Final.

I'm really nervous because my final in here is due tomorrow and I haven't finished getting all the footage I need. I'm hoping I can film everything today and edit tomorrow by the end of class. I don't know though because my talent is working on their own finals and I can't really ask them to do mine. I'm scared I won't get everything done and I'll fail. I don't want to fail this class, since I just found out I passed my Algebra class and can graduate. It would suck to find out otherwise, all because I couldn't get one measly little video done. Anyway, I'll go check out a camera and ask them. Hopefully they'll oblige, since their final isn't due until next week.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Save the Substitute.

To make sure the substitute has a good experience, I'll be really nice to her. She's a good sub, we've had her before. Last time, we had a conversation about how bad these stupid kids are. These kids give her a really hard time because they're disrespectful and inconsiderate. I don't know why. It's probably just because they're immature and rowdy. Anyway, I'll try and make sure they don't give her too much of a hard time. I don't know how, I'll probably kill them.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Unbelievable.

I can't believe I only have one week of school left. After next week I'm going to be done with high school forever. It really doesn't feel like it's all coming to an end. I don't even know what to do with myself after I get out. There are so many people that I'm going to miss, teachers especially. I can't stand the thought of never seeing them again. I almost don't want to go. I've been saying that if I don't graduate it would be okay, I'm not quite sure how valid that statement is, but I know that coming back here next year wouldn't be the worst thing ever. At least I'd get to see the teachers that I love so much. I'm expecting to graduate though, since nobody has told me otherwise. I still just can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday that I was a little boy in elementary school. I'm still waiting to wake up and still be in the 6th grade, and realize that the last 6 years of my life were just a dream. That's not gonna happen though. The best thing I can do is accept it and move on, I guess. I'm just not ready though. There are a lot of mixed emotions about leaving high school and growing up, it's pretty overwhelming. I'm sure I'll be okay though.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

TED Talk, Again.

The talk I watched was given by Klaus Stadlmann about the world's smallest 3D printer. He demonstrated and talked about what you could do with one of these printers. Some day, you could be able to print custom hearing aids or even sculptures that are smaller than human hair. This could change the way that people live, especially if they are deaf or in need of a microscopic sculpture.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Videos.

I really gotta do my video. I haven't been filming this whole time because I didn't have an idea. I came up with one yesterday that is really cool. I hope that I can film today, even though we have a sub. I need to do this video so that I can get points. I have a C in your class now because I didn't do a video. I can't let my grade get any lower. I'm hoping the sub will let us check out cameras, but I don't know. If not, I'm probably gonna have to do it late, because I don't wanna go without turning one in.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

End of School.

There's so much to do that it's hard to believe I only have two weeks left of school. It doesn't feel like the end of the school year yet, even with yearbooks being signed and all this talk of graduation. I'm still not 100% certain whether or not I will be graduating, but still hoping for the best. I really want to graduate with my class this year, but, again, I'm still okay with staying another year, especially if it's just for one semester of one class. Like I've said before, I don't really wanna leave yet. Anyway, yeah, I'm stressing a little with the end of the school year coming and me not knowing what's going on.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Summer Job?

I might try and get a summer job this summer. I'm not sure yet. It all depends on how this year ends and what ends up happening. If I pass all my classes and graduate, I'll probably try and look for a good job for not just the summer, but for a while. If I don't, I'll be too overwhelmed and probably won't want to get a job over the summer. I don't know. I probably need to get one though so that I can have extra money or something.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Wendy's.

Recently, I've been eating a lot of food from Wendy's. I don't know why, we just keep going there and getting food. It's okay though, because it's really good. They've got the best chicken nuggets. I love Wendy's. I should probably stop eating there so much, because it's not good for me. I should lay off the fast food for a while. But, yeah, that's the fast food I've been eating most recently.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

On My Own.

