Why are certain drugs illegal? I started pondering this question during health one day. It had never occurred to me why we make drugs like marijuana or cocaine illegal. Who has the power to make a little plant illegal to sell and grow? It was put on this planet for a reason, so why are we so afraid of it. I see some drugs less harmful than alcohol, cigarettes, and firearms. Most drugs just make you feel different. I see all over Facebook, news articles of big drug dealers who have millions of dollars getting busted. I do not understand why the government isn’t seeing the opportunity here. Obviously people want to buy these things, so why not make the country a little wealthier by selling it, but putting a tax on it. Studies have found that marijuana can help with a lot of medical problems, so why not it to them to help them out. Colorado has made it legal, and they are making tons of money off of taxes, which go to help the roads, schools, and the community. Making this legal also comes with some problems. Just like alcohol, there are going to have to be many laws making certain things illegal while under the influence of drugs. No driving, no being high in public, basically making equivalent laws as alcohol. I have heard of plenty of more people who die from legal stuff like alcohol or guns than I do of drugs. If something is more dangerous than another, shouldn’t the dangerous one be illegal? I find this a funny concept to grasp. The government has banned the nearly harmless plant, but the big dangerous machine gun is still legal. If we made it legal; less people would go to jail, which means less taxes have to go to maintaining jails and prisons; more money being circulated and out of the hands of one person; and people would not have to do illegal things just to something harmless. Even some of our forefathers did drugs. Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington all are known to have grown marijuana. Literally the people responsible for forming this country were “drug dealers.” Yes, there are consequences for doing drugs, but that is up to the person to take that risk. It is their choice to smoke that joint, or do that cocaine. It should be their choice, not the choice of the government. Making certain drugs legal could make the USA a better place. People would be happier, kids would get a better education because their schools are getting more money from taxes, and the country would have more money to spend on other things like saving the planet from pollution. So I think the pros of making certain drugs legal outweigh the cons of it.
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I find reading a book as a class very hard. I just cannot do what I am supposed to do. If I do not really care for the book, I will read it slow and not really comprehend everything. I try to do the reading assignment, but sometimes I just cannot remember what I read in those specific chapters. I find it really hard to write an essay or take quizzes on books that I do not find interesting. I would rather not read a book as a class, and then have to read one that does not interest me. On the other hand, if you give me an interesting book, I will read it twice maybe three times as fast as the rest of the class. It is a struggle. I get so into the book that chapters fly by without me knowing. One second I am on Chapter 3, the next I am at Chapter 8. It makes it hard to take pop quizzes because I have read so much info from later chapters, I do not remember what happened in the earlier chapters. It is not that I did not do the reading; it is just that I did the reading like three days ago. I have had this problem for several years now. When I get into a book, I just cannot put it down. I know that sounds like a good thing, but it has affected my life a lot. I get absorbed into a book; I do not realize what is going on around me. I become trapped in my own little fantasy world. Sometimes, I will want to read so badly, that I will read during work time and then fall behind on projects or work. It is just really hard to put a book down that is super interesting. It seems like a much better life than going to school. I would much rather be in a world of magic and cool ancient creatures, than sitting behind a desk and doing algebra or learning about the human body. It also has made me do badly on tests. Last year, when we had to read “To Kill A Mockingbird”, I got super into the book, and could not put it down. When the time came to take the test on the book, I did not remember anything from the beginning or middle. I knew the plot of the story, but I could not answer the little details because they had been covered up with bigger more interesting details. It really made my grade tank. It made me feel really bad because I did so badly on something I enjoyed so much. Sometimes, I wish we did not have to read books as a class; it would make my life a whole lot easier.
Disney is the happiest place on earth. I should know this, because Disney has been a huge part of my whole life. I grew up watching all of the Disney movies like Cinderella, Peter Pan, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, and many more. These movies taught me some important life lessons. I would not be the person I am today if it wasn’t for Walt Disney and his magic.
