Speech- Kayla Beebout

Why Liberal Arts are a Great Choice in a Tough Economy         

The type of college education you choose can make or break your career.  It can determine your future.  I understand that this is first hour, and I understand that I’m standing in front of a room of juniors.  Being juniors in first hour, I imagine that most of you probably don’t even want to think about college.  I get that, but this is important to me and ultimately is just as important to you.  Now, usually a large public university would seem like the ideal choice.  But not always.  There is an alternative that is, admittedly, often more expensive but that can give you so much more for your money.  This alternative is something called a liberal arts college.  In today’s uncertain and ever-changing economy, a broad liberal arts education can be more beneficial than a specialized, technical education.  Liberal arts colleges developed from the earliest forms of higher education, forms that were proven to work.  The communities at these universities are closer-knit and more supportive than those in large public universities, and the track records of their graduates are on the whole more impressive. 

I’ve already established that this is a junior first hour class, but this is also an English class, so you probably especially don’t want to think about history. But a bit of history demonstrates the worth of liberal arts education.  The ancient Greeks came up with the idea of a liberal arts education.  They believed that citizens, free men, needed an education that would allow them to develop their intellect and humanity instead of technical skills.  They studied grammar, rhetoric, and logic.  The Romans saw the value in such an education, and many of the most prominent members of Roman society sent their sons to Greece for a liberal arts education.  The term actually is derived from the Latin word “liberalis,” which when used as an adjective, meant something appropriate for free men.  In 1636, Harvard College was founded as the first liberal arts college in America.  Today, liberal arts colleges still offer an enticing alternative to the more impersonal atmosphere of a large public university.

Imagine you’re going to a large college in a big city, maybe New York or Chicago.  Now imagine yourself in a class at that college.  The professor at the front has to use a microphone in order to be heard in the back rows of the classroom, which is really more of an auditorium.  He has no idea who you are and you don’t really know him either.  You didn’t really understand the lecture, but you can’t ask the professor about it because he is too busy working on his research project and again, he doesn’t really know who you are anyway.  This scenario would not play out at a liberal arts college.  These colleges tend to be much, much smaller than public universities, so your professors know you.  More than that, they care about you.  Their jobs are not focused around developing long, complex research projects.  Their jobs are focused around helping you succeed.  The smaller enrollment sizes also make for a closer community, as many more of the students know one another.  It has been said that although you may not find a group that shares all of your interests, that can teach you how to integrate into society instead of isolating yourself from it.  And in our increasingly global society, that will be an invaluable skill.  This community and intimacy also leads to more productive discussions in class, because people are not afraid of their opinions being judged or discounted.  This then leads to a deeper understanding of yourself and others, which would not have been as readily available in a large public university.  I understand that some of you don’t want to go to a college where you know almost everyone and that some of you may not want to study anything outside of your major, but I still haven’t talked about the thing that might actually wake some of you up: money.

I’m sure that not many of you would object to being financially stable or well off.  Well, liberal arts graduates have a history of doing well for themselves.  Their broad areas of expertise allow them to fit into a wide range of careers, something especially important with the economy as it is.  The Liberal Arts College Review reported that eight percent of the nation’s most prominent CEOs were graduates of liberal arts programs, and that twenty percent of our Presidents were as well.  This may not sound extremely impressive to you, but take into account that only three percent of college graduates are from liberal arts programs and suddenly these numbers are much more impressive.  These programs focus so much on success and personal development that these statistics are not surprising.  Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University, says that this type of education allows for a certain kind of innovation and flexibility that makes calculated risk taking much easier and effective.  These skills are what make people truly successful in business today. However, there is another side to the money issue I wish to address.

I want to take some time to deal with concerns with this type of education, the biggest of which is cost.  Yes, liberal arts colleges are expensive.  But they don’t have to be out of reach.  Many of them offer substantial academic and need-based scholarships, and athletic scholarships are becoming more common.  However, it can still be hard to pay for this type of education, and many people want the amenities and resources of a large university.  Many public universities, such as Western Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky, have incorporated Honors Colleges into their offerings.  These programs are the same concept as the Liberal Arts Academy here at Henry Clay: they are communities of successful students receiving a liberal arts education while at a larger school.  This way, you can have an affordable liberal arts education while still enjoying the facilities of a larger university.

Now that you realize that a liberal arts education can be an affordable alternative, I hope that you will be encouraged to explore for yourselves what these schools have to offer.  I believe that the interactions you will have at a liberal arts college will be rewarding and meaningful.  Faculty actually care about you as a human being, not as a statistic.  You will receive skills and preparation that will make you competitive in the job market.  And you become a part of a time-honored tradition of education as a means to learning, not as a means to a job.  This decision is probably not one you should make in first hour, but think about it.  Because your decision could change the course of your life.

 

Bibliography

"The Value of a Liberal Arts Education." Interview by SUNY at New Paltz. Youtube.com. Sunynewpaltz, 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 12 June 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEv0fUZ60lA>.

Liberal Arts College Review. "What Is a Liberal Arts College?" Liberal Arts College Review. Liberal Arts College Review, n.d. Web. 11 June 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.liberalartscollegereview.com%2Farticles%2F1>.

Roth, Michael. "What's a Liberal Arts Education Good For?" Web log post. The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 1 Dec. 2008. Web. 11 June 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-roth/whats-a-liberal-arts-educ_b_147584.html>.

Westermann, Mariet. "Liberal Arts Vision in a Global Age: Romance or Reality?" 30th Anniversary Great Issues Lecture. John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, Hanover. 26 Mar. 2012. Youtube.com. Web. 17 June 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aEw3TUHQBQ>.

Speech-Keionna Bailey

Was the Black Panther Party a violent militant group?

During the Civil Rights Movement there were many groups that fought for equal rights for African Americans. Each group using various means to fight the war on equality. Some used sit-ins, marches, and freedom rides. Of the many groups there was one that the FBI deemed "the greatest threat to the internal security of the country." The Black Panther Party for Self- Defense (BPP), during its commission the United States government used many tactics to paint the Black Panther Party as a violent, aggressive, militant group. However the BPP was created to stop police brutality and create an equal opportunity for the black community.

The Black Panther Party served as community of activists creating a variety of community programs to warrant communal development such as Free Breakfast for Kids. Breakfast for kids was a program designed to feed the children in the neighborhoods every morning. This started out in California and soon spread nationwide establishing nearly 10,000 programs alike. Healthcare activism was the source of the BPP’s programs. During the civil rights time period there was a lot of medical maltreatment towards blacks. Blacks didn’t have the newest medical treatments. Some healthcare services were completely nonexistent resulting in the drive for resources towards better health services. The BPP established free health clinics, nutrition classes, a pediatric clinic, a free dental program, and a Sickle Cell Anemia Research Foundation. They also encouraged young African American women to become nurses to help build a stronger network for blacks in the medical field. The BPP also worked towards helping their people in the legal department considering the large number of African Americans being charged with crimes they did not commit. In the words of one of the founding members Huey P. Newton, “the BPP was providing its own people with something the government was not.”

