Month: June 2020

THIS IS THE MIDDLE OF A MOMENT OF SOCIAL ISOLATION. We are stuck in our homes, forced to stay, no further contact with other people excluding online connecting, of course. Coronavirus (COVID-19) has approached and taken much from us. Life will never be the same. (That is to say, we’ll all be more careful with washing our hands and personal hygiene. The pandemic will end, sooner or later, we won’t stay in our houses forever.)

A recent study shows that long terms of social separation can lead to feelings similar to famine. Why is that though? Why do we feel a craving feeling just near identical to hunger?

Primarily, being cut from interacting with friends and neighbors have similar attributes to the deprivation of food. Everyday we go to school or work, we are open to interact with all kinds of people. Whether if it’s your neighbors, your classmates and colleagues, your peers and friends, or your fellow workers, we all interrelate on a daily basis. This is the same when it comes to food. Everyday we wake up to find a delicious, scrumptious scent of, I don’t know, maple-syrup-dripping pancakes, as the aroma dances up your nose. Eventually we’ll get accustomed to the feeling of having quotidian food. Now hear this, what happens if I take away all your food? Most people would start worrying slightly, then (after a while) freak out, say: “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! I can’t starve to death right now! I just want a perfectly normal life!” (slight exaggeration) But that is just the outside feeling. When you are lacked of food for a long time, your stomach starts to growl. Your tummy feels empty, and soon perhaps in the time of 1 day, your stomach will start writhing in pain. I too, had gruesome experiences feeling that feeling. One time I just ate breakfast for the day, and for the rest, I didn’t eat, because I was bored. The next day, I woke up, feeling dizzy and throbbing in the stomach. Imagine that feeling for many days, weeks, or even months. That’s what it is like to be restrained and prevented to go out and interact. (at least similarly)

When you are trapped in your home, the urge of your inner conscience to go outside and interconnect with other people just grows greater and greater. Especially since we all expect to meet other people. Sure, interacting with people EVERY day might seem monotonous as time passes, and you just might want a break, to stay at home for a while, but won’t it be same scenario when you are at home as well? At least interacting with people is better then being bored. The feeling of being bored of interacting with no one is far greater then the feeling of boredom of interacting with people too much. And I don’t think many people will become bored because of interactions. Well, every day all you do interact, whether it’s at school or at work, et cetera. What happens if your presumptions are taken away? You have a sudden change in life. Sooner or later, the urge of interacting with people will pop right back, and this is like hunger and thirst.

Ultimately, social isolation is similar to hunger because hunger is a deprivation of food and energy and social isolation is a deprivation of interrelations and interactions. If we take away your friends, it’ll be like taking away your food. When hunger happens, your stomach growls. When social isolation happens, extreme boredom and pain happens. This is the symmetry of two different things.

After watching the TED talk video, I learned that I am also a Gen Z, who was born in this network information age. We can know everything that happens during the world in any second, which makes us much closer to the world but we are also accepting some negative news or thoughts that affected us. We can not live without social media because we need to connect to people and the world, so how can we not be affected by those negative media? There are some ways that can help us.

First, I think we need to read much more news so that we can know how the world work and what is happening in the world. Second, we need to create our subjective judgment. We can not believe what the negative news or articles said because the writers usually write them a little bit exaggeratedly to attract readers’ attention. For example, I know there were some parades around my neighborhood because of the death of the African American. Some shooting cases also happened. I was very scared for the first time I heard about that news. But I remember my father always tells me: “When you still are a child, the most important thing you should do is to make sure you are safe and then work hard on your academic things.” Since I lived in this neighborhood for almost one year, there was nothing scared happened and it was very safe to live here so I didn’t feel nervous any longer. The only thing I need to do is protect myself and keep me safe.

All in all, we should be appreciated that we were born in this information developed age so that we can connect to the world closely. As we are accepting this much information from the world, we should have rational thinking and subjective assessment. We also can do something to make social media better and make it benefit humans.

Generation Z is the term defining anyone born from 1997 and 2012. Gen Z is very different from the generations before that came before. Although very young, they are such a powerful generation. Those a part of Gen Z have most likely been exposed to the internet for almost their whole life. Using the internet, this young generation can do so many things to make the world a better place.

