If you want to learn to fly, learn to ski. For me, nothing could possibly be more fun than that sensation; flying down a mountain with snow everywhere, the wind in my hair and the powder beneath my skis. I’ve been skiing for 13 years and I’m never going to get tired of it.

My dad is my ski instructor and my ski buddy – we go up to Crystal Mountain together every weekend during ski season. He taught me to ski when I was 4 years old; I remember making big pizza wedges with my skis to slow down and a couple embarrassing crashes into lift poles. But that started a passion for the mountains that’s going to last me forever. Now I’m seventeen, the pizza wedges are gone, and I’m a double-black diamond backcountry powder skier. For me, every winter is about chasing down the untracked snow.

There are a lot of reasons why skiing is my favorite sport – the only sport I like, actually. For one thing, it’s not a team sport – I can enjoy it just as much solo as I can with other people. For another, it’s fast. Flying down the hill is the most amazing feeling in the world. I think my favorite thing about it is how rewarding it is, though; you have to work for it, but the end it’s totally worth it. To ski the best powder snow, it takes the longest climb. The snow on The Silver King at Crystal Mountain is the best, deepest, and most fluffy snow on the mountain, but it’s an hour’s hike. Nevertheless, those ten minutes on that hill makes the hike absolutely worth it.

This is true physically and psychologically as well: no one starts out skiing the hard stuff- I was terrified of powder until I was 15. It takes practice to get over the fear and experience the run. Powder runs are scary because they are very, very steep, but once you push off and start going, the sensation of flying is absolutely incredible. A lot of people in my generation prefer snowboarding to skiing; I respect your opinion and consider you all my friends in snow, since we all share the mountain, but I personally believe that skiing is better than snowboarding. When you ski, you have poles; the poles help you balance, steer, and speed up. I can go way faster than any of my snowboarding friends – because of my awesome skis and the fact that I can push with my arms as well.

Skiing, you can use your edges to cut into the hill to slow down or stop. Snowboarders skid to a stop, scraping all the snow away, and then sit down. Not only does that create moguls but it’s also really, really cold. It’s also much harder to balance on snowboards- skiing is more fun because you can use both your feet, and you retain much more control. Don’t worry, I’m not just saying this; I’ve done both and I am firmly in the skiing camp.

Not just the skiing camp: the POWDER skiing camp. I don’t think there’s anything more fun than skiing across feet of freshly fallen powder; the sensation is completely indescribably amazing. Turning, spraying powder snow everywhere – it doesn’t get any better. Skiing on the groomed or in the mogul fields just can’t compare.

So, as a cradle skier, I can honestly say that in my opinion, skiing – especially powder skiing – is simply the best sport ever. I’ll see you on the mountain!

 

With the spending habits of our government, Gregoire has proposed budget cuts that have me shaking my head.

Gregoire is considering cutting funding for the state’s health care program for the poor, school districts, the length of supervision for all convicts, and higher education (ahem, us). She tried to show her sympathy by saying, “I don’t want anyone to think that I like these options,” and later went on to point fingers by claiming, “This is what Wall Street has done to our state, to our country.”

Higher education cuts are what are what gets me going the most. Tuition keeps going up, and scholarships are life savers. However, it has been proposed to completely cut the State Need Grant financial aid for students, saving the government about $303 million but affecting about 70,000 students.

This is how the system works: we are born into a social class. The lower we are income-wise, the more difficult it is for us to work our way up. We need a college education in order to get a good job. We can’t get to college if we don’t have money. We need a good job to pay for college. Now we’re back to the beginning of this vicious cycle.

By removing financial aid grants to students, it could be easy to simply just give up on attending school. The Washington Student Association proposed an alternative of reducing the eligibility or the maximum award amount. I would so much rather the grants go out in moderation rather than eliminating it all together so that the students who really need it can get the financial aid to attend college.

But that’s not all! Another part of the proposed budget cut is to reduce support to colleges and universities by 20 percent saving $222 million. Gregoire prefers reducing support by only 15 percent, which would save the government $166 million. It’s a better alternative, but wow, this is really going to negatively affect us at Bellevue College.

Though, if we look at what other great things tax payers’ dollars are going towards, it is simply appalling. According to King 5, since 2007, 350 state employees have been paid to simply stay at home during their shift and have phone access in the event their services are needed. They get their paycheck, vacation, sick days, and full benefits! This is known as home assignment because they were accused of wrongdoing on the job.

