Homelessness and Poverty Project

Justin, Nic, and I have decided that we would like to donate by collecting old clothes and donating them to those in need of gently used clothes. We will be donating gently used clothes to the Wardrobe started by Riverside United Methodist Church in Moline, IL. The sells gently used clothes donated clothes at a low cost. They are open for donations on Thursdays from 2-5 pm, Saturdays from 9 am-noon, and have a 24 hour drop box as well. We thought we would donate some old gently used clothes that we don't wear anymore. Things we will be donating are sweatshirts, jeans, sweatpants, and t-shirts.

Writing Service Project Topic Discussions

Cyber bullying
Over time cyber bullying has become more prevalent in society because of the increase in technology. It seems that almost everyone has a smart phone and computers are evident in homes, the workplace, and school. Another cause may be that because we can't see how the other person reacts its not bullying or that they know we are joking with them. It is important to eradicate cyber bullying because no one should have to feel inferior about themselves. As computers become more important each year the amount of cyber bullying increases each year, and we need to help protect those who are being bullied. Legislation needs be written that holds the bullies accountable for the harm they caused their victims. Victims of cyber bullying have been found around the world by raising awareness and pushing for legislation to be written that will hold bullies accountable we will make the world a safer place for everyone. In our community we could give a presentation to inform others about how dangerous cyber bullying is and talk to our legislators about pushing for legislation that will hold the bullies accountable.

Positive Personal Relationships
Technology is becoming a bigger part of our lives every year. As the amount of technology that we use increases the amount of positive personal relationships we have decreases. I like having close personal relationships better than being connected with everyone by texting or social media. I like being able to see the emotions people are feeling when I am talking to them. It is important to raise awareness for this because it is more important to have personal relationships than ones where you are close only through technology. Everyone is affected by this because we don't take the time to stop and get to know people on a personal level. As a community we could raise awareness about how we should slow down and get to know each other on a more personal level.

Bullying
School is one of the places that we are supposed to feel safe on a daily basis although it is one of the main places where kids are made to feel inferior about themselves. I think the lack of support that some students feel from the teachers and administrators allows the bullying to go on for so long. It seems as if time goes on the caring for others feelings disappears. By trying to rid the world of bullying we will be helping each other realize how to be better people and realize that we all have the same feelings. The entire world is affected by this because of how poorly we treated each other. Shelby has already started a campaign at our school but we could spread the campaign to local schools and schools in the cities and well.

Persuassive Topics

I feel that teenage girls under the age of eighteen should not be allowed to under go plastic surgery. In the past few years any surgery that deals with altering our bodies has been deemed as a "plastic" surgery. Plastic surgery is closely related to cosmetic surgery, and is termed as any surgery that reforms human tissue. Cosmetic surgery is referred to as surgery that is altering the body for non-medical procedures.  Every year more and more young teens are undergoing cosmetic surgery. Teens girls shouldn't be allowed to undergo cosmetic surgery because they want the surgery for beauty enhancement, they could feel worse about themselves after the surgery, and they aren't emotionally ready to make to decision.

Another controversial issue that affects us is how many children are bullied online and the schools/state isn't legally able to persecute the offender. Some states have anti-bullying legislation in act, but the online bullying punishments aren't regulated in the legislation. Many students who are bullied will find peace in seeing their attacker being brought to justice. For students who are unable to see their attacker brought to justice by the legal system have felt wronged and may try to handle the attacker on their own. Cyber bullying needs to be put to an end by legislation the will protect kids online. The legislation would dictate what is considered a crime and how severe the punishments will be for those who break the law. With the legislation in effect it will bring down the amount of cyber bullying, the amount of suicides, and make us think before we speak.

Informative Brainstorming

The two main topics I am thinking about writing about are two things that are very important to me: the origin of soccer or structure of the human eye. I am interested in the human eye because the human body fascinates me, and I plan on becoming an optometrist. Some people may not find the structure of the eye an interesting topic, but it will tell the audience about how their eyes work. Many people know some of the basic structures of the eye like the retina and pupil. In my paper I will go into depth with the main structures of the eye, how they are incorporated with each other, and how they make you see. Structures of the eye include pupil, cornea, iris, retina, optic nerve, lens, blind spot, and fovea. The retina houses the rods and cones in our eyes. The rods help us see in low light, and the cones show us the color of everything we see.

