The Voice of the Animals

“Life is as dear to the mute creature as it is to a man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not to die, so do other creatures.” - Dalai Lama

Around the world, animals are being abused, and are being treated cruelly. Some of them are treated like trash. They are treated like something that we use for an amount of time, and throw them away if it doesn’t pleases us. Many pets are abused by their owners, or either thrown away on the streets, and sometimes beaten to death. On the other hand, farm animals are raised without care, and more animals are used cruelly throughout the world. These types of cruelty to the animals are slowly increasing. Even though animals dedicate so much to us, some of us don’t give the dedication back to them. Even though animals like pets support our daily lives, farm animals supply us with food, and take away the animal’s habitats for land, some never care about them.

Firstly, pets or any house animals are there to help us and become our friends, not to abuse for stress or anger. Pets have been around with humans since millenniums ago. Dogs have supported humans in tracking and hunting since the early ages. Horses have been a use of transport around the world, and cats have been used to keep the mice and rats away from food storages. Nowadays, some of the animals like dogs; for example, help the blind by being the guide. Their dedications and loyalty to us is amazing. However, some never give those thankful deeds back to the animals. Instead, some of the animals are used to get beaten for the owner’s stress. Why buy or adopt the pet, if we won’t care for it and don’t take responsibility for it? Since animals don’t express their pain through any language and expressions, and since we can’t communicate with them, it’s impossible to tell how much pain they are actually receiving. However, all creatures feel the same pain. It’s just that humans express the pain they are receiving differently than animals do. Pets are there to care and for us to love like a family, not a tool to relieve our stress. Pets should be treated like a part of the family, as pets are there for us to care like a family. When without a family or far away from a family, pets help us by just being there for us. We have something we care for, and it loves us back. That makes both humans and pets happy. Hence, pets should be loved and cared for like a family member, as it dedicates it’s loyalty to us, and we need to be responsible for them, and love them.

Next, farm animals give us food for us to live, yet we don’t give them the comfort in living. They aren’t able to live life as they want. They don’t have the freedom. In some farms, in order to make more profit, the farmers purposely fatten up the pigs, chickens, and

cows which benefit the farmers in making more money as there is more meat that is getting sold. These animals, can’t live a free life. There are some places around the world, where cows can actually eat natural grass in the meadow, where pigs can move around freely, and where chicken can actually spread their wings, but that is the minority. The majority is that the cows, pigs, chicken and the other livestock animals are put into small areas of the farm, or small cages so that they are barely able to move.

To get them fat, farmers feed the cows some corn, so that all the carbohydrates pile up and make more meat. Thousands and thousands of corn are used in order to feed the cows, and as it fattens them up, it also poisons them. If this act were to stop, we could give those corns for the poor instead of giving it to the cows, because it would save more lives. Just to keep the animals fat, these corns are being used. And these animals don’t even get freedom to walk around. The chicken are left to eat their food, but since they are all packed into one small cage, they can never spread their wings even once. These animals eventually have to give up their lives, because they all turn into food for us. Having to give up their lives, they should at least live a happy life, so that it won’t hurt to send them away. If they were to live a free life and live the way they wanted, that would make them happier. Thus, farm animals should be able to have a free life, not in a confined cage as it dedicates it’s life to us.

Lastly, the natural habitats of the wild animals are getting destroyed as we take the land. This causes animals to wander around for a new home, which they cannot find easily. This leads to wild animals stumbling into the urban area where people live. For example, snakes can wander into the urban area, and get killed due to the people’s fear. Those animals did nothing wrong. They had lost their homes and had nowhere to go, and just happened to stumble upon the urban area. Some of the wild animals that are happen to be found while tearing down their habitats could be skinned for their furs or skin. It is definitely animal cruelty to demolish their habitats, but to skin them is brutal. These cruel events happen to the animals all at the same time. It’s as if a huge tsunami came crashing to them without knowing. As their habitats disappear, they can disappear too, if they can’t find anywhere to live. If one of their population decreases, it might have a negative impact in the ecosystem. If one species were to get endangered due to the loss of their habitat, the food chain will eventually break, and cause a chaos. We need to protect these animals in order to maintain the ecosystem and the Earth. Therefore, we need to help the animals maintain their habitat, and protect them.

