Author: ChloeZ

A few months ago, when the virus first surfaced, nobody expected it to become so bad, forcing the entire world into lock down. During the pandemic, the U.S has faced a surge in mental health issues among people. But who is most affected? And how can we help them?

In the article, it states that out of 2,032 adults who were interviewed about how many times they had negative feelings over the past month, 28% were likely to screen positive for mental illnesses. That’s almost 8 times as much as 2018’s 3.4%. This shows that the pandemic has caused a very large increase in mental health problems.

As for who is most affected, younger adults and parents have taken the force of most of these issues. This may come as a surprise to some people, as seniors are more prone to the coronavirus, yet they are not facing as many problems. A possible reason why they are not as affected is because they are more protected from the economic troubles during the pandemic. They most likely are retired and safe from money woes. Young adults however, are more likely to lose their jobs at stores and restaurants as they are closing, and may have been in a bad financial space to begin with. Also, young adults already may have problems with their mental health.

Parents are affected because of what you might think. With schools closed, most parents must juggle work with watching and teaching their kids. Also, most of the kids recreational activities have also been closed, leaving kids unoccupied with nothing to do and being bored out of their minds. In 2018, adults with kids were less likely to have mental health issues than those without, but now, parents are more likely to be in distress than the others.

Another example of mental health problems increasing is that calls to mental health hotlines have increased. How we can help does not mean we can open up the country to improve the economy, as that would mean even more cases and deaths, causing even more problems and worries among people going to work about their health and safety. Instead, people should be prepared for a surge of Americans in need of help, so they won’t be overwhelmed if it happens.

In conclusion, lots of people are struggling during the pandemic, and if you are feeling down, know that you are not alone and that there are probably other people out their with way worse problems than you.

Everyone probably has some behavior issues that they want to change. In the Ted Talk, it states three things you can do to change your behavior;These are progress monitoring, immediate reward, and competition.

Progress monitoring means that you monitor your progress of the behavior you want to change, whether doing it more or less. This is important because it helps you know how you are doing and lets you ease into a new behavioral routine. If you don’t know your progress, you might be confused about whether you are improving or not. This lack of knowledge can lead to you giving up on changing your behavior all together.

Immediate reward means that after you have succeeded, you get a reward. This is important because everyone likes getting rewards. The prospect of getting a reward can even motivate you to change your behavior as quickly as possible. If changing this will improve you, and you get a reward, then why not?

The final thing is competition. In a competition, everyone wants to win. If you make yourself a friendly competition with some friends who are changing the same behavior as you, then naturally you will want to “beat” them. This is important because if you compare you to other people, it will help you push yourself to be better.

In short, if you do all these three things, you can efficiently change your behavior. For example, if you want to eat less candy, progress monitoring can show you how much less candy, or sugar free candy, you eat each day, so you can bring it down to a short number. Immediate reward can let you say, treat yourself to a milkshake once you’ve reached your goal. Finally, competition between you and your friends to see who eats less candy can make it feel less like a chore, and more like a fun game.

I hope we can all use these tips to help us change our behaviors for the better.

In today’s world, kids are always being underestimated by adults. They don’t trust our capabilities, and expect us to not make any mistakes, and want us to act like adults, despite treating us like we cannot understand things without thorough explanation. But we are so much more than what they see, or expect to see.

The Ted Talk is about how kids feel about adults, and how the adults feel about the kids. If adults underestimate this generation, then our voices won’t be heard. If your parent underestimates you and doesn’t sign you up for an advanced math program or whatever else, then they are missing a chance to help us learn and grow. Our brains are just as strong as theirs’, but they need a few years to soak up even more info and get a bit bigger.

Grown-ups kind of expect things to be perfect. If you make a mistake, they will shout and scream, leaving you scared to tell them the next time. But secrets are never good, and keeping these things inside us won’t give us a chance to learn from our mistakes.

If we try to state our opinion, we are considered to be “talking back” when we are supposed to be good little people and do what our parents say. They underestimate our thoughts, and don’t think we’re capable of depth and the ability to do anything for the world, except the world is in the hands of this generation. In a few years, people who once felt young and spry will be retiring, replaced by us. They have to know that we can make a difference, and not shut us up when we are trying to speak up.

Adults don’t trust us kids with tasks that we are fully capable of, and even if they do they don’t think we will make mistakes. They can’t expect us to be as “perfect” as them when we are actually kids. In the end, they were just as young as us once, and made as many mistakes as us, but now that they are grown up they think that this generation are able to do whatever without messing up.

When they underestimate us, they forget that we are going to grow up and become adults just like them. Adults usually don’t underestimate other adults, so why underestimate adults in the making? If they take the time to try and understand us and help us, then they can create a better future by making us people of the future better people.

