A Month of High School(:

Old Friends, New Friends:

A lot of my old friends from middle school, I don't really see anymore if I don't have classes with them. Some of my friends that I hung out with during the summer I don't see them much either if they go to a different school. I have made a lot of new friends too though from the swim team. We spend a lot of time together from all the practices, meets, and team bonding stuff we do. I talk a lot about swimming, so it's good to have friends that understand what I'm talking about.


SHS Activities Attended:

During the last month of school, I haven't really attended too many activities. I went to the freshman dance, and had a lot of fun. I also went to most of the home varsity football games. I don't really like football--at all-- but I liked hanging out with my friends.(:


Funniest, Weirdest, Scariest Moments:

I guess this could count as a weird and scary moment.. but I stayed after school one day with the swim team to paint huge banners for the seniors on the team. All of us girls put our books, book bags, and purses on a bench while we worked. We had swim practice after, so we all ran to the locker room so we wouldn't be late. A couple of my friends and I had forgotten our stuff on the bench and decided we would go back for it after. When we were done with practice, and we came back my book bag and purse were gone. My friends' stuff was there, but mine wasn't. I panicked and searched all over. It was a Friday so almost all the janitors and teachers were gone. I couldn't believe it-who would want my homework, and my purse with barley anything in it? When I came to school on Monday, I had to explain to my teachers that I didn't have my homework... When third hour rolled around, Mrs. VanHorn said that she saw a janitor take purses and book bags into the auditorium (thinking they belonged to people trying out for the play). She said Mr. Coriliss might have it because he was in the auditorium that night. At lunch my friend Catie walked in, carrying my purse and bag and said, "You're stuff was in my seat".


HaRdEsT/eAsIeSt ClAsS aSsIgNmEnTs:

The hardest class assignment so far, has probably been my cultural event. Not that it was a very difficult task, it's just that it's a pretty big assignment and it was pretty stressful. I worked on it day and night for a couple days. The easiest... probably foods! I made a giant chocolate chip cookie(:




TOP FIVE CURRENT EVENTS

Recently, Governor Granholm vetoed a bill that cut about $7.7 million in funds for the Livonia School District.

Dow went past 10,000 finally after a year!

A painting that they thought was worth $19,000 was found to be painted by Leonardo daVinci now worth $150 million!

President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Typhoons, and Wind Storms over took the South Pacific for about two weeks. This destroyed and killed many people and cities.




Faces in the News

Faces in the news are Dimitry Medvedev, the president of Russia. Hamid Karzai, the "so-called president" of Afghanistan. Also, Sota Mayor who is the newest supreme court justice. Governor Granholm, Hillary Clinton is also in the news. Granholm passed the school budget bill and Hillary Clinton met with the president of Russia to talk about nuclear weapons between Russia and Iran.




Interesting New Words

I've learned a lot of new words this year. A couple that stuck with me are:

Vehemence, ludicrous, loquacious, perfunctorily, jubilant, and lethargic. I actually find myself using them a lot now without really thinking about it.




Popular/Memorable Songs

Just about everyone loves music by the small bands that got really big. Like All Time Low and Colbra Starship. Almost every girl loves Taylor Swift songs! The Hoe-Down Throwdown is not only a song that everyone knows, but the dance too.




Popular/Memorable Movies

Twilight saga! It's the obsession of everyone right now and New Moon is coming out this November. The Harry Potter movies seem to becoming popular again now that it is getting towards the end of the series. Scary movies seem to be really popular too. In like the seventh grade when Prom Night came out the whole world went and saw it.




Rumors or Gossip!

As far as celebrity gossip goes, Jon and Kate, from Jon and Kate + 8 got a divorce and they seem to be in the media often. Micheal Jackson died, and the whole world suddenly has decided to be his biggest fan. People's attention were turned to a story that a little boy got stuck in a hot air balloon and then they lost it! Eventually, the mother and father confessed it was all just an act and they told their children to lie about it.


Fads or Trends

Yoga pants-- girls wear them all the time and they are so comfortable. Straightened hair, or hair thrown up in a messy bun is the hairstyle that everyone seems to do. Boys don't really change too much. Ugg boots, potato shoes, and clogs with fur are really popular shoes too. Everyone always seems to dress up in the beginning of they year, but as it goes on you can see that people tend to care a little less and less because everyone is so sick of waking up and getting ready!





First Cultural Event

For my first cultural event, I went to the Greek Festival. It was hosted at the Greek Orthodox Church, and I learned a lot about that faith, and Greek food and culture. I learned a lot about how close the religion is to my own. I got to taste their delicious food, and watch some really cool dancing.



Homecoming

I actually had a swim meet right before the dance that started at noon all the way out at Eastern College. It was a big, important meet and it lasted until after three! All of us raced right out of the pool and into the showers to try and get to our hair appointment. We actually ended up swimming really good that day, and looked very pretty. My friend's mom is an amazing cook and she made the best food ever before the dance. I had so much fun at the dance.

Advice For Freshman

Watch out for the big seniors who know their way around the school-- it is so different from the little hallways of middle school. Get organized fast, because teachers don't really accept the whole "I forgot my homework at school" excuse too much anymore... The lunch room is like a jungle the first week. Find a lunch buddy and stick with them, so you can eat and not be eaten. From a swimmer with five a.m. morning practices-- learn to not care what your hair looks like, and get used to sweat pants.

What I'm looking Forward To

I'm really excited for the end of the year swim meets. They're the big championship meets, and it's going to be really fun. I'm also looking forward for swim season to be done, sort of, that way I can get involved in other after school activities besides swim practice. Is it sad I'm already looking forward to summer? Well, I am anyways. I had so much fun at homecoming, I can't wait for the next school dance too!

Culture, Culture, Culture

My culture is very traditional; my family does the same thing every year. I like to describe my dad’s side of the family, as “My big fat Italian family”. I say big, because I have seventeen first cousins on just that side. We always get together on major holidays like Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. When we get together though, one thing is always certain—we’re loud. Everyone in the neighborhood knows when the Cauzillo’s get together. One of the most important parts of my culture, or my family, is my dad’s job. My family owns their own business—Cauzillo Plumbing. My grandpa and my great uncle started this business way back before my grandpa was even married. My dad took up the business when my grandpa retired, and it is a huge part of my life. After my grandpa died, the business was the most precious thing my family had of him. This is a major part of my culture and back ground. My mom’s side is just a little bit smaller, with ten cousins. Every year, my grandpa hosts Thanksgiving and my grandma hosts Christmas. My mom’s side is very Belgium. My grandpa would make these special Belgium cookies called “luckys” and all the kids loved them. They were big thin cookies made in a waffle maker, sprinkled with cinnamon. I’m quite a mix of both cultures from Italy and Belgium. I love having family from both cultures and having the best of both worlds.

I cannot come up with one simple definition for American culture. America is so many different cultures combining to create one big culture. Many people have called the American culture the “big mixing bowl”. I have to agree. Of course there is apple pie, and baseball but that only covers a little bit of our population. As Americans we celebrate both Christmas and Kwanza. Some individual families celebrate both! We change so frequently according to all the diverse people that calls this country home. America also has a changing culture. In the 1950’s the culture consisted of the picture perfect stay at home mom, dad working at the auto industry, and kids playing catch with the neighborhood. A home-cooked meal was expected almost every night. It isn’t like that anymore. Most moms and dads work so there isn’t much time for homemade turkey and gravy, so it’s frozen dinner night, four or five nights a week. Kid’s don’t go outside and play every day after school anymore. Most change like this comes just from time change, or because so many new cultures come here from different countries. It’s hard to put a label on our culture, but it is certainly ours.