Pandas

Favorite animals

I have quite a few numbers of favorite animals and they are; pandas, dolphins, bears, cats of all sorts such as tigers, cheetahs, panthers, etc., and dogs. But overall, my favorite animals are pandas. The Giant Pandas only exist in China and even though I have never seen a panda except on TVs and photos, I love them for their cuddly and cute looks. Unfortunately, Giant Pandas are currently endangered species. Apparently, there seems to be only 239 in zoos of China, and 27 in zoos of other countries. A 2006 study shows that in total, only about 2000 to 3000 pandas live in the wild currently. Reports do show that the numbers of wild pandas are increasing, but the World Conservation Union aka IUCN has come to believe that there is not enough certainty to remove the pandas from the endangered list. I agree with them. A specie should never be removed from the list just because there was a little bit of increase. I come to believe this because as soon as we start paying little attention to the pandas, the population might shrink down again.

One thing I don’t understand is; why are pandas endangered? Do…do humans capture pandas and eat them in various ways such as fried, roasted, or maybe raw like sushi? Okay, the last part was kind of a joke, but the other part I am definitely serious. I am sure that humans don’t eat these adorable creatures, so why are they endangered? There are two major reasons as I have found in WikiAnswers: habitat loss and pandas are specialists. “Specialists have very restrictive diet and habitat requirements. Since pandas only eat bamboo and only live in certain Asian habitats, they are predestined to be endangered. Rats will never be endangered because it can eat almost any thing and live almost anywhere (generalist).”

Do you have an animal you love? Well, what’d happen if all of a sudden the only way to see them is through photos? What if so much years had passed since the animals you love has been endangered that you come to believe that that animal is as unbelievable as aliens could be? If everyone takes a tiny step to help, in the end, we’d all be taking a huge step in helping the future.  

geography fair

May 22, 2008It’s exactly 8:09 and I have just arrived home from the Geography Fair. I am utterly speechless of what I have seen at the Geography Fair tonight. Everything—from the little parade to the stands was just impressive and amazing. I especially enjoyed the parade; it was splendid. I am at a loss for words. I’ve never experienced a Geography Fair in real life except in books and I am just—well was amazed. It was just so amazing—that’s all I can say for it. Truthfully, at first, when I heard about the Geography Fair, I thought it was going to be boring. From what I’ve gathered around at school, it seemed like almost everyone were going there to go eat some food. When I told my friend that I wasn’t going to go, she was like, “What? You’re not going? They give really delicious food, you know.” So my conclusion was this: the food must be great but the presentation must be shabby. I had no intention on going because I was told that we were going to the Geography Fair on Friday anyway, so why waste a good evening to go to a Geography Fair? But as the day wore on I began to think that maybe I should go to the Geography Fair. The seventh graders did work hard for the Fair so I was thinking they deserved to have audience and besides I really had nothing to do, so why not kill time by going? My decisions changed rapidly from going to not going. In the end, I decided not to go, but apparently my father had already come home from work and was waiting outside to take me to the Geography Fair. So with a final ‘oh, why not?’ I hopped on to the backseat of the car and headed to school. When I arrived it was all a big confusion. I didn’t see that people were going to the ‘benches’ to sit down so I just wandered around looking at the stands and admiring them. Then when I came to the last stand, I saw that I was kind of the only one standing around while everyone else were all sitting down. So, I quickly dashed to the nearest sit possibly and sat down, almost bumping into Ms. Urruthia. Mr. G (don’t remember his real name), our principal said something into the microphone and then seventh grade students after students came, bringing an—I can’t explain this well but bear with me—item that had relation to the country they were assigned. This ‘items’ were things the students made, which was really surprising, because at first I thought they had all brought it somewhere. It was that good. I especially loved the sauna from the Finland country. The fact that a person really was actually in the sauna was a cool idea. And the seventh graders were all wearing the costumes fit for their country. One question was bugging me though: where’d they get all those costumes? After the parade, which was, I repeat, a brilliant success, I roamed around stand after stand looking at all different sorts of stuff. The food, like people had said, was delicious and I got to eat different foods from different countries, which I thought was pretty cool, since I don’t get to do that all the time.          I need to end here, because I still had lots of things to do, but I would just like to mention before I turn my computer off: Geography Fair is awesome! I wish I was here in seventh grade to have participated in it! It looked like so much fun, except for all those nervous and jittery moments like talking to the crowd and explaining the country.

