Senioritis sucks, let me tell you. I was out all last week because I had my wisdom teeth removed, which also sucked big time, and now that it is Sunday night and I want to watch AT LEAST another 5 episodes of Grey's Anatomy, I have to finish my physics lab and math homework. Yes, this is every high school student's problem on a Sunday night, but when you're a senior and have already been accepted to schools... you'll understand. Trust me. I have come up with a pro's and con's list of senioritis... here it is.
Pros:
Sleeping in helps reenergize the body and mind
Mental Health days preserve and/or repair mental health
A Grey's Anatomy marathon becomes an option!
A long shower or even possibly a bath is possible
You get to take your time eating breakfast
There is time to day-dream about college
You don't stress out if you get an 89.9 because it wasn't that 90 you were hoping for
Cons:
You become extremely lost in school and find it almost impossible to catch up
Your teachers lose some respect for you
Your parents might get upset if your grades drop
WORST CASE SCENARIO you get senioritis so bad that your college takes away your acceptance
You miss out on all of the fun inside-jokes that happen in class... wait never mind there aren't any...
I'm out of con's
As you see, there are more pro's than con's. But, let's be honest here. I am me, and if you know anything about me you know that I am going to fight that 89.9 until my last day at HHS. Why? Because I set goals for myself and I work as hard as I physically can to make them a reality. And when that is done, I set a new goal. The big big goal that is always hovering over me is one that I set when I was only 3 or 4 years old. I want to become a doctor. Regarding the speciality, I am thinking surgery or trauma but that I am comfortable in leaving for a later time. Anyway, so that is my goal and doctor-dreams and senioritis make for a bad, bad relationship. So yes the pro's may weigh out the con's, but I am still going to try.
Think about this... You get on a treadmill (think of the treadmill as life itself, goals if you will) and start walking at 2 mph. Everyday you increase your speed by a small amount, but years later you've reached a speed that you are satisfied with. If you were to get "treadmillitis" and take a break for a couple of minutes, you would surely feel relieved. But when it is time to jump back on, and that time always comes back around, it is nearly impossible to start where you left off... you'd fall smack on your face. So don't get off the treadmill. Keep going until you find the speed that YOU want, and then stay there.
That is why I am going to fight senioritis and just keep rambling about it.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Something needs to be done about unsafe abortions
Abortion has always been and always will be a controversial matter, however, I hate to think that all of those pro-life people out there wouldn't want an abortion to be done right, if it were to be done at all. Between 1995 and 2003, the abortion rate per 1,000 women dropped from 35 to 29, but remained the same (28) in 2008. Alarmingly, the percentage of unsafe abortions rose from 44% in 1995 to 49% in 2008. An unsafe abortion is defined by the World Health Organization as, "a procedure for terminating a pregnancy that is performed by an individual lacking the necessary training or performed in an environment that is not up to minimal medical standards" (cnn.com). Dr. RIchard Horton says, "Condemning, stigmatizing, and criminalizing abortion are cruel and failed strategies. It's time for a public health approach that emphasizes reducing harm – and that means more liberal abortion laws" (cnn.com). I agree, people are going to have abortions one way or another no matter what the law says. This does not mean I am pro-life or pro-choice, it means that I am a realist and I understand what people are going to do. It is unavoidable, so I think it is more important that these laws focus on the safety of the mothers rather than punishment. Birth control and other methods of contraception need to be available.
The author of this article, Val Wadas-Willingham, seems to be a realist as well. The writer included many statistics that pointed to the increase in unsafe abortions and the increase in improper laws. The logos was there in the statistics and quotes, however, I believe that Wadas-WIllingham was lacking in the ethos, which is so easy to insert in this type of article. She could've shed light on the mother's stresses of how to go about an abortion or the affects of having an unsafe abortion. I liked this article but there could've been a little more fluff to it.
Where to travel safely in Mexico!
This is the time of year when seniors are getting antsy to finish up first semester and start planning their senior trips. Many parents are obviously hesitant to allow their freshly graduated babies to fly off to Mexico in fright of the drug wars, and obviously because of the movie "Taken". The San Fransisco Chronicle's Five Safest Places in Mexico rates Tlaxcala the safest, with only 1.1 deaths per 100,000. Next in line is Yucatan, which has 1.3 per every 100,000, and has a well-developes tourist infrastructure and thousands of historical and archaeological sites. Puebla, Queretarp,Baja California Sur, Mexico City, Todos Santos, San Miguel de Allende, Hautulco, and Playa Del Carmen complete the list. So, for all you seniors out there, remind your parents that not all of Mexico is dangerous, although any teen on a trip should remain cautious.
The author of this article, Chris Owen, seems to be aware that many people are leaning away from traveling to Mexico in his first sentence, "Crime in Mexico has kept travelers away from some parts of the country that are riddles wit the results of drug carte operations" (www.gadling.com). I think a good strategy of his was to state the obvious right off the bat to get rid of the "elephant in the room" situation. He then goes on to list the places and does not really use any other techniques other than giving a brief description of what attracts people to each area.
Click here to learn where in Mexico to travel safely!
Bird flu strikes again!
Unfortunately, China has reported their second bird flu death in less than a month. The H5N1 bird flu virus is to blame, although neither victims reported being in contact with birds or poultry. Since people in contact with the victims have reported no symptoms, specialists say that this case does not involve transmission among humans, and that they are still trying to find out what the means of transmission is. According to the World Health Organization, bird flu has killed 343 of the 582 people who are known to have been infected, including 28 of the 42 infected Chinese victims. China is said to be the major breeding ground for the H5N1 bird flu virus since it has the largest poultry population and close contact between birds and people in rural areas. Close by, Vietnam has reported 60 deaths and Indonesia has reported one. I hope that this virus stops spreading and is contained quickly.
