Violence is not inevitable. It's used in many different ways and causes several different emotions in people. Some of those emotions are; suffering,pain, danger, and fear. Violence is known to change people. There are many types of violence. We have brutal beatings, murder, stabbings and so forth. People use violence as a resolution to something or a way of power. The big question is How does violence change who we are?.

The definition of violence is strength of emotion or an unpleasant  destructive force. Another meaning is behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something. When people refer to violence, normally they are referring to the second definition. Violence is also known as cruelty. Most times violence is physical, but we can also suffer mentally from it. There's many ways to tell if a person has changed from violence. You can notice the changes in their body language and how they begin to act. Normally we see violence expressed through anger.    

Everyday on the news you hear that someone has been killed. The source of killing is another form of violence. What's heartbroken is the victims are either families, children, or an innocent individual. Each story behind each victim is about something insufficient. violence is being used in a reckless way; they use cruelty for anything without thinking about the consequences. As a community we have to do something to stop all of this. Instead of witnessing these attacks, let's do something to stop them.  

You never acknowledge how much violence can affect you until you experience it firsthand. In my family, we experienced violence and it cost people their lives. The worst experience of all is my uncle. In 2018 I recieved news people fear getting. I remember this day like it was yesterday,, so here we go. An article the violence around us, said “Children (and even adults) may simply imitate the violence they observe”.  The way we see others behave is the same behavior we imitate. Its normal for humans to start acting like one another. When we see violent behavior then eventually that's our new behavior. Unfortunately violence is something that has been used in one point of our lives.

It was a regular sunny day on may 23, 2018. Everyone had just came home from school and work. My mom came home and needed to rest. A few minutes later my step dad also came home. Me and my siblings were downstairs watching tv. Suddenly, i heard my mom on the phone saying” what, I'm coming auntie. Her voice was in a panic and she rushed downstairs and out the door. When my stepdad came down the steps I asked him “what was wrong” . In a normal calm tone, he said your uncle has been shot. The words echoed and I started feeling anxious and confused. I grabbed my phone to distract myself. When I unlocked it i saw a post made by sister. The post said “ I hate getting worst news.” A few minutes after, there was a follow up post. That post said “ and just like that”. As soon as I saw the post i instantly knew what she meant. So i grabbed my phone and texted my sister. The text said any updates on uncle jeffrey. She responded “no baby he didn't make it”. Tears formed my eyes and I dropped my phone on the floor. My heart was hurt for my mother. That was her brother I knew she would be in pain.

Following this sunday, I had to attend school the next day. During the car ride my mom kept repeating how my uncle was shot 37 times. By the time we reached sla i was on the verge of tears. When I went to class I was quiet and tried to explain why I was late. No words came out everything was silent. My mind was somewhere else. Ms. hull took me in the hallway and I explained what happened. The way I told her was through tears and it just blurted out. I was a total mess and couldn't do anything.

 After losing my uncle I realized how much violence can destroy people's lives. The person who commits these violent acts doesnt think about the consequences. He/she just moves on like its nothing. Violence can make someone angry enough to harm someone. Physically hurting someone is not the solution to anything.  

So many things can trigger what makes someone violent.  What they went through in their childhood. Parents, etc. Violence can be inherited within a person. Phillip Jet once said “I think violent crime has more to do with a combination of maltreatment, circumstance, and emotion”. Angry people tend to take their anger out on other people. The amount of anger is enough to destroy someone. Its not about having power, it's about having an outlet to release.  

As humans we don't how violence psychologically affects us or our families. In children we see fear. In adults we have guilt, low self esteem, and isolation. It's not always obvious how violence affects our people. We just begin to act different. In our society, all you see is one of us attacking the other. So when people see us they instantly have fear. No one knows how far someone is willing to go. In any situation someone who commits violence is the person who has control over everything.  

As a society we should realize what violence does to our community. Yes violence is inevitable but it should never be your first choice. In some cases violence is necessary. One  case is when your in danger and need to protect yourself. There are times when violence can be prevented. Something triggers inside our minds and causes us to commit harm on an individual.  

