After a beautiful NFTY Convention 2011, here is just some of the response:
going back to school today was WAY too difficult. let's all go back to NFTY convention. please? ♥
texas ♥ convention ♥ nfty ♥
I said what's up Dallas. what's up? Jump on it! And by "it" I mean sexy potatos, beefsteak tomatos, floors shaking like an earthquake, Tony from Uganda, voices that don't exist, planes that leave too late, and so much more. I want to go back to Texas!!
NFTY Convention, what was your favorite/most memorable experience. 1 2 3, GO!!! ♥
I'm home. NFTY withdrawal time... :'(
listening to Jewish Rock Radio to help fuel my NFTY withdrawl
NFTY CONVENTION WAS AMAZING!! I LOVE Y'ALL
NFTY Convention was amazing!!! I miss and love you all, especially kutz 2010 kids
I will post my own words tomorrow. Tonight, I'll let NFTY do the talking.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
February 8th
The Superbowl is always a time of high excitement and enthusiasm. Whether you like to watch the game or just the commercials, everyone had something to cheer for Sunday night. The game was too close to call, the commercials were clever, and the half-time show was great.
We also have Christina Aguilera. Her rendition of the National Anthem was highly anticipated. They talked about it on Sportscenter, Pardon the Interruption, and on most other sports talk shows.
When it came time for the actual performance, she did a great job. Except for one line. She messed one up. She repeated part of one line, while skipping another.
On the news yesterday, the anchors discussed her performance and read some twitter posts (tweets) about it. Both of the first tweets said that she butchered the anthem and that she owed an apology to the nation for her ghastly mistake.
It is very easy to be critical of the girl's performance for someone sitting on the couch watching. I think these people have drastically undervalued the pressure that comes with this kind of performance. Millions of people all over the globe are watching you, waiting for you to start the game. It is no surprise that the pressure got into her head a little bit and caused her to bungle the words.
It is here that we all need to pause for a moment. We sing the National Anthem before sporting events to generate a sense of national pride and to create a sense of pride in our country before competitions. It gives us unity and it gives us strength. We, as a community, benefit more from having Aguilera botch the words, rather than having nobody try at all.
We, as a community, need to appreciate the value of the spirit of the words, rather than the words themselves. And we need to have a little patience. Although she is an international superstar, Christina Aguilera is still human. She is allowed to get swept away by the excitement and get a little nervous. We have to appreciate the fact that she had what it takes to do it at all.
We also have Christina Aguilera. Her rendition of the National Anthem was highly anticipated. They talked about it on Sportscenter, Pardon the Interruption, and on most other sports talk shows.
When it came time for the actual performance, she did a great job. Except for one line. She messed one up. She repeated part of one line, while skipping another.
On the news yesterday, the anchors discussed her performance and read some twitter posts (tweets) about it. Both of the first tweets said that she butchered the anthem and that she owed an apology to the nation for her ghastly mistake.
It is very easy to be critical of the girl's performance for someone sitting on the couch watching. I think these people have drastically undervalued the pressure that comes with this kind of performance. Millions of people all over the globe are watching you, waiting for you to start the game. It is no surprise that the pressure got into her head a little bit and caused her to bungle the words.
It is here that we all need to pause for a moment. We sing the National Anthem before sporting events to generate a sense of national pride and to create a sense of pride in our country before competitions. It gives us unity and it gives us strength. We, as a community, benefit more from having Aguilera botch the words, rather than having nobody try at all.
We, as a community, need to appreciate the value of the spirit of the words, rather than the words themselves. And we need to have a little patience. Although she is an international superstar, Christina Aguilera is still human. She is allowed to get swept away by the excitement and get a little nervous. We have to appreciate the fact that she had what it takes to do it at all.
Monday, January 31, 2011
January 31
Winter time, after the excitement of winter break and finals, can suck. Spring break is so far away, Summer vacation even farther, and the chance of having anything exciting or fun to look forward to dwindle.
With the crazy weather that is predicted for Tuesday night and Wednesday, the school is buzzing over the possibility for a snow day. That is the topci each student, teacher, and administrator has on the mind, none with what I would think of as worry. Everyone involved could benefit from a day off.
