Making a Difference

A girl named Mary Beth Talley was present when a shooter came into her church one day. Despite the dangerous situation, this senior found the nerve to not only hide herself but to also help hide another girl who suffered from Down syndrome.
It sounded like the 'right' sort of thing to do, and I wasn't too affected by this story until I considered being put in such a position myself. When bullets are shooting past, and my life is threatened, would I be able to move? Would I be able to break past that cloud of terror.?
That was when I realized that this girl really was extraordinary, because she found the courage to risk her own life to save another girl, one who was fighting her all the way. When I consider my own character, I can only see myself frozen, incapable of even twitching.
What affected me the most was this girl's words in response to praise. She said, "...I did the right thing because, why wouldn't I?" For keeping a cool head under fire, and for having such an instinctual understanding of what must be done, I admire this girl.
She could have died. She could have been crippled for life by a stray bullet. The struggling girl that she saved could have kicked her in the way of a bullet. Despite this, despite the thoughts that would have frozen me, she persevered, holding down the other girl at risk to her own safety, simply because it was the right thing to do. Forget fear, this girl knew what was the right thing to do and she did it.
If I am ever put through such an ordeal, I hope this girl's spirit will inspire me to break free of my own fear. I hope that I, too, can do the right thing to do.
What this girl did was small in terms of the entire world. she saved one girl, one life, one that even mentally ill. But then, she also helped save one family from grief. That, if anything else, is enough of a difference in this world.

Peace

Peace? Peace is when conflicts end, and needless death is eliminated. Peace is when everyone understands where others come from, accept it, and take the effort to find a way of life that accommodates all. Peace is that kindergarten poster of a circle of children all around the globe, holding hands and smiling at the viewer.

Peace is an intangible dream, one that is nigh impossible to reach, but is still sought because of the universal wish for a better world, life, and home, for us, our future, and our children.

String Theory

String theory explains everything, gravitational force, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, and electromagnetic force. it says that everything is made up of tiny vibrating strings of energy, strings that are so small that they make an atom look like the size of a sun in comparison.
I DON'T CARE!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, fine, that's a little too much like an ignorant savage. The thing is, I don't WANT to real deal with this kind of science, the one that talks about things that I cannot see, affect, or barely even imagine with my own two hands. I want to learn about things I can touch, create, and generally interact with. Dropping a little ball off of a ramp and calculating where it falls? Cool. Sloshing two liquids together and seeing them cancel each other out with all that acidity, and bases nonsense? Sure. Tiny little atoms, and the even tinier protons and neutrons and what not, and the even tinier things that make up those things, and then the tiniest of all strings?!?!? No. No, no, no, no, no. You, my friend, can find your little string theorist buddies and get together to giggle and cheer that you've found that oh so very wonderful 'theory of everything'
Science is NOT my world. I will quite happily limit my knowledge of science to the typical high school things, and only think of elements and what-not when I must concern myself of whether or not this or that will poison my frog. Or fish. Or tadpole. Or cat. Or dog. THAT would be biology. NOT STRING THEORY.

Escape from Hua-Shin

I hate and love this movie. Love, because it was incredibly moving and introduced truly inpiring characters, but also hate, because IT MADE ME CRY SO MUCH!!! I understand how death was unavoidable, but the symbolism of the kites and the guns firing was a really touching effect.
I liked the quote in the beginning of the movie, where Hogg protested that the Japanese were not savages. His friend made a comment, that maybe the Japanese weren't savages, but they sure thought the Chinese were. It was very blunt, but it really got across his point.
Also, I was really moved to see the faces of the still living 'boys' that Hogg saved.

Landmine Videos

I learned new techniques like 'branding' and I also saw a cool example of satire (Go Max! :P). In class, I saw some interesting variety of music used. Though I chose a sadder, more serious type of song, I saw others use songs that were inspiring, or angry, or soft and sweet. I think it's interesting how different music can complete the same goal.

Engagement

1. Community Contributer
2 points: I am usually willing to help my classmates. When we got back our quiz, I helped Ariel understand her mistakes. Also, when we were working on the ball drop challenge, I gave the other groups hints when they were stuck on their problems.
2. Active Learner
1.5 points: I took detailed notes that eventually helped me to solve the challenge problem. Also, I was very interested in the material. However, in the beginning of the semester, I was very sleepy and may not have paid as much attention as I should when we covered the graphs.
3. Effective Communicator
1.5 points: When I worked with Jae, I felt that things went smoothly, even if we didn't end up solving the questions. However, when I worked with Ariel and Tiffany, I may not have communicated as well as I could have.
4. Critical Thinker/Problem Solver
1.7 points: I know this isn't an actual point thing, but I feel that I was fairly good at critical thinking, but still remember my problems with the challenge problem. Back then, I was unable to solve my problem, even though I was using several textbooks to search for something to help myself. However, I was a problem solver in other cases, when I used textbooks to find information, or found a way to bypass certain obstacles during the challenge problem. For example, I solved the problem of finding the initial speed on the x-axis by making it zero.
5. Person of High Character
2 points: I don't remember any instances in which I used my computer to fool around, or any times in which I was consistently late without reason. Also, I make sure to understand my mistakes on the homework problems instead of just ignoring them.

Land-Mines

I think this was a very effective advert, especially for those people in the hapy little land of denial. The fun, relaxed game of a few, bright young girls and the sudden destruction of the peaceful atmosphere really got across the point of the impact a single landmine could have. It also showed how sudden and unexpected it was, from going home with a smile on your face to losing your hopes, dreams, and innocence. For those who have kids, this advert would have really changed their outlook on land-mines.
However, there might be some problems because little kids should know about the danger to children their age, but they are also too young to be seeing something so...gritty. I don't think this advert is pg-13.