The history of soccer is very diverse in all countries. The earliest history of soccer that has been recorded is 2nd or 3rd centuries BC in China. As the game became more advanced as the years passed, and became the world’s most played sport. Soccer was banned for a while due to how violent it had become, but by the modern times soccer made a huge comeback. It is the most played sport in the world today and brings people of all nations together.

If I wrote about the human eye, the audience would be learning about how their eyes work. The history of soccer would give the reader a rich history of how the most famous game in the world was formed, and why the game brings us together.

Informative Free Write

My stomach starts growling during fourth hour every day for the delicious lunch I have prepared. I bring my lunch to school almost every day due to the changing schedule. The sandwiches that I make aren’t exactly traditional because I have an issue with my peanut butter to bread ratio.
The first thing I do when I make my sandwich is decide what kind of sandwich I would like to eat that day. Most days I go with plain peanut butter because our school is hot and peanut butter doesn’t go bad. The first thing I do is get out two slices of plain wheat bread. I then take the peanut butter and peanut butter spreader; it’s a special knife we use, so we don’t get peanut butter on the handle.  After I have my bread, peanut butter, and peanut butter spreader, I put a lot of peanut butter on each slice of bread. When I finish peanut buttering my bread, I fold each slice in half with the opposite crusts lining up with each other. By doing this I am able to keep my peanut butter to bread ratio at equilibrium, not too much peanut butter, and not too much bread.
I then place my two sandwiches in a plastic baggie and place it in my lunch bag where it waits to get eaten at lunch.  This is one of the most effective ways to make your sandwiches because it doesn’t require the sandwich maker to get all messy with the peanut butter and it is easier to align the crusts up with each other.

Personal Narrative Brainstorming

I have two majors ideas in mind when it come to life changing events: when my dad has his open heart surgery and when I went on a mission trip to Canada to help the less fortunate. These events changed my views in very different ways, but also in one common one. I found that you never can take anything you have for granted because it could be taken away in a heartbeat or there are others who are more grateful for the minimal blessings they have compared to you.

I am leaning more toward writing about my dad's open heart surgery because it has had a huge impact on my life and is still affecting today. During the early to mid sophomore year my dad started to get really sick and wasn't doing much around the house or going to work. This set off warnings in our family's minds and worried us a lot because he doesn't get sick much. After going to the doctor for three weeks they finally with a last ditch effort and checked out his heart by doing an angioplasty. Later that afternoon we found out he had two arteries blocked 70 percent and one coronary artery 100 percent blocked. The doctor told us the only way to fix it was with a triple bypass open heart surgery. My dad spent the next week in the hospital preparing for the surgery.  The surgery lasted for 4-6 hours and was the most stressful day of my life. Luckily that night one of the nurses in the ICU knew us and let all of us go see my dad after he got out of surgery. Seeing him with tubes sticking out of him and barley responsive was one of the scariest moments ever. His recovery was slow and painful, but each day more and more improvement came. About a week after his surgery he came home from the hospital. I wish I would have been home when he got back, but I had a basketball game so I wasn't able to see him right away. That night after the game I was expecting to see him at home but my mom sent me a text that they had to go back to the ER that night. When he went to stand up he popped open some of the stitches in his leg and it wouldn't quit bleeding. Through all of  this craziness I realized that your life could be ended in a heartbeat, so whatever you do don't do it half-hardheartedly, go all out with everything.

The mission trip I went on this summer also opened my eyes up to how much people take for granted in life. When we were in Canada, I saw how the homeless and disabled people I worked with take nothing for granted. They were grateful for every opportunity they had and loved just being able to talk with you about anything. Although my experiences were eye opening, I learned the most when we went on a tour of Toronto and saw how there are many people struggling and not being helped. An ex-addict told us about how he lived on the streets and where he would sleep. He described to us how easy it was for people to slip through the cracks and lose sight of themselves and never find a way back. By seeing how real everything was, it really hit home and showed me how we take almost everything we have for granted.

