I recently read an article on SIRS called "A World Too Full Of People" by Mary Fitzgerald. It is about how the populations are getting larger, and there are less recources. Soon, there will be too many people for the wold to carry, and things will start to fall apart.
The article states, "It is predicted that, if the global population continues to
grow at the present rate, the world will need the resources of a second earth to
sustain it by 20 50." Our world is growing at a very fast rate. The article has the story of Leucadia Quispe, a 60-year-old mother-of eight, whose 8 children have all moved from Botijlaca, Bolivia because there was no way that they could make a living out there. Each day, she has has to carry 5 buckets of water for her pets and herself. For her, water is a scarce resource. The reason for this is the bunch of people living there tryign to do the same thing to live. But the truht is, there is not enough space anymore for people to share everything. Overproduction is leading to many problems in the world. According to the article, today the world population is 6.9 billion people. It is estimated in about 40 years that it the population will reach 9.2 billion people. This can become dangerous. More people means more crowding, more cars, pollution, global warming, etc.
This article "A World Too Full of People" addresses the problems if too many people are in the world and what is going to happen. I think that there can be ways that this can stop or we can adjust so that there will be enough recources in the future and it will not become a worry. I know that overproduction can lead to consequences, and I fear that it will happen if too many people are on the planet. People should become aware of the dangers so that everyone can come together adn help make the wrold a better place.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Stand By Me Movie
The movie "Stand By Me" is about a group of adolescent boys that go on an adventure to find a dead body of a boy their age. From the begginning and for most of the movie it shows the boys being immature and having fun being kids. Later in the movie, the boys face mature problems and learn to deal with it and leave seeing the world in a different way. Finding the dead body changed the boy's point of view and made them see reality.
The five boys Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern all have problems at home or problems with other things. Gordie's brother passed away and ever since that happened, he is almost invisible to his parents at home. Chris Chambers does not have someone to look up to in his family and he is not a good student. His brother is a terrible teenager and does things that he should not be doing. He does not hvae much family at home either. Him and his brother have bad reputations. Teddy DuChamp has a bad relationship with his father, and he does not think before he does things. Vern is a bit timid and overthinks many things, which is not necessarily bad. For them, life at home is more serious and they have to be mature.
The adventure forced the boys to think for themselves. They had only eachother to do everything for the night. They had to get their own food, find the way by themselves, set up their own campfire, and take responsibility for their actions and what happens. Doing these things made them more mature. They learned what it was like when you had nobody controlling you and telling you what to do. Many things could have gone terribly wrong, but they took on the role of being responsible to get what they wanted.
When the boys finally find the body, that is when the world actually changes for them. They have to deal with the reality of the boy's death, and that the kid is never coming back. At one moment when the find the body, Gordie completely breaks down in tears because he had a moment of realization about the problems he is facing. He says, "My dad hates me" over and over because he was thinking about all the times that his dad ignores him. All the big problems in life seem to come to the minds off the boys. They end up leaving the body and returing home with a different point of view and the world seemed a lot smaller to them.
Many people in life have to deal with problems and learn to be mature at a very young age because of certain experiences. I think everybody has a moment in life where they have a moment of realization and where reality kicks in. This movie shows that childhood is short and there is going to be a point in life where you have to be mature and responsible.
The five boys Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern all have problems at home or problems with other things. Gordie's brother passed away and ever since that happened, he is almost invisible to his parents at home. Chris Chambers does not have someone to look up to in his family and he is not a good student. His brother is a terrible teenager and does things that he should not be doing. He does not hvae much family at home either. Him and his brother have bad reputations. Teddy DuChamp has a bad relationship with his father, and he does not think before he does things. Vern is a bit timid and overthinks many things, which is not necessarily bad. For them, life at home is more serious and they have to be mature.
The adventure forced the boys to think for themselves. They had only eachother to do everything for the night. They had to get their own food, find the way by themselves, set up their own campfire, and take responsibility for their actions and what happens. Doing these things made them more mature. They learned what it was like when you had nobody controlling you and telling you what to do. Many things could have gone terribly wrong, but they took on the role of being responsible to get what they wanted.
When the boys finally find the body, that is when the world actually changes for them. They have to deal with the reality of the boy's death, and that the kid is never coming back. At one moment when the find the body, Gordie completely breaks down in tears because he had a moment of realization about the problems he is facing. He says, "My dad hates me" over and over because he was thinking about all the times that his dad ignores him. All the big problems in life seem to come to the minds off the boys. They end up leaving the body and returing home with a different point of view and the world seemed a lot smaller to them.
