Semester over

Finally semester 1 is over, and this semester has been challenging in some aspects of being a freshman: for example getting used to high school, behavior problems, swine flu, my attendance and being tardy, and even meeting new teachers. I’m glad that all of that is over with now: I can focus on a new semester and be prepared for everything that is thrown at me in class. This class has been one of my better classes in the terms of grades and me liking it, and I have learned a lot. I’ve learned things like about the children in Uganda, working with others in a group/ business, and I enjoyed making our PSA’s. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next semester, but for now this semester still hasn’t ended. Definitely

When my class first was introduced to “invisible children,” I had no clue what that was. I literally thought that invisible children meant children who are invisible, which the children in Uganda pretty much are. Anyway, Mr. Hunt started to tell us about these children in Uganda who are going through things like war, slavery, kidnapping, starvation, and horrendous living conditions. Later that week we went to a show in our auditorium about “invisible children”. We learned a lot more about these children when we saw videos of the children in Uganda. After I watched the video presentation, it made me feel horrible and realize there are a lot bigger and worse problems than Marcus’s grades and girls in this world. How would you feel if you had to hide all the time from kidnappers and see your friends and family being killed and taken, and at the same time you’re dirty and starving? It’s something none of us could relate to. That’s why I’m glad I was introduced to this problem because I feel like it made me a better person and realize things could be much worse.

The learning didn’t stop there; even earlier in the year we were assigned to groups. Little did I know that we would be working with these people for the rest of our semester? My group consisted of 4 people: Me, Kyle, John, and, last but not least, Tessa.
Mr. Hunt gave us an assignment to get with our group, come up with a business name, and write a bid letter for an ad we saw for a job. So my group / business partners came up with the group name J.T.M.K Inc., which stood for our names. We had problems working as a group because it seemed like someone always was sick. We still got our paper done but after about 3 weeks our business fell apart. The business is now down to just Kyle and I Tessa decided to move to another group and John decided to move to another state. It’s ok though; things are tough, but Kyle and I are doing fine. Even though my grade is dropping (not good), I’m glad we got this opportunity because it could help me later in life if something involving business calls my name. For now though, I can’t really relate to that type of stuff because business definitely is not in my interest, and I couldn’t envision my self in it.

Our last business project was to create a PSA (public service announcement) which is kind of like a commercial about a problem with teens. Kyle and I just finished that project about 2 days ago, and it is pretty good. The problem we picked was how teens do in school when they are under the influence of drugs. I can relate to this problem because I am a teen, and some friends of mine are influenced by drugs and don’t do well in school. Some facts you read about drugs and school are pretty convincing, but when you see it with your own eyes every day, you know you don’t need drugs. Before this project Mr. Hunt would always talk about how we were going to be starting our videos PSA’s soon, so be prepared, and I didn’t even know what PSA stood for. Now I don’t just know what it stands, for I made one and learned how to use movie maker while doing it. I’m glad I got the opportunity to do this project, and I have to admit it was pretty fun creating.

This semester has been packed with work, stress, sickness, and early mornings, but learning some of the things I’ve learned in this class has made it all worth it. Still, I am so glad this half of the school year is finished. I’ve gotten all of the freshmen jitters away and know what to expect now. All I can really say is I am ready to hit next semester dead on!