Anywhere but here

So, it has been a long time since i last posted on my blog! I no longer have to do it for my high school class because I am in college I was randomly going through my computer when I found a link to my blog.  I decided to check it out, and now here I am writing a new post.  The last post I had was on my Aunt Brenda.  So, i’ll give you an update on her status.  She is currently doing pretty good…well at least as good as can be expected when you have terminal brain cancer.  She celebrated her 44th birthday this past Wednesday, and her tumor has stopped growing as far as the doctors can tell.  My life has also changed.  I am now a second semester freshman.  I am trying to get my teaching certificate, and i play soccer and softball.  I love college, and it is so fun! I cannot wait to be a teacher, and  I love alot of my classes.  College is such a blast! I have met alot of new people, and I made some super duper friends!! well thats all for now! Hopefully ill post again soon!!!

Last week we had to write a post on 10 things we are thankful for.  I just found out today that my aunt went to the doctor today.  She wasn’t feeling like herself, and was having a lot of headaches.  She has always been an upbeat, outgoing, carefree type of person. She has three little girls.  Kirstin, 6, Larissa, 4, and Caitlyn, 3.  She has been married to my uncle for almost twenty years now.  When we go on vacation, I love going to visit them.  They have become like my second parents.  Anyways, the doctor sent her to the hospital because he was concerned.  They found a tumor on her brain.  It’s going to take  a few days to get the tests back.  She’s always been there for me, and it’s really hard for me to see her go through this.  Her little girls need her, and I don’t know what I would do without her.  She’s like my second mom.  I’m just asking that if you read this to please keep her in your prayers. I just want to add that I am so thankful for all the times that I have had with her, and I hope that God will bless us with many more to come.

For our blogging assignment this week, our teacher asked us to write a post about the top 10 things we are thankful for.  It can be about whatever 10 things we want — either serious or funny.  So here it goes!!

1. My Family and Friends — I love my family and friends.  When things get tough, they are always there for me.  Even though my brothers and sisters can bug me a lot, I still love them a ton!

2. Im thankful for the breaks that we get from school!  I don’t think I could go through a whole school year with no breaks.  This includes Sunday’s, holidays, state, and parent teacher’s conferences or meetings.

3. Sports — If i ever have spare time, you can usually find me playing something.  I play basketball, soccer, softball, and I run cross country.  Without sports I get really bored, and I don’t know what to do with myself.  Also, I have made a lot of friends while playing sports, and I get to know my fellow classmates and other students through sports I play.  I have gotten closer to a lot of my friends because of sports, and it’s just a good stress reliever.

4. Im thankful that none of my friends, family, or close relatives have passed away this year.  I didn’t have to go to a single funeral this year.  Im very thankful that God has spared everyone, and given everyone another day to live.

5. I’m thankful for my house, car, and all that I have.  God has blessed me with everything I could possibly want and more.

6. I’m thankful for the Christian schools that I have been able to attend.  They have definitely been a blessing, and I am thankful for the privilege I have been given in attending them.

7. I’m thankful for food.  Everyone likes to eat food and I’m no different.

8. Music– I love listening to music and finding new songs.  If im having a bad day, I’ll just listen to some music, or if I can’t fall asleep at night I will too.

9. Speaking of falling asleep, I love my bed.  When im super tired or sick, I just love laying in my bed and cuddling with my blanket and pillows!

10. Most importantly my Saviour Jesus Christ who shed his blood for all my sins.  He paid the ultimate price for me, and I will be forever thankful for that!!

This past weekend I went to the state xc meet.  It’s held in Fort Dodge every year, and I always look forward to going to it.  Our school has been pretty blessed to have someone make it every year for the past decade.  This year Tim and Mariah both made it.  Mariah is only the second girl to have ever made it!  At state they both did really good with Mariah getting  31st, and Tim made all-state and got 3rd!!  On the way home we always stop in Pocahantas to eat Pizza Ranch pizza. After were done eating we usually start a game of football in the streets.  I love going to state, and I’m gonna miss it next year!!!

