Laura's Blog

Why I Love Spring

Winter has come to a close and spring has finally sprung. Birds are begining to sing again, flowers are blooming again, and most importantly, our pool is opening again! Except for the pollen, spring is perfect in my eyes.

What I like most about spring is the fact that the world seems to awake from winter's spell and enjoy the glorious weather. For the past few days, I've been waking up to birds chirping, and when I go outside, squirrels are chasing eachother. Another spring favorite is the fact that I can put away my jackets and bring out my shorts and flip-flops!

Origins of Life Debates

Over the past few weeks, our class has been debating the origins of life. There are four possible theories: creationism, intelligent design, secular evolution, and theistic evolution.

I chose evolution guided by a divine being, or theistic evolution. I found out that this theory agrees with evolution, but God helped throughout the process. It says that Earth evolved in 7 days, but not 24-hour periods. God only ended the day when he was satisfied, and that could have taken millions of years.

Everyone worked really hard on their debates, and it showed. Our first opponent was intelligent design, and we were confident that we would beat them. Intelligent design says that an intelligent designer (not limited to God) created the world. They base this on the fact that the world is so complex. Our opponents put up a good debate, but it wasn't good enough. Theistic evolution won by about fifty points. We were going on to the next round.

We were going up against secular evolution, and I was positive that we'd lose. We didn't have much of an argument compared to their proof that life started from lightning that made amino acids. They destroyed our argument that God put the first life on Earth and it evolved from there.

I think the turning point of the debate was our closing argument. We related all four theories to pieces of paper, which represented Earth. The first piece of paper represented creationism, and it just had the word 'life' on it. The letters represented how life came to be on Earth. We said, "This shows creationism because God just put life on Earth. We had another peice of paper that was folded into an origami Earth. "This is intelligent design because it's so complex." We had a third piece of paper that had the word 'evolved' on it. We cut the paper up into 7 strips so 1 strip had 1 letter. As we laid each strip down, we said "1st day, 2nd day..." to show that life came to be over 7 days. Lastly was the piece of paper showing secular evolution. The paper was blank, and we said, "This is evolution. We're going to wait until writing just appears on it without any help." Our teacher was extremely impressed, and I think that's why we won the debate.

The debates ended mostly how I expected them to. Theistic evolution beat intelligent design and secular evolution beat creationism. I was only surprised that we won against secular evolution. In other classes, guided evolution is winning as well for the most part. Even though secular evolution proved that life started by itself on Earth, I think that God essentially did still start life, because He made all the matter in the universe. I believe in guided evolution, and I think that is why we did so well in our debate.

Who's to Blame?

The deaths of Romeo and Juliet are tragic misfortunes. Many people can take responsibilities for their deaths. I think that the Capulets are mostly to blame for their deaths. Though the Capulets and those who affiliate with them didn't intentionally kill Romeo and Juliet, their actions lead to their deaths.

Firstly, the nurse has some responsibility. When Juliet asked her for advice on what to do after Romeo is banished, she told Juliet to forget about Romeo and marry Paris. Juliet sees this as a betrayal, and she no longer trusts the nurse as someone to confide in. Since Juliet no longer listens to any voice of reason, she does risky things that eventually lead to her death.

Secondly, Tybalt has a role in the tragedy. When Romeo shows up at the Capulet feast, Lord Capulet doesn't seem to mind, but Tybalt gets angry. He's really keeping the feud alive, because Lord Capulet didn't get as angry. Tybalt seeks out Romeo and ends up killing Mercutio. This makes Romeo angry, so he kills Tybalt. Romeo gets banished for this, and it's harder to get important information to him. 

Then, Lord and Lady Capulet do things that lead to Romeo's and Juliet's deaths. Juliet's parents are adamant that she marry Paris, even against their daughter's wishes. Had they let her do as she pleased, then she might have never gone to Friar Lawrence and taken the potion. The potion makes Romeo think that she's dead, so he kills himself, and Juliet soon follows.

Lastly, and most importantly, is the feud that the Capulets have with the Montagues. If the families had gotten along, then Romeo and Juliet would have never had the need to conceal their love. Every problem could be avoided. They wouldn't have to marry in secret, Tybalt wouldn't have killed Mercutio, Romeo wouldn't have killed Tybalt, and Romeo would have never been banished. Romeo and Juliet could have lived together if their parents got along.

Other people had roles in the misfortune, but I blame mostly the Capulets. They let their petty fights and desires blind them from the unfolding tragedy. Had they seen what their animosity was causing, they would have put their hatred aside. It was too late, and they learned their lesson.

Love

Love is...hard. It's seen with everyone-friends, family, and actual lovers. But what is love? Is it just a close relationship with anyone? Is it liking someone so much that you're willing to die for him or her? You can also love things, like how a soldier loves his country. I think love is just wanting to be with someone forever.

This picture shows marital love, because I see two old dogs together. They probably got married as little dogs, full of life, and have stayed together forever. Now as retired retrievers, they want to spend the rest of their days together. That's true love.

"And then end life when I end loyalty" ~Willliam Shakespeare

I just think that quote fits the picture because the dogs are loyal to eachother until death.

Two Voice Poem

I thought that writing a two voice poem was incredibly hard. My teacher wanted it to be deep and personal, but I'm not too much of a deep thinker, and I didn't really want to share my personal feelings with the outside world. This is more than I’d normally share, so be nice. These are my two personalities. The red is my “devil” side, and the blue is my “angel” side.

