What I have learned these four years of high school...

Throughout my last four years, I have been in the time we all call high school. I have started as a freshman and worked my way up to becoming the Senior I am now. With less than a week until my graduation, I have realized so much more now than ever before. I have had the joy and the blessing of having wonderful teachers, and I have learned not only pure facts, but also have taken these things to heart that I will forever remember about who I really am and what I ought to be. I have seen the example in my teachers and even in my peers who have shown me what a life modeled after Christ really looks like. It isn't all about the preaching to people, it is about living your life on a day to day basis and making people notice how different and set apart you are.
Mr. Lockwood, I have learned what a phalanx is, who the Egyptians were, and so much more. I have seen what steps and factors need to be considered when approaching the idea of opening and owning your own private business. I have thought carefully about all the great people of ancient Rome, and have even walked right where they did. You have shown me over these four years that there is so much that I DON'T know and that it's okay to see that once in a while. I have started to realize that learning isn't all about facts and who did what when in time, but it is about the journey of learning that makes everything worth while and worth so much more meaning than before. I want you to know, Mr. Lockwood, that I am so beyond thankful for your teaching me and the rest of my peers since our freshman year. Even if we drove you absolutely crazy, I want you to know that we are leaving here better students, better people, and even better Christ-followers because of your combined effort with the other teachers we have known throughout our high school experiences.
The things in which I have learned are countless to me, yet I know that there is one thing, above all else, that I have learned and meant so much more to me than the rest of it. (not that the rest of all I learned wasn't important) But I now realize that your desire for us to learn one main thing is this: be strong in whatever you do. Now I don't know if you actually ever said that aloud in class or whatever, but I do know that it is that phrase that I have seen a true reflection not only within the teaching of your class, but in your own life as well. You have perservered. You have made sure that even if you taught a bunch of snobbish little kids at times, you were still there making sure we learned what we needed to know. You let us ask questions and ponder the things that we maybe didn't ponder about before-not to mention you made class hilarious on most days, even if it was kind of gross what you might be saying that day.
I want to say thank you so much for your hard work, dedication, and effort that you have poured into me and my fellow classmates. Maybe not all of them will thank you or even admit to the effect that your teaching had on them, but I know that for me personally, you have made such an impression in the way of how to be strong and be the best on whatevcer you do. Thank you, thank you, and thank you for all the things I have learned from you, and maybe you don't even realize what I have learned. I want you to know though, that I am walking away with this: be strong and be the best and stay determined. Those may be the best words of advice I have gotten and they are so true within the principles of the Bible as well. Mr. Lockwood, may you continue to be an example to future students, (that is, if your ADD doesn't get too much in the way) and I hope you will continue to growing in pointing young people to Christ. Thank you. :)

What I saw on Election Day...YIKES!

As a high school student, I worked at the polls on this year's Presidential Election Day. I got to experience first-hand how to deal with people and got the chance to see how people REALLY function and work when faced with making a major, nationwide decision. However, even though I got an opportunity to watch politics and how they tend to effect the public on a first-hand basis, I would say that not everyone is the sharpest crayon in the box. I think you know what I mean...

Some things that I happened to view on Election Day this year included just watching people in general. As I handed out ballots and took down names, and even explained to people HOW to fill out the ballots properly, I realized not everyone listens. Most of the time, the adults are the ones blaming the kids for not listening...however, we aren't the only ones! I cannot tell you, the reader, how many times I had people not understanding how to mark a straight line on the ballot indicating their choice. It was so frustrating. People don't listen most of the time.

Another thing that bothered me on Election Day is that people are often too impatient too quickly. They don't stop to think that everyone is voting, and not just them. Or, yes I know that the polls stay open until 8:00 or 9:00 p.m., however, at the polling place I was working at, one man came in at two minutes til. TWO MINUTES! We basically had everything pretty much packed and ready to go, and then he sits there and takes about 15 MORE minutes to actually mark his votes on the ballot. That was frustrating.

Something else that I observed while working at the polls was that people don't speak up when they're talking or then they mess up on their paper ballot and then decide that they need a new one-about 3 times! Really? I had some people come up three times after they messed up and drew a thick line or circled it or whatever, exactly doing the opposite of what we had JUST explained to them. Or how about when they didn't even know who or what they were voting for. One girl asked me, "Wait, who's the black man running for President again?" SERIOUSLY?! Do you live in a cave?

The cool thing about working at the polls on the Presidential Election Day were wacthing people get excited when I would hand them an "I voted" sticker. By the way, thanks to Starbucks Coffee Company, we had some happy people find out a free cup of coffee was theirs if they walked into Starbucks, proudly wearing that little blue sticker. That was fun being able to make people smile in that way.

