When will it stop?

Why do people bully each other? What’s the point? Where does it get them in life? Adults think that they know the answer to these questions, but they don’t. There are so many studies on these questions, but who knows how accurate they are. They feel that because they were once kids too, that they can answer all of the questions that have to deal with kids/teenagers.  If you are ever bullied or a witness of someone being bullied, then stand up, speak out, and be heard, because as someone brilliant once said: There is no time like the present. Bullies should not rule anyone’s lives.

All over the world there are bullies. They come in any shape, size, race, anything, because there is no limit to who can bully. You may think that there is no way that bullying will never truly be gone, but we can do something about it to at least decrease it. According to behavioral-management.com schools that have bullying programs have decreased bullying by 50%. The other 50% are provided with help and support. Even if we can’t get rid of bullying, we can still help those who are being bullied. There are about 13 million children who are bullied in the United States. There is not enough being done about bullies. 13 million needs to become 0. For some of these kids the only reason that they are bullied is because of the clothes that they wear to the color of their skin. If you see someone being bullied, find a teacher or responsible adult right away because you are considered a bully by just standing there watching.

Bullying is wrong, because you are not only hurting the person that you are bullying, but yourself too. Behaviorial-management.com states that a bully is 5 times more likely to have a criminal record when they are older because of violence when they were younger. The adults may think that they have the problem relatively under control but we as teenagers and children still have a part in this. We can stand up for others, if that was us being bullied wouldn’t we want our friends to stand up for us? Even if they aren’t your friend, it doesn’t mean that they should be allowed to be bullied; you can be nice to them to show them that you are looking out for them.

According to the CDC Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. This is only in the U.S, think about the rest of the world. Australia, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia? What about them? When will the bullying stop. You may say that you know that bullying is wrong, but what about all of those kids who are bullied on accident by someone saying something that they didn’t mean? In ‘A Corner of the Universe’ a man in his late 20’s has a problem with his brain, and because he is different everyone makes fun of him. This man hangs himself because of the torment that these people put him through. In Buffalo a 14 year old committed suicide because of the torment and teasing that he went through every day at school. In Illinois a 10 year old girl took her own life on November 13^th, 2011 because she was bullied by kids at school, at home and even at the store because of her appearance. If this keeps up there will be no children left in schools because even if you are a bully, it doesn’t mean that you aren’t bullied as well. Right now we have to be more careful than ever with what we say and do because you don’t want to go around hurting people’s feelings and not realizing it.

Speak out and be heard, don’t hide from your fears, you have to face them and embrace them especially if that fear is bullying. In the U.S. we are doing a lot to try to prevent bullying but you have to cooperate too. Even if that means telling someone about something that you are not comfortable with, this person has to be stopped. Don’t let your life be ruled by bullies.

Lost

Author's Note: The topic that we were writing about for our writing circle was death and dying. This story is from the perspective of a 13 year old girl, that has lost someone very important. 

As I sat down on my clutter strewn bed, I read and reread the message over and over again. How could this happen? That question had been bouncing around inside my head for over five minutes now. I called and called but there was no answer. It rang and rang for 5 minutes. Why wasn’t the voicemail picking up? At least then I could hear it one more time. The voice, the one that I heard all the time. Why wouldn’t they call? I mean my mother had died!!!!! My own father didn’t even have the decency to let me know! The even stranger thing? This message came from my mother’s phone. I know that there must be something going on. How could my mother, my dead mother! be sending me texts? SHE’S DEAD! I'm her daughter and I find out from a text! Hello? Daddy? It’s me, Megan. Is it… is she…no daddy, I don’t believe you this can’t be true! NO! No daddy!

How Lovely to See

Author's Note: Our writing circle decided to write about a place that we would want to visit in our lifetime. 

Food, lights, people,

What to see, where to be?

When to start?

The lights, the brightest in the world

Like a never ending streak of twinkling stars.

The food, exquisite and unique.

People, small, some rude, but most kind and joyful.

The Tower is so lovely in the silent evening.

Paris. 

Apartment 4B

Author's Note: This is a scary story that is about a 17 year old girl, who is having a hard time adjusting to her new apartment and living on her own after living with her parents for 17 years. And now her parents are dead and she is paranoid about everything. 

  I was walking down the darkly lit street by my house when a man came up to me and asked me where I lived. I told him I lived right down the road and he asked me where exactly it was, to take him to the outside because he was looking for a new place to live. So I was thinking okay I’ve seen this guy walking around before he’s nice enough. The man thought it looked nice and I told him about the few apartments that were open. He asked what apartment I lived in because then he could tell the landlord that I had recommended him to her. So I then went on to tell him that I lived in apartment 4A next to this really sweet old lady who always makes me cookies and smells like brown sugar. I spent that night laying in bed thinking about my parents again. They died last year a few days after I turned 17. I had been on my own because I told everyone that I was 18 and I rented out this apartment. I don’t like to talk about it with anyone so I just sit in my room and try to make the thoughts go away. That night I woke up in the middle of the night to a scream. I figured it was probably the T.V. and that I had just left it on again. I went back to bed and fell soundly asleep for the rest of the night.