The full name of the Black Panther Party is The Black Panther Party for Self- Defense. The Self-Defense section of the title is often neglected to be mentioned when spoken of. The BPP was only about protecting their community but they protected their community with regulations and structure. One of the rules for the party was- No party member will use, point, or fire a weapon of any kind unnecessarily or accidentally at anyone. Violence was not a value they supported nor practiced. Other rules were: The Ten-Point Program and platform of the Black Panther Party must be known and understood by each Party member. This was a way to guarantee that each member accepted into the group would uphold its values. Also they had to read upon the changing political situations within the nation so they weren’t some uninformed gathering trying to disrupt the nation. The reasons for why the party was created were never forgotten. They made sure that the goals of the BPP were attained every day. Disobeying these rules resulted in a suspension from the party upon the discretion of your local committee. How many police divisions during that time can say they suspended an officer who wasn’t upholding the laws?  The chances were slim to none. The BPP wasn’t this radical group often portrayed through media. They took great responsibility in every action they pursued.

The head of the FBI, Edgar J Hoover, called the BPP "the greatest threat to the internal security of the country." What is threatening about an organization who wants to take of its people and upon taking care its people they aren’t vicious in anyway or manner? The answer is simply nothing. What is vicious and can be described as militant is the Counter Intelligence Program also known as COINTELPRO which was created by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to discredit domestic organizations like the Black Panther Party. COINTELPRO was a secretive government group that often took illegal actions against the Black Panther Party and other black liberation groups. They were working with the police departments and the Klu Klux Klan to destroy the party. COINTELPRO did a number of assassinations on the party’s leading members and made a series of arrests. For example in the Chicago branch of the BPP, leading member Fred Hampton and other Black Panthers were murdered in his apartment by police officers who told by an FBI informant where they lived. After a grand jury reviewed the case there were ninety shots total in which eighty-nine of those were from police officers and only one was from a black panther. Afterwards the Black Panthers who weren’t killed were arrested for “attempted murder of the police and aggravated assault”.  The one shot that was fired by a Black Panther came from Mark Clark who was killed in the crossfire. Not one police officer was jailed. The FBI didn’t have to kill all the leaders they just had to kill the ones who were most influential and made a difference like Fred Hampton. They wanted to ruin the Panther’s reputation and destroy them publicly. Because after all no one is going to support a group that is violent. They would do anything to accomplish this. Later on they waged psychological warfare on the party by sending forged letters to some of its leading members claiming that they were going to be removed from power. They would also create rivalries between domestic organizations hoping that they would make an attack on the Black Panther Party. Particular letters that were sent to leading member Eldridge Cleaver were complaints about Huey P. Newton’s leadership from his secretary Connie Matthews and claims of how they wanted Cleaver to take over. And when they confronted another no one believed Connie. It was the actions like this that drove the party apart. No one trusted each other anymore and the members who started off as a strong camaraderie started to drift away.

There are people to this day who still believe that the Black Panther Party were hostile and militarily combative when in reality they weren’t. They were perceived as militant because the media interpreted them that way. And because the media interpreted them that way the government saw them that way. This is why there were harsh and sometimes illegal actions taken on the Black Panthers. Towards the end of the Black Panthers existence they were split and had trust issues. The group that first started out as the community’s saviors was destroyed because when people saw them they saw criminals and murderers. Despite the world’s view of the party they influenced the black community positively and gave them the strength and the pride they needed to endure the discrimination, hatred, and violence against them during that era.

Works Cited

All Power to the People. Dir. Lee Lew-Lee. Perf. Mumia Abu-Jamal, Ramsey Clark, Ward                          Churchill, Bobby Seale. Electronic News Group in Association with ZDF, 1996. YouTube. YouTube, 25 June 2012. Web. 26 June 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po8eetZxqB0>.

Baggins, Brian. "History of the Black Panther Party." Black Panther Party. Marxists Internet Archive, 2002. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/black-panthers/>.

"Black Power." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 25 June 2014. <http://www.ushistory.org/us/54i.asp>.

COINTELPRO: The FBI's War on Black America. Dir. Denis Mueller. Prod. Deb Ellis. Perf. Stokely Carmichael,Geronimo Pratt, Kathleen Cleaver. Maljack Productions, 1990. YouTube. YouTube, 19 Feb. 2012. Web. 7 Dec. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDbVIDJnPzA>.

The image is a news service poster that mentions the death of someone and the date of perhaps   the next Black Panther Party meeting. Digital image.www.bobbyseale.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2014. <http://www.bobbyseale.com/posters/v6n10-4-3-71.jpg>.

Wassserman, Steve. "Rage and Ruin: On the Black Panthers." The Nation. N.p., 4 June 2013. Web. 26 June 2014. <http://www.thenation.com/article/174648/rage-and-ruin-black-panthers>.

Persuasive Speech- Mikaela Gatewood

Mikaela Gatewood

You Are Not an Advertisement

     Media has become a dramatically large part of today’s society. It’s an influential part of our culture, and has the ability to change people’s opinions and perceptions. The most alarming result of the media’s prominency is it’s effect on people’s body image. Increasingly, the media has changed society’s idea of the “perfect body” into a largely unrealistic and hyper idealized size. This image has had a profound effect on younger generations, leading to eating disorders and overall lower self esteem. Through frequent images of “perfect” bodies the media has actively promoted a thin ideal. I’m going to tell you about how it’s influenced younger generations, the negative effects of that influence, and what’s being done to help. 

     A huge contributor to the new idealized body are the photos of perfect physiques that are constantly being presented to the population. These photos have a large effect on young girls and their body image. Over time, studies have shown that models and women in general within the media have decreased in weight, becoming increasingly skinnier. Their representation within magazines articles, television shows, and advertisements have all helped in creating a distorted social standard of a thin ideal that girls often hold themselves to. Radar Programs did a study showing that an estimated 83% of adolescent girls read fashion magazines for an average 4.3 hours a week. This sort of time consumption has had a profound effect on younger generations and their opinions on their bodies. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, 69% of girls in 5th to 12th grade said that magazine pictures influence their idea of a perfect body shape. Not only are advertisements and magazines affecting body image, but TV shows, movies, and online videos have all been shown to influence young girls as well. With women in pop culture becoming alarmingly skinnier and skinnier, girls are increasingly striving to look like them as well.  

     This sort of influence has had a profoundly negative impact on teenage body image. While most of the time the images are photoshopped, the frequent appearance of perfected magazine advertisements have set a disturbing precedent for what normal bodies should look like. The bombardment of perfect bodies can make it hard for younger generations to not compare themselves, and often times become upset or dissatisfied when they don’t look the same way. It’s been shown by the National Institute of Mental Health, that 53% of girls are unhappy with their bodies by the age of thirteen, with the number increasing to 78% by the age of seventeen. Studies have shown this to be directly proportional to the consumption of mass media. An experiment published by the British Journal of Psychiatry helped to provide support for the correlation between the two as well. Researchers introduced various media and increased television exposure to adolescent girls in Fiji, a relatively media-naïve society with little Western influence. The results showed that after several weeks of consumption of media the girls exhibited a significant increase in eating disorder attitudes and behaviors. In America as well as most of the Western world, which is a much more media driven society, this influence has led to more dramatic results, such as the development of eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. According to Family First Aid, 90% of eating disorders have been seen in women between the ages of 12-25, the prime age group for fashion media and advertisements. However, despite the large influence the media has, it’s been shown that the body type portrayed is only possessed by about 5% of the American population, as proven by the National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. Not only does this mean a disproportionate amount of women are unable to achieve the body the want, but that the ideal is unrealistic and generally unattainable. 

