Nicholas Cage

Dear Mr. Nicholas Cage,

I just want to thank you for your incredible acting in National Treasure because that movie is one of the greatest of all time. The way in which you steal the declaration blew my mind and left me speechless, it brought a tear to my eye. Furthermore, Your assistant Riley is a computer mastermind in the movie but you need to give him more credit than you five him because with out him you would be nothing. I always wondered if as a kid you were bullied for having the last name cage, but I just assumed that was a given. But anyways back to nation treasure, how much did you get paid for doing that movie? I hope you got a ton because the performance you put on in that movie was nothing short of a miracle. I instantly watched the second national treasure after the first because I was so blown away.

Keep Being a Legend,

Rainier

Heading Home

These past four years have been a fun experiment. I got dropped into the east coast of the United States in a small town. I made some life-long friends, gained some special memories but now it's over. Done.

By this time next year, I will be going to a college in Canada in (hopefully) a large city. A life completely different from my life now. I'm most looking forward to returning to Canada. I guess it was kinda neat to see a complete political meltdown of a country during my brief stay but I'm perfectly happy watching the calamity unfold from a distance. I return to a land not full of this whatever bullshit that American's have been told that it is. I return to a land of growing diversity, booming cities, community and a love for hockey (okay, I guess the stereotype was right about that one).

I will always treasure my time spent in Hanover, New Hampshire but god damn, I'm ready for a change.

Alpine

Alpine skiing is most totally the ideal sport to take part in during the winter months. This is due to three major facts, which I will outline below.

1. We miss a massive amount of school for about 4 minutes of actual exercise. Every friday for about two months Alpine ski participants get to miss all of class on Friday. Instead this time is used cramming into a bus, driving to a ski hill, then racing. To be clear, the race takes about 1 minute to complete, and we do 4. Four minutes of hell for 7 hours of adventure. Admittedly, at least once a year the race is cancelled, so the day turns into free skiing. Most times it is cancelled because there is too much snow, so it is a powder day. Over the years, I am proud to say for most of the winter months I am not in school pursuing what is kindly called my ‘athletic talents.’
2. The kids are legends. I am proud to say the lack of effort that goes into building fitness on alpine goes right back into team bonding. Coming from all different social backgrounds (I can’t call this diversity cause Hanover) we mesh into one large group. Some of my fondest memories are spending late nights at team dinners. I will say there is never much food at the team dinners (not always a bad thing because we are a pretty ghetto squad when it comes to cooking). Honestly though, it has made me closer with people that if not for alpine I would never have talked to. Example being the new sophomore on the team this year Caleb, who is a swell child.
3. Our Coach Gabi is the best thing to happen to skiing. I’ll keep this one short but sweet, Gabi is a legend. You really have to meet her to realize this, but when you do please, please bring up her son Thomas (TOE-moss) and his schooling. Or the Bruce Springsteen concert she went to. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Overall, I seriously recommend this team, and don’t worry it is still not too late! Sign up now for an easy varsity letter, time off school and feeling circles during core workouts!

santa bb

Dear Mr. Claus,

Its that time of the year when I want to ask for stuff for christmas. So my list is here for your viewing pleasure.

Ipod touch

IHop Gift Cert

Nordstrom Gift Card

That is all I want for christmas santa. I have been a very good kid this year always trying my hardest and doing my best 120% of the time. I have been super good and gone to church every sunday. I am now going to put 100% of my energy into helping charities. So i am a really good kid and I deserve all this that I ask for.

Lafayette Essay

One group that I have come to love working with is Hanover Crew. I have grown to love this community and have become more and more involved over time. I enjoy the warm inviting atmosphere, and have been drawn into this corps of hard-working students. During the season, I put forth extra effort to help make sure that everything goes according to plan on race days. For instance, in addition to the usual checkout of the oarlocks and slides, I also assist the coaches by making sure the shells are ready for transport. The proper method for strapping shells securely to the boat racks is not easily learned, and I am one of only two or three people on the team who are entrusted with this important task.  I also promote the crew team to anyone who will listen. Not everyone at the school agrees with my enthusiasm for crew, but usually it’s just because they haven’t tried the sport. Usually once they try it, people tend to fall in love with it. So, I recommend crew to friends, teammates in other sports, and freshmen because the more people we can get to try out crew, the better.

Almost Winter Break

Well, only a about a week left until winter break. I am so ready for a long break. Sure the snow day was nice, but I need something more. There's just been so much going on and so little time to do it all. Plus there's all the stress of hearing back from colleges. I personally haven't heard back yet and I'm jealous of those who have. Apparently UVM is posting some of the early action admissions tomorrow so that'll be interesting. Only people who sent in the application and supporting materials on time will hear tomorrow, others will hear later. Hopefully I sent in what I needed, haven't heard otherwise. Should be interesting. I think Worcester respond around December 20th, so a week from today. But they did send the application received notification by mail instead of email, which was interesting. So maybe it'll be later. Who knows, hopefully sooner than later.

Darkness

Now that we are approaching December 21, the days seem to be getting shorter and shorter. I don't like getting home and only having an hour of daylight. While December is a fantastic month filled with breaks and festivities, its darkness is something that I will never like. In general, darkness in itself is not a good thing in my opinion. It makes people scared, people do more crimes in the dark, and it makes many people tired. It also makes the days feel shorter, which I don't find good. I want the days of Christmas break to feel like the longest days of the year, not the shortest. Looking at this problem from a broader lens, however, I suppose that there are more serious things to complain about than the simple fact that it is getting dark too early. Even still, I think it needs to be complained about. I am already looking forward to December 22nd, because from that day and on the days will slowly feel longer instead of shorter. Until then, I suppose I will have to muddle through these mid-December days....

College Isn't Worth It - You Won't Believe Why!!!!! #clickb8fortheboiz

So regular decision deadlines are coming up and your best friends are getting into their favorite schools. But is college even worth the money? College can cost upwards of $200,000 which puts a lot of strain on you just as you enter the job market. Is college really your best option?

A new study from my Introduction to Economics class says hell to the naw. If college costs you $25 and you make about $10 a round, after about 5 rounds the college students will be making the same as the unskilled workers because there are so few unskilled workers. Also, Davey University probably sucks because it only costs $25 a year (thanks Mr. Oz.).

And remember kids, Mr. Prince's class is the honors section.

Snow Day!!

