Written on January 7, 2011 by Kaila Cauthorn
Category: General Talk
This post wasn’t written by me, but by another member. It’s a little outdated but I’ll post it anyway because it’s still pretty useful insight.
About a month or so ago, I heard something that mad me quite angry as well as disturbed. A Christian pastor in Florida said that he was going to have a Qu’ran book burning. For those of you who don’t know what the Qu’ran is, it is the holy book for Muslims. In this pastor’s opinion, Islam is a violent religion. Even though I am a hardcore Atheist, I believe that what this pastor wanted to do was so hateful and embarrassing that I didn’t know what to say at first. Not only was it an insensitive decision but it is also completely impractical. For one thing, it would incite rage and hatred in the Middle East and endanger American military troops in that area. Why he would do something like this is beyond my comprehension.
How could somebody be so insensitive toward another religion like that? It really boggles my mind; isn’t this country supposed to have freedom of religion, a right that is supposed to be protected under the Constitution? It’s infuriating that people hate Islam when the majority of them hardly know anything about the religion in the first place. There is this mindset that Islam is anti-American, but in fact it is just our ignorance that makes us think this way. Most likely, the September 11th attack on America has skewed many people’s view of the Islamic religion and those who follow it. Islam, however, is no more violent than any other religion out there. Even this pastor’s own religion, Christianity, has a past tarnished by the violent Crusades and every instance thereafter of Christians trying to force their beliefs on “heathens.” Moreover, both of these religions only became as violent as they did because people interpreted and practiced them in ways that they were most likely not originally intended to be, so that those people might reap the benefit themselves.
Written on January 7, 2011 by theboneshavespoken
Category: General Talk
You know it. I know it. We all know it. Classics dominate English classes. Thoroughout all of high school, you’re bombarded with almost nothing but classics. The Catcher in the Rye. To Kill a Mockingbird. Three Sisters. Candide. The Dubliners. Fahrenheit 451. You name it, you read it. And if they’re not shoving some antique book down your throat, they’re making you decipher The Road Not Taken for the fifth year in a row.
This is not to say that all classics are bad. But neither are all classics good. Let’s try on Waiting for Godot for size. After the second day of reading this book, I went up to our teacher and asked, half-jokingly, “Is there any plot in this?!” – to which he replied, “No.” He was grinning, but serious. And he was right. Insomniacs, this is the book for you! It sure helped me sleep, anyway.
There are some really good, thought-provoking classics out there. Fahrenheit 451 is the best book I ever had to read for school. The writing style isn’t difficult to understand, and the story flows well. The plot is, well, existent for starters, and it goes a step further by being interesting. F 451 is all about censorship – the word that every teen’s ear catches, because you know that if something’s censored, you’re not supposed to know about it, and that just goes against teenage dignity. If you ever have a chance, take a gander at the list of Banned Books. Most of what you’ve read in school is probably on there. http://www.banned-books.com/bblist.html
There are always going to be classics you just can’t stand. Look at me – I never finished Waiting for Godot, and I was one fancy side-step away from tossing The Great Gatsby into the shredder! (Please note that I am not advocating the destruction of books. If I had self-restraint, too can have it too.) My suggestion is not to shun all classics altogether just because the books you read in school are classics, and you didn’t like them. There are two reasons for this: for one, I’m pretty sure it’s a law that there has to be at least one book each year that someone hates. For the second, if you cut yourself off from things you might not like, you’re losing the chance to find something you love. I used to think all classics would be dry, wordy and difficult to understand without a teacher’s guidance. After buying The Jungle Books on a whim, I discovered how wrong I was. (Best $6 I ever spent.)
I’m not trying to encourage you to go to the nearest Barnes and Noble to buy a random classic, but I think that if you give a classic a shot, you might like it. And classics are more diverse than you might imagine. Dracula is a vampire story, and who in this age doesn’t like vampires?
