newspaper --> the last day

vasha: so alyssa and i are just sitting here, signing year books, when we realized that what we signed in each other's year books was like the exact same thing. just worded different! crazy sauce happens i guess!
alyssa: this one time in newspaper, me and vash discovered this game...called the squirrell game. http://www.nitrome.com/games/chickflick/ check it out.
vasha: it's basically unreal...we had way too much fun playing it during our work time. :O)so much time spent and wasted on that game....good times!
ms. orme: Hey girl! Words cannot express how proud I am of who you are and the work you did this year. Come back and visit because YOU are someone I don't want to lose touch with. Enjoy the summer, girlie!
vasha: awwww... thanks ms orme! love you so much, best teacher ever!!!! well, this is vasha signing off, but newspaper! way fun, way exciting, and way cool!
Collin: I like rap i like hip hop i like iyaz i like lil wayne i like bowowowwowowow i like the utah jazz i like the cougs they are my favorite i like my boy chris brown i like honey honey food for the bees these are a few of my favorite things:)
Michael: The bright side of the road makes me feel like sad and dark shadows. The feeling of peace is good in places of full and intensity. The last time i said goodbye was also the first. i like chicken nuggets.

i like. . .

marshmellows,
rugby,
sweats,
anna,
best friends,
movies,
popcorn,
computers,
houses,
princess jasmine,
aladdin,
jobs,
football,
swimming,
milk,
calculators,
writing,
newspaper,
p.e.,
weights class,
imports,
swimming pools,
boys,
babies,
Michael the Beast,
Hottie McHottie,
dancing,
rain,
sledding,
talking,
gum,
summer,
sun,
wind,
grass,
yellow flowers,
ellie,
balloons,
sunshine,
rock music,
byu,
all about me videos,
foreigners,
tourists,
trains,
airports,
corner convenience stores,
flowershops,
newspaper stands,
sky scrapers,
blue sky,
fluffy clouds,
imagining,
ms. orme,
average wizards,
harry potter,
black and white,
polk a dots,
knox edward sitton,
summer sitton,
nephews and nieces,
back packs,
transformers,
batteries,
reading,
books,
paper,
sliver sharpies,
cultural tattoos,
sleeping,
pillows,
chocolate,
reeses pieces,
typings,
blue,
mice,
tile,
couches,
iron man,
whippy's,
boys named kate,
stickers,
alyssa,
printers,
palm pilots,
fbi agents,
soldiers,
the military,
doctors,
dox,
skux,
shaka,
boating,
canoes,
handles,
beach cruisers,
head phones,
ipods,
pink shirts on guys,
safety goggles,
movies,
dvds,
guitars,
riffs,
white water,
working,
runnings,
plugs,
locks,
trees,
mommies and daddies,
my mommy,
my daddy,
McKay,
ashton,
missionaries,
earrings,
church,
bishops,
seminary teachers,
buttons,
zippers,
skirts,
brazil,
cds,
gooch,
#2,
playing hook,
team captains,
sidelines,
bare feet,
boys,
directions,
leading,
piano keyboards,
thermometers,
red,
lollipops,
mowing laws,
dan carter,
all blacks,
blogging.....

third person = miscommunication

he said, she said. a misspoken word, a unheard hello. a glance away, a glance towards. everyday, relationships change. sometimes for the better, but a lot of times for the worse. just because of a misunderstanding. especially when a middle person is involved. take for instance a couple of my friends. two were interested in each other, a third person that was friend to both and totally well meaning told the guy that the girl had said something about him. he had misunderstood and just broke off the relationship that was only just starting with the girl. they are together now, but there was a lot of drama, just because of the involvement of a third person, and because of jumping to conclusions. teenagers need to learn to listen better, and the they need to learn to communicate better and clearer. they need to! or else they will never have successful relationships. that includes love, friendship, family, and even careers and business. teens of this current generation are terrible communicators, and when they do communicate, sometimes it is rudely, or even cruelly. we as teens need to shape up, and learn from the experiences of others. experiences of sadness, drama, hurt, and anger. then we won't have to repeat their 'history.' and if there is going to be a third person in your relationship, let's make it Christ. He's the only third person that can only positively affect our lives. not some well-meaning but nosy friend, but the big brother and friend of us all who truly knows what is best for us.

