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Money is America

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Money is America. America is driven on the principles of wealth, economic prosperity, and the “American Dream”. With that being said, those who possess those core principles are favored by the country. The rich get substantial tax breaks. The rich are favored by the law. The rich are loosely regulated by the government. Because America was founded in the platform of democratic capitalism, it is evidently concluded that money is America. Through literature, first hand documents, as well as second hand sources, the argument that America runs on wealth becomes very prevalent.     For my junior theme, I evaluated the reasons why teenagers were vaping at such a young age. Factors like peer pressure and celebrity influence played a key role, but they weren’t the main reason young juveniles were becoming nicotine addicts. Electronic cigarette companies were directly advertising their products to the youth. Juul, the largest e-cig company, posted “thousands of ads” to a “youth-oriented” audien
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Journal 3

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How are you feeling about the role of sports in our lives these days? No sports have really changed my life. I’ve always been an avid march madness fan, so for that to be canceled was hard. The whole NBA horse contest is an awful idea, and while I didn’t watch it, the replays were meh. The NFL draft went on virtually, and Goodell was still booed. The memes that followed with Lambs and the Chargers were pretty good. Missing opening day was sad, and It’ll be worse if they decide to have fanless sports events for the future season. Players need fans, and as long as the virus is stopped people should be allowed to watch sports immediately in person.  How has your relationship with celebrities changed? Not much. Everybody’s giving them a lot of hate because it’s easy for them to stay home in their hundred million dollar mansions, and they’re advocating for us too as well. I don’t think it matters how big their houses are because they still cannot hangout with friends. Celebrities
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Journal 2

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What are you reading? Watching? Listening to? I am not reading anything as of now. Just news articles and regular articles. I watched the tiger king series and I was very intrigued by how interesting it actually was. I watched love is blind and wasn’t a huge fan as the bachelor was better. I also watched blown away which was a glass art competition show. I have been listening to everything from uzi to da baby. A lot of rap and chill rap. Tootsie slide is good but it’s overhyped.  Name one thing you make sure to do that makes you happy, hopeful, more relaxed.  Honestly for me it is getting a good night’s sleep. Although my sleep schedule is different from the school year, sleeping helps. It resets the day, takes away any annoyances from the news, and makes you feel all rested the following day. It’s quiet, peaceful, and long. The most I’ve slept this break was around 12 hours, and the latest I’ve gone to bed has only been around 4am. I know people who’ve pulled all nighters to
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Journal 1

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What’s the best advice you’ve heard, offered? My dad told me that people are doing anything they can to make themselves feel like they’re in control. With the virus spreading and the government taking actions, there’s only so much we can do. But what people feel like they can do to make themselves feel in control...it’s buying toilet paper. Nobody needs 108 Charmin Mega Rolls of toilet paper. It would take months to go through it. But, if one buys that much, unconscious of hoarding it from others, it makes them feel like they’re in control. It makes them feel “prepared” for this wild epidemic. It gives them a false sense of power and security. I think hoarding is the stupidest thing ever. People will buy 80lbs of rice when they don’t even eat 20lbs in a year. People buy gallons of dairy they can’t even freeze and just waste it. Hand sanitizer is extinct. Until this whole “crisis” blows over, people will do irrational things to make themselves seem like they are in the fight too.
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Junior Theme Reflection

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Abstract:  The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the reasons for which teenagers have been vaping. While there are numerous factors that lead to teen vaping, a few stood out the most. Targeted vape advertisements towards teens, peer pressure, and the addictiveness of nicotine lead teenagers to vaping. The paper provides countless statistics, expert quotes, and two personal interviews. With 30 sources, the paper provides a very strong and supported argument. Reflection: Overall, I think I compiled 3 very strong blocks to support my thesis I was trying to argue. What surprised me with my research was how much information regarding the negative effects of teen vaping is out there. From articles saying how teen vaping can cause developmental disorders to  serious lung diseases, there was a ton about the negatives. This really surprised me because through the media, I wasn’t aware of any of this. Sure, I knew teen vaping had some long term effects, but the media didn’t tell me the
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BTWAM Response

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Pop Your Bubble The attached photo was taken in Paris, but this situation occurs all across the world. It is of a homeless man sitting helplessly on a staircase, being ignored by affluent individuals. The individuals are walking as to not crease their shoes. Their Neiman-Marcus coat collars are popped up to prevent them from becoming slightly chilly. One individual is making a call. However, what do they all have in common? They are blind to seeing the struggling man. They are not empathizing, interacting, or understanding the struggler because they are stuck in their own materialistic bubbles. Many of us can relate to subconsciously ignoring struggling people because we are floating in our own bubble ourselves. From observing this image, I myself relate to being in a bubble. By knowing that, I am able to briefly pop it, and am able to view Coates’s work with a more honest and empathetic lens. Material things keep us from empathizing with those who struggle because they disco
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Health. America “values” health. With her organic produce aisles to healthy chain restaurants, America values health! Well, sarcasm aside, that is completely not true. America claims to value health, but in fact it is advertising unhealthy food to younger children. Former First Lady Michelle Obama created her “ Let’s Move ” campaign which outlined “a wide range of initiatives to “attempt” to end childhood obesity within a generation.” We can see that America is “attempting” to create a healthy lifestyle for children. However, that isn’t the case.  NBC researchers reported “ obesity is worsening in American kids. ” And the cause; “society that continues to push junk food despite the overwhelming evidence about its dangers.” Advertisements that children view daily and hourly display attractiveness attached to junk food. A child’s favorite star eating at McDonald’s, a fun little bird stuck to sugar laced cereal, and tv families drinking Coca-Cola. Kids can view more than 800 jun
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