The thing I look forward to the most about moving away from home is getting to be on my own. When I move out and get my own place, I won't have to worry about everybody else's mess. I can just relax and take care of myself, rather than have to work around what everybody else is doing. I'll have privacy and I can do whatever I want, without somebody asking me what I'm doing all the time or asking me for favors. It'll be pretty nice when I'm out on my own.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Glasses.

I can't read the board right now to see what the blog post is, so I'm just gonna write a journal entry. I need to get glasses. I used to have a pair, but the were ugly and I never wore them. When I actually started wearing them, I sat on them and then my dogs chewed them up. So now I'm without glasses and I can never see anything. I guess it won't be too bad soon since I'm graduating and don't have any need to see a board that's far away, but I'm sure I'll need glasses for something later on down the road in life. So, I might as well get some now. I'm gonna talk to my parents and see if they'll take me to get new glasses. Hopefully they will.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

TED TED TED.

The talk I watched was given by Pranav Mistry about the future of SixthSense technology. This is technology that helps the digital world to interact with the physical world. You wear a camera/projector on your shirt and interact with various objects, such as a book or a newspaper and it will tell you all about that book or project videos of the news story you are reading directly onto the newspaper. This technology is very interesting. He said that the technology is in the early stages, but the software is not hard to manufacture so people will be able to make their own. This technology would propel us into the future and change the way we interact with objects by bringing us back to the physical world rather than keeping us stuck sitting in front of machines.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Summertime.

My plans for this summer vary upon whether or not I will graduate this year. If I graduate, I plan on relaxing and looking for a job and a place to go to school. If not, my summer will be spent feeling guilty and sorry for myself and preparing to go back to school in the fall. Either way, I will be doing a lot of hanging out with friends and doing fun things like swimming, bowling or going to the movies. My family and I will also be going on our annual family vacation. This year we're going to Monterey, California. We go there a lot because it's beautiful and there's a lot of fun stuff to do. So, yeah, hopefully I will be graduating and having a happy summer.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

War on Terror.

I haven't actually been paying much attention to the "War on Terror," but I assume it is probably a bad thing. So I'm gonna go ahead and guess that it's a good thing that it's over. I'm sure many Americans who have been following the "War on Terror" are very happy.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Assembly Day.

Today was an assembly day and it really through me off guard because I start my days with 2nd hour. So today I came at the usual time that 2nd hour starts and the assembly had already started so I had to leave my stuff in the office and go to the assembly. I really didn't want to walk in there late because the entire school would be sitting there watching walk in the door and try to find a spot to sit, but I ended up going in there and just stood in the corner where the teachers were standing. I couldn't really see anything, but I'm sure it wasn't that great anyway. I felt really awkward because I was standing on the opposite side of the room, facing the entire senior class, but it ended soon enough and I was on my way to 2nd hour.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Slacking.

Lately, I've been kind of slacking when it comes to doing my school work. That's not the best idea, since I'm supposed to be graduating this year. My grades aren't doing as well as they could and I don't really know what to do. I need to just do every assignment that is given to me from this point until the end of the school year and hope that the points I get from completing them will be enough to boost my grades to a significant percentage. It's funny that I've been here almost every day for a few months now and my grades are worse than they were when I was absent every other day. I even skipped the two simple videos you gave us to do, which are easy points. I don't know. I need to step up my game, but I'm just so stressed with the end of the school year, and subsequently the end of my school career, coming up.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Disagreements.

When I disagree with people, it really gets me mad. I'll usually try to convince them to think the way that I do, but in the end I always end up calling them stupid and agreeing to disagree. Sometimes, if the person won't drop the subject, I have to completely remove myself from the situation because I'll start getting really pissed and yelling at them. Sometimes I even get into fights. I don't know, I feel like anybody who doesn't agree with me is ignorant and stupid. I always feel like I'm the smartest person and that everything that I think is right, whether it actually is or not.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Grades.

