What I am Thankful for

1) Life; People tend to get caught up in the little things that cause them problems. We need to focus on the big picture. Life is about doing what you want in this great world of possibilities and adventures. The only thing stopping you from living is yourself.
2) Family; I hear kids say all the time that they hate their parents. I understand that they can be angry with them, I know that they don’t mean they hate their parents. Your family provides for you – they give you meals, clothes, and love. It’s important to respect your elders because they know a lot about life.
3) A home; Can you imagine life without your home? I can’t. There are people who line up to sleep in the homeless shelters in Detroit. My house is warm, friendly, and comfortable. We tend to look beyond our home as a blessing, like it is something that everyone has, but it isn’t, and everyone should recognize that with thanks.
4) Food; Of course, the main event of Thanksgiving is eating food. We can’t forget to give thanks for the food. We also should give thanks that we get food every other day, because our parents go to work to provide for their family.
5) Health; If you were to go through a hospital, you’d see some people that would make your jaw drop. They could be missing their legs, or have cancer, and they are fighting it out to the end, they are living their life to the fullest. Healthy people like us look at this like it is uncommon to have a terminal disease or have cancer. We should all be happy and grateful that we are in good health.
6) Friends; Everybody has friends, and hopefully they are good people. Many kids fall into the wrong crowd and get caught up in misbehavior like drugs, or gang activity and it will affect them their whole lives. I am glad I have friends that look out for me the same way I look out for them.
7) My iPod; I need to listen to music at least every day. My iPod is the main provider of “the jams”, and I am glad I have this fine machine. From Metallica and Lamb of God to B.B. King and Eric Clapton, my iPod is providing me with happiness one song at a time.
8) My dog ; AJ is not only the cutest corgi in this world, but also the strangest. He is very oddly proportioned. My dog’s specifications are six inch legs, four inch ears, and three a foot long body. We got AJ when I was in third grade, and ever since he has always been the coolest dog to have around.
9) School; We all get sick of school sometimes, because it’s seven hours of hard work and then usually preceded by an hour or two of homework. It is important to get an education because if we want a successful future, chances are, school is the only way to achieve it. In Detroit for an example kids get terrible education in a violent, impoverished environment. In Livonia we get a much better environment that is always safe from violence.
10) Being an American; America is far from perfect, but it is most likely the closest any country will get ever get to it. We aren’t at war within our borders, we aren’t enslaved to anyone, and we don’t have non-stop anarchical riots. I think America is a great country to live in, and if you don’t, you’ve never been to another nation.

High School a Month in Review

Steven Hoekstra
Old Friends new friends – some people I already knew that go to this school are Scott Yaroch, and Brendan Webberly, who both went to my old school. Some new friends I’ve met are Austin Dyer and Alex Chase. Scott and Brendan both went to St. Michael’s with me last year.
SHS activities attended – I’ve been on the football team all year and been to every game. Even though the team lost 8 games and tied 1, it was fun while it lasted. I also went to the freshman dance on Sept. 11th.
Funniest, weirdest, and scariest moments- The funniest things going are watching Big Purge swearing and yelling at me, which was also one of the scariest moments. The weirdest thing that happened was having 2 days off in a row.
Hardest, easiest class and assignments – The hardest class I’ve had is personal fitness because I have to swim every day and I always feel sick after I swim. The easiest class I am in is German because it is fun.
Top five current events – some current events going on in the news right now are there is a global recession, Obama won the Nobel Prize for Peace, scientists discovered an early human that they call “Ardi”, Governor Granholm is cutting millions of dollars from school systems, and a guy stole a limousine and charged people for rides, but then got shot by police with a taser when he tried to escape.
Faces in the news – Granholm has been in the news for taking away school funding. Obama has been in the news for winning the Nobel Peace prize and trying to get the Olympics of 2016 to be in Chicago. Hamid Karzai, who was accused of voting fraud, is the president of Afghanistan. Mahmud Achimedinejad was in trouble for having a secret uranium enrichment facility. Kim Jung Il has been testing nuclear weapons. Michael Jackson is dead.
Interesting new words - Super spunky Spartan Day, ostrich, Kookaburra, Islamabad are all words I’ve learned. The book Walkabout used words I had never heard like kookaburra and billabong. I also learned words that the Aborigine used in the story for water (arkoloola), food (yeemara), and Girl (Lubra).
Popular or memorable songs- music I’ve been listening to includes The Sex Pistols, and The Clash, and Rise Against. Popular music is more like rap that I never listen to. Some songs that keep getting played on the radio are anything by Michael Jackson because he recently died.
Popular or memorable movies – Some popular movies are Paranormal Activities, and Where the Wild Things Are. Since it’s Halloween almost, the Saw movies have been on just about every night.
Rumors or gossip – Big Purge cried after the last freshman game last night. I heard gossip that there is a pizza party for our team on Wednesday.
Fads and trends – plaid, I’m told is popular in fashion right now by my teacher, Mrs. Van Horn. I also see a lot of people wearing those sunglasses with the shutters on them, I can’t tell if that’s a fashion or just to be funny. I’ve seen people walking around outside wearing Snuggies, too.
First and cultural event – I took a Trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland this summer. For my next cultural event I might go to the Science Center to see the Mexican mummies.
Homecoming – senior day, super spunky Spartan spirit day, Western day, tie dye day were all events that occurred during Homecoming week. In the hallway on senior day it was fun because some students were dressed up with walker
Advice for a freshman – Do your homework, pay attention, take notes, be cool
What I’m looking forward to – graduating, Christmas, all Fridays.
Other noteworthy achievements or events- This week I am probably buying a new guitar from my friend. After that, we might go to a Cemetery at night time this weekend.

American culture

American culture is something that many Americans don’t believe exists, for this reason; it is not easy to tell what American Culture is. I think that our culture was created by a combination of people from different countries all over the world. All the individual cultures grow less prominent and people become part of this U.S. culture. For example, common music Americans listen to like rock, was developed out of slave chants which soon became known as the blues. Many African Americans who were enslaved in the 1800’s sang these chants. Blues music evolved into rock through years of American ingenuity through experimentation with different instruments and vocal styles. You may describe American culture as developing in this way. There are quite a few examples that we may not have known are part of our culture really are. Holidays like Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Halloween are all celebrations that began in the United States. America is home to many of the most important inventions of all time. The computer developed in the U.S. The light bulb was created by Thomas Edison in America. Imagine the modern world without these inventions. American people are always being changed by these innovative ideas. Our culture is possibly the most innovative and varied culture in the world. In my family, culture isn’t very noticeable, to me at least. Other than hearing my grandmother speak Dutch every once in a while, I don’t think that my family is very cultural. My dad’s mother and father were both born in America to parents born in the Netherlands. I never met his father, but I am told he could speak Dutch. I would describe my family’s culture as falling apart for the most part. It seems like in America, people’s culture fades away, neither of my parents have been to where their families are originally from, and neither have I. America seems to be one culture growing out of a million different ones, and when all these cultures come together the individual culture seems to not be present as much as before. People adapt to their new habitats after they leave there home country.