Change...

Everywhere we look, we often think of ways of how something could be different, how it could be better. Henry Clay has been a good experience the past three years and I have some things I would change. I think that students should be able to leave for lunch. Yes, there are a bunch of legal implications in letting students off campus during school hours, but those should be fixed as well. Once off campus, the student shall be responsible for their safety and for getting back on time. It teaches students responsibility, which seems to be lacking with the countinuing growth of government parenting of students. Summers! Oh summers. They should be a week longer at least. We have gone back to school as early as August 12 while my little sisters are going back on the 27th and other friends that are out of state are going back in September. These are just two things that I can think of at the moment that I would want to change.

Reflection

This year has been very eventful as a whole, yet it seemed to fly by quite quickly. I started the year not knowing what to expect; I wasn't sure whether I would do GSP or GSA, whether I would get a 36 on the ACT, or whether I would be killed in some unfortunate smelting accident (Okay, I wasn't really thinking about the latter). However, the year turned out pretty well as I said before. I must say that I learned so much about life and what it means to dedicate time to something you truely love in Marching Band. This was one of the most rewarding experiences that I have ever had, and I undoubtably plan on continuing it next year. In taking three AP classes, I found out how to effectively manage my time between school work and study without drowning myself in stress. I had the great fortune of liking all of my teachers this year, which my previous years sadly deprived me of. In retrospect, not including the past month of AP/EOC/Final study torture, this year has been very rewarding and I am blessed to have experienced it. Looking forward, I  hope to continue my current efforts at furthering education and staying alive as long as humanly possible. Thanks for a great year of writing chop-building!

Gigantic late-blog Bonanza. Blogs 5, 6 and Reflection

So, i've been procrastinating awfully on these, time to get them in. On the last day of school. In 5th hour. Yeah.

Blog 5: 100 years from now.

100 years from now, I expect the world to change a great deal. Moore's law dictates an exponential increase in processor power, and according to scientists such as Ray Kurzweil, it is not improbable for processor power to soon reach a point where it roughly equates to the power of the Human Brain. When computers are as powerful as the human brain, it will hit a point known as the Singularity. Then, machines will be able to create machines more intelligent than themselves, or, more intelligent than humans. And so on, and so on, and so on. This massive exponential leap in power will result in a gigantic change in the way we view the world, from the advent of conscious AI to the gigantic jump in technology that will be associated with it. The world will change from such levels of technology, and I believe it could occur 100 years from now.

Blog 6: Somewhere in the world right now.

Out in the world, according to the population bureau's 2010 study, around 1.8 people die per second. That's around 108 deaths a minute, 156,000 a day and 56.7 million a year. That means that out there right now in the time it's taken you to read this blog post, someone has died. Many someones. Out in third world countries people who suffer under the grip of poverty starve to death, or someone is killed in a war-torn nation by a savage tyrant. There is much, much death in the world right now. So, while your life is cushy and comfortable, right now, no matter what you're doing, every second, someone dies. Someone with family, with friends, with aspirations and dreams, their lives are extinguished. Every second of every day of every year. That's what's going on in the world right now.

Reflection:

This year has been a doozy. I've spent it taking 3 AP courses, with all the finals and AP tests those entail, alongside two online courses attempting to repair damage that occurred at the end of Sophomore year. I've had to do a lot of work, and while i'm not going to say i'm responsible (the fact i'm entering this blog at the quite literal last minute shows), I have been taking a lot of effort to do work. I've pretty much had to cut off hanging out with my friends outside of school. I haven't never gone to see a movie this year, but i certainly have had a lot less social interraction, because i've been having to try to take responsibility for my actions and prepare more for my future. In that method, I think i have maybe gotten a little bit more grown. Possibly a tad. And, I have finally figured out what I want to do with the next school year, and i've chosen a mentoring project I really care about. So all in all, it's been a good year. I've scraped by in some areas, but in others i've done fine. I got my first 100 in a real class this year, which is a big accomplishment. Yes, overall Junior year was nice.

Glass half full kinda year

Thank God Junior year is over. I am looking forward to experiencing bonnaroo and also my exciting trip to Spain! Although this was a rough year and not an easy transition, I feel like I have grown as a person the past couple of months. As most of you know, coming home from boarding school and enrolling in Henry Clay was not my decision, but my parents. All I could think about the first half of the year was how miserable I was being here. It consumed my life. Instead of trying to make the best of the situation and make myself happy, I was making myself miserable. However, I came to a realization that I can't move around and switch my life up trying to make myself happy. I have to think positively in every situation and it won't seem as bad. Given the option between Sayre and Henry Clay, I chose Henry Clay. Now that I am content and happy with my life, it doesn't matter to me where I am or what I'm doing.

Year in Review

This past year has certainly been an interesting one. From school, AP tests, and studies to stress, colleges, and driving Junior can accurately be described in one word: Deadlines. Whether this refers to school, projects, studying for AP tests, or the upcoming college applications that my (insane and very stressful) college planner has been making me fill out, my life in the past 10 months can be characterized as divisions at which the end of something important is due. Sure, next year might have additional deadlines but for me this "warm-up" if you will has not only prepared me for the coming Senior year but has also made for a stressful life that I have had to learn to deal with in healthy and effective ways. For instance, I now know that when I'm really stressed out taking a shower and putting a washcloth over the drain to achieve a sound very similar to that of rain instantly relaxes me. Furthermore, taking my dog on a walk also has a similar effect in taking my mind off of things that are stressing me out.

Reflection

Reflecting back on the past school year, I realize that I have learned many things. I have made new friends, learned how to communicate better, and additionally have had to deal with the shock and wake up call of difficult classes. I have also been faced with new pressures and stressers. However, overall I have had a phenomenal school year. Learning new things and meeting new people have been big components of this teat. I have also been presented with many new opportunities and experiences. I have verb able to go to Europe this summer and have been event planners for many groups and clubs. That has helped me to learn many new skills. I have really enjoyed this year and all of the people who were involved.with it. :) However, this year has also proven to be difficult with grades and teachers and such. I received my first B in a class taht I found to be very difficult for me. Additionally, the added stress of End of Course Exam did not make the month of May any easier for me. May Madness has been very difficult for me, and as I bet it suprises you, I'm ready for summer. I'm ready to relieve the stress I have been feeling and just relax a little bit. Even though, I know that I have a tough year ahead of me.

i better make sure this is on time. i've used up all my late passes.

