Category: journalism

Stuff having to do with the world of journalism.

Finals Rant

godgoldngloryLeave a comment

With finals approaching, I thought it was only fitting to write another rant discussing my thoughts on finals. First off, I don’t enjoy how much emphasis schools put on them. Finals are meant to be a test of how much knowledge you have acquired during the semester or school year. However, what if someone was able to learn a very good amount of stuff and is proficient in the skills taught in the class but is not necessarily a good test taker. Because many teachers stress the final so much, that student is probably going to be a worse test taker when it comes to something as big as a final. And, even if the student has a high grade in the class because they are proficient in the class and understand the concepts, since they are such a bad test taker, their grade could plummet to a number that doesn’t represent their true understanding of the class. This can be true especially because some teachers make the final such a significant portion of the grade overall.

If I were to provide a solution for this issue, I would recommend the teacher to provide different methods for students to prove their understanding of the course. They could do a traditional written test, or maybe a presentation of some sorts. The means of displaying comprehension could vary in general based on the class, but I feel this would be a more fair way to test the student’s knowledge without completely erasing the finals system, as I do think it is important to some degree. Another thing is making the final count for no more than 25% of the grade. Finals that range from 30% and up are solely testing the student on how good of a test taker they are. One of the more telling aspects of a grade, in my opinion, are class participation and homework grade. Both of these demonstrate not only enthusiasm and effort of a student, but also how dedicated they truly are the learning the material.

To conclude, I don’t believe the current education system is exactly fair, particularly when it comes to finals and their impact on a student’s grade. If teachers could provide more means of testing, as well as not have it count for the majority of the overall grade, many solid students would not have their grades falter due to unfair and unaccomodating methods.

5 Ways to Beat Stress During Finals - SBU News

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i love spotify wraped

purcyLeave a comment

I love spotify wrapped so much. I hated it last year but that was because I was embarrassed about mine. This year it is literally so good. So many people hate that others post them on their stories and stuff but I love looking at them because it tells you so much about that person. It’s so much fun to see how many minutes I listened to and what podcasts I kept up with the most. It makes you recap over all the music you listened to all year and forgot about. I see why people hate it but I just don’t and my wrapped playlist is my new favorite. I love how many different genres it is and that it’s all songs I know really well. I hate looking for new music, it feels like a chore to me and spotify just made a super long playlist with every song I actually like on it and it’s so easy to listen to.

photo cred: me

Chai Latte

uwucutiepatootieLeave a comment

Chai Lattes are literally a blessing to me. They are just absolutely perfect. I could go through the worst day of my life and have the day end up being perfectly fine as long as I have a chai latte. Every once and a while, I switch up my Starbucks order. Before I became addicted to chai lattes, I had an obsession with getting a pink drink with cold foam. After basically drinking that every day for a year, it began tasting way too sweet. Two years ago, I began drinking chais and they were life-altering. It was sweet but not too sweet, and it wasn’t as intense as just having a normal latte. Once I came to my new boarding school, I could barely ever go to Starbucks, and I started going from every day when I lived at home to once every two weeks. By the end of last school year, during a camping trip, there was a bottle of a Tazo pre-made chai latte and all I needed to do is add milk to it. I tried it, thinking that it would taste horrible, but shockingly it was really good. I started buying tons of tazo chai, and I could finally begin having it way more. Chai lattes are just perfect.

pc:https://globalassets.starbucks.com/digitalassets/products/bev/SBX20220810_IcedChaiTeaLatte.jpg?impolicy=1by1_wide_topcrop_630

You can always go live in the woods

Closed AccountLeave a comment

It’s late evening of November 30th. Tomorrow, I will find out if I get the scholarship to go to college. Surprisingly to myself, I am at peace. I mean, if I get rejected, I can always apply the standard way through the common app and still qualify for many scholarships. If that does not go well either, Ventura community college has a 100% acceptance rate. If I am the reason they modified it to 99%, I can always go work in McDonald’s. If I mess that up, well, I have always fancied the idea of experiencing what it’s like being an Amish. As you can see, the possibilities are endless. Sure, not all of them offer unlimited access to hot shower, but maybe that’s for the better. And even if get accepted into one of the colleges, it does not change the fact that one day I will turn into dust and none of that is going to matter. Gotta keep things in perspective. So, I will see what happens and have some fun with the path I have to take.

