assignment 8 - Jake Waits

• Heights, the ocean
• Rude people, chewing loudly
• Being in Academy, passing all ap tests
• Current political state
• Laziness, procrastination
• Graduating from college, having a good life
• Music taste
• Then fishing rod, now phone
• Laziness

My future dreams are still blurry currently but my imagined future I have dreams of graduating from the University of Kentucky and getting a job that pays well not too far out of college. I'd like to be an engineer or do something business-wise but I don’t have the logistics of anything planned out yet since it’s still early and I haven’t even decided on a college or a major yet. I would like to go to the University of Kentucky because its local and I already know the campus and would retain my relationships from before college. Also, the transition to college life would be easier than going to other schools. I’d like to go somewhere where I’m not inundated with debt from student loans after college so UK is not a set destination yet as I haven’t started applying yet. I’m still undecided about my major also since I only have a few ideas currently.

assignment 7 - Jake Waits

My ideal college currently is the University of Kentucky. While this could change it is my optimal college choice right now because even though it is a large state school it is local which means I’ll meet new people while better retaining my friendships and relationships from high school. I also already know the campus pretty well so the transition into college life won’t be so troublesome. UK is my top choice right now because I’m thinking of majoring in either business or engineering which UK has good programs for both of those majors. College is the last chance you get to be a kid while you prepare for life and UK has a vibrant atmosphere on and off-campus. Although I’m focused on UK for my decision for college I’m taking into account which college would be the best deal. I would go to a less Ideal college or university if it meant less debt for me in the future.

blog post 6

History has also been my easiest and most enjoyable class. I can't really pinpoint why but I think its most likely because it is one of the few subjects that is enjoyable to learn about. My math and language arts classes have always been dull to me because of how tedious they are and because I feel like I won't use the information as much. The materials I've been taught in my history classes may not be as useful but I feel as though it helps to understand the current world more easily because historical events can be compared and contrasted to modern circumstances. I also feel history uses a great deal of analyzation and critical thinking which makes the class more challenging because you have to think about all the factors leading to an event and you have to take into account the perspectives of political figures.

assignment 4- Andrei Zivkovic- Another thing about politics

So growing up I feel like politically you tend to always stand with your parents but at a certain age not sure when that specifically is you tend to develop your own ideas. I think also to a certain level you surround yourself with people who think the same way that you do but there are also those times that you might not agree with them. I think just political viewpoints, in general, are something that I know at a point I have argued with someone about nothing really specific comes to mind. Things just come up at dinner with my family where we go into a discussion about the presidency or thoughts on abortion, LGBTQ rights or women's rights and this is the age where I may not agree on everything that my parents say or what my brother says and so we do get in debate mode when that happens.

blog post 5 - jake waits

I watch tv when I’m bored or as a time filler. Although in recent years I’ve found myself watching less and less television. My family used to have satellite but now we just have an antenna to save money. I pay for my own Hulu but I’m most likely going to be ending it soon because of the fact that I don’t use it enough to make the price worth it. Recently I have found I just don’t have the time to watch tv and only watch occasionally when I have something to eat. The shows I enjoy are big mouth an adult cartoon about kids going through puberty and my favorite show psych which is off air and I haven't been able to watch for quite a while. Psych is about a man with a strong perception which he uses to solve crimes before the police. The main part of the show is that the main character pretends to be a psychic detective.

assignment 4 - Jake Waits

Freshman year my friend told me, “what’s the point of living life without trying new things, that’s what makes life interesting”. This changed my entire outlook on life because previously due to my families religion I wouldn’t try new things that often but after I feel like my life has been more positive and more interesting in general. I apply this saying to many facets of my life and have met a lot of people who I wouldn’t have if I was more closed off. This saying made me question more things in life and try more things such as cross country and talking to more people. My old self would have seen cross country as lame and a weird sport but after trying it I’ve found it to be extraordinarily enjoyable due to the friendships I’ve made through it and from having fun at practices and meets.

blog post 3 - Jake Waits

My life experience doesn’t include much travel abroad considering my only trip outside of the country was to Nassau and didn’t offer much of a perspective on life outside of America because most of the places my family went were tourist spots. The trip didn’t change my perspective on life outside the united states because the citizens of Nassau lived like how I imagined it would be like from my memory. One thing I did notice though is that poverty is more prevalent and in the open compared to the U.S. There was a great deal of homeless and people in poverty on the streets compared to what I was used too. I think this is due to the fact that there are more places for the homeless to go to the U.S such as homeless shelters and churches. This experience enriched my educational environment because I feel like I have a more open mind to people's backgrounds now and am less judgemental.

Blog post 2 - Jake waits

1. The shining
2. The teenage brain
3. Along came a spider
4. The elite forces wilderness survival guide
5. The Great Gatsby

These books say a great deal about me because it shows (not surprisingly) that I'm not an avid reader but when I do read I read a variety of texts. The shining is a complex book because of the supernatural occurrences within that the reader has to decide whether they are real, in Jack’s head, or both. The teenage brain and the Great Gatsby were both extremely mundane to me for the most part although each had interesting parts. I believe this is because they were both required for school which instantly takes away my interest and the joy I feel reading because of the forced variety. The survival guide is a very simple text but I found the information within useful for any outdoor activities I embark on. The next book I'm likely to pick up is most likely going to be a Stephen King novel because I enjoy his writing style.

Assignment 3- Davis Mattingly- The few places i've been

I've rarely traveled outside of Kentucky. Heck, I've barely been outside of Lexington for an extended period of time besides the 2 or 3 times in my life I went on a vacation down to Florida, and wished we chose somewhere a lot less humid. That is, except for the time my mother, brother, and I lived with our grandparents in Ohio for about 2 years. I was quite young at the time, as I remember moving away shortly into 3rd grade and moving back to Kentucky in time for 5th. I remember feeling out of my element after living in the same city for almost all of my life, but one thing nearby piqued my interest- the Ohio Air force Museum. while 10 year old me couldn't go very often, since the adults who would have to take me got bored of it pretty quick, I was enamored; between the giant airplanes suspended in midair, the flight simulations that always had a line too long for my parents to let me wait in, and the freeze-dried ice cream in the gift shop, I could've spent the rest of my life there.