One state employee was paid for three years an annual salary of $36,500 to stay at home. Another state employee was on home assignment and was being paid $75,000 a year for about two years. What did they do with their time? One of the employees said in an interview that a day of work would consist of staying home playing FarmVille and making coffee. Fortunately, she was finally terminated from her position.

Problems like these accumulate into the need for budget cuts. If the government could have been more frugal with spending in the beginning, then perhaps such drastic cuts would not have to be made.

At least Gregoire got something right. She’s cutting back on cell phones for government employees. Too bad this couldn’t have been figured out sooner.

We need get rid of the little things. They add up.

Whenever I’m feeling down and I need a good laugh, I go watch a horror movie. I get that that may seem a little counter-intuitive – or make me seem psychopathic. I promise I’m not crazy; really, it makes sense.

Horror movies aren’t all that scary at all, if you think about it. Sure, people may die gruesome and horrible deaths, or they may be possessed by some sort of otherworldly creature, but the only reason any of that stuff happens is because the characters are really, really stupid.

Think about it: There’s one classic scene that pops up in almost every horror movie. In this scene, the girl hears a noise, walks into a dark room without turning on the lights, says “Hello?” and is murdered.

What on earth is she thinking? It’s so unrealistic! Anyone in that situation would at least turn on the lights. Producers may think that it’s more scary in the dark, but honestly, that just ruins it for me. That character was only killed because of her own stupidity. And this happens way too often.

Take the movie “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” for example.  The girl, Sally, repeatedly hears weird noises in the basement and walks down the stairs in the middle of the night with no light. Then the little monsters try to kill her. Sally has an excuse, being a little kid, but a grown man does the same thing and gets stabbed to death with scissors and drills. Predictable much?

That’s another funny thing about horror movies – even if I haven’t seen the movie before, it’s still incredibly easy to guess what’s going to happen next. So many horror movies follow almost exactly the same pattern – a family moves into a haunted house with a bad history, and they get haunted by the ghosts of its past. Same old, same old. It makes me laugh how easily it is to predict what’s going to happen.

Even when they don’t follow that stereotypical plotline, like the movie “The Thing,” predicting them is still easy. Here’s an easy guide to predicting a horror movie:

1. The main character is going to be the only one to see or believe in the monsters, demons, or other antagonists.

2. All the other characters will struggle believing in the monster, and some very dramatic event – usually a murder – will bring them around, but usually too late to stop it.

3. Many more people will die, usually because they go wandering around in the dark alone.

4. The main character will devise a way to stop the monster, or bring into play someone who can help.

5. Mostly everyone dies in the end, and the survivors live on with a new appreciation and understanding of evil. If only a guy and girl survive, their experience bonds them and they get married.

So, when you’re watching a horror movie and you know pretty much what’s going to happen, the dramatic, suspenseful build-up is actually pretty funny to watch.

Fortune and fame isn’t a priority for Phoenix Jones as he patrols the streets of Seattle. If anything, this masked vigilante is only trying to help and protect citizens.

Utilizing his electric baton and pepper spray, he guards the streets of Seattle, stopping fights and robberies. It was even reported that he prevented an intoxicated man from driving. I mean, wow. This guy seems all right to me, except the SPD has a different opinion.

Charged with four counts of assault on October 9, 2011, Jones was arrested by the SPD. It was reported by the police that Jones assaulted a group of night clubbers walking out of a local club with pepper spray. Luckily for Jones, a journalist and cameraman caught what really happened on tape

Kudos to anyone who carries a video camera, even more so to the people who follow around masked real-life superheroes. The video tells a different story from the SPD.

The video, as recorded by Ryan McNamee, shows a street fight in progress by two groups of clubbers. Within seconds of seeing the confrontation Phoenix Jones sprints towards the scene, hell bent on breaking up the fight.

However things don’t go as planned. The fight stops, but one participant is hit by a runaway car, while the other group begins to assault and batter Jones himself.  The whole ordeal lasts 25 minutes!

Even though the incident was caught on tape and Jones made the phone call, the police still placed him under arrest. So to clarify, the guy breaking up the fight, preventing people from getting hurt and calling the police, ends up going to jail.

