December Article 1

Obesity Rate Falls for New York Schoolchildren

This Article by Anemonia Hartocollis 

According to this artcile in New York Times, the rates of children who are over weight or 'obese' have gone down by 5.5 percent from the last 5 years. For the last few decades the number of obese children were growing enormously and since the last 5 years, the numbers have started to decrease. Dr. Thomas A. Farley said, “This comes after decades of relentless increases,” and even though 5.5 seems to be a small number he said that it is "impressive thats it's falling at all". Mr. Bloomberg said that most of the parents think their children are fit, but "the facts tell a different story." This shift of numbers is due to parents being more strict on what their children eat, school menus being more healthy and restrictions on food products filled with fat like baked goods, soda, etc. The article also mentions that the number of white children who are obese is more than any other racial group.
It is good to see that people are taking what they eat seriously nowadays. Being thin and skinny is the "in thing" in today's world. Every other girl is on a diet. There are girls in my own school who skip meals because the food is unhealthy or "too oily". But I don't think skipping meals is a solution. They should avoid unhealthy and fattening food items but they should make it a point to eat something healthy instead. Many young girls die of anorexia every year. And reducing weight by reducing t he amount you consume is not the only way. If one is physically active, then there is no chance of putting on extra weight. Schools should not only give healthy food to the children but also encourage physical education. And now, as the number of obese children has decrease, people should try to decrease this number even more to make a healthier society. 


Vocabulary:


Word 1: Hispanic 


1. They were also higher among white and Asian children compared with black and Hispanic children, and among very young children — those entering kindergarten or first grade — compared with older children.


2. Meaning: of or relating to the people, speech, or culture of Spain or of Spain and Portugal
Origin: Latin hispanicus, from Hispania Iberian Peninsula, Spain

First Known Use: 1584

3. Woodstock is an international school. There are children from all over the world including Hispanic children.


Word 2: Buoyed


1. Buoyed by the results, city officials also announced Thursday that the restrictions on school vending machines were being expanded to machines in all city buildings, and that they were forming a multiagency task force to recommend further initiatives to combat obesity.


2. Meaning: to keep afloat
Origin: 1596


3. Buoyed by the decision of the high school, the students begged the Head of High school to forgive them.  


Words 3: Plagued


1. Because of coordinated, sustained action I am happy to say our children are benefiting from our campaign against obesity, which has plagued communities here in New York and across the nation for nearly three decades.


2. Meaning: to smite, infest, or afflict with or as if with disease, calamity, or natural evil
Origin: 15th century


3. The world is plagued with crime.

December college essay 2

It has been said [by Andy Warhol] that “in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” Describe your fifteen minutes. (New York University)

I have never been the shy types. I have always liked being on stage in front of an audience. I think this quality came to me because of my mother. I remember once I participated in a school dance competition just because my Mom wanted me to (I guess I was in grade 1). So, my Mom made up dance steps for me, and it sure was fun learning how to dance with my Mom! And when the big day arrived I must admit I was a little nervous. But once I got on stage, I liked the cheer of the crowd and the eager faces of the judges. And believe it or not, I actually won the competition! And I loved the fifteen minutes of fame I got. I loved every second of those fifteen minutes. I loved the applause the wishes and the look on my mother’s face and just the feeling of being better than others for fifteen minutes. And from then I do not remember refusing anyone to go on stage for anything.

And slowly I developed a love for music. Actually, I think I always had it in me. I learnt to play the guitar, and people said that I sang well. So I auditioned for the school band (I was in Army Public School then). I got chosen as the lead singer of the band called Apotheosis (sounds so dramatic, but really, we were a bunch of chilled out teenagers fallen in love with music). We did a couple of gigs here and there. And the feeling I used to get when I was on stage in front of the microphone with a guitar in my hands was just unexplainable. The screams of the crowd, the hoots, the stage lights, and the music which we made, all had something to add to the feel. Yes, the little tummy turns still do occur right before going on stage, but once I’m there, I don’t look back, and I take in every moment.

