A Future Scholar: Traquan Minor

Traquan Minor, a sophisticated young man attending Worthing High School, is, at most times, defined in one simple word amongst his peers and that is smart.

Though Minor has no specified choice of college in his mind, he is almost convinced in joining either an Ivy League or an Ivy League caliber school in his near future, accomplishing a pleasant SAT score of a 1920 that is often required by these prestigious schools, but “higher scores are in my mind” says Minor.

The future 2014 graduate also plans to either major in history or computer science while in college. History has always been a passion of Minor’s and is one of his favorite subjects; he believes being well versed in the matter will assist him in the future. Computer science, however, happens not to be his other favorite subject which is mathematics, but is an area Minor is unfamiliar with; he is most intrigued by its complexity.

On Minor’s spare time, he is involved in several extracurricular activities at school. His positions as the parliamentarian of the Worthing chapter of the Gents Community Service Organization and a member of the Marching 100 Band take majority of his leisure time though there are other activities included in his “exploits” of Worthing.

Minor would describe himself as “an avid reader”, particularly captivated by the genres historical fiction and science fiction; he enjoys the fact the two genres have the capability of educating the reader as well as entertaining them. Minor’s favorite author is Neal Stephenson because of “his uncanny ability to create different, creative environments” just as in his favorite work, Snow Crash.

Minor also acts as an unofficial “tutor” and possible mentor to the student body, he advises his fellow classmates that getting out of a hole is possible, stating it takes hard work and effort to somehow fix the mistakes. “The slacker can become the overachiever. Believe me, I’ve tried” he boasts.

This young man is of a single parent household, being raised solely by his mother, who he adores. Minor communicates regularly with his father, yet he was impressed by his mother’s ability to raise a young man out of him. There is no doubt that Minor loves his family dearly and it is sure they have birth a man with a promising future ahead of him.

Minor assisting during a community service project at Worthing High School.

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Ducky’s Advice

You: What is the best way to talk to your parents without them assuming you’re being disrespectful?

Me: We all know parents, they overreact to everything. As teenagers, the thought alone of talking to your parents is difficult so imagine talking to them and they find what you’re saying disrespectful. My tactic for talking to my mother who has to be the most strict parent in history is speaking with a child-like, playful voice. It lets her know that the conversation must not get serious and please don’t take this in a disrespectful way, I’m just trying to have a talk with you. Once I do this for awhile, I return to my original voice and finish my conversation with my mom. Works like a charm.

You: What are some main things you really need to focus on when you first get to college?

Me: The first and most important thing to really focus on is time management. You need to learn how to manage your time from school to having a social life which is also important.  Can’t spend too much time on work, it’s going to drive you crazy but you also can’t spend too much time for your social life because you won’t get any work done. Also, DEADLINES ARE IMPORTANT. Professors have low tolerance for late work and you get very little assignments so every assignment counts. Also, you should try to build a relationship with your professor. If they know you, they would be more willing to help you.

You: How do I handle a break-up?

Me: As teenagers we fall in love really fast. You start to date one week and the next week you’re “in love” and frequently they end up breaking up. Handling it is another issue. Some indulge in their sweet tooth and eat the feelings away. Some hold in all their feelings while others break down from the mere fact of seeing them. How I would handle the situation? I would confide in my closest friend and be completely honest with them, getting it out helps greatly. I would try to avoid the person as much as possible until you are sure your feelings are gone, seeing them would only remind you of the hurt. And lastly, DELETE EVERYTHING THAT  REMINDS YOU OF THEM.

You: What do I need to do to be at the top of my class?

Me: In order to be at the top of your class, maintain getting great grades. In order to get these grades, COMPLETE ALL YOUR ASSIGNMENTS your teachers give you, that’s where majority of your grade comes. Also, never get too comfortable because it will give others time and space to get ahead. You should also know your competition and their abilities but know that you won’t be the best at everything, you WILL make mistakes so learn to cope with your mistakes and move on to the next objective.

Zii Dimensional Speechless (music review)

The artist’s name is Zii Dimensional and the name of the song is speechless, the genre of this song is Hip Hop/ Rap.  Perusing through the internet looking for this artist was a tough cookie, I found  a few sites dealing with Zii Dimensional but nothing containing substantial information. I would consider him an underground artist who is trying to get their name heard in the industry. I’ve heard 3 songs by this artist and I particularly favored Speechless. The song, in my opinion, is about tough times and him asking why society is so horrible today. The beat reminded of an Eminem-style of music, that was intriguing. Now, personally I’m into melancholy music that portrays a meaning in its lyrics. If you are more of an upbeat happy person who likes their music the same way, I wouldn’t recommend listening to it. I would give this song a solid 7,it’s pretty decent, but the fact the song’s lyrics are somewhat mediocre I had to deduct a few points. It’s a nice score considering how I would rate his other songs

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The Importance of Financial Literacy: Knowledge is Power

In 1866, John Adams wrote ‘Wealth of Nations’ which taught the new world of economics and he expressed his anger toward feudalism with peasants. The government then adopted the new theory of it limiting its control over financial business. Then, there were issues financially, John Adams knew financial literacy important for success in the country.

Financial Literacy is important for decision making financially.

You will learn about the benefits of savings. Saving benefits include having money available for an unexpected day. There are drastic matters that would require money to get yourself out of the hole, you would been to use the money from your savings to avoid a financial burden. Also, saving money in a bank could also earn you more money from interest. 

You will also learn the benefits of budgeting. Budgeting benefits include not overspending your money, you are more prepared to have control over it. Overspending could cause debt in come cases, and it is difficult to get yourself out of debt. For instance, college students are known for “blowing” money, purchasing credit cards and exceeding their limit without having the money to pay the credit cards off; they now are burdened with paying those bills that have now messed your credit up making it hard to get loans. Financial education can improve my future by allowing me to know how to control my money. As I stated earlier, I could avoid any burden poor financial literacy would cause. The training and certification EverFi has help me by informing me about some financial information that I was unaware of it, therefore preparing even more for the future when I am finally on my own. It is true about the quote “Knowledge is power”.

 

Welcome Message

Hi, my name is Chaquette Blanks. I am a student journalist at Worthing High School. As a class project, my Journalism teacher, Ms. Syes, asked our class to create a blog to begin our electronic portfolio. As a teenager, you will read about many situations from an adolescent point-of-view on my blog. Don’t be harsh, I’m only a beginner. I hope you enjoy it.