Phoenix Jones, I’m sorry, so sorry you have to be the guy who takes the blame. As fictional Police Commissioner Gordon would say, “He’s the hero [Seattle] needs right now. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.”

Officers of the law, why did you arrest the guy who was only trying to help people? It took almost 30 minutes for you guys to respond to a street fight. That can’t be hard to miss.

Look at the facts; it took one guy, on foot, to break up a fight. Half an hour later, cops with cars show up to do their job and arrest the wrong suspect. It seems weird that I feel safer walking in a city with a masked crazy guy then without him.

I say we need him, even if he’s a crazy guy dressed up as a super hero. He helps people, and to see this kind of humanity is rare. He’s risking his life almost every night just to be a hero.

Charged but not convicted, Jones hasn’t made any comment since his arrest and is scheduled to arrive in court in the near future. Did Batman ever get into this much trouble? (Probably.)

Even if you don’t like the guy, even if you think he’s not doing a good job, you have to admit, he’s doing something. So here’s to you Phoenix Jones, stay strong, stay vigilant, and stay brave.

 

I am not a fashionable person and it’s served me just fine.

Even though I work on The Jibsheet and this is the fashion issue, I still can’t bring myself to care about fashion. To me, fashion seems ludicrous, pointless, time consuming, expensive, and a thousand other unfavorable adjectives.

I have an older sister who is the soul of fashion incarnate. She buys all the latest trends, wears them for a few weeks, and then boom! The trend is over, and she’s left with tons of clothes she doesn’t wear any more and no money.

For some reason this never really bothered her, but I thought it was a little funny, seen from a little sister’s perspective. It just made me laugh, how silly it all was. It was one of the first things I didn’t understand about fashion it was so expensive! I couldn’t still can’t comprehend why anyone would spend so much money just to look “cool”.

And the fashion brands that are “cool” aren’t the kind of things you can pick up at Goodwill or Target. They start as an expensive brand, and the knockoffs will raise the price because they know people will pay.

Well, most people will pay, but I won’t. I don’t see the point in paying more for a nonfunctional piece of clothing because it’s ‘cool’.

Speaking of nonfunctionality, that’s another silly common factor in fashionable clothing it’s ridiculously unseasonal. I have stylish friends who wear their flats in winter and their Ugg boots in August. To me that just seems crazy. When I asked my sister why she would wear a tee shirt and light jacket when it was snowing, she said, “fashion over comfort!”

Fashion over comfort. Ha! I say, comfort over fashion. I’ll wear my hoodies in winter and my graphic tee shirts in summer, thank you very much.

My list of reasons for disliking the concept of fashion goes on for a while. For one thing, I’m a creative person; I don’t like being told what’s cool. I’ve often been labeled as having a “weird” style because I like flowy shirts and skirts over jeans, weather permitting. I don’t like being labeled as “weird” just because it’s out of the social norm.

I think that people who are obsessed with being fashionable will lose touch with their own fashion. Everyone has their own unique style, but almost no one these days will express it. The reason is simple: We’re told what’s cool, and not too many people are going to go against it. They want to feel cool, and fashion does that.

Being obsessed with what’s trendy and not trendy also promotes self-centeredness and materialism. I think that the emphasis should be on being a good person rather than looking cool. The more fashionable stuff a person has, the more fashionable stuff they want, and sooner or later they become materialists. Wanting material goods is a sure path to self-centeredness. Who is being helped by you being fashionable, besides you?

As much as I’m not a fan of it, I think fashion is completely inevitable – no matter where you are, trends and materialism are always a part of life. I just wish it wasn’t so prevalent in our culture. I check out the news on Yahoo, and half of it is fashion related. People care about it too much; it makes the real news seem less important. It’s not just Yahoo, either. I don’t read the fashion or celebrity magazines, but I see them everywhere. I feel like there’s no escape.

Fashion isn’t just clothes, either. Fashion seems to mandate everything, if you think about it. Notice how all the in-style girls are super thin? Well, I think that’s lousy. Trying to be fashionable shouldn’t lead people to an unhealthy living style.

Natalie Portman starved herself to look great in Black Swan; Kate Middelton starved herself for six weeks before her wedding. When people see celebrities like them doing stuff like that, it automatically becomes acceptable. Well, when you think about it… how is it uncool to be a healthy weight? Think it through, now. It doesn’t make any sense at all. Not only is fashion annoying and expensive, but it’s also illogical! You shouldn’t be able to label a body type as “uncool”.

