hello all!
I havent blogged in a while and would like to. however I don't have much time at this moment in time.....however! I would like to share with you two articles I wrote today for submission to the yearbook. let me know what ya think....

Thank you for the music
The seeds of my interest in music were planted in primary school. Anytime singing was involved was my favourite time. At home I used to watch my nursery rhymes and popskool videos over and over again, singing every word happily as I did so. The biggest musical time of primary school was in second class. I had a fantastic teacher frequently played his acoustic guitar for us. Not only that but he also had a stash of tapes he often put on as we did our work. I think that's when I developed the habbit of doing homework with music on, a habbit I've kept to this day. Thank you, Mr O Toole, for the music. From second calss onwards the seeds of my musical interest lay dormant. Until Mounthawk.
When I was in second year (what is it about two's?) my best friend brought a cd into school and asked me to copy it for her. Being the curious person I am, I listened to it. Green Day the band were called. Every one of my senses felt awakened. I listened to the cd again and again and just like I did when I was five years old I sang every word. It was that day my rock education began. Thank you, Eimear, for the music.
It was also in second year I joined Kerry School of Music's stage school. I had never paid much attention to musicals but I knew I loved singing and I wanted to try my hand at acting. We did Les Miserables and my interest in musicals was more than awakened. It was one of the most enthralling experiences of my life to date. Suddenly my Green Day cd was sharing its top spot with the twentieth anniversary recording of Les Miserables. Thank you, Kerry School of Music, for the Music.
From second to fourth year I continued to indulge in music, mainly rock and musicals, continuing to take part in the Kerry School of Music productions such as the sound of music and Oliver, continuing to get more and more cds off my friends. When it came to fourth year I knew music was the interest I wanted to invest in. By this time I had become become involved in the band scene myself and once again music led to some of the best memories of my adolescence. I played in a band, singing and songwriting and attending every local gig it was physically possible for me to attend. Thank you Gnomes, Derailed, Social Theory and Cave Dwelling Animals for the music.
My ability to get up on stage and sing to my hearts content was helped by the fact that in fourth year for the first time I was cast as a lead in a musical- my dream for so long had come true. Confidence had been placed in me to turn up to rehearsals, say lines for the hundreth time as if they were the first, sing songs as though they were spontaneous, try to dance as though I actually could and I relished every minute. By the end the songs ran through my head all evening whether I wanted them to or not, I would smile at all the in-jokes about various scenes and songs the cast had and I would look forward to the next rehearsal with the people who had become like a family. Thank you, Miss Glancy, Mr O Rourke, Mr Behan, Miss Costello and all my fellow cast members, for the music.
Last Summer I received a distinction in grade 6 popular music vocals and in two weeks I will once again be examined musically, this time for my leaving cert.
Thank you, all mentioned above, for the music.

Fairsay
When I think of the senior cycle of secondary school, one of the first things that comes to mind is my experience representing the youth of my county at a national level as the kerry representative of the dail na nog council of 2007/8. It's a strange concept to me considering I've never had a huge interest in politics. It just goes to show surprising things can be achieved if one just follows what feels good. I fell into the whole thing completely by accident, turning up to the KDYS one night to play a quiet acoustic gig; ending up discussing the recent portrayal of youth in the media, the famous video of the boys in a neighborhood in Tralee ending up on youtube and by extension in the Kerryman being at the epicentre at the time. I had such a good time I decided to put myself up for the next round, the same thing happened a few weeks later in Killarney (but this time I had to give a speech), another few weeks later in a meeting with the other 6 Kerry Delegates to go to croke park for the annual conference I was having such a nice time I put myself forward to represent us all in Dublin, after a year of attending and thoroughly enjoying these meetings I decided I wasn't done and put myself forward to be an advisory member and as I sit here I am just after booking my flights to dublin next weekend for my next meeting.
I am writing this piece for two reasons. The first is as an update and a thank you to the people I could not have done this without. Wherever I go in life I will always remember the faith placed in me by so many of the staff at mercy mounthawk and the encouragement they gave which gave me the confidence to speak in front of so many people and believe that what I had to say was of significance. Thank you. The second is to raise awareness of the campaign that resulted from the work of the dail na nog council of 2007/8, Fairsay. Below is our mission statement:
 
Fairsay is a group which was set up by elected representatives of the Dail Na nOg council to monitor young people in the media. We aim to encourage media organisations to more often focus on positive achievements and aspirations of teenagers. Fairsay wants to eliminate stereotyping, discrimination and patronising attitudes towards young people often found in the media. We want the media to acknowledge the fact that we are a product of our society and our behaviour is heavily influenced by the example set for us by adults.

and to conculde I would like to include the article written by two of my fellow councillors Stephanie and Maria Kelly with the help of irish times journalist Roisin Ingle:


Fairsay Article
 
'The g-string round your ankle if you're up for sex'. Have we got your attention yet? When journalists splash headlines like this across the front page of newspapers that's exactly what they are trying to do: shock readers at the expense of young people. But it's not just the more outrageous headlines that are harmful. Journalists often talk about the 'Bebo Generation' as though we are wild and out-of-control group of people to be either feared or patronised.  To read and hear about us in the national media you'd think we were an alien species, denizens of the freakish and never-to-be-trusted Planet Teen.
 