All in all, animals should be cared for, have a free life, and their habitat should be protected. Animals dedicate so much to us, yet they don’t receive all the care or love from us. Like how humans care for each other, we need to care for the animals. Aren’t we all creatures? Every creature feels the same pain, same happiness and the same sadness. Because animals are silent doesn’t mean they barely have any feelings. Every living creature has the same life and lives should be cared for, as life is just one moment. That is why I believe animal cruelty is worth fighting for.

The Heart of Earth being cut down into pieces..

The Rainforest Deforestation

"Unless we keep this planet healthy, everything else is for naught." - Victoria Principal

Deforestation is one of the biggest issues of the world today. The Amazon which is one of the treasures of earth, is being destroyed. Not only the amazon, the rain forests in Nigeria, Cambodia, and Indonesia are also disappearing. We people, cut the rain forests for our benefit and profits and from those benefits, we only consume and throw it away within 6 months.What do we truly gain from deforestation? We use the natural resources to make stuff. The following video tells us how the cycle of buying stuff, using, and throwing it away just makes the earth decay. When we throw away the stuff, it doesn't quite get reused or recycled. Many are just incinerated, and disposed. That act, harms the earth. Although rain forests provide us many resources, the continuing deforestation that we are causing, is harming the wild animals, polluting the environment, and stealing away all the natural resources left on Earth.

As we are burning away humungous areas of the rain forests, the animals’ habitats are destroyed, leaving the wild animals to wander around in where the humans live, and eventually get captured by the humans. These animals can be harmed or poisoned as they enter the urban area, and either get sent to the zoo or get killed. Many animals are getting endangered due to deforestation. For example, in South America, especially Brazil where there the Amazon is, the Scarlet Macaw, the Maned Three-Toed Sloth, the Golden-Bellied Capuchin monkey are getting endangered due to the deforestation. As these animals mostly live in trees, the more we cut down trees, the more animals will lose their habitat. In all continents, different animals are being endangered. In Asia, the panda, tiger, and the turtles are endangered. In America, the bald eagle, in Africa, the rhinoceros and the leopard, in the Artic regions, the polar bear and more! If any of these species that are getting endangered due to deforestation, then the food chain will break. If an animal were to disappear from the food chain, then the animals who are bounded to the extinct animal, will either get overpopulated or underpopulated and die out too. If more were to get extinct, then more animals will get inflicted by the others which will eventually destroy the ecosystem, making humans unable to live too. We have to protect the animals. And to prevent that, we need to reduce the amount of stuff we use, so that deforestation is decreased.

Followed by deforestation, comes pollution. Pollution is caused by the trash we throw away, the toxic substances that get released into the air, and by chopping trees down. For example, the Amazon is mostly cut down for cattle ranching, agriculture, and logging, as seen in the chart of the right. The more natural resources (like wood) we use, the more stuff is made, and that stuff, is eventually thrown away within six months. The toxic that are made within those "stuff" are incinerated. The toxic is soon released into the air as a gas, which causes the atmosphere to absorb it, and cause toxic rain. And as toxic rain falls down on earth, it leads to rivers, soil and later is consumed by humans, animals, and plants. That, kills the environment. The more we use natural resources, the more pollution is caused, and leads into a bigger mess. As the rivers carry the contaminated substances throughout the land, that water foes to the people who are poor, and depend on the river to drink and wash. This would poison the people, and cause their health to deteriorate, which gives difficulty for the organizations of UNMDG to help the poor. Pollution by deforestation leads into many difficulties, and should be prevented for the better future.

