Skipping

Last year when I was a junior, I skipped piano for a whole week to go and be with my girlfriend, I know it was a stupid mistake and I didn't stop to think that I was going to get a call home. However I wouldn't have gotten caught if it wasn't for mom coming up to the school to talk to my counselor and my counselor called me out of class but i wasn't there. Dumbest thing I ever did because it wasn't worth the consequences, my grade dropped, my parents didn't trust me and my teachers felt a certain way about me, but i didn't really care how my teachers felt. This year I'm a senior and I honestly haven't skipped no more than two times this trimester. On the days that i don't skip the school wants to call my parents and say that i missed an hour, which is stupid because if anything, I was probably late. The point that I'm trying to make is the days that skip, they choose not to call home but on the days I go to all my classes, that's when they do call home.

Time Management

I learned that I really don't use my time wisely. I might be addicted to procrastination; this might sound crazy but it's true because this whole I had basketball tryouts at 7 pm so I had plenty of time to do my final project for retail market and makeup my blogs but I chose to wait and come home to do it, then go to school the next day super tired because I was up all night doing homework that could have been done earlier. So now it's 12:04 and I'm making up blogs that I should've did after school. Its so many more blogs for me to makeup, hopefully I do excellent on this final. I'm never doing this again because I'm extremely tired and frustrated.

Blog Analysis

While reading the other groups blogs, the one that stood out to me mostly was group 101. They had some great/interesting discussions. The blog ''Field Day'' was one of my favorites because it was very well written. It said that the seniors overreacted about not winning, it was mostly our fault and we didn't try hard enough.

Group 2, had some good topics and conversations. They did a great job developing ideas through the comments.

Group 3, showed alot of interest in what they were writing because they didn't just write a short paragraph. It was cool how you used videos and pictures to support your ideas.

The Nelly Nells, You guys had a lot of topics to talk about which is great. You also had good conversations going on through the comments. I really enjoyed your blogs.

UNDERRATED

So today was the basketball tryouts and I got cut from the team. This was a big disappointment because I worked so hard to make the team and played my heart out since the summer league. Its funny because every since i stepped foot in Groves, I felt like I was underrated as a basketball player and it just wasn't fair to me and the other underrated players in the school. Since Sophomore year I've had to deal with politics and compete against people that I know wasn't better than me. Last year I got cut and this is my senior year. I feel like a loser who got his dreams crushed, these three years at Groves have been nothing but a lesson.

Group Blog Analysis

When reviewing Group 2's blog, the layout grabbed my attention and made it enjoyable to read the posts. The pictures and videos were seen right away, instead of having to click on a link to see the material. This is very eye appealing and affective. With Group 3, I was very impressed with their clean work and active participation. There were many comments on most posts which shows that the group members were active in each other's posts. Their posts were focused around a few centralized topics, as well. For the Senior Writing 101 blog, their efforts were very evident. Their posts were not minimal, and contained a lot of content, images, and pictures. They writers definitely seemed to be interested in this project and showed passion, instead of having dry work just to get class credit. The Nelly Nells had a very creative title. It was enjoyable to read their posts, with many insightful comments, thoughts, and ideas from many members. It was straightforward and visually simple. I enjoyed the fact that every blog was different. I was expecting to be viewing 5 similar blogs but thankfully, each was unique and different. All the class members have different views and ideas which helped create some diversity with the blog posts. Personally, I really enjoyed reading Karey's posts from the Senior Writing 101 blog. She's a good writer and grasps my attention with rhetorical questions and visual content, such as pictures, links, and videos.

Other Blogs

The Nelly Nels had pretty good post content. Good detail in each post, explaining each topic. You guys elaborated on your claim and used evidence to back it up. Group #3 also had good content in each post. You guys did a great job of commenting on each others posts. It was good to see people contribute . Group #2 had a lot of blogs on different topics. The detail was really well put together with evidence to back up your claim.

