Final Bits of 2017

Last weekend before Holiday Break!
Who can't wait for school to end?! ME!!!!!
Who will have too much homework?! Me...
It's mainly from one class, but that one class feels like 15 at once. Let's not talk about it.


Any-hoo...

So we're officially done with Lord of the Flies. It's time to focus on other things... like the research paper! It's supposed to be 3-5 pages long, which sounds sort of okay. I did a lot of long papers last year, so this is fine.

As I said a few posts ago, my topic is on curfew laws. I think I explained it quite thoroughly down there, so I'm not going to reiterate it all here. Instead, I'll reflect on how's my project going so far.

I know we were supposed to choose topics that we're really interested in so our thoughts can fire away on paper. But the thing is, the topics are all supposed to be controversial issues in our world, and controversies don't interest me in terms of getting "fired up" in any way. The curfew thing fired me up the most compared to the other topics I saw, but not in general. The curfew things I wrote in a post down below was fun to write though, because since it's only a blog post, I can speak as freely as I like. However, in a research paper, I need to be formal. I don't want it to be stiff, but you know, I can't use words like "you know" or "think about it." That's what is also kind of bumming me out on this paper. How am I going to fill that page count when it's on controversial stuff? Last year's papers consisted of one about myself and one about a book. Controversy isn't exactly fun, and I think we all know that. Luckily, I have a ton of reasoning to back up my views on curfew laws, so that should cover things up. I've always been a good writer too, so... yes I'm pretty sure this will be a good paper. I'm not turning around now. I have no doubts about the results, just the process a bit.

I just want to throw this out there: The world has way too many issues!
When we started the topic research, we used the Virtual Reference Collection to help us pick a topic, and my oh my were there a lot! There were obvious ones, bizarre ones, and ones so overlooked that you never realized that it's actually a big deal. Even crazier, that list clearly doesn't have all the world's problems. When you think about it, the real list is endless. Our world is a mess. Is it possible to solve them all?

By the way, I'm sorry if this whole post feels short or weird in any way. Not much happened this week, so this was what I came up with. I feel bad to end the year with a post like this, and I wish it was a little more in depth, but I hope it's okay.

So, there's that! This is my final post of 2017. This year was a lot of fun in lots of ways. I actually don't want the year to end. 2018 is such a huge number! Kindergarten started 10 whole years ago and that number is getting bigger... AHH! Sorry. I love the past and present. Anyway, I'm sure 2018 will be quite an adventure, and you'll get to know all about it in
The Wonderful World of Me, Myself, and I!

✰ Wishing you all Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! ✩

Lord of the Flies Final Debate

Warning: If you haven't finished reading Lord of the Flies and don't want any spoilers, stop reading this!

This week was debate week on Lord of the Flies. We had to discuss our opinion on two topics:

1. Jack is an effective leader.

2. The kids on the island didn't become bad; they were bad from the beginning.

We had to say whether or not we agree with each statement, and provide a ton of evidence why. I completely agree with these statements.

Topic #1: Yes, Jack is an effective leader.

You see, there's a difference between a good person and a good leader. There's also a difference between a good leader and an effective leader. I think we can all agree that Jack was a pretty selfish, arrogant, and unkind person. He constantly bragged about himself being choir leader and the most fit person on the team, and he made fun of Piggy whenever there was a chance to. He insulted the littluns as well. Jack didn't have any qualities of being a good leader, but he had every quality of being an effective leader.

An effective leader is one who gets the job done.

A good leader is one who gets the job done and keeps everyone happy.

Jack is an effective leader, not a good one.

Here's one such example:

In the chapter "Beast from Water", when Ralph called for an assembly, many of the kids laughed and even shouted over Ralph while he was talking. No one took him seriously. However, when Jack took over the assembly, the children were mostly quiet. He spoke so assertively and slammed words down on everyone and successfully got to his point.

