Marley Utzig

Favorite Spot: Back of the 25 bus

Neighborhood: Port Richmond

I am: Philly high school senior, book worm, spot seeker, street art appreciator

Years in Philly: 11 

Dear 25 Bus,

I love you. Even when you leave me out to face the aggressive weather alone. I love you.

I was an awkward California girl when the harsh city swept me up. I was never around public transportation but when it came time to fall into travel it was you that I fell in love with. I look out the windows and see memories of my past flash by. You have been with me through everything. You have taken me to concerts and clubs. Tried not to be bumpy while I scribbled my late homework down. You held me while I cried from a broken heart or just a stressed mind. You made me love public transportation. You take me to anything I need to go to. My friends and I loudly goof around on the way to the movies or all the way up to North Philly.  I can fall asleep on your and my body knows where we are. With each turn I feel the curve of you moving. Without you I do not know what I would do. How different my life would be. I love you so much I accept your faults, which really is what love is all about.

~Marley

This Mixed Tape goes through several similar themes; identity, private vs public self, and being an outcast. As the tape goes through each song the listener is going through a musical journey of self acceptance and loving ones self.

The Logical Song - Supertramp

This song is going first in the mixtape. The first part is about how wonderful life is when you are little and that everyone gets along. As the song goes on the tone of the song is changing. My favorite part is the chorus about thinking late at night. Who am I? The ultimate struggle of defining your person and trying to be your own person and dealing with the ups and downs. This is an obvious theme of identity. 

People are Strange - The Doors

This song is about not fitting in. Each line is the stuff that people are fighting with in their heads all the time. Specifically not fitting in (When you’re strange). The line “Women seem wicked when you are down.” It touches on the fact that people feel unloved, unwanted, and insecure in the world. This song specifically resonates with the private of feeling judged by the public at large and how being different makes you feel alone.

Welcome To My Life- Simple Plan

Teen angst, no one understands me, this mixtape of identity would not be complete without this song. Each lyric is about getting by in life and how everyone feels like they are going about the world on their own. Of course all the themes in this song “To be hurt, to feel lost, to be left out in the dark, To be kicked, when you're down, To feel like you've been pushed around.” The basic I am feeling left alone and forgotten. This goes into all of the themes with ideals of not fitting in as the identity and the personal self.

Shout - Tears For Fears

 Fun Fact: This song was written about political protests. 

I added this song after The Doors to keep a similar sound but bring in different ideas. “Shout let it all out.” This one is more about letting the private out, of course this does not happen often but it is letting your self let go of  the things that are messing with your head. Letting frustration and pain out about the things that ail you can help you relax. 

Failure By Design- Brand New 

This is more about accepting the mistakes that we are as people. Shout took the listener out of the stoic sad sounds of The Doors and Supertramp into the teen punk rebellion. Hating yourself and feeling stuck. “I’m another day late and one year older, It’s failure by design.” Stuck, stuck stuck. Stuck on the girl, on the things that help you forget about what is haunting you.This is more on the theme of identity and private vs public self. Really angst songs are a perfect show of private self vs public self.(Every single second that I pull this off is another lonely night I gotta race the clock.) The whole song is about just getting by in this shitty world after finally admitting that things are kinda sucky.

Who Are You - The Who

Done with the teen angst. Now in a drunken confusion still asking yourself who am I? Am I the person who I know I am deep inside or am I this persona that I hide behind? How does one change into this new person when they have been perceived one way? Still trying to find yourself , “I musta lost my sense of direction because I ended up a superstar.” of course for Pete Townshend he literally became a superstar most of the time people find themselves in other things like a dead beat job they never wanted or stuck with an ideal of them that is a public view. 

A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help) - Motion City Soundtrack

Continuing with the idea of change this song take witty words and strings them into beautiful poetic ideas. “I think I can figure it out but I’m gonna need a little help.” Is the chorus and is prominent throughout the song as searching for the person and just trying to be happy with the world, but still has the ever present darkness “I wish I was someone else.”. This ever present need for escape from yourself but being trapped and having to make the best of it. The singer is obviously trying to change though and make the best of his world while still saying he has bad days.

Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been- Relient K 

Okay finally a happy song. Well not truly, it is a I have changed song. This is an apoligize about the past and the mistakes he has made. The singer says a great line “And the things bottled inside have begun, to create so much pressure that I’ll soon blow up.” This is the tie into the earlier songs of keeping the internal problems and the personal self hiding to make room for the public self. The identity of one is partly hiding true feelings and ideas. 

Unstoppable- Foxy Shazam

Now our tempo is up. The world is feeling a bit better. WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE! Finally fighting the world that has been putting our spirits down we are stepping up to the plate for ourselves and for the things we believe in. Even though life has been spent harshly “Sticks and stones may hurt, but we don’t care.” The song is saying it is time to step up and fight back. Identity is finally coming out through the public self.

 Mixology of Tom Collins - Less Than Jake

This song is much like the last though more on a sour note. The song is accepting yourself as you are but more so just not letting others opinions get in the way “ Who the hell needs self doubt.”. This song is needed because it is not alway a great change but it is a change and the happiness with who you are.

The Middle- Jimmy Eat World

Cliche, I know, but this song is the last. Be yourself. Things suck but it will be all fine in the end which. This last song is one of assurance that always gets me pumped when I am down and is therefor required for this mixtape. Leave the listener on a good note that even if things suck now it is not as bad as you think and things will only get better.

Self Reflection 

My creative piece is a musical partner. As a teenager specifically the world sucks, it feel like everyone is out to get you and you hate yourself. I wanted this cd to say it was okay. That feeling this way is normal and that even though you feel horrible now it will get better. This mix is what has been going on in my head the last few years. I mean specifically relating to these themes of identity and private vs public. I kept the mix less specific to me and more obtuse so that more people can relate to the music and think back to that time in their life when everything kinda sucked at they felt stuck. Or when they were so sad and alone that things get better and how you think changes as you change and go through experiences.

I have been spending a lot of time on Spotify because of this Mixed Cd and I feel like my biggest regret of this project will be that I slowly find better songs to portray the point I want to get across. I had a mix of twenty songs widdled that down to ten and than swapped them out for better songs. I could do that for days though until it was perfect and still find something that means more. I think that I could of done the tape better I feel like there are songs hiding out there that describe what I want to say perfectly but the mix I have put together is still important to me because I know that one day I will need a pick me up and I can listen to this. 

Another thing I wish I could of fixed was my song analyzation. Some of these songs I could of ripped apart and told a whole story with it showing everyone of my feelings of the depth of some of the lyrics but I did not want to overwhelm the situation. Thinking about it now though I like that I gave a brief point to the songs because it forces the listener to see them with more of their own eye.

The book “The Physics of Superheroes” by James Kakalios is fantastic. A great read for superhero and physics nerds alike, James is able to go one step further with the idea by thinking in ways no one else would. An example would be his research into the superhero Iron man, James calculates Tony Starks weight with the weight of his suit to figure out the power the his rocket boots would need to exert in order too get Iron man off the ground. Who would think of this? Who would calculate the surface area of the Iron Man suit and figure out how much solar would be able to be absorbed over how long? James Kakalios does.

I started physics with no idea what was going on and stumbled along with C’s. Third quarter I told myself I needed to buckle down and started reading this book, the first few chapters are basic physics and the stuff that I was learning in class, this outside source helped me bring my grade up to a B as I worked and read. I read about the tension in Spiderman’s webs as well as the tension needed to hold up ten pounds. This outside source really helped because I was working hard to read up more on the subject.

This book brings physics and superheroes together. He picks at the truth in the comics but respects them, he makes sure the reader knows that the reason the science is often wrong is because the comics were coming out so fast the writers did not often have time to learn a whole new science for each hero and villain. The reader gets new insight into the world of science and even learns about superheros.

You can tell if you like this book when you get the little jokes. Good reading.

Partners Name:

City y Country:

Who you spoke with and why you chose that partner. What did you learn about them? What did you learn from them?

How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goals?