    I like that today is a snow day so much. Recently, it seems like every weekend is too short. A surprise bonus day is great for lots of things. So far today, I've gotten to sleep in, go sledding, clean up some stuff in my room, and finish some homework I was putting off (due to the fact that the snow day was announced last night, I stopped working on the homework I had left to do).

    I have decided to get rid of approximately twenty books from my bookshelf: mostly novels for elementary or middle schoolers. I haven't touched the majority of these books in years, so they're just collecting dust on the shelf. In addition, I have cleared off my desk so that everything is in three piles. The first pile is information I want to keep for future reference on the top of the pile, and drawings my brothers have made for me on the bottom. The second pile is bank statements and paychecks I need to deal with, and the third pile is a stack of reading material: a Valley News article my mom saved for me, a National Geographic issue concerned with criminal detectives, and two Shel Silverstein poetry books. Of these two books that I've had for forever, I am going to decide to get rid of one.

    My three little brothers and I went outside to go sledding for about 45 minutes. We had several "trails" to go down and three of us made small jumps on one trail. We brought six sleds onto the hill behind our house: four foam sleds and two plastic sleds. The foam sleds we used are a small white foam sled, a small blue foam one, a large blue one (all of which are rectangular-ish); and a blue circular foam sled. Finally, there was a small red cicle sled with an oddly-shaped handle for the rider to hold onto and an elliptical orange sled made of plastic. All of them except the red chunk of plastic. Later, I will rejoin my brothers to continue enjoying the fluffy snow.

Accepted, Wait Listed, Declined?? Story Revealed...

This fall I applied early decision to Wellesley College.  All summer I went back and forth deciding which college to use my one early decision application to.  My parents really wanted me to apply to Wellesley college, but I had other amazing options too.  I spent the entire summer away from my parents, and decided that I would apply to a college that I wanted to attend, and not one that my parents wanted.  As soon as I came back to Hanover I lost sight of what I wanted and ended up applying to Wellesley early decision.  I attended an overnight visit and multiple events at Wellesley each time telling myself that I loved the college and really wanted to go there.  While at Wellesley's campus I believed what I was telling myself: I actually really wanted to go there!  When I was back in Hanover I didn't let myself think of any other colleges, and made Wellesley my number one choice.  Wellesley is an all woman's college, and I never saw myself at an all girls school until my dad forced me to visit last February.

Wellesley released their acceptance decisions this past Thursday (the 8th).  I was so nervous I was shaking thinking about whether I got in or not.  I was prepared to not get in, and a little part of me hoped that I would not, therefore being able to attend a co-ed school.  The admissions office sent me an email around 5pm telling me to check my Wellesley Portal for my acceptance decision.  I was so scared, but planned to open it at 8pm during my break at the Christmas Pageant practice.  I could not eat dinner that night because my stomach was filled with butterflies.  Around 8pm all the angels walked to the entrance of the church, and I ran to meet my friends.  After we sang at the entrance we could have a break, and I wanted to grab my friends and run into the bathroom before anyone else claimed it.  Eight pm rolled around and we all squished into the one person bathroom.  I was shaking and we were all screaming as I opened my Wellesley portal.  It took a while to read, but the main idea of the long message was that I was wait listed.  I didn't feel any emotion.  This was supposed to be my number one school and I didn't even feel sad that I was wait listed.  We came out of the bathroom and all the guys looked at us probably thinking we were so weird to all use the bathroom at once.  We continued the practice and I felt numb, emotionless.

I walked home alone and realized that Wellesley's acceptance decision was the best thing that could have happened.  I was not prepared to commit to Wellesley, and now I could attend a college that I really wanted to.  In the fall of this year I thought I wanted to be a scientist (also my family's wishes).  After taking the course "Evolution and Genetics" I discovered that science was actually awful and boring, and that I would never want to pursue it as a career.  I now know that I want to do something in marketing or in the fashion industry where I can travel to different factories researching which clothes sell and which do not.  Wellesley college is a liberal arts school and would not offer any options for what I want to pursue as a career.

In short...Thank you Wellesley for wait listing me because it will keep my parents happy that I still might make it in.  But most of all, it made me happy because now I have the opportunity to attend a college which has a major that I want and a co-ed experience.

Blah Blah Blah

With the use of missiles launched by unmanned aerial vehicles to destroy ISIS military encampments and convoys, the U.S. proved that automated vehicles are effective in a combat zone when a country chooses not to have “boots on the ground”. Thus, many are debating the positives and negatives of automated weapons in war.

Automated weapons are theoretically perfect for replacing human soldiers out on the battlefields. Since they are easily modified, they can be adapted to their environment. In addition, they need no training time while being more accurate and more responsive than the average soldier. They also do not deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that most veterans develop. The robots do not retreat but rather stay in combat until they are totally disabled or destroyed. Logically, because these weapons can be made to have superior fighting capabilities than humans, they should be the next step to warfare. However, the problem, aside from the fear of robot apocalypses found from fictional stories, is that these machines cannot think for themselves.

While these automated weapons will be created with superior fighting abilities to those of humans, these robots will only follow orders, and therefore they cannot be trusted with one of the most important tasks of an armed force: the protection of civilians. Robots may be created to successfully differentiate between friend and foe, but they will not be able to differentiate bystanders from enemies while in battle, and therefore might kill fleeing refugees. Thus, they are not fit to be deployed because they, unlike soldiers, cannot be sent into war zones with civilians in the mix.

But automated weapons could be controlled by a third party, much like the airstrikes that the US launches on ISIS. The controller, based almost halfway around the world, would “pilot” the aircraft to the enemy convoy and launch a guided missile at it. However, the controller may become desensitized. Similar to a muted first person shooter, the controller directly piloting an unmanned aerial vehicle -- like those used in the war against ISIS -- would not hear the very real screams of the victims. He or she might start to think of the airstrikes as a game. The controller might care even less if he or she was not directly piloting the plane and had only sent out orders for bombing runs. This would lead to a decrease in the value of human lives, which could decrease the importance of human rights. That is something that should never happen.

Putting all ethical arguments aside, another reason for not using machines in our current day and age is the cost. While the average United States soldier costing around forty-four thousand dollars to equip, train, and pay according to NBC, popular science says that unmanned aerial vehicles cost 5 million or more. Even though this is fairly expensive, other weapon systems are more expensive. For example, BBC reports that the Super aEgis II, developed by a South Korean company, costs around 40 million dollars.

