October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Watching pro-football on Sunday, I noticed many players and referees wearing pink shoes and wristbands to show support. This show of support, at first made me quite happy. Then I started to think about it and questioned the affect that this show of support had on the viewers.

I would like to know how you feel about professional players, actors and such wearing pink shoes and ribbons, etc. Do you think that this raises awareness? What sort of emotion does this "pink item" evoke in you? What more or less could these high profile "stars" be doing for causes such as these?

Does seeing players wearing pink shoes motivate you to do more than you already do for a specific cause? Do you think that it might spur your parents to do more?

Remember that this is your opinion, but make sure to back it up!

Summer Vacation!

It is always fun to come back to school in September and share stories about your summer vacation. Let's share a special moment with the class - and get to know each other.

This August, I spent three weeks in Australia and New Zealand. It was a life-long dream of mine to snorkle the Great Barrier Reef, and I was blown away by the wonderous life that I experienced there. Not only did I see hundreds of different types of fish, many types of coral, and find Nemo, but I got to swim with the Minke whales. They are about 24 feet long and they swam within ten feet of me. I cannot begin to describe the feeling of being in the water with these creatures, and will forever remember it. On land, I saw kangaroo (ate some too), koalas, crocodile (ate some of that as well) and many different types of birds. In New Zealand, I traveled across the Southern Alps and saw more sheep than I saw humans! Overall, it was a wonderful vacation and I cannot wait to go back for more.

Please comment and share your summer vacation with the rest of the class.