Rose Bowl

The college football bowls have been set in place. Auburn and Oregon are set to play in the BCS Championship, which is without a doubt the biggest bowl of all. The second greatest bowl, as most know, is the famous Rose Bowl. The two teams? Wisconsin University and Texas Christian University, also known as TCU. Did anybody see these teams coming? Absolutely not.

Ohio State was seen as the clear favorite to win the Big Ten this year, giving them either the Championship game or a back-to-back trip to the Rose Bowl. Instead, Wisconsin beat Ohio State in a head-to-head game, thus giving them the automatic bid to the Rose Bowl. TCU was seen to be a strong team this year, but no one ever thought they would actually make it to the Rose Bowl.

The stage has been set for one of the most interesting Bowl games of the season. My prediction, as my mother got her undergrad at Wisconsin, is somewhat bias. I think Wisconsin is stronger as they have a much more difficult schedule and conference. The Badgers will go on to win the Rose Bowl, 27-20, with the upset over the TCU Horn Frogs(and yes that is their actual mascot).

Last Week of the Quarter

School is normally bearable. Studying for for two tests in a week can be done, homework in most classes per night, and normal school work is easy. But the last week of every quarter, especially the second and fourth, is absolutely horrible. Teachers, maybe not because its their fault, tend to put one or two tests on the last week of the quarter, forcing the students to have almost ten tests in one week.

On top of the fact that we are forced to study, which is very stressful, the idea of getting a "B" or taking an exam puts just an extra amount of stress on us. This week, I personal have had nine tests and also have three classes that are on the boarder of a "B" and "A", pushing up the stress levels. I know that I am not the only person in the school that is in this position.

I know that the teachers sometimes cant help this situation, but it would be nice if they could work on it. Putting this amount of pressure on teenagers cant be good. The bad thing is also, I know this same thing is going to happen next semester.

Derek Jeter

The Yankees have had their own fair share of Hall-of-Famers, and they always will. Another man that will join this famous list, is Derek Jeter. Jeter has played with the Yankees his entire career. He has the record for numerous batting statistics and has always been a fan favorite. In his prime, he was one of the best short-stops in the league. He is no longer in his prime and he is not at all the same force. He is at best an average player now, but because he wears the pin-stripes, he is still considered great.

Jeter and the Yankees were just recently able to agree on a three year contract worth 15-17 million dollars per year(which he was somewhat mad with). He will continue to be a "great" Yankee player, for at least the next three years and it will be interesting to see how things play out. He will more than likely end his career with most of the Yankees all-time best awards and with a good extra sum of money in his pocket. Derek has always been a great player and I believe he will continue this all the way up to his retirement.

Snow

Every kid loves to see and play in the snow. I am no exception. When snow fall comes, I am the first one to rush to the windows and stare at the magical flakes fall down from the cloudy skies. I sit and watch as they get bigger and bigger and bigger as I hope for some imaginable amount of precipitation. I honestly could just sit and stare at the snow all day I love it so much, but playing in it is just as awesome.

When my families African exchange student was here, we had our seven inch snow fall. Needless to say, I now had another boy in the house who loved the snow. We made a three mile walk to one of my friends houses as we played for hours in the new fallen snow. We played football, made snow men, went sledding, and had the snowball fight that everyone always wishes for.

I cannot wait to see if this year is going to bring us lots of snow this year. I hope that we are able to have a White Christmas, another far off fantasy. If we were to have a White Christmas in North Carolina, my life would be complete.

Driving

Every kid wants to be able to drive themselves and some friends to the coolest places or the funnest hang outs, without their parents looking over their shoulders every minute. Finally, I am at that point of my life. I've got the license and my car picked out. The downside, the car has been in the shop since I got my license and is still there.

I cannot wait for my 1990 Ford Bronco to finally get out of the shop and for me to be able to go wherever I want, when I want. Also, I'll finally be able to drive to and from school. It is so awkward to be sixteen and still waiting for my mom to come and pick me up every single day while some of my friends are getting in their own cars and taking themselves home. Hopefully, my car will be out of the shop by Monday, the last day of the semester. I can only hope that this tenuous misery will come to a screeching halt before I begin my glorious three week break.

College

Lots of people my age say that they know exactly what they want to do with their life and they know exactly which college they want to go to. When someone asks me, I reply with a simple shoulder shrug and a, "I dont know". I have absolutely no idea which college or even what major I am going to do.

Some people tell me that I'm too young to know, but yet I should be starting to send out my applications next year, so shouldn't I have at least an idea? I can't think of what I want to do. My dad is a doctor and one of my brothers is in med school, maybe I should also go to med school. I've got no idea.

Hopefully sometime soon I'll know what I want to do. Until that moment, Ill still be that kid who's got no plan for my life. Honestly though, I think I can live with that title for just a little longer.

Decorating

Every year, just as other families, my family decorates our Christmas tree. We all set aside one entire night to put ornaments on the tree. We get the boxes of ornaments out of the attic the night before and taking out each individual ornament is a great memory.

As a child, yes I enjoyed the decorating, but I think that I enjoy it even more these days. With both of my bothers and sister out of the house now, I rarely get to see all of them at one time. Even this Thanksgiving we couldn't all be together. Being able to get together with all of them for one special night is such very special to me and I would have to say the same for them. Christmas will always be a bonding holiday and not just about the gifts. It is without a doubt my favorite holiday.

North Carolina

People say that they would just love to get out of North Carolina. Things are just too boring for them. They say they want to go to California. Here's what I have to say to those people. What does NC not have? We've got mountains, fantastic beaches and the outer banks, we've got big cities, we've got urban and rural areas, we've got good colleges, and we've got professional sports. What else do you want?

Yes, California's got the famous and rich people, apparently all the good looking people(false), and great sites for shopping, but some people don't realize why all these things are there: it's because they've got crazy high taxes. Thats why rich people can live there, no they aren't filled with the hottest people in the world, and the shopping is all really expensive.

North Carolina is a fantastic place to live. On top of what has already been said, the weather here is also pretty pleasant. Never crazy hot or crazy cold and not always the same. So once again, for those of you who want to get out of the NC, I ask why.