Assignment 8 - Justin Zhu

Fears: Boredom, Loneliness
Annoyances: Wet Socks, Unqualified individuals
Accomplishments: Capping EOTW on Viper,
Confusions: Drug Abuse, Mental Health
Sorrows: Being small
Dreams: Loving Family, visiting Japan
Idiosyncrasies: Weeb, gamer
Risks: Skydiving, Roller-coasters,
Beloved Possessions, Now and Then: My computer, phone, my bed
Problems: Procrastination, Organization

As a kid, all the way up to 6th grade, I was deathly afraid of roller-coasters. I remember visiting Holiday World with my family, and I refused to leave the water park because I was too afraid of riding any kind of roller-coaster. But in 6th grade, the entire grade went on a trip to King's Island. Not wanting to be the one kid who wouldn't ride anything, I swallowed my fears and decided to ride the first ride, Invertigo. Now Invertigo isn't super scary, but as a kid who was afraid of everything, it was a big step. Right after the ride, I expected to be paralyzed, but there wasn't anything but the thrill that all roller-coasters love. It was at that moment, I feel in love. One of my greatest fears became one of my greatest thrills. Ever since then, I've been a sort of thrill-seeker. I want to be able to ride the scariest rides and honestly, I wouldn't mind being a roller-coaster tester.

Assignment 7 - Justin Zhu

My ideal college that I plan to attend is Duke University. Duke provides a place where I have the ability to be flexible about my career path and am still able to receive a top level education in any field. The quality of Duke's professors and facilities aren't specialized to cater to engineering careers or liberal arts, instead Duke provides a high level across a variety of fields allowing me to take my time in choosing how I will spend my career, and subsequently the rest of my life. Attending Duke assures me that no matter which path I choose I can expect the highest quality. Duke's campus is also beautiful. The style of Duke is different from any other University I've visited and provides a unique campus and experience that isn't provided anywhere else. I want to attend Duke because not only will it provide me with a high quality education in whatever field I choose, it provides a unique experience through its campus and programs that can't be found anywhere else.

Assignment 6 - Justin Zhu

There can't be anyone that doesn't enjoy seeing a chemical reaction changing a flame to all the colors of the rainbow, and while that's cool and all, it's even cooler to make those flames change colors. Reactions like these are just a small part of what makes chemistry so great, and there's so much more to explore in the field. During the end of my Sophomore year, our chemistry class decided to participate in a 2 week lab that allowed the class to find an assortment of elements within a solution. The lab required us to be confident in our abilities to use lab equipment such as the centrifuge, bunsen burner, as well as be aware of safety concerns due to the usage of strong chemicals. The experience has stayed with me and I wan't to be able to work in the lab again and possible be apart of a major discovery in the world of science.

Assignment 9- Mary Huffman- stop y'all's fightin

War should be avoided. At all costs and in all situations. Obviously it's difficult to openly advocate for outright violence, but it may be more impossible to argue the opposite viewpoint. War is expensive. But there is also considerable money to be made in war. Neutrality may be the best policy, but hasn't America established itself as the leading global protector of democracy? Well, the military's gotta have a job to do, or they'll resort to playing football against each other. What I've said until this point is representative, in my opinion, of the extremes concerning this issue of war. Are those statements controversial? I hope at least some of them are. But does each side of the aisle have valid points? Absolutely- that is, if your mind is opened even a crack. Let my opinion be the sliver of light shining through the nearly-closed door. War must be avoided. In every war throughout history, innocent lives have been sacrificed to nations who cannot compromise. The leaders of the world- until very recently, a demographic made up completely of powerful, wealthy men- have not had enough good sense to each take a breath before they act. Nobody is perfect. But if each person keeps that in mind, violence and war should not have to be answers to the chaos in this world. I won't pretend that this isn't a naive argument, nor that it can hold true and have any real effect on the state of things. But it is impossible to have peace without the willingness of all involved parties. The brutality of war should not fall upon those caught in a feud between political groups, or innocent citizens whose nations are fundamentally opposed. It is up to our government's leaders, elected officials to conduct peaceful negotiations whenever possible and to engage in war only when absolutely necessary.

Assignment 8- Mary Huffman- Tears and a probable eulogy

Fears- not being able to protect my family

Annoyances- loud chewing, mouth noises of any kind

Accomplishments- having all A's while belonging to too many clubs

Confusions- AP Physics, misogyny

Sorrows- people I love getting old

Dreams- to make coin then retire early to Colorado

Idiosyncrasies- kind of a control freak

Risks- rarely wearing my retainer

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then- then, stuffed animals; now, self-confidence

Problems- procrastination

First, I'd like you to know that I cry only on rare occasion, but completing that list caused enough emotional turmoil for the tears to flow uncontrollably. My closest friends, my family, they don't know most of the things on that list, but here I am sharing them for an assignment in English class. The reason I'm crying as I write this is found in the fifth territory- sorrows, appropriately. I'm crying about two very old people, one dead and the other presumably still living. My mother was adopted as a baby and didn't know of her biological family until just before her wedding some thirty years later. Her birth mother took on this title as a teenager, impregnated by a man we would never meet. My grandmother- I've never called her that before now- was born in England during World War II to a young British woman named Ivy and a soldier from deep in Louisiana with whom she would spend most of the rest of her life. These two people are some of the most caring, wonderfully happy individuals I've had the pleasure of knowing. My great-grandparents (G.G.'s for short) created for me some of my childhood's most brilliant, vivid memories. Each Christmas when my brother and I were younger, we would visit G.G. Ivy and G.G. Bob's house, play on  their carpeted stairs, draw them pictures, and have afternoon tea with the most buttery cookies we'd ever laid our little hands on. I would converse with my great-grandmother in a British accent that mimicked her own. G.G. Bob would grin with surprise each time I enthusiastically tried a strange food. I always knew they were very old, but I never quite realized what that meant until I lost one of them. We hadn't visited Louisiana, where they lived, for a couple years. When I, around 13 at the time, asked my parents what day we'd be seeing the G.G.'s, my mother told me that G.G. Bob had died a few months prior. I dashed up the stairs and sobbed as I'm doing now. His death still haunts me in a way. I don't feel like I ever got to say goodbye to the man I looked up to more than anyone knew. My fear now is that my relationship with my great-grandmother will end in the same way. The last time I spoke to her was two years ago, when she couldn't remember me because of the dementia. I wanted to cry then, but the grief was too new. It's been catching up with me recently, though. I don't know if G.G. Ivy is still alive, if she can remember the last meal she ate, or if she's forgotten the husband who loved her all those many years. There is so much I wanted to ask her, I wanted to know her story, but I waited too long. Even if I won't be able to tell her in person, I hope her ninety-ninth birthday is even a half of what she deserves.

Assignment 8 - Bethany Welch

Fears: Spiders, social rejection
Annoyances: rude people, unfair situations
Accomplishments: being a good & driven kid, being a good friend
Confusions: rude people
Sorrows: my lack of money and time
Dreams: traveling the world, making a difference in the world
Idiosyncrasies: competed at the world championships for Saddleseat horseback riding at age 8, I play electric guitar
Risks: honestly the largest risk in my life is me being allowed to drive
Beloved Possessions, Now and Then: CDs, makeup (then); my guitars, my rabbits, and my Keurig (now)
Problems: time management, breaking out of my social shell

To expand on my beloved possessions: I used to treasure my CD collection and had a significant amount of CDs, but since then my music taste has changed a lot and I've sold most of my CDs. I actually had a few pretty rare CDs, so I've been able to make decent money off of them. I also used to think of myself as a beauty guru back in middle school (I definitely was not), so I had a pretty large makeup collection. Since then I've either quit using most of it and threw it away or it expired. Now, my beloved possessions definitely reflect a lot about me. I love my guitars, I own both an electric guitar and an electric bass. I've been playing since around 8th grade, but it's been on and off, so I haven't progressed much. I still really enjoy playing though. My rabbits definitely hold a special place in my heart, they're great pets and really sweet. Also, my Keurig, because I like coffee a bit too much.