Written on January 7, 2011 by nanamecedo
Category: General Talk
You’ve either been there, or you’re there. And to those of you who have been there, I’m sorry if this article seems a year or two too late. 
But to those of you who are there, if you’re anything like me, you’ve been everywhere looking for tips and tricks to help you get into college — but some things seem just too good to be true, right? It’s OK if I get a C? What? So sometimes we’re reluctant to believe what those college recruiters or application advisors have to say, because there’s NO WAY they could be telling the truth. Obviously, they’ve got some kind of baseless vendetta against YOU and YOU alone, and they’re trying to screw you over while they give your peers all the hack codes to get automatic acceptance into the college of their choice.
Well this article is giving a point to the recruiters — they’re right!! And some of the things I mention might seem similar to (if not exactly the same as) what you’ve probably heard millions of times — but believe me, it’s much more convincing getting it from someone who actually used these methods to get into college than from someone who is just trying to get you into their college.
Misconception #1: Universities don’t look at grades from before your junior year.
WRONG. Universities look at the entirety of your high school transcript — why? When you send in your application to most universities, you haven’t even finished your first semester of your senior year! Universities need to look at your entire academic resume to see what kind of a student you are — are you consistent? Are your classes challenging?
Yes, it’s true that your freshman grades and maybe your sophomore grades probably won’t be as significant as your junior or senior year grades — but do not fool yourself into believing that universities will completely ignore this half of your transcript!
But don’t let that discourage you…
Misconception #2: I need straight A’s and nothing less than a 4.0 to get into college
Wrong again! In fact, I know many people who DID have straight A’s and 4.5’s who were actually rejected from their top choice universities. Universities recognize that you don’t have to be intelligent to get an A and you don’t have to get an A to be intelligent. It definitely helps to have good grades and a high GPA, but don’t assume that alone will get you into whatever university you want!!
Misconception #3: I’m not going to get in because I’m white/I’m a shoe-in because I’m a minority
Sorry to burst your bubbles, kids, but Affirmative Action is no longer in effect. My research tells me that yes, universities can still look at your ethnic/racial background as a criteria for admittance — but it is not a determining factor!! Universities are interested in your race so that they can look at you in context. But I’ll get into that later.
Misconception #4: The only thing that matters is what’s on my transcript
Actually, kids, it’s not the end of the world if you slip up here and there. Speaking from experience, I had a C and a couple of B’s on my transcript. Don’t get discouraged if some of your classes are harder than you anticipated, or if you just didn’t take that history class seriously enough. By no means am I saying that you should slack off and not feel guilty about it — do you best!! But don’t think it’s the end of the world if you don’t get straight A’s.
While it’s true that universities take your high school academic performance largely into consideration, they tend to be forgiving so long as it’s within reason. Below average grades in school are probably most definitely hurting your chances of getting into a university, but less-than-perfect scores are jeopardizing your chances too much.
Misconception #5: CLUBSCLUBSCLUBSCLUBSCLUBS
We’re all told at some point or another that colleges look for “well-rounded” students. But to clear the air, I think you should all be told that a “well-rounded” student is not someone who joins every club in existence. Quite the opposite, you can be well-rounded even if you’re only in one club!
Misconception #6: I’m from __________ so I won’t get accepted
The fact that you’re from a poor school, a small town, or a city with a bad reputation does not hurt your chances when it comes to colleges! In fact, this factor could actually be an advantage for you!
Written on January 3, 2011 by moe2love
Category: General Talk
This information is NOT just for Seniors!
By the time a high school student graduates, he or she has probably put more than 17,640 hours of effort into school (including time spent in school, homework, extracurriculars, etc). That’s 735 days, or a little over 2 years. You will have spent a full 2 years devoted to school, and probably more depending on how active you are. But what was all this for? What is the purpose of all your effort?
Well, most likely you went through all this trouble so you can go to college. High school is the transition to college; the skills you’ve learned in high school will be very important in high education institutes. Many high school students want to go to college; some have no worries about whether or not they will go, but most have some obstacles they must overcome before they can go to college.