Quite honestly, I felt like this year has passed more quickly than any other. Then again, I don’t think there is a single part of junior year that I wished I had gone back and savored. The only thing that is truly disheartening is the fact that I still don’t feel like I know what I’m doing. I’ve certainly made progress, and I’ve had wonderful teachers to guide me. But while everyone has been telling me that I’ve “gotten my act together” in recent weeks, I feel even more lost than before. It seems now that the question has digressed from “where do you want to go to college?” to “what career are you going to pursue?”. My answer?

I DON’T KNOW.

In fact, I don’t have a clue. And for the last few years I’ve been reassured, “Oh no, dear. You don’t even need to be thinking about that yet”. Well, I’m almost a year away from stepping onto a campus that I have committed to, to take courses that will determine my ultimate success in the workplace and my life in general. That’s a pretty frightening thought.

On the bright side, junior year has taught me to live with myself. I notoriously set the bar high (too high, according to most). It has taken me this long to realize that I don’t have to. I don’t need to ace every test, I don’t need to win every leadership position I run for, I don’t need to pack my schedule with AP classes. Because frankly, it just isn’t worth it. This is far from apathy, mind you. Rather, this mentality just puts things into perspective. In terms of strict input and output, what I gain isn’t worth the cost. It makes far more sense for me to achieve in my own way, than fill up the cookie-cutter positions that the school system has punched out for me.

Many of us have been blindly led into these positions and supposed responsibilities. In most cases, they don’t really mean anything. Our class in general has conformed to the same clubs, interests, and even colleges. This is really bad. We’re just hurting ourselves by doing it. I hope by next year, we all can diversify and find our own niche.

I’m sick and tired of doing things that will “look good on paper”. I’m going to start hiking again, set aside time for leisure reading, and play my saxophone again.

I’m not saying I’m one of those long-haired, peace-lovin’, holy jean-wearin’, pinko hippie-types…

But you just gotta live, man.

reflection time

I've experienced a lot this year and I feel like I've grown a lot more than I did freshman or sophomore year. I'd like to say I have a different perspective on life. This year has been a lot more work but I think that it's worth it. Getting involved is awesome and it's when you do things you actually care about. Academically I've definitely grown. I've come to manage my time better and procrastinating this year has been least strenuous on me. I still remember my first writing prompt from Logsdon for the summer reading; it was so horribly written. I want to say that my writing is better, but there is a lot more for me to improve on. Also I've gotten a better grasp on what I want to do in the future. My summer is planned out and all I have to do is look into colleges for next year. Looking back, I think that it's been a productive and quite a memorable year.

looking back on things

Junior year.  A time of growth, a time of change.  One of the best years of my high school experience despite its many ups and downs and highs and lows.  I'd always heard that junior year would be the toughest yet, and now I can certainly say that rings true for me as well.  First off, I took four AP classes this year: AP Art History, AP French, AP US History, and AP English.  They all brought on a high level of stress for me at times, what with the never-ending image notebook assignments, French homework assignments constantly bombarding my inbox, highly challenging history tests, and consistent writing pieces for english.  My other two classes were Advanced Physics and Advanced Pre-Cal, and both certainly had their moments as well.  I've never been a math person whatsoever, so I quickly learned to just accept my high B in Pre-Cal and move on with life.  In fact, one thing I really have started to realize is that grades really are not everything.  The kind of person you are matters just as much, and there are a multitude of other factors that contribute to a well-rounded student.  This year I also grew much closer to some people, and grew apart from others, maybe for the better, or perhaps not.  But that's just how life goes.  Everything happens for a reason and you've got to learn to deal with whatever life throws at you.  I had dramatic times, sad times, and some of the funniest and best memories of my life.  And even though many times I find myself walking down the filthy, bustling, cramped halls of Henry Clay questioning why the heck am I putting up with this, I eventually think to myself, I will miss this place.  I just want summer so badly right now though...and I honestly can't wait for senior year!

Reflection

It is hard to look back on this year just because it has gone by so fast, especially second semester. Of all of my high school years so far I have grown more this year than any of the others. Ive had my first experiences with college and has caused me to start thinking about my future. School wise this year has been the most demanding. No longer was I able to put off to the last minute and just to just wing assignments and tests or quizzes, although the parking situation provides me with a way to cram the day of still. As for soccer I have seen my most successful year yet, we won disney and casl and were a goal away from winning the regional league. As for high school we were able to prove a lot of people wrong who thought this was going to be a re building year for Henry Clay and made it back to the final four only to lose to the eventual state champs. I can only hope impove upon my Junior year and have an even better senior year.

This isn't late, right...?

Looking back on my Junior year, and really my high school experience as a whole, I still can't believe how fast it has gone by. It is as though yesterday was the day when I first stepped into Henry Clay, stumbling around frantically to find my classes. And here I am now, about done with three-fourth of high school.

In contrast with the dissatisfaction I had with my freshmen and sophomore years, I feel reasonably proud of my junior year. I accomplished what I set out to do; I earned decent grades in all of my classes and feel like I scored well on the AP tests. I had a lot of fun in my classes too, thanks to little things like Mr. Pope's ever so whimsical choice of diction. The fact that I had half a class each day dedicated to playing cards was a pretty nice bonus, and I hope you current Calculus students have as much fun in Calculus II as we had.

I feel glad that I tackled AP Chemistry this year, despite the excess amounts of pain and suffering I've endured on test days and test hand-back days. I felt so smart getting As on some of these chemistry tests, but then I look at Patrick Lutz, who takes AP Chemistry, Physics, and Biology in the same year and constantly scores the highest in all three classes, and I get reminded of my rather mediocre intelligence in comparison. Nevertheless, I do feel proud in passing the class with an A.

