The Columbia Disaster

The space shuttle Columbia Disaster was a tragedy that could have been avoided, but occurred because of negligence by the engineers and NASA administration.

During the design of the space shuttles external fuel tank, one of the requirements was that the foam, which prevents icing, would not come off during launch. The foam shedding had been observed before, and did not alarm NASA Engineers at all. The foam struck a Reinforced Carbon Heat Shield panel on the left wing, and knocked it off. The next day during video review of the launch, the foam strike on the left wing was observed, but due to the low film quality, the extent of the damage could not be determined. While the Shuttle was in orbit, NASA’s Chief Thermal Protection System Engineer made a request for an astronaut to inspect the wing, but nobody ever responded. Other engineers requested that the Department of Defense image the shuttle in hopes of getting a better picture of the damage. NASA denied these requests, after they ran several simulations using damage simulating software. The results showed the possibility of damage, but they downplayed the results, claiming it exaggerates damage. As the shuttle reentered the atmosphere, it began to shed debris, and eventually broke apart and scattered debris across Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

One of the largest engineering oversights during this disaster was made by NASA management. After viewing the foam debris strike the left wing on video, they used damage prediction software to predict possible damage to the reinforced carbon-carbon shield, which alerted them of severe penetration of multiple tiles by the foam. NASA managers denied requests for astronaut inspection of the left wing from the Chief Thermal Protection System Engineer. Other NASA engineers made three separate requests for the Department of Defense to take satellite images of the shuttle while in orbit in order to get a clearer picture of the possible damages, despite these requests, NASA managers denied them, and stopped the Department of Defense from intervening.

Lessons learned from this incident included four main factors, the recency effect, conservatism, overconfidence, and selective perception. The recency effect consists of making decisions based off recent events. On previous flights, foam had been observed breaking off during liftoff, but those occasions never resulted in an accident. Therefore, NASA managers believed that this would not result in an accident either. We now know that this “recency effect” can cloud the real danger presented by the shedding of the foam. The second lesson was conservatism. It is when new information is either ignored or not given much attention. This was present when NASA managers downplayed results from the damage prediction software. The third lesson was overconfidence. NASA managers denied the need for satellite imagery of the shuttle because they were confident that there was no safety issue. The fourth lesson was a result of selective perception. The NASA management had shifted their view from an engineering focus to a management focus. They had the mindset of “better, faster, cheaper”, which forced responses to potential problems to be dominated by schedules and budgets rather than the principles of engineering and safety.

Word Count: 522

The Patriot vs. History

There are many similarities and differences between reality and the movie The Patriot. In some aspects, Hollywood did a great job replicating history exactly. But, in other areas, they could have made things more historically accurate. Despite this, The Patriot is still an all around awesome movie. It is probably in my top ten most favorite movies I have of all time.

One of the similarities between the movie and the reality is the reasons for fighting. At the beginning Benjamin Martin and his family are being mistreated by the British. Benjamin Martin (aka Mel Gibson) is loosely tied to the Continental Army Officer Francis Marion. It follows history in that South Carolina voted to support the war. They also accurately portray the British capture of Charlestown.

In the movie Colonel William Tavington (Jason Issacs) is accurately portray as the real-life Sir Banastre Tarleton. He too in real life employed ruthless tactics as shown in the movie. Guerilla warfare was also employed in the movies, a historical tactic used by the Continental Army. At the end of the movie, the war ends at the battle of Yorktown with the help of the French, just like in history.

Some of the things that are not historically accurate are usually minute details throughout the film. One big thing is the way the slaves were treated. In the movie they were treated very well, and in reality they were almost never treated this well. Another detail was the cannonballs. In the movie, they exploded on impact, in history they did not, they would simply roll and basically destroy anything in its path. Another key difference is the Laws of War in the two settings. When Colonel Tavington finds a group of wounded soldiers (both British and Colonial) on the Martin’s Porch, he orders the colonial soldiers to be shot and the house burned. In reality, this would never happen because historically, both sides obeyed the Laws of War.

Bibliography:

"The Patriot (2000 Film)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Patriot_(2000_film)>.

