Pain

In some way or another, we’ve all been in pain, whether it be physical or emotional, pain is pain. Yet for some reason, people still debate over which is worse. I agree that there is a difference between physical and emotional pain. But that doesn’t at all mean that one is more severe than the other. Honestly it just depends on the circumstance and the circumstance can vary greatly.

 Physical pain is easier to see and there for, easier to understand. For example if someone broke their leg, you would have sympathy for them because you’ve probably broken a bone before, and even if you haven’t, you can still comprehend the amount of pain they must be in. over time this pain goes away, sometimes it takes a while but it does go away and you go back to feeling like brand new. You can go right back to your sport or job with little to no hesitation at all, and that’s good! Everything goes back to the way it was, and you get to go right back to what you love to do. It’s simple.

 Emotional pain is very different from physical pain, a heart break is nothing compared to a broken bone, but sometimes that heart break can last longer than a cast on your arm or leg; sometimes that heart break turns into depression. But that topic is for a later date. Emotional pain is always in the same places, your heart, and for some people it doesn’t take a lot to make their heart break. Not everyone can understand the emotional pain you’re in because everybody can handle different amounts of pain, to you it may look like a little scratch but to them it could be a broken bone you know? You just can’t tell how much it actually hurts that person, and even if you could tell what would you say to them? It’s so hard to fell sympathetic towards people who are feeling this emotional pain inside because you can’t see it.

 I feel there are some similarities between the two though. Like you can still go to school and work with physical and emotional pain, it might be difficult but it can be done. Another similarity is death, although it’s unlikely for you to die from emotional pain, you can end up dying. I know that’s a scary thought, but it’s the unfortunate truth. Believe what you will about physical and emotional pain and believe what you will about death.

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Self-Esteem

As a teenage girl, I’m pretty self-conscious about my appearance, especially when I’m around other teenage girls who I feel, look better than I do. I know I’m not the only girl in America who feels this way either.  According to Oprah.com, 76.2% of teen-agers are self-conscious or dissatisfied with their appearance. Over 70% of 15 to 17 year old girls avoid going to school or other public places when they are worried about their looks. And according to dosomething.org an astounding 75% of these girls have engaged in negative activities such as self-harm, bullying, disordered eating, or abuse alcohol and drugs.

 Young women feel they have to be perfect because that’s what society says; you have to wear a certain brand of clothing and wear your hair and make-up a certain way and you have to be so tall and you have to have the right amount of skin showing off and you have to have a certain facial structure, the list is never ending. Some girls believe that they have to be what society tells them to be.

 Through all of this crap society tells us to be we get lost in what we should be and not in what we want to be; we lose our own self-worth and aren’t even catering to our own needs anymore, society has made us mind-less, soul-less clones. We forget that we are part of society and that we do in fact have a voice. We get so lost in society’s standard of beauty that we forget who we are, you’ve forgotten who you are. That’s a really scary thought, to know that you have no idea who you even are anymore.

 It’s so sad that we don’t even realize what we’re doing to ourselves, or what we’re doing to our families, or our society. By obeying the standards of beauty society has set for us we’re just feeding the fire. It’s even sadder to think that we’re afraid to be who we are, but in all honesty we are afraid, I’m afraid.

 Self-confidence isn’t about going with the flow, it’s about stepping out and being your own person, even if you’re scared. It’s about loving who you are, not what society wants you to be. Yeah, it’s hard, you don’t want to be judged and ridiculed, but isn’t it worth it if you know who you are? If you’re just going with the flow and not catering your own personal needs you’re just judging and ridiculing yourself. Now think, really think, who are you? Be who you want to be and not who you’re told to be.