Although I would say that my junior year has been my best so far, there are still many things I want to go back and redo (how's that Time Machine coming along, CERN?).  I have found myself repeatedly daydreaming about how awesome it would be if I could be reborn with the same knowledge I have now. Not only would I avoid some of the mistakes I've made in school that haunts to to this day, but I would also be some of sort of kid genius. I could graduate college at the age of like eleven, and spend the rest of my life traveling the earth and solving the world's greatest mysteries or something, but I digress. So yeah, time machine, it doesn't matter when, but someone please invent it?

Reflection

This past year has been the most difficult year academically, but it has also taught me how to procrastinate less and grow up as a student to succeed, this has worked out and all of my grades have seen a noticeable positive effect. First hour I had Art History, it has been a very interesting class that though I thought I would not enjoy it, I actually have and has developed me culturally. Second hour I had calculus, a usual math course that I feel that I have breezed through and my chances for a 5 on the AP test are high. Third hour was US History, which started out not my favorite, but Mr. Pope and his teaching style have grown on me and I now enjoy the class. Forth hour was Physics, which combined my love for math and science and with Mrs. Gills teaching has made a very fun class. Fifth hour was English class where I feel I have become significantly better at writing and English skills. Lastly, is sixth hour Latin 3, by far my least favorite class; however, I have learned the most this year compared to the previous two. Not only have I grown academically but I have also grown as an individual and a leader on the lacrosse team. I have become the leading scorer and assist leader and a captain that has helped lead our team to a 8-6 season with a playoff win. My hopes at making the All-State team is helping my dream to play college lacrosse seem possible.

To judge Harry Potter versus The Lord of The Rings on which is the “better” series would be like trying to defend apples over oranges; it is subjective to taste differences. If we were to break each into criterion of certain aspects, then we could more easily see which excels more in certain areas, however. If we look solely on which has the most character development and detail given to the setting, the award clearly goes to The Lord of The Rings; Tolkein created one of the most complex fictional worlds in history, Middle Earth, which he wrote several languages for, illustrated government forms for the people/creatures in the provinces, as well as designed the races of dozens of creatures in depth. Were we to judge solely based on action and the ability of the text to keep you turning the page, Harry Potter would win in my opinion. Rowling is one of the best story tellers that I have ever known. She makes the Harry Potter books so captivating and exciting that you can’t help but turn the page every time you read any of the books. If these were the two criteria for judgment, I would give Harry Potter the upper hand. The books were a huge part of my childhood and they introduced me to reading chapter books. Would Rowling have not made the books so accessible yet stimulating, I would not be able to say that I love reading as much as I do now. I may be tarred and feathered, but that is my preference.

Reflection

Over this year some things have changed and other things have not. I think that academically, I have proved to my self again that I should not procrastinate. Dozens of instances this year I put off work for another day. Though I usually finished it on time, the experience was highly stressful. Also, several courses changed my life. First, AP US History was a powerful and enlightening experience. I had always found myself wondering about the various periods of US history. I was always angered by references to US history that I did not understand. Now, I understand those references; they no longer anger or confound me. In addition, AP Art History was a fascinating experience, especially the material of the second semester. We covered impressionism and modernism which were the most interesting subjects of the year. The comprehensive scope of the course adds light to all areas of study.

introspection

This is the first time in a long time that I have actually felt a reason to reflect. I think thats thats enough to show that i have had one hell of a year alone, but I feel like an explanation is in order.
Generally speaking, school has never really been all that challenging. Not that I haven't had my, but share of hard classes, I have, but ive never had so much to do with so little time to do it. I've had to juggle leadership and studying and friendships along with everything else I've ever had to keep track of. I took 4 ap classes and visited colleges and everything else under the sun. The stress was more intense than anything I've ever experienced when takenas a whole. In summation, the year itself was HUGE.
Without a doubt, ny favorite teachers have been from this year. Theyve really been a huge benefit, and without them, I would have crashed and burned a long time ago. The year has really taught me the importance of connections.
I think my junior year will prove to be extremely crucial to my life.

The Past, Present, and Future

Well, Junior year is just about over. I’ve had fun times, but mostly spent too much time working on whatever work we had to do for all of our classes, staying up until the wee hours of the morning procrastinating and/or working on things slowly. I can’t say that I’ve had it rough, seeing as I already took Calculus AB and didn’t take AP Chemistry (WHICH PEOPLE STILL THINK I TAKE), the sources of pain and suffering for the majority of my friends. I still think that this year has been a bulk of my high school work, and has let me understand how I work on deadlines and other pressures that will inevitably arise during college.

This summer will probably be a time for me to relax, hone some skills, and pick up old hobbies. I’m most excited for my mentoring project, which will require me to learn the cello, which has always been something that I’ve wanted to try. I’m also probably going to re-learn as much computer programming as I can, in a poor attempt to get myself up to around the same level as AP Computer Science.

My senior year will be a winding down transitory time between high school and college. I’ll actually experience some college, as I will be taking Calculus 4 and 3 during the afternoon at UK; this will be an interesting experience for me, and probably help me get used to that environment and style of lectures. I also can’t wait for AP Physics, which will be quite interesting – I hope to learn as much as possible before college.