Word Count: 339

Eastern Spirit, Western Dreams

Jung, Woo Jin. Eastern Spirit, Western Dreams. Edina, MN: Beaver's Pond, 2004. Print. (222)

Eastern Spirit, Western Dreams is more than just an inspirational book to me. It means much more to me than any other book I have ever read. This is for two reasons, my Grandfather fought in the Korean War, and the author is my dad’s former boss. This book I could truly relate to myself unlike any other book. Woo Jin Jung’s story is one of devastating tragedies and miraculous triumphs. He proves that anything is possible if you are willing to work for it. It was because of his work, his determination to succeed, that he was able to overcome any challenge and any obstacle that came in his way. When he arrived in the United States he had just 35 dollars in his pocket. He fled Korea to get away from the war. He wanted to start a new life, one where he could be at peace, where he didn’t have to fear the ensuing North Koreans. When thinking of where he should go, he decided to move to America, the land of opportunity.

Through the practices of Tae Kwon Do, Jung is able to achieve the unachievable. This is where the book gets its name “Eastern Spirit Western Dreams”. The Eastern Spirit is the Tae Kwon Do, what he learned in Korea. The Western Dreams are the goals Jung had in America and how he achieved them.

The details of his life made this book so gripping. Some details are gruesome and horrible to think that they actually happened, but they just add to Jung’s greatness. I have never cried before while reading a book, but I did find myself tearing up while reading this. When Jung set out for America, for the land of opportunity, he completely fulfilled the term “land of opportunity”. Today Jung is an owner of numerous fitness clubs in both Iowa as well as North Carolina. He has named his chain of fitness clubs New Life Fitness World, a true testament Jung’s life. Through all of his inspiring hard work, Jung is now a multi-millionaire. I believe it is safe to say that he is living the American Dream.

Word Count: 371

Survival of the Sickest

Moalem, Sharon, and Jonathan Prince. Survival of the Sickest. 1st ed. New York: William Morrow, 2007. Print. (253)

The book Survival of the Sickest can be compared to myth busters of biology. It explores prominent diseases in today’s society and explains their history and journey through natural selection. It is a book that wonders why and asks why not. It’s about survival and creation. And it takes you on a magical medical mystery tour.

Survival of the Sickest was only possible because Dr. Moalem asked questions. This is the key to scientific discovery. You cannot assume how certain things work, or simply guess. You must break down each detail and ask how or why things work a certain way. An example from the book was when Dr. Moalem put together her grandfather’s love for giving blood with the relief it gave him. Dr. Moalem didn’t just acknowledge that this happened, he asked why it happens. Because he asked why, he was able to determine that his grandfather had a heredity condition called hemochromatosis. He didn’t stop there though, when his grandfather developed Alzheimer’s, he went even further to discover a link between hemochromatosis. There are multiple more examples like this throughout the book that require the same level of thought to formulate.

With that simplified background of the book one can understand the magnitude of thought needed to formulate this book. It was truly an eye opening experience reading this book. One can simply focus narrowly on the task at hand, much like looking down a hallway, but you can also look at the task at hand and relate it to other aspects of your work, much like looking at something outside in the wide open. This book gives you the ultimate big picture. It thinks of everything you didn’t think of. It was truly an eye opening and in-depth experience reading this book.

Word Count: 314

Stiff

Roach, Mary. Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2003. Print. (292)

Stiff is a realistic approach to what happens to human cadavers. When people think they are donating their body to science, they usually think of their body lying in a University laboratory. Despite this being true for some, it is far from the truth for others.

I myself have visited a cadaver lab with Biology Club out at Kirkwood. I must say, it is quite the experience. It is definitely not for the faint of heart. Before we were let in they had to talk to us about how if any of us start to feel nauseous to let one of the adults know, and that we could leave the room. Overall it was a very cool experience to be able to learn about the human body. “Torso man” can only teach you so much, but seeing and being able to hold actual organs is truly hands on learning.

