"All of us, have become a kind of human trash" (a mix of choice 1 and 2 from the options of writing for this week's post)

In his essay, Waste, Wendell Berry analyzes and compares our evolved society as to something that is so grotesque and disgusting that is mostly similar to a plain old dump. Berry sees us to be "lazy, passive, and self-indulgent" not only in the workforce but in every aspect of our lives. We've become so immune to what we have done for so many years that this trashy way of life has seeped into the seams of what we do day in and day out. After reading his essay, I find myself in agreement with Berry and begin to worry what really will become of our society not only in good time, but in the near future due to the ever-growing technological field.


Evolution is a topic so broad and open to interpretation, that many people stray away from it and don't want to make the effort to think about it. The truth is, there is no escaping evolution; it's an on-going process that we don't even realize makes its way into our lives whether we like it or not. We've seen evolution in animals, plants, technology, language, and even the way we think. Since the day Earth was made and life was put on it, evolution has occurred, and it will continue to occur until the final days life is here. What does that mean for us?


Take the telephone into basic terms and think about what we use today. Can you even call an iPhone a phone? It does everything under the sun and more, meanwhile the inventors of the first telephone were just trying to figure out a way to tell a friend "Hey" without sending a messenger pigeon 30 minutes away from you and having it end up flying to China for some reason. There's no denying the fact that we live in a world that is obsessed with the "gadgets that we have become addicted to" (Berry). When trying to determine what will happen for our species in the future, it is hard to say if we will keep excelling or eventually reach a stopping point; we eventually have to be unable to think any longer, right? In our modern society, we are so wrapped up with the technology that we use and the ways that we use it have allowed us to introduce even more technology. It's an ever-going process that never seems to end. I think that since we are so caught up in this technological revolution, that it will soon consume us completely and throw off the evolution process right off the Earth.


When thinking about it in a deeper way, will evolution only exist in technology? Berry explains how we have become so lazy in our ways of working that we now live in "a desecrated, ugly, and dangerous country in which to live until we are in some manner poisoned by it..." The problem we face now is that natural selection and Darwin's theory will no longer apply to society. We've already run it down so much that we have only one mindset anymore: to make the world easier. In reality, that answer is not how easy we can make living, but how complicated can we make it so it comes to the point where we actually have to work for it to be happy. The views of evolution have changed and it has now left us in a deeper hole than we were before.


Ultimately, evolution needs to stay on the track it's been on for the past 4.6 billion years and continue to work in a way that helps society, not hurt it. The only way we can really see what we are doing to ourselves, is if we realize that we are the ones who have been putting "the trash on our streets and roadsides, in our rivers, and in our woods and fields..." and it isn't just nature taking its course (Berry). Together, we need to come back down to reality and think about our true morals, rather than what we want them to be.

Drunk Driving Realities (SSR)

Car accidents are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States. The question is: are they getting killed because they drove the car or are they getting killed because the car hit them? Sure enough, the first one is correct. What if I was to also say that these teens were under the influence when they caused the accident?

In a recent article I found online, a school in Houston, TX gave a real visual of what it's like to be involved in a drunk driving accident. The students were brought out to the back of their school only to find their most well-known classmates (fake) dead in a head-on car accident. The police, ambulances, fire department, and the works were all there. The goal was to allow the students to see what it would be like if their fellow classmates were to be in a car accident due to driving under the influence. They then took the students to the trauma center of the local hospital and stayed the night; but this wasn't any classic slumber party. The students watched from a distance as person after person was brought into the hospital in need of surgery due to a car accident involving drunk drivers. I found this simulation/ realization to be very effective.

The amount of innocent people getting killed my drunk drivers is increasing at an exponential rate. To make it worse, teens now believe that it's okay for them to drive while under the influence of alcohol. According to the article, it is found "that 1 in 3 drivers will be involved in a drunk driving crash, whether victim or perpetrator, in their lifetime. On average someone is killed every 22 minutes in the United States in a drunk driving-related crash. And approximately 6,000 teens are killed in crashes each year, the leading cause of death for teens." There is enough problems with adults driving drunk, and there is too much at risk for teens to be doing the same.

I believe that the increasing numbers of people getting killed in drunk driving accidents is a sign that something needs to be done. There should be a requirement for all school districts to have to carry out a drunk driving awareness day in which students learn about the negative things they are capable of doing by just one mistake. The simulations similar to the one used in this article is very affective. Teens nowadays refuse to listen to adults ramble on about things that they find useless and irrelevant. But, put them in the actual situation and you will find that they realize this is a big problem and something needs to be done about it.