Assignment 8 - Delaney Staley - Money

Fears: dying, snakes, spiders, sharks
Annoyances: not being able to accept when you are wrong, rudeness
Accomplishments: being a safe driver
Confusions: politics
Sorrows: procrastination
Dreams: being rich
Idiosyncrasies: annoying
Risks: crossing the street without looking
Beloved possessions: Money (now), Clothes (then)
Problems: Procrastination

I really wish now that I had saved my money when I was younger. Now I realize that money is so much more necessary as a teenager than as a kid. I used to buy the dumbest things and now I'm facing some serious regret. Over the course of 3 months I blew $1,000 on food, clothes, etc. Now that I can drive I am wishing I had not because all of that could have gone towards owning my own car. I am not mad at myself for spending all that money though. I learned an important lesson about spending that I think will influence the rest of my financial decisions in my life. From this, I now know that saving money is the best choice and that you do not need to waste your money on things you do not need such as clothes and the occasional Doordash order.

Assignment 8 - Landon d'Angelo

Fears: Spiders, failure
Annoyances: slow wifi, not much else
Accomplishments: good academics, decent at soccer
Confusions: why I am forced to take social studies classes
Sorrows: my mom living in another state now, not being able to travel much
Dreams: getting accepted to the university of my choosing
Idiosyncracies: have multiple alarms a few minutes apart because the first one won't wake me up
Risks: college applications
Beloved Possessions (then and now): my wallet and cat (both)
Problems: procrastination (I always get it done though), I never study


My greatest sorrow, at least currently, is that my mom now lives in another state. Over the summer she moved to Indiana for work and this caused some issues because my dad still lives here in Lexington. I originally moved with her at the end of last summer to see if I liked living there. Turns out that I didnt like it so I moved back a few weeks ago after being there for a couple of months. The experience of being there was unusual and the school I was going to was very different from Henry Clay. First off, I obviously didnt know anyone there, and second, the school had over 5,000 students so figuring out how to get around was difficult. It didnt work out so I decided to come back but it was a difficult decision because I am very close with my mom. It is also difficult to be able to go and visit because it takes three hours to drive there.

Assignment 7 - Delaney Staley - My Dream School

I would love to go somewhere like University of Kentucky or the University of Alabama. I am looking for a big school, with a nice campus, and a good town. I do not care so much about what majors they have to offer simply because I plan on either going to medical school or dental school so I am more focused on going to a good graduate school. I am seeking a degree in psychology for my undergrad most likely because it interests me and will also be beneficial for a medical career. I hope that college will be more hands on, so as to prepare me for my future career. I think going to a good school, with a good program that is tailored to your needs is very important. I believe that going to a smaller college for the smaller student to faculty ratio is necessary in some cases and that is the beauty in our educational system in America. We have such a wide array of colleges that it is almost impossible not to find one that can suit your needs.

Assignment 7 - Bethany Welch

Honestly, I really want to attend a college where a liberal arts education is offered, and where I can attend smaller classes to get to know the teacher better if I need to ask for help. My main goal is to go through medical school and eventually work as a medical examiner, so I want to find a college where I can work towards this goal. However, I'd also like to minor in Korean because the language has always interested me. I'm not sure yet rather I'd like to serve, but I've debated doing ROTC in college and eventually going into the Army. So really, my ideal college would be somewhere where I can work towards my goal but still work on learning Korean and maybe still do ROTC. I'd like a liberal arts college, however, that way I can still learn more on other topics. I definitely feel as if this setting will motivate me the most, and make sure I stay on this path.

Assignment 6 - Delaney Staley - Psychology

My favorite class I have ever taken was AP Psychology. I loved learning about the content and it piqued my interest into the psychology of adolescents specifically. The class was so much fun and I enjoyed being in it-- I think it was my favorite class that I ever took. AP Psychology was also the inspiration for my topic for my project for this year's class. Learning about psychology helped me understand the world and the people around me and also myself. I gained more insight on to why I do certain things and act in certain ways. I am now interested in learning more about psychology and hope to seek a profession in something that involves psychology and hopefully I can utilize this class in any of my future careers. It also led me to join Psychology club, where I volunteered at Eastern State, which further caught my interest in mental health and also addiction.

Assignment 9- Conor Kelley

As much as I wish I didn't have to say this, war is a necessity. I believe it is considerably overused, and is always the lesser of two evils, but it is needed at times. Some people simply cannot be reasoned with, when lives of innocent people are at stake, such as World War Two, it is a necessity. No amount of diplomacy or international pressure would've prevented Hitler from invading surrounding countries in the name of the Fatherland. Were it not for the declarations of war from Britain and France, all of Europe would have fallen to the Third Reich. Even with Britain fighting with all they had, Vichy France stood for 5 years, until the Nazis could be kicked from France. And I know the arguments, war is always avoidable, there is always something else to be done, but take the example of the War of 1812. America had done all it could to prevent war, Jay's Treaty, the Embargo Act, and Britain continued impressing American sailors into their Navy. At that point, war was the only option, and war solved the problem, the Royal Navy would not invade American waters again. It should always be used as a last resort, but war cannot be considered completely unnecessary in all situations.

Assignment 6 - Bethany Welch

I honestly have always been really interested in forensics and medical stuff. I'd love to dedicate my future studies to solving crimes, especially doing something medical. Honestly, it's pretty weird, but I came to this realization by watching Law and Order SVU. One of the characters on the show worked as a medical examiner, which sparked my interest in the job and made me realize that I could work in the medical field and help solve crimes. The job itself is pretty weird, but I'd love to be able to contribute significantly to solving crimes. I honestly wouldn't want to work as a detective or police officer though, because I don't really want to risk my life frequently and I feel like police officers don't get paid fairly. However, I'm also really interested in physics, and I came to this realization through Mrs. Gill's class. Physics is definitely rather difficult, but it's quite cool to learn about in my opinion.

Assignment 7- Mary Huffman- There's no place like home?

