Graduation Speech

"Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." - Doctor Seuss

    4 years ago I walked in this building not knowing what would happen for my whole Middle School experience. 4 years may seem like a long time, but it actually flied by really fast. Pretty soon another 4 years will fly by and my sister will be in my position and I'll be and adult and soon off to college. 4 hours from now I'll be officially graduated from Middle School, and probably less than 4 minutes from now my speech will leave an impact for future graduates.
      This school has impacted me not only as a person but as a more knowledgeable student, which I would like to think all of the teachers here for doing their absolute best to give us a good education. Mrs Joyner taught me how to easily write a 3 page essay and how to amp up my writing skills that I thought would be hard to do when I was a 5th grader, Mr Carris educated me on world history topics that I thought were irrelevant when I was younger to learn but they actually are important and made a huge impact on earth, Mrs Conejo opened me up to a new language where when I was young the only thing I knew how to do was count to ten in Spanish when now I know enough to have a conversation with someone Hispanic, Mr Carro taught me how to solve algebraic questions easily that I used to think were just random equations that made no sense, and last Mrs Maldonado changed my aspect of life by teaching us about our environment and about our body, where my 9 year old self only knew about the skeletons in our body but now I know about the other organs and how they function.
    This also goes to the staff and principal who make sure everyone has a fun and good middle school experience by going out of their way to plan us fun activities like "Camp Mclean" which not only did I really have a fun time but it also made me build more friendships, and rewarding us for getting through the week with Cardinal Coupons drawing every Friday.
 Our school is yes pretty small compared to other schools, but that gives our school an advantage to know almost everyone who attends which goes for the staff. For example if you're ever feeling down they can tell and will assist you with one of the social workers (Mrs. Orsello and Mrs. Featherstone), and if you're struggling with grades, the staff makes sure you get extra help so you can do better in your classes which will impact you in the future. I can go on and on about all the teachers and staff here but sadly we would be here until the next graduation of 2017.
    Although I've may had some rocky times here, this school taught me to just push forward and not give up, because in the end it will all be worth it. I've watched my grades grow from usually being a C and B student to an all A and B high honors student.
     I remember when I walked into this school I was so excited to finally turn 13 and become an actual teenager, and let me tell you, when the day hit I felt great, but now realizing I'm gonna be an adult in another 4 years is absolutely crazy.
     For future graduates, everything is possible if you have your mind set and never give up. You all should enjoy Middle School while you can and just have a fun time because later in life there will be new challenges that await.

How to Prepare for a Test

     We all know tests are probably the second worst requirement to do in school, homework is obviously the first. Every time I hear a teacher announce that we are going to have a test in a week or a few days, I get really stressed because of the other homework I have to do for other classes and I worry that I won't do well on the test. But surprisingly you can improve your test taking "skills" to do well and prepare the right way for it, because I've seen a big improvement on my test scores from last year to this year so hopefully these tips will work out for most people.
     The first tip is to prevent procrastination! I know everyone has those days where they say they will do "their homework, and study for a test" later, but keep putting it off to go on their phones the whole time or watch TV and end up not doing it at all or waiting till 2 AM to do it, but you have to realize that those are things that are available to you everyday (phones, computers, tv), a test score is basically permanent that will impact your grade and grades are important because colleges look at them, unless your teacher allows retakes. I suggest when you get home do your homework first, and then after do whatever like take a nap, watch TV, etc, for like an hour or so, then after that study for your test.
       When studying for your test it is important to turn off all distractions like your phone, TV, so you can memorize the material better. Remember your brain can only hold so much information at a time, so take quick breaks in between your studying session so you wont feel so overwhelmed.
     On the day of the test, if you do wake up early you should go over the study guide again so your brain can be refreshed with the material. Also don't forget to get your 8 hours of sleep and eat your breakfast the day of the test so you feel more awake when you take it.

New Beginning

      Since the "middle school" life is coming to an end, that means I will start a new "chapter" in my life with high school. To be completely honest my four years of middle school were not as fun as my ten year old self thought it would be, it was pretty much a really bad experience, except for half of eighth grade because that's when I started actually being more optimistic to "fix my life up". In high school I have a lot of goals that I would like to accomplish and wishes for the four years.

     For starters, I will start making better decisions for myself since I will grow to be more mature. I will then do my best to get good grades and show interest in class so it can benefit me for college, because in high school I know that classes will get harder and teachers wont be as how the teachers in middle school will let some things "slide", so I will do my best to get all of my homework in and do my best on tests, which will hopefully also benefit in me for having a good career/job later in life. Also I will try to find the right friends and be more social instead of just mostly isolating myself. As for making better decisions for myself I will (try to) eat more healthy and (maybe) try to exercise more by running since at this age I'm already lazy.

