Many People, One Country!

America has a very diverse population! America has been diverse since New World exploration began. People have been coming from all over the world to America for better opportunities, religious freedom, freedom of speech, and so much more. We have grown so diverse that I think you could classify our "American food" as foreign countries' food. Every corner you turn you can find at least one Chinese restaurant or Mexican food place or Indian cuisine, etc, etc! Diversity has been promoted in the US through our Constitution which allows freedom of religion and equal rights for ALL people. Even America's youth are exposed to a lot of diversity through Cultural Fairs that give everyone an idea of a lot of different cultures.

The (2nd) Best Place in America!!!

After Austin, Texas (my hometown and favorite place in America), CHICAGO, Illinois comes in a close second!

I went to Chicago this summer and had a great time! Chicago has beautiful architecture and buildings such as the Sears Tower, one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world! I got to go to the top of the tower and the view of Chicago was amazing!






Here are some other great sites around Chicago!

Chicago is on the edge of Lake Michigan, a large and lovely lake that is fun to walk by and good to swim in (even if it is a bit chilly!)

Chicago is famous for their fabulous deep-dish pizza and their theaters!

Chicago has the most perfect weather, sunny with a slight breeze! There was tons of places to walk around and beautiful parks! I can't wait to go back!

I know this blog is a bit early and that is because this weekend I'm going to do a 30 Hour Famine with my Church.

I'm not going to eat for 30 hours,
so others can have water for a lifetime!

I've been raising money for an organization called Hydrate Hope who digs wells in 3rd world countries to provide clean drinking water to those who need it. To hear more about it, go and watch the video at this website!

Let's hear about your Favorite Place in the World!

Terrorism in the United States

The United States has been the subject of many terrorist attacks but most of them occurred in foreign countries. Out of the 10 major terrorist attacks against Americans from 1979 to 2001, only 3 of them occurred on US soil. Out of the other 7, four happened in the Middle East, two in Europe and one in Africa. In case you're wondering, the definition of terrorism is the unlawful use of,or threatened us of, force or violence against individuals or property for the purpose of intimidating or causing fear for political or social ends. The most destructive terrorist attack in the United States was 9/11. On September 11, 2001, four airplanes were hijacked by Arab terrorists under the direction of Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was angered when Saudi Arabia decided to take help offered by America instead of him in 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait and threatened Saudi Arabia. The two of the planes were crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, one hit the Pentagon near Washington D.C. and the last plane crashed in Pennsylvania without reaching its destination. Because of the airplane hijacking, airport security is a lot more strict, borders have been secured and laws have been passed about preventing terrorism.

Do you have terrorist attacks in your country? What are their motives? How does you country prevent terrorist attacks?

School Stories!

Anderson is the best high school that I have ever been to!!!!!!!

But I guess AHS is the only high school I've been to.

Anderson has been really cool so far with lots of different experiences and things to do!

So let's start with my daily schedule going around Anderson:
6:00- Wake Up!
7:30- Begin Marching Practice.

This is one of the AWESOME "clubs" AHS offers. Marching Band isn't exactly a club, but it is an extracurricular (after school) activity. We have band practice in the mornings and it is actually classified as a class during Zero Hour.
9:00- School starts.
I have concert band first period where we get to sit down and play! Also during the morning I take Latin and Pre-AP Biology. One cool thing about AHS is all of the languages it offers. At Anderson you can take Spanish, French, German, Latin and even Chinese! Also for most of these classes there is also a club you can join (ex: Spanish club, German Club, etc.) All the clubs meet after school and sound like a lot of fun.
11:45- Lunch!
Lunch is always tons of fun because there are plenty of places to eat it. The school has a lot of outdoor courtyards, a cool (literally) cafeteria and if you are a senior, you can eat off campus! Lunch is a good time to talk with friends and enjoy good food!

12:40- Back to Class...
In the afternoon I go to Pre-AP English, Pre-AP World Cultures, Choir, and lastly Pre-AP Geometry. I keep saying Pre-AP... that is just talking about the different levels of classes. There is regulars and Pre-AP and they are just classes for different learning levels of students. Once you are junior you can take AP classes which are for college credit!