Lastly, the more natural resources we use by the deforestation of the rainforest, the sooner it will run out. We humans, use the natural resources, but don't return them back to the ecosystem. This is a big issue because if we run out, what would happen to us? To prevent those events from happening, scientists are finding ways to use other resources, other than the natural resources, to use later on. However, the nature won't always adjust to the standard where people keeping using things. If nature were to fall, then it would turn out like a dystopian society, where there are less resources to survive with, just like the movie, WALL-E, where humans had to leave Earth, because there was too much trash, and had less oxygen, due to the fact they cut all the trees down. This connects to the Knife of Never Letting Go, as the people also left Earth because it was too polluted to live in. The people set out for a "New World" where they could live in. These novels and movies are predicting what might happen in the future. To prevent from happening, we need to reduce, reuse, and recycle, to keep the Earth healthy as it is.

In a nutshell, deforestation is a dangerous factor for our future of Earth. It is destroying Earth in a very slow pace, but if that were to continue, our world would turn out like a desert of trash. Humans are hungry consumers. The more stuff is made from deforestation, the more we buy, and trash it. That cycle needs to broken, and we need to start a new cycle to conserve energy. Isn't that worth fighting for? The world we live in needs to be taken care of, or else, we might not be able to live in Earth. Our Earth, is also worth fighting for.

Environmental Inspiration

If you haven't noticed society is chopping down the rain forest.
These days, not enough people point out the tragedy that is occurring.

And we have nothing to say.

Our generation needs to end this.

Be convictive and declare it.

Be determined and believe strongly about it.

Join us.

"Don't Cry For Me, Tonj."

- Lee Tae Seok (Catholic Father John Lee)

- 1962 ~ 2010

Born out of 10 siblings, John Lee was the 9th child.Having his father passed away at the age of 10, his mother raised all 10 children. John Lee graduated in 1987, and became a doctor. Later, John Lee was sent to work in South Sudan, among the poorest, poorest villages, named Tonj. Father John Lee worked as a teacher, a conductor, a doctor, and an architect in the village, Tonj. For the people in Tonj, he was like God. When first arrived in Tonj, he set up a building where he could take care of the sick. He brought comfortable shoes for the people who were shoeless, and brought clothes for the people too. His actions towards the Sudanese people, brought him closer to the young and old immediately. While taking care of the sick, he also formed a brass band, by teaching each kid an instrument. He trained the young Sudanese boys and girls to discover their talents. As there was no music sheets in Sudan, John lee made it himself, by using the computer, by transitioning many music into something the band could play. His talents were incredible. While taking care of the sick, and teaching the Sudanese some music, he also helped construct a school in Tonj. In addition to that, after constructing the school, he taught math for the students in Tonj. Everyday, he worked nonstop, as he had to take care of the sick, teach music to the kids, make music sheets, construct a church, and educate children. Can you see all the work he had done on his own? One person, made everything successful for this village. However, when John lee returned to Korea for a quick rest, it was found that he had cancer. The status of the cancer was quite worse, as he had been working in Sudan without knowing it. Desperate, he wanted to return to Tonj, because he hadn't finished all his work for the village. Unfortunately, John Lee went under a surgery multiple times, but turned out that the cancer was incurable. As he laid on his deathbed, he regretted not being able to do everything for Tonj, and regretted he was not able to stay beside his mother. With that, Father John Lee passed away in 2010, January 14th.

"Don't Cry For Me Tonj" -

John Lee's dedication towards Tonj was made into a documentary movie.

- John Lee conducting the band. (Don Bosco Band)

- These outfits were all brought to the Sudanese by John Lee, who bought these uniforms.

John Lee having fun with the Sudanese by playing in the river -

Making the shoes for the people who have a disease that grows on their feet -

Taking care of the sick -

The Sudanese people with everything John Lee had given to the society -

- John Lee and the young Sudanese taking a picture.

<- A Student pass that John Lee had made for them.

Making the Sudanese study in school.->

(Translation) - "At first, because they are poor, I planned a lot of things for the village. But as time passed, I learnt that being with them was the most important thing. No matter what happens, I want to be by their side." - John Lee

2009 in December. John Lee's status one month ago before he passed away. As he lay here, he recorded a small video for the village of Tonj saying that "I'm sorry."

As he left the world in January, Tonj cried out for him. The villagers of Tonj all burst into tears when they heard John Lee had died. The brass band gathered once more, and played a piece for John Lee. The people walked around Tonj, holding photos of John Lee, while they cried.

