Tag: 2015

  • Reflecting on 2015

    This might be coming a little late but, Happy New Year! 2016 has arrived and it’s going to be another good year. 2015 was filled with ups and downs and there were all kinds of trends and things that occurred this past year. Here are some of the events and trends of 2015.

    In January of 2015, the Charlie Hebdou attack occurred in Paris. 12 people were killed and 11 were injured.

    In February, the Super Bowl took place and Katy Perry gave a stunning performance and Left Shark, who performed during Perry’s song, “California Gurls” became a worldwide sensation. And there was also the dress. People argued over whether or not it was black and blue or white and gold. The couple that took the picture confirmed that it was black and blue after the photo went viral. Team black and blue!

    In March, the Germanwings flight 9525 ended in tragedy when the co-pilot of the plane deliberately flew the plane into the French Alps, killing everyone on board. Dawn of Justice was released in theaters. It was the Batman vs. Superman movie, in case you didn’t know.

    Age of Ultron, the second movie of the Avengers series as well as Furious 7 were released in theaters in April. Both movies lived up to their expectations and were successful in the theaters.

    In May, the Mayweather vs. Pacquio fight went down in Las Vegas and resulted in another win for Floyd Mayweather Jr. How-old.net is a website where you allow the website to analyze a photo of yourself and it guesses how old you are. This website became well-known and sparked the question of “How is the website able to tell how old you are?” If you’d like to test out how-old.net click here to see if it guesses your age correctly. The biggest trend of May was Netflix and Chill. There were all kinds of variations and parodies of this interesting and well-known trend.

    “Just Do It” featuring Shia LeBouf went viral in June of 2015. The video was a motivational and overdramatized speech telling people to accomplish their goals and follow their dreams. In June, gay marriage was legalized in the U.S. Caitlyn Jenner also introduced herself to the world and later on ended up winning the “Woman of the Year” award.

    In July, Minions took the world by storm and did well in theaters. “Now watch me whip/nae nae” became a song and dance sensation. I don’t know a single person that doesn’t know how to whip and nae nae. From the flyby of New Horizons, everyone was able to see clear and exciting pictures of Pluto and its moons. The pictures will allow for astronomers to gather more information about Pluto and its moons. In July, the world lost Saturo Iwata, the president of Nintendo and the creator of video games like Kirby and Mario.

    In August, Donald Trump officially announced that he would be running for president in 2016 and began campaigning. AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENA! You’ll understand this if you’ve seen the vine videos. John Cena also made it big this month in 2015. Hundreds of thousands of vines were created using his videos and announcement for the WWE. Some of them are funny and some of them are plain weird.

    The supermoon eclipse left everyone in awe in September. It was beautiful to watch and great to take pictures of. Continuing on the topic of space, water was found on Mars. This was a very exciting discovery and we’ll have to wait and see what comes next as far as findings and discoveries on Mars and in the space around us.

    In October of 2015, Drake’s hit song “Hotline Bling” made its’ debut. It was on the radio quite often and there were many parodies done of this song. ISIS crashed a Russian plane killing all 224 passengers on board near the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. A gunman killed ten including himself and injured seven at Umpqua Community College in Oregon as well.

    Sadly terrorist attacks were becoming quite the trend towards the end of the year and Paris was attacked in November. 130 people were killed and over 300 were injured. Also in November, Ronda Rousey lost her fight to Holly Holm and Fallout 4, the fourth game of the Fallout series was released. And who could forget the release of the final movie of the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay Part 2? Most people believed that Mockingjay Part 2 finished out the trilogy well, others believed that it could have been finished differently, but in my opinion the movie was amazing and the actors all did a wonderful job portraying their characters and the plot stuck pretty close to the books.

    Finally in December, the Star Wars saga continued with The Force Awakens I haven’t seen it yet but I’ve heard that the movie was very good and lived up to everyone’s expectations, so far. Not only was the new Star Wars movie big, but so was the Miss Universe pageant. The host, Steve Harvey made an honest mistake when he announced the final results, the wrong girl was crowned, and then he corrected himself as soon as he caught the mistake. After this happened, there was a lot of dispute over the actual results and Harvey’s actions and in the end Miss Philippines was crowned Miss Universe.