Fashion tried to mandate what kinds of clothes are acceptable, what body types are acceptable, what phones are acceptable (I was the proud owner of an old Nokia, I might add), what cars are acceptable, what hairstyles are acceptable… really, is there anything fashion doesn’t mandate?

I’m not a “Trendy Girl”. I’m a somewhat wacky geek with my own style, and you know what? I like being a wacky geek. I won’t let fashion tell me what I can eat, what I can drive, how I can do my hair, and especially how I can dress. You know what? I learned how to dress myself when I was six; I don’t need trends telling me how to do it.

Windows rolled down, the radio turned up, and a warm sunny day is exactly what makes a crappy day much better when I’m driving down the highway. But then… the idiot to my left decides to drift into my lane without even looking. Bam. I slam on my breaks, give them a honk, and they go on with their day, unaffected by the danger they put upon both of us.

Washington drivers frustrate me. They are constantly in a hurry. They prioritize the special place they need to be over the lives of themselves and others. Swerving, honking, yelling, and giving the bird to others are frequent behaviors of the considerate and gentle Seattleites.

I just love it when they neglect their blinker and swerve into lanes, crossing two at a time right in front of oncoming traffic. Who needs drivers ed when the skills become long forgotten, just like high school math class?

And the joys of parking! Oh how I adore those people who park crookedly, taking up two spots. I am even more enamored with their abilities to open their doors sloppily, denting my car.

I’m not going to coach you on your driving abilities, but I am going to remind you of some basic essentials that are often overlooked.

Tailgaiting and driving slowly. I’m categorizing these two because driving at a snail’s pace often leads to tailgating. If you are in a 35 mph zone, then driving 20 mph is simply unacceptable. You are creating a traffic hazard.

If the person in front of you is driving like your grandma, if possible, pass. If not, check to see if the driver in front of you is the victim of another slow driver. In the event that they are behind a turtle, then back off. You cannot do any good by tailgating if the car in front of you has no control over your speed.

Be polite. Flipping people off is not helpful. Use your horn sparingly. If the driver in front of you does not go after 0.5 seconds, wait just a tad longer. Just because they may be a slow reactor, a honk only creates steam. If necessary to wake them up, a light tap to the horn will do the job just fine. No fist to the horn.

Blinkers are great ways to let the people around you know if you are turning or not. Go figure! How about you make use of this feature so you don’t brake, confusing the drivers behind you, and then randomly turn. If you forget to turn on your blinker, don’t do it while you are already turning. It should be obvious that you are turning and is too late to signal ahead of time.

Just like you were told growing up, look both ways before crossing. This rule still applies behind the wheel. Sometimes people will still be in the middle of crossing the intersection, long after the light changes to red. Make sure there are no cars going through before crossing. It’s such a basic “duh” statement, but it could save your life. Always, always, always look both ways.

Apply your skills with changing lanes. Cars have extremely useful tools called mirrors. Using them besides just for checking yourself out would be an absolutely wonderful idea! And, don’t forget your blind spot. Some people love to just drive and stay right there, so make sure you’re clear before moving over.

Think about how your driving may affect others. Try to calm down and have patience. By changing just a few aggressive driving traits, you can help ease traffic and make it much less stressful for both yourself and others.

 

 

No matter who you are, going to college is the beginning of an exciting new chapter in life. But before you get too anxious, there are some things you should know about college that your high school teachers might have not prepared you for.

College life definitely has some perks that high school didn’t, but at the same time, these perks can lead to unsuccessful habits if unprepared. So, to help you avoid easy mistakes, we will break down the differences between college and high school.

In college, most of the time teachers don’t take attendance. Perk: you are not obligated to show up. You do have to be self-motivated to go to class, though. If you miss class, make sure you get the notes from a classmate, or go to your teacher during their office hour and ask them if you missed anything important.

In college, your teacher doesn’t care about you as much as your high school teachers did. This is something that many freshmen don’t quite grasp until it is already too late. Because you’re now a college student, you are given higher expectations. You are expected to show up to class on time and turn in your assignments on time, which means there is no running to your teacher at the end of the quarter begging to make up assignments to get a passing grade. Trust me, this will never work.

