forum in high school, but exciting because I plan to continue volunteering for clubs in College. There were about seven different high schools from all over New Jersey that attended this forum and we discussed ideas that we had and that we were planning on doing. I met a lot of cool people and even saw some people that I met last year :) I love the feeling when you only met someone once before and they are so excited to see you and say... "SAAAAMMMMM!" that's what this one kid Tom did to me after I met him last year at the Forum! Leo Club is a great volunteer organization and I think every high school student should be involved in some community service club, if not in Leo Club!

03/13/2009 "MY FAIR LADY"

Last night Lindenwold High School presented the opening performance of "My Fair Lady." It was incredibly well-performed and you can tell that all of the actors take a lot of pride in their performances. The three hour performance, of over fifty actors and actresses proved all of there hard and dedicated work to this opening performance. Lindenwold High School will also present three more performances tonight, Saturday afternoon, and closing night Saturday night! Jessica Rowand, did an exquisite job performing her character of Eliza Doolittle. Overcoming being sick for the past few weeks, she did what she had to do and did a flawless job. Matt Weil, also did a flawless performance with his character Henry Higgins. He has been a great asset to the Lindenwold High School Theatre Arts Department since Middle School and he will be missed tremendously when moving on in his future. Craig Pate, who performed Pickering, had an awesome performance. Craig was a new addition to the Theatre Arts Program this year, but he could have fooled anyone. Craig is also a senior and will be successful in his future when attending Clemson University. These actors were to name only a few, out of many. Everyone in the play did a great performance and Mrs. Triplo and Mr. Abrams and many others did a great job directing it!

03/11/2009 BANCROFT YESTERDAY!

Yesterday, Tuesday March 11, 2009 I went to Bancroft and it was a good day like usual. However, there was a new student that started last Thursday, so that was a cool thing to experience. I'm so use to having the same students in the classroom, so meeting a new student was definitely an adventure. The student has a bit of a listening problem, but he is going to try and work on it. He constantly kept singing a song by SOLJA BOY AND LIL WAYNE and the words were very disturbing. I HOPE he didn't know what he was singing, because it made me mad that a young kid could know what that meant. We went back to class after gym and worked on the student's hygiene and math skills. Before I knew it 2:30 had arrived, and I walked one of the students to their bus. I walked outside to see if the other student's buses had arrived and the one students didn't. A few moments later his bus pulled up, than he started crying for some reason.. he said he didn't want to go home. The teacher talked to him and after ten minutes of talking and calming him down the bus drove off.

03/09/2009 HOROSCOPE

09 Mar 2009virgo

Normally you wouldn't allow your emotional worries to stand in the way of your progress. If you are aware of this possibility, you could monitor yourself so that you don't ruin something you have put so much work into today. A meeting with a prospective partner is very likely.Emotions:

Good ~ Money: Fair ~ Wellness: GoodPower Numbers: 18, 39, 41, 10, 14, 26

03/06/2009 "ENRIQUE and TOMASA"

Tomasa told us how she went to a Christian Bible School and saw how the teacher taught her students. Instead of just teaching the students and being "blah" like Tomasa had mentioned, she lets the students get involved and calls on them constantly. I can see Tomasa being a very great teacher so I hope she likes the experience that she's had and will come to have! Enrique discussed how his experience has been throughout the weeks he has been there. Enrique is too cool for school, for real, haha. He can make any situation so funny. He followed me one day last week because Little Tuna is near Bancroft, let me just mention.. he drives pretty slow, so be prepared if he's following you haha. Just kidding Enrique!

03/04/2009 SCHOOL #4 with NATALIE

So today Natalie and I went to School #4 to observe the Autistic Program and their Physical Therapy Program. We both had a really great time! The students that I were with were absolutely amazing. I got there around 12:00 which was there nap time, however, only one of the students actually fell asleep. And it just so happens that I rocked him in the swing and then he went to sleep, haha. I went over the alphabet with this little boy and he traced the letter as he spoke the letter. About fifteen minutes later it was lunch time and some of the students ate lunch, some of them didn't however, because they need to eat at certain times. Two girls came in the classroom and read two stories to the children, they really enjoyed it. I had a really great time and I definitely plan on going back!

03/02/2009 HSPA TESTING - SLEEPING IN

So tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday the Junior Class needs to go to class regular time to take the HSPA test. The Freshmen, Sophomores, and Seniors however get to sleep in! I mean wow, this week has been poppin.. snow day today, which I got to sleep in, than I get to sleep in for the next three days too, than BAM its Friday already! This is really too good to be true. My mom doesn't want me going to Bancroft tomorrow because she's unsure of how the roads will be down that way due to the snow. So as soon as I'm finished blogging, I am going to email my sponsor and let her know! Good luck to everyone taking the HSPA test!

03/01/2009 SNOW DAY TOMORROW!

So this is my first post of March! I was unsure on what exactly to blog about until I got a text from Jamie saying that there was NO school tomorrow! I jumped with excitement, eager to get an extra few hours of sleep in. I turned to channel 19 just to see it appear and say that all Lindenwold Public Schools are closed March 2nd due to Inclement Weather, I stared and made it my status on Facebook haha! What will I do on my day off from school? Honestly, I'll probably just lay around all day and watch Lifetime :)! The only down fall to having this snow day off is.. we have to graduate a day later, so I'm kind of dreading that! Well I hope everyone enjoys their day off!