First Week: Marley Utzig

Partners Name: Multiple

City y Country: Many

Who you spoke with and why you chose that partner

I did not message any of the people they messaged me and I was able to squeeze my practice in with them but not for a straight five minutes which is why I have multiple people for the same topic.

What did you learn about them? What did you learn from them?

The nice thing about talking to so many different people is that I am learning more about the Spanish culture as a whole, I noticed that a lot of people really like the Red Hot Chili Peppers which I found as interesting not because they are not a good band but because there is a large amount of people who like it.

How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goals?

I am just trying to hold a conversation and learn more and I really like music so this is helpful in me being interested but also in keeping the conversation flowing.

What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations? What specifically to you need to improve on?

I think I am doing well in the conversations and just speaking in Spanish, I need to think of new ways to leave the conversation. 

Partners Name: Theadora Farah

City y Country: Philadelphia, USA

I was having a hard time the last two weeks keeping the conversation going so that is my big goal for this week. I think I did that well.

Who you spoke with and why you chose that partner

I spoke with Thea a senior at SLA. She is one of my friends who is fluent in Spanish and I felt comfortable talking to.

What did you learn about them? What did you learn from them?

She is reading a new comic series, I learned that talking to someone you know vs someone on livemocha is easier to keep a conversation because you know the basics about them.

How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goals?

I realized that my personal goals would be hard to gain through speaking with other people so I created a new goal of just gaining confidence and learning to keep a conversation flowing, which I was able to do.

What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations? What specifically to you need to improve on?

I did well though I was trying to do the “Do not use word reference challenge” and failed after only a little bit. 

Second Week:

Partners Name: Robert/ Mauro

City y Country: Peru/Buenos Aires

(The people on Livemocha would only talk to me a tiny bit.) 

Who you spoke with and why you chose that partner.

I spoke with a man on Livemocha, he messaged me because he was learning English and I am learning Spanish. Both men messaged me to talk so I just went with it.

What did you learn about them? What did you learn from them?

I learned Mauro lives in Buenos Aires, and Robert wants to learn to speak English.

How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goals?

The more I speak in Spanish the more comfortable I become, Mauro knew no English so speaking to him forced me to only speak in Spanish. This was helpful but difficult and I found myself looking at word reference a lot

What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations? What specifically to you need to improve on? (Quote specific things you said or did and what you would have done or said if you could do it again)

I spoke only in Spanish and tried to keep a basic conversation. This needs to change, these conversations are awkward at best and using Livemocha is harder then expected. I want to figure out how to hold just a basic conversation before I try and learn anything about their culture.

First Week: 4/20/12

Iraidia 

Philadelphia, US

Who you spoke with and why you chose that partner

I spoke with Iraidia because I wanted to talk to someone I was comfortable with to start this project off.

What did you learn about them? What did you learn from them?

I did not learn much about her, but she tried to teach me some common words like cuál is what, and maybe is quizá.

How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goals?

This interaction helped make me a tiny bit more relaxed with the language and also taught me some new words.

What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations? What specifically to you need to improve on? (Quote specific things you said or did and what you would have done or said if you could do it again)

One of my goals was confidence and working with a friend who was good at Spanish helped. I still have a lot of work to do and Iraidia was teasing me kindly about my use of the Spanish language since it is still quite choppy. I need to talk to more people outside of school because I will be speaking to people I can learn more about.

Our Public Service Announcement is about the amount of litter in SLA. There is a large amount of students in our school not disposing of their trash properly and leaving it on the ground. This image of litter in our school is visible all around, in the bathroom where food is sitting in the drain, the halls where kids just toss their waste and forget about it, and finally the café where the most trash is left on the floor to be ignored.

Litter seems so unimportant and we do not fully realize what we are doing when we drop something on the ground to forget about later. Litter is bad but upon doing more research we discovered even more ill effects then just it looking dirty. Litter is a fire hazard and attracts bugs, animals, and bacteria. This is important for the students at our school to know because they are not only creating an unclean environment but an unhealthy and unsafe one.

