Trending With TX.: Dancing on TV, clouds in the sky and risks of binge watching
The wonders of clouds, dancing and good ol’ Netflix are some of the highlights in our newest installment of Trending With TX.
’Dancing with Stars'
“Dancing with the Stars” is certainly not new — the show is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year — but it is gaining popularity, especially in my heart. I love watching these stars grow and the beautiful dances they get to perform. You might say that “Dancing with the Stars” is on its way to becoming my new obsession and guilty pleasure.
The TV dance completion first aired in 2005 on ABC. “Dancing with the Stars” is exactly what it sounds like. Celebrity contestants are taught how to dance by the show’s on-staff dancing professionals. Throughout the season, the couples are judged by four judges on a 1-10 scale. The program also features theme nights such as Disney Night and Latin Night.
The ultimate prize is to win the mirror ball trophy and become the next dancing champion. This year’s celebrities, such as “The Bachelor” Chris Soules and Willow Shields (Primrose Everdeen), are all competing or have competed for the mirror ball trophy.
If you want to see what my obsession is all about, tune in at 7 p.m. Mondays on ABC.
– Sierra Bruggink, Weber High
Look, up in the sky!
Clouds are amazing. I mean just look at them. The average cloud is said to weigh about 1.1 million pounds! Yet, they still manage to look as cool as they do.
Right now, clouds are my muse. In the springtime, the clouds are the absolute best. And there’s way more that you can do with those clouds than just look at them. They make great subjects for your photography (and just so happen to be filling up all my phone’s storage), and they can be fun to draw, if you haven’t yet figured out how to make the shading on them look right. Or even if you have!
So whenever you get a second, go outside and look up! You’ll see an incredible sight, just as long as it isn’t raining.
– Bradee Dall, NUAMES
’Help’ for binging
My spring break consisted of the CW show, “Reign.” I watched up to nine shows in one day on Netflix.
But as I was watching, I began to notice another viewing option after each show ended and the next began. At the bottom of the screen, there was a small box with such statements as “Get off your butt,” “Take a Shower” or “Eat Real Food.” When I clicked on these options, a short one-minute clip would play of a celebrity such as Jennette McCurdy encouraging me to take a break from my binge-watching.
I actually found myself watching another episode just so I could see the variety of messages Netflix had prepared. While the suggestions made me laugh, I never did get up in response to these videos.
Later, I found out that these videos labeled “Binge Responsibly” were actually just an April Fool’s joke from Netflix. Although this was just a funny stunt, it does bring up good points about the dangers of binge-watching. You start to smell, you don’t eat anything healthy and even your poor dog suffers while you just sit on the couch for hours on end. So do the world a favor, get up and stop binging.
– Aubrey Cox, Roy High
Cheating too common
Is cheating to get good grades worth your integrity? Recently, I’ve noticed more students copying each other’s work at school. Some say it doesn’t matter because everyone does it. Or they say it’s the only way to get into the college of your choice, but that is not true.
We’ve all learned that plagiarism is wrong, but isn’t copying another student’s assignment the same thing? The purpose of school is to teach us skills and give us knowledge to help us in the future. Cheating defeats that purpose.
Some students cheat in order to meet their parent’s expectations. I’ve heard stories about athletes cheating in order to stay on the sports team. But the consequences for cheating are often worse than getting bad grades. Those who do get away with it have a guilty conscience, knowing that they cheated.
According to a 2009 study done by Harvard University, 10 percent of the school’s freshmen admitted to cheating on a test, 17 percent on an essay and 42 percent on homework. This isn’t fair to students who really do work hard for their good grades. There is no way for a student who has studied to compete with the knowledge on another student’s phone.
When you cheat, the person that you are really cheating is yourself. Although cheating does affect people around you, every time you look in the mirror, you will see yourself as a cheater. It is better to keep your integrity and be known for your honesty than it is to cheat. Like Sophocles said, “I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating.”
– Arianna Rackham, Northridge High