Tigers and leopards are getting lower and lower in their population because of illegal poachers in Asia on the black market. People in India are trying to stop these beautiful species from going away entirely by having protests consisting of burning leopard and tiger skins. The amount of both leopards and tigers separately has gone down by nearly one third in the last nine years. I believe that these innocent animals should stay in the world for longer than eighteen more years.
China has the largest illegal market for tigers and leopards. A single live tiger can sell up to $50,000 because their uses. The beautiful coat of these animals is considered a perfect ornament for your house. Though I agree that the fur is in a pretty print, it should be kept on their alive bodies as long as possible.
The bones of tigers and pelts of the leopards are used for traditional medicines. There are only about 10,000 leopards and 1,700 tigers remaining. The population of these important animals should be fought for, not taken away.
I know that there are many other animals that are becoming extinct. One animal is the African elephant, which is killed for it's ivory trunks that are thought to be very valuable, though I believe that they are not as valuable as an animals life. Two thirds of the elephants' population has died in the last decade. 5,000 of these animals lives were taken in two years by poacher who want their trunks. In the beginning of the twentieth century there were 500,000 rhinos roaming the earth which has dropped to under 29,000 today. This animal was wanted for it's horn. I believe that the human race needs to stop taking creatures' lives for their bodies. If you truly think an animal is amazing or beautiful, you should leave it to live it's life.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
My 4th Birthday Present
At three years old, I was content with my life. I had my mom and dad almost all to myself because I was smaller than my then six year old sister Myah. I had plenty of love and plenty of play time, everything a little kid wants. I remember that when my mom was 7 or 8 months pregnant, I was sitting with her on her bed and we were talking about names and I wanted to name her Honey Bird. Those were the days when I thought she would be a cute, innocent little thing that would never bother me. I had no idea what I was in for.
On July 25th, 2005, shortly after my birthday on the 16th, the baby came. I remember holding her in my lap the day after she was born with my dad's reassuring arms around me holding her head and side, making sure that I didn't drop her. I decided I loved her, and that I always would. I kept that promise to myself to this very day and is still in play. But when she came home, things changed for me. When I wanted or needed something, it was always Carolyn who needed some thing else before that I got what I had asked for. My mom was too tired to do the simplest of things, like reading a story. And then came the biggest change of all.
Leaving in the middle of kindergarten was strange for me, not understanding that I would never see any of these particular friends again. We had run out of space, and my parents decided to try something new. That something was Maine. Friends weren't a problem, for I'm a natural at meeting new people. I loved going home in a bus and walking down my dirt road driveway feeling so grown up. The crisp smell of the air in autumn is amazing, nearly overwhelming. I could venture into the woods by stepping out of my doorway. Moving back to New York was the hardest part of it. I had to leave the place I love most to go to a ghost of a memory, something that is alive to me now, but still isn't what I would chose if it weren't for my friends here. All of this because of one person. What if there was no Carolyn?
On July 25th, 2005, shortly after my birthday on the 16th, the baby came. I remember holding her in my lap the day after she was born with my dad's reassuring arms around me holding her head and side, making sure that I didn't drop her. I decided I loved her, and that I always would. I kept that promise to myself to this very day and is still in play. But when she came home, things changed for me. When I wanted or needed something, it was always Carolyn who needed some thing else before that I got what I had asked for. My mom was too tired to do the simplest of things, like reading a story. And then came the biggest change of all.
Leaving in the middle of kindergarten was strange for me, not understanding that I would never see any of these particular friends again. We had run out of space, and my parents decided to try something new. That something was Maine. Friends weren't a problem, for I'm a natural at meeting new people. I loved going home in a bus and walking down my dirt road driveway feeling so grown up. The crisp smell of the air in autumn is amazing, nearly overwhelming. I could venture into the woods by stepping out of my doorway. Moving back to New York was the hardest part of it. I had to leave the place I love most to go to a ghost of a memory, something that is alive to me now, but still isn't what I would chose if it weren't for my friends here. All of this because of one person. What if there was no Carolyn?
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Watching You
It is amazing how many things our country, the USA, does for us to keep us safe from terrorist attacks from other countries. The president has people check phone calls from foreigners, do body scans in airports, and has put many surveillance cameras in every major cities. You may think that people working for The National Security Agency are invading your privacy, but these acts keep us safe day to day.