I'm not very happy with my grades at the moment. I have all C's and D's, which isn't good at all. Especially since I'm trying to graduate this year. I have recently stepped up and decided to perform my best in school, however that hasn't yet made up for slacking off at the beginning of the semester. There are some major assignments that I skipped and stuff that I should have done better. From here on out I will be turning in all my assignments and doing them to the fullest of my abilities. Hopefully, in the short time that we have left, I'll be able to boost my grades to at least B's. On the other hand, staying behind and making up some classes next year wouldn't be so bad. I'm really not ready to leave yet.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Goals and Obstacles.

The biggest obstacle standing between me and my career goals would probably be myself. I want to be an English teacher and that takes a lot of work and determination. I happen to be a very lazy person, so working for this career that I want so passionately would be one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The biggest part of me wants to graduate high school and spend the rest of my days sleeping in or on the couch in front of the TV, but the rest of me wants so badly to get motivated and to pursue my dreams. My hopes are to start working hard straight out of high school. Seeing what I need to do, taking all the required classes, working to get my degree, etc. Then, I want to come straight back here to Deer Valley and teach along side my favorite teachers on the planet. In the end, I am the only person standing in my way. I am the only person who can either accomplish or prevent myself from accomplishing my goals.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Cool Images.

I've been making these cool background/poster things for my portfolios in my Graphic Design class. I'm bored so I decided I wanted to share them on here. I like them. I just blend layers together using different modes in Photoshop and they turn out to be really cool images. Here they are:

Cool House.

If money was out of the question, I would live in the coolest house ever. It would most likely be a smart house and It would have all the coolest features, like an indoor pool and private movie theater. The kitchen would be really nice and we'd have one of those refrigerators that have the same doors as the cabinets. Those are cool. My closet would be huge and would have multiple rooms and levels. My bedroom would be giant and my bed would be the most comfortable. My bathrooms would have the fanciest showers and toilets. One of those toilets that squirts your butt when you're done pooping. Those are awesome. Coolest of all, I would have secret passage ways and trap doors all over my house. Like a bookcase that doubles as a door that leads to a giant party room, something cool like that. Yeah, that's what my house would be like if money was no problem.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

German.

I am mostly of German descent. I know my ancestors came here a few generations ago from Germany. There's not much else to really say about that. Yeah.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Weekend.

This weekend will mostly be chilling and hanging out. Since it's a three day weekend, I get to sleep in and lounge around. Me and my sister's friend is coming over on Friday and she might spend the night. On Saturday or Sunday, we're going to an Easter Egg Hunt that we go to every year. It's usually really fun and there's food and chocolate prizes. We get to see a lot of friends and family too. That's all I'm doing this weekend, which isn't much. I can't wait for Monday.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Rights and Freedom.

The difference between right and freedom is that we all have certain rights that we are entitled to no matter what, however freedom has to be earned. In order to keep your freedom you must obey laws and be a respectful and civilized citizen. If you lose your freedom, there are still rights that you are entitled to as a human being while incarcerated. So, rights never go away and you are always entitled to them. Freedom, on the other hand, is a privilege and can be taken away.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

I Just Wanna Stay.

I am just so sad that my school career is coming to an end. I know I keep posting about it, but it's coming up really quickly and I really don't want to leave. There are so many people that I've grown to really care about that I won't see again after high school. There are so many great teachers here that I look forward to seeing everyday and, after graduation, I'll probably never ever see them again. That makes me the saddest. I really just want to stay, I honestly feel like failing a couple classes just so I can come back next year and take them again. Once the day comes that I graduate, I have no idea what I'm going to do. I'll go from having somewhere to go everyday to sitting on my butt on the couch watching TV until I get a job or something. Who knows when that's gonna happen? I don't know. I just wanna stay really bad.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

April Fools!

Nobody's ever really done any great April Fools jokes that I've seen. It's kinda lame, but I guess I just don't know any really clever jokesters. Even over the weekend I didn't see any jokes besides, "Your shoe's untied. APRIL FOOLS!" Yeah, it'd be cool to see some good ones in the future though, or maybe come up with some of my own.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Announcement.

