The ProwlerDec. 6, 2012 7OPINIONS

Have you ever wondered . . .

D

ylan Keenan ’13

What goes in to gift buying?

A

nnika Strauss ’14

S

yndey Stanifer ’13

Tre Hill ’14

Kayla Reives ’13

Scott Shaeffer ’14

Alex Harris ’16

E

rin Williams ’15

J

ordan Fraser’15

J

ohn Posey ’13

“I don’t put a whole lot of money into it. I try to make gifts personal so that they’ll be more meaningful. If it’s a really close friend, I spend more time and money.”

“I’ve never bought one of my friends a Christmas present. Now, my family is different, but not my friends.”

“I spend no time thinking about it. I normally write a card – ‘Merry Christ-mas,’ and I’m done.”

“For a normal friend, I spend about an hour at most, and at most I spend $60. For guys it would be like a game and for girls, jewelry. You can’t go wrong with jewelry.”

“I spend hours on Spreadsheet.com [looking for gift ideas]. I don’t go super into detail. If I didn’t get them anything, I’d probably just be like, “I’ll get you

some candy.”

“I don’t spend any time buying holiday gifts. I’m not going to be spontaneous about it. I’m too lazy.”

“I won’t go out and buy some-thing, but if I see something at a yard sale, I’ll get it for them.”

“I spend a lot of time [on buying gifts for friends]. If I get them a gift card, it’s because I don’t really know them, but if I make it something personal, I have to make it look really expensive.”

“I tend to think a lot about it when I get gifts. It would take me a week or so to figure out what to buy my best friend.”

“I don’t buy gifts for my guy friends. I’d maybe buy some flowers for a girlfriend or something.”

Pa

nther Pause

Have you asked yourself lately if you are happy? As our wonderful retired English teacher, Dr. Covel, quoted sev-eral years ago, “Happiness is possible through hard work.” Happiness is possible through the many paths we take as adults and students. To many students, happiness starts with making an A on a math test. To others, happi-ness is not having to come to school because of a holiday. Many of us adults find hap-piness through the journey we call life. Hard work is such an underused word these days. Many aspects of life require hard work on a daily basis. However, many of today’s youth put so much of their ef-fort into technology letting it do the work for them. As someone who grew up in the 80’s, this makes me quite sad. Work hard and I promise happiness will come due to the obstacles you have had to overcome. Finding true happiness can also happen in many other ways: having a friend you can always count on, finding that one person you can tell all your secrets to and know that they will stay secrets, and hav-ing faith to get you through the small stuff, should all make an impact on your daily life. I hope each person who reads this can quickly remem-ber the ways they have found true happiness. I know I can with ease: I have found true happiness. I have wonderful, kind friends; amazing teachers each of you know and love; a group of crazy girls who bless me more every day; and of course an amazing guy who cares more about others than himself. See, it’s simple to find true happiness. You just have to focus on your life and what brings you peace. Take a moment today and reflect on your happiness list. It is guaranteed to make you smile.

Editor’s note: Mandy Burnett gradu-ated from the University of Georgia. She majored in speech and rhetoric and minored in computer and sci-ence.

Simple things bring joyMandy Burnettburnett.mandy@mail.fcboe.org

Technology: tool not distraction

Math teacher Julie Spencer said she is constantly telling her students to stop playing games and pay attention. This year, the Fayette County Board of Education has allowed students to bring their own technology to school for educational purposes. The idea behind this is it will help better their education. However, some students think of BYOT as something that enables them to be on their phones texting instead of using it for class work. Many students are using their technology to get on Twitter or Instagram and play

games instead of being atten-tive during class. When allowed to have devic-es out, students confessed that they misuse them by playing games instead of taking notes. “When it’s something we’ve already gone over and the teacher keeps lecturing about it I just get out my phone because I get bored,” senior Barrett Pope said.

Some students without smartphones said they feel left out when other students play games. When used as intended, BYOT can be helpful because if students need help in class, they can use their Apple prod-ucts or computer to search the internet look up something. For some students who have trouble learning through audi-tory means, using their device helps them understand through a visual medium. “A lot of students are visual and kinesthetic learners rather than auditory learners,” sopho-more Jinsol Kim said. With the use of technology, Kim said that teachers too, “need to do more hands-on activities and

make things more visual for students.” Some teachers use special apps to help students learn by allowing them to answer ques-tions electronically for review activities. BYOT is new and students are hooked on it, but they need to understand that school is a time for learning and BYOT is meant to be a privilege, not to play games and search the web. The daily use of technol-ogy has become a key part of today’s education and has benefited many students. “BYOT is beneficial for students, but I don’t know if the distraction is worth it,” Spencer said.

Erin Anderson ’15Staff Writer

Victoria Alvarez ’16Staff Writer