Blog Analysis

When I was looking through the blogs, I found one in particular that stood out from the others. The Group 3 blog had captivating colors, and a nice background that went nicely with it. Also on almost every post they had multiple comments on it, and they all brought up their opinion.

McMurphy and Luke

I don't understand why McMurphy had to be put in a mental hospital, he was the most normal person in the hospital, he kept those guys on the right track and showed them that nothing was wrong with them and that they didn't have to take any medication. He was a trouble maker and a risk taker but he didn't care about getting in trouble or punished, that's why all the patients looked up to him because he was the only one who would stand up to the ward, Luke was the same way. You could tell that the prisoners looked up to Luke because when he was pretending to be good and act like the guard's pet, the rest of the prisoners were sad and disappointed in him because that wasn't the Luke they looked up to. 

Do Video Games Cause Violence?

I found article online, and being a fan of video games I couldn't help but click on it. It's about video games causing violence, something I've had to deal with most of my life, ever since I was six. In the article it says:

"In a debate that has been raging for nearly two decades, the latest research suggests the impact of violent video games has been overstated. In the new study, Drs. Christopher Ferguson and Cheryl Olson discovered violent video games such as ‘Mortal Kombat,’ ‘Halo’ and ‘Grand Theft Auto’ did not cause high-risk teens (those with symptoms of depression or attention deficit disorder) to become aggressive bullies or delinquents."

Detroit Lions Superbowl Contenders

The Detroit Lions are serious contenders for the upcoming super bowl. They have one 3 straight without their star playet Calvin Johnson. These Lions are tough, smart and resilient. They are winning games on the strength of a top-flight defense and a quarterback who refuses to lose. Stafford is undoubtedly evolving as a passer and leader. While he's always had the physical tools to succeed, he's now avoiding the backbreaking turnovers that had become his trademark, along with the Howitzer attached to his right shoulder. He's playing smart football and is finding ways to win..

Steph curry (best point gaurd in NBA)

“I’m trying to establish myself as the best point guard in the league,” Curry said on CBS Sports Radio's The Morning Show in August. (bleacher report). Per-game averages of 24 points and 8.5 assists on 47.1 percent shooting overall and 42.4 percent shooting from deep remain mind-melting touchstones. No other player in NBA history has registered said benchmarks simultaneously for an entire season, which admittedly isn't surprising.( Bleacher report ). In my opinion Curry is faster and a better scorer than Chris Paul. Its easier for Paul to get assists due to twin towers. Curry works for his assists. Curry can carry a team.

College Plans

The college I want to go to is Northwestern Michigan College, located in Traverse City right next to the beach. If I went there I would major in aviation, and the UAS, UAV, Drone program. After seeing drones on 60 minutes, I have been fascinated by the things they will be used in, search and rescue, delivery, and many others.

Cool Hand Luke

So far this film has been very good. It shows you the life of a road prison and how tough it can be. The everyday occurences that can happen throughout the prison Is shown. A caustically witty look at the American South and its still-surviving chain gangs, with Newman in fine sardonic form as the boss-baiter who refuses to submit and becomes a hero to his fellow-prisoners. Underlying the hard-bitten surface is a slightly uncomfortable allegory which identifies Newman as a Christ figure.

strict parents

It’s actually tiring the amount of effort and creativity necessary to enjoy yourself with protective and strict parents. I’ve missed out on a lot because of the restrictions my parents put on me, so if your only choice is to say you’re going to the movies when you’re actually going to a party, then so be it.
I compare my life to that scene in “Bend it Like Beckham” where Jess, forbidden to play soccer by her very traditional parents, hides her uniform in the bushes where she later dresses herself, along with guilt, as she secretly plays on a soccer team. My uniform in the bushes is just myself trying to enjoy life as much as I can, regardless of how I have to go about it.
The fact is that there shouldn’t be any hiding; there should be no bush. I always find myself questioning things that most people my age have never had to.

impossible to be healthy in the USA

Living in America proved to me that it's impossible to be healthy. I've so many times to start eating healthy but whenever i go out, I'm tempted to eat junk food. First of all, junk food is so much cheaper than healthy food. If you get a meal at a fastfood it will probably cost you 4-5 dollars. If you buy a salad, it will cost you 9+ dollars. Let's be real, no one wants to spend that much money on some lettuce. Same with the fruits; they are extremely expensive, i noticed that when i started working at a super market. I think that should change because America has a huge number of obese people. If healthy food gets cheaper then maybe people will go towards that. I know i will.