The internet could be a very good or bad place. The positive effects of the internet are that there is information that someone may need. Yes, the internet is a very reliable source of information, but there are downsides to having such free access to the internet. On the deeper, darker side of the internet, young children can find very sensitive information, such as how to kill, kidnap, or rob someone. Also, the news can be alarming and cause panic and unrest among citizens. Most of the time, the headlines for the news reads something bad, like murders, robberies, diseases and more. News reports like these can actually be good in some ways. The younger generation use their platform to raise awareness about certain causes and hopefully make a difference. In fact, Gen Z has already started making long lasting changes to the world.

For example, a group of young people called the Parkland shooting activists. After a shooting occurred at Parkland High School, the survivors decided to make a change. A group of survivors got together, and organized the March For Our Lives. They gave many speeches, pushed for gun reform, and registered many people to be able to vote. These activists were so young, most of them couldn’t even vote. This shows that age doesn’t matter when making a change.

Another example of Generation Z fighting and changing the world, was with a man named George Floyd. He was a a 46-year-old black man, who was killed in Minneapolis. After the video of the murder was released, and many generations were furious, especially Generation Z. Thousands of young used the internet and social media to raised awareness of this crime. This generation, although very young, knows their rights, and were willing to fight for them. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of young teenagers and young adults helped protest and raise awareness about the mistreatment of black lives, and they really made a lasting impact on the police and the world.

These are only a few ways our young generation can and will change the world. As you can see, Gen Z has much potential to make the world a better place. It has happened already, many times, and I believe that it will continue to happen. The youngest of Gen Z are only 5 years old, how many more will step up in the years to come. Generation Z may be young, but they go through so much. Generation Z is the start of a new and better world.

If you’re someone who was born from 1996 – 2015, that means you’re in Generation Z. This generation is one of the newest, the one who has the most experience with technology and also has a “depressing sense of humor”, according to Madi Hammond.

With more access to technology, we also have more access to darker things on the internet or the bad things that are happening in the world. With more knowledge of these negative things, the way people think also changes. For example, students could get scared by balloons popping as it sounds like gunshots and they know about the shooting in schools. After hearing all of this news, we also think and react less to it.

However, we need to look at the more positive side. Being vulnerable to the negative media cannot change, as bad news won’t just stop. but there are also so many good things going on in the world. There are many young people who are achieving amazing things despite their age. As a member of Generation Z, I understand this and I realize that I didn’t acknowledge it before. I was always aware of the bad news but never really reacted to it. None of it actually happened to me so I just didn’t think about it. I think the key to this is to understand what is happening; the good and the bad.

The theme of a story is similar to the main idea, and it is what the author is trying to tell the audience. The theme of a story can also be used in real life to understand. The short story Seventh Grade is about Victor’s first day of 7th grade, where he notices his crush, called Teresa, is in many of his classes. He tries to impress her in many ways, but fails. At the end, the Victor impresses Teresa, who does not know French, in French class by speaking random nonsense which sounds French. The teacher has flashbacks to his own past trying to falsely impress other girls in his childhood, so he does not say Victor is not speaking French. Two of the main themes which were presented in this short story are how the situation of an event can suddenly change, and how nostalgia is extremely powerful.

The first theme presented in the story is how the situation of a certain event can suddenly change. In the beginning of the story, Victor is excited for his first day at school. After Victor fails to impress his crush, he starts to become embarrassed and disappointed. At the end of the story, he impresses Teresa and he becomes happy once again. This demonstrates how fast something can change. This theme can also be used in the real world to benefit people. Winning in sports competitions is an example of how this theme comes into action. In matches, one team thinks they will win for sure, and start celebrating, forgetting that their opponent has not lost yet. This action results in their opponent sneaking around them and winning. This theme is also shared in the children’s book The tortoise and the Hare. In this book, the hare and the tortoise are having a race. The hare’s overconfidence of winning tells him to take a nap. While the hare is sleeping, the tortoise passes the hare and wins the race. Additionally, something which Andrew Wang TM said is to not count count your chickens before they hatch. This saying means that one should not assume that all the eggs will hatch and become chickens. Once when I was in 6th grade, I was playing hockey in P.E., and we were losing by a lot. The other team started to become careless and not try much because they thought they would win, but we ended up having a comeback and winning. In other words, all of these events and themes teach one to not celebrate too early, and to only celebrate once the entire event/activity is over.

