My Self Assesment

I personally don't really understand the concepts of self-assesments because it just makes it seem like your tooting your own horn and talking highly about yourself but in all honesty i do possess a significant amount skills that contribute to the newspaper.
1. Listening Skills: I am told that I am a very good listener I do my best to evaluate a situation and i do my best to give the best advice i can. I'm labeled the school psychologist because everybody comes to me with their problems. I don't mind it because it makes me sound useful.
2. Writing Skills: When it comes to writing an essay or a speech I can writing about a page and a half in less then forty minutes and still have it be a pretty good essay. I have big insights that allow me to put all of my emotions into writing. I have never gotten lower or higher then a 3 on all of my TAKS essays and I have made Bs and/or higher in all of my High School essays.
3. Speaking Skills: I certainly know how to talk thats for sure. I placed 5th with a perfect score from a judge of 35/35 for persuasive Speaking and now I'm signing up for debate so needless to say my speaking is just fine.
4. Interpersonal Skills: I work well within a team and can either be a leader or a follower I prefer to follow because I dislike making the decisions but I'm usually thrown into being the leader in a group of misfits so there are times i need to adjust, I am extremely polite as tons of people can and will tell you, and going into depth i certainly don't beat around the bush when I speak or when i write.
5. Curiosity and Awareness: Where I come from you need to be aware of EVERYTHING!! that goes on around you , that can usually mean a life or death situation. I am a very curious person and I like to get into other peoples business and I am very aware of almost everything that goes on at school.
6. Self-direction: I certainly don't need to be pushed to do anything I already do almost everything myself. I certainly don't mind a helping hand but i can lead myself if that is what your asking.
7. Self Confidence: I got up and danced a routine with my dance partner in front of the ENTIRE school. That clearly shows I'm not shy.

The only thing that i think i could work on is my communication skills

1. Communication skills: I can communicate with others fine but going into detail with words to me is difficult. Which is why I choose to write because the words come to me because I believe paper is more patient then man. I have a hard time of catching my words i find it to be a bit more difficult then writing. Speaking is fine but getting the point across to me is a bit of a challenge.

• I need to practice my communication skills with another person who fully understands me so i can be told what I am doing wrong.
• I need to be able to catch my words and ask myself the question of what I want this person to do before I ask this person.
• I need to be able to not be so afraid of hurting other peoples feelings that is what slurs up my words when I'm trying to be constructive. 

The Top Ten Businesses the Smart Phone is Destroying

1. i certainly am not because i don't have a use for the smart phone. I will continue too buy mp3 players because i don't like listening to music on my phone because a phone is a communication device not a music system. I also plan to use remote controls, PCs, video games, and digital cameras just the same because i don't see the need for a smart phone because what happens if your smart phone breaks you lose EVERYTHING.

2. Like I previously stated if your smart phone breaks you lose everything, not just your phone you lose your mp3, camera, GPS, PDA, etc. Which is why i think it is better to have a bunch of other things.

3. It makes everything more manageable and people can use their time more efficiently.

4. My time i think the greatest invention would be the Internet.

5. Yes i am pretty sure that smart phones will eventually run PCs into the ground and become the number one Internet provider. No, I will continue to use a PC until its absolutely necessary for me to get a smart phone.

6. I do use my computer for everything because it helps run my life however it is a little scary that something as small as a smart phone can run peoples lives with a push of a button.  

I think this cartoon has the straightforwardness of an extremely curious child. However, i do feel there is a hint of sarcasm hidden deep within. The cartoon draws in the audience through coloring, texture. The characters are believable and standout. Personally,  i consider this to be a very good cartoon. I also like the fact it honors veterans day. I feel it is our duty to honor our soldiers and war veterans that have continuously kept us safe from harm.

Tips for better picture taking

It is really easy for me to be a picture director because i know what it is that i want and I know how to get things accomplished so putting things together comes easy to me. I also tend to get on the same degree as my subject so getting them to look me in the eye is easy also. Using the flash comes natural to me also because it is almost always necessary to use the flash whether you are taking pictures in the dark or in a really bright sun. Taking close ranged pictures is mediocre for me because i like giving my subject their own personal space so it doesn't feel like i am suffocating them. Taking vertical pictures is another unorthodox thing for me. I usually take lanscape pictures but using portrait is differently and kind of out of my comfort zone. Moving from the middle and using plain backgrounds is something that i need to fix. I like having my subject be the center of attention and making sure that everybody is looking at them. However, I don't want the background to be "too" plain otherwise the picture looks like this person is "posed". The only main difference between the photos on the link and the photo's in the newspaper is that the photo's in the link are posed.

editorial cartoon

I am 100% certain about what the cartoon is referring too. It all has to do with the miners that were trapped in chile. It has been sixty-nine days which is past two months that these thirty-three men have been trapped down in a mine. However, that person on the top shows the fact that rescue teams are working gallantly and effortlessly to make sure that ALL of the miners get out safely. Chilean Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said that one of the last that will come up for the mine will be one of the rescue team members.   