A Look Back

Looking back at the beginning of the year seems like looking back a week or so; it's gone by fast. This year has been host to some wild rides both in school and out. Friendships have been created and ones that had already existed have become stronger. This year, like any other, has had its moments that I wish would have never happened and moments that I wish I could relive over and over. Latin class...Latin class, oh how I wish you never ever ever existed..ever. But it's all good. Not really. Let's go through classes shall we? Anatomy was nothing I didn't expect. Math was, well, math. Nothing new there. I'd rather not speak of my third hour..it barely deserves the one mention it has already. Physics was cool thanks to Mrs. Gill. I'll be with her next year in AP which I hope will be just as cool. English was an interesting class this year. Now the things we learned weren't necessarily as interesting as the events that happened to occur within the walls of Mr. Logsdon's room during 5th hour. I thoroughly enjoyed the speeches that we rounded out our first semester with. U.S. History was fun. Good class. Good teacher. Basketball season ended earlier than planned. Oh well. Lacrosse is where it's at in my book. This season was fun and our team progressed like none other that we've had before. Personally, this year has contained moments that I'll never forget; some good some bad. The good ones I'll never forget simply for what they were. The bad ones I will remember as well, but in a way to help me learn from them. It's not long until we're seniors, everybody. I can't believe it. Now one random thought. I was just watching Highlight Express on ESPNEWS and I am noticing that there are more and more random Indian people working for ESPN on air..I can't really take them seriously on sports. That is all.

A Reflection

The juniors of past years really weren't kidding when they said that junior year was the hardest. Was it more academically challenging? Of course. But that's not what made it hard. What made it hard was preparing for the next step; preparing for our lives. I could say that this year has been a year of moving on. High school had very little stress when we first walked in through the doors and got acquainted with Henry Clay life. However, junior year is one of those times when, if you're not stressed, you're stressed that you've probably forgotten something, which will then lead to more stress. This year was also full of changes in that I started exploring more into what I liked. At the beginning of the year, I wanted to go into the medical field. But now, my doors are wide-open, and I have the luxury of delving into new things. I also found out (with the help of chorus teacher Mrs. Stohlmann and the cast of Charlie Brown) that I could sing. Who knows what I could do with that? Even though junior year is the beginning of a new phase in our lives, one that takes us from childhood to adulthood, this year has been amazing. Thank you, Mr. Logsdon, for a wonderful English experience. And thank you guys for a great junior year. Let's make senior year even better.

Junior Year

Over the course of year I've seen a lot of changes in my life. I would love to sit hear and say how much I have matured and grown academically, but I know I have a long way to go in those respects. I have learned a lot however, and in English I feel that I have grown as a writer in both developing my prose style and my content. Socially, some things I would not have expected have gone on this last year. People who were sort of background, school friends have really come to mean a lot in my life- one in particular. I have made a lot of new friends this year, and become a part of some friend groups that I was not a part of previously. I feel as though I have come into myself a little more and become more confident. Going to more parties and hanging out with people more this year has led me to appreciate my friends and the memories we make. Most importantly, I have grown closer to my very best friends and furthered friendships that border on being brothers. I know I have to become more mature and work harder at school, but I always have to remember that the relationships I make now will be the memories and friendships I carry with me for my entire life, and that define me as a person.

A Journey Through Time (but not really)

I suppose if I were to talk about how much I've progressed in the last school year, it would mostly be me talking about how much I've been preparing for various AP tests and college visits and stuff like that. And also I'd probably have to mention the incident in December wherein my three closest friends pretty much just up and said "lol you're a loser we don't wanna hang out with you anymore BYE NERD" then walked away talking about their fanfictions. And I think that this year, I've had quite a few more afterschool activities, in part due to my not doing marching band this year. I've also But, more than anything else, I feel that in the last year, the most I've changed in is in my demeanour on the computer. Yes, I realize that sounds pathetic and lame, and it pretty much IS pathetic and lame, but in this past year, at least through the internet, I've been able to communicate with some pretty neat people who share some of my interests. (Also, my typing style, due to a combination of Tumblr and instant messaging, has, outside of the classroom at least, devolved into a "lmao omg did u see that post im crey" style worthy of only the most typing-challenged trained monkeys.)

Reflection

This past year has had a lot of ups and downs. Even though I can say with complete confidence that junior year has been the most difficult year of my life, I wouldn’t say that this year has been entirely bad. I think I have grown to know the things I like and I appreciate some things more now. In the beginning of the year, my main priority was definitely school work. For me, that has been something that I’ve been pretty successful with my entire life. It took precedence above most other aspects of my life. However, this year, I’ve realized that some things are more important than school (that being said, please know that I still care about school a lot and it doesn’t mean I will stop working hard). This year, I have lost 4 members of my family: an uncle, a great aunt, a grandmother, and a cat; two of which were very unexpected.  All of these experiences have reminded me that life is short and you never know when it will end. As cliché as that sounds, it has taught me that having great relationships and exciting life experiences are much more important in the long run than your grades in school or where you decide to go to college. I am so thankful that this school year will be over in a week and a half, but I will never forget the ways in which I have changed over the past year.

Junior year

It seems we all have barely survived this year of Hell that is junior year. My friends and I have stayed up past 1 virtually every night; however, it's probably our own faults since we always discuss terrible things until the whole city goes to bed. This year, I've become more independent, with the freedom of being able to drive solo, which always gives me a thrill. My jaywalking accompanied with friends was quite enjoyable as well. In essence, this year I've learned more about others, and developed academically as well. However, I've also learned not to let school dominate my life. If all I am is book smarts, what good am I? The hectic events we've all gone through this year have been quite nice actually. I think it's safe to say that I've become even more awesome this year if that's possible.

Delta Life

From the start of this school year to now a lot has changed socially and athletically. Socially I knew about a dozen friends at henry clay when I first walked in the door. Now I know more than one hundred people.      I've met people who I didn't know who have turned out to be very significant in my life. This is the beauty of being new, but there are also negatives. It's hard to get in a new social circle, but I have done that since August. Athletically I am chasing the dream of playing division one soccer. That in itself is tiring and depressing on its own however it is also rewarding. At the start of the year I was talking to zero coaches and now I have contact with at least six. This has been a year of change to say the least socially in which I've made new friends, some close, some not as close, and some closer than close, and this has been a year of change athletically in which I am in steady pursuit of one of my childhood dreams.