my role model

I never got around saying who my role model is. Just a couple of weeks ago, I did not have a role model. No one that I admired, respected, or wanted to be. Then, in a spur of a moment, I had one. He’s name is Alexander Main. I believe that he is a teenager around the ages of sixteen to eighteen but I am not altogether sure. All I know is that he was born in Argentina but is currently living in Germany studying at the Multimedia Production. I was bored out of my mind watching videos on YouTube when I found a video called ‘Do We Need Art?’ The video doesn’t say much, but what it shows is…very inspiring. I watched other videos made by Alexander and I was truly surprised because he really seemed to be keen on saving earth. It surprised me because I didn’t know much people who seemed to care that much. And while I was getting my feelings out there by words using Edublogs, Alex was getting the words out by videos. Not only was he fantastic in making videos, he also used his talent for the good. When asked why he makes videos, he replied, “Because I’m very interested about the fact, that videos are one of the most powerful ways to promote ideas and gain awareness.” And it’s true. After all, as the saying goes, if pictures are worth a thousand words, then videos must be worth gazillions. The videos Alex created made me think. It gets me to wonder about not just me, but everyone and everything on Earth that still continues to exist in the world today. But I mainly think about earth. If earth could talk, what would he say to us? Would he blame us for hurting him or would he blame himself? And what could I say, if I did have the chance to talk to him? A thousand of sorrys would mean nothing compared to what we’re doing to earth. So just take a moment to think about earth and visit www.alexandermain.com.  