Many people in life have to deal with problems and learn to be mature at a very young age because of certain experiences. I think everybody has a moment in life where they have a moment of realization and where reality kicks in. This movie shows that childhood is short and there is going to be a point in life where you have to be mature and responsible.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Friar Lawrence: Interesting Character
In school we are reading the play "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. It is about two lovers from rival families who go through obsticals to make their love work out. There have been many different and interesting characters in this book. One of the characters that stood out to me was Friar Lawrence, which Romeo goes to for advice. Friar Lawrence is a big part of the story and is a foreshadowing character throughout the book.
As I analysed and interpeted soem of Friar Lawrence's lines, I noticed that he gives Romeo tons of advice. He is like a father figure for Romeo. Romeo comes to him when he is troubled and does not know what to do. Friar lawrence also helps makes decisions for Romeo. If there was not Friar Lawrence, Romeo and Juliet would have not have gotten married and the plot would have been completely changed. In act 2, scene 3, lines 98-99 he says to Romeo, "In one respect. I'll your assistant be, for this alliance may so happy prove to turn your household's rancor to pure love." This line is Friar Lawrence's response to Romeo's wish for him to marry Romeo and Juliet. The Friar explains that he is only willing to do it for the sake of the relationship between the Capulets and the Montegue's . He believes marrying them will stop the fued between the two houses and pure love from their marriage will appear between the rival families. Friar Lawrence is not convinced of thier love, but it willing to do it for the better good.
Another line from Friar Lawrence from act 2, scene 3, line 101 is," Wisely and slowly. They stumble that run fast." This line warns about falling in love too quicly. Those who fall quickly will stumble later, meaning there will be opsticles or consequences. I think this foreshadows a bit because later on in the book, there are major consequences from falling in love too quickly. Friar Lawrence knows the consequences and the dangers of Romeo and Juliet's love and he is still willing to marry them. Even though Friar Lawrence is giving Romeo all this advice, he is almost going against his advice and still giving Romeo what he wants.
Friar Lawrence is a very important character in this play. Without him, Romeo would not have anyone to go to with advice or to tell his problems to. I think it is important for everyone to have that one person where they can share their problems with and they don't have to worry about getting introuble because they know they can be safe and protected around them, adn that is the character that Friar Lawrence plays in "Romeo and Juliet".
As I analysed and interpeted soem of Friar Lawrence's lines, I noticed that he gives Romeo tons of advice. He is like a father figure for Romeo. Romeo comes to him when he is troubled and does not know what to do. Friar lawrence also helps makes decisions for Romeo. If there was not Friar Lawrence, Romeo and Juliet would have not have gotten married and the plot would have been completely changed. In act 2, scene 3, lines 98-99 he says to Romeo, "In one respect. I'll your assistant be, for this alliance may so happy prove to turn your household's rancor to pure love." This line is Friar Lawrence's response to Romeo's wish for him to marry Romeo and Juliet. The Friar explains that he is only willing to do it for the sake of the relationship between the Capulets and the Montegue's . He believes marrying them will stop the fued between the two houses and pure love from their marriage will appear between the rival families. Friar Lawrence is not convinced of thier love, but it willing to do it for the better good.
Another line from Friar Lawrence from act 2, scene 3, line 101 is," Wisely and slowly. They stumble that run fast." This line warns about falling in love too quicly. Those who fall quickly will stumble later, meaning there will be opsticles or consequences. I think this foreshadows a bit because later on in the book, there are major consequences from falling in love too quickly. Friar Lawrence knows the consequences and the dangers of Romeo and Juliet's love and he is still willing to marry them. Even though Friar Lawrence is giving Romeo all this advice, he is almost going against his advice and still giving Romeo what he wants.
Friar Lawrence is a very important character in this play. Without him, Romeo would not have anyone to go to with advice or to tell his problems to. I think it is important for everyone to have that one person where they can share their problems with and they don't have to worry about getting introuble because they know they can be safe and protected around them, adn that is the character that Friar Lawrence plays in "Romeo and Juliet".
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Romeo and Juliet: Young Love
I have been reading the book "Romeo and Juliet" which is about two young lovers from rival families that try to keep thier love lasting. They go through many hardships to keep their relationship. But before they met, I noticed that love was being forced. I think the reoccurring theme was that love should not be forced. Juliet was being told who to marry at the age of 14, and Romeo was to find a new love when he has not gotten over his prior love, Rosaline.