     Overall I hope that this new beginning will be a fun experience and that I will push myself to do my best to meet my goals because four years actually fly be really fast so I don't want to make them boring.

Holocaust Museum

We've been studying for the Holocaust for awhile now, from reading articles and to reading "Daniel's Story". The Holocaust is a very important time in our history and a topic we shouldn't be oblivious of, today I learned a lot more about it by visiting the Holocaust museum with my classmates.
Today when we entered the museum they split our class in two groups and we got a guidance person to show us and talk about some of the artifacts of the exhibit, which surprisingly her grandpa was a survivor of the Holocaust.
She showed us some real propaganda that the Nazis used and talked about it, like how propaganda influenced doctors and other workers to kill people. We also saw a real train box which is where the Jews stayed in for about 7 days until they reached their concentration camp. Also we got to see a real striped uniform from the Auschwitz camp and what the colors of the Jewish stars represent. She also talked to us about the German Olympics that happened before the Holocaust which I didn't even know about. She told us about this one girl who was half Jewish and part of the fencing, and that she was told last minute that she wasn't allowed to play anymore because of the fact that she was Jewish.
We saw and learned a lot more about the Holocaust but this trip had a very big impact on how I saw the Holocaust now that I know more of how it's like and gained a lot of knowledge about the Holocaust.

I'm Still Here

March 7, 2016

Dear Diary,

"What just happened?" was the only thing repeatedly going on my head at this moment. I arrived at the hospital at 1:30 PM and I'm still here patiently waiting for the nurse to come get me. School is going on still while I'm at the hospital in the emergency waiting area, which there are a lot of people here waiting so I don't know why they would call this the "emergency waiting area" if they make us (the patients) wait, but I wonder what happened to them that made them end up here.
I'm probably exaggerating all this since I've only been here for probably 15 minutes but it feels like it's been 3 hours. The good thing is that I'm too lost in my thoughts and worries that I forgot about the pain rushing through my left hand, and yes I'm writing with my right hand. Long story short me, being curious, jammed my finger while trying be acrobatic and doing a back flip off a swing, which I vowed to never do again unless I can actually do a back flip, not a somersault, which I can't.
A lot of people have broken their finger or worse, so why am I acting like I'm the only one on this planet who has? Maybe it's because I'm scared of the thought of having to maybe get surgery which I was terrified of because what if you don't wake up? Or what if you feel it even though you get that medicine that makes you fall asleep? I don't know how some celebrities could go through countless plastic surgeries. But the main point is that I should be grateful that I'm even here getting my finger fixed where as some people can't afford to even get help. Hopefully this wont be as bad as I expect it to be.

Daniel's Story

“We must live, and when this is all over, we must work to make the world a better place.  And if we die, we will die knowing that it was not our fault, that we did our best, and we can go to our deaths in dignity… I want you both to live…And to remember...You must choose love.  Always choose love.”  

(from Daniel’s Story by Carol Matas, page 70)

This quote reminds of my church mentor because no it's not because she's just Christian, it's just basically her personality wise also. She always has a determination to try and help make the community a better place by spreading kindness and love to not just her peers/ friends, but also to people who she may have not be in a good place with because she believes that love is key to living a good life and she knows that she doesn't want to die being a "cold hearted person". She also encourages people to know their worth, believe in what's right, and not letting what other people's opinion about you affect your daily life because in the end you know that doing what you love is leading you to a right path.
Basically she believes that life should be full of love and happiness other than anger and and sadness, also to be patient when things might not go your way because good things will always find a way to come back. Like how in the movies and the millions of tumblr edits of the saying  "In the end it's all worth it", which is what she basically goes by.

Leap Year

My life four years ago was way different from how it is now. For starters four years ago I was about 10 years old and being an innocent elementary student who didn't know much about life at the moment. I would say four years ago I lived a more happier and not stressful life because technology wasn't really ideal for 10 years old back then and mostly four years ago I had more energy.
Now in the present obviously I'm older and the more you grow the more "stuff you'll learn about life" which I've learned a lot from the obstacles I've had to face growing up. Life is more stressful now and I don' really have as much energy as I did back in the days to try new things, but I feel like today I'm more confident then the shy girl I was in 4th grade.
I expect my life in 2020 to be successful, more wise about the choices I make,to be cautious about myself, etc. But obviously in 2020 our generation is gonna be more different then how it is now, I just hope I don't end up without a graduation diploma because of peer pressures.