Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was a wonderful man. He was a president in South Africa and then was put in prison for 27 years. He strove for equality in his country and believed that everybody had the right to equal treatment. He believed everyone should be able to vote and have free will. One day Mandela was in a riot for what he believed in and it turned violent. He was arrested and spent 27 years in prison. He was also a role model for many and didn't deserve the way he was treated. This week Mandela passed away...it was a tragic loss for everyone.

Holy Day of Obligation

December 8 is a holy day of obligation.  It was the day of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which is celebrated nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary. This day is a holy day of obligation because it shows us that Mary, unlike any other human in this world, was free of original sin. She is to be a role model for all people. It is definitely a wonderful day!

Catholic Church

In 1964, The Roman Catholic Church located in the U.S. changed the old-fashioned Latin language to English. Personally I think this is awesome because for our language to be used in such a historic matter is amazing. The Catholic Church continues to grow and grow, and MANY things are starting to change. They are changing the wording of prayers and even more! It's fascinating to notice the constant change in this religion!

JFK

This week at school was the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. We talked about it at school and I was just so intrigued. Thinking about how nobody truly knows how JFK was shot and who did it. There are many conspiracies to the Kennedy assassination and I wanted to learn all about them. Thinking about this brought up so many other thoughts in my mind. What else could be a conspiracy? The whole day we talked about conspiracies and it was so interesting! It was a create class debate!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is coming pretty quickly and I am very excited. Thanksgiving is very historic to the world and to my family. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because I get to spend the whole day with the people I love the most. The pilgrims who first started Thanksgiving felt the same way, also! I think that it is the most beautiful time of the year and it is a wonderful day to thank the lord for everything he has given us! I'm so exited its almost 10 days away!!! (Now black Friday on the other hand I can wait for.)

KKK

This week I saw on the news that there was a group of Anti-Nazis coming to Kansas City to start a riot! Personally I think this is absolutely CRAZY because the KKK is just as bad! When I hear about the KKK being brought up, I cant help but to think about the movie: The Butler. In the movie there was a scene where the KKK was rioting and started to kill all the blacks around. I was scared so badly I was crying. Many people know about the KKK, but they don't realize that the KKK is still around, they just keep quite! The Anti-Nazis came in to KC to protest and everybody was shaken up! It was all over the news and it was so disturbing! I can not bear to watch how horrible they treat others.

Major Disaster in Philippines

This week,  a terrible tsunami hit the Philippines. It left millions homeless and it is said that this storm is the worlds worst storm in history. I feel so bad for the people who lost family members, houses, etc., and I pray for them everyday. With this happening, I believe the world might come closer together to help this country out. Hers the link to see more about it!

One World Trade Center

The other day, I saw on the news that the one World Trade Center is almost complete. At the top of it, they put a 408 feet pole...by doing this it took the lead for the worlds tallest building. It think that it is amazing that they decided to build the One World Trade Center. It symbolizes every one who was killed on 9/11/2001. It is a wonderful memorial and I can't wait to see it!!!

3-D Printing

Just recently I have heard news on trying to make 3-d printing efficient. It has existed for over 20 years, but since it's so expensive, only industries do it. Many people who are trying to figure out what ways will be easiest to make this happen without affecting the economy, have thought about using recycled plastic and melting it for use of ink. I think that 3-D printing could change so much in the world. As a person who enjoys being artistic, I think that getting to witness 3-d printing would be amazing. It would also be helpful for movies and plays for making small props. I believe that the only problem that could possibly occur would be copyright...which could lead to a huge argument. I hope people will decide to try it!