02/26/2009 MY RESEARCH PAPER

The topic that I chose to do my research paper on was Autism. Autism is starting to become very common, but there is NO definite way to get it. It can be from the X gene, which is a gene that doesn't have the protein it needs. In recent studies many people think that getting lots of shots, to avoid things like the flu, can actually increase your chances of getting Autism as an older child. Unfortunately students who reach the age of eighteen don't get as much attention as the younger Autistic children and that forces families to cut back on hours at work due to them having to watch their children. The previous statements I had made are issues that I hope to address people about in my Research Paper!

02/26/2009 MAYBE THERE'S A GHOST!

Today has been a pretty fun day! Nothing too spectacular. One of my teachers bought me and a few other of her senior mentor students sweatshirts to their number one University, so that was awesome! My math test was a little hard :( so that was a little upsetting. I'm in English class now and my mouse was stuck behind the desktop and it wouldn't untangle. I asked my friend Jamie to fix it and all she did was touch it (literally) and it came out from the desktop, it was insane! Than I realized my computer wouldn't turn out, she pushed the button, and BAMN it came on after I already pushed the button like ten times! I wonder... maybe there's a GHOST at my computer!?

02/24/2009 BANCROFT!

Today I had a wonderful day at Bancroft! I did the usual, as soon as I got there the three students were finishing up lunch, then I took them to gym. In gym class we did a scavenger hunt and the RED TEAM (my team) won! So that was really cool! Also one of the students is in a wheelchair, but today in gym class he used a machine, that helped him stand up. He was so happy, and it made me smile. After gym class the students went back to class and worked on their math skills, independently, and as a class. After math, it was hygiene time! Hygiene time is when the students wash their hands and brush their teeth. After hygien time, the students had one on one time with all of the teachers in the classroom, while I observed. Then before I knew it, it was already 2:15! So all of the students had to get ready and go on their buses.

02/23/2009 NEW PLANS FOR SATURDAY NIGHT!

So like I previously stated in my last blog, my "friend" ditched me and another friend to go to a Lacrosse Game with her boyfriend and his friends. I was determined to find plans for Saturday Night because I was going to let this "friend" ruin my plans! I ended up hanging out with Natalie and her cousin Lisa, we ordered food and ended up having a REALLY great time! I am so happy that I hung out with Natalie and her cousin because if I didn't I would have been home all night on a Saturday Night and that is NO fun whatsoever! All three of us watched a movie in the living room and Natalie and myself even fell asleep. We woke up to her cousins' phone ringing than fell back asleep. About ten minutes later her cousins' mom, dad, and aunt got home. I've meet her cousins' parents before before I never met her aunt. She was so funny! She definitely made the night that much better. We all told each other jokes and laughed until our stomachs hurt. It was a Saturday to remember!

02/23/2009 "Betrayal" PICTURES ON MYSPACE

So I was in Physics class last period and I needed two more blog entries to reach my five blogs. I wasn't sure exactly what to blog about so I asked my friends. My one friend mentioned to me that I should blog about friends and lying. I hate when people lie! Why do people lie!? Just tell the truth, I don't get it! Well anyways, Saturday night I was suppose to go the Philadelphia Wings Game with a lot of people. A few people didn't have the money and didn't feel well so they decided they didn't want to go. That left three people, including myself. An hour before the game my one "friend" texted me and said her parents were no longer letting her out for the night. So I had to text my other friend and tell her the news. My other friend and I decided not to go to the game considering it was just going to be us and we had little time to get ready. Yesterday, I received a text from that friend saying that the other so called "friend" went to the game with her boyfriend and his friends because she POSTED PICTURES ON MYSPACE. What an idiot! I was mad, I mean if she didn't want to go with us all she had to do was let us know! Grr! And I'm sitting next to Rob in the Guidance Office and he said that my man, Athan Iannucci scored 3 Goals and I missed it. He has been out for a lot of the season due to a knee injury, but he returned Saturday Night and I missed it!! AAAHH.

02/22/2009 LAS VEGASSSS!

So my sister and her husband left yesterday around 1:00 to go to Las Vegas. Lucky much!? Yeah, I'm pretty jealous. My mom has to watch their two dogs and cat for them while they're gone. Right now, I'm at my sister's house and will probably spend most of my week here considering my mom will because she has to feed the animals and let the dogs go outside and do their "business." That means I have to get up a lot earlier than usual because they live in Atco. This weekend has gone by so fast and I feel like I didn't really do anything. I still have history questions to do so I guess I'll get to that after I'm finished blogging.

02/20/2009 "Girls + Boys Meeting"

If you don't already know there is two groups at this school that are just for men and women. It's called "Building Women" and "Building Men" it's a group of students that get together and discuss issues likes relationships, celebrity gossip news, even how our previous week had went. The students in these groups all met today during 6th period, I believe the students in 5th period met last Wednesday. The girls and boys in these group never actually met together, we usually just have different meeting on different days. But today was different we met in one of the health rooms and the room was so crowded! We discussed the Chris Brown and Rihanna issue and about how boys and girls react in their relationship. It was a very interesting meeting because everyone said how they felt and we heard the boys' perspective on things.

