Author: ♡Alina♡

Being cooperative and not complaining will help one be more productive. When one is complaining or defending oneself, they will become uncontrollable. For example, when I say that I am not going to eat eggs for breakfast and we are going to eat them, I may just become so annoyed and will become angry or grumpy at everyone. Also, complaining makes some situations a lot harder to control. For instance, when one complains that their puppy is too brown or too large, one may end up getting in a fight with their parents, causing one to feel irritated and making them harder to come to an agreement. Lastly, defensiveness is caused by one being accused or being opposed by another. When one is defensive, they do not want to do something another way, or they are afraid to do so. To conclude, I think not complaining will help one greatly to focus and be on track.

Why does motivation help one try harder? When one is competing against another, rewarded, and monitoring their progress, they tend to push harder. Well, why is that so?

First of all in a competition, I tend to want to win, so I tell myself to try as hard as possible do so. I do this because I like being the best, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction of myself. Even when I lose, I will want to try harder next time, so I will improve and be better at a skill, talent, or ability. Secondly, being rewarded makes me want to keep on trying my hardest so I can get another reward. Additionally when I am rewarded with a prize, I like it so much that I would want to earn it again. Wanting to earn something really assists me to keep on going and to be more confident. Lastly, being monitored makes me want to improve and be better than before, so I would push harder and try my best to improve.

In conclusion, I think that being motivated can really help one improve and try harder.

Robots are more talented than humans, which is why scientists created Violet, a robot who has the ability to separate the DNA from viruses and stopping them from reproducing by using UV light. In my opinion, this is a brilliant idea because humans cannot do the many things robots can do. Even though Violet can save our world from Coronavirus, the UV light may cause people to have skin cancer. Nevertheless, Michael Ryan states that “…speed overpowers perfection…” He means that when there is an outbreak, like COVID-19, it is better to make progress than doing nothing at all.

I think they may be able to succeed, but because UV light can harm humans, that may slow down the process of stoping the Coronavirus. To conclude, I think robots may be the “heroes” of this virus, but also they may be the “villain”.

Isolating from friends or relatives for long periods of time may either cause one to long for meeting someone or to desire staying alone. After 24 hours of social isolation, dopamine neurons in the brain were activated when mice sought social interaction.  Studies have also shown after only ten hours of social isolation– and despite people knowing exactly when their deprivation would end– researchers reported more social desires, loneliness, discomfort, dislike of isolation, and decreased happiness than they did before. Similarly, the identical findings were seen after ten hours of not eating. The researchers also found similar midbrain activity in response to food indications after fasting, and social signs after isolation. Those who expressed more social craving after the social isolation period showed a larger brain response to the stimuli.

Isolation from anything is usually uncomfortable at first, but one will slowly get used to it. In my opinion, getting used to being isolated affects one tremendously, especially if one is isolated for longer than a week. I think if one is alone for a long time, they may be afraid or fearful of another if they go out in the public again. Also when they stop isolating, they may long for isolation again and ignore people. Adversely, one may also feel very excited or happy to meet their friends and family again after not seeing them physically for so long.

The short story, Landlady, is about the seventeen-year-old Billy Weaver, who thought the owner of a hotel was fairly nice, although she probably poisoned the previous guests. I believe this because why would hotel guests stay at the same hotel for two to three years? If they did, is it not odd, or in fact very peculiar for one to do so? Usually, one would stay at a hotel for a week or so, and then visit somewhere else. Well, since all of the landlady’s guests drank tea, I think she added poison to their cups and then put the bodies on the fourth floor.

In the story, the landlady apparently stuffed her dead pets to make them look realistic, which is quite odd. Typically, pet owners would burry their pets or do something else with their bodies to pay their respect. Due to the reason that the landlady stuffed her pets- and made them look tremendously real, Billy thought she was really nice and caring (pet owners tend to treat their pet as best as they can to make them feel comfortable and welcome).

I think this story was teaching people to be careful and do not look at how they treat you at first, but look at their true character to discover whether or not they are who they seem. For example, one may seem really helpful and help you carry your groceries when walking to your vehicle, but they may end up doing something bad to you.