John Lee serves as a role model for all of us. Through his dedications towards Tonj, he taught us the importance of helping each other. Equality was also shown through his actions as he was standing up for Tonj. If one person could dedicate all of those things to a village, then why can't we all do it? If the whole world were to help each other's villages and all, we could live in a better society. Every person, is worth fighting for. It's worth fighting for.

"I've gots lots of hope."

If you were give the chance to chance to create a 'New World', identify one characteristic you would hope for and discuss why this characteristic is so important.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of the skin, but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King Jr.

As in the quote above, Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a world where everyone could be treated equally. During the African-American Civil Rights Movement, the African-Americans couldn't achieve their own freedom as many black people were treated as dirty beings because of their skin color.

- Hands of Hope series (April 20th, 2008)

Equality means that everyone is granted the same opportunities and is treated the same way with respect. In this world, many people stand up for equality, as people believe it is something that would eventually lead us to peace. It also had been one of the major problems in the world as many commoners ignored whom they disliked. For example, Hitler towards the Jews was racism, and the white americans towards the African-americans were also segregation, and racism. If I were to create a new world, the one characteristic I hope for is equality.

Firstly, I think equality is important to the 'New society' because it helps people stop the conflicts between races. Many people have been ignored, and were looked down from different people because of their status, their appearance, beliefs, and culture. It is like how the African-Americans were discriminated by the white americans for their skin color, and how the Jews were killed due to the Nazi Regime. In both examples, both African-Americans, and Jews were killed because of their difference. Numerous innocent people were killed by their differences and their different beliefs. Since millenniums ago, religion caused a great havoc between people, causing war to happen. For example. the Crusades in the Medieval ages was mainly fought by different religion. Christians and the Muslims fought against each other for their different beliefs in God. People called this the Holy war, as the people believed that it was a war for God. Both similar region, but different beliefs had started the Crusades. However, in a world of equality, war against different races, appearances and beliefs won't happen, as in that world, people would accept that difference rather than pushing it away. Thus, in a world of equality, people would respect each others beliefs and appearances.

Secondly, equality also helps in collaborating with each other, as in teamwork. If we people, were to value all of other's ideas, we could produce better ideas, which could help tremendously in our future. Many countries' people stood out and tried to share their ideas with the world about how the world could be helped. However, some were ignored by other countries, which made them silent. It's almost as when Germany was ignored by the Soviet Union before the World War II happened. Germany was excluded in the meeting with the other countries including the Soviet Union. They were ignored because of their faults in World War I, and had to fix up everything. Another example was when the african-american started to go to an american school, and their ideas weren't shared at all. Even in Germany, the Jew's ideas were all disregarded, ridiculed and much more worse. In the present world, we all know that one person's idea is never perfect. An idea combined with other's people ideas produce a much better idea. So, if this characteristics were to be in the "New world" it would help the society to improve on everything, as all ideas would be respected. With this characteristic, more solutions to the problem would be made, rather than producing more problems. Hence, equality can help us collaborate with others.

Lastly, people would all be able to befriend others and help each other. Refugees and orphans rarely receive any care, as they have either lost their family, or their family left them behind. They are lonely. Also, their dreams are crushed, and they give up their dreams because they have no choice. However, people should open up many paths for these people and value their dreams just like how we do to ours. A place where everyone acknowledges each other brings happiness to all people, as they feel cared for. Everyone would be able to befriend others, which prevents loneliness. No one would be left alone. For example, the African-americans were excluded in the school, not being able to play with any friends besides another African-american. In result, the african-americans were bullied by the children, and the parents of the americans. The children who were bullied, would have felt depressed everyday. However, in our present world, racism has decreased. In our school, ISKL, no one is left out of the group. We value each other's opinions and different personalities, making our school enjoyable. If we were to have this characteristic, everyone would be able to enjoy themselves.

All in all, equality gives us a lot of benefits. It helps us people, to get together and have no conflicts between each other. Equality itself, creates peace between people, and that creates peace in the whole society. So, equality gives a lot of advantage to the "New World" as it makes peace happen. This is the characteristic I hope for, if I have a chance to create a 'New World.'

