Logos

Being in high school is a challenge as it is. There are hundreds of expectations to live up to. We are all in the stages of our life’s where we all have an idea of what we want, but have no idea how to get it. We are stuck between adolescences and adulthood; too old to not have responsibilities, but too young to be trusted with certain privileges. This is only the social part of school, there is also the academic part. Classes start at 7:30 only to end at 2:15. Then there is another task to be dealt with after that….. homework.

 Excluding homework there are sports, clubs and just millions of other things that disallow people like me to ever imagine of having an actual social life. In between our busy work day at school we are tested multiple times on the same information that will most likely never be used in the future. Slacking is never an option, if you slack once, it may seem as if your whole world is tumbling over. One overlooked mistake on a test could cost you your grade for the entire semester.

As we grow up, we realize that the one mistake we made on that one important test was never really that important. That one test that everyone seemed to fail will not matter once you turn 50 and are praying for your retirement pay check to come 15 years sooner. One small test in our entire life will most likely not affect us for the rest of our life’s. But something that will actually affect us in the long run is the amount of sleep we get.

Looking back onto kindergarten days, we were all taught that nap time was the most important part of the day. We were taught that sleeping was important for all children to grow up to be strong and smart.  Any 4 year old would easily disagree that taking nap in the middle of the day was not necessary, and that it never helped them grow nor helped them learn better. But somehow it was enforced into every schedule every day. But who were we to know? We were just kids.

Maybe teachers and parents had some logic to nap time.  What if that one mistake that you made on that important test could have been fixed with a 15 minute nap.  It worked in kindergarten, why wouldn't it work now? Having a nap in school would allow students to regain energy to full understand the information being taught at us and allow us to gain energy to function properly throughout the day.

Sleep as an Answer?

I remember like it was yesterday, the first nap I ever took. Well actually I don't. I just thought it would seem more interesting if could remember my first nap. To be honest I don't remember most of the naps I took as a child. I'm pretty sure no one remembers them. 

It’s not like they were the most memorable moments of our childhoods. My happy childhood memories range from my first trip to Chucky Cheese, or the moment I learned how to ride a bike and felt my first sense of independence.( Although I couldn’t leave my street or ride without a parent watching) It all felt the same. Happiness, excitement are all synonyms for my childhood, or at least majority of it.

But the moment my mom told me it was nap time… all hell would break loose…

Sleep isn’t what a 3 year old wants to hear after they’ve watched 3 hours of Telle-Tubies and Barney

Sleep isn’t what a five year old (with adrenaline running through their veins) wants to hear after they’ve had sugar filled delicacies.

Sleep isn’t what a 7 year old wants to hear after they’ve just came back from their best friend’s house, jumping on trampolines and high off of life.

Sleep just never seemed to be the answer I wanted to hear as a child ; but it always seemed to be the answer my mother wanted to give me.

I would like to believe that I was a decent child, one that never yelled or complained when it was nap time; As for my siblings... I can’t say the same.

My baby sister has taken on an animalistic personality when my mom says the words “Nap Time”.

I’ve never believed in Jekyll and Hyde until I experienced my sister at nap time.

The bite marks on the sides of the crib scream “I’m in prison”

While the smile on her face yells “I love my life”

As I’ve grown older I’ve began to love my mom and all of those that forced me to take a nap as a child.

Naps are the only thing I survive on now. Naps are the only thing that gets me through the day, considering the longest period of time of day I probably sleep is during my Civics class, I appreciate naps so much more.

Imagine in highschool that we were allowed to sleep in class. A nap during the day can reengerize any student, allowing them to fully participate in class and fully understand the material being taught.

Egypt Seminar

The biggest problem that Egypt is facing at the moment seems to be its social problems. There has been an increasing rate of poverty. The unemployment rate has grown rapidly after the revolution in 2011. In the first quarter of 2013 North Africans unemployment rate went up to 13.2%. This creates a horrible combination when combined with the price of food rising. People can barely support their families without jobs and with the price of food rising people cannot fund all of their needs. There are places in Egypt that actually have begun to offer free food to those without money.

Another social problem that has arisen is the crime rate. During the many riots Egyptian women have been raped. Society has made women afraid to leave their houses and afraid to go into crowds.

Also that the voices of Egyptians need to be heard, all Egyptians are trying to voice their opinions through riots. With a fully developed democratic system Egyptians would stop rioting and voice their opinions fully.

The extent that the United States should be involved in helping Egypt face this challenge is sending money to help the country get back on its feet. Although there are many people that discuss whether the United States is doing too much or too little I feel that in order to help Egypt help itself the government needs to be pumped with money to fuel its economy. Although the United States feels the need to stay neutral throughout all of the riots and corruption I feel that the United States needs to put their foot down and help Egypt create a working democratic system that is not corrupted.

The American media seems to make it seem that Egypt’s government has no control over the public. There seems to be multiple riots in a day and the recent revolution has led to the public outbreaks all over. There seems to be no control within the government and it seems as if a government is non-existent.

Where I'm From

Where I'm from the streets aren't paved with gold
There isn't silver lying on the streets
But there are thousands of people
And a city that never sleeps
The lights are bright, sometimes even blinding
But the view is amazing, to some it could be frightening.
Where I'm from you'll be lucky to see a star
Making a wish could never be so hard
When all you see at night are cars.
The people are loud and obnoxious
But what else could you expect
From the city that never sleeps
A smile too wide is thought to be a threat


Any corner you turn you'll find a new story
A new life
A new story waiting to be told
Its the concrete jungle
Or so I've heard
But in reality it's the only place I like to call home

Where I'm from the friendly people are the ones to watch out for
Because trust must be gained not given

Where I'm from food from all over the world
Can end up on the same block

Where I'm from a white picket fence is hard to be found
But a hopscotch drawing of chalk can be easily found on the ground.


Packing up and leaving everything behind was the hardest to do
Espicially when it seems like the worst thing i left was you

It was hard to leave
Because it felt like i was leaving apart of me

Leaving where I'm from changed me so much
It felt like me and the world were coming out of touch

I miss where I'm from because it was a place I could call home
Now where I am to talk to my family I have to pick up a phone.