Susan G. Komen Walk

On Saturday morning, I attended the 5th Annual Susan G. Komen walk for the cure. This walk is to support Breast Cancer Awareness. I have went 4 out of the 5 years. I think that it is such a great thing to be a part of because many people die from breast cancer, let alone, any kind of cancer, every year. Many people attend and go to Downtown KC and walk and/or run a 5K. Each year, this fundraiser raises over thousands of dollars to give to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. It is such a great thing and I hope It continues to grow every year. Here's the link for the website:  http://ww5.komen.org

Muslims vs Americans

While thinking about what topic to write about for my Scapegoating essay, I thought about 9/11.  After 9/11 occurred, I think Americans started to profile Muslims. Weeks and weeks after 9/11, our whole country was under so much stress, from then to now, we blame Muslims for many of our problems. When you hear the words "terrorist attacks"," what is the first thing that pops up in your mind? For many people- it's "MUSLIMS." As a country, we profile people that don't deserve it. Guaranteed, Osama Bin Laden was Muslim and was behind 9/11, but that doesn't mean a Muslim walking through an airport means something and is going to happen. Personally, I find this so unfair and people shouldn't be so judgmental.

WNBA Salaries are UNFAIR!

    While watching the WNBA (woman's national basketball association) as a child, I thought that being a professional woman's basketball player was the career for me (Boy, was I wrong!)Growing up now and coming to reality, it sickens me how unfairly these woman are treated. On average in the 2012 season, a girl playing for a "better" professional team only made about 72,000 dollars, while the NBA (who actually owns the WNBA) players like LeBron James can make about 19.3 million dollars. Is this even close to being fair?
    Many men who go to college for basketball usually never finish and go straight to the NBA. So, this means these men, who don't even have a full college education, are making about 15 million dollars while the women who go to college, for i.e. Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, and MANY more, get their education, then move up to the WNBA and only make 60 grand...that just doesn't add up.
    Many of the women who play in the WNBA have to go overseas and play basketball there in their off-seasons to make ends meet. By doing this they do make much more than they do in the USA, but this means they have no breaks whatsoever.
    I'm not saying that the NBA isn't full of talent, but the WNBA is just as talented. Only making that much to do what you love can be very hard, but they stick with it, which shows character and pride. I believe that the WNBA is just as good as the NBA, and should be treated just as equal as well.Here is a link to the source I used!

Competition Sports

This week i read an article about completion sports taking over society of youth. Is this a bad thing? I believe that, as a person who plays competitive basketball year round, that sports are amazing for kids. Where I grew up,  the neighborhood wasn't a great one. As an alternative for being involved in gangs, violence, etc., people played sports. We would have practice twice a week which would also help people stay out of trouble. Without basketball I am not too sure where I would be today. I have been playing on a competitive team since I was 7 years old and the past 9 years have been great! I have had so many opportunities, made some great friends that I still talk to today, and can even get scholarships for playing in college! Being part of a comp. team is a great environment to be around!!!

Pope Francis

     Pope Francis is going to make history in the Catholic Church!!! Recently he has commented on the topics of gay marriage, abortion, and much more. In his recent speeches he has stated the the church will fail if  the catholic community keeps their focus on their small-minded rules. I personally am in total agreement with everything this wonderful man has said. I believe that god created us in his image and he knows the paths we will take, so what does it matter if you like the opposite sex or not?
     The only thing I'm worried about is that the people who do believe in these small-minded "rules" will revolt against his words. Many people believe strongly in what they want to believe, as do I, so if they are not in agreement with the Pope, many things could happen.
     In my eyes, he has a wonderful soul and a sincere, generous heart, and I believe that was what the basis of the Catholic Church was lacking. I pray for the best and hope all things turn out well.

Cyber bullying leads to early death.

Looking through the top stories on MSN, I found a topic that stoood out: "Is bullying leading to suicide?" A young girl named Rebecca, only 12 years of age, was found dead not too long ago. She jumped from the top of a cement plant and took her life. Her parents had some hints here and there that she was being bullied. They took away here Facebook and even changed her phone number, but she couldn't escape all the rude, horid comments. Her mother claims she was terrorized by social networking sites such as kik, ask.fm, Instagram, and Voxer. These social medias allow you to hide behind the walls of the site and not show your identity. In my opinion, it makes some people feel superior and invincible. For perfect example, the T.V. show Catfish. People talk online without ever meeting before and they don't always turn out to be who they said they were.
For a young girl to feel like she needed to take her life away to escape the pain kills me inside.  I feel that if someone that young, they shouldn't be on social networking sites anyways. They are just tools to help bullies. Parents need to pay close attention and talk to their children because the result of a death is way harder to deal with then a result of your child being mad you for taking away social media.