Our group took ideas from other PSA sites. Chelsea got the idea for a pledge from a sight about healthy food (http://www.fightbac.org/). Catherine and I got the idea for our posters from the images we saw online and how well they got the idea out. (http://blogof.francescomugnai.com/2009/11/the-80-best-guerrilla-marketing-ideas-ive-ever-seen/) Tyler wanted to have a place where all our efforts could come together and thus our website (https://sites.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/littering/?pli=1) was born. Chelsea wanted to make the Twitter account to get more people following our movement.

Catherine and I worked on the posters. We wanted them to be colorful and have pictures so that they were interesting. Unfortunately we could not make a hundred posters all by hand and in different colors but the more posters the better. Putting them up was full of strategy; the posters had to go in highly populated places but also in places where littering was the main problem. We put the posters on blank walls so that it popped more because it was the only thing there. The ballroom on the second floor was bombed with poster as was the lunchroom. While walking the stairwell you come face to face with the posters because they are at eye level (a selling strategy that is used by companies). The posters are also placed for relevance, if the poster is about fire then it will be near a fire extinguisher or the ones about boys producing more litter are in the boys bathroom.

This project is really important because it is a big problem in our school that does not seem important but is makes such a difference and is such a nuisance. 

(I like the chorus. I need to check all my lyrics to be sure they are correct. In the song I talk about where I am from my hometown and my love of music. I think I am going to do something quick and simple for the tune.)

“I feel uncomfortable. Everyone is staring at me. Do I have something on my face? Where are my best friends? I can’t do this without them.” High school is hard, this is a known fact. Teenagers are awkward, confused, scared, and not comfortable in their own skin. This years sophomore, English and History class with Mr. Block helped me and I am sure more students in my class break out of the comfort zone they created, to make amazing projects and hand in fantastic class work.

In English class we had Journals. Journals were a way to write about school and such. We also used our Journals for more personal things. One of my friends, Samantha Zeisloft, went up to read a personal piece aloud. A few sentences through she began to cry. It was powerful she was so close to me and yet I had not known something so personal about her and the fact that she was able to go up and read it to our class showed how comfortable she had become with us all. Mine was not as deep as hers was but here it is; Journal.

In history class we did a project on comparing religions. While this project didn’t get us closer as a class it helped us explore different religions and learn more. I did mine on Scientology and Greek Mythology. As far as I know no one in my class believes in either of those religions but doing a project on them still helped me learn more about those religions. So once again the projects we did this year helped us

We had a poetry unit in class. While most projects are very strict, and have to be a certain way according to the rubric this project was not. With poetry everything is artistic and full of feeling. You have to dig deep to find the soul of your poetry. The whole class had to write five poems each was given to us by our teacher but everyone took their poem a different way. One poem about your childhood could be games you played as a kid or things you believed in. With the poetry unit not only did we get to show off our skills but we also got to learn more about the other kids in class. One of my favorite poets was Justin Pullins his stuff was amazing and I had never even known.

At the end of the year we worked on the Schuykill River with the Leah Stein Dance Company. We worked in groups with people we did not normally work with. Working with new people in our class helped us become closer as a stream. Dancing on the river in public where anyone could see us helped us break out of our shell. My group had to work together to create a dance from al our different personalities and styles. It is hard, and the fact that we all felt like fools didn’t help at first but as time went on we became more relaxed in our dance and more confidant with our production. We suffered through the heat to perform and it was awesome to see performances from other students in our class.

This year was hard and this year was long but because we were able to become closer as a class it made the year just that much easier to handle. 

                 Searching for Hope

                        A Collection of Monologues About Darfur

                                    By Marley Grey Utzig

Character list (In order of appearance):

Young Fatima Terab

Thomas James

Amina Terab

Samir Wek

Dr. Simon

Older Fatima Terab

                                                Act 1 Scene 1

 Fatima Terab

Small Child's view of how life was before the Janjaweeds.

