Ruby

I have this little white dog named Ruby. She has been a part of our family for six years now and I can’t imagine life without her anymore. She has brought so much joy, love and excitement into our home. And I firmly believe that pets really do make life better.

No matter how long I have been gone, whether it is 2 minutes, 2 hours, or 2 days; I can always count on Ruby to be at the door wagging her tail and prancing around to greet me. And really – this is something only a dog can do. It would just be weird if our moms and dads or brothers and sisters waited in the window for us all day long and came racing to the door; jumping up and down to greet us. It just doesn’t happen.

I have also learned to expect the unexpected when it comes to dogs. On the outside, Ruby is an innocent looking, 8 pound, puppy-eyed, little sweetheart; but on the inside she has the heart of a Doberman. She likes to give the people the idea that she is as tough as they come – ready to protect her people at any cost. There is no dog too big to bark at (from afar of course), no person to scary, and nothing can get in her way. That is the appearance that she likes to give to other people. But to us; she is the dog that won’t go for a walk in the Fall because the leaves crunch under her feet and it scares her, the dog that we have to clear a spot on the grass for when the snow gets to deep, and the dog that will snuggle up in your lap the moment you sit down. 

Even though she is a bit of a goofball; we still love her. She doesn’t quite have enough front teeth to keep her ridiculously long tongue in – so it is always hanging out of her mouth. Her mouth is closed, but her tongue is sticking out. She never wines or makes noise when she wants something, she simply scratches with one paw at whatever she wants. The scratching gets more and more violent if we don’t listen, she becomes impatient, or there is a dog in the park that she just HAS to run out and bark at. When she has had a bad day or is mad about something – we find a trail of stuffed animals across the upstairs hallway. If I have been gone for too long or left too many times in one day, she will greet me when I come home; and then give me the silent treatment. Even if I call her, she will pretend she didn’t hear me and prance over to someone else. She has the biggest brown eyes that just melt your heart every time you look at her and the cutest button nose. These features make it nearly impossible to deny her anything. She really does think she is the boss and that we would be absolutely lost and unprotected without her -  so we let her believe it; it makes her happy.

I had wanted a dog from the time I was four – and my parents FINALLY gave in when I was twelve years old. She is my dog. I am the one that her entire world revolves around; the one that she sits in the window and waits for; and the one that she loves unconditionally. I once read a bumper sticker that said “I strive to be the person my dog thinks I am.” This statement makes complete sense. My dog thinks that I am just the greatest thing since sliced bread and all I have done is love her. Pets are a great addition to a household because of what they can bring in. I love my dog, she’s a nut; but I love her.

The Days Keep Flying By

Graduation. When I first walked through the doors in grade nine, I thought that day would never come. It is so strange to think that in June I will be done with high school. We will all be going on our separate ways and opening a new chapter in our lives. It is sad to think about leaving this place; all the friends and memories that were made here, but it is also so exciting to think about what is coming next. It will feel so nice just to be done with high school and be ready to move on to new and exciting things. There is no harm in looking forward to the future, as long as we keep up with the responsibilities of the present.
I find it odd how the day I thought would never come, now seems to be coming so quickly. The days, weeks, and months are flying by so fast; almost too fast. It is really starting to feel like there is so much to do and so little time. I think that part of the reason why this year is seeming to go by so quickly is because I already have to start planning for next year and decide what I want to do and where I want to go. It’s what is on my mind right now; along with keeping up everything that is presently going on in life.

Now that I’m nearing the end, it would be so much easier just to slack off and take some time to relax while things just fall into place. But I can’t. I have to continuously find ways to stay motivated and keep on track with everything that is going on and that needs to get done. It’s ok to prepare for the future, as long as you are already prepared for the present.

