Rodrigo

﻿What I Believe = =
 * I believe that the enviornment and surroundings make a person what they are[[image:rodrigo.jpg width="480" height="317" align="right" caption="Rodrigo is ready for summer school."]]
 * I believe that it's better to give than to recieve
 * I believe that it's easier to learn from a teacher who knows how to be a kid, rather than from a strict teacher
 * I believe that somethings never change
 * I believe that knowledge speaks but wisdom listens

Tiger Moms

There has been a lot of talk recently about Amy Chua and the way she is raising her two daughters. She doesn’t let her daughters have any free time. They are forced by their mom to be “A” students in every subject except gym and drama. They also have to play the piano or violin. She calls her kids garbage if they talk back. Most people would say this is child abuse. A Chinese tiger mom demands academic success and sees this as most important. They harshly criticize their kids for having a “B”. Tiger moms also believe that their children owe everything to them and must spend their whole lives repaying them. So basically the parents choose interests for their children. A western mom sees self-esteem as most important. They praise their kids for getting a “B”. Western kids are more independent. So basically the kids choose their own path.

In the article “Amy Chua is a Wimp” by David Brooks, he says that even though Asian kids are smarter it’s harder to be social. American kids are tougher and that’s more important. Like being able to read body language. Working in a group is more efficient at solving problems. In Ayelet Waldman’s article she explains how she is the complete opposite of Amy Chua. She is lazy but she still wants her kids to pass school. He somewhat agrees with Amy Chua but won’t call her kids garbage and won’t force her kids to do anything they don’t want to do. One of Ayelet’s daughters is dyslexic and she forced herself to learn how to read and she didn’t need to get yelled at. In Hanna Rosin’s article she says it’s better to praise your kids to find their own interests. She believes that success will not make you happy. Happiness is the great human quest. Children have to find happiness for themselves. She believes it’s better to have a happy, moderately successful child than a miserable high-achiever. In Ilyon Woo’s article she says if you fail don’t feel like it’s the end of the world. That’s the way you learn from your mistakes. It’s a freeing feeling instead of being perfect. In my opinion I would want my kids to be successful. But I wouldn’t force them or call them names. I would help them with their homework as much as I could. I would show them my interests but I’d let them choose their own.



Failure <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">To fail is to be human, some people learn from their mistakes and some people don’t. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered penicillin when he was trying to find a cure for staphylococcus. Alexander was a doctor in World War One who was overwhelmed by all his patients dying from infections in their wounds. So he went back home in England to dedicate his life to find a cure. One day he was trying to find a cure and he left all his dirty samples in a sink. The next day there was mold killing the staphylococcus samples. He called it penicillin. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">My dad didn’t finish high school and he regrets it because he always comes home exhausted from work. My dad works in the oil fields. He drives the tanker trucks all around the hills in Ventura Avenue. He plugs a tube into his tanker truck’s oil tank and transports it around. I never really see him, he goes in at 6:00 a.m. and gets out at 6:00 p.m. and he only gets Saturday off. He always comes home covered in oil and dirt. He always tell me to learn from his mistakes. So I need to finish high school and get a good job. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">In the passage The Medusa and The Snail by Lewis Thomas, he says that we never really learn from something unless we fail. Lewis said it’s human to make mistakes, that we are coded for error. A failure can turn into a breakthrough. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">To fail is to be human, some people learn from their mistakes and some people don’t.

<span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">﻿Margaret Meade <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;"> <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Margaret Meade once said, "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." I believe this can lead in both positive and negative changes in the world. I will explain how in this essay. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">On September 11, 2001, 22 terrorists hi-jacked 4 air planes. The first plane hit one twin tower, when the second one hit the other twin tower everyone knew the planes were purposely hitting the buildings. There was mass hysteria in New York City. This shows how a small group of people can change the world in a negative way. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Next, the third plane hit the Pentigon. By now the news was everywhere. Families of the people in the fourth plane were calling them and told them that all the planes were hi-jacked by terrorists and crashind them. They realized thats what was happening to them. So they said good-bye to there families and they tried to take back control of the plane. When they did that it made the terrorists crash. The plane might have hit the White House but instead it crased in a big field in the middle of nowhere. This shows how a small group of people can change the world in a positive way. They sacrificed themselves for the greater good.

