Reflection Post # 3

Over the four years of High School I have made so many good friends that I can’t even begin to describe how thankful and happy I am that I have such amazing friends. Throughout the years I have kept many of the same friends, and have made many new friends too. I have gone on many trips with my friends in and out of school in high school and have loved every minute of it!
Freshmen year I was still adjusting to the new school, and had many of the same friends as I did in eighth grade, but because of the big school and all of the students, I made many new friends. A special memory I remember from freshmen year was with the band when we went on our Spring Trip to New York City, where we toured New York City, and performed against other bands that were on the trip too. I hadn’t been to New York City before the band trip and had only seen New York from pictures, and from the television, but seeing the lights at night was definitely a sight to see. We also toured the NBC studious, went on a dinner cruise, walked in Central Park, and saw the set of Saturday Night Live, which was very interesting!
My most memorable time during sophomore year was when I went on a marching band trip to Atlanta, Georgia with my friends. There, we marched in the Georgia Dome with many other high schools bands. Although we didn’t place high in the awards we still had a lot of fun. The hotel we stayed in had over twenty-one floors so we all had fun going to the fifteenth floor to take pictures looking down. Another great part of Atlanta was when we toured the Coca-Cola factory, and we were able to try different flavors of their products that were not sold in the United States!
My most memorable time during junior year was the spring trip to Disney World, in Orlando, Florida for band. Going to Disney World with my best friends was the best trip. Although on the bus ride to Florida the bus broke down three times, it was a lot fun.
Senior year has been amazing! Senior year has been my favorite year by far!

Senior Reflection # 2

My favorite high school memory has been the entire time I’ve spent with all my friends in the band. I am so grateful that I have passion for music which has led me to meet many new people that have become my best friends. Over the past four years of high school I have met so many friends in band and I can’t even imagine band without them. Band has given me many traveling opportunities too. Just in high school I’ve traveled across the United States with the high school band to New York City, Bush Gardens, Disney World, and Myrtle Beach.
Outside of school I was able to travel through seven different countries in Western Europe with my former band director, Mr. Bergman, and some of my fellow school mates in band. Band gave me the opportunity to go to Europe to perform concerts with a group of 180 talented students and faculty to citizens of those countries. I went on the band Europe trip twice with numerous friends from Herndon High School’s band. The seven different countries that we visited and or played concerts in were England, France, Germany, Lichtenstein, Austria, Italy and my favorite, Switzerland. The first time I went on the summer band program was with my best friends from band, Eric Menatti, Katie Cleveland, and Karina Solis. My second time going on the band Europe trip was amazing because I was able to go with one of my oldest, best friend Kathryn. My favorite high school memory has definitely been in band because without band I would not have met the best and kindest people in the world. I am truly thankful I met my best friends in a happy, welcoming, and thoughtful community.

Senior Reflection # 1

Throughout the four years of high school I believe that I have matured greatly from my freshmen year. When I was younger I was very shy whether I was in the classroom or out ordering off of a menu at a restaurant. I used to be afraid to raise my hands and ask questions in class because I didn’t want my answer to be wrong, and have classmates make fun of me. I believe I have always been a very nice, cheerful person who is very respectful but still enjoys having a great time with friends. As the high school years passed by, I noticed that I have changed tremendously in a good way.
During high school I was able to break out from under my “shell” and become more open to new ideas and learned not to be afraid if my answers are incorrect, and that someone else most likely would have a similar question as me, they’re just afraid to say it too. I have become more confident in myself inside and outside of school, especially while I was looking for a job. I used to get nervous ordering food at restaurants but I realized that people working at restaurants are just like us, people who are working to support themselves and their families, and they usually aren’t that different than me. I became a lot more confident in myself because as high school progressed I learned that I’ve been given many more responsibilities and I have to take care of myself and stand up for situations that I believe are right and wrong.

Current Event # 4

For my fourth current event I chose an article titled, " Forever Young." This article is about an ecncylepeida book that has photography and illistrations that show the teens growing up in today's decade. The pictures depict the many emotions people go through as they transition into their adult lives and as they leave childhood behind. The article was interesting because it talked about how different people are, and how alike they can be too. The pictures that are with the article are amazing!

Current Event # 3

For my third current event for the fourth quarter, I decided to look in the style section of the Washington Post for some interesting topics. The topic I chose was about the hit series, " Jon and Kate plus 8." This show just started its fifth season and has many people following the drama and the entertainment. Jon and Kate have eight children, two twin girls who are now ten years old, and sextuplets who are three girls and three boys. Kate, the mother, enjoys the spotlight that is constantly on her family, and enjoys commentating on her everyday activities. Kate has written a best seller book about handling her chaotic family and travels the country for her book tours. However, Jon is not happy that their show is continuing. At first he didn't mind having a life in front of the camera, but once he had to quit his job and become a stay-at-home- dad who was always been bossed around, his mind-set changed. Newspapers, magazines, and television shows try to amp up the drama in their lives, but who really knows what's happening behind the scenes? I thought this was an interesting article because I watch this show.

Current Event # 2

The topic of my second current event was the Swine Flu and how it is spread, and what it really is. I found artile online on the CNN website. It was interesting to see what the definition of the swine flu was and how it was spread. The most common way that it had been distributed throughout the states was through contagious stages. At first the swine flu hit the United States with a big scare when people were noted having the flu, and many news stations did reports on the symtoms. The flu did jump from animal to human, but the scare has been decreasing over time.

4th Quarter Blog Post # 1

For my first current
event post for the fourth quarter, I found an interesting article in the
Washington Post, page A12. Although I was looking for an interesting article
in
the Style section for last weeks current event, I found another
interesting
article. The current event that I chose to talk about was
one
about a soldier
who decided to start a charrity group that
collected
and
donated new wheelchairs
for disabled children in Iraq.
This was an
interesting article because
throughout the article it talked
about the
solider's life and hardships and how
he wanted to help others.
He said
that
many soldiers helped with his effort and
shipped over
200
wheelchairs to
Iraq. The soldier has transformed his life to
helping
others.