All in all, I was frustrated throughout different parts of the day, talking or at least trying to talk to people. However, it seemed to pay off in the end-literally. I made $125.00 working from 6 a.m. which in my opinion is way too early, until we closed at 8 p.m. or so that night. It was a long day, but watching historical events in face to face way is super cool. I also discovered that politics can be more interesting than you may think.

Understanding Intelligent Design-Time with the Authors.

Intelligent Design is something that most people in the world today struggle with for numerous reasons. Yesterday evening, I had the privilege of going down to San Juan Capistrano and hearing Sean McDowell give a lecture on this most fascinating subject alongside Dr. William Dembski.

Dembski and McDowell recently co-wrote their new book, Understanding Intelligent Design. In the lecture, they both took a different apporach when addressing this pressing issue within the modern world. When Sean McDowell came up to speak as the first speaker for the evening, he presented the material of intelligent design still in a brilliant way, however with some humor which I found to be more interesting. William Dembski, being the genius doctor that he is, presented his portion of the material in a more straightforward, mathmatical, scientific way that lacked humor, but in no way lacked brains on the best information regarding the subject of intelligent design vs. Darwinism.

One website, conversantlife.com, that sells this growing in popularity book, says,
"Intelligent design or lucky accident? The prevailing mind-set in our schools and in the media is that everything we see came into being strictly by accident. But in the user-friendly resource, William Dembski and Sean McDowell show that many scientists are now admitting that their viewpoint is not based on fact. Understanding Intelligent Design clearly shows what the best information is revealing - that our existence is not an accidental by-product of nature but a clear result of intelligent design."

There are so many examples within nature and the natural world overall that completely point in the position that the universe must have had some intelligent design behind its making. Even Richard Dawkins, a most noted atheistic professor at Princeton, said that the universe LOOKS like it is so intelligently and intricately designed, but JUST ISN'T. Mr. McDowell pointed this out to the audience and this proved to be a very funny point for Dawkins to make. Sean McDowell even showed clips from Family Guy, the popular show who seems to have a developing interest in the ways of Darwin's theory and evolution.

Overall, the lecture that we heard yesterday, (Mrs.Patag, Drew, Matt, Aihelya, Courtney, Michael M, and Myself) was amazing. It had so much evidence against atheistic thought and evolutionary presuppositions. McDowell and Dembski alike had me thinking that they had really done thorough research as far as gaining more and more proof for the certainty of intelligent design that I don't know HOW ON EARTH any atheist could disagree. I loved every minute of it. Even though at times it proved to be somewhat tediously hard to listen to, it really gave me a deeper understanding of how intelligent design is truly unbeatable.

Biden vs. Palin...debate, uh yeah.

So...the average American sits down, and begins to watch the Vice-Presidential debate. Who? What? When? Why?...are all questions that could be thought of when viewing this debate. Governor Sarah Palin, is pretty firm, but then again, people saw Joe Biden as firm too. So who did better? What were some of the things that were said? Why were they said? Did anyone win, or was it a neutral ending? Hmmmm...

Let's start with Sarah Palin.

She took the cuts and jabs. She strongly backed up her opinion and had sufficient reason to do so. Palin also did something that Biden did more often than not, which was to attack the opposing party. Palin took a stand on what her running mate, Presidential candidate John McCain, had to say about every subject under the sun. She very clearly showed what Senator McCain thought. Sure, she used terms like, "Joe Six-Pack" and "Hockey mom", but simultaneously she made her efforts clear and bold. She took charge and took hold of taking the blame for what she felt needed to be claimed.

Now...Biden.

I am not in any way swayed in one way or another, or if I am, am not going to attempt to convey that on this blog, HOWEVER, Mr. Biden referred to Senator McCain as simply, "John" the entire time he spoke up at the podium. Another thing that Biden did while in the debate, was attack, attack, attack. His stance, more often than not, was directed on the attacks he could make upon his opposing side. He really didn't provide a lot of background for what his running mate for the Presidential office, Barack Obama, Senator from Illinois. Insteand, Biden simply provided lines that cut into what McCain/Palin's plan was for taxes, economy, real estate, etc. From watching and listening, the average American, if not swayed by personal preference, is seeing that Biden is only giving McCain a bad name, and Obama, no name at all.

After seeing this debate, I ultimately concluded that Palin was more firm and clear on what her running mate provided in hopes of plans for the American people...AND...Biden just gave his running mate no better explanation for what he stood for. Overall, I was more impressed with Palin's performance and answers, than I was with Biden's stand...which to me, seemed very wishy-washy and completely unclear.

40th post...and campaign advertising.

As we the American people notice that there is an aggresive Preisdential campaign on the rise, we pay heed to the warnings-whether they be funny or just informational-they always tend to grab our attention. Today wwe as people who are always looking for the "here and now" and the "latest and greatest" want the same and expect no less even when it comes to who we are electing as our future President. Below are just some of the examples of both old and new advertising ways to catch the American viewers attention...



