Geneticist Creates First Synthetic Cell

The first synthetic living cell will be very effective too many people. It might not be right to “play the roll of god” as some may say but it will change the world in a positive way. “Craig Venter built the genome of a bacterium from scratch and implanted it in a cell, a development seen as an important step toward the creation of artificial life,” states an article on newser.com. Craig has spent over $40 million dollars within the ten years that he has been working on this cell. This will help us with vaccines and other earth issues. Hopefully many will agree that this will make a positive impact on the world.

Shs sports...mostly softball and a lil volleyball!

Softball is one of my favorite sports. As a freshman, I made the J.V. team at Stevenson. My coaches are Blough and Johnston. They’re okay guys, but they easily get frustrated. I love all the girls on my team. I knew none of them but grew so close to each one of them in such a short amount of time. I was sick during the tryouts and got asked to tryouts for varsity. I was so excited and wanted to get better as soon as possible. So finally, I got better and went to the varsity practices as my tryout and I was so nervous. My last tryouts were going to a 5 hour scrimmage on an early Saturday morning. It was an amazingly tiring day. In the end, I made JV but was happy because I get playing time and they are girls that are my ago so I felt more comfortable. Our record is 10 and 6. It’s not bad. I’d have to say that the star player is Julianne Potvin. I love that girl so much. She’s an amazing short stop and an unbelievable hitter. Anyway, our season has been going well but as the season goes on I honestly get worse. I have no clue why but it frustrates the crap out of me. Everyone tells me that I think way too much and I know they’re right and do I try not to but that never works. They also tell me that I never let things go. Like things I do wrong, I can never seem to let them go. That is pretty bad as an athlete because I make a lot of mistakes and it messes up my game. I also play volleyball so I need to work on that throughout the season so I can fix that problem for volleyball and softball. I would make any team in high school but it’s really easy and not as bad as I thought at all. I lo0ve softball and volleyball and I can’t wait to see what comes in the future for my volleyball and softball career.

SIMUN '10

I liked SIMUN overall. I had participated quite a bit and I much rather do SIMUN than have normal class. I feel that it was a big challenge and I could have done better and could have spoke way more and asked more questions but I am happy that I know what to look forward to next year. I was not as prepared as I could have been but then again I did not know the road that was ahead of me. My favorite part was when I got into the scenario and I knew what I was talking about and I’m pretty sure that was scenario 2 for the odd group. I was in group 15 and I liked pretty much everyone is my group. I was a little confused in the beginning on how the system worked but as time went on, I felt more comfortable in my place. I could tell that the sophomores, juniors, and seniors were well prepared and ready for anything. After doing SIMUN ’10, I know that I will be just as prepared as them. I know that I totally could have done more research and found out more things about Egypt and its history. I liked our chairman and legal counsel. They were very nice and helpful as well as the other upper classmen participating in SIMUN. I know that next year I will put more time and effort into my research and SIMUN itself next year. I know that as I was going into SIMUN I was so terrified and confused but for upcoming freshman, they need to know to not be nervous. Also, they should just go with the flow because it will really truly help. I helped me a lot! I did not like the SIMUN logs though. They were annoying, boring, and sort of pointless. I do not recommend them for next year at all. I also think that for next year SIMUN should go on for a full week and we should not have to dress up. I also feel that we should not have to grade ourselves but we should have a teacher supervise each group and grade us themselves. Other than that, I loved SIMUN! Oh and the funny thing is, I was so nervous about it that I had a dream I failed because I did not speak enough. But, I’m pretty sure I did fine. Like I said, there was nothing to be nervous about because it ended up to be the best experience in global education out of the whole year. GO GLOBIES AND SIMUN!!!

Scenario....totally failed!