It's selfish. It's naive. But it's true.
The only thing I'm certain of after my high school graduation is that I'm leaving Lexington, Kentucky. When I say that to people, I feel like a country girl whose only goal in life has been to escape her little old town. Only I'm in a city of over 300,000 people and there is probably more opportunity here than I know. It must be nice to think "I love my hometown and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," but I'd love to be anywhere else. My view of college is a time of transitioning into adulthood, surviving without parental guidance, and ultimately of self-discovery. I want to explore things outside of this town, where I feel at home and trapped at the same time. College will be a place I can appreciate where I came from, but focus more importantly on where I want to go. As a high school student, I think I've figured out myself and where I fit in, but I desperately want to know how I'll change for the better in a different environment with lots of different people. I'm so excited to prove myself to the world, as cheesy as that sounds. Independence is something that I've always craved, and the first step to achieving that is college life. Call it ambition if you want, but I can't wait to be successful, to be the girl from Kentucky who became an important someone she always knew she could be.

Assignment 5 - Delaney Staley - Television

I watch tv because I find it interesting and I like to always be listening to something, even when I am doing my homework. I think television is something that has to be monitored by parents when children are under the age of 12 but beyond that I think it should be entirely up to the child. The only reason I say that is because when I was younger, the only time I would watch tv was when my family was watching it and besides that we would be doing something else together. I think this helps to bring the family together and grow the relations between each other. I do think television provides a good form of entertainment because without it, many people would not have anything to do. I think that advertisements are necessary because without them, tv stations could not continue because they wouldn't make enough money. I do think ads need to be monitored so that there is nothing graphic or violent or misleading in them but besides that I believe they are fine.

Blog post 1 - Jake Waits - introduction

My name is Robert Waits but I go by my middle name of Jake for short. My academic goal for this year is to get all A’s or a minimum amount of B’s. I would also like to pass my AP tests with a 5 on the AP US history test because in general history has been my best subject in school. I would like to get a 5 in AP Physics and AP lang but I'm not as confident in my abilities when it comes to my writing and the math portion of the test. In both these subjects, I have a grasp on the Ideas conceptually it is just applying the Ideas with math in physics and writing in Lang. I’ve done well on the practice tests for lang but I'm not extremely confident in my writing skills as it has always been one of my weaker academic parts. My hobbies include playing basketball, fishing, hiking, and hanging out with my friends. Something interesting about me is the fact that my parents are farmers and my family owns a 110-acre farm in Springfield, Ky.

My cat George ↑

www.youtube.com

Assignment 8- Conor Kelley

Fears- Loss, especially of those around me, and the fear that people don't like me

Annoyances- Being late, whether me or someone else, Losing at something

Accomplishments- Fixing my diplopia, building my own computer

Confusions- The fact that I control everything I do and could derail my life at any second, it's pretty hard to comprehend for me

Sorrows- The chances I didn't take, or the ones I shouldn't have taken

Dreams- To graduate from college, and have a comfortable life

Idiosyncrasies- Constantly having some kind of nervous tick, tapping my fingers or clicking my teeth, or something of the sort

Risks- Arguing with my mother (not a serious risk, but true nonetheless)

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then- My vintage Harley-Davidson jacket, gifted to me by my grandfather

Problems- I'm not good at saving money, not at all

I would like to explore one of my accomplishments, fixing my diplopia. Diplopia is the medical term for double-vision, where everything I see is duplicated in the form of a translucent partner to the right of the true object. It made daily life harder than it would normally be. I couldn't tell you when it started, but I do know it was first detected in 2006, when I was 3. I told my parents I had a superpower, I could see two of everything. They were concerned, and took me to an optometrist. I was tested, and was diagnosed with diplopia. My parents were told there was nothing to be done, except for a surgery, they considered the option, but the surgery had a 12% success rate, and if it didn't work, my condition would worsen. So they declined the surgery, instead, I got glasses, they did little to help, but made life a little easier. I wore my glasses, and struggled until when I was 8, my mom heard of vision therapy. Exercises I could do every day to help my vision improve. At the time I started, I scored 0 out of 10 on the 3D vision test, and had a very noticeable cross-eye. After 2 years, I had improved to 6 out of 10, and my vision was better, I still had double-vision, and a cross-eye, but I was better. Then I stopped doing it, I refused to do the exercises, and my condition went right back to where it was. I didn't start again until March of 2019, and I hit it hard. I did the exercises every day, and started getting better. I still had double vision when I went in for the permit test, and the agreement was that I couldn't drive until my optometrist had cleared me to. I passed the test, and got my permit. I continued to do therapy, but the day I got my permit, after doing therapy, I noticed something different, my vision was single! I still do therapy, and my vision continues to get better, I started driving in August, and can now see with single vision without glasses. I hope to continue improving, and maybe even become independent of my glasses someday.

assignment 2- Andrei Zivkovic - Living in a different world

I know this is an English class and I'm not trying to offend anyone but reading is not really my favorite thing in the world. Honestly, most of the books that I have read in the past year are ones that have been assigned for school. Some of those books are...
The Great Gatsby
The Teenage Brain
I Am Number 4
So only one of those books was not assigned for school but that does not mean that I did not enjoy them. I actually really enjoyed The Teenage Brain though it gave us a look into the brain and while I did not take Ap Psych a lot of my friends said it was like the book and I thought that, that was an interesting way to look at it. Being able to realize why people choose things the way that they do and how people view the world was not what I expected and I loved how it was represented.
The Great Gatsby was not one of my favorites I thought the whole book was kind of predictable in a sense and when I don't really like books that much I tend to not remember them because they did not stick out to me in any way.
I Am Number 4 was a book that I read for fun and it was pretty good, it isn't a typical read for someone intellectual or anything but it was just a Fiction novel for fun and that action plot was something I loved in middle school and reading this book kind of brought me back to that.

Assignment 4 - Delaney Staley - Another Post About Religion

For most of my life, I have always believed in God. I believe that there has to be something higher to make sense of everything. However, around 7th grade, I questioned the beliefs that I had held on to since I could understand what religion was. When I was younger, my parents always made time to go to church on Sundays and for holidays. However, as I started to get older we started to go less and less. Beginning of 7th grade, we did not go at all anymore and that was when I began to question my religious beliefs. I honestly did not have a reason why I questioned it besides the fact that I just did not go to church anymore. When I told my parents that I did not really believe in there being a God anymore they were confused but they were okay with it. Since then though I have gone back to church and do believe in God once again.

Assignment 9- Elizabeth Moore- Concentric Circles of Connectivity (appreciate the alliteration)

A rabid dog cannot be coerced into submission; the only solution is brute force, eliminating a threat to innocents. In the same way, violence by a militaristic faction or nation necessitates military action. Where there exists a cultural asymmetry or an idealistic disparity, diplomatic means can only go so far. Take the U.S. manhunt for Osama bin Laden. His hatred for western culture led to the death of innocents, and he had no plans to halt his vicious crusade. As we value the lives of innocent victims over guilty perpetrators, the quasi-war against al-Qaeda was valid. Most people would agree with me on that point. The point of contention is in dealing with a violent nation: are the soldiers we cut down guilty or merely fighting for the man out of necessity?