Hungry FRIM

-Introduction

We 7th graders went on a field trip to Frim, where I went in 3rd grade as I was thrilled to see Frim again. We all stayed there for two days and 1 night. We all did at least 4 activities and hiked at night including on the afternoon. Our class linked the real world to 'The Hunger Games' (By Suzanne Collins)

In our humanities activity, our class pretended to be in 'The Hunger Games.' and in this activity we all chose materials in order to survive in Cornupia.

My group chose Flint, Twine, Tarp, First aid kit, and a sleeping bag. We chose flint to make fire to keep the predators away and to cook. For Twine, we chose this for protection and shelter, and for Tarp, it was for rain collection and shelter. The first aid kit was to protect ourselves and heal, and the sleeping bag was to make safe shelter, as we can climb above the tree and make our shelter.

However, we received two t-shirts, a plastic bag, a hand sanitizer, and a box of matches. Well, I didn't feel any anger but I just wanted the first aid kit, as it is a real good source to survive in the wilderness. I was quickly adapted to our new materials because the materials we got was pretty useful and we had various ways to use it. Because of the matches, I felt a little bit safer than before as we had a source of fire.

It was a little bit unfair in the first when we couldn't speak out as our group was District A. Later, I felt a little bit scared when Mr. Whiting and Ms. Gonnerman came to check our plans and our use of materials. We couldn't do the performance, but I felt relieved because since we didn't do it, we wouldn't get embarrassment. From the start, we never wanted to even perform as we had confidence in our plans. Our site we chose was a good place, as there was a source of water. However, there were dangers around us. There were a lot of groups around us, but we could eliminate one group by blocking the source of water for them by making a small dam. From the murderer that roamed around the night, we could easily escape them because of the river that flows by us. The one wish I wanted was having the flint because flint is a much better source than the matches because matches run out fast. I was rather worried if we could survive longer if we had matches, but I still felt good as the other groups didn't have the source of fire. I think our group was collaborative because we all planned before we acted and our shelter was safe enough. I think we all fairly discussed about our plans and thought before we acted. That was our strength.

I think this game helped us understand about the theme of the Hunger Games, and how difficult it might have been in the Arena. The Arena was full of traps and dangerous tributes. It gave us and idea of the feeling of how unfair the main character would had felt as we link it to the real world.

In this trip, I really enjoyed the Catch the Flag game, the Bonfire, and the Night hike. In the Catch the Flag game, it was just like the Hunger Games, and I experienced about how Katniss might have hid in the Arena, and avoided the dangers. The Bonfire was enjoyable as Niqui sang along with Ashleigh's beatbox. It was a highlight. Also, the smores was the highlight! I loved the melted marshmallows along with Nutella, including the crackers. In the Night Hike, I loved the fireflies shining around as they flew around us. The interesting thing was that female fireflies couldn't fly like the male fireflies. Instead, they crawled around the floor with their tails lit. It was my first firefly sight. Also the trees that covered the canopy layer was really pretty. The moonlight shined on the leaves and it shined through as it looked like glittering stars. The trees' leaves were like puzzles, as their shapes fit together, and it looked like the formed a stream. It was really beautiful.

The worst things were not bringing a torch, not being to just sit down outside our tents at night, and not being able to go to the canopy walk.

It was really hard to find our way in the night walk, because it was dark to see where we were walking. I tripped a multiple times but thanks to Niqui who had a torch, I could easily see my way. If I had brought a torch, Ashleigh, the person in front of me should have been able to see more clearly including myself.

The second thing was that it was really hot inside the tent when we wanted to sleep. My tent mates couldn't stand the heat so we opened the tent so that the cool air will come in. We chatted for a moment which wasn't a polite thing to do because we might have kept the others up. We sat outside our tents but kept quite, and later came back in and chatted for some time which we shouldn't have. We couldn't resist the heat.

Also, I wish we could have went to the canopy walk because if we saw the top view of the forest, it would have been fascinating as we could have seen birds like the hornbill if we were lucky. I've went to the canopy walk when I was in 3rd grade, and it would have been fun to go again and recall old memories. I wish we could have gone there as it would have made the trip much better.