This article was inspired by one of the main recommendations from Dáil na nÓg 2007, that the media needs to improve the way it portrays teenagers. At a Dáil na nÓg council meeting last June we agreed something had to be done about the unfair misrepresentation of young people in the media. We were sick of talking, we wanted action. It was at that meeting that the 'Fairsay campaign' was formed and this article marks the launch of our campaign.
 
We felt strongly that the media was misrepresenting teenagers, we just needed to prove it with research, a method we felt adults would respect.  Many of the delegates at Dail na nÓg 2007 expressed the opinion that teenagers were negatively portrayed in the media coverage of Junior Cert celebrations so we decided this period should be the focus of our main research. For a week before the Junior Cert results day and a week after, we monitored every national and local newspaper in Ireland, with the help of a media research expert and a media monitoring company.
 
Trawling through the Junior Cert articles early one Saturday morning, we really weren't sure what to expect. The first thing we noticed was the difference in the angle taken by broad sheet newspapers as opposed to tabloids. Broadsheets overall seemed to portray teenagers in a better light, concentrating more on the positive aspects of the Junior Cert results day. In fact, one of the most positive articles that we found, 'We don't need drink to have fun' was in the Sunday Independent and a very similar article which appeared in The Irish Times -  'I don't need to drink for a good night out' - also got the Fairsay stamp of approval. But before any pats on the back are handed out, we should tell you that the broadsheets weren't all on our side, with many articles giving far too much space to the issue of under-age drinking. It just confirmed for us the media's obsession with teenagers who binge drink as opposed to teenagers who don't drink or do so in moderation. We do exist but you wouldn't know it to read most newspapers.
 
  Tabloids on the other hand were more provocative in their reports of Junior Cert celebrations. We found their headlines to be over-the-top, and worded purely for shock value. Headlines like 'the g-string round your ankle if you re up for sex' are obviously going to attract attention for all the wrong reasons. We were disgusted to read stories about sexual promiscuity on Junior Cert night which contained lewd descriptions and innuendo.
 
 Sex wasn't the only hot topic. Along with the broadsheets, tabloid newspapers have a preoccupation with underage drinking and drug use. One particular tabloid article that stood out, although not for quality of writing, was the story whose headline alone caused a stir; 'Straight E's' was labelled as one of the most sensationalist articles by Fairsay. The article recounted how three young girls went to a dealer to buy Ecstasy to help celebrate their results. The article quoted what the journalist clearly thought was a reliable source. That source? A drunken homeless man who supposedly saw the whole deal takes place. The negative article was based on hearsay and personal opinions.
 
 This brings us to one of the main issues we noticed while categorising the negative and positive articles. The sources in most of the positive articles, were teenagers themselves. When the young people were given the chance to voice their views about Junior Cert night and the antics that are said to have taken place, the stories were balanced and more positive. Teenage voices being heard had a welcome effect on media coverage. It seemed that when young peop were given the chance to speak and so the truth prevailed.
 
 One positive tabloid article we found was from The Irish Sun, which gave teenagers a say on events around results day along with the positive opinion and congratulations from the Minister for Education Mary Hanafin. At regional level, the Kilkenny Advertiser published a terrific article which pointed the finger at Irish adults and their social activities. It stated young people were not totally to blame for excessive drinking and that binge drinking adults who exercise influence over teenagers should also be held to account.
 
As you can see from our research, the media repeatedly portrays teenagers negatively which is why we feel there is a great need for teenagers to have an opportunity to air their voices. How many junior cert nights have the middle-aged journalists of these papers experienced in the year 2007? Because we have yet to see them out in their gladrags, dancing the night away with the rest of us, celebrating the fruits of our labour before slating us in the following days newspapers. When it comes to teenagers, adult journalists are often reporting or speculating on events they have not experienced. Imagine the fuss if they did the same to adults. Fairsay believes this hypocrisy does not constitute fair play.
 
 We are realists. We know the print and broadcast media have a duty to report that some young people choose to spend their Junior Certificate results night drinking and behaving in an irresponsible manner. But we believe that these young people are the minority. Unfortunately this minority were given most of the attention. We would question whether it was right to take advantage of young people who didn't celebrate wisely. Many other young people weren't given the opportunity to share their stories of success and celebration and that is a shame.  We know we can't change the negative attitudes of the past but we would like to work towards a positive future. We would encourage teenagers in Ireland to let Fairsay and media outlets, local and national, know how you celebrated your results night. That way we'll get a true picture of the social activities of teenagers across Ireland today.
 
