The kids of Dexter Community Schools are spoiled.  We have so many privileges and are given so many advantages that some school can only dream about, but we don’t respect the advantages we are given.

For instance, we were given brand new Apple computers and laptops over the past few years and kids are disrespectful to them.  They pull the keys off the keyboards and have no respect for the technology.

I feel like their mentality of this is: “Well, what’s the big deal? It’s just a stupid laptop.”

I hate to sound like my parents, but there are kids in foreign countries who are fortunate just to have the opportunity to learn and have paper and pencil.

And it’s not just kids from Dexter schools who are guilty of doing this.  It’s happening all over the nation.

I constantly hear about kids dropping out of high school because they, “Don’t like school,” but they don’t quite understand how fortunate they are to even have the opportunity to learn.

I don’t understand the youth of today.  Dexter Community Schools gives its students so much, and still we destroy everything we are given.

We pull the clocks off the wall, rip off the benches in the locker room, and rip the doors off the bathroom stalls.  Dexter kids do not deserve the things or the opportunities that they are given.

In a country that is starving, one man was living large, almost like a king in his palace.  While the people in the Ukraine ar stuck in poverty and making approximately $4,000 a year, their former president Viktor Yanukovych was sentencing his people to ultimate poverty.

 He was money laundering from his own people and lying about everything.  At first the president fled to his “friends” in Russia who he initially thought would help him take back power in his country.

Hearing this on the news when I woke up one morning really ticked me off. Why would one country help put back a tyrant and just a horrible human being back in power?  This would just return a evil man back to his corrupt ways of abusing his people and getting rich off the deaths and starvation of his people.

Thankfully a few days later I heard that Russia was not going to help this tyrant.  However a few hours after hearing that, Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, decided not to help Yanukovych.

I was told by my humanities teacher that Russia had put soldiers in the Ukraine and wanted the Ukraine for itself.  This further complicates the situation, and I’m not so sure if this is a better option.

The Sochi Olympics showed the world how corrupt Russia truly is as is evident in how poorly they facilitated the games.  I’m not so sure one corrupt government replacing another corrupt government is a good idea, as history has shown.

I would hate to see the people of the Ukraine, who finally kicked out their former president/elected dictator, be taken over by the Russian president who might just do the same thing to the Ukrainian people and continue their long-existing poverty and starvation.

Boy meets girl.  Boy falls in love.  Girl avoids eye contact and all other forms of interaction.  Classic tale, right?  Boys, if you ever find yourself in a scenario like those described below … take my advice and take the hint.  Perhaps you will recognize some of these stories, and perhaps you know that they have have a happy ending.  But remember, that’s exactly what makes them only a story in the first place.

If you lived in a post-apocalyptic era in which you were both forced to fight to the death in an arena with 22 others. If, when you declared your love for her, she shoved you into a potted plant.  If in the arena she dropped a nest of deadly hornets on your camp.  If you find out your best chance of survival is to convince the nation that you’re in love.  If either of you could LITERALLY DIE AT ANY SECOND, and she STILL has reservations about kissing you,

take the hint.

If you two were both on this huge boat about a century ago.   If said-boat suddenly hit a large body of  ice and was sinking.  If the only thing between you and your freezing cold watery graves was a wooden door you had to use to stay afloat.  If she won’t scoot over just a little bit to make room for you and save your life,

take the hint.

If you were both at a ski resort on New Year’s Eve and you think you two just made this huge connection because some random guy FORCED her to sing karaoke with you.  If the clock struck midnight.  If all of these other couples are kissing.  If she would (supposedly) never see you again.  If she makes up some lame excuse about having to “go find her mom,” this is not the start of something new.

Take the hint.

If you met her at a ball.  If you had been dancing all night.  If you think that you’re making this big connection.  If suddenly she said she had to go but didn’t really give you a clear reason why.  If when you tried to follow her, she was in so much of a hurry her (very pricey) glass shoe fell off.  If to get away from you she didn’t even stop to grab her (but seriously even though shoes were 20 percent off she still paid way too much, but it was just like they were made for her, you know?) glass shoe.  Before you even consider scouring the entire kingdom for her,

take the hint.