02/19/2009 "Dealing with Rejection"

So today Mr. Abrams gave me a newspaper article that he thought I may be interested in. Normally I wouldn't be interested in reading newspapers, but the caption seemed to catch my brown eyes (haha). "When the alma mater of your dreams says no" was the title of the article. Basically to sum up the article it was about a High School senior boy who applied to a University that he was sent on getting into. He GPA was great, SAT scores were great, he had the whole package. However, he received a letter stating that he did not get accepted. It was the only college that he wanted to attend and he had so many great things going in his favor. I guess the college didn't see the great things the student had to offer. It kind of made me realize wow, I almost didn't get into my number one college and I would have be absolutely devastated. When I got put on the waiting list for WVU, it made me realize that I wasn't going to give up! And I didn't! I feel very bad for this boy because I know how it feels, it almost happened to me. I wish him good luck in his future and I hope everything works out for him!

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I CHECKED MY APPLICATION STATUS TODAY AND IT SAID THAT I HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED TO WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY! I WAS IN GUIDANCE IN COMPLETE SHOCK, I WAS SOOOO EXCITED, MY BEST FRIEND EVEN STARTED TO SHED A FEW TEARS! THANKS GUIDANCE DEPARTMENT =] IN THE BEGINNING OF MY JUNIOR YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL AFTER SEEING A FOOTBALL GAME ON T.V. WITH WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY PLAYING I KNEW THAT I WAS GOING TO STRIVE MY HARDEST TO GET ACCEPTED TO THAT COLLEGE! I WAS ON THE WAITING LIST FOR THE LONGEST TIME AND IT DEVASTATED ME TREMENDOUSLY, BUT I KNEW THAT IF THIS IS WHAT I TRULY WANTED I WOULD HAVE TO FIGHT. I EMAILED THEM, SENT THEM LOADS OF RECOMMENDATIONS, RE-TOOK THE SATS (HOWEVER, I DIDN'T DO TOO MUCH BETTER) I EVEN SENT THEM A LINK TO MY BLOG (SOMETHING THAT MY ENGLISH TEACHER THOUGHT WOULD SET ME OUT FROM OTHERS =]). I AM TRULY AT A LOST OF WORDS!

Bancroft 02/18/2009 =]

Yesterday February 17, 2009 I went to Bancroft and had a BLAST! Of course like every Tuesday when I go there the students are getting ready for Gym Class. Yesterday for Gym we played basketball and went to the weight room! After gym class I had some one on one time with the students. I guess one of the students thought I wasn't paying that much attention to him so he said "Do you not like me!?" I was puzzled! Why would he every think I wasn't fond of him, I felt sad, like I had let him down. I responded "Of course I like you! Why wouldn't I?" And then for the half hour left of class I talked to him and worked on his math skills! One thing that I absolutely loved about their math class was that the teacher had so many unique ways for them to learn. They were going over addition and subtraction and the teacher brought out a ruler with a bunny on it, every time the problem was addition the student and the bunny jumped forward, when the problem was subtraction the bunny and the student jumped backwards! I am not a fan of math whatsoever, but this is a neat technique to get younger students to enjoy math if they do not like it.

02/13/2009 SCHOOL #4's AUTISTIC PROGRAM

So today I left school around 10:00 with Mrs. Chelotti, we went to School #4 and sat in on an Autistic Class. I had so much fun! When Mrs. Chelotti and I got there the students were going over Math and counting up to ten with Cheerios's! I am glad I went today because I got to check out two different functioning classrooms, such as Bancroft and School #4. I forget what the machine is called, but School #4 has this really neat machine that helps Autistic kids concentrate a little bit better. The classroom I was in was with a group of 3-5 year olds and they are so incredibly smart. I'm really glad that Mrs. Chelotti took me today! I definitely plan to volunteer there a lot more before my Senior Year is over.

02/11/2009 WEATHERRRRRRRR =]

Today is ridiculously beautiful outside. I can't even believe my dark brown eyes. I woke up dis morning and my mom told me that all I had to wear was a little jacket because it's suppose to hit about 68 degrees today! This New Jersey weather is absolutely absurd! We went from having a delayed opening last week due to snow to tanning outside today, I love this weather! I just returned to class from a fire drill and I must admit I definitely plan on making myself productive outside today even if it's just talking on the phone on my porch. I have to take full advantage of this beautiful weather because with this crazy New Jersey weather tomorrow could be a blizzard!

02/09/2009 THE NEW YORK'S TIME -- SPECIAL EDUCATION ARTICLE

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/nyregion/thecity/08disa.html?_r=1

“This is one school, 100 percent full, and it doesn’t need construction; it’s all here. All we’re asking is, let us stay and pay rent.” - Hannah Achtenberg Kinn.

This article made me cry. A Special Education school that teachers mostly preschoolers with Autism is endanger of closing their doors, due to the state wanting the building to be constructed into an apartment building. No child should be neglected and have their education taken away from them and in the direction that the State of New York is going now, unfortunately, that is what may happen to these preschoolers.

02/09/2009 RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE WITH THE BUSINESS BUDDIES!

So as everyone may know I left school today after first period, the reason being I went to the Ronald McDonald house with the Business Buddies. I had so much fun I got partnered up with a student who I've know since sixth grade so that was really cool! We were on the bus going to the Ronald McDonald house in Camden, New Jersey and my student turned to me and told me a joke.