HAHAHAHAHAH....here's one: (or should we say "the one")???...



Such naive views...


Ah, KENNEDY!


Ooh, my personal favorite...NOT!


Reagan sees what a wonderful world this is in America and in the morning...funny.


All in all, these are just some of the best campaign ads I've ever seen, both past and present. Media, media, media, when we will ever get things right?

Campaigning...and the history of it.

Throughout the history of the campaign trail, Presidential candidates running for office at various times in history have often always had differing strategies. The candidates have used short campaigning movies (i.e.-commercials), buttons in which a catchy,little slogans are placed on them, or even just funny little sayings such as "Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too!"

All in all, the campaign trail for each running mate has been different from all others. There have been what has become to be known as the "presidential debates" and in this way, media has become heavily influential within the development on how the "campaign-ees" are supposed to run for office. Even now more so than ever, the campaign trail has become saturated with coverage here and there, and with the bits and pieces that people believe are true, even if in some cases they aren't.

However, even though the presidential debates, followed by television coverage, were once a thing where real issues at hand were discussed...have now become the building blocks for attacks on the opposing side for each of the candidates. They have come to nit-pick all the ins and outs of what the candidates actually say, grammatically incorrect versus what they should be focusing on, and that is of course what their opposer thinks of the issues that the American people wanna hear about.

Political correctness has also become huge within the way the modern day campaigns are run. Take for example the little girl and the daisy commercial that Presidential candidate at the time, Lyndon B. Johnson had put out. It starts out with a sweet, little girl...and she is picking the petals off the daisy, when a countdown starts and then....BAM!!! She's blown to smithereens! It is so sad. I use this example in particular because in today's culture, we would never, EVER see this on the screens of our television today. This commercial was indeed horrible, yet at the time of its making and release, the American people of the time were not as effected by it as many of us would be today.

Overall, throughout the history of campaigning, we have as Americans, come to see candidates come and go and strategies being used in and out, yet simultaneously we see a great progression within the way the campaign trail is being followed. Some of the improvements really are just that, improvements. However, often in today's culture, the media distorts and twists the candidates' words and actions into what THEY WANT THEM TO BE, not what they actually are. They take a picture of x,y, and z candidates and then put fangs on them or make their said phrases dirty or corrupt, when in fact, sometimes they really didn't mean that at all to begin with. The history of campaigning has come so far...or has it?

John McCain's Stand.

In the past few weeks, John McCain, running alongside Barack Obama for the position of the United States President, has taken his own personal stand on the most impacting and important issues of our day.

Among the highest priorities for McCain include the war in Iraq, pro-life and adoption rates, and of course, the big issue of immigration reform. His stand on abortion, if you haven't already guesses, is none other than pro-life. As far as his view on capital punishment, he is in full support of a federal crime being given the punishment of capital punishment...and I think we know what that means. On the education of our children in America, Senator McCain fully believes that the "No child left behind" law is an excellent way to start, however should be adjusted accurately.

When faced with the issue of the environment and energy issues, John McCain firmly takes a stand in the idea of the United States no longer being dependent on foreign oil, and should likewise arrive at better conclusions as to how more energy efficient ways of saving our natural energy can come about for all Americans. He sees the climate change can only be fixed from creating a climate, global solution.

On the ever-growing statement of gay marriage, McCain says that gay is not the way and that civil unions are fully accepted. When faced with the idea of the cost of the modern-day healthcare, John McCain says that in order to lower the cost of the average healthcare options, we must bring down the cost of insurance across the spectrum. As far as immigration is concerned, McCain thinks that stronger borders should be put into action, yet illegal immigrants should still be offered a way in which they may receive legal citizenship. His view on the war in Iraq, on which a huge portion of America is opposed to, McCain states, “The war in Iraq is at a crossroads and the future of the entire region is at stake - a region that produced the terrorists who attacked America on 9/11 and where much of the world’s energy supplies are located. Success is essential to creating peace in the region, and failure would expose the United States to national security threats for generations." He also says that, "...difficult for now, but not without hope.”

Social security is also another issue on which John McCain has made a stand on. An article writes of McCain, "McCain calls for bipartisan reform of America’s entitlement programs, including Social Security." When confronted on what his thoughts were on stem-cell research, McCain believes that the creation of human embryos solely for the purpose of the research, is totally wrong. However, simultaneously, he supports the idea of federally-funded stem-cell research within the sphere of existing lines of the stem cells we already contain within our labs.

Lastly, Senator McCain was also given the opportunity to share where he stood on the issues of taxes and the budget crisis. The same article writes, "McCain supports the repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax. Supports making the Bush administration’s income and investment tax cuts permanent. Promises to increase transparency in government spending and take aim at “wasteful” “pork barrel” spending. Has called for requirement of a 3/5 vote of Congress to raise taxes. Supports ban on Internet and cell phone taxes."