Reflection

I have grown a lot this year. I have grown socially, academically, and athletically. Socially, I am more involved in my community and have been doing more extracurricular things this year and meeting new people every time. Academically, this is an important year for me and all of my peers. I have learned what I need to be to be successful after college and in college too. I have been looking At different colleges. I have seen that I like and don't like, and hope to work hard enough to be able to be accepted into the collees that I apply to. I have also grown athletically because I have gotten into golf more than ever. I have always been a "golfer." However, this year I am a real golfer because I have been working at improving my game enthusiastically and I'm determined to do bigger an better things this year with the Idle Hour and Henry Clay golf teams. I have grown in this way this past year athletically, academically, and socially.

Reflection

Over the past year, my life has changed tremendously. Many decisions that I have made are going to follow me for the rest of my life; for example, I made the decision of where I will attend college. I made the decision to graduate this year last May, and I will be attending Transylvania University in the fall. The past year, I have become more independent. I worked my first full time job this summer as a cashier and I have become a driver this year. I feel accomplished; I have completed 7 AP classes and 3 advanced classes this year with all As. It is good to know that I can do anything I put my mind to. I have become secure in who I am and I have established healthy relationships. Unlike in the past, I am able to stand up for myself; I stopped going back to an exboyfriend that was abusive and unworthy. I do regret the relationship that has developed between my mother and me, and I am especially remorseful to be writing this on a loveless mother's day. In the next year, I hope our relationship improves. In Mr. Logsdon's class, I have become a better writer and I have become more interested in nonfiction material. I have also improved my appropriatenes. I know when and when not to say things and things that are not appropriate to say. After graduation, I will miss everyone in the class of 2013. If I had a list of names, then I would write something unique about every one of you, but I have no list and I would leave people out.

Reflection, I think.

Over this past year i have grown, i think. i believe that i have grown as both a better person and also in a strictly academic sense i think that i have grown as an english student. personally, although many consider it to be important, i believe that becoming the better person is the more important of the two. as a person i have become both more mature and still tried to stay the same fun loving kid i came in to sophomore year.  i have conquered many things, including getting a drivers license. this year has probably been the best year of my life so far, ive gone through so much and still come out on top. so while although i have grown as a better english student, i have more importantly grown up, and hopefully have become a respectable young man.

Make up: Somewhere Blog

Somewhere there is a careless child; I wish I was this child. Everyday, I wake up and I have a plethora of deeds to be done. Wake up, make my bed, get ready for the day, go to school, and do homework. This is just a fraction of the list of things i do throughout the day. This child, that I wish I was, is on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii sipping a virgin strawberry daquiri. This child does not have to worry about what homework must be completed by tomorrow. Unlike this child, I have AP Exams and a 50 question review due for AP US History tomorrow. This child, ideally, does not have to worry about college and his or her future career pathway. This child is not worried about who is talking bad about her and whether she is popular or not. I am not this girl and most of the time I am glad that I am not her. Life is more satisfying when you complete things and earn your vacation.

I tried...

Honestly, I wish I could compare either Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, or Star Wars and Star Trek, but sadly, I've never watched Lord of the Rings or Star Trek. Harry Potter is the only series out of the 4 that I have any experience with. As I recall, I saw most of the movies, but then again I could have missed a few. Anyways, I did enjoy the excitement and suspenseful action packed films, but the length of the movies was too much. Although I really liked them, I had trouble staying awake. I'm not sure this answers the blog prompt at all, but I don't have much to say considering I apparently don't watch enough movies. I will definitely be watching Lord of the Rings soon, so that I can compare it with Harry Potter.

One Does Not Simply Spock Into Mordor

Alas, considering I've never seen nor do I care to see any Star Trek, I can't offer an original opinion on that famous rivalry.  I will say that Gus Logsdon's and Ned Katz's posts definitely enlightened me on the various features that Star Wars and Star Trek boast, and in the end I was not surprised to hear that Star Trek's plot generally lacks the depth of Star Wars', despite its time advantage.  It is my understanding that television in the '60's and '70's rarely if ever approached the depth of plot that HBO programs feature today because, you know, you had to wait a week to see the next episode back then.  So, with my suspicious about Star Trek's shallowness and general cheesiness confirmed, I have to choose Star Wars as my personal favorite.

But my young life has taken me through the vaults and valleys of the epic sagas of TLOTR and Harry Potter, and although I've only read 4 of the Harry Potter books and none of TLOTR books, I can already tell you I'm going to straddle the fence all my life when deciding which series is better.  Because I will always ask, "Better to whom?  Better at what?"

Harry Potter targets an audience so different from TLOTR that comparing the two, whether in the field of writing style or awesomeness of creatures, is almost like comparing Twilight to Dracula.  Blaspheme, I know--to even hint at sticking Harry Potter in the same analogy as Twilight would surely bring a torch-bearing mob to my house if I weren't writing this blog late.  And I would be in agreement with the mob; the epic adventure of  Potter exists on an exponentially higher tier than the melodramatic smut of Twilight.  But while comparing Potter to TLOTR, you should still consider that Potter targets youth while TLOTR young adults, and thus you should compare them on the same scales you would use to compare Twilight to Dracula.  In that light, doesn't Potter come out looking much stronger?  Of course Potter didn't win any Oscars--but I hear it won oodles of Kids' Choice Awards.

So yes Harry Potter's writing style lacks the eloquence, its battles lack the salivation-inducing violence, its good vs. bad story lacks some of the maturity of TLOTR's jaded theme of ubiquitous evil.  But come on, man, for those very reasons most of our parents chose to start our literary adventures with Harry Potter instead of TLOTR.  For what it's worth, Potter offers some outstanding, thought-provoking subject matter and so masterfully spins a story that even young Dylan, an avid anti-reader, couldn't resist turning those pages.  I have a feeling TLOTR would have bored the same young Dylan.  In the end, I recognize that Potter may not satisfy the literary taste buds of the mature reader, but anyone who tells me that the epic fantastical journey of a boy orphaned by the awesome power of a former student of the very school he must, as a wizard, now attend--anyone who tells me that's intellectual candy corn needs to get of their pedestal and stop listening to Radiohead.

In the end, I plan to read TLOTR in the future, but not Harry Potter.  I've already passed my prime to read Potter, and in truth I would like much more to experience the first, the mother of all, and arguably the best contemporary fantasy series ever--The Lord of the Rings.