She said "Sam, want to hear a joke?"
I responded "Of course!"
She said "What do you call a cat on a log?"
I said "I have no idea, what!?"
Her answer "A catalogue!" And we both began to laugh!

We talked about school on the way to the house and then I looked over and we had arrived! Time surely does fly when your having fun and are in a deep conversation. We walked into the house and got straight to business. The first task for my student and I was to cut ribbon that was going to be tied onto the bags we were stuffing with goodies. After that, we had stuffed bags filled with candy, purses, hair clips, and magazines. We went around the table fourty times, meaning my student and I stuffed 80 bags total! I had so much fun! We went to McDonalds for lunch and than came back to the house and started to cut ribbon again! Then by that time it was 1:30 so we had to leave :(, but I truly did have a great time today so I thought I would blog about it!!

02/08/2009 I wondered... thats it... "MY HAIR!"

So this will be my second post of the night. I was sitting on the computer and checking my email and saying to myself.. "humm.. I just wanna blog!", but I wasn't too sure about what. I sat here wondering what could I possibly blog about that would be sort of interesting. Then a light bulb went on and it came to me.. "MY HAIR!" I've had soooo many different hair colors all throughout my four years of high school, from bleach blonde, blonde, dirty blonde, brown/red, brown, black-blue, even black! Of course my hair is dead as anything right now, but it's starting to get back on track thanks to the expensive Paul Mitchell and Jon Frieda shampoo and conditioner I use for extremely damaged hair. I just like change that's all. You know Obama's campaign slogan "CHANGE" well I'm for it in my own way. "CHANGE" in my case is for hair.

02/08/2009 Instructor Course

So from 9:30 dismorning to about 8:00 at night I had to review CPR/AED and my water rescue skills. Yesterday from 8:30 to 3:00 I had to learn how to teach a class. Today was a very exhausting day. My eyes are so red and watery because of the chlorine in the pool. Overall it was a very fun class, I met a lot of new people and saw my Regional Manager from last year who I absolutely adore. He's pretty humorous and he keeps the class at a fun level, not at a boring level. I also met another Regional Manager, he is too funny. I remember Thursday night when I had a review for the class another Regional Manager sang.. "Tell me how am I suppose to breath with no air!" If you don't know Jordan Sparks sings that song, so I thought it was pretty funny considering that we were giving CPR, meaning the person is unconscious and not breathing haha. In the class there's twelve people total. Three Regional Managers and the rest are lifeguards. I was pretty honored to get chosen to become an instructor because it lets you know that people can count on you to get the job done. I took this class with my best friend Natalie too so that was pretty fun! I might even be a Supervisor this summer too, so I'm extremely stoked about that! =]

02/04/2009 Dude I need to Vent!

OK so I feel like my life is not meant to go anywhere! The only college that I want to go to still hasn't made a decision and it makes me very mad! They put me on a waiting list due to my SAT scores not meeting their standards. However, I re-took the SATs so I'm hoping I did a lot better. I applied to another college today that I just became interested in recently, but I still want to get accepted to my Number One College Choice! I don't want to be in this town forever, I don't want to be one of those Lindenwold High School Students that is always coming back to visit LHS. Hence, some visits will be OK. But I do not want to be one of the students that has no life and just comes to LHS everyday and visit. I have my life planned out in my head, but as of now it's not looking too good! I just want to go to my number one college choice and hopefully by February 20th I know what exactly is going on.

02/04/2009 Bancroft!

Yesterday February 03, 2009 I went to Bancroft and volunteered in the room that I have been volunteering in. It was a lot of fun. The teacher, had to test each student individually for the State Exam to see if they have progressed at all. I was very impressed, those students are so smart and even though they have some disabilities they never give up. The challenges they face everyday are challenges that I can easily do. But to see these bright students work to their fullest potential brings a bit of tears to my eyes. I grew to like these children very much and I can't wait to go back next Tuesday!

02/02/2009 "A QUOTE BY MR.ABRAMS"

"I'M TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED" - LARRY ABRAMS

02/02/2009 "Chicka chicka what what"

This is my first blog post for the month of February 2009 =]


So this Thursday, Natalie and I have to go to Mercer County Community College after school to get trained to be an instructor for lifeguarding. I am pretty excited because the pay is sweeeeeettt and I may be supervisor this summer, depending on when I leave for college. I'm a little scared however because the instructor course consists of three written tests and I'm not very good at written tests. The American Red Cross instructor doesn't actually start training us until this Saturday, but one of the Sparkling Pools Instructor is giving everyone a refresher course Thursday so we don't look like complete idiots when acting out CPR and Lifeguard Skills infront of the American Red Cross woman. The Sparkling Pools Instructor is suppose to print out the written tests for everyone to study and look over, but she hasn't yet, so I hope she does soon because I'm kind of dreading the written test!

01/31/2009 "Conversation"

This will be my last post for January 2009 :[

Well today something tragic in my family happened, I rather not discuss full details, but it got my mother and I talking in a deep conversation. It was a conversation that I never really thought about talking about with her. My mother had me when she was about 43 years old, which back then was kind of old to have children. She didn't even realize she was pregnant because her body was changing and didn't really think anything of it. She went to the doctors and found out she was about three months pregnant. The doctors told her that the chances of her baby not having any disabilities or anything was very slim. They did a test on her that would determine whether or not I would be missing any of my legs, arms etc or if I would have down syndrome or anything. The test came back about two weeks later and it was 100% good that nothing would be wrong with me.