They say that life starts after high school; and I guess I will be figuring that out for myself soon enough. The future can sometimes be scary to think about; not knowing where it will take me. Although, it can also be so thrilling to think about all of the new and exciting opportunities that await. I am looking forward to meeting the new challenges and experiences, but first I just want to enjoy all of the current ones. The future will come soon enough and there is no point sitting around and waiting for it to come. This is such an exhilarating stage of life; we have our whole lives ahead of us. Life may start after high school; but that doesn’t mean that you have to wait until after high school to start living. Enjoy where your life is at and be excited for where it is going to take you.

Game Day

From the moment you wake up until the second you step out on that court you can feel the excitement, the energy, and the focus for the battle you know you will have to fight that day. You cannot help but wonder how it will go, what will be the outcome, and if it will be a game you were proud to play in. The key element to getting ready for a game is focus. If your head isn't in it, you're going to get beat. You may still win the game, but you won't walk away feeling good about the game that you played.
Basketball is the game I play. For me, one of the best things about walking out onto that court is that I know that for the entire duration of the game, nothing else matters. Anything on my mind, anything stressing me out or driving me crazy; I can let it go. I know that I just have to focus on the task at hand and play the best that I can. We also have to go out there knowing that no matter what, we are not fighting this battle alone. No matter how the game is going we have to be able to count on our coaches and our teammates to fight alongside us.
Half-time is an important part of the game. It is a time for us to recognize what is going right and what is going wrong. We can use this time to re-focus and plan for the next half of the game. 
After the game, we as a team, take the time to reflect on the game and make sure that we gave it all we had; win or lose. This is also the time to bring up things that we need to improve and work on as a team or individually. Usually, this is the most important part of the game. You will never play a perfect game. There will always be things to improve on because no matter how good you get, you can always get better.
Just go out there, play your game, and don’t let anything stop you or hold you back.
Learning to focus on the task at hand is one of the most important things that I ever learned from playing the game. It can be applied to so many more parts of life than just sports. Sometimes things feel like they just keep piling up and you can’t get a break. I have realized that it is easier to look at each one as a separate ‘game’ rather than trying to complete, accomplish, or fix all of them at once. Focus. It really is the key element to fighting any battle, big or small. So just focus on the task at hand and let everything else go. Take everything one step at a time; and don’t ever try to fight a battle alone.  

Generation iY

This is a book that is focused on our generation and our future. I believe that some of the issues that the author talks about are true, but others are just unchangeable facts.

Technology is an amazing thing; it can lead to great success, but can also lead to great failure. How we choose to use it is up to us and our generation.

I do not believe in the way that they say we will be lost if they do not 'save' us. Sure, everyone at our age needs a little guidance as we decide who we want to become in this world.  But we all find our way eventually. I think that they are actually intimidated by how independent our generation is, and they are just looking to comfort themselves by saying that we need to be saved by them. How many of us have had to teach a parent or a grandparent how to use a computer or any sort of technology? This may be a scary fact for some adults; that the younger generation is having an easier time keeping up with the newest technologies. But yet, their generation is the one who has provided us with all of these advances in technology and continues to market a lot of it towards us.

 They say that we have grown up online, and that is completely true. But kids are not going out and buying their own computers and hooking them up to the internet themselves. The internet is our biggest resource; any questions, curiosities, and research can be answered with a single search and it would be crazy for us not to take advantage of it. But of course, the internet is not only used as a resource, but also a big portion is used daily for social networking. We can now talk to our friends and family with the touch of a button. This can be a very good thing, but also a very bad thing. It is good for the people who use it to stay in touch or just chat with people when they aren’t with them. The real trouble starts when people begin to use it as a wall to shield them from the outside world. It is a lot easier to say things to someone on a computer screen then it is to say it to their face; and too many people take advantage of that.

 I am sure that when generation Y was our age, making all the same mistakes, and just simply being selfish teenagers; their parents also thought that their futures needed to be saved. The world changes every day, but there are some things that never change. Parents will always feel the need to save and protect their children from the world, and there is nothing that we can do or say to change that.