Friends!

Friends....hmmm...first thing that comes to mind is that they're the people you turn to in times of happiness, struggle, terror, curiousity and the list goes on and on!! There are many types of friends. Those include best friends, normal friends, friends by association and those you consider your friends just because they tell you hi and bye everyday just to be nice!

They are the ones you can depend on and the ones who you turn when you need advice and comfort!...

Personally, I have numerous friends but only a couple VERY close ones. Those are the ones i hang out with on a daily basis! They listen to me and i listen to them also. They are the ones who have to put up with my crazy notions and antics and just about evrything weird about myself!!! Am glad to be able to have had them as friends especially those who have been my friends since both elementary school and high school!!

Furthermore the best memories one can have is the ones that occur around friends! They are the ones you hang out with most of the time on a daily basis and the ones you tell EVERYTHING to!

Of course not all friendships last, but there is nothing one can do to prevent that! I have come to the realization that some friends are meant to just be in your life for a brief period of time probably to show you something about life or to let you create new experiences. Not all are meant to be your best friends forever. People change over time, and conflicts occur and well gradually some friendships just fall apart. Sometimes it is what it is and you just have to deal with it. Even though you may lose a couple friends in life, you will still have the memory of them some bittersweet of course but things happen for a reason and perhaps in some crazy way their friendship was supposed to be short lived to probably spare you from things to come.

We don't know why things happen the way they do but yeah we just gotta deal with it! Anyways just be honest and just perceptive when you do try to make friends.

Try to be open and nice to all the new people you encounter in life and you never know where you might meet your next good friend. Also be good to the ones you do have now because they are the ones who keep us together when we fall apart, the ones who rejoice with us when we get a boyfriend/ girlfriend, the one who keeps our butt in line when we clearly can't, and the one who believes in us when we don't believe in ourselves!

Here are some websites where you can connect with your friends everyday or even meet new ones! :

• http://www.facebook.com/
• http://www.myspace.com/
• http://www.twitter.com/
• http://www.hi5.com/

Testss!!!!

When you are in school, one of the many things that students dread are tests!!!!! Tests are the way in which teachers choose to check the learning capabilites of their students just to see if they have learnt anything from their lessons. Some teachers test regularly however there are some teachers who choose to torment their students and only give them two tests!!! That may be somewhat of a problem because If you faqil one test, then the other test will determine whether you have a chance of passing or not!

Some teachers fail to realize the importance of testing regularly. Of course us as students may see a lot of testing as bad! and completely tiring and stressful! but it also can be good because it:

• refreshes our minds with the information that was previously learnt so as not to forget it
• also it gives students a better chance of passing the course because then their final grade will not only be based on only two meager tests!
• and if the number of tests increase, teachers may be lenient and drop the lowest grade!!!

It all comes down to the teacher of course and their teaching methods. But they should keep in mind the effect it will have on their students. Students are ultimately responsible for their own actions and grades but teachers should at least be considerate because by having students failing their course is reflective on their teaching methods.

So tests...they're such a drag and stressful and completely difficult to study for..but in life you have to take them to pass on to the other level!....Yeah we as students see it as a curse or extremely damaging but it may help in the long run! Study hard! In the end it will all be worth while :)

Sleep!!! ......ZzzZZzz

After numerous nights of staying up late, I have realized how valuable sleep truly is!! School has been quite tiring and demanding requiring long nights of dedication and persistance. Because of this, it seems that we as students lose out on tons of sleep! An average person is supposed to be sleeping at least eight hours a day!...Most of us especially teenagers don't sleep that much at all.

Personally, I have seen what leaving work for last minute does to a night! I mean it swallows it whole and when you realize it...the night is now morning and you barely have time to do anything else! But even when you don't procrastinate, just studying alone and doing other work and whatever else can envelope the time in a night, leaving little or no time at all for sleep!

Sleep not only is relaxing and quite good but it helps in:

• Concentration
• Memory Formation
• Body repair

Without the proper amount of sleep (as i have experienced quite often), focus diminishes greatly!. It becomes hard to pay attention especially class! You'll feel drained for the whole day! And of course who can forget those comments that will come along with the stressed/ tired look you'll have on your face all day!

Little or no sleep is nothing nice because it can also stunt memory formation! It is proven that the more sleep you get the better your memory becomes! So just a tip...get a good night's sleep before a big test or quiz it helps!!!

Also, with sleep you look rejuevenated in the morning! You will reduce the chances of having bags and dark circles under your eyes and just look fresh and ready to take on the day at hand! Sleep will help with thos eand much more!

...SO make sure you get enough sleep at night!!!! Take a nap during the day if that helps!!!!

Groups!...the Horror!!!! O_o

Group work can be tiring especially if you're in a group that is uncooperative! It seems like even if you get into a group with people you are familiar with, it's still a long process until completion!