My ideals about the importance of others is best compared to a series of concentric circles. In my inner circle is my family; my second circle is my neighborhood and friends; my third is people in Lexington; fourth is Kentuckians; fifth is Americans; and sixth is everyone else. If someone on a higher circle threatens someone closer to the inner circle, I believe it’s morally sound to defend the person closer to the inner circle because I have a greater connection to that person. Based on this ideal, I would argue – unpopularly in liberal settings like Lexington I might add - that if Americans are faced by an extreme foreign threat, our country-men come first, regardless of the costs to the threatening foreign nation. If the issue cannot be resolved by any other means, then war is necessary.

Assignment 5 - Bethany Welch

I personally love TV, I prefer watching different shows over movies. I feel like certain shows can provide information on topics that sometimes I don't really want to spend time researching. This probably just because I'm rather lazy, but it's easier to just push play on a TV show and relax. Plus, it's very nice to do so after a long day. I also like certain fictional shows. I tend to drift more to crime shows, like Law and Order SVU and Money Heist. I also really like horror shows, like The Haunting of Hill House. I love listening to horror stories and I think it's quite interesting to see them put onto the screen. I'm really not a fan of the Walking Dead though, because I feel like they ran out of ideas and that the show has become rather dry. I'm also not a fan of comedy shows, I generally don't find them funny and they tend to annoy me a bit.

assignment 6 - Andrei Zivkovic - Mastering the Economy

Throughout school English has never been my strong suit and while I love history that hasn't been either and don't even get me started on French.  I think that while math is difficult science and math have been my best subjects recently and science interests me the most. The thing that I don't really love about high school and that I'm excited about in college is being able to choose something you are interested in. I have no interest in going into a science field I want to go into Business which requires more math. I think the thing that interests me about business is figuring out how the economy works and if possible it would be amazing to intern or something on Wall Street in New York. Figuring out how to economically succeed just is really interesting in a way and thinking about it in a global standard is one thing that I would like to find out more about.

Assignment 6- Mary Huffman- Mr. Behler might be proud

AP Seminar was by no means a joy for me. You can look at the time and date of this submission and understand that I've made a career of procrastination, a character flaw that has not yet been my demise. However, it's certainly come close to ruining me many times. In its own way, AP Seminar my sophomore year was a unique class in the positive sense. But in its own way, that class was torturous. I hated sitting down at a computer for an hour every day, pretending to research when I was really trying to avoid the dread of a looming, weeks-long project, and disguising it all by laughing with my friends who all employed the same strategy.
Our group presentations, however, were much more enjoyable, to say the least. Throughout both team projects, I'd like to think my comrades and I were just that- a gaggle of students who created a small community, all while trying to appease College Board's infinitely powerful rubrics. When the class was advised to pick a group for the final project based on interests, I instead chose to work with two friends I'd made that year. There was admittedly some drama when our ideas didn't totally align, but skillful manipulation of words settled the situation. Historically, I have not allowed myself to really partake in things outside of factual and logical learning. I'm not someone who particularly excels in math, but I always thought I could maintain my "smart" label if I focused on only that subject. I was convinced I couldn't be creative or artistic, an idea which I ashamedly still hold onto. (This rant has a purpose, I'm sure.)
My presentation group, if you'll remember back that far, decided to research fast fashion and its impacts on the natural world. Even now I'm having flashbacks to Mr. Behler's class. It was honestly a bit uncomfortable for me to create a project on the fashion industry, as I had minimal knowledge of the topic and even less faith that we could make a professional-sounding argument about it. But what was that in Infinite Campus?- a 96% grade on the presentation I didn't think we could make work! I learned a cliched lesson from this tenth grade project: if you set your mind to something, you'll succeed. Or however that saying goes.

Assignment 3 - Delaney Staley

I don't really go on any crazy vacations. I've never been out of the country and the farthest west I've gone in the US (that I can remember) is Arkansas. The craziest vacation I've ever been on was to Miami with my friend and her parents. We stayed a little bit north of Miami and one day we decided to drive all the way down to the heart of Miami to see the Versace Mansion in the Art Deco District. In what would have normally been a 30 minute drive in Kentucky to get that distance, it ended up being 2 and a half hours simply because of the amount of people on the road. If you have ever been to Miami, you know the diversity in the people there. People from all over were there and from all different types of backgrounds. Since my friend's dad is very talkative, we probably talked to almost everyone we saw on the street. The main thing I took away from this experience was how one place can draw attention from people from all over. Even in Kentucky, there are so many different people with such different backgrounds. Although I enjoyed Miami, the fast paced lifestyle there made me appreciate Kentucky so much more.

Assignment 7- Conor Kelley

I cannot tell if I am supposed to tell what my college of choice is for this prompt, but I will choose not to. My ideal college would allow me to enter the field of finances. I have been interested in the world of business for a long time, and hope to be studying business in college. I've always been told I have the personality of a salesman, and I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not, but I take what I can get. My ideal college would not have many prerequisites, I have a very focused view on learning. If I am pursuing a business degree, I see no reason to take calculus, unless I am aiming to be an accountant, or if I want to be a marine biologist, there is no reason I should have to take art history in college. I think college will be a wonderful experience, learning about the things I love with people who share my interests. My ideal college would be smaller, more focused on certain fields, such as business, and not have too broad of a scope.

assignment 8- Andrei Zivkovic- a tennager having to act as the parent

Fears- Heights, Sharks, Snakes, Death

Annoyances- lying, when people are being rude on purpose, 

Accomplishments- just being there for my family, dealing with parents divorce

Confusions- why people choose to be disrespectful 

Sorrows-Knowing that I could always have tried harder

Dreams- traveling the world, being successful after college

Idiosyncrasies- wanting to know what's happening all the time

Risks- I want to go bungee jumping 

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then- snow globes my dad got me when he traveled, pictures

Problems- procrastination 

A major thing that can happen in a kid's life is there parents getting a divorce and that is something that I had to experience when I was 4, and I know I don't remember much then but it has been affecting me ever since then. My dad is remarried now and they had two more kids and I love all of them but it is just difficult dealing with the whole situation. So right after my parents got divorced my dad and stepmom lived in Kentucky for a little bit so my brother and I did the typical every other weekend with each parent then my dad got a new job that was based in Connecticut so they ended up moving up there. Once that happened it was hard to see him because he was so far and so when we did my brother and I would fly up to New York and my dad would pick us up and we would drive to the house and at this point were like 7 and 8 when that started so we would "fly alone" to New York even though we had my mom take us to the gate and my dad pick us up from the gate. After a couple years there my dad moved for his job to Indiana where he is now so we see him more but it is mostly on breaks but his job is based in Long Island, New York so he is moving up there soon. I think that the difficult part of this is dealing with all the traveling and with my parents arguing still, like I know there are parents who argue more but there are also parents who get divorced and are friends after that and I would rather have had that because sometimes they are so childish that I feel like I have to be the Adult in the situation. I think that having divorced parents is hard for any kid and dealing with it is a major accomplishment in a way.