The next morning as I walked outside of my apartment, I see that there is a crime scene outside the old lady next door’s house. As I walked past I glanced back and all of a sudden I saw the slightest trickle of blood come out of the closed door. I was walking to my car and I saw the strange man that had come up to me last night. I walked away from him as fast as I could because for some reason I had the strange feeling he had to something to do with the blood and the crime scene. He started towards me and before I knew what I was doing I sprinted off in the other direction. While I was running away I didn’t dare look back, because I wouldn’t be able to deal with the emotions I was feeling if I found him chasing after me. It was like I was living in a scary movie, everything was there: the murderer, the stalker, the sweet old lady.


When I got to school I was so freaked out I didn’t even notice the crowd that had formed around the gate to the school. Everyone was staring at me, because they knew something was up, I never got freaked out like this. The last time I was this scared was when I got a call at school saying that my parents had died in a car crash on their way to get me a birthday present. Now whenever something bad happened everyone knew because I had grown a hard shell that hid my emotions from everyone. I had a boyfriend who was perfect, he was sensitive, and really nice and super funny. He cared about me and supported me in almost everything. My, best friend, Ella was the first person to come up to me and ask me what was wrong. I told her everything about the old lady, and she told me not to worry that we could talk to someone. Only a few people knew about my housing situation, and they all have kept my secret. I finally agreed that she would stay over tonight in case anything happened.


After school I went to the grocery store because I was too scared to go back to my apartment in case the stalker guy was still there. That night after the grocery store and every other store close to my house had closed; I had no choice but to go home.  While I was in the coffee shop, Ella had called and said that she had a family emergency to tend to and couldn’t come over. She was really sorry and told me not to worry about anything I was just paranoid. As, I was walking home I tried everyone in my cell to see if they would come over for the night, but of course they all had plans, or were busy with family. Even my boyfriend, Liam couldn’t come over and was really sorry and would see me tomorrow for our date.  When I got to my apartment building and trudged up the stairs I saw it.........

It was the man, the man who had asked me where I lived the other night. His back was facing me, but in his hand I saw a bloody knife! THE KNIFE! Oh no! What should I do, and then he was coming up to me, raising his arm…


I am completely oblivious to everything around me, I feel awake but maybe this is just what it feels like to be dead. It’s strange though, it feels like someone is shaking me... Wait! That is someone shaking me! It’s Eli! So I’m not dead! She tells me I was screaming in the middle of class. It was all just a dream.

Symbolism

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/mady214-1409196-syoblism/

Semantic Devices Presentation

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/mady214-1408069-semantic-devices2/

Oil Drilling: Harmful of Helpful

Author's Note: This piece is a persuasive essay that has to do with whether or not we should drill for oil in Alaska. I will be explaining why I think that we should not drill for oil in Alaska. 
 
If you have ever thought about Alaska, chances are you have not pictured workers with big machines and drills looking for oil. No, you have probably pictured all of the people dressed warm in their fur clothes or those cute baby snow bunnies hopping around without a care in the world. Maybe it was the little kids running around with their sled dogs playing in the frozen tundra, their cheeks rosy and their runny noses. If we drill for oil in ANWR, all of this will go away; there will be no more fun and games. Big machines and workers will take over this winter wonderland. It will be gone, and for what? You, and your family, your neighbors, everyone in the United States, all because we need more oil provided for us. We are using it up way too fast. Drilling is wrong and everyone knows that; it is somewhere deep down in their hearts, but we Americans are too selfish to admit it. 

Oil drilling is a big project, not to mention costly. We could use this money for other things like putting it towards figuring out how to get rid of using oil in our everyday lives. We would also have to pay for all of the workers to live up there and pay them for their services. According to CNN Money, Time and  Science Eccentric magazines, About.com, and many others, drilling would not lower the prices of gas. Oil is an important everyday resource in America, but we could be discovering ways reduce demand instead of using it all up on pointless things. Using wind, solar power, water, and even vegetable oil to power our homes, cars, and create electricity are things that some people in America are already doing, so why not everyone? The US is the leading user of oil in the world and alone we use 21 million barrels of oil a day, compared to China, the second leading oil user,  which only uses 6.9 million barrels a day and Japan,the third leading oil user in the world) which only uses 5.4 million barrels a day. Our oil consumption is out of control and soon we will be damaging our environment in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, otherwise known as ANWR.

If we drill for oil in  ANWR, we could do serious damage to the land, plants, resources, and the animals that all live and grow there. The government and the workers who are applying for the jobs have to think not only about themselves, but about all of the people and animals that live in ANWR. They don’t know if they would have to abandon their habitats because of the disturbances that the oil drilling would cause for the animals and the environment. Not only would we be forcing these animals away, but we would be losing lots of the natural resources that come from ANWR. According to Live Science, if an oil spill happened it could be fatal to almost all of the marine life that inhabits Alaska like seals, sea lions, sea otters, whales, polar bears and all of the birds that live there as well, not to mention how the people of ANWR feel about this matter.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has been protected since 1977 to prevent drilling there because there are not many places left in the US that aren’t already providing oil. The people of ANWR feel that the drilling is wrong according to Ecoworld because they feel that they would be greatly and badly affected by this change. It would disrupt the natural routine that the people have established there. They would have to change lots of large details in their lives and a lot of people may have to leave because of the disturbance it would cause. If you put yourself in these people’s shoes then I think that you would agree that drilling in ANWR is wrong.

Politicians always think that they know what is best, but they don’t because deep down in their hearts they know that we should not drill for oil in ANWR. No matter what age you are, or how much experience you have with anything, does anyone ever really know the right thing to do? We can say that we do, but even though no one likes to admit it, no one is perfect.