Week 12: I Believe That Video Games Are Unrelated To Violent Tendencies

When a violent event occurs, particularly in the United States, often times video games are blamed (at least in part) for why it happened. I believe that this is a false accusation, for many reasons.

Although studies have shown that there is a correlation between aggression and violent video games in children, I believe that the studies are flawed. Some studies have children play violent games, then study their aggression levels toward their peers. They report that children are more aggressive after playing these violent games. However - like most animals do - children attempt to imitate what they see as a means of learning. Children also have a large imagination, and a malleable mind. Akin to wanting to become a superhero, children may also imagine themselves to be a member of a black ops team infiltrating the enemy base.

While this may seem like a direct recipe for becoming a violent adult, there are things that can happen in between childhood and adult years that change that. First and foremost is the quality of parenting. If a parent nurtures a child in a loving way, the child may not grow up to have the same mental troubles that may lead someone to be violent as an adult. In contrast, if a child is not parented well, or grows up in a household that is full of violence, then they may become a violent adult.

As someone who worked in a store that sold video games, some parents paid attention to the rating of a game that the child wished for and took responsibility by either denying the child an M-rated (mature-rated game intended for audiences 17 and up, or making sure they're attentive when the child plays the game and will follow-up accordingly. There are also parents who don't pay attention to the rating of the game despite my warning of it, or will come back to return the game once they learn that the video game contains nudity and violence and blame me for selling the game to them (again, after my warning).

I believe the easiest way that a parent can help a child be less aggressive and dash any violent tendencies, is to be sure that the child is aware of the difference between fact and fiction. They need to be reminded that despite what they play, or may view on TV, it is not real and it is not all right to act in such a way.

Another interesting thing that I noticed concerns demographics. Whenever a violent incident occurs and video games are brought into it, the culprits are almost always male. However, there are a large number of females that play video games, and they play the same games that males do. So if video games are to blame for violence, why aren't at least some of these attackers female?

On the subject of video games themselves, not all of them have violent natures. There are video games intended for children specifically that are rated accordingly. Some of them can even be fun for teenagers and adults alike.

Does a video game like that look violent?

In conclusion, there are too many extra factors involved with violence in people to have a sole reason. I think it's unfair to make video games a victim because it may be an easy target. It is also unfair to take away all video games, because not all of them have the same violent content.

Week 12: Why Reading is an Absolute Necessity

Why Reading is an Absolute Necessity

Reading books has bad stigma and a negative connotation.

In middle and high school, it seemed like the general consensus was that reading was uncool and that bookworms were nerds. I distinctly remember in fifth grade participating in DEAR time: Drop Everything And Read. After lunch for fifteen minutes, we had to either read our library book for the week or another book we brought in from home.

Everyone hated DEAR time. Eleven-year olds don’t want to spend fifteen minutes reading, especially when they’re forced to do it. This sparks the resentment in reading, and it makes kids wonder why anyone would choose to read in their free time. Only an absolute nerd would do something as boring and tedious a task as reading.

So, for the next few years, everyone begins to resent reading. But then, around college, people begin not to care. Things that were lame and made someone a loser in high school are suddenly not so bad. If your neighbor wants to ride a scooter to class while carrying a wheel backpack, instead of making fun of him, you’re envious of his genius-ness—he’s getting to class quicker and doesn’t have to drag his textbooks around on his back, unlike you.

Likewise, when someone says they want to curl up and read a good book a hammock on a warm, summer day, it’s no longer uncool. In fact, it’s the opposite. Reading is an “aesthetic” or a “mood”. People take pictures of their books to brag about the fact that they’re spending their afternoon reading. Imagine having enough time to read for the evening? Everyone is instantly jealous.

Reading is a necessity. Where else can you look at symbols on a page and imagine an entire new world? Reading sparks your creativity. You read a romance story or an action-filled thriller, and it’s up to you to decide how it goes down. What do the characters look like? What are they wearing? What are their mannerisms?

As a reader, you are the director. You decide how the movements get carried out, what their expression looks like, and how they act in between the lines. It’s essentially like hallucinating: you get to think up this whole new world that is unique to you alone. Two people will perceive the same instance in two different ways. Your experience is unique to you, and a special bond is formed between you and these imaginary characters.

As an avid reader, I can attest to this. In middle school, I was “too cool” for reading, but in high school I began to change my view on things. Ultimately, I was disappointed in my lack of vocabulary, so I began reading more often. I read through the YA fiction classics: John Green, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Anna and the French Kiss, and the handful of popular dystopian YA novels.

