Wednesday April 9 - Social Media - Good or Bad?

Social media is the talk of the town on Signal Mountain lately. Many advocates claim that social media can be used to progress human socialization and keep everyone connected. But on Signal Mountain, the only thing that social media seems to be doing, is getting people in trouble. A number of "scandals" on Twitter have come to the attention of administrators recently, and students are left feeling betrayed by their apps and confused as to why some of these things are a big deal to begin with.

Many of my peers claim that their social accounts should be left out of the hands of the school, because it reflects their personal life rather than their academic life. But I don't think that's what the administration and parents are concerned about. The real danger of social media connects to bullying, exploitation, and things that connect Signal Mountain students to illegal activities. You wouldn't flaunt something you shouldn't be doing in front of your parents, so why would you post it on the internet for the entire world to see? And no matter how private of an account you think you have, or how many firewalls you have in place, there's always someone who can beat the system and expose you. Twitter and other social media outlets (with the exception of Facebook because lets be honest, who gets on Facebook anymore) are nothing short of technological masterpieces, but you're responsible for what gets posted and what doesn't. So just watch yourself.

ALSO, if you're on Twitter and you excessively use hash-tags, please do everyone a favor and remove yourself from the account. Nobody cares about #Monday #NotTuesday #WishitWasFriday #SundaysSuck #Starbucks. Special shout out to @wdowling18 for getting the blog some publicity. Stay classy Eagles, and quit posting stupid crap on Twitter.

Tuesday April 8 - The Signal Mountain Bucket List

The Unofficial Signal Mountain Bucket List

Things every Signal Mountaineer should do before they die

• Hike down Signal Point

• Eat at Ayala's

• Hike to Rainbow Lake

• Hike to Falling Water 

• Go to an Eagles football game

• Play the Signal Mountain Country Club golf course

• Get a Mocha Frappe with 2 Shots of Espresso at the Espresso Mart 

• Park in the CVS parking lot when you want to carpool down the mountain 

• Get a speeding ticket from the Signal Mountain police

• Go to the town hall pool in the summer

• Order takeout from the chinese restaurant 

• Attend 99 cent taco night at El Metate

• Go to Guthries after the football team wins a home game

Obviously it's a small community, so it isn't a big list. If you need anything else to do, go downtown and do one of the hundreds of things there.

Monday April 7 - College

With graduation right around the corner, many seniors have their eyes set on college. Often regarded as a rite of passage for students into the workforce, college offers an exponential amount of positive oppurtunities that can benefit you for the rest of your life. With a price. Here are a few prices of colleges for an undergraduate degree after 4 years. Obviously the ones located out of state will be the out of state tuition, versus the Tennessee schools which will be in-state tuition.

Alabama - 4 years undergraduate degree, out of state - $146,000

Auburn - 4 years undergraduate degree, out of state - $147,584

Georgia - 4 years undergraduate degree, out of state - $151,480

Tennessee - 4 years undergraduate degree, in state - $77,344

Ole Miss - 4 years undergraduate degree, out of state - $106,664

UTC - 4 years undergraduate degree, in state - $67,648

Unfortunately, the cost of college is raised almost every year, and if you're going out of the state then it can be a real hassle to make financial ends meet sometimes. Thus, the importance of scholarships, grants, and all that good stuff come in. From my experience as a senior, I saw a lot of my peers overlooking obvious scholarships and not putting much effort in researching or applying for this wonderful free money. I can promise you that it's going to be worth your time to spend a few hours researching what sorts of things you can apply for, because just like college, there's usually a scholarship for everyone out there too.

Choosing the right college for you is something that should demand all of your attention. Whether you're looking for a big public school, small private school, or anything in between, it needs to be tailored to your liking. Big schools usually are good for meeting lots of new people and building connections with individuals from places near and far. However, a smaller college setting would allow you to have a more personal relationship with your professor, and smaller classrooms for more potential hands on learning scenarios. Weigh out the pros and cons, and decide which one fits your personality and budget, and don't settle for anything less than the perfect school for you.

College isn't for everyone though. If there's a demand for a high paying job for you right out of college that has good benefits and great job security, by all means take that job if you want to, because you can go to college anytime you want. Everyone's life is different and should be treated as such. Just do what you enjoy, because whether you go to college or not, you're setting yourself up for a career for the rest of your life. People who don't enjoy their jobs may have more money, but you can't put a price on being happy at your job. 

