An Open Letter

Lizzy Nelson

An Open Letter to Winter

Dear Winter,

Winter, Winter, Winter. What are we going to do with you? I have so many questions for you because I wonder why you are here? You either last for three months or you last for six months. We never know when we are getting rid of you because you randomly disappear and then reappear.

Yes you have snow, but snow gets old real fast. You can do a lot with the snow like build a snowman, go sledding, and build forths but after ten minutes you start to lose feeling in your limbs. Snow just makes you cold and miserable. After a week of snow it turns all gross. It turns into dark brown slush. Snow also turns into ice. Ice is dangerous on the road and off the road. It makes people drive like grandmas and walk like grandpa’s. Winter, you are dangerous. People can get frostbite and you cause accidents. Snow isn’t worth the three months of misery.

You make everyone look pale and sad. The sun is never shining and it makes everything look dark and gloomy. You make the days feel so long because it gets dark at four. Winter, you make everyone tired and you make people sick. During winter, people are stuck with raspy voices, running noses, and coughs that are uncontrollable. Winter, we lose a lot of trees because of you. We need tissues constantly to blow our noses. The cold makes our skin dry and it makes us look paler. Not only do you make people look tired and pale but you also make them look bigger. You make them look bigger because of all the layers they have to wear because it’s so cold outside. But then when they get inside they are sweating up a storm because of all the layers they are wearing. Winter overall you make everyone’s life miserable.

When I think of winter I think of Antarctica. I would only like winter if I got to live in Antarctica. Antarctica would make winter more exciting. We could hang with all the animals like the penguins, and the polar bears. We could make igloos and live in them. I would be able to snuggle with the polar bears in the igloo. I could have the penguins as my pets. Winter would be so much more exciting if it was Antarctica.

Well winter it would be nice if we didn’t even have you or it would be nice if we could have you for one month. You’re no fun and most of the population doesn’t like you. Winter we don’t need you and we would be better off without you.

Thanks,

Lizzy

Irony Paper

Boys Get Away With So Much
Audience: To teachers. Unfair because they wore the same thing. Boys get distracted.
It’s Friday and it’s Hinsdale Central High School’s first home football game. Each Friday the seniors have a theme to wear. On this friday, since it’s the first home game the seniors are wearing togas. It has been a tradition for a while and they call it “toga day”. While walking through the halls of Hinsdale Central, I see a lot of white bed sheets wrapped around people. My eyes are moving rapidly while I’m staring at everyone's togas. I noticed some that were inappropriate. The inappropriate ones were the ones that the guys were wearing. Their togas were falling down and you could see most of their stomachs. I didn’t hear or see any guys get dressed coded. If a girls toga was falling off or you could see too much, they would be in the principal's office in a second. Boys get away with so much. Our high school has “dress codes” but they mostly only apply to the girls because the guys never get dress coded. If you have a dress code you can’t just apply it to girls you have to apply to it the guys as well.
Dress codes are unfair because only girls get dress coded. On the website Orange County Register the article “Do Dress Codes Unfairly Target Girls”, by Greg Hardesty states, “However, it does not excuse high schools from being harder on them than males. If one gender has to follow strict guidelines, the other should follow them as well. It’s only fair.” It’s only fair to dress code both guys and girls. Some guys wear inappropriate clothes just like girls. At Hinsdale Central’s prep rally, a couple of guys came out in tight, short shorts and a tank top. The outfit was definitely not appropriate for school, but they didn't get in trouble. I was talking to people and some of them felt uncomfortable because they were disgusted by their outfits. It’s ironic because if a girl came out in shorts that were too short and a tank top they would get in a lot of trouble.
Girls get dress coded more than guys because guys get distracted easily. On the website We News in the article “Students Say Dress Codes more for Girls Than Boys”, by Anna Halkidis says, “Obviously you don’t want people showing up to school in bikinis or anything,” she said. “But I think there are some things that could just be a little more relaxed about them. Like you can’t have shirts that show your shoulders, really? My shoulders are seductive?” If we can’t wear tank tops I don't get why boys can. I think it's worse for boys to wear tank tops because some boys have big arms and that can be distracting to girls. On the website Blue Nation Review in the article “Sexist Dress Codes In Schools are the Real Distraction” it states, “It’s that the current dress codes are designed to be sexist-overwhelmingly targeting females. And by justifying particular dress codes as keeping classrooms free from ‘distractions’.” Teachers dress code girls because they think it will help from distractions but they don’t. It’s ironic because teachers think only males get distracted by girls, but girls can easily be distracted by the males in the classroom too. Guys need to dress appropriate like the girls because it’s only fair.
Dress coding is sexist. In the Huffington Post the article “Every Reason Your School’s Gendered Dress Code Is Probably a Sexist Mess” by Soraya Chemaly says, “The males and females are not held to the same standards of dress. In a recent incident, 200 high school students got detention for violating a strict new policy. Ninety percent of them were girls.” Dress codes are not fair. Some guys don’t follow the dress codes and they get away with it all the time. Dress codes are hypercritical. Dress codes are a big part of the schools but its weird how only girls get dress coded. They let guys show their stomachs and they allow them to wear short shorts. But girls can’t wear shorts or tank tops because wearing that shows too much. If schools have dress codes they need to apply to both guys and girls. Guys get away with so much compared to girls.