4:15- The Bell Rings!!!

Now that was a TYPICAL school day. Anderson also has several other bell schedule for days when we have pep rallies (Fun events where we get everyone excited for a sporting event), advisory (A 30 minute class that isn't for a grade), and late state (When we get to come to school at 10:15!!!! because of teacher meetings!). I also didn't mention any of the cool sports you can take like football, volleyball, cross country, basketball, and many more. Anderson has been a fantastic school so far and I have barely scratched the surface. If you don't believe me you should come visit some time! Katie!!!

Now a more serious topic... Illegal Immigration

The United States does have a problem with illegal immigration and Texas has been one of the centers of this problem, especially in the past few decades. The greatest percent of illegal immigrants come from Mexico because of the relative location of Mexico, just south of America. Other large groups of illegal immigrants come from Latin America, Asia (specifically China and India), and a few from Europe and Canada.Illegal immigrants come over for many reasons such as better economic opportunities, possible reunification of families, problems with their home country's government, complications for entering the U.S. legally and many other push-pull factors.

The United States national government is helping Texas battle illegal immigrants by giving funds to create a large fence along the U.S.- Mexico border and increase the border patrol. These efforts seem to be paying off because recently the number of legal immigrants has surpassed the number of illegal immigrants entering the U.S.

Now it's your turn! Do YOU have illegal immigrants in your country? Who are they? Why do they come to your country? How does your country deal with them?

SUMMER!

Hey it's Katie! Summer was a blast!!! I had tons of fun and I'd like to share it with you... With Pictures this time!( and words...) OK, these pictures aren't exactly of me but really just "representations" of my AWESOME summer!

First things first, this summer my mom and sister went to Europe in June with my elementary school's exchange program. It's the coolest thing and I got to go in 4th grade... but that's not what I did this year! This year, the first week they were gone, I went to the coolest one week theatre camp where we learned the hour long production of "The Little Mermaid!" The camp accepted 5-18 year olds and had the cutest little kids! (They were seahorses! Adorable!) I had a lot of fun and after I was done putting on my play, I got to go see...

WICKED! My dad and I got to fly up to Chicago, Illinois and saw the most awesome Broadway musical ever!!! We had great seats (2nd row middle!!!) and I also got to see a lot of cool places around Chicago. I went up the Sears tower (tallest building with antenna or in use or something like that!), had deep dish pizza, went to museums/aquariums, and went to the American Girl Place! The whole trip was fabulous!

After the busy month of June, my whole family was reunited! July was a lot more laid back. I got to spend some time at the beach, watch a kickball tournament in Corpus Christi, celebrate my birthday! (July 2nd) and work at a summer camp with a bunch of younger kids! I loved it all! I also got some time just to relax!

The rest of the summer I had BAND CAMP! Woo-Hoo! I play clarinet and starting July 30th I learned how to march AND play AT THE SAME TIME! I made tons of new friends because I got to spend 9-5 (am to pm!) every weekday for 4 weeks! We didn't spend all of the time outside but we did play all day! It was a lot of fun even though sometimes tiring but it helped me meet a lot of people before school started!

So here we are now!!! I hope you had a fantastic summer too! Katie!

This is Katie again! I found a great way to teach everyone all about me! There's a WHOLE lot to know about me so if you want to read further into a letter or you have a LOT of extra time, click on the A to Z Katie link below. Ready? GO!

A to Z KATIE!!!!!

A is for Austin, Texas, my hometown!
B is for Baptized.
C is for Clarinet!
D is for Diddle.
E is for Environmental Engineer.
F is for Flip Flops!
G is for Geometry.
H is for Hermit Crabs.
I is for Intelligence.
J is for Jokes.
K is for Kickball.
L is for Little Kids.
M is for Miles of Smiles.
N is for Netflix.
O is for Orthodonics.
P is for Popular!
Q is for Questions.
R is for Relatives.
S is for Speech Pathology.
T is for Theatre!
U is for UCK!
V is for Villa.
X is for X-clamation Point!
Y is for Yellow.
Z is for ZaNy!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Now introducing... KATIE!

This is Katie again! I found a great way to teach everyone all about me! I call it...