In the video, you can see some of the students faces as they are in the simulation and at the trauma center of the hospital and they are blown away. The problem we face today is teens don't think about the consequences anymore. The only thing that matters is how many beers my friend can chug without puking. The only thing that matters is why my ex tweeted song lyrics that imply something about me. The only thing that matters is the fact that my best friend hooked up with a random guy at a party because she thinks it's cool to do stuff like that. Our generation needs a reality check, desperately. This is what really matters: how many lives can be saved by preventing teens from making the wrong decision of drinking and driving. Everything that you do in your life is completely irrelevant to me until you bring in the risk of not only hurting yourself, but facing the possible situation of putting another person's life in danger because of your lazy mistake. Find someone to drive you home. Stay the night at whoever's house you're at. Call a taxi. Do anything but drive home drunk.

Robin Garza from the Shattered Dream program found in the article states that "if we can just save one child, then everything we have done is worth every minute of it." Instead of turning ourselves into a selfish society, let's think of the other lives that we can take away in just a matter of seconds because of one single mistake: drinking and driving. Look at the following photos and try to think about the lives lost because of drivers under the influence.

Are We Really That Important? (PB)

You are one person. Think of individual people. Martin Luther King changed society completely around and established everlasting equality, while impacting the lives of so many others. Isaac Newton defined the laws of gravity which is literally around us all day every day. Steve Jobs used technology and problems to create some of the most used phones and devices across the world to ever come into existence. These are only a few of the people who have metaphorically and physically changed the lives of so many others and influenced the way we live. But are we really that important?

We may seem like the majority when looking at the world, but travel beyond that and see where you stand. There's a solar system, filled with planets, stars, moons, and meteors. Our solar system (the Milky Way Galaxy) extends as far as 100,000 light years. And you're telling me that you matter? (No pun intended). But don't stop thinking there, we are only one of hundreds of billions of galaxies that each have their own solar system, filled with their own planets, stars, moons, and meteors. Add in a few light years of extra matter here and there and you've found yourself the big, bad, and gargantuan Observable Universe. 

In simple terms, the Observable Universe is a gigantic collection of galaxies and matter that we are able to see through our scientific technology, mainly highly advanced telescopes. Over many years of research and physics problems, it has been calculated that the size of this entity is 92 billion light years. And you're telling me that you matter?

The little white specles in the above picture are not just stars, those are complete galaxies! They have everything that our Milky Way Galaxy has and more. Looking at this perspective makes you wonder what is really out there and how different it is. What the most sinister part of this is, is the fact that we are only 100,000 light years out of 92 billion, we are only one Galaxy out of 100 billion, we are only one planet, we are only one person, and yet we think of ourselves as important? In these terms we can't be considered wasted space because we are so tiny that we don't even count as space.

But think about who found all these statistics out. Who researched the solar system from the beginning of our time? Who came up with the technology to be able to conceive a visual of 92 billion light years? Who contributed to making us into who we are today? Although it may be a crumb compared to the loaf of a universe, the people in our world have discovered every glitch and tick of this place we call home. Each one of us has impacted the life at least one other in some way, a select few of us have impacted so many as to the whole world. Scientifically, we mean nothing but a dot on a piece of paper, but within our home limits, we mean the world and a few more galaxies to many others. 

"You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own."

-Michelle Obama

The Key to Happiness: Improvement (PB)

"I have a great respect for incremental improvement, and I've done that sort of thing in my life, but I've always been attracted to the more revolutionary changes. I don't know why. Because they're harder. They're much more stressful emotionally. And you usually go through a period where everybody tells you that you've completely failed."

-Steve Jobs

Simply, I am in love with improvement. The satisfaction it gives me. The accomplishment it gives me. The happiness it gives me. The drive it gives me to do more, to complete more. Improvement is like a drug, the more you do it, the more you want it.

I am one of the most stressed and negative people you will ever meet, yet I love improvement. Crazy, isn't it? How one can talk themselves down so much and never say they can do it, but they're able to do the exact thing they said they wouldn't. What is it? False motivation? Contradictory words to make you feel better when you do what you said you couldn't? Whatever it is, needs to stop.

Through determination and motivation, anything can be done; people say it all the time. Though many things are easier said than done. This is why I love improvement. To be able to physically see the amelioration and advancement of myself gives me some sort of adrenaline rush to keep on going.

Are you academically inclined? Think about how great it would be to get an A on your chemistry test that you have to take tomorrow. Sure, you may think it's stopping you from procrastinating but is it really motivating you to actually study? Now think about the fact that you did get an A on your chemistry test. How good do you feel? Happy, content, accomplished, satisfied, and you're ready to get that feeling again. That's why I love improvement.

