Christmas

It's crazy to think of how fast Christmas has crept up this year! It seems like it was summer just not too long ago. Now as we look at the calendar, Christmas is a mere 5 days away! It's hard not to be excited about this wondrous holiday season and all the fun activities it entails.

The Christmas season is full of joy and laughter. Christmas is a season of giving and it's always a great feeling to see someone open your gift. Opening gifts is a lot of fun as well. It is full of surprises and uncontrollable smiles and laughter. Christmas is also full of lots of food and family get-togethers. Christmas is a time to reconnect with family and understand the true meaning of Christmas.

Even though, I may not show it, I am thrilled that Christmas is just around the corner. I hope you feel the same way this Christmas season. Don't just go through the motions this year, make this Christmas a year to remember and enjoy it.

Disc golf

As I look into the forecast, much optimism is lost for being outside. I have enjoyed a lot of time outside this summer and fall and it soon looks as if those days are over. This fall has been wonderful, but with the shortened days and decreasing temperatures, outdoor hobbies will become a little more difficult such as disc golf.

It began this summer when I went disc golfing for the first time. I was immediately hooked on the sport and soon became an enthusiast. I then realized how popular it was and discovered that some of my friends and cousins also enjoy disc golfing. Aside from me liking to throw things as hard as I possibly can, disc golfing is fun in that is a laid back sport in which competition is usually limited. It is very fun to go with a group of friends and hang out in the outdoors while throwing discs at the same time.

Whereas not everybody gets the same amount of enjoyment out of throwing frisbees, it can be fun for anyone in that you can socialize the entire time. You don't need to be very good to get out there and play with some friends. It is a relatively cheap sport in that the only thing needed is a disc. Fall is obviously drawing near end, but I will definitely be looking forward to spring!

Holiday Season

As I have been enjoying this splendid November weather, it's easy to lose track of time. Football is now over and there is time during the day to get out and enjoy the weather. School seems to go by quicker and quicker. Days seem to trickle by now that the sun sets at 5 p.m.

It has now hit me that Thanksgiving is a mere 2 and a half weeks away. This is also a joyous time of year for me in that my kin all get together and have a big celebration. We usually spend a few days in another state while appreciating the hospitality of my aunt and uncle. We have a big feast for dinner in which we are reminded of how fortunate we are to be able to have a celebration with lots of food.

Even though the days will feel short and the weather will gradually make a turn for the worse, I am still optimistic for the times ahead. We are slowly entering the holiday season and I think it's a little difficult to tell right now with the wonderful weather we have had. Despite the dreadful weather we all know is coming, good times are on the way and that is always something to dwell on.

Times are changing

It's getting to the point in the year where the weather is beginning to turn. The temperature is dropping and the leaves are turning color. For me, this is a nice time of the year. While yes, summer is great and school is out, I love the spring and the fall such as right now. I enjoy the change in weather and it makes life just a little more enjoyable.

Right now, the weather is about as good as it gets. Sunny or partly cloudy with temperatures right around seventy. Maybe even a slight breeze to go along with it. When you get up in the morning, you take a step outside and get a big whiff of the wonderful air in your lungs and just feel refreshed. There is nothing more vitalizing than being outside on a crisp morning. And the afternoons are just as nice. You can just sit outside and listen to the leaves rustle as the wind blows. Or you can do activities outside in about as beautiful of weather as you can ask for.

Most people will say they think summer is the best season of the year and maybe it is. But it is hard to find a flaw with the weather we have been having. The change of temperature and color just make it easier to just unwind and relax for a while. Whether your favorite season is autumn or not, it's here and here to stay so just sit back and enjoy.

College

As my senior year quickly goes by, the image of college slowly appears larger and larger. All these deadlines are drawing nearer for college applications and for me anyway, stress slowly accumulates as the decision of which college to attend wears on me. As many of you know from experience, lots of colleges send you information saying they would enjoy your attendance and this results in lots decisions.

I have also attended numerous college reps and they all try to represent their college the best they can. It seems like almost every college has an interesting stat that is better than the rest. Each have there own unique characteristics and it makes it somewhat challenging to lean more towards one than the other. I haven't decided on a major of study yet but I guess I'm not alone. I guess it's pretty common to be undecided but it also makes it more difficult to choose a college when you aren't quite sure what you want to study.

You can see my struggles and concerns with picking a college. I realize I still have a lot of time to make a decision but it seems like time goes by quicker than I can manage. I'm sure there are plenty of students who feel the same I do but that doesn't buy me much comfort when I see my friends who already know what they want to do with their life. I will continue to keep working towards college and hopefully, it is revealed to me the best decisions of what to do with my life as well.

The Lord of the Flies

The free reading book I agreed to read is "The Lord of the Flies." It starts off a little confusing and lacking a bit of background information. However, as the book progresses through the first chapter, a little bit more is revealing of the setting and the story. It begins with a couple of pre-teenage boys who find themselves alone on an island. They discover that they were on a plane and were shot down. They realized that they weren't the only two boys on the plane so they decide to give a signal to anybody else on the island by blowing a trumpet-like conch shell.

After numerous attempts and many trial and errors, a young boy named Ralph discovers the way to correctly blow the conch shell. After a while, a good-sized group of boys assemble by Ralph and another kid nicknamed "Piggy." They decide to elect a group leader and they boys agree on Ralph. There is another boy in the mix and he was not so thrilled to not be elected leader. He is also the leader of a boy's choir group and his name is Jack. However, Ralph recognizes his ambition and decides to make him the leader of his group which shall be the hunters.

For me, the book has started off a little slow but I have hopes that it will get better. The only place I can envision this book going right now is a book of survival where the boys ultimately learn how to live off the land. If anybody else has read this book, I would appreciate comments on what you think of the book.

On torture

Yesterday I read a very interesting essay on a topic some don't want anything to do with. Torture. Some people will say "absolutely not," or "under no circumstances," but for Michael Levins, that is not the case. He realizes some of the situations that we as a country could be put in, and under some circumstances, understands methods to help get America out of them; torture.

Levins made some very compelling points such as if a terrorist said he had a bomb hidden that could kill thousands of people, would it not be logical to get the answer from him by any means possible? Torture is a good way to do this. Some people would disagree saying torture is "off limits," or "unethical," but is the price of possibly thousands of people not worth the torture of one person who, knowing the daring consequences, still planted a bomb somewhere? In situations such as that, I agree with Michael Levins in that torture is necessary. Some people may still disagree with torture in those situations because they are "unethical," but you must ask the questions, "Where would America be today if it had only done what is 'ethical'? What would have become of World War II?"

Levins made an interesting comment in his essay in that Roosevelt had the opportunity to assassinate Hitler during his reign but refused by moral grounds. To me, that is kind of upsetting to know that Hitler was allowing to go on with his doings while America just sat there. While this blog and Levins's essay are primarily opinions, I hope they have made you think about how America deals with these situations.