A to Z KATIE!!!!!

A is for Austin, Texas, my hometown! I have lived in Austin all my life and have loved it! I could have also put Anderson, the high school I currently attend as a ninth grader.

B is for Baptized. I am a very strong Christian who attends CrossPointe Church, a Presbyterian church that believes in infant baptism. I'm a member of our youth group called The Gathering and I also go to Young Life.

C is for Clarinet! I'm in the Trojan Band at Anderson and I have been playing clarinet since 6th grade. I love music! I am also in the Choir and play piano!

D is for Diddle. Diddle was a little animated mouse that was popular when I went to Germany in 4th grade. It was a great experience and I still remember a little (klein) German (Deutsch).

E is for Environmental Engineer. My dad is an environmental engineer and he is also the funniest guy I know. He's the type of funny guy that you have to be paying attention or you'll miss the joke! I love my dad and I love singing with him in the car as we listen to his IPod and he still reads to me at night... sometimes. (We're reading Joshua and the Children now, but he was the one who read me all of the Chronicles of Narnia, etc.)

F is for Flip Flops! I LOVE FLIP FLOPS! Tennis shoes make my feet feel funny and all enclosed... while flip flops give you a sort of free feeling! I even wear flip flops during the winter (with toe socks so my feet don't freeze off!)

G is for Geometry. I like math so I took algebra last year. Our school district usually has freshmen taking algebra, then geometry the next year, then algebra 2, then pre-calculus. So I'm a year ahead! Geometry has been good so far... I hope I like it!

H is for Hermit Crabs. I don't actually own any hermit crabs currently, but my sister has one now and I owned one a while ago. At one time my sister (Caroline but more on her later) had at least 10 crabs but for some reason they all kept dying... We never knew why. My family also owns a shetland sheepdog. Her name is Whimsey and she looks exactly like a mini Lassie. I think of her as my sister's dog (so I don't have to do a lot, responsibility wise) because it was her idea to get a sheltie and she was the one who found the rescue center where we got her (They named her Whimsey, not us).

I is for Intelligence. One of the best ways to acquire smarts is to read, one of my favorite pass times. I could list a LOT of my favorite books but one of the sweetest books I've ever read was A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks. I read it over the summer and I definitely recommend it to girls and guys.

J is for Jokes. I love (clean) humor! Joking around and giggling with my sister is actually another way I spend my time. My sister, Caroline, age 11, is definitely one of my best friends. We have always gotten along except for when she was a baby and I was like 2 and I didn't really know she existed. (Once she was laying on a blanket and I was dancing around, then I tripped and stepped on her. Oops. At least that's what my mom says.) I love laughing with her and also I love tickling her (but that love is one-sided!)

K is for Kickball. I'm not that athletic other than kickball which occurs in the spring. It's amazing that Austin has a kickball league in the first place! I think I've played for 6 years and I still play in the outfield... but that's OK because now I have a great throwing arm because of it!

L is for Little Kids. I think little kids are the best! They are cute and for the most part very lovable! The great thing about them is all you have do is regard them as people (just remember their name and use it a lot) and they fall in love with you and draw you pictures, etc. I know because I went to a theatre camp this summer with a bunch of five-year-olds (5-18, not just me and 5 year olds!) I had so many friends by the end of that week it was ridiculous!

M is for Miles of Smiles. This is one of my favorite sayings because I'd say I'm very cheerful all the time. Some people may say I'm too cheerful but I think optimism is very important in your attitude.

N is for Netflix. My family has had Netflix (an online DVD rental service) forever and it's great! They have such a large database of movies that we've seen them all! (not literally but we have seen a lot!) I think the best thing about it is that they have tons of old movies and TV shows. Some of my favorite are Home Improvement, I Love Lucy, Get Smart (the show), Brady Brunch, Gilligan's Island... There are so many great old shows! Movies I like, to name a few, are Singing in the Rain, the Music Man (with Matthew Broderick), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat and all Disney or Pixar movies (I thought Wall-E was pure genius!).