Are you athletically inclined? Think about the game you have next week against your biggest rival. You know you should be training as hard as you can and you're searching for the motivation. You look at the plays you need to make, the streak of the other team, you think you have it, but it's not physically there. Now think about how great you felt about yourself running the winning touchdown last week, or scoring the final goal at the game. You felt powerful, successful, excited, and ready to do it again.

Improvement is that little bit of nostalgia that keeps me going. I thirst for it day in and day out. It gives me a reason to keep the wheels turning, to do better and succeed. Once I improve, I feel like the next time that comes around, I need to do better than I did before. I'll get the same great feeling that I did the first time, and also the satisfaction of knowing it was all me that was able to better myself than ever before. Improvement is something that we've all experienced at least once before, but we have never really thought how beneficial it is to our lives and our well-being.

Next time when you're down in the dust, you think you will fail no matter how hard you try, and there's no point in doing anything anymore, think about improvement. You see how much you can accomplish just knowing that you've done it before. Challenge yourself and test your limits, the road is a never-ending journey that only takes you further. Have the confidence and get to your goal, and then some. You can never take away the improvement you've made. All you can ever do is add to it.

An Indifferent Society (CRR)

Think about this definition. Look at the synonyms. Analyze what you do everyday and how you can relate to this one, small adjective. You soon will realize indifference is everywhere and in everything. It seems that there is no escaping the wrath kid uninterested, nonchalant, uninvolved, indifferent people. I'm not the first to notice it either. 

We recently analyzed "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau in class, and the whole period of time I used to read this essay all I could think of was the speech Elie Wiesel gave that we first analyzed at the beginning of the year titled "The Perils of Indifference". Both of these compositions have been some of the best known in society today. To say that indifference is irrelevant and just an opinion is ludicrous.

Wiesel centers his speech around the problem of indifference in society not only in the holocaust, but what it has made the people into; hypocrites. He uses many examples to help build his cause that we as a society have successfully recognized problems, but have failed miserably in actually doing something about them. Wiesel uses pathos and logos to make the reader feel guilt and sorrow for what they've done and to be well aware that it isn't just Wiesel's opinion on society that makes it indifferent; it's plain facts. By using different examples he can invoke a motivation in the reader to try to finally make a change and not just state the problem and stand there. 

These thoughts were running through my mind when reading Thoreau's essay. Thoreau exemplifies the problem of society today by using many different cases in which it occurred. He, like Wiesel, focuses on the problem of indifference in society and how it has made us into machines that he claims don't even have a conscience because of how deep we are in the predicament. Thoreau's main argument may focus more on the government, but his overall message is to convince the people that the way they are acting and wrong and it's actually hurting our society. By using examples and sharply stating what the people are doing wrong, Wiesel and Thoreau convey their message and their thoughts on society very clearly and effectively. 

After I finished reading Thoreau's essay I began to ponder on Wiesel's speech and it led me to evaluate what I've been doing my whole life: being indifferent. 

When you take into consideration how many variables are thrown at you on a daily basis and how you react to them you can begin to see how truly lazy we become; not physically, but mentally also. For example, take a simple situation you face on a normal day: you just got your government test back and see that you got a C on it. You are well aware that one of the main reasons you did poorly was because the teacher was moving on with the chapter too fast for you to comprehend anything. What do you do? That's right, you go to your friends and complain about how bad of a teacher they are, you complain to your parents that it isn't your fault you performed so bad, you complain to even your other teachers when frankly, they don't care. But the problem is, when do you actually approach your government teacher face-to-face and tell them the real problem? You don't. 

Indifference or human nature? Whatever it may be, you can't argue the fact that we are indifferent every day of our lives in too many ways. I believe the main reason is because indifference has been so overused that no one would ever attempt to just stop and think about what they can do to change what may seem like a small situation at the time. Instead, they bring up the problem and expect someone else to finish the job.

The truth is, there is no one else to finish that job for you. We are all part of this world for a reason and maybe that reason could be to help others be aware of their actions and not only take note of them, but tackle the situation. We need to make a voice of ourselves and use our consciences, use our extraordinary hopes, and be the humans we were made to be.

Let's be involved. Let's be caring. Let's be spontaneous. Let's be anything but indifferent.

THIS IS MY FREEBIE!!!!!

Sorry, procrastination got the best of me and now I'm stuck here with no time to write my blog, I'll be back next week!!