    I believe that 2015 was a pretty good year even with all of the attacks and losses of wonderful people. We were all able to learn new things about ourselves and the world, experience new activities and situations, and also grow as people. As far as what’s going to happen in 2016, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Do what you can to make it your own great year. Good luck getting used to writing 2016 on your papers and best wishes in the new year.

    Reflecting on 2015

  • What I’d Like to See in the New Year

    2015 is four days away! This year has gone by so quickly. People are working on New Year’s Resolutions and getting ready for the new year ahead. I have my resolutions for 2015 just like everyone else and I also have some things I’d like to see in the new year.

    There are so many wonderful and brilliant movies coming out these days and there are so many that I would like to see in 2015.

    – Mockingjay Part 2: This movie will be the last movie of The Hunger Games trilogy. The books were great and the movies have been even better so I can’t wait to see how it all ends on the big screen.

    What I'd like to See in the New Year

    Frozen 2: Frozen took the world by storm when it first debuted and there have been rumors that Frozen 2 is in the making. I liked the movie Frozen, and it would be cute to see how the story in Arendelle continues.

    What I'd like to See in the New Year

    – “The Lost Hero”: “The Lost Hero” was a book by Rick Riordan and it was a combination of Percy Jackson and his crew and a new guy named Jason and his friends. It featured Roman gods and new adventures and just like “The Lightning Thief”, “The Lost Hero” would be an awesome movie.

    What I'd like to See in the New Year

    Also, there are some world problems and beyond our planet things that I hope will be resolved or discovered in the new year.

    – The Ebola outbreak has been devastating and not only for the victims and their families but for the entire planet. I hope that a cure will be discovered, the disease will be eradicated, and the world can begin to heal.

    What I'd like to See in the New Year

    – I would love to see all children happy and healthy throughout the world. All children deserve a family, love, care, knowledge, and support. I would hope that child poverty would also become less of a problem.

    What I'd like to See in the New Year

    – If another planet like Earth was found, that would be one of the highlights of 2015. I’ve always been fascinated with extraterrestrial life and the possibility of a planet like Earth somewhere out there.

    What I'd like to See in the New Year

    I am an intermediate-becoming advanced piano player and there is a long list of songs I would love to learn to play and perform.

    – “Let it Go” from Frozen: This song is a very pretty song and I have been given the notes for “Let it Go” and I would like to have it mastered in the new year.

    What I'd like to See in the New Year

     

    – “Someone Like You” by Adele: The instrumentals for this song are really interesting and it seems like a fun challenge.

    What I'd like to See in the New Year

    – Classical Sheet Music: There are a large number of wonderful songs written by the masters of the piano like Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven and learning to play their songs.

    What I'd Like to See in the New Year
    Sports are a huge part of my life and since I missed half of the year for an injury, I would like to accomplish these things for the upcoming year.

    – For tennis, I would like to be ranked in the top 20’s or 30’s for the 16’s division in my state. It will be my first year in this division and I will be on the younger end but I enjoy a challenge and plan to work hard for my competitive season and high school season.

    What I'd Like to See in the New Year

    – For volleyball, I plan to work even harder than last year to get a whole lot better than I was before I was injured. I want my all-round playing skills to improve and same with my leadership skills.

    What I'd Like to See in the New Year

    – For dance, I would like to continue with my tap, jazz, and maybe ballet lessons. I hope to become more flexible and get my needle and get my middle splits and left splits back.

    What I'd Like to See in the New Year

    Academics are additionally important and I have many things I’d like to achieve for the new year.

    – Get an A in my Advanced Algebra 2 class. I was really, really close to getting an A in that class last semester and I know that by eliminating my silly mistakes and by working even harder, I can get that A.

    What I'd Like to See in the New Year

    – Always start on homework and projects the day they are assigned. I did a good job of this during the first semester, but I really want to break the habit of holding off on a map or an essay until the moment. This will make my life so much less stressful if I do everything the day it is assigned or break up the work evenly for a project.

    What I'd Like to See in the New Year

    – Have a 4.5 GPA or above at the end of the school year. As previously mentioned, I ended the first semester with a 4.5 GPA and I felt pretty good about that. I enjoy a challenge, so I hope to get my GPA even higher.

    What I'd like to See in the New Year

    Have a safe and wonderful new year! I hope you plan to do many great things in 2015. Make every day count and best wishes!

    What I'd Like to See in the New Year