Friday April 4 - A letter to my Freshman self

Dear 14 Year old self,

You think you have it all figured out, don't you?

You think that the next four years are going to be a total breeze, and that good grades are just going to be given to you, rather than earned.

Oh how wrong you are.

Let me start off by saying that you are going to make a lot of mistakes the next few years, some mistakes you wouldn't ever dream of making before. But that's just life, and with each mistake comes a lesson to take away. If you learn your lesson the first time, you won't have to deal with the consequences of the mistake ever again. 

Women will come and go, but establish good friends now, because their loyalty is what will stay. There are a lot of quality people at Signal Mountain, most of whom you know, but don't be afraid to branch out and meet new people, because high school isn't like middle school where everyone in your class is someone you've known your entire life. High school is going to open up countless oppurunities to meet new people and make connections for the future, don't be shy. 

Bring your own lunch. The lunchroom is actually a social warzone. Each table is symbolic of a different group of friends, and certain tables are prepared to divide and conquer. Do not be intimidated. Get to lunch as fast as you can and you won't have to deal with the anxiety associated with sitting at a table without your friends. The seats go fast. 

YOUR GPA YOUR FRESHMAN AND SOPHOMORE YEAR COUNT JUST AS MUCH AS THEY DO YOUR JUNIOR AND SENIOR YEAR. Don't drop the ball on this, because whether you appreciate it or not now, your grades now are going to determine your future. Study for tests, and do all of your homework and classwork. Zero's bring your grade down tremendously, and there's no excuse for staying up watching tv or playing basketball outside all day instead of doing a math packet or two. 

Most of this you're just going to have to learn from through experience. You won't become the person you are in the future without making crucial mistakes, and realizing that you have flaws. Just smile through it all, because eventually it will all pass, and another year will come. Another year closer to graduation. 

Above all, enjoy your time here. It'll be over before you know it. 

Thursday April 3 - Senior Project

Senior projects seem to have a number of seniors losing their minds, and revealing their true anger issues. Frustrated students argue that senior projects are a waste of time whereas a portion of the adult world claims that senior projects teach seniors responsibility, preparing them for adulthood which they are sure to encounter in the following years of their life, so who should you believe?

The Pros :

1. Senior Project teaches students the importance of a deadline. I can honestly tell you that the greatest thing that I have learned from my senior project is that deadlines are crucial. The world isn't made for procrastinators, and the sooner you learn that, the sooner you'll be able to become a functioning member of society.

2. Senior project points you in the direction of a career choice. If you think you know what you want to do for the rest of your life, pick a project that reflects your career choice to see if you enjoy it. Trial and error is often the most effective way to see if you like something or not, and if it's something you're going to do for the rest of your life, you better enjoy it. 

3. Senior project gives a feeling of accomplishment unlike any other. The senior project is the coute de gras of your senior year. After you present your project, you've officially finished your last major assignment of high school. As soon as you've polished your final product, prepared for your presentation, and finally presented, you can feel the weight of the world lift off of your shoulders. 

The Cons :

1. Senior project is time consuming. Even though you learn a great deal of responsibility when you  complete your senior project, there's no avoiding the fact that you've lost countless hours of sleep and have been on the verge of several nervous breakdowns on your journey to the final product. 

2. Senior projects shouldn't determine whether you graduate or not. This is where my personal hatred for senior project lies. To me, a students work ethic, intelligence, or educational value shouldn't be determined by one project that doesn't reflect math, science, english, or humanities. Granted, I've heard that if you show up to your presentation you're almost garunteed to pass, but I know there are people who have failed, and their future academic ambitions were put on hold.

3. Senior project class has been labeled as "a class for busy work". Personally, I liked senior project class because it helped me organize deadlines and things of that nature, but the buzz in the senior clas is that the work that was required of us was nothing more than an attempt to keep us busy, rather than working on our actuak projects.

Whatever your view on senior project may be, it's required by Hamilton County to graduate. There isn't much you can do about it, so you may as well enjoy and make the best of it. 