Another example is shown in "Cry of the Hunters", where Jack managed to get nearly every kid on the island (except Ralph) to join his tribe and fulfill the roles he assigned. Sam, Eric, and Roger were all part of Jack's tribe, and they listened to him with utmost loyalty - something Ralph wasn't able to fully achieve back in his tribe.

Basically, no one ever really liked Jack, but he was the only one able to get the job done. Ralph had tried to do this, but things were a bit flimsy for him. No one ever took Ralph seriously, but they did to Jack.

I put this in a post a long time ago, but I think it suits this one too, in a way.

Jack is more of a boss than a leader, but either way, he's still effective.

Onward!

Topic #2: Yes, the kids were always bad from the beginning.

Okay, here's the thing. The way I interpret this, "bad" essentially means not innocent. It doesn't necessarily mean monstrous. In my opinion, they were never innocent to begin with - everyone except Piggy, that is. I'll be referring to "everyone" as everyone besides Piggy here.

Think about it. When everyone got together on the island, one of the first things they thought of was how to eat. They weren't afraid of slaying the life of a little piglet. Jack actually had a small knife with him! No innocent kid would think about slaying an animal for food so casually, let alone have a weapon on him. At least, I wouldn't. The fact that they all had that dark, violent thought in them shows that they aren't good kids. If you think that hunting for meat is okay to think about given the circumstances, then think again. We all know Piggy is a pure kid. Did he think about hunting for food at first? No. He ate fruit. Sure, they were poisonous, but the fact he decided to eat fruit instead of looking for a source of meat shows that he's the innocent one and everyone else weren't.

Honestly, when you think about it, no one was really afraid of the situation in the beginning of the book. If I was stranded on an island, I would be freaking out! My first thought would be as to how in the world am I going to go home? There's no one to help me. What am I going to do?! It fills me up with fear just thinking about that. Instead, these kids just focused on having fun, Ralph especially. Jack just wanted to show off and hunt. These kids aren't taking anything seriously.

I will say this, though. Their time spent on the island definitely amplified their lack of innocence, gradually shaping them into monsters. It's only natural. I mean, they've been there for so long without proper authority and joyful resources. Their frustration eventually became corruption. But Piggy had always been the same, pure, logical kid. It just goes to show that he was the only good kid on the island from the start, meanwhile everyone was always bad. The island just made it worse.

Okay, I'm done rambling my thoughts. Wow, this is a long post... I wanted to say all this at the debate in class, but it got steered in so many directions that I didn't have a chance to strike. I really felt like going back in time and doing it all over again, but I guess it's okay. I probably would've messed it up anyway, given my fear of speaking in front of people. It's just not my department. Anyway, I'm glad to have read Lord of the Flies. I always knew what it took to be a good leader, given the shows I watch and the games I play, but this book was thought-provoking in a lot of enjoyable ways.

Curfews

For my research project, the controversial issue that I'm working on is about curfew laws. Should there be curfew laws?

Many places believe that curfew laws help limit trouble and/or crime.
Many other places believe that curfew laws unnecessarily target innocent teenagers.

Personally, I feel that curfew laws are absolutely essential in a society, and it doesn't target teenagers in an unfair way at all. They have so many benefits!

First of all, what good can result from a teenager (or anybody) being out late at night? The answer is nothing at all. When it's night, it's obviously dark and most people are asleep, so that's the time for crime and gang activity to take place, and we all know that youngsters are involved most of the time. One might say that they have party at night. I say that doesn't matter. A party should finish at a maximum time of 9pm, maybe 10pm, but even that's too late still. Literally nothing good can happen at a late-night party, especially for girls. Most teen girls go to parties dressed in such a way that will obviously attract evil eyes. They're bound to get involved in all sorts of trouble. In the end, if the girl ends up entitled as a "victim" for whatever reason, people start sympathizing with her. I never feel sorry for them. I'm sorry if that sounds mean, but it's their own fault! Why was she up so late at night? Why was she dressed that way? She caused everything. Of course, the boy/girl responsible for entitling her as a victim is also at fault here, but the other girl is as well.

