week 6: words can change you

Have you ever read a book that changed the way you thought or acted? Well I have been reading the book 19 Minutes and I don’t think I have ever been more paranoid in my life. The book is about a school shooting at a high school. You find out right away that the killer is a boy who was the school “nerd” who got made fun of a lot. This scared me because I see kids getting made fun of all the time, so I’m constantly thinking “Oh my goodness he is going to grow up like the boy in the book and shoot people.” Also, when I am in a room with a bunch of people I am thinking about what I would do if there happened to be a shooting right here right now. Would I run? Would I hide? Would I find my friends or just run away? I am so paranoid! I think it is so weird that a book can change the way I think and act. I always heard people say “that book changed my life” or “that book will move you” but I would never have really believed that I could be “changed” by a book. I thought that you had to love reading to really get into a book and get moved by it, but believe me I am not a reader at all and this book has really changed me. I’m not sure if it’s a good change or a bad change yet; but I know it is a change. I am still just in shock that words that someone wrote can change the way a person thinks.

To Spank or Not to Spank

I think that it is crazy that it’s illegal to spank your children in California. America is called the land of the free and I believe that parents should have the free will to choose to discipline there kids how they want. Now, I don’t believe that spanking is a permit for child abuse. Parents can’t just go out and hit there kids for no reason. But I do think that spanking is an effective way to discipline your children.
I remember always growing up and learning that if my mom called my dad into the room, I had better brace myself because I was going to get what I had deserved coming to me. If I had done something wrong or out of line, for instance when I said a curse word, I would get punished with a spanking. Getting a spanking from saying that one cussword has kept me from repeating it in front of my family.
I also believe that spanking is good for the children. It helps them realize that what they did was wrong and that the choices you make have consequences. Like if I told my mom “No, I won’t clean my room!” The consequence for my choice of disobeying my parents would be getting spanked. This circumstance helped me to realize that I am supposed to treat my elders with respect and getting spanked reminds me not to forget that. I also think that getting spanked goes over so much better than just pointing a finger and saying “don’t do that” or “I’ll count to three” because if the child figures out that nothing will happen to them if they disobey then they will keep on acting the way they were. Spanking does have its age limits. I mean if your dad still spanks you when you’re 13 then that’s a little weird. I would say for kids 12 and under spanking is a good way to teach your child that what he or she did was wrong, and trust me anytime they want to disobey again, that spanking should remind them not to.

week 4: I'm an angry writer

It’s difficult for me to write unless I’m in a writing mood which is usually when I am feeling upset or I have seen something that inspired me to write about. I usually write the most when I am really upset because all of my emotions that I have held up inside of me are coming through me which then translates into my writing. I think I write better when I’m angry because I don’t stop writing to think about it or if this makes sense or not. I just let it all out. The words come easier for me.
On the other hand, if I was writing about something I had to write about it would be harder because I would constantly erase what I wrote and be constantly thinking about how it doesn’t sound quite right. I think I feel this way because when I write when I’m upset the last thing I care about is if it sounds right or not. All I care about is the thing that happened or the things I heard that made me feel this way. It’s not that I like to write when I’m angry, it’s just that when I’m angry I write better because I am so angry I don’t worry about the stuff I’m writing.
I do sometimes get inspired to write when I read what other people have written and after reading it thinking that if they could write like that then maybe I could too. I also like to write when I am bored. It helps me pass the time and when I’m done writing it helps me feel better that I didn’t waste my time watching television.

week 3: Universal Healthcare

Universal Healthcare is a very debatable issue right now. And I must say I am not in favor of it at all and here is why.
If it is so good, then why do people from other countries come to America for our healthcare? Isn’t America about being free and all being treated equally? So then why do other countries with universal healthcare treat the elderly differently than their children. They treat the children before the elderly no matter how much the other person needs it. It could be a matter of life and death and they still treat the child first. All because they say the children have more of life to live than an elderly person. Also our hospitals will be crowded and very hard to get into; which brings me to another issue. They will be so full of sick people that those germs will be spread everywhere and could cause people to get even sicker than they already are.
There was an article in the paper recently that a doctor wrote about how he had worked in England and Canada and now practices in the United States and he said that there were patients on long waiting lists and in crowded conditions. I like the point that Booker Jones stated in the Journal Star recently: “What is government going to do that's better than what the states are doing? Our system has been working pretty well so far, so what needs to change?"
I think that they should talk to other countries and about their healthcare and see what they like and don’t like about it. I bet that you will find they made a mistake making their healthcare universal and I believe this because if it was so great then why do we have people coming to our country for our healthcare?
Universal Healthcare will end up doing us more harm than good in the end. And once we decide to undertake this it will be an even greater mess to try to clean up.

Week Two Case Study: I like to Journal

Writing is a means of expressing my thoughts. I enjoy journaling because it’s like therapy for me. When I ‘m upset or something really cool happened and I want to express my feelings about it, I go to my room and the first thing I do is grab my journal and write down in it how I’m feeling or what made me upset or happy. It relieves so much stress from life that I would probably otherwise take out on my family or friends, but instead I just let it all out in my journal.
Journaling also helps me later on when I look back in my book and see all the hard things that I have overcome. It reminds me to be thankful of the things I have now because they will be gone before I know it. It also is so comforting when I get done writing in my journal, like I accomplished something. It makes me feel so good.
I don’t really like to show my emotions; so when I was upset about my Grandma dying, I would write in my journal about it. And it helped me so much. When I would miss her, I would write in my journal. When I felt bad for my grandpa trying to live all alone now, I would write in my journal and it really helped me. I guess my journal is like a person I can run to when I want to just blurt out how I feel. I never have to worry about it judging me for the things I say or do.
Writing in a journal is a very personal thing – I’ve heard of people having a person responsible for disposing of their journals if something were to happen to them. A journal is a place where you can be totally honest about your feelings whether you’re mad, sad, glad, abused, depressed or just contemplating about life. Journaling is just one of the many ways of writing to express your feelings.