Egyptian fighters are increasingly aiding the Taliban in Pakistan border with Afghanistan, providing training, financing and weapons.
During a rare trip to Northern Waziristan with the Pakistani military last week, a top field commander, Maj. Lt. Col. Nisar Mughal, said, "The terrorists are nowhere and everywhere."
He said that the Pakistani military is "hunting" and "killing" the enemy and that "the fight is far from over."
While his men were fighting insurgents in the surrounding hillsides near the abandoned village of Makeen, once home to Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Messud, he said evidence of outside involvement by Egyptian and other foreign factions was found.
"We discovered caches of weapons and explosives that had evidence of outside involvement," Mughal said. "The evidence has already been sent for more analysis.” All this was stated in an article talking about the Taliban’s relations with Egypt. (http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/world/Egyptian-fighters-aid-Taliban-in-Pakistan-88219477.html) I honestly could not find out what to write in this blog because I was totally confused and thought that Egypt would support the US but I guess not. So in Egypt’s eyes, the US does not have the right to go into Pakistan.

Kira-Kira

The book kira-kira is about two Japanese sisters who grow up together and have a very tight bond. In Japanese, kira-kira means glittering. Lynn is the older sister who would spend all of her time teaching Katie, her younger sister, the ways of the world. To Katie Lynn was a total genius and they would do everything together. Lynn was Katie’s everything and without her, she would be lost. Their family was very poor and struggled through hard times. They were discriminated against so much in this book and they were always put down. As a family, they fought through it. They were extremely loyal to their beliefs and they stood strong when it came to their ethnic background. Katie loved to make the traditional rice desserts and things including rice. Also, their family was the way that a Japanese family would be as in roles in the house. Even though they were treated badly because of who they were, they stuck to who they were and it made them stronger as people, as a family, and as much more. Through this book I did not have many questions. The questions I did have were usually vocabulary words. If I were to write about this book then I think I would write about how the family stayed strong through Lynn dying and being discriminated against and such. If not, then I would write about how they stood loyal to their Japanese culture and in what ways. This wasn’t necessarily my favorite book because it was sort of sad and at some times boring but it was a very touching book and it reminded me of the relationship I want to have with all of my brothers and sisters.

After rereading this, I realized I sounded like I've already graduated! but freshman-we've got a ways to go=]

My first year at Stevenson has been interesting. There were some good parts and there were some not so great parts. I met new people, playing on sports teams, finally going to a public school. Surprisingly, I loved the beginning of my freshman year. There were many bad parts like drama, tests, homework, finals, and not really knowing my place in Stevenson. I made many new friends through cheer, volleyball, and softball. I’ve also made a few enemies but in the end, I became close with them. I can’t believe what going through such a big change can do to you. Everyone I used to go to St. Michael with grew up, became mature, and are totally new people. I learned about the high school world the hard way; I made mistakes myself and usually got caught, yelled at, or disliked for them. Sometimes, I wouldn’t even do anything and one of those three things would happen to me. The thing that amazes me the most is that I felt like it was just yesterday that I was walking trough the front doors of Stevenson for freshman orientation night. Now I am about to walk out of those doors, sadly and depressingly, as an upcoming sophomore. I know I sound like one of those 30 year old people who say “where does the time go,” or “It was just yesterday I was in those same halls.” In the blink of an eye it’s all gone. I know that I am going to go through every year of high school with regrets and mistakes, but I know that I will also go though them with memories that are unforgettable and amazing. Things like my first and last homecoming, all the football games, the freshman dance, prom. Most things are still left to come while others are long gone. I know that these are the greatest, most amazing years of my life and I have to enjoy them no matter what. I love Stevenson High school and all the memories that were made going through it.

My week=[...whatta mess!