cigarettes

Why do people smoke? Everyone says it’s addicting; it’s hard to give up. I know the feeling. One thing I love to eat/drink is, well I can’t decide so let’s say lemonade. I would probably die if I don’t have lemonade at least once a month. As addicting as it is, it is even harder to give up. In my opinion, there are two ways why people find it hard to give up cigarettes; one, it’s always there and two, it’s difficult to try. Cigarettes are very much appealing to smokers; it is hard to resist the smell and taste, so they just decide not to try. Not to give their best effort to stop smoking. By smoking, not only are they harming themselves, they are affecting the ones near them. The smell of smoke doesn’t stop when you burn the cigarette out; it sticks on to your hair, clothes, shoes, until you and the people around you can smell it too. This is like me smelling lemonade everyday when I’m trying to resist it. So eventually, I am lured in by the smell; I give in. It’s hard to resist something you love, but you have to try. You never know if you’ll succeed or not unless you try and put your effort into it. When I mean put your effort, I mean give your whole life to stop cigarettes. And if you don’t give your whole life to stop these addicting and annoying ‘things,’ they will take your whole life away from you. By whole life, it means your job, your money, your family, and everything you care about. Not only does that hurt you, that’ll hurt your family and I’m sure no one likes to hurt their loved ones. If you think about it, it’s kind of crazy…the fact that we’re so insane about these ‘things.’ I think of cigarettes as nothing more than things. They don’t deserve a name. They don’t deserve to exist in our world. Because cigarettes are nothing better than guns and knives. They damage our world, kill people, and pollute the Earth. If everyone just stop using them, our world will be much better. So, why do we have them? Because companies and factories need the money. All over the world people buy these things that kill them. That way, big, major companies earn money and use them to make more cigarettes. It’s like a cycle that never stops. And it won’t—won’t stop until we take action. Adults say that children under eighteen or twenty are not allowed to smoke or drink alcohol, but children still do. If adults want the children to stop, then they should stop too. We learn from the adults. If a child sees the adult smoking, then he/she thinks that it’s okay to do it themselves too. What’s more, some people illegally lure kids into smoking so that they can earn money. Parents believe that their children are too smart to smoke or drink alcohol, but they’re wrong. We won’t just be lured into smoking, but when there’s peer pressure or just pressure from anything, we think about pain. Pain is something that takes our minds off the pressure. In order for pain, we do stupid things. Also when we’re being pressured by our peers, we have two choices: get teased for not doing it, or do it. Smart people walk away, but others stay and do it. And once we start to drink and smoke, there’s no way to stop it unless we ask our parents to help us. And I’m sure most people don’t want their parents to find out, so they keep on smoking, hurting themselves.Now there’s one bad thing I know about smoking, and honestly, that’s all you need to know to stop. Smoking causes our lungs to turn black. I know this isn’t a really good explanation but this was what I was taught since I was little. When I asked my parents they would just keep repeating, “Because it’s bad for your lungs.” And when I ask why they’re bad for our lungs, they’d say, “Our lungs are pink, Hyerin. When our lungs are pink, it means that they’re happy. But if we smoke, then our lungs turn black. When it turns black, it means that they’re not happy. And you don’t want your lungs to be unhappy, do you?” It is a pretty lame explanation, I admit, but I was pretty young so I didn’t understand it any other way. I think that no matter how lame an explanation is, as long as you understand, it’s safe—it’s okay. Because though I was four or five, I knew why I had to stay away from cigarettes and never give in to them. I think that one way to give up smoking is to always remember: You can do it! Don’t give in because giving in is giving up and giving up is losing everything. For those who want to stop, here are ten tips on how to quit smoking (found from Alexander Main):  1. Drink lots of non-alcoholic fluids, especially water.  2. Change your routines and get more active – walk instead of driving or taking the bus and use the stairs instead of the lift. Exercise helps you relax and boosts morale. 3. Put something other than a cigarette into your mouth. Try carrots, apples, celery, raisins, or sugarless gum. 4. Tell all your friends and family that you’ve already quit – you’ll be embarrassed if they catch you smoking. 5. Stop carrying or hoarding cigarettes – at home, in your bag or at work. Don’t ‘borrow’ any. 6. Pay a family member or friend $5 (if they catch you smoking) as a deterrent. 7. Think positively – withdrawal can be unpleasant, but it’s a sign your body is recovering from the effects of tobacco. 8. Have your teeth cleaned. 9. Find another smoker who is trying to quit, and help each other. 10. Talk with your doctor about quitting. Get professional help!  To find more facts about tobacco and why quitting smoking is important, go to http://www.alexander-main.com/smoking.html! I guarantee that you’ll learn a lot more from this site then you ever will in any other places.  

make everyday earth day

Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.  ~Henry David Thoreau

There’s so much pollution in the air now that if it weren’t for our lungs there’d be no place to put it all.  ~Robert Orben 

For 200 years we’ve been conquering Nature.  Now we’re beating it to death.  ~Tom McMillan, quoted in Francesca Lyman, The Greenhouse Trap, 1990 

Earth day is a very special day that happens every year on April 22^nd when we get to learn about our planet and how to take care of it. This is a day where we get to help out Earth and make our world cleaner and greener. April 22, 1970 was the first Earth Day holiday. Everyone all over the country made promises to help the environment. Almost all got involved and ever since it was no longer just a United States holiday but a holiday for all the other countries in the world. Earth day was basically a special day created for people to know what problems we need to work on and look at the planet and see what needs to be changed.

