Mary's Weblog

Journal Entry: Wednesday 12/12/07

xmaryx — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 12:48:53 +0000

On Tuesday, I worked very hard on my social studies project right after I got home from basketball practice around 5:15 p.m. I had everything done, but I had to print out my speech and make a poster as part of the visual of presentation. While working on it, I forgot about the hot glue gun that I had on for more than 2 hours. I accidentally pulled my hand back and guess where it landed? ON THE GLUE! As soon as my fingers touched the tip of the hot glue gun, I immediately pulled my hand back. It felt as if I literally had fire on my own finger. After learning about safety issues during science class, I learned to let the water run on your finger if you get any burns. I let the water run for about 10 minutes but the burn still didn’t go away, so I got myself an ice pack. It didn’t make my finger because it was stinging more than it already was. I hope my finger feels better…

On Monday, I felt disgusted by the people who are smoking near me. It’s surprising how almost everyone you see in the streets have a cigarette in their hand. I’ve watched a video in health class this week about addiction problems and how it can harm your health. One of the topics that were mentioned in the video was smoking. It said that when you smoke, it gives you pleasure which is mainly the reason why people are addicted and keeps wanting to do it. I don’t understand how you would feel pleasure from smoking a cigarette. I just don’t understand anyone who smokes. I think it’s ridiculous and should be banned. Not only does smoking affect the actual person who is smoking, it affects all the other people who are around the smoker in a more harmful way. This means that the smoker and the people around with will both end up with terrible lungs and have breathing issues because of the smell of the smoke. It’s unfair to the people who have to smell this nasty stick when others are actually the ones smoking.

From the events of Sunday, I learned that I need to let go of things at times and not worry about what others think about me. No one should tell me who I should be. It’s not up to them to tell me who I should be and what I should be doing. Besides, even if you worry about what others say about you right now, it won’t matter 20 years later. I always try to just be focused on school and my friends rather than worrying so much about the other people say about me, but in the end, it always comes back to me and I end up worrying. I guess it’s just one of the things that all teenagers go through. Our pastor shared a very good message with us that we often loose control of relationships because we worry too much of what others say about us. As much as I try not to worry, I end up worrying even more than I should be. I’ll try to keep my ears from hearing the gossips and rumors before it actually gets my mind involved.

Journal Entry: Tuesday 12/11/07

xmaryx — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 01:54:37 +0000

On Monday, I went to Bundang to have my lesson late at night. While I was walking to go to academy, I was surrounded by smokers who were enjoying breathing in a stick of nicotine. Everytime I walk pass by a smoker, I hold in my breath, so that I won’t be able to smell the smoke. Second hand smoking affects someone worse than the actual smoker. I am trying to avoid smokers as much as I can even if I am surrounded by them. Every person I walked by yesterday had a stick of cigarette in his mouth or had one in his hand. I think Korea has a severe smoking issue. Nowadays, teenagers around my age are smoking. I already know some people who actually smoke! I think that smoking is absolutely ridiculous even if it gives you pleasure while smoking it. I don’t understand why some people actually tried it at first. If they know that it’s harmful for their health and can lead to future problems, then why do it?

On Sunday, I was aggravated by everything around me, but when the pastor mentioned about people loosing control after focusing too much on one topic, it caught my attention. I agree with the fact that sometimes, teenagers like me worry too much on what others think about us; so much that it makes you loose control of relationships and other things. I was glad that our pastor talked to us about that issue. No matter how much you say you don’t care about what others say about you, you end up worrying about it more than anything else. He said we shouldn’t be wasting our youth and thinking about such things that do not matter 10 or 20 years later.

From the events of Saturday, I learned that one small gift could change someone’s day and their mood. The tie wasn’t worth that much money and it wasn’t something “big”, but it made my dad happy. Even if it was something small, what mattered was that he was impressed and pleased about receiving a gift. I thought of giving him a gift early while I have the time to get one before I leave to go to Texas this winter break. My dad looked stressed out before, but after he received the tie from me, he looked much happier than before. This allowed me realize that one small gift could change someone’s day.

