This is I learned Today- Oct 30, 2012

Today I read the article "Bethany Meets Hundreds Of Fans And Teaches Orphan Children To Surf In Bali"Full story click here It was about how Bethany and Rip Curl School of Surf and Soul Surf Project Bali were giving surf lessons to under privileged kids ages ranging 8 to13. The also gave a donation of basic food supplies and surf boards for future lessons. It was cool to see someone giving back to a community that was in so much need. Its one thing to just help with the essentials and it is another to go above and beyond the norm. Bringing joy to kids is sometimes more important than the things people think of when they think of helping people its about showing these kids what love really is and that they are special. I already looked up to Bethany but now I do even more I can only hope that someday I can make that kind of impact on our world.

The oldest people I knew

I have a pretty big family and most of them are old. So the oldest person I had ever known was my great grandma. She lived until she was about 94 but was still living on her own, she took care of her house, yard, and anything else she might have needed in normal day to day life. She was an amazing women she had practically raised my dad and always had the best stories about him. I remember going to her house and she always giving us cookies and other treats I could never wait to go to her house. Her house was pink and had all different colors of carpet in every color ranging from green to brown to red and to pink. It was like stepping back in time to the 70s when we went there. She always had toys for us to play with which at the time was all I cared about doing. My family just loved her she was funny and was kind and always offering us sweets but not in the annoying way some other grandparents do.She passed about 4 years ago but she will be graetly missed in our family; I often think of her during the day remembering the little things that made her so special. I hope that when I get old and have grandkids and great grandkids that I get to have the same kind of effect on their lives that she had on me.
I had another grat grandma but I didnt know her quite as well. She had altimeters and lived for away from us. She seemed older than my other great grandma becuase she was not doing as well. She was also a funny lady, she didn't like my grandma that much becuase she thought she stole her son away from her. You could tell by her conduct that she felt that way, the way she would greet her and say good by were dead give aways. We would go to her house and she had a lot of little glass figurines and she would let us bring one home each trip I still have all of mine and it is nice to have something to remember her by like that. She passed around the same time my other great grandma did and although I dont rember her that well I will always miss her too.
There is alot you can learn from those who come before you. They teach you what is truly important and what things we just shouldnt worry about. I wish I could still talk to them today and hear all there storys again, the things they loved and hated and what things they wish they would have not loved or hated.

Daughter Of Invention

The Daughter Of Invention is a story about a girl who lives in America but has South American roots. You could say her mom has some crazy ideas and likes to invent new ways of doing things and her dad is a more traditional guy. I thought the theme of this story was that know matter what obstacles you may face your family will be there for you to help you out. This message applies to my life too, my family is always there for me and will help me out in any situation.

My Dad

My Dad

    I like to run, sing, play the guitar, cycling, and so much more; I am 16 years old and I go to Tualatin High School, I am Brianna Tollenaar. In life it is important to learn about the past and the people in it, opinions, facts, and stories about the past can help us learn and grow in new ways that help us to see our world we live in today a little differently. I grew up in a loving, and loud family that was always full of opinions this made any family gathering interesting. I chose to interview my dad because I am extremely close to him and I have always looked up to him, he is the best dad I could ever hope for.

    Drake Tollenaar was born on April 13 1969 in Springfield Or. My dad grew up in the same town and lived in the same house almost his whole life. All the schools he went to besides collage of course were in the same town he went to Thurston schools K-12. He eventually got a full ride scholership to the U of O and then went to Western States University and got his Doctorate. When he was younger he wanted to either be a doctor or a electrician. He is now a Chiropractor and has his own practice.

     My dad had to brothers one older and one younger, making life always interseting. He played a ton of sports when he was young, baseball, football,and soccer. In high school he was in advanced classes and played sports, was in jazz band and chior. My dad told me that his favorite high school memory was a chior trip to Disney Land and this year I get to go to Disney World for a chior trip. While in High School my dad was a part of Young Life he got to go on retreats and he said that those are the moments he would like to relive. His Young Life leader was Ron Sauer and they still get together and hang out. Ron was a big part of my dads life and that is who he said he looks up to. 

