So:

Lots of news here! In the time since my last update, I've discovered so many cool news articles. I'll share that and some news from my life with you.

First of all, hearing Ishmael Beah speak was wonderful! We got to take a picture with him and I even got his autograph! Now I'm actually reading his book, and it's so suspenseful! It's amazing to think that he survived those events and manages to talk about them frequently. It takes a truly strong person to admit that he/she's killed someone, seen people die, and suffered.

Secondly... I discovered this wonderful website: OperationNICE.com, which highlights all of the positive things in life. It made me smile. It's a great resource for anyone who needs cheering up. :)

Also: things have been hectic, and they'll stay like that until after finals. Once I get past those, I'll be free (well, except for that summer assignment in AP World)! In the meantime, I've taken a bassoon reedmaking lesson, uh... not too much else. Awards night is tomorrow!

Now, on to the articles!

1) This article appeared in the New York Times last Thursday. It talks about teens and hugging. I'm not really sure where to stand on this, but I'll write a later post on teens and hugging, from the perspective of a teen.

2) WireTap Magazine has a very progressive, youthful take on national/international news and opinion. I really enjoy reading about young people's takes on the world!

3) Here's an article from WireTap Mag about the future of high school journalism. I'm slightly worried about this, considering that I want to take this course next year, and I'd like to go into journalism!

4) Here's two Newsweek spotlight articles on our society's focus on beauty. It's really interesting. I cannot believe how much the average diva spends on beauty... Click here and here to see the articles.

5) Here's an article criticizing Sesame Street. I couldn't believe how low it was ranked among children's shows! I grew up with it! I really enjoyed that show, although there is much controversy over the usefullness of kids' TV shows now... Let's take a look at some good old Sesame Street memories:

Cookie Monster? Healthy Food? What's Next?!?!


I would always dance around to this one... Do De Rubba Duck!


So catchy! I loved this song...


These animations were so cool!


Now that I've shared my articles, here's one more website. I recently discovered Jango.com, which is a great resource for music and internet radio. It allows you to get the songs that you like onto a single station, and it lets you skip past the songs that you don't want. :) It's really fun! I'm listening to it now!

On another note, I've been meaning to comment on Susan Boyle for awhile. In a later post!

-TTYL!