Reading Blog: South Korean spill hits seafood industry

xmaryx — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:10:16 +0000

On Friday, two ships collided with one another spilling 2.7 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean. It weighed more than 260,000 tons in all. For the residents nearby this area, this tragic event brought despair to their daily jobs and was shocked by how the pollution ruined their business. This area is the most scenic area and where the migrated birds come to rest. After the spill, people found the birds covered in black with crude oil all over them. More than 20 million tourists visit this area each year which boosts up the economy of Korea. 63,800 citizens have depended on fishing and seafood farming as their profession. Many people who have jobs near this area are leaving because the ocean is now practically dead. 7,500 people volunteered to help clean the mess of this incident. The oyster farmer had lost their whole entire business in which they ran for about 30 years. This was what helped her raise her family and educate them, but now she lost her job because of the spill. She said that the damage of her farm would equal up to $21,800 in total since the oyster harvesting just began. I feel sad for people who lost their jobs because of an accident caused by someone else. I’m pretty sure these people loved to work with oysters, make sushi, catch crabs and fish, and etc, but since the ocean is now dead, it must be heartbreaking for those people who absolutely love their job. I hope the government finds some way to help these poor people who lost their jobs because of the spill.

Journal Entry: Monday 12/10/07

xmaryx — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 02:59:40 +0000

On Sunday, I went to church like any other Sunday. Our pastor recovered from the back surgery and came to give us a sermon. My best friend who goes to church with me said that she had known the pastor since she lived in Canada. Anyways, the sermon for that day was that people loose control over things at times. Teenagers focus on what others think when they do this and that so much at times that they loose control. I think that statement is actually true because I sometimes worry about what others think about me too much and loose control over relationships. The pastor said that what happens between you and a person doesn’t matter 20 years from now on. He said we shouldn’t waste our youth thinking about what others think about you. Later on throughout the day, I thought about all the things I would do with my friends in Texas. It gets me excited to know that I am going to Texas in 10 days!! I’ve been waiting all this time for December to come. I hope I get to see all my old friends when I go there. I’m really looking forward to it.

On Saturday, I was happy that my small gift pleased my dad. It’s good to know that my small gift actually impressed my dad and made him happy. My dad was a bit surprised when I gave him something wrapped up in a small box. It was something unexpected and uncalled for. I also had fun at the Christmas bazaar. It was a good chance for me to have some fun after all the stress I got from homework and school. After I got a chance to look around what was at the bazaar, I watched the movie “Rush Hour 3” with my friend. Although I didn’t get to finish watching the movie, Rush Hour 3 was quite entertaining.

From the events of Friday, I learned that it’s important for you to stand up for your own dreams. Casey is a very good student and gets good grades, but going to Harvard was something she didn’t have passion for. She only did it for her mom because she knew that it was what her mom wanted for her. Despite the consequences for what you might receive for not following the right path of your future, it’s important that you tell your parents what you want to do in the future. If they force you to do something, you won’t want to do it because it’s not something you want to do. For example, ice skating was what Casey had passion for. She gave up on getting a scholarship to Harvard and went for her new dream which was becoming a figure skater. Yes, it did upset her mom and resulted in them not speaking for two months straight, but what’s important was that Casey got what she wanted in the end. Her mom was able to understand that ice skating was what her daughter wanted to do. From this movie, I learned that if my parents ever make me follow something of their footsteps, I should stand up for myself that it’s something that I do not want to do. Life is about making sacrifices. Not everything you do will please your parents and this may hurt them, but if you continue to follow what they want you to do, you will end up being unhappy of what you are doing. Overall, the message I learned was “pursue your dreams of whatever it may be and don’t let other things stop you from chasing after your dreams.”