Media Message

One Tree Hill

The TV show I watched was One Tree Hill. I watched season 1 episode 12. Episode 12 is named “Crash Course in Polite Conversation”. The episode was played on February 3, 2004. It was created by Mark Schlwahn. The main actors of One Tree Hill are Chad Michael Murray who plays Lucas Scott, Sophia Bush who plays Brooke Davis, Bethany Joy Lenz who plays Haley James, James Lafferty who plays Nathan Scott, Hilarie Burton who plays Peyton Sawyer, Paul Johansson who plays Dan Scott, and a lot more. 

 The purpose of this show is to entertain people. The TV show is an american drama series.

The message of this episode was that lying hurts relationships. In this episode everyone was lying and it was making things worse. One example is Dan Scott lied to his father about his son. His son Nathan Scott quit the basketball team and they were keeping it a secret from Dan’s father. Finally the father figured it out and he was upset. He left the house and he didn’t even say bye to Dan, he just looked at him in disgust. Dan and his father relationship was bad after that. Another example is when Dan lied about getting injured in college. His mom said, “I protected you, I lied for you. In college his knee injury wasn’t permeant. Danny quit and I helped him.” Everyone finally found out when his mom told everyone at dinner. Everyone was upset about it. Nathan wasn’t pleased about it and now he doesn’t look at him the same. Nathan and Dan don’t have a good relationship because Dan lied to him many times. The main message was lying hurts relationships. 
 In the One Tree Hill episode there wasn’t any Political commentary, but they had some social/cultural commentary in the episode. One that was in it was leadership and who we look up to. Nathan used to look up to his dad until he found out he lied about basketball, but now he looks up to his mom more because she is always there for him and she is a good role model to him. Nathan told his dad he was disappointed in him and he doesn’t consider him as a leader anymore plus he doesn’t look up to him. Also nerds and “cool” people played a role in the episode. Nathan is considered a cool person and Haley his girlfriend was a nerd at first because they portrayed her as being really smart because she tutors people. Brooke and Peyton were mean to Haley at first because she was a “nerd”. Brooke called her tutor girl instead of Haley for a long time. 

There wasn’t really any consumerism in the episode. Money was a major factor though. You could tell most of them had money. Nathan lives in a big house and he has a huge beach house that is close to his real home. Haley doesn’t have a lot of money because she works at a cafe everyday. Lucas doesn’t really have money either because he lives in a small house and his mom runs the cafe. He didn’t have a cell phone at first. Lucas and Haley are best friends and Nathan, Brooke, and Peyton were all friends at first. Money did separate them at first but not anymore. You can tell in the episode who has money and who doesn’t but its not a major part of the show. You can tell by what they have like cell phones, cars, and how they dress. 