Given that other countries are or will be actively pursuing this type of weapon, I think the U.S. cannot afford to fall behind in this firepower. The safety of Americans would come before the ethical reasons of why not to use these machines. However, in a worldly view, I think we should discourage the use of these machines because they do not differentiate between innocent bystanders and enemies. Controllers of these robots might think of war as a video game. Furthermore, with their high cost, these robot weapons should not be used in the place of soldiers during wars.

College Supplement

One part of attending the semester school High Mountain Institute included a visit to Colorado College, a short seminar there, and a tour of campus. I had previously not heard of this school except by name, and was curious to learn about what set it apart from the many other colleges out there. The first thing I noticed as I stepped off the bus was how nice the weather was. I ditched my many layers that were essential to my warmth at snowy HMI for shorts and a t shirt. The sun was shining bright in the sky and I learned that this was just one of the average 300 days of sunshine a year, a nice change from 135 days a year of rain in my hometown.

When I first heard of the block plan, I was skeptical. It had never occurred to me that an entire school could have students learning only one subject at a time. What about teachers? What about making friends outside your one class? Am I going to have to spend five hours a day sitting in the same classroom? As the informational seminar on the Block Plan progressed, these fears were replaced with excitements about the new possibilities a Block Plan could offer. You could develop much more of a bond with your teachers because they are also only teaching that one class. There are many opportunities to make close friend groups because there are eight blocks a year, and friendships are able to grow within each block through the time spent with your classmates. You will never have to sit in one classroom for five hours, because the block plan makes it much easier to move the classroom. As teachers don’t have to worry about interfering with the schedule’s of other classes, they are given much more freedom with the curriculum. Why learn about Colorado’s historical sites when you can take the day to visit them? The block plan allows students to truly delve deep within one subject, rather than glance the surface of many.

At my home school, my night looks like a physics test, a math exam, and a Latin quiz. To study, I scan and memorize what I’ll need to know, ready to regurgitate it onto the tests and then forget about it, moving on to the next chapter. But I don’t enjoy doing this. I hate that as soon as I get into a topic, eager to learn more about it, I have to put it on hold for the next class as one can only fit so much into a fifty minute period. But I am hopeful, and even here I look forward to the nights where my only assignment is a presentation for one class, so I can ignore the others and put all my focus and energy into one. And on those nights, I produce the work which I’m most proud of.

GDP

We just started to learn a bit more about Gross Domestic Products (GDP’s) in class, and from an article that we were assigned last night.  We learned that GDP is calculated by the sum total of everything that is produced by a country.  Some examples that contribute to a country’s GDP are the consumption spending by households, investments spending by business, government spending, and net imports.  Overall this system is a pretty good indicator of a country’s well-being, but there are some things about the system that do not truly show how well off a country is. For example, there are some jobs that are used in order to prevent the bad things a country has done, like cleaning up oil spills or trying to solve climate change.  Even though people are working, they are fixing problems that the country has created for itself.  GDP also doesn’t show what people do at home, instead of at a job.  A person, taking care of their kids, does not affect a country’s GDP, but hiring a nanny or babysitter would. This is somewhat similar to what a GPA can show about a person’s academic work ethic in school.  Overall in most cases it can show how hard a person works towards getting good grades, but the GPA does not account for everything.  For example, a student could have a lower GPA than another student, but be in honors classes, which would make getting a good grade much harder.  GPA also does not take into account for the extracurriculars you do outside of school.  If you are an athlete that has multiple practices per day, it is going to be much harder to time manage for all your work, than someone that doesn’t do any practices.  Overall, the system does a pretty good job showing the well-being of a country, but there always are things that make the system not perfect.

NORDIC

It's finally Nordic skiing time. We had our first practice today and it was good. I could tell I hadn't done anything athletic since soccer ended. Apparently we're not allowed to have practices until December 12th for some reason but we are allowed to have one meeting before then. So ya, today was that one meeting. We'll have captain's practices from now until the 12th and coaches aren't allowed to be at those. So it should be fun, much more relaxed than official practices, even though those are pretty chill. I don't know why they moved the season so much farther back this year. Maybe cause we recently haven't been getting much snow earlier in the season and have been getting a lot later in the season. But pushing it back means that states will be March. I don't know if we'll have snow then. Maybe, it is at Great Glen, so hopefully they will have the snow in March still. But the fact that my March Intensive last year of Nordic skiing in Maine was cancelled due to lack of snow doesn't give me much confidence for states in March. I just hope the conditions are better than last year because that was terrible.

Colorado College Supplement

From Story to Script: Adapting Literature for the Screen.

Overview:

This course introduces the basic process of adapting literary fiction to the screen. Students will  identify characteristics of stories that can effectively be adapted for film; profile characters from written works and their screen adaptations; and compare adapted screenplays to their original counterparts, dissecting the techniques that screenwriters use to revise a text to a format suitable for visual media. By the end of the course students will write a final adapted screenplay based on an original text of their choosing.

Learning Objectives:

• Critically analyze techniques and styles used by writers in multiple genres.
• Profile characters by describing their most important qualities from screenplays and the original text.
• Effectively compose scenes from pre-existing stories, identifying key pieces of information that must be included as well as details that can be eliminated.

Course Description:

More than 60% of screenplays made into films from 2005-2014 were adapted from a medium not initially intended for film. In this course, we investigate the techniques that writers use to adapt everything from literary classics to Marvel Comics.

In the first week of the course, students will read screenplays from a variety of genres along with their original literary counterparts, discussing strategies and techniques for preparing the story for the screen. Students will profile characters from the original works, defining which traits are essential and how they are carried forward into the screenplay. In addition, students will explore techniques that are used to preserve the mood, plot, and characters that are unique to specific genres.

In the second week students will analyze selected written works and determine whether or not they are amenable to adaptation for film, considering what makes a novel translate well to the screen. We will reflect on how key characters can be incorporated into the story and, when appropriate, how to blend the features of multiple characters into one, taking into account the activity each combined character has over the entire story. Similarly we will discuss which components of the story are essential and which are unnecessary to the story, selecting the key elements of plot that should be incorporated in the context of a more limited time frame.

In the final week of the course students will learn to use the medium of film to tell a story without a first person narrator; manipulate critical aspects of internal dialogue in the narrative by either externalizing the dialogue or conveying it through the characters actions; and preserve the mood and tone of the original text through visual storytelling.

At the end of the course students will select a text and adapt it for the screen, taking into account: character profiles, overarching plot, themes, mood, and techniques discussed over the course.

