Posts Tagged ‘friends’

Amy W.

Information Overload

Jul. 30, 2010 by Amy W.

With all of millions of people participating in social-networking sites and programs today, it can be hard to remember sometimes that this common hobby can still be dangerous. You may think that the only people who are able to view your information are the “friends” on your page, but that is a common misconception. Child predators, police officials and the government all have their ways of accessing your pages—putting you at risk of possibly attracting unwanted attention or, at worst, getting busted.

Facebook, for instance, is a great way to meet new people, reconnect with old friends and stay in touch with people from out of town, but you never really know who you are communicating with behind that computer screen. I personally think that putting information on Facebook such as your telephone number and e-mail address are far too personal. You never know who will try to contact you, and what they will do with that contact information. Finding the right balance between letting others know what is going on in your life but still staying safe and private at the same time is key to not putting yourself in danger.

One test for knowing when enough is enough: Is there anything on your social-networking sites or pages that you don’t want the entire world to see? You may think a comment or picture is deleted just by pressing the “delete” button, but trust me, it is in cyberspace for good. So the next time you put a new piece of info on your page, just make sure you’re comfortable with you and—potentially—the whole world viewing it.

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kelsey

Late-Night Munchies

Jul. 27, 2010 by kelsey


How many times has this happened to you? It’s midnight, and you’ve been out since 9 P.M. with your friends. The night is winding down, and all you want is some greasy goodness that comes in the form of a 24-hour diner or McDonald’s. You and all your friends pile up into a car and soon find yourselves at the mercy of a giant menu and your cravings. How about a Belgium waffle with three scoops of ice cream on top, or a double bacon cheeseburger? When all your friends are getting the same thing, it is just so hard to resist.

Okay, you reason with yourself, it’s for just tonight, and tomorrow you will do 1,000 crunches to make up for it. You finally decide to get a stack of chocolate chip pancakes, shoving the little voice in your head telling you to order a salad instead far into the back of your mind. The pancakes, of course, end up being delicious, and once the check has been paid you go back over to your friend’s house. Then after much debate as to which movie, you decide to order The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants from the TV. You end up crashing on your friend’s couch in the middle of the movie at 2:30 in the morning.

Waking up Sunday is never fun, yet somehow you make it home, just to go back to sleep and wake up who knows when! So what happened to the 1,000 crunches? And more importantly, was it really just for that one night? I don’t know about you, but I’ve been in this situation far more times than just once.

Now it seems like it’s almost every other weekend, increasingly more as more of my friends start to drive. Now, I am not one for counting every calorie until I get so psyched out that I will only nibble on celery, but I am a fan of healthy eating. This extra meal every weekend is an easy way to get myself into trouble. I tell myself I won’t do it again—until the next time I’m out with my friends on a late-night snack run…

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Isabelle D.

Friends

Jul. 15, 2010 by Isabelle D.


Wherever you are, there is always that clique of girls everybody loves. The pretty girls, the popular crowd or whatever you’d like to call them. Then there are also the few girls who don’t have many friends, the ones who sometimes sit alone at lunch. The ones who some people might refer to as the losers or the nerds. What does that even mean? Not having any friends qualifies them as losers? Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? And when you see or hear this, what are you supposed to do about it? Do you just ignore these girls suffering and walk away with your friends, or do you go and sit with them, maybe flash a friendly smile?

When I look at these people in the hallway, I don’t want to feel bad for them! They are normal girls just like you and me. These girls just need someone to have fun with, somebody to cheer them up! Of course, that doesn’t obligate you to be that person. But friendly acts throughout the day can really make a difference in somebody’s life. Polite gestures like holding the door or sitting together at lunch can make the day of a girl who’s longing for friends so much more meaningful. A simple smile in the hallway can mean SO much to someone.

 So when you ask yourself, ‘What if it was me?’ or ‘What can I do to make this girl happier?’ don’t just ignore them like other people do or call them names behind their backs. Show respect! Everyone deserves a friend.

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Remy G.

Leaving for the Summer

Jul. 13, 2010 by Remy G.


During the school year we dread waking up every morning to go through the daily grind, we count down the days until summer vacation and when final exam week arrives, we jump for joy as each one finishes. Finally, it’s summertime!! It’s the best feeling to know that after a hard year at school, you finally get a break. Summer plans consist of many things; for many teenagers summer means going away for some time and leaving friends from home for a few weeks, or even the whole summer. Mixed feelings are always hard—the ambivalence of, yes, you’ve been waiting for months for this time of the year, but you also are saddened to leave your home life behind.

