The Dos and Don'ts of a Credit Card

Every teenage girl dreams of her father giving her her very own credit card. It's like a never ending pile of money that doesn't run out. Not! Most teenagers, girls and boys alike, don't understand the concept of credit cards. Plus not to mention many students don't know the importance of a credit card, which is something that will help them later on in life.

Credit cards are not just piles of endless money, they usually have a limit you're allowed to spend on them. So don't get too crazy ladies! At the end of the month you have to pay all that money back, so it's not endless or free money either. At the end of each month you will receive a bill in the mail of not only your purchases but taxes and interest is added on as well. You must pay the credit card company back in a certain amount of time in order to keep a good credit score. Just because your parents give you a credit card, doesn't mean it's for you to go shopping and buy a lot of new stuff. Credit cards for high school students is smart thing to do because building up credit at a younger age is important. However don't go overboard on your purchases. Some common purchases would be using your credit card for only gas. The more money you spend and pay back on time at the end of the month, the better your credit score. The better your credit score, the more likely you are at getting a loan with less interest. The whole process and ways of reading your credit score can be quite complicated and can be better explained by a professional from Wells Fargo Bank and Trust because they know what they're talking about.

Having a credit card is a sign that you're mature enough to handle something such as this. With great power comes great responsibility. If you screw up with your credit card it could potentially screw over your whole finical future. Be a careful spender and know how much is enough.
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Spring Enlightenment

Spring is here. Warmer temperatures, beautiful flowers, and more sunshine. Nothing beats walking to your car after a long hard day at school and the warmth of the sun on your bare legs and exposed shoulders. This feeling makes you feel as if summer is just around the corner and the best part is, summer really is just around the corner.


With this sudden change in the weather must also bring about spring cleaning. It's time to rid yourselves of last years sweaters and boots and break out the shorts and flip flops. Cleaning out your closet and separating the keeps and donations will give you a renewed sense of hope that this up coming season will be a good one. You can make it into whatever you want it to be. Something that I've found helpful with this would be Julie Morgenstern's book "Organizing From the Inside Out." This book helps people set goals and organize their life into a life worth living. Spring cleaning isn't just the physical stuff, but the mental stuff as well, which is also a major topic in Morgenstern's book. Clear your mind to make way for new understandings and new experiences. Last season was exactly that, last season. It's a brand new start with a brand new you. Don't try to change the past and don't look back because the past is the past.


Some people say the best smell of spring is the earthy smell after it rains. Some say it's the smell of freshly cut grass. And others say the best smell is that of the recently bloomed flowers. No matter the smell, people connect their favorite spring scent to a good memory. The memories that are hidden in the back of your mind until that beautiful spring day.


To many people, particularly students, spring symbolizes the end. For teachers it's the end of a long school year. For seniors it's the end of their high school careers. For parents it's the end of those quiet days at home. No matter the ending, it also symbolizes a new beginning. For teachers it's the beginning of many teacher meetings. For seniors it's the beginning of their college career. For parents it's the beginning of seeing their kids all day long. When one door closes another one opens.
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First Women President 2016

I'm not a personal fan of politics. There's more drama on Capital Hill than One Tree Hill. Whenever I turn on the five o'clock news, the only thing they have to say about our government is the latest scandal that has taken place or how the government can't get along. However, recently I came across an interesting piece of news about the 2016 presidential election that has caught my attention. 

I was sitting at the kitchen counter, eating my Frosted Minnie Wheats and a ripe banana, when I turn the TV channel from Sponge Bob to Good Morning America and I see Hilary Clinton's face pop up on the screen. Clinton has announced her official run for presidency in 2016. As most of you remember, she ran for president against Barack Obama back in 2008. However this time around, she has already gotten a big approval rating just by this video she posted on the internet announcing her run for president.  

