Women’s heart disease is a bit more concerning than men’s.  Men’s symptoms are also different than women’s. The main complaint when discovering heart disease is pressure on the chest. Of course the symptoms vary from person to person. If you’re under 65, but have a family history of heart disease, it’s especially important to get checked for it.

Signs of heart disease are not very distinct, such as neck, shoulder, upper back, or abdominal discomfort, shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, sweating , lightheadedness or dizziness, and unusual fatigue. If you have any of these symptoms, make sure you have a healthy lifestyle, and exercise frequently. If you have any possibility of having heart disease you should see a doctor.

There are cures out there for heart disease, such as medication, but you can stop heart disease in its tracks by living a healthy lifestyle through frequent exercise, at least 30-60 minutes a day, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding bad habits such as smoking or drinking, and staying away from cholesterol, salt, and saturated fat. Live life to its fullest and raise awareness LJHS!

There are many people who would agree that they would rather go back to their childhood, when times were simply easier, stress free and we didn’t have a care in the world, or just simply because something has changed in your life today that was different from when you were a kid.

Layne Blank stated she would love nothing more than to go back to her childhood. When asked why, she said, “I don’t remember what it was like and I would like to see my parents back together again.”

On the other hand, some freshman would choose to stay the same age they are now. This could be for many reasons. One being things are just plain going well and they are enjoying life.

Mackenzie Herman is one of those people who would choose to stay the age she is now. When asked why she said, “Because life is fun and carefree. I can act like a complete fool and no one will care, and I can rely on my parents to buy and pay for my stuff.”

Some freshman would rather choose to grow up and become an adult. This could be because they know what they want to do in life and can’t wait until they get there. Or simply because they can’t wait to get out of their house, go to college, and just live on their own.

Both Nina Hawkins and Jason Volkmann decided they would rather grow up and become an adult rather than be a teen. When asked why she would rather be an adult Nina stated, “Because I want to become a famous singer and I can’t be showing up with braces…talk about embarrassing.” Jason added by saying, “Because I would be a senior in high school, and half of the time, just mess around with everyone. I would be able to drive myself anywhere.”

Everyone has their own opinion of what they would rather be. But if you ask me, I think you should look at your child hood with good memories, enjoy your life now, and look forward to your future.

In the following years, mayors began recognizing Negro History Week. In the late 60s, (thanks to many Civil Rights Movements) Negro History Week had become Black History Month at many universities. President Ford was the first president to officially recognize Black History Month in 1976. He saw it as a way to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

Carter G. Woodson

Ever since then, every American president has designated February as Black History Month and endorsed a specific theme. The theme this year pays respects to “The ways in which black women have shaped the United States and its history.”  Be thankful for Carter G. Woodson and be sure to honor your African American friends this month.

“The most common usage of spring cleaning refers to the yearly act of cleaning a house from top to bottom, which would take place in the first warm days of the year, typically in spring, hence the name. However, it has also come to be synonymous with any kind of heavy duty cleaning or organizing enterprise. A person who gets their affairs in order before an audit or inspection could be said to be doing some spring cleaning,” according to Wikepedia.

Your mother and father may beg you to help them clean the house, but we all know you have your own things to clean up: your binder, your room, your closet, your grades… the list goes on and on and it can feel overwhelming. Not to fear, the students at LJHS have tips to keeping you and your cleaning under control, and out of your parents’ chore list.

Grant Perkins said, “Clean your room with friends and do everything in a group, so you don’t become overwhelmed, and it’s more fun.” Cleaning with friends can be very successful as long as you stay on task and everyone pitches in.

Josh Crawford said, “You can always pay someone to do it so you don’t have to, but if you have to do it by yourself, then just listen to music while you clean; the time will fly if you are listening to some good tunes!” Music is always helpful when you are stressed about anything, listening to it can make cleaning more fun.

Whether you get a group of friends, hire a maid, or jam out to some music, spring cleaning can be fun as long as you find what you like best and remember to get the job done.

Manning has also earned 11 pro bowls, 4 MVPs, and fastest ever to reach 50,000 yards and 4000 completions. He also started 227 straight games, including playoffs. Right before the 2011 season, Manning signed a 5 year, 90 million dollar contract. Peyton did not play at all in 2011, and now is forced to watch his future in Indianapolis possibly go down the drain.

Peyton doesn’t mean a lot to football, he is a living legend to it. He is one of the best of all time, and right now, his future is up for grabs, to be decided by people that should be able to take away Manning’s ride into the sunset someday.  Peyton has been fairly quiet during the season, and has been on the sidelines as much as he could to help coach the team. He has made it very clear that he does not want to be anywhere else.