People with disabilities tend to stand out more than others. In today's world people are quick to judge and talk about you. They assume you are incapable of doing everyday things. We are doubted the minute we step outdoors. The most annoying thing is the stares, whispers, and gossip. I experience this everyday. Having a disability will always be challenging. They can shape me into the person I am today.

Often times people tell me your beautiful. When I am outside there are people with ugly stares and rude comments. The comments are basically dismissing me. They see a disabled girl and automatically believe she doesn't belong here. Nicola griffith once said “ it took me years to feel the sting of nondisabled peoples dismissal”. Everyone has the thought of not being wanted. At times i say I am a burden to my family. Always having to ask for help is annoying for them at times. Even if they don't say it I know they think it.      

Sometimes it is hard to accept that I am pretty even with a disability. Trying to brush off the stares and, gossip the minute I walk outside is hard. In December I dealt with an incident with stares and gossip and let those people get the best of me. I went to church with my mom and siblings. A group of students from her job were performing “he's able”. After service we attended a mini art show. One of the choir boys looked at me and continued staring at me. Then he told his friend to do the same thing. The first boy whispered he’s scared of me to his friend. I pretended to not care and walked away. Unfortunately, the boys found me again and asked “are you ok”. Again I walked away, this time was different though. I started crying and let my emotions get the best of me.

Shortly after this incident I was reminded of my worth. My friend told me “ You were made to stand out and be different, and you are great and beautiful just the way you are”. This helped me feel better about who I am as a person. I knew my true beauty with my disability included.  Nowadays, I try to not let what people think of me affect me. The more I don't care about what people think, the more I begin to love myself. I have accepted that life will always be a challenge. However I will stay true to myself no matter what people say.

As a disabled person, we choose to either be a victim or live our life to the fullest. I watched a buzzfeed video titled Always live your best life !. In the video she says “ you can conquer everything that they told you couldn't do and be out here winning”.  Having a condition does not mean your exempt from being your best yourself. You are pretty and special just like every other human being. We are able to do things we have always wanted to do. Also we have our own way of doing things.

In our society people like to categorize each other. They singlehandley group people together and label them. Disabled people are silently judged all their life.  We get the ugly stares, gossip about our looks. People are not mature enough to ask about why we look this way. Instead they judge us and believe we are unable to be pretty without looking like everyone else. As a community we should be more welcoming to compliment one another. Especially anyone who stands out and has a disability. We are not exempt just because we have a disability. However we tend to stand out more than others.

Some people may see disability as a weakness. Its like society thinks less of us because we have a condition. When people whisper and stare they do it for enjoyment. I pretend to do my best to ignore them. Ignoring them helps me become a stronger person. My confidence within myself grows after each stare and comment. Nobody should be singled out because they look different. When we categorize ourselves it gives people the power to single us out.

Having a disability does not mean your less prettier than someone else. Your disability will always a part of you. Never forget your true beauty no matter what you experience. Each little annoying stare and gossip will  make you greater. Every incident I endured was for the greater good. Those incidents gave me power to know my true worth.

When choosing a leader, you should look for certain qualities, but what are the qualities a leader should have?. A leader should be honest, reliable, and loyal. Sometimes leaders have bad qualities as well. Being a leader means that you have a lot of responsibility. Leaders have to stand strong on their good and bad days. Furthermore, leaders should not be full of themselves. If they only care about themselves, how can they be a leader to others. A bad quality can be pride. A leader with good qualities can have pride as their downfall.

The novel Lord of the flies is written by William Golding. This novel is about boys on a stranded island. The main characters that I will focus on are Ralph, piggy, and Jack. They meet other boys along the way. All of the boys stick together to survive. There are moments when They see bad things. While on the island they have hope someone will come rescue them. There are no adults so the boys do not have any supervision. Without order the boys go crazy. The boys have their own freedom to do whatever they please.

In chapter one of the novel Ralph and Piggy find a conch. When the two boys return to the crowd Ralph says “ Shut up, Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things” (30). Ralph was the first person to get everyone together. The boys always listened to the boy in charge. Since Ralph had the conch it was easy to get everyone to give him respect. Since they were 12 year olds they obeyed ralph because he was leader. The person with the conch is who everyone respects.