 So what else do we in Fairsay want? We want a voice.  We want to be heard. We want print journalists, television and radio presenters and editors to get in contact with us about the Fairsay campaign, so they can hear what we have to say.   Primetime, Ireland AM, Seoige and O' Shea, Morning Ireland, features writers and news reporters; we are tired reading about, watching and listening to adults talking, often negatively, about teenagers. We want to be talked to, not just talked about. We want an end to the media negativity that is creating a false portrayal of today 's teenagers.
 
 Perhaps these commentators think teenagers don 't read the papers but many of us do. We also watch the news on television and listen to the radio, creid nó ná creid. We see Miriam Lord's vast space for Dáil reports, RTE 's generous allocation of news slots to political stories and radio air play for every adult-related issue under the sun. Don't get us wrong. We don't think our own issues are any more important than those of adults. But we do think they deserve equal recognition. The Irish Times is generally to be praised for its allocation of space for teenagers, with weekly slots such as Transition Times. However, the scrapping of the newspaper's weekly Teen Times column was disappointing for Ireland's budding young writers and curious young readers alike.
 
The Fairsay campaign doesn't claim to represent the whole teen nation. There are teenagers who may disagree with us. There are still others eager to be heard who can be found easily through student councils and local Comhairlí na nÓg in every city and county. We are growing up in a different society compared to previous generations. Our experiences are unique to us, yet journalists write on these rites of passage as though they were their own. With the launch of the Fairsay campaign we are trying to change this. So that the next time journalists want to write about our underwear they might think to ask us first
 
Stephanie and Maria Kelly

bebo: http://www.bebo.com/fairsay-dail-na-nog

ok so everyone seems to be making a christmas post. Guess I may as well make one! since I havent in so long.
I have no idea what I'm gonna say here. guess I'll just type and see what comes out!
I dont really feel like being all philosophical and metaphorical but it'll probably end up being that way.
I love my friends. I know everyone says that......but I really really do. My chest swells when I think of so many of my friends. you all have so much to offer the world, I hope you see that. I tell things as I see them and so I compliment where I see fit. People generally don't seem to take compliments very well. They either get embarrassed and laugh it off. Or say it's not true. Or say thank you somewhat suspiciously. No need for any of that. I merely speak the truth! I have chosen you as my friend because I see something special in you. I also advise people to spread the joy. Give genuine compliments. You think someone looks nice, or has a talent? Say so.
I like fashion. That was a bit random I know, but my mom got me nice pattern tights and I'm looking at them right now. I really like them. The outfit I'm wearing makes me look kinda like a fairy, the black skirt comes to just above the knee and has lacey stuff coming down below that. on top I'm wearing a cardigan with a little polka dotted string top below it. and I'm liking it! I have many outfits I like. and even better-loads of bits and pieces I piece together and feel very proud of.  I apologise if it seems I'm tooting my horn or something. I find generally contentment causes suspicion. I am content about 97% of the time lately. I hope you are happy for me. I like looking at fashion too. There are some people that just never get it wrong. Like enda, or aileen s, or michelle to name but a few. I love looking at ads for perfume too, they're interesting alot of the time. And very aesthetically pleasing.
I love words. And I know I have been into poetry and writing and all that kind of thing for quite a while now but I've only really realised the full extent of my love for words lately. Sometimes a lyric or a line will correspond so well with my life that I could not have put it better myself.
"A thousand miles seems pretty far
But they've got planes and trains and cars
I'd walk to you if I had no other way
Our friends would all make fun of us
and we'll just laugh along because we know
That none of them have felt this way"

Or sometimes it just sounds beautiful:

"love set you going like a fat gold watch"

Or sometimes it arouses the senses:

A neighbourhood.
At dusk.

Things are getting ready
to happen
out of sight.

Stars and moths.
And rinds slanting around fruit.

But not yet.

One tree is black.
One window is yellow as butter.

A woman leans down to catch a child
who has run into her arms
this moment.

Stars rise.
Moths flutter.
Apples sweeten in the dark.

Or sometimes its just pretty:

I am thinking it's a sign that the freckles
In our eyes are mirror images and when
We kiss they're perfectly aligned
And I have to speculate that God himself
Did make us into corresponding shapes like
Puzzle pieces from the clay
True, it may seem like a stretch, but
Its thoughts like this that catch my troubled
Head when you're away when I am missing you to death
When you are out there on the road for
Several weeks of shows and when you scan
The radio, I hope this song will guide you home

Unfortunately I have to leave it at that. In a way I guess its better before I get the goofy grin and doughy eyes and start rambling about rudi in a manner I will regret in time to come lol
Love you!
Bye Triona x x