It's 5 o'clock somewhere

Another one that's a little late...trying to catch up here. Somewhere in the universe, someone is breathing. I know, I know this may be hard to take in all at once but it's true. Someone is breathing at this very moment because breathing is a very essential part to STAYING ALIVE. Without breathing, we all would be dead. It may be possible that someone is breathing at the exact same time as someone else...maybe even multiple people! I'm not crazy people, it is completely possible. Now, someone may not be breathing the same way as another. For instance, someone may be sitting down and breathing normally while someone else is being interrogated for being caught sneaking a "mysterious liquid" through security resulting in heavy breathing and increased heart rate. Ah Haddon, but you forgot that person with a slower breathing pattern...they're sleeping. There, happy? Anyway, somewhere, right now there is someone breathing. Think about it for a second. It's pretty cool

Let's Fix It

Here is one of my late blogs...plenty more to come. So let me start out with that one on fixing the national debt. First, let's get some things straight:
Taxing the "wealthy" even more is not a solution...they already pay 80% of our taxes. You can tax them 100% and it would only make ehh...about a 3% difference. Our special, elected officials continue to push across the idea that corporations should just get the tax hammer. When a corporation gets a tax increase, what do they do? They pass it along to the consumer in the form of higher prices. It's like a hidden tax on the middle class. So what do we do?
First off, we need a freaking budget. It is required by law to produce and pass a budget every fiscal year.....the administration and those in Congress have failed to do so (three years ago yesterday). We also need to become energy independent. Use all of the different types of resources that we have here (i.e. oil, natural gas, clean coal, and nuclear). This will reduce our need for foreign intervention, thus creating jobs and revenue along with reducing the cost of energy.
Secure the border.
Replace Obama's healthcare plan with a plan that will increase competition and reduce costs. Increase premiums for Medicare and promote health savings accounts.
All of the problems mentioned are some subjects of great debate between the two major parties, both of which don't seem to be getting things done. They just need to agree on something.

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I prefer Harry Potter and Star Wars. Why? It's because I happened to watch these two first and they imprinted in my memory more positively than Lord of the Rings or Star Trek. In my mind Star Trek seemed like a rip off of Star Wars because of their similar themes. Plus Star Wars seems more linear in storytelling and it appears to be easier to follow. Then Harry Potter triumphs Lord of the Rings because the magic and characters in Harry Potter seem more simplistic and less demented. Keep in mind that most of my argument is my impression of each so they are not supported heavily by evidence. Watching each of these series is time consuming and I don't spend too much time arguing which one is better; they are all in a great genre for entertainment. In the end, I believe that each person has their own opinion on which is cooler. Obviously these movies and ideas aren't silly because they've enjoyed an enormous amount of success.

HO SNAP. I forgot the blog again.

I simply do not have the expanse of knowledge required to make comparisons such as these. The only Tolkein novel I ever read was The Hobbit. I own the entire LOTR series, but I was never even able to make it through The Fellowship of the Ring. I’ve read the Harry Potter series and seen the movies; I’ve seen a few episodes of Star Trek. Don’t get me wrong, I totally geek out when I have some spare reading time or one of the movies comes on TV, but my appreciation pales in comparison to most fans. I can’t recite pages of text straight from the HP series, I don’t know the underlying philosophy of the LOTR trilogy—I’m too busy making goo-goo eyes at Legolas—and anytime I watch Star Trek, I am inherently disappointed when Zachary Quinto isn’t the Spock flooding my TV screen.

It’s shallow. So shallow.

I even forgot about Star Wars. Maybe because Zachary Quinto isn’t in it. I don’t know. I will admit to twirling around my light saber every once and awhile, but that’s as far as my fandom goes. The order in which the movies were released confused me from the start; I can’t even recall if I have seen them all. Someone might need to impose an intervention.

A debate between two fantastical sagas can get rather heated. Believe me, I speak from experience, in that I have witnessed screaming fights over which was better: Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. And to be quite honest, this is ridiculous. I prefer Star Wars. There, that's my opinion. Do you think anything will change my mind? It's a possibility, because I am not obsessed with either series. But take a die-hard fan of either series, and try to indoctrinate them towards the other and you've got a messy situation. I think that both have important lessons, and both could be considered aesthetically pleasing. When I was a kid, I thought that Obi-Wan sacrificing himself to Darth Vader was the coolest thing to hit my little 30" TV, and that movie has always held a special place in my heart. But some could find Gandalf's "death" or Sam's unending care for Frodo moving, so this also fails. Whether we acknowledge it or not, this debate will last for as long as both series do. But the important thing is to enjoy what you like, no matter what. P.S. Hunger Games is the best

My precious...

Harry Potter vs Lord of the Rings

Obviously, these two are widely debated by nerds everywhere. However, I must say that LOTR would totally kill Harry Potter. However, overall Harry Potter is more appealing. While there is such a thing as wandless magic, it's very rare, and still couldn't beat The One Ring. That baby can control the minds of mortals, turn mortals invisible, grant the user control over the other rings, and amplify power to an extent only Sauron has utilized. It also instills fear in creatures and can create Ringwraiths for minions. Just Sauron and all his power poured into that artifact could repel anything. Voldemort's mind would be in too much pain to be able to cast spells. However, I do agree with Cracked.com. This is a draw. Simply because of the protagonists. We have Harry, and unfailingly kind teen wizard that just wants to end Voldemort's reign of terror and live a normal life without having to see a guy with no nose and pale white skin in his dreams. Then we have  Frodo Baggins, who may possibly be the wimpiest hobbit the Shire has ever see. Actually, it's hard to decide because of the influence of the One Ring, which if you think about it, is like Sauron's Horcrux. Virtually impossible to destroy and has a mind of its own, that most powerful item in Middle Earth would drive anyone to the brink of insanity. Both universes are pretty awesome. But in my opinion, because the Battle for Middle Earth happened long ago, it couldn't be real since we would see fell beasts and Ringwraiths. However, Harry Potter could totally exist. Im still waiting for my Hogwarts acceptance letter. Maybe one day.