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Getting Pumped

Pump up. This happens in many different forms. Listening to music before the big game in the locker room. On the field in front of your whole team. It can happen alone or with everyone. Everyone has their own way of pumping themselves up. Me for example I love music. I listen to so much music before my game. Every second I am thinking of what could happen. I get that feeling inside my stomach. If you are an athlete you will understand what I am talking about. That “Natural High.” It is a feeling like none other. This is a mix of emotions. From fear to excitement, nervousness to confidence, anger to happiness, these are the emotions you fell all at one time. At times these emotions can be overwhelming. It is important not to let these things take advantage of you and have effect on your performance. The best players are the ones who learn how to control these emotions. They understand how to keep them hidden even on the first play of the game. Revealing these emotions to early can lead to disaster, and revealing them to late could lead to a helpless loss. The greatest players know exactly the right time to call upon these emotions. Not too early and not too late. Sometimes the pump up does not happen before the game or competition but rather in the middle, when it is needed most. Sure it helps to be pumped before the game, but great things can happen to a team that comes out of the locker room at half time pumped up and ready to go compared to a team with no motivation to do any worse or any better than they already have for the first half. It is upon this that great teams separate themselves from the weak ones. Showing a sign of togetherness rather than a sign of separation and distraction. There is an unlimited amount of ways to get pumped up. Everyone has their own way. No one can decide yours for you, but rather you have to go searching for it and find it. It could be something very obvious that you enjoy, or it could be something you never expected. That is all the fun in getting pumped up. You have to find your way. You cannot let someone tell you how to get pumped. The decision is yours for the taking.

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success

The Challenge is something we Americans are faced with every day. Everyone faces it multiple times a day, from the minute we get up, till the minute we lay back down to go to sleep at night. This challenge though cannot be defined by one definition. Everyone’s definition of this challenge is different. This is due to the fact everyone faces a different challenge. The specific challenge could be as simple as getting out of bed in the morning, which to some people if almost physically impossible, to climbing to the top of Mt. Everest. They vary in their size and difficulty, even though someone’s challenge may seem easier to others. We cannot base it off of how we feel, because we do not feel what that person does. Believe it or not there will NEVER be a challenge we can’t complete. It is not whether we win or lose our challenge that matters, its weather or not we finished. A wise man once said it is not about how you start, it is about how you finish. God gives his toughest battles to his toughest competitors. Every morning that we wake up we like to try and delay the challenges of the day. But in retrospect there is no way to hold them back. We would be better off by listing them off in our heads and then embracing them one by one. No one should ever dodge them. There is a time that we need to step up to the plate and battle for ourselves. I think of it as a road that comes to a two way stop. You can take the way of most people. Lying and avoiding the challenges. This getting almost everybody almost nowhere in life but behind a stove with a spatula for the rest of your life. Then there is the road less traveled that everyone seems to hide from. The road where you look your fears and your challenges straight in the eyes and tear them down one by one. You climb your way all the way to the top because in the end, with hard work comes reward. The only way to become successful is to travel to your deepest darkest fears and rip them apart. You have to visit the lowest point in your life and understand what it feels like to be there, in order to be successful at the top.

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Olympics Comparsion

The Olympics, an event now famous for extravagance, feats of athletic prowess, and glory for one's nation, has not always been so. 2,800 years in the past the Olympics differed immensely in the political, economic, and social aspects of the games.

 The start of the games is partly due to the formation of city states. Because these city states were often locked in combat with each other, times of peace were rare. Therefore during the games no fighting shall occur so that Greek citizens may attend the games without fearing death or injury at the hands of rival cities. This rule was broken by Sparta, the warmongering city state who led siege to a fort during the games. Which led to Sparta being banned from the games. A modern comparison to this would be the first and second world wars. Where the central and axis powers were not invited to join the summer games.

 

The Olympics have come a long way from its start in 776 B.C. ancient Greece, to being hosted in modern day cities and has changed with the times. Where ordinary citizens, not professionals mind you, competed in various events for honor and glory. Originally hosted at mount Olympus, a site once used to worship the god Zeus. The famous lighting of the torch to symbolize the start of the game has changed immensely since its conception. In the early years a sacrifice of a hundred oxen were burned in order to keep flies away from the meat offerings. While now the lighting of the torch is to show a cooperation of nations. It is first lit in Greece, where the Olympics originated and several rituals are performed. Then the torch is sent to the host nation where an athletic celebrity from that country will carry it to its final destination, a giant pit that will burn during the length of the games.  The costs of modern day Olympic Games continues to rise because of nations trying to outdo the previous games and break new records. Bigger and bigger stadiums are being erected to show power and wealth. The problem is that those facilities will more than likely to become abandoned after the games because they have little to no use for anything but the Olympic Games. However the money invested in the infrastructure doesn’t return a profit, usually only half of the original investment is earned during the games which makes hosting the game a case of hot potato. Because previous hosts know the negative aspects all too well, is why only two nations volunteered to hold the games in 2024.