     So what’s being done to help? More and more magazines are promising to remove photoshopped images from their products, eliminating some of the pressuring images. In August of 2012, Seventeen magazine pledged to stop publishing any photoshopped image, vowing to only feature “real girls and models who are healthy”. This was the result of a petition started on change.org by teenager Julia Bluhum, with more than 84,000 signatures. If more magazines, as well as fashion companies, promised to participate in this movement as well, I believe the effects would dramatically decrease the number of teenagers suffering from eating disorders or negative body image. With the elimination of unrealistic images from magazines, hopefully television shows, movies, and other media sources will begin following suit, thereby getting rid of the majority of the unhealthy standard. The normalization of healthy bodies is essential in stopping the cycle that influences so many teens today. 

     Overall while the media hasn’t solely contributed to the increase in body dissatisfaction among teenagers, it’s certainly been an large factor and source of the problem. With recent developments and future progression, hopefully one day the set standard of the perfect body will be eliminated. Thank you. 

Speech Final Lucy Macfarlan

As I sat down to write this speech, I couldn't stop thinking about how, though I felt passionately about the issue of rape culture, I didn't really have a personal story to tell. I wasn't raped, I wasn't denied validation for my victimization, I wasn't ever hurt. But then I remembered a time a few months ago. I was walking down the street on campus when a group of rowdy college boys approached me, not really an uncommon occurrence for most women my age, never less, I got a little worried, they were hollering at me, asking me for my name, my phone number. Invading my sacred private life. and then came the real shocker: one of them reached down as he walked past and grabbed ahold of my ass(I use ass here to prove a point). shocked, of course, I wanted nothing more than to turn around and punch the the guy. but he was a drunk college guy, and I was just a girl, a girl who had been reduced to very little by only the unwanted touch of a strange man.

It was a moment that sucked and I wouldn't wish it on anyone but it isn't what proves my point. What proves my point is when I was telling the story a few days later to a friend and I said "I was wearing jeans and a t shirt! I was with 3 guys! why did he pick on me??" and I thought to myself absentmindedly, "I was dressed conservatively, I wasn't drunk, I'm not a slut, I don't deserve this." And then I realized the pervasiveness of rape culture in our society. even I, a dedicated and some might say radical feminist had allowed myself to think that anyone could somehow "deserve it."

Unfortunately, stories like these are not uncommon, take for instance the statistic that nearly 1 in 5 woman will be raped in her lifetime(national intimate partner and sexual violence survey). Taken alone this statistic is disturbing, even more unsettling however, is that 97 percent of these rapists will walk free(Rainn.org) Because this statistic includes women raped under the definition of "completed alcohol or drug facilitated penetration" many of these women will not only be ignored, but will be chastised for not being more careful.

This trend of blame placed on victims of rape who have somehow done something "wrong" is common. All Too often, Police officers first ask the victim if she had been drinking, what she was wearing or other qualifiers that somehow make it more understandable that the rape would take place. This victim blaming behavior was a central aspect  in the highly divisive, high profile Steubenville rape case, in which a young woman was raped on camera while under the influence of alcohol(nytimes.com) and yet when discussing the case, many news casters lamented not what was taken away from the girl, but rather how sad it was that the careers of two promising young football players had been cut short by a mistake made with a drunk girl who had a reputation of being flirtatious.

Because the blame is so often placed on the victim as in this case and other famous cases like it, many young women who are raped under the influence of alcohol or have in some other way done the “wrong thing”, feel such shame that they fail to report the rape. In fact,only 40% of rapes are even reported, and because of our societal tendency to blame the victim, only about 10% of these reports lead to actual arrests(rainn.com).

        Rape is a violent crime. Rape is a violent crime that is all too often left for the victim alone to shoulder, and rape culture is allowing that to happen. Rape culture is blaming the victim, rape culture is denying the victim, rape culture is thinking that it is okay to sexually harass a woman on the street because you think that she is attractive, and it is when that woman wonders what she did to deserve what you did.

So what do we do? How do we fix this plague on our society?

        We stop blaming victims. We stop telling women that they can somehow deserve violence for doing the wrong thing, for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We stop shaming the people who are hurt, and we start holding  those who hurt them accountable for their actions.  And finally, we all have to change our own minds about ourselves and the people around us and remember that person doing all the "wrong" things "deserves" it just as little as someone doing all of the "right" ones.

Speech-Andrew

 “I believe in life. I believe in human beings. I am the enemy of anything which deprives anyone of life” Kenneth Patchen's words might have revolutionized literature and the art of reading, but they should seem obvious in the discussion of human life. human existence remains a prerequisite for any sort of discussion, existential or mundane. I don't know how to emphasis human life enough. Quotes about the intrinsic value of life seem absurd. Without life the author wouldn't be writing, and nobody would read his words. Yet perpetual war has shown that few grasp the value of life.

While no sane creature takes their own life, war and violence of evident of a value judgment that people's increased gain, either in physical wealth, perceived safety, or ideological dogma matters more than others intrinsic right to experience life and aesthetic beauty. One only has to look to recent police brutality or conflicts in the Middle East to know how common it is. No logical discussion can change someone's value's judgment, nor should one try to. My goal is to explain why even from the most egocentric standpoint, non-violent conflict resolution serves one's goals better than violent means.

Wars, from the beginning of time have granted benefits for small numbers of individuals at the expense of huge populations of life and wealth. I would like you to pay attention to two specific American conflicts, the benefits of which are not what's always proposed. The Iraq and Vietnam War were fought because of financial motivations, and for select individuals too. That statement isn't hippie conspiracy theory, it's legitimate historical fact. As Noam Chomsky stated “We fought the war to prevent Indochina from carrying out successful social and economic development... I mean, sometimes it reaches a point of almost fanatic effort to make them suffer.” The War in Iraq was just a more successful instance of this historical trend of waging war for economic gain. While it cost the American people six trillion dollars, it had tremendous financial benefit for select people. The former head of military operations in Iraq, Gen. John Abizaid, is on record for saying “Of course it's about oil; we can't really deny that.”. And that's not oil for the sake of the American good. Companies like Halliburton and Chevron donated record amounts of money to candidates in 2000 and 2004 elections and granted executives high paying jobs in exchange for the access to the oil fields they've been granted. The cost of these wars is more than monetary.

Millions of people, whether American soldiers or civilians of areas we invaded were killed or maimed. Even those with no obvious physical injuries suffer. The Institute of Medicine estimates that half a million American soldiers currently suffer from PTSD. I'd be very curious to hear any sort of value system that considers those costs worth whatever wealth a few might have gained from those conflicts.