Prerequisites:

• Introduction to Film Studies
• Screenwriting

Bates Supplement

I am drawn to Bates for several different reasons, but the most prominent reasons are probably because of its academics in the liberal arts, and because of the tight knit community that is dedicated to not only forwarding itself, but also the town around it. When looking for colleges, my priority was smaller sized colleges that have good science programs, but I also liked the idea of good crew and nordic teams. While looking at colleges, I found that Bates fit my first priority almost perfectly, while nailing the second. I loved how Bates had a great science program that was free for everyone to join and that allowed tons of opportunities for research and allowed for students to easily go abroad.

Another reason that Bates really called to me was because of its involvement with the town around them. I visited many other colleges that had good academics, but none of the others really had any sort of student involvement outside of the college. Bates shocked me because of the emphasis on student involvement in the community. This really calls to the Christian side of me because I love to help others and donate my time to the helping of others, in and outside of the church. Because of these two things, I feel myself being called to Bates.

Black Friday

I never understood Black Friday, and now that stores have started the Cyber Monday trend it seems even more unnecessary. Why risk getting trampled in a mall or a large store when you could casually order anything your heart desires at home on your couch? With Cyber Monday customers are getting the same deals online, why hasn't Black Friday become obsolete? Also why has the government allowed Black Friday to continue when it gets so much bad press and causes so much criminal activity? The only people who profit from it are customers and the press, and most of the time customers get trampled in the process. I don't understand how this is still a holiday.

Thanksgiving

Over the past few years, Thanksgiving has become one of my favorite holidays. It's the three fs that make it important: family, friends, and football. Even though football is awesome, and I love watching it on Thanksgiving, it's really family and friends that make the holiday so special. Having one day where there is nothing to worry about and where the sole purpose is giving thanks and being together with the people you love is truly beautiful. I don't think I used to like Thanksgiving much, but as I get older, and college approaches, I realize that days like Thanksgiving Day are few and far between. I look at my sister, who just came home today from college. She hasn't been home since August, and she's leaving the country for six months to study abroad in Dublin. For me, and for her, this is one of the only days in the near future where we will all be truly together as a family. Yes, she comes home for her Christmas break, but I've got school and my parents have got work for a portion of that, and the break itself isn't even two weeks. As Thanksgiving fast approaches, I can't wait to spend a carefree day with my family and eat some good food while doing so.

Britain at War

I was at a Model UN conference where I was a member of the British War Cabinet in WWII. We had to fight the Axis powers by invading North Africa, France, etc. I was proud when my plan on invading Indonesia was approved and subsequently successful. Some of the other people were very pompous, with one girl claiming she could veto anything anyone else proposed. Luckily, she never tried that. My chairs (the people in charge of the committee) were very friendly and helped ensure everyone had fun. They even had tea brought into us on three different occasions, to represent the British-ness of the committee. Everyone appreciated that.

In the British cabinet they had the Dominions represented: Canada, Australia, India, and Burma, as well as the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs. The last guy mentioned was really chill and he came up with a bunch of stuff to do. We had lots of directives where we reappropriated army divisions between different parts of the British Empire, including protecting Malta from Italy. Most people were cooperative in formulating plans, but several were not. Those people were aggravating.  But despite those people, I truly enjoyed participating in that committee.

Winter is Coming

As I write this, snowflakes are falling, struggling to stick to the ground and accumulate to something. Mother nature is almost begging "No, winter don't start. Don't bring in your cold, your darkness and your despair."

I am mentally preparing myself for my least favorite months of the year. However, it wasn't always like this. I grew up with skiing being a huge part of my life, I counted down the days until the mountains opened and I could finally feel the rush of going down a mountain at high speeds. I loved the snowball fights, forts and sledding. All this changed when I moved, now that I was older and more mature I didn't have the energy (and for the first couple years, friends) to partake in wintery activities. My sister, who I always played with moved to college and soon enough I realized that the east just didn't get the snow compared to where I used to live.

Now that I switched my sport to rowing, all I look forward to is being on the water with the sun high in the sky. I associate the winter with perpetual darkness, a kind of purgatory, emotional and energy hibernation. A dull monotony, a sleepless dreamlike trance.

Then I think about those days. Coldness envelopes the sky, spring so far away you forget what the sun's warmth feels like. Yearning to grip an oar blade once more. Then, I ski down a hill and for just a moment I forget it all.

Snowflakes

Today the sky looks grey, and the possibility of snow seems high from inside a warm building.  When I look through a window the outdoors appear very cold and monochromatic.  Looking through a window is not an accurate way to predict the whether because your skin is not able to feel the wind.  You can be inside and believe that it is going to snow, but when you actually go outside you could realize that it is too warm for snow.  I cannot wait until the first snowflakes fall.  The idea of snow is exciting when there is none around, but after months of snow on the ground I look forward to seeing brown mud again.  Maybe it will snow over thanksgiving break.  

Boston University Supplemental Essay

Robot weapons have become the subject of hot debate over the recent years. With the use of missiles launched by unmanned aerial vehicles to destroy ISIS military encampments and convoys, the US has proved that automated vehicles are effective in a combat zone where the country chose not to have “boots on the ground”.

Theoretically, automated weapons are perfect for replacing human soldiers out on the battlefields. They can be made to be more quick to respond, more accurate, and do not have to deal with shell shock like most other soldiers have after returning from the battlefield. They can be modified for maximum effectiveness for different environments, do not retreat, and never tire. These robots also do not have a training time like humans do. They come out ready for action. This seems to make automated robot weapons the perfect and natural development from human warfare. The problem is, aside from the fear of robot apocalypses found from fictional stories, that these machines do not feel when they kill.

Presumably, when a human kills another human in war, that human undergoes a profound change. He or she feels horrible for doing such a thing. However, when a machine kills a human, or a human presses a button to cause a death, there is no feeling of guilt. The human does not feel that the death is entirely his or her fault because there was a very significant third party that dealt the damage.

Given that other countries are developing these automated machines, the US cannot fall behind in firepower. However, in a worldly view, I would discourage the use of these machines. The use of machines to kill people takes a shortcut through the mental process of killing a human with your own hands. The proliferation of this type of warfare could lead to a lesser worth of a human life. As humans, we find it very hard to kill others, which is why nobody dies when they make others angry.