So today is the day of the first state football game! I can’t wait to go.  Some of my friends and I are riding the pep bus to Eagle Grove where the game is at.  Eagle Grove is about three hours from my school.  We get out at two o clock today so that we can make it to the game.  The football guys are so special they get to take a charter bus there! Talk about being spoiled!  This is the first time that Western has ever gone to state in football and it’s really exciting.  I can’t wait to get out of school, get on the bus, and cheer on the boys!! It’s a perfect night for football and hopefully we can come out with a win!!

So this week for the Blogging Challenge we were supposed to figure out what a digital footprint is, and describe what our own digital footprint is like. A digital footprint is the information that can be found on the internet if people searched your name. I have facebook, msn, email, and this blog. I decided to google my name to see what came up. First, there was my churches bulletin because I had nursery. My high schools newspaper also came up, some more articles about Western, and then several newspaper articles because of the sports i play. I went to the second page just to see what there also was and some stuff from Facebook came up along with my sisters account from Dordt.
When I enter information on the internet, I try to be careful. The only time I ever entered in my personal information or credit card numbers is when I took the ACT, filled out a college application, or bought some athletic apparel off Eastbay.  I think it is our own responsibility as young adults to know what we should and shouldn’t do on the internet.  We know what is right and wrong and can easily distinguish between the two.

Your digital footprint says alot about who you are, and it can really have an impact on your life if it’s not good.  So, start off right away with a good digital footprint.  Watch what information you allow other people to see, and monitor what things you say on Facebook, Twitter, MSN, or even your blog!

So, today we already got another College Comp. assignment! It seems as though we get one every day. There is hardly a day where we get a break between two assignments. I suppose that’s good though because it’s supposed to prepare us for college which isn’t just going to be a walk in the park. We’re supposed to use as many commonly mistaken words as possible. If your story has the most you get a treat! Who’s going to win? Whose story will be the best? I sure hope that it’s me. I refuse to lose. Some people might think their post is going to win, but they’re sorely mistaken. I will definitely accept the prize. This might not be the most exciting post, but just take a deep breath and you’re bound to make it. I promise I won’t make it too long. Enjoy!

I guess in order to write this I’m going to have to make a conscious effort. It’s time to just sit and think of some wonderful idea….except it’s not coming. Hopefully, once of think of it one idea will lead to another and I’ll have a decent post when I’m through. Well, I can’t think of anything so I guess this will just have to do. I kind of have a feeling that this post is not going to win, but I guess I’m just not good with using words in a story.

For my College Composition class, we were assigned to read, “Educators Blame Internet for Rise in Student Cheating.” This story was about how the internet has caused a rise in student cheating, and made it easier and more tempting for students to cheat.

I think that almost everyone can say that over there lifetime they have cheated in some form. Even though the internet can be abused, if used in the right way it’s an awesome resource! It comes in very handing when researching for assignments. As long as students site their sources, it is perfectly fine to use an article. You can’t just copy the whole thing, but if students would just use the general idea or get some facts, it would be okay. I think if students were taught more about plagiarism and ways to avoid it, I don’t think it would happen as often. Sometimes students can plagiarize without even knowing it! There is now a website that schools can subscribe to that catches plagiarism. I think that schools should use that website as a last resort. This only creates more tension and adds stress to the student.
Overall, I don’t think that the Internet is bad, and I don’t think that students should not be able to use it just because they might cheat. If students are forewarned of the consequences, I don’t think that cheating or plagiarism will take place as much.

Football. An invorgorating and rigorous game filled with hard hits and tip of the finger catches. I love watching this sport, and right now you can find me every Friday night supporting my high schools football team. On Saturday’s I spend my afternoons and nights watching my favorite college team the Iowa Hawkeyes. They are six and zero right now and are on a roll. They recently had big wins against Penn State and Michigan. Sometimes it gets so intense I can’t even watch because I’m so nervous. I like watching it because it is very exciting and you never know what’s gonna happen. Any team at any given moment could come up with a huge game that could change everything. There are upsets every week, and it’s always a guess who will be in the National Championship at the end. When football is over, I feel like there is nothing to do on the weekends because that was basically my Friday’s and Saturday’s. It’s always fun to see the new players and this year the Hawkeyes even have a kid playing for them from Heelan Catholic, so that makes it even better to watch them play! I can’t wait for the bowl games to see who Iowa plays, but I am confident whoever it is the Hawks are gonna come through with a win!!