My favorite thing to learn about this year was early America, especially the west. The grit and determination of the early settlers is kind of unbelievable really. They knew the high stakes and risks of moving to the West but they went anyway in search of a better life. So many people risked their lies all in search of a a better way of living and that kind of determination is wild to me. I also find the stories interesting. It’s also interesting how the Dust Storms happen, through static electricity. I usually really like history but I think this year’s history has been my favorite.
My Favorite Middle School Memory
I’ve had a lot of fun memories over the course of my middle school years. They weren’t the best but they weren’t the worst. I don’t have a particular memory that was my favorite but I really enjoyed getting closer with my friends. I feel like before middle school we never really talked about more serious things, we just joked all the time. Which isn’t entirely bad but there should be a balance. Sometimes I actually enjoy talking to some of my friends about things that are going on in my life so I’m glad that everyone is comfortable with each other now. If I were to pick one memory though I would pick the 6th grade retreat. I actually don’t remember much about it but I do remember being so much more carefree and having a lot less anxiety than I do now. So whenever I remember that I get nostalgic and a little sad. I won’t miss anything about it though, aside from me being a kid.
I’m not excited for high school at all. All it means is that I’m getting older. I miss being a kid and not having to stress about school and friends and things. I’m horrified for all the classes and the workload. I never cared too much about my grades, I’m an ‘if I pass then I’m fine kind of person’. But I can’t do that in high school. And I’ll have to start studying more. This all sounds lazy but really I just don’t want to grow up.
In conclusion, middle school had it’s ups and downs so it’s hard to tell if it was good or not. But I know I’ll miss it.
Maturity
There are a lot of opinions as to when you “become an adult”. Though some parts of the brain mature at different times, there’s no single age where you technically, “become an adult”. But, the age most people consider adult is 18 though. There are different ages that you can do certain things at but these milestones don’t really correlate to what neuroscience says. Neuroscientists know that brain development continues into adulthood. Significant changes happen in the brain’s anatomy during a young adults life, especially in the prefrontal areas. Those areas are important for planning ahead, anticipating consequences, controlling impulses, and comparing the risk to the reward.
There have been a lot of debates over what the age should be for various things. For example, there’s a debate as to why you’re allowed to vote and be enlisted in the military at 18, but not allowed to drink alcohol until 21. There’s also people who think that once your 18 you should have to dedicate a year to the community or enlist in the military. While that is a good idea, I think our current system has been working quite well, to my knowledge. I think driving at 16 isn’t as outlandish as some people tend to think it is. I would even go as far as to say it is actually pretty beneficial. It helps people to learn a certain level of responsibility that you need to have for driving and for all of life. While driving you’re responsible for your own life and for the lives of others and that responsibility is needed for the rest of life too. I think the drinking age being 21 is sensible because it gives your brain time to become more mature and not be affected by alcohol during that time. It’s also less likely that an addiction develops if your brain is more matured to handle alcohol and it’s effects. Since this system has been working for us, I don’t think it would be very worth it to change it right now unless we’re positive it will have a good outcome.
How should scientists handle controversial issues?
Science is a field that is based on facts the majority of the time. But sometimes issues arise, like the issues with the nature of light. I think scientists should voice their viewpoints, they have a right to an opinion. If they go to a debate they should be ready to present facts and evidence. But this opinion should be open to change. If new data on the issue comes out, then the scientist should be ready to change their opinions. If they don’t it’ll damage their reputation plus, that’s just stubborn. Public debating is something that’s done a lot, it’s entertaining to some people and it’s good to hear new views. But, controversial data should not be left open to interpretation by the public. The data might be misinterpreted and spread out as misinformation and that’s a whole other issue. So, scientists should voice their opinions but, they should be open to new ones.
Progressive Era
If I lived in the progressive era I would stand up against bad living conditions and I would support women’s suffrage. I would try to make better living conditions for people because the conditions that the lower class lived in are terrible. The streets were dirty and germ filled and the insides of houses were packed and multiple families would have lived in one room. There were people who lived their whole lives in those conditions and that’s horrible. I would support women’s suffrage because everyone deserves to have voting rights and rights in general. I would help women’s suffrage by participating in marches and joining the National Women’s Suffrage Association. I would help better the lower class’s living conditions by supporting “How the Other Half Lives” and telling people about it.
New Pit and the Pendulum Ending
I didn’t particularly like the ending of the Pit and the Pendulum. It was nice to have a not so morbid ending but, it could’ve been more interesting. The ending was also really anticlimactic, which I didn’t really like.
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I had a few options but not much time to decide for the burning walls of the chamber were getting ever closer. I could give in to the walls and their glow, press myself against them and wait for the release of death. Or, I could jump down into the claustrophobic darkness of the pit. Neither were very desirable options.
“Oh, how cruel could someone be?! How heartless?!” I groaned. Surely there could be no worse death than that of the pit!