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Life

Closed AccountLeave a comment

Over six weeks ago, I hurt my ankle during the first play of the last flag football game of the season. The injury left me unable to perform one of the most basic human tasks – run. This meant major restrictions on much of the physical activities. For the first time in my life, I felt crippled – not able to do what I so earnestly longed to. The recovery, therefore, has been painfully long and frustrating. Not once had I placed my foot in the most unbearable way. Not once had I regretted that dire game. But my foot has healed! And now it was time to play against Newbury Park, one of the best soccer teams in the league. This was both the first official game of the season and my first game since recovering. I am playing as a middle back. The game is far from over, and every pass counts. The opposing team is rolling the ball towards our half. We are dropping back to protect the goal. The player with the ball is only 20 feet in front of me. He passes the ball to his teammate, and I intercept it. With all my strength, I kick the ball towards their goal. And drop down from the pain in my ankle. I have hurt it. Again.

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Teacher Rant

godgoldngloryLeave a comment

Now, I’m not trying to get canceled nor reported, but I have very strong feelings about the way some teachers teach and I want to express them here. !!Disclaimer!! This is not directed toward any specific teacher or group of teachers affiliated with any particular school. Now that that’s out of the way, let me rant.

First off, one of the most annoying things on earth is when a teacher complains about the amount of work they have to grade and how difficult it is. I have a great suggestion for you! Maybe don’t assign so much work!! How do you think I felt doing it? Probably just as if not more bad than you feel now that you have to grade it. And don’t rebuttal with, “Oh, they have so many other students’ work to grade :(.” Sorry but not my problem maybe think about that when assigning such horrendous amount of work. Also, they act like I don’t have other classes’ work to do on top of the ungodly amount of horrific assignments I’m getting from their class.

Next, one thing I absolutely don’t understand at all is why teachers assign work over weekends and VACATIONS. IT’S CALLED A VACATION FOR A REASON. It’s not called, “Week Of School Where You’re Technically Not In School But Half Of Your Teachers Are Going To Assign Homework Like You Are.” Clearly it’s not called that, so what are we doing here? Also with weekends, like we for real just never get a break from doing work. ALSO, one thing that grinds my gears so so hard is when teachers give you – technically – a whole week and weekend to do something, but it’s an assignment that is entirely impossible to do during the week on top of the regular weekly spread for homework. So obviously I’m going to have to do it over the weekend, but if I complain, I just the same response of, “You had the whole week to do it.” LIKE SHUT UP I OBVIOUSLY DIDN’T.

Anyway, I guess I can end this off by ranting about teachers who don’t know how to teach. Again, not targeted toward any individual in particular, but sitting at your desk making us all watch a video of some random guy on Youtube explain the lesson is not teaching. In order to properly teach, you actually have to teach. It’s a mindblowing concept, I’m aware, but I’m sure you got it. And then, it’s the same teachers that don’t do anything the whole class and just sit there watching us get more and more confused by some random video that have the audacity to assign like 40 pages of reading or like 50 problems or something, all due the next day.

I know this was very aggressive, but I felt the need to really speak my mind in general, especially considering my last blog was so positive. As I’ve said before, thank you for listening to my Ted Talk and have a nice day.

How to Tell If You're a Bad Teacher - Big Think

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Thanks giving break so far

graypenguinLeave a comment

For the first time since I came to the U.S., I am spending Thanksgiving with my friend outside of school. The thing I was looking forward to the most during this vacation was seeing my friend who graduated last year. When the holiday started, I thought it would be a bit long, as if I would have 10 days off, but now that it has started, I am surprised that it is already Friday. Friday is the deadline for this blog, which is a little depressing, but Friday and Saturday are my favorite days of the week, so I’m happy about that. To be honest, not going to school and not seeing my friends are the parts of the vacation I miss a little.
This morning I went to Beverly Hills to see a friend who graduated last year. She was my roommate in my freshman year. She is very kind and has a beautiful heart. I was really looking forward to seeing her again. She usually goes to college about 5 hours away by car, so I can’t see her. We had lunch there. We had a variety of fish dishes, which were very tasty. After that, we walked around the area. There I bought a dog doll that I had been in love with for a while. I am sure I would have regretted not buying it, so I think I made the right decision. After that, we came home and made cabbage rolls. My mother’s cabbage rolls are one of her top 10 favorite homemade dishes. I couldn’t make it as well as my mother, but I was very happy that everyone liked it. After that, we watched a Korean drama while eating gelato, which I had been curious about for a long time.
I was very happy to spend time with them after a long time. I hope to see her again soon.

