Eighth Grade

6/12/2012

 
        Honestly, I'm not sure if I am looking forward to being an eighth grader or not. This year, there were a lot of seventh graders who didn't like the eighth graders because they were mean. I don't want people to think I'm mean. I'm sure a lot of this years eighth graders felt that way also but, no matter how hard they try, they will still be found intimidating. 
        But, there are a few good things about being an eighth grader. When I'm an eighth grader, I could be in WEB (where everyone belongs) and help the seventh graders. And when I'm an eighth grader, I'll be closer to the end of my school career. So, I suppose being an eighth grader won't be too bad. 

Friday

6/11/2012

 
        Last Friday we had a water rally. I'm in the leadership class, so I came at six in the morning to help set it up. It took up close to the entire time to perfect everything. In all of the other rallies that I have helped set up, we already knew exactly what to do. We were prepared and it went smoothly in the past. But that wasn't exactly the case for this one. We had to improvise a lot, but we pulled it off in the end.
        After the rally, we went to Wild Water Adventures for the rest of the day. I had a good time, but I got sunburned... a lot. The strang thing is, I can't remember a time that I have been sunburned before Friday. I never have worn sunblock and that's one of the only sunburns I've ever gotten. But, I've worn sunblock everyday after that. But, it's only been three days, so I doubt that will last long.

Summer Plans

6/7/2012

 
        Just five more days. I can survive that, especially considering that two of those days we aren't doing anything. But, even five days seems to go by like years when you're waiting for something exciting. Or in this case, something boring to end. This summer I'm going to South Lake Tahoe for a week or two to see family. 
        My birthday is in the middle of July, so I also have that to look forward to. My two best friends birthdays are less than a week after mine. So all of my July weekends are going to be very busy. But in August, I'm not going to do anything at all.

Board Games

6/6/2012

 
        In core, we are making review board games. My groups topic is Islam, so our
board game is called... Well, we haven't thought of a name for it yet, but I'll
edit this when we do. In this game you have move around the board. The idea of
the game is to get to the Kaaba. You roll two dice and you will land on an E, H,
?, or bridge.
        If you land on E, you pick up and English card and answer that question. If you get it correct, you caontinue as usual, but if you get it wrong, you skip your next turn. If you land on a ?, you read the question card and do as it says. If you land on a bridge, you go up it. There are many other complicated rules such as, if you roll a three, you go backwards three, not forward. So far, our game looks pretty good and I think I will get a decent grade on it.

Merchant Gambles

5/31/2012

 
        A merchant living in the 1700's just got the information on a new buisness plan. If it succeeds, he becomes richer than he ever could imagine; but if it fails, he will lose everything. Although this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, would the merchant take the risk?
        If I was a merchant in that situation, I wouldn't take that risk. There is a fifty percent chance that my ships won't make it back and I wouldn't be willing to gamble that much. I would be thankful for what I have and just continue with my average life, not setting out on any new projects.
 
        This week, I learned that when you're in middle school you work hard no matter how close the end of the school year is. In all of my classes the work is more difficult, even though the big tests have already passed. And there is more homework than there has been all year. But, no one can concentrate properly when there is only twelve days until school ends.
        Not a single one of my eight classes are easy now, even though nearly all of them were in the first three quarters. I currently have four B's! I've never had more than two in my life! I have to work harder than ever to bring them up. But, it's going to be hard to find time for make up work with all of the homework piling up. I will be relieved when summer begins, but I know that feeling won't last long because eighth grade is going to be even more difficult.
 
        Being a Maya, Aztec, or Inca would be very difficicult and different for my way of life, but if I had to choose one, I would deffinately be a Maya. The Maya people had so many graeat accomplishments in their time. They were the first to create a 365 day calender. They were able to predict eclipses, even though they didn't have a telescope. They even learned about the cycles of the moon.
        The Maya empire's decline was gradual and generally peaceful. But, in the Aztec and Inca emppires, they were overtaken by Spanish and slowly killed off by foreign diseases. Although the Maya still did some things that I personally would not approve of, like human sacrifice, I still think that life as a Maya wouldn't be too bad.

Zoo Day

5/22/2012

 
       Yesterday, I went to the zoo with all of the seventh grade at my school. I don't think that it was particularly educational, but it was still quite enjoyable. We had to do an activity at each statioin, most of which were more time consuming than difficult.
        For most of the time we were at the zoo, we didn't work very much. But one mentally beneficial thing that happened at the zoo was that I got to see the animal that I did my report on, the Bateleur Eagle, in person. I didn't realize that they were such beautiful creatures and very graceful flyers. So, at the end of the day, I noticed that I had learned something by going to the zoo after all.

Aztec noble

5/17/2012

 
        If I was a member of the Aztec society, I would want to be a noble. I wouldn't want to be a king because they have to give blood to the gods; I wouldn't want to be a priest for the same reason. I couldn't be a warrior because I'm a girl. Merchants and artisans have to travel and work all day. Farmers have to be out in the sun working in the fields all day. Slaves are sacrificed. So, being a noble is the only thing that I think I could manage and be happy with.
        I'd like to be a noble not just because I don't like the other positions, but also because I like what they get to do. They live peacefully with many luxuries. They rarely have to work because other people do everything for them. They are friends with the king, so they have anything they could ever want. All in all, I think that life as an Aztec noble wouldn't be too terrible.

Embarrassment?

5/16/2012

 
        Today I'm supposed to blog about my most embarrassing moment, which I would gladly do because nobody ever goes on my website, but I can honestly not think of one. I'm sure that something embarrassing must have happened to me when I was younger, but I can't remember it if it did. Although I have a serious manner, I don't take the things that I do outside of school too seriously. I mainly just laugh off anything embarassing that happens to me, so none of my embarassing moments make a lasting impression.
        However, the embarrassing things I do remember aren't the things that most people would find embarassing at all. For example, if I get a bad grade on a test or get below a 4.0 on my report card. I know that it's probably weird that those kind of things embarrass me, but its true.