Pakistan Shouldn't Block Facebook and Youtube

This week Pakistan blocked Facebook and Youtube, and according to the Washington Post "it deemed (the websites) "sacrilegious" to the nation's Muslim majority." It would be a different issue if Pakistan just blocked the bad pages for a little while until the problem was solved. However, for them to take the banishment to this level and actually block the whole website, was a very unnecessary move on their part. Pakistan should not have blocked Facebook and YouTube.
The reason Pakistan shouldn't have done this is, it separates their country from others around the world. Pakistani people connect to other people around the world through facebook and we share our ideas through both of thoes websites. The internet plays a major part of movement in the 5 themes of geography. We move our ideas through our internet and connect our cultures in that same way. For example, don't you think the popular youtube hit: The Evolution of Dance, has traveled from computer to computer all around the world? Imagine if we were confined to a national internet, and we could not connect internationally. We would definitely not have an easy access to explore and learn about other cultures.

2010 Reflection

As the 2009-10 school year comes to a close, I would like to use this blog to reflect on some great moments of my freshmen year at Livonia Stevenson High school.
One vibrant memory of this school year would have to be my first football game, actually being a Spartan. I had been to many Friday night varsity football games, but this time was different. The fact that I had to show my student I.D., verifying that I was a SHS student, made the experience even more exciting. The other sweet part was that you could actually sit in the student section (if you were lucky enough to escape the upperclassmen “boo’s”,) and cheer on your fellow schoolmates (that you actually know now,) was a special aspect of the night. I think it will be a memory that I will never forget and pass on to my children someday.
Another memory from this school year was spirit week and homecoming weekend. The spirit council did a good job picking out exciting days and themes to dress up for. My personal favorite was Senior Citizen Day. I remember my friend Rachel and I planning our crazy outfits for that day. I even went to my grandparents house to borrow some “granny-wear”. I’m lucky enough to have a wonderful grandma who would be willing to let me borrow her “mall-walking” shoes. I promised not to scuff them for her. I also like spunky Spartan Friday. It was a great way to pump up the school for the pep assembly and homecoming. Even though the freshmen lost, I’m sure we’ll be pro’s by senior year and we can then beat the school in 2013 (If we make it through 2012.)
Homecoming was definitely fun; however, there was other dances that came out on top of the list. I am really glad for homecoming my group decided to go out to dinner. We went to Papa Vinos, and the best decision we ever made was to create a pre-planned menu. Everyone paid $20 and got bread, pop, and a choice of pasta or salad. It was an easy way to pay the bill without a hassle.
My absolute favorite dance of my freshmen year was no doubt, the Glow out. It had the best music and all my friends were there. The DJ was the same one from homecoming; however I do not remember him at all the way he was at glow out. Maybe the atmosphere was the big difference. The backlights made white glow, and glow sticks were splattered everywhere. This dance was very fun and memorable and I cannot wait until the Glow Out next year.
Overall I had a great freshmen year so far. It will be very weird not having the seniors here in June, but that just means that the class of 2013 is a little closer to being SENIORS AND GRADUATING. : )

My SIMUN Experience

Overall I felt that SIMUN was a very fun and exciting experience. There was a lot of hard work involved, but the work paid off in the end. I felt that one of the greatest advantages of the whole process was being in an environment with upperclassmen globies. They were all very nice and helpful. They were also considerate when a mistake was made, and they took into consideration that this was our first model UN.
With that being said I feel that as a first year delegate, I did good job. I tried to be involved and understand the scenario to my best capability. I also tried very hard to speak as often as possible, however, it was hard to figure out what position my country would take in a scenario. Therefore, it was hard to speak about things I was unsure about and I felt like I said the wrong stuff at times. I definitely let my nerves get the best of my speeches. I also struggled when having to ask questions, because I just could not think of what a good question would be. Many times the speeches people gave were not confusing or non-understandable, and so I did not really have a question to ask. I will argue that when I did ask a question, or had time to think up one, they were very good questions. I just don't think that on-the-spot thinking is a skill that I possess and that is what may have brought me down in the experience.
While preparing for SIMUN I felt like I did not do all that I could. That may have been an area where I slacked. I did a lot of research on each of the topics, but the research on my country was not really that great. Having the USA, I think I overestimated the amount of info I knew on my own country. I figured it wouldn't be that hard because I knew a lot from history class in school. I was wrong.
I think that is where I will definitely change my habits for next year. I will severely inform myself on the country that I receive and educate myself on its opinion within the world. I feel that it might make things easier if we had a list of the countries in our SIMUN group. That way, we could spend our time researching issues, allies, and enemies within our group, instead of all over the world. Next year I will also make it my goal to speak more and make better speeches. Also, overall I hope I can ask better questions and not look like a fool by saying the wrong thing.

Say Your One of Them

The book I am currently reading is Say Your One of Them by Uwem Akpan. It is a collection of stories that tells about the hardships in Africa and mostly Nigeria. The book shows that there are so many hardships going on in many African countries.
In the first story, An Ex-mas Feast, the daughter in the family if forced to become a "street girl" to make money for her brother to go to school. Her parents are okay with it, and they yell at her when she picks out cheep "customers". It made me see Africa in a different way because I never knew that an extreme of the situation over there is prostitution. I feel bad for the girl because she is so young yet feels this is the only option to show her family she is good and even considers becoming a full time street girl.
In the second story, Fattening for Gabon, a brother and sister are taken care of by their uncle because there parents cannot care for them anymore. He takes good care of them for a while but lies to them. Instead of telling them he's selling them into slavery, he says they are being adopted by their godparents. The kids are so excited to meet their Godparents that they have a whole debate on wether they should call them mom and dad. This is what makes me feel the worst because they have no idea what is coming. The author did a great job writing this story and he also uses some of the African languages and ways of speaking. The grammar in the dialogue is always wrong and I believe that is to show the lack of education in the countries. He also adds in paragraphs to summarize how the characters react to the problems. I am excited to finish this book and observe more about my author.