I’ve been going to the same sleep-away camp for seven years and this summer is our last “camper” year, so we go on special trips and do special activities. I’m so excited to go back, of course, as I love my camp friends and camp is my second home. On the other hand I am going to miss my home friends when I’m away for seven weeks! I’m used to talking to my sisters every day, whether it be going on Facebook or texting all day. The bittersweet feeling for me is approaching as I leave in only a few days. Excited as I am (and there is nothing I would rather do this summer than go to camp), I am definitely going to miss my friends at home.

I guess it is safe to say that coming and going is a part of life, and many things are bittersweet—so we must accept the bitter part but enjoy the sweet part, especially when it’s summertime!

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Taryn M.

NKOTB

Jun. 21, 2010 by Taryn M.

There’s a recent Saturday I will never forget. It was my last opportunity to take an overnight at home, because the next weekend would be a closed weekend due to final exams. Of course, I decided to go home, but I wasn’t alone. My two best friends, Carly and Gadea, accompanied me for a wild night we never had intended on.

Upon getting in the car and driving to my beachside residence, Carly, Gadea and I had no definite plans for that night. None of the ideas we were throwing around seemed that fun or exciting. It was our last chance to loosen up and have fun before final exams, and the last weekend I would have with Gadea before she moves back to Spain for the summer. After a few minutes on the road my mother received a phone call from my father, proposing we go to Foxwoods casino. All three of us, very excited to dress up, go out to dinner, and walk around the casino, began to anticipate the night. Suddenly my mother received another phone call, once again from my father.

“Do you know the band Backstreet on the Boys?” My mother shouted over our loud gossip in the backseat. Mortified, I looked at Gadea and Carly. “Yeah it says here they’re performing at Foxwoods tonight. You guys should go!” Confused I asked, “Do you mean the Backstreet Boys?” thinking my mother must have gotten the name wrong. “Oh, yes. Excuse me, it’s actually New Kids on the Block.” I’d rather see the Backstreet Boys… Carly, Gadea and I had never heard of this band, and we were extremely bummed. Now we were going to be all dressed up with nothing to do but walk around and look pretty (which we did very well, thank you very much). “Girls, I think you should go. It might be fun…” My mom announced gleefully. I looked at Gadea and Carly anxiously, hoping they wouldn’t think it was stupid. Within a matter of seconds loud but rather catchy music blared through the tiny speakers on Carly’s blackberry. “Guys this is NKOTB. This sounds so familiar!” Next thing you know, everyone in the car was singing to their single “Summertime”! Immediately pumped after this exciting discovery, I agreed to attend the concert but with one exception—my mom buys us new shoes.

“Donna, get us to Marshalls!” I shouted jokingly from the backseat. Marshalls is a large department store that has lots of designer clothes for very cheap prices. Every girl’s dream? I think so. Immediately making our way to the shoe section, we went crazy! We frantically searched for a cute pair of heels that matched our dresses while offering our advice to each other freely. Being best friends, it was acceptable to tell one another what we really thought, even if it was a little harsh. My mother stayed far away, knowing that once we set our minds on that perfect pair of heels there was no going back. Gadea decided on simple, strappy brown pumps, Carly with midnight black pumps; I went with brown and gold pumps. You could say we all fell in love…who needs boys when you have shoes!

Pulling up to the casino, we were dressed like celebrities—but in a lame ride. Gadea, Carly and I were squished into the backseat of my dirty Suburban. Complete with the clutter of McDonald’s toys on the floor and the sweet smell of my hockey equipment in the air…it wasn’t exactly A-list status, but we made do. My parents, off to a nice dinner for two, had previously set up reservations for four: Carly, Gadea, my younger brother Jimmy and I ate at a restaurant called Junior’s. After a delicious meal we headed over to the MGM building for the concert, connected to the casino by a long and narrow glass tunnel. We had never anticipated how much fun it would be to go to a concert for a band we had just discovered that day.

