Article 4: Rock Topple

 I am not a girl scout. I've never been in anything like that before. I know a friend of mine who is in boy scouts and is very determined and very passionate about being a boy scout, but it has never caught my attention really to join. From what my friend has told me, they take many road trips around their area-sometimes even go to a different state to explore the outdoors- but never in any of their trips have they ever touched or changed the beings of nature like the one Yahoo News released on October 21st, 2013.

 In Utah, a group of boy scouts and their leaders went off to Goblin Valley State Park in Utah where some of the oldest rock formations can be found. These ancient rock formations are large abstract pieces of rock that have been formed over the time of water erosion and the heat of the sun created over the years. Well, two boy scout leaders- Glenn Taylor and Dave Hall- were fired from leadership in the boy scouts for tearing down one of the rock formations within the park. Like I said before, I was never a part of a scout, BUT what these men did was a very huge disrespect for the land and the scouts policy.
 The land has been around for years and years and for them to just destroy a piece of the land that God made to be the way it is it basically trespassing. The scouts are given permission to go about and be able to see the sights and explore the numerous creatures living in that area. The two men destroyed a piece of the animals natural habitat. Not only did they destroy a "sacred" place, they also broke a scout rule.
     
         " Leave What You Find: Allow others a sense of discovery, and preserve the past. leave rocks, plants, animals, archaeological artifacts, and other objects as you find them. Examine but do not touch cultural or historical structures and artifacts, Its may be illegal to remove artifacts." -The Principles of "Leave No Trace"

 Glenn and Dave argued that the "rock formation was loose and feared it was dangerous". I beg to differ. In the video they posted on Facebook, they did not seem to be bringing it down in spite of the scouts safety. They happened to be laughing and using a lot of force for the huge rock to come down. Once it was down, all three of them laughed and cheered in excitement as if it were their job.
 Although what they did was wrong, I am glad to see that these men took things in a good matter and took their punishment of leaving the leadership. " We've always supported the Boy Scouts and if that's what they feel is best, we support that decision," Hall said. "We're extremely sorry for our mistake. We look forward to doing everything we can to make it right and move on."

Reading In My Life

 I have never had anything against reading. In fact, so far in my life since last year, English class has been the class I have been looking forward in attending during my school hours. Since I was little, I loved math, but I don't know? Something clicked and I began to despise it. Things became harder and harder as new equations entered my world of simple math and I hated it. It was so challenging! But reading. My goodness. It was the same. All what was added was the understanding and the "reading between the lines", getting a more complex, deep thought in what I was reading. Now, when I watch movies that I had seen when I was little that come on tv with my younger siblings, I happen to see what is truly going on in the movie. It all makes sense!
 When I was little, I had only four books. Four. Me and my mother lived alone, since we left my dad and nobody wanted to take us in, so we didn't have money to go around buying toys and what not. I was four years old at the time when my uncle let us stay with him in his house. There is where my life changed. My uncle had three kids- Xochil, Victor, and Tony (all of them were older than me). They would teach me how to read since I didn't attend pre-school. They would sit me down on the couch and read to me or have me read along with them. By the time I started kindergarten, I was sable to read a little and write my name and Abc's. Kindergarten I honestly remember nothing about. First grade on the other hand I do.
 My first grade teacher's name was Miss. Jackson. In her class was were I began reading chapter books. My first chapter book I had ever read was Junie B. Jones Smells Something Fishy by Barbara Park. I loved that book so much, I begged my mom to buy it for me at this book fair we were having in our school library. She hesitated. So I went to my step-dad, who over the time me and my mom had been living in my uncles house, he came into our lives, ending up with my mom getting married and us moving into an apartment with him. My step-dad was the one who gave me money to go and buy the book, only when we go to the fair, the book wasn't by itself. It came in a pack of six Junie B. Jones books. Mom bought it. Only it took her 1 whole year to let me actually open the pack and read the books. I read and read and re-read the books over and over for a whole summer, since cartoons only lasted till about noon during the day.
 When my little sister joined the family, I read to her my library books and sometimes these books my dad would find and bring to me from his work. So I had about thirteen books; two short stories and eleven small chapter books. To be honest, being able to be the only child in my house that was able to read made me feel superior and intelligent. Not only in my house, but also within my cousins who were smaller. We hung out a lot and we would all play school. I'd be the teacher and I'd teach the younger ones how to read, write, do a little math and etc. My parents were always saying, "Heidy's going to be a great teacher when she grows up", having me responding with a huge crooked-teeth smile.
 Now that I am older, I read a lot of different books. Mostly because it is required like for an assignment or a project. But, whenever I am able to choose a book, I read romance or some other young adult novels. I don't get out much, so to read about a characters perspective in being wild and crazy like people say teenagers are, makes me feel as if I am there beside them, enjoying the wild life, not being left out. I've only experienced having a boyfriend once, so to read the love and the relationship of a character in a romantic novel, the descriptions of their beloveds face, the  just brings those memories back.
 I'll be in advisory, which I do read in, and I'd be crying or I'd laugh out loud at something funny said within the books. I'll be at home reading before bed and I'd read aloud to my sister whom I share a room with. She'd ask questions on what is happening and I'd
 get frustrated because I'd want to continue to find out what happens next. Recently, I haven't been able to read at home because of personal reasons. But I do read while I am on the bus rides to and from school. I do read as I am on my way to church on Thursday nights, and on weekends when I am bored and there is nothing on tv, chores are done, and the kids aren't bugging me, I read. I'll read about five to eight pages every ten minutes. My goal for this year is to end my junior year having already read 30 books; so far I've read three total books, cover to cover. Right now I am finishing up Ella Minnow Pea and starting The Great Gatsby.
 There are so many books left to explore and I have a while lot of time ahead of me to get through them all. 