Furthermore, using robots to kill people is a very expensive option at the moment. While each human soldier costs around forty-four thousand dollars according to NBC news, the cheapest unmanned aerial vehicle costs

The use of machines as a third party to remove that life from our world would be comparable to the violent video games. Similar to the first person shooters, directly controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle -- like those used in the war against ISIS -- would cover the very real sound of human screams of fear and pain as the volume can be adjusted. The controller would not have the first person experience of the mess that guns create. The controller would care even less about the human lives if he or she was not in direct control of the robot and had programmed it to carry out the mission to end other people’s lives. This is because the controller would not see the resulting carnage or see someone in his or her death throes.

Robots cannot be allowed into warfare because they do not feel when they kill. Thus, there is no feeling of guilt or the feeling of pain when a fellow human dies.

Fall

As the fall is turning colder and the leaves grey, I find myself rejoicing that the holiday season is upon us. Thanksgiving is almost here, bringing with it some of the first real snowfalls of the year, as well as great time spent with friends and family. Siblings will be back from college, parents will be happy, and students will have no school for a week. Halloween has already passed, meaning that the cold is here to stay. Sports seasons are all coming to a close, with the only one dragging on being football. Soon, everyone will be out of the stressful predicament that is school, and everyone is eyeing Christmas, as well as the buckets of snow that it will bring.

Happy Halloween

Halloween was on a Monday this year, but that didn't stop the kids. My little sister and her friends still went trick or treating and pulled in a lot of candy. She was nice enough to share some with my brother and I, as we were at home doing homework instead. The middle school teachers all agreed not to give out any more homework so the kids could have fun. At my house, we bought starbursts to give out but because it is kind of out of the way, only one group of kids stopped by; my sister and her friends. Hopefully next year Halloween will be on a weekend and might be more fun.

Supplement

Write about your connection to Community

A pancake breakfast at the local community center is the tastiest way to start off a Saturday morning. But one Saturday was a little different; my Boy Scout troop cooked a pancake breakfast with all of the proceeds going to the Trevor Fund, a local charity promoting suicide awareness in the LGBT community. I could see it bring our small town together through in depth conversation while I was serving pancakes and refilling orange juices. 

Not only did it help our small town come together, but it also made a statement to stand up for the rights of other people. Recently the Boy Scouts have come under fire for refusing to allow gay men and boys to participate in scouting; but by participating in the breakfast my troop welcomed everyone to join Boy Scouts. Hopefully in years to come, our small pancake breakfast will give someone the courage to join scouting and feel included.

Best Time of the Year

Some people believe Christmas is the best time of the year.  Others think that it is New years.  The really crazy people believe that it is 4th of July.  All of these people are wrong though.  There is one true holiday that is by far superior than all the others.  It is Thanksgiving.  This is undoubtedly the best holiday, and the best time of the year for people.  Some may try to argue with me, but I have the facts to back it up.
One of the biggest factors that lead to this being the best time of the year is the sports that are going on.  The World Series has just occurred and people are still enjoying the baseball season.  It is also the middle of the football season causing the arguments among friends and families to develop and get intense.  Also, the football games are always interesting and fun to watch, whether or not your favorite team is playing on Thanksgiving.  Basketball has also started which makes the sports world complete.  Watching all the sports, and trash talking with family and friends leads to great times and enjoyable banter.
The food is also a huge factor into this amazing holiday.  Throughout most of the year, eating food is enjoyed, but not nearly as much as on thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is one of the few times that people are ok with you eating as much as possible.  No one judges the amount you eat, unless it is too little. It is a great holiday for people like me who love to eat a lot of delicious food.  It is always enjoyable for me.
Also, it is a time where you get to see family members that you have not seen in some time.  Though seeing family isn't always great, during this time of the year, almost everyone is in a good mood and is looking forward to enjoying the holiday.  Also, watching family members going at it, isn't the worst thing for the observers, it can be quite funny.
There are so many reasons that Thanksgiving is the best time of the year, I could continue to write, about the parade they have throughout the day, and the Black Friday shopping that most people try to do.  Even without these things, I think I have showed that Thanksgiving is easily one of the most underrated holidays around.

ROT: A Gift or a Curse?

In freshman year, many people learned of the harsh and terrifying ROT (random oral testing). These tests have haunted me through high school, up until senior year. These tests are the things of nightmares, the beginning of which goes like: “I found myself in the middle of a classroom. I look around me and see other students frantically* scribbling words down on the piece of paper in front of them. I look down at my paper to see a litany* of words sprawled* across the page. I quickly became distraught* as I became cognizant* of the inexorable* slaughter that is imminent*.

‘Alright kiddies, time’s up!’ Mr Heahnal exclaims as his face beams from excitement.

‘Daniel, portend*’

I look up in shock. Why must I be the first one to go? The room undulates* around me as I realize that I have no idea. John unremittingly* hits his pencil on the desk besides me, and with each stroke I feel time slowing. Hours seem to fly by as I try and think of the answer, but nothing comes. I finally consign* my grade to Mr Haehnal and say: ‘Bananas’. In an instant I could feel myself turning from the student who always studies into the class pariah*. Pejorative* words flow through my fellow classmates minds as the nightmare starts to kick in.”

At this point most people would wake up in a cold sweat and realize that there is a ROT the next day and that they need to study beforehand.

In all seriousness, ROT has two sides to it. For people who can look at a list of words twice and have every word memorized, ROT is a walk in the park. But for people like me, it take hours upon hours to remember just 20 words. The night before, and day of a ROT I might spend 3-4 hours beforehand trying to memorize the newest 20 words and refresh myself on the previous 200 words. For people like me, memorizing ROT is an inordinate* task.

There is one good thing that comes out of ROT, you never really forget all of the words. Out of all 243 words that we “learned” in Comp II, I might be able to utilize* ¼ of the words we were supposed to learn, and understand most of the words. Throughout this post I have starred words that I was able to utilize* correctly that were in the ROT that I learned last year. This means that there is the irrefutable fact that ROT has allowed me to learn new words.

So overall, even though ROT is not really worth the pain that must be endured in the form that it is used in class today, if it were reformed to a friendlier, less cut-throat quiz, with less words, ROT might be almost bearable.

Where I feel at home...

·             The question was, “Preference and Approval are two forms used for this event and some areas use the first past the post method for-”

“Elections,” I interrupted the quizmaster.

        This is the sort of question I get correct at quizbowl competitions. While there are questions on all sorts of topics, I excel at questions about history, math, geography, and chemistry. I leave other questions to my three teammates.