Peyton has given everything he had for the Colts franchise, and they wouldn’t be where they are now back then. Lucas Oil Stadium wouldn’t of been built without Manning. Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne wouldn’t have happened without Peyton Manning at the helm. They wouldn’t have won the Super Bowl without Manning. Manning has brought all of these things to Indianapolis, and for an injury that Manning had no control over, his future in Indianapolis is murky. To see his team collapse without him, Peyton stays calm in the situation, but overall has no control over what happens to him.

For Peyton to stay in Indianapolis would mean the world to everyone, because the Indianapolis meant the world to Indianapolis, and they should give Peyton what he wants, and all he wants to do is stay. There is a lot of money to be put on the table for Manning to stay, but they could draft Luck as well, and at least give Manning one more year to see what he has for Indianapolis. Since the rookie salary cap is set, they could maybe swing a Rodgers-Favre comb with Manning and Luck. In the end, Manning should stay, because he deserved it, being one of the best of all time.

February 12, 2012 was the date of the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. It was a night that brought stars from each genre of music we love, or those we don’t (country). All in one night, this premier brought the classics back, and celebrated the best of the new artists we love today, with dozens of the leading performers from around the globe.

The show had an overall good ranking. With the diverse appearances of the Beach Boys to Adele’s reappearance, the night continued to bring excitement. The Beach Boys, who were reuniting after two decades of breaking up their band, brought a feeling of nostalgia to many viewers who were reminiscing their past . The best performers stood out effortlessly, like Adele who didn’t need a huge scene or set in order to to make a perfect performance; she simply sang and did it well.  The Foo Fighters, who are a favorite of mine, performed and looked like they were enjoying it, which resulted in a Grammy win for the long time band.  Honoring bands from past decades, who paved the way for music in so many ways, added an exciting flare to the Grammy’s as well.   (I’m sure every parent watching enjoyed this as my mom decided she should “jam out” to the Beach Boys).  Musicians like Paul McCartney, Glen Cambell, and Bruce Springsteen, reminded the audience that musical talent rarely dies with age. The best part, however, was the fact that the winners deserved their award, from Bon Iver’s win for the best new artist to the Foo Fighters win for best rock song; I believed the results were accurate.

Despite the great highs of the show, certain parts took a  landslide.  Nicki Manaj’s really weird red robe like dress, for one thing, led to her mock exorcism movie  performance, which was exceptionally odd and left me really really confused.  To her, I’d like to define the thin line between weird cool and weird freaky weird.  Speaking of weird, Lady Gaga did not fail her fans, with just her appearance in her “unique” choice in clothing, she upheld her title of “Mother Monster”, but also left viewers with the question, “Is Cruella Deville Lady Gaga’s mom?”.  Another downfall of the night was Taylor Swifts “singing”. I’m starting to wonder if I’m the only one that realizes how bad she is. Not only did she not sound like a worldwide star, but she was dressed like an old lady. I was wondering if she intended to look this way, or if someone on her stylist team is going to get fired tomorrow.

Despite the ups and downs, the Grammys had an overall good review. Dillon Erwin agreed when he said, “The Grammys were good; if anything the Foo Fighters should have won more”

Even through the rough patches I was hooked and couldn’t stop watching. In the end I was waiting for more, and excited for next years winners.

“Stunning,” “breathtaking,” “user-friendly,” and “extraordinary,” are all words that “pinners” use to describe the great website. The virtual pin board keeps women and even men of all ages entertained for hours on in. Pinterest can give you ideas for what to wear, plans for a wedding, crafts to do, food to make, decorations around the house, and much more.

Pinterest began in December 2009 but didn’t take off until 2011. The website was created by a small team from Palo Alto, California. The way Pinterest works is people from all around the world create their own free account. They then pin things that they think may interest others and they repin things that interest them. Users can go through different pages including: art, design, education, gardening, history, humor, women’s/men’s apparel, pets, sports and much more to find what interest them. For people who are new to Pinterest or are just unsure of what they’re looking for, there is an “Everything” tab where people can look at pins of all different kinds of stuff.

People pin all different things and that’s what makes the website so unique and fun. Erin Kiely, a sophomore at LHS says, “I like to pin pictures of cool things I see outside and my pets.” Abbie Gentrup, also a sophomore at LHS adds in, “I don’t usually pin things but I like to look through what other people pin. It’s fun and gives me something to do.”

