Blog #1-Topic Discussion

The three topics that I am interested in are teen pregnancy, unemployment, and education.

When it comes to teen pregnancy, I agree when Mary said that people are not educated at the right time about it. When teenagers are taught about sex ed, it is usually too late and they are already practicing unsafe sex. Another cause about this issue is that teens are becoming more rebellious and not thinking about their futures. Teenagers in this society think that they can do whatever they want, whether or not their parents allow them to do it. They think that they can practice unsafe sex and try doing drugs or alcohol and it won't effect their future. This is quite alarming because it can cause even worse issues in their future. In today's society, what teenagers do in middle and high school depends on a lot of different things such as future school, career, and place of living. I do not like the idea of teen pregnancy. Because teens are not educated about sex, they think that it is okay to have unprotected sex. A lot of teens say, "that won't happen to me". The truth of the matter is, it very well could happen to you. I don't think this issue has effected our school specifically, but definitely surrounding schools that are a lot bigger. It is becoming a norm for teenagers to get pregnant and have to support a child while still going to school. I think there are a lot of things that people can do to raise awareness or even prevent teen pregnancy. Something that schools can do that might be embarassing but usefull is to give out free contraceptives. There should be no embarassment to get condoms at schools because the teens are thinking ahead and having safe sex. A lot of schools promote abstinence, but in this day in age, it is very uncommon for the majority of the high school to be abstinent. Since that idea isn't working, schools should at least promote safe sex and make sure that all teenagers have the access to condoms or other contraceptives. Another thing that schools could do is educate their students about sex at a much younger age. Some students are having sex as soon as they get to high school. I believe that it is a good idea for teachers at the middle school to teach sex ed and make sure that kids are either staying abstinent or having safe sex. It is important to do this in order to help prevent teen pregnancy. A lot of teens barely manage to take care of themselves, let alone another dependent human being.

Another topic that I found I had a strong opinion about is unemployment. Unemployment is growing, and there is always something people can do about it. It seems like every time I turn around, some kind of business is hiring. I believe that one reason people settle with unemployment is because they're lazy. People don't want to get out of their beds and get dressed to spend 8 hours doing something that they don't like. Sometimes that's not even enough and they have to have more than one job. Something that we could do about this is provide motivation. Just a little self esteem boost could go a long way. Another reason why people don't go out and try to look for jobs is because they don't have appropriate clothes for an interview. No one wants to walk into an interview wearing their pajamas. However, if you are unemployed, you cannot afford to buy new clothes in order to look acceptable for a job interview. There is a business in Davenport that works specifically with that. They take donations of old clothes and give them to women that are trying to find a job interview. This is a really good program in my eyes because now the women have no reason to not look for jobs. The boost of motivation may be needed, but after they visit this place, they can successfully look appropriate for their interview and hopefully can make a lasting impression. If this were to change, it would impact our world quite a bit. Since adults have the confidence to go to the interview and look like they deserve the job, they are more likely to get it. This could even lead to less people in depression. Since adults can pay for their families and make sure that there will be food on the table, they will be happier and optimistic.

Education is something that has always raised my blood pressure. I really like Caleb's idea of focusing on the grading scale. I completely agree that people cheat to get the A. In all honesty, what grade you get doesn't really tell anyone whether or not you know anything about that topic. With all of the internet access that schools give now, it is almost too easy for a student to cheat on their homework, tests, and projects. This will give them the grade they want, but they won't be benefiting at all from taking the class. I think that as a service project, we should quiz the people with all As in their classes to see if they really know what the topic is about. This can show that some students cheat off of other people and/or the internet in order to get the grade that they desire. It would be great to see that schools would eventually get rid of the grading scale and instead give them a "pass" or "fail". Knowing the material is the whole point of taking the class. It is important to retain the information in order to do well in your future classes and college. This could impact our school and world immensely. Students would be focused on learning instead of getting an A in the class. I am very opinionated about this topic because I know that I have gotten an A and not deserved it. I would love to go back and relearn the topic so I can retain all of the information.

Blog #6: Persuasive Essay Topics

As I was thinking about what I should write for a persuasive essay, I realized that all of my high school persuasive topics were about children. I decided I wanted to stick to my reputation, so all of my possible topics will be about children.