The article says that the United States of America has increased our security standards since the deadly and devastating 9/11. Edward Snowden, who was a former contractor of The National Security Agency, leaked the information that the US has been looking at citizens phone records and tracking foreigners on Facebook and Yahoo. Edward showed this information to the public because he believed that "the public needs to decide whether these program and policies are right or wrong. But as Barack Obama stated in June, Americans can't have both 100% privacy and 100% safety. In 2009, the NSA intercepted an e-mail from an Al Qaeda operative who was planning on bombing the NYC subway. Suspects from the Boston bombing were found and captured within a week because of surveillance cameras in the area of the bombing.
Many Americans believe that the NSA is invading their privacy, but it is to keep every citizen safe. Cameras are mounted on many buildings, but they are only searching for possible terrorists could be fatal, not for a normal and an actor of safety. Improved technology has helped people secure America's safety in the past few years. Travelers go through more accurate scanners in airports and smartphones have made every situation into a "possible video fodder." These new technological advances have made America the "surveillance state," and this is not creepy as it sounds, but safe. Rob Johnson a 21 year old living in Chicago agrees that it is okay for them to track us if it can save American's lives. The government tracking people should not alarm you if you are following the laws and doing right.
The article says that the United States of America has increased our security standards since the deadly and devastating 9/11. Edward Snowden, who was a former contractor of The National Security Agency, leaked the information that the US has been looking at citizens phone records and tracking foreigners on Facebook and Yahoo. Edward showed this information to the public because he believed that "the public needs to decide whether these program and policies are right or wrong. But as Barack Obama stated in June, Americans can't have both 100% privacy and 100% safety. In 2009, the NSA intercepted an e-mail from an Al Qaeda operative who was planning on bombing the NYC subway. Suspects from the Boston bombing were found and captured within a week because of surveillance cameras in the area of the bombing.
Many Americans believe that the NSA is invading their privacy, but it is to keep every citizen safe. Cameras are mounted on many buildings, but they are only searching for possible terrorists could be fatal, not for a normal and an actor of safety. Improved technology has helped people secure America's safety in the past few years. Travelers go through more accurate scanners in airports and smartphones have made every situation into a "possible video fodder." These new technological advances have made America the "surveillance state," and this is not creepy as it sounds, but safe. Rob Johnson a 21 year old living in Chicago agrees that it is okay for them to track us if it can save American's lives. The government tracking people should not alarm you if you are following the laws and doing right.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Anna and the French Kiss
I have recently read Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Anna and the French Kiss is about a 17 year old girl named Anna who moves to Paris for her senior year. Anna has never truly been in love, and when she meets charming Etienne St. Clair, she is utterly unprepared. In this book she learns to understand, and even trust her feelings. No one can pass up love in the most romantic city in the world.
When Anna first arrives in Paris, she wants to go home, to the place that is comfortable, She wants to go back to her kind-of boyfriend who she doesn't feel anything for. Anna wants to go home to her best friend Bridgette, she wants to go back to everything she knows. When she meets a girl, Meredith, Anna thinks that she might have a new friend. While in Meredith's room, who has paper and picture covered walls and things everywhere, Anna tells Meredith that she wished that she could have a room like hers but she thinks to herself 'I need clean walls and a clean desktop and everything put way in its right place at all times.' When the author wrote this, I think that she was hinting more at the fact that Anna likes everything the same.Anna was upset about the move, about the fact that she wasn't being put away in the right spot.
As the book progresses, Anna becomes more open to change and people. She becomes best friends with St. Clair, the heartthrob of the school and Merediths crush. When Anna is falling in love with him, she comes to realize that home is not just a place or a house, it's the people within. Spoiler alert. In the end of the book she says she has finally come home, referring to Etienne, her new boyfriend. This made me think a lot about how certain people are home to me, and I couldn't feel comfortable without them. Anna unlocked a thought for me, and I loved this book.