Why, though, is that the focus of attention? It is because we all need something to look forward to, something to seperate the days from one another.
As we go about our lives in the dark days of winter, we fall into ruts, doing the same things every day without any change or excitement.
All this being said, we need to find ways of thrilling up our lives. It is not enough to simply live to get through to spring break. We need to create certain benchmarks to live for.
For me, the longest I can go without something to look forward to is two weeks. I have to set deadlines, times when I can know that something fun, exciting, or special will happen.
NFTY convention is 18 days away. Even that is too long. I have to set the Super Bowl, hanging out with friends, whatever, as my goals. This is an almost entirely psychological thing. Will I actually not be able to survive 18 days without somethign to look forward to? No, of course not. But the ability to be happy causes the need for something in our lives to look forward to.
So lets all hope for a white Wednesday.
With the crazy weather that is predicted for Tuesday night and Wednesday, the school is buzzing over the possibility for a snow day. That is the topci each student, teacher, and administrator has on the mind, none with what I would think of as worry. Everyone involved could benefit from a day off.
Why, though, is that the focus of attention? It is because we all need something to look forward to, something to seperate the days from one another.
As we go about our lives in the dark days of winter, we fall into ruts, doing the same things every day without any change or excitement.
All this being said, we need to find ways of thrilling up our lives. It is not enough to simply live to get through to spring break. We need to create certain benchmarks to live for.
For me, the longest I can go without something to look forward to is two weeks. I have to set deadlines, times when I can know that something fun, exciting, or special will happen.
NFTY convention is 18 days away. Even that is too long. I have to set the Super Bowl, hanging out with friends, whatever, as my goals. This is an almost entirely psychological thing. Will I actually not be able to survive 18 days without somethign to look forward to? No, of course not. But the ability to be happy causes the need for something in our lives to look forward to.
So lets all hope for a white Wednesday.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
January 23
It is all too easy in our society to find scapegoats. Those people who we get to dump all of our problems on and blame. We get to pick certain people who will get to fall because of personal circumstance, whether it be because of sports, because of work, or because of plain old life.
It is so easy to point a finger at someone else and say "it is his fault things are happening this way." What is must harder is to look into yourself and decide that, maybe it was your turn to screw things up.
What I find most difficult to avoid is when we blame people for things that nobody controls. When the weather doesn't cooperate with our plans, when our plans fall through for whatever reason, when we get a cold on the day of the big celebration. We can't figure out when these things are going to happen. It is our job to just deal with them as they come up. Sometimes we look to others to blame these things on. Who can we blame so that we don't have to look at the situation for what it really was: a random act that maybe messed with our plans.
I was driving to a youth group event last weekend and blew out a tire. It was a random thing; I could have blown it out going to school the next morning, going to temple the day before, anything really. It just happened to be on the way to the youth group event that I most wanted to go to this month. I realized that I was getting frustrated with everyone who I was interacting with. I got frustrated with my friend who didn't answer the phone at the youth group event, even though he clearly couldn't hear the phone ring, or was busy doing something else. I found myself getting angry at my parents for saying I couldn't use my car to get to the event. I found myself getting pissed at the tow truck driver who was changing the tire, because he was an idiot. Now, was my friend busy? Yes. Did it suck that I wouldn't be able to go to the event? Yes. Was the truck driver not-so-smart? Yup. But overall, it wasn't any of their fault that the tire blew out. It was just the way things played out.
I learned there that it is always easy to blame someone. It isn't always easy to blame no one.
It is so easy to point a finger at someone else and say "it is his fault things are happening this way." What is must harder is to look into yourself and decide that, maybe it was your turn to screw things up.
What I find most difficult to avoid is when we blame people for things that nobody controls. When the weather doesn't cooperate with our plans, when our plans fall through for whatever reason, when we get a cold on the day of the big celebration. We can't figure out when these things are going to happen. It is our job to just deal with them as they come up. Sometimes we look to others to blame these things on. Who can we blame so that we don't have to look at the situation for what it really was: a random act that maybe messed with our plans.