My ''fat'' day

Today has been very weird.. I can't stop eating for some reason. I woke up in the morning and made pizza rolls for breakfast which is very strange. An hour later, I made a ham sandwich. Then i went to work; i work at market fresh so that didn't help at all. I got there, I got a bunch of chocolate and i also had pepsi. When lunch time came, i got fried chicken and a side of chicken noodle soup. AND i still didn't get full. After that I got cookies from the bakery and juice. Even my friends at work noticed that my mouth didn't stop moving since I got there. I got home from work and had ''dolma'' which is a famous arabic dish.. right now i'm writing this and thinking about what I'm going to eat next. I will regret this tomorrow.

New House

I recently moved into a new house and i'm loving it. Before, i used to live in an apartment that only have two rooms so i had to share with my brother. That wasn't fun because he's a very messy person. I never knew where my clothes/makeup were... it was a struggle. Now i have my own room, my own personal closet and a bed to call my own. This house is very organized so now i can invite my friends over without feeling embarrassed.

College Progress

There is one day left. Today is October 31st, and the deadline for early admission is November 1st. Luckily, I submitted all my college applications last week and so far got accepted to attend two colleges- Michigan State University and Wayne State University. So far, I have yet to hear back from Oakland University and University of Michigan. I am hoping I get accepted into UofM because my sister goes there and that is my first choice. If I dont get accepted, I am going to attend State. The sense of relief I got after submitting all my applications was astonishing. I didn't think as much weight would be lifted off my shoulders. Senior year has actually begun! What would make me even more relieved is hearing back from all the colleges, but until then, I am going to let fate take its course. I am trying to enjoy my last year of high school as much as possible.

Taco Bell

Today was a great day. I found out about the Doritos Cheesy Gordita Crunch Nacho Cheese. I have never been more excited because I love the Doritos Taco and the Gordita Crunch Taco so put them together and I am sure it would taste like heaven. Today's going to turn into an even better day when I go to Taco Bell right after school and try one. The only thing stopping me from wanting to try it is the amount of calories it has. One of those tacos has 490 calories. Sometimes it's worth it though, you know? Live mas!

Fire

"It's like fire. It can either heat your house or burn it." I heard this quote being said in the movie we watched in class about advertising. It stood out to me which is really odd considering other people might have not even realized it was said. I believe this not only applies to the advertisement industry but also other situations. Having an extreme of one thing could never be good, such as the case with fire. Too much socializing? Leads to lack of commitment towards education and school. Too much effort spent on studying and no socializing? No friends, no support system, no memories, and definitely not living life to its fullest. I will always have that quote in the back of my head because I am currently learning more about myself each day and have the tendency to either lean to one extreme or the other (listed above). In high school, I want to begin to understand my place in this world and the quote said in the movie will assist me and many other high schoolers.

Advertisements - Hawaii Chair

The advertisement above is for the Hawaii chair, with nothing to do with Hawaii except to give it a tropical feel. The Hawaii chair brings the promise of abs, and getting fit while sitting. The ad is merely using insecurities on people so they think they can get fit while sitting, and saying that "it takes the work out of the workplace."

College Apps

As a senior in high school, I thought this year would be a blow off. I go back to last year and remember my sister and friends, who were seniors, enjoying their time at school, pumped about spirit week, and the football games. I am quite the opposite. This year has been so anti-climatic for me. Why? I thought I would love being senior just as much but oddly enough, I don't. I think the main cause for this is having college apps on my shoulders. I am too stressed to focus on the fact that this is my last year in high school, that next year I am no longer living at home with my parents, that I will not see more than half the people I see ever again.