In Stiff I bet a lot of the donors believed that their body would be in the kind of setting I described above, but in fact, a lot of the times it is not the case. In the first chapter I was at first appalled by the fact that human heads were used practice face lifts. But when you think about it, what else would they practice on? Roach brings up a good point that if you were a patient getting a face lift, would you want your cosmetic surgeon to be performing it on you without any “real” practice. Obviously not, and this is the type of questions raised throughout the book. This is the realistic approach that many of us do not think about. Before reading this book I didn’t really have any interest in donating my body to science. After reading it I feel as though the book has reinforced my decision, even though it is still necessary for the development of human sciences.

Word Count: 333

1984

Orwell, George. 1984. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984. Print. (245)

1984 brings to light the extremities of totalitarianism. It gives people a look at what could happen someday if a single government party gained too much control. It provides evidence to support our two-party system of government. That way no one group can gain too much power.

In relation to the real world today one can observe similarities between 1984 and the totalitarianism happening slowly but surely today. It is happening so slowly that individual and subtle changes go unnoticed in the grand scheme of things. Totalitarian leaders Adolf Hitler’s and Joseph Stalin’s campaigns happened abruptly, making is easily noticeable. One example of this is the mobile speed trap (red jeep), although there is only one of these mobile speed traps, there are now many red light cameras and speed cameras implemented throughout the city.

Social injustice portrayed in 1984 is to the extreme. The elite and rich are the inner party members. Next in the social hierarchy are the outer party members, barely existing and getting by. The social standings are similar to those in The Hunger Games. High class people will only interact with each other, and are quick to disrespect the people of lower classes.

Despite the shocking reality 1984 had on me, I enjoyed it because of the depth of knowledge behind it. Who could have thought of the creation of a new way to speak? (Newspeak) Definitions of words had explicit meanings, in order to eliminate unintentional meanings. They eliminated words that could speak badly about something, that way it was impossible to formulate a bad thought into words. My experience was eye opening to the world today, and has made me more aware of things in society.

Word Count: 294

Where I am From

I loved Legos

Thomas the Train, Spongebob

Kinex, monopoly, soccer

White and brick house

Flower pots in front

Playground in back

Tastes like heaven

Smells like home

Sounds like peace

Christmas at our place

Jolly and fun

Oh the gift of giving

Debbie and Randy Man

Messy Jessy and Jenny

Plus the Gunnar Guy

Always late

Told to be on time

Santa isn't real?

Ya fired'

Lutheran Church

St, Luke Hospital

Apple Crisp

Falling in the FDR Memorial

Family Vacation to the coast

I Choose Modern Warfare 3!

Based on all the facts stated in my previous few blog posts, my personal opinion is that Modern Warfare 3 is better than Battlefield 3. It is obvious that both games had many things going for them. In many cases it depends on one's personal preference. I am more into the quick, clean-cut games rather than the longer, more team oriented games. With that being said, personally, (everyone will have their own opinion on which is better), I would recommend Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 over Battlefield 3.

I feel I have fairly judged the two as I own Battlefield 1943, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Battlefield 3, Call of Duty: The Final Hour, Call of Duty 3, Call of Duty Modern Warfare (4), Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty Black Ops, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. I am obviously a fan of both series; the only reason why I have more Call of Duty's is simply because they have made more games.

Despite my preference towards Modern Warfare 3, I will still continue to play Battlefield 3 in the near future. I would also just like to point out that Modern Warfare 3, and Call of Duty in general, has a much large fan base than Battlefield. When I spoke with my friend that works at GameStop, he told me that pre-orders for Modern Warfare 3 were much higher than those for Battlefield 3.

Don't get me wrong after reading this series of blogs, I still love to play Battlefield 3, it is just my personal opinion goes to Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. Having said this, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, if you don't agree with me that is your own prerogative. This is my prerogative so don't comment trying to sway me a certain way. Your words can't change which game I enjoy more.

Word Count: 321

Modern Warfare 3: The Cons

**Warning! There will be use of video game jargon in this post**

In this post I will discuss the cons of Modern Warfare 3.

First and foremost, the greatest con of Modern Warfare 3 is that it doesn't truly seem like Modern Warfare 3. This is because the game is so similar to its predecessor, Modern Warfare 2. They are so alike, someone that is not into or no familiar the Call of Duty series could probably mistake them for each other. Although this was disappointing, Modern Warfare 2 was a good game in itself so, making one similar makes sense. The biggest complaint about Modern Warfare 3 is that is a straight remake of Modern Warfare 2, often referred to as Modern Warfare 2.1.