Assignment 6- Conor Kelley

I could honestly be entirely misunderstanding this prompt at the moment, but the intellectual topic that has always interested me, since I was 7, actually, was the Second World War. And yes, I am aware just about every boy was interested in World War II at some point. I have been learning about it in short spurts since I was 7, and have amassed quite an extensive knowledge of the tactics employed, the battles, and the technology of the Second World War. I have done a fair bit of research on the First World War as well, but I don't find it to be as interesting as the latter war. There was so much more development during the Second World War. Technology advanced considerably, jet engines, cruise missiles, and of course the atomic bomb were all developed within 6 years. And the tactics of the latter war are much more intriguing, tactics like Blitzkrieg and the storming of the beaches at Normandy were so much more advanced. The First World War was a war of attrition, two sides charging at each other until too many had died to continue the fighting, it was far too barbaric to be interesting to me. I prefer the intricacies of the Second World War.

Assignment 2 - Delaney Staley - I Don't Read

The only book I have read in the past year is the one you assigned to us, "The Teenage Brain." I, of course believe that reading is very beneficial to young minds but I don't have the patience to sit down and read a book for fun. I would much rather watch a movie or tv show. I used to love reading but as I have grown older, I simply do not have enough time to sit and read a book as most of my time is consumed by homework, extracurriculars, and Netflix."The Teenage Brain" focuses on raising adolescents and the difficulties that come with that. I find that it is interesting to read this as I, in some ways, mirror that of the behaviors described in the book of an impulsive teenager.  I guess the fact that I don't read can come off as lazy but in my mind I can connect better with tv shows and movies as I like to see what is going on rather than imagine it.

Assignment 1 - Delaney Staley

Hi, my name is Delaney Staley and as you can tell this is very late. As you can tell, I am not the best at managing my time and not procrastinating. With this said, I do still care about my grades and always do my work. My goals for this year are to focus on maintaining my GPA, going to extracurriculars, focusing on riding horses, and (hopefully soon) working. The most meaningful moment of my summer was going on vacation with my best friend not once, but twice. If I could have any superpower I would be immortal. The thing that geeks me out are houses -- I could spend hours on Pinterest just looking at pictures of pretty homes. Below is a picture of my boyfriend's dogs showing their enthusiasm for the UK game. My favorite website is Pinterest.com obviously because I spend hours on it just adding random things to my boards.

Assignment 5- Conor Kelley

I will be answering the third prompt, and it is my opinion that the Emmy's getting that much more attention than the Nobel Prizes is a terrible part of our society. I'll be honest, I can be considered a little odd in my thoughts, I do not trust the government, or the media. While that sounds like a conspiracy theorist's thoughts, I like to think I am nothing more than careful. It is my opinion that most of America is falling into the trap of mass media. Each show we watch, each movie, the countless hours we spend on these pastimes, it keeps us busy and entertained. How many original shows come out nowadays? It seems like every new show, branded as different, a new perspective or topic, is nothing more than a clone of the last at its core. A new medical show about the same problems, faced by a new doctor, with a new problem they face. A new show about the police, a new department, in a different city, with different faces, but what is really new about any of that? And it seems like on the rare occasion a new, original show comes out, with a little effort in its design, it becomes the precedent for a dozen shows after it. And movies are the same story. Yet we continue watching, ignoring science, and current issues, and everything but the show we're watching, until it's time for the next show to come on. Even I fall into this trap, although I try to watch the news, or Jeopardy when I can instead. Society has us focused on the wrong things altogether, and the Emmy's taking precedent over the Nobel Prizes is a shining example.

Assignment 5- Mary Huffman- Necessary Evils

I've been a bystander when it comes to television. When my friends start to talk about the shows they've recently binge-watched, I try to keep the conversation going. When my classmates enter the room giggling about the last dramatic episode of The Bachelor(ette), I'm slightly intrigued by the larger-than-life story lines. When my dad spends his evenings half asleep in front of the TV, I wonder why he complains that he never has time to do the things he wants to accomplish. I don't personally see the value of consuming hours of television every day. Why would you choose to sit motionless, watching other people's lives play out while you could be spending your own so much more impactfully? I think it's beneficial to have an occasional activity that involves mindless entertainment and relaxation, but television is not, and should not be, the end-all be-all of after-work, after-school activities. The mindless activities I partake in may not always include television, but they are always to the same effect- I forget (rather, neglect) my responsibilities, and often consume hours of content laden with advertisements preying on my idle mind. So yes, television is a form of  non-interactive entertainment filled to the brim with messages from advertisers, but these are necessary evils we must face by consuming any form of media in this day in age.

Assignment 8 - Lia Jacobs - Always on Edge

Fears: death, needles, I'm falling behind
Annoyances: self-important people, people who cheat at school
Accomplishments: good academics, passed my drivers test
Confusions: teenagers, people who don't put in work and complain when they don't succeed
Sorrows: not taking enough risks, being too reserved
Dreams: have a good job, not having to worry about money, go hiking a lot
Idiosyncrasies: I watch dog training videos and don't have a dog
Risks: I don't take many risks
Beloved Possessions: my cat
Problems: procrastination

For as long as I can remember, I've always felt like I would die at the age of sixteen. Don't worry, it's not something I ever wanted to happen and now that I'm here I don't think it will, but up until recently, it was genuinely something I believed in. Strange thoughts like these are characteristic of my life thus far, I always feel like I'm at the risk of dying.

Frightening dreams have plagued my sleep for as long as I can remember. The first one I can recall now would repeat itself almost every night when I was six. At first, it seemed normal, my family and I were driving out to go camping in some park which we had never been to. It was somewhat late at night and we were the only ones sitting in the ill-lit parking lot. Suddenly someone was trying to open my door, I locked it. I looked up and saw this man was carrying a knife. He tried for the door in front of mine, my dad's, but he locked it before the man could reach. Then, we hurried out the other side of our car and ran. Our lives depended on it. Now I could go on and on telling you all the little details of what follows, but that would be far too tedious. Basically what happens is this unknown man kills off my family one by one until I'm left running alone. Then, he grabs my leg, looks me in the eye, and I promptly wake up. Every time I have one of these 'horror' dreams, I wake up right before I die. Now I know I'm not the greatest at describing these things, but when it's happening you can't tell that you're dreaming. It feels like you're really about to die.

