Secret Santa!

So I was thinking about how much fun it would be if we did a Secret Santa with the dipcans. It wouldn't have to be anything special or big, but I think that it would be a fun way to celebrate the holidays. I know we won't have TOK anymore but we could always get together in advisement right before the holidays.

Presents!

So my friend has a girlfriend and it's their first Christmas together. He had no idea what to get her so he asked me for advice. Until this conversation I never realized how hard it is for guys to pick out presents for girls. He was like how do I get her a present that isn't like WOAH I LOVE YOU SO LETS GET MARRIED. I thought it was funny and suggested making a dinner and concert tickets. I suppose it would be helpful to know that he's in college, not in high school. He didn't like that idea so much but asked if it would be inconsiderate to get her a $50 gift card to Victoria Secrets. I told him yes because it gives the impression that he didn't put much thought into the present and that if he's willing to spend $50 there then he should just buy something. Later on he asked if pearl earrings would be appropriate. I told him that in my opinion it's a present that you would get her if they'd been married a couple years. I told him that a necklace would be fine. So honestly what makes a present a good one? I think that it's mostly the thought, but at the same time it's good to know the person well enough to get them something that they'd like.

Next Trimester

I must say that by thinking about next trimester, it has gotten me through this one. Lately with all of the homework and stress that the only thing that has kept me from giving up is by thinking about how much easier next trimester will be and how for once I'll have a chance to relax.

Turkey

In light of the past holiday, I've come to realize that I don't even like turkey. How is that turkey became the main part of the this particular holiday?

Home alone

When I'm home alone at night while my parents are out with my aunt and uncle until one or two in the morning, I find it hard to fall asleep. I have an overactive imagination and my cats make the house creek. When my parents left me home alone over MEA break, I worked out plans with my friends so I wouldn't have to spend a night alone. Is it weird that I have a hard time sleeping when no one else is home?

Abby Lee Miller Dance Competition

If you've heard of Dance Moms or Abby Lee's Dance Competition then you would know that she is famous in the dance world. As of last weekend the studio I dance out received an invitation from her announcing that we were invited to compete against her dance studio and the other top nine dance studios in Minnesota. Each studio gets to have ten routines perform weather it's in small groups or solos, so we have no idea how many people will get chosen to compete int his competition. Open auditions are this Sunday. I'm making the decision to try out, I believe that it is a great opportunity to participate in even if I don't get chosen to compete. Even though it's an open audition, I feel like the studio already has people picked out who are going to compete.

Sororities and Fraternities

Would you want to join a sorority or a fraternity? In theory they sound like a great way to meet new people. I would personally consider joining one if no hazing took place.

Black Friday

When did it become tradition to make everything on sale the day after Thanksgiving and have all the stores open insanely early to accommodate all the crazy shoppers who get up at six in the morning? and then why is it called black Friday?

Tattoos

Some people think that tattoos are pointless. I think that if they mean something to you and you know that you wont regret it later then by all means go ahead and get a tattoo. I do find it silly when people get a tattoo that means absolutely nothing to them because then I feel like when they get older they will for sure regret it rather than having it as something that means a great deal to you.

too many papers at the same time.

Why is that the teachers that teach IB don't tell each other when major papers are going to be going on? In my opinion it would make sense to talk about such things with each other so their students don't get overwhelmingly stressed out with so many major papers going on at once. I understand that teachers that aren't in the program can not do such things because there are so many other teachers, but with the IB program i feel like it would make sense.

Cities Vs Suburbs Vs Country Side

What makes people want to live in the city? What makes people enjoy living in the suburbs? What makes the country side appealing? My cousin went to visit his brother at the U of M and thought that it had a weird smell and did not like it one bit. He grew up in Stacy MN on a lake and very rarely comes to Brooklyn Park or Maple Grove unless he's coming for Holidays or visiting us. While Stacy is still a suburb he'd rather be somewhere with a lake a forest. His brother on the other had has no problem with big cities and doesn't understand what smell his little brother is talking about. It made me wonder what people like about cities, suburbs, and the country side, or what they dislike about them.

Holding hands

Is it cute or weird when someone in elementary school has a girlfriend or boyfriend? I think it's a little bit of both. It's cute that they know that they want to be together but at the same time it's weird because they're so young.

Letting go

When people let go of the past, how does it work? Is it simply excepting that it happened? Finding closer and forgetting. What really is the concept of letting go?

Arguments

How do people have healthy arguments? Or how do people have conversations without them turning into arguments? What really is an argument? I think of an argument as raising your voice and trying to get your point across. Some people think that it's a frustrated conversation.

Death

How does a family decide what to do when someone is practically brain dead? I spent the night getting a hold of family members that are outside of the country to tell them that their dad was going to be dead in a couple of days. Yet I feel nothing, just empty. How do you figure out what's best for everyone and get a funeral in order? I watched my cousin cry but could not cry myself. Work only lets people off for three days once a death take places, how do you get everything in order and set up in only three days?