Maps. Maps. Maps. I will honest, the maps are not my favorite. Despite most of them being well balanced, they all look familiar. I could probably go through the list of maps and relate it to another map from a past Call of Duty. Sometimes I get the feeling that I paid $60 for a map pack for Modern Warfare 2. Maps are an all around disappointment in this game.

Another map related rant is details. There is so much detail! It is all a bunch of eye candy, but when you get into the game and you start playing, those cool little details become annoying. I'm sure that everyone that is a regular fan of Call of Duty games can understand the concept of getting "stuck". This is when you try to move your character a certain way, but you run into something, causing you to stop moving. This happens way too much in Modern Warfare 3, to the point as to where I have to include it in my rants. The largest percent of "details" I get "stuck" on are random bicycles lying around in a map. They are often propped up against walls, and when you back up, they can become lethal for you.

My final complaint about Modern Warfare 3 the powers of the party leader. They are given way too much power. If they choose to leave a game, they can select to take their entire party out of the game with them. Look at it like this, if you were doing really well in a game, but your party leader wasn't, he could choose to leave the game and take you out of it too, attributing a loss to your record. A similar thing to this is if someone in your party loses connection to the host during the game and if they get kicked from the game, it pulls your entire party out of the game to "follow the player back to the lobby".

Word Count: 456

Modern Warfare 3: The Pros Part 2

**Warning! There will be use of video game jargon in this post**

In this blog I will write a continuation of the Pros of Modern Warfare 3.

I will start out by giving you guys a statement released by IGN, which is highly regarded in the gaming community.

"The multiplayer is hands-down the best it has ever been, with more features, more modes and a ton of new levels and ways to interact via Call of Duty Elite. The singleplayer campaign and Spec Ops mode add value to the overall package, creating something that may not be perfect, but is too addicting to pass up."

This basically sums up the multiplayer of Modern Warfare 3. The Call of Duty series have always had the best multiplayers, each of them building slightly more on its predecessor. Modern Warfare 3 has done just that. They have added that little bit of extra finesse that Infinity Ward and Trey arch are so good at. They know what the community wants to see, and they deliver. I have never been disappointed by a Call of Duty game. It is also fun to be part of the hype from

Another good thing about Modern Warfare 3 is that all but one of the maps are completely balanced. This means that neither side has a significant advantage of the other. This was key component that Infinity Ward had to nail; otherwise it could have completely spun the game array. Good thing is, we don't have to worry about that because they did such a awesome job developing and constructing equal sided maps.

The following is a chart from www.gameinformer.com. They have compiled the review scores from many of the different video games community's news sites. As you can tell, almost all of them rated Modern Warfare 3 even with, or slightly better than Battlefield 3.

                  

Word Count: 309

Modern Warfare 3: The Pros Part 1

**Warning! There will be use of video game jargon in this post**

In this blog post I am going to analyze the pros of Modern Warfare 3. There are a lot of good things about this game, so there is plenty to talk about. So lets get started!

My favorite part of the game is its overall atmosphere. It has a very different game play stlye than Battlefield 3 and personally I like it. Things move very quickly in Modern Warfare 3, so you must be quick on your feet (or controller). This kind of constant action is a key characteristic of the game that makes it so good.

A great feature of the game is the gun selection and customizations. When you unlock the gun you get it right away, no COD points needed. Then after getting so many kills with the gun you can unlock very cool and useful customizations. Some examples are a red dot sight, heartbeat sensor, silencer...and so on. The guns are also much stronger in Modern Warfare 3 than they are in Battlefield 3. In MW3 you can kill someone in anywhere from 1-6 shots depending on the gun you are using. If you say otherwise, it means you are either very far away, or plain and simply not hitting them.

