Nonfiction Article RR #10- Killer Pets

  
    
     In the article "Killer Pets" the author, Blair Rainsford, explains that everyday more and more Americans are owning exotic animals as pets. Felicia Fresco is one of them, she owns a pet tiger, named Will, she says that raising a tiger is like raising a dog. The author also wants the reader to know that at first the animal may be calm and cute but at any moment the animal can attack its own owner. The places where having an animal is allowed is in Idaho, Nevada, Wisconsin, Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Albania. They're allowed in many other countries too but you need a license or permit and in other countries some animals aren't allowed.

    There are about 15,000 non-human primates that are living in people's homes and their owners think it's totally normal. According to the article,"exotic-animal owners say they love having pets that surprise people" (Rainsford 1). This shows that the animal owners think that having an exotic animal as a pet is like having a dog, cat, or goldfish as a pet and they also like having the exotic animal as a pet to surprise people. Even though the exotic-animal pet owners not everyone agrees. The article tells us that "A zookeeper, named Jack Hanna, compares owning this type of pet to having a bomb in your home. You never know when it will explode"(Rainsford 1). This shows that having an exotic animal as a pet can be very dangerous, especially if a zookeeper thinks so since they take care of animals every day.

     In other people's point of view having an exotic animal is way cheaper than having any other pet and they also think it's not a bad idea. In the article it says, "It is also surprisingly easy to get an exotic pet. You can buy a tiger cub online for just $300. That's cheaper than some kind of dogs!" (Rainsford 1). This means that one of the reasons that people may buy exotic animals is because it's a better deal than buying any other pets. Although these pets may be cheaper most of them are dangerous and most of them can even kill you. According to the article,"In 2009, a pet chimp attacked his owner's friend. He bit off most of the woman's face. Hundreds of other wild pets have attacked or killed their owners" (Rainsford 2). This shows how much just a chimp can do so imagine what a bison, or a tiger can do.

Choose your Own Focus: RR

        I am recently reading the book The Perks of being a Wallflower.  The focus that I chose is: Is there anything in the book that's unfair? This book is about a kid named Charlie that is writing letters to his friend about his life and what happens everyday. I think that many of the thing that are happening in the book are unfair.
        I feel like the main character, Charlie, wasn't developed very well as he was growing up and he also experienced too many things at an early age so he doesn't really understand how the world works and the things you're not supposed to do/say and the things that you can do/say. The things that are unfair in the book is that I don't think that neither Charlie's mom or dad tried to teach him about things that he might of not understood and that Charlie basically has to try to teach himself everything. Another thing that is unfair is that Charlie gets judged a lot for what he does and what he says but no one actually knows him and they don't try to get to know him they just do and say whatever everyone else does.

Critical Question #2: The Thruth about Forever

Question: What really hard things are happening in this text? Are these things happening in the world now? Where?

      I'm currently reading the book The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen. Macy is actually a very smart and fun person and she has been running and has won races since she was a little girl but instead of being remembered by that she was remembered as the girl who saw her own father die in front of her eyes. She tries to look her best all the time so people don't think that she looks messy because she's still upset that her father died.
          The really hard thing that's happening in the book is that Macy had to see her father die. Macy loved her dad, they did so many things together, and they were really close, and inside she's a horrible mess. In the book Macy explains that she is angry and sad but she can't let anyone know that, so she dresses herself neatly and professionally. Even though back then when her father was still alive Macy would never care about her appearance now she was kind of forced to care because if she wore some random outfit and didn't do her hair at all everyone would look at her with a sad face and she got tired of it, so she was forced to change how she talks, how she dresses, and how she acts towards others. 
     These things are happening in the everywhere in the world because people lose people who they love and care about everyday without a warning and then there are those other people who see their family members die right in front of them and they can't do anything about it but sit down and regret everything.

Critical Thinking Question: Social Action

                    Is this story fair? Why or why Not?
 