Detroit's Economy

Throughout Detroit, there is a minimal amount of local business's, and many big companies that usually require a high level of education. With the poor education by DPS and a low amount of jobs to pay for college expenses, the companies will most likely hire people from outside of Detroit. With a low amount of jobs, it is leaving Detroit with a poor economy.

Falcon Fortune

I am dedicating this post to spread awareness about the new event GSC has created to increase the school spirit at Groves. Typically, we select a theme for the student section at football games to wear. Examples done in the past include patriotic, western/cow boys, camo, green out, etc. We are now encouraging the student body to wear their spirited apparel during the school day. If a student is dressed up, they get a raffle ticket and are entered into the "Falcon Fortune." At the end of the day, a student will be randomly drawn from the raffle and win a $10 gift card. During football season, this will occur every Friday and the theme will be announced earlier on in the week. Tomorrow's theme is "White Out" so every one should dress up!! Once football season is over, we will continue this event but change the day according to what sport events are occurring that week. For example, one week we'll have the school dress up for a volleyball game on Tuesday or a basketball game on a Thursday.

Indie Project

 For my independent project I will be live streaming a church service at my church FUMC of Birmingham. It will be streamed through YouTube, so people can watch from there phone, tablet, computer and TV. People can donate money via StreamTip, and there name will pop up on the projector at the front of the room. I firmly believe this will help my church because, Sunday is a day for rest you should be able to watch church from your couch in your pajamas, instead of waking early and getting dressed formally.

social segregation

In Groves, I've noticed that African Americans have a group, White people have a group, chaldean people have a group. I think that is happening because they just feel better around people that they can relate to. For example; I am chaldean and when I hangout with people with different cultures, I just feel uncomfortable because I know that they have different values/thought. When I hangout with people that are like me, I don't feel like I have to impress them, I can just be myself and no one would judge me based on my thoughts. In my culture, parents are very protective and they do not allow their daughters to date/hookup with random guys, when I tell that to my American friends; they always judge. I honestly think that's the right way to raise your children, girls need to respect themselves and save themselves for the right person. All my chaldean friends would agree but Amricans would just think that I am old fashioned and weird. That's exactly why I don't like hanging out with people that don't share my culture and religious views.

Ferguson Riots

The riots were significant in Ferguson, MO becauseit reflects all the years of.discrimination African Americans had to endure. Numerous murders occurred that dealt with blacks who had encounters with the police. Rosa Parks not giving up her seat on the bus, but still arrested. Trayvon Martin shot and killed for no good reason. All the pain and suffering blacks endured is just a testiment of the long road too the the journey of getting equal rights.

Hijab

In my religion, women are accustomed to wearing the headscarf called the hijab. The more religious the Muslim woman is, the more she covers up her body. Some women, such as the ones in the family, are not that religious and do not wear the hijab. In other families, some girls start wearing one from a young age, such as 6, due to the pressure of their parents. My family luckily sees it differently. It has become a choice that I could make when and if I am ever ready. The woman has to cover her body from her ankle to her wrists to her neck and to her hair. That is very tough at a young age because that would deprive us of clothes other American girls wear all the time. Some examples include bikinis, shorts, tank tops and more. Also, once the hijab is put on, the commitment is official and one can not take it off whenever they no longer want to wear it. That is why I am not being pressured into wearing one. If I ever become strong enough and inspired, I will try my best to represent Islam in the most modest and respectful way.

Respect

Respect is one of the most important features a person can have. I was raised in an Arabic family, they told me to respect everyone around me, even the people that don't deserve it. When you respect people, you will get their respect back. I am  so influenced by respectful people; Showing respect to people just shows the kind of person you are and it shows values.when you have respect for others it builds trust. And when you have respect for yourself you feel good about yourself and people will have the same confidence in you.