Reading really did help my vocabulary. I did notice myself using better vocabulary and writing things more eloquently with smoother transitions. However, not only was I gaining knowledge on literacy and writing, I was also deepening my emotional experiences.

Reading allowed me to form personal relationships and grow attached to characters who didn’t even exist. My best friend and I deepened our friendship because we were able to share books with each other and discuss the characters as if they were real people.

We became closer friends with other bookworms like ourselves, and we were able to increase our critical thinking skills as we imagined what characters were thinking at certian points. We were angry at them, frustrated in their decisions, and feeling excited or proud of them at the exact same time. It was like a new set of friends.

As a girl who reads whenever she has the chance, I’d like to give you one piece of advice. Read whenever you can. Read to learn, read to experience. Read because, no matter what you thought in middle school, it is an absolute necessity.

Adopt, Don't Shop

     A topic that I often think about pertains to animal rights. Every year, thousands of animals living in shelters are euthanized for a multitude of reasons. Not only should this not be legal, but people should be rescuing rather than buying from a breeder. I personally have rescued animals in the past, and it is the best feeling knowing you are saving an animal and giving it a good life. There are far too many animals living day in and day out in shelters, which is a very unfair way to live. Although their basic needs are met, they aren't living happy or fulfilling lives in any way. Often times, rescuing a dog from a shelter is less expensive than buying from a breeder anyway. I included this picture of my dog Daphne, who we rescued when I was really little because you can see how happy she is. She was dropped off outside an animal shelter when she was a puppy. She didn't have any food or water, and it was very cold outside. Luckily, she was found and brought inside before any further harm was done to her, and we rescued her shortly after. We, as human beings, have the potential to completely change animals' lives. If you have been wanting a specific breed of dog for a really long time, check a couple of shelters first to see if they have any. If they don't and you purchase from a breeder, just try your best to make the next dog you get a rescue dog. I think more awareness needs to be made about what the reality of shelters is and how many dogs are being euthanized. According to the ASPCA, about 1.5 million animals living in shelters are euthanized every year, and this is something that needs to change immediately.

Week 12: Climate Change is Real

I believe our planet is doomed, and we, in turn, are doomed as well.  Climate change isn't just real and happening, it's happened.  It's at a point of no return.  It will take decades to implement the necessary changes to turn humanity around and save the planet, but we're already at a point where the consequences of our actions are happening.  The ice caps are melting, sea level and global temperature are rising.  It's too late, all that's left to do is live out our days trying to survive as long as possible.

I don't blame the industrial revolution inventors who wanted to make the world a better place.  I don't blame previous generations for using the products that were made available to them.  I don't even blame anyone today for not going above and beyond to recycle.  I blame the leaders.  People who knew early on that the actions of humanity were destroying the planet and chose not to believe it.  They were presented with evidence and proof that it is real and happening and they still did nothing.  To this day, some of the most influential world leaders refuse to believe scientific fact and refuse to take action.  It has doomed us all.

The planet will survive, but we won't.  It was here well before us and it will be here long after.  We are a disease that is trying to kill it, but it will kill us first.  It's sad to know that we could have lived harmoniously, in a way that both humanity and the planet could've survived, and we didn't.  We were selfish and greedy and we're finally paying for it.

WEEK 12: Pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion

The debate surrounding the issue of abortion has transformed dramatically over the course of history and still continues to transform.  All around the world women have used abortion to control their reproduction whether it has been illegal or not.

When abortion is made illegal it does not stop them from happening.  People still find ways to have an abortion, and they resort to extremely dangerous and unhealthy methods.

When people say they are "pro-choice" they are not saying they are pro-abortion.  Nobody LOVES abortions.  In short, being pro-choice means people should get to choose if and when they desire to terminate a pregnancy at any time.  Being pro-choice means a lot more than just this, though.  Being pro-choice means you understand that women are equal participants in this society.

Statistics show that one out of every three children placed in foster care are abused.  This means that this year over 133,334 children will be abused in our country.  This means that if we take all the children I know, all the children you know, all the children everybody in our class knows and add them all together, we still won't be any where near the number of children who will fall asleep in pain tonight.  

This is not a made up thing.  This is really happening.  

Being pro-choice means you understand that every single child deserves to be wanted, loved, and cared for.  

It's like some people care about the baby while its in the womb but once the baby is out they don't care anymore.  