We had reached our seats and within the first couple of seconds of being there, butterflies started to flutter in our stomachs. Even though it was a popular band in the ‘80s and ‘90s, we still knew how to have a good time. There was an expression of pain plastered on to my brother’s face. He was in a roomful of screaming, aged women, talking about how hot the boys in the band were. Poor kid. On the stage was a giant clock counting down the minutes, seconds, till the show would begin. With thirty seconds left, the room filled with girly shrieks counting down. “5, 4, 3, 2, 1!!!!!!!!” and the room erupted in screams. Gadea, Carly and I, immediately standing up and screaming too, decided to pretend as if we knew the band like the rest of the people in the room. That’s what made this concert so much more fun. My brother sat down, took out his PSP and tried to beat his high score…

Throughout the concert Gadea, Carly and I were attempting to sing along, even though we knew none of the words, and of course, we danced like maniacs. We were dancing so hard that we even decided to take off our heels! Most of the concert was spent dancing, laughing or both at once. We kept trying to sing the lyrics we didn’t know, imitate the boys’ dance moves on stage and scream their names like we were in love with them. I have never seen my best friend Gadea as funny as she was that very night. We found out one of the band members was named Joey, so at the end of every song Gadea would scream “JOOOEEEYY!! MAARRYY MEEE!!” It was absolutely hysterical. Our screaming and dancing got to the point where the people in front of us asked us rudely to shut up. Obviously we didn’t—the concert was too fun!

On the way back to the car, we had a long hike through MGM, the glass tunnel, then Foxwoods to find my parents. My brother took my Canon Rebel Xsi camera, which has a pretty bright flash, and decided to run around, in front, and behind us, taking numerous pictures, as if he was the paparazzi. If it wasn’t for the fun time I had at the concert I would have gotten mad at him, but it was just so fun, and who doesn’t love pictures?

Since then I’ve purchased almost every New Kids on the Block song on iTunes (sorry, Mom!), and they are somewhat of an inside joke for Carly, Gadea and me. It’s funny what you’ll find when you decide to try something new.

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Isabelle D.

Sillybandz, A New Trend?

Jun. 20, 2010 by Isabelle D.

creativecommons.org/by MGShelton

Not long ago, I was walking down the hallways in my high school when I noticed these bright rubber bands around the wrists of some kids in the grade above me. They seemed to have almost every color band strapped around their wrists while they made their ways through the hall. It wasn’t until math class that I actually got to see one up close. My friend was playing with her “rubber band bracelet” and I finally became aware that this wasn’t just a normal rubber band. I asked her what it was and she took it off her wrist to show me the wonderful invention of Sillybandz. Sillybandz have made their way to being the one of the newest fashion fads of the summer. Not only are they bright and fun, but they come in various shapes of animals, instruments, sports, etc. You name any shape you can think of and Sillybandz will have it in stock. They are at almost every convenience store and are sold in packs ranging from seven to 24.

These inexpensive “bracelets” might be mistaken as childish bands packing up on a kid’s arm, but they are so much more than that. The bands originated in Alabama almost two years ago. The way they became popular is specifically appealing. Once Sillybandz were made, they were originally bought and given out by teachers to their students as rewards. Kids all over started trading them with friends. This is one of the most exciting attributes of the Sillybandz. When kids see other people wearing the Sillybandz, they get excited to see which ones they have so they can trade and get “newer” or “better” ones. My first couple Sillybandz were “very rare” says Ava, the girl I babysit. I used to have a light blue Indian teepee that Ava made me trade her for her blue star. She was as surprised as I was that there even were Sillybandz in the shape of teepees! I couldn’t resist her persistence, so I gave her the teepee band.

The other Sillyband that I still have today is a green trumpet. I was sitting in English class and my friend took off all of his Sillybandz and placed them on his notebook. It was the most creative collection of instruments I had ever seen! He had a drum set, guitar, trumpet, and piano. He saw me gazing in shock at his collection and started laughing. He offered me the trumpet because he saw that I only had one Sillyband on my wrist. At first I felt bad taking it from him considering he had a full band upon his arm. I couldn’t possibly break up the band just because I wanted another Sillyband for my own collection. But he insisted. It is very exciting that something of such little value is treated as a huge trend in today’s market.

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Taryn M.

Mobile Uploads

Apr. 30, 2010 by Taryn M.

“Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” —Dorothea Lange

Everyone wishes she or he could turn back time, revisit the good memories and erase the bad. Even though this is not possible, pictures are the closest thing we have to it. When you look at a picture, it opens a flood of memories from that moment, and they are forever captured. Photography, one of my greatest passions, has assisted me in capturing and sharing some of my best and worst memories. In the rare event I don’t have my camera, I rely on my phone to help me remember. My BlackBerry captures, saves and shares some of my greatest memories on the go.

“Taryn, get up; we’re going to the park!” my dad ordered as I awoke and glanced at the clock to see the time. It was 9:30 a.m., and I hated getting up that early on a Saturday, but I reluctantly dressed and trudged downstairs. Upon arriving at the park, my brother and my dad claimed they had to have proper “walking sticks” before we could begin our expedition. I had left my camera in the car because I had to walk my youngest dog, Mulligan. The sun shone through the breaks of the branches on the trees, and there stood my dad. With my dog Kerry on a leash in his one hand and a curved wooden walking stick in the other, my dad looked ridiculously silly.