together by chance, united by choice

“The whole point of rugby is that it is, first and foremost, a state of mind, a spirit,” said Jean Pierre Rives, a former rugby union player for France. Locked in a scrum, at the bottom of a ruck, or racing down the field for a try United Rugby is the latest and most popular team in the Highland, Alpine, Cedar Hills area. This year, United rugby has reached a new point as it expands its teams and adds a girls team. The team just went down to Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Rugby Tournament this last weekend. The team played five games on Friday and one game on Saturday. They were undefeated for the whole tournament and went 6-0. The first game they played and won on Friday was against the Canadian 19 All Star team. They also played against Davis County and two teams from Las Vegas among others. They played very well and deserve to be commended for it.
United Rugby not only is a great team, and plays well, but it is a great environment for all its players. It is an outlet for some kids, and forms a brotherhood so tight knit, that they are the perfect example of what it is to be a team.
Rugby is a violent game, you cannot deny it, but it is a sport that builds character, magnifies honor, and promotes loyalty.
Hooker, Junior Travis Howden said, “The best thing about rugby is when you get to smash other kids into the ground. Yeah, it’s the best.” As hooker, Howden defends the middle of the line against the other team’s props and second rowers. The hooker usually makes the most tackles in the game and has to learn to read his team mates and have a good knowledge of the game. He learns to protect and lead. These are skills he will use for the rest of his life. Not only does the hooker learn life skills from the sport of rugby, but every other team member will learn things that they will keep with them for the rest of their life. It’s like Senior Ian Biesinger said, “Rugby is my life, my life is rugby.”
As the United Rugby team plays its way through this season, let’s cheer them on, and learn from them. As they say, “Together by chance, united by choice.” Kia kaha.

Ellie

Here's a Birthday shout out to my girl Ellie! Happy Birthday girl! May this be a happy day as you are surrounded by family, friends, love, and prayers!

Racial Ignorance

It was in August of 1997 when it happened. I was five and had just returned home from my first day of Kindergarten. When I walked in the door and saw my mom, the first thing that I said wasn’t “Hey mommy! I’m home!” or “Mommy! Did you miss me?” No, the first sentence that burst from my lips was, “Mommy? Am I black?”
Hi, I’m Naivasha Hani Burrows, and I am very pleased to have the opportunity to come to enlighten and talk to you about Racial Ignorance. In case you haven’t noticed, I am in fact not black, but Hapa-Haole, which is half Chinese, half white. My mom is Malaysian-Chinese, meaning she was born in Malaysia, but her ancestors are from China. Hainan specifically. My daddy was born in California, raised in Washington, and although he spent his teenage/high school years living in Kenya, Africa, he is in fact Caucasian, or more commonly known as white.
Coming home from school that day, I was just as confused about my ethnicity as the kids in my class were. They had never seen someone who looked as different from them as I did, so what did they do? They assumed that I was the Chocolate to their Vanilla. Of course, I’ve always considered myself more of a Carmel or butterscotch, but who can afford to be picky about their flavor of skin? My mom explained to me that day that I was the same as them, but because she was Chinese, I was just a little browner than them, in every other way I was just like them. Ever since then, I’ve embraced my racial background, and loved the color that I am.
It is not only the little Kindergarten children of our culture that are racially ignorant. It is our teens, and it is our educated, and sophisticated adults! Both my brothers and I have experienced this lack of knowledge right here at Lone Peak. Weekly I am asked if I am Latino, or Indian, or Brazilian, or Poly, or Mexican. Once I was even asked if I was a Philippine-Cambodian mix. Yeah-no! Also, people sometimes ask whether we are Chinese or are we Asian. Umm, people? China is in Asia, therefore Chinese is Asian! Surprise surprise!
I also have adults ask me where I am from. I always say I’m from here. Then they go, “No, I mean, what country are you from?” I always say that I am from America. Guys, I am an American. Just because we are a different color, or our ancestors come from a different country doesn’t mean we aren’t Americans. I am an American, Tarrah Samuels is an American, President Barrack Obama is an American, every single one of us in this room is an American, no matter our race, no matter our background, and no matter our ethnicity. We need to educate our fellow citizens that people are from different countries, and we do need to be sensitive to that, but just because they are from different countries, like my mom, that doesn’t mean they aren’t American. Just because a person is brown doesn’t mean they are black or a Mexican. Just because someone is Hispanic doesn’t mean that they are an illegal immigrant!
Racial Ignorance is a huge problem we face today and we don’t even realize it. You may say that it’s okay to be racially ignorance as long as we aren’t racist or mean about it. You are right in the fact that you can be racially ignorant without being racist, but it is not okay. People need to be educated, and we can do that by:
1.) Being more open about our ethnic backgrounds, don’t be afraid to let people know that you aren’t just American, you are a Chinese-American, African-American, Mexican-American, but do let them know that you are an American and proud of it.
2.) Being a lot more tactful when we question people about their race. Instead of asking, “So where are you from?” because if they are like me, they are from Utah, or California, or I don’t know, Tennessee, and that won’t give you the answer you want. Try “So, what is your ethnic background?” for a change. They will feel a lot more respected and more comfortable sharing their cultural background with you.
3.) Educate your friends and future kids, and even grandkids if you have any, that just because someone may look different from them, they are still American. Also, let them know that there is more that just white and black out there; there is brown, there’s yellow, there’s red, there is even orange, and lots of other colors in between. Educate them on other cultures and if you are of a different ethnicity, let your kids know that it is okay to look different, because in Chris Sossou’s words in his article “Obama Candidacy Exposes Diverse Falsehoods and Racial Ignorance: “Is a [different colored] person not a human being, made in the image of God?”
We as a country need to strive to become less racially ignorance, and more racially educated, we must overcome this as we are also overcoming racism to bring our selves into a tighter knit country. We need to unify ourselves as Americans, especially during this time and realized that we are all the same, and we are all Americans.