Engaging v. Confusing

I would have to say my best classroom experience was my 10th grade world history class. I think the best quality of a class is when the subject matter does not interest you but the teacher draws you in so that you want to learn it anyway. My teacher was completely engaging and creative when it came to lesson plans. We had long discussions of current events and did fun activities to demonstrate event in history. I love when a class is both challenging and approachable so that you are able to succeed.

My worst educational experience was my 11th grade physics class with a teacher who had taught for a year at a community college. The biggest problem that I ever have in the classroom is when a teacher is not confident or completely knowledgeable in the subject. We often had to correct him or he would tell us too completely opposite explanations for the same thing. It was so confusing. The second worst problem is lack of control. Since the class had little focus, students did whatever they wanted and the teacher could not do anything to control them.

Family Ties

When I reminisce about my childhood what I remember most is fighting with my older brother. We were at odds since before I was even born. He was jealous of all the attention I was getting in my family as the new baby girl. We were always arguing or brawling in some way, usually about the most trivial things. I never played the right way or built the forts we would make with our other siblings correctly. By the time we were teenagers we had absolutely no relationship and continued to not get along.

When I was sixteen, he was twenty one and managing at a restaurant and reluctantly got me a job. Although I wanted the job, I was not looking forward at all to spending any more time than I had to with him. But an amazing thing happened: the more time we spent together, not so much in our brother and sister role, but as coworkers, we were able to relate more than ever. We bonded about all the things we did not like about the restaurant, coworker gossip, and finally about our family. A friendship with my big brother developed for the first time in my life. He lives in Louisiana now, but we have remained close, rarely fought, and have actually taken on the sibling relationship that we missed out on while clashing all of those years.

With my other siblings those relationships were not so strained. My sister and I are two years apart and, ever since we were roommates and played Barbies for hours on end, have been the best of friends. We could escape from the boys and just hang out with each other. My younger brother by four years has always been a source of laughter for me, lightening up any mood with a joke or just acting out of his lack of common sense. As we have aged and matured, our ages seem irrelevant as we relate to each other more and more, feeling as though we are all equals.

I will never take for granted the special relationship that only a sibling can provide. Through everything—successes, disappointments, breakups, friendship problems, the best of times, or the worst—family is what will hopefully always be there. Not everyone I know is lucky enough to be so close to their family, and I will forever cherish the tight knit bonds that I have with mine. I believe that the love and support that we constantly give to each other is incredibly important and valuable. No matter who comes in or out of my life, I will forever appreciate my brothers and sister who will always be there. They make me want to be a better person so that I can always be a positive role model and friend in their life. My siblings have helped mold me into the person that I am and will always be a guiding force in my life.

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Generation Carefree

Compared to other generations, ours is completely carefree. We are completely desensitized to both violence and sexuality. We dress, talk, and act much less conservative than any previous generation. Putting our personal lives on display through the internet, to both strangers and our peers, is not something to worry about. No problem is important enough to cause stress, even those that will negatively affect us in our lifetime, such as the state of the economy or depletion of natural resources. On the positive side, we are also much more open minded, uncaring of the differences between us.

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