In the show theres a lot of drama between everyone. There are a lot of hypocrisies and a lot of ironies in the episode. One was Dan with Nathan. Dan pushes Nathan in basketball and Nathan is under so much pressure because of Dan. Nathan took drugs to beat Dan in basketball because he was was smack talking him. We found out in this episode that Dan’s father put him under a lot of pressure and he didn’t like it at all. During the episode Dan says to his wife, “I’m trying to protect our son from my father” but his wife says, “You don’t even see the irony do you?” Nathan is getting more hurt from Dan. Dan is doing something he didn’t like to his own son. Also another example is Nathan decided to quit basketball. His father Dan was upset and told him that he was a quitter. We found out later that Dan wasn’t really injured and that he quit basketball in college. Dan was wondering why Nathan quit but he did the same thing. This ruined there relationship. Another example is when Lucas was dating Brooke and he kissed her best friend Peyton. Peyton and Lucas were talking and he said to Peyton, “Thats what friends are for”. They were just friends but then they kissed and they started to have feelings for each other. They didn’t tell Brooke and she finally found out and was upset with both of them. This messed up both relationships. Brooke and Lucas broke up and Peyton and her weren’t friends for a while. There’s a lot of drama in One Tree Hill. There are a lot of hypocrisies and ironies in the show. The show wants viewers to think that lying hurts relationships but when one looks closer, its ironic that they all stay friends at the end of the episode. 

Research Paper

I jumped on the bus with my cozy pajamas on and I was ready for the miserable 14 hour bus ride. I was going to Colorado for the Young Life Camp. I already went on two Wyldlife trips before but this was my first trip with Young Life. I had a stomach ache because I knew this trip was going to be different as some of my close friends weren’t going on it. They went on the Wyldlife trips, so I was anxious to find out my cabin, but also I was excited to see. The bus was swaying back forth as we were going up the mountains. I was getting nervous. My hands started to sweat as we were getting close to the edge of the mountain. Finally we arrived and they started naming off the cabin list right away. While everyone was moving to find their belongings I heard my name. I kept listening and I heard a couple of my friends names and then I heard random names. I knew from the start that this trip was going to be different. Right away we had an activity to do. We were always busy with activities. Some of my favorite activities were swimming in the pool, repelling from a small mountain, horseback riding, and climbing an enormous mountain. The days felt so long but the week flew by. I went into camp wanting to leave but then when camp was ending I wanted to stay. I never wanted to do Young Life when I was younger because my siblings never did it and they told me bad things about it. I decided to do it because all of my friends were going, so I decided to go. It changed my life forever. I made special bonds with people and God. Young Life is a beneficial organization that allows people to come together through God and find enjoyment through God.

Young life is an organization that helps kids grow in their faith. Young life was started by Jim Rayburn and he started it in 1939 in Texas. It all started with a weekly club. At this club there would be some singing, a couple of skits, and a simple message about Jesus Christ. Young Life was getting more popular and started spreading through more states.

Youth groups would be good for teenagers because teenage years is hard for teenagers. Many teenagers have a lot of problems in their lives and youth groups can help with that. Teenagers are very busy with school work, clubs, sports, family, and friends. In the article “Survey Reveals Significant Student Stress” there is a pie graph that shows if kids have extreme stress, high stress, moderate stress, limited stress, or no stress. The top two highest percentages were moderate stress with 42 percent and high stress with 29 percent. Kids are stressed in high school because they have so much going on. They are expected to get good grades while being active and having a social life. Teenagers shouldn’t be this stress. Being in a youth group could help relieve stress for teenagers. Young Life is a place where kids let loose and have a good time. This would be good for kids because stress can lead to things like depression. In the article “Teen Depression Statistics” the author states, “About 20 percent of teens will experience depression before they reach adulthood.” Depression is common among teenagers. Depression is serious and if people have depression they need to talk to someone. Some people don’t have friends so they can’t talk to there friends but youth groups are a great way of sharing how you feel. Youth groups are very helpful because teenagers can share their problems in a safe environment. Teenagers have a lot of problems with family, friends, and grades. Youth groups would help teenagers tremendously.

