When you were a kid, you probably believed Santa Claus existed and didn’t know it was actually your parents giving you the presents. If you’ve ever looked back to the past at all the fun things you did as a child, you get a feeling of happiness and a sense that you misunderstood a lot of things.

Every year, more than one million people take the Advanced Placement tests. These exams test students’ overall knowledge on a particular subject, and many schools offer classes to help prepare them for the exam.

When a student comes home from school, a parent might ask: "Hey, how was school today? What grade did you get on your test, how'd you do on it?"

VIDEO: How to take someone's wallet, just by asking

Junior year is awfully busy.

You have to start thinking about colleges and prepare for standardized tests: PSAT, SAT, ACT, SAT II subjects, and AP tests. If this doesn’t seem a lot already, think about the activities you participate in and all the work you have to do for school.

This summer, the XXIX Olympiad will be held in Beijing from Aug. 8 to 24.

Like many other nations in the world, American schools help prepare students for the future by teaching them math, English, science, history, art, foreign language, and physical education.

That's a good variety of subjects, but there's something that seems missing, something to get away from the often stifling formality of academics.

Addiction is something that cannot be avoided. It can range from drugs to playing video games to chatting on AIM to shopping to reading books, but almost everyone is addicted to something.

The flu has hit Uni quite hard this year. When you’re walking down the hallway or learning in class, there’s always someone coughing or blowing their nose.

According to the main office, 37 people were absent yesterday, 12 today, and an average of 20 people a day have been out for the past week.

It is very difficult for things to go the way you want. Often times a little bit of luck is required. One day of bad luck can make a huge difference.

When I first began playing on the Uni chess team as a freshman three years ago in 2005-06, the chess team had a lineup of talented and strong players. That year, we won the East Central Illinois Chess League decisively and finished fourth overall with a record of 6-1 in the IHSA state tournament finals.

The rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig are the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac that are celebrated during the Chinese New Year. Each animal of the zodiac has its own unique set of attributes that I find are accurately applied to people born under the animal.

When people think about video games, they often think negatively about it. Many consider it some form of entertainment or look at it as a way of corrupting your mind. As a result, many professional gamers and gaming leagues in the world don't get much respect and recognition.

Ever tried playing air guitar? Even though playing air guitar consists mainly of exaggerated strumming and picking motions, Jada Toys and Nitrous Roxide have introduced a device that will make playing the air guitar more realistic and challenging.

It was 6:30 p.m. Saturday, and the chess team and I had just obtained our second-place trophy at the West Chicago Open Team Tournament. We were ready to leave and begin our three-hour drive from Chicago back to Champaign. However, the moment we exited the building, we were immediately struck by a huge gust of wind, and we saw that the landscape was covered in a layer of white.