The Importance of Good Health

Think of health in any way you want, it could be physical health, mental health, intellectual health, and overall health. Without your health, it's difficult to make it through the day. I've seen so many examples of poor health lately that it's been bringing me down (even though all aspects of my health are doing just fine). I thought I should get the message out and put in my two cents.

In our current book The Things They Carried, it seems to me that the soldiers are not in perfect health. They are fighting in a foreign land in a place filled with diseases (malaria, etc.) and also getting wounded or worse, killed, every day. Once soldiers return home from war, they are very likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder that will impair with their lives (Thank you, AP Psych). Clearly, war is not good for the physical or mental health of the young men and women of America.

It seems if the small fishbowl formally known as McFarland High School is fighting a war of its own: The Swine Flu! It's a rare occasion to have every single student present in a classroom because of this terrible illness. Even in our seven person AP Comp class, we usually have at least one person gone! Stock up on sanitizer everyone and wash those hands!!

On Sunday, a person who I am lucky enough to call my best friend had to go to the hospital. This person is still there three days later. I went to visit last night (as I'll continue to do every night), and it broke my heart. More than anything, my friend needs to be healthy. I've realized that there are so many unhealthy people surrounding me and in the news that I should be truly grateful for how healthy I am.

Riots in Madison, WI Hit Home for Me

A little more than forty years ago, there were student protests occurring right on our very own UW-Madison campus. As some of you may know, my grandpa Richard Osterloth (who passed away in 2006) was one of the brave police officers who was involved in the Dow riots. Sadly, he was hit in the head with a cinder block from a mean student and had to be rushed to the hospital. In his living room, he had a large photograph of him in the crowd of students right before he was attacked. In seventh grade I interviewed him about this for my history class. It meant a lot to me to watch Two Days in October because it felt like it brought me a little closer to my grandpa, whom I miss very very much!

I felt like Two Days in October really captured both sides of the Vietnam War. Actually, I didn't know anything about this war (except what my grandpa had told me), so it was nice to hear both the United States and Vietnam viewpoints instead of just the biased US one. Overall, it was a very enjoyable movie.

Our novel, The Things They Carried, is also very intriguing to read. I'm not really a war geek, but I think I'll enjoy reading this novel about the war. I felt very empathetic for Tim O'Brian when he found out that he was drafted. I would've had an IMPOSSIBLE time deciding if I should run away or leave for war and potentially die.

After reading Lampert Smith's essay, Times Have Changed For Student Protesters, I must admit that I was a little bit appalled. If students think they'd rather watch Grey's Anatomy than protest, they obviously aren't very dedicated or devoted to their cause. Clearly, they're being lazy. I think new technologies like texting and facebook would be helpful for spreading the word about protesting--but getting your lazy butt off the couch is the first step here.

Johnathon Swift...AKA Baby Eater

About a minute or two into after listening to Mr. Kunkle read a piece by Johnathon Swift, I caught on to the main argument of the essay. Frankly, it was disgusting! I couldn't believe some of his crazy ideas and statements that he made. Who would ever want to wear gloves or boots that originated from baby skin! I think that I'd heave if I even saw a pair. EW! Despite the grotesque-ness of the article, the statement "Baby skin would always be in season, but especially in March" really made me laugh. It just sounded so ludicrous! Unfortunately, I was a little too slow to catch on to his whole "satirical" nature of the essay. I figured that he was some psycho lunatic that had a craving for babies at the time. Nevertheless, it really made my day more, well, interesting.

Swift did make a valid point, though. At the time there were so many poverty-stricken women desperately trying to support a handful of children. It seemed that no matter what, they'd be dealt a life of poverty and suffering. It makes sense that if you have an abundance of something and you're lacking in money, it would be smart to sell it! However, it's DEFINITELY unethical to sell, eat, or wear babies. I suggest selling a baseball card collection or some vintage furniture.

Illegal Smuggling on the Mexican Border

For Kirsten's discussion, she chose the article "The Business of Human Smuggling on the Mexican Border." Although I did enjoy reading this article and having a classroom discussion, there were a few points I tried to make that I feel weren't taken very seriously. Luckily we have things called blogs where we can post whatever we feel like or simply want to say on the internet!

I have been visiting the Blue Plate restaurant ever since I was born (my grandparents seem to be the local celebrities there). When I was a small child, my grandma introduced me to one of the cooks, Luis. He was a very nice man despite the fact that he barely spoke English. My grandma told me that he had a daughter the same age as me living back in Mexico with the rest of the family.

"Why does he live here grandma?" I questioned
"Because he needs to make more money for himself and his family," she replied.

Her answer didn't help. I still had my questions--like why would he move to America? What's so great about it? Can't he just work in Mexico closer to his family? The answer is no. America has more job opportunities and also better wages. Mexico is plagued with poverty in virtually every town. They can't make as much money, and they have to worry about surviving every day. For many, moving to America is their only hope. Their sole intention is to work hard for their families and return once they have enough money.

I'm pretty sure that most people and government officials think otherwise. Yes, it is illegal to smuggle oneself over here, but the Mexicans don't have bad intentions in mind. In fact, if they get caught committing crimes they'll likely get in loads of trouble. I think that we shouldn't be so hard on them, given the tough life they've had to live. They're going to have our minimum wage and hard labor jobs no matter what the rules are, so we should try to make them a little more fair and give them a better opportunity.

I have also worked at Buffalo Wild Wings for two years and gotten to know the cooks very well. They're all so nice and friendly--and they also do not seem to have the intention to harm anyone. I'm very close friends with some of them and I'd hate to see anything bad happen to them. Many have moved from Mexico to support their families--some are just teenagers who moved here by themselves to make money for their parents even! I can't believe all of the harsh things that I hear being said about my friends; it's not fair to make such an unfair judgement unless you get to meet one.

Living in Poverty

I heard the sound of my heart breaking after reading the second "What is Poverty?" essay. I always hear how good I have it, and it's hard to really appreciate everything until you see or read about someone who is much less fortunate than you are. In this case, it was Jo Goodwin Parker.

I felt my eyes bulge out of my head and my jaw drop to the floor when I read about some of her living conditions. I can't imagine constantly being surrounded by tiny insects and being malnourished. I love good food! It was sad to hear that she can't use warm water because it's too expensive--and she couldn't even buy vaseline because the price went up two cents!!! That's crazy; I wouldn't even give a second thought if something I wanted went up two cents. It makes you really think about how much you want something versus how much you need it.

After reading this heart-wrenching essay, I now have more compassion for those living in poverty. It must be a big struggle for them to even have the will to wake up in the morning. I know that I would pull the plug if I had to live in such adverse conditions! At least Parker had a family that she loved to help her get through it all. At the end of the day, it all boils down to the family that you have in your life. Without them (especially in Parker's case), you've got nothing. It really makes me appreciate my parents more and how much they support me and give me everything they've got to make sure that I live the best life possible!