The second main theme presented in the story was nostalgia. When Victor spoke ‘French’ to impress Teresa, the teacher, called Mr. Bueller, did not correct him because he had a flashback to his past when he tried impressing girls by renting a different car to every day to look rich. Mr. Bueller ended up with no money because of this. By remembering how much he cared about his crush, he decided to let Victor go. This clearly demonstrates that nostalgia is extremely powerful, and it can even make teachers not correct their students. Terrence Malick, an American film director once said, “Nostalgia is a powerful feeling; it can drown out anything.” Nostalgia is powerful because it can induce emotions such as love and regret. A few weeks ago I read a play called Twelve Angry Men, which is about 12 jurors who decide the fate of a young 18 year old man because he is accused of murdering his father. This story is ‘real’ because it is something that has a high possibility of happening in real life. At the end of the book, 11 of the jurors believe the boy is not guilty, but one juror still thinks he’s is guilty. When he looks at a picture of him and his lost son and remember how bad things went with him, nostalgia takes place, and he changes his vote to not guilty, which completing changing the life of the young man. About two weeks ago, our family was looking at old pictures of when I was still little, which reminded me of all the good memories and the nostalgia hit me hard. Nostalgia is one of the most powerful feelings known to mankind.

In conclusion, the two major themes are, the situation of something can change suddenly, and, nostalgia is a powerful feeling. These themes are used in many works of literature, and they can be seen in the lives of everyone.

Humans only have 4 basic necessities: food, water, shelter, and interaction. What happens when one of those is taken away? During this difficult time, what with the Covid-19 pandemic, murderous hornets, and mass racial protests, it’s safe to say that the United States has received a fair share of trouble simply in 2020. However, there is one issue that has been the longest occurring, and that is Covid-19. This pandemic has made it so self-isolation was absolutely necessary; meaning, everybody had to stay away from each other. But what are the side effects of loneliness?

It may seem insignificant, but human interaction is incredibly important. Not so long ago, it used to be the normal of the world, therefore making everybody take it for granted. Being in this time of self isolation has really made the entire world reflect on the little things in life. It may not be so little, but, simple interaction is what keeps a person sane. Without it, this entire world would wreak havoc. People would start hallucinating and simply lose their minds. A quick “Hello,” could very much save a person from going insane.

Though interaction is undoubtedly one of the most important things that a human could need, there are a few others as well. Without these things, a human, or any living creature, really wouldn’t be able to survive. These things are food, water, and shelter. People may want more in life, but only these few things are needed for sheer survival.

Food is required to feed all the muscles and cells in the body. It acts as fuel to keep an organism going. Water is required to hydrate the cells and organs in the body and is necessary to maintain function of all those organs. Shelter is required because humans, and any other living being, are not built for all terrain. The harsh weather could deal serious damage, so shelter is needed to protect against it. That is why so many animals become endangered. It’s because their shelter, or their natural habitat, is being destroyed by humans. It is like stealing the shield and armor from the opponent in battle. Stripping them of protection.

Self-isolation has done less than ideal things for humans, but incredible things for nature; such as decreasing pollution in great amounts. Nature is thriving off this pandemic, but humans aren’t and there could be a scientific explanation. Everybody in quarantine has probably noticed the amount of snacking they have done. But it is not entirely their fault. Being lonely and deprived of social interaction can increase the dopamine neurons in the dopaminergic region of the midbrain. This area is specifically for cravings and addictions.

Being alone, separated from the rest of the world, it can cause oneself to be easily stimulated. Since food is a fingertip away, looking at it all day increases the dopamine neurons. Meaning, it is not that a person is hungry all day, it is just neural stimulation from being self-isolated.

All in all, self-isolation is helping this world, but also affecting us humans. Pollution has gone down and though self-isolating cannot save global warming, it gives the world a chance to make a difference. The negatives, it is taking away one of the four main and basic human necessities: social interaction. Now, it is “Social distancing.” This has really taken a toll on people because it is causing parts of our brains to behave differently due to the undesirable environment. Sure, it can be exciting to have nothing to do all day. But a few months in, the only thought is “There is nothing to do all day.” Interaction is as important as food and water and shelter, and almost as if our brains are in retaliation against self-isolation and loneliness, it plays tricks on us. Our brain makes us believe we are hungry when truly, we’re just lonely. Given this information, just like the rest of the second chances given because of this pandemic, people can use it for a greater good.