Multitasking and Responsibility; The Best Qualities? (PB)

This week I decided to approach my blog with confidence and gratitude. Many of the blogs I've read have been negative, sad, depressing. When I think of the word passion I think of something I love that benefits me and makes me happy. Food makes me happy. Being with friends makes me happy. Cats make me happy. My great qualities I bear makes me happy. So why not write a passion blog about the wonderful qualities I have as a person?

Junior year has no doubt been the hardest, but don't we say that every year? What's different this time? Well, I am now a working girl, an athletic girl, an academic girl, and a social girl. I started working at the Salvatore's in Howland during the summer and while most of my friends stopped working for the school year, I kept with it and decided to keep going (which averages to about 4-5 days a week that I'm working). On top of that I also participate in cross country and track which consists of practice every day until 4:30 or later. After that, I find some time on the clock to keep up with my studies in school and try my hardest to succeed vastly. The social part, well let's just say that dies off with time....

If I am able to accomplish all of these things and not lag behind or have a mental breakdown everyday (notice I didn't say never have a mental breakdown), I begin to wonder what else I'm able to do. I praise the fact that i have the ability to multitask and be able to handle anything that comes in my way. This quality I have, is multi-purposeful. Later in life, when I need to care for a family, while also make some sort of money to be financially stable and keep myself healthy, I know I will be able to do that because of my ability to multitask everything going on in my life now. If I can do it at 16, I can do it at 30.

I also give myself a pat on the back for all the responsibility I have. I was blessed with a caring, loving family that raised me right in every way. I can now act like a child, but think like an adult. I know when to get things done and I know how to do it right. I know when to take the leadership role and I know how to do it right. I know when to take matters into my own hands and I know how to help not only myself, but others too; I know how to do it right.

I've grown into a mature young woman and I'm so grateful for it. I love knowing that if for some reason I were to have to live on my own, I could 100% do it because I'm responsible and can take anything that comes in my way.

Everyone should praise themselves for their great qualities. This blog wasn't made to brag about how good I am at multitasking or to show how self-centered I am. This blog was made to show even through the tough times you think you are going through, as long as you stop for a moment and think, you'll see that there is always something to be proud and positive of. 

I want everyone reading this blog to stop worrying so much about school, or how you don't have a date to prom, or why you can't do as good as everyone else in the sport you're playing, and really think about how great you are, or what great things you have in your life. There is always something to be thankful for; never think it's bad, or arrogant and conceited to recognize those great things. I'm getting bored with the same negative attitudes, so why not try and make all of those positive? 

Take a moment and thank yourself for being you. Step away from all the negative in your life and focus on how great of a person you are. Live your life with confidence and passion. Thank yourself for being awesome.

THIS IS MY FREEBIE!!!!!

Sorry school is too stressful right now, I'll be back in action next week! :)

Figuring out gender discrimination #LikeAGirl

In class this past week we've discussed gender discrimination and how it affected society many years ago through the writings of "Women's Brains" by Stephen Jay Gould and "Professions for Women" by Virginia Woolf. We also touched down on the similarities and differences of sexism back then, and now.

Most of us have seen the Procter and Gamble Super Bowl commercial campaigning gender equality. 

How do you view this commercial? Does it say something about gender discrimination today? Do you think gender discrimination is just as frequent as it was during Virginia Woolf's lifetime, does scientific research done today match that of Paul Broca's?

Today, sexism has been addressed, but it is still frequently occurring in our society.

The #LikeAGirl campaign is powerful, motivating, remarkable. It gives women a chance to become more than what society perceives them to be. Gender discrimination should not be an issue at hand today. It affects all aspects of life including the workplace, intelligence, and economic income.

A study found in an article I read, states that males applying for jobs are more likely to be hired than women AND that men make more money for the same job a woman has due to only his gender.

Should gender be the only factor we use to determine who gets a job and how much they make?

After reading the essays we did in class I realized that yes, some things have changed in sexism, but there is still too much to be fixed. It is sad to think innocent, hard-working, dedicated women are getting nothing for doing as much as they possibly can to make a living for themselves and their families.

Think about the society we discussed in class and think about it today, although it may not be as prominent, gender discrimination is still a problem.

Women deserve jobs and happiness just as African Americans did when they were being discriminated in the past, or how the jewish were in Germany. We are all humans and all deserve to be equal. 

Think about this quote and think about what society has come down to. Think about gender discrimination in the past and think about gender discrimination now. Think about equality.

"We've begun to raise daughters more like sons... but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters."

-Gloria Steinem

Cross Country: The Most Uncommon Amazing Sport (PB)

Put yourself in my (running) shoes. You're at your cross country meet with your team preparing for the big race. Everything is great. It's a perfect, sunny day and you just finished your warmup with the team and you're changing into your spikes for the race.