As a new leader, leaders realize that it will be a challenge to lead people. Ralph was struggling at earning respect from the boys.  He kept repeating “I’m chief” over and over. Meanwhile nobody was paying him attention. Ralph did not want to share his power with anyone. In fact he had a competitor try and take his spot.  Jack also wanted to be leader of the tribe. Jack wanted to be leader because he thought was smarter than everyone else. Unfortunately, Ralph got the most votes for chief. Jack only received votes from the choir boys. The choir boys felt their loyalty was for jack. In addition to this they felt obligated to vote for him and not Ralph.  

President Trump is a prime example of a leader. He makes decisions that people disagree with. After reading an article  about him I saw that he has a lot of pride. In the article he states “ he sees himself as a winner “. In other words he is always right and everyone else is wrong. Some people describe Trump as sensitive to others. However there were times when decisions he made, citizens were not thought of. Sometimes trump let his pride cloud the judgement of others. Due to this citizens of the united states are struggling more and more.

Sometimes leaders can have too much pride. They will believe they are better than others. Pride can get in the way of how you treat others. Certain leaders think too much of themselves. They put people under their leadership down. While reading a leadership article, I saw that pride can be a reason leaders fail.  For example, leaders can think they are above everyone else. There can be many types of leaders big or small. For instance there can be a team leaders who does not support their team. Instead of encouraging them to say they are strong, they bring them down.A team leader can have a main focus of winning.

 Later in Lord of the Flies, Ralph enhances in leadership skills. He starts learning how to share power. Jack and Ralph divide up the rest of the boys into 2 groups.

However, there is a time when Ralph talks about Simon who is under his leadership. On the island the boys meet another few boys.  He calls him “ delightfully gay, and wicked.” As a leader there shouldn’t be any negative about others. Others saw Simon as a helpful boy.  Ralph was talking down about his teammate instead of bringing him up. Towards the end of lord of the flies piggy questions ralph's leadership.  He says “i voted you for chief now do something”.

Ralph and Jack are completely different leaders. Jack only wants to be leader because he can a c- sharp and has a good voice. He brags about singing so good. That is an example of pride as well. Jack thinks He’s better than everyone else. Readers could view this as him being prideful about himself. Furthermore, the author refers to Jack as arrogant.  Jack uses his special hunting skills to fetch food on the island. Ralph has his own set of skills to guide the boys.

In the real word Directors are another type of leaders. They boss people around all day. A director’s purpose is create their own vision of someone else. Directors will shout and scream, if something is not right. They do not care if they hurt someone’s feelings or etc. Directors can be good and honest, but still be unsuccessful. People who work for directors get bossed around a lot. People do not normally hear directors say hey your doing a great job or a pat on the back. Instead they deal with being yelled at 24/7 and getting told mean things.

Leaders can have good qualities and be a big success. They can lead people towards greatness with the right qualities. Anyone is eligible to be a leader, as long as they are honest, reliable, and good. Someone who doesn't like responsibility should not be a leader. If you are a prideful person, be careful how you treat others. Being prideful can be good or bad and it shapes your successfulness. Let's say that you are always about you then nobody else will want to help you. Furthermore, be careful when choosing a leader for anything. Remember a leader with good qualities, can still have pride as their downfall.

Mom’s home tonight is the night I tell her my pain. (Uh oh) she has company I cannot believe my eyes when he enters. How dare he smile in my face and pretend like he isn’t a monster? How am I supposed to talk to my mom now?  my night is going to be terrible I can feel it.

Hey baby girl, dad says to me. What do you want? just leave me alone!!! I say to him. You know I cannot do that he says. In that moment I feel him taking blows at me and I just lay there silently crying. I think to myself this is so awful how he can take advantage of me like that.  I don’t know how much more I can handle. I hate this man he is a monster.

When she came home, I said Mom!! I’m so glad you're home we need to talk. Before she speaks to me I see this monster once again. Why is he back in my home? I notice my mom is hiding her finger and she is silent. Mom why are you hiding your ring finger. She says to me I’m getting married your father proposed. I burst out you can’t marry him no no !!!!!!!. Why would she say yes, now the abuse will never stop.Mom says Lauren why are you being so dramatic? I say to her it does not matter anymore mom. I knew he would win. Everyday I wake up and see a new bruise on my body. I cover them up so nobody can ask questions . Often times I wonder if I am really strong enough to put up with this abuse.