         I'm recently reading a book called Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli. The book is about a group of kids who are all homeless but they all act like a  family. The main character is Misha Pilsudski, he's a Gypsy, he's short, he lives in the streets of Warsaw, and for a living he steals food from other people and runs. Misha Pilsudski has been called, Jew, Stopthief, and filthy son of Abraham. When he saw a Nazi, he wanted to be one too and where Jackboots just like them but when you're homeless and everyone thinks you're a Jew it's better to be nobody.
       At first Misha Pilsudski didn't know anything about himself he didn't even know his own name he just called himself what everyone else called him: Stopthief, but then Uri, one of the homeless guys, took Misha with him and he gave Misha a name and a story. Uri also had to change Misha so people didn't think he was Jew. Misha didn't even know what a Jew was until Uri and the guys explained it to him they said, "This is a Jew." He pointed to himself. "That's a Jew." He pointed to the others. "That's a Jew" He pointed to a horse. "That's a Jew" he pointed to the straw in the horse flop. He held out a small brown insect, "this is a jew". "A Jew is an animal. A Jew is a bug. A Jew is less than a bug." He threw the insect into the flop. "A Jew is that".
     Misha then learned that Jews were treated very badly and that's why they all had to try to look as if they were the same as everyone else, as if they weren't Jews. Misha was always glad that he wasn't Jew but he didn't understand that some people didn't like Gypsy people either. While living with Uri, Misha learned how to take care of himself and how to get into less trouble. Even though Misha tried his hardest to look invisible he couldn't, he always found a way to get himself shot, or hurt. One day when Misha was with his friends  the Nazis came to their "home" and they took them to the "ghetto", that's where all the Jews were being taken, except Uri. When Misha got to the ghetto and he saw people dead on the streets everyday he started to change and he even decided to be nobody.
     I think that this is unfair because there were a lot of Jews in Warsaw and it's not okay to treat them differently just because of their religion. It's also not fair for everyone that lives in Warsaw to be controlled by the Nazis and it's not fair for them to not want to go outside because their scared or for them to not be able to see who they are because they're scared. The main reason that I don't think it's fair is because they're all humans and they're all the same and Misha's friends don't believe in Angels, or mothers, or anything and that's not fair that there childhood is being taken away from them and they have to take care of themselves. They basically have to grow up fast just so they can take care of themselves. I thinks that this is very sad and the saddest part is that Misha didn't even know his own name, he doesn't remember who his mother was or what she looked like and if it wasn't for Uri, Misha wouldn't be alive.
    

Social awareness Project

My Surroundings

     I’ve been observing my surroundings for a while now and I’ve notices many things, one of the things I’ve noticed is that people can be cruel no matter how old they are. I chose to write about what happens in school because I spend most of my time there. In school I noticed that many of the eighth graders and some of the seventh graders push around sixth graders just because they’re 1 or 2 years older. They either push the sixth graders or make fun of them and I feel that this is wrong because it doesn’t make you any better than the person you’re pushing/making fun of and they might not realize it but this is also considered bullying. I also felt that this was wrong because the eighth graders should know better than this, they’re suppose to be setting an example for the sixth graders but instead they’re making the sixth graders’ year harder than it’s suppose to be.

   I concluded that the cause of this is probably that the eighth graders feel cool or they feel like they’re being funny and it’s effecting the sixth graders because this their first year in middle school with new teachers and new people and they’re probably nervous and the eighth graders are just making it more difficult for them. This is really unfair for the sixth graders because they never actually did anything wrong, all they really did was come to school just like everyone else so the fact that anyone is doing this is just ridiculous. Also the school is always talking about how bullying is wrong and everyone always assumes that they never bullied anyone or did anything wrong but they do all the time. A possible solution to the problem would be for the people bullying the sixth graders to put themselves in the sixth graders shoes and see if they would like it if someone treated them like that. Also if everyone stopped laughing; stopped encouraging them and if someone told them that what they’re doing is wrong then they might stop.

Someone who Changes the World

Someone who I feel that changes the world everyday is Stephanie Ortiz she has been doing a lot of things for the world now and I thought it would be great to let people know that. I’ve recently interviewed her and I found out that she really does care about the planet and the people in it she’s an amazing person. She also talked to me about the fundraisers that she’s going to tell her teacher about in school with some of her friends for the planet. Stephanie believes that to change the planet we should all try to stop polluting the air maybe by not smoking and by not throwing garbage in the oceans or anywhere.

  When I was interviewing Stephanie I asked her what she has done for the planet and she said “I sometimes try to help the planet. For example, when I or someone I’m with has garbage I make sure I or they throw it out in a garbage can. I also recycle as much as I can. I have also helped people in need”. She explained that she feels that what she does to try to help the planet is important because if you litter, you don’t know where the garbage ends up and where it ends up can most likely hurt the planet. “If the garbage goes to the ocean an animal can eat it and die. I find helping people in the planet important too because if I help them then they will also be inspired to help the planet and others inside the planet.”