One of these obstacles is money. The cost for colleges are ENORMOUS, especially with some of the colleges increasing tuition. And it’s not just tuition; books, housing, clothes, and everyday expenses can take its toll on your parents’ bank account as well. Some colleges may even have you pay up to $35,000 and higher for yearly tuition or fees! But don’t let these daunting numbers scare you. Money should not be an obstacle to getting the college education you want.
The best way to overcome these obstacles are to get scholarships. Scholarships are, well, FREE money. You don’t have to pay ANY of it back. There are many organizations out there who are offering aid to students that fit their criteria requirements. Look for and apply to as many scholarships as you can; you’ll be surprised at how many you get.
Start Looking For Scholarships Early
The more scholarships you apply to, the more you will get. Don’t make the mistake I did and start at the end of your first semester during senior year. Start as early as FRESHMAN year if possible, and look around for scholarships that you can apply for. Most likely your skill level won’t be high enough to rake in scholarships during freshman year, but the experience you get from applying will help you to understand what scholarship organizations are looking for, and by the time you are a senior, you’ll be raking in scholarships. You may even be one of those geniuses who get enough scholarships to pay off all the tuition costs.
Looking for Scholarships
The most important part is knowing where to find scholarships. There are many good sites like FastWeb that will find scholarships for you and tell you which ones you are eligible for. However, the important thing to remember is that these online scholarships have the most competition. The internet is the largest network ever created, and so reaches out to the most amount of people. That’s not saying that you shouldn’t apply to scholarships you ARE eligible for – just be smart about which ones you apply to. If you do apply for a scholarship, put your all into it – don’t worry about winning or losing it, because even if you lose you will definitely learn something that you can use in the next scholarship you apply for.
Why Shouldn’t I Just Take Out Loans?
Loans are great and useful, but paying off the loans after you graduate can be a huge pain in the butt. Some students even spend the first two years of their working lives paying off all the college loans before they’re free of that burden.
Written on December 14, 2010 by TeenPublish Dude
Category: Wealth & Wisdom
Unless you win the lotto or are very good at gambling (risky), stay away from get quick rich money schemes & scams! They will take away your valuable time which is NOT going to come back. Invest in a girlfriend instead! A good one! Or read a book! I know as a young person, money is a lot what’s on the mind as to how to go about buying that awesome car and clothes and impressing the hot chicks. Do what you can, by working hard, and without stressing yourself out.
Getting rich quick may seem EASY at first, but when you’ve spent countless hours, days, and weeks not knowing where it went, that’s when it hits the fan. At that point you feel absolutely down, depressed and don’t know how to get out of it. You then find something legit to do, till the next get rich quick scam gets you dreaming about the money again. Money will come to you if you work hard and are passionate about working hard! Read More
Written on November 5, 2010 by Kaila Cauthorn
Category: General Talk
This article was not written by me, but by Chelsea Oanes of Armijo High School’s Teen Publish Club.
Paranormal Activity II, a movie marketed under the horror/suspense genre, is the sequel to the first Paranormal Activity movie. I went to see it with a couple of friends hoping that it would be a lot better than the first one which had failed to meet my expectations. I can say one thing: it was better than the first movie, since I didn’t almost fall asleep waiting for something to happen. However, it wasn’t a lot better.
The plot of Paranormal Activity II was focused on the sister of the original movie’s protagonist, on her family and, more specifically, on her son Hunter. This story is presented from two different points of view, one in which the members of the family are actively filming and another from the perspective of the security cameras set up within the house. The movie is presented in a documentary style reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project.
Written on November 5, 2010 by TeenPublish Dude
Category: Establishing who you are
Promoting yourself in your institution
Recently, someone very close to me had his first gig as a DJ in a high school Sadie Hawkins dance. He had been learning, preparing and honing on his skills as a DJ for several months. I went there to help him manage his first gig, and to promote him. First mistake: we didn’t promote him enough beforehand.