College offers many different types of classes, so it’s easy to find courses you’re interested in. The downside? This can lead to one taking a bunch of random classes that don’t actually count towards a degree. The way you can prevent this? Go to your advisor and ask for a Degree Audit form and Educational Planning Worksheet, which maps out all the classes you can take that go towards the degree or career you are thinking of pursuing. My suggestion is to use the 2011-2012 course catalogues and look up all the classes that sound interesting ahead of time. That way the rest of your year will be stress-free when it’s time to sign up for classes at the new quarter.

Also in college, you are able to add and drop classes. A benefit of this is that if you are unsure about a class or if you think you won’t have enough time for it, you are able to test it out for a couple days and, if needed, drop the class. But before doing so, make sure you have a back-up class so that you don’t lose any credits. And do it quickly, so that the school can refund your tuition.

The course load in college is a lot heavier than in high school. Like some teachers will remind you, for every hour you are in class, you should spend two hours outside of class studying. Most of the time this is true. But before you freak out, remember that you have plenty of free time to get your work done.

Another suggestion that might make your life easier is to take an interdisciplinary class which combines different courses into one ten credit or more class. For example, I took the Philosophy of Love, which gave me a philosophy credit as well as an English 101 credit.

College also allows you to be more independent so you can plan classes around your own schedule instead of the other way. You only need 12 credits to be a full-time student, which usually equals about three classes. This is one of the great things about college because you are able to have other interests and hobbies outside of school that won’t get in the way.

Although it may seem that high school has some perks that college doesn’t (like your parents paying for lunch), college is, for the most part, a wonderful experience that will really push you socially and mentally, and, in the end, make you a better person.

 

 

Bellevue College versus high school? Not even a competition. There’s no way any high school could come close to competing with everything this college has going for it.

 

As a Running Start student, I have an excellent opportunity to compare and contrast my experiences at high school and college – there’s been a lot more contrasting than comparing. Doing both high school and BC at the same time has given me an excellent appreciation of exactly how much BC has to offer.

I think the greatest difference between high school and college is the quality and specificity of the classes. The college offers an amazingly wide variety of subjects, especially compared to the small private high school I’m attending. Here at BC, I can explore and expand my interests by taking college courses in those subjects. At the high school, I’m much more confined to set subjects; there’s almost no variety.

Of course, the classes here wouldn’t be amazing without amazing teachers. So far I haven’t had a single teacher I’ve disliked. My teachers have been incredibly inspirational; they’ve all carried such a passion for their subject. I’ve learned from personal experience how one amazing teacher can make me love a subject I previously thought boring or uninteresting- just being at BC has expanded my interests exponentially. Don’t get me wrong – I love my high school teachers very much, but with all the experience and high-level education the BC instructors have, there is no competition.

I go to a very small private school; there isn’t enough money to offer great opportunities. They even had to shut down the paper when I was the only one interested in writing it. Here, I’m constantly finding out that opportunities are endless. Even now I’m exploring the option of taking a trip to France later in the fall. Without BC, there’s no way I’d get to Europe.

And then, of course, there’s the Bellevue College paper. Of all my favorite things about BC, The JIbsheet is definitely in the top five. I’ve wanted to be a journalist for about five years, since I was twelve, and working The Jibsheet has been great. It’s a college paper, and so it’s way more well-done – and fun – than a high school paper. The people working on the paper are there because they want to be, not because they need a writing class, and that’s awesome.

The people I’ve met at BC are awesome, and their maturity levels are really refreshing. At my high school, the maturity levels are all over the place. Lots of the students still play football instead of going to class. It’s kind of irritating. That’s why I just love that most of the people at BC are here to learn and they’re willing to work to make that happen. Finally, I fit in!

Yet another quality that BC has and my high school lacks is diversity. There are people here from all over the world, and just talking to them about their homeland and culture can be an incredible learning experience all on its own.
The college setting is fabulous – It’s so much bigger than what I’m used to, and there are a million hidden places to study, if you know where to find them. The campus is beautiful and all the buildings are different, unlike the monotonous high school buildings. However, my favorite thing about the campus might be the coffee shops. At BC, there’s coffee in easy reach whenever I need it!

Attending high school and BC simueltaneously has given me the ability to compare the two different education styles – and BC is absolutely the clear winner.