Journal Entry: Sunday 12/9/07

xmaryx — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 11:50:48 +0000

On Saturday, I went to school to go to the Christmas bazaar. I went to set up kickball for the other students to play while they were at the bazaar, but the teacher didn’t show up…The president and I were ready to go with the game, but none of the other members seem to remember about setting up the game and besides, the other students already looked as if they were having a good time even without the game. Therefore, we decided that it’s better off not setting up the game. At the Christmas bazaar, I went across this table that sold presents and the pink purplish tie caught my attention. The lady who was selling the ties told me it was a perfect Christmas gift for my dad. It started to make my brain think…I remembered one time when I asked my dad if he wanted a pink tie. He told me that if I bought it for him, he would wear it. Without a doubt, I bought it to surprise him with an early Christmas present. The tie was folded and put into a white box with snow flakes on them. My dad came home from work about 1 o’clock in the morning. I was watching this show called “Gossip Girls” and waited for him to come home. My dad was pleased that I gave him a tie. I hope he wears it sometime this coming week…

On Friday, I was actually touched by the movie “Ice Princess.” I watched it couple times before, but I didn’t take it that seriously. It was sad in the beginning and middle parts of the movie because Casey, the main character’s mom did not want her daughter to be involved with ice skating. Although her mom didn’t like her skating around, Casey did not give up her dream of becoming an ice skater. At the end of the movie when Casey’s mom finally accepts what her daughter wants, I was very happy for Casey and that she got what she wanted.

From the events of Thursday, I learned that some events happen unexpectedly without any warning. I would’ve never known that my mom would have been in pain of the stomachache until she actually went through it. These unexpected events are something that happens naturally in which I have no control over. I have to let it happen although I may not like it. Pain and suffering comes naturally in life. No one likes to be hurt and endure agonizing pain, but it’s something we all have to face at some point.

Journal Entry: Saturday 12/8/07

xmaryx — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 12:06:40 +0000

On Friday, I watched this movie called “Ice Princess” around 12 o’clock at night before I went to bed. It was about Casey, a straight A student girl who was working on a scholarship to go to Harvard. Her mom was very edgy when it came to her education. Like any other parent, she wanted what’s best for Casey’s future. Casey’s school teacher, came up with a physics project in which is something that colleges take interest in. The project had to be something that was personal to her, so she decided to do something she had passion for which was ice skating. She makes a deal with Tina Harwood at the ice skating rink to be able to do the project. Tina Harwood is the coach of 3 skaters- Gen, her own daughter, Tiffany, and a girl named Niki. They were currently training for the Junior Olympics. Casey starts off filming the girls during practice and then ends up actually being involved in one of the novice skating classes to apply the project more to her personally. She performs with all the other little girls and then receives her results. Gen Harwood and Casey herself was shocked when hearing of the news that she was qualified as the same level with Gen and the other girls. Unfortunately, Casey could not afford to practice with the other girls, but after Tina sees her talent and passion for the sport, she allows her to compete in the regionals (the competition). Casey does well for her first experience despite the couple of mistakes she made. Tina, realizing her natural talent of the sport, offers Casey new skates. Casey was surprised, but thankfully accepted it. She wore her new skates to compete in the sectionals. Casey places 4th place which wasn’t enough to make into the next round. After finding out that you weren’t suppose to wear new skates until the minimum use of 10 days, Casey gets upset with Tina, and especially with Gen and Teddy who she thought were her friends. In the very next day, Gen quits which meant that she could compete in the next round. Casey’s mom finds out about why she has been away from home so much. She, of course, gets upset due to the fact that it was interfering with her education and especially with the scholarship project. She had decided to give up her mom’s dream of being qualified as a Harvard student and chase after her dream of being an ice skater. In the next round of Casey’s ice skating competition, she gets nervous, loses hope, and makes a lot of mistakes. It has been 2 months since she has spoke to her mom. After she sees her mom in the audience, watching her perform encouraged her to get up and do the best she can. Her mom makes up to Casey for not being able to understand what Casey wanted after the competition. They compromised in the end by agreeing to let her to continue with her ice skating and education at the same time.