When Anna first arrives in Paris, she wants to go home, to the place that is comfortable, She wants to go back to her kind-of boyfriend who she doesn't feel anything for. Anna wants to go home to her best friend Bridgette, she wants to go back to everything she knows. When she meets a girl, Meredith, Anna thinks that she might have a new friend. While in Meredith's room, who has paper and picture covered walls and things everywhere, Anna tells Meredith that she wished that she could have a room like hers but she thinks to herself 'I need clean walls and a clean desktop and everything put way in its right place at all times.' When the author wrote this, I think that she was hinting more at the fact that Anna likes everything the same.Anna was upset about the move, about the fact that she wasn't being put away in the right spot.
As the book progresses, Anna becomes more open to change and people. She becomes best friends with St. Clair, the heartthrob of the school and Merediths crush. When Anna is falling in love with him, she comes to realize that home is not just a place or a house, it's the people within. Spoiler alert. In the end of the book she says she has finally come home, referring to Etienne, her new boyfriend. This made me think a lot about how certain people are home to me, and I couldn't feel comfortable without them. Anna unlocked a thought for me, and I loved this book.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Book Report on "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret"
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is about a girl named Margaret who moves from New York to New Jersey. She is in a new school with new friends and is happy to join a secret club where her and three others talk to each other about growing up. She experiences the ups and downs of being a pre-teen and learns lessons on the way.
This story shows a lot of inner thinking because Margaret tells the story in the third person. It helped me to feel her emotions and understand what she is going through. For example, when she says rude things to Laura Danker because she heard a rumor, I would have thought that she is mean. When the book shows her inner thinking, I understand that Margaret made a mistake and that she felt really horrible about it. As I read through the book I learned about her different qualities, both good and bad. Listening to Margarets thought guided me through the book and helped me understand the other characters. I enjoyed reading from Margarets point of view, and I would recommend this book to others.
This story shows a lot of inner thinking because Margaret tells the story in the third person. It helped me to feel her emotions and understand what she is going through. For example, when she says rude things to Laura Danker because she heard a rumor, I would have thought that she is mean. When the book shows her inner thinking, I understand that Margaret made a mistake and that she felt really horrible about it. As I read through the book I learned about her different qualities, both good and bad. Listening to Margarets thought guided me through the book and helped me understand the other characters. I enjoyed reading from Margarets point of view, and I would recommend this book to others.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
My Name Piece
My name connects to me through both the sound and the meaning. Meredith. It sounds unique and different, just the way my personality is. Meredith means lord which connects to princesses and nobility. I have always loved the Disney princesses in their flowy, shimmery dresses, and their perfect hair. I specifically loved, and still love, Sleeping Beauty or Aurora, as she goes by name. I thought that I looked very much like her when i was little. We had the same long blond hair and i decided I was a princess, too. I would prance around the house claiming my name was Sleeping Beauty, and my dad decided to have a little fun with it. He made a name that I thought was like a sparkly tiara or a beautiful gown into a disgusting bug. He called me 'Stinky Booty.'
Though I had a nickname that I hated, I have always loved the name Meredith. Besides the fact that the name connects to princesses and being noble, people have written on what people named Meredith are like, and it's ridiculous how much the writing describes me. SheKnows.com states that people named Meredith tend to be leaders rather than followers and I am very different and do what I want to do instead of what everyone else does. The website also says that we have creative goals and ideas and we work very hard to get them, and I am a person that is very determined to get or achieve what I set my eyes on. It says that we can be aggressive, impatient, proud, and/or stubborn, and I can't argue with any of that, and I can't fight with the fact that they say Merediths are courageous and unique. My name is like a key that unlocks my inner self, and I would never want to be called anything else.
Though I had a nickname that I hated, I have always loved the name Meredith. Besides the fact that the name connects to princesses and being noble, people have written on what people named Meredith are like, and it's ridiculous how much the writing describes me. SheKnows.com states that people named Meredith tend to be leaders rather than followers and I am very different and do what I want to do instead of what everyone else does. The website also says that we have creative goals and ideas and we work very hard to get them, and I am a person that is very determined to get or achieve what I set my eyes on. It says that we can be aggressive, impatient, proud, and/or stubborn, and I can't argue with any of that, and I can't fight with the fact that they say Merediths are courageous and unique. My name is like a key that unlocks my inner self, and I would never want to be called anything else.
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