The Lottery - Shirley Jackson (Reading)

1) What would you call this story? Why?

I would call this story "The Lottery's Black Box". The story centers about the black box which is confusing as when the people pick out a piece of paper for themselves, they were all curious about who the "chosen" one was. The reactions of each person left me in wonder why some people kept their distance from the black box, and some people looked as if they were excited. That is why I centered those thoughts in to that title.

2) What did you think was going to happen? What clues in the text led you think this?

This story kind of frightened me because recently, I have read the Hunger Games, which they pick out a name from the jar, and the person who was picked out was the tribute the participate in the Hunger Games, a game of death. I thought, being picked out of the black box was not pleasant because the term they use for "box" seems really, dark, and mysterious. However, the result was different. Being picked out of the box was a pleasant event for them. They described the day of the lottery as the fresh warmth of a full summer day. Flowers were blooming, and people were smiling. These evidences let me think this.

3) How did you feel when the end of the story was not given to you?

My face was in the expression of confusion. The story was straight forward from the start, and the ending was chaotic for me. What did the story really mean? I had no idea what was going on besides the lottery. I couldn't tell the people's emotions towards the "black box". It was frustrating. I wanted the answer immediately. I wanted more information so that I would fully understand the text.

4) How did you feel when you were handed the mystery paper? What did you think was in it? Did you follow the instructions? Why/Why not?

I felt scared. I feared the paper and what would be inside it. Well since the mystery paper had a lot of text, I thought it was an ending of the story. Our class was divided into two groups of black dots and blank paper, which I think that blank and black dot have a different ending on its own. I did follow the instructions. I never opened it in school, and waited, and waited. I forgot about the paper until 6 o' clock. I followed the instructions because I thought it was worth to save it until we got home.

5) How did you feel about the black box and the black spot/blank paper? Explain.

The black box, black spot, and the blank paper made me think, is this something like separation between human beings? I was also a little bit frightened of what would come next because the black color represents as death to me. I thought a crisis was going to happen.

6) How did you feel when you read the end of the story? Explain.

I couldn't fully understand the end of the story, but I could tell someone was upset against the lottery, as the words that it wasn't fair, made me think, "here comes the war of fairness." It was also confusing because I felt that the story didn't connect with the ending. The one theme I came up with is that the peaceful village turned into a war of the fairness of lottery.

7) Were your predictions correct? How did you feel about that?

My predictions weren't correct as I thought the black box sent misfortune to people, but people in the story felt different about it. I felt rather frustrated about this story, as the parts in this story were quite hard to understand and because my predictions were wrong, I couldn't interpret the text in my mind.

8) What would have helped you to make a better prediction?

Reading the title would have helped me, because titles are the main keywords that describe this story. So if the title was there, I would have understand a little bit. Also, if the text had the setting of where it was, and what the time setting was in the story, the story would have been easier to read.

9) Why did the author leave these voids in the story?

I think the purpose was to make the reader feel the same as the people in the story. When we received the mystery papers, I think it was to make us feel nervous about the paper. Like what was in the paper. All in all, I think the voids in the story made us purposely confused and wait for the outcome of the ending.

10) Explain the power of the void in this experience.

a. No title/ author information

b. No ending

c. Text clues and foreshadowing throughout

d. Mystery paper

e. Delayed ending

f. Anything that created tension and conflict for you

The power in this story, overpowered us from reaching the real meaning. The title that wasn't showed to us, made us confused and more curious to know what the story was. But then, the story didn't tell us all of it's background information, including the paragraphs of this story. The foreshadowing was incredible as it made me confused for the whole time. The mystery paper made us nervous and curious about the outcome, but then the ending in the mystery paper was delayed. I can't describe this feeling in many words, but I would say that it was frustrating.

DomiKnow Profile

1. I learn best when......
Teachers explain slowly about a specific and simple instructions, and this learning style is an Auditory learner. My profile learns best by focusing on the auditory details, and processes by analysis of verbalization, including writing. I feel this is right, as I prefer a teacher to explain all the details I need, instead of a teacher handing me a packet of writing and read the whole thing. I like it when the student and teacher discuss all the ideas in the unit together, because this helps me understand the unit better.