 So this is for a doc-o-men-a-try? (Pause small smile) Sure I will tell you about my life in my village. I run and get water for my family in the morning I am up the earliest and my mom likes to say it is an easy way to get me out of the way (small chuckle) Then mommy has me come home and boil the water for clothes. She lets me play with my two brothers Samir and Bakit. We play hide and seek with the other kids and tag but my brothers are always able to catch me because I am younger then them but I am also smaller so I can hide much better, so when we play hide and seek, I have my favorite spot its under a tree. I see my eldest sister Amina near the tree most days when I am hiding there. She picks the twigs that are good for the fire off the ground. When I was younger and confused as to why you did not take the wood from the branches of the tree my mommy explained that it was a sin to hurt the tree. So they would go in the forest and pick up twigs and stuffs. Hmmm where was I? Umm oh yeah! My day. So I play with my brothers and the other kids in the village. Mid-Afternoon we go back home for a bit I help mom with boiling clothes and sweeping. Mom keeps me in the house for the rest of the day to help with more chores and making dinner. My daddy comes home later he is one of the leaders of our village. We sit down to dinner … umm yeah that’s about it of my day. Bye Miss! (Hops up from position and goes to run off stage looks back like interviewer asked question) Yes umm... (Looks in camera with a stern face) My name is Fatima Terab I live in the Kass village of Darfur, Sudan. I am 7 years old. (Pause squints face then big smile) Sure I will do your introduction. This is a film by Tiffany Strauser this interview was filmed in 2002. (Pause) Okay bye miss.

Act 1 Scene 2

Thomas James

(On the street near a street corner with a white binder his NGO is labeled on the front and he is trying to get people to donate)

Hello sir, spare a moment to talk about the genocide in Darfur? (Pause) Miss, do you know about the genocide going on right now? (Pause) Excuse me Sir, (Pause) Yes, hi. Do you know about the Genocide in Darfur? (Pause) No? Okay well basically the Sudan government has hired a group of men called the Janjaweed whom are killing people in Darfur. (Pause) You have a good day sir. (Pause *SIGH*) Ms! Hi would you spare a moment to hear about the genocide in Darfur? (Pause) Cool, so the Sudan government has hired a group of men called the Janjaweed who are killing villages in Darfur. The U.N. estimated 200,000 dead and around 2.5 million displaced. If you make a donation it will help us put more political pressure so that we can help Darfur. (Pause) Yes thank you Ms, have a nice day. (Pause) Hello, do you know about the crisis in Darfur? (Pause) Currently genocide is underway there. See most people don’t care what’s going on in Darfur … or anywhere in Africa for that matter. As far as most people are concerned Africa is a country always at war with itself so why should we care? BUT that’s the point! We should care in 1994 there was a mass genocide of at least 800,000 people but no one cared! There is a movie on this horrible event as there are with most horrible events movies that barley brushes the surface of the media while movies about Facebook make millions in the box office and make already rice people richer. People are DYING but no one cares as long as it does not bother him or her. Makes you wonder if the US really even cared about the genocide in WW2 (Pause *Horror stricken expression*) Oh goodness I am so sorry that I went off like that, please sir have a good day. (*Turns around* Talking to himself*) In the words of H. Jackson Brown, Jr. “The greatest ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about” (Sigh again Turn around look shocked) Hello, again sir I am so sorry (Pause) Oh! Ah thank you so much for your donation. Good afternoon sir.

                                                Act 1 Scene 3

Amina Terab
(Dirty girl around 18 dirty dress and sitting in her hut she shares with several other women)

Yes hello, I understand you are interviewing me for a project. (Pause) My name is Amina Terab and I am telling you my story from a displacement camp in Darfur. I am going to tell you of how my village was attacked. (Pause) (Deep breath)
It was a massacre, one that we should of expected. (Pause) The Janjaweed had already attacked the Shatia. Who, who were we to think that Kass was safe? That our homes, and farms would be left alone? (Pause) I was not at the village when it first happened I was gathering water, I heard the machine guns (shakes as saying this next bit each bang is a body jerk) bang bang bang bang. Then came the screaming. I could see the glow of fire as it ignited a building. My friend and I ran into the forest trying to hide. The Janjaweed were there they grabbed my friend and ...and began to strip her of her clothes (pause) I feel terrible to say this, but I ran, again, I left my friend and ran back to the village. The houses were on fire. Little kids were running around scared, confused, and crying. The Janjaweed had gotten off their camels and were beating men in the street; the women were getting it worse. I kept running I did not stop running. No one noticed me and if they did I did not notice them I just kept running. I was able to make it to this displacement camp. Two days later, some other people who had escaped from my camp and I walked back to our village.
It was (Pause) horrible... I … I can hardly describe what I saw. I looked for my little brothers and sister … I found my brother Samir … well I found his head cut off from his body. (Swallow) I … I am sorry this is hard to talk about. (Deep breath) My family we owned a small house with some land behind it where we grew Karkadeh, the plants were ripped from the ground. Our water supply was nothing, people were dead buildings were burned down … anything with any worth was gone. I … I could not stand to look at it … I am sorry that is all of my story I do not want to scare you but that is just a small bit of what we go through everyday, no one … no one can ever say they know what I am going through. Because we, we have no hope. We must fight for ourselves.