If you had to scale a Ferris wheel to convince her to go out with you in the first place.  If she and her family moved away 364 days ago.  If you’ve been writing her a letter a day ever since without so much as a “k” or “:)” response,

take the hint.

Boys, no means no.  Girls, you’re welcome.  Now hopefully you won’t have 10 unread messages and 16 pending Snapchats when you check your phone. Hopefully you will be able to walk down the street without constantly checking over your shoulder and hopefully there will be no more pebbles hitting your window in the dead of night.

If you are like me and you hate snow and cold weather, then my advice to you is get the heck out of Michigan.  It’s really cold in this state and not pleasant at all.  However if you can’t migrate out of this freezing cold, then here are some tips to beat it.

First, when you wake up in the morning, make yourself some hot chocolate before you depart.  Hot chocolate not only tastes delicious, but it will also keep your hands warm.

I would also suggest starting your car five to 10 minutes early and blast the heat, so when it is time to leave, you can at least be a little warm.

And when the weather is below zero and it’s almost too cold to go outside, I suggest wearing two pairs of gloves and socks. For me at least, the parts on my body that get the coldest are always my hands and feet.  So wearing two pairs of gloves and socks only further insures your feeling of ultimate warmth.

I also suggest buying a surplus of hand warmers in the fall, so every morning you can just heat one up and you’re set for the whole day.

If you follow all of my tips to stay warm for the treaturous winter, I assure you, you will be in the clear in your quest for escaping the cold.

It’s Valentine’s Day. The loveiest doveiest day of the year. If you’re like the old me, this is probably a terrible reminder of the loneliness and rejection that constantly haunts you.

But the new, improved and current me loves this time of year.

For me, I like to keep it interesting so I use all kinds of different methods to reel in the big fish. Since I am such a nice guy, I will share a short work of my genius. Here is my newest bait that is sure to be a big catch:

Roses are red, lilies are yellow

If you give me a chance, I’ll prove I’m a fine fellow.

My game so good they call me Carmelo,

All I have to do is start with a hello.

You may think I’m just a friend,

But I can no longer just pretend.

I want to be with you to the end,

Even if I have to spend, spend, spend.

I wish you could understand how much I care,

Continuing to just stare is too hard to bare.

Can I please just touch your hair and treat you fair?

I really think we’d make a great pair.

I’ll put you under my spell.

Trust me, I don’t kiss and tell.

Just ring my bell, and I’ll treat you well.

For you’ll never have to dwell,

Even if you smell.

Choose to be with me, and I’ll give you a show.

I’ll love you from head to toe and our love will grow.

Pick truth not dare, I want you to know.

Give your boy some love, Sincerely, Joe.

For those who knew him, Laurence Carolin was someone who put others before himself at all times.  He cared for people, helped others and cheered people up on daily basis.

Carolin died in January 2010 at the age of 15 from a brain tumor which developed in the center of his brain.  When his doctors told him that he didn’t have much time left, however, he didn’t fear death. His attitude was that if it was time to die, it was time to die.

“Some people die sooner than others,” he said at the time.

Accepting death is one of life’s biggest challenges.  Fighting for life is another.  Regardless, Carolin didn’t let his brain tumor stop him from staying positive.

He was offered a wish from the Make-A-Wish foundation and said that he’d like to meet Bono from the band U2. Carolin credited the band’s lyrics as with helping to raise his spirits and keep him positive about his situation.

Make-A-Wish said that they were unable to make the arrangement so Carolin then said that he wanted the $5,000 that was going towards his wish to go towards the UN Foundation.  This act of selflessness is how we should remember him.  He has helped raise over $20,000 dollars in donations to the UN Foundation.

