Decisions, Decisions

Today is May 1st. For high school seniors, the date is significant. It is Decision Day. Today is the day that seniors are supposed to make the final decision on the college or university they plan on attending in the fall. It is one of the days I have been dreading since the beginning of the school year. I have applied for over 10 colleges. However, I was only accepted to two. Of those, I truly want to go to one, but my mother has her own opinion on where I should go. She wants me to go to Albright College. It is a relatively good school. It is private and has a high rank and graduation rate. Albright is in Reading, Pennsylvania. All that is fine I guess, but the tuition for one year is $46,300. I am not sure why but my mother insists and has her heart set on me going there. I want to go to Xavier in Louisiana. They have a 4 out of 5 star psychology program. The school's volleyball team uniform looks nice too. Plus, Louisiana is the home of Mardi Gras. I want to be at Xavier because it will be a fresh start in a completely new environment. Being that far away from home will force me to rely solely on myself. But my mother will not even consider the admission. There is only 2 hours left in the school day, and I still have not made a decision on which school to attend.

"And I'm Gay"

Homosexuality has always been something that was shunned, especially in sports. Jason Collins is an NBA player. He plays as a center for the Washington Wizards (was traded mid-season from the Boston Celtics). He stands at 7 feet even. And for over a decade, he was silent about his sexuality. Collins said that he wanted to keep his sexual preference a secret because he was terrified of what teammates, opponents, fans, and the world would think of him. But his mind state changed after the Boston Marathon bombings. "[The bombings] reinforced the notion that I shouldn't wait for the circumstances of my coming out to be perfect. Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully," says Collins. He continued to say that he "endured years of misery and [has] gone to enormous lengths to live a lie." Jason Collins is crowned as the first active player in a major league sport to come out as gay. He wrote an article posted Monday on the Sports Illustrated website that started with "I'm a 34-year old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay." Collins was surprised of the praise, approval, and support that he received after coming out. He was congratulated by teammates, a new sponsor, and Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Jason Collins plans to continue playing for the NBA, and marching at Boston's Gay Pride Parade on June 8th.
I think that having a prominent basketball star publicly announcing that he's gay will allow others to feel comfortable and open about their own homosexuality. For further reading on this subject, please read Jason Collins Breaks Barriers.

Prom Is Here

As the school year winds down, things we seniors actually care about are slowly but surely approaching. Those things include (but are not limited to) graduation, leaving for college, and prom. Yes, prom season is finally here. And speaking of prom, mine is this Friday. I am extremely excited. The class of 2013 chose this year's theme to be Springtime in Paris. I like spring colors because they are soft. I cannot wait to see how the ballroom will be decorated. I finished up my prom shopping yesterday. I chose my dress sometime in February. It took a while to find it, but I knew it was the one after I tried it on. My shoes are absolutely gorgeous. They are simple pumps, but they accent my dress so well. I already have my accessories and everything. The only thing I need now is a small to medium size clutch. The handbag will definitely complete my look. I am not much of the dress wearing type, but I am going to turn heads on Friday. My best friend and I will essentially be double dating that night. My parents will be our chauffeurs for the night. I am so excited to see other people's outfits. Friday cannot come quick enough.

Ricin Letters

About a week ago, ricin-laced letters were sent to President Obama, Senator Roger Wicker, and Judge Sadie Holland. Ricin is a highly toxic protein, that when a small dose is inhaled, can kill an adult human. Paul Kevin Curtis was the first suspect of the crime against the President. Kevin Curtis was on an one-man campaign for over a decade to expose the "illicit organ harvesting scheme" at a Tupelo hospital. The poisoned letters were signed "I am KC and I approve of this message." The signature led to the investigation of Curtis. After a thorough search of Kevin Curtis and his ex-wife's house, there was no sufficient evidence linking Curtis to the crime. With the lack of evidence, all charges against him were dropped by federal investigators. Curtis's family and his brother (Jack) did not immediately think that the charges against Kevin Curtis were false, due to Curtis's history of mental illness. However, they knew something was wrong when informed that a poisoned letter was sent from him to Obama. "Somebody messed up because he likes Obama," said Jack. It was then that the family suspected that Kevin Curtis was framed. Jack told the authorities to take a look at Everett Dutschke (a former employee of his that had an "antagonist" relationship with Kevin Curtis). On Tuesday and Wednesday, Dutschke's home and his former school was searched. Evidence was recovered that connected Dutschke to the contaminated letters. After careful inspection, it was concluded that the letters were in fact forged to mimic Curtis's handwriting, and the usage of his slogan sealed the deal. Everett Dutschke was arrested Saturday morning at his home. He was then turned over to the U.S. marshals. He is currently facing charges of the possession, development, and stockpiling of a biological toxin, and a delivery system to use a weapon. If convicted, Everett Dutschke can serve a life sentence in federal prison. For further reading on this topic, see Contaminated Letters.