Dreams like these have always happened, though now I find it harder to remember my dreams when I wake up. Instead of dreams, for the past two or so years I have found my fear of death to impact my life when I'm awake. When I'm alone, I'm frequently fearful that someone is going to kidnap me, or someone has broken into my home. Luckily, I eventually realized the irrationality of this fear and it's less prominent now. Nonetheless, there are still many instances when I find myself on edge when I do not need to be.

Assignment 9 - Wow this got incredibly philosophical and I don't even know if it is cohesive - Cat Lucier

I don't care what you say. I believe that there is never an excuse for violence against others. No matter how angry you are, no matter how different your ideas and perspectives or beliefs - nothing warrants violence. All of the 5 major world religions, which make up over 90% of the population, teach love and peace. Let's take a look at what their scriptures have to say.

• Christianity: Matthew 5:9 - "Blessed [are] the peacemakers: for they shall be called the Children of God." 
• Islam: Surah 41:33-34 - "And good and evil deeds are not alike. Repel evil with good. And he who is your enemy will become your dearest friend."
• Hinduism: (From the Thirumanthiram of the Sanaathana Dharma, translated from Tamil) "Anbe Sivam" or "God is love."
• Buddhism: "Ahimsa" or "non-injury" of living things
• Sikhism: "One who does evil never succeeds, such a person burns in his own wrath; this happens to those who are self-oriented; their madness keeps them involved in conflicts; one who follows the guru's teachings understands every thing; he fights the evil in the mind." (M. 3 p. 1418)

Alright. It seems to be the general consensus of the 5 major religious scriptures that you should be nice to other people. So then what is the cause of such atrocities?
I hypothesize the patriarchy, and how it causes corrupt men to develop the charisma to spread their perversion of sacred texts, which was created to align with their personal agenda, to the masses as the word of God.
This personal agenda that I speak of is the key to understanding this issue. (While thinking out this philosophical essay, I realized that I am very Buddhist in my beliefs.) Having a personal agenda is evidence that a person has selfish desires and holds grudges. They are unhappy with themselves. I know that is a cliche, but it seems to be quite true.
TLDR: The 5 world religions teach peace. Our world would be much more peaceful if people were able to be happy with themselves and thus did not hold grudges and have personal agendas, which leads to spreading the world of a perverted scripture to align with the execution of the personal agenda.

Assignment 4- Conor Kelley

I have challenged my parents on many things, I always think for myself, and they tend to debate with me on quite a few things. But I suppose the best example of this is the debate over the color pink with my mother. In her strong, unusually passionate opinion for a color, pink is reserved for women and women only. My family, especially my mother, is very conservative, myself being a fair bit more moderate. So any time I wear pink, which I think is a fine color, she cringes and tries to convince me to change clothes. Now I am a pretty hard-headed kid, so mostly because I liked them, but partially because she wouldn't, I bought a pair of light, ballet shoe pink Jordan 1s. I wear them quite frequently, and she despises them. She also believes colors like purple, and teal, and white, on shoes or hats, are for women, but pink is a particular pet peeve for her. She seems to think that my willingness to wear pink makes me completely different from her in every way, she calls herself a shining example of masculinity. I continue to wear pink, and she continues to hate it, and I imagine this will go on for quite a long time.

Assignment 2- Conor Kelley

I haven't read many books in the last year, and I wish I had. I used to read all the time, when I was young I would read 4 or 5 books of 200 or 300 pages a month. I would like to get back into that habit. But in the last year, I have read:
The Book Thief
The Teenage Brain
I started on the first volume of the Sherlock Holmes stories, but the first one was far too complex. The 40 or so page backstory for the criminal was enough for me to stop reading.
War Stories, a collection of stories from the First and Second World Wars.
I reread The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, as I read it in 8th grade for school, but wanted to revisit the book and give it a more relaxed and thorough reading, as some chapters were skipped in 8th grade.
For now, that is the end of my list, at least as far as I can remember. I hope to extend this list considerably over the next few months.

Assignment 1 - Landon d'Angelo

My name is Landon d'Angelo. I may seem new to the class to my teachers but I went to Henry Clay both Freshman and Sophomore years and already know everyone in my classes. I have played soccer for the majority of my life and would have continued to do so this year if I had not been interrupted by moving to Indiana over the summer. I went to school there for the two months that I wasn't at Henry Clay and the experience was very strange. Hopefully, I will be able to play next year if I make the team, but I would have liked to have been able to play this year because my brother plays for lafayette and I have wanted to play against him for a long time. Unfortunately, that is not possible anymore because he is a senior right now. An interesting fact about me is that I can speak Italian fluently and I learned it at the same time as I learned to speak English. The only time it was actually useful was when I went to Italy to visit family.

Assignment 7 - Andrei Zivkovic- Living that Adult Life... Sorta

So as of right now, I have mostly just looked in-depth at the University Of Kentucky so I will talk mostly about that. Uk is not my top choice but it is up there and that was only after this Business Pathway day thing that I went to a couple weeks back. So this day we got a tour of The Gatton School of Business and Economics and had mini-lectures and all that and they told us about this pathway program that is what I am most interested in. There are 3 pathway programs and the one that I am interested in is called The Global Scholars. So with this pathway, they require you to minor in International Business which is what i am very interested in and also a semester abroad. So my idea right now would be to double major in Economics and Finance and then do the minor in International Business and then instead of doing a semester abroad at one country I feel like it would be really cool to do a semester at sea where you get to travel to more countries and experience way more things. If I did not do that i would just try to do a semester in Geneva Switzerland probably. The class sizes in the pathway are smaller and the way they made it sound was exactly like the academy and they said they made some of their best friends here. I think the things that I am looking forward to in college is just the freedom and knowing that you get to determine your life. I am not really into partying so I would honestly rather just chill with a couple friends in the dorms or just watch a good show on Netflix which I know sounds kinda lame. I mean I am a very social person but I do not like being around a ton of people or anything like that.

Assignment 1- Conor Kelley

My name is Conor Kelley, this year I plan to raise my GPA as much as I can. I also plan to graduate a year early, and attend some college classes early. If I were to have a superpower, it would be invisibility. The possibilities with such a power would be endless. It's more of a utility, in my opinion, than something like flying or laser vision or so. I must confess that I am very interested in computers. I collect parts, and build a new one when I get enough parts. I have lost count of the times I've had to replace a part in my siblings' computer due to a spill, or something being unplugged, or age of a part. I am also an avid car enthusiast. I often help my dad at his auto body shop, and have learned a fair bit of repair techniques. I currently have a project car, I haven't done anything to it, as it is stuck in tall grass with flat tires, but soon enough it will be resurrected. I skateboard too, although I am still learning and not very good yet.