I asked my mom "If something was wrong with me (the baby) would you have kept it?" Her response was.. "Honestly, probably not, I was kind of old to have a kid, but now the early 40's is kind of young." It kind of made me realize wow, what if I wasn't here, what if my mom didn't go through with the pregnancy, there would be NO Samantha Messner living in Lindenwold, New Jersey. I took in a deep breath and that breath just triggered to my brain not to take life for granted, because seriously any day can be your last. I am glad that I had this talk with my mother because I believe it made us a little bit closer. I love her and I'm thankful that she brought me on this Earth!

01/30/2009 "Kick Off Party"

On Wednesday, January 28, 2009 Lindenwold High School had their First Annual Kick Off Party for the Senior Seminar Project! It was a lot of fun and everyone's sponsor and mentor that could attend attended. My sponsor couldn't attend, but my mom and Mrs. Distasi were there. My mom and I have been on the committee since last year so I was pretty excited to get the kick off party started! All of the students had to talk for about 20 seconds each and talk about exactly what they wanted to do for their project. All of the students did a great job talking and didn't let their nervousness get in the way. Mr. Abrams and Mr. Snyder did a great job organizing the event and I know that next year's seniors are going to have just as much fun as we are now!

01/27/2009 My third day at Bancroft

So today was my third day a Bancroft! Each day I go there I seem to like it more and more. The children are so wonderful and smart. Today I worked one on one with a student and it was so much fun, she didn't mind whatsoever. I thought she was going to throw a tantrum or something because she doesn't see me that often, however, she didn't! We worked on saying words like... "boy" and "girl" and everyday signs like "stop" and "go". I also went to gym with the students like I do everyday, today there were only three students in my class. My class and another class played each other in bowling and MY CLASS WON! haha. Today, I felt like I definitely interacted with the students a lot more and I loved that feeling. My two sponsors were suppose to come to the Kick Off Event Party for the Senior Seminar Project however, they are unable to make it now :(. Today was just a great day and I'm looking forward to next Tuesday!

01/25/2009 -- "Prayers for Bobby"

I just got back from my sister's house and while there I saw a movie on Lifetime called "Prayers for Bobby" it was such a sad, yet strong movie. In "Prayers for Bobby," Mary Griffith is a devout Christian who raises her children with the conservative teachings of the Presbyterian Church. However, when her son Bobby confides to his older brother he may be gay, life changes for the entire family after Mary learns about his secret. While Bobby's father and siblings slowly come to terms with his homosexuality, Mary believes God can cure him of what she considers his 'sin' and persuades Bobby to pray harder and seek solace in church activities in hopes of changing him.


Desperate for his mother's approval, Bobby does what is asked of him, but through it all, the church's apparent disapproval of homosexuality causes him to grow increasingly withdrawn and depressed. Guilty over the pain he is causing Mary, Bobby moves away, yet hopes that some day his mother will accept him. His subsequent depression and self-loathing intensifies as he blames himself for not being the 'perfect' son and is driven to suicide.
Faced with their tragedy, Mary begins to question her faith when she receives no answers from her pastor concerning her devastating loss. Through her long and emotional journey, Mary slowly reaches out to the gay community and discovers unexpected support from a very unlikely source.

The film is based on the 1995 Leroy Aarons book of the same name. Written by Louie Neira. The movie was based on True Events and it is something that touched me tremendously. My best friend is gay and I'm so glad that he has overwhelming support from his family and friends. No person gay or lesbian should be drawn to suicide because they feel like they don't belong and aren't accepted. I cried from the beginning to the end of this movie and I knew as soon as I got home I was going to blog about it. The movie based on actual events happened in the 1970's and so much has changed from then. However, their are still people out there who aren't for gay rights, who are racist, and who HATE CHANGE! And those people need to MOVE ON it's the 21st century and everyone in today's society needs to feel like they belong!

01/22/2009 the SATs blow!

So every high school student in the world has to take some sort of a standardized test. The United States has to take a test known as the SATs or the ACTs. The more common of the two is the SATs. The test is a test that usually a high school junior or senior take in order to receive high scores and send them to their colleges of choice. Most colleges want a combination of math and critical reading to be at the least a 1000. However, for those students, like myself that didn't reach that high getting into college isn't that easy. It seems as if every well know college now-a-days requests all of their prospective students to take the SATs or ACTs at least once. I took the SATs twice and the ACTs once and didn't do that well on either of them. It's not that I'm dumb it's just that it's so hard for me to sit down for 4 hours and take a test. This Saturday, January 24, 2009 I will be taking the SATs one last time. I took out a SAT book from the library that I've been looking over to help me this Saturday, so I hope it works out in my favor. I plan to score a lot higher than I did the previous times, so wish me lucckkkkk :]

01/21/2008 Random Bloggg :]

Heeeey to all of my blogger friends! Whats up!? Well today in English class, my teacher said we can all just write about anything that is on our mind! FRiDAAAAYYY is on my mind dude!