For example I am supposed to be completing a project with other group members at this very moment. This however is not the case! They knew what and when we were supposed to accomplish the work but yet it's already late and we still aren't finished. It all ties into procrastination and of course the work ethics of the other group members. In groups you meet all types of people including those who are:

• lazy
• uncooperative
• procrastinators
• leeches or free riders
• or very productive people

It seems like no matter who you work along with whether friends or complete strangers, conflicts/ problems will more than likely always arise. I know this from extensive experience! Especially when it comes to school work! I procrastinate a lot! BUT when it comes to school work i make sure i accomplish what i have to do or in other words i pull my weight. I appreciate if the other group members would do the same also! but again that isn't always the case. So the next time you enter into a group or if you are thinking of doing so for whatever reason then you should note this:

When working in groups make sure:

1. You are in a group with members you know you can get along with!
2. DOn't procrastinate! Work early and finish early to avoid late nights!
3. Try to take every group member's opinion into consideration. Don't just push your own views but listen and develop the best solution based on the overall best opinion.

So, group work, yeah it can be a drag sometimes but it may also be something good because it develops your communication skills and also introduces you to new ideas and new perspectives.
So avoid procrastination when it comes to groupwork! No one likes 4 hours or less of sleep!

The Next Step...after graduation!

After graduation, we are faced with many decisions...Some questions we ask ourselves are : What should I do with my life now?, Where should I continue my education?...Should I get a job? and so much more!

These questions are never-ending and we must decide sooner or later what we want to do with our lives.

Personally, I myself am undecided! I don't know what I will do after sixth form in Belize and well it's just really complicated and deciding on something is just something i don't want to do as yet!....Some people I know have already figured it out...They have a plan which for some they have been planning for since childhood. Sometimes it's hard to watch them because they already know what they want to be, where they plan to go in life and how much children they want to have!!!! I swear it's crazy!

All this is stress for me and well forms as a form of pressure. There are so many colleges available and also there is the job market that we can choose to enter. How do I know which one is the right one for me?

So for all those out there who feel just as stressed and indecisive as me you can consider the following tips ( I myself am trying some out!)

• Talk to your on campus advisor. There must be someone present who can educate you with knowledge about available schools and jobs.
• Also you can use the interent. Take the initiative look for colleges on your own or recruit your friends to help!
• Look in newspapers! If it's a job you are looking for search through newspapers for advertisements and job offerings. You may even encounter available scholarships!
• Talk to someone! They can help you get on the right path and start your college/ job search early so you aren't left behind!

These and more will help you make some decisions ab0out the future and what you plan to do with your life! From personal experience....It's your future so take CHARGE!!!!!

Here are some links you can use to help with your college search both abroad and at home here in Belize :

• http://www.petersons.com/ugchannel/code/searches/srchCrit1.asp
• www.galen.edu.bz
• www.ub.edu.bz

Attraction!

What defines attraction? Or how do we decide who we are attracted to or like? Well

those questions are frequently asked by many and most of the time we can't explain exactly what makes us attracted to someone.

On a daily basis we encounter people who make our hearts skip a beat or create butterflies in our stomaches, but we don't always make the effort to approach them. We sometimes don't even know why it happens but attraction happens!

Basically it all comes down to our preferences! Each and every person is different and with these differences come varying likes and dislikes.

Some may like people older than them or younger! Others may want someone who is weathly or has some sort of status within society. Or they may also base their likes on looks, personality, intellectual capability and much more!

We all question why we like the people we do... and other questions that may arise include: Should age matter? WHat will my friends think? Or worse what will my family think? Is it worth my time to pursue this relationship? These are never ending questions to which no one may fully have all the answers for. Attraction is gonna happen sooner or later whether you want it to or not. We can't help who we like or who we choose to admire but we can control the way we act upon these emotions for those we are attracted to!

Stress!

Why do we stress out over many things that affects us in life?

Well.... the answer is easy...it's a natural human reaction!!!!!...despite what some people think, stress affects everyone even if it's just a little!

Stress is the state of alarm that a body goes through when put under some form of pressure. Stress is cause by stessors and those can include : physical danger, relationship problems, school work, family conflicts etc.

It affects everyone, some in small doses others so extreme that it can cause extreme depression/ anxiety or even death.

Symptons of stress include: irritability/ agitation, inability to concentrate/ relax, increased heartrate/ headaches, excessive sweating, nail biting, and much more!!!

Here are some tips you can follow to avoid stress or at least reduce it!

• Try to avoid over scheduling
• Be optimistic
• Get a good night's sleep
• Go out and have fun

So remember stress will more than likely always affect us in life... but we can try and minimize it by just reducing the stessors that exist in life.