In act 1, scene 4, line 103-105, Juliet explains to her mother that she will only marry Paris (capulet that she is set to marry) because her parents want her too. She will try to like him, but if she does not like him, she will not go further than she has to with love. Juliet is only doing this because her parents want her to marry and girls in Verona, younger than her are already mothers. Juliet does not feel ready yet for love (until she meets Romeo). Juliet should not only be able to choose who she loves, but she should be able to decide when she is ready to truly fall in love and become a wife and mother. If Juliet does not feel the connection with Paris, why should she live the rest of her life thinking she could be with someone else and be happy.
A similar story happens with Romeo. In act 1, scene 4, Mercutio is talking to Romeo, who is still heartbroken from Rosaline, which he loves yet she does not love him back. Mercutio is trying to tell him that he needs to get over Rosaline and find a new lady. But Romeo is not quite ready. He does not want to go to the party and dance and have fun, he wants to sit out and watch. In this scence, I feel that Romeo is being pushed out of love. Although Juliet is being pushed into love, they are still being forced to do something they are not in for.
One similarity I noticed between Romeo and Juliet is that they like to take their time in life and not be rushed into things when they do not need to. The other characters in the book seem to think that love is something you can just get get into and come out of right away, but you have to take your time. A lot of people in middle school act like Romeo and Juliet in a way. Some kids push through relationships and don't want to take their time with thier relationships and learning their lessons on the way. I believe people will have better relatioships if they take thir time and not rush into anything if they do not have to.
In act 1, scene 4, line 103-105, Juliet explains to her mother that she will only marry Paris (capulet that she is set to marry) because her parents want her too. She will try to like him, but if she does not like him, she will not go further than she has to with love. Juliet is only doing this because her parents want her to marry and girls in Verona, younger than her are already mothers. Juliet does not feel ready yet for love (until she meets Romeo). Juliet should not only be able to choose who she loves, but she should be able to decide when she is ready to truly fall in love and become a wife and mother. If Juliet does not feel the connection with Paris, why should she live the rest of her life thinking she could be with someone else and be happy.
A similar story happens with Romeo. In act 1, scene 4, Mercutio is talking to Romeo, who is still heartbroken from Rosaline, which he loves yet she does not love him back. Mercutio is trying to tell him that he needs to get over Rosaline and find a new lady. But Romeo is not quite ready. He does not want to go to the party and dance and have fun, he wants to sit out and watch. In this scence, I feel that Romeo is being pushed out of love. Although Juliet is being pushed into love, they are still being forced to do something they are not in for.
One similarity I noticed between Romeo and Juliet is that they like to take their time in life and not be rushed into things when they do not need to. The other characters in the book seem to think that love is something you can just get get into and come out of right away, but you have to take your time. A lot of people in middle school act like Romeo and Juliet in a way. Some kids push through relationships and don't want to take their time with thier relationships and learning their lessons on the way. I believe people will have better relatioships if they take thir time and not rush into anything if they do not have to.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Texting Problems
I recently read an article from NY Times, by Katie Hafner, called "Texting May Be Taking A Toll." It expains the problems with texting and how it can affect texters. In recent years, the number of texts that have been being sent and recieved have been very high. According to the article, in 2008, the number of texts being recieved and sent a month was 2,272. That's a lot of texting. Most people who text do not think about how it can affect them and what the bad things about texting are. Psychologists and physicians are begining to worry about the health affects and the other problems. So what is the problem with texting?
It was found that texting causes problems such as anxiety, loss of concentration in school, loss of sleep, failing grades, and stress. Loss of sleep is a big part of texting problems. Teenagers will usually stay up late texting and talking to their friends while they should really be getting good sleep. Then they go to school and sometimes it can be very hard to concentrate while trying to stay awake because they did not get good sleep. Not only that, when people text in class, they are missing out on learning and if it gets to the point where the student is not paying attention most of the time, it can result in failing grades. Texting can also cause temporary or permanent damage to your thumbs. Even thought phones are banned in most schools, students know how to get away with texting everyday in class. Most of the time, teachers don't notice, so they just keep doing it.
I think it is very hard to concentrate while texting. Most of the time while doing my homework, I have my phone right next to me. Whenever I hear it buzz, I stop doing my homework and reply. I have seen people text in class because it happens all the time and nobody really minds. Although I agree with the article on how texting can have negative affects, I do not think that texting can cause all these health problems and be the main cause of stress and failing grades, etc. I do not belive that texting in class could be stopped just because the number is so large and also it is hard to limit texting in general. I was curious as to how texting can damage our thumbs too.