An example of a curfew law.

In my opinion, The curfew for ages 14-17 is a big stretch. It should be lowered.

There are curfew laws taking effect during the daytime too. Those laws say that children and teens cannot be in public during school hours without a chaperone. Certain malls have also begun to limit the hours that teens can enter without an adult present. Some teens have begun to feel that they are treated unfairly because they haven't done anything wrong. I personally don't see anything wrong with these rules. The only reason a student shouldn't be in school is if he/she is sick, on vacation, has an appointment somewhere, or some other excusable reason. There's no reason to wander around outside or go shopping at that time. Okay - say for example, a student wants a break from school and just decides to stay home and have fun with the family. I actually do that sometimes! Well, then the curfew laws don't apply in this case because you'll be at the mall with an adult (a family member.) There's no reason why the teen should be out by him/herself. Plus, even if you are by yourself, the mall curfew law still allows you inside! It's for a couple of hours, but it's not as if they don't allow you at all. There's no reason to be so whiny and call the laws unfair. Those teens are just eager to get into mischief since they're willing to complain about such a reasonable rule. This is part of the reason why they're called "teens" and not "adults." Teens can't take care of themselves properly out there. No matter how responsible they may think they are, they're just immature mini-adults. Most of them aren't responsible anyway. They're bound to get into trouble out there.

Curfew laws can also make parents more alert of their children's whereabouts and lives. No parent wants to find out that their child has been caught sneaking out at night, and they especially don't want to hear that they've been arrested or something. With curfew laws, parents can be more alert towards their kids, making sure they obey the curfew laws. My parents and I watch Fox 5 News a lot, and there's a certain thing I like about that channel when it comes to this topic. As soon as it hits 10pm, there's a commercial saying: "It's after 10pm. Do you know where your children are?" I think that commercial is a really good idea! New York (as far as I know) doesn't really have any curfew laws, so this commercial acts as a tiny substitute for it. Whatever it is, I think it's cool.

Basically, I think curfew laws are great. It helps keep the community safer, and parents can be more alert towards their kids' whereabouts, along with being at peace as well. This is just a preview of what my research paper is going to be like. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a great paper, because I can happily defend this. It annoys me to bits when teens think their parents are on their case all the time, claiming them to be "overprotective" and all that nonsense. Parents and adult officials are just doing their best to make sure they're safe! There's nothing wrong with curfew laws at all.

Lord of the Flies Post II

Warning: If you haven't finished reading Lord of the Flies and don't want any spoilers, stop reading this!

Lord of the Flies from chapters 9-12 doesn't resemble the beginning of the story at all. It's cool though, for the most part, that is.

So, Jack has his own tribe now, consisting of Roger and some other littluns. Ralph, Piggy, Sam, and Eric (or Samneric) are on their own. Jack's "base" is up on Castle Rock, which is pretty cool. Jack and his hunters may all be monsters now, but I'm kind of enjoying Jack's personality for some reason. He has this darkness inside him, anger, arrogance... it's sort of admiring. I'm not saying I favor these kinds of qualities! It's just cool to envision him like this.

I'm going to be quick with this and not ramble on too much with describing the events as I usually do. So, Jack realized that his tribe can't go on with just meat - he needs fire too, so they all ambush Ralph's tribe and end up stealing Piggy's glasses. At the end of that chapter, they're dangling from Jack's hands - ah! So cool. Anyway... later on, Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric go up to Castle Rock to retrieve the glasses back. It's not that they don't want Jack to have a fire, but that stealing Piggy's glasses is wrong. By the way, I've been noticing that Ralph is being more respectful to Piggy lately. Perhaps it's because he's starting to realize that Piggy isn't just a laughingstock, but a lot more than that. 