Article 3: No More Hookworms!

 Hookworms are a deadly parasite. It is harmful to all humans, especially women and children. There is a trial coming up on whether or not US should send out vaccines to Africa to stop the spread of the parasite.
 I say that we should. Many kids infected with the Hookworm get anemia, stunted growth, learning problems and drains their blood. Not only for the children, but for the women as well. woman who are pregnant and can and most likely have the baby get infected as well.
 If we send the vaccines out, we help a lot of people. We can stop this parasite from spreading any further and resolve this problem for anyone  who has been infected by this Hookworm. Sending this Hookworm will not only help the locals out, but also help us out. we will be heroes to them and we will be able to get something out of it which is always good.
 So say yes to the Vaccine!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/health/parasites-hookworm-vaccine-will-be-tried-in-africa.html?ref=health

Remember Me

Chapter 1

Breathe. Just breathe. You can do this. Mom parks in front of the entrance of Burger King; the Burger King we had all agreed to meet at. Oh, the excitement to finally meet him. It’s been 2 weeks since mom told me that he had agreed to be my chamberlain- my dance partner for my surprise dance in my quinceañera. Apparently, when we were little we had play dates at the park. That was so long ago. I can’t even remember. I peer in through the window to see if I could see or at least figure out who he was, but I only saw a kid that looked like he was 12 or 13, dark skinned with short hair. As I get out of the car, Junior and Caleb zipping right past me, I look to my right at my sister who looks at me and raises her eyebrows that ask me if I’m ready. I nod and walk in first.

            The place is pretty much empty. Only a small family sitting by the window, and a random guy in the very back. I figured that the family was who we were meeting because as soon as mom walked in, the short lady- Lupe- stood up and greeted her with a hug and a kiss on both cheeks. The 12 year old turned out to be her son as she pointed him out- Alex- and across from him was a guy, sixteen, maybe seventeen years-old, with spiked up hair, a red shirt  and cuffed dark jeans- Miguel. I honestly wasn't expected him to look like such a “gangster” or “thug”.

            “Anna! He looks like Pauly D”, I tell my sister.

            “I know! I was just about to tell you the same thing”, she laughed.

            We start walking towards them when I hear my mom introducing me as “the girl who just HAD to meet Miguel”, having all three of them turn to me. I politely reached out my hand to shake theirs when I hear someone scream their head off. I turn to mom and with one look we run towards the play area. There we find my little brother on the floor bleeding from a scrape he got from the slide. I kneel down next to him and try to calm him down, telling him that it’s just blood and it’ll heal soon, bribing him with a kid’s meal if he can get up and come with me to the bathroom to rinse it off. He gets up and begins to walk towards the door passing our mom, Alex, and Lupe. I wait for Anna to pass to go through, but as soon as I went through the doorway Miguel bumps into me.

            “Oh sorry”, I shyly say.

            “It’s all good. Was that your brother?”, he gestures towards Junior who is now waiting for me at the bathroom door, tears still streaming down his face. I nod, squeezing through the doorway, “Yeah, speaking of my brother, I have to help him out real quick. I’ll be back in a few”.

            “Alright”, he says, still looking at me as he walks backwards, hitting the chairs behind him. I try not to giggle, but as soon as I walk into the bathroom with Junior I crack up. I turn on the faucet and begin to rinse off the blood from his elbow. I dry him off and go to the cash register to order his kids meal and to ask for a band aid. After 5 minutes we receive his meal and sit a table away from where my mom, my sister, and Lupe were. I scan the room to find where Miguel and Alex were, but I couldn't see them.

My mom calls us over to sit at their table. There was only one empty chair so I let Junior have it and I just pulled up another one next to him.

