This year...

My first year at high school, well it went a lot better than I planned for at the beginning. This year was actually pretty fun. Except for all the homework and projects I had to finish and turn in. But overall this year has been a great year for me and I am looking forward to next year. That's a little weird to hear from me. The reason why I like this year so much was because I met new people, one of which is now my best friend. But I did meet new people, got closer to some I've lost contact with, and got to know some people who I knew, but then again, I didn't know at the same time. I really enjoyed the Freshman Academy. That really helped me learn how to be more responsible and more interested in some subject that I found boring in the past. This year was a fantastic year because of those reasons and I hope next year will be the same. There are so many things I'm looking forward to next year... Meeting more people and having new teachers. I'm not trying to say I don't like the ones I have now, but it will be nice to have a change. Hopefully the teachers next year are as nice and outgoing as these ones were. And I also like the school in general. It's a fun place to be and everyone, well not everyone, but a lot of people are really nice here. They haven't bullied one freshman yet. They make jokes, but they haven't full on bullied someone. So I have the best hopes for next year to be as great as this one was.

Animal farm?

Why do the animals dream of a different life when they don't think about the possible outcomes? All they think about is the possibilities of what might happen to them without Jones on the farm with them. Little did they know that they were in for a hard time. And yet they still think that they have a better life without him. The same is with people too. Most people think that if they don't have an authority figure to roll model for them that they would be better of in life than with a "teacher" to teach them. Teens do it the most.

Why do the "animals", in the book Animal Farm, want to rebel?

Well, in the book Animal Farm, the animals want to rebel against the farmer because they feel that they are being mistreated and that they would have a better life with out the farmer. In fact, they think that if there were no humans in the world, they would have a much better life. Like the animals on the farm, kids and or adults think the same way towards one another. Such as when the child feels like the parents don't ever care about them and just care about themselves so they feel left out or when the parent or adult think the child has no respect for them as a person. Most people feel that way at one time or another. But they must think of the possible outcomes. There could be good or bad outcomes. There are many possibilities in that situation though. Many just state that they are right and others are wrong so they should just trust their word on that when it isn't even truthful.

What is power?

Power comes in many different forms. There can be government power to just plain power over a sibling. Some people might have more known power. Power, well its known to bring people up as an over-achiever or bring them down... Dramatically. Most of the people in the United States know how power can seriously effect all people. But power just doesn't have to come in the form that people can manipulate, it also comes in objects that can make a difference in a person's life. Such as, maybe and iPod. People that listen to music love the iPod. It stores their favorite music and they would probably be really sad if they lost it or broke it. Besides that, I'm going to discuss teen power in school. Many want power or popularity. It makes them feel better about themselves but there is a down side to being powerful. If you mess up or do something that the less powerful people think is wrong, you might be knocked down from your status. The more popular someone gets, the more likely they will be talked about in good or bad ways. It just depends on the person.

Bullying

Most people wonder why others bully others. Most say it’s for the fun of it, others say it’s because they just don’t like that certain person. But the main reason for bullying is that the bullies are insecure of their selves.
There are no specific reasons for bullies and there aren’t fully explanations either. So some people think that the reason for bullying is for the fun of it. Sure that person might get entertainment from that incident. But they really never think about how that will affect that other person either. It’s sad to see someone die over bullying and the more bullies bully for the fun of it, it just gets worse. The other reason for bullying is that the bully just doesn’t like that person. Well that doesn’t give them permission to bully that certain person. Especially if the bully doesn’t even know the person they are bullying. Like, if the bully has only seen that person and made a judgment of that person already before they even knew who they were.
The main reason for bullying is that the bully is insecure about themselves. They think they had no other way to be respected by others. They feel that the only way for people to like them is through bullying. But that isn’t the answer. Find people like you, who will understand you and listen to you problems. They will listen and care for you so you don’t have to bring someone else down for your flaws and yes everybody has flaws. Even the “popular people” have flaws.
No one should be insecure of their selves and result in bullying. That’s why the main reason for bullying is that the bully is insecure of themselves one way or another. They need to accept who they are and where they come from and if they think that they need to bully others, they are wrong for doing it.

Why are the wolves of Yellowstone Park disappearing?

The wolves that are brought to the Yellowstone Park are oddly disappearing. I have found that the wolves that are brought to the park roam off and get killed somehow. The park doesn't have fences to indicate where it ends and the wolves don't know that so they wonder into areas where they are unwanted. Most wolves usually would try and find food. That’s where the farmers come in. The farmers have found that the wolves that are outside the park are unprotected so they can kill them before they kill their livestock. So some farmers are the reason, I'm not saying that it's their entire fault, but they do have an impact. I watched a movie and this farmer said that it sometimes gets so bad that he is wants to move far away from the park so his livestock and money won't be ruined by the wolves. I think that that is a good idea. If you are a farmer and you have that same problem I suggest that you move away from the area. Farmers, in the early 1900s, had a major problem with the wolves, so every single one that they saw, they killed. The killing sprees almost lead the wolf population to extinction. Wolves are disappearing from Yellowstone Park. Help save the population, please.

What is Taoism?

Introduction

I didn't really know much about Taoism until I researched it in a project that focused on the world religions. Taoism is a very popular religion in fact. The Taoism symbol is the Ying-Yang sign that most of you might or might not know. The Ying-Yang sign symbolizes good and evil make a unity. They live together but they still have their differences. To the right you will see a picture of the Ying-Yang symbol.

Founder

Taoism doesn't have a single founder. Instead it continuously changes. People practice through the sacred texts. The sacred texts also changes over time with the rest of the religion.

Holy books/sacred texts

Also they have two holy books or sacred texts. They are called Tao Te Ching and

Chuang-Tzu, I know, they spell it weird. The books change over time with the religion because no one founded it and no one follows the exact customs and rituals of the religion. To the left you will see a piece of the Chuang-Tzu.

Followers/Places around the world

They have about 20 million people that say they follow it or that say that they belong to it or known as Taoists. They are mainly found in China. Well South Asia. The Taoism religion is popular in China as you can tell. But you might find some Taoists in other places, but not that many. Taoists live a peaceful, happy, and energetic life. By living by the sacred texts they live in a peaceful environment where they can meditate and channel their energy. They also cherish their ancestors as the ancient chinese religion does.

Appearance/Hierarchy

They typically where a very colorful robe for the most part of their appearance. They don't shave their heads like in cartoons and in Buddhism. They hierarchy in the Taoist religion is the sage. The sage is the pope to christianity and a monk to Buddhism. They are all the most important person in the religion besides the gods.

Holidays

Taoists celebrate the same holidays as the regular chinese do. At least I think so. Well they celebrate the chinese new year, the lantern festival, tomb sweeping day, and the ghost festival.