Last year our lineup consisted of Felix, Kevin, Gerret, and I. We were one of the strongest teams coming from our school in recent years. Unlike some teams, our team was not dominated by any one person because we all made notable contributions to the squad. We had Felix with the moose hat, listening to the Cubs on the way to tournaments. There’s Kevin who always carried a small backpack and can name any senator from the past 150 years. Finally, there’s eccentric Gerret who loves to argue over pronouncing words like “archipelago!” While we have little in common besides a love of quizbowl (except for Felix and I being Cubs fans), I always felt at home when competing with them. These memories will always be some of my fondest memories.

November

I don't want to be a downer, but as it is the first of November, I feel like I should comment on the month as a whole. November is my least favorite month for one primary reason: weather. It's cloudy almost every day, there is frost in the morning that I am forced to get off of my car, and there is school. There is even snow every now and then, and the temperature rarely get above 60. There are no leaves on the trees and the grass loses its green glow. If it wasn't for the weather, however, November would be a fantastic month. There is football on Sundays, and one of the greatest holidays of all, Thanksgiving. If someone told me that they would like to get rid of November as a month altogether, I would not protest as long as Thanksgiving was still around.

Scream Fortress VIII

Well the Halloween update for TF2 finally came out. They basically just copied what they did last year and added a few skins, maps, and taunts. But man was it broken when it first came out. On Mac the game would crash and you couldn't even load maps. Which makes me wonder if the TF2 team even tested the update on Mac before releasing it. That means either they don't care or they aren't given many resources for testing the game. Either way, I'm very disappointed. On PC, you could load Halloween maps just fine, but the Merasmissions didn't work for most people. And for those who did, they used it to their advantage. The community market price for the creepy crawly cases shot up to about $15 per case. That price does not make sense for an item that everyone in the community should have access to. But because of the low supply and the high demand, the price shot up.
They finally fixed the bugs with the Merasmissions not working, but four or five days after the update was released. It took them long enough. At least they're now going to extended the length of the event to try to compensate for their mistakes. I know they're probably currently working on the pyro update and Smissma, but they need to be more careful with their updates and fixing them in the future. I'm starting to worry if Valve cares about TF2 anymore. Hopefully the next update is better.

Generic Fantasy Football

Rainier

Today I am going to write about fantasy football. I apologize because I know it is boring, so you don't have to read it if you don't want to. It is going to be average at best. Anyways my fantasy football team is pretty trash because everyone got injured. So i'm taking a ton of L's. But I am on the up as I have won the past two weeks. Even though I scored barely any points. But anyways I just hope I don't come in last so I avoid the punishment. Anyways I'm just going to write a little more so this blog post looks long. I think writing a letter is more efficient because you can write less but since I am such a dedicated student I am doing a blog post. My time here is almost done I hope you had fun I hope this blog post is long enough or else its gonna be rough.

Tarantino

     In the film industry, it is rare that someone comes along with such talent and fervor as Quentin Tarantino. What makes this story even more enticing is that he came out of no where.
     Tarantino loathed school. He watched movies and read comics rather than doing his school work, and he despised every subject except history. After dropping out of high school, he worked at an adult movie theater and took acting classes. Eventually he landed a job at a video archives center and worked on writing screenplays of his very own including; True Romance, Natural Born Killers, and Death Proof.
     Eventually Tarantino got out of the basement and was a guest star on a popular sitcom, Golden Girls. There he met Tony Scott. Scott read True Romance and loved it, so much so that he bought the rights to it and made it the next year. Tarantino had a name now and working with producer Lawrence Bender he made his directorial debut with Reservoir Dogs. 
     Audiences were wowed by the ultraviolent crime caper gone wrong, Reservoir Dogs at the Sundance Film Festival and Tarantino stepped into the spotlight. He began writing more and more and came up with a masterpiece of cinema; Pulp Fiction. The incremental, jumpy feel of Pulp Fiction gives it a very interesting sensation, and makes for interesting storylines.
     Tarantino associated himself with often macabre and brutal scenes. In almost every one of his movies there is some sort of mass killing, whether it's shooting people from the balcony of a burning french theater, a master swordswoman on a raging vendetta slicing through a small army, or a former slave trying to rescue his wife from a plantation and not caring who gets shot in the process, there is always gruesome, gory, and grim scenes.
    Tarantino is also known for his non-linear plot-lines which can sometimes cause for confusion but at the same time adds a very interesting dynamic from a director's point of view.
     All in all, Tarantino is one of the greats and continues to amaze us with every movie that his miraculous mind manipulates into reality.

Friday October 28th is the new Friday October 13th?

Friday October 28th will never be forgotten.  This was the day when four teenage girls drove down to 446 Raymond Road, Candia, NH to experience the greatest horrors of their lives.  Upon arrival it was pitch black and overcast.  The lack of moonlight in itself made the night scarier.  The girls made their way to the ticket booth and received long, black pieces of cardboard which were the passes into the different attractions.  They made their way through the tunnel of darkness into the heart of the forest. There were five different doors to choose from: haunted house, haunted prison, haunted maze, haunted trail, and haunted graveyard.  The first poison they picked was Area 52 -- the haunted house. An old lady dressed as an evil witch hole punched their tickets, gave them glasses to put on, and shoved them into the tiny elevator.  It was pitch black and cramped in the elevator.  The girls made it to the pre-selected floor and took small steps out of the elevator.  The walls, poles, and floor were black, and there was neon paint splattered in various designs everywhere.  The glasses made the floor shake like an earthquake was happening, and they didn't allow your eyes to focus on anything.  The whole world was spinning and the girls couldn't tell which direction was up or down, let alone where to move.  Shapes popped out from behind walls and whispered words in the girls' ears.  It felt like they were in a maze, trapped in the neon and black never ending rooms and hallways leading into more rooms.  People ran next to them, behind them, calling out their names, taunting them to run faster.  "Exit" blurred past one girl's vision and the mob of four swayed toward the fuzzy letters.  One last look at a man behind a mask and they were back in the calm blackness of the forest...ready for the next scare.

Fame

Would you like to be famous? My gut reaction says "yeah, of course." but reality says something else. Fame comes with tremendous exceptions, responsibilities, restrictions and maintaining ones fame. Let's take a look at a day in the life of a celebrity...how about Taylor Swift.

1 am - Wake up in a cold sweat. Exceptions are getting to her head, pressures, relationships. Those nudes that went up and were taken down within hours thanks to her great social media curators. Taylor forces half of bottle of sleeping medication down before falling back asleep.

6 am - Taylor wakes up feeling as fresh as ever after another great drug induced sleep

7 am - Breakfast time! She eats her recommend breakfast curated by her dietitian: Half a banana, and a shot of a grotesquely colored nutrition shake.  