So I would want my 15 minutes of fame the same way; on stage, in front of the mic with a guitar in my hands, with my band, Apotheosis, and the crowd screaming their heads off.

December college essay 1

Write about a time you found something you weren’t looking for. (U of Chicago)

It happens to me quite often. I start looking for something, and I end up finding something completely different, but more amusing than the thing I was looking for. It happens a lot with my Dad. My Mom and Dad are separated and I live with my Mom so I don’t see my Dad so often. But I find him in the places I least expect him. Railway stations, airports, my school, my home, and everywhere I don’t expect him to be.

Once I was walking down the high school ramp after school got over. I was thinking about what there was for tea. Ice-creams, cakes, or those greasy pakodas.  Instead of all this, I found my Dad with my Grandmother on the red bleachers, waiting for me, sitting and smiling, expecting me to give them a hug. I was shocked to see him. And even more shocked to see my old grandmother, smiling, showing her dentures. At first I was embarrassed. I mean, it was a normal school day and all my friends were there. Even they looked pretty shocked, but then I thought to myself, why I was embarrassed. I mean, I am studying in a boarding school and children here die to see their parents so why should I not be happy to my Dad and my Grandmother after so long? So I went to them and gave them a hug. I asked how they just decided to come to meet my sister and me. And the reply I got was, “We were missing you.” I found something I wasn’t looking for. And I was happy to find it.

"Human rights" is a term frequently used but seldom defined. What rights should belong to every human being? Discuss.

 Humans are interesting beings. They make their own rules and regulations and hardly follow them. Human right is a big example. Countries and different organisations make thousands of doctrines on human rights but there are still so many people in the world that are not even aware of their rights and people do not even bother to make them aware. The doctrines made by the United Nations state that every human has a right to freedom and that everyone should be treated equally. But when I look around myself, I do not see everyone following it. Why are women still treated like reproducing machines in some part of the world? Why they are not allowed to go out without a man escorting them? Why is it legal for a man to have more than one wife in some part of the world? Why do some women have to suffocate in a Burkha? Why do some of them have to fight for the right to drive in their own city? There are still so many countries where women are not considered equal as men. And according to me, women rights are the most important human rights, if they are followed by every person on this earth, other rights such as right to equality, right to freedom of speech and right to education will be covered, because most of the time women are the ones who get suppressed and with them all these rights.

It is completely inhuman to think of women as being inferiors. They are an integral part of the society and deserve to have all the rights that men have and they deserve to be respected. It is a shame to humanity to see women in some part of the world who are treated as a piece of furniture in the house when there are ladies who are working and earning all by themselves. We should at least give them a chance to prove what they can do for the society.

We humans think that we are the strongest and we have the power and the mind to make all the right decisions but we should always remember; there is a difference between a human being and being human.

What is your approach to life? Reveal your life philosophy.

Live and let live

Smile and forgive

Everyone makes mistakes

Even I have burnt cakes

It is too short to have regrettes

Too precious to give away to drugs and ciggerettes

But it surely is long when it comes to dreams

There is place for eveyone’s needs

It will sometimes throw you down

But don’t let people push you around

Get back up on your feet with all that is there

Look around and you will see people who actually care

You are special to someone

You are loved by someone

There is love for everybody here

Some people are just luckier

Don’t care what people think who you are

Just be yourself cause you know you’re a star

But advise is something you must not ignore

Specially when it comes from people who love you more

In the end it all depends on you

What you decide to gain and what you decide to loose

This was a poem I had written when i was fourteen. I saw the question and remembered this poem and i think it goes with the question perfectly!

CHALLENGE 4

Discuss some issue of personal, local, or national concern and its importance to you. (Hood)

Look around you, it’s everywhere; in the soil, in the water and in the air. And if you don’t see it, you should definitely visit India, especially Kolkata! But I think it will reach you too in a few years because it’s contagious. Once a place gets saturated with it, it spreads out to other places. And it harms us and the future generations every second.