Act 1 Scene 4

Samir Wek

(Sitting at a table a bunch of microphones in front of him with the occasional “camera” flash.)

Hello I am Samir Wek. I am with the government of Sudan; we have decided to set up this press conference to talk about the rumors going on about the Sudanese government working with the Janjaweed. Please ask away. (Pause) No of course the government has nothing to do with this group the Janjaweed, this is a complete and utter lie. Another question please. (Pause) No, that is a common misconception, the Janjaweed are not killing because of racism we believe it is over land. Yes you, what is your question? (Pause) Well no it is not labeled genocide. (Pause) Yes the United States has labeled it genocide but they are the only ones. (Pause) 200,000 people killed? No the number is not nearly that high. The U.N. likes to exaggerate things. (Pause) Well yes displacement is common but 2.5 million is much too high. (Pause) No we really don’t have anything to do with this group of people. (Pause, looks worried?) Harun would never associate with this group of people! (Pause) I highly doubt he was seen with the Janjaweed. (Pause) No the government would never give these people money or guns. (Pause) The Sudan government has nothing to do the group Janjaweed. That is the end of this conference!


Act 1 Scene 5

Dr. Simon

(Standing behind a podium with a microphone on it waiting to present his speech to the hall.)

We had to… we had to go in with no fear. No negativity. We had been prepped I worked in a hospital for 8 years. I was not a partier in College and I never had any of my friend’s die or horrors in my family. When you get thrown into the hospital it’s … all rushed. You cant panic you cant have a moment to breath because every moment a life is on the line. You never get a chance to think about what could happen you just do. When I decided to volunteer for the program Doctors Without Borders ... I will be honest it was to impress are girl who worked with the program Save the Children. I know, I know stupid thing to do but I figured I would go to a few meetings donate some money from … lets face it my fortune. I would be done with DWB and get with this girl. I was wrong, I ended up getting really into this program and a bit later I was sent to Darfur. They prepared us for what we were facing. (Pause) And like I said you just get so rushed, you have to do this and that without thinking you have to save this person you don't get a chance to breath its all so fast. It was also … so worth it. I did not even get with the girl whom worked with Save the Children I still talk to her she had to quit when the economy got rough. But yeah these displacement camps are terrible we were taking care of people with bullet wounds and many girls whom were raped. I remember one young girl who was pregnant, she told me how old she was … 15 she was 15 and was pregnant it was terrible how she got like that but many told me worse stories of their villages being attacked. Anyway this girl was in her second trimester, she didn't know whom the father was, I was able to give her things that would help her though carrying her child that she would not of been able to get given the lack of medicine in her village. That was in calm conditions where she would of been able to relax with her family, a family that she tells me now she has not seen since she was 7. I just wanted to tell you these stories and how amazing this program is, Doctors Without Borders changed my life. Thank you.