Killstreaks. A major improvement made during Modern Warfare 2, was improved/changed in Modern Warfare 3. They have changed/added/ taken out specific killstreaks to make the game feel more fresh. They also took out the Nuke, probably one of the most annoying things from Modern Warfare 2. Killstreaks add to the overall awesomeness of the multiplayer. As for the campaign, I cannot speak for that because I have yet to play it. Based off previous Call of Duty's I can assume that this campaign is just as sick as the others.

Word Count: 307

Battlefield 3: The Cons

**Warning! There will be use of video game jargon in this post**

In this blog post I am going to analyze the cons of Battlefield 3. Despite there being numerous pros motioned in my last post, there are also large amounts of cons to it.

First and foremost is the game pace. As a result of having larger maps, individual Battlefield 3 games go sooo slowly. They seem to drag on for hours (not literally hours). But honestly some games can last upwards of a half of an hour. Matchmaking in Battlefield 3 is pretty good except for the fact that you cannot leave in between games, you must wait for the next game to start in order to “quit”.

Another large drawback of Battlefield 3 is that it takes an unreal number of shots to kill someone. On average it will take 7-10 shots to kill someone, obviously unreal. This can also add to overall frustration when a game is so good in so many aspects, but has one major flaw. Another small flaw is the tactical flashlight attachment. This blinds enemies when close, leaving them virtually defenseless. This feature is widely overused, resulting in growing frustration.

Some of the maps for the Rush game mode are extremely biased to one side. For example, Kharg Islands, is biased towards the defenders, it is this way because it is near impossible to win when you or on offense. Despite this, there are still many great maps.

Now for the jets…probably the most highly anticipated part of the entire game. They suck. No other way to put it. You are required to get 300 points in order to get your first unlock in a jet, a rather easy task for anything else. For jets it is different, they start out with just a machine gun that shoots straight. It is nearly impossible to kill anything with a jet. In my two weeks of playing the game, I have accumulated only 50 points in jets!

Overall the game seems to have its glitches, but almost all games have those. Also the game seems in general unpolished, meaning that there was a decent amount of room for improving the finishing touches of the game. Even with all these rants, the game is still awesome!

Word Count: 381

Modern Warfare 3 vs. Battlefield 3: Battlefield 3: The Pros

**Warning! There may be use of video game jargon in this post**

In this series of blog posts I am going to analyze probably the two best video games of the year. MW3 vs. BF3. Both of them have their high points, but both also have their low points. In the end I will give my opinion on which of them I prefer, and recommend buying if you are debating between the two.

Let’s begin with Battlefield 3; it came out exactly two weeks before Modern Warfare 3. It was anticipated to be the better game of the two by many. It of course has some extreme highs, but also some extreme lows. The highs of battlefield are numerous, in some ways it is just an all around different game play.

The overall best feature of Battlefield 3 is the feel for the game. It is on extremely large maps, giving it the feeling of a real war. Because of the vastness, it simulates an entire battle, from start to end. This overall contributes to the excitement of the game. It forces you to work as a team in order to reach or fight for an objective.

Another main thing that is good about Battlefield 3 is the ability to change classes during a game. You can fully customize your classes without having to leave a game. The unlock system in Battlefield 3 is also a pro, it unlocks certain guns, perks, and vehicles just for reaching a certain level. This way you do not have to work very hard to unlock certain guns. There also is no Prestige system in Battlefield 3, this way, once you unlock something, you keep it forever. Otherwise each time you Prestige, you would basically be reset for a little bit of Prestige.

Vehicles. Definitely my favorite part of the game. Vehicles are all around fun to use in Battlefield 3. The tanks are very powerful and useful in objective based games. They are able to destroy almost anything, even walls, other tanks, or whole buildings. Jets are very cool to fly around in, but can be difficult to get kills in. There are numerous types of helicopters, most of which are very good to use in both offensive and defensive ways.

These are some of the pros of Battlefield 3!

Word Count: 385

On Keeping a Blog

Writing a blog is much more than telling a story. Writing a blog is telling the thoughts and feelings behind that story. Blogging can have much more of a meaning than simply writing down your day’s activities. Blogging collects your activities from the day, and organizes them into the thoughts and emotions.