"Friends"

It is just registering to me that everyone cannot be trusted. People that you were once close with can (and most likely will) turn on you. When people used to tell me stories about stuff like this, I thought that they did something to turn the person against them and just didn't want to tell me. So when it happened to me, I was astonished. The person was introduced to me by a mutual friend. When they first came around, I was skeptical of them. I made it known immediately. But "our" friend told me to at least give them a try. Although I wasn't comfortable with it, I let my guard down (since my best friend was vouching for them). As time went by, we got closer. They would tell me things, and although they often clashed with other things that were said, I did not call them out or cast judgment. I thought we were actually making some type of progress. Boy was I wrong. About a month or two ago, the person had an attitude. I asked what was wrong, trying to be a caring friend. But I got ignored. It did not just happen once, but at least three times. I stopped asking and stopped caring. The person was also acting flaky towards "our" friend. The person doesn't sit with us or talk to us, or even look at us. Whenever they were asked why they act that way towards me and my best friend, they come up with an excuse (they got worse and less believable each time). I just do not understand how you can be cool with somebody one day, and nothing bad happens, but you're throwing endless shade. It is crazy.

Senioritis

Senioritis (n): an ebbing of motivation and effort by high school seniors as evidenced by tardiness, absences, and lower grades. I thought that senioritis was a myth. I thought is was just an excuse for people to not do their work. But I know it is real. The 2012-2013 school year is quickly winding down. There is only 4 (YES 4) weeks left. And senioritis has set in heavy. I am usually on top of my work. Not saying that I am the best student, or the worst, but I am generally able to get things done. However, I have not been on my game lately. Since winter break, I haven't done any good quality work. I have been doing just enough to get by, and even that isn't working for me. I skimp on assignments and turn in incomplete work. I know it's bad but I am just not motivated anymore. Focusing on school work is becoming more difficult by the day. I am worried more about life after high school, rather than doing what is necessary to get out, and it is being reflected in my grades. Typically, I get B's and high C's. Right now I believe I have at least 2 F's. It is not that I don't understand the material. It is that I'm just not doing it, or I turn in crappy work. With only 21 days left in the school year, I cannot afford to start slacking. I will find a way to cure this case of senioritis because Jonae Hodge will walk across the stage on June 12, 2013.

Boston Marathon

The Boston Marathon is one of the most anticipated races of the year. Running the marathon is a way to qualify for the Olympics. On Monday, April 15, 2013 a race was being ran. However, this was no typical race. About three-quarters of the 23,000 participants crossed the finish line when a bomb exploded. The bomb was set in a trash can near the finish line. It went off around 2:50 pm. The bomb exploded on Boylston Street (near the heart of the city) amongst a vast number of people. Thirteen seconds late, another bomb exploded only several hundred feet away. Jarrett Sylvester said said "the first one went off, I thought it was a big celebratory thing, and I just kept running." Many people were unaware that the blast came from a bomb. They were convinced that it was planned after the second one though. The explosion kill 3 people, and injured 175.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was hospitalized after going on the run. He is being charged with using weapons of mass destruction. Tsarnaev said that he and his brother (now deceased) acted alone, and are not connected to any terrorist group. He admitted his role in the bombing. Due to his injuries, he cannot speak. He wrote information about the attack for detectives.