He was truly a one-of-a kind kid.  He is not the average Joe who would just cruise through the day and do everything for himself.  Carolin went out of his way to support and care for the people in his life.  For him it was a priority, not just a side gig.  Carolin is respected because of actions like these.

And one of his most important legacies is Airplane Day, so named because it was the day when the adopted Carolin flew into the United States from South Korea.  Today, the Carolin family still celebrate Airplane Day.  They get together to remember how great the day was and its importance.  They give gifts to each other share stories related to Laurence.

This year’s Airplane Day is going to be celebrated at Foggy Bottom as an awareness/fundraiser/music festival on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 6-10 p.m.  Admission is free, but donations to the United Nations Foundations will be accepted at the door.

If you can’t make it to the celebration, please consider donating to the UN Foundation online at unfoundation.org/

Laurence Carolin inspired more people than I can count.  His strength and fight are what kept him moving forward.  We should follow his example.  We should put others before ourselves and pay it forward.

Disclaimer: If you are under the age of 12, please do NOT read this.

I ran downstairs on Christmas morning, seeing presents under the tree and filled stockings.  I frantically searched for the magical present that would be all mine, the one that would say those glorious words: “To Noah, From Santa.”

But once I found it and began to open it, I realized what it was. What it had to be. Clothes.

What 12-year old wants clothes for Christmas?  I looked closer at the handwriting on the tag.

Suddenly, it dawned on me.

It was the exact same handwriting as my mother’s.  I looked up at her suspiciously, and at that moment, she knew I was getting closer to revealing the secret all parents try to keep from their children as long as possible.

“Noah, we need to talk,” my mom said.

“No. If this is about the birds and the bees again, I don’t need to know anymore.”

But then she broke the news to me, and it all made sense.

How can a fat man travel around the entire world in one night? How could reindeer carry that fat man all night, let alone fly? And how could that fat man, the fat man that so many continue to believe in, fit down a chimney without getting stuck?

Let’s say Santa is 6 feet tall, even though people who live in colder climates are usually a couple inches shorter. There are 6 billion people in the world.  No man on this planet could ever consume that many cookies in a lifetime, no matter how big and tall he is. But somehow Santa does it in one night.

So why do parents continue telling lie after lie to children, making them believe in Santa Claus? Shouldn’t we avoid lying to kids? If we keep this big of a lie going for so many years, all we’re doing is setting a bad example. We’re saying that lying is OK.

I’m not saying that we should end all the usual Christmas activities like getting a tree, making egg nog and trying to lure that one girl, who we all know is way out of my league, under the mistletoe.

But we can get in the holiday spirit without the big man in a red jumpsuit. I’m perplexed about why he’s even relevant to the season.

So when should we stop believing in Santa? The answer to that is that we should never have believed in him in first place.   I’m sorry, faithful parents and children, I just want to stop the heart-breaking moments children have when they find out there is no Santa Claus.

Running downstairs with the same Christmas spirit is not affected by knowing that the tags on the presents say “From, Mom and Dad.”

The Dexter prom experience in the past has been all about games and karaoke and no dancing.  Dexter’s prom is not comparable to the traditional prom.  We have cared more about how the “dance floor” has looked like than the dance itself–If you can even call it a dance.

However, this year, the Dexter High School made a step in right direction.  We are having our prom at the Michigan football stadium, which is awesome compared to all of the previous years.

Previously, Dexter’s prom has worked like this: first you buy tickets for you and your date for seventy dollars.  Next, you rent a $200 tux.  Then you take your date out to a fancy restaurant that costs way too much money.  Then you and your date go to the prom.

This process for prom night is normal.  However, Dexter’s prom differs from the norm.  Instead of keeping the night classy and going to the dance at a specific venue, we go back to our school, where we play games like putt-putt golf and card games.  Most of our prom is spent walking around and waiting in lines for our favorite games.  And in my opinion prom was a huge waste of money, to dress up and play games.

Finally, Dexters prom will be like other schools prom, where it will actually be a dance instead of like a “carnival”.  I definitely support the change in venue as well as the change in prom style.