From 1867 to 2011

" Soap and education are not as sudden as a massacre, but they are more deadly in the long run; because a half-massacred Indian may recover, but if you educate him and wash him, it is bound to finish him some time or other. It undermines his constitution; it strikes at the foundation of his being." (1867). These words came from the late Mark Twain in one of his short stories "The Facts Concerning The Recent Resignation". This quote resonates within in me because I think about how people will go to extreme measures to break you down. In the text Twain says "If he could not approve of the massacre, I said the next surest thing for an Indian was soap and education"(p5). Although Twain is being satirical ,this is what people think all the time from 1867 to 2011- they try to break you down and make you conform to their culture, just because they want something from you. In the 1800's they wanted the Indian's land, their women, their minds - in 2011 they want nothing but to merely destroy you because we live in a vainglorious world. In the 1800's they wanted to murder and trick them into what they wanted because they felt superior. In 2011, people will learn you to your core, they will befriend you and love you like you would think a family member would just so they could later hurt you in some way. Twain is saying that physically hurting someone is not as damaging and painful as taking away what makes each of us unique and giving us something we have no faith in, in something we despise. Like taking the stage from a signer and giving her a broom. Or taking teachers from students and giving us street thugs. You see, I have received more from this text than just how ridiculous people are and how humorous Mark Twain is. I have gained knowledge.I know that the only thing that has changed from 1867 to 2011 is the extremity of hate and how evil the world is. And how people -- if you allow -- will take what means the most from you, just to see you fall and crumble and suffer life without the one thing that makes you happy for the mere pleasure of it.

Obesity is a disease.

For the last couple of years obesity has been a huge problem. Some of us seem to forget how much commotion this causes in not just our children but ourselves. We have been so wrapped up in society--Yes, even I-- that we forget that this is a disease and we act as if it is inept. When we hear of obesity we connotate it with someone being horribly lazy. Just as we do when some has HIV--disgusting sex addict. We fail to understand their situations and we never even bother to hear them. We judge people. We feel as if it is necessary for them to know how incredibly unattractive they are to us. We are all human and yes we make these awful mistakes but when will we realize that our 2-cents obviously does not make change ? People can do things when it comes to getting healthier but it is easier said than done. Some people look to food they feel as if it is their drug and they are addicted. Some people are showered with it and receiving it as a "reward". We do not treat this as a disease but rather a curse. We are all insensitive and we all look for a cheap laugh at someone else's expense. On May 27, 2004 and three year old died. That baby died because he "chocked on his fat". Obesity is a disease and addiction-- and we enable it just like a drug addicts mother would to their disease. When it's some stranger that is getting laughed at or "checked" its perfectly fine. I guess this is just the way of the world. All in all, the most important thing to know is that this is a disease. And if you treat it like a curse one day it might just haunt you.


Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3752597.stm

Halloween: A Perverts Paradise! Children are not a "treat" you "trick".

Halloween should be one of the most exciting times of the year. Instead, for some parents it is scary. Although there are registered sex offenders, how will the parents without internet access know of them? We should dress our children in bright colors and walk closely behind them so we can see them. We need to make this holiday as fun and safe as possible but even with these precautions
there are the 364 days we have to worry about.

There should be some type of way we can publicly access these addresses without causing embarrassment to the offenders yet allowing parents to know what type of neighborhoods they are walking through. Good news is that there are places like Russel County, Alabama that are doing round-ups for sex offenders and if they do not show up for a mandatory meeting they will be charged for violating probation and given jail time. Another place like this is California where they have set up "transient sex-offender roundup centers" at parole offices. Other cities should take precautions like this and we need more funding to have things like this in place.

Another thing to do is to dress your child in bright colors and stay close by. There are a lot of things kids want to dress up like so we need to keep them in bright colors, fit shoes, and no blankets for ghosts. We need to stay close behind and there should be more than one parent walking with a group of kids.The groups should be big so that the kids can have fun and see all their friends and still be safe. A study by SafeKids.org shows that twice as many children are killed on Halloween than any other day of the year. This is because people can not see kids when they are driving and there are people who prey on little kids. I understand that there are sex offenders everywhere around us everyday and they break into our houses and prey on our kids but if we know there are things we can do we need to do them.