The author of this article, Michael Wines, enhances his logos by including ages, dates, and locations. This helps readers to see just how fast this virus is spreading and to recognize the severity of H5N1. It is helpful that he included information regarding surrounding territories and countries, as it gives perspective on the location and spreading of the virus. Wines also puts his syntax to use within the first three words, "A man died" (nytimes.com), immediately grabbing the readers attention.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Uh Oh, Papa John's... Uh Oh
Just when we all thought America was not a racist country… a Papa John's Pizza worker put "lady chinky eyes" as the name for an in-store order. All I have to say is "wow". Minhee Cho is an Asian-American who works as a communications manager at ProPublica. She posted a photo of the receipt (as shown below) on her twitter page, which received over 200,000 views by Sunday afternoon. Papa John's said, "This act goes against our company values, and we've confirmed with the franchisee that this matter was addressed immediately and that the employee is being terminated…We are truly sorry for this customer's experience" (cnn.com). Sorry is not going to cut it, in my opinion. Althought Cho wants this to just blow over, I think that Papa John's reputation will be forever tarnished.
This article appealed to the logos when it said, "The receipt had been viewed online almost 200,000 times by Sunday afternoon, according to the counter on the Twitpic page" (cnn.com). It was helpful that the author, Alan Duke, added in facts about how many people saw the picture. It was also helpful that he provided the picture so that there can be no disbelief about the article. He also applied to the pathos when he described where Cho works, because it makes us as readers see her as a person and not just a character in an article.
Dead Body Found On Royal Estate
On Sunday, the body of a 17-year-old girl was found on one of Queen Elizabeth II's estates. A dog walker found the body three miles from the royal residence at Sandrigham House. Part of the 31-square-mile estate is open to the public and officials say that the crime is in no way related to the Royal family. The body was identified as Alisa Dmitrijeva, who has been missing since August. Hopefully, justice is brought for the victims family.
The author of this article did not use many strategies, and if he had I believe that this would have been a better article. I did not like how the writer did not include the name of the missing girl until the second paragraph. Readers want to know who, what, where, when, and why right off the bat. No one wants to wait until the second or third paragraph to read what happened. I think that the writer was very all over the place and should've thought more about his order.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Bless Me, Ultima Final Chapters
Well, I have finished the book and am not sort of at a loss for words on what to say about it. I have to admit; I am a little disappointed by all but the last chapter. I kept expecting something big to happen that would change everything. Don’t get me wrong, big things happened such as Antonio taking his first communion, Tenario’s curse on the Terrez’, and Florence’s death, but I still feel like there are a lot of loose ends left at the end of the book. What ever happened to Antonio’s brothers? I thought that this was the biggest question that went unanswered. Yes, all of us readers want to know the fate of Antonio but he almost says it for us when he was talking to his father and his uncle. Tony explains that he is a Marez first and then a Luna when talking to his uncle. Later on while talking to his dad he asks if you can make your own religion. If I were to write a “tying up loose ends” chapter to this book, I would write that Antonio makes his own religion and helps people to the best of his abilities, just like Ultima. But… I am not going to write this, so we’ll all just have to use our imaginations.
Anyway, at the beginning of this reading Father Byrnes was explaining eternity and if sent to hell, how long you would be stuck there. This really scared me. A huge pile of sand has to be moved grain-by-grain thousands of miles away by bird. And that is only one day of eternity. Anaya did a great job of capturing the students’ fear… and evoking mine. He writes, “We gasped and fell back in our seats, shuddering at the thought of spending eternity in hell. The story made a great impression on us. Nobody moved” (202). Yeah… I didn’t move either!
Continuing on the topic of Antonio’s maturity, I thought that he proved a lot about himself in the scene where the mob of students were pressuring him to give penance to Florence. Tony says, “I had stood my ground for what I felt to be right and was not afraid” (Anaya, 214). I thought that it was amazing how Tony stood up to his peers for Florence. He really believed that Florence was telling the truth when he said that he had not sinned against God. Florence believed that God sinned against him, and I believe it too. I thought it showed a lot about Tony because even though he is extremely religious, he was accepting of Florence’s beliefs and opinions. I think this would make Antonio a great leader and/or priest one day.
After Antonio’s first communion, he is expecting to know all the answers to his questions just because he has “eaten” God. It seems a little ridiculous to me to think that you’d know all of the answers just because you ate a wafer. I am not religious so I do not really feel the same significance but it just seems far-fetched. Tony should know that it would take time to figure out the answers.
It was very sad when Florence died. He was one of my favorite characters. I think that Florence taught Antonio a lot about life and religion. He taught him that sometimes life isn’t fair and sometimes it’s hard to believe in religion because of the hardships you might have to face. Both of Florence’s parents died and his sisters were whores at Rosie’s. He had a very unfair life and it is even sadder that he had to drown. I believe that Antonio became more accepting of other religions after being so close to Florence and learned even more that God cannot always help people.
My favorite quote of this reading is, “… life is filled with sadness when a boy grows to be a man. But as you grow into manhood you must not despair of life, but gather strength to sustain you” (Anaya 245). This is Ultima talking to Antonio. It is true that when you grow up you see a lot of sadness, and sometimes that sadness can get you down. There is a limit, or should be, to how much sadness a young child should see, though. Tony has now seen 3 people die and I think that going to work on the farm was the best decision for him.
Overall, I think that the death of Ultima could have been predicted. This event was foreshadowed in the beginning of the story when Antonio’s family took Ultima in to make her comfortable before she died. It was obvious that this was going to happen. I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it.
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