There are many classes available at SHS. You have the necessary ones, like English and math, and the electives, like art and band. Sometimes we wish there were more classes. I wouldn’t mind taking a class on mystical creatures (unicorns). I also wouldn’t mind taking a class on how to do well in life, in general. And while that class is not offered here, the closest one can get to it is convergence journalism.

I have taken journalism for the past four years, and Jane for the past three. We have had so many new experiences and gained so much knowledge that can be useful in the “real world.” Such as: how to meet deadlines and how to get along with people.

There are so many perks to taking journalism. First, you get to be a part of the voice of SHS. How cool is that? You get to know school news before everyone else. You get to eat chips and candy during deadline week. And, you get to learn how to use some seriously cool programs.

The skills we now have with the Adobe suite can take us places. We could be in marketing, web design, and newspaper design. It’s all what you make of it.

Jane and I have taken our years here on staff and made the most of it. We have tried to learn as much as possible. Perhaps that is why our blog is so perfect! Just kidding, we don’t think we’re perfect....all the time.

The skills you learn in journalism are priceless, and that is something you don’t usually get in high school. Instead of being bored in math, you could be having fun and gaining new skills in journalism! That isn’t to say you shouldn’t take math- you definitely should. First and foremost because it’s required, and you don’t want to not graduate, right? Or maybe you want to stay in high school forever, and if that is the case, we say good luck with that.

If you have any questions about convergence journalism, or just want to comment on how awesome you think “Doin’ it for the lols” is, email us at doinitforthelols@gmail.com.

So, why did we originally take convergence journalism?

For the lols.

Why did we stay in convergence journalism?

For the deadlines, Mrs. Cherlayn Jardine, Mr. John Robinson (J-Rob), the people, and the food.

And also for the lols.

Up until now, this blog has been good-natured and humorous, if we do say so ourselves. Maybe we have given you some mini life-lessons along the way, but “Doin’ it for the lols” is normally categorized as a rollicking good time.

However, this week we would like to take our new-found fame with our reader (hi, Mom!) to address an issue that fills us with righteous indignation. This issue is the blocking of certain websites at school.

Many things fill us with righteous indignation. For example: unicorn haters, math tests, knotted hair, and people who think “Doin’ it for the lols” is stupid. Wait, who are we kidding, no one thinks that!

But in all seriousness, some of the websites that are blocked at SHS are done so completely unfairly. We’re not talking about Facebook and Twitter; we understand those being blocked, even if we might not like it. We’re talking about websites like glsen.org and glaad.org. These websites are gay and lesbian information websites. They educate people on what it means to be gay, and how to stop bullying and prejudice against the gay community.

When you try to go to glsen.org, the “block reason” is society and lifestyle. First of all, why would anything that has to do with society and lifestyle be blocked? Second of all, this is an educational website. It just happens to have to do with gay and lesbian people.

When you try to go to glaad.org, the “block reason” is gay and lesbian issues. Now this makes us the angriest. Why should gay and lesbian issues be blocked? It is not like this is a website dedicated to gay and lesbian pornography. It is not like this website depicts anything remotely inappropriate. Unless you consider gay and lesbian issues inappropriate, in which case I don’t think we should be friends.

The truth is, ladies and gentlemen, there is still prejudice out there. Prejudice against the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender) community runs rampant; it seems, even in our own school.

I thought we had taken steps forward. I thought with the addition of these ”safe spaces,” it meant that SHS was totally accepting of GLBT students.

It appears I am wrong. Because until these websites are unblocked, GLBT students and their supporters are being oppressed. They are not able to visit websites promoting peace and love for all people, and that is just wrong.

In other news, we now have an email address. If you want to ask us questions or just comment on our blog, email us at doinitforthelols@gmail.com. We promise to respond promptly.

So, why would anyone ever want to block these websites and incur the wrath of Jane and Emma and their blog reader (hi again, Mom)?

Certainly not for the lols.

A few weeks ago, Emma turned 18 and got her driver’s license. In the past few days, Jane donated blood and voted for the first time. About a month ago, Jane also had her first near-death experience/clash with gross injustice/court appearance (see our earlier post: “The completely factual account of my near-death encounter with a murderous fire hydrant”).

We never cease to be amazed by just how quickly we are growing up. It seems like just last week we were putting on furry friends temporary tattoos, coloring with crayons, and hiding when the doorbell rang. Actually, that was last week, but that’s beside the point.

I’m still startled when I realize the fact that I’ll be moving away from home and starting college in less than six months. I couldn’t believe it when I was invited to sit at the adult table at Thanksgiving this year (I politely declined, as I prefer the blowing-bubbles-in-chocolate-milk, eating-with-your-hands, throwing-rolls-at-each-other shenanigans of the kids’ table). I did a double take when I caught a glimpse of myself driving in a mirrored storefront window the other day (luckily, no fire hydrants seized this opportunity to jump out in front of me).