 The Olympics now boasts over three hundred events, stemming from twenty-six to twenty-eight sports (not including the winter games). In the first thirteen years of the Olympics there was only one event, the 196m dash. Which was known as the stadium race (because it was the length of the stadium). The next two events were just modified versions of that. After the next few decades boxing, wrestling, the pentathlon, a race while wearing armor, an 'all-power' race (where one could with by any means necessary, even attacking), and the always famous chariot race which was shown to the modern world via Ben Hur.

 In modern days the games last sixteen days. Two of the first days are ceremonies where doves are released, the president gives a speech, and an athlete from each country swears an oath to uphold the sanctity of the Games. Each event has its own medal ceremony. So with three-hundred events, there will be nine-hundred medals being received. These medals are the source of national pride and rivalry. Nations with the most medals receive pride for home and country, also bragging rights over rival nations who didn’t do as well.

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Pets

There are many pets out there that people can get. There are dogs. There are cats. There are fish. There are turtles. There are reptiles. There are many types of reptiles. Some reptiles are lizards. Another reptile is a snake. Snakes can be very big or very small. Many pets belong in a cage. Those are mainly small pets. Some of those pets are hamsters. Another example is a gerbil. Reptiles are also like that. Such as turtles. And snakes. And lizards. Fish especially need to be in a cage of some sort. They need to be in a cage with glass walls, like a bowl. It then needs to be filled with water. The pets need to be fed. Do not forget to feed fish. They will die if you forget to feed them. Another thing that will die if you forget to feed it is your motivation. If you do not feed your motivation it will start to die. Such as my motivation to write this blog. I am going to now fill in a lot of random words and sentences more or less. However, this is still entertainment because you are still reading this, and therefore, on some level, probably an unconscious level, this is entertaining to you. So you are welcome kind stranger. Or kind friend. Or kind person. That is, if I know you. Also, if I know you, then hello. How are you doing? I am currently not doing the best, but I have been worse so I can not complain. Wow. Only one hundred or so words to go. Yay.

Back to pets. Dogs are the best pets. At least they are in my opinion. That is because dogs are obviously better than cats. Cats just sit around and are like feed me. I see you are home. I am going to sit on your laptop and disturb you. I am going to sit on your face as you sleep. See? Really annoying buggers. That’s cats for you. Now dogs are so much better. That is because they are like woof woof woof which means hi you’re home now I missed you I love you I am so excited to see you. Thus, entertain yourself with pets.

 

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Netflix

This past year, and as of the last few years, Netflix has really gained some popularity. It has been becoming very famous and popular, if you will, especially with the phrase that has lately been used very much of ”Netflix and chill”. That has been used a lot as of late, which has helped Netflix gain in popularity. Almost anybody you would ask would know what Netflix is, practically everybody knows of Netflix, practically everybody. There are other streaming site other than Netflix, however, that are out there. One example of one such site is Hulu and Hulu Plus. Both Hulu or Hulu Plus to be exact I think as well as Netflix stream things live to watch. By live I mean you just need wifi, and you can watch something. By something I mean tv shows or movies and such. Netflix and Hulu are both known for that. But which is better? Hulu arguably has better television shows. Hulu’s selection of television shows is greater than Netflix’s, and it has those television shows available as soon as they premiere on the actual television I believe. Netflix however does not and Netflix only has a limited selection of television shows. However, whatever you watch on Netflix has no ads what so ever. No ads to interrupt your viewing of television or film or whatever you are watching. None. No ads. Which is very nice. It is very nice being able to sit down and watch something with nothing to interrupt it. However, Hulu has ads. Hulu has a lot more ads than Netflix because Netflix has no ads while Hulu does have ads. But Hulu has more selection for tv shows and more recent additions than that of Netflix, arguably. However, Netflix does have a few good selections. Some good selections from Netflix are Family Guy, Friends, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Flash, Futurama, That 70s Show, House, Half Baked, Once Upon a Time, Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, The League,  Grandma’s Boy, Silver Linings Playbook, 30 Rock, Pulp Fiction, Malcom in the Middle, Silence of the Lambs, Good Will Hunting, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Zoolander, Gladiator, White Chicks, Christmas with the Kranks, Rain Man, and a lot, lot, lot more. Those are just some of the more popular and well known titles that Netflix has to offer. A few of those films mentioned actually won best picture Oscar, so those are some pretty good movies. Hulu also has a pretty nice selection, but Hulu specialized in television shows more so than in movies. Both Hulu and Netflix are great ways to stream tv shows and movies as well as to chill.