I knew I had to capture this, so I took a picture and immediately mobile-uploaded it to Facebook via my BlackBerry. By the time we had left the park, five of my friends had liked the photo and six people had commented on it, including my aunt. Mobile upload is extremely handy, especially when something funny or embarrassing happens. In my brother’s case, this would be an everyday affair.

My brother is the exact opposite of me. I am into sports, music and photography; he is into science, building things, and singing and acting. He is always putting on a show for anyone who’s willing to watch, and he’s not afraid to speak his mind. While getting ready to go to the movies with my immediate family, my brother got into the car wearing black sweatpants, a gray long-sleeve shirt and 3-D glasses on his face. I blankly stared at him, waiting for him to laugh and take them off, but he just stared back and said, “I knew you’d like them!” with a sly grin on his face. The truth is, he was being totally serious. Baffled, I looked at my mom, who only giggled, as if to say boys will be boys, and my dad fist-bumped him and said, “Nice shades, pal!” I knew it was going to be a long night.

We decided to go to a restaurant before the movie to grab a bite to eat, and Jimmy marched in confidently with the 3-D glasses still on his face. “Table for four, please!” he said while standing on his tippytoes to be seen over the massive counter. The waitress came to the table staring at him funnily, and he confessed, “I can’t believe how many people are jealous of this baby!”—implying everyone was after his 3-D glasses. I can assure you, nobody was. He picked up his menu and began studying it, when my dad asked him if he could have a pair. My dad always takes his side. Jimmy smiled and said, “I THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER ASK, DAD!” Now both my brother and my dad sat behind their menus sporting 3-D glasses. I quickly pulled out my phone, took a picture of them and mobile-uploaded it. The caption read: “This is my family…”

Mobile uploading has its advantages and disadvantages: You’re able to take funny pictures of others, but at the same time, someone could upload something of you. Nevertheless, it is a great way to capture memories on the go when you’re without a camera. The fact that the pictures can go straight to Facebook is even better. I do mobile upload occasionally, taking an instant out of time, and remembering it forever.

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Taryn M.

Blackberry Phenomenon

Apr. 29, 2010 by Taryn M.

For years, BlackBerrys have had known uses for business purposes only: Mainly for colleagues to e-mail one another, keep their schedule organized and, of course, to make phone calls. The BlackBerry was and still is ideal for any serious businessperson, such as my mother and father, but it now has become the phone to have among teens.

When you make a new friend or catch up with an old one, they might ask you, “Oh, what’s your number?” Today that phrase is frequently replaced with “Oh, you have a BlackBerry! What’s your PIN?” A PIN is assigned with every BlackBerry and serves as a sort of identity. You distribute your PIN with pride, to your friends, family, coaches and teachers who also own a BlackBerry. Once they accept your request, you become friends and they’re added to your BBM list. On my BBM, I have an array of people I do and don’t talk to. From my field hockey coach and my boyfriend to my best friend, random senior boys and my mom, my BBM list consists of the most random group of people.

One lazy Sunday afternoon, my friends and I were lounging out in the warm almost-summer sun, listening to music and talking. My phone had gone off and I checked it only to see a BBM request from a certain gorgeous senior boy. I announced it to my friends proudly, and they all just smirked and laughed, saying, “He probably just added you to get more contacts!” I could tell they were jealous. Walking to dinner, we had continued our conversation about BlackBerrys and joked about how the students at our school kept the BlackBerry corporation in business.

We walked to the mailroom after dinner to check for any notices, when my friend discovered our history papers had been newly graded and placed in our boxes. I opened mine to see I had received an 82. Feeling confident about my grade, I was about to show my friends when one of them whipped around and shrieked, “95! That’s what I’m talking about!” Damn. I told her she had beaten me and she did a little victory dance, singing, “I am the champion, my friends! Cause I kept on writing, till the end!” Trying to think of a sassy comeback quick, my tongue was tied, and I could feel my face getting redder as more and more people began to come in to check their mail. Suddenly, I blurted out, “YOU’RE JUST JEALOUS BECAUSE RYAN GALLAGHER [alias to protect the innocent] DIDN’T ADD YOU ON BBM!” Silence immediately overcame the mailroom, and my friends blankly stared toward the door. I turned only to see Ryan Gallagher standing in the doorframe, cheeks red from embarrassment. I ducked my head and sprinted out.