I´ll never forget the night when he first abused me. It was on a friday night when my father lost his job. He came inside the house and immediately started drinking. It was one bottle after another. Soon I realized he was drunk and it was not safe to be around him. I ran to my room and minutes later he entered my room and locked the door behind him.I was scared so I remained quiet while he inched closer and closer to me.  

When he was directly in front of me, he slapped me across the face  so hard there was a red mark afterwards. Then I yelled stop, desperately hoping that he would leave me alone. Unfortunately, I was wrong instead he just kept beating me until he wasn't. I have been dealing with abuse for 15 years.

Finally, I realized he enjoyed beating me. I started to think I was his personal punching bag.  In reality looking at my bruises made me believe it. What kind of father was ok with beating his child out of anger. I gave up trying to put a stop to my pain. After a while I hoped my mother would notice my pain and help me…..

Now I’ve gotten away from all of them. My room is the only place I feel safe. I cannot believe her. I should've known she wouldn’t believe me. For several years,

Ever since I was a young girl I perceived I was different than everyone else around me.. People would give me  quirky stares, and although they tried to hide it, I hear them murmur about me.  It used to pain me that people  would  gossip,    often my mother  would speak out  for me , or stand in front of me. In a way I felt safe behind her, as if no harm could come my way. It became an indicator that my mother was my protector.

Throughout the years I   acknowledged  that my physical appearance was dissimilar to others.  . I  accepted being different  from  everyone else. People continued to stare, and they continued to whisper. However, I did not continue to care. . Constantly I felt others deliver me a look of pity. It did not come off as a shameful look but a sympathetic one.  

Last week on saturday I went to the laundromat with my mom. My responsibility was to watch my little sister. We decided to sit at a tiny little picnic table by the front entrance. Later throughout the day this little walked in with his dad. When I looked up from my phone he was staring at me hard. At first I just brushed it off and didn't care. After 5 minutes I looked back up and he was doing the same thing.

Hey guys its my final slate post on my You & The World Project. If you can recall my topic was suicide. If you would like you can reread slate post 1 and slate post 2 here now. My previous slate posts talked about the rates that suicides have occurred in the u.s every year. This last slate post is to kind wrap things up on my project overall. Hope you enjoy your reading.

The next transition of my project was Agent of Change. I am proud to say my agent of change was a success. I did a powerpoint on suicide and showed my advisory. That was my way of raising awareness. A compliment I received from my classmate is “ I’m proud of you for doing this and remembering that suicide is an important issue and not taking it as a joke’’. The powerpoint included ways to prevent suicide, and preventing suicide.

The decision to raise awareness as my agent of change was easy and thoughtful. I wanted to remind students that suicide is a very serious matter in our world. Everyday we make jokes like I wanna kill myself because of school. However some people say I wanna kill myself and they actually take their own life. People don’t think about that when they repeat  the joke everyday. I reminded my advisory that this topic is important and affects people around us.

Next, I found a website to provide additional information on suicide. The information I came across is helping a person who may be feeling suicide. The way to help them is to simply be there for them when they need you. If they need a shoulder to cry on or a person to talk you. You are that person. More importantly do not judge the person. Also I found ways to prevent suicide from happening. There are four steps for this process. First to remove any access to lethal weapons. Secondly, if you decide to see a therapist never miss your session. Third talk to someone and let them know how you are feeling. Fourth pay attention to the warning signs so that the thought if the thought triggers in your mind again.  

Furthermore, I also learned about the reasons people commit suicide. The reasons are due to domestic violence, bullying, incarceration, etc. Some people are diagnosed with disorders. Types of disorders are schizophrenia, bipolar, personality disorder, depression, and etc. Depression is usually the main and most popular one. People believe that suicide is the only way to end the pain. That’s not true at all, receiving help is the best option to ending your pain.

Hey everyone its me again. This is more information on my You & The world project. If you don´t remember my last blog post you can read it here on slate. Previously, in my first blog post I talked about the rates of suicides in different countries. Furthermore the disorders people may have that cause them to commit suicide. Disorders are bipolar, mental health, depression, and etc.