Back to the main scene... they go up Castle Rock despite knowing that it's dangerous. The danger is really Jack and Roger. They're the monsters. When Jack refused to give back the glasses, a battle had begun. Oh, what an intense moment this was. Ralph and Jack fought fiercely. My favorite part was when they were both breathing fiercely, pushing and glaring at each other. Though the book didn't say it, I imagined their fists clenching one another's as well. After some more fighting, something insanely tragic happens. Oh goodness, I don't even want to say it, but I guess I will. Piggy held the conch, which then was shattered. Afterwards, he was pushed off Castle Rock, falling forty feet down. That was the end of him. Why?!
He was so sweet...!

The conch is in smithereens. Piggy fell down. All authority is gone. All voice of reason is gone.

Samneric got roped in to joining Jack's tribe. Ralph is literally by himself. Hope seems lost. When he goes to Castle Rock later again to rescue Samneric, he gets caught and a huge fight erupts. The fierce, scary fight goes on for a while, when suddenly, something happened. It happened.
An adult came.

It was a naval officer. He and Ralph exchanged a funny "Hullo." The boys were finally going to be rescued. Jack came... and he started shaking with tears streaming down his face. Everyone started crying. What have they become?

"...Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy."

That is the end of Lord of the Flies. It's such a sad story, in my opinion. But it reveals so much about mankind. We do so many horrible things without even realizing it at times. We need guidance, a voice of reason, a leader. In this story, that was none other than a boy called Piggy.

Overall, I really liked this book. Best one I've read in a long time. I hope the rest of this year's books are just as good or even better than this.

Lord of the Flies Post I

Warning: If you haven't read up to Chapter 8 of Lord of the Flies and don't want any spoilers, stop reading this!

Things just took a really strange turn in Lord of the Flies. Everything got so much more dark and abstract.

When the boys first arrived on the island, they seemed very innocent. Well, for the most part. They were happy to not have any adults, and they just wanted to have fun. Eventually, they started to notice just how wrong they were about living standards. It's not just fun and games.

Ralph was the one who took the initiative to lay out rules. I personally feel that he has enough sense as to knowing how to be a leader, but he can't really lead this specific group of boys that he's stuck with. It's not his fault though. There are way too many little kids, or "littluns," who don't understand the big picture of anything. Then there's good ol' Jack, who will never seem to accept terms with Ralph. He's been wanting to be leader since the beginning, but he never got his chance. So, he decided to make the most out of his so-called awesomeness and be leader of the hunters - the ones responsible for obtaining food for everyone. This went on for a while, and then came a twist.

Jack thought that after everything he's done for the group, such as obtaining food for them, the boys would look up to him more and make him the new leader. They took a vote once more, and Ralph won yet again. Jack was disappointed and hurt by his loss. The poor thing started crying, and left them to be on his own. He's a lone wolf now.

I can't believe I just called Jack a "poor thing." I've always hated Jack, but I felt really sorry for him in this scene, especially with the way I pictured it in my head. I didn't want him to be leader, but I still felt bad.

Anyway... he wasn't really a lone wolf for long. Eventually, some of the other littluns sneaked over and joined his hunter group. This is where things turn dark. All of the boys on the island were sweet, innocent, lost children at first. However, they've become savages now, especially Jack. He used to feel disgusted when trying to attack a pig, but he's nothing like that now. I don't like thinking/talking about this, but he hunted down a pig and just destroyed it. It wasn't just an attack - it was outright destruction. He and his hunters had no mercy on this pig. They totally slaughtered it. Oh, the poor creature... anyway, the point is that they're not exactly sweet, innocent children anymore. It's as if they've taken a step over to the dark side. They're monsters.

Jack reaching towards the dark side...
(in my vision)

Stepping away from the dark side now, time to get really abstract. Jack left the remains of the pig for the "beast" to eat it as an offering. Simon kind of just stayed there while the tribe left. It was so unbelievably hot, and he started to hallucinate. He stared at the pig... and the pig spoke to him. The pig was the Lord of the Flies. She (the pig) sounded like an adult. She was scolding, warning, and saying so many bizarre things to him. Simon just stood and stared. He passed out afterwards.