"20 more minutes" coach says.

The team gets up and we all head over to the starting pit to prep ourselves. Lunges. Striders. High knees. Striders. Karaokes. Striders. Throughout the process your thoughts are going wild; everything else around you is shut out. Am I going to finish with a personal best? Can I keep a constant pace during the race? Is my breathing going to get out of control?

All of a sudden you're brought back to reality; "5 minutes". You get in a team huddle and instantly you remember the one and most important thing that you were told in church last week: "If you want to run fast, go alone. If you want to run far, go together."

The only thing that matters anymore is that you are with your team and with them, anything is able to be accomplished.

You say your team prayer and give a few words of encouragement. This circle, this bond, this family, is the strongest factor in the motivation to run the race. Together, we are unstoppable. Coach says good luck and we line up in our block. It's happening; breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. The official puts his gun up.

This is it.

 "BANG"  the gun goes and after that, we go no where but up.

"Moath the Martyr": The Start of Something Sinister?

On December 24, 2014, a man by the name of Moath al-Kasasbeh, a citizen fighting for the Karak governate (a middle-eastern nation), was captured by ISIS after his fighter jet failed to continue and crashed on their grounds. He was held hostage by the terrible terrorist group up until recently when ISIS released a video of this innocent man being burned alive. This video holds explicit content of Moath being burned alive and it captures the exact situation in which the gruesome act took place. Fox News posted the video on Tuesday for all of the world to see. Is there a meaning behind the fact that this video is the one the news chooses to release? The bigger question though, is what are the Jordanians going to do to ISIS for taking away one of their citizens lives in an act of gore?

Since the video was released, Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh has not stopped telling the world how great of a comeback his nation will make. After reading this article, I noticed how determined he is to take down ISIS and quite frankly, I admire it but fear it at the same time. The movement Judeh plans to carry out may be destructive, murderous, and VERY dirty. Could it be to the benefit of our nation?

Judeh sent out airstrikes on ISIS Thursday to start the rebellion. This is what is being referred to as "Moath the Martyr". He is claiming how there's nothing to hold back anymore and he will go to the greatest measures to put every man and weapon to the challenge of taking down ISIS. I think after Judeh saw the gory video of one of his own men being burned alive it set the alarm off and there was no going back.

Judeh is determined to take down ISIS and make the world know about the Jordanians. Armed forces said "This is just the beginning and you shall know who the Jordanians are". I believe this airstrike is more than just an angry counter-attack on a terrorist group, it is the change of war and the world as we know it.

There is two different perspectives that you can view Judeh's mentality as. The first one is inspiring. By having such a passion to take down a terrorist group that has fractured ours and many other nations he is able to convince others to join the rebellion and fight back. From this end of the spectrum, I believe something as great as the Civil Rights Movement by Martin Luther King Jr. can be made from this and is able to be compared to it as well. MLK had a dream and didn't give up which is the reason so many people joined his side and were able to change the world completely. If Judeh has the same passion that King did, in a complete other situation of course, he may be able to bring all nations affected by ISIS together as one and take them down for good. This would tremendously benefit us and everyone else in the world and it would show how anything can be accomplished with the right mindset. I can view Judeh's determination as motivation in my own life to conquer any negative situation put in front of me because as long as I have confidence, I can do anything.

This is where the other end of the spectrum comes in: destruction. Judeh is clearly thirsty for a war and is doing anything he can in his power to make it happen. Every bone in his body is sniffing for ISIS and he won't stop until he has destroyed every single one of their members. This scares me because if an unknown man like Judeh can suddenly bring his nation out on top and create a full on war with ISIS, what else can happen? This perspective contains a lot of "what if's" and worries people who don't want to see what the future holds. Think about the situation as a whole and what it could end up into. Normally, when one powerful figure like Judeh erupts to the world about a rebellion, people will face all costs to be a part of it. Yes, this will benefit us in the case of defeating ISIS, but what about after we take them down? Will the world's society come together and start taking down things that could put people of our own kind in great danger? Defeating a terrorist group is one story, but defeating humanity is another. 

It is hard to see these things on the news and not start focusing on the negative rather than the postitive. Take the Ferguson trials for example. It scares me how one little thing can trigger a bomb that erupts in rebellions everywhere and innocent people fighting against innocent people for what reason? Power? Confidence? Whatever it is, it's tearing our world apart and I think people need to stay grounded in these hard times and think about what really matters: peace between the people. So I leave you with this question, is "Moath the Martyr" the start of world peace once and for all, or is it the start of the end of the world as we know it?