On Thursday, I was nervous at first when singing the song “Break forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light” because I ran out of breath easily. I wasn’t able to hold my notes longer than I was during the rehearsal. I didn’t get stage freight, but I was just feeling a bit anxious and tense since choir was performing first, but at the end of the whole show, I was happy about finishing my Christmas concert. Everyone, including the elementary kids performed well in the concert. It was what happened after the concert that worried me throughout the night. My mom had a severe stomachache; bad enough that she almost had to go into the emergency room. All of the sudden, she was taking deep, heavy breaths as if she was having trouble breathing. I was really scared of the whole situation. It was something none of us had unexpected. I sincerely hope she feels better soon…

From the events of Wednesday, I learned that you should never underestimate someone based on what you know about the person because all of the information you know about that person could be fictitious. In this case, KIS underestimated the students of GSIS, thinking that they were better than us because the majority of our basketball team consisted of 8th graders. What mattered was that WE won and they lost. Their team consisted of students from grades 9th through 11th while our team made up of mainly 8th graders. I was very proud of myself and our team that we beat KIS. It was enough to prove and show that being a new school doesn’t always mean that we are worse than them.

Journal Entry: Friday 12/7/07

xmaryx — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:30:02 +0000

On Thursday, I had my Christmas concert yesterday. The concert consisted of the orchestra, choir, band, and the elementary kids. It was quite cute seeing the little kids perform their song, skit, ballet, and etc. I am part of the middle and high school choir. We sang 4 songs- one including the song accompanied by the band. I liked the Christmas concert much more than the previous concert in October. The funny part about the concert last night would have to be the girls who were in drama. Some 7th and 8th grade girls presented this short skit which was based on the theme of “Mean Girls.” Mean Girls was a popular movie in America back in the year of 2004. It is starred by a Hollywood actress, Lindsay Lohan and other famous actresses. The girls acted as if they were the “plastics”, the ones who ruled the whole school. To me, it was hilarious because I could relate some parts to the movie, “Mean Girls.” Other than concert, I stayed up until 2:30 a.m. to complete my homework. Even if I had a bit of time to do homework between rehearsals, I only managed to complete reading blog because I didn’t have any of my textbooks with me at the moment, but homework wasn’t the thing that worried me when I got home. My mom was very ill all of the sudden and was suffering a bad stomachache. She was breathing heavily as if it was getting harder and harder for her to take a breath. I couldn’t get home until 9:45 p.m. when my dad hastily came to GSIS to pick us up. I hope my mom feels better today….

All the positive words you can possibly think off the top of your mind could probably describe how I was feeling after the basketball game against KIS on Wednesday. I felt great after our victory against KIS. I’ve been waiting for this game from the week before. I wanted to prove to the KIS girls that they are not any better than us. Just because our school is new doesn’t always mean that the school is the worst out of all the other international schools of Korea. They make us sound so bad that the other schools agree with that the KIS kids say about us. I may be a bit overreaching with the whole idea with KIS, but if you were to hear the whole story behind them, I’m pretty sure that you would agree with me.

From the events of Tuesday, I learned that if I don’t start sleeping at least 7 hours everyday, there might be a chance that I might faint or get sick again. Lack of sleep has been catching up to me these days and because of this, I have been falling asleep in class in which I normally don’t do. I have tried my best to sleep early as soon as possible, but it’s hard when you have overload of homework in one night.

Reading Blog: Man opens fire at Omaha mall, killing 8

xmaryx — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 08:15:57 +0000

This article I read on yahoo is about a man who shot 8 people at the mall. Everyone was frantically shopping for Christmas holiday. Unfortunately, some people were shot while shopping for presents. Before this event occurred, he left a suicide note at home saying that he wanted to “go out in style.” I feel bad for people who commit suicide because they were teased by other people. Numerous people in the world have committed suicide because of being a loner; just like the previous incident with Cho Seung Wee at Virginia Tech. This shows that being a loner can cause more than just emotional problems. I never knew how much of a damage it can cause until this incident occurred. Mr. Cooper also spoke to the school about bullying this morning at the Friday assembly. I realized how much of a serious issue it could be for someone who ends up dealing with this problem.