Eid

This past weekend, there was a Muslim holiday called Eid. This holiday is the equivalence to Christmas for Christians. All Muslims dress up in new adn formal attire and spend the day with friends and family. My day consisted of 4 hours at the mosque. From 10am-2pm, I ate brunch and prayed at the mosque and met up with my friends there. Afterwards, my friends came back to my house to celebrate with sweets and board games. It provided a sense of comfort and happiness, the same kind a child gets on Christmas Eve. At 6pm, my friends and I departed ways to go eat dinner with our families. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, all get together and exchange gifts while eating tons of Arabic food. The holiday, even though it was one day, made my entire weekend special and memorable.

History of Detroit

There were a lot of things about Detroit that I never knew about, such as Lakewood. I never knew that part existed. Workers at Ford motor company only got paid 5$ a day. But back then , that was somewhat managable for family income. Over 414,000 whites moved out by the 70's and 80's. The first African American Mayor of Detroit was Coleman A. Young. He ended a lot of the segregation that took place in the city. Detroit overall is the oldest city in the nation founded in the 1770's.

Mean Girls

I've seen Mean Girls many, many times. All times but one, I've watched the movie as a form of entertainment. The one exception consists of me watching the movie in Honors Precalc last year because the movie involves a lot of math problems. This time I'm not watching the movie for just plain fun or for math, I am watching it to see the how girls are objectified. To see the interaction of boys and girls in high school. To see how society works. This is the first time I've watched the movie and noticed the references to current day issues. I am glad we're watching this movie in class because it's a fun and entertaining way to combine social issues with comedy.

Mean Girls

The scene where Regina takes Kaity's lover Aaron, shows how female have more of a "sneaky" trait rather than males. Females typically would do whatever it takes to get their revenge. I think this film portrays the secrets and gossip girls will pass around to make your life bad.

Mean girls

The movie Mean Girls is a perfect example of girls caring more about their looks then their academic performance. They mostly care about the ''likes'' they get on their pictures or on their outfits and who has the hottest boyfriend. You can see that Lindsey Lohan was good at math when she first got to school but when she got involved with the ''plastics'', everything went downhill for her. Girls that focus on those things will obviously fail in their education career. They call smart people nerds which is very wrong; there are no needs for labels. People have different interests/hobbies and no one should  be judged based on that.

Project Decision

Dina and I were talking about what we wanted to do for our project. I said I wanted to search up makeup tutorials and learn different techniques that I could use on a day-to-day basis. She loved that idea because she loves makeup. So we decided to do our project together and search up tutorials. On some days, we will even bring in our own makeup and test it out in class when we have the day to work on the project. We will type up what we learned and take pictures of ourselves with the new makeup on for future reference.

Hope Solo

Hope Solo was arrested and charged with two counts of domestic abuse in connection with an assault on her sister and her nephew. I believe that she should be in jail and tested for mental stability because clearly it's a psychological issue. someone doesn't simply hit their siblings. I wish she spoke about this so I can see her point of view.

Men VS. Women

I've had to deal with the idea of men are better or stronger than women my whole life. While living in Iraq, women did not have much rights and no one respected their opinions. At some point they were not even able to drive around without a man by their side. This conflict is still going on in the middle east and is getting worst. About a month ago, Isis kidnapped hundreds of women from their own house and now they are making them their slaves; they are even selling them to strange men. I think that this is a huge problem going on and someone needs to put an end to it. Women do not deserve this treatment; every woman should be respected because we're all equal.
- Dina Kadadi

NFL Domestic Violence Policy

Ever since the new NFL domestic violence policy came to life, multiple NFL players have been suspended from the league such as Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, Ravens running back Ray Rice, and Cardinals running back, Jonathan Dwyer. Peterson was arrested for disciplining his 4-year-old son in May in Spring, Tex., by hitting him with a small tree branch, called a switch. His son had multiple welts on his back. I personally believe that Peterson shouldn't have took it that far by using a tree branch, especially with a toddler that young. This policy is somewhat too harsh because it basically ruins his season due to his actions. I think the NFL still should have this policy, but to lower consequence standards. 