This Friday, is the first Philadelphia Wings Lacrosse Home Game and boy am I stoked :) A few of my friends are suppose to go so I can't wait! Last season they made it to the playoffs, but lost their first playoff game :( Athan Iannucci, an offensive player, broke the lacrosse record last year with 80 some goals, out goaling any lacrosse player in NLL history! I give him props for being such an outstanding athlete, I also heard that he does a lot of charitable events in his home town in Canada, so he needs to keep doing what he does! Something else that is in his favor is that I believe he is extremely HOT haha. Well I will keep all you bloggers posted over the weekend about how the Philadelphia Wings do on their first home game of the season!

01/20/2009

Today is Tuesday and I was suppose to go to Bancroft for the Senior Project, but I was unable to make it because my grand mom asked me last week to come over and watch the Inauguration. I emailed my sponsor Tammy to let her know, but she never got back to me. Grr... I hope she got it and just didn't have the time to respond. Well anyways, today I went to my grand mom's house and we watched Obama's Inauguration, boy that man knows how to speak! He speaks in a way that can draw anyones attention no matter what your doing at any moment. My grand mom was so thankful to see him get sworn in, she even said to me in her riggidy old voice .. "Samanthaaaaa, I'm so glad I'm witnessing a black man in office, I never thought I'd live to see this day!" I looked over to her and seen a few tears shed from her eyes. It was such a touching moment between the two of us and I'll NEVER forget it. Obama has touched so many lives and doesn't even realize it. He's a strong, trust worthy man and I'm excited to see what he can do for the United States of America!

01/16/2009 - I met new friends tonight and they're wonderful :)

It's 11:32 P.M. and I decided to right this blog about FRiENDS! Friends are so hard to come by now-a-days and I'm so thankful to have all of the wonderful friends that I have. I just got back from McDonald's after going to the mall earlier with my two friends Natalie and Amberlee. There are so many different people in today's society and it's hard to come across real people. We met a few of Amberlee's friends' at the mall and they are people who I normally wouldn't hangout with, but after getting to know them I realized there AWESOME :) It doesn't matter what a person looks like or wears it's truly about who they are on the inside. Finding friends isn't difficult, but calling them a true friend has a totally different meaning to it. Tonight, I realized that there are so many different people out there, but in their own way, there special and someone loves them for them, not the person they want them to be. I had a great Friday night and I met so many wonderful people and I'm so thankful for that. So to everyone who is reading this, approach someone you think you normally wouldn't because chances are they aren't as bad as you think. Just like Hannah Montana would say, "Nobody's Perfect" but as long as they are themselves and happy you should be happy :)

01/09/2009 My Three New Years Resolutions!

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? What is your definition of a resolution? Do you actually make a New Year’s resolution and keep it? Do you strive for a resolution that you know you won’t be able to keep? Think to yourself, a resolution is a promise to yourself so it should not be too hard to keep. I once overheard a person talking and he said that most people take life for granted because we’re rushing to get too much accomplished. We get out of high school, go to college, and mostly get stuck doing a career we don’t want to do. What’s the rush? Everyone just needs to calm down and live life one day at a time! We should take full advantage of life. We should make resolutions to please ourselves, not others and I think that’s what most people do. Thusly, I have three resolutions that will enhance my life for my benefit.
The first resolution demands that I maintain my 3.4 GPA. I plan to achieve this goal because if I don’t get into my university of choice, which is West Virginia University, I plan to take full advantage of the NJSTARS program. In order to be eligible for the NJSTARS program, students must be in the top 20% of their graduating class and as of this moment I’m in it, but I’m really cutting it close. My freshmen and sophomore year I did pretty well, but last year I struggled in Algebra II, even ending up failing the last quarter, which tremendously hurt my GPA. During the first quarter of my senior year, I almost maintained honor roll, having only one C in Physics. If I see myself start to slack in any of my classes, all I have to do is think about my future. College costs a lot of money and its money that I don’t have so the NJSTARS program would benefit me to the fullest.
My second resolution will benefit me to a large extent. I plan to not judge others before actually getting to know them. I judge people cruelly when I first meet them and that’s not a great quality that I want to maintain. It’s a quality that’s followed me throughout high school and I hate it. If I meet a person for the first time, and all they say to me is “hi” I automatically judge them, and think that they’re rude because they didn’t try to start a conversation with me. Instead of thinking like that, I need to be a little more positive and think of reasons why the person may not have started a conversation with me. It could be for multiple reasons: one, they could be too shy and two, they may be in a rush to get somewhere. So to fix this judgmental problem that I have faced all throughout high school, next time, when I meet people I could try to talk to them first and in the conversation see if they are in a rush to get somewhere. If so, let them get to their business if not, I started a sentence starter so it’s not their turn to continue it.
Finally, my third resolution will be to help my mom more around the house. I love her so much and I feel like I never actually show her; all I do is tell her. Usually all I do around the house is unload the dishwasher, vacuum occasionally, and take the trash bag out of the trash, but never actually put it in the trash can. To be completely honest, my mom does all the laundry and I don’t even know how to use a washing machine. I’m a senior in high school and I don’t even know how to work a washing machine, that’s ridiculous! And now it’s 2009 and I plan to change that! What if I do go away to college, my mom can’t do my laundry, so it’s time I learn! I plan to learn how to use the washing machine and actually do my own laundry and my mother’s! I plan to take the trash bag out of the trash can, like I have been doing, but now I will walk it to the trash can. I still plan to unload the dishwasher and vacuum even when my mom doesn’t ask me too. I think doing these tasks will prove to my mom that I’m ready for the “real-world” something I think she’s quite frightened for me to enter hence the fact, I don’t even do my own laundry!
In conclusion, I would like to end this with a quote that Abraham Lincoln once said, “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing." And that is quote that I plan to live my life by! Also Benjamin Franklin once stated that "How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them." And guess what? The resolutions that I have previously stated, I will mend them!