If you haven’t guessed yet, I am talking about pollution.

Environmental pollution is not only a concern to me, but to every person living on this planet who is not ignorant. This issue is finally given a little importance nowadays. You can see advertisement all around telling you not to throw garbage here and there, not to use plastic, to plant more and  trees, to “go green” etc. More and more people are getting aware of it. It would have been much better if people thought about this a few years earlier, when its traces first appeared. It’s a little late now, and a bit difficult too. But I don’t think it is impossible. I believe that even if half the population looked at the issue seriously and did small things to help the environment, this world would be a much better place in every aspect. There are so many different organisations which aim to make the environment pollution free, but they will be of no use if the people don’t help them. And it isn’t even hard. Even a thing like reducing your shower timing to 5 to 10 minutes helps.  An environmental organisation cannot change the world. We all will have to contribute.

We created pollution; we are getting harmed by it, so we are the ones who need to get rid of it. And we have to get rid of it now, before it gets extremely late and the earth drowns or we all get skin cancer and die, or something else, like, we run out of drinking water and die of thirst. And if you think that you will not live to witness any of this happening, think about your children. 

CHALLENGE 3


What are the responsibilities of an educated person? (University of Puget Sound)

An educated person has the ability to decide what is right and what is not. She has this gift called knowledge. I believe that there is no point in having knowledge if you cannot apply it to real life and share it with others. It would be just inside you and there will be no use of it. So, according to me, the basic responsibility of an educated person is to guide people who are not privileged enough to get the chance to gain knowledge.

There are hundreds of NGO’s out there, which aim to educate the less privileged. They spread their knowledge and gain some in the process. These are the people who are carrying out the responsibilities of an educated person. Not just them, even the people who help make the rights decisions in any field, may it be politics, science or any other area, carry out their responsibilities. For example, poor farmers in India would be highly obliged if educated people helped them to decide what to do when there crops fail. This would also decrease the number of suicides in India. So if a small piece of advise can save a life, then why not?

Knowledge can be a dangerous tool when misused. If people start using it to make things that destroy things or people, they will be harming them and/or the environment, which would not be a sensible thing to do for someone who is educated. I mean, why would they want to do so when they can do something good with their brains and look good in other's eyes? The invention of guns, atom bombs etc. are great examples of this.

They should also try to set a good example for everyone, as people who are not so educated generally look up to people who are nowadays. If all educated people become good persons, this world would be a better place to live in.

CHALLENGE 2

1. If you could hold a conversation with someone (living or deceased) you consider significant, whom would you talk to and what would you talk about? Describe your conversation. (University of Oregon)

If I could hold a conversation with someone who is not alive, I would love to have a conversation with my grandfather, who I have never met. It would be a very significant conversation for me as I have never gotten the chance to know him and I have so much to ask and tell him. I have heard so much about him from my mother and grandmother that it really makes me want to spend some time with him.

I would tell him everything I could think of which happened in my life. I would want him to know everything that has ever happened to me. I would tell him about all my friends and the things we do, about my holidays with Mom, Dad and my sister, my love for music, my dreams in life and anything or everything that comes to my mind. And I believe he would listen to me patiently like all grandparents. He might also give me some good advice on what I can do with my life with the skills I have as he was a successful person himself. I would ask him questions about his childhood, his business, how my grandmother and him met, though I have asked my grandmother about it, I would still want to know his point of view and his experiences in life.

It would be a simply conversation from others point but an interesting one for me. Surely a little long, but a very special one. I would remember it for the rest of my life and keep it close to my heart and go back to it all the time. 