Personally, I believe Clinton running for president is a great idea because I wanted her to win in the last election. It's about time we get a female in the Oval Office, and not one to bring the president coffee and paperclips. Women need to be taken more seriously in our country and that starts by our leadership. Americans conform to society, if there's a women running our country, they'll hopefully conform to her and her ways.  

Just like African Americans, women will have their time too. Back in 2008, I would have liked Clinton to win, although at that point in time it was right for our country to recognize our first ever black president. African Americans have been taken more seriously within these past eight years Obama has been in office and I can only hope that women get their recognition soon enough. I'm glad that when this election rolls around, I will be eligible to cast my ballet like a real American citizen. As a women, I'm honored to be able to vote for our first female president because as a gender, it's our time to shine. 

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Menstruation's Ten Minutes of Fame

Headaches, cramps, and mood swings are all a part of the natural process girls go through once a month, or more commonly known as a period. People of today's society don't like to talk about this topic, which doesn't seem right to me. Back in tribal days, people would praise a girl when she first notices blood. Nowadays when mothers find out, they say "uh oh." What happen to openness of this natural and beautiful process? Society has told us that it's inappropriate to talk about girls having their period, although it's ok to talk about and promote people of all ages having sex. The natural side of sex is being discriminated against while the "fun" side is being glorified. I am not the only person with an opinion on this matter. Rupi Kaur, who is studying poetry at the University of Waterloo in Canada, is speaking out about this heinous norm that society has adopted. 

For a school project, Kaur uploaded a photo series to Instagram, all having to do with women and the natural process of menstruation. Because the photos go against the community guidelines, Instagram took them down from their social media site. Kaur got some media attention because of her response to Instagram removing her photos.  

This girl was born and raised in India, a country known for it's government censoring it's people. She wanted to speak her mind because for so long she was told that she couldn't; not to mention she's a women and women's opinions are not always valued everywhere in this world. She was simply trying to show the world the wonderful process of a girl's period. A natural process that was once worshipped by many tribes way back when. Mothers in the twenty first century think of this as a bad thing because it means their daughter can get pregnant now. They don't care that their baby girl has just become a women.  

I believe we need more people like Kaur to stand up for women and what we have to endure once a month. Instead of society promoting sex as being fun, why not sex being a beautiful and natural process among two individuals. Society has adapted the wrong way of thinking about this topic and we shouldn't have to take down photos that show the real struggle girls go through.  

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World Wide Women's Sufferage

Women's rights isn't just a problem in American society, it's a problem throughout the entire world. Compared to some countries such as Afghanistan, Liberia, and Egypt, American women have it pretty easy. According to our constitution, we are allowed to fight for what we believe in which isn't the case in many places. American women tend to take their freedoms for granted when there are women around the world being killed not just because they want  the same rights as males, but because they are female. I feel as if most women in American society are ignorant of how far they're gender has come and we should be teaching not only girls, but boys as well of the hardships women have to face because of their gender.  

Afghanistan women are forced to hide their faces behind a burqa when in the presence of a non family member, especially in the presence of a male that is not her husband. This is a norm in the Middle East because their religion says that a women's face is only for the eyes of her husband and family. Women in this region are also not allowed to leave the house without a male family member, whether it be a grandfather who is one hundred years of age or a little baby boy. In Afghanistan it's a custom to beat your wife. If she upsets the male of the household, she gets a beating. I know domestic abuse is a problem here in the United States, but our government is trying to prevent abuse from happening. We have clinics and safe places for people in abusive situations to go and find refugee. In countries like Afghanistan, the government turns a blind eye to abuse because it's a social norm. It's a social norm that needs to be broken but can't without the help from people like you.  

In middle schools and elementary schools around the nation, women's suffrage is not a topic they spend a lot of time on when teaching social studies. Because the curriculum doesn't require it, teachers don't feel the need to talk about it. So these kids grow up not knowing much about the hardships women had to face in order to get the freedom and rights they deserve. Because kids are the future of tomorrow, this inevitably leads to more and more adults not knowing nor caring about women's freedom or rights. School districts should make it a requirement to teach young kids about why we have the freedoms that we do; not just why men have those freedoms, but women as well. Knowing the pain and suffering these people went through all those years ago, can really change a persons' opinion and perspective on things and these are the kinds of people that should be running our country. 