Going through these experiences has really put my views on life into a new perspective. I try not to take even the littlest things for granted now and I cherish every moment I have with the people I am with. I know some may say this is a grim way to look at life, but with my dad suffering from heart disease and my grandpa dying from it I have a different outlook on life.

Summer Memory

Summer vacation provides many exciting experiences, and the best memories for many people. My summer started off like any other summer with lots of sports. It wasn't until July though when I made my favorite memories. I went with my church to a youth mission trip in Toronto, Canada. Although the trip started with one long day, it was a memorable one. 

Due to the fact that Toronto is 14 hours away, we decided to stay overnight at the church on Saturday. Saturday evening started off kind of unexciting with watching a movie about Ester. Not long after the movie ended we were expected to go to bed, and get our rest before we left at three the next morning. But with knowing how high schoolers are we were up until the wee hours of the morning playing spoons and pterodactyl. As the night drew on everything was funnier and our ideas seemed better. Around two a.m. we decided that it would be a really good idea to play hide-and-seek outside. Ashlie and Elisabeth managed to be the best hiders on the trip. We spent about fifteen minutes in the pitch black trying to find them.  As three a.m. neared we went back to our sleeping areas and took a quick nap before we were up, and eating donuts before we left.

At precisely 3:04 a.m. our two vans, the "Jesus Van" and the rental van, pulled out of the parking lot and headed north to Toronto. Like any great road trip our van had the music blaring and everyone singing along until we all passed out. Our long journey consisted of two stops major stops; one for a delightful Mickey D's breakfast and another with a variety of choices for lunch. At out breakfast stop we all fell out of the vans like the zombies that we were, but after some warm food and little caffeine we were back to the busy bodies that we were a few hours earlier. After eating we all piled up into the vans, and got ourselves ready for the second leg of our trip. Some slept most of the way, but others were talking and bonding with each other. In my van Dakota was the most beat up by the flying objects. Lunch provided us with another break to stretch our legs and fill our bellies. As we filed into the vans for the last time that afternoon we knew we would be crossing the border soon. 

 Michigan provided us with our passage into to Canada. We go to the border crossing around 2 p.m. that day; excited and ready to see what Canada had in store for us. The first step of the border crossing was paying the van fee to cross the border; easily done in 30 minutes as we weren't the only ones coming to Canada on that fine Sunday. The next portion took a quite a bit longer because they have to check everyone's passports and question why you are coming into their wonderful country. The lady that questioned us was not a friendly one; she barked her orders and was snotty in her replies. Pastor Dave, our leader, made the mistake of saying we were going to be working in a nursing home. She was not happy with that response. The next thing we know we are getting lectured about not being allowed to hand out medicine in nursing homes. Pastor Dave corrects himself and then she reluctantly lets us through. The van behind us had little less trouble, but she was still quite harsh on them. 

After the lovely border crossing experience, we had three more hours until we reached Toronto. About 5 minutes after our journey into Canadian territory started we found out that the GPS didn't work. This was also when one of Pastor Dave's nose bleeds started again, so I was relegated to being the navigator for the remainder of the trip. Canada has many interstates just like we do so it was easy to get to Toronto which took about two hours. As we entered the edges of Toronto, an hour away from the church we were staying at, the traffic was almost at a standstill. We stayed on the main interstate for about a half hour before we finally decided to get off and navigate our way through downtown Toronto. Pastor Dave was busy making phone calls to the leader at the church letting them know that we would be late. Getting off the interstate was the best decision, but the traffic was bad everywhere. I led us through the downtown of Toronto on our scenic drive we passed the business district, Greek town, Korea town, and China town; the most interesting factor was to see that everyone was mixed in with one another unlike her in the states. Finally, around 7:30 that evening we pulled up to the church and began our wonderful week in the bustling city of Toronto.