A little brief history…Earth day wasn’t just a random idea popped out of someone’s head; it happened because someone was really worried about our planet and that someone was Senator Gaylord Nelson. Even in 1963, Senator Nelson knew that our world was getting dirty and that many of our planets and animals were dying. Can you believe that? It was as early as 1963 when our Earth was being damaged by us. Senator Nelson was clueless of why more people weren’t trying to help out and solve these problems. Although he talked with lawmakers and the President about his concerns, he still did not have enough people working to solve the problem. Then in 1969 Senator Nelson came up with a brilliant and successful idea to help Earth. His idea was to have a certain special day in order to teach everyone about such environmental problems that needed to be discussed and changed. In order to make it happen, he sent letters to all of the colleges, put a special article in Scholastic Magazine that most of the schools got. Senator Nelson had his belief that kids would help him when they read it. And the kids did. In less than a year, his plan was a success and everyone all over the world got involved in the idea. Nowadays, Earth day is a special event held at schools to help out in the cause. Every year on Earth day in my old school, all the classes from kinder to twelfth grade planted trees and named it. Not only is Earth day about work, it’s also about having fun too. I know from experience that we all enjoy watching the trees grow as I have seen my first tree grow for almost three years. It was a splendid and amazing experience for me that such a small tree would grow bigger before I noticed. The quotes up above…I found them disturbingly true. It’s scary that they are all true. I wish for the day when all our problems disappear because we had made the change. I wish for the day when it seems that we’re starting all over again. But for this to happen, we need to do something. And that is to make everyday Earth day and not just one day. One day of helping out the Earth doesn’t really mount to anything. I mean, the smallest things help, but if you equal one Earth day to 365 days of polluting and damaging, that one day will not help. So, the biggest challenge is to make everyday Earth day. One main reason this seems to be harder than it sounds is because we all seem to forget. We are all so used to materials that damage the world that we don’t want to stop using them. These materials are comfortable and easy to use that we don’t want to give them up. Honestly, I don’t want to give them up either. And we don’t have to. But if we do use our resources lesser than we use them normally, then we could make a difference—only a small change but a small change is better then none. I hope that we all help out in the cause and make everyday like earth day.

everyone’s got a role model

Whether you like it or not the choice you make or stumble upon make you who you are. YOU are MAKING those choices, whether they are right or wrong and it doesn’t look like they are steering you in the wrong directions. I always tell people, whether you like it or not people are looking at you, for better or worse. It’s hard, but somebody’s got to do it. And when you fall, they will be there to say “I told you so.” Good lesson learned and you keep right on going.   Irma

To me I think a Good Role Model is a person who tells, or influences you to make the right choice in life. Like for example my mother she always tells me “you’re not gonna get nowhere in life until you prove it to yourself” whatever that means (huh). But if I didn’t have anyone like my mother to remind me everyday…. I might be that lazy, oh lazy young lady rocking in my chair, doing nothing for myself but, getting old. But YES my mother is the greatest role model for me. Why? The answer is that she believes in everyone has a dream like Dr. King said . . . My mother a fine role model for me and my sisters.   Lina

Everyone has a role model, right? What is a role model anyway? A role model is a person who we like to become and has qualities we want to achieve. A role model teaches you to be…yourself and understand who you are. Most people believe that a role model is an adult, but I believe a role model could also be a child. “A person is bonded to their role model no matter the age, race, gender, or differences.” Although I think that adults simply believe that children’s role models may mostly be celebrities, they are wrong. We simply ‘respect’ celebrities because, in my opinion, they are different. Simply put, they are famous; they’re on TV, on stages, shows, etc. When we see a celebrity, we jump wildly with excitement, asking for autographs and taking pictures. And there are some of us who wants to be just like them. Anyhow, I think that a role model could be anywhere in the world—he/she might be living with you, or lives next door or in the nearest town, or could just be on the other side of the world. I believe that it’s not only one role model but a thousand of them. One person can’t teach you everything there is to know about yourself, it takes a lot of people and time to understand and know yourself. A role model should treat you as an equal, is honest and open-minded…someone you could look up to and even depend your whole life. If a role model is not someone you could depend, understand, and trust, then he/she can’t be the right role model for you. A girl named Kristene has once said, “We live in a society that really doesn’t allow one to be different. A role model DARES you and themselves to be different.” I agree with her; she’s right. A role model should dare you to be different and encourages you to be outstanding. A role model should be able to make you trust that you can get to where he/she is. I don’t think that a role model could be just anyone. He/she should have gone through struggles and hardships that we may have or may not have passed. I believe this because a person can’t just be a role model for doing nothing, can they? They need to make us want to be like them because they have succeeded in something, something special. When we choose a role model, are we…are we labeling them? Like they’re some kind of food or an object? Do role models feel depended on and feel responsible for our actions and feel like they’re being watch every second, every minute, every day?

The web that inspired me to write: http://www.techup.org/index.html

In this website shows women of all age describing what they think of role models. I was very surprised to hear of these amazing thoughts and beliefs of what role models should be and I’m sure you’ll like what other people has to say about role models.