2. I need to .....
Urge myself to see the whole picture. I have quite a difficulty when reading a rubric, especially in math, where the teacher would write an instruction for an unit project. There are steps in the instructions, and I tend to read everything to understand the whole project but it seems to be difficult, as the steps are hard. It would be best for me to read the whole paper at once, so that I would maybe understand the procedures better than before. I guess this strategy would help me in completing projects, especially in math and Humanities. In fact, I need to improve on using my right brain by using the strategies below.
- Brainstorming
- Visualizing images in my mind's eye
- Using a picture and symbol mind maps for more fluid ideas
- Pay more attention to my gut instincts and trust my intuition
- Be aware of my emotions and express them
- Learn to accept to be comfortable with ambiguity and paradox
- Be physically active (non competitive activities) - Swimming, hiking, running, etc.
- Write poems or songs that contain rich images that don't rhyme
- Use metaphors in emotional stories wherever possible
- Practice saying things in new ways
- Talk more slowly with fewer words
- Play with impressionistic and free-form color painting, sculpture and dance
These suggestions above seem to fit me, as I really have trouble in expressing my emotions in words and I dislike sharing my emotions with everyone, even to my family. I fear that they'll laugh at it or ignore it. I'd rather keep it to myself and solve it on my own. Because of this reason, I express them in music and art. In music, my flute teacher constantly reminds me to "express" my feelings in the music using the dynamics shown. While playing, the teacher quoted, "You won't run on a thin layer of ice. Express that emotion." After hearing those words, I start to imagine of a famous figure skater named Kim Yu-Na skating, on the ice. She is known as the "Queen of the Ice" as her way of communicating with the audience along with music, is just amazing. Her facial expression, her movements in her hands are beautiful. When a quiet part comes out in my music, I express the notes as if Kim Yu-Na was gliding gently, and spinning on the ice. When an intense part comes out, I imagine her, carrying out an unique movement of her own, just how she did in the 2009 Short Program (James Bond Medley). It was her passion that lead her, so I imitated her. I followed her movements in music into dynamics. I think this is one of my unique ways in communicating with my gestalt brain.



3. The strategies that would help me in my learning....
Are strategies that will help me use my right brain which is the Gestalt. Ms. Lau, my art teacher once said that listening and singing along to the music that is playing would lead us out of stress. Since I'm an auditory learner, listening to music would be a great advice for me. Well, I do love to sing. While I'm doing my homework, I turn a variety of music which includes Pop, jazz, and classical. Mostly, I learn to Korean pop and sing along with it, and it actually helped me enjoy my homework in a way. Like Ms. Lau, I turned on some classical music to focus more. It was effective, as I enjoyed the melody flow. In addition, taking art lessons won't be bad either. Since I was young, I enjoyed going my art class, as I was free. Free in spreading out my feelings on a sheet of material using tools. One of the suggestions is to be aware of my emotions and express them. Art and music is my way of expressing my emotions.
In school, it would be a different story. To activate my concentration, it would help me to sit on the left side and a couple of rows back to access my right ear. If my teacher communicates with me by speaking, I would have no difficulty in focusing. These strategies would help me in my learning.

4. I would like my teachers to know this about me.....
Is that I don't really mind about the places I really sit in because I still learn comfortably in class. Humanities class is really comforting for me as our teacher includes everyone's concern in a particular activity, so that we won't have stress over the homework or projects. Our humanities teacher's teachings are really effective to us, as when we took the DBQ test, almost all of the class agreed that the DBQ wasn't that difficult. Our reaction was different to the other class. Humanities was never the class that gave me the stress. However, in math, it is quite a little bit different. I have difficulty in reading all the text that is written in the project rubric, as my project grades aren't high. It doesn't reach my expectations in my goals. However, this time, my math teacher ran through all the text with us and it gave little difficulty for me to understand it. In all, I feel more confident as a student. I would like my teachers to know that I like to go through the text or the procedures by listening to the details.