When I sit down to write a blog, I think about my day and what I thought about during that day. Usually I channel those thoughts into either a persuasive or informational blog. Other times when I blog, I find myself rushed (like now) because I have procrastinated. When this happens I often have to write about uninteresting topics.

Eventually I get to writing. When I do I usually will write my entire blog post in one sitting. But, sometimes when I have activities, I can conveniently save it on blogger.com, and come back to it later. I don’t like to split up the work because sometimes you can forget crucial details you intended to include when you were originally typing up a blog post. Then again, this could also be helpful because it allows you to think about and develop you blog post’s purpose while working on something else. Sometimes all you need from something is a break to get the creative juices flowing.

The benefits of writing a blog are numerous. If you read them later on, they remind you of certain thoughts you had on the given day. Blogging is also a way to simply express your feelings behind your actions. If something is going on that day that you want to talk to someone about, blogging can be your way of venting your feelings. Instead of talk to someone in person, it is similar to talking to the blogging community. These are some of the great benefits of blogging!

Word Count: 305

25 Facts About Me

1. I am easily entertained
2. I have two sisters, both older
3. I love electronics
4. I am horrible at writing (as you can tell)
5. I wish I could be thee Valedictorian
6. I am not easily impressed
7. I am easily annoyed
8. I love to play Xbox
9. I am spoiled
10. I won the Geography Bee in 7th Grade
11. I used to play soccer
12. I procrastinate too much
13. I hold grudges
14. I am in Protege
15. I went to Franklin Middle School
16. I don't really have a favorite subject
17. I like to ski
18. I want to go to space
19. I have been to Hawaii
20. I have been to Peru and Bolivia
21. I want to visit all 50 states
22. I want to tour the world
23. I am a super slow reader
24. I do not like school
25. I love summer

Unsung Americans

The following four people were all from the the 1800's and were very influencial in shaping social views of America. These people are not always recognized for their works so I decided to take a moment to recognize what they have contributed toawrds social reform.


Harriet Beecher Stowe was the writer of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She criticized the American Social classes. Mainly she inspired anti-slavery movements. It was successful for driving anti-slavery forces during the civil war. She was an interesting figure because she spelled out for people the thoughts of anti-slavery. She was so obsessed she wrote of 20 books in her lifetime. The lasting impact Stowe had been her anti-slavery ideals.


Elijah Lovejoy was a Presbyterian minister and abolitionist. He wanted to put an end to slavery. He was also a journalist and printed a newspaper preaching about abolitionism. He was successful because he was noticed, by both supporters and non supporters. His printing warehouse had been destroyed three times in his lifetime by pro-slavery radicals. He was so obsessed with the idea that he moved his press to Illinois, a free state, so he could freely print his newspaper without the fear of angry southerners. His lasting impression after his assassination was his drive and determination for abolitionism.


Elizabeth Cady Stanton criticized American society for its views on women and blacks. She committed her life to women’s suffrage, as well as being an abolitionist. She was successful in creating a women’s rights organization with Susan B. Anthony. He lasting legacy was her desire for white female suffrage, over black male suffrage.


Lucretia Mott was a women’s rights activist as well as an abolitionist. She improved lives through her tireless struggle for universal suffrage. She, along with Stanton, organized the Seneca Falls convention on women’s rights. The greatest length see went to while pursuing her goals was when she co-organized the Seneca Falls Convention.


Robert Owen was a social reformer that believed in utopian socialism. His plans were to combat poverty through the setup of isolated utopias of about 1250 people. He failed his “experiment” in New Harmony because he lacked the ability to govern the community. He was an interesting historical figure because of his radical approach to problems. He continued his works in England following the failure of New Harmony. His lasting legacy was is introduction of socialism into society.




Word Count: 394

Revised Essay: Final Draft

As promised, with 400 more words than the first draft:

America

Some of us fail to realize how lucky we are to live in such a great country.  We take the most basic things for granted and never stop to appreciate the little things that make our lives so comfortable and free. Our way of life is exclusive because few others in the world live like us. We live in the land of opportunity, a place of social mobility, regardless of a person’s background. Our system is designed to reward those that take advantage of the opportunities offered in America. Everyone can go to school. You have the option to go to college and from there you can choose almost any career opportunity you desire. We don’t always realize that this is not how the rest of the world works.