Assignment 7 - Lia Jacobs - In the Grand Scheme of Things

I'll just say it, I am really looking forward to college. Honestly, I think I'm just ready for high school to end. I don't really have a 'dream college' picked out like everybody seems to have these days. I think I could be happy at a lot of places, all I really want is a school that has a good program in whatever I decide to study. I don't have my major decided either. One thing I do know is I don't want to go to a 'prestigious' school. No ivies, no top twenties. Schools like that confuse me, sure they might be a tad better with respect to academics, but the price tag seems excessive. I guess maybe they'll help you build connections, but again, probably not worth the price tag. I'd rather go to one of the higher-ranked public schools. At the end of the day, a degree is a degree and where you got it from won't be life-altering. I think college is a lot more about the experience you have, that's what can be lifechanging. That's what I'm really looking forward to, gaining experience and starting a new phase of my life. I'd value making memories over a pricey degree any day.

assignment 5- Andrei Zivkovic- Couch Potato

So I think that people watch Tv because it is a form of entertainment and people do enjoy binge-watching those nail-biting shows but also because we are bored. I think I watch Tv for both reasons because there are some shows that I love and could rewatch and not get sick of. Some of my favorite shows are The Flash and How to Get Away With Murder. I think that Tv can be an insane use of time because there are sometimes where you are watching a show then realize that you've spent 3 hours watching something and the time just flew by, and there are of course so many other things you could've done in that time that is way more productive. I'm not 100% sure why people invest so much of their time in this though, obviously, a Nobel Prize is way more impactful than an award show for movies but I think it is just the society that we live in and that a Nobel Prize has to do with educated people and with award shows you do not have to put much brain power into that so in basic terms, Americans are lazy. It might just be the way that people were raised and it just does not even occur to them. I think it is not the best thing but it has been happening for so long I don't think it can change all of a sudden and that is something that we have to deal with.

Assignment 6 - Lia Jacobs - I Guess I like Repetition?

High school has made it very apparent to me that I am not an English or history kind of person. I wouldn't consider myself particularly bad at these subjects, but when I do work for these classes it just feels like busywork.

I'm a math and science kind of person. I like learning a process and repeating it over and over again. Most people groan and whine at the sight of a page full of math problems, but if you know the process well, it becomes very simple. For me, a sense of satisfaction comes from being able to do something and get the right answer every time. I can't tell if I just have a good memory, if I put in more effort than others, or if it's just an innate ability, but learning definitive processes like this has always been easy for me. Classes like chemistry, computer science, and calculus have meant more to me because you learn something once and then you repeat it.

I think that's probably why I've never really enjoyed English classes, there's no definitive process. It's so subjective that you never really know if you got it right or wrong. I guess there's a rubric to follow, but it's just not the same.

assignment 3-Andrei Zivkovic- "living a travelers life"

So I have been lucky enough to have been able to travel to Europe and just around the world and what you experience in this is way more than just something in your everyday life. The summer going into 6th grade I went to South Africa with my dad and then I also went to a couple Countries in Europe with my mom, those including Poland, Portugal, and Switzerland. One thing that I noticed in Portugal that is going to sound cliche is just how much people are just enjoying their lives. You walk around the narrow cobblestone streets and see people laughing having a good time then you walk past the beach and see people playing soccer or volleyball and people on paddleboats and you just get a sense of ease. It is nice to see people away from technology and just enjoying life and Portugal was one of my favorite places that I have been by far. I also love Switzerland it is one of my favorite places by far and I don't think that I will ever be sick of going there. In fact, in college, I am thinking of doing a semester abroad in Geneva Switzerland in the french-speaking part. I have family in Appenzell Switzerland which is such a beautiful and calm place to go. It is away from everyone else and you get to live in the peaceful countryside of Switzerland.

Assignment 1- Andrei Zivkovic- Introducing Me

My name is Andrei Zivkovic, I am 17 years old, and I am also pretty tall. I really enjoy sports and I have gone through a good amount of them and currently, I am doing both tennis and I joined the guys volleyball team that they started last year and I was also on the swim team for a couple years. I really enjoy drawing it helps me destress in a way which is very helpful in ways. I think this school year I want to become more confident overall, for example with just presenting or putting my ideas out there I am always afraid of what people will say and presentations are and have never been my strong suit. Another interesting thing about me was that I was actually adopted from Russia which apparently not everybody knows, even though I feel like it is something that everybody knows by now. I was 6 months though when I was adopted so I do not really remember much and no I cannot speak any Russian which I get asked more than you would think.

https://www.amazon.com/amazonprime/141-8843473-5736762?_encoding=UTF8&hvadid=78408988953383&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&ref=pd_sl_34qfrygf2j_e&tag=mh0b-20

Assignment 5 - Lia Jacobs - Television to Pass the Time

For me, almost every day is pretty much the same. After driving home from school, I set down my backpack, grab a snack from the kitchen, sit down on the couch, and turn on an episode of television. My parents won't be home for a few hours, and television is the only thing I have found that sufficiently occupies my time. Everything else I have tried to do is far too mundane. With television something new happens each time you watch it, there's always another episode with another story. It's entertaining, but usually not so much that I can't focus on other tasks while I watch. I'm sure if I tried hard enough I could find a more fulfilling task, but television gets the job done. It's a little escape from the day before I have to continue on doing hours of homework. However, if I let the time fly by as it so easily does when you watch television, it just feels like a waste of time. There's no sense of accomplishment, so I just think it's a good way to pass the time.

Assignment 9- Jasir Rahman- No Winners in a War

War is necessary at times.  When there is a world power who will not yield to negotiations and demonstrates an insatiable lust for power that compromises the safety of innocent people, violent action may be the only way to check such a power.

I am of the opinion that war is a lose-lose situation, regardless of whether or not conflict is justified.  Because of the decisions of people in power, whether or not their authority is legitimate, millions of their constituents are potentially impacted directly.  Systemic violence and the degradation of infrastructure increases structural problems within societies, who oftentimes are unable to recover.  Even when a war is "won" the lives of innocents who may or may not even have a stake in the war are irreversibly affected.  It may be justified in order to prevent further injustices, but with conflict comes destruction, which causes systemic problems that may plague society for generations.

In order to tell when a war is justified, I believe adequate evidence of injustices or misuse of power must be present.  President Bush facilitating the Invasion of Iraq by making the unwarranted claim that it had weapons of mass destruction is an example of a time when it was not justified.  Adequate evidence to actually warrant a conflict is key to rallying support.  Keeping in mind the nature of war, it is vital to demonstrate an adequate cause to warrant such destruction for a greater purpose.  A cost-benefit analysis must be calculated, and if it is worth it to go to war, then perhaps it is to be considered and carried out.

Diplomacy ought to always be considered as the first solution to a conflict.  If we are able to prevent the loss of life associated with war, it ought to be considered.  However, when nations disregard any attempt to negotiate or the terms of negotiation are unfair and don't solve the conflict, war may be necessary to have a resolution.  It all depends on the nature of the conflict that determines the efficacy of negotiations versus war.