I wondered if there was a member of the Inquisition, my capturer perhaps, watching me from somewhere, waiting for me to succumb to the walls or to the pit. Were they disappointed when I evaded the pendulum? Or were they happy to give me a new means of torture? Even if there was no one watching me from elsewhere, I didn’t want to give the Inquisition the pleasure of having me dead. My brain went into overdrive, trying to figure out some way to escape. But that was only for a moment, for I finally realized there was no escape, and therefore, no hope. I crumpled to my knees. So this is how it felt to be utterly hopeless? I sat for a moment trying to ignore the burning walls that were still getting ever closer, I could feel their sulphureous burn well now. The heat was no longer that of a fire you would make in your home. It felt more like the surface of the sun. I slowly backed up to avoid the burning iron. As I was backing up a tripped on a stray piece of rope, from when I had evaded the pendulum. That piece of rope nearly caused my death. I stumbled over it and just barely avoided falling into that horrible pit. I could smell the mold that clung to all sides of the pit from years of condensation. I tried to stand up, very very carefully, I didn’t want to risk tripping again. But when I had stood up, the wall was no more than a foot away! Frantically, I put my hands to the wall pushing with all the might I had left in me, my hands were searing. But, if I pushed hard enough maybe the walls would stop moving? “Of course they will!” I said aloud. But I couldn’t convince myself, I knew deep in my soul, nothing would work now. The walls pressed on and as they did I was pushed to the very edge of the pit. The walls made one final lurch, the final lurch to send me over the edge. I tried desperately reaching for any niche in the moldy, slimy, wall as I fell but my burnt hands could barely hold themselves together, much less hold onto a wall.
After what felt like an hour, at least, of falling, I hit the water at the bottom. A sudden pain rushed through my back. I was able to keep myself afloat for awhile but, with both the pain of my hands and back, I could barely keep myself above the water . The constant flailing was making my arms ache too. Eventually I just stopped trying, and I embraced the sweet release of death. Surely it’s better than this torture.
Takata Airbag Situation
Airbags are devices in the steering wheels and other parts of cars that blow up and slow your head down so you don’t have a fatal injury. Airbags can save your life, but only if they’re made correctly and installed correctly. One company, Takata, did not make airbags correctly and they knew of it too. They’re carelessness has caused the death of at least 15 people and that’s not okay. On November 18, 2014 NHTSA had Takata issue a nationwide recall of the defective airbags which had customers bring their cars in to replace the airbags. I think it would be reasonable for the families of the dead to sue Takata and for them to face criminal charges. They’d known about these defective airbags and said nothing about it, knowing of the deaths, which technically makes them murderers.
Confidence
There are many people in my life who give me confidence. One of these people is my dad. Usually he gives me confidence school-wise (if that makes any sense). Whenever the topic of school comes up he brings up how much better of a student I am than he was and he says he’s glad I don’t stress way too much about school, which gives me a little bit of an ego boost for some reason. He helps me study for tests when I need it but he also believes I can do well studying on my own. He gives me confidence in other things too but when I struggle with school things his confidence in me helps.
UPG’s
There is a people group in the US called the Somali. The Somali are an Islamic people group who fled from their native country when in collapsed in the early 90’s. They have a current population of 184,000 who generally live in Minneapolis, Columbus, and Seattle. The Somali practice Sufism. Sufism believes that you can obtain a relationship with Allah before you die. For them, intimacy with Allah can be obtained by following tariqah, or, the path. They speak in their native language of Somali. The Somali culture is a conglomeration of traditions created when they interacted with neighboring nations and civilizations. Much of their culture contains Southeast Asian influences, like their food. Sadly enough they are 0% Christian, probably due to their dedication to their religion. And since none of them are Christian there are no evangelists among the community. They don’t have much access to the gospel as there is no one to evangelize their culture. The New Testament has been translated into Somali and there are print Bibles and audio Bibles available to them. Honestly, I picked this group because I just picked a random red dot in the US. We can pray for this group in a few different ways. Examples of those ways, are by praying for Bible’s, prayer for the Holy Spirit to begin working in the Somali people, and prayer for the gospel to make it’s way to the Somali. Ways missionaries can contact the Somali are easy compared to some people groups, they could go into the cities to find them, communicate using translators and become friends with them that way too. Their biggest obstacle to the gospel is their religion. They follow Islam and they’re dedicated to it. It’s hard to reach these people due to their dedication to their religion and language but it’s definitely not impossible.
Is Shakespeare too difficult?
I think depending on the person Shakespeare could be too difficult. For people who don’t like reading or have a harder time reading it could be difficult but, for someone who enjoys reading, this could hardly even seem like work. But just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it’s not beneficial. Shakespeare created over 400 words and it’s good to know where they come from. Reading Shakespeare can also help with reading comprehension. Overall it is well written and sometimes humorous so I do think there’s some benefit in learning it.
Have A Carrot Calm Yourself 