01/14/2009 The Life I want by the time I'm 28.

Dear Teacher,
Hey! How how are you!? Are you still teaching? I told you I would write to you in the future and I am! I'm 28 years old now, crazy right? Once I graduated college majoring in Public Relations/Communications I got a once in a lifetime opportunity in Manhattan, New York. It's for Estee Lauder and I'm the Executive Director of the Public Relations Department. I absolutely love it and I couldn't be any happier. I live in a sky-rise apartment building something I've always wanted to live in since I was a little kid. What have you been up too? Let's meet up and do lunch sometime. Hope to hear from you soon! Thanks!

Samantha

"Blog Visits" 01/14/2009

I visited the following people's blogs... Jamie Carter, Aliccia Hans, BriOnna Scotton, Mr. Abrams, and Desiree Medina. It was so cool to just see how people have reflected back on their life and how they currently feel in present time. One thing that I admire so much about BriOnna is that she is so truthful about how she feels and I admire that quality. Her blog on love is so deep and so her. Mr. Abrams blog was about a book "The Book Thief" and honestly it's pretty hard for me to pick up a book and get interested in it. Something that I like to learn about in History Class is the Holocaust and that's what the "The Book Thief" resembles, so I plan to read that soon. Jamie read a book regarding anger and anger is something that I believe a lot of teenagers face these days. Whether it's school related or not people face anger all over the world. And the book that Ms. Carter is reading conveys how to cope with anger in different ways, not in DANGEROUS ways. I think commenting on people's blogs helped me get to know everyone a little bit better.

12/13/2008 Bancroft Day 2

I am very excited and proud to say that my Senior Seminar experience at Bancroft was a lot better than last Tuesday. I think it might have been a little better because there wasn't as much staff as last time so I didn't feel like I was in everyon's way. I was there from 12:30 to 2:30 again like last week and ever Tuesday I will be there for the same time. When I get there the kids are usally getting ready for gym. Today, when I got there the students were watching the Lion King and then I walked them to gym with the teachers and particiapted in a game of basketball with them. After gym class and basketball we went back to the classroom, last week I was working with three children, today there was four. They behaved very well. As soon as we got back to the classroom we did a little bit of math. The class got to taste eight different kind of chips and decide whch one was their favorite and in doing that we all made a bar graph displaying the data. After that it was hygiene time, where all of the students washed their hands and brushed their teeth. Something that I was very surprised to hear was when a boy in the class told a teacher to "s**k his d***". To think that he even knows what that means is obsurd, but he doesn't know any better, so the teacher told him to stop and he did! After hygiene time, we read a few books and went on the computer. One of the students in the class drew me a picture of Elmo and it made my day :) ; the picture is show around my text! 2;30 flewby so fast and I walked the students to their buses then left. I'm glad that I stuck with Bancroft because it was SO much better than last week. And I know that I have MANY more great times to come!

01/09/2009 If I had a year in which I could do anything I wanted, I would...

If I had a year in which I could do anything I wanted, I would... go to Europe and and study the architecture there and bring my mom. My mom's mom was born in Florence, Italy and it was when my grandmother came to the United States when she met her husband. He died November of 2004, but I remember him like it was yesterday. I love my mom so much and I feel like I never actual show her, all I do is tell her. You know that saying "actions speak louder than words", I believe in that. I think if I could take her on a vacation to Europe, and Italy where her mother is from, she'd be so star-struck. My mother and I once watched a documentary on Venice, Italy, the town in surrounded by water and you need to take gondolas to get around. The town looked absolutely gorgeous and I would love for her to see it. Also in general, Europe itself is so fasinating, the architecture is so explicit and detailed to the tee and I think it would be a wonderful place to take her. In that year we would go on vacation to every country and Europe and obviously take our time because we have a year to get it accomplished. We would take the train through the Austrian plateaus, take the gondolas to go food shopping in Venice, and even ride a moped on the small streets of France. I think it would be a wonderful experience for us both, if only it was real....

01/09/2009 Connection to a book - Wayne W. Dyer

There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem by Wayne W. Dyer :)

The book I am starting to read in my English class is called "There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem" by Wayne W. Dyer. It lets people know that it's ok to feel down and it's ok to be upset. There's nothing worse than holding on to something when you know it only hurts you in the long run. When Abraham Lincoln saw that his conuntry was facing a hardship he wrote, "I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go." It was then when he decided to turn to God and face that it is only he who can help us "let go and let God" helps when a person is recovering from a hardship. Religion is practiced all over the world and it's up to today's generation to make it last!