I absolutely love anything Disney, new or old. Disney has really expanded from the little sketch of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, to the multi-billion dollar company it is today. Yet, through all of this expansion, they have never changed their main idea, keeping the magic alive. They always strive to keep things as magical as they can be. Matt, my brother, works there and he tells me all the time about all of the hidden things you cannot see as a guest. All the rides there are under 200 feet, with some cutting it close at 199 feet. They do this because if you have a structure over 200 feet, you have to have an airplane light on it so aircraft can see it at night. Putting a light on the top of the highest mountain on earth would be very unlikely and would ruin the effect of the ride. Also, you can only see the other parks from very few spots. These spots are at the top of the Tower of Terror, at the top of Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach, and at the top of Expedition Everest. Disney does a fabulous job keeping you entertained. They have queues that have interesting displays, street performers, Hidden Mickey's and much more. On Peter Pan’s Flight, while we waited in line, we got to go through the Nursery from the movie, where Tinkerbell would come out and play. It was a very interactive queue, and even had you sprinkled with pixie dust at the end. It’s the little things like that make Disney so fun. They do a fabulous job keeping everything clean, and you are never more than 30 steps away from a trash can. I absolutely love Disney and everything about it. I have been to Walt Disney World at least five times, and everytime, I see something new. There is an endless possibility of things to do. No two trips are alike. You can go look at all of the animals and plants at Animal Kingdom, you can do all of your movie related stuff at Hollywood Studios, you can ride all of the rides based off the classics, and watch Wishes, the firework show, at Magic Kingdom. You can do all of your shopping or catch a movie at Disney Springs, go to one of their water parks like Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon, or you can tour the world at Epcot. Everything about Disney is magical. Depression is a serious issue in today's day and age. More and more people are getting depressed, which is becoming a problem. When people are depressed, they feel lonely, unwanted or upset with their lives. In many cases, people who have depression have a higher chance of committing suicide. Depression can be caused by even the smallest of things, like a friend moving or a pet getting an injury. It also can happen by something big happening to you like a breakup or the death of someone you loved. Many people are good at hiding their depression, which can be dangerous. By not talking about your feelings, you keep them inside yourself and they start to build up. This build up of emotions can lead to problems like the use of alcohol or drugs. These can get you put in jail, which would just worsen the problem. Building up your emotions can also lead to things like anxiety or the lack of sleep. It can mess with your eating habits, make your emotions run wild, or make you have mood swings. These can have an effect on you, and on the people who care about you. All those people want to do is help you, so don't keep your emotions from them. One way to help deal with depression is to talk with a counselor or a trusted adult. They can usually help with what's going on in your life. They can give advice on what you should do, and will always be there for you. Another way is to talk to a friend, especially someone you are close to. They may feel the same way, or they may have had depression and can help you through it. They also can help you deal with your feelings.
Counselor have some pretty important jobs. They have to help people with their emotions, and sometimes it can have a major impact on the persons life. I think that schools should teach how to deal with depression and how to help someone who has depression. From the little chapter in health class where we learn about depression, it has made me want to help people who have depression. I'm considering a job as a counselor so I can help those people in need. I think I could make an impact on people's lives by pursuing this career. Just from reading these excerpts of "Walden" has made me really interested in reading the whole book now. I really like the ideas of the book and the philosophical point of view. "Love your life, poor as it is" is one of the quotes I chose to write this Thursday Night Reflection on. People tend to not live nice lives. They think they are living the lives they want to. They get caught up with money and power, that they forget the good things about life. They focus on getting objects, and not feelings. I would rather have happy memories than lots of power or money. Like the saying goes, "It's not about the ending, but about the journey." When you die, people won't remember you by your money, they'll remember stories you told, things you did, and how good of a person you were. None of those you can buy with money. If everyone just tried to live their lives to the fullest, we wouldn't have wars or poverty. There would be no ISIS, the Taliban, or crime. The world would be at peace. Arguing and fighting doesn't make your life better. It kills, breaks families apart, and hurts people, physically and mentally. It doesn't make anyone's lives better, just worse. If people lived peaceful lives, we would be a much happier species. "Our lives are frittered with detail" is another quote that stuck out to me. It means our lives keep getting caught on little details. If some little thing annoys you, something is wrong. If you tried to live as happy as you could be, little things should not affect your live in drastic ways. Little things should not be in charge of your life. If you lived your life not getting affected by little details, you will be much happier. Noticing little details isn't bad, but little pet peeves are something you should try to avoid noticing. In today's day and age, people get caught on little details too much and it isn't benefiting their life.
Both of these quotes have meanings in everyone's lives. In my life, I wish I followed them more. I always get caught on the little details of things. People talking too loud in a library, back talking a teacher, all those things shouldn't have much of an effect on my life, but they bother me. I make it a job of mine to shush people in a library or to want to yell at the kids talking back to the teacher. I tend to think it will make my life better by making people follow rules or do things my way, but all it does is stress me out. I get too focused on one little thing, and forget all about a homework assignment, or a project due. Getting caught up on these things shouldn't bother me much, but for some reason they get me off track of my usual flow of things. I wish they didn't, but I can't help myself. I wish I could follow Thoreau's philosophies more in my everyday life. I want his writing to have a bigger effect on my life. Marching band has been a blast this year. I got to meet new people, play cool music, and have fun. I've had great experiences and have made lots of memories. It may have been hard work, but it was worth all of the hours. It has truly been a life changing experience.