<span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">﻿Cheating <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">﻿Cheating is the easy way out, the sort cut, but it's going to affect you and everyone around you. Kids start out lying and cheating when they're really young. If you don't correct them while they're young, they'll do it for the rest of their lives. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Christine Pelton was a High School teacher who figured out that a fifth of her students had plagiarized their projects from the internet. She was going to fail 28 sophmores, but the parents stated complaining so the school told her to go easier on them. So Christine qiut her job to protest the school.

<span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">What I Know <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">I know what it’s like to lose someone from cancer. My grandma was always there for me. My mom says when she was little; my grandma wasn’t really a good person. She said her mom would always go to parties and leave her at her friend’s house or on the street. When my mom had me she said my grandma completely changed. She read the bible and always took care of me as a baby. One time I got kicked out of my house and I went to my grandma’s. She always cooked and took me to school. She even made my bed while I was at school. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">When my grandma was diagnosed with cancer everything seemed to slow down. I remember always feeling cold and weak. She had stomach cancer. The tumor was in her lower abdomen. They did tests on my grandma to see if they could do an operation. The tests came back positive so they did an operation to remove the tumor. The operation was successful; the doctors told her that she needs to eat very healthy from now on. But she didn’t listen. I guess she got lazy. When the cancer came back there was no way to get rid of it, it was stage four. The doctor gave her an oxygen machine and she was released home. Her two sisters stayed at her house and took care of her. Family members would visit her to say good-bye. It was Sunday; I went to go see my grandma for the last time. It was 8:00 p.m.; lighting and thunder were crashing in the sky. Dad was at work, mom was talking to grandma and then the power went out. It came back on five minutes later. I had school the next day so we left, I said good-bye. That was the longest school day I ever had. When I got out my mom pick me up like usual but when I looked at my mom’s face she started tearing up and said, grandma had passed away. It didn’t go through my brain until we went to her house. It started raining. She was in her bed with her jaw hanging; I hugged her body and said good-bye. I didn’t cry until the next day. They cremated her and put the ashes in the ocean. She went in her sleep, which is a peaceful way to go.

<span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Who is to Blame <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Who is the most to blame for the Larry King murder? Both Brandon and Larry came up from horrible parents. Larry sexually harassed Brandon but he didn’t need to kill him. In my opinion Brandon is most to blame. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">School officials didn’t really help out. Joy Epstein was the principle of E.O. Green middle school and she was also gay. When teachers would complain that Larry was sexually harassing other boys, Epstein would go easy on Larry. She thought everyone was bullying because he was different, but Larry was using it as a weapon. The school could have asked Larry to tone it down a bit, but the school had no money for societal issues. So there weren’t any counselors. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Larry’s father left him when he was born and his mom was a drug addict. His foster parents let him be whatever he wanted to be. Larry always wore make-up and girl clothes. He sexually harassed the boys in the locker rooms while they were changing. He embarrassed Brandon in front of all his friends on Valentine’s Day by asking him out. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Brandon’s mom is a crystal meth addict and his dad was an alcoholic. When Brandon was really little his dad shot his mom in the arm. Brandon might also be a white supremacist. Brandon didn’t need to kill Larry, he could have told someone about it but instead he chose to go home, get his dad’s gun, go to school and shoot Larry in the head twice. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">So in my opinion it’s mostly Brandon’s fault. He chose to kill him. He could have even beaten him up and it wouldn’t be as bad as murder.