8 am - No concerts today so she's gotta pop down to the studio to get creative and work on her new album!

12 am - after hitting a creative block she called down her special squad of DJ's and producers including the up and coming hit DJ Gangstaboi to write her album for her.

4 am - 10 hot new tracks recorded. Taylor disagreed with the direction that the producers wanted the album to go but was convinced to let it go after the owner of her record label told her "Listen to me...I own you b***h"

10 pm - Goes down town to check out the party scene. Before snorting some cocaine in the back room surrounded by male strippers her manager informers her that he can't allow that type of behaviour to happen. Taylor has no control.

Supplemental essay for Boston College

With the conflict between the many factions in Syria, Syrians have left their homes in historic numbers, migrating to the adjacent countries in hopes of escaping their war-torn homeland. Last year, Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, made the revolutionary decision to accept one million refugees, mostly Syrians, rather than the ten thousand that the US did. Although the European Union, of which Germany is a part, requires its countries to accept people displaced by war, Merkel still had to consider the consequences — namely the the cost in resources, as well as the criticism and risk of her political career  — when providing a safe haven for such an influx in Syrians and other refugees.

With the increase in refugees comes the costs of basic necessities and of the refugee’s integration into Germany. According to Spiegel, Germany’s finance minister, about ten billion euros will be needed for 2016. This is clearly more than Germany can put out. Even with Germany’s surplus of 12 billion euros at the end of 2015, Germany will only have to spend more in the coming years. This consequence could easily cause Germany to fall into debt or have civil and military spending lowered in the coming years.

While accepting so many refugees has put Merkel in a good light to all who have been displaced from their homes by war, Merkel has put her political career on the line. Many in her party have been unhappy with her decision to accept so many asylum seekers. She is also under fire from her supporters, who are also discontented by the string of crimes that refugees have committed, as shown by her party’s loss in poll numbers reported by an article from Bloomberg. With a decrease in support, Merkel will have a much lower chance at reelection.

If I were Chancellor of Germany, faced with the same difficult decision, I would have admitted fewer refugees than Merkel, but I would still have admitted quite a few. Although a life should be saved because it is more valuable than a few thousand dollars, the cost and substantial drain on resources would have made me limit the refugees admitted to a more acceptable number. The number would not have been as low as half a million, but not as high and as pioneering as one million. Germany would pay less to care for fewer refugees and my party, along with many supporters, would not disapprove of my actions quite as much. This would allow me a possible reelection, enabling me to continue accepting refugees and keeping an open door policy for Germany.

School

I had my last official visit for my colleges this past weekend with the Indiana University.  I liked all three of my schools, but feel that at this point it is either between The University of Minnesota and Indiana University.  I liked the University of Iowa, but their swim program was not as strong and these too, and had a much worse academic program.  I liked both the campuses, and would be excited to go to either of these schools.  The teams at both schools were very close, and the coaches seemed they would really be helpful for my future.  It is going to be a very difficult decision for me to make, but no matter where I go, I think I will be happy.  At this moment if I had to make a choice, I would most likely choose the University of Minnesota, because I really liked the team, and liked that I already knew some people on the team before going there.  I plan to make my decision very soon, and hope that I won't regret it in a few years.

Election 2016

There are now three measly weeks remaining until election day in one of the most bizarre races in American history. Both candidates have historic unfavorability ratings. and most Americans heading to the polls next month are voting with the intention to keep the other candidate out, rather than their own candidate in. The candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, while both presenting daunting options for the next four years, have also exposed many things wrong with our election process. On the democratic side, super delegates helped Clinton seal the nomination, representatives chosen by the Clinton campaign to vote for her despite any opponent, rigging the primary from the beginning and stacking the odds against any who might oppose her. Super delegates that did not turn over to Clinton were punished, threatened with a loss of funding and media blackouts. Trump has demonstrated the overall inadequacy of the Republican party as a whole, proving again to be America’s disappointment as he hits home largely with uneducated white males. One only hopes that something will happen to change the dangerous course this country is currently embarked upon.

Cereal or Cardboard?

Captain Crunch is the most polarizing of all cereals. Either you love it for the sweet, sugary taste, or you hate it for the pain it inflicts on your mouth. I like it, but I find that letting it rest in the milk for a few minutes allows it to get a little soft but still maintain the crunch that it is named for. In fact, I think that a lot of cereals are better when they get a little bit of milk infusion. Raisin Bran, a cereal that would taste like cardboard and raisins, becomes a mess of sweet flakes and raisins when it absorbs a little milk. It is a slippery slope, because if one allows the cereal to sit for too long, it becomes a sweet and soggy lump of oats and raisins. A similar effect can be observes if Cheerios are allowed to sit for too long, as the rings take on traits similar to a wet sponge, although the honey that seeps into the milk is the sole redeeming factor. However, the worst cereals in the world are the unsweetened versions of real cereals. Plain Cheerios, Rice Chex, and Corn Flakes are all the absolute worst cereals unless extraordinary measures are taken to give them flavor. Most cereals are bearable, and a lot can be done to improve their flavor, such as adding more sugar, maple syrup, or fresh fruit. Because of the huge amount of variety achievable, I am confident in saying that cereal is the best breakfast food.

Halloween and Creepy Clowns

I don't know why, but the internet has blown up about creepy clowns this years. I feel like creepy clowns have always been a part of Halloween, but this year it's become a common topic. Maybe there's something I haven't heard about or there's a piece of the story I don't know, but it seems like it's blown up this year. Speaking of Halloween, Overwatch got a really cool update Junkenstein's Revenge and new game mode, Brawl. It looks really good and some of the new skins and highlight intros look really awesome. The one issue I have with the new game mode is that it seems very similar to TF2's MvM game mode. Sure it's slightly different because the robots aren't trying to carry a bomb to blow up your base, but you're still trying to stop a wave of zombies from destroying your base. I do like the addition of the bosses and Mercy coming in at the end to resurrect all the bosses. Regardless of how similar it is to the TF2, it looks really good. Now I'm interested to see what the TF2 team comes up for a Halloween update. Expectations are high.