Listen and hear others
The first step to properly promoting yourself is, you can’t be shy. If you notice, every well known person or person providing a service has something interesting to say, or is very outspoken. Yet there are many popular people that stay reserved as well. But one thing they have in common, they are GOOD listeners. While being reserved is different than being shy, being quiet at the right time has many advantages. For being a good listener, you show the person you are communicating with that you are providing your full, undivided attention to them. The advantages you get, is that you get to gain knowledge and extract the milk of every conversation.
Build a hype
If you notice, the best and brightest online companies somehow build a crazy hype before releasing the beta of a product, or the beta itself becomes the hype. So the same works in DJing, in order to get as many people to know who’s in charge of the music of the next party, we should have built a hype. Read More
Written on October 11, 2010 by Kaila Cauthorn
Category: General Talk
America today seems to have become more liberal in regards to the adornment of people’s bodies with piercings
and tattoos, if only slightly. Originally they were only viewed to be the brand of criminal life or the mark of a rebellious delinquent. While these stereotypes may still be maintained by much of the older demographic, however, piercings and tattoos have become more common among people we see every day. They seem to be sported in one area of the body or another by every person you see, from those that you pass on the sidewalk to colleagues in the workplace to fellow students. While it’s not very common for students to have piercings (other than in their ears) at the middle school stage, quite a few can be found among high school students, and even some tattoos as well.
Is it true that this corporal decoration is really as uncouth as our parents and grandparents insist that they are? I presented the topic to Armijo High School Teen Read More
Written on August 25, 2010 by moe2love
Category: General Talk
Although I just graduated from Armijo, one of my good friends Kaila Cauthorn is going to be holding a meeting in the school so she can start her own Teen Publish Club. I’m planning on making a lot of changes to this site, and getting it hopefully much more active (assuming I’m not going to be a lazy ass).
If you’re reading this, I hope you come to the meeting. It will be really worth it, because writing to help others can be a rewarding experience and this will be reaching out to as many people as possible.
Thank you,
Moe2love
Written on July 26, 2010 by moe2love
Category: Media & Entertainment, Music & Mix
Introducing Tray Eberle, a 16 year old up-and-coming Acoustic and Pop artist from Georgia. The first thing that sets Tray apart from most artists is the fact that he doesn’t just write music for people to relate to, but he writes music for himself. Tray writes about everything that he has been through in his teenage years, whether it be Love, Death, Loss, Friendship, or Depession. But no matter what he writes, Tray is determined to let everyone into his life… One word at a time.
Not only does Tray have substantial vocal talent himself, but he also has a family background of notable singers. His grandfather, Ray Eberle was a lead singer on the Glenn Miller orchestra, the “most sought after big band in the world today”. Their music comes from the notorious Big Band Era, when large jazz orchestras were more popular (you may or may not know this, but our contemporary music is only a large derivative of jazz music).
If you’d like to enjoy Tray’s new acoustic song, enter his MySpace music profile and click on the play button. The song is called “Destiny (Our Anthem)”
Tray’s grandfather singing in the Glenn Miller Orchestra
Written on July 6, 2010 by stayingwithit
Category: Current Events
Well, true to word, this article has not been late, although it IS a little… empty because I’ve been busy lately, what with Fourth of July and all. I hope you enjoy this article any ways.
Oil in Texas
About five gallons worth of tar balls washed up the shores on beaches in Texas
Evidence of the oil spill has now officially reached Texas, in the form of tiny tar balls. This confirms that the oil spill has reached all of the Gulf states, and the affected region spans a total of 550 miles.
FIFA World Cup
Germany has made it to the top 4 for the first time in many years. Will they reach the championship? This octopus says that it won’t – it decided that Spain is to be the winner in this upcoming match, and it’s been right for all of Germany’s games so far. Will the octopus oracle be right again?
Would YOU turn down a million dollars?