The announcement that I'm going to do will be that you can still order yearbooks online for $60 dollars from the school website. I don't know how I'm going to make this interesting yet, but I think in a little time I can come up with a great idea. I'll probably have a video with a kid who hasn't ordered a yearbook yet, and have somebody tell him that he can still order one online. Then something funny will probably happen, I just don't know yet. Anyway, that's pretty much the overall idea. Yeah.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Learning?

The last thing I learned was that I really must not learn all that much because I can't think of a single thing. Honestly, we're supposed to be learning at school, but if I can't come up with anything that I learned recently at all, then there must be a problem. Hmm, this is weird. I'm sure I learned something, but it was probably just so boring and useless that I've forgotten it already. I wish we did more learning here, that's really the whole point of going to school. Otherwise, it just seems like a waste.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Year of Change.

In the past year, I think that I have changed a lot. At the beginning of the school year, I was scared because I was going to be graduating this year. I just wanted the end of the school year to come so that I could get it over with and be done with school finally. I barely came to school last semester at all. Over the year, I realized how much I actually like being at school and how much I'm going to miss it when it's over. I decided I'm going to take advantage of the few days that I have left and stop taking school for granted. I've been coming to school every day for weeks now because I don't want it to be over. I'd say going from hating school and wanting it to end to coming to school every day and dreading it being over is a pretty huge change in one year.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Spring Break.

During Spring Break, I pretty much just chilled out and did nothing. For the beginning of the week I got up pretty early and just watched TV or something all day. Eventually, I was staying up later and messed my sleeping pattern up. Last night I didn't sleep at all. Anyway, I didn't really do anything until the weekend when my friends came over and we went bowling, which was really fun. That's pretty much the most exciting thing that happened. The whole week I was just wanting to go back to school. I really prefer being here now. I'm really glad to be back.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Drugged Up.

The school thought I was on drugs Wednesday. I was acting a little out of the ordinary in my first hour. I was feeling extra happy and I was asking everybody for a hug. This one girl I tried to give a hug to ran straight out of the classroom and down the hallway so I chased her. I kept asking my teacher for a hug and he wouldn't give one to me. Anyway, I guess I was acting a little crazier than usual so my teacher, Mr. Mueller, took me to the nurse's office. I told him I was okay, but he wanted to make sure that I didn't accidentally ingest something or anything like that. He was looking out for my safety because he's such a good guy. The nurse took my blood pressure a few times and it was higher than it is supposed to be. She told me to get a check up and she was going to send me back to class. That's when Mr. DuPlanty stepped in. He took me to his office and started interrogating me like I was on drugs. He searched my backpack and my pockets. He made me take off my shoes and socks like I was hiding something in there. Eventually he ended up getting a hold of my grandpa and having him pick me up and take me home. I didn't appreciate being treated like I was a druggie, especially since Mr. DuPlanty doesn't even know me at all. I also didn't appreciate being sent home when I didn't need to be. I shouldn't be missing anymore class. Anyway, now there's a rumor going around that I come to school drugged up, which isn't cool. I have an appointment with my doctor today about my blood pressure. It might correlate with the dizziness I've been feeling lately, so hopefully we'll figure everything out and get it taken care of.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Vacation.

Me and my family go on vacation once a year. We go every summer. We usually end up going to either California or Colorado. Some of our most memorable trips include going to San Diego and visiting Sea World, or going to Disneyland. We also went up to Breckenridge, Colorado, which is way high up in the mountains. Another place we went was Montana, where we visited Yellowstone National Park. Whenever we go on vacation, we rent a house to stay in for a week or two. Some of our houses have been really cool and others not so cool. One of them had a full on gymnasium in the basement and one was really oddly set up where you had to go through people bedrooms to get to the bathroom. All of our vacations have been amazing in their own special way and have a lot of awesome memories.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Very, Very Frightening.