How relevant to your lives are the events of 9/11/01?

Very relevant. As an Arab in the United States, I have witnessed a lot of ignorance and hate towards my culture. People tend to stereotype all Arabs as terrorists, because of 9/11. In my case, I had a lot of trouble finding friends and fitting in due to my Arab culture. In my other Arab friends(muslim) case, they just experienced a lot of racial jokes. All Arabs witness those jokes on social media, such as twitter, instagram and twitter. 

9-11-01

After watching the video, it showed that the terrorists had uncomplete applications and they still got into America with no problems. How did they allow that? Even when they went through the metal detector, the machine startd beeping. At that point, they should have checked their documents to make sure that they were not dangerous. The security guards were not doing their job right. Those terrorits should not have been allowed in our country with fauls identifications and the security guards should have been able to notice. -Dina Kadadi

George Bush

While watching the video, we found it appalling that he would go on a vacation when the government needed help. We thought that it was a sign of him being a coward. People already thought he was a bad president so the fact that he wasn't putting in his full effort to help the country slowly loses his credability. One guy was so amused of his lack of effort, he made a video that we watched in class yesterday. He would play videos of Bush's first reaction when he found out about the 9-11 plane crashes and would ask the audience "I wonder what he was thinking about? Probably about how he's hanging out with the wrong people and should have gone to the antiterrorism meetings." -Dina Kadadi

Reflection on "Tough Guise"

I personally believe that men have a higher level of violence compared to women. Everyone that has ever been robbed or murdered was most likely committed by a male. The terms that are used like "fag" to describe another male who is so called "less of a man" is ridiculous because certain males don't think "fighting" is the answer to all of our problems. There is most certainly nothing wrong with that.

Brainstorming

Our class has a project that we will be working on for the rest of the term and will present at the very end. I have been trying to think of what I could spend an hour or so of every week doing. I not only want it to be fun, but also worth my time. I want to benefit and gain knowledge from the time put into this project.
Do I research and learn more about my religion, Islam? Would that lead to controversy or make some students uncomfortable when I have to present at the end of the tri?
Do I look into makeup tutorials and teach myself how to perfect the art of makeup? I use makeup everyday so that would be beneficial but it would also be hard to test out what is taught in the video tutorials in class so a lot of time would be spent on this outside of class.

9/11 reflection

After viewing the video in class, it is safe to say that I have taken a whole new take on the tragedy. At first, I knew the basics of the event and knew it was a sad moment for people all over America, but I didn't see videos, hear recordings, or listen to real life experiences from first hand sources. After watching victims reflect on their experiences and seeing the injuries they got from the event, I was traumatized. Not to mention seeing the real videos of the plane crashing into both buildings and people jumping out of it. -Sally Kafelghazal

Feminism Reflection

In class today, we were told to make a T chart to compare male and female associations. I don't get offended when people make fun of females and say things like "go make me a sandwich." Instead, I feel bad for them due to their ignorance. Feminism has always been a part of my life due to culture. Being Arabic and Muslim, I have heard stories about prophets and how they were all for giving males and females equality. I understand males are genetically capable of being stronger and bigger, but when it comes to intelligence and salary, women are just as equal as men.

Moore Film

When watching the film I felt I was being hypnotized or something into hating president Bush. Throughout the film Moore uses cheap tactics to make Bush look as bad as possible, and I have heard bad things about him and he could be the worst president ever, but I was 4 so don't know.

Learning for the Future

Some skills you will need in the future, will be the ability to use new technology. The best way to acquire this skill is to keep up-to-date with the newest technology products. I think the biggest change within the last century is technology, and I think that will continue to change in the 21st century. I think that I will be prepared to function within the 21st century because I use technology quite a lot and am very interested what is to come in the future.