There are a lot of benefits to youth groups. Youth groups are great because you meet new people and you learn about god. Young Life is a great youth group that brings new people together. In the Relationships Magazine Stacey Windal interviewed Patrick Lundberg and he says, “I don’t know where I would be without Pat and my Wyldlife leader before him.” You meet people you thought you would never meet. The connections you create with your leaders and other people will last forever. On the website Community Toolbox the article ‘Establishing Youth Organization” the author says, “Young people involved in organizations can receive information on staying safe and healthy from their peers or adults they know and respect.” Youth groups are a great way to find people that will make a positive influence in your life. They will always be there for you no matter what. People bond over God. At camp you spend everyday talking about God. On the Young Life website there was an article, “God Saved me Twice” written by Ned Erickson, he says “The best part was on Saturday night. Dave gave us 15 minutes to be alone and think about God’s live. As I prayed, I remember the miracle that God performed before I was born. It made me think of what Jesus did for me 2,000 years ago. God had saved me twice!” In Young Life you learn so much about god. Most people go to Young Life for the social aspect but a lot of people go to learn about God. At camp you learn about God in an exciting way. All the speakers are different but they all explain it good because the message is easy to understand.

Another benefit about Young Life is it's a place where you can be yourself. Young Life is a judge free zone. On the website Community Toolbox the article “Establishing Youth Organization” says, “Young People can bring a tremendous amount of life to an organization; often, their energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and perspective are invaluable to members of larger community initiatives that chose to actively involve them.” During Young Life people go insane. Everybody is singing and dancing. Everybody has energy even if they’re tired because Young Life is always fun. I lose my voice every time I go to camp. Camp is unique because know one cares what they look like. During camp girls wears nike shorts, a baggy tshirt, their hair up, and most girls don’t wear makeup. Guys just wear the same things as they normally do. People rarely shower because there’s always something to do. Girls usually care about what they look like so it’s nice to go to camp and not care. People can look awful but still have the time of their life. Young Life is a place where you can be yourself without being judged.

Some people don’t believe in Young Life. A lot of people talk bad about Young Life but a lot of them haven’t been to Young Life. A person that I know posted on twitter saying Young Life is dumb. This person has never been too Young Life and he doesn’t know anything about it. He decided to go a an “all nighter” that Young Life holds. During the all nighter we did exciting activities like we went to navy pier to watch a movie, we played sports in a indoor place, we went to extreme trampoline, and we went ice skating. In between all these activities we had “club”. Club is where you sing music, then a skit is performed, and then we had a message about God. After the all nighter was done he said he actually enjoyed it. He only had positive comments about Young Life. He knew nothing about Young Life at first because he wasn’t involved with it. You have to experience young life or youth groups to know what it's all about.

Young Life and youth groups are great for teenagers. There are so many benefits with youth groups. The teenage years is a hard time for many teenagers and a lot of teenagers would benefit from a youth group. Youth groups are a great way to meet new people while being yourself. Youth groups can help teenagers become more social because they are making connections with people. You learn so much about yourself and God with a youth group. Young Life has impacted my life so much. If I didn’t start it in 7th grade my life would be different. I still talk to my leaders every once in awhile. I talk to the girls that were in my cabin and some of them are my close friends now. God has played a major role in my life throughout this whole journey. I have found myself through this journey. This experience was incredible and I loved it so much that I decided to become a Wyldlife leader. I now lead a group of crazy 8th graders. I am so happy I can lead them and help them along this journey. My life is changed for the better all because I did Young Life.

Poem

Lizzy Nelson 

Scholz Period 4/5

Dear my iPhone,

I do not know what I would do 

without you.

When your charge is low

I start to go into fear

that you will not be here.

You provide everything I need

throughout the day,

so please don’t ever go away.

You let me save memories 

through the help of your lens.