Here is the link to the video I watched : http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21134540/vp=53019112&#53019112&from=en-us_msnhp&snid=18424776?ocid=msnhp

Lee Daniel's : The Butler

A couple of days ago me and my friend decided to go to the movies. With a last minute decision we decided to go see The Butler. If you have not seen the previews for this movie, it is set in the time of the 18th century, when racism was at its highest. In this movie I realized how bad it truly was back then; between the KKK riots of killing blacks, The Black Panther group rioting for their rights, and much more, it was a heartbreaking movie. It was centralized around a man who lost his dad when he was young and was raising by a woman not right in the head. He escaped his home town and got hired at The White House as a butler. He worked there all of his life. He had two children, one was in the army and one fought for his rights. His child, Louis, joined The Black a panther and got arrested many times. When seeing how these people were treated, I cried. During the whole movie I cried at least 5 times. It was heartbreaking. That movie gets 5 stars from me.

My Favorite Quote

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take," -Wayne Gretzky. I love this quote because it applies to life in general, and also my favorite sport...basketball. Life is all about taking risks, and if you don't take risks, you won't know what your missing out on!

The Beauty of Independence

Growing up, all my life it seemed like I spent every hour of every day on the Independence Square. My two sisters went to high school at St. Mary's  and I, myself, did also. My sisters also worked at The Courthouse Exchange Restaurant and Clinton's Soda Fountain. Clintons has been around since Harry S. Truman was alive. During these years it was a pharmacy, a shoe store, a jewlery store, and a soda fountain. It is a wonderful place to go on a hot day! Visiting the Square now is always pleasant- especially now that they are trying to renovate it, put more stores in, and spice it up a bit! Also on the Square is the actual Courthouse, the jail, and the familiar St. Mary's High School. St. Mary's was the earliest established high school west of the Mississippi River- it was open for 160 years! Thinking about that gives us a visual of how long the Independence Square has been around. Visiting there always makes for a beautiful day!

Truman Library

Close to the Independence Square locates the historic Truman Library. I got the chance to visit the library this year. I experienced the White House Decision Center: where I got to put myselfs in the shoes of the President to make the choice of dropping the bomb on Japan. While I was there I also got to see the beautiful landscaping and memorial for Harry S. Truman. It was truly a site to see and I learned much about WWI

Union Station

When driving in Downtown KC at night, you can't help but notice the beauty of Union Station, 18th & Vine, and more! While thinking about it, I decided to read a couple books on Union Station. Union Station used to be a much used train station. It was opened off and on, with many occurances of disruptance in between. It was reopened with actvities and more in the very late 1990's into the early 2000's. Visiting there now is always such a blast. Just recently they've had many exhibits held there including a T-REX Exhibit and The Titanic exhibit. I would of loved to see the Titanic exhibit!

History of the Catholic Church's

I feel that the tone of the catholic church might take a curve with the new Pope Francis's views. Recently he stated that he will not "judge" gays and lesbians - including gay priests. Personally I believe that that is a great thing! Yes, it does go against the church's teachings but that is what I believe in. I think that many people are going to be upset with this and it is definitely going to impact the church and the history of it!

This year I took a visit to Chicago, IL. While I was there my mom and I went to the Museum of Science & Industry. I didn't think there was going to be anything historic there until we went to the last exhibit. The last exhibit was about WWI. I found this exhibit very interseting because i had learned a lot about WWI my sophomore year. At the museum they had an actual U-Boat that was found MANY years after the war. I got the chance to go inside and see how the poeple stationed on U-Boats had to live. I couldn't help but think how hard their lives must of been. It was such an intriguing exhibit and I would reccommend  it to anyone!