It is very important to stay focused and on task and not let things like texting stop us from doing what we are supposed to. Although texting is a way of communication, it can also have negative affects on teenagers. Maybe some teenagers will realize how texting can be harmful in different ways. Loss of sleep, loss of concentration, failing grades, stress and anxiety can all be from texting. So maybe texting isn't all that good.
It was found that texting causes problems such as anxiety, loss of concentration in school, loss of sleep, failing grades, and stress. Loss of sleep is a big part of texting problems. Teenagers will usually stay up late texting and talking to their friends while they should really be getting good sleep. Then they go to school and sometimes it can be very hard to concentrate while trying to stay awake because they did not get good sleep. Not only that, when people text in class, they are missing out on learning and if it gets to the point where the student is not paying attention most of the time, it can result in failing grades. Texting can also cause temporary or permanent damage to your thumbs. Even thought phones are banned in most schools, students know how to get away with texting everyday in class. Most of the time, teachers don't notice, so they just keep doing it.
I think it is very hard to concentrate while texting. Most of the time while doing my homework, I have my phone right next to me. Whenever I hear it buzz, I stop doing my homework and reply. I have seen people text in class because it happens all the time and nobody really minds. Although I agree with the article on how texting can have negative affects, I do not think that texting can cause all these health problems and be the main cause of stress and failing grades, etc. I do not belive that texting in class could be stopped just because the number is so large and also it is hard to limit texting in general. I was curious as to how texting can damage our thumbs too.
It is very important to stay focused and on task and not let things like texting stop us from doing what we are supposed to. Although texting is a way of communication, it can also have negative affects on teenagers. Maybe some teenagers will realize how texting can be harmful in different ways. Loss of sleep, loss of concentration, failing grades, stress and anxiety can all be from texting. So maybe texting isn't all that good.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Bad Influences
In the book Art Geeks & Prom Queens there are two people who influence the protagonist Rio. Rio is a shy, sort of nerdy girl when she moves to her new highschool. She wears worn out clothes because thats what she feels comfortable in them. She doesn't try too hard, in fact she does not care of what people think of her.She makes friends on the first day of school. But when she meets Kristi, the typical snobby, self centered popular highschool, things start to change and Rio becomes a different person. Kristi is not really a posative influence on Rio. Although she get Rio to step out of her comfort zone, she turns into a whole new person. Rio's character goes through many changes in the book because of Kristi.
Kristi basically controls every action that Rio makes. She cannot be seen with certain people, she cannot wear certain things, she has to act a certain way all because Kristi tells her to. Rio has to act almost fake and perfect all the time around Kristi just to keep her good impression and friendship. Now that Rio is Kriti's friend, every girl and boy in the school want to be friends with her. She went from having 2 friends in the school to having everyone in the school as her friend. Kristi makes her feel a bit uncomfortable with herself. When Kristi asks her if she wants some drugs, even though she has never done it, Rio does it just because Kristi did. And then it became sort of her thing and Rio does it when she feels down. Rio begins to do things she would never do before she met Kristi.
Although Kristi may have a mostly negative influence on Rio, she also helps her socially. Kristi teaches Rio to be open with people. If it weren't for Kristi, Rio might have still been the shy girl who made no friends. Rio learned a lot of new things because of Kristi. Even if she did something bad, she knew in the future not to do that. Rio also enjoyed having fun and not being in her shell at the time and she had someone to tell things to. Rio could care less if she was popular and when she became popular, it gave her a whole new view on people and their personalities.
I think Rio learned a lot from being friends with Kristi. She learned the difference between are real friend and a fake friend and the reality of the highschool cycle. Even though Kristi might have taken Rio out of her comfort zone a bit too much, it was worth the experience of being her friend and realizing the things she did. For a while, Rio was not being herself because Kristi was forcing her to be someone who she wasn't.
Kristi basically controls every action that Rio makes. She cannot be seen with certain people, she cannot wear certain things, she has to act a certain way all because Kristi tells her to. Rio has to act almost fake and perfect all the time around Kristi just to keep her good impression and friendship. Now that Rio is Kriti's friend, every girl and boy in the school want to be friends with her. She went from having 2 friends in the school to having everyone in the school as her friend. Kristi makes her feel a bit uncomfortable with herself. When Kristi asks her if she wants some drugs, even though she has never done it, Rio does it just because Kristi did. And then it became sort of her thing and Rio does it when she feels down. Rio begins to do things she would never do before she met Kristi.