O is for Orthodonics. I've had braces for a little over a year but I had an expander since third grade. I also got glasses in third grade and wore them all the time until I got contacts in 5th grade. My vision is now -5.5 and -6... in other words really bad! My teeth aren't crooked but I had to get braces because one of my teeth is underneath the surface sideways! You see when I was born, I had 4 teeth missing. Really, 2 of them showed up later, one is in the gums facing sideways and one is still missing... I'm going to have to have peridontal (gum) surgery sometime this fall...YIKES!

P is for Popular! OK, maybe I'm not one of the "popular" in-crowd, but I would say I have tons of friends! One of the big reasons I have lots of friends (other than being friendly) is because I'm so busy. I have band buddies, piano pals, choir chums, a lunch bunch, just plain school friends, family friends... the list goes on and on! Two significant friends in my life would be Catherine (We've been best buds since the first day of Kindergarten and hopefully it will last forever!) and Alyssa (a family friend [her parents went to school with my dad] we always have a great time together and get together with her family a lot! They also have a daughter Caroline's age).

Q is for Questions. I'm always very curious and asking the strangest questions like who invented the doorknob and things like that.

R is for Relatives. I have lots of cousins and I love it! The cool thing is all of my dad's side of the family lives here in Austin while everyone on my mom's side lives out-of-town but lives close enough we can drive. Because of this we spend every other Christmas either here in Austin or in Oklahoma (the sort of central point for everyone and my mom's hometown). And when we have Christmas here, we have Thanksgiving in Oklahoma and vice versa! I'd love to name all of my relatives but this post is already REALLY long already!

S is for Speech Pathology. My mom got her degree in speech path but now is
director (sort of principal) of Capitol School of Austin, a school for kids with learning disabilities. She is a great worker and always loves unconditionally! She is my best form of support and I can always talk to her for good advice. She is the youngest of her Oklahoman family of four and met my dad at a Young Life Camp in Colorado. I think my parents are the best and have given me a lot to make me who I am now.

T is for Theatre! The theatre is my passion!(OK, that's a bit dramatic!) I do love theatre and got the chance to be in my middle school's Theatre Production group last year. I had a pretty prominent role in both of our plays and I had a great time preforming. Like I said, I went to a theatre camp this summer and although I can give you more details on that next week, I can say I got a pretty big role in that play too! The week after that I got to go to Chicago and I saw the musical Wicked, the best play ever!!! It was amazing!!! Again, more on that next week!

U is for UCK! Even though I have used the word love a lot in this post, there are things I dislike! I don't like mushrooms, whole tomatoes and I especially dislike BANANAS! There's a whole story to why I don't like them but... I don't like to talk about it. I also don't like the noise of chalk writing on a chalkboard (it's creepy!) Something I really hate is when I work EXTREMELY hard on something for school, then when I get to school I get the same grade as someone who put very little effort into it. Other than that I'm OK with most other things.

V is for Villa. Villa is the Latin word for the Roman citizens' homes. I'm taking Latin 1 this year and already know quite a few Latin words for things around the house.

W is for Whiz Kid. I must say, I like school and I'm pretty good at it! From Summit Elementary to Murchison Middle School to now Anderson, I've been a very good student, excelling in every subject. I think a lot of it is genetic (if that is possible) because both of my parents were and are very bright!

X is for X-clamation Point! An exclamation point is probably the best symbol there is and I like using it a lot! I get excited on Wednesdays just because the next day is Thursday and then Friday and then it is the weekend! I always seem to be excited about something or asking someone if they are excited... maybe its because the world is such an exciting place!

Y is for Yellow. Yellow is my favorite color because it is so bright and cheerful... like me! My room is painted yellow and I also have a huge, fluffy, yellow, stuffed duck on my bed!

Z is for ZaNy! Finally, its Z!!! I'm Zany!!! In other words I'm crazy! I can also be quiet and another word for me would be resilient (I just learned that one. It means if I am ever sad, which is rare, I'm good at just bouncing back and becoming cheerful Katie again!) Lastly I'd like to say I'm very bubbly if you had guessed by my post!

Thanks for reading all about me and I hope you learned something new (and useful) about me!

Goodbye until Later! Katie!

Hi! It's Katie... and this is my blog!