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Good and Bad Role Models

There are many different types of role models in today's society. Many young teenagers consider Jay Z, Nicki Minaj, and Kim Kardashian to be great role models. These people are not promoting a healthy life style that the kids of America should be looking up to. They promote drama, sex, drugs, and alcohol. There are so many good people in the limelight of society but citizens of the world chose not to acknowledge these people because they're not "cool" enough or "hipster" enough. Not only that but who decides what cool or hipster really means? Important questions to keep in mind when looking up to someone. 

People that should be idealized in society are people such as Taylor Swift, Meghan Trainor, and Jennifer Lawrence. Now if you could please take a moment and notice what all three of these people have in common, they're all women. I'm not saying that men can't be idealized too, but there are very few men celebrities who haven't fallen off the wagon. Granted these three women are not saints by any means, but the way they handle themselves after a scandal is what ultimately sets them apart from other celebrities. Not to mention what they promote in their song lyrics and interviews. 

Taylor Swift has been a popular figure in society ever since her first hit single "Our Song" back in 2006. If you compare her style and her motives from when she first entered the business to now, you will see a big change. When Swift was first starting out, she was probably told what to wear, how to look, and how to act by one of her publicists who tried to assimilate her into society. As time went on and she became more popular, she started making decisions for herself. She now promotes being yourself and not caring what others think of you. This message can be found in many of her current songs, such as "Shake It Off." 

Meghan Trainor hasn’t been around as long as Swift, but she is still just as popular. She was first noticed for her song "All About That Bass" which is a very powerful song for many young teenage girls. The lyrics of one of her most famous songs promotes being curvy. Society has told us we have to be a size two, but this celebrity is saying she's nowhere near a size two and she's just fine with that because boys love her just the way she is. 

Jennifer Lawrence is... Jennifer Lawrence. There's not much to say about her than that. When she walks into a room, she owns herself. She is also very honest and open about herself. She makes it very clear that she is who she is and no one can change her. Girls have always been taught to say nice things and to act lady like. Lawrence does the complete opposite because she's showing her true colors. She wants people to know the real her, not the person others want her to be. 

Notice how all three of these people are very strong and independent women. They're teaching young girls it's ok to be yourself and not to let people tell you who to be. Like I said, these women have been portrayed badly in society because of a few little mistakes, but the way they pick themselves up afterwards is what sets them apart from the rest of the world.  

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"Blind Devotion"

Recently I came across this video of a women who finds out she is going blind. She is afraid to tell her husband because her life was perfect and she doesn't want it to change. Once her husband finds out, what he did is incredible. If you haven't had a chance to see this video, take a look. 

Every girl fantasizes about finding the perfect guy. Love is hard for many girls, especially those girls who have been hurt in the past, and they will say yes to every man that comes along that makes them feel special. Those guys are not usually in it for the long run, and end up hurting the girl. This video shows real true love. It shows a guy who is willing to go out of his way in order to ensure not only her safety, but her happiness as well.  

A quote from this short film really caught my attention, and that is "Because that's what true love is, right? There's more than just a feeling, it's an action." Love isn't just something you feel. It's not the butterflies in your stomach or the "on top of the world" feeling you get when you're around them. It's an action. It's physically showing the other person that you love them through your day to day life. 

Men in particular should watch this video for many reasons. One reason being that this video reveals the secrets to being a good boyfriend and husband. It shows how to love your partner unconditionally in hopes that they return the love right back, which they usually do. Something else that boys tend not to understand about women is that we don't need fancy cars, big houses, and lots of money. All we need is for someone to love us and are willing to accept our love in return. This little eight minute video shows all of this, the only problem is most guys won't take the time to watch it. 

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