June 9

Caterpillar

 Have you ever wanted to go outside when it was raining but you couldn’t? Well this girl’s life feels like that all the time. Her name is Belle. She loves her house so much. (Because of the backyard). She lives on the street Caterpillar Road and on number 21. By now you’re probably thinking, She has a perfect life. Well she doesn’t. Her mom divorced her dad and she hasn’t seen her since the divorce. Her dad doesn’t let her outside because he hates all living things.

 

Belle’s dad didn’t let her go in her backyard because he was scared she would fall in love with nature. So Belle stared out of her window all day. She imagined frogs and awesome bugs and fish.  After looking out of the window she usually saw animals flying throughout her head, but good things always came to an end and she had to go down for dinner. She ate chopped liver for dinner. She got used to eating chopped liver but on the inside she puked every time.

 

Then one day her and her dad got in a fight about Belle’s mom. Belle asked “where’s mom”? Her dad didn’t want to tell her so she got mad and she screamed and ran up to her room and threw herself on the bed and started crying. 

 

Later she started thinking of a plan. She started planning to find a way to sneak out of her house and to finally meet the wildlife. She noticed duct tape in her room and thought, what if I cover the cameras with this. Then she started to try and figure out how to get the codes for the locks. With a blink of an eye she thought of paper clips, she ran down and asked her dad to buy some for a “school project”. She actually came up with a plan. The excitement made her feel like she was flying, but she knew she still had to pull it off.

 

The next day when her dad was buying “The freshest chopped liver” at the store she started to duct tape the cameras. Then she opened the locks (which took a while). Then she ran to the forest and hid. When she got to the forest she thought, What to do now? Then she remembered that the only reason to go out there was to meet the wildlife. What reminded her was the birds that were chirping beautiful sounds from the sky. 

 

She started searching everywhere. She searched in the mud, she searched in the pond, she searched in the trees and all she could find were caterpillars and frogs. First she tried to catch the frogs because she wanted to save the best for last. It was hard but she figured out a trick. The trick was to quickly snatch it with your hand. By accident she squeezed it too hard because this was her first ever time touching a frog and its guts came flying out of its mouth. At that moment she knew frogs were definitely not her thing. She still had hope because she might be a caterpillar professional. I mean it’s meant to be, that’s the name of her street.

 

She went to catch the caterpillar and she enjoyed it instantly by feeling the warm and fluffy coating. Then she got worried because she saw her dad in the window. But earlier she made sure to clean up her tracks so she was fine. 

All day she made caterpillar races and she played with them. She even was tempted to stay with them all night because they are “so cozy”. She noticed it was getting closer to dinner and she didn’t know what to eat. Time passed, she saw her dad looking at her with a mad face. Her dad came out and dragged her inside. At that moment she knew it was the end she had to go in. 

“She knew it was time to send them back. The caterpillars softly wiggled in her hand, spelling out “goodbye.” At that moment she knew it was the end.

 

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June 9

Public Speaking 2021

  Judges, Teachers, and fellow friends

 

           Let me paint a picture for you. Fifteen college students participate in a psychology thought experiment. They sit in a large circle with one student in the middle. Everyone takes turns sharing their first impression of the person in the middle, and how it has changed over time. At first, everyone is kind but once they have done the exercise multiple times and arrived at the last students, everyone is so tired that they admit the truth.  Sometimes they are so honest they are mean. How would you like this experiment? Would you rather be at the beginning and hear only great things said about you, or would you rather be at the end and have to face the truth?   This experiment led me to think about my topic: “What do other people think of me?”.      Should I use others’ opinions to put my life in perspective and work on my faults? Do I need a personal brand? Or does it not matter what other people think?  These are the issues we will be discussing during this speech.