Many people think that marching band is too hard or we practice so much, but from my stand point, we don't practice enough. People think that it's lame or boring, but once you see some of the amazing things you can do and what others can do, it really wants to make you work harder. After got to BOA, I wish we had more time to make our show better, because after watching all of those amazing bands, it has motivated me to try to be the best I can be. The bands there were truly amazing and deserve to be where they are. Broken Arrow, the grand nation champion, must have put so many hours into their show and must have had the toughest determination. They performed so good, it gave me goosebumps. Sometimes I wish out band could be as big and as good as theirs, so we could have that feeling of being the best band. If we had a band as big as theirs, we could do so much more than what we can do with the 70 people we have right now. There would be downfalls to having a big band, like needing more buses and more money, but the experience would be that much better. We would dominate the other bands at state finals. It sad that march band had to end, but now it's winter drumline time. I like winter drumline a little more than marching band because it is a closer group because there is less people. It also is one group of people who all play similar instruments, so there is no competition for which section is better. We can focus more on making the whole ensemble better. Drumline also lasts longer, it starts in mid November and goes until early April. It gives a lot of time to perfect your show and to make it as clean as possible. In that time, you also get to become closer to your fellow drumline friends, which is always good. The mix of Drumline and winter guard gives everyone a chance to do a winter band activity. The drumline and guard both help each other. Since guard and drumline competitions are on different days, the drumline can help the guard with their competition and the guard can help the drumline. This makes it easier on both groups because getting on the floor and getting set up can be hard with only a couple of people. But if both groups help each other, it makes everything run smoother. The great thing about drumline and guard being so long, is that when they finish, spring training for marching band is starting. So I’ve gotten into watching Yugioh again, and I’m really glad I did. I really like Yugioh as a kid, and I played the card game, but I wasn’t any good. I didn’t really understand the game that well and I didn’t know that much about strategy. Now that I’m older, I understand what is going on in the TV series and how to play the game.
I probably should explain what the game is about. The whole TV series is based off this game called Duel Monsters, created by Maximilian Pegasus. The game isn’t the hard part to understand, it’s the strategy that makes it a difficult and fun game. The point of the game is to eliminate the life points of your opponent. You do this by attacking him directly, or when you easily destroy a monster. Each player has a deck of cards. The deck is made up of Monster cards, Spell cards, and Trap cards. Monster cards are your main attack force. They actually attack the other player’s Monsters. Each monster has a number for attack and for defense. When two Monster cards attack each other, the attacking card has to have a higher attack number than the defending Monster card. Spell cards can do a wide variety of things. They can boost a monster’s attack and defense points, protect cards, do tricks, resurrect cards, and much more. Spell cards can come in handy if you need a little boost in attack power. Trap cards a crucial to winning a duel. Trap cards do what they are advertised to do. They spring traps on the opponent. Each player starts the game off by drawing 5 cards from their deck. One player goes first and lays a card down. Monster cards go in the front, and Spell and Trap cards go in the back of your field. At the beginning of your turn you draw a card. Then you lay the cards you want to play on the field. There are two modes you can put your monsters in. Either you can put them in Attack mode or in Defense mode. When in Defense mode, they cannot attack but they are better protected from an attack. You and your opponent attack and lay cards. This happens all throughout the duel. The strategy of how you play is the real winner. For a good deck, you want an even amount of Monster, Spell, and Trap cards. You can make a specific deck based around one type of monster, and it is good to have Spell cards to help boost that one type of Monster your deck is based around. There are several other more advanced rules that I won’t get into because you probably don’t really care to know. I really like the TV series because I can really relate to the characters. I like to use strategy and it is always great when I guess what their next move will be. I really love Yugi’s determination and passion for the game. Even though he has the Millennium Puzzle, and the spirit of the pharaoh to help him, I love how he will do anything for the people he loves. He has battle many people just to find his Grandpa. I think the action and the passion of the tv series is what has really kept me watching through this first season. Donald Trump is one of the Republican candidates for the 2016 Presidential election. Donald Trump is a semi successful businessman, with many businesses around the world. Donald has had an interesting life. He has 3 wives, and has had kids with all three. His first wife, Ivana, was a Czech-American athlete who also modeled furs in Canada; Trump’s second wife was Marla Maples, who is a famous TV actress; and lastly, Trump’s current wife, Melania Trump, who is a model and jewelry designer. Donald Trump has 5 kids. Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Eric Trump were all from his first marriage, Tiffany Trump from his second marriage, and Barron Trump from his third.