I'm a teacher's worst nightmare

I'm a teacher's dream

I'm bold, loud, and I love to tell jokes

I sit in the quiet company of my friends, usually reading a book

I'm a horrible procrastinator, waiting

for the last minute to finish anything

I promptly finish my work, making sure it's perfect

I'm vulgar, sarcastic, and rude

I'd never dream of saying anything the least bit mean

I'm like my room and my locker-

a total disaster

I make sure every detail is organized, down to the paper being in a neat stack

I have an opinion, and a good bit

of the time, it’s controversial

I never say what I think, because I know it never ends well

I sit on her left shoulder, whispering

what I think she should do with

a mischievous grin

I sit on her right shoulder, telling her to do the right thing

I was born from her rebellious side

I was raised her entire life, told to be perfect

I’m the personality she shares

with her friends and at home

I’m the personality she shows at school and public places

Why can’t we ever come together in the same place?

We’re too different, and we have been told to stay apart.

Pesonal Paradox

Inside me are many paradoxes. On the outside, I may seem one way, but on the inside, I may be a completely different way.

• I seem shy to everyone, but I'm really loud. I don't talk to people I don't know, and at school I'm really reserved. When I'm at home or with my closest friends, I am loud, and I love to tell jokes.
• I look like I'm self-motivated, but I'm a horrible procrastinator. Everyone thinks that I jump onto every assignment with alacrity, but I really wait unil the last minute to finish anything.
• I'm very polite at school. I'm respectful to everyone that deserves respect. Really, I'm sardonic, and I have a very vulgar sense of humor.
• Since I'm polite, I probably seem friendly to everyone, but on the inside, I may be thinking something completely different. If someone says something that I don't like, I may put up a friendly front, but I'm really thinking something that is rude.
• Since I'm a good student, people think I'm responsible. I'm really a complete mess. My sister is like my manager. She makes sure I'm ready for all of my classes and anything else coming my way. My room reflects me perfectly-it's a disaster.
• Again, since I'm a good student, I may seem diligent. I'm not. I'm extremely lazy. I hate all kinds of work, be it classwork, chores, or my job.
• submissive, but rebellious

Are our lives governed by our choices more so than by some controlling fate in which we do not participate?

     Since we are now reading Romeo and Juliet, our teacher gave us some thought provoking questions relating to the play. I will now address a question that I feel I can write most about.

     Are our lives governed by our choices more so than by some controlling fate in which we do not participate? Absolutely. I believe in some fate, but I strongly believe that our choices influence our lives more.

     Here's an example. A kid in the 12th grade cheats on a test, gets caught, ends up failing the course, and can't graduate. His friends go on to college while he makes up the course. When he does apply for college, they won't take him because he cheated on a test. He wanted to be a lawyer, but since he can't get into a college, he ends up flipping burgers. If he hadn't cheated on that test, he would have passed and gone on to college with his friends. His life drastically changed. Why? It was his choice to cheat, and since he cheated, his life changed. Fate didn't make him cheat; his laziness did.

     When does fate play a role in governing our lives? Maybe you had a boyfriend that you loved and even considered marrying. You break up, and he moves far away. You later realize that you still want to be with him. Then, one day you just randomly see him after years of being seperated. You get married and live happily ever after, which is a big life changer. How did he just randomly come back? I believe that it's fate.

     I believe that both choices and fate. Choice is the most active governer because fate hardly ever acts. How many times do you see the romantic story above in the real world? Not often; it's only really in movies. Fate is real, though. Choices influence every aspect of your life. Your life is influenced by your choices, as well as other people's choices. We are in control of our own lives, but there are outside factors that may influence our lives.

Evolution vs. Creationism

     We read comments from a class in Colorado about evolution and creationism. Although we haven't yet breached the subject in our biology class, I already feel like I have a good bit of background information. Everyone had good points, and the students obviously reflected on what their teacher had to say.

     I didn't read a comment that had my belief. I think that there can be a combination of creationism and evolution. I believe that God made the earth and its inhabitors, and then the creatures all evolved over time.

     I read all fourteen comments, and I respected all of the opinions. I'm glad to see that students can have intelligent conversations in school without everyone getting offended. I'm excited to talk about evolution and creationism in my own school.

The Talking Cat Says...

I'm writing a book with my friend. It's a story about a Creek indian and a Cherokee indian who fall in love, even when their love is forbidden. As the kitty says, it has romance and action, so guys and girls should both like it. We may post a few chapters on the blog so look out for those!

What It Means to be "Green"

             Being “green” doesn’t mean that you are literally green! It means that you are conscious of your environment and how you leave an imprint on it. Being “green” has never been as important as it is today. Because the world we have grown accustomed to is quickly dying, we all need to be a little more environmentally friendly.

                Being “green” is a mentality. You need to make the effort to be “green.” There are many ways to be environmentally friendly. You can start around the home by turning out lights when you leave a room, putting filters on your air conditioner, or buying more environmentally friendly appliances like low pressure showers. You could even go as far as to buy solar panels and run your house on solar power. Then, you can go around an ecosystem and try to clean it up if it is polluted. If you are unable to do any of this, though, there are other ways to help. Just speak out against harming the environment. If enough people get together, then we can all make a difference.