Fun Haikus

Bacon

It is so crispy

Makes anything taste perfect

Bacon is the best

Soccer

The Ball flies up-field

Another whistle is blown

Yet we still prevail

Calc Test

Here we go again

Staying up late studying

Yet I am still boned

Cold Nights

Cold nights are the best

Keeping warm inside blankets

Time passes slowly

Until Next year, Golf

The winding down of the fall season marks the end of the golf season as well. The season starts in early spring, and goes all the way up until now. I don't think that sad would be the right word to describe my emotions when it comes to the end of the golf season, but I will certainly miss it. To me, golf is really an experience. Yes, I play for the team and there is competition which can be fun, but I find that the true beauty of golf is in the experience. By this I mean the people you play with, the scenery, and, the least important one, how you play. Going out on a Saturday to play golf for four hours is one of the best ways to spend an afternoon if you are playing with the right people and on the right course. The scent of the pine air in the fall is alone worth the time. As I reflect on the season, I may not have played as well as some others, but I think it would be difficult to find someone who enjoyed their time on the course more than I did. Until next year, golf, and thanks for the time you spent with me.

Baristas eavesdrop 100% of the time. It's just one of those things that we always do. This is simply because we are just sitting behind the counter pretending to be doing things and then people talk loud or have interactions that are just very obvious. You see people come in on first dates or tinder dates or interviews and it's a quality time. I once saw one lady have like three different students come in and sell themselves to her to get into the school. It was super awkward because one of them was so much better than the other ones and she was quite impressive. Another time I was working with Clay and a Tinder date came in and we just watched it happen and laughed at them because it was funny to see them be awkward. Another time a lady came in and was showing her friend pictures of her cat and both Clay and I went out into the dining room to look at these photos of her cat because it was gorgeous.

Thanks Mr. Ortiz

Rainier

It was David Ortiz’s last game last night which is super depressing. The first Red Sox game I ever went to Papi hit a walk off homerun. I will never forget that home run. The crowd went absolutely nuts, borderline hysteria. I was also at the game where Papi gave his speech after the marathon bombing. We were sitting front row of the bleachers and all my cousins and Aunts and Uncles were there. The bleachers are my favorite place to sit at Fenway, it gets crazy. But anyway back to Ortiz. The man has been with the Red Sox for over thirteen years, that’s the majority of my life. That's the reason it is so sad that he is retiring. It sort of marks the end of childhood in a sense. By the next baseball season I will be almost 18 and it will be the first year Ortiz won’t be there. I remember my dad telling me about Carlton Fisk’s walk off home run, he was there at game 6. But for me I will be telling my kids about that walk off home run Ortiz hit at my first game. Ortiz is the man and he will be truly missed. Thanks for the memories.

Hobbies

In elementary school I teachers often asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. At the time this was an easy one for me, I wanted to be an author. I enjoyed writing stories as a child, and as I grew up I continued my passion. On long hikes, I would make up stories on the spot and tell them to my sister who always loved the wacky improvised plot lines and characters.

The first story I remember telling my sister was about a special groups of spies disguised as clowns in the 1940's. Next was a story about bugs discovering the true meaning of life by leaving the forest that they've known their whole lives. I liked letting my imagination take me away to fantastical places and transcribing them orally or writing them down on paper. 

The first indication that writing may not be a viable carrier option was when I was informed by my parents that writers don't make money and therefore is not a career worth pursuing. I, still in love with the idea of story telling continued writing as a hobby. 

By the time I was in eighth grade I knew that to legitimize my hobby I needed to write a full length novel. For this process I turned to NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) which takes place in November. The goal was to write a full length novel (50,000 words) in one month. I attempted to write but failed after about 12,000 words. I found that writing with goals in mind sucked the fun out of the process and turned writing into more of a chore than a hobby. Before I knew it my life was filled with commitments and writing faded to the back of my list of activities to do. The magic was gone and the excitement spoiled I forgot the feeling of writing and therefore no longer wanted to write.           

Stories don't come as easy as they used to. Stories no longer instantaneously appear in my head as they did on hiking trips. Imagination has faded with time and I can only think of ideas grounded in the real world rather than fantastical stories one can escape into. Perhaps I will give writing another shot someday. I shouldn't be scared of something I love.   

Fall's Here

Fall's Here 

Lucas Blackmore 

10/11/16

APW

During the Fall I've noticed that I really struggle to stay on task in school. The reason is so simple. It is that there are too many things going on at once during that time. I have soccer everyday and on top of that, theres so many sports to watch. Football is in full swing. I swear I spend more time watching football and setting my fantasy lineups than I do on school work. It's an addiction that I cannot escape for the weeks between September and December. Its so much fun playing fantasy football, however, my grades have payed for it in the past. Its going to different this year though. I am going to find a balance where I can have fun playing fantasy/watching football - and hockey for that matter. While also spending lots of time getting ready for college by working on my common app and getting great grades. 

This year has been stressful so far and there is a lot more work than I anticipated. The college application process is terrifying, thinking about where I'm going to go and getting everything polished before the due dates that are fast approaching. I cannot wait for February break, when, hopefully, I'll know where I am going to go and where I have gotten into. The stress is killing me but I know that in a few short months the whole process will be finished and I can relax a little bit, and take advantage of senior spring. This year is going to be great even with the ups and downs that it has in store for me. 

Atlantic City

My parents received some free tickets to a resort in Atlantic City for Thanksgiving break.  It was supposed to be the off season, but there are always people at resorts no matter when you go.  The resort was on the beach front and would have been crawling with tourists in mid July.  Now there was nothing but the long, weathered boards that made up the boardwalk, and the empty ocean rolling in.  You were supposed to be eighteen or older to stay in the resort, but since we got the tickets from family friends we embodied their family and left our identities back home.  My parents snuck my thirteen year old sister and I in every day without managing to get caught.  The resort was spectacular.  The outside looked weathered from the salt water but the inside was a blur of different neon colored lights with gold hardware everywhere.  The hallways had floor-to-ceiling mirrors that sparkled in the warm light, inviting you deeper into the resort.  There was a beautiful restaurant that overlooked the beachfront, but since we were staying hidden my parents ordered us room service.  Our breakfast would come in silver platters and our orange juice in champaign glasses.  When we would leave the den of our king sized suite, we would stand up really tall and my mom would put her red lipstick on us.  We walked around the casinos like we were already eighteen, and when we saw security guards coming my dad would always push us towards the stairs.  The casino machines glittered and their names popped in all different color schemes.  Each machine had a different theme.  Some were beach themed with women in tiny bikinis on the screens, and others were car themed with different expensive race cars swooshing by.

We lived like different people for four days, pretending to be our perfect selves with no worries.  When tuesday came and we were back in Hanover, I could sense everyones sparkle had once again left.