This week started off alright but it ended terribly. Well, I was really psyched because I was going to the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth on Saturday with my family and my best friend Morgan Copperstone. It was amazing. I sang karaoke, I had the best food, I went swimming, and I dominated in Dance Dance Revolution in the “Fun Center.” I also saw Kassidy Belcher, another one of my best friends. We sadly had to leave on Tuesday. On Monday Morgan and I met two kids named Alex and Matt. They were so cool and really funny. We all had a good time together. I had to go home on Tuesday and that was a bummer. I went back to school on Wednesday sick and tired and not ready for anything. I wanted to dig myself a whole and just lie there forever. I had a dumb test in History that I totally failed and then Thursday I had a test in geometry. I also had no sleep this week and woke up from terrible dreams that didn’t make any sense whatsoever. Last week, we had stupid sewer problem in our basement so now we cannot go in our basement. It really sucks because our washer and dryer are down there and we can’t use it for a while. Then, I got myself grounded and even on my fifteenth birthday. I couldn’t wait for Friday to finally come even though I was grounded. My birthday is this upcoming Saturday. I was supposed to go out with my friends after my family party but I guess those plans are blown because I had to get in trouble over nothing. (I’m sorry to anyone who wanted to hangout on my birthday!) Anyway, the whole week went from amazing to horrible. I am definitely hopping that next week will be better. The only good news is I’m still keeping in touch with my new amazing friend from Frankenmuth. The last thing that made my week bad is having to do this blog and not having anything to really write about. (Sorry Fielder had to put it out there!) The other homework I have to do is much worse. Whatever, let’s focus on the positives, I’ll be fifteen tomorrow and I’ll get out of trouble some day. Until then, I’ll be grounded without a phone or be able to hang out. Leave a comment or text me sometime in March=]!

KYLA'S BIG FISH STORY!

Volleyball is my ultimate favorite sport and one night when I was on my way to a game, my life had changed forever. I had just left my house and it was 4:00 and my game started at 4:45. I was feeling pretty down because of the fact that I didn’t do so hot at the practice from the day before. I totally hurt my ankle but I could still walk and my spike was terrible. It was just a bad volleyball day for me. I was extremely worried on how I would do for that days game or even if I got to play. The car ride was taking a awhile because we had gotten something to eat. For some odd reason, there was some weird sparkly thing in my to-go box. I didn’t pay much attention to it and I just ate my food. We finally arrived at the game and as I walked in I saw a massive banner that said “Kyla, you can do it!” Then I heard some music and it didn’t sound like something I would hear on the radio but it sounded like trumpets. I opened the door and a random man announced my arrival. Everyone stood up, clapped, and cheered. I couldn’t wait for the game to start. I went on the court to warm up and as I stood to get a ball, a small bug-like thing came up to me and touched my ankle and my right arm and hand. It was small, green, and glowing. It said “you’ll do fine.” I didn’t know what to say…I thought I was going crazy. The game finally started and I was thankfully playing. I was in the second line up and excited to get in the game. My time finally came to play and it was make it or break it. The ball came to me and I jumped to spike the ball. I felt like I was flying and my hand was like a hammer hitting a nail right on the head. I couldn’t believe it. This was the best I’d ever played and I didn’t want it to end. When the game was over there was a humungous cake that was just for me. I was in utter shock and I was extremely ecstatic. We obviously had won all three games and I was a star. People from every university I could think had come up to me asking if I had future plans to play at a certain college. I got a full-ride scholarship to any university in the state. I couldn’t believe what had happened. The game I had been terrified to play in had become the best game of my life.

Gay Rights and Roman Catholics

I disagree with Pope Benedict and the church on the subject of gay rights.

I feel that if you love someone then you should be able to be with them no matter what. I am a Christian Catholic so this totally goes against my religion. Yet, this is probably the only thing I disagree with that has to do with my religion. Pope Benedict made a comment at a speech in Rome in front of 34 Welsh and English bishops gathered in Rome. He said, “Your country is well-known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society.
“Yet, as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs.” Basically the Pope is saying we should live and love according to our beliefs. I can see where he is coming from but still, I disagree. Sometimes I feel that my religion can be a bit harsh and/or strict on how we should live our lives. I just think we need to be more open and be less judgmental as Catholics.

