Giovanna


 * **﻿I believe in listening to your heart and going with your gut feeling.[[image:gigi2-summerschool-2011-semester2-.jpg width="560" height="371" align="right" caption="Two "thumbs up" for Gigi!"]]**
 * **I believe in light teasing among friends﻿**
 * **I believe laughter truly is the best medicine**
 * **I believe love takes time and does not happen at first sight**
 * **I believe practicality is a virtue**
 * **I believe music can heal a broken soul**
 * **I believe in paying attention in class and putting forth your best effort in all that you do**
 * **I believe in living freely and sensibly**
 * **I believe that when you are ten years old and you're actin' a fool and somebody tells you to "act your age" you should keep actin' a fool.**
 * **I believe that a passion iced tea, shaken, with sweetener and lemonade is the best drink that Starbucks has to offer.**
 * **I believe in tough love** [[image:heart.jpg width="160" height="155" align="right"]]
 * **I believe in discipline and hard work**
 * **I believe in spontaneous kisses**
 * **I believe that world peace is possible, but evidently not probable**
 * **I believe that pizza is delicious, but Kraft macaroni and cheese is way better**
 * **I believe that appearance is important**
 * <span style="color: #e71382; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**I believe that coincidences do not exist and that everything happens for a reason**
 * <span style="color: #e71382; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**I believe that joining the Buena cheer squad was one of the best decisions I have ever made**
 * <span style="color: #e71382; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**I believe school dances are underrated**
 * <span style="color: #e71382; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**I believe that war is completely unnecessary, but seeing as we are in the middle of one, you might as well join the fight**
 * <span style="color: #e71382; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**I believe that everyone has good intentions, though the execution of them may be smudged by distractions**


 * Communication. It plays a huge role, arguably the largest, in modern society. Whether it is through speaking, writing or even through sign language, we all have ways to get our point across. However, communication encounters a whole new set of obstacles when a child with a mental disability has something to say.**


 * I know how to interact with people who have special needs or mental retardation. My mother is a counselor who works with mentally disabled people so I have been raised with a sensitivity and a knowledge for mental disabilities. I know that working with such individuals takes patience. But most of all it simply takes kindness.**


 * [[image:communication2.jpg width="135" height="73" align="left"]]I work in the young child care ministry at my church. There is a little boy named Jeremiah who attends every Sunday. He has special needs and I work with him often, acting a little as his escort. His speech is difficult to**
 * discern and his actions sometimes inexplicable. I know he is not at fault for his violence and tantrums, so we are lovingly firm when it comes to calming him down.**


 * When he wants to play on the swing set, I show him how we have to wait our turn and when he wants water or a snack I instruct him to say please and thank you. I am with him until his mother arrives to pick him up.**


 * Jeremiah is three years old and has a whole lot of life to live. The fact that he is mentally challenged should not, and will not hinder him from fulfilling his dreams and achieving his goals.**


 * People of today should embrace our community of mentally challenged individuals instead of shying away. The important first steps have already been taken; now we just need to follow in the footsteps.**

The month of February commonly conjures up visions of hearts and cherry lollipops and wonderful soul warming valentine cards. However, no longer will this be true in the hearts of those close to young Larry King who was shot and killed by fellow classmate Brandon McInnery in that fateful February of 2008.While some take a quick glance at the hard facts and hastily jump to conclusions, if examined further, the details show that a large portion of the blame can be justifiably placed on Larry.

Larry was different. Everyone and their mother knew that and could sense it from a mile away. He drew attention to himself with the wearing of stiletto heels, make up, and openly showing affection toward other males. While this caused uneasiness among the rest of the eighth grade population atE.O.Green Middle School, there simply was nothing that the staff could do to dim Larry’s flamboyancy. To state that he pushed the limits would be quite the understatement. He sexually harassed Brandon and used his sexual orientation as a weapon. This unfair use of gay remarks and gestures fueled Brandon’s anger leading him to the only kind of solution he knew.

An immediate cause for Brandon’s impulsive behavior is the fact that Larry openly humiliated him in front of his peers. Larry, on a dare, strolled up to Brandon and inquired if he would be his valentine. As the ill-humored comments began to rain down on Brandon, he himself became the victim. Darkness overcame him and violent instincts took over.

Some may rebut that Brandon had no right to shoot and kill Larry. While there is no way to ever justify his murder, there are absolute facts that tell of Brandon’s poor upbringing. His father, a drunk and violent wife beater took a shot at his meth addicted mother ten years prior, It is not Brandon’s fault that all he knows is violence. It’s how he was raised.

Clearly, main facts and headlines only tell a small part of the overall story. Further examination of the details is imperative in forming a viable conclusion as to where the blame should be placed. It is evident that Larry King, though undeserving of this awful fate, brought upon him self the ridicule and negativity dished out by his peers. So when it comes down to appointing faults, it is necessary to observe just what kids have witnessed in their lifetime and how it can all lead to foul play.