 

          For some people, others’ opinion of them is of critical importance…To change what other people think of them they change their personal brand. A personal brand is how someone is judged or perceived by others. Some companies rely on people who care about their personal brand. The makeup industry depends on people who want their personal brand to be mainly about physical appearance. Even the social media industry is all about establishing a relatable personal brand and showing off your proud moments.  That’s why most influencers spend their whole life trying to be popular on social media – so they can attract followers, and so they can have a better personal brand. But sometimes changing your personal brand can lead you in a bad direction, especially if you’re hypocritical. Just like social media influencer, Dominique Baker, did when she took an all-expenses paid trip to Jamaica during lockdown despite working at Public Health Canada.

 

 

 

Sometimes listening to others’ opinions can create positive change, because you can analyze your low points, and make an effort to correct these flaws. Changing for the good is an important step because it helps to regain self-confidence and to make yourself stronger. Sometimes changing for the good is necessary, people even have jobs to help others change for the good, like book editors and fitness trainers. Editors will take a novel, or an article that is inaccurate or poorly written, and make corrections that improve the quality of your writing.  Fitness trainers motivate you to change your body through exercise, lifting weights, and changes in diet.  Once we’ve decided that we can use others’ opinions in a positive way, we need to think of how to actually gather those opinions. You can use many methods.  For instance, you can just ask. You can watch others’ body language towards you.  You can hire a personal coach. Or you could just think deeply about it. So, the next time you feel down about yourself and believe you can change, always be open to others’ opinions and “Change For The Good ”.

 

In the end, however, it might not matter what others think. Has someone ever pointed out one of your traits that you dislike and you took it to heart? Well, I think this has happened to most of you. Just like when someone said my ears are long and I took it to heart.  In the end, it doesn’t matter what other people think. You should be whoever you want to be. You should have friends that you enjoy being with and should surround yourself with kind people. If you wrote a book and someone called you a bad writer, most people would start to lose self-confidence. But who cares. Sure, one human out of the 8 Billion humans that stand on our earth thinks your book is poorly written. Have self-confidence! Maybe 7.999 billion people love your book. How does the restaurant industry respond when they receive a bad review? Do they immediately shut down the restaurant and never serve another meal? By now I hope you’re starting to realize that people aren’t as judgmental as they seem.  Next time you feel judged and out of place don’t forget “It doesn’t Matter What Others Think”.

 

In today’s speech, I taught you how to take in others’ opinions,  how to take others’ opinions and establish a relatable personal brand, how to take opinions and change for the good, and most importantly how to be confident in yourself despite others opinions. Honestly, the way I came up with this speech is from thinking of the question constantly “What Do Others Think Of Me”. I also wonder if other people think of what other people think of them. All joking aside, in the world we live in today social media has become a part of life. To help students understand and navigate the psychology behind social media, one place to start would be for all of us to ask ourselves “What do others think of me?”

 

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June 9

Earthquakes

Earthquakes can destroy human habitats like houses and apartments. Earthquakes can also bury animals that burrow underground. Earthquakes can also can cause a tsunami which can flood cities. It also destroys animal habitats.

Earthquakes can also let gases from deep down in the earth.

 

Most likely it affected every person with a job because you can’t drive to work and if there are possible roots they are most likely jam packed. Earthquakes can also break factories and job sites which stops work. Earthquakes can also injure workers which can put them out of their jobs for many months.

Earthquakes can do a lot of damage to man-made structures. Also the tsunamis that earthquakes can create can deal even more damage with its giant floods.

Bibliography

https://www.polygongroup.com/en-CA/ 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/29/science/earthquakes-carbon-dioxide.html#:~:text=During%20earthquakes%2C%20spider%20webs%20of,release%20of%20carbon%20dioxide%20gas

 

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June 9

“ואהבת לרעך כמוך”-פרשת קדושים‎‎

ואהבת לרעך כמוך Literally means to treat your neighbours like you treat yourself.  But it’s more than that. It’s being nice to anyone who needs help or assistance. Even if you do something small like smile at someone it can make their day. ואהבת לרעך כמוך Means to me that kindness is one of the most important things in life and sharing can make peoples day. One of my experiences with ואהבת לרעך כמוך is when I miss my grandparents I always call them and they make me feel better.