But enough with the cynicism. There comes a time when legitimate issues arise for average citizens. Governments, corporations, or foreign invaders might be oppressing them. Surely when faced with such injustice, it becomes not only permissible, but necessary to fight back with any means available? Let me remind you non-violent resistance does not equal passivity. Nowhere in the process does it involve being complacent while injustice is being wrought upon a people. What non-violent resistance has shown is that, not only is it a viable option for accomplishing goals, but it remains the only permanent one. For the moment ignore any ethical dilemmas of killing another person, ignore the psychological trauma it brings upon all parties, ignore the selfish motivation for wars. The historical record shows that non-violent action is the only option to obtain permanent ends to injustice.

What about military actions that alleviated injustice? The famous historical example is World War II. Let's examine that claim. Assuming that World War II was fought for purely altruistic means, which is quite an assumption, that claim is still in dispute. The aftermath of the war led to more occupation of countries by foreign countries than the Axis ever accomplished. Soviet Russia caused so many executions, internment camps, and general injustice, it's enough to make a Nazi's mouth water. And the Jewish people, who were granted a nation of their own promptly turned around and forced new injustices upon the original occupants. I struggle to find any measurement that the world after WWII was any more free or just.

Martin Luther King's civil rights movement and Gandhi's use of satyagraha for Indian Independence are the most famous instances of successful non-violence accomplishing goals that would otherwise be impossible, but numerous others exist, and the accomplishments of these movements have been diminished. As impossible as it would have been for Indian or African American populations to accomplish their goals through military and violent means, the non-violent methods that they implemented were more effective in accomplishing permanent goals.

The historical record shows that violent struggles for equality have never had long lasting effects. Only after a long period of non-violent resolution can permanent issues of injustice be healed. It took the Civil Rights movement a hundred years after the Civil War to obtain legal equality. Nelson Mandela attempted to end the apartheid through the violent sabotage with the Nation of the Spear. This was only met with increased violence against the civilian population and more injustice. It was not until thirty years later when the African Nation Congress adopted non-violent means to accomplish their goals that they had resounding success with ending the violence against innocent Africans and eventual governmental reform to end the Apartheid. Even from the point of view of the white government, violence only succeed in souring international opinion against them. An article in the Journal of Peace Research by professors at University of Otago (In New Zealand) shows that violent opposition to nonviolent protests is never successful in the long run.

 The Documentary A Force More Powerful illustrates some of the more prominent of these non-violent movements and the International Centre of Non-Violent Conflict also provides some spectacular research if you're curious about more of the history. Non violent resistance is effective against injustice, not just through governments or dictatorships. India, Egypt, Czechoslovakia, Pakistan, and Aceh, West Paupa, Estonia all owe their independence, or the continuing struggle to non-violent resistance to occupying forces. Guatemala and Columbia also have ongoing non-violent conflicts to end violence and war within their regions. As Lucy probably knows, non-violent movements are important for women’s suffrage and struggle for equal rights throughout the globe. With adequate training and dedication, non violent resistance holds a perfect record for permanent alleviation of injustice, and that's precisely the point I'm trying to make. As Albert Camus said “Peace is the only battle worth fighting for.”

Persuasive Speech- Jessica Nelson

When a grandparent is sick people often get overcome with emotion, as they should. But once the emotion is cut through, they find comfort in making the decision to stop the kimo treatments or pull the love one off of a venalator based on “quality of life”. But what no one ever seems to consider is the quality of life at the start of it. As I hear people argue for the outlaw of abortion I can’t help but fixate on the quality of life for children in orphanages.

I have firsthand experience with some of these children. For about a year I babysat on a regular basis for a mother who was fostering 3 related children. One night when the oldest, a 6 year old little girl, had been having a particularly rebellious night (which including letting the dog into her room after being warned not to multiple times because come to find out her sister had, unbenounced to me, fed it chocolate ice cream earlier that day and it proceeded to throw up in her bed) we were having a conversation and she began to tell me how her real mother didn’t love her and how she had hit her and her siblings, and how they had been bounced around from home to home. I was staring into the eyes of a six year old who had already experienced more tragedy than my 13 year self had, despite having moved away from all my family, dealing with one of my parents having a cancer diagnosis, and coping with the death of 6 loved ones. And she was lucky. She didn’t have to live in an orphanage, she was able to stay with her siblings, and she had a foster mom who could provide for her with no ulterior motive but the memory of having a mother who didn’t love her will haunt her forever, regardless of how lucky she is.

While she will always be somewhere in the back of my mind, I am more concerned about the children who don’t get so lucky, who stay trapped in an orphanage. The U.S. Department of Health and Human services says that “There are over 120,000 orphans in America, while another 400,000 children live without permanent families”, that is crazy isn’t it? And the numbers increase exponentially when you start to look at other countries. There aren’t enough foster families to accommodate them all, (at least until Michelle Dougar stops being able to have kids and resorts to adopting them faster than Brad and Angelina) but on top of that age out of the system at a rate of 27,000 a year in the U.S., and are left with “with little financial or emotional support” according to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS).

But there are clear reasons why these children aren’t getting adopted on average it takes 896 days and $28,000 to adopt a child from any country. The price is big for the families adopting but the price is bigger for the children. Children lose 1 or so months of linear growth for every month in an institution, and children over the age of 2 will become shy and withdrawn, and have slowed social development if not a mental illness. I have babysat for 2 other 6 year old little girls making 3 if you include the one I mentioned earlier. 2 of them are foster children and the 2 that are foster kids are much behind the other intellectually. Neither of the 2 foster kids could read even the simplest of books and could hardly struggle through assigned vocab words, despite both of them having teachers as caregivers. The other 6 year old reads to me from her chapter book before she goes to bed. So why don’t we pass legislation to try and fix it, well we did, that’s the problem. The Hauge convention is the piece of legislation for international adoption striving to reduce the risk of child abduction and streamline the basic processes between countries so we could easily facilitate adoption in the best interest of the child, yeah that didn’t happen. The U.S. signed the treaty in the 1994, and it took effect in 2008, red flag number 1.  Make that 2 because I’m fairly certain that expecting the state department to move with a sense of urgency of the issue was red flag number 1. And number 3 is the apology given by one of the main pioneers of Hauge policy Louisianna Senator Mary Landrieu as documented in the film Stuck (along with the rest of the facts from this section). She admits that the process now takes much more time and money than it did before, which discourages people from adopting and is the opposite of what they wanted the treaty to do.