I was driving to a youth group event last weekend and blew out a tire. It was a random thing; I could have blown it out going to school the next morning, going to temple the day before, anything really. It just happened to be on the way to the youth group event that I most wanted to go to this month. I realized that I was getting frustrated with everyone who I was interacting with. I got frustrated with my friend who didn't answer the phone at the youth group event, even though he clearly couldn't hear the phone ring, or was busy doing something else. I found myself getting angry at my parents for saying I couldn't use my car to get to the event. I found myself getting pissed at the tow truck driver who was changing the tire, because he was an idiot. Now, was my friend busy? Yes. Did it suck that I wouldn't be able to go to the event? Yes. Was the truck driver not-so-smart? Yup. But overall, it wasn't any of their fault that the tire blew out. It was just the way things played out.
I learned there that it is always easy to blame someone. It isn't always easy to blame no one.
Monday, January 17, 2011
January 17th
A man working at a store where I was today was talking to a friend of his. He turned to his friend and reminded him that the post office was not open today because "It is Columbus day, or something like that."
It is a disappointment to me that, on a day to remember Martin Luther King Jr (who is very different from Christopher Columbus, might I note), that we cannot even remember who we are remembering. MLK was a great man, a man who saw change happening in America, and wanted to bring about peace not only within groups, but between them as well.
My mother has always said that we should spend Martin Luther King Jr. day in school, learning about him, rather than sleeping late and getting to go about our regular, school-free day. I always used to shrug this off and be thankful that we have one less day of school. Today, though, I did wish that there was better education about the life of a man as great as King. We need to remember the work that he did, so that we will never believe that one person is better than any other.
I too have a dream. I have a dream that we look at our past and learn from it, and that we work together to work toward a future of peace. I dream that my children will not even know of racism, and instead grow up in a world where all are appreciated, not for what they are not, but for what they are.
"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus." Martin Luther King Jr.
It is a disappointment to me that, on a day to remember Martin Luther King Jr (who is very different from Christopher Columbus, might I note), that we cannot even remember who we are remembering. MLK was a great man, a man who saw change happening in America, and wanted to bring about peace not only within groups, but between them as well.
My mother has always said that we should spend Martin Luther King Jr. day in school, learning about him, rather than sleeping late and getting to go about our regular, school-free day. I always used to shrug this off and be thankful that we have one less day of school. Today, though, I did wish that there was better education about the life of a man as great as King. We need to remember the work that he did, so that we will never believe that one person is better than any other.
I too have a dream. I have a dream that we look at our past and learn from it, and that we work together to work toward a future of peace. I dream that my children will not even know of racism, and instead grow up in a world where all are appreciated, not for what they are not, but for what they are.
"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus." Martin Luther King Jr.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
January 12th
It is Wednesday, and I have finished four of six finals. Time to go to bed, so that I can do well on the final two. Have a good night.
"If you always do what you always did then you always get what you always got"
"If you always do what you always did then you always get what you always got"
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
January 11th
Wow. You don't know how good you have it until you see someone else more messed up than you.
On the day of the first round of finals, my mom showed me a segment that had aired on the Today Show this morning. This particular part of the broadcast was talking about a new book called "The Battle Cry of the Tiger Mom." It focused on a woman who had written this book about the ways in which she went about parenting her children.
During the video introduction, the narrator tells us that the two daughters were very restricted in what they could and could not do socially. Things that were not allowed in the household included sleepovers, play dates, watching television, or playing computer games. Each girl was forced to play either piano or violin, and was required to practice for between 2 and 3 hours a day.
When talking about grades, the narrator asked the oldest girl if she was a perfect A student. The girl's response?
"No, I got an A- once, in Calculus as a Sophomore."
There are two problems with that statement. First of all, an A- is, guess what, STILL AN A. What are you complaining about? I struggle to maintain A- and B+ grades, and you are saying that an A- isn't close enough to perfect? Second of all, Calculus as a Sophomore? That is ridiculous. What kind of math class could she be in now, as a Senior? I can't even begin to fathom what kind of brain surgery she must be capable of conducting at this point.
After the video introduction ,an interview was conducted with the mother and author of the book. She, a daughter of a Chinese immigrant, attempted to use "Chinese values" as the reasoning behind her, if I may say, CRAZINESS. She attempted to explain that, on the basis of hard work, perseverance, and love, she was able to raise two very great kids.