Last summer I was lucky enough to spend three weeks in Peru. My expectations were not high, knowing that it was a third-world country, but I was not prepared for what I saw. After living in the United States all my life, I came to the understanding that this is what the world is like. I believed everyone had a school, a home, a hospital, even clean drinking water. This was nowhere near the case: the people of Peru live with simple pleasures. Their national education budget is barely one-tenth of a percent to that of the United States’s. After high school, we have two main choices on how to start out our adult life. We can choose a career or continue our education by going to college. Unlike many Peruvians, we are able to control our future. For some, if they are born into a small village in the Andes, they have to work the land all their life on sustenance farming, never getting the chance to go to a formal school. If you are a little girl, you often sell scarves and hats to foreigners until you are an old woman. These people are never given the opportunity to expand their knowledge or make something else of themselves.   

                Peruvians cannot count on their fellow citizens to have the least bit of respect for the law. In Lima, the capital, all of the downtown buildings are surrounded by 10 ft high walls with electric fences on top of them. This sends the message to travelers that Peru is so corrupt, that they have to take extreme measures to protect themselves. We are not perfect in the United States either, but at least we do not have to live with electric fences around our homes. Sanitarily, we have institutions in place to take care of things such as trash and sewage. Every Wednesday, my family can count on the garbage truck to come by to pick up our trash. In Peru, these institutions are much less organized and waste often ends up in the street. In America dogs are often referred to as “man’s best friend.” On the other hand, Peru has an outrageous number of stray dogs roaming the streets. Every block has at least one neglected dog, with nowhere to go, nowhere to call home.

On the other side of the equator, we live in the utmost comfort: we have cars, lavish homes, cell phones, etc. Materialistically, Peruvians have simpler things resulting in a simpler society. Some have cell phones, and others have cars that they can use to communicate; but outside of big cities, you feel as though you have gone back in time. Small villages are not connected to the internet and few, if any, have cell phones. In order to be an active member of our society today, some sort of cell phone or social media network is usually required to keep up with society. These objects have become a way of life for us, giving us a sense of identity as a world leader in technology.

                Because we are lucky enough to live in one of the best countries in the world, I feel we should embrace what makes it so excellent. First and foremost are our rights. When comparing individual freedoms of various countries, we are often at the top when it comes to rights and civil liberties. Peruvians have nearly identical civil liberties except for that women have reduced rights to land ownership. A chief characteristic of the United States is its high standard of living. Many of us have extravagant homes, which is the single most distinctive trait of American prosperity. We are blessed with homes consisting of multiple amenities. Homes in Peru are usually one room buildings made of adobe bricks, like a mud hut. The roofs on these homes are made of thatch grasses and sometimes corrugated tin. There are many parallel comparisons between the United States and Peru that illustrate the overall differences in society.

It is obvious that we live a luxurious and prosperous life style. We express our freedoms through our successes and our prosperity. We are blessed to have the opportunities we have: the opportunity to better ourselves, the opportunity to make something happen in the world. We cannot truly appreciate the fortunes of living in America until we have a chance to experience another country.  And even though we have our own share of problems, we are better off than most of the world.

Word Count: 890

Procrastination Part 2

In my last post, I outlined what procrastination is. In this post I am going to explain the effects procrastination has upon your work.

 The part of procrastination that hurts your learning is the fact when you do something at the last minute, it is usually of much less quality than if it was down in small amount over the course of the given time period. For example, if I had done these blog posts earlier in the trimester, then they would have probably been about more worthy topics for blogging, other than procrastination.

When work is done at the last minute, things get sloppy; you don't have time to spend on each minute detail. You goal is to finish, nothing else. You start to not care about the quality of your work. This obviously was not the way the assignment was designed by the teacher. They envisioned the students would take their time, and carefully plan out each and every detail, but procrastination kills this.

As mentioned in Part. 1, procrastination is both very calming but also very stressful. At the time you choose to procrastinate, it is very calming, you don't have to worry about things and you can relax. But, we all know the fun ends eventually, and when the time to actually do the assignment, you dread every moment of it. You are tired, you stay up late, and you are in an all-around bad mood. That exactly describes me right now. I have procrastinated and now I am paying for it.

