Skype, Oovoo, FaceTime...even Facebook and Google have video chatting options now. Why is it that this has become such a prominent form of communication? When people pick up their phones to get in touch with someone, they generally send out a text message rather than call the person. Most will say that they do this because it allows the other person to respond at their own leisure. It is also normally just a quick question or comment. When people really want to have a conversation with someone, they tend to lean toward video chatting. One issue that I have personally had with texting, …
College. Ever daunting. Ever present. Ever intimidating. As we shell out essay after essay, we come ever closer to the thing that we strive for most: the acceptance letter. Some of us have already begun to receive these life-changing pieces of paper from the state schools, but others are still waiting as the early decision deadline approaches. There is a little bit of fun within the application process, though. College visits make it all worthwhile. Walking around the campus, feeling the atmosphere, seeing the college students so at home at the school...it inspires extra effort in the …
Pride is a funny thing. Www.dictionary.com defines it as “a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.” These recent Jewish holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) have really been making me think about forgiveness. I ask myself: Why is it so difficult to say “I’m sorry”? Well it’s because of pride, of course! No one likes to be on the giving end of an apology. It makes us feel vulnerable. The receiver has the power to accept or reject our offer, not to mention the other …
As the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001 approached, a lot of our teachers had us reminisce about that shocking event. As current high schoolers, we were all young and naïve. One of my sophomore friends even admitted that he doesn’t remember that day. It’s strange to think that, to those only a few years younger than us, and all those who came after them, the Sept. 11 attacks are nothing more than a cause for the high airport security, nothing more than another part of history. As for the rest of us, we all experienced something different. According to my current English teacher, …
Hello, all. A little over a month and a half ago, I wrote an article saying that I was at camp. I mentioned the strange unit that I was in but, even after two weeks taking part in it, I was still unsure of what Avodah was all about. Now, freshly back in St. Louis, I have a lot to reflect on. At the beginning of the summer, I was asking myself the same question that I was receiving from anyone I told about my unit at camp: Why pay to work? Over the course of the nine weeks at GUCI, I came to realize the truth in the explanation told to us by one of the rabbis on one of the first nights. …
Three months off of school. That sounds like a blast until you start to get sick of hanging out with the same people every day and then just sitting in front of the television. Many people elect to get a summer job, a great way to stay busy and make money at the same time. I, on the other hand, have always been fond of camp. I am currently sitting on the porch of the Avodah building at Goldman Union Camp Institute. Avodah, the Hebrew word for work, is just that: a work/study program. We are learning to be staff members while still having study programs led by a small group of rabbis. No…
Ah, the ever loyal St. Louis summer, in all it’s hot and suffocatingly humid glory. This year, June even comes with an extra present: cicadas. Sounds appealing, huh? Lounging in the pool at my grandparents’ house, located in a cozy Creve Coeur subdivision, I was surrounded by the sound of the tzitzikas, the onomatopoeic Greek name for cicadas. Many Ladue-Frontenac residents may not have noticed their existence because these creatures do not haunt our area. They reside mostly in West County. When in those municipalities, though, they are unmistakable. They cover trees, and their shells lie on…
Our seniors have been seen off and school ends within the next two weeks. Is anyone truly prepared for summer, though? I spent this weekend cleaning out my backpack and binders. It may have been one of the most relieving and weightlifting things I have ever done. I encourage you all to try it out. I know you may be thinking that it’s way too early because we still have finals but I guarantee that you can get rid of at least half of the papers you have and still be fine. Begin with your Advanced Placement courses. With a few exceptions, you don’t even have finals in those classes. You’ve…
Oh, childhood... It disappeared before we had the chance to truly enjoy it. Now, all we can do is wish for the days when our stress was really nothing. At least there are plenty of ways to recapture our youth. I may be the only one (I know I’m not, though–admit it) but I think that Nickelodeon and Disney Channel are great ways to pass the time when there is nothing better on TV. Some of those shows are legitimately funny. Stupid-funny, but funny nonetheless. In the same respect, watching Disney classics just makes everyone happy. Who can’t resist Hercules, Mulan, or my own personal …
It’s that time of the year again: it’s after spring break and prom is over. Now we have to buckle down. There are no more breaks to look forward to, only school, school, and more school. Everything is packed together. Teachers are trying to fit everything in with not enough time to do so. Advanced Placement tests and final exams are rapidly approaching and yet summer only seems farther away. I’ve noticed lately that our workload has been heavier than before spring break. It makes me wonder why our teachers would give us more homework when we should be devoting all of our time to …
People are constantly arguing that no one talks face-to-face anymore, what with texting, instant messaging, and social networking sites. Is technology creating a separation between friends and family members? Some people may say that Facebook actually helps them keep in touch with old friends. Someone may pop up on their news feed and they will realize that they haven’t talked to said person in a while, prompting a nice “hey, how’s it going?” wall post. Even if the two people live in the same city, though, it rarely leads to a get-together. Now texting. Oh, the controversy. When faced …
We all go around saying that “ism”s are rare nowadays. In reality, we just don’t pay enough attention. Yes, they are less prominent than, say, fifty years ago, but they can still be found everywhere. One prejudice that most teens are familiar with is agism. Many of us experience the wrath of negative judgement against teens. Adults tend to think that all teenagers spend their free time drinking, doing drugs, vandalizing, and generally disturbing the peace. When they see a group of teenagers out somewhere, the adults naturally assume that they will be rowdy and obnoxious. We all know …
Well, fellow students, the long awaited spring break is finally upon us and we are faced with no lack of time-spending options. Many of you readers will be spending the week or two hanging out at the beach. The rest of us are stuck here in St. Louis, but that’s not as bad as it sounds. We’ll be having just as much fun. I do admit, I am guilty of criticizing St. Louis for a major absence of entertainment. Lately, though, I have realized how wrong I was. St. Louis is lucky to have so many great quality attractions. The Zoo, the Art and History Museums, and Laumeier Sculpture Park are all …
Have you ever thought about how your friends influence you? Now I know some of you may be shaking your heads, thinking about how you hang out with people who are already similar to you so you don’t have to change, but just hear me out. Take a minute to think about all of the different groups of people you hang out with. There are school friends, work friends, church or temple friends, club sports friends, other extracurricular friends, camp friends, and family friends. For the most part, you probably don’t hang out with people from more than one of those groups at once. Now consider why …
During study hall last semester, the people at my table got to discussing Facebook. We unanimously agreed that we hate the website. Contradictory to our words, we can all be found on it at least once a day. As soon as I get home from school each day, I open my internet to Facebook. I tell myself that I will just check my notifications, event and group invitations, inbox messages, and friends requests, and then start my homework. Try as I might, though, I always seem to get distracted. The news feed provides for easy “stalking,” as many Facebook users like to call it. We get caught up …
Ladue High School junior Carrie Seleman has joined Patch as a new contributor with an insider's look to peer issues with teens in our community. I know that I am not the only one out there who has had very limited free time on weekends. I also know that this hectic nature is no stranger to society. As a high school student, I spend my weekend attempting to balance family time with sporting events while making sure not to forget to feed my social life, not to mention fitting in studying somewhere. The treacherous roads to Sunday morning only added to this lack of time. Sometimes I wonder …