In the end, we’re all humans, and humans are so complex in each and every way possible. Other humans cannot underestimate us based on what they see on the outside, or even what they’ve scratched the surface of on the inside. Instead, they should trust us and give us the tools we need to survive. All of us are equal, so why look down on kids and teens as if they are not?

In the article, it states that people crave social interaction like you might crave food. Is this true? Well, during the current COVID-19 situation, this study is completely relevant, as most people are social distancing inside their homes, so you can feel whether you crave human interaction or not.

For me, this is absolutely correct. Stuck in my house, not being able to see my friends, means I crave talking to them face-to-face more than usual. While I normally talk to my friends on an almost daily basis, it isn’t really that important to me. I love hanging out with them, but I usually have other things on my mind that go before seeing them.

Now during quarantine though, I feel a need to talk to them. It is almost number one on my mind, having conversations and seeing them. And yet, despite everything, I still do things to make up for my alone time, different activities. I might even forget about my friends while I’m doing this, then go back to thinking about them later.

Although I can still video-call them and text, it is not the same as seeing them in person. I find myself incredibly bored throughout the day, until those few glorious hours of talking to them. I do crave talking with them as I crave food, but when I crave, say, chocolate, I can possibly just grab a piece of chocolate and eat. But I can’t do that with talking to my friends, hoping they’ll pick up, waiting for what seems like eternity while listening to the phone ring.

In conclusion, social isolation does create a sort of craving of interaction for me, and I believe that when the pandemic is over I will be extremely excited when I can see people again, much more than if I see them several times a week.

“The Rules of The Game” is a short story about a girl who is very good at chess. However, her mother decides to take advantage of this and shows off her daughter, flaunting her like an in demand item wherever she goes. Finally, the girl stands up to her mother, and thinks about her and her mother playing against each other on a chessboard of life.

I think this is a very good story, as it is a relatable work of realistic fiction. I think we all know what it feels like to have someone be controlling, and have you do what they want. The girl in the story, Waverly, is controlled by her mother, practicing under her strict eye and attending tournaments for her.

I feel bad for both Waverly and her mother, Waverly because she is controlled and not able to do what she thinks is best for her, but also for her mother because she is trying to give Waverly a life that will prepare her for the world, which will be tough regardless.

I think the theme of the story is to wait before you act because something else may come. In the beginning, Waverly’s mother states: “‘Wise guy, he not go against wind. In Chinese we say, Come from
South, blow with wind-poom!-North will follow. Strongest wind cannot be seen.’ ” What she means by this is that if you are wise, you will know that the ” Strongest wind cannot be seen” or that you can’t see the strongest thing that comes until it happens, and to not act before it does.

I would recommend this story because it is relatable and a good read, but also because it is well written and easy to understand. The characters are also multi-dimensional, with several different characteristics.

In conclusion, “The Rules of The Game” is a very good story and I enjoyed reading it very much.

If I was trapped in a black hole, what would I do? What would I bring? Well, it is common knowledge that black holes are the densest thing in the universe, and that if I was trapped in one, I probably would die in about a second, pulled apart by the immense gravity of the black hole. Moving past that though, if I was stuck in a black hole, and was immortal, I would have to find some way to live as there’s no way I could escape.

If I was trapped in a black hole, it would be pretty boring, as I’d be stuck in a place where no light escapes and where everything is crushed and compressed into nothingness. As there is no light, I probably wouldn’t be able to do any recreational activities, and even if there was, all my things would be destroyed anyway.

Assuming I could bring things that were indestructible, I would probably bring food, water, and shelter, because living malnourished, dehydrated, and exhausted is no way to live, especially when you live forever stuck in a black hole.

If I could do things, I might bring art supplies, a piano, and other things that might bring me comfort and happiness. I’d also bring an indestructible flashlight, because that’d be super useful, assuming the black hole doesn’t snuff out the light.

I may bring my family and friends, if they are also immortal, though I imagine that after a time they would become insufferable, and if I found them annoying, I’d be stuck with them for eternity.

I hope I could find some means of escape, but it would take a vehicle of immense power to escape a black hole, and I don’t believe one like that has been invented yet.

If I was stuck in a black hole, the hole would probably become my new forever home. I’m sure I would be able to have some other adaptations to my new lifestyle, as humans often adapt to new and unfamiliar situations. Perhaps my pupils would become larger, to take in more light, or maybe I would become able to go for long periods of time without food. I do not know.

I think it is safe to say that I do not ever want to be stuck in a black hole, and I sincerely hope that it will not happen.