Dance Teams

       I am planning to do my 20% project on various dance teams, such as high school dance teams, college dance teams, and professional dance teams.  I would like to learn about this because I am a dancer and I have been one since I was about 4 years old.  I would also like to know this because I want to go to a college with a dance team, and I would like to pursue a dance career.  However, I want to go to a high school with a dance team, too.  Additionally, I would like the dance team to be pretty competitive and successful.  

Materials needed:

Laptop/ Net-book

       There are a few anticipated obstacles that I could face.  One of them is my laptop could crash and I wouldn't have a source of information.  Another is if I can't use the laptop, I won't be able to do that much research.

       Someone I can consult about this project is my dance coach, Jenn.  She knows a lot about various dance teams.  I can also ask a teacher that my mom works with, Mrs. Taft, because she used to be on a dance team and she knows a lot about them.  

The New Year is Finally Here

           2012 was a very crazy, but amazing year.  Now that it is the new year, 2013, I want to take a look back at how I have changed, the world has changed, and how the people around me have changed my life.  First of all, I have become a better person.  I have learned how different things can impact my life and how different people can impact my life.  Many things have impacted me and changed how I look at life and how quickly things can change.

          In 2012, the world changed a lot.  The United States reelected Barack Obama as president.  A girl in Benghazi, Malala Yusofzai fought for her education and was a target for many people.  She believes that education for women is just as important as education for men, and she is 100% correct.  The world has changed a lot in the past year, some things for the better, some things for the worse.  I believe that 2013 will be just as exciting as 2012, and I hope there is less conflict.

           I have also learned a lot about life.  We should never take life for granted, because it can be taken away from you any second.  Many people were hurt by the bus crash that occurred this year at Chesterfield Elementary School.  It brought sadness to the entire town and surrounding towns, because many people were close to the people who lost their lives and were injured.  Also, in the beginning of the year, my friends and I were going through a rough time.  During that time period, I learned who my true friends are.  We eventually made up, but some those few months were some of the worst months of my life.  I now look at life as a privilege, and not something that you automatically get.

           Since it is the new year, many people make New Years Resolutions.   Some people, although are anti-resolution.  I like to make resolutions so that I have something to live up to.  Here is a list of some of my resolutions:

1. Get all A's all year long.
2. Be more optimistic.
3. Live life to the fullest.

Effects of Media

          Recently in class we learned about how the media affects teenage culture.  Our question was "Does the media affect teenage culture or does teenage culture affect the media?"  It's a question that really no one can answer, like the chicken and the egg, which one did come first?  Personally, I think its a little bit of both. The media definitely has an affect on teenage culture, and I think that teenage culture does somewhat have an effect on the media.  The media tries to intrigue teenagers and tries to get them to do certain things such as lose weight.  That effects the media and teenage culture at the same time.  

          The effect media has on a teenagers' body image is immeasurable, says teens.lovetoknow.com.      Many ads say that you need to be skinny to be pretty, which isn't true.  Many teenage girls want that model figure because they think that girls like that live a perfect life.  The girls do anything to become like them, and they end up hurting themselves in the process.  They go on crazy diets that make them sick, they exercise too much and they hurt themselves in the process.

              Teenage girls aren't the only people affected, however.  Teenage boys are also greatly affected.  They see advertisements for acne-free skin and automatically their instinct is to want that.  They also see ads with guys with toned muscles and they want the, so they go on crazy diets and if they want them that bad, they take steroids and that can get them in a lot of trouble if they want to participate in sports.

           Also, many ads for certain games and other things are violent.  This promotes violent behavior in adolescents.  Many people get very into these video games and they get aggravated when something doesn't go exactly how they wanted it to go.  This transfers into real life and they get even more angry at people and themselves.  Clearly violent ads have a negative effect on teenagers.

           So many teenagers change themselves every year because of the media.  If we didn't pay so much attention to what the media says, we would be an entirely different person, most likely.  I believe that we should pay some attention to the media, but our life shouldn't revolve around it.