I read that scene so many times, but I just couldn't be able to decipher it. Eventually, I found out what this scene was really about. Simon may have been hallucinating, but he was also coming to a realization. We're kids on an island. We're fighting and hunting. None of these are good things. We're in a really, really bad situation. We're lost, and probably won't get home. We should be afraid. What are we even doing?!

I don't know. That's what I got from it. Basically, Lord of the Flies has taken a big leap away from a normal, straightforward life and onto the realities and hardships of life.

Technology

As I have said before, I don't enjoy reading books. I adore certain types of stories, but not novels themselves. I don't know, books just never click for me. They did a couple of times way in the past, but never after that. A few weeks ago, the whole class took out a book from the library to read for our own pleasure, and possibly gain some benefits from it. My book is called Awaken, by Katie Kacvinsky. It's a pretty good book so far. Not amazing, but alright. There are some things I'd like to talk about though. The main question: is our world deteriorating socially by technology? My answer is a flat yes, unfortunately.

             

The setting of Awaken is terrifying - and I don't mean with monsters and darkness. It's a world set in the year 2064, where technology rules and basically defines the lives of everyone. Every single thing is automated, whether by motion or voice control. There's a screen of any shape and size at every corner you look. People rarely look at each other's faces, let alone actually speak to them. There's no such thing as writing with a pencil, or reading on paper. It's all screens and holograms. There aren't even cars! They have these vehicles called ZipShuttles, which is like a small train that goes around the city like a bus.

As much as I hate to admit it, I feel like our world is plunging towards that. It gives me chills just typing that, because that's no way to live. I mean, think about it. The flip phone, which I think is really cool, only came out in probably the early 2000s, right? I'm not 100% sure if that is true, but I remember everyone had one in the mid-2000s. Then phones with sliding keyboards came along, and they were so cool! Eventually, the touch-screen as we all know it soon made its way. I got my first phone in 2010, and it had a touch screen with a sliding keyboard. Back then, it was a really big deal. But then, I don't know how, suddenly around late 2012 to 2013, everything started changing. iPhones started spreading to every person's back pocket. The battle between Apple and Samsung became way more noticeable than ever. Soon, everyone started buying tablets. The use for a laptop or desktop was going down, so then the laptop started becoming a tablet itself! Now you can flip them around! I actually got one recently, and I love it, but the fact that this all came to existence so fast is really something. This sudden surge from 2013 - 2017 was just voice/motion/touch activated technology everywhere you go. There are smartphones, smart TVs, smart cars, smart refrigerators... the list goes on and on. Every device has to have a camera or touch-ability. No one uses actual alarm clocks anymore. Few people even watch TV itself, because it's all online. I'm one of the few that still do. No one even talks to each other! On the last day of school last year, I wanted to spend the last class with my friends by talking, but literally all of them had their eyes on their phones. Very few words were spoken.

I love technology. I can't live without it. But, I feel like the world is moving way too fast. Back then, having a phone (or some modern technology) was like a phenomenon. Nowadays, not having one is a phenomenon. People are becoming less social and more lazy. They're losing sight of what's going on around them. I appreciate the flocks of birds in the sky, the windy blizzards, the raindrops on my face. No one feels this way anymore, and it seems to be getting worse as the years go by. People would rather take a picture, and post it with some laughing emojis or something.

                    

I want to say more, but I think I've harped on this enough. Anyway... in Awaken, the main character, Madeline, is one those "digital" people. Her mother is from my own generation, and she still appreciates the simpler, less-technological way of life. She's trying to convince Madeline to appreciate it as well, but Madeline feels more comfortable with a digital life. She never has to talk to anyone in person. No one can ever know who she is, so she can say whatever she wants online without consequences. If she wrote something she regrets, she can just edit or delete it, unlike in real life. As the chapters go by, she sees herself slowly starting to like a non-digital life. It makes her feel more alive.

