no last minute rush

I never procrastinate, okay "never" is a big word, but for the most part I really dont. I don't know how all my peers can pull it off at the last minute. I like to work ahead; get things done ahead of time so I don't have to deal with that nagging stress. I don't enjoy feeling rushed-- I always work ahead on projects and assignments just so I can get them done and over with. My brother, Nathan, who is a freshman has a 4.0 gpa and he always does his homework sunday night, at the last minute. It's not fair that he does his assignments at the last minute, rushed and still manages to get a better grade than me at everything. Almost all of my friends are like my brother, and manage to pull off projects at the last minute. In the morning, before school starts, I always find my friends at our locker sitting down doing their homework and they actually get it done! For writing notebook entries, or blog entries as we now have, I would always do my 5 entries on the weekends and then I wouldnt have to worry about them during the week, so I would always be 5 entries ahead. I hope I never lose my "working ahead ability" because I enjoy getting things done early so I dont have to worry about them!

the dentist = the old boogeyman

When I was little, I had a fear of the dentist... I'd cry and cry to my mom and dad that I didn't want to go. They always picked at my teeth and would put these big pieces of paper in my mouth that would make me gag so they could “take a picture” of my teeth, which I know now is x-rays. They’d also put this fluoride stuff in my mouth for a minute, which tasted terrible. I would just sit in the dentist chair and suffer while I tiredly held my mouth open for them. I couldn't wait till the appointment was over because then I got to pick out two prizes. I usually got a sticker and a bouncy ball. Nowadays, I'm too old for those prizes (at least that's what the dentist says.) I've grown up and got over the fear of going to see my dentist; she's just trying to take care of my mouth. I've suffered thought the pain of cavities, getting a root canal in middle school, and more.

I've also gotten over my fear of seeing the orthodontist. I use to hate it, probably because when I had my braces I would always have to come back in and they would tighten the brackets, which hurt really bad. I couldn't eat anything hard after they tightened them. I'd live off of jello, mashed potatoes, and chocolate ice cream :). My braces were on for a little over 2 years. I also had a head gear to get rid of my overbite. All the pain was worth it though, whether it be going to the dentist every 6 months or seeing my orthodonist every 3 months, which led to my beautiful straight smile. I may not have thought that all the pain was worth it at the time, but now I'm glad I suffered through it all. I'm happy I don’t get anxious or nervous anymore when I'm due to see the dentist or orthodontist.

research topic: tanning

I've decided that for my research paper
I am going to go into depth on the subject of.. TANNING
and the effects of it, pros and cons.

This article i found was about "smart tanning" and the author talks about how indoor tanning moderately will reduce your risk of getting sun burned, and how not all dermatologists are against tanning moderately. Where as, this article is about the "downsides of tanning" and how it can lead to cancer. For my paper, I plan to research both sides of the argument and I won't put my opinion on the subject in the paper.

research paper ideas

Drug Use- focus on one specific drug, effects, how it changes peoples lives
Culture- of a different country, not America. Learn basic ideas
Traveling/Vacationing- trip statistics, where people go on vacation and why

how to sprain your ankle

I am a ditz; I trip and drop everything. Last thursday, on WPA night, I tripped on the ice after dinner at Osaka. I tripped on the ice in my heels. I can't walk in heels in the first place, let alone on ice. So it was pretty much a disaster waiting to happen. Right after I fell, my ankle was hurting me but the pain went away so I shrugged it off. Luckily I was able to dance, but for the pictures I probably have a nice big bruise on my knee, lovely. The next day, my ankle wasn't hurting me either, oddly enough. But that night it began to ache and it was hard to walk on so I began to limp around the house and my brothers started calling me "limpy." The next day I had to work and my foot was killing me, I really wanted to call into work and say I couldnt move but I decided to suck it up and limp around for the 4hrs I was scheduled to work. On sunday, my mom took me to the hospital because my foot was still killing me and part of my ankle was bruised and swollen. I got xrays done and it turns out that it was just sprained and they gave me a boot.

if were experiencing global warming, why is it snowing so much?

Global warming, isn't it suupsed to make our world warmer? So why is it snowing every other day in March still? Why is the weather so wierd? I decided to do some research on global warming to find out the facts. I

googled my question and found that Global warming and cooling cycles happen over a very long period of time. The current warming trend has been going on now for 18,000 years. What we're experiencing now in Iowa is localized weather and it's expected at this time of year. I also learned that March is actually the snowiest month. When scientists talk about global warming they're looking at the whole world over long periods of time, so I guess the "big" change in temperature is happening very slowly, and not as fast as I thought it would.

Now, I'm not complaining that the temperature hasn't been rising, because I know when summer comes, the heat is going to kill. But this harsh winter, worse than any I've ever seen in my lifetime, got me thinking about this question. I guess global warming hasnt really hit us yet, but maybe it will effect our summer temps? We'll see, whenever summer gets here.

sarah dessen: young adult author

Sarah Dessen is my favorite author, she writes about teen girls dealing with everyday life and common problems. Here's an overview of some of her books...

That Summer is about a 15yr old named Haven, who is dealing with her parents going through a divorce and her father is getting remarried and her older sister is getting married as well. Haven wishes that things would just go back to the way they were.

Someone Like You is about a girl named Scarlett who's boyfriend died and she is now carrying his baby. Scarlett's best friend, Haley, who has always been there for her, is helping her get though this time in her life. It's a book about loss and friendship.

Keeping the Moon, one of my favorite books, is about a girl named Callie who has lost a ton of weight because her mom is now a famous fitness person. Callie is forced to stay with her eccentric aunt for the summer while her mom is traveling around the world promoting her fitness equipment. While gone for the summer, she meets 2 girls at her job and they teach her how to love herself for who she is and break out of her "shy shell."

Dreamland, one of the more popular books by Dessen, is a book about a girl named Caitlin who meets seductive Rodgerson Biscoe, before long he starts abusing her and gets her hooked on drugs. Caitlin is so into him that she doesnt even notice how she is changing, and in the end she has to go through therapy.

This Lullaby, one of the 1st books I read by Dessen, is about a girl named Remy who isnt really into dating since her mom has remarried 5 times. Remy meets a boy named Dexter, who doesn't pass any of her "rules," but she then falls for him.

I love Dessen's writing because she writes about girls my age with problems and everyday life that I can relate to. She has a new book coming out in April of this year and i'm very excited to read it :)