The Lord of the Harry Potters and the Return of the Half-Blood Prince

The only way to figure this out is to be completely and absolutely objective! That’s why I’m going to go ahead and use statistical information to solve the age-old question:

Which is better? Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter?

Let’s start with how the books fared.

The whole Lord of the Rings has sold about 150 million copies. The whole Harry Potter series has sold approximately 450 million copies. Let’s give a point to Rowling on that one.

Critics give the Lord of the Rings a 10/10, while they give Harry Potter a 9.5/10. Tolkien gets this one.

They’re evenly matched here, so on to the movies.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King grossed $1,119,929,521, the Two Towers $926,047,111, and the Fellowship of the Ring $871,530,324. That’s a total of $2.918 billion in revenue. Harry Potter, however, grossed much more. I’m not going to list off all eight of them, so just trust me when I say that they grossed 7.706 billion. Harry Potter wins this round.

The Lord of the Rings received 17 of the 30 Academy Awards it was nominated for. Harry Potter was nominated for 12 awards, but won none. The Lord of the Rings blows this clearly out of the water.

And…

They’re tied again.

Alas, it looks like it’s impossible to objectively tell which one is better.

I guess it's up to you, [READER NAME], to decide for yourself.

Potter vs. the Ring

Both Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings provided the world with classics that will last for a long period of time. Now I haven't read all of the books for either series but I know enough about both of them to at least try and sound like I know something worth while about them. When coming down to choice, I would have to pick the Harry Potter series. I choose Harry Potter for the completeness of the tale. Don't get me wrong, Lord of the Rings is great, but it is truly one story (two with Hobbit). Overall, I believe that Harry Potter gives more to the reader. One reason is through the evolution of the characters. The books begin with an 11-year old Harry Potter written for the more adolescent while the last book follows the 17/18 year old Harry written more for an older audience. Along with age maturity of the characters, emotional and psychological maturity is also divulged. Situations that Harry and his colleagues find himself in begin within the halls of Hogwarts but then expand into events all over the country in the wilderness surviving on their own with the help of Hermione's endless knowledge and abilities.

Wow, seriously? not even one person does star wars vs star trek?

I was going to explain how TLOTR kicks Harry Potter's teen marketed ass, but the vacuum of Star-things on this blog has convinced me to do otherwise.
To preface this argument I would like to make a few observations for the sake of fairness. Anything made after Gene Roddenberry (Star Trek's creator)'s death does not count. That means Ep. 1-3 of Star-Wars, the new Trekkie film, and a few other spin-offs like Deep Space 9. This is because around this time, both series began to degrade substantially. Case in point, the Attack of the Clones sucked donkey balls. The Next Generation still counts because it was started in 1987 before the death of Roddenberry in 1991 (and regardless of your Kirk/Picard allegiance, it cannot be said that TNG was a bad series).
In my eyes, star trek has one thing going for it that Star wars does not -- a decent opening. The concise yet profound opening phrase followed by the star-ship Enterprise still gives even the most jaded of fans spine chills. Just saying "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before." can make you sound like the billionaire-rockstar-astronaut-cowboy you always wanted to be. By comparison, reading the long and often confusing Star-Wars intro at the beginning of each movie is about as enjoyable as finishing those TPS reports you were supposed to turn in last week. However, beyond the introductions, Star Trek begins to lose its luster.
Visually, Star-Wars is quite stunning. With the razors edge of 1970's tech, we get huge space-ship battles and lighsabers and floating rocks and crazy space explosions and of course a wireframe rendering of a deadly corridor. Today, these effects are just okay, but back in the 70's, this was some hot stuff! Star-Wars had a wigged out trashcan and an expressionless but hysterical tin man who could speak 10000 languages; Star Trek had a boring greyish meat sack named Data. Star-Wars had giant slug things and sand people and ewoks and wookies; Star Trek had a bunch of dudes with wrinkled foreheads. Star-Wars was just more cinematic. And on that note, John Williams had some great music as well. Star Trek tunes weren't exactly phenomenal, but Vader's theme and the main theme and, well, pretty much all the themes in Star-Wars were memorable and musical.
Aside from pure superficiality though, Star-Wars was just a better story. Whereas star wars plot devices include a legitimately surprising father-son dynamic, a coming of age story, the most deadly weapon to ever exist in movie history, and the force, Star Trek had borgs, who basically just wanted to be your friend, a black chick (yes this was a plot device back in the 60's), and the occasional death of an extra "red shirt," a jaded plot device eerily reminiscent of Bonanza's female ranch hands. Star-Wars has a grand story arc that star trek just cant match. Star-Wars also has a cast of characters that feel real and act real while many Star Trek Characters, looking at you Scottie, often just fall flat on their faces in the development department. In the end Star-Wars is literally an epic tale, and Star Trek is just a pretty okay TV show.

Edit: alright, I stand corrected, Ned Katz actually had a good argument going.

HP VS LOR

In my mind, there is no question that the Lord of the Rings is the far better book series. While Harry Potter is a great story, and an interesting read, it is sort of childish and easy to follow. The Lord of the Rings is an intricate, in-depth plot that contains all kinds of political and emotional conflicts in addition to the main plot, including complex regional traditions and differences. The Lord of the Rings is a world of its own that you can really buy into and think about outside of the books. The wizard world of Harry Potter is hard to buy into and is very strained. The only explanations for the world outside of the plot are parts that are needed for the plot. The story of Harry Potter simply does not contain the depth and development that the Lord of the Rings has.