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I hate growing up.

urmom8beanLeave a comment

Like the title says, I hate growing up. Losing another year but gaining one in age, one step closer to the end. You’re 18 now you get to vote, but also can get tried as an adult and go to jail. I can go to jail and be tried like an adult yet I’m still treated like a kid, I don’t understand.

One of the things I hate most about growing up is my birthday. Actually, I don’t really hate it, I guess it just never usually goes well. I stopped having parties when I was around 9 or 10 maybe earlier. After that, it just kind of became an afterthought. Something always happened at my party, that made it weird or awkward. In worse cases, people just forget. My Birthday has never really truly felt like “my day.”

One thing I do love doing is making my friends’ birthdays the best. I tell them “Happy Birthday!” every time I see them. I make sure everyone knows it’s their birthday and of course, I announce it to everyone, I love when people do that. I’ve held a couple of successful surprise parties and succeeded in distracting the birthday person long enough for others to decorate. Although I am really bad at gift-giving, and I always trust delivery companies way too much, I always remember the gift. I always try my best to make it a good day, but I don’t remember the last time I had one.

I missed out on my quinceñera which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, because of covid. I’m turning 18, and I can’t even enjoy It because there is so much going on. The basketball game is canceled, my advisory dinner is also canceled, I can’t have a birthday dinner because no one can take me, and I have a huge audition the next day. On top of all that I have homework, a supplemental video, a story, and this blog post to write. Oh yeah and how can I forget I also have to apply to other colleges, learn my lines for the play, and practice for my audition.

Lucky for me I finished most of that early, but I’m still not very excited for my birthday. I’ve always wanted a huge surprise party, and even though I’m older and I would love money as a gift, I also love Legos. I’ve always wanted a charm bracelet, I love the Italian ones, and of course, earrings/ necklaces never hurt. Some friends remember and I love them for that. They text me early, bring or make my gifts, announce it to the school, they remember.

This birthday was okay one of the better ones actually. In no way am I calling anyone out or trying to make anyone feel bad, I just thought I’d get it all out. Anyway, I had to write about something, this made the most sense. I just hope one day I have a birthday that actually feels like one. One big celebration, maybe one day. 🙂

18th Birthday Cake Ideas | Patisserie Valerie
PC: https://www.patisserie-valerie.co.uk/blogs/news/18th-birthday-cake-ideas

My Addiction to Watching Gossip Girl

uwucutiepatootieLeave a comment

As I a write this blog, I am watching my favorite show ever, Gossip Girl. I have been rewatching this show for the past three years, and I haven’t been able to love a show as much as I love this one. The Gossip Girl lifestyle is literally my dream and life inspiration. Since watching the first episode, I knew that I wanted the characters lives. Freely living in a apartment on Upper East Side of New York with a closet filled with a disturbing amount of clothes sounds unreal.

One of the main characters, Blair Waldorf is who I want to become. She may come off as rude and some things she does in the show is really messed up, but honestly, she is just really real and people need to accept that. If you have an opinion why not share it? She is fine with many people not liking her because why would she want to be around people that don’t like her for who she truly is?

Everything about the show is perfect. The soundtrack fits all the episodes so well and completely sets the tone for the show. The character development throughout the all the characters and especially Chuck Bass, is actually insane. The characters clothes, houses, and parties are all so gorgeous. The holiday episodes are life altering.

I get so much hate from my family because I refuse to watch any other show, but Gossip Girl just brings me too much joy to not rewatch it for the billionth time.

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jr year

purcyLeave a comment

I can’t believe how stressed out I am about school. My to-do list is hours long and I havent even started college research. I knew my junior year was going to be hard but I had no idea I would have this much to do. School doesn’t even feel like it’s going by slow anymore because I am so stressed out about meeting deadlines. I used to feel like I was waiting forever for school to be over each day and each year but now that I don’t have nearly enough time to get everything done. The embarrassing part is that I’m only taking one AP class. All the other juniors are taking full AP schedules and don’t act nearly as overworked as I do. I feel so stupid because maybe my homework isn’t as hard as i think and it’s just too hard for me to focus on it.