CHALLENGE 1

If you had the gift of telepathy, the ability to read other people’s minds, would you use this gift or not? Explain. (Middle East Technical University/93)

If I had the ability to read other peoples mind, I would not want to use my talent for any purpose. I do not have the gift of telepathy at the moment and my life is not bad. I can live without knowing what other people think quite peacefully. Yes, I understand it would make life a little easier, but what is the point when there will be no challenges to face and you’ll know what others think and know and will do next. Life would not be as exciting as it is without the ability to know what goes on in other peoples minds. I would know how to react to my teachers, my friends and family and strangers. I would not actually learn anything as I wouldn't make any mistakes in other peoples eyes. And in the process I would lose myself somewhere. I doubt if I would be myself because i would just do what others think I should and not what I want to. I would be conscious of myself the entire time. I am happy with not knowing what others think about me, and in any case, it does not matter to me.

It would be great if I encountered a terrorist and read his mind and saved the world but I truly believe that what is meant to happen will happen and that nothing can change destiny. If not him, some other terrorist would attack or maybe a natural disaster would occur. And on top of that, knowing what others thoughts and worries are adds on to our owns which I don’t think anyone would like. And I don’t think I myself would want anyone to be able to read my mind so why should I want to read other people’s mind.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Article 1 : Mental Health Reform: What It Would Really Take

By John Cloud/Los Angeles

Summary: The article is about the conditions of mentally ill people in America in 19999. It says that “most American with mental illness simply aren’t treated.” Untreated mental illness can “leave you jobless and sleeping under the Boston University Bridge” like Gerald Minsk, a mentally ill person suffering from bipolar disorder. For years his disorder was ignored, and when it was found out, the mental hospitals did not have the time, or the resource to treat him. Mental illness can have horrifying affects if not treated. For example, a person, who was supposed to be in an asylum, was ignored and one day “he shoved a woman from a subway platform to her death under the wheels of a train. The Article states that of the 2 million people suffering from schizophrenia, more than half of them receive substandard care. President Clinton announced to help employers providing equal insurance coverage for both physical as well as mental health. In the end, the article says, “Even if all the proposals become law, they will represent only the first steps in solving the crisis of the mentally ill.”

Response: In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest most of the patients are not treated the right way.  Miss Ratched only uses medicines with side effects, shock therapies, lobotomy, and activities that are “theoropathic”. And there is no evidence of the patients getting better.  Miss Ratched, sometimes, makes a patient go through a therapy just because he was not behaving well. . The Big Nurse got McMurphy lobotomized just because he broke the rules of the ward. This is not the correct way to treat patients and might just make the situation worse like the people suffering from mental illness in the article. And sometimes these people turn into Vegetables as these treatments sometimes fail. This is like wasting a life which is absolutely unfair. Chief Bromden does not need any medication or shock therapies, but just needs someone to listen to him and to boost his confidence. Miss Racthed was not able to do that in year but a commoner did it in a night. But these people do not get any kind of justice in the book and the “combine” keeps doing its job.

Vocabulary:

Word 1: Mafiosi

1. Gerald Minsk used to drop acid and smoke pot to help quell paranoid delusions that Boston's North End mafiosi were conspiring against him.

2. Mafiosi: A member of the Mafia of a mafia
Italian, from Italian dialect (Sicily) mafiusu gallant, swaggerer, perhaps alteration of marfusu scoundrel 
First Known Use: 1875

3. The theme of the taent show this year is spy. Some of us might have to dress up like mafiosis.

Word 2: incarcerated

1. Another 200,000 are incarcerated, usually as a result of petty crimes.

2. Incarcerated: to put in prison
Latin incarceratus, past participle of incarcerare, from in- + carcer prison
First Known Use: 1560

3. Some people who were caught high on drugs were incarcerated.

Word 3: prodded

1. Gore, who disclosed in the run-up to the conference that she was treated for depression in the early '90s, has prodded her husband's boss to ask Congress to spend more money to treat the mentally ill.

2. to urge someone on
1530s, "to poke with a stick," possibly a variant of brod, from M.E. brodden "to goad," from O.N. broddr "shaft, spike" or perhaps onomatopoeic. Figurative sense is recorded from 1871. The noun is recorded from 1802.

3. Mr Ruddock is a bad teacher, therefore, I will try to Prod Mr. Anderson to change the global issues teacher fast.