Through my Eyes - "Punahou School"

Orleanna Price

We were in Hawaii because Nathan was asked to be a pastor, or “chaplain” as the woman on the phone said, at some rich school. Poonaho I think it was called. His appointment to see the campus was at noon, and the girls and I tagged along to visit the school.
Punahou School was amazing. Interesting spelling on the main gate, but it was Hawaii and I didn’t know too much about the culture here. It was the largest campus I have ever seen. It was about the same size as the colleges back home in Georgia! We entered through the main gate and saw the gigantic baseball field on our right. Nathan used to love baseball. He said nothing and didn’t even smile as we exited the vehicle. He kept his cold, determined stare as if he wasn’t allowed to love baseball anymore. He wasn’t allowed to love anything anymore, except his faith.
Nathan walked ahead of us, using the directions the woman on the phone gave him to the chapel. I spotted an enclosed bench area close by, and took the girls there to sit and read their books while we waited for father. The girls were going crazy. Every single building here was almost as big as their old school back home in Georgia. They were huge! The classrooms were the size of apartments with every little thing you could think of stocked inside! There were kids all over the place. The girls kept asking, “This is a school? Why aren’t they in class? Why aren’t they learning mama?”
I didn’t know, but they sure looked like they were enjoying life. I wasn’t close enough to hear anything they were saying, because we didn’t want to get too close. From a distance though, I could see that kids were playing cards in groups, talking amongst themselves, laughing and joking around, and I even saw a young couple caressing and smooching behind a wall! Imagine being intimate at school! What would their mothers say? The girls felt like strangers, when really they didn’t look too much different from the students here. A lot of them were of Asian heritage, but many white students also attended the school. There were even students with skin in between a black and a white—more of a brown. Who knows what heritage they are?
The building on our left looked like a castle with a buff and blue crown on top. The most amazing thing about the school was that it didn’t seem like a school. It wasn’t a concrete building with doors and windows and desks. It was so green and grassy with trees everywhere and birds chirping. Everyone was so happy and cheerful. School was fun here.
A light drizzle began to fall, so I led my girls back to the car. I glanced back at Punahou School once more before getting inside the vehicle, and prayed in my head that it wouldn’t be my last.

Nobody Knows

Today in choir, we began singing the song, "Nobody Knows," which is a popular tune in American culture. Whether you heard it being sung by Donkey in Shrek or on the radio, basically everybody can sing or hum the tune to this classic. So when we started singing it today, our teacher Mr. Lippert gave us a speech about how we should sing it. The lyrics for the section we sang today go as follows:

Nobody Knows
Nobody Knows
Nobody Knows
Nobody but Jesus
Nobody Knows
Nobody Knows
Glory Hallelujah

Mr. Lippert's speeches normally aren't anything all too special, but today he had our whole choir's attention and made us all think to ourselves. He told us his interpretation of the lyrics was that we are singing "nobody knows" with the thought in the back of our heads that really somebody does know. Somebody special. He told us it didn't have to be Jesus, but that everyone has that one person who helps them get through the day and that we should all think about that special someone while we sing. He told us that the person that helps get him through the day is his 7 week old son, who he is thrilled to have in his life. Our whole choir spent a minute or so thinking about our own person who ALWAYS knows how we are feeling and is always there for us. For me, it is definitely my girlfriend because she knows me very well and is always there for me. Lots of times when I am having a hard day or a tough week, thinking about her helps me through the sadness and keeps me positive and happy. Now, when I sing that song, I sing it while I think of her in the back of my mind.

David Paterson

After all the Eliot Spitzer business in New York, the new governor has been named. David Paterson is his name, and he is New York's first black governor, and also the second governor ever named to be registered as a blind man. Wow! A blind man is replacing Spitzer as the governor of New York? Talk about some serious changes. Also, I read about how Paterson admitted to having multiple affairs with women while being married to his wife, including a state employee! Now that he's governor, who's to say he and his employee won't start that up again? His wife also admitted cheating on her husband. They claim to have worked it out and are now a family, but I am finding that hard to believe. At the least, why should such an important position and a family that is supposed to be a model family for New York and the rest of the country be filled by people like that? If they can't stay faithful to each other, how are we, the people, supposed to trust him not to betray us? I oppose our government because of all the corruption that is happening inside and because those people only care about themselves! We need to be a lot more careful when choosing our leaders, and I only hope David Paterson and whoever is elected President this year do a much better job in keeping America from the downfall we appear to be heading for.

