12/20-12/23 Currin Thinks He's Sweet

I have this teacher who thinks he’s cool or something. Who said Nathan Boss Bailey loved himself? This guy is ten times worse. He always picks on other people, mostly students, in order to build his confidence. What kind of pathetic, lame, loser does this? Everything I say or do, he makes fun of. One time, we played a friendly pick-up game of three on three basketball. He was on the opposing team and my team dominated his. Being a good sport, I shook hands with him after the game and told him good game. After all, his team did do pretty well for playing US. They really had no chance. Anyways, this man could not get over the fact that he lost. It was like the world was ending for him. A couple weeks later, this man challenged me to a rematch. We randomly choose two teammates each and played some 3v3 before my basketball practice. My team consisted of two sophomores, Miranda Daucher and Ashley Ess, and myself. The cruel man played with two seniors, Emma Fusco and Laura McCormik. We got playing and this man was going nuts. He was slashing my teammates in the face and pushing them down every time we went up for a shot. My team, along with his teammates, was appalled. We weren’t taking it seriously at all, just trying to have fun, and this man was going nuts. I purposely let him win because he got so upset the last time he lost. I scored a few baskets while he was guarding me just to get the message across that I AM BETTER than him. The game ended quickly when our coach called us to start practice. This guy was sooo proud of himself that he had beaten three teenage girls in a game of basketball. He has nothing better to do than go around telling everybody of his success. GOOD FOR YOU MR. CURRIN!

12/20-12/23 TOPSoccer

Last winter, I participated in a program called TOPSoccer. TOPSoccer is a program where special needs kids get a chance to play soccer. I volunteered to help along with many other adults or kids around my age. There were practices held every Saturday night. It was split into two sessions. The first session was for younger kids who needed more help. The second session was older kids who we could let on their own sometimes. All the volunteers were provided with a purple collared shirt that we were required to wear in order to stand out to the kids. Every week, each volunteer was matched up with a special needs child. We were to stick with the kid the entire practice and help them through the drills. We participated in the majority of the activities and it was crazy, but so much fun. I remember my first time at TOPSoccer when I got matched up with a boy that was very energetic. He was about three years old. At first, he refused to participate in anything we did. I tried talking to him, kicking the ball with him, or just letting him run around, but he wouldn’t cooperate. About halfway through the session, he completely changed and was running all over the place. He’d jump on my back, rip my name tag off, win all the sprints, go hard after the ball, and so much more. Every week, I had a different kid but I got to know a lot of them as well. It was always a fun, unexpected, great time. We did easy soccer drills and played fun games. I had the opportunity to do something I loved while helping people. It was an unforgettable experience. TOPSoccer has had to be one of my favorite volunteer programs. I plan on participating in it again this winter and cannot wait.

12/20-12/23 Summer Job!

This past summer, I worked as a games attendant at Darien Lake Theme Park. This was my first job, so I didn’t really know what to expect. A lot of people complain about Darien Lake and how they hate working there. My experience was actually pretty fun, and I’ll probably return next summer. My first day of work, my boss realized that I wasn’t shy or afraid to talk to people so he put me on a microphone game. I worked at the game called Whac-a-Mole. I learned how to work the game, how to call people over, and how to deal with the money. After working only a week there, I pretty much had the hang of things. Not too long after that, I was rewarded with Employee of the Week. This was really cool and I didn’t expect it at all. I had a caricature done and it hung in the break room at work. I worked about eight hours a day, four days a week. Working that often, I really got to know my co-workers. I loved working with someone else because it made the day go by faster and you had someone to keep you company. Talking to the guests was also something I loved to do. There were days where I would just sing on the microphone or say some random things. My favorite game to work at was Scale. Scale is also known as the Guessing Game. At the guessing game, I guessed people’s weights, ages, and birthdays. It was soooo much fun because I enjoyed the challenge. It made my day to make little kids happy or to stump adults that thought I would could never guess them right. I would rake in the money on those games. The only downfall of working on scale was that it got EXTREMELY hot some days and I’d get sunburned. I made new friends, had my first job, made some money, and had fun doing it. Overall, Darien Lake was the perfect summer job for me.

12/13-12/17 Poem

The Lanyard - Billy Collins
The other day I was ricocheting slowly
off the blue walls of this room,
moving as if underwater from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
when I found myself in the L section of the dictionary
where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.
No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one into the past more suddenly—
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid long thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.
I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.
She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sick room,
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light
and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.
Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift—not the worn truth
that you can never repay your mother,
but the rueful admission that when she took
the two-tone lanyard from my hand,
I was as sure as a boy could be
that this useless, worthless thing I wove
out of boredom would be enough to make us even.


