Article Response One

Better Grammar Means Better Jobs;

This article ultimately summarizes that people who use better grammar often see greater success. While reviewing this article I noticed this passage it states that,
  
   "Grammarly recently conducted a study of the grammar used in LinkedIn member profiles. They found that people with fewer grammar errors in their profiles ascended to higher positions, got more promotions and changed jobs more often."
                                                                                                                 This is a link to the article.
 
   I found this extremely interesting. While reading this article I realized that you need grammar in your everyday life, while writing English papers, and also filling out job applications. Its very important to present yourself as knowledgeable. Employers do not want an unintelligent workforce. Also, this is relatable to my life because whenever I turn in a college application, or a scholarship application I try to review it to the best of my ability. I think it looks careless when individuals send in applications without checking their work for grammatical errors.

    "Over-reliance on adverbs is common among writers trying to sound professional. For example, many assume that "I feel badly" is correct. But in fact, due to what are called copular verbs, the correct choice is usually "I feel bad." To say you feel badly means you do a poor job of touching things."
                                                                                                                  This is a link to the article.
 
  Also, this is just an example of the little mistakes people can make. While interviewing it is important to use the correct language. While learning to use appropriate grammar while writing, it is also important to use correct grammar and language while speaking.

Grammar has proven important in many aspects of life; in this article alone we see a plethora of opportunity given by a firm grip on the English language, especially in the world of work and school. With this information in mind, it is fair to say that a good grip on the rules of a language, the more successful in life you will become.

Start Something That Matters

     If I didn't have to worry about money, I don't believe that my passions would change. I currently would like to be a lawyer because I love the idea of achieving justice. Although the money is nice, I have other passions. If I could choose an occupation that didn't make a lot of money, I would love to be a teacher. Teaching students about history would be amazing, and hopefully when I get older that is what I will do. Even if I didn't have to worry about money I would want to become a teacher to pursue my passion.
      If I were a teacher I would want to move to a city that has a lot of underprivileged kids, and I would become so involved in that community. I would probably move up to St. Louis. I went on a mission trip up there and I realized how many kids aren't as lucky as I am. They are struggling to get by. So, I would involve myself in the community.
     The cause I would serve would be related to younger students and helping them to strive for excellence even though their lives have been very rough. I am not specifically sure of the organization, but I would most likely start my own. The only hope that I would have for this project is to just change the lives of these students, and help them graduate high school.
      Now moving on to one of the best stories that I read was called Half4thehungry. It intertwines the ideas of reducing obesity and feeding the starving children. What these restaurants are proposing is that the customer is paying full price for a meal, but only getting half the portion. Then, after the restaurant donates a minimum of $4 to a local charity to help feed starving children.
      The second story I liked was sanitation creations. while being in Mr. Tate's class I learned how many people have very unsanitary living conditions and that is a growing problem causing people to become sick. They were making a cleaner experience by using chemicals. This could potentially solve the lacking sanitization in other counties. Evaluating 2.5 billion people lack adequate sanitation, proves that there is a need for something to be done about this growing problem.
        The last one I watched was CoverForCover. which is striving to fight illiteracy in kids by using fun books to do so. Now, by someone purchasing a book, they provide a book to a low income family. Lacking literacy almost creates a dim future for many. Hopefully, by providing these books it will start to make a difference. Also, I believe this would help to reduce the amount of dropout rates within these areas.
      Now, these ideas are unique and could potentially change the world. It is very interesting to understand that some people put their own needs aside and focus on what others need. This helps to broaden my horizon and recognize that there is in fact, a need for people who are willing to change the world. That is why I believe it is important to start something that matters.

Pecha Kucha Response; Lucid Dreams

           I believe that the presenter could have done a better job emphasizing what he was saying. I have learned that if you sound bored with what you are talking everyone else gets bored too. So, he needed to make sure to sound extremely interested in what he was talking about. Also, he could make sure to use better language when presenting a topic. He needed to refrain from using provocative language.
            It is a very interesting topic that he picked. He started getting extremely excited when he addressed his own personal experiences with lucid dreaming. It was definitely more enjoyable to listen to when he was interested in what he was talking about. He ended up saying "um" a lot and talked fast occasionally, which made it hard to follow.
            He had very funny pictures in his slide which made it more relatable. I feel like I could use this to make my slide better by improving on the amount of interest I have in my topic. I am very excited to help others understand what is going on with the Chinese population and their rights. I also feel like I will hardly cover anything with only twenty second slides. It will be hard to fit all the information I want to share in such s short amount of time. This presentation made e realize what I need to do to have a successful presentation.
         

Religion within China

 

       Throughout China there are many widely recognized religions, such as, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, and Confucianism. Although most recognize China as an atheist country, only around 15% don’t participate in any religious practices of any kind. (“Religions & Beliefs in China”). The culture within China differs from the United States because religions are looked down upon by the Chinese government. This lack of approval for different religions is the reason as to why the culture is so accustom to claiming the title of atheist.

            Xinjiang, China is known for its acceptance of different cultures, and religions. It is also suggested that there are over fifty nationalities that live in peace and harmony (Wan li Han, Wu “Autobiography”). Also, within her biography she admits to being a Muslim girl and is accepted for her religion. She recognizes that she apart of the minority with China, only 1.64% of the Chinese population is Muslim. Although we do recognize China as a majorly atheist country it does have many religions existing within it.  

I found researching religion as a challenge, but when reading the autobiography it caught my attention. I thought a majority of China was atheist, but in reality it is very similar to the United States. It is a mixture of different nationalities, and religions, but unfortunately the Chinese government isn’t as accepting as the United States government. As Americans, we have a lot of pride in our religions, but other countries aren’t as bold with their religions. This is a very fascinating aspect of China that I am very excited to research more in depth.