Most people may think that Pinterest is a website just for girls, but it’s really not. When asked about the website, Liberty High School student, Nick Palmarine, says, “I actually think it’s a pretty cool website. Some things on there are girly, but it’s fun to look through the sports page.” Brandyn Moultrie also jokingly responds, “I love Pinterest and I don’t care what people think. If you can dribble a ball and you have fun on an online pinboard than more power to you.”

Time magazine declares that it is one of the “50 Best Websites of 2011″, Time also says, “Perusing other folks’ boards, featuring everything from picturesque travel scenes to oddly beautiful bacteria, is as enjoyable as building your own.”

Next time you get bored instead of tweeting or looking at Facebook check out Pinterest. You will be amazed by what you discover.

Theodor Seuss Geisel or “Dr. Seuss” was born in 1904 on Howard Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Ted’s father, Theodor Robert, and grandfather were brew masters in the city. Ted’s mother, Henrietta Seuss Geisel, raised him and his two sisters (one dying 18 months after birth.)  Ted’s mother was known for often chanting rhymes to her children, that had been passed down from her youth. Ted credited his mother with both his ability and desire to create the rhymes, which he later became so famous for. Although the Giesel’s enjoyed a well-balanced financial life, the onset of World War I and prohibition caused many people to grow through a state of depression.  In spite of an economic downturn, the Giesels still managed to raise two children happily, despite their earlier problems.

As a teenager, Ted left Springfield to attend Dartmouth College, where he became editor-in-chief of the Jack-O-Lantern, Dartmouth’s humor magazine. To please his father, who wanted him to be a college professor, Ted went on to Oxford University in England after graduation.  Although his studies bored him, he managed to meet the love of his life, Helen Palmer, who later became his wife.

After coming back to the United States from a tour of Europe, Ted got a new job as a cartoonist for The Saturday Evening Post. In the meantime, he also created advertisement for a company called Standard Oil, for more than 15 years.

After contributing to other newspapers and such, and World War two behind him, Ted published his first book,  And to Think That I saw it on Mulberry Street! (Even in spite of 27 rejections, before being published by Vanguard Press.) After his first big break through, he published his most well-known book, The Cat in The Hat. His success and fame rose, and eventually published 44 books before his death on September 24, 1991.

Since his death, his books have been translated in more than 15 different languages,  sold more than 200 million copies, and has won multiple awards including; two Academy awards, two Emmy awards, a Peabody award and the Pulitzer Prize. His books have provided eleven children’s television specials, a Broadway musical and a feature-length motion picture. Other major motion pictures are on the way.  Dr. Seuss truly is a legend.

So whether it’s Cat in The Hat, or Horton Hears a Who, we can all learn something from Dr. Seuss, to keep believing in yourself and to follow your dreams. “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”- Dr. Seuss

Are people remembered for how well they do in the Pro Bowl? No. Making it is the only thing that matters. New rules come into play from the NFL during Pro Bowl week, making the game safer to the players. This includes no blitzes, TE at all times, no challenges, etc. Players also don’t play as hard because they could risk injury because the result of the game does not matter for their teams and themselves. They do make a little money, but not that much. It is more of a relaxation because it is in Hawaii, and everyone who plays in the game already is done with their seasons.  Football is the only sport to have an all-star game that has lower attendance than the actual regular season games.

Is this the player’s fault that the game ends up being like this? Not at all, because it has no importance whatsoever. Roger Goodell has to realize that it is the leagues fault and that changes need to be made. Not to get rid of the game, but to make it more meaningful. For the game  to improve its importance would get a result of better effort and competitiveness.. If the game is more important, then the players will play better, and the attendance should be higher.

The players are a false culprit or this horrible crime of Roger Goodell. He is the one that needs to take action instead of blaming the players for low effort. For once, the NFL needs to come up with a smart solution instead of being content with what is there, and the starts with fixing the way the Pro Bowl is run, because it is one of the most embarrassing performances of all performances.

Hayley Mason, an 8^th grader at LJH, says “Second semester is different because I get new teachers and friends as well as more homework as the work gets more advanced.”  All very true statements. In second semester there is an opportunity to change four of your classes. For many students the four core classes, History, Math, Science, and Language Arts, stay the same. Electives, such as Drama, FACS, Industrial Tech, Speech, and Art can change.

Jessica McCartney shares that for her second semester is a big deal for her as a freshman, “It’s just another semester to get used to, but of course it’s more important now because it counts for highschool.” In eighth grade it’s just a matter of getting new classes and learning new curriculum.

Many times students prefer first semester to the second because by the second semester students are tired of school and ready for summer again, as well as many times when students have their choice classes and teachers the first semester.

The transition isn’t always easy, and it might not always be fun, but second semester is the halfway mark to the end of the year. Keep it together LJHS, we’re almost there.