      There are so many differences between now and when my dad was my age but there is also some similarities. some of the differences was the technology they only talked on the phone and doing that on a home phone. The economy was still tough mills were shutting down where my dad lived. Things that were popular were cassettes, MTV, Atari, and designer jeans. I thought this was funny because out of all those things MTV and designer jeans were still popular; you would think that everything then would be out now. There are also things that you don't see today that you would have seen back then he said the biggest thing was freedom without worry of danger, kids would roam around for fun. The big political differences was it was not as distinct as they are now it was more middle ground.

       Over all my dad is a very important part of my life. He is always there for me and is always willing to give me advice things like its not all about you and no matter what happens we will always be there for you. I enjoyed this essay because I got to spend time with my dad just interviewing him.

       
    

My First Ski Trip

My family is very big into being active and healthy, so you can probably guess that means we have something to do no matter the season. We are more of a summer family and it can sometimes be difficult to find fun active things to do in the winter. I have never been good at any winter sports involving snow, weather it would be snow boarding, ice skating, or the worst skying. Before this trip to Mt. Bachelor I had never skied I had always snow boarded but I had never been any good at it. Lets just say I ended up on the ground more than I was standing. The rest of my family always skied and were fairly good at it so I decided I was give it a shot. To every ones surprise I was good at it too I practiced on the bunny hill for about an hour and by then my sister was getting frustrated and wanted to go to a bigger hill. I felt bad for holding back my family so I said that I could do it and I thought that I would be fine.
We got on the lift and it took forever to get to the top of were we where going and that was fine with me thinking "The longer to get to the top the more time to prepare myself. We get to the top and I start to go down but I go to fast and hit a snow bank. That was when I realized I was not ready for this hill but I still had to get down it. To my advantage a ski patrol guy had seen me and he was going to help me get down the easy way. My mom stayed with me too and so we all three made our way down a different rout. We go to one hill and I started to go to fast but I didn't know how to slow down or stop. I saw some ski flags that I thought meant there was a cliff and so I just bailed. But then the next problem came I bounced up when I hit the ground and was still flying. Then I hit a tree and blacked out. When I opened my eyes I was in a snowy hole next to a tree and they told me that people were on their way to get me.
Once they got their to save me they put me on a sled because they thought I may have hurt my back or broken bones and pulled me down the hill attached to a snow mobile. Then I was sent away in an ambulance to the hospital were they did X-rays. To every ones surprise I had no broken bones just a bruise and some muscle tares. Later we found out they had given me speed skis and thats why I was going so fast. Lets just say I have never gone skying sense and never will.

Top 10 Overrated Summer Activitys

1. Swimming at a public pool (Just awkward if your older)
2. Outdoor malls (your inside most of the time)
3. Biking ( If your like me you get hit by cars or just fall off)
4. Fishing ( I'd rather just get a tan)
5. Going on a hike ( its in the shade but I guess its still enjoyable)
6. Garage Sales ( How many hours do you want to spend just looking for one)
7. Yard Work ( Its just not that fun)
8. Camping ( Its still cold in the mourning and at night; who wants to smell like smoke)
9. Oregon Coast ( Its colder there than it is at home)
10. Floating a river ( The water is freezing and you cant paddle)

What I learned today- Sept. 27 2012

The article I read was "Teenagers Say Parents Text And Drive" http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/27/teenagers-say-parents-text-and-drive/?partner=rss&emc=rss By Kj Dell'Antonia. I learned that 59% of teenagers said their parents text and drive. This is teaching kids when they grow up that it is ok to text and drive causing 78% of teens to report doing it themselves. The part of this article I did not agree with was the statistics I have never seen my parents text and drive nor have I ever or will ever text and drive. I know how dangerous it is not only for me but for the others driving around me. What is important is for parents to understand that the things they do effect us because it is teaching us whether something is write or wrong. Knowing how dangerous it is made me think and hope that my parents never text and drive when I'm not in the car. People should not only read this article but show it to their parents it is important to form good habits for a family and parents need to set a good example for their kids.