You can not claim to be pro-life if you don't actively work to protect those already living.  Claiming to be pro-life and only actively working to protect people that are not born and not the children suffering in the foster system, or the children being separated from their parents at the border, or the families dying from inhaling chlorine gas in other countries then you are not truly pro-life. You can not be pro-life if you are not pro-all lives.  Pro saving lives.  Pro keeping people alive.  

We give people the choice to not vaccinate their children, to essentially kill their child AND OTHERS, but we don't give women the choice to save a child from being born into the world unwanted, extremely disabled, or into a corrupted foster care system.  

Being pro-choice essentially is being pro-life.  Being pro-choice means caring more about sentient women and children, and those children's quality of life.  Pro-choice means you care about the well-being and safety of children actually born into the world.  

Lastly, I would like to discuss the argument over fetuses having human rights.  Just because a fetus  has the "potential" to develop into a fully grown human does not mean it is the same as a functional human being.  As long as the fetus depends on the mother it is a part of the mother. When a fetus is capable of living outside of the mother, that is when they should have personhood. 

Nobody should be forced to be pregnant. 

To be pro-choice means to view every human on this earth as an equal.

To be pro-life means you are anti-women. 

You can not attempt to control women's bodies and sexualities and still claim to not be against women.  

Nobody should be punished for their sexuality.

To repeat myself, "pro-choice" is a political view that see women as equal parts of our society, and is based on the idea that all children deserve to be born wanted, loved, and cared for.

Week 12

    I have been watching and playing basketball for at least 20 years now and I think Stephen Curry is the best 3-point shoot of all time. Curry is the type of basketball player who seems to always gets better every year. Curry has it all. He has the quickest release the NBA has ever seen. As a result, he doesn’t need a lot of space or time for him to launch a shot, and his quick release makes it tough to block, even with an opponent in his face. A magician with the ball, Curry has the best handle in the NBA, and he can execute crossover dribbles like it’s nothing. With his ball-handling skills, he can easily throw up a shot off the dribble and he easily knocks it down. Steph is also a dangerous shooter by moving without the ball. He is so quick, elusive and smart that it is hard to guard him even when he doesn’t have the ball. 

According to Kirk Goldsberry an ESPN analyst, “Curry is halfway through his 10th season in the NBA. It took him only 655 games to catch Terry, who required 1,410 games to make 2,282 3s. Allen made his last 3-point shot in 2014 when he was 38 and playing in his 1,300th game. At his current pace over the past five years, Curry should surpass Allen's mark when he's just 32 and should become the first NBA player to hit over 3,000 triples just a few games later. If Curry stays healthy, there's no reason to believe he won't get to 4,000 or even 5,000 made triples by the time he's done.”

Week 12: Death

Not a lot of people feel the need to discuss death. Whether it makes them feel uncomfortable or fearful, I think it's essential for everyone to confront it head-on and even try to figure out more on the mystery of the afterlife.

I think death is the most fascinating thing in the entire universe. It's the final point of our journey through life. A Rasmussen Report (2017) found that 62% of American adults believe in an afterlife. But what if there isn't anything after we die? No matter how passionately your spiritual leader tells his listeners that there's something else after we die is lying. They don't know for sure, and that's where FAITH comes into play, where they tell you after you've asked one too many questions about god's existence that you just have to believe. 

I think even if you are religious and believe that this life isn't all there is, you should still have the conversation with yourself, "What if there's nothing?" Death is the ultimate authority in our lives, and the feeling that someday it will creep in on me is one that I cannot shake. It's too profound of a thing to think about so often, which is probably why people don't feel the need to strain themselves with the weight of the concept. But think about anything you would like to do in your life; travel, marry your partner, have children, chase that dream job. If I was lying on my death bed I would've wanted to do all of those things because I know the inevitable event of death is going to get me. Then again, I would also add some credence to the fact that death makes all of these things unimportant. The unimaginably long lifespan that Earth has had is one that puts events in history and our everyday lives to shame. Remember that one guy that died in 47 A.D.? No, no one does.

Consider the size of the universe! Watch one video on Earth's size compared to the universe and that one time you farted in front of your crush will seem wildly insignificant. Death can be a reassuring thing to think about, especially if you use it to frame your life in a way that is more urgent and adventurous. My point I'd really like to get across is the fact that death is the greatest mystery in existence, and we need to talk about it more as a country and as a planet. This concept is vital to our politics, relationships, and everyday ordinary decisions. So consider what death means to you, and do some research on what other people are saying about their findings or what they might believe.







Source

Rasmussen Reports, (2017). Retrieved from http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/june_2017/most_americans_believe_in_the_afterlife