rough draft

Here is my rough draft video, not even close to being done, so it might not make sense, but hey enjoy.

FOOOOOOOOOOOD

It is really interesting that I am going to blog about food this week seeing as my final inquiry video project is half about nutrition and why it is important for you to eat the right things to stay healthy. I am reminded of the phrase that I used to hear a lot when I was younger, “food is really yummy in my tummy”. Seeing as it was thanksgiving week, I, and I am sure so many other people this amazing week, also feasted on some of the greatest things in the world.

For my thanksgiving feast, my mom prepared some home-made Mac and cheese, which was cooked with velvetta cheese, a huge turkey that we decided to slow cook overnight this year, and my favorite, which are twice baked potatoes. Oh man I really love twice baked potatoes. They are like if you take the greatest thing in the world, and multiply it by about 300, and then subtract 22; you get a twice baked potato.

There is however one food I wish my mom did make this thanksgiving that she did not. My favorite meat of all time is honey ham. I love honey ham almost as I love the twice baked potatoes and to hear that she did not make it this year kind of made me upset. But then at a surprise dinner that my dad attended I got very lucky because instead of a turkey, she made honey ham. The only downside was that I had to heat it up because I had to work all day.

Leading the Team

I had a very big time to be a leader, and it really helped me learn a little more about responsibility, and how your actions can affect other people and really help them. When I was a swimmer back in high school, as a senior, I had to help lead the team in the right direction, make sure they were all doing the right thing, no goofing off and no breaking the rules. I watched over the team whenever we went to other schools for swim meets because we had to be on our best behavior and show respect to the other team, because in the end we are all equals and we are entering their home, we cannot be disrespectful. In the end the team we went to face that day will remember us as a team who won with respect and appreciated them, or a team who lost but is respectful.

Leadership in this sense may seem a bit easy, or like a captain’s job. But while I was not a captain, they had their hands plenty full with all the other important things, like financing the team, etc. However, leading this team was actually pretty hard and not your average cup of tea, because our team seem to have plenty of people who did not like to follow the rules, or liked to goof off especially when in front of other teams. Watching over them was almost like watching a batch of children who would constantly scream.

Definitely from leading this team I learned all the important values of being a leader. This was a difficult team to lead, and I happen to pull it off by myself and I am proud of myself for that. I believe I did a good job, and turned everyone the right way, and they will remember those values even when their swim career is over and they will carry those traits on forever.

Math was hard

A difficult situation I have been in this semester was going into my math class. The current math I am in is precalculus, Math 122. My class is full of juniors and seniors from the upper class. This class was so much more math intensive than anything I had experienced before, we were learning completely new things that I have never seen before. But I guess that’s the point of learning, when your introduced to things you have never heard of.

I try to give it everything I got in this class. The amount of effort I put in I feel is the grade I am getting out of it. While I have yet to experience the chance to get a 100 on a test or Quiz, I am determined it will happen before the end of the semester. That is actually a huge goal I have. Even though it was very hard to adapt to just joining this math class, just being able to continue learning in it and also do well in the class is still hard all on its own.

I am still working to keep up with it and everyone in the class, so far I am going through the class with a grade of a B+ and next semester I am tackling an even more difficult math class. The transition to that class I feel will be even 10 times more difficult because I have heard that many people tend to fail the Calculus 1 class.

Math!

The class that I find extremely stimulating is my math class. It never ceases to get the blood really flowing through my mind. There is so much to learn when it comes to math, everything about it is unbelievable. From equations to logarithms to how to graph them to trigonometry, etc. There is math everywhere and it is upsetting that most people don’t seem to really like math. You use math more than any other subject in school, because you use math every day, even if it is simply adding a few dollars or calculating the time. Some people may argue that you use “English” more, and yes you do as a language, but in English class you are doing essays and such, and you don’t do that every day.

I am currently in math 122, precalculus. I am really happy with myself to say that I am in this “advanced” math class with many juniors and seniors who are about to graduate and I am starting in their math class. I am slightly upset with myself that I have yet to see myself earn a 100 in that class, but I guess I just have to work that much harder. As each quiz and test comes I am surprised at the material that shows up on it, because it is what we leaned, except the problems are so much more difficult than the normal class problems. Precalc is challenging, and so will calculus be when I take it next semester, so I am excited to learn even more math.

Study Together

I am not going to lie, there are so many different places that you can study on Southern’s campus. Its so unbelievable. They have rooms that are even designated for that kind of thing, such as the Fireplace Lounge. I even had the opportunity to make it to the fireplace lounge a few times this year and it is actually really relaxing total quiet place to study because no one is allowed to talk. There are also some very hidden rooms far deep into the Student Center that are for the most part vacant and has a tv, some chairs and an outlet in case you need your laptop. Those kinds of spots are good if you are hiding from somebody, or need to be alone. I however really enjoy studying in a place with an abundance of people, so that I can get help if I may need it or so others can join in also.

Not of these however, to me, beat studying outside of the school directly on the campus grass. Especially when the weather was warmer, I enjoyed finding a nice tree right after class with my friends, sitting underneath it, and talking and studying. It is also great because if your other friends happen to see you, they can always come in and join in with you guys. Eventually you have this huge group of people sitting by a small tree and everyone is helping each other out, or they are socializing and having a great time.

Diving, The Ultimate Stress Relief

    This week, it had been way to long for me, so I did what I well needed and felt deserved. I went diving again. Diving as in, going on a diving board and into the water. This is one of the greatest stress relievers to me. When I get on that diving board, my heart starts to race, and I think about the dive that I am going to do. Then when I start my approach I begin to feel excitement in my head. Then finally when I get into the air, for the short amount of time I perform that dive, I feel completely free. Nothing can stop me when I am in the air, nothing can hurt me, I just land gracefully back into a pit of water.

    Back in high school I used to dive on the swim team. I didn’t get to dive too often, usually only during swim meets, and I didn’t get that much time to practice. I was very restricted back in high school, I couldn’t do diving to even close to my full potential, but not if I have free time I want to get back to it. A lot of people are rather scared of diving boards. I feel like everyone is at some point. The first jump always is the scariest, because they can be unpredictable, bouncing at the wrong time, or being slippery, but everyone should try it. It’s such an exhilarating experience; you might relieve some stress just by standing at the edge and jumping in.

Grades...Students....Grades...Students..

    In a group discussion, we took the time to talk about grade inflation and how students feel about their grades. It was mostly on the topic of high school, but if a student feels that way in high school what is to stop them from feeling that way in college or any other institute. Once you get the idea of something in your head and you’re used to it, you usually continue to do it for the rest of your life.

       Starting with grade inflation, we discussed how we felt on a teacher bringing up a student’s grades just because it’s low. My thoughts on this topic stand strong. You get the grade that you put into the class. The teacher isn’t just giving you a random grade, its accumulated through your quizzes, homework, tests, and some even like to give you an A for participation or “effort”. If you don’t have a good grade after all those, then, in my opinion, you don’t deserve a better grade. Those are all the chances you need to get a good grade, or a passing grade. Teachers should not have to develop a new way of grading just because one student or even a few students can’t handle their class. Why are the other kids passing the class?

     The other thing is how students are thinking these days about their grades and how they “feel” they “deserve” better. It’s outrageous if you have the notion in your head that you deserve a grade just for showing up to class. Do the work, you will pass. Work hard on the work, you will get a good grade.