<span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">23. Be a foster parent for a few years <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">24. Visit Italy <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">25. Visit Belize <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">26. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Go on a missions trip to Honduras <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">27. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Work at Hume Lake <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">28. Wirk at Disneyland for a while <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">29. Pick out my wedding dress with my mom <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">30. Serve a term in the Air National Guard
 * 1) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Fall in love
 * 2) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Become a psychiatrist
 * 3) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">get my PHD
 * 4) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Get married
 * 5) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Own my own horse[[image:horse2.jpg width="210" height="173" align="right"]]
 * 6) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Visit Hawaii
 * 7) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Ride a motorcycle
 * 8) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Go on a misssions trip to Africa
 * 9) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Start my career
 * 10) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Skydive three times
 * 11) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Visit the 7 wonders of the world
 * 12) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Visit China
 * 13) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Visit Japan
 * 14) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Volunteer in the Peace Corps
 * 15) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">See a few haunted houses
 * 16) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Write a letter to the president and get a response [[image:bride.jpg width="113" height="113" align="left"]]
 * 17) ﻿ <span style="color: #0e0e11; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿17. <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Sing at my best friend's wedding
 * 18) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿18. <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Be a maid of honor
 * 19) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">19. <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">See my brother get married
 * 20) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿20. <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;">Buy a Lexus RX 400 in midnight blue
 * 21) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">21. Attend a red carpet event
 * 22) <span style="color: #0012ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">22. Be a counselor at a camp

<span style="color: #0d0d12; font-family: Georgia,serif;">﻿Fourteen year old Brandon McInerny shot and killed his classmate Larry King on February 12, 2008. After enduring many sexual passes from Larry, Brandon, young and immature, acted on his anger and humiliation. This killing was hardly premeditated and so Brandon's case belongs in juvenile court.

<span style="color: #0d0d12; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Fifteen days into your 14th year shows little maturity and not much capacity for good decision making skills. Middle school causes enough frustrations as it is without having to put up with sexual passes from a classmate of the same sex no less. Brandon did not have the ability to weight the options or consider consequences because as a 14 year old the brain is not fully developed. Anger caused him to act violently and while his actions are not, and never will be, justifiable, his motives were very real and practical.

<span style="color: #0d0d12; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Being tried in juvenile court would allow Brandon to get out at 25 and have a second chance at life. Being tried in adult court guarentees him fifty-three years to life. The murder occurred when Brandon was 14! He was acting out of rage and humiliation like any child would do. A person that young deserves a second chance at life.

<span style="color: #0d0d12; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Larry's family deserves justice and nobody opposes that statement But evidence shows that Larry played a huge part in Brandons anger and embarrassment. His family must consider the situatuion reversed. What if Larry had been the shooter? How would they feel then? What sentence would they want? Brandon deserves to be punished, but adult prison is not the place for it. Juvenille is a scary environment and Brandon could definitely learn his lesson there.

<span style="color: #0d0d12; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Clearly, fourteen-year old Brandon McInerny did not show the capability to premeditate such a hideous crime. His actions were based upon hs emotions which does not indicate premeditation. Brandon belongs in juvenile court.



<span style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">While Susan Sontag makes a compelling argument in support of text over images, her points and opinions are solely hers and uphold only one side of the situation. There are strong rebuttals that could be made supporting images, however there is no argument for either side strong enough to exceed the fact that we need both to understand the world completely. Photos and words go hand in hand; by themselves they only tell half of the story.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Sontag states, “Photography implies that we know about the world if we accept it as the camera records it. But this is the opposite of understanding…” While we cannot learn everything from a photo, the image does give a visual. It provides a clearer understanding than words could do alone. Pictures have captions for a reason. Text and images together complete the story.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Another argument that Sontag makes is that images have eroded our society in that people have become “image-junkies” and that “it is the most irresistible for of mental pollution.” I disagree with her claims. While the media does nibble at our society’s intelligence, pictures and images work in our favor. Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird” tells a captivating story of a young girl and her family. But more importantly, it shows poverty and the conditions of the 1930’s. However, no matter how much explaining and how many details Lee wrote down, the images in the movie brought it to all life. Photographs can bring about emotions that words simply cannot. They show the reality of life and emotionally connect the viewer to situation in the picture. It makes a point of saying that “this is real. This person, this situation, it’s real. It happened.”

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Images are the oldest and simplest form of communication and therefore should be embraced, rather than kicked to the side like some primitive nonsense. Once text came into existence, our understanding of the world only grew deeper. It didn’t just begin there. Images were already sharing half of the story. Words brought about the other piece. Jacob Riis realized this and did something about it. Through photography and text he shocked the world with the horrifying reality of the New York slums in a book called “How The Other Half Lives”. Words were not enough to convey the message that needed to be shared. Photographs depicted the sad eyes of the children forced to work in factories, and the mothers trying to nurse their babies back to health in an attempt to alter their inevitable fate. This is why images and text belong together. Neither can create understanding by themselves.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">It is clear that although words can explain a lot more than an image, without the photograph, true understanding cannot be produced. A heart-wrenching photograph can take quite a toll on a person, but the words that go with it just may end up making the difference.

