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.