We aren’t U.N. members, it’s not feasible for us to think we are going to be able to fix this. But there are people out there who can and no one is trying to. The issue is being overshadowed by gay marriage and abortion. Yes, I get it, gay marriage means a lot to people, it’s not to be forgotten, but the right to be adopted is not just the right to love, it’s the right to be fed every day, to develop as you were intended, to leave the building you’ve been locked in your entire life, is the right to marry really more of a basic liberty than the right to safe and nourishing place for a child? At least gay people can defend themselves, abandoned children have no voice to the world outside of their locked gate. And if it is wrong to terminate an unborn baby when did it become ok to terminate the chance of a child having a happy and healthy life? So I propose that we be the voice for them. The easiest step we can take toward fixing this problem is to stir the pot, blow it up on social media, and lobby for it. The most I’ve seen this issue in the media in my lifetime has been a joke that was featured on ifunny several weeks back that I will shamelessly share with you now: “why can’t orphans play baseball? Because they can’t find home” when testing this joke out on my friends they replied that that was heartless but hey at least the author is doing something to call some attention to the real issue here. As I was searching for my documentary for the annotated bibliography I found 3 in existence and one wasn’t even in English. With such a lack of information you might find it difficult to advocate for the issue because you yourself cannot think of a solution to the problem. Fear not, let me share with you a quote from Alison Leviene. For those of you who don’t know who she is she my women crush Wednesday, she has completed the Adventure Grand Slam which requires climbing the highest peak on every continent and skiing to both poles, and she is also the women who was asked to leave the girl scout national convention this year after her speech for comparing something to talking about sex with the pope and proudly displaying her “fenis” (as in the penis like contraption that ladies use when they need to make some yellow snow on the mountain) for her audience which unfortunately contained 5 and 6 year olds. She told us that “you don’t need absolute clarity to put one foot in front of the other”. All I ask is that you take the first step with me and maybe in the time it would take to adopt one child under the current procedures we can change the process for all that will follow.

Works Cited

1.     Stuck. Dir. Thaddaeus Scheel. By Jennifer Latham. Globox Media, 2013. Netflix. Web. 23 June  2014.

2.     "Understanding the Hague Convention." Intercountry Adoption. U.S. Department of State, n.d.       Web. 25 June 2014.

3.     "Adoption Laws." International Child. Adoptionservices.org, n.d. Web. 27 June 2014.

4.     Levine, Alison. On the Edge. N.p.: Grand Central, 2014. Print.

5.     United States Department of Health and Human Services. "Data Brief 2013." ACYF Office of Data, Analysis, Research, and Evaluation Data Brief 2013-1 (2013): 1-6. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

6.     "Children's Statistics." Worldwide Orphan Statistics. SOS Children's Villages USA, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

Assignment 1- Michael Dickson

Howdy,
My name's Michael, and umm... I'm mostly antisocial, but I like video games (like, waaaay too much), umm..... Not to sound like a hipster or anything but my favorite music is indie rock, namely a band called Fall Out Boy (seriously great band, look 'em up). If I could have any superpower I would want the power to turn into any animal. Like, literally ANY animal. Tiger? Yes. Elephant? Yes. Tyrannosaurus Rex? HECK YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, I forgot to mention... I have this mental condition... It makes me get waaaaaay too excited about dinosaurs...

Assignment 2- Michael Dickson

Technology is awesome. Really awesome. You just can't fathom how hugely, vastly, immensely awesome it really is. my life is quite closely tied to technology. I communicate using a cellphone, I watch videos on youtube, and I play games on too many devices to count. Technology is extremely important to me. It helps me communicate, it educates me, and (arguably most importantly) it entertains me. I would be a lot more antisocial and extremely bored without modern day technology.

Assignment 3- Michael Dickson

Good and evil. There are no such things. There are only different opinions. What's 'good' to one person could be completely 'evil' to another. For example; Harry Potter and Voldemort. Voldemort and his death eaters don't think of themselves as evil. They are trying to 'purify' the magical family tree, taking out the impure muggles and mudbloods. Harry and his cohorts only act to stand in his way and prevent him from saving the magical world from corruption and filth. Another example is the Sith and Jedi. The Sith are merely trying to achieve more power, they are simply doing what we all do, strive for self betterment. But they can't because the ignorant Jedi are too bound by tradition and restrictive rules to truly master real power.

Assignment 4- Michael Dickson

This picture (Washington Crossing the Delaware) fills me with patriotic pride. It remind me how dedicated our forefathers were about defending and keeping their country and it makes me want to do more to try and emulate their same ideals.

Assignment 5- Michael Dickson

So... I haven't watched tv in a little over a year... i have switched almost entirely to youtube and occasionally netflix. But back when I did watch tv it was entirely for entertainment. I watched cartoons and such but my favorite show was mythbusters. I enjoyed it because it combined my two favorite things: science, and explosions. My dream job for a long time (and, honestly, it still is) was to be a mythbuster. Getting to use science and math to determine if awesome explosion things could actually happen!!!!!!!!!

Assignment 7- Michael Dickson

On the day September 29 in the year 61 BC, Pompey the Great celebrated his third triumph over a group of pirates. This third victory ended the Mithridatic war.
(Aside- this also fell upon his 45th birthday.)

Assignment 15 Thomas Kenny

Week 11: multifarious - having great diversity or variety

I chose "multifarious" to describe myself because I have changed interests drastically from my childhood to now. I've retained a great deal of interest and knowledge in sports, particularly baseball, from being very athletic as a child, while I would consider myself to be a particularly nerdy person with a love for computers and video games. I'm also very easy to get along with, and as such, have a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. Even within my interests, I could do a variety of things within certain activities. For example, when I played baseball, I could play pitcher, catcher, 1st base and outfield comfortably. In the context of school, I've never really had one particular subject that I've always been strongest in. Some years my best class will be history/social studies, others it will be math or science. I'm a well-rounded individual (or at least I like to think that I am.)

Assignment 15 Ian Harrison

What medium do you think best expresses a story?
In my opinion, movies are the best medium with which to tell a story. Books are a close second because I believe in the power of the written word, but it's much easier for a director to get their vision across because they are stimulating the senses humans use and rely on the most: sight and hearing. Movies create the illusion of reality by trying to create its own version of reality. In movies we can see and hear characters interacting with each other and understand exactly what the director and write intend for us to (usually). Little is left to the imagination and thus themes and ideas can be expressed more thoroughly. I personally find it much easier to understand or identify with a character I can see and hear as opposed to one that I have to envision or just hear. In conclusion, I think movies are the best way to tell a story because they are the closest to "real" a story can be.

Covergirl-Sydney Taylor

So I really don't remember what my other two questions were in my previous blog post and I can't find it but I'm pretty sure one of them was something about music?? So music for me is great when I need to change the mood I'm in or otherwise emotionally balance out my life. I listen to music on the way to school to prepare myself for the day, on the way home from school to get over the day I had, and during classes to drown out everything going on around me. Spotify is currently my favorite thing in the world because it's so easy to discover new music which I love. I love going to concerts and wish I had time to get a job so I could buy more concert tickets and go see all my favorite artists live. The first concert I ever went to was Sheryl Crow, still one of my favorite artists, when I was six years old and I'll never forget it. 

Covergirl--Raiffa S

Before you start reading this I would like to apologize for actually making this post. I regret writing this more than you will regret reading this. 

Weekly Obsessions!!:  Inspired by the fantastical YouTube duo Superfruit (2 of the singers from the acapella group Pentatonix) what is one thing that you have been obsessed with this week?

So I have quite the affinity for boy bands, some would say it is borderline obsessive. I would say it’s so past borderline it’s already made its way around this thing twice. Every year I discover a new boy band to consume my life and my internet history. 8^th-9^th grade it was One Direction. 10^th grade it was McFly.

