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My Semester Uno

Every other semester I would lie and say that my previous semester was wonderful and full of joyful memories. This time, things are different. I am no longer going to lie to myself about what a disaster the first semester of my grade 11 year was. Although there were some mind-blasting moments, I must say, I didn’t work up a fantastic first semester to start off my grade 11 year. The truth must be spoken!

Before I rant about what didn’t work for me in the first semester, I must share what worked well in semester one. I chose this Travel and Tourism course that was apparently a new subject. I had no clue what I was in for, except learning about the world and new cultures. As a result, I had fun and even met up with a few friends and the four of us became the liveliest group in the class. I also had a music course for Keyboarding. I had a lot of fun in that class since it was my only class where I can relax and talk to friends and maybe fool around. Other than having two of my courses work well for me, I also got the chance to get more volunteer hours during the weekends at this art studio for children and because I was volunteering at the studio, I gained some new friends and increased my social life. It was fun while it lasted.

Some things became total and complete disasters for me in semester one. Chemistry with the worst teacher in the whole science department was numero uno on the list. I already made a terrible mistake to take Chemistry when I could have taken something else that could have benefited me even more, but it had to be with the worst teacher in the science department. One question was going through my head all semester: “Why oh WHY did I have to take chemistry?!” I mean, chemistry is interesting and all, but it’s just not my subject, and to top it all off, I had to get a teacher whom I could never understand. Aside from the disaster that is Chemistry, Physics didn’t really work out for me either, because of the many distractions around me during class. I regret not moving.

My goals are simple and straight forward. I am aiming for an 80 percent and above for all my subjects and I’m hoping that I won’t be a nuisance in the process for both my classmates and my teachers. My last goal is to not be absent or late for my math class anymore seeing that I have already been late and absent for personal reasons in the very first week of the semester.

You can say semester one for me was a bad dream or a complete and utter nightmare. Nothing really important really worked for me and everything important went down the drain for me. Hopefully this semester would bring better days.

Word Count: 496 Words

Word Limit: 300-500 Words

Smoking

Smoking is a dangerous habit that people should quit or not begin. Smoking is also a form of Tobacco. Back in the older days, cigarettes were able to be bought anywhere possible. Advertisements were everywhere. People were even able to buy cigarettes in the hospitals. Advertisements in the 1940s have even showed doctors recommending smoking as a way to relax! Now smoking is practically banned from most of the places that we go today. Especially public places like parks. Not even most restaurants or bars allow smoking anymore. This is because the message of “smoking is bad” is being sent out to everyone in many cities from bulletin boards to Television to Magazines. Now smoking is certainly more under control that usual. But still it doesn’t mean that people should start smoking from a really young age.

As most people know, smoking is dangerous and really hard to quit. People can addict to the chemicals inside one cigarette once they give one puff. It is possible to quit but really hard. There is a chemical inside a cigarette called Nicotine. This substance is a stimulant. Nicotine temporarily makes the user feel good or energized. Nicotine releases a chemical from our brain called beta-endorphin which makes people feel alert and calmer. Although people will feel calm and alert, this effect will wear off in a matter of minutes. Now the user will be back to normal, but won’t be as calm and alert. So in order to feel that way or “normal”, the user will start smoking and will have a terrible time quitting.

Not a lot of people that start smoking started as an adult. 4,400 teens in between the ages of 12-17 start smoking everyday because of curiosity. Most teen smokers say that smoking makes them look older and more mature. Others say that smoking makes them relaxed and feel more rebellious. Some say that they smoke because of peer pressure. Most smokers that start early are young women. They say that it makes they seem less heavy. Most smokers also start because people in their family smoke.

The body does not need tobacco as much as it needs food and water. Smoking can be a huge error in life. Smoking damages your insides and can kill you. It is terrible for your health. It can cause lung disease and cancer. Smoking is not that good for the clothing either. The cloth will absorb the fumes of cigarette and will become stinky. Having problems breathing would be one of the signs that smoking is killing you. The fumes from smoking would travel down the lungs and stay there making it hard to breathe and later will make the lungs a dark unhealthy color.

This concludes that smoking is a very bad habit that should not be promoted. Smoking will just kill and depopulate the world by doing so. And smoking will never solve personal problems. It’ll just make them worse by making the insides of the body unhealthy.

Games

Video games have been popular to children and young adults for many years. These video games can be fun, challenging, scary, etc. Now not only young people are crowding around games anymore. Now even adults and seniors are playing video games day and night. Why the sudden change? It is because technology has grown since past generations. Now game systems have the ability to help the human mind and the human body become stronger and more flexible.

In Hong Kong video games have been really popular for a while now. Almost everyone has to have a game boy or psp along side with them or else they would not feel comfortable. Professors in Hong Kong has done a lot of research and the results show that in a group of 6 people, at least 1 will be playing a game. Interview results also show that each person that gets addicted to these games, will play for at least 3-4hours straight. Almost everywhere you go you'll see someone holding a game with them and never taking their eyes off it until they win the next round or so. Even though these people are playing games just for the heck of it, many hospitals are using games to treat people with mind problems (the ones who can't think straight). Games are even being used in senior homes for the seniors' enjoyment.