I did not always use to be this way; I used to do my homework first thing when I got home. In middle school I could sometimes even finish my work at school. But things have changed, for some reason that I don't know, I put assignments off. It is not that I do not care about school; I still care very much about it. Even with all the procrastination, I have never not done my homework in my life.

Word Count: 336

Procrastination Part 1

The Dictionary.com definition of procrastination is the act or habit of procrastinating, or putting off or delaying,especially something requiring immediate attention: She was smart, but her constant procrastination led her to be late with almost every assignment.

Now the reason I am writing a blog about the topic is because, I am a huge procrastinator. You can tell right now by just looking at the number of blog posts I have. I have to have thirty posts by the end of the term. (November 18) At this exact moment, I have 11 posts. I am in for a rough couple of weeks going into the end of the term. I have 12 days until the end of the term, and 18 posts. To top this off, I also need to write most of my annotated bibliographies for AP Lang as well.

Some would say, "Wow! Your teacher is really mean assigning all of that at the end of the term," Unfortunately that is not the case. I would have to respond shamefully that I actually had the entire term to write the blog posts and the bibliographies. This, is the ultimate definition of procrastination. I have had plenty of time to work on and write these assignments all term. Despite this, my attitude was usually, "Oh I'll do it later, I don't have to worry about it because it isn't due until the end of the term. Well, it is the almost the end of the term, and it is now time to actually do the assignment.

I think procrastination can be devastating to both you and your learning. This is becasue putting things off until the last minute usually results in large, demanding hours of work. This is very physically taxing and stressful. You can become overwhelmed and end up not even doing the work.

Word Count: 306

Revised Essay: First Draft

This is the first draft of my revised essay for the fall term of AP Lang. It is about how great America is. I visited Peru last summer so, there are many comparisons between America and Peru in the essay. I will post my final draft sou you can read both and see the differences between the two, and believe me, there are a lot of them.

America

                Some of us fail to realize how lucky we are. We take the simplest things for granted. We do not take a moment to stop what we are doing and appreciate our fortunes. Our way of life is exclusive. No one else in the world lives in such luxury as we do.

                Last summer I was lucky enough to go on a trip to Peru. My expectations were not high, but I was not prepared for what I saw. After living in the United States for all my life, I came to the understanding that this is what the world is like. I believed everyone had a school, a home, a hospital, even clean drinking water. This in fact was nowhere near the case.  Peru is a third-world country. The people there have simple pleasures.

                On the other side of the equator, we live in the utmost comfort. We have cars, lavish homes, cell phones. Outside of the big cities, it was difficult to find the most common of things in the United States. For example, there were no toilets in small villages; there were simply holes in the ground. It is simple things like this that we take for granted.

                Because we a lucky enough to live in one of the best countries in the world, I feel we should embrace what makes it so excellent. First and foremost are probably our rights. We have an extreme number of freedoms compared to a lot of other countries. In North Korea, individual freedoms are severely reduced when put side by side to those of Americans. Another thing the United States holds above all others is our fulsome standard of living. In Peru, nearly everyone walked from place to place. Here almost everyone has car for commuting. This and the home are the staple of American wealth.  Extravagant homes are probably the single most distinctive trait of American prosperity. We are blessed with solid constructions with ever amenity you could think of. Multi bathroom houses are almost unheard of in Peru. For the few with cars in Peru, almost none keep their cars in a garage. We have a solid roof over our heads that cost thousands of dollars. In Peru, they have thatch and corrugated tin roofs. There houses are made out of adobe, basically mud houses, and even then they are usually only one room.

It’s obvious that we live a luxuries life style. The tallest building that I saw in Lima, the Nation’s capital was probably no taller than the Alliant Energy Building in downtown Cedar Rapids. For these things we must be thankful for. We truly don’t understand how fortunate we are until we have a chance to visit and immerse ourselves in a different culture. And even though we have our own share of problems, we are still much better off than much of the rest of the world.

Word Count: 551