Eliot Spitzer

The last month in New York City has been quite eventful in terms of the governor position. It all started when now ex-governor of New York Elliot Spitzer was publicly accused of being involved in a prostitution ring. It turns out he was indeed having sexual affairs with a "girl gone wild" and has officially admitted it. Now, his name is disgraced across the world, and he is obviously out of office. This story is amazing to me, because I do not understand how anyone can cheat on their wives when they have children and a family at home. Yet, the people-elected governor in the most famous city of our proud country is one of those men? To me, the most amazing part about it though is not that he had an affair, but how the Bush Administration might have been involved and also because of his ruthless actions towards bad behavior in the past when he was secretly doing the same thing. See this site for more information on the government's possible hand in Spitzer's impeachment:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8376

It basically says that the timing of Spitzer's downfall couldn't have been better for the Bush Administration, because Spitzer was becoming more public in his blaming of the Bush Administration for our country's falling economic status and financial disaster. He was attacking Bush and the Republicans. No wonder the FBI "accidentally leaked" the wiretap records showing Spitzer's phone call with the prositute and the $4, 300 he paid to have her for an hour of fun.

Job Choices

Just as I was thinking about colleges last night, I have been thinking about possible majors and what I want to do for a living after college. Here is a tentative list I came up with:

Teacher/Coach (Punahou)
Computer Technician
Web Designer
Writer
Hotel Manager (Like my dad)
Run my own business or maybe something with my brothers
Sports Doctor/Trainer


I want to do something that I love. I refuse to grow up and get stuck in a job that I am unhappy with. I will choose passion over money, but I of course want to make enough money to easily take care of myself and a family one day. I want to make a difference in people's lives. I want to help. I want to fight for what I believe is right and spread my beliefs. I don't know exactly what I want to be when I grow up yet, nor do I plan on choosing anytime soon, but this short, tentative list is a good start.

Top College Choices

I've been thinking a lot lately about colleges because I have been receiving some letters from colleges in the mail and thru my email. Also, I have senior friends who have recently been getting accepted or rejected from colleges, and its a very crucial process for teenagers. I am taking the time now to jot down my top choices of colleges that I plan on applying to. Some of them are shaky, and some of them are unrealistic and a lot depends on how far I progress in basketball, volleyball, and in the classroom. Here is my temporary list w/some reasoning:

Stanford University - Always has been my first choice; I love the area
UCLA - Super nice campus; west coast; incredible sports program (not to play in but to go to the games)
UC Santa Barbara - super nice; west coast; volleyball?
Pepperdine - super nice; close to the beach; west coast; volleyball?
Boston College - east coast; good school; connections in boston with my brother
Cornell - hotel school
U Penn - great school
Brown - ivy league
USC - nice, west coast

March Madness

Once again, it is March, and that can only mean one thing to basketball lovers in America: March Madness. March Madness is the nickname given to the NCAA Basketball Tournament that features a field of 65 college teams and where some of the greatest moments in basketball history occur every year. March Madness is where Cinderella stories and dreams come true while defeat and heartbreak are left in the hearts of many young players who either do not make the tournament or suffer losses in the tourney. It is indeed madness, because anything can happen at any given moment. No lead is safe and no point differential is ever enough in a game, because magic is in the air and everyone has basketball fever. The tournament also attracts millions of fantasy players nationally and worldwide, all of whom are filling out their new brackets and competing for money, fame, or props across the country. My friends and I are participating in a fantasy league of our own this year, and my personal bracket is just above this. I have Tennessee winning the championship over UCLA, and I have quite a few upsets predicted! Partially because it is really fun to guess upsets and also because it is more exciting to cheer for the underdogs! I love March Madness and can't wait for the tournament to start on Wednesday! Go Tennessee!