Tourists often visit a cave in that researchers studied in Myanmar- Linno Cave- had more than half a million bats! Tourists would visit the area to watch the bats leave the cave each night. Caves in Myanmar also serve as religious sites, and local people go there to collect bat droppings for fertilizer. Personally, I think droppings are for making things dirty and disgusting, but, apparently, they are used for fertilizing. Researchers in Myanmar gathered and tested four hundred sixty-four bats from at least eleven species and collected seven hundred fifty-nine guano, the droppings. From these bats (and droppings), researchers already have confirmed that six bats have coronaviruses.

I think that people having a virus is already enough, but having animals also have a virus- and having them spread it- is a bit overwhelming. First of all, why and how did bats even get the coronavirus? Maybe people brought it to them? According to the article, humans might have transmitted COVID-19 to bats, but the National Institutes of Health claims it is likely that bats originated COVID-19. Secondly, why do people even collect bat droppings? I think that is downright disgusting. Finally, if bats originate viruses, should not we humans not collect bat droppings? The article also states that bats started and can carry SARS, MERS, and Ebola, so we should humans learn from that experience.

Rules of the Game is about a girl, Waverly, who learns to play chess. The author applies the rules of chess to real-life situations because if you want to win, you have to observe and think about what to move or capture. In the story, Waverly is irritated at her mother for always saying: “This is my daughter.” One day, Waverly gets mad, asks her mom why does she have to say that, starts being really offensive, and, finally, runs away and comes home after two hours. Waverly’s mother always said: “The strongest wind [move] cannot be seen.” This phrase describes that a trap or punishment is always lurking around, but you first have to think and observe before you take action.

I think being careful and observant is important because if you decide to go somewhere dangerous, it may cost your life or something similar. Also, if you eat something without asking if you are allergic or what it is, the food may be poisoned or you may have sever allergy reactions.

Additionally, I think being careful around people may also save one a lot of trouble. If one accidentally gets angry or has a bad temper around others, they may get into big trouble.

A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing can escape from it, similar to a vacuum. Instead of swallowing gobs of dust, black holes suck up stars, which is how some stars end their “lives”. The black hole in HR 6819, a triple star system, is one of the very first black holes found that do not interact violently with their surroundings and is actually black.  Currently, Astronomers have only discovered about twelve black holes in total, and finding one in a triple star system and is able to be seen with the naked eye is unusual and rare.

This black hole has a whole mass of 4 times that of the Sun. Astonishingly, one black hole at the core of supergiant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 has a mass of 7 billion times the mass of the Sun. Four times the mass of the Sun is already heavy enough, but seven billion times, that is way over the top!

The importance of The Ransom of Red Chief is that to plan out what you do before you take action. Bill and Sam wanted to kidnap Johnny Dorset then return him for a ransom. Instead, they had to pay 250 dollars to return him back to his father, and earned no money in return. Also, Johnny, nicknamed as Red Chief, surprisingly liked to camp out because the people in his town probably despised him. Bill and Sam wanted money to kidnap more children and getting more money, but that plan totally failed.

Learning from Bill’s and Sam’s mistake, planning and organizing before taking action is critical- one may make a big mistake when they are doing something and feel like as if they are dumb. For example, when you forget to do your homework because you were too busy playing video games, you feel busted and super dumb for not completing your homework. Additionally, organizing can also help an event or activity flow better and be prepared for whatever may come up. For instance, if you prepare food for a hiking trip, you are ready to provide someone with food if they are hungry.

Moreover, planning and organizing prevents disorder from interrupting an activity or event. When you only invite the peers that behave come to a tour of your home, they will not go crazy and destroy your belongings, unlike what misbehaving and disrespectful people will do. Also, turning off your phone rings and notifications during a talk with a close friend is respectful and planned for. For if you do not think of “disabling” the notifications, there would be text messages, phone calls, and breaking news “ringing” from your phone like a fire alarm.