“So Jacqueline, your mom tells me that you want Miguel to be your chamberlain for your fifteen”, Lupe says turning to me.

“Yes”, I nod, “I have been looking for one for over a month now and when my mom mentioned Miguel”, I say turning to my mom who was staring outside at the rain fall silently on the floor, “ I just went with it.”

Lupe turns to my mom and says, “So what made you think of my Miguelito?”

My mom began out saying that she had always been thinking of a time to get together and blah, blah, blah. I zoned out, now my turn to stare outside the window at the rain that gradually intensed since I last noticed my mom staring at it.

            Back when I was in 4th grade, there was this huge storm on the way to the area where our house was at. My mom told me to stay in her room with Caleb, who was a year old at that time, and Anna, who was five. She told us that our dad was on his way home from work so he’d be home in a few minutes as she went out through the garage to her car, that slowly disappeared in the rain as it backed up and zoomed away. I stood there in the garage just watching the rain pour down onto the pavement that stood still without fear. A slash of lightning startled me followed by a clash of thunder. I heard my brother cry and I ran back inside. I held him on my mom’s bed with Anna hugging my arm next to me. All three of us terrified at the sound of rain attacking our house. We all closed our eyes and I began to pray. I prayed and prayed and prayed. I prayed that mom would get to work safely and that dad got home safely and- “Hello”, a voice interrupts, “Niños?” It was dad! I look down at Caleb, who fell asleep in my arms, and to my right at Anna, who was laying on her back fast asleep. I put Caleb in his crib and go meet my dad. “Where is everybody”, he asked. “Asleep.” We walk to the garage and just stare out at the sight of the slanted rain pour and pour and pour...

            “Jacqueline!” I look to my right to my mom, “I asked you a question.” I stare at her blankly. “When do you want to start practicing your dance”, she sighs.

            “Oh! Umm, well I don’t know. Do you really want to be my chamberlain”, I ask Miguel, who throughout my whole gazing out of the window time he magically appeared next to his mom staring at me.

            “Yeah, sure”, he says smiling at me.

            “REALLY? Cool! I mean, okay then how about next Monday?”

            Lupe and my mom exchange looks and Lupe nods, “Alright Monday then”.

            Once my mom and Lupe got each other on the same page, arranging the time and the place to practice, we all get up and said goodbye. I ran outside with my brothers in the rain that slowed down to a sprinkle, waiting for my mom to open the door of the van. I wave bye to Miguel and Alex who were standing at the door waiting for Lupe.

            As me and the boys hop into the van and buckle up, mom gets in laughing at something Lupe yelled out. “What”, I asked her.

            “Oh, nothing. So what did you think of Miguel? He’s very handsome isn't he”, she teased.

            “Oh my gosh, mom!”

            “Oh come on! He really is handsome!”

            “And his friend isn't that bad either”, Anna butted in.

            Mom and I both stare at her and then burst out laughing as she backs out of the parking lot and onto the road to go home.

Article 2: School Uniforms

  Khaki and navy colored pants and white, red, blue colored shirts. These are the colors of the uniforms; boot-cut jeans or skirts that are 4 inches above the knee. I don't know who came up with uniforms, but whoever did is a genius.

                School uniforms go back to the early 90’s at a 3% of public schools using them, slowly graduating to a 12% and then a 42% of schools having dress codes. Many people find uniforms as a benefit in school by keeping increasing the schools safety and behavior of the students. They are even a huge benefit for parents financially, makes life a little bit easier.

                The safety of the schools increase with the help of uniforms because it “eliminates the gang-related clothing”, avoiding any gang related violence in the area of schools. It has the students looking sharp and makes the school look better. Every student dressed neat and clean walking around school impresses many administrations, sending good buzz around about the school.

                The use of uniforms helps with the behavior of students by not leaving anybody left out. In schools, many kids get picked on for wearing something that is out of style or because it only looks good on certain people. Now with everyone wearing uniforms, none of the students have anything to say about each other because they are all dressed the same. All students can participate in school activities without the worry of “does this look right”.

                School uniforms aren’t cheap, but since it’s the same thing every day, parents don’t have to buy new clothes each year. Instead the same uniforms can be used for as long as they fit the student. Parents don’t have to worry on how much money is going to be spent on graphic tees or 30 dollar jeans for their kids every year. Uniforms cost up to 150 dollars, but with the use of more than over 2 years, parents don’t have to keep buying and buying every season, leaving more money in your pocket.

                School uniforms might not be for everyone. Not all people believe that school uniforms are good, but there are several benefits with uniforms that people who oppose don’t see still. So, give it a go and see what outcome you take from school uniforms.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/12/style.rules/index.html