Halloween should be a safe and fun time for kids and always remember the freaks come out at night so be aware.


Sources: http://www.safekids.org/safety-basics/safety-spotlight/halloween-safety/

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-20126599/alabama-to-round-up-sex-offenders-on-halloween/


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/29/california-sex-offenders-_n_1065204.html

Popularity Vs Education

In the past year or so I've seen a big change in our look on education. One thing I noticed at school was the pressure put on kids by each other to dress and act a certain way.One thing I never understood were the kids who had champagne tatse with a beer budget. People have been so consumed with whats in style that they totally forget that after High school you have to survive.Now kids who realize this are putting pressure on themselves to take life seriously.Now that all of us are starting get older we can see the maturity in each other. Not only are these kids changing becuase they want to move forward and grow, they change becuase the very people who enable them are telling them they have to learn to be responsible. Now there are still lost souls who really don't stand a chance in the real world but for the rest of us we can make it and will so long as we push ourselves. I have to say I have so much hope for my generation and in the battle of popualrity vs education ; Education has won.

What is Your Future? Tips On Deciding Your Career Path.

When you are asked what you want to become after high school, what do you say? If your not too sure you will say whatever comes to mind but I want to let you know its okay not to know what you want to do. But, i want to let you know that it is very important to start while you are in high school. Three things you need: First you should note your skills,abilities,interests,and personal priorities(Rutgers Career Planing). Next you should take a career survey test that matches you to your career and I strongly recommend it. If you find something you think you like you should decide if you need to take the technical path,the university route or the military.

It is very important that you note your skills,abilities, and what you really would like to do only because this helps you start some where.If you do not know any of your skills it is okay and you need to seriously consider joining any type of club in and out of school. Things like joining clubs not only help you discover your likes but they teach you to be more sociable and help you meet people that can help you in your future. Personally, joining Curves,an exercise club for women, made me realize that I want to do anything that involves health,medical and community care. I want to reiterate how important it is to start somewhere. And not to be disappointed about not knowing because all great people start somewhere.

The next step you should take after you've figured your interests is to take a career survey. I recommnened this because the survey helps you to get an idea of what you want to do as well as weave away at what you do not. You can ask your school counselor for one but if your counselor is to busy here are some websites that offer them : http://tcids.tbr.edu/questionnaire.php
http://careerservices.rutgers.edu/PCCPinterests.shtml
I strongly advise that you take a survey from your school counselor. Taking these surveys might not give you the perfect job idea but they help you see what your interests match up with.

If you feel you have been matched with the job for you the next step to take is choosing the technical, university, or military path. If your path is military you should figure out what branch is right for you and meet with your local recruiting site. I urge that you choose the military path only if you chose it from a personal view of yourself and not becuase it was thrown onto you becuase the military path is not for the weak at heart. If the job you want takes you down the technical path you should know that all technical colleges are not the same. Just because you want to go to a technical school does not mean you should slack off in your grades because they do look at grades. If you choose the university route I will inform you that universities look at academics, extra curricular activity, and test scores. It is okay if you did not make it to this step just remember not to give up.

Deciding your path is not easy , but its not impossible either. I hope that giving you all of these tips have helped you like they have helped me. I wish you the best of luck!


Bibliography
Career Planning – High School Students. http://careerservices.rutgers.edu/ .Rutgers Univrsity. 8 October.2011. http://careerservices.rutgers.edu/PCCPmain.shtml

9/11

9/11 Tribute Lights view from a Brooklyn rooftop.

This is a picture of man right before that plane crashed into one of the twin towers.

Teen plotted to kill kids in school with exposives,

17-year-old Jared Cano from Tampa Florida plotted to kill atleast 30 kids and 2 principals with explosive devices. He had drawings and a plan as to where the bombs would be placed and specifc people he wanted dead. He was expelled last year and the principal said for an " off-campus incident". It makes you wonder when you get little details like that what did they do to tick him off.. or maybe he is just a nutjob , whatever the case may be I don't think the prinicpal took it seriously because he said "I'm not sure that his plot was realistic to carry out," . People should take things like this more seriously. Life is not all fun and games and when you forget how cruel and evil people can be and let your gaurd down....you slip up. I think its something really fishy behind the principal.