Next,to further my research I interviewed my  guidance counselor Ms. Siswick. Ms. Siswick gave me very good information on my topic. A question I asked her was ´´What are the symptoms of  a kid who may be thinking about suicide?´´.  Her response was drug use/alcohol increased, depression, change in behavior, domestic violence, and Violence overall. We also discussed different techniques on how to talk someone out of suicide completely. The different techniques are therapy, trusted friends, confiding in someone. For more information you can listen to the interview here.  

adult are: divorce, job loss, and substance use. People commit suicide because they think that´s a solution to end their pain.

For more information check out my annotated bibliography!.

Hello my name is Kishara Erwin. I am currently in the 9th grade at Science Leadership academy. My english teacher has assigned us to our 4th quarter benchmark titled You & The world project. My project is based on suicide between teens through adults. This topic is important because people need to be aware of how many people take their own life because they could not receive any help from the struggles they were going through. My topic is important because I almost lost my friend when she tried to take her own life. Luckily, I was able to convince her that her life was worth living and not to throw it away over a bunch of lies and people that have no power.

Furthermore, in the U.S. suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. Every year 44,193 americans die because they committed suicide. There are 25 attempts for every suicide committed. The U.S gains 44 billion dollars annually because of suicide. Overall, there is an average of 121 suicides per day. In the year of 2015 the highest suicide rate was 19.6. Here is a link to the graph showing all of the data about the number of suicides committed.

People come to the decision of suicide due to various reasons in life.  Some reasons are because they have a mental disorder. Also, the broad reason which is bullying. Lots of times for kids bullying is the main reason they decide to throw their life away.  In life things can pile on top of another and a person cannot handle it so they kill themselves. Sometimes, people hold everything inside and it causes them to end their life as well.  Not telling your family what you are going through, causes you to end you life too. Keeping quiet may make you feel alone so you don't receive any help and you kill yourself.  

Unfortunately, there are various ways to end your life. People decide to end their life faster by stepping in front of a moving vehicle. People step in front of subways, trains, buses, and cars. When people commit suicide by stepping in front of a suicide that is called straphanger deaths. From the year 2010-2012 there were a total of 153 deaths by subway trains. For over three years 118 people tried to kill themselves but they did not succeed.  It is very rare to commit suicide by jumping in front of a train.

Lastly, there are ways to prevent people from committing suicide. For instance, here's a link to the national prevention lifeline: . People can receive help from using this website.  Another way to prevent suicide is to stop the bullying going on in all the schools. People should stop judging one another and then less people would stop throwing their lives away. We should compliment each other more. Supporting people through their troubles, helps them inside. They know they have someone to count on to look out for them. More importantly, they feel safe. For more information you can check out my annotated bibliography

Kishara Erwin

                                Yo tengo cuatro hermanas

                                Yo tengo uno hermano

                                Mi Familia es Filadelphia

                                Soy negro

                                Veo septos

                                Oigo canducíon auto móviles

                                Huelo humo de cigarrillos

                               Saboreo papas fritas

Intro #4

In this video another character from the gunio asks for the time. Go back to the time unit. ¿Que hora son, mi corazon?

Intro #3

In this  one child sneezes then the rest of the characters discusses the weather. ¿Que hora hace? in espanol. To explain how could it is around Christmas time.

Intro #2

In this video it talks about the date/days of the week, but one child doesn’t know what date it is. We marked the calendar to show what day it is. We included the Días de la semana song.

Intro #1

In part one of four there is a Christmas Celebration. We include how to use the dates for this gunio. Or in similar words the Messes/Fechas/Cumpleasños.

Intro #1

In part one of four there is a Christmas Celebration. We include how to use the dates for this gunio. Or in similar words the Messes/Fechas/Cumpleasños.

Intro #2

In this video it talks about the date/days of the week, but one child doesn’t know what date it is. We marked the calendar to show what day it is. We included the Días de la semana song.

Intro #3

In this gunio one child sneezes then the rest of the characters discusses the weather. ¿Que hora hace? in espanol. To explain how could it is around Christmas time.

Intro #4

In this video another character from the gunio asks for the time. Go back to the time unit. ¿Que hora son, mi corazon?