Before GenZ, the world’s most populated generation, the millennials, made a huge impact in the new modern world. Millennials have made changes in the past decade, from being one of the world’s strongest consumers. As scientists notice the age increases of millennials, in which the oldest millennials would be well over adulthood, it was time to go into the next generation, which were people born from 19996 and forward. GenZ, the newest generation that consists of people born in 1996-2015 are rising teens becoming adults are here to make a change in the future for this world.
In the newest generation, many of the people are currently aging to the point where it is their turn to make an impact on the world and significant changes. GenZ may have added lots of negative feelings from suicidal jokes that should not be joked around to causing people to plan scenarios in their head before a situation even occurred. However, GenZ has a good learning experience from previous generations, they have witnessed the crisis and problems in the generation before such as housing struggles, financial problems, and much more. GenZ has seen so much of it, that they are ready to make a change and hopefully preventing millions of students from going into student debt.
Before, GenZ has witnessed many students go hard in debt after chasing a dream college, attending it, and finally having zero success and then being in debt for most of their life trying to give back the money they had borrowed. Well, our future, this new generation has found many more paths to success, then just college. Saving money starting at a very young age has been happening much more often and again, the path of success or thought of going to success has changed drastically with the help of the internet. The biggest advantage and likelihood of GenZ making a good impact for the future is seeing and learning from past experience and building off from that to make better changes.

Trying to impress others by doing something you can’t is a hard thing. In “Seventh Grade” by Gary Soto, Victor, the protagonist of the story, did things he couldn’t do to try to impress Teresa, his crush. Victor did things like saying his crush’s name in English class, speaking French when he doesn’t really know how.

First, in English class Victor did something very embarrassing. Mr. Lucas, the English teacher, asked the class what is a noun; the class answered a place, person, or thing. Then Mr. Lucas asked Victor an example of a noun. Victor automatically and immediately said Teresa, which was the name of his crush. Victor was very embarrassed of himself, and was ashamed of blurting out his crush’s name.

Another example was when in French class. Victor didn’t know French that well, he learned Spanish and got pretty good at it but he was not so good at French. In French, the teacher, Mr. Bueller, said hello to the class and asked anyone if they knew or how to speak French. Victor just guessed a sentence and tried to show off when he didn’t even know how to speak the language. Victor instantly regretted what he did and was strongly embarrassed. 

Doing something that you can’t do is dangerous, it will get you ashamed and embarrassed of yourself. But sometimes you can overcome that obstacle and even guess. Victor did something he could not do and succeeded. 

Seventh grade could be a grade full of drama like how showed in the story. There are three points that I would want to talk about.

The first point is that I would compare to Victor by the way he acts. Instead of having a crush, I usually try to impress my friends. One incident that Victor did that was the most relatable, is answering the teacher’s question because he thinks he knows it when, in fact, he doesn’t. This usually occurred to me when I was younger to show off my skills, I wasn’t always correct but I never cared what people thought of me when I got it wrong.

Next, I think the teacher’s story during his teen years is very thoughtful for the author to write. This scene is what explains to me why he understood easily about what Victor was trying to do and knew exactly what he was doing. His story of impressing a girl he liked with borrowed cars is similar with how Victor stood up trying to answer the question asked by the teacher to impress Teresa.

Lastly, when Teresa asked Victor to help her study French, Victor was very stiff. He didn’t want to deal with looking in Teresa’s eyes while talking to her. Once Teresa asked him to help her out with French, he decided to put his effort in learning French for real by studying about the language. By doing this, it shows how affectionate he is towards the people he cares for.

In the video I think we all watched today it was about Gen x and What I thought about the video it struck me why do we need all these fancy names and why do people need to know about Gen x. In this world we want to make fancy names to advertise something and to gain popularity. But why name it Gen x? maybe they thought that it might be cooler and another name.

If we all say nonfancy words I think my vocab would be a lot better and I would have all A’s in school and might get 100’s for every test and quiz.