You let me communicate with all my peers 

from snaps, to apps, to putting text in CAPS.

Even when I am sick as a dog, 

I can still be with my friends live,

with the great face time.

You help me plan out my days,

and you remind me with amaze.

You help with time

with just one click.

You play all the tunes 

that me and my friends dance too.

You always have my attention

even when its not important. 

Dear iPhone,

Even when your lost you can easily be found 

thanks to find my iPhone. 

Even when I drop you and you crack

I’ll always take you back.

Siri saves me time

it makes you worth every dime

Thank you for helping me with homework,

 getting me places, finding places to eat, and so on.

When I lay down to sleep

I know you’ll be there to 

wake me up in the morning 

to your alarm. 

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

Thank you iPhone for always being there for me. 

Trend Essay

Lizzy Nelson

Hostile Audience: Lululemon Buyers

Tone: informative

Stop Spending Your Money

One day I was walking through the halls of Hinsdale Central High School. I was looking at everyone walk by me when all of a sudden I noticed something, mostly everyone was wearing Lululemon. It was just the girls but there were some guys wearing the brand as well. They were either wearing a jacket, shorts, yogas, or a headband. Lululemon is a very popular trend throughout Hinsdale Central, but it’s not just a trend at this school, it’s a trend everywhere in the United States. Everyone loves Lululemon and thinks it’s the best but I disagree. I don’t think it’s a good trend because it’s very expensive and they have a lot of problems.

Lululemon is over priced. In The Business Insider the article “Lululemon’s Pants Aren’t Worth That Much More Than The Competition” the author Hayley Peterson states,“The lululemon ‘Groove’ pants are made of the brand’s own patented ‘Full On Luon,’ which is 81 percent nylon and 19 percent Lycra. Athleta also makes its yoga pants with its own patented material-called pilayo- which is 88 percent nylon and 12 percent Lycra.” Lululemon, Athleta, Nike, Adidas, and many other brands look exactly alike. They are a little different in their own way. I have tried on Lululemon pants and Athleta pants. They felt the same and they looked the same on me. I am wondering then, why are Lululemon pants more expensive? Lululemon is very popular with teenagers and adults. The brand is well known so they know they will get a lot business. People buy their stuff for the name “Lululemon”. They think if they have Lululemon pants their cool. Lulu is so expensive and it’s not worth spending that much money on an item. In The Washington Post the article “Yoga Pants Are the New jeans. So Why aren’t Lululemon’s Sales Soaring” the author Sarah Halzack states, “Gap is rapidly adding Athleta stores in the United States and chief executive Glenn Murphy has said he believes it is on track to be the apparel titan’s next global brand.” Lululemon has some competition. Gap’s pants aren’t as expensive and they have the same style. The fabric is a little different but there almost the same. Lululemon isn’t worth spending the money on because there are a lot of different brand that are just as good.

The brand Lululemon is a trend. Everyone wears it and it’s popular among everyone. They have everything. For girls they have shirts, shorts, pants, jackets, sports bras, underwear, and headbands. For boys they have shorts, pants, shirts, jackets, and underwear. Adults and teenagers wear Lululemon. Lululemon is most popular for their leggings and yoga pants. The reason it’s so popular is because girls don’t wear jeans as much anymore. Everyone is familiar with Lululemon and they get items there because they want to fit in because they think the name is “cool”.

Lululemon has had a lot of problems. In The Business Insider the article “Lululemon’s Pants Aren’t Worth That Much More Than The Competition” the author Hayley Peterson states, “Lululemon suffered a huge blow in March of last year when it had to recall 17 percent of its pants for being too sheer. Since then, its market value has shrunk from $10 billion to $6 billion.” Their yogas and leggings were too sheer and when you bent over you could see-through them. This cost them a lot of money and it hurt them. My sister had leggings that were see-through. She also developed a hole in a different pair while only having them for 2 months. Their quality isn’t as good as people think. In The Washington Post the article “Lululemon is Having Trouble With Clothes Again. This Time, the Problem isn’t See-Through” the author Thad Moore states, “The Vancouver-based sportswear company said thursday it was recalling about 318,000 drawstrings from its hoodies and jackets. When the elastic cords were pulled or snagged, they snapped back and hit people in the face, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. At least seven people said they were hurt.” Lululemon is not reliable. They have had too many problems with their clothing. First it was the pants being see-through and now it is the drawstrings from the jackets. Lululemon has many problems with their clothes and it’s hard to trust them because they could mess up more clothing along the way.