And now it is IM5.

And holy god are they perfect.

They can sing. They can dance. But most importantly they are all under the age of 17 so my fantasies of being swept off my feet with an acoustic guitar and a flawless riff is somehow more attainable.

From left to write is Cole , Dana, Gabe, and Will. Now you might be thinking (lol jk you’re def not but just roll with it ) “Why are there only 4? I thought it was IM5?” Well you see like a year or something ago they had a member known as Dalton (who looks like one of the guys from 5sos) but he quite to join a different band. He was replaced with David but he quit like 3 weeks ago.

So yeah. I could go on for freaking ever. Seeing me do this spiel irl is exhausting and impossible to interpret so I leave you with a link to a video they did with Todrick Hall from YouTube called Disney Dudez. This is the 3^rd and best one. Enjoy. 

Flying Turkeys-Andrew Hardy

Thanksgiving is a holiday that I'm probably the most apathetic about. Canadian Thanksgiving isn't a big deal and happens on a different date (Second Monday in October), so I don't visit family. I enjoy the food, but eating too much is really uncomfortable for me. What I usually get stuck doing is coming along to the orphan thanksgiving dinner for our Quaker Meeting. People who don't have family visiting or to visit all congregate in an old couples house to have a potluck meal. My parents usually cook a large portion of the meals because my dad enjoys cooking and my parents have an odd feeling of guilt about providing for the people in our meeting. I end up helping with the preparation, and I pity any person stuck in a sexist domestic life forced to provide for large numbers of people, especially on a regular basis. My parents do end up making pumpkin pie, and this is a favorite of mine. We usually bake three or four from the months of October to December. At the potluck there are usually numerous pies as well. The other favorite part of Thanksgiving for me is that the couple that hosts has dozens of little wooden puzzles. They're usually a geometric shape like a rhombohedron with several different pieces and you attempt to place them together to form the original shape. I have had little luck with solving these sorts of puzzles. In a state of mind muddled by starch and elderly people's conversation, it is extraordinarily difficult. The few moments of joy when I've completed one of these puzzles would be my fondest memory of thanksgiving

Flying Turkeys- Mikaela Gatewood

My family doesn't really have any set Thanksgiving traditions. In fact, I can't remember the last time we did the same thing two years in a row on the holiday. Instead of having the traditional sit down meal, we occupy ourselves by traveling, going to a friend's house, cooking a small dinner, or going out to eat. The lack of consistency is mainly due to the fact that my grandma goes to my uncle's house over Thanksgiving, and without her amazing cooking we're hopelessly lost when trying to recreate it ourselves. But despite our inconsistent plans and usual lack of turkey, I still love Thanksgiving. Even though I'm often neglected mashed potatoes and stuffing, my family has still managed to maintain the spirit of the holiday. We spend the day together, filled with my dad cracking inappropriate jokes, us laughing about our inability to cook, and my mom insisting on giving bits of food to my dog Georgia. At the end of the evening we always made sure to tell each other how thankful we are, and how we appreciate the great people we have around us. It's become a great time to reflect and acknowledge how lucky we are to have each other. It's during this time of year that I feel closest to my family, and for that it's by far one of my favorite holidays. 

Assignment 11: do i know my neighbor

well my neighbor is Lucy and she wrote a pretty wicked blog post about me (i screenshotted it) so i cant really top it but shes the complete opposite of me, but its weird because we kind of get along well and we like to joke around and she will make fun of me but it's okay because i do it back so it's weird. But she's really laid back and has really good taste in clothes. Also on a serious note i admire her for her intelligence and her ability to stand up for what she believes in, i find that really hard to do sometimes because people don't always agree with you. But she always stands up for herself and stays true to herself and i wish i could be like her in that aspect.

assignment 10: BOO

If zombies attacked the first thing i would do is cover myself in dirt and fake blood to try to blend in with them, ya know trick them into thinking i was one of them. out of all the zombie movies ive seen ive never seen anyone try that i mean that is a good idea. but if that didn't work then i would probably let them eat me because zombies have to eat too so who am i to deprive them of a delicious meal such as myself? also even though they are super slow they always seem to catch up to their prey and im not very fast either so it's inevitable so yeah i'd let them eat me. #zombieequality

Assignment 1 Thomas Kenny

I’m Thomas Kenny and I am a walking contradiction. I’m one of the laziest scholars that you’ll ever meet and one of the most athletic nerds ever. Well, I used to be, but injury after injury kind of messed that up. It is kind of hard to pitch, catch, and swing with a shoulder that has been dislocated. Twice. Since I can only compete in athletics in limited capacity, I’ve transitioned into making another aspect of my life much more competitive: video games. Last summer I was introduced to the e-sports scene when friends convinced me to try a game called Smite which was in beta at the time. Fast forward a year and I’m competing for real money against some of the greatest players in the nation.

My team’s website: http://team-wildcard.com/index.php (My screen name is NiceDice231)

Shameless self-advertising: www.twitch.tv/teamwildcard

I livestream on the team’s twitch channel from time to time. That’s actually the reason that I was so late getting these up tonight. I’m still getting the hang of it, but I’m excited to see where I can go with this in the future. 

Here is the splash art for my favorite character in Smite: Ra, Egyptian God of the Sun.

assignment: fears, annoyances, etc.

Fears: heights, confined spaces, being a forgettable human being(not making a mark on the work)

Annoyances: judgy people, people who feel entitled, mean people, mouth noises

Accomplishments: Being (or trying to) live up to my expectations, having a good job

Confusions: bad things that happen to good people and vice versa, animal cruelty :'(

Sorrows: self doubt, heartless people

Dreams: to be happy, to have a big family, to be a vet

Risks: i do alot of stupid things that i wont say

Beloved possesions: my cats and dogs, my phone

Problems : too many

I never understood why bad things happen to good people. Good people are good so they deserve good things. For me, when I do good things and nothing good ever happens to reciprocate my goodness it almost makes me want to do bad things because maybe then something good will happen. We have all known a bad person who does bad things and always seems to have good things happen to them and this blow my mind because i mean what is karma if it doesnt even work

post 7: DATE

If i am the only person who has chosen October 3rd as there date i will be really dissapointed because on october 3rd, 2004 Aaron Samuelsasked cady heron what day it was, and so she responded "its october 3rd". what a great day in history this is, october 3rd is now a national holiday celebrating Mean Girls. you know you can always count on pictures and gifs on twitter and just about everywhere on October 3rd of the October 3rd quote. im sure ms. norbury would be so proud that this day in history has lived and will continue to live on.