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A large part of life is love. From childhood to adolescence and adulthood, you see it, experience it, prepare for it, and look forward to it. But what is it exactly? The answer is clear in this quote, “It’s all chemical. The whole universe is chemical. You’re chemicals. I’m chemicals. Love, sadness, pain, grief- it’s all chemical.” Chemicals are the fuel behind love.

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Boys and girls are driven by different sex hormones. Testosterone, the male hormone is the cause of the majority of the changes that happen in the body of a teenage boy. It’s the source behind, hair growth (in females too), vocal cord lengthening, and muscle increase. The female sex hormone, estrogen, powers all of the changes in the female body including menstruation, and bodily maturing. In the early stages of romance, the body releases a chemical known as dopamine. It is sort of like a pleasure drug. It produces a natural “high” and forms the gateway to attachment. The attachment feeling is caused by the chemical oxytocin, which is released when a couple has been together for a long time.

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">The natural evolutionary process is the ability of a male or female to be a potential mate. While females look for angular, muscular men who can offer resources and protection, men seek soft, feminine, and curvy women. Evolutionary anthropology shows that fertility is what men are subconsciously looking for the most in a woman. Females are simply looking for stability and protection.

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">However, something as large as love cannot all be summed up in a laboratory. Romantic and passionate poets did not spend their lives dedicating sonnets to women simply because their hormone made them. There was an attraction beyond chemicals that drove them to do so. Dante Aligheri, a passionately in love poet of the 12th century, spent his entire life writing and dedicating poems and sonnets to a beautiful, young Beatrice. He did not ever touch her or make love to her, nor did he want to. His love was beyond hormones, only biologically powered by them. Marriage is a result of this kind of courtly, loyal, and devoted love.

<span style="font-family: 'Baskerville Old Face','serif'; font-size: 16px;">To put it simply, love is huge. It leads to very big commitments and life-changing decisions, but chemicals clearly are the source behind love. It is simply our human nature that brings romance in to the picture.

<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Everybody holds at least one special thing close to their heart. Well I am no different. While many people cling to materialistic objects, I hold dearly to my brother.

<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif'; font-size: 16px;">My older brother, Cameron Davis, is my best friend in the whole, wide world. He recently turned twenty-one, but I still remember when he was twelve. We grew up playing secret agent games in the neighborhood and pretending to be seals at Sea World in the pool. Colorful pool toys, scooters, and spy kits flood my memories of our childhood.

<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Cameron knows me better than anyone else and sometimes it’s scary how much we are alike. He has seen me at my best, when I made the Buena cheer squad, and at my worst, when I was passing classes with D’s. He’s been with me during my elated highs, when I turned sixteen, and during my devastating lows, when my kitty was in the hospital and near death. For all of that, I love him even more.

<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Now that we are both growing up, I can look back at our happy childhood and what’s more is that I can reminisce with him. He is currently at boot camp for the Air National Guard and once he starts his career in the armed forces, I will miss him. He is a lifelong friend that I know I couldn’t possibly lose, even if I tried.

<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> My brother is very special to me and even when we both grow old and become weary and tired from raising our separate families, I know I’ll always have Cameron to crack a joke and have my eyes tearing up from laughter. I love him very much and will always choose him as my “one special thing”.

<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Marriage is a very big part of society and a result of love. However, I inquire if modern marriages are really based on the right concepts or if a traditional arranged marriage system is what this society needs. I believe that both are beneficial and should be used together in picking a lifelong mate.

<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In an arranged marriage the parents choose the spouse. While they may not be clear on what their child wants in a spouse romantically or physically, they do know what is best for them. They use their wisdom and knowledge to choose a compatible, financially stable, and potentially successful partner. Thinking with the head can lead to a lasting marriage, a healthy family, and a stable household.

<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif'; font-size: 16px;">On the other hand, marriage should have passion and romance. This is where the heart comes into play. While thinking rationally about what you want in a mate can lead to a long marriage, thinking passionately can lead to a very happy one. Listening to one’s heart can bring about a very loving relationship and a peaceful and enjoyable marriage.

<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> While using your head to choose a mate and using your heart both bring about potentially swell marriages, using the two together is the best idea in my opinion. To make a long-lasting and happy marriage, one needs to think both rationally and passionately or the marriage will not work. Benjamin Franklin put it best when he stated, “Where there is marriage without love, there will be love without marriage.” Choosing a lifelong partner requires more than just the head or just the heart; it takes both to get the job done right.

<span style="font-family: 'Century Schoolbook','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Clearly, marriage should be a thought-out, well considered, permanent plan. It is not something done on a crazy whim or a spur of the moment decision, but it also is not something that should be forced upon someone. Both love and wisdom have a part in choosing what is right for everyone.