The most frightening thing to me is probably the dark. I'm really afraid of the dark. Just not knowing what's in front of you or what could be out there, it really freaks me out. Other than the dark, I'm scared of disfigured people and gross looking people. Like monsters or demons, scary looking things like that. Most of all, however, I'm frightened by pain. Like, I'm not really scared of dying, but I would be horribly afraid to die if it was going to be painful. So yeah, those are my fears.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Graduating?

I'm really scared I'm not going to graduate because of my online class. I'm taking Algebra online and it's hard, as Algebra obviously is. When I take the tests and quizzes I get help from the Internet. When it comes time to take my final in May, I'm not sure I'll be able to pass with a 60% or higher, which is what I need to do in order to pass the class. It'd be really crappy to make it this far and not graduate because of one measly little class I'm taking online. I really hope that I can pull it together and start really studying. I hope that I can pass my final and, ultimately, graduate.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Perfect Classroom.

To make a classroom perfect, you really need to have the right group of people in it. People need to be understanding and respectful, but also fun and outgoing. The teacher would be awesome and they would talk to the students and relate to the students. They would be able to teach the students, but also make them laugh in the process. The prefect classroom would also look nice. It would be clean, with posters and cool wall paint. Maybe some sweet knick-knacks scattered around. That's my idea of a perfect classroom.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

The End.

As we keep getting closer to the end of the school year, I start to realize more and more that I don't want school to end. All my life I've hated school and said that I couldn't wait to be done with it, but realizing that in a few months I will leave behind everything that I've known for the last 13 years is kind of scary. All of these people that I've grown up with and gotten to know like family will be gone and I'll probabaly never see most of them again. I'm coming to school more because I realize that I've taken it for granted. In a few months, it'll all be over and I'm not going to be as happy about it as I once thought. I seriously don't want school to end yet. I'm not ready.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Books.

With reading, I'm really bad. I don't read as much as I should, which isn't a good thing. I'm lazy, so reading is not very enjoyable for me. However, in my English class we are reading  Dante's Inferno and doing projects on it. We were supposed to read individual sections and teach the class about them. I really enjoyed what I read from it and I enjoyed hearing about the parts everybody else read. It is a very interesting book and I think I'd actually like to continue reading the entire thing.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Movie Concept.

Concept: The concept for my movie is going to be people on the moon.

Props: I could probably bring a flag and try to find something that looks like an astronaught costume, like a fishbowl or something.

Extras: I'd need a green blanket to cover the floor so that it looks like their feet are actually on the moon.

Talent: I will shoot the movie. I don't know who will act in the movie yet. I might ask Lexi and Priscilla.

Fast Food.

I eat fast food all the time. I shouldn't, but it's usually what I end up eating just about every day. When it comes to my favorite, I usually go classic. I love American food, so I will usually end up getting a big juicy burger, french fries and top it all off with a delicious chocolate shake. That's the best meal in the world right there. However, if I'm a little tired of burgers, chicken nuggets make a great substitute. Some nice and crispy chicken pieces with a little ranch, or maybe even some buffalo sauce. Yummy. Now I'm hungry.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Still Sick.

I think yesterday was a journal entry, but I'm not sure. I'm just gonna do one anyway.

I was absent yesterday because I'm still sick. I really don't know what's wrong with me, but it would be nice to figure it out. I'm still dizzy and I have been since last week. I can't focus on anything and it's so hard to do my school work. All I want to do is sleep and do nothing so that I can get better. I should really see a doctor, but I don't know what they'll do to me to figure out what's wrong so I'm scared. I might have to end up going though if I don't get better. Here's hoping I do.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Protein Supplements Summary.

A recent study shows that protein supplements are inefficient to most athletes, causing them to be misused by high-level athletes and amateurs alike. Martin Fréchette asked 42 sportsmen who came from a variety of different disciplines about their use of protein supplements. He asked them to keep a journal of their eating habits for three days. Nine out of ten athletes said that they used the protein supplements on a daily basis. Martin says that the role of proteins in misunderstood. However, 70% of the athletes said they didn't feel their performance would suffer if they stopped taking the supplements. Fréchette says that taking supplements is risky because they often contain ingredients that aren't listed on the label. Athletes could be consuming illegal drugs without knowing it. Consumers also had levels of things, above the norm, that could cause them to be susceptible to health problems.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Sick.