Assignment 14 Thomas Kenny

My Thanksgiving looks very similar to any other traditional Thanksgiving celebration. Turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn & green beans, fresh rolls, and other scrumptious dishes fill the table. But there is something… off about the scene in my house. Something about the lighting is different than most dinner scenes. The thing that makes our Thanksgiving different is that we eat it at half past noon. Seeing as how either one or both of my parents has to work on Thanksgiving afternoon & evening, more often than not we celebrate and feast during lunch rather than dinner in order to be together for the holiday. Even though the time of day is different, it’s still as delicious as it would be at any other time of the day; especially since we always make double portions of rolls to appease my carbo-holic diet. Unfortunately, due to the ensuing food coma, we throw off our sleep schedules by napping for the entire afternoon.

assignment 5: what do i watch on tv

i think this is by far the hardest question. i have commitment issues when it come to my "favorites" because revealing that can reveal so much about you. but other than that, people judge you for what you watch on tv, which might sound ridiculous but it is so true. so yes i enjoy watching keeping up with the kardashians because i find humor in their high class lifestyle, and yes i watch say yes to the dress because i love that moment when their face lights up because they are about to get freaking married, and yes i watch criminal minds because i secretly wish i had the balls to be that brave, and yes i watch shows that make me cry. all of that is true but no that doesnt mean that i want to be a kardashian, or that i want to be married at 16, or that i want to be a detective, or that im depressing. people read too much into what people watch on tv lol

Assignment 13 Thomas Kenny

Cops, cameras, and Chris Hansen.  We take the concept behind To Catch a Predator and apply it to cops on the streets to put a stop to police brutality. It’s simple: identify an officer and his race, find an actor of a different race, and when the officer inevitably descends on the innocent victim to unleash his/her own brand of crooked justice, we catch them red-handed! In addition, officers that get caught on camera must willingly acknowledge their evil, repent, and engage in community outreach activities for the rest of their lives. This ensures that we not only isolate the problem and fix it, but also turn it into something beautiful that any American can live up to. Once the legislation banning the use of firearms by law enforcement is passed, we can create a third show where we operate fake gun stores and catch those dirty cops who are looking for better ways to terrorize the public.

Choose your own adventure- Maddie Wheeler

These are going to seem really lame, but you'll get over it. I'll try to make it deep and fun and cool and stuff.

Write about your dad
Write about your mom
Write about your siblings

DAD.
My dad... Sigh. My father and I are fairly similar people despite the fact that we differ completely on the one thing we are both very passionate about. Politics. He's very far right... I'm very far left. We are both extremely passionate people and we speak our minds and we want to win and we always think we're right. This causes a lot of... Hmmm... Spirited discussions? He's a good person and he means well, but gahh. It gets to me. My father and I love each other though, and we both very highly value comic relief. Sometimes my friends are shocked at how I speak to him compared to my mother who I treat with the utmost respect and gratitude. My dad and I bicker and yell and say profane things to each other but that's okay because he's half of my DNA and I think that means I have to love him. I may have over stepped in this post, talking about politics (dun dun dun) in such a judgmental place known as high school (dun dun dun), or worse, the Internet (dun dun dun). But oh well. Everyone has things to say about their parents, I just chose to do it here.

assignment 3: good verses evil

we've all been taught since birth that you can only be one of two things: good or evil. My first recollection of good vs evil being presented to me was in The Lion King. There is Scar and then there is Simba, and we are all trained to be Simbas but some of us become Scars. I think that there is a definite grey area with this whole good vs evil thing because we are not born to be evil. our experiences are what make us into the people we become. Good people will be good until bad things happen to them despite their goodness, so they become bad. Scar wasn't born evil, and simba wasn't born good. so what are you, a simba or a scar?

My subject- Maddie Wheeler

Fears: bridges, myself, the dark, society

Annoyances: rudeness, closed minds, people touching my stomach (weird, I know)

Accomplishments: balancing between school and what I really want to do

Confusions: society

Sorrows: body image

Dreams: love.

Idiosyncrasies: Sarcasm, all the time.

Risks: traveling without plans (want), traveling with plans (did)

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then: then; toys. Now; relationships.

Problems: anxiety, Self assurance.

Dreams. 

When I first read this prompt I was really excited because I thought I would get to talk about how I taught myself to lucid dream over the summer, but instead I find myself talking about what I want in the future. Though this topic is slightly less cool, hopefully it will bring me more joy in the long run. I really just want love. I want a husband who loves me for my awkward giggles and my fits of totally bitchyness, I want a few kids who love me for my amazing cooking and nurturing skills and for whom I love for just existing, I want an extended family that keeps loving me and begins to love my future kids and husband, I want friends who I can trust and who can trust me. I know love is a very vague and lame thing and you're probably annoyed that that's what I want out of life. But oh well. This is about me, and that's what I want. I want love, for love brings security and trust and happiness and so much more. I just want love. 

What is it good for- Maddie Wheeler

I honestly couldn't tell you if I believe in war or not. I don't ever see myself enlisting or serving my country in a way that involves that much violence. I would probably say I support war but only because I don't see any viable alternative actually existing. I honestly don't know enough about foreign policy to say if war is ever necessary or whatever. The whole idea that there is no solution but killing people is quite scary to me and I think society as a whole should work on that. That's a little bit soul tearing when you stop and think about it. I suppose some people respond better to violence or being scared into doing the right thing, that's the reason you can spank your kids. It sucks and people learn their lesson, but on the other hand a lot of people respond in the worst way possible to that. Many people see violence or get treated violently and they act out and do worse. Ultimately, I don't know. But not to worry, I'm not running for president anytime soon.

For the love and hate of TV- Maddie Wheeler

Tv is my guilty pleasure. I've been known to watch an entire series of over a hundred episodes in a matter of weeks. Tv to me is a just a way to escape into a world much greater than mine. I even re watch shows I've seen a thousand times. I honestly couldn't tell you how many times I have seen greys anatomy. I'm sure each episode has been viewed 5+ times. Some of my favorites are scandal, greys, gossip girl, supernatural, Sherlock, Merlin, being human, sex and the city, and above all, lost. I tend to get obsessed with a show because of how the story is executed. The format of lost with flashbacks in every episode which gives you more of the story is extremely interesting to me. I get lost in a world that isn't my own and I can't even escape that world in my dreams. That's why I watch something as silly and commercialized as tv.

Know your neighbor- Maddie Wheeler

Sydney and I are not close friends. We don't share secrets or braid each other's hair or talk about cute things boys texted us. Though through our interactions on social media and in everyday life I don't see why that couldn't happen in the future. Sydney and I both stand for feminism because women are awesome and stuff. We tweet about it pretty often and my Twitter is pretty much the window to my soul, so you get it. If Sydney were to be a color, I'd give her a solid mint green. She's pretty chill and she keeps her cool but she's also really adorable and she stays approachable. Mint green just seems right. If Sydney was an animal, she'd probably be a meercat or something super cute and small that probably makes a really cute squeaking noise. That's about it. She's cool.

Boo- Maddie Wheeler

This might be a little morbid or sad or depressing or whatever but it's more interesting to discuss how I'm scared of myself rather than how I'm scared of bridges, because who doesn't love a little self pity? I've struggled with anxiety for the better part of my life and that in itself is scary. I'm scared of freaking out over something small I'm scared of trying to chill myself out so much that I end up sitting in my room with chocolate and Netflix for the rest of my life I'm scared of what people will think if I have an anxiety attack in public I'm scared of my friends thinking it's too much of a burden I'm just scared. I'm scared of all the above and it's kinda hard. I know a lot of people have it a lot worse than me and I'm not one who complains. I usually suck it up and eat a cupcake. Being scared of yourself is a little bit healthy though isn't it. You should light such a fire in your soul and hear that you can scare people away just with your sheer positive outlook. That's what I do. Be scared of not being okay. Focus on the good because why would you focus on anything else? There is no good reason to not smile everyday. Suck it up and flash those pearly whites.