Trump hasn’t been the most successful in the business industry. He has had multiple businesses go bankrupt, which worries some Americans. They think that Trump will make the US run out of money. They think that he will use all of our money doing stupid things like building a wall on the US-Mexico border. One thing Trump is good at is convincing people of his beliefs. Most people would see Trump as a very bad candidate for president, but his words make him sound like he is perfect for president. He talks about all of his successful trades with China, how handsome he is, and how real his hair is. Trump should back out of the election, and let his hair run for President. His hair could support all of America through its hard time, just with a little hair gel. His hair has a mind of its own. It can style itself with a little help from the wind, and it makes him really stand out from the rest of the candidates. He is a very funny person and could help America out with some of its business deals. Most kids probably won’t vote for Trump. He thinks that most Mexicans cause crime and that all illegal immigrants are bad. Most people don’t agree with these topics, especially kids. They see him as a jerk and would never want to have him become president. But, the sad truth is that he is the leading Republican for the Republican ticket. I think that out of what I’ve seen from the Republicans, he is the one who stands out the most and would be best for President, but I do not think that he is the right man for the job, just the best so far. The idea of witchcraft is quite a funny thought. Most “witches” were wrongly accused. Many of the witches killed were just women who people thought were witches. Women got burned, hung, and drown for stupid things like having warts, or birthmarks, or just the fact that people didn’t like them. Back in the Puritan time, people were so worried with how they were getting to heaven, that they thought everyone was a devil. Everyone thought everyone was a witch or the devil; I’m surprised that more women were killed for being “witches.”
In “The Crucible”, we learn about Abigail, and Betty, and Tituba and a lot of other girls in the town dancing in the woods. Back then, people considered that devil worshipping. I found out that these were actually the real events of the Salem Witch Trials. They were the real events and the real names. The story is exactly like the actual trials. I have read the story of what happened and I hope that “The Crucible” is just like it. I think that I will enjoy this story more than “The Scarlet Letter” because it goes into details on what happened instead of starting right after the interesting stuff. This story you get a better view of the life of Puritans and what they do when there is the devil in the town. This book seems more realistic that “The Scarlet Letter” because I think that the Puritans wouldn’t have let Hester’s life be too easy for her crimes. I think they would have made her life a little worse than standing on a platform and wearing an A on her chest. I think that the book is really interesting because it goes a lot more in-depth into the characters life and the lifestyle of the Puritans. It has a very interesting story line, which keeps the reader in. I know that I want to keep reading it. I am really interested in finding out more about witch trials and how people dealt with problems like witches. Watching that scene from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” showed me how crazy they found out if someone was a witch. Why is someone a witch if they float? Don’t they know that people float regardless if they are a witch or a very holy man. Online societies can be very different than real life. Some online communities can be friendlier than your real life, and some can be mean and harsh. Some people have close connections with an online community. There are several kinds of online societies, some mean, friendly, weird, and some sophisticated. I know lots of communities online, and I have seen all of these kinds.
Being a part of an online community is quite common this day and age. Some may even say that you need to be a part of an online community. Choosing the wrong community can have very negative effects on somebodies mind and life. If part of a bad community, you should leave it and have nothing to do about it. People in negative communities can ruin the fun for everyone else. If everyone is a part of that community for a certain reason, and there is that one person that tries to argue with everything, it ruins everything. They are just there to argue and put people down. Those people are just online bullies. Online bullies can be a very negative on people’s lives. But, joining the right community can be very uplifting on people’s lives. Just joining a good community can make you feel better, and relieve stress. Having the support of others who are like you is great, even if they live very far away. With those people living so far away, can make them even closer friends than if they lived in the same town, because you feel like people like who you are, not what you look like. I definitely think there are more good communities than bad, even though there are many bad communities. Nowadays, people hate online more than ever. It is hard not to get on the internet and not see somebody hating on others. People are very hateful now, and hating online is their preferred choice. We have seen an increase in cyber bullies, which is not good. Because people use the internet so much, people depend on the internet to talk to others, so it has become popular with bullies. People should not have to worry about being criticized for anything they post. Media has had a big part on online “bullying”. They make fun of politicians, celebrities, and famous people. There are several problems with online communities, and people being stupid is the main reason. |
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