Hypothetical Situation: SIMUN practice: USA

In a situation where the Taliban was threatening to take over Pakistan my country, the United States of America, would decide to put troops in Pakistan to secure the nuclear material and weapons. This is the only option we have in this situation because nuclear material could end up fatal if in the wrong hands.
This is not something we want to do, this is something we have to in order to protect the world. We are risking the lives of our American soldiers to do something that no other country will step up and do. We need to get a hold of the nuclear weapons, before something destructive does.
There is no reason why we should not go in there at this moment and until we have a reason not to, that is our plan of action. If there are any other countries that would like to step up and help us in Pakistan, the help would be greatly accepted. We need to realize that by securing all of the nuclear weapons and dangerous materials in Pakistan, (that we know are not very protected, if at all) we are creating a safer world to live in for the citizens of the world.
If we take this one small step and secure the nukes in Pakistan, it will prevent further corruption that will call for more money and troops. For example, imagine if we did not put troops in Pakistan. Then the nuclear material and weapons could end up in the wrong hands and may be used in many places. The damage done from those hypothetical incidents would cause major problems. There would be may deaths and destructions, a worldwide emergency, and many other serious problems. All of these can be prevented just by the US putting troops in Pakistan and that is why we are doing it.

An Eventful Run

It was a gorgeous spring morning and I was going for a run in the park. The leaves were freshly green, and the flowers had newly bloomed. Birds chirped, bees buzzed in harmony, singing about the spring weather. The pitter, patter of my feet hitting the ground relaxed my mind, beating like a drum. I made a quick left onto Dardenella Street. Suddenly, I was running in the direction of the sun. Beaming against my skin, the suns rays made me feel as if I was somewhere tropical. I only had to look down at the ground, and see the small patches of snow in the process of melting, to remember that I was in Michigan—not Florida.
As I was getting closer to the end of the street, I heard a shriek come from the left. It sounded like it came from an old lady, small and gray haired. I was immediately concerned. I increased my slow run, into a fast sprint and made a left at the next corner. Sure enough, there was an old lady. Legs shaking, heart pounding, the old lady was drowning in tears. As I asked her what was wrong and she explained, “A tall man, in all black, ran by and swiped my purse containing all my money, my keys and ID, and my grandsons birthday gift.” I felt horrible for her and immediately decided to go catch that loser.
She had mentioned that he turned right at the next corner so that is the way I went. Sure enough I saw him sprinting up the road (about a quarter mile away). Exploding like a canon, I sprinted to catch up with him. The adrenaline is probably what caused me to forget how tired I was. My legs were slicing and ripping through the wind so fast, it almost felt like I was flying. Just when I was 2 feet away from him, I leaped through the air and tackled him to the ground! I ripped off his black ski mask and slapped him right across the face, leaving a bright red hand mark; I have always wanted to do that. He then pushed me off of him and reached into his pocket for a gun. With the gun pointing at my face, I strategized my next move. Suddenly, I took one step forward and used a kick I had learned, (from Billy Blanks Tae Bo workout tapes), to kick him right in the spot where it hurts men most. I ripped the gun out of his hands—to find out it wasn’t even loaded, checked his pockets to make sure he hadn’t stole anything.
After calling 911 and reporting the man, I tied him to a tree so the police could catch him easily. I then walked the purse back to the old lady. She thanked me for saving her and especially for returning her grandsons present. The police also rewarded me with a $100 reward for catching the criminal.

Online Adventures

Until recently, it never understood how technically advanced the world is. I realized it when I was trying to pick up an old hobby of mine. Ever since I could read, write, and move my fingers, I have played the piano. I was quite good and won a few contests, but the passion slipped away as grew older. I have recently tried to pick up the old hobby, but not the way I first learned.
Back in the good ol’ days, my piano teacher, Mrs. Shiranti, would visit my house weekly at 5:00 to instruct me at the piano in my living room. My mom would always interest her in a cool beverage, and then we would be off to an hour of musical knowledge. It was an hour to relax, and escape the hard day at school.
Soon, I found myself veering away from music in general. The young “musical Gabby” turned into the “sporty Gabby”. I started playing many different sports such as basketball, tennis, and soccer. That held up for a couple of years, until I started gymnastics and cheer. Ever since, that has been my passion, but now I’m finding myself missing music every day.
I suppose that is what led me down into the basement the other week to wipe the cobwebs off the piano. However, this time around, I found myself learning in many new ways. The first place was Garage band. It’s a program on Apple computers that allows you to virtually make your own music with computer instruments. The program also has special lessons on various instruments. So I clicked on the piano and a man taught me the basic fundamentals of how to play piano in a video. There was also an option to download further lessons.
The next way to learn how to play an instrument is to go to a very common website. Youtube offers thousands of videos to help you in the skill. Many talented pianists have chosen to teach lessons by video an upload them to Youtube. It’s a priceless way to learn something as long as you have access to a computer.
These many new technologies have shocked me. The fact that nowadays we can learn a new skill, just by typing in a URL is ultimately scary. This world is becoming highly technical and depending on your own opinion that could be for the good or better. I am proud; however, to say that this advanced technology has recently helped me to advance my skill.