So when the man fired his gun, everyone was terrified of the gun noise, so most of them hid in the changing rooms for a very long time until it was finally over. It’s very unfortunate how some people were killed while shopping happily for Christmas gifts. I can’t believe how people manage to buy guns. Guns should be banned in United States for many reasons. United States’ constitution states that a person could carry around a gun. It scares me about the fact that America is allowing their people to do that. It could be used for self defense, but it could also be used to kill other people. Something must be done to stop this. I thought that the massacre of Virginia Tech was enough, but when I read this article about another man, I just couldn’t understand why the United States isn’t doing anything to stop people from using guns. I hope that America will do something to prevent from these incidents to happen.

These are some pictures of the mall this event happened in.

Journal Entry: Thursday 12/6/07

xmaryx — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 05:52:40 +0000

On Wednesday, I had a “friendly” basketball game against KIS except it wasn’t friendly at all. Most of the girls on the basketball team strongly despise the people from KIS for various reasons from the past experiences. KIS girls think that they could take advantage on us because we are a new school which makes them think that we are bad at everything for some reason, but the thing is that we beat them last night! HA! The score was 36 to 10 and guess what? They are in DIVISION I meaning that they are suppose to be able to play much better than us since they have more students in their school. I felt confident even before the game started because I knew that we could win against KIS. Last year during middle school basketball season, our school won every time we went against KIS. It makes me angry, knowing that they think they are better than us because they are a bigger school and there are many other reasons why I do not like KIS and their students, but I won’t share it on the journal. What mattered to me was that we beat KIS by 26 points which is pretty big of a difference. Like I said, we are in division 2 and our first year in playing high school sports, but we still won. It may not mean a lot to you, but it means a lot to me that we won.

On Tuesday, I was feeling sleepy for most of the day. My body was dragged around everywhere because I didn’t have any energy left to do anything else, but sleep. I was also feeling excited and nervous about the game with KIS. Like I mentioned in the paragraph above, there is this anger and rebellious feeling inside of me when it comes to KIS with sports or anything else. When we had basketball games with them last year, they always said that we were going to loose or we suck right in our faces. I don’t know about you, but I was furious- mad enough to yell in their face right back at them. They are not the nicest people in the world to be around with.

From the events of Monday, I learned that I need to try to do things in advance, so that I won’t have problems doing it the night before. On Monday, I stayed up until 2 o’ clock just to try and finish the powerpoint presentation that was due the next day. I thought that I didn’t have much left to do for homework, so I waited untilI still had a little bit before I actually finish homework. I always try to do things in advance, but I am not doing very well in doing that these days. I got home about 10:30 p.m. to start working on it. When I opened up my file, I realized that that I won’t have problems in getting it done right before it’s due, but I haven’t been able to do that lately because there is an overload amount of homework. I hope I will be able to complete homework before its due date to make things easier for me.

Journal Entry: Wednesday 12/5/07

xmaryx — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 13:21:38 +0000

On Tuesday, I didn’t have much homework that day which made me happy. On the other side, I was drained towards the end of school which is why I was walking and not trying my best during basketball practice. If you were in my writing class, you would be able to see that I was very exhausted and tired throughout the whole day because I actually fell asleep during class. I wasn’t able to sleep much the previous day because of health powerpoint homework. This may be the reason of why I was sleeping for quite a bit during writing class when going over Mrs. Flowers for the test on Thursday.

On Monday, I was feeling a bit homesick for some weird reason. It was as if I haven’t been home for days, or perhaps, even longer. I just wanted to go home as soon as possible, lie down on my bed, and rest. Maybe, this was due to boredom and drowsiness throughout the day. Ever since basketball season started, I started to get tired very easily. I don’t think my body is used to playing basketball so much during the week.

From the events of Sunday, I learned that I should try to do what the pastor said in the sermon which is to serve God in one unity. I don’t know what the other people have in mind during service, but for me, I usually get bored because the sermon is too long, so I tend to think about something else. This is not something I should be doing, especially when the pastor is speaking to me and the rest of the church members. I have to face the truth that not all sermons will be enjoyable or fun for me to focus, but I should learn to focus on God when I am in church.