Kids? Try robots. She used her ridiculous ideas about what her culture believes important to raise two zombie daughters, who will never be able to experience what it means to live in the real world. If you are constantly asked to be the best, and no less than that will be accepted, than one day you will fail. Failure is not an option, it is a requirement. How can we learn from our experiences in order to be better people without first failing a few times. When the first time they will fail comes around, they will be so shell-shocked that they will never be truly able to recover from the horror. This mother has successfully doomed her children to years of therapy and mental instability because of her need for excellence.
The news reporter even quoted, and the mother verified, that this woman had once told one of her daughters that if she didn't perfect a piece on the piano, she would "take all of her stuffed animals and burn them." Really? You are saying that to a child and claiming that you will not cause any mental harm or emotional detriment? That is a clear example of dementia right there.
This woman even had to audacity to call out Western living as saying that American parents CONDONE teen drinking, drug use, and pregnancy. Really? Because I'm fairly certain if I came home drunk, high, and pregnant (well, that one would be something of a challenge, now wouldn't it), my parents would flip a taco.
This woman needs to take a very close look at what she is doing in the world. I think this relates to something that I said to one of my friends this week. Wrapped up in the stress and pressure of finals, my friend said that she needed a miracle. In response, I said that I don't think God really cares whether or not you get an A in History class, but rather if you were a good person while doing it. This mother should really consider what she is doing to her children, and ask if she is doing what is best for them in the long run.
God help us all, I guess.
On the day of the first round of finals, my mom showed me a segment that had aired on the Today Show this morning. This particular part of the broadcast was talking about a new book called "The Battle Cry of the Tiger Mom." It focused on a woman who had written this book about the ways in which she went about parenting her children.
During the video introduction, the narrator tells us that the two daughters were very restricted in what they could and could not do socially. Things that were not allowed in the household included sleepovers, play dates, watching television, or playing computer games. Each girl was forced to play either piano or violin, and was required to practice for between 2 and 3 hours a day.
When talking about grades, the narrator asked the oldest girl if she was a perfect A student. The girl's response?
"No, I got an A- once, in Calculus as a Sophomore."
There are two problems with that statement. First of all, an A- is, guess what, STILL AN A. What are you complaining about? I struggle to maintain A- and B+ grades, and you are saying that an A- isn't close enough to perfect? Second of all, Calculus as a Sophomore? That is ridiculous. What kind of math class could she be in now, as a Senior? I can't even begin to fathom what kind of brain surgery she must be capable of conducting at this point.
After the video introduction ,an interview was conducted with the mother and author of the book. She, a daughter of a Chinese immigrant, attempted to use "Chinese values" as the reasoning behind her, if I may say, CRAZINESS. She attempted to explain that, on the basis of hard work, perseverance, and love, she was able to raise two very great kids.
Kids? Try robots. She used her ridiculous ideas about what her culture believes important to raise two zombie daughters, who will never be able to experience what it means to live in the real world. If you are constantly asked to be the best, and no less than that will be accepted, than one day you will fail. Failure is not an option, it is a requirement. How can we learn from our experiences in order to be better people without first failing a few times. When the first time they will fail comes around, they will be so shell-shocked that they will never be truly able to recover from the horror. This mother has successfully doomed her children to years of therapy and mental instability because of her need for excellence.
The news reporter even quoted, and the mother verified, that this woman had once told one of her daughters that if she didn't perfect a piece on the piano, she would "take all of her stuffed animals and burn them." Really? You are saying that to a child and claiming that you will not cause any mental harm or emotional detriment? That is a clear example of dementia right there.
This woman even had to audacity to call out Western living as saying that American parents CONDONE teen drinking, drug use, and pregnancy. Really? Because I'm fairly certain if I came home drunk, high, and pregnant (well, that one would be something of a challenge, now wouldn't it), my parents would flip a taco.
This woman needs to take a very close look at what she is doing in the world. I think this relates to something that I said to one of my friends this week. Wrapped up in the stress and pressure of finals, my friend said that she needed a miracle. In response, I said that I don't think God really cares whether or not you get an A in History class, but rather if you were a good person while doing it. This mother should really consider what she is doing to her children, and ask if she is doing what is best for them in the long run.
God help us all, I guess.
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