                                               Act 2 Scene 2
Fatima Terab

(Much more scuffed up and dirty now not as many smiles and looking very sullen older girl with a tummy (pregnant)

Are you with the same lady who was here last time? (Pause) Yeah she came to my village a year back she was doing a documentary on African villages but I suppose this is not any where near my village. (Pause) My name is Fatima Terab. I am 15 now. Living in a displacement camp my cause to be here … is the same reason I am pregnant. My village was attacked about 8 years ago. I was a young girl … I didn't know what was going on mom was dragged from the house by her hair daddy was inside being beaten with the Janjaweeds guns … though at the time I did not know that they were called the Janjaweed. I just knew that they were scary and they were hurting my parents. Samir ran into the house and caught eyes with me he shouted hide... Had he not shouted I would not be here now … but I would never be guilty of the nightmare that happened.. one of the men took a large knife and (Get choked up) his head flew off … my body took over I did not cry I did not scream I just ran. I ran and ran and ran to my tree. There was fire everywhere and so many men on horses. It was so long ago but I remember being curled up under the tree trying not to cry too loud not knowing what would happen to me. I waited until it got quite and even then until dark. I crawled out of my hole under the tree and walked to the village my face hard with tears and dirt. I walked through my village at the age of seven I had seen my brother murdered had no idea where my parents, sister, or my other brother Bakit were. I was alone at the age of 7, I walked for two nights when I stumbled into another village, and a woman there took me in. A month later the village was attacked. The women and I were able to run she took me to a displacement camp with her. I lived there for (thinks for a second) about 7 years. It was hard but the UN fed up grains for the most part. Then a group attacked our camp. I was not lucky enough this time to get away. I was gang raped. And now I am with child. (Pause) A lot has changed from when I was a 7 year old and now I must take care of this child that was forced upon me a child who I do not know the father of. I should have hope for my future. But I don’t, the UN helps us, Doctors Without Borders help us … but we must help our selves … and I must try and find a place I see as safe.

“Cannabis, what is that?” some people ask. Okay, how about Marijuana? Are the first things that come to your mind images of hippies and giggling potheads? If it is, then you need to turn your view around. The Marijuana Cannabis Hemp plant may just be the miracle that this world needs.

 “The War on Drugs.” This “war” started in 1969, and since then has cost the government (and American tax payers) more than 2.5 trillion dollars. Last year they spent over 15 billion dollars on the “war.” A little over 400,000 people have been arrested for drugs offenses this year. Half of them were arrested for Cannabis.

 Around the 1950’s marijuana laws were set into effect targeting the Mexican-Americans and other minorities. The media campaign that followed it was full of twisted truths and a plethora of lies. Movies like “Reefer Madness” were part of this campaign and delivered a false message that using marijuana would drive people crazy. The attack on Cannabis was full of racial hate and greed. Harry J. Anslinger, head of the DEA, made multiple racial and inappropriate comments. He used scare tactics by telling the public that “you would become violent and attack white women,” and “Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.”

 Drugs are put into different schedules. Each schedule is how helpful the drug is medicinally. The first schedule means there is no medical help from the drug and the higher the schedule the more it does help. Cocaine is in schedule two. It used to be used to numb gums at the dentist and in liquid form would stimulate your eyes at the optometrist. Marijuana is in schedule one meaning no good uses have been found for it by the Federal Government (yet). This means they are obviously ignoring the fact that many people self medicate with marijuana every day to calm pain arthritis, nerve damage, chemotherapy, etc. Tests have been done proving that it slows cancer, lowers blood pressure, and for some patients, it’s very much needed. A patient with Multiple Schlerosis who would shake so much he could not talk, after self-medicating, he was able to calm down and have a full conversation without shaking.

 The Declaration of Independence, something you learn about in grade school, was drafted on hemp paper as most paper during this time was written on hemp. There are many products that hemp can make and the materials that it makes are ten times better then the competing products such as paper, cloth, pasta, milk, lip balm, and all types of oil. Hemp is a different type of cannabis then marijuana and you cannot get high off of it because there is no THC (Tetra Hydra Cannibunal) in the plant. Hemp was grouped in with cannabis because it is 99% the same plant except that it does not produce THC. This coupled with the fact that paper and fuel companies were losing money to the products that could be generated from the hemp plant.

 I could go on for pages about the Marijuana Cannabis Hemp plant. This plant is powerful and helpful. Yet we label it with terror and hate. The main thing is that this plant is getting a hard time because of ignorance and non-acceptance.