 

                                         Secondary Sources

“Religions and Beliefs in China.” Travel China Guide.com. Travel China Guide. 2014. 10 Nov. 2014. Web.  

 

                                                Primary Sources

            Layla. Letter to Marisa Mayo. 19 Oct. 2014. MS. Qingdao, China.

Todays Response

Today's Work Log:

         Today I took the implicit bias test, and my results came back as mutual. I don't prefer a specific race, but I am confused as to why we had to do that? When I heard we were taking a bias test I thought it would be over our thoughts and opinions not over racial preference. I do realize we are reading stories about racial bias instances, but I feel like it wasn't essential for us to take a test.

 

            Jihad's story moves me, it makes me realize that American Muslims didn't see that coming either. They are appalled that they did this in the name of Allah. It is awfully sad that someone has to be stereotyped because of their religion. Essentially, religion is to create peace. It's terrible that Muslims are categorized by what the minority of that religion does. Maybe 1% of the Muslim population are apart of the extreme efforts of these terrorist organizations, but the many, many others are peacefully trying to live out there lives without being persecuted. Jihad had to endure a true struggle, which is dealing with the persecution.

         

        Amna Chaudhary says it best when she states, "The fact that I’m a Muslim doesn’t make me, as a person, any different from anybody else. You know, the fact that I wear an extra piece of clothing on my head doesn’t make me any different. And people don’t seem to understand that. I’ve lived here all my life and even if I hadn’t lived here all my life, I’m not any different." They weren't the terrorists that attacked the twin towers, but innocent Americans who mourned this tragedy.

 

          I believe the idea behind todays assignment is to look beyond what you see. Don't judge a person based on their looks or beliefs. Allow everyone the opportunity to be treated equally. Everyone can have their difference of opinion, but that doesn't make them any less of a person. It is just weird how people are so easily persuaded to believing that if someone is a different color or have a different religion, they are less important.

 

Reading Response Four; Identical by Ellen Hopkins

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical twins. They both look the exact same but on the inside they are completely different. Kaeleigh likes to excel in school and never really does anything to get in trouble. She tries to go to school and hide because she doesn't want to be noticed. Raeanne is the complete opposite. Raeanne does drugs, and tries to find attention it guys at her school. After a car accident when they were younger their father changed drastically. He started to drink and after he got drunk he would abuse Kaeleigh. During the story you realize how different the twins truly are. They are complete opposites with very little in common as they are often very jealous of each other. Raeanne is jealous of the attention Kaeleigh gets from the dad. The character that changes the most during the story is Kaeleigh. At the beginning of the story she is very innocent and focuses on school and excelling. She seems to have nothing holding her back from reaching her true potential. In the middle of the story she meets a guy and starts to have flash backs of her dad and her dad starts to abuse her again. This causes her to go into a downward spiral. She starts to experiment with drugs like her sister. She ends up having suicidal tendencies and at one point her sister Raeanne has to save her. "Happily ever after is a concept I'll never believe." This goes to show how unhappy she is with her life. At the end of the story she realizes that her life is a complete lie. She started to change reality to deal with the things she couldn't handle on her own. This causes her brain to make up things so her life will be more comfortable and it helps her escape from reality. You learn a lot about what is actually going on toward the end of the story. It causes you to rethink the whole book because there is a huge twist in the story that is very hard to pick up on. The picture that I used for this story is of identical twins. Although they make look the same on the outside it doesn't mean they are the same person. It is easy to look at someone and expect them to be something that they are not. The important message of the book is that not everyone is the same as their siblings or anyone else for that matter. Everyone is unique in their own way and share different beliefs and views of the world and it's easy to overlook that.

Reading Response Three; Rumble by Ellen Hopkins

      Matt is the main character in Ellen Hopkins book "Rumble." He is a brother of a boy named Luke that fell victim to relentless bullying due to his lifestyle. During the first pages of the story you learn that Matt's younger brother died a year before the present day. As the story progresses you learn that Luke committed suicide because he was gay and bullied by everyone in the community including his own father. The only person that was ever there for him was his older brother Matt, although Matt never stood up for his brother only told his brother to hide who he was. After Luke's death Matt struggles with his religious identity as well as facing his priorities. Matt places blame in everyone for Luke's death except for his girlfriend, Hayden, whom he relies on throughout the story.

“I think it’s easy
to confuse love with other things.
Lust, for one. Need, for another"

     I think this is a very important quote in the story because Matt confused his love with Hayden. During the story he says that he loves Hayden and she is his whole world. What Matt doesn't realize until later in the story is that Hayden was just a safety blanket when it came to dealing with the problems that his life threw at him. Matt confused love with need in this case. Toward the beginning of the story you learn that Matt doesn't believe in a God. He actually despises Christians because their relentless bullying is what he believes killed his brother. This is a great example of irony because his girlfriend is completely devoted to God. Matt believes that if there really was a so called "God" it would have saved his brother. Matt struggles with this throughout the story. After his parents get divorced and his girlfriend leaves him because God doesn't want them together he has to rethink his priorities. Matt finally concludes toward the end of the story that he needs forgiveness. He needs to forgive himself, and also forgive everyone else that he found at fault with Luke's death. That was the only way that he could truly move on and really be happy.
     The picture that I chose is of a cross with rainbow handprints. The reason that I chose this picture is because it represents what Rumble stands for. Rumble explores the idea of religion and what it truly means, while also shining light on different lifestyles. The essential theme of this book is to find out what religion means to you while deciding when and where to find your own personal forgiveness.