Flys

Why are fly's so annoying? They fly around your room making a buzzy sound. They eat their food regurgitate the food and then eat it again. I think that's kinda gross. I get that spiders eat them but they are super annoying to have around. Why do they exist?

Pictures

Tonight at dinner I was talking to my parents about graduation. I brought up how my grandma is probably going to make an album out of all the pictures she's going to get from her grandchildren when we graduate. There's five of us total graduating on my dad's side alone. My mom thinks that my cousins and I should make my grandma poster of all of us graduating in 2013. While that's a good idea I feel like its leaving out the other four cousin. I can't decide if it's a good idea or not, what do you think?

Picking up the peices

So I was listening to this song that's by a British artist and the whole song is about how she's dating this guy but he only sees his ex-girlfriend when he's with her and she doesn't know what to do. So I'm wondering if it's possible to be with someone but only see the previous person you were with and act like the person they're with is the other person.

Left alone

Tonight after the 3-4 class I teach there was this little girl that couldn't find her dad. No one knew where he was. I went to the front desk to see if they could pull up her number but I needed her name. She told me that her name was Youyou, that wasn't her name. When the main instructor came back with the class list we found out that she had an older sister that wouldn't be done with lessons until 8. That meant that this little girl would be left alone for forty five minutes. I don't understand how a father assumes that a little 3 or 4 year old can just sit in a studio where people are constantly in and out alone. She was allowed to hang out with the people at the front desk while she waited. I feel like it was very irresponsible for him to just leave her there.
Do you think it is okay to leave children alone for more then a few minutes without supervision?

The other day at dance my ballet technique teacher called Katie Lewis by my name. I thought it was weird cause most of the time my dance instructors can remember my name since in most cases I'm the only Asian in any number of the dance classes that I am in. I started thinking and realized how strange it was that I thought that. I usually don't notice when I'm the only minority in a room, but I did that particular day.
To what extent does race play a role in everyday life without racism?

Sizes and dresses

I work in a clothing store at Ridgedale Mall. It's a little boutique by the bathroom. All the clothes in there are specific to one type of women. They're all meant for skinny people, a lot of the time tall. The average women is not a size 0. It makes me feel bad when women come in looking at all the clothes and think that they're pretty, yet they can not wear it. I don't think it's okay to single out women's body types but I obviously do not get a say in the sizes that are in there.


On another note I do get a say in the dresses that will be coming in for Snowdazs season and Prom. I know everyone has a different style but I would appreciate it if you could give me some ideas for dresses to bring in. So girls tell me what you would like to wear. Guys tell me what you want the girls to wear.

Children

Today I assisted two dance classes. One class was 5-6 year olds and the other was 3-4 year olds.
Watching them dance it is interesting how different there attention spans are and how quickly they can catch on to simple steps. The 5-6 year olds for the most part were able to catch on to the different "positions" fairly quickly, with the exception of one or two who would rather goof around then listen. The 3-4 year olds were very rowdy. Then again there were quite a few more of them then in the 5-6 class. With only one instructor and two assistants it becomes increasingly difficult to give each one attention. It reminded me of how big some of classes are with forty students but with only one teacher. It doesn't matter how old you get, everyone learns at a different rate. Smaller class sizes receive more one on one time with the teachers and or assistants which makes it easier to teach them what's going. Overall in my opinion I think that in a learning environment class sizes should be at a smaller size to be able help each student.

Lunch Room Changes

Are the new changes to the lunch room efficient?

I think that the old system worked fine. With all the changes that happen every year the lunch room was not need to be changed. From observing during lunch it seems that it takes much longer for people to get through the lines then it used to. I went through them once and it took forever to get from point A to point B. I used to be able to get in and out of there pretty quickly if I chose to. Forcing people to take milk with their meal is wasteful. Many people are lactose in tolerant and can't even drink it. Another portion of people don't even drink milk. By forcing people to take it, it's wasting more then is need to.

Gender, What does gender have to do with anything?

Gender has to do with everything unfortunately.  The minute we're born, we're put into gender roles. Girls are supposed to wear pinks, reds, and purples. Boys are supposed to wear blues and greens. People automatically assume that girls have longer hair then boys, so they put bows in girls hair until it grows longer. Girls are supposed to wear dresses and skirts, if a boy says he wants to wear one it is frowned upon. People should be able to wear whatever they'd like without being put into gender stereotypes. In the workforce men are CEO's of companies more often then women. Even though in some cases women are able to break through the glass ceiling, in many cases they are not able to. While our society has come a long way in society to make men and women equal, there is still a long way to go.

Something to think about, What would you like to change to make gender roles equal?