For the game addicts that "sit" around games too long can be helped by please even "more" games. The Wii can help them exercise their body losing the excess fat that they do not need or want. Some brain games on the Wii can also help the ones that do not use their brain too much or never at all.

In conclusion, video games can be sometimes bad for you. But now, not all video games can do people any harm if they use them properly.

Track Events Gone Wrong (Hurdles and 4x100 Relay)

On June 6th 2007, I missed classes to compete at the York University Track Events with my school team. The competition went from 7:30a.m. to about 4:40p.m. The people that had early events had to take the cab to the track. But the people with late events took the bus and arrived to the track at around 9:30a.m.-10:00a.m. I was one of the late contestants. I was lucky that I actually got there on time for my first event, the hurdles.

I was called on the the track once I got there. I didn't even have time to change into my shorts. I had to run with track pants on and my legs were still freezing because I didn't get to warm up. So my legs were practically shaking from the inside. I had took forth place on the first try but then disaster strikes. My legs were really frozen now and my waste was hurt. I believe I twisted it too much so I felt a little pain in my waste. But I did not I have enough time for it to heal fully. Thus I was running the finals with an injured waste. Once the finals started I had a good start, but I tripped on the third hurdle and fell into another lane but got back into my lane with enough speed to get back into the race. Unforchunetly I got last place. But after an hour of judging I finally got the 7th ribbon. The last ribbon was the 8th ribbon so I actually wasn't all that bad after all. Even though I got through this race with a ribbon, things will get worse.

For hours I waited for my second event, the 4x100 Grade 8 Boys Relay. In the time I had left to prepare for the race(which was about 5 hours of free time) I played, cheered, warmed up, and even watched over competitors compete. I also got the opportunity to take pictures of some of my teammates. After about 5 hours, it was time. I had to run the 4x100 Relay. I was first to receive the baton so I was kinda running on a curve. I kind of had some problems receiving the baton from my teammate but I finally got it and I was a little behind. Although I was behind I charged up and got into first position. But my speed led my team into defeat.

Even though I am a fast runner and I ran really fast, I couldn't tell my teammate to run ahead to receive the baton in time. I accidentally bumped into him and stepped on his foot thus making the both of us slip and fall while other schools passed us. I then yelled "RUN!!" and I then thought to myself "What have I done?!". One of my teammates that were cheering from the sidelines ran down to see if I was okay. I was devastated of what I have done and I put everything on my back. I felt really guilty. I still remember what my teammate said to me. "It's okay. Everyone makes mistakes. Just think of this as an experience and you can be more careful next year. It's no one's fault. No one will blame you." These words were just about the same words that my teacher said to me. Right when I got back to our resting place under a tree, 1 of the teachers/couches from my school ask me about the relay situation. I didn't say a word and he could guess what has happened.

But before I walked back to our resting place, back on the track, the referee saw that my teammate and I had fell so he came over with a red flag to take a look I told him that we're
okay and that it was my fault that we fell. Not the other teams. The referee then raised the white flag indicating that everything is fine and no one is injured. Although the other team did not get into trouble there, they were disqualified at the next receiving point because of a false start by a teammate of theirs.

Later on, when everyone had left, we were the only school left with sad expressions on our faces. But in the end we all had fun and we even stayed 'till about 5:50p.m. to have some fun on the track.

Ants, Bees, Wasps and their Queens

Ants
First of all, I hope everyone knows that there are different kinds of ants. Even though that's a fact, ants are classified as one family.

It is believed that they evolved from a wasp like soil insects. These little special creatures belong in the animal kingdom. They sure don't look like it but they are defiantly animals. These creatures are related to the, quite dangerous, wasps and bees.

Even though they seem small and helpless, they can be really strong in groups. They especially work best in hunting while in groups. They can carry things that are heavier than their own weight. These fascinating creatures are classified in duties. There are worker ants, soldiers, the babies, the drones, and the Queen. There can be more than a million ant workers in one colony. The workers' jobs are to build and expand the spaces in an ant hill. An ant hill is a hill of sand that the worker ants dug for the rest of the colony to live in and them selves.

The soldiers are to protect the colony from any invaders like cockroaches or any other insects. These ants are needed in colonies. Not only do they protect the colony but they hunt for food as well. Some of these soldiers' duty is to either fight, protect, or scout around for the workers. After they start scouting and then if they find something. The workers will come help the soldiers bring the food back to the queen and some for themselves too.

The drones are just simply the only ones that have wings permanently. Their job is to mate with the Queen. First they fly into the air above the colony forming clouds and then the Queen will mate with the drones and the drone will die.The normal life span for a drone is about 2-3 days.