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Being Sick

Lately I have been sick quite often. Not being healthy. Being sick. Feeling like crap. Feeling horrible. There are many ways to describe it, and those are just a few. This time of the year is the time that colds seem to be getting common, along with viruses. You do not want to get sick. It sucks. Getting sick could mean that you can’t do anything. That means that you cannot go to school, which some people like that idea of not going to school and not having to go to school. However, you would also not be able to go to work, which is not good because then if you miss too much you could get fired, and you will not get as much money then, and things start becoming one big giant mess. You will not be able to continue any sport while you are sick. If you were planning on competing at state and then you get sick, you might not be able to compete at state anymore. Also, if you get sick you will feel like crap. Absolute crud. It is horrible. It is awful. You do not want to feel that way because it just plane out sucks. It sucks big time. So do not get sick.

 There are ways you can go to try and prevent yourself from getting sick. One way is to stay clean. Clean yourself daily, either a shower or a bath. Also wash your hands. Wash your hands a lot. A lot a lot. It helps. Get a lot of sleep. Do not try to survive your life with only about four or five hours of sleep a night. It will just run you down and you will keep getting sick and it sucks and it is no fun. So get plenty of sleep. At least eight hours of sleep a night. Yes that is a good idea. Eight hours of sleep a night. So if you have to wake up at five in the morning get to bed by nine at night, and if you have to wake up at seven in the morning you could, in theory, then, stay up until eleven at night each night, but that would not be recommended. In all cases, get a good nights sleep. That will help you a lot. Just try to not get sick, because being sick sucks, and you will absolutely hate it and feel like crap and it is no fun it sucks so take care of yourself!

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Summer Jobs

A lot of people work. A lot of people. There are so many jobs out there that people can have, but today I am only going to write about the types of jobs that high schoolers generally have, instead of those that are people’s careers, or an adult job that someone can live off of doing that job. High schoolers will almost always work part time, never full time, with a few exceptions every now and then. There are many different high schoolers, and each high schooler is different, so there are a multitude of jobs out there to accompany most high schoolers. With the summer starting to appear as though it is approaching, it is time for some high schoolers to start looking for a job. Here are a few of the more popular and more talked about jobs that high schoolers will usually have.

Some high schoolers are lifeguards. Most lifeguards will have only a seasonal job for during the summer when school is not in session, but some lifeguards will work year round at an indoor pool. A lot of swimmers will end up lifeguarding during high school, and a lot of lifeguards tend to be swimmers, but not all of them. There are still a lot of lifeguards who do not swim, as well as a lot of swimmers that do not lifeguard. But, as a stereotype, lifeguarding is a popular job among swimmers. One of the very popular traits of the job for people is that it is a seasonal job, only during the summer, when school is not in session. This makes working a lot easier, as there is not really much else going on at that time, increasing people’s availability as well as the amount of money they will make.

 Another popular job among high schoolers is to work at a nearby, small business. In Cedar Rapids, an example of this is Parlor City. Parlor City is an ice cream stand that is located very close to Kennedy High School, and a lot of Kennedy High Schoolers will end up working there because of the convenience, as well as it being a good job.

 Another popular job among high schoolers is working at either a grocery store, like Hy-Vee, or a general or convenience store, such as Walmart or Target. These jobs provide good work experience, especially with working with some people that may not be the most pleasant to deal with, resulting in better people skills. Also, the job is fairly easy, with not much required for you to do. All in all, it provides a good job for high schoolers.

 There are a lot of good jobs available for high schoolers. There is the option of becoming a lifeguard, working at a nearby small business, working at a trampoline park, at a restaurant, or at a store. There are so many jobs out there for high schoolers to choose from!

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