   During the interview I asked Stephanie how she helped people inside the planet and she told me that she has helped soldiers, animals, and seniors. “I’ve collected cell phones for soldiers, cans for the needy in Thanksgiving, saved animals with a group, sent money to a company that helps the dogs in Puerto Rico, Visited the seniors’ center, and gave gifts to the seniors”. She told me that she and a group called the “leadership team” helped the Soldiers from Afghanistan by sending them calling cards and cell phones for them to keep in touch with their families since they’ve been so far away from their families for such a long time. The leadership team and she also sent the soldiers double A batteries and they made cards to cheer the soldiers up. In her free time Stephanie and her friends collected cans and tried to help people who were affected by Sandy.

Original Literary Piece

The world would be a better place if we all just tried a little bit more,

Maybe we can start by helping out the poor,

We can also recycle bottles, cans and paper,

And we can go pick up the trash in the streets later,

But if you can’t do any of these,

At least try to keep the ocean clean, please?

       The poem that I wrote is basically about keeping the Earth clean and helping people out. I felt this is important because usually everyone just worries a lot about bullying which should also be stopped but some people don’t see that they’re also doing damages to Earth. The damages that they’re doing to Earth are also as bad or maybe worse than what they’re doing to other people and we’re living in this planet for a really long time so we should really keep it clean. If we don’t also worry about the planet then the animals will keep on dying and global warming will become stronger and the whole Earth will just turn into a big dessert.

  

Reading Response #6: Something like Fate

     I'm currently reading the book Something like Fate by Susane Colasanti, this is a great book about two friends that have done everything together since they were little but then one of them started to like her friend's boyfriend. Lani is the main character and her friend Erin started to date a guy named Jason from their school, ounce Lani met him she felt a "connection" with him that she's never felt with anyone else and after a while of Lani and Jason being friends Lani found out that Jason felt it too. Lani tried to deny it at first because she didn't want to face the truth but then she learned that there was no way around it because it was something like fate.
  
    While I was the reading the book I put a post-it on this page the line that caught my attention was, "I can usually tell when a boy likes me. There have been a few. But the reason I've never had a boyfriend is because they all seemed really immature. I mean, I've gone out with a few different boys, but I've always kept it casual. I just never felt this kind of connection I've always wanted to feel". The reason this is important is because Lani said this line the first day she met Jason and she didn't even know him that well yet. After knowing him for a while, and when Erin left for summer camp Lani and Jason started hanging out together everyday. Lani then realized that she couldn't do this to her bestfriend, Erin, so she tried to avoid him as much as possible but she then realized that it was almost impossible. Jason then broke up with Erin by writing her letter and Lani and Jason started dating but they still didn't tell Erin.

    I think that Lani is a very smart girl so she will be able to figure out what's right and what's wrong. She should also know that what she's doing to her bestfriend is not right because Erin really liked him and even if Erin starts to like somebody else it's not okay for Lani to start dating Jason. I also think that what Jason did was also very wrong because it's not alright to date someone and then date their friend especially their bestfriend and then not tell anyone about it.

     All in all, Something like Fate is a really good book and anyone would be able to understand it and it's a really entertaining book. This book can teach you if you actually know what fate is because Lani was confusing fate with something else because what was happening with her and Jason was definitely not fate.

Reading Response #5: Hurricane Sandy Eyes Coast

    The author of this article is trying to explain to us that Hurricane Sandy should be taken as a big deal because it's bigger than Irene. The article talks about how governors in most states made some people evacuate from their homes because Sandy can easily destroy their house and it could also kill them. The article explained the damages that Sandy did to the Bahamas,Cuba, and Florida. The Hurricane was also compared to Irene and it said that Irene damaged some places and many people were affected by it but Hurricane Sandy was much worse. It brought about 10 inches of rain to coastal areas, it was considered as a category 1 with 75 mile-per-hour winds.
 
    I think that next time people should take this more seriously and then maybe there wouldn't have been so many injuries, and deaths because some people weren't really affected by Irene and they thought that Sandy was going to be the same but Sandy actually did a lot of damage. I really also feel bad for people who lost their houses and belongings due to the powerful winds and rain. When the article explained all the damages Sandy caused in other places I was glad that not a lot happened around where I live and that Sandy didn't really harm anyone that I knew.

   This text changed my thinking about big storms like this, because I usually don't pay attention to what the forecasters say and I always think that nothing will happen but I was proved wrong this time. After reading this article I concluded that you'll never know when something like this will happen so you should always be prepared well enough.