I personally hope that our world never ends up like the one Madeline lives in. I get sick just reading some of the descriptions Madeline says of her world, but then again, mine is kind of similar. I hope that she awakens from her "digital sleep" soon enough.

Leadership

Alright! This week has been all about leadership. Honestly, I absolutely love this topic. Some of my most favorite shows often discuss what true leadership actually is, so I was really happy to partake this.

We started off with a quote: "You don't need a title to be a leader."
I truly agree with this. A person doesn't have to be the physically strongest or the most popular person to be a leader. In basic terms, a leader needs to be disciplined, confident, and patient. You must respond calmly in situations. You should know how to bring the most out of your team, and help them achieve their full potential, rather than just bossing them around. This involves being tough and rewarding at the same time. You mustn't be afraid to take risks either. But you don't necessarily have to be a perfect person, which goes back to not having to be the strongest. You can still be a leader if you're afraid to wrestle a tiger. But the fact that you're willing to try to make an effort to do something, such as making a plan of action, will lead your team to respect you as a leader.

                                

An example of the development of leadership is in the novel Lord of the Flies. I am actually enjoying this book. It's been a really, really long time since I've read a good book. It's been 5 years, actually. I read two novels in 5th grade that I literally couldn't put down. They were so amazing! After that, every book I touched didn't give off that spark. I'd read a few pages, maybe forcibly a few chapters, and I couldn't take it anymore. Basically, after 5th grade, the only novels I've read cover-to-cover are school-assigned books. I honestly don't enjoy reading books. I adore certain types of stories, but not novels themselves. I don't seem to have luck with them.
                       

Most of my experiences with books, unfortunately

Lord of the Flies is pretty interesting. I've only read one chapter so far, but I feel like there's a lot of potential for the rest of the chapters. It's about a group of schoolboys who get stranded on an island, and have to work their way to survival. The first step is figuring out who's fit to be leader, and that's where the leadership question comes into play. What does it take to be a leader? I believe it's discipline, confidence, and patience - all of which Ralph doesn't have. He's the leader as of now. Ralph is more of a free-spirited, solo kind of guy. He's also a bit unaware of how he's making other people feel. One of the sweetest kids in the group tried making friends with Ralph, and preferred him to know his real name instead of his old nickname, "Piggy." But Ralph completely ignored the fact that he didn't like the name, and went ahead and starting making fun of him. That's not exactly leadership material. I don't like Jack Merridew either - he's so arrogant. When I read his scenes, I just picture a British schoolboy with curly, shoulder-length hair and a whiny voice. He expects so much, like he obviously has to be the leader. The look on his face when he saw other people voting for Ralph was priceless though, even if I only saw it in my head.

Anyway, I hope the rest of this book goes really well, and I hope I get to see more examples of what true leadership actually is. I'm also looking forward to seeing how a bunch of children survive while being stranded on an island.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Presentation

It has now been 6 1/2  weeks since 10th grade has begun... and it has been pretty wild - not exactly in a fun way, though. A few weeks back, for English class, we had to create a presentation that discusses an issue brought up in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. We then had to connect that issue to our world today and discuss it. The part I hated about this assignment was the fact that we had to do all of this in front of the class. I've made speeches in front of the class back in 8th grade, but that was about myself. It was a totally different concept. I hated it back then as well, but this one is worse because the topic is so serious. The topics are different for everyone, but they're all controversial. To make things even more serious, we had to literally make a PowerPoint and present it! It's so professional. For the past few weeks, this was all I could think about. It was driving me crazy! I'm normally a very quiet person, so to suddenly present a controversial issue to the class was horrible for me. The good part is that it all went well. I spoke nice and loud, used appropriate hand gestures, and had valuable information to convey. I only wish I had spoken slightly slower, as I feel I went a bit fast. I also wish that I had less words on my slides so it can look neat and there would be room for more pictures. I was trying to follow the instructions of citing my evidence, but it caused lack of space.