Wednesday April 2 - Introducing Warm Weather, Spring Break, and Good Vibes

April showers bring May flowers. But at this point, who really cares how much it rains? I think we'd all just be thankful if we could just eliminate the bitter cold in the mornings. Honestly, my car doesn't have very good heat, and my mornings the past few months have been miserable to say the least. Snapping out of this blackberry winter is the least of my concerns though, because the only thing on my mind right now is a worry-free break that's right around the corner. Warm weather is good for the soul. If you think about it, the life cycle of nature begins with spring and ends with winter. Spring = Life, Winter = Death. So shake off those winter cobwebs and break out the shorts, sun tan oil, Jimmy Buffet music, and kick back and enjoy the new month. I can't promise that it will be all sunshine, but we're definitely headed in the right direction.

The Return - Austin Nolan

Enjoy this feature presentation by Signal Mountain's own Micah Pressley and Evan Greve.

Just click the link below and enjoy.

The Return of Austin Nolan

Monday March 31 - Monday Still Sucks

Here we are again, faced with another grueling Monday. If you're a senior, it's another Monday closer to graduation, but if you're practically anyone else, it's the reality of school that you're forced to face after an entire weekend of rest and relaxation. Senior lunch is this week though, so there's another perk of being a senior. Sorry underclassmen, I genuinely cannot think of a single thing for you guys to look forward to other than the fact that it's another Monday closer to summer break than previously before. One of the hardest things about Mondays though is waking up on schedule for school. 7:25 is pretty early for a bunch of teenagers to wake up and get ready for. There's always been talk of making school start later in the day, but the initiative has never really seemed to pass. So let's say that they finally decide to start school at a later hour, say 8:30. You get an extra hour of sleep, but at what cost? Getting out of school an hour later. I've never been a huge advocate for early mornings, but lately I've been waking up a lot earlier than all of my friends on the weekends, causing me to finally appreciate morning people. The biggest concern for me when the issue of pushing school's opening hours back, is that we lose an hour of sunlight in the afternoon when we can actually be productive with our day. Wouldn't you rather grin and bear waking up and going to school at 7:25 and still have roughly 5 hours of sunlight left when you get home than a mere 4 if you were to sleep in an extra hour? I don't really have a firm stance on the issue, it's just food for thought really. Just remember, it's Monday, but like any day, it's what you make of it. Personally, I like Mondays because it means that I don't have one of my dual enrollment classes, and that I only have to sit through each class for 50 or so minutes instead of 90. There's always a silver lining, you just have to look for it.

Friday March 28 - ITS FRIDAY, Get Excited

It's finally here, the first Friday that this blog can formally recognize.

So let's kick it off with some pictures that are going to get you excited for the weekend.



BOOM. Look how extravagant this city is that you live in. You should be thankful every day.



Need something to do this weekend? CAMP IN SOME TREES.



TRAMPOLINES GALORE at the new Jump Park across from Finley Stadium. Fair warning though, it really is quite a workout.



Can you not get enough physical activity this weekend? THEN GO CLIMBING at the High Point Climbing Gym downtown.


In any event if you can't find anything to do this weekend, feel free to stay in bed and watch Netflix while you gorge yourself with foods that your local nutritionist wouldn't recommend. See you Monday Eagles.

Thursday, March 27 - Signal Mountain Athletics

Signal Mountain values their athletics department in a high manner, and it's not just all talk either, considering that we have more than just a couple of State titles to show for it. Our football team is prestigious to say the least, as I often compare our team to the Oregon Ducks, in the sense that everyone expects us to do well every year and because we're always the best looking team on the field. Our athletic teams are composed of not just some of the most competitive sportsmen/sportswomen in the greater Chattanooga area, but some of the most academically prestigious too. The balance between sports and grades has always been an issue for most people, because some athletes try to focus so much on sports that they forget that their academics should really be their priority. Fortunately, even though our community is immersed in our athletic department, our students never really seem to lose sight of what's important. And for those student-athletes who decide to take their talents to the next level, greatness awaits because they are they type of student that can survive in a higher institution of learning because of the proper preparation given to them by Signal.

Greatness isn't just something that is given to you. Whether it's on the field or off the field, the only thing that is going to propel you to the top is hard work. If you don't believe me, just ask any of our previous 6 State Champion teams or individuals.