The summer between school years holds plenty of opportunities. Maybe a full time job awaits and you will come out of August with a full savings account.  Others may attend some sort of a camp or take part in an internship. Yes, an internship, something that greatly stands out to college admissions offices. Supposing that this statement is directed towards the upcoming graduates, getting your foot in the door at a company of some sort before your freshman year would be a wonderful advantage. Even though some places may not offer internships until after a student’s first year of college, getting in contact with someone that has a career in a particular interested field is still just as important. When it comes to certain occupations, knowing people is everything.

This last stretch for the seniors should not be to pause and wonder what the rest of your life will be like. It should be a time to take action and prepare for your future. Take July and August to leap into any opportunities that come your way, as well as doing some digging to find out what you need to do. Answer the question, what comes next? The rest of your life.

McGeeney is a three-year writer for The Helderbarker.  She has written news, features, sports, and opinion pieces for the paper, as well as blogging extensively on her own blog, entitled We’re Just Here Pretending (http://www.werejustherepretending.com/). McGeeney plans to study Mass Communications at Maryland’s Salisbury University in the fall.

Clothes live together, they’re torn up and sewn back together, destroyed and reused, dirtied then rewashed. Sounds similar to how people live, or how others are treated, I suppose. Then again, they could easily be thoughts. Clothing that is. Feelings, emotions, and everything else that stresses us out is jumbled up in our heads, and sometimes they disperse, but not as often as we would hope they would. But when they do get released, they’re washed up by judgments or understandings, then either forgotten or spit back out in another context.

On the other end of the spectrum, we lay in bed at night going over countless flaws, mistakes, wishes, and stress scenario’s in which usually never get folded away into some storage space. But, what for? In the end, if we stress about silly mistakes and ‘could have’, ‘would have’, ‘should have’ thoughts, we may never reach happiness. There needs to be a point in time for when we take these internal debates and wring out the negativity so our minds can rest.

So, back on track, after the wrinkly clothes sit in the basket, at its final destination, we sit there without unraveling the truth, without forgiving, without forgetting, and just letting things be. Accepting a matter may, or may not even be a factor within this avoidance. Once you’re ready to flatten out the crinkles and folds, then you’re prepared to finally store them away, at least until another occurrence. It’s unfortunate for some people though, because not everyone can wait a little over a week to get their laundry done out of home…some actually experience this contemplation more often (machine owners).

I bet this will make you think a little longer after shutting the lid on your first load..

(originally posted at http://www.werejustherepretending.com/)

The first step to the process of planning a prom is choosing a location. This seems like an easy enough task, but it becomes complicated when the money factor is added in. In our class’s experience the other officers and I looked at about 6 different potential locations for prom. When it came down to it however, only a few options were truly affordable, and suitable for our available dates. After that it took a lot of talking to finally choose our location, which is Key Hall, located in Proctors Theater in Schenectady.

When junior year began the other officers and I knew that it would take a lot of fundraising to make the money necessary for prom. We realized that the more money we made the more cool things we would be able to do for prom. We also wanted to keep the ticket prices at an affordable spot, and have money left over at the end of it all to use during senior year. With this in mind, we have been strenuously fundraising throughout the year, with the help of the junior class. In the fall, we hosted a very successful middle school teen night. Gloves, ornaments, and Enjoy the City books, were also sold throughout the fall, and early winter. In winter, the grade also participated in a Yankee Candle fundraiser. Currently, our class is selling recyclable bags which should bring in a good amount of money. On March 9^th the class is also hosting a middle school dance. In the next few months we hope to do a few more small fundraisers, and maybe a McDonald’s night too. With all of these fundraisers we will have enough money for prom expenses.

Some expenses include hiring a DJ, paying for special lights at Key Hall, buying prom favors, and purchasing festive centerpieces. In addition, a photographer has to be hired by the class. The prom is going to be Phantom of the Opera themed, and it has been the goal of the officers to tie this theme into different aspects of the prom. All of the latter things have been the subject of many class officer meetings, led by Mrs. Young, the junior class advisor, who is very experienced at planning proms.

In all junior year has been very productive for the junior class. The officers look forward to prom, which is May 18^th, and are very pleased with the success that the class has had in fundraising and planning this year.

Don’t know what to get him or her? A picture frame with a photo of the two of you will be an adorable gift. Chocolate, chocolate covered strawberries, as well as flowers have been favorites for generations. A new hit are the gloves that allow you to text while you have them on. They are available at target. Remember, Valentines’ Day is about your relationship. Give them something that will make them think of you every time they look at it.

If you are in a long distance relationship, try to arrange plans to visit each other over the weekend. This way, you get some face-to-face time and when you have to go back home for school, you can have a Skype date on Valentine’s Day. They will be thinking about you and wishing they were back home with you.

Here are some don’ts for Valentine’s Day. Do not wait last minute to make plans, you will get frustrated and it will not make for a good night. Do not forget to get a card to go along with the gift. Do not say that you hate Valentine’s Day and you do not want to do anything. They may feel hurt and think that you do not care about your relationship.

Don’t have a date? Call up your best friends or hang out with your family and have a good night. Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a special day. Ladies, put in “Titanic” and keep a box of tissues and chocolate handy. Gentlemen try putting in a comedy; “Step Brothers” is a hilarious movie, no matter how many times you watch it.

I hope my advice to you was helpful. Have a great Valentine’s Day!

All throughout the movie, it seemed quite sketchy. The general setting was a mix between a “Paranormal Activity” showing and a legitimate movie script. The sad part of all of this is that “The Devil Inside” took in about $35 million on its opening weekend. Viewers were most certainly convinced by the preview but were not scared to satisfaction for the price they paid. Basically the plot just worsens as the movie rolls, while a daughter begs to priests to perform an exorcism on her mother who has been put away for twenty years for murdering three people. The ending to this movie was expected to be mysterious by the director but resulted in viewers cussing and raging at the screen. Critics describe “The Devil Inside” as taking the title of the worst movie in 2012 thus far, falling quickly on the list of frightening films.