Although Kristi may have a mostly negative influence on Rio, she also helps her socially. Kristi teaches Rio to be open with people. If it weren't for Kristi, Rio might have still been the shy girl who made no friends. Rio learned a lot of new things because of Kristi. Even if she did something bad, she knew in the future not to do that. Rio also enjoyed having fun and not being in her shell at the time and she had someone to tell things to. Rio could care less if she was popular and when she became popular, it gave her a whole new view on people and their personalities.
I think Rio learned a lot from being friends with Kristi. She learned the difference between are real friend and a fake friend and the reality of the highschool cycle. Even though Kristi might have taken Rio out of her comfort zone a bit too much, it was worth the experience of being her friend and realizing the things she did. For a while, Rio was not being herself because Kristi was forcing her to be someone who she wasn't.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Same Love: Macklemore
As I read and analysed the song lyrics of "Same Love", written and sang by Macklemore, is a song about same sex marriage and stereotypes. He starts off the song explaining that in the third grade he thought he was gay. He talks about how our society abuses the word "gay". He says, "Have you read the YouTube comments lately."Man, that’s gay" gets dropped on the daily". The word gay is being used for hate, and thats not what it should be used for. He wants people to know that it is okay to be yourslef and there is no difference between being gay or straight because a person is a person and everyone should be treated the same. He wants people to know that he supports same sex marriage, with one of the lines saying, "No freedom till we’re equal, damn right I support it".
Today, words that assosiate with same sex marriage are being used to make jokes or say it because because they can. Why is words like gay being associated with bad things? Being gay is not a bad thing, like Macklemore says. People are who they are and society should not bring them down. Macklemore wants us to realize the harm the word can do and he wants us to fight until there is freedom by law. He also wants us to know what it can cause. In his song, he sings, "A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are". People are willing to kill themselves because of what our world has come to in terms of same-sex relationships. Bascially, this song wants to show awareness of same sex relationships. He also explains how passing a law won't change evrything, "And a certificate on paper isn’t gonna solve it all". Although gay marriage was passed, people are still going to fight against it.
It is important for people to stay true to themselves because ultimately, you cannot change who you are and how you feel about certain things. Even if there is controversy about it, there is no reason to stop loving someone just because some one else disagrees on the idea. Mackelmore writes, "Live on and be yourself". I think he mean that keep going in life and don't change who you are because your decision is yours not somebody elses. He says, "Underneath it’s all the same love". This line stood out to me because it really sums up the song. He wants us to know that after all the fighting and contoversy, that love is love and you can love anybody. The ones fighting against it should not be against it because who are they to tell somebody they cannot love.
Although this topic is not relateable to a lot of people, it is an important message to keep in mind. I know some people who are in same-sex relationships and when I see words like "gay" being used for jokes and in daily comments from teenagers, it makes me annoyed to think people would use that word negatively. It should not be associated with the bad. I wonder how people in those relationships feel when they are constantly discriminated by some people of our society. Macklemore wants us to know, feel, and think that same sex relationships are acceptable, and at the end, it is the "Same Love".
Today, words that assosiate with same sex marriage are being used to make jokes or say it because because they can. Why is words like gay being associated with bad things? Being gay is not a bad thing, like Macklemore says. People are who they are and society should not bring them down. Macklemore wants us to realize the harm the word can do and he wants us to fight until there is freedom by law. He also wants us to know what it can cause. In his song, he sings, "A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are". People are willing to kill themselves because of what our world has come to in terms of same-sex relationships. Bascially, this song wants to show awareness of same sex relationships. He also explains how passing a law won't change evrything, "And a certificate on paper isn’t gonna solve it all". Although gay marriage was passed, people are still going to fight against it.
It is important for people to stay true to themselves because ultimately, you cannot change who you are and how you feel about certain things. Even if there is controversy about it, there is no reason to stop loving someone just because some one else disagrees on the idea. Mackelmore writes, "Live on and be yourself". I think he mean that keep going in life and don't change who you are because your decision is yours not somebody elses. He says, "Underneath it’s all the same love". This line stood out to me because it really sums up the song. He wants us to know that after all the fighting and contoversy, that love is love and you can love anybody. The ones fighting against it should not be against it because who are they to tell somebody they cannot love.
Although this topic is not relateable to a lot of people, it is an important message to keep in mind. I know some people who are in same-sex relationships and when I see words like "gay" being used for jokes and in daily comments from teenagers, it makes me annoyed to think people would use that word negatively. It should not be associated with the bad. I wonder how people in those relationships feel when they are constantly discriminated by some people of our society. Macklemore wants us to know, feel, and think that same sex relationships are acceptable, and at the end, it is the "Same Love".
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