For my first idea, I thought about writing about placenta tests to see if there are any medical problems for the baby before he/she is born. I think that this is an absurd idea. I feel like this will lead heavily into higher abortion rates and negative thoughts about having a family. A reason why I am not extremely sold on this debate is because it was not on any of the Blackhawk websites that we were to look through. However, I would be willing to do more research about this topic because I have a strong opinion about it. I think that some things are to be left unknown and will be found out when it is need to be.

Another idea I had was an idea I pondered last year but chose against. I thought about writing about parents smoking in cars with children. I am strongly against this. I feel like the parent is putting the baby in danger and the child cannot tell the parent not to smoke. Children's immune systems are not as strong as an adult's immune system and if they get sick, they will become very sick very fast. One bad thing about writing about this topic is that it isn't on any of the Blackhawk websites, either. I do think that this would be very easy to find articles about since I started researching about it last year before I switched topics. I am uneasy about this because it is a hard topic to debate about. I think it would be hard because I would be trying to speak from the children's point of view (meaning that parents shouldn't smoke in a car), and there isn't a child that could speak for themselves.

Blog #5: Brainstorming Informative Essay Topic

For this informative essay, I think I want to write about diabetes. I think it would be easy to write about this topic because I have had the darn thing for so long. This is still a broad topic to write about, so I would have to narrow it down even more. I think I want to write about the research they have done for it and how close they are to finding a cure. I have talked to my Endocrinologist about some places to start my research, and she gave me a lot of good websites to look into. I know I will enjoy writing about this because it's is something I am also interested in. I am surprisingly excited to do my research for this topic because it is something that really involves me.

I'm not really sure what else to write about. I don't have a great knowledge about anything else, or interested in doing research about anything else. I know that's not something I should be saying to a teacher, but at least I'm being honest. I also have no idea what to write about.

Blog #4: Practice Informative Writing

In order to make pasta, you first have to boil some water. It would be appropriate to have about 6 cups of water in your pot. As soon as your pot of water is boiling, add a few cups of whole wheat Rotini pasta and a few cups of white Rotini pasta. The pasta needs to cook about 13 minutes, or until it becomes tender. After the pasta is tender, you need to drain the water out of the pot. It is easiest to do this with a strainer. After the pasta and water are separated, leave the pasta in the strainer for a while. Make sure the stove is on low to medium heat. Add about 4 tablespoons of butter to the pot. Add a little bit of garlic, and let the garlic and butter sizzle for a little bit. Before the butter burns, add the pasta to the pot. Add a few pinches of parmesean cheese, stir all of it up a little bit, serve, and enjoy. This dish is best served with garlic bread.

Blog #3: Pre-Writing for Personal Essay

As soon as we started taking notes about the personal essay, I started thinking about what I should write about. I honestly don't think anything exciting has happened in my life that will pass the "So What" test. I have a few ideas, but I'm not sure how they will turn out.

My first idea is to write about my Granny. My Granny was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in November of 2012. She didn't decide to tell anyone until about the following April. She moved in with us a few months before she was diagnosed, so we lived together all throughout her suffer. I believe that this changed me because I learned how to set my emotions aside and take care of my Granny first and foremost. I most definitely think that this made me mature a lot over the year. I don't know, however, how to connect this to other readers. I don't know if I can make it pass the "So What" test.

My second idea is to write about how I was diagnosed with diabetes. I don't really like this idea because I was only four years old when I was diagnosed, so it's hard for me to remember what all happened. I know this is a big thing that happened in my life, but I don't know how to make it invoking to other readers.

I want to write about my Granny, because I know I can add a lot of detail about her and how I took care of her. I can even start writing the essay in my head. I just don't know how to make it important to other readers so they will want to keep reading.

Blog #2: Personal Writing-Summer Experience

I remember the day like it was yesterday. It was June 23rd, and I was ready to go home. This place has been my home for about twelve years. I only spend a week out of the year at my home, but it is the closest place to Heaven on Earth. My home is not in the Quad Cities, nor anywhere in Illinois. Home to me is in Boone, Iowa. There really isn't much in the tiny town of Boone besides a Walmart and a Post Office, but out in the outskirts of the town, there's a place called Y Camp. The week that I went, Y Camp held a special camp for teenagers with Diabetes. This camp was called Camp Hertko Hollow. Camp Hertko Hollow is my home.