<span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Larry King Murder <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">On February 12, 2008 Brandon McInerney shot and killed Larry King in the computer lab the day after Larry humiliated Brandon in front of everyone. Although Brandon overreacted, I think he should be tried in juvenile court. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Brandon felt like there was no other option. His dad was an alcoholic and his mom was a meth addict. After Larry asked out Brandon all of his friends laughed at him. Even the principle was gay so she might have been more on Brandon’s side. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Brandon should be allowed to get out at 25. He was only 14 when he murdered Larry. Brandon wasn’t thinking. His brain wasn’t fully developed. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Larry shouldn’t have harassed Brandon. There was already a lot of bad stuff in Brandon’s life. He couldn’t take it anymore. <span style="background-color: #aa1818; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">In my opinion Brandon should be tried as a juvenile.

<span style="background-color: #8e0b0b; display: block; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">Text and Images <span style="background-color: #8e0b0b; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Sontag says images are the most irresistible form of mental pollution, which people are turning into image-junkies. She believes text can better describe the world rather than a snapshot of it. In my opinion you need both. <span style="background-color: #8e0b0b; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Most of the time “words” can be more truthful than images. Sontag says, “Only that which narrates can make us understand,” which means pictures can’t talk but words can. Text can tell us what’s happening, as opposed to an image that only shows a slice of reality. Words can portray a better understanding of the world. Text uses more brain power because you have to think and images can just be soaked in. <span style="background-color: #8e0b0b; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Images are very old; they go back to caveman drawings. When you recognize an image you take in its message. Photographs actually show what a text could be describing. Images speak in specifics which are easier to understand, like a war picture which could be full of emotion. A photo can make you feel like you were there in that picture. <span style="background-color: #8e0b0b; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Humans use both methods of communication to try to understand the world. A picture can give you a visual in your brain but you need text to know for sure what’s going on in it. <span style="background-color: #8e0b0b; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">Text and images have upsides and downsides. Text can better describe the world but photos show the reality. In my opinion you need both to get the best understanding of the world.

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<span style="background-color: #a11b1b; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 32px;">Love <span style="background-color: #a11b1b; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 21px;">Love is not chemical, it is spiritual. It’s spiritual because it has to do with trust and commitment. Love is stronger than chemicals. <span style="background-color: #a11b1b; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 21px;">When cavemen saw round hips and big breast on cavewomen, that symbolized fertility. When cavewomen saw big jaws and big muscles, that symbolized protection. That’s where we get our influences today. <span style="background-color: #a11b1b; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 21px;">Testosterone and estrogen are in both males and females. Testosterone is mostly in males, it gives them bigger muscles, a deeper voice, and a growth spurt. Dopamine, serotonin, and nurepinephine are chemicals that make you want that person a lot. When two people are in a long term relationship a chemical called oxcytocin is released to make you feel relaxed with that person. <span style="background-color: #a11b1b; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 21px;">It’s hard to know for sure what love is. Scientists say it’s a bunch of chemicals. But its spiritual, it makes you want to do anything for that person. You would even die for that person. It’s hard to know what love is until you go through it. <span style="background-color: #a11b1b; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 21px;">Love is spiritual, not chemical. Scientists will never be able to see love under a microscope

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<span style="background-color: #c31d1d; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 27px;">Traditional vs. Romantic <span style="background-color: #c31d1d; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 21px;">Would you rather have someone arrange which person you marry or should you have the freedom to choose for yourself? In my opinion both methods can lead to good or bad endings. <span style="background-color: #c31d1d; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 21px;">Parents know you more than you know yourself. If your parents choose your spouse it would probably last longer. It might even be easier. Parents are much older and wiser and would probably pick a good spouse. <span style="background-color: #c31d1d; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 21px;">You should have the freedom to choose the person you want to marry, in romantic marriages you get to meet the person before you actually decide if you want to marry that person. There’s more compassion in romantic marriages. <span style="background-color: #c31d1d; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 21px;">Some parents will make horrible choices for their kids. A lot of people don’t even know their kids. You might even end up hating your spouse. The divorce statistics are way higher in romantic marriages. Romantic spouses usually end up cheating on each other. <span style="background-color: #c31d1d; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 21px;">In my opinion both methods can lead to both good and bad endings. You should probably be a good person so both methods can have good endings.

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