What should I think?

We are finally in high school , we know we are going to learn about evolution in biology class, but did anyone ever tell us we would also be analyzing Genesis also? No. It's great to increase your intelligence so you can make up your own mind and have your own thoughts. It is also hard because you don't want to believe in what you were not taught growing up. I remember when I was in sixth grade learning about evolution and talking to my mom about it because I was confused because it contradicted what I was taught. Recently we have been studying evolution in Biology and we just started analyzing Genesis in English class.

In Biology we learned about the introduction to evolution. We are not encouraged or discouraged to believe in it. Our teacher just wants us to know all of the evidence behind them so that we can make an educated choice. I personally think that some of evolution makes sense but when I think about it more I just come up with a lot of questions and then it doesn't make that much sense anymore. I think that some parts of it are true. I understand it and will learn it but I don't think that I fully believe in it. There is a lot of evidence to prove evolution but it comes down to your own educated thoughts and you have to choose what you will believe in.

Now we can discuss the Creation story. In English we recently began to analyze the myths in Genesis. I believe in the Creation story. I was raised to believe in it and I find no problem with it. I enjoy analyzing this in class because we are analyzing the VERY beginning of our time. It is interesting to hear what we infer from reading a passage. It is very cool to find the very details of the story or even come up with an inference that your teacher had not thought of. We have only begun to analyze the stories in Genesis so I hope to learn more and gain a stronger grasp of the Creation story.

Now that we have discussed both evolution and the Creation Story, maybe you will realize how hard it is to be a kid and have to make this decision on your own. Hammond is a great school and they prepare us to be able to make our own decisions even when we are young. It is great that we can be taught both of the stories. I believe in the Creation story. Maybe this has inspired you to go and do some research of your own and find out what you believe in.

Nantahala- Freshman Trip

Nantahala. Freshman Year. 73 students. Giant Swing.



Imagine being suspended in the air, your friends pulling the rope that pulls you higher and higher into the air. Now, its all up to you. YOU are in charge of releasing the rope that is connecting you to the tower. When you let go, you will fall, straight down to the ground.
But then, all of a sudden you start rising up in the air again, swinging back and forth, back and forth. All of this adrenaline hits you. You are swinging high up in the air..... and then, the pain hits you. You don't realize it until you are no longer afraid of being swung in the air. You start thinking, "Were these harnesses this tight to begin with?" and "How much longer until i can take this harness off!!!" Why don't we start at the beginning now.


Here comes the truth. They first give you a harness and show you how to put it on. You don't quite realize how tight the harness is until you are in the air, and yes, for those of you thinking, "Oh it must not be that bad." Wait until you experience it. It's worse then it seems. After you are all harnessed up and ready to go, they give you a helmet and glasses to wear for protection. Now they tell you to stand on the ladder so that you can be hooked up to the GIANT SWING. They check to make sure that you put on your harness correctly, because you know that putting a bunch of freshman in charge of their own safety could be quite dangerous. After they make sure you will live after the swinging, they tie the rope that holds you in the air and YOUR OWN classmates are in charge of pulling you up high in the air. Now, as scary as the swing was, it may have been scarier having your friends lifting you in the air. The main part is letting go of yourself. I will just say that it was TERRIFYING. Your looking down at high how in the air you are in then you have to let yourself fall? What? Why would anyone want to do that? Those questioons are probably what you were thinking when your friends were doing the swing. I must say that as scary as it was, it was fun!

I think I should probably tell you the big part of this story. That the person who was experiencing and doing all of those things, even being suspended in the air, was me. I know, hard to believe, especially since I am afraid of heights. Although I was really freaked out, it was rewarding because I faced my fears. Now, climbing the tower is a WHOLE other story.

First Post

I picked the passage where Scout first walks past the Radley house and notices a shiny object, a piece of gum, in a tree. I think that this passage is important because Jem and Scout are already intrigued by Boo Radley and when they find an object near his house it makes them more interested in meeting or seeing him. I like this passage because it shows that Scout is not afraid to play by the "finders keepers" rule. Instead of ignoring the shining object, she follows her instinct and discovers what the object is. The term I applied to this passage is imagery. The author describes the scenery as if you where there looking at the Radley place and the tree that held the object. This passage is key in the novel of showing the children's interest in the Radleys.