A lot of people don't understand how much it means to someone when they say that they spent a week in the dead of summer with barely any air, only one shower to share between 15 young adults, and walking a half of a mile to eat your meals, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I fall in love with the outdoors every time I drive down the gravel driveway. Y Camp in Boone, Iowa is very serene. There is a river that flows by the cabins and a firepit. It is crazy to think that the flowing of this river can mean so much more than a quiet noise. Hearing the sounds of the river makes me feel connected to something; I know that is where I belong. There is also a set of railroad tracks. This is where a touristy train from Ames, Iowa travels to and from. I loved it when my parents would ride that train and catch a glimpse of Heaven on Earth.

There are a lot of things you can do during this week at Y Camp. This year, I learned some French, tried to make myself crafty by tie-dying and making bracelets, rock climbing, horseback riding, and of course swimming Camp Hertko Hollow was its own little society for a week. A lot of times we just sat by the pool or the trading post (a place where you can buy souveniers) and talk about our day and what we want to do. One day, my cabin and I went canoeing for two full hours! It was quite possibly the smallest lake in the world that you could canoe in, but for me, it was perfect.

With all of the time that you spend with your cabin, you grow close with a lot of your cabin mates. Since this was my 12th year at Y Camp, I had a group of friends that I call my sisters. I met all of them when I was four years old. It was all of our first year at camp, and we were all nervous. We ended up becoming the four best friends that Y Camp had. We would only see each other while we were at camp, but luckily with technology, we were able to contact each other through Facebook or our cell phones. We are still best friends, and I plan on keeping this friendship for my whole life.

On the very last day, the whole camp, which is about 350 kids, goes to an area we call Honor Point. In order to get to Honor Point, you have to weave in and out of a creek several times. It was in the dark, and we were all sad that it was our last night together. We all were crying as we sit down around the fire and hold hands. It is insane to think that just 5 days ago, we were all complete strangers. Now, we are wishing this week would never end because we have fallen in love with our new family. The fire was warm and bright, and the stars were bright and beautiful. It was a perfect summer night for Camp Hertko Hollow to say one final goodbye. During Honor Point, our camp director tells a story. This story is about a mentally disabled boy who went to camp as long as he could. He was not able to get out of bed, and his mom was cleaning his room. She went to throw away a souvenier of camp when he sat straight up in bed and yelled at her not to throw that away. His parents ended up going to the camp to try to understand how much camp meant to their son after he passed away.

The souvenier that the camper had was a half-burned candle. All of the students in the camp get a candle,and we all light them together. We stand in a circle for one final time and sing camp songs before we leave Heaven on Earth. After we leave, we keep our candles lit until we completely leave the path that leads to Honor Point. I am proud to say that I have all 12 candles from camp. They all hold a special meaning in my heart.

I am sad to say that this previous year was my last year. I have grown too old for Y Camp, which is very upsetting. I am happy for all of the memories that I have made, but upset that I will miss out on all of the memories to come.

Blog #1: Your Abilities as a Writer

When it comes to writing, one word to describe me would be procrastination. I have a problem with putting off writing to the very last miute. I usually make it work, but of course, it could be better. I like to believe that I am a talented writer, but I know I could do a lot better. In Honors last year, I learned a lot more about how to become a better writer. I listened to all of it, but I didn't use all of the examples like I should have. When I sit down to write, it doesn't take me long to get in the "flow" of writing. I usually do a little bit of pre writing, such as research or journals. I like to make a web of what I am going to write. I feel like that is the most useful way to organize my thoughts and make sure that my topics aren't too similar. It usually doesn't take me long to write my paper, even though I will have a lot of revisions to be made. I find it easy to add fluf to my paper to make it seem longer. I am hoping to learn how to stop doing that this year.

I have a lot of hope for this English class. I am hoping to get a lot out of this class and use it throughout the rest of my college career. I am excited to learn about the different styles of essays and give them a try. I hope that I will expand my knowledge about the types of writing and how to become a better writer. I am coming into this class with a P.M.A (positive mental attitude), and I hope that it will stay that way throughout the semester. I am looking forward to this class and really hope to benefit from all of the opportunities this class has to offer.