I forgot to do my journal entry on Friday, so I'll do one today.

I've been really sick for the past week. I don't know what's wrong with me. It started with a sore throat and then I started taking some medicine and I've been dizzy ever since. I keep getting really hot and sweaty at random times. I don't know what to do. I should go to the doctor or something, but I don't want it to turn out to be nothing and have us waste money on a trip to the doctor. I don't know. I hope it passes because it's really hard to focus on anything being this dizzy.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

AIMS?

My AIMS experience was nonexistent since I'm a senior and I already passed AIMS my sophomore year. Yesterday, I didn't even go to school at all because I only had two classes and I didn't think it was important enough to go. So, I did what I always do when I stay home: I slept. Today I needed to go to school, my later classes are a little more important and I'm in hot water in my 7th period for too many absences. I did get to sleep in until 10:30ish today, which was really nice. I like sleeping in and going to school late, it's better than going to school at frickin' 7:30 in the morning. Anyway, yeah, I didn't take the AIMS test or anything. Just slept a few more hours.
Mason Augustus Wheeler

Weekend.

Over the weekend I kinda just chilled and hung out. On Saturday, I slept in and then we took my grandpa out for lunch at Red Robin, which was delicious. I love Red Robin. On Sunday, we caught up with some old friends and went to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, which was also delicious. After lunch, we went to The Brass Armadillo, which is an antique mall my mom and her friend like to go to to look at junk and stuff. After walking around there we went to Dairy Queen. Overall, this weekend was nice, relaxing and fun.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Propaganda Image.

What is Propaganda?

Propaganda, by dictionary definition, is information or ideas spread intentionally to help or harm a particular person or group. Propaganda is most commonly used in politics, when politicians spread and endorce advertisments that bash their competitors and make themselves look good in order to get people to vote for them. This isn't the cleanest way to compete in politics and is considered foul play by many, though it has been used by politicians for centuries.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

News Studio Background.

Electronic Device?

If I could buy any electronic device, it would probably be some kind of camcorder. I used to have one along time ago that recorded on tape, I got rid of it when things like Flip Cams and Small Wonders started coming out. Since these were just being made, the quality of their recordings was not very good. I haven't been able to get around to buying a new video camera yet, so if I could get any device, it would definitely be one of those. I'm not exactly sure which kind, I know Flips have sort of died out and that there are newer and slimmer digital recording devices. I'd have to do my research, but I would definitely love to get a new video recorder.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

News Studio Background Experience.

At first, I wasn't quite sure how we were supposed to create these news studio backgrounds, since you weren't here to explain it to us the day we started. With the substitute here, we kind of just figured we were supposed to take images of various news elements from the Internet and put the together to create a studio. Once you got back and explained what we were really supposed to do I though it was going to be very hard to create an entire news studio from scratch. Then, remembering perspective and all the other Photoshop techniques I've learned over the year, I started to make it and it actually started to come together into something that looks great. I was extra happy when you told me that I was doing such excellent work and when you used my work as an example of what the other students should be doing. All and all, this project has been one of my favorite so far and it was a really fun experience.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Better.

So, I'm getting a little better at school now. I'm actually coming to school more and more instead of giving in to my exhaustion and sleeping all day. My grades have improved. I had an F in my English class early last week and by Friday it went up to a B because I got a 95% on an essay that I wrote. I'm doing and turning in more and more work, because I'm actually here to do it. It's not just doing the work either, I'm actually doing it well. I'm producing excellent work in almost all of my classes. I'm really happy with myself, but there's still a lot more to go. If I keep going at this rate, I can clean myself up entirely by graduation.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Music.