Flying Turkeys- Maddie Wheeler

My family is very vanilla. For thanksgiving we usually keep it pretty simple and just invite my older siblings. My two grandmothers live with me so it's not a huge traveling deal. Yes, we break out the extra crock pot and the thanksgiving exclusive plates and of course we all wear our loose pants. Me and my mother do most of the cooking, though my grandma always comes down and helps me make an apple pie. I enjoy the holiday very much all things considering. Something about it though always makes people bicker. I don't think there has ever been a thanksgiving at my house where my parents haven't fought over something stupid and trivial like bread or football or which Sirius radio station we should be listening to it. I often find comic relief in this though, because I get to take my moms side so she gives me money to go shopping the next day and then I get to chase my dad around the house with food he hates and attempt (and always succeed) at shoving it in his mouth. It's a funny holiday to my family, we don't really focus on the actual history and being Americans. We just like to eat and bicker and continue to be a typical American family where the women cook, and the men watch football. So very vanilla.

Assignment 4- Maddie Wheeler

This photo is of a sailor and a nurse engaging in a passionate and celebratory kiss. This photo was taken right at the end of World War Two, when everyone was just happy to be alive and happy to be an American. This photo is recognized all over the world and has been researched incredibly well. The story goes it was impulsive and out of the blue. A sailor and a nurse who didn't know each other at all shared one of the most intimate things humans do. Just a touch of the lips. What is even more insane is that this event was caught on camera. This contributes to some of the question around this photo. It's all very convenient. But that, that's the beauty in it. At any single moment in time, amazing things are going on everywhere. This is one photo that takes my breath away every time I set my eye on it.

Brave Little Toasters- Maddie Wheeler

Pink and polka-dotty. A day in the life of an invention no one really appreciates. A hair brush. These poor objects sit on our bathroom counters or at the bottom of our purses all day long. Pulling strands of keratin out of our scalps in order for us humans or dogs or cats or furry little creatures to look presentable in someone's eyes. Wet or dry, blonde or brunette, straight or curly, hairbrushes tackle it all. Imagine being picked out of a dark and cold drawer just to be dragged through a teenage girls wet and tangly mess of hair and then thrown back into that dark and cold drawer, but this time, you'll be cold and wet. Or imagine a worse situation where you're pulled through a mess of day old hairspray and mousse just to be thrown to the bottom of the pit of doom known as a handbag. A truly grueling life, that of a hairbrush.

Changes- Maddie Wheeler

Gender equality is something the human race has struggled against since the beginning of time, and still does today. In some places this issue is more severe, in some it is more frivolous. I propose that we work to develop ways to reproduce without the male. All males are pigs and should be eliminated at once. They are filthy and disgusting creatures that choose to degrade their obviously better counterparts, the female on the daily. Science has progressed very far through time and I don't see why it would be unreasonable to assume we could invest money in reproduction by two females, which could then elimate males in all aspects. This is not insane. This is necessary.

Jesse Konopka Assignment 10

What scares me more than anything is spiders. By far, its spiders. There is not really a definite reason why I am afraid of them, I just am. Most people don't think it is that bad, but it really is. I completely freak out whenever I see a spider. It is not something to laugh at, I am m absolutely terrified by them. It might not be what people expected to hear, but spiders are what scare me the most

Assignment 14: Flying Turkeys

That holiday, Thanksgiving, is too distracting with all of the food. The meaning of it is to be grateful for all of your blessings. The first thing that comes to my mind is food of course. That is not the point. The holiday is a break from work and school to look in retrospect at how blessed we all are. Everyone has something to be thankful for. As I redefine this holiday for my brain, I realize it is one moment where we are all supposed to have that one moment in which we cease the chasing, the chasing of the mansion, the new BMW, or the Michael Kors only for a few hours, then back to goals.
I love this holiday but for all of the wrong reasons: food and gluttony. The most wonderful memory I have of Thanksgiving is about four years ago when my parents were still married. Things were less complicated, I was a kid. I did not have to worry about my future. I didn't appreciate that time. I didn't appreciate my parents being together. That Thanksgiving was the same year my grandparents came up and stayed with us. My grandmother cooked. It was so great. I can not help but feel like it seemed so perfect because it is in the past. I am sure I had a stain on my new sweater that day or had a stomach ache, but I choose to only remember the amazing things of those few days.
But thisThanksgiving was worthwhile as well.

Assignment 11: Do you know your neighbor

I sit by Amir this year. It is no secret that he is one brilliant person. From the little time I have sat next to him, I have learned that he is very humble about his intelligence. I respect him for this in so many ways because it is one thing to be one of the smartest people in the room but to also be one of the most humble people, is amazing to me.  I always see him give his best effort on any and everything.
Amir is passionate about film and film history. His passion doesn't just cover those broad areas, music and art are interests of his as well. His favorite directors are Ranier Werner Fassbinder and the Japanese master Akira Kurosawa.
I asked him what he wanted to do after high school and he told me he wanted to pursue a career in film as well as teach others about film. I truly believe he will be one of the most innovative and creative director/ screenwriter of our time. I remember asking him what he does when he is bored and he responded with " I write." I wish I could just sit and write like that.
Anyways, I can not wait to get to know Amir even more throughout the school year.


A side note... anytime I score well on vocabulary quizzes, Amir writes good job. To some people, that is no big deal, we've all heard it from a teacher before. But, it is just nice to see it on a piece of paper from a peer. At KYA this year, the word emphasized the most was COMPASSION and I think Amir embodies that word. (sorry for being super cheesy!)

Assignment 12: Brave Little Toasters -Mia Alexander

In my life, my glasses are a huge part, even if it doesn't  seem like it.  (This is in the perspective of my glasses)


Each day, I start off in a new place. Between couch cushions, under a loaf of stale bread in the kitchen, or on the dresser are some places I have rested at in the past few weeks. I am dingy everyday of the week. I silently beg to be cleaned but I am rarely heard. By the time I am found in the morning, I am stuffed into the side of a backpack, soon to be scrambled for at the 8:25 bell, if I am lucky.
Some days, I patiently wait  all day in my owner's home. Either way, I am taken for granted.


What does it say that my owner is not even wearing me right now? Am I that invisible?

On a normal day, I am taken off after school and stuffed in a new home: a different bag. Before I am removed, I witness my owner scarf down a snack and occasionally get a bit of marinara sauce on me here and there. I sit uncomfortably with an assortment of objects. My owner has to work soon and hopefully she remembers to put me back on.

Assignment 15: Covergirl

Actually this one is all about make-up (do you see what I did there)?
If you have completed all the blogs for the semester, then take this week off.  If you are missing a blog post then use this opportunity to make-up a grade.

Your Prompt:

Choose one of the other two prompts from Assignment 6: Create your own adventure and write about it.

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, December 7th at 11:59 pm