I know I certainly wouldn’t. Grigory Perelman, a once struggling mathematician, found the solution to a 100 year old problem that has confounded many of the Read More
Tags: a ,Cup ,divorce ,dollars ,Elin ,grigory ,Gulf ,million ,Nordegren ,oil ,perelman ,settlement ,spill ,Tiger ,Woods ,World
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Written on July 4, 2010 by TeenPublish Dude
Category: General Talk
I hope everyone has a fantastic Fourth of July, and remember not to get too crazy setting off fireworks.
Written on June 30, 2010 by stayingwithit
Category: General Talk
Well, this is embarrassing - my first post of significance and already late. Sorry, but I hope the interesting topics in this article will make up for it
iPhone 4 – good or bad?
Apple sold and incredible 1.7 million iPhone 4’s between Thursday and Saturday. For a span of three days, the iPhone is doing very well. But is it actually worth it? Apple added quite a bit to this new generation. The camera is now 5
The iPhone 4, in all it's glory
megapixels along with high resolution recording capabilities (HD, or 720p for you technical folk out there), a faster CPU (which essentially means the ability to use better iPhone apps, and games, and does everything the previous iPhone could, but a lot faster), and VIDEO chatting, which is quite amazing in itself. Also, the display of the iPhone is brilliant and unrivaled, even under the sun. It is also thinner than the iPhone 3GS
But there are some problems that you have to watch out for too. Apple is known for the durability of its products, but in the iPhone 4’s case Apple’s reputation is at stake. If dropped, you may find a broken back piece, which has already happened to quite a few people in their first three days of ownage. If the iPhone is held incorrectly, it has poor reception, and the screen may have some strange yellow blotches that are supposed to disappear. The battery life is also Read More
Tags: 4 ,Apple ,Camera ,closes ,HD ,iPhone ,Of ,oil ,result ,Review ,Seafood ,shrimp ,spill ,store
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Written on June 28, 2010 by stayingwithit
Category: General Talk
Hello all,
At least once a week, I’m going to be posting an article about events that are going on right now. If you want, check back every Tuesday and see what I have to say. If you miss one of my articles and want to read about some past events, you can always click my name and read all my past articles.
If there’s something going on that YOU want to post about, then feel free to do so. Teen Publish is always welcoming posters, and we could use all the writers that we can get.
That being said, I hope to see you all on Tuesday =)
StayingWithIt
Written on June 25, 2010 by moe2love
Category: Colleges
A giant, looming campanile stands over the campus of UC Berkeley, extending its dominating presence over all those
The everseeing clock tower of Berkeley
who dare to run late on its prestigious grounds. Along strawberry creek, a group of students collect samples of the water for their science experiments. A lone old man stands in the middle of the square, dangling a watch from his fingers, his eyes locked on the object that fascinates him for reasons unknown. Another man yells at those who dare to use any form of science in front of him. In the Greek houses by the Clark Kerr dorms, walls shake to the bumping music of sorority parties.
This past weekend I participated in the Overnight Stay Program (OSP) at UC Berkeley. I was the only one from my school at this program (no one else even knew this existed), and I enjoyed it immensely. The experience was amazing, and it was well worth the 90 bucks (in my opinion, the experience was even better than prom, although that’s debatable). By taking this program, I truly understood the hype behind the Cal Bear experience.
Bears: The Superstitious Animals of California
We first started the program with a tour of the campus. Our tour guide told us about the numerous superstitions of UC Berkeley. One of them revolved around the statue of the Greek goddess, Minerva (not actually Athena as many believe, but essentially her Roman counterpart) in front of the library. The belief goes that when walking into the library entrance Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, will imbue you Read More
Tags: 4.0 ,Award ,Berkeley ,Big ,C ,Cal ,California ,Campanile ,Campus ,Clark ,Clock ,Dorms ,Hill ,Kerr ,Leadership ,Of ,OSP ,Overnight ,program ,Stay ,Student ,Superstitions ,Tower ,University
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