As of right now, my favorite music performer is probably Nicki Minaj, because of how strong of a force she's become from her last studio album and because of all the hype surrounding her upcoming album. I loved her debut record when it came out two years ago and even her mixtapes before that. I'm really excited for her new album to come out, even with all this negative buzz she's gotten over her Grammy performance and her music video for "Stupid Hoe." She's my favorite right now just because of what an amazing force she is at the moment.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Best Friend.

My best friend would probably have to be Saveria Fritsch, because she's the only person I can really talk to and say what's on my mind to. We relate to each other a lot and have really good conversations. She can be really mean at times, but when it comes down to it I still consider her to be my best friend.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Coming to School.

This is nice, we haven't gotten to do a good journal entry in a while.

I should really start coming to school. After everything changed for the worse from last semester I just figured nothing mattered and that I didn't need to limit my absences. After having so many absences, I realize that was a bad idea. I'm not doing too hot in school right now. I'm not applying myself or trying hard and my excuse is that life sucks and nothing matters. I really need to change this way of thinking. My grades have slipped and I'm in danger of being dropped from some classes. I need to step it up, otherwise I'll be SOL.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Cray Cray.

I don't really do anything crazy, because I'm really boring. I've been witness to the crazy things that other people do around me, but I've never actually participated in anything crazy. All I really do is sleep, eat and watch television and I haven't really broken from that routine...ever. So, yeah, maybe sometime soon it would be nice to actually live a little and do something crazy, but as of now I don't have anything super crazy under my belt.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Ted Talk: Extra Credit.

The talk I watched this time was given by Stephen Coleman on the moral dangers of non-lethal weapons. This talk was basically saying that with all the non-lethal weaponry out there becoming so common, such as pepper spray, tasers and even heat rays on the rise, there could very well and most likely be unexpected consequences. For example, using a less lethal weapon on somebody using a gun, knife or any other lethal weapon who intends to do you harm would not be a good idea. The talk doesn't change how I see the world, but reinforces it. This is something I already believe. Substitution of lethal weapons for non-lethal weapons just for moral reason could be a very bad and very consequential thing.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Ted Talk 8.

I watched a talk given by Neil Burgess on how your brain knows where you are and where you're going. He gave the example of a rat in a maze looking for food. Whenever the rat had been a certain place in its environment, its neurons would send an electrical spike signal telling the brain it has been there before. All of the different neuron signals put together actually form a map for your brain, telling it where it is in its environment and where it can go. The talk definitely changed how I see the world, because in everyday life there are times where it seems your brain automatically knows where to go, such as remembering where you parked your car or knowing you're moving in the right direction.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Green Screen Test.

Me on the beach.

B-day Memories.

My favorite birthday memory comes from my eighth birthday ten years ago. They just re-released my favorite movie E.T. in the theaters for its 20th anniversary and my dad took me and all of my friends to see it. We had the whole theater to ourselves and it was totally awesome. We got to all just hang out and watch the movie and have a good time, then afterwards, we went home and had delicious cake and ice cream. That's my favorite birthday memory.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Superbowl.

I didn't watch the entire Superbowl, but I did see the halftime show and I caught a few commercials. I think Madonna did a good job, even though everybody's all mad at her for lip syncing or whatever. The commercials were really funny, particularly the M&M one and the Audi one with the vampires. Overall though, I'm not really phased by who won since I wasn't rooting for the Giants or the Patriots.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Ted 7.

The talk I watched was given by Lisa Harouni and was about the future of printing. Soon, a technology will become available that will let people print in 3D. People will be able to print anything they want, including intricate objects that were once impossible to create. 2012 just might be the year that this technology becomes accessible and even commonplace. If this happens it would be a huge change on how we obtain items and, ultimately, how we live our lives.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Day Off.

My day off this week came after another day off because I was absent. Pretty much both days, I just slept all day and didn't do anything. That's usually what I like to do with my days off, since I never get any sleep when I have to wake up and go to school at the crack of dawn.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Important Beliefs.