The Lanyard, by Billy Collins, is a really good poem. I chose this poem because I am familiar with it. In my AP English and Literature Composition this year, we read a poem every day before class. This poem first came to my attention when we had our daily poem reading. Another time in that class, we listened and watched a video clip of Billy Collins reciting some of his poems. First of all, Mr. Currin is a big fan of Billy Collins and has shared a lot of his work with us. Billy Collins is starting to grow on me and I really appreciate his work as well. This poem is well written and very fun. Some poems bore me and are hard to pay attention to. This one is different. It keeps me interested and makes me think at the same time. My mother has done so much for me in life and she’s the reason why I am here. Nothing I do or say could ever repay her for all she’s done. It makes me think of my childhood when I would make silly little crafts for her. I thought they were so great, and she acted like they were as well. Looking back, I think about how small those little things were compared to the amount of things she did for me. This poem is humorous but sort of presents a very powerful message. As young children, we are so naïve. I think this poem is so cute and I respect Billy Collins as a poet. He took something so random and small and then contrasted it with huge concepts such as life, love, education, and food. I also like this poem because the point of it is so clear. A lot of poems are hard to decipher but this one was very straightforward and fun.

12/13-12/17 What is beauty?

Beauty can be defined as “qualities that give pleasure to the senses.” When I think of beauty, I think of anything that is appealing to look at. It means physical attractiveness and can pertain to any of the five senses. Other words for beauty are charm, loveliness, and attraction. A person can have beauty on both the inside and out. Someone who is beautiful inside is someone who is kind, caring, loving, trustworthy, and more. Inner beauty is when someone possesses good qualities and has a kind-heart. Outward beauty is someone or something that is pleasing to look at. Their physical features are appealing to the human eye. Do you remember seeing something and it was just breathtaking? That, to me, is true beauty. The word beauty also reminds me of the movie “Beauty and the Beast”. The character that plays the Beauty in this film is Belle. Belle definitely fits her title. She is a lovely young woman that tries to protect the people she loves. She is also very compassionate, patient, and adventurous. Belle is very sweet on the inside and out. For those who have seen the movie, most will agree that Belle is a good way to describe beauty. Attractive women are often referred to as “beauties”. I think beauty goes beyond looks. I think many things are beautiful such as the nature and the seasons. One thing that I think can be beauty was the first snowfall of the season. When we first got a lot of snow, it was beautiful. The trees were layered with a fluffy white and the big snowflakes floated to the ground. It was so pretty to look at. I also think the fall season is beautiful. All the different colors and massive amount of leaves is pleasing to look at. If beauty didn’t exist, this world would be a very boring place.

12/13-12/17 Online Publishing

From taking this course, I do believe that I have grown as a writer. I learned that I’m pretty good at it and I really don’t mind writing as much as I thought I did. When I write, I like to have an outline or an idea of how I’m going to go about it. It helps to organize my ideas first so when I start writing I don’t get off track or lost. I like writing made-up stories or reminiscing old memories. It is fun to get creative and use your imagination or retell a story exactly as you remember it. I don’t like writing blogs on “what is art?” or “what is beauty?” because I’m really not that type of writer. I don’t like writing about something so broad and having to find a meaningful definition. Although, I do think this type of writing helps me as a writer. When I am uncomfortable or challenged by a topic, it takes more out of me to write it. It’s not easy but that’s exactly why it helps. I also like reporting on sporting events. I covered Girls Varsity Soccer and Basketball. It was fun recapping the games not only because I was involved, but because it is something I’m interested in. Also, I think this class has helped me become more aware of grammar and punctuation. I am a senior editor so I read and correct half the class’s articles. I catch many errors in their papers and it makes me more careful when writing mine. I also have gotten in the habit of reading over my work to catch my errors before it gets published. We write A LOT in this class but it’s not overwhelming because we have a decent amount of time to do it. I am not the type of person to just sit down and write something but this class has made it easier for me. I think it will definitely benefit me in the long run.

12/6-12/10 Childhood Show

One of my favorite shows as a child was Lizzie McGuire. I was about 8 or 9 years old when I was really into this show. It aired on Disney Channel along with several other shows that I liked to watch. Hillary Duff was the star of the show and she played a junior-high school girl. She had a brother named Matt who lived to annoy her. He made her life miserable every chance he got. Lizzie had two best friends that she was always with and could count on for anything. The show covered her life in school, with boys, and at home. I really liked this show because it was very realistic and I could relate to it. I was almost Lizzie’s age and it gave me an image of what my junior-high years would be like. I always remember relating to the annoying brother. My brother reminded me of this kid at some points because my brother and I would fight A LOT. Another show that I used to love when I was really young was Sesame Street. Sesame Street was an extremely popular show for toddlers and still is today. The characters in the show were all so goofy and fun which made it fun to watch. I didn’t know at the time, but Sesame Street is actually very educational. As a little kid, I learned songs, counting, and my ABC’s from Sesame Street. I remember watching it every morning at my babysitter, Liz Breyer’s, house. I hope a show like Sesame Street is around when I have kids so that they can have an enjoyable show to watch like I did.