I first saw Lululemon yoga pants in the halls of Hinsdale Central. I wanted them so bad because I saw everyone wearing them. I wanted to follow the trend so I went to try them on and realized they look and feel the same as other nice yoga pants. Lululemon clothing isn’t worth the money. The whole store is too expensive and they have many problems. There are many other brands that are just as good as Lululemon but cheaper and more reliable. People should stop the trend of wearing Lululemon.

Location Essay

No Better Place than Panera By: Lizzy Nelson

I got out of my car and I started to walk through the doors, I could smell the delicious food already. My mouth started to water and I could taste the food in my mouth. I heard very quietly over the loud customers “Welcome to Panera”. It was very crowded and the line was long but I decided to wait in the line because I wanted a decent meal. The line was going by pretty fast because there were a lot of employees working. I was looking around, and right away the pastries caught my eye. They were all organized nicely behind the glass. Looking at the pastries made me extremely hungry.

Panera bread is known for their wonderful pastries. It was founded in 1981 by Louis Kane and Ron Shaich. The company used to be called Au Pain Company but the name was changed in 1999 to Panera Bread. Panera Bread is one of the most popular and fastest growing chains in America today; also it’s the number one fast food place.
The cashier says, “I can help the next person, please”. I walk up to the counter, unsure of what I want still because there are so many options to chose from. The cashier was being friendly, she was asking me how my day was going and asked me if I had any questions about the menu. I knew that the caesar salad there was good because I get that every time, but I was in the mood for a sandwich. So I asked the cashier if the grilled cheese was any good. She had a smile on her face and said, “The grilled cheese is excellent”. She was patient with me and she didn’t make me rush. I decided to get half chicken caesar salad and half of a grilled cheese with an apple and a cookie. I sat down and waited for my food. I was looking around at everyone and I felt happy. The colors made me feel like I was at home. I was looking at the pictures that were on the wall. Most of the pictures were paintings of random kinds of breads. The food came out pretty fast and I couldn’t wait to eat. My grilled cheese looked wonderful. The cheese was squirting out of the bread. I took a bite of the grilled cheese and it just melted into my mouth. The chicken caesar salad had the perfect amount of dressing and chicken.

Panera is a great place to catch a quick bite to eat. It is fast and it is good for you compared to other restaurants. According to Health Magazine, in the article America’s top 10 Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants, Tracey Minkin and Brittani Renaud state, “This bakery-cafe-based eatery wowed our judges with a comprehensive menu of healthy choices for every meal.You can pick from two whole-grain breads for your sandwich and have an apple with it instead of chips”. Panera was in a magazine for being a healthy fast food restaurant. Panera is good for you because the food is fresh. They have so many different options. They have sandwiches, soups, pastas, and salads. They also have a lot of different pastries as well.

Some people may say the quality of Panera’s food is bad and the place is loud. People would think it's bad because it's labeled as a fast food restaurant, but in reality Panera has quality food. The food at Panera is real. They have organic things there like milk and yogurt. During lunch time Panera gets a lot of customers. It’s not even loud, there are just a lot of people that go to Panera during lunch. Most people are working when they go to Panera. For the most part Panera is usually quiet.

A worker came over and cleaned everything up for me. When I was walking out of the door the workers said, “Bye, thanks for coming have a good day”. The workers are so nice and they make the restaurant so much better. I was content walking out because I was starving walking in but I could barely walk out because I was so full. I got into my car and I was thinking about the next time I was going to eat there again. I wanted to just stay in there because it made me so happy.