We are incredibly excited to move on to adulthood and experience the freedom and responsibility that comes with it. But in some ways, we still feel like little kids.

That was when we came to the shocking realization: nobody is ever really a grown up.

As children, we thought adults had it all together. We thought they knew what they were doing. As we get older, we realize that nobody knows what they’re doing. We’re all still little kids in these strange grown-up bodies, pretending to be mature and responsible! Sure, we’ve learned to control our bladders and not stuff beads up our noses, but besides that we’re a bunch of toddlers!

As frightening as it is to realize that we live in a world run by little kids, we find it enthralling and comforting that nobody is ever truly done learning and growing. It’s also nice to know that we don’t have to become boring and serious just because we’re “adults”.

So as we race forward into this next stage of our lives, we’d like to remind our younger readers that adulthood will come at you much, much faster than you are expecting. But we’d also like to comfort you with the fact that no matter how old you are, you will always be a child at heart, and you can still take joy in such activities as watching Disney movies, eating ice cream for dinner, and building pillow forts.

Why?

For the lols.

Senior spring break: amazingly fun, super relaxing, legendary.

Since freshman year we have been waiting for senior year. And with the “senior” territory comes senior spring break. Some people go on cruises, some people stay at home, and some people (like us) go to foreign lands.

Yes, the two geniuses behind “Doin’ it for the lols” are taking their talents to South Beach. Just kidding, we are going to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!

That was a sports joke. Laugh about it. Didn’t think we knew anything about sports, did you? We don’t. We don’t know where that came from.

All LeBron jokes aside, we are unnaturally excited for our little getaway. We plan on getting super tan while wearing SPF 50 and hitting up everything Puerto Vallarta has to offer.

Allegedly, the part of Puerto Vallarta we will be staying in is known as the... “flamboyant” part of the city. Seeing as we are accepting of all different kinds of people (except unicorn killers), we are excited to get out there and have new adventures which we will later write about for our loyal reader... we’re talking to you, Mom!

Before everyone starts worrying about our safety, just know that we will be going with Jane’s parents, the lovely Valerie and John Finocharo.

I think it is very important to have some parental figure going with you on your spring break escapade. As lame as that sounds, being young as we are and as naive as most of us are does not really make for the safest of vacations.

Whether it be an older sibling, your actual parents, or your mom’s best friend’s yoga teacher’s next door neighbor’s dog groomer, toting along an adult can make the vacation run smoothly.

If you are staying home, never fear! There are many things that you can do to entertain yourselves in grand old Cincinnati, Ohio. For one, you can sit down and catch up on “Doin’ it for the lols” Don’t lie, that’s going to be the highlight of your spring break.

Another thing you can do to keep from slipping into boredom would be going to the Cincinnati Zoo. Seriously, the zoo is where it’s at. I suggest hitting up the manatee exhibit. Those creatures are entirely fascinating. They look like potatoes with nubbins. And they eat cabbage. Come on, cabbage! How great is that?

Really, the most important aspect of senior spring break is resting and getting ready to take on fourth quarter. Graduation is right around the corner. Get pumped!

From both Jane and Emma, we say stay safe and rest up, Class of 2012. Come April, you will need all the rest you can get to live vicariously through our recounts of our uproarious Mexican adventures.

So why are we going to Mexico?

For the lols.

Some fads are seriously questionable. Anyone remember silly bands? Wow, rubber bands in the shape of animals and other various objects? Let’s buy 50! Guess what shape I have? A circle! Oh wait, that’s just a rubber band! (Between the two of us, we own approximately 37 silly bands).

Then there was that whole saying “your mom” every 10 seconds thing. “Hey Bill, want to go get ice cream later?” “Your mom wants to go get ice cream later!” How dare you, my mother is lactose intolerant!

Seriously though, there have been some strange fads these past few years. But one thing that is popular in Europe but has never truly caught on here in America is taking a gap year before college.

One would think that people would jump at the chance to broaden their horizons and experience new things before heading off to four more years of school. But gap years still have not caught on here in the States.

People’s main gripe with gap years is that after taking a year (or more) off, the young person would not want to go back to a learning environment. However, it is shown that after participating in a gap year, most students go back to school with a fresh perspective and barely diminished study skills.

Colleges report that students who have taken gap years tend to be more focused and mature, and they receive higher grades than their non-gap year peers. In fact, Harvard’s acceptance letters urge students to consider deferring their admission and taking a gap year.

Personally, we think taking gap years is too cool (for school - literally!). Caution: it may not be for everyone. If you lack drive or ambition, taking a gap year probably is not the best choice for you.

But if you are adventurous, goal-oriented, and a little burned out on school - why not?

I am thinking about taking a gap year, and let me tell you, there are so many options out there! From domestic to international organizations, there is just too much to look at. Asking for help from your family and friends is a great way to narrow down your choices.

Why would we want to put off school for a year?

To gain experiences that we wouldn’t have had otherwise.

But also for the lols.