Memoirs of Bullied Kid

The only thing i can say to this blog is WOW! I never expected something to be so deep and touching. It made me extremely uncomfortable because i have experienced and have seen bulling first hand.I may not have been bullied as viciously as the author has but I know what it feels like. It hurts really bad when your the outcast or the freak. You think your world is going to end, NO you prey that your world is going to end so you don't have to be put through all of this suffering. The blog opened a few new experiences to me because i have heard what to do if you are bullied but not the tolls that it takes on you in later life. It's really horrible that people have committed suicide due to being bullied. It sounds horrible and unreal that the simple fact that this type of thing does happen. It's sad and i hope things change soon.

do i feel safe in the valley?

Frankly, I feel safer here then i would in other places. For example, Mexico, Chicago, New York, Colombia, etc. There is danger at almost every corner in places like that. Daily people are beaten, killed, raped, broken into, and so many other things. Here you have crime like any other city but it really isn't as bad. Frankly, I do feel safe here then i would any where else.

One of my Junior moments

I am officially a senior but my greatest moment was in my junior year when both me and my fantastic dance partner Siuly won the dance off at the school. We both danced to "Just Dance" by Lady Gaga and pulled out latin ballroom and hip-hop steps. It felt like an adrenaline rush and the crowd was on its feet screaming and cheering for us. It was one of the greatest moments of my life. Not only had i had so much fun but i was officially accepted into the popular cliche of school friends. Technically, my partner and I became dance celebrities at the school everybody knew us and we were loved. I had so many people come up to me and ask "are you the guy with those awesome dance moves?" i had one person ask for my autograph. It was really funny but I loved it not for the attention but for the first time i actually felt liked by others. This was the beginning of my awesome school life. I have many thanks to give but none more then my dance partner Siuly: She is the greatest friend ever.

TV Shows!!! My personal favorites!

My personal favorite shows that are coming out this month and the ones i like to watch on my free time include: Dancing with the Stars, Glee, Desperate Housewives, Castle, and Brothers and Sisters. What I love about Brothers and Sisters is that it is about a really close family and how they each impact each others lives and how they are always there for each other. Its a really sweet drama. I love Desperate Housewives because it is so scandalous! It has drama, gossip, scandal, its a fantastic modern day soap opera. I have watched it for years and I love all of the main characters and how they deal with all this drama around them. Castle is more of a police drama with a little bit of comedy. It revolves around a writer who trails a police detective and together they solve crimes. The chemistry between the two is inevitable and they make up the story and it forces you to laugh. Glee, I love glee because it is just so fun and upbeat that you cant help but smile and sing along with their songs its so much fun. I save the best for last when it comes to Dancing with the Stars I think it is the best reality TV show of all time. We have all of these celebrities from different backgrounds and they get paired up with a professional ballroom dancer and the instructor has to teach and train these celebrities to dance with perfection and take them all the way to the finals. All of these TV shows are my personal favorites and I love each and every one of them.

The one thing i would do to improve something at the school

I would definetly like to improve the library shelving and probably adding in a few security cameras. Mainly, due to the fact that the students at both BETA and STPA shove books into the shelves completely out of order. However, they aren't the ones who have to fix it the librarians and the student assistants have to insteed and it is a huge time waster to fix all of the books that have been messed with when the librarians could be doing so much more. I think that the library needs to be a bit improved and be a little more efficent.

Ok little freshmen listen up

In order to thrive and succeed at BETA you actually need to WANT to be here. If you are here because your parents are making you you will be miserable. If you actually want to learn and are talented scholars your are going to have a grand old time. You will want to first make friends with the right people. Find smart people that can help you with homework unless you cant get a teacher. Always be polite and courteous to the teachers it will make your life that much better. I don't mean brown nosing but be kind. Always do your homework because homework especially in math and science go back to the quizzes and tests so if you know what your doing on the homework more then likely you will know what to do on the test. Don't let yourself be bullied stand up for yourself regardless of the person who is bullying you. And lastly, make sure to have lots of fun! If you have fun you wont be as stressed out and you will thrive.