semester reflection

This year has transformed me because of what I have learned. One thing that I have learned is that High School is not going to be an easy ride. You will be tested in all aspects. I have also learned that that Mr. Fielder’s English class was probably the hardest class to pass and it barely made any sense to me. In his class I learned a lot about other cultures such as the Africans. Rwanda for instance; I have never even heard of Rwanda until his class and when we got into the genocide and their past, it really opened my eyes and made me realize that I needed to start paying attention to other countries and cities and not just what’s around me because there is so much more to the world than what’s around me. The short stories such as “Dirk the Protector,” “Kaffir Boy,” and “Osiris and Isis” didn’t do much for me. I mean, they didn’t teach me much,
I think that the only thing that we learned that had to do with English is apostrophes and capitols. Well, that is my opinion. I really think that it was good for us to learn about places like Iran, China, Africa, and things such as that vs. learning about capitol letters and periods and commas. This class really made me think and look outside the box instead of “playing it safe.” The hardest thing for me that we learned about, or did I should say was either the weekly articles we got or the blogs. For the articles, I don’t feel that I pushed myself enough to understand them, and that’s what I needed to do.
I didn’t necessarily understand pathos or ethos. I had to use both in the letter from Paul to the U.N. One of the things I said that is an example of pathos was “Just imagine if you were in their place.” I sort of understood pathos and ethos more after writing that letter.
Q.V.C.I.’s were a pain in the butt. I could never think of questions that would start a discussion. I guess that is something that I will have to work on next semester. I am looking forward to next semester and all; the new things I will learn. My first experience of global ed. Was great and I can’t wait to see what’s to come.

Where would you live???

If I had to be a citizen in Rwanda, South Africa, Australia, or the United States, I would choose the United States.
I would want to live in the United States because I would be the safest there. I would have freedom rights more so in the U.S. than any other country. I would want to have a say in how to live my life and have options rather than being told what to do. In Rwanda I feel as if I would be threatened everywhere I go, even I am not around anyone, I would feel like I am in danger. In Australia, the people were hunted and poisoned so I definitely would not want to live there either for the same reason.
Safety, stabilization, economy, and organization mean a lot to me when it comes to a country and where I live. It seems to me that the only country that has these 4 things is the United States. You can hopefully see why I would want to live there and agree with me on it.

SPARTAN CHEER!=]

Stevenson cheer is amazing. I love the practices and the competitions. We have a great team with a big heart and an even bigger voice! I am a back-spot for our stunt group. I’m not going to lie; I’m pretty beast! Anyway my team is made up of 12 girls and 2 coaches. We have Gabby, Lauren, Taylor, Emma, Kayla, Ashley, Brenna, Maria, Kassidy, Morgan, Stephanie and I. Our wonderful coaches are Coach Pot and Coach Mac. We work very hard on our cheers. Round one which is our “power round,” round two which is our round that we need to work on. Then there’s round three, our stunt round. This round is really cool even though I have gotten hurt many, many times. I’m not the only one though. Everybody thinks that cheerleaders only run and jump around yelling and screaming “go, go!!” Yeah, that’s not true at all. I t takes hard work, dedication, skill, strength, power, and a loud voice to be on the team. Let’s not forget a good attitude. We have recently won our last competition in South Lyon. Our junior varsity team came in first as well. Though, our varsity team was upset to find out that they came in second. Preparing for a competition is a lot of work and takes time. We have our next competition on Saturday at Allen Park. COACH EARL IS COMING!!! Coach Earl is our gymnastics instructor at Livonia Ultimate Gymnastics. I have been doing gymnastics for about 2 years and I used to love it but sort of lost favor for it. I have been doing cheer for 5 years and I still like it but this might be my last year doing it. It is just too much money, time, and effort and I barely have any of those things. Last year and in the previous 5 years, I have been doing cheer for Saint Michael Catholic School. That was an amazing cheer team and they are as good as our varsity. All these 12 year old and 13 year olds had their tucks and sprigs and layouts and some even had their full. It amazed me at the things we could do. I guess I will have to move on and bring my heart from that team over to this team. I will always love St. Mikes and hopefully be able to help coach. “Passion burns in my heart, dedication shines through! Pride forever in white and blue!”