BlackBerrys are sweeping the nation, with the help of BBM, of course. BBM is widely known among many and is one of the main reasons it has sold just above its rival, the iPhone. With so many people text messaging, the term shortened to a “text,” and became a verb: “texting.” We are now acquainted with BBM, which has turned into a verb, too: “bbming.” Although bbming is basically the same thing as texting, if you are texting one person and bbming another, one would say, “Well, Tracy texted me and told me Joey asked her out! So I bbmed Carly and told her about it.” The verb “bbming” has become a commonly used word at the boarding school I attend in Rhode Island and very much elsewhere. Attending a boarding school and having a BlackBerry is a very realistic investment.

One particular feature I love about the BlackBerry is the Facebook application. It allows me to upload pictures, write on friends’ walls and inbox-message. This comes in handy, especially with my intelligent yet forgetful boyfriend, whose phone is almost always broken. While on spring break in Cancun, Mexico, I had checked to see if my BlackBerry worked there and, in fact, it did! I had been texting my boyfriend in between security lines, on the runway and so on. After landing in Cancun, I had bbmed him, but it hadn’t shown the symbol that he had read it. It wasn’t even delivered, which told me his phone was either off or it was broken again. I had stuffed my phone into my purse as our long day of beachside activities at the resort began, rarely checking it because I was so busy. After a long swim in the warm ocean, I sprawled out on a beach chair, grabbed my phone and sunscreen, and began to tan. Suddenly, I received a Facebook notification, and it was an inbox message from my boyfriend. He informed me of his broken phone, how much he missed me and how we would arrange a video chat date that night. My BlackBerry never failed me that whole trip, and I am thankful, because even though my boyfriend was without a phone for several days, I was able to keep in touch with him via Facebook mobile and AIM mobile. It’s just another example of how the BlackBerry is an outstanding feat in technology.

The BlackBerry is designed to be almost irresistible to the teenage girl. With numerous applications, BBM being the most important, I can say that it has made my life much easier. It helps me be in touch with my friends nearly every second of the day through texting, BBM, Facebook, AIM, etc. Having been a proud BlackBerry owner for two solid years now, I can honestly say that owning one, businessperson or not, is worth the investment. The BlackBerry phenomenon is not only touching businesspeople but also teens all over the world.

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Amy W.

Longing for a License

Apr. 8, 2010 by Amy W.

“Dad can you take us to the movies tonight?” “Mom, can you take me to the mall for a few hours?”After a mere 16 years, these words will all be put to rest when you finally pass that driving test! The freedom you have when you get your license will open up a whole new opportunity for plans, taking care of errands and running out at the spur of the moment to be with your friends. But wait, we can’t forget that you actually have to get your license before all of this can happen!

The six or so weeks leading up to take the test can be even more nerve-wracking than the test itself. You think you may have only told your closest friends when your test is, but before you know it, the entire school is wishing you good luck. So at this point, you think that it will make no difference by putting it on your Facebook status. You receive 15 comments on it, and 20 “likes” from various friends and acquaintances. You keep getting more and more excited as you count down from six weeks, to three weeks, to five days. Now, that just increased the pressure to pass by about one million percent! You also may start to see who is “sucking up” a little bit to you, and who is being extra friendly in the hallway—thinking in the back of their minds that they can hopefully get a ride with you sometime soon.

So you have the biggest weekend plans of the year riding, no pun intended, on this test. The entire school is biting its fingers waiting to hear the results, and you cannot wait a second longer to have all of the freedom—and the car keys. But before you can say the word “go,” you fail.

So, what now? I guess it’s back to asking mom and dad to give up part of their weekend to drive you around, and some new people might stop saying “hi” to you in the hall. But you also have to face more than 500 Facebook friends and IM’s from people who are saying sorry. Little do they know, they are only making it worse. You feel like the whole world is driving by. But then you slowly start to get your personality back and realize that you can schedule another appointment. You just have to hope for lucky No. 2.

You may be surprised to hear that I don’t even have my permit yet, but one of my best friends had an experience just like it. A friend so close that you find yourself feeling like her life is yours, and yours is hers. She was in tears when she didn’t get her license. There was so much hype about it, which made it even worse when she didn’t pass. Fortunately, she has already scheduled another appointment and will hopefully be more ready than ever this time.

So, some lessons my friend learned from this experience for next time: Do not tell a single soul the next time you schedule a test. Be underconfident, just in case you may not pass again. And throw all of your nerves out the window before getting anywhere near the driving center. I hope my friend keeps these things in the back of her mind. All we can do is hope for the best for the next test. After all, we both have a lot riding on this one because I can’t even qualify for my permit until July!

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