"Project Exploration"

If I had the chance in school to become an expert about ANYTHING it would be to become an expert on Special Education. Now-a-days teaching is a tough industry, its so competetive. And to get a degree in Special Education is a lot harder. Special Education teachers are in very high demand, but not a lot of people want to get into that field for some reason.
Instead of learning more about regular teachers I would like to learn more about Special Education teachers and how their classroom functions. One of the teachers in my school runs a Special Education class and I stop by every now and then and say hi to the students, I know most of them very well. Its the best feeling in the world when one of those students ask me how my day was or anything along them lines, because they don't really interact with any other students.
I think Special Education teachers are in high demand because people are scared, they don't know what exactly they'd be getting themselves into. However, people shouldn't think like that! Students with special needs are still students and we shouldn't treat them any differently because if it. They are just like everyday students, except they need a little more help and there's NOTHING wrong with that! I'm probably the dumbest person you'll ever meet when it comes to math, but I still try my hardest and when things get tough I don't give up and neither do students with special needs.
I want to be the teacher in a classroom where the students absolutely love to come to school and don't want it to end. I think whether a classroom is boring or not is honestly based on the teacher. If the teacher is blah and soft-spoken a student might have the tendancy to fall asleep. But if the teacher is bam bam bam ready to go and outspoken they grasp the students attention more and that's the type of teacher I hope to be. Like William Arthur Ward stated "the mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." And I plan to be that GREAT teacher!

01/05/2009 "Project Exploration" (my experience at Bancroft)

Today is Tuesday, January 6th, 2009. I just wanted to blog on the fact that today was my first day with my sponsor. The sponsor that I have choosen isn't one that I am to follow, but she will lead me to other people such as teachers, aids, occupational therapists, social workers, and physical therapists. I started my voluntering today at Bancroft in Haddonfield and it was such a wonderful experience. Bancroft is a place for children and adults that have special needs and need help doing everyday activities. I observed a room today with three students between the ages of 13-15 and they function at a level of a 4-5 year old. When I first met them they were very welcoming, but shy at the same time. I was with the group of students from 12:30 to 2:30 when I first got introduced to them they were in gym class (they have gym two days a week), music one day, and art the other day. When the students were finished in gym class we went to the classroom and worked on a worksheet about polar bears! Did you know that a polar bear changes to the color brown in summer time? I never knew that! Intresting huh? After the class completed the worksheet one of the students had some one on one time with the occupational therapist. I watched them swing on the swings and play with play-do. I let the occupational therapist and the student be so I went back to the classroom and observed the other two students. And then before I knew it, it was 2:30 and I helped one of the aids walk one of the students to the bus.

12/05/2009; how to grade on blogger dude!

One thing I never thought I'd be intrested in was blogging. One day my English teacher told us we were going to start and I was like "eeeehh, I'm not too sure about that", but with a little bit of practice and time I started to enjoy it. I think in our English class blogging should be graded on the appearance and quantity of the work. Blogging just shouldn't be ching ching than done, it should take time and effort. You can tell through the appearance of a person's blog whether it was carefully done or rushed. It wouldn't be fair if you gave someone an A if they just had a blah background compared to someone with an outstanding looking background. Nor would the person with the outstanding background think that was fair considering they took a lot more time in creating their blog. So I think the grading of a blog should be determined on appearance and quanity, the length of the topic given.

1/2/2009 - first blog on blogger

Hey everyone on blogger :] This is my first blog on here, so I'm pretty excited. In my English class, we are currently scratching out the whole paper and pencil aspect of journal writing and moving on to the blogging aspect. I just finished my page and I love how it looks. I just wanted to let everyone know why exactly I created a blog; this is not my personal blog and I don't have one. This is strictly used for English class and that is it. Thankkkkksss and I hope everyone has had a superb breaaaakkkk and wonderful holiday and new year!

12-18-2008

I am very excited about the Senior Project class this year this was pretty much all I was looking forward to my junior year. I start the project January 5, 2008 at Bancroft in Haddonfield. It's a school attended by children with disabilities, and when I get older, working with disabled children is something that I'm considering. This class has given me the opportunity to see if this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. There's nothing like going to work everyday and absolutely dreading it. I want to have a job that I love to go to everyday. I think this could possibly be the job for me! I'm so excited to just start the rest of the year and see where my future will take me, and I think this class will help me find where exactly my future will be.

12/17/2008 Entry when I didn't have a blog!

At this current moment I feel like journal writing is bologna. All I want to do is get a blog on www.thoughts.com and for some bizarre reason they won’t send me a conformation email. I would love to blog, I feel like blogging and I would get along great. I never blogged before and I love English class, so blogging in English class would be sweet! I’m looking around the room and I see people writing their blog with a fancy layout and all I’m doing is writing in ordinary Microsoft Office 2003. Does that sound fun? Because it’s not! I want to blog.I think journaling will help me with Senior Project, because I wouldn’t have to worry about carrying paper and a writing utensil around with me I could just open up my blog and write. Also instead of e-mailing it or writing it on paper people all around the world can view what I write just through my blog. Wouldn’t it be cool if I could get an account on thoughts? It would be awesome because I could just login and write how I feel that day and be done with it. For instance, today if I had a blog account I would write about what the Senior Project actually is, because if people view my blog they might not understand what exactly it is. However, I can’t write about that, because I don’t have a blog!