My topic was on the rights to property in the medical world. Back in the late 1900s, doctors, researchers, and sometimes journalists really crossed their boundaries and were responsible for severe injustice done to innocent people - patients, in particular. Doctors would extract tissue, blood, or any part of the human body from a person without permission. A researcher would then perform research on it, possibly "manufacturing" their own cell line, and most likely earn a lot of money. A journalist would then publish all this information for the public to read, meanwhile the original patient this all came from isn't aware all of this is happening. In what way is any of that fair? In this case with Henrietta, doctors took her tissue and produced an entire line of cells called HeLa, proving to be a lucrative source in terms of money and scientific knowledge. Yet, she nor her family ever knew. Henrietta was a celebrity that was both microscopic and at the same time long enough to wrap around the entire planet countless times. Researchers made money out of her, yet her family was living in poverty, unable to afford even health insurance. The novel The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks has been adapted into a film recently, and yet the Lacks family is still poor today. What about this is right? It's absolutely ridiculous!

Back then, a journalist got a hold of Henrietta's medical records, which included extremely revealing and gruesome details. It was then published for the whole world to see, yet the Lacks family themselves had never even seen those records. Although such a lack of ethics can't happen today, it's still a huge invasion of privacy. However, obtaining tissue from patients without permission is actually legal in some parts of the world, such as Russia. There are many cases regarding it in today's modern world. This needs to be changed.

Think about it. Let's say you have a teddy bear that you love so dearly. One day, you come into your room and see that someone ruined your teddy bear. The button-eyes are hanging on with a loose thread, the stitching is falling apart, and its fur is discolored. You're extremely upset by this, but you still keep it. The next day, you see that the teddy bear is missing. You look everywhere, but it's nowhere to be found. The day after, you find your teddy bear, but it seems that someone pulled all the stuffing out of it, the button-eyes are gone, and the arms and legs are ripped off. This is even worse than before. Even though the bear was ruined before, you appreciated what was left of it. The stuffing, the eyes, legs, and arms made you feel closer to it than if you threw it out. But without all those things, it's true that the bear is still ruined, but now it feels more like an empty vessel instead of the friend you once had. That's kind of like what happened to Henrietta Lacks. She was treated as an object of which doctors could extract parts of her without asking anyone. But she's not an object. She's a daughter, sister, cousin, friend, wife, and mother. She is a person. In this case, the teddy bear was your friend. I don't like how this teddy bear analogy got a bit dark, but I think it gets the point across.

So anyway, the lack of morals and ethics is a huge issue even today. People are debating: Should we seek consent from patients before extracting tissue? Should we financially compensate them for their donations? I think the answers are clear enough for a person with any heart to understand. The fact that we have to debate over this is ludicrous.

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to The Wonderful World of Me, Myself, and I!

I love many things, like video games, television, and drawing. One of the other things I adore is writing. I've been doing it since before Kindergarten. I have written so many things about so many things, but this is my first official blog. It feels weird, but a bit cool at the same time. I don't think I ever would've opened one, until I had to now. It has been exactly two weeks since I first started high school, and it has been a bit wild. All of my classes are really easy, except for the first one I have everyday - AP Global History. Oh, it's just awful! I absolutely hate it! As far as I know, everyone hates it. Ironically, I'm really good at this class. I just don't enjoy it. It all started in 9th Grade, which was... something. It was amazing in a few parts, and kind of awful in many parts. This year, I'm trying to make it amazing throughout the whole thing.

So, this blog will be about whatever interesting things happen throughout the year. I already have a physical diary, and a journal that I call my "MeBook," but those are for other stuff. I don't usually write about things that happen in school there, unless it's absolutely crucial. This blog will be the setting for school events. I'll try my best to make it a wonderful world.
Class of 2020, here I come...!