The Queen
The Queen is the larger than the workers and drones. The Queen is the one that keeps the colony together and working. It produces particular pheromones that makes everything and everyone working in the colony. The Queen also creates a distinct smell for the colony. Every ant in the colony smells just about the same. The Queen is the only one that is able to lay fertilized eggs for the colony. The Queen is practically the mother of the whole colony. The Queen is able to live for 15 years and mate only once in its life-span.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ants
http://www.bubblegum-productions.com/anthony/queen.htm http://www.answers.com/Ant%20Queens

Bees
There are many kinds of Bees. Some of which I can't even pronounce properly. Bees are like ants. The only different from most of the ants is that they are able to fly. All bees are able to fly.

Bees' are insects. Bees' are the ones we should thank for all the flowers in this world. They do something called pollination. Pollination is when the bees' flying around flowers and collecting pollens. While they do that, the pollen collects on their legs and while the bee finishes collecting, it'll start flying around again and the pollen will fall into and soil thus planting more flowers.

Bees are really protective. They can sting you for no reason and then die off.

All creatures must have some place to live in. Unlike ants, bees live in a nest. Inside is a big honey comb chamber. Inside each honey comb is either an egg or honey. Like ants, the bees are sorted be duties. There are soldiers, workers, larvae, drones, and the Queen. The worker's job is to build the nest and block off the larvae after feeding them in their chamber in the honey comb.

The Queen
The Queen of the bees are just about the same as the ones of ants.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bees

http://www.answers.com/bees

Wasps
The wasp is like the ant and the bee, they are most likely to travel in groups. They are more powerful that way. The wasp is almost like the bee but except the part in between the body and the abdomen. Its thinner than the bees'. The wasp is an insect. There are many different species of wasps. The Yellow Jacket is an example of one. All wasps are like Bees. They sting!

The wasps fall in two categories. They're solitary wasps and social wasps. Solitary wasps are generally adult wasps that travel alone and do not tend to build nests. All solitary adult wasps are fertile.

The Queen

The Queen is like the Queen of bees.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasps

http://www.answers.com/wasp%20

Green Earth

Once there was a great green planet called the Earth. But now it is just a planet of pollution and grief. Everywhere you go on this once green planet, you will see garbage everywhere on the ground. Dead bodies are lying around in places that are not suppose to have any because of the endless wars that us greedy humans (no offense) fight for because we always want things for ourselves. Gases are killing our earth by making the O-Zone Layer thinner. What can we do to help our earth to grow back into its original self before we actually destroy it ourselves? Here are some good tips that I thought up myself:

-plant extra trees if you have room around you (optional)
-do not use your car too much. Instead ride a bicycle and use your car when you really need it.
-recycle
-do not use too much garbage (ex. Instead of using a tissue once or twice, you may use a paper towel and you may use it for even 4 or 5 times or use a towel and then wash it off)

For more info please give me some sites or some more ideas of how to save our Earth, so I may put them on this post. Thank You.

Science Fair

OH MY GOD!!! TOMORROW IS THE DAY WHEN THEY ANNOUNCE WHOSE GOING TO THE SECOND LEVEL OF THE SCIENCE FAIR!! My friend and I are really excited because since we made it to the school finals :D and we found out that we got a 48/50 mark :D, which our Principal gave us :D. I just hope we get in the next level :D so we can go see a real science fair contest for the very time. Well I will see a real Science fair contest for the very first time :D.

Date: Friday March 9th/07

YES!! I found out that I got in the Science Fair! That's the good news... now the bad news. Even though my partner and I have gotten into the Science fair... we have to go downtown... to UofT.... and its on March 30-31st.... It really sucks for me since on Friday March 30th, I have to go to UofT AFTER SCHOOL!! Which is like 4:00-5:00pm, and I have no ride. Unless my partner's Dad drives us after school to go set up our project, we won't be able to set it up in time for the presentations next day. But it was still good to know that we made it :) All the hard work paid off :)

Date: Saturday March 31st/07

Oh no!! WE LOST!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

Breaking News: Saddam Hussein Executed

Saddam Hussein, former dictator of Iraq was killed this morning at Friday 10:00 pm E.T. He was handed over by the United States government back to the Iraqi government for judgment. He was hung at his hometown of TIKRIT Iraq. And his body is going to be buried at the Awja section of Tikrit cemetery this Sunday morning at 9:00 am (1:00 am E.T).

*Yawn*...OH NO I SPREADED THE YAWNESS!

Yawning is a proccess in which you exhale carbon dioxcide through your mouth after inhaling oxygen. There is a saying that if one person in a room of 3 or more people it can spread making everyone yawn after another until it goes back to the one person who started it. But how does it spread? Well I'm not sure how it spreads but I know it spreads. I GOT EVIDENCE!! Last night when my mom, dad and I were returning from our dinner, my mom began to yawn and then I yawned and then my mom yawned and my dad yawned and I yawned and so on. We were randomly yawning after another but it was spreading through the air!!