LORD OF THE RINGS

The Lord of the Rings is one hundred million times better than Harry Potter. The Lord of the Rings is a more creative and better written series than Harry Potter. Authors write about sorcerers and dragons all the time, but J R R Tolkien basically (this is a hyperbole) coined the term hobbit. Throughout the Harry Potter series, the plot of the individual books seem to become watered down. I get the feeling that Rowling was thrilled by a lucky instance of success and was rushed to write sequels. Tolkien is excellent at creating imagery; hence the excellent movies. In a movie face-off, The Lord of the Rings slays Harry Potter. The visuals are so much better and the characters are less of nerds. Harry Potter would be the Smeegle of The Lord of the Rings because he is, simply, funny looking. Mr. Logsdon has spent a few class periods showing us the filming set of The Lord of the Rings; Australia is beautiful. It blows my mind that a real place on Earth looks like the books' settings! That is my next vacation spot FO SHO.

Impartial Judgment??? (Nope.)

Unfortunately, out of all four of the major quote-"geeky"-unquote fandoms--Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter--I'm not familiar with any two in a bracket. I've watched the Star Wars movies, and I've read the Harry Potter books, but my main experiences with their rivals, Star Trek and Lord of the Rings, respectively, is minimal. So, theoretically, I guess that Harry Potter and Star Wars would win by a sort of forfeit or something. The only problem is, I've no knowledge of their rivals, so it's not like I can fairly judge this. To use an analogy, it's a bit like watching American Idol and voting after only seeing one person in the troupe--not exactly impartial, and not exactly an educated decision. Still, the whole "rivalry" thing seems kind of pointless. Yes, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings both are fantasy series. Yes, Star Wars and Star Trek both take place in space and have aliens. But beyond that, the differences don't seem to be great enough to throw a fit over. They all have different virtues, and are somewhat different stories.

But hey, if I have to answer this question, I'll just go with Harry Potter because it's a great series and magic is awesome.

Harry Potter vs. Lord of the Rings

In the world of entertainment getting the audience's attention is key, while both of these books later turned movies effectively hook the audience they each do them in very differently. Harry Potter written by J.K. Rowling uses immature prose style that allows the predominantly younger readers to connection with the main characters, as if they were in the story themselves. On the other hand, Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien used his mastery of literature and style to create a novel that hooked the older and more mature readers through a complex plot line and rhetorical strategies. The story lines for each book are both different but at the same similar because they each start using basic trite ideas, magic and fantasy adventure. Both have a single main character that has a group of companions that have to face adversity to defeat the ultimate evil. But Tolkien advances his story creating multiple races and territories; when Rowling's story is very focused on Hogwarts and the small magical community. The argument between which story is better is all in the eye of the beholder, but Harry Potter is obviously more focused on younger readers while Lord of the Rings is focused on more mature readers, thus I personally believe that Lord of the Rings is a better novel, movie, and overall more entertaining.

I like both!

Okay I would definitely say Harry Potter or Star Wars.  Considering that I haven't seen either Lord of the Rings or Star Trek, I cannot make an adequate comparison between either of the pairs.  I've never had any interest in seeing either of these other movies.

Harry Potter unites us all through its account of an epic, common human struggle.  We can all relate to its timeless plot.  It takes an ordinary boy and makes him into an extraordinary protagonist.  He is "the boy who lived."  He represents the ability to overcome any obstacle that might be in one's way.  His courage and determination triumph over evil.  He represents the purest form of "good," and his story is one of the classic good vs. evil.  

Star Wars fuels the imaginations of so many young people, and allows them to reach for something more.  When you think of action-packed space adventure, what pops up first in your mind?  Star Wars, without a doubt.  Both Harry Potter and Star Wars are simply classics that many Americans hold near and dear to their hearts because of their entertainment value, the lessons we learn from them, and because of their relatable, independent characters.

Harry Potter v Lord of the Rings

Considering I've never seen both Star Wars and Star Trek I cant argue about either of those. However I have read about half of the Harry Potters and The Three Lord of the Rings books as well as seen all the movies in both series I can judge these. In my personal opinion the characters and plot of Harry Potter are greater then that of Lord of the Rings. The accessibility of the characters as well as the pure enjoyment of Rowlings plot exceeds that of the Lord of the Rings. However the writing of the Lord of the rings is much better. The epic fantasy feel that is felt while reading lord of the rings really transports you into another world. It is wordy at times but none the less keeps you engaged and kept someone like me, who doesn't usually read much fantasy, interested through all three books. While Harry Potter was something that could just be picked up and enjoyed no matter if its for ten minutes on your phone or in long sittings. However Lord of the rings was not something that was just easy to read a little on your phone. I had to carve out large segments of time in order to read it. The scope of the books was just to large to pick up easily.

HARRY POTTER.

Debating series is a pointless topic. Although Harry Potter reigns supreme compared to all of the other series, it is impossible to decide which series is truly better than another. My reasoning for liking Harry Potter resides solely in the fact that I grew up in the generation of Harry Potter fanatics. Age is definitely a major contributing factor in the decision of which series is better. Also, I find the story line of Harry Potter more fascinating than any other books I’ve read because of the creation of an entirely fictional world that seems so plausible (I’m still waiting for my owl). Even though the magical world of Harry Potter is full of evil, it sounds like the most appealing world to stay in. Also, the Harry Potter series creates very likeable characters that make it better than other series and the different tales of each book are not boring or repetitive to me like some of the other series mentioned in the prompt and the Series of Unfortunate Events. While I can say with full certainty that Harry Potter is the best in my opinion from this list, it really seems to depend on which generation you are from to determine which one is best. 

Can't Answer This One

Well, I'm really not in the position to answer this question because I've never seen StarWars, Star Trek, or Lord of the Rings, but I liked Harry Potter a lot. Rowling's plot I thought was brilliant, enticing, fantastical, and appealing by how she built the world of Harry Potter to each and every detail and then placed the plot she had created for it in this world. Additionally, every book she wrote for it added something cool and unique and also added more details to the world of Harry Potter. However, I think that pitting all these series up against each other is sort of stupid because why can't we all just accept each and every one of them as great pieces of unique media that have all helped in defining popular culture. I mean I'm sure they're all great and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I just don't see why individual preferences should be pressed upon the preferences of others in order to make a point. I think I've reached the word limit now so I'm going to stop but with all due respect I'm not really a fan of this prompt.