An important thing I believe is that you shouldn't make assumptions about people, and you especially shouldn't use those assumptions to judge another person. People can be doing anything at anytime and you have no idea why they're doing it or how they got there. Why should you assume that you do and start judging them like you know everything about them? For example, I'm in the library right now because I don't have a first hour. I go to sign in and the lady is like, "Do you have a pass to be here?" all rude like. I'm like, "Umm, no. I don't have a first hour." I mean, jeeze! I've only been in here for the whole year during first hour, maybe she could've figured it out by now? I don't know. Things like that just annoy me and most of the staff here do the same thing. You know, they really shouldn't work here if they don't like talking to or dealing with kids. That's another important thing I believe.

Comfortable or Challenging?

If I had the choice between a confortable job or a challenging job, I would definitely pick the more comfortable job. I know people always say that it's better to challenge yourself or whatever, but I would honestly rather be able to be comfortable in my life and I wouldn't want that extra added burden of a challenging job stressing me out all the time.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Last Day.

If I knew that Friday was my last day to live, I'd probably go around and do whatever I want. I wouldn't care about what people thought about me anymore. I wouldn't care about doing my schoolwork or anything, because it wouldn't matter. I wouldn't go to school, I'd just go out into the world and do crazy things and say whatever comes to my mind to anybody I want to. If Friday was my last day, I would be happy that I wouldn't have to keep living in this stupid messed up society, so I'd throw every rule away and just live my life the way I wanted to for the day.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

I Miss Elementary School.

I have so many great memories from elementary school. Those were the best times of my life. I did so many crazy things with my friends, most of which I still see in the halls today, but don't talk to anymore. We used to hang out in the field and do all sorts of fun things like run around and pretend and just a bunch of awesome stuff that we don't get to do anymore. Those are the greatest memories, not just from elementary school, but from my life.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Bad Semester.

So, this semester has taken a horrible turn from the last one. I got kicked out of my Rio Salado college English class for having too many absences and now I'm just in regular senior English. I feel so terrible because I had friends in that class and I loved my teacher. Now, I won't get to see them anymore. My day is more quiet. I also have to take Algebra this semester because I failed second semester last year. I had a class here, but decided it was stupid and boring and I just didn't want to do it, so I enrolled in eShcool. My sister is going to be leaving this semester to take all of her classes online, abandoning me. Now, I have long, boring, quiet and lonely days to look forward to until I graduate. Yay.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Stupid Election.

The next presidential election will probably not benefit our society much. American people tend to vote for the stupidest possible candidate, so they'll probably do it again. I don't know, I don't really know anything about politics or presidents or our society at all. I just think Americans are stupid and will probably vote for somebody stupid as well.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Closet Relative.

One of my closest relatives would be my cousin, Hannah. She's crazy. She can be a lot of fun to hang out with at times, but she's really annoying usually. She's really immature for somebody who's 21 years old. She hangs around gross friends that do drugs and other nasty stuff. She even does some of that stuff herself. She's a smoker too. It's really bad. Sometimes, when she's not around her stupid friends, she's really cool and funny. I like her when she's not around them because she doesn't feel like she has to act all immature. Anyway, that's my cousin, Hannah. She's one of my closest relatives.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Goals and Resolutions.

My goals for this year focus on making me a better person and making my life more enjoyable to deal with. I want to focus on my personality and the way I interact with other people. My resolutions for this year are to become confident, outgoing and, overall, a much more sociable person. To do this, I should start not giving a crap about other people and just being myself. I shouldn't be afraid to just say things and talk to people and just be me. So, that's what I'm gonna try to do in the new year, because I can't just stay all shy and stupid for the rest of my life.

Mason Augustus Wheeler

Winter Break.

Winter break was way better than this stupid crap. I hate being back at school. I would much rather relax and be worry free like I was when I was on winter break. Over the break I didn't do anything. I just slept, ate, watched TV and played video games. It was pretty much the best thing ever. I stayed up late and messed my sleeping schedule up, so on Sunday night before school started again I couldn't get to sleep. I'm so freaking tired right now.

Mason Augustus Wheeler