War before and after

War doesn’t just come with victory and loss. War comes with a lot of consequences that are permanent in some people's lives, such as, PTSD, destruction, tons of money lost, etc..Civilians that live before war live their life peacefully and in harmony. When a war hits they can’t anticipate what might happen next. War affects a person in a lot of different ways before and after.

One country that has one of the highest rates of mental illness in the world is, Palestine. A quarter of Palestinian adolescents have attempted suicide. About 23.2% have post-traumatic stress disorder (according to a survey of 1,369 over three years) compared to around 6-9% in the US; and the Palestinian territories have by far the highest levels of depression in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Those living in Palestine endure ongoing trauma. Someone who has their house demolished by the Israeli government in East Jerusalem, because it was deemed illegal, must then pay fines to the Israeli government for failing to destroy their homes themselves. (Nearly every Palestinian building is deemed illegal by Israeli authorities.) Up to 40% of Palestinian men have spent time in prison, often for minor offenses such as throwing stones. And many families face the threat of Israeli-army raids and interrogations. All this happens within and out of war. In Palestine there is no, war has ended, war in Palestine is continuous.

Before soldiers go into a war zone, they are healthy. Their lungs are healthy and clear, their minds are stuck only on the mission at hand. When soldiers come back from a warzone or war in general, they have to face things that can not jus go away. They face PTSD, depression, and suicide.

In the film, “American Sniper”, actor Bradley Cooper plays a soldier who goes on 4 tours  in Iraq. Throughout the whole movie Cooper experiences traumatic things such as, shooting a young boy, seeing his partner get shot in the face, and having to watch a brutal man drill into a little boys legs. In a certain scene in this movie, Cooper is at a garage and he starts to start experiencing deja vu from the tools the mechanics use. This film shows how soldiers going in and out of war zones start to slowly but surely have a messed up mentality.

From two perspectives: A soldier going into a warzone and a little boy facing soldiers with guns bigger than himself. The soldier going into a warzone has the mindset of going in and never coming back out, but for those who do come out of a warzone alive they suffer from the mental illnesses discussed before, the most common being PTSD. The little boy facing soldiers has the mindset of praying enough to live or knows well enough that death is coming his way, he will never understand why. The little boy if survived automatically is traumatized, depending on the case he may have lost family, friends, and loved ones.

The conditions after war are inevitable. Buildings are destroyed leaving hundreds of families homeless. Families that are just bystanders in the war are forced to face the consequences brought to them. As an example Palestine is one of many countries that faces this tragedy almost everyday. Some say its a free jail. War affects a person in a lot of different ways before and after. It brings, pain, depression, suicide, PTSD, and a lot more. War is forever inevitable to humans.

Sources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/reel-therapy/201501/american-sniper-0

https://qz.com/1521806/palestines-head-of-mental-health-services-says-ptsd-is-a-western-concept/

Passed

I’d never forget this moment. Sitting on the edge of a bridge. I felt the cold wind slapping me in the face. I was just, thinking. I’m not going to lie I had the most sharpest knife piercing slowly deadly into my hand. I could feel the cold warm beautiful blood slowly drip down from my arm, like when you eat ice cream and don’t have a napkin. I could tell that the burgundy blood wouldn’t stain the cold hard ground. 5 seconds later, it went plummeting down from my hand to the deep dark, distant waters. I just stared down, it’s like I could see everything mirroring off of the black dirty water. Next thing I knew, I was standing, on the edge. Just thinking. After that I put my foot out. Just thinking. Ten seconds later I was walking home. I didn’t jump from the gates of heaven to fall down to the nightmares of my personal hell. I was just thinking what if it actually happened.

          “What if I was just not standing in front of you right now.” The words went slowly through one of her ears and out the other, but they boomeranged back. She said,

           “Well, how do you think I would feel or how he would feel, if you did that then, I would bring you back and kill you myself.” I could hear her tears rolling down her face. I was, I was shocked.

           “Wait, we aren’t even friends, you don’t even talk to me like that.” Still as the words come out my mouth not my head, my mind was still focused on her previous words.

           “Well, how do you think I would feel or how he would feel, if you did that then, I would bring you back and kill you myself.” Still everything, everything was just so still, as she kept speaking similarities inclined on the conversation. I felt, different, wanted, accepted, and mostly loved. Then I felt the water, slowly purposely making its finally destination to the bottom of my face. I could hear her crying on the phone. It was so clear, like it wasn’t even 5 centimeters away from my ear. This was killing me, mentally. I found light in the abyss. I could basically say, I’m on the gates heaven, that reminded me that I didn’t want to jump from the gates of heaven, if had I would have fell down to the nightmares of my personal closed hell. The pounding of the metal on the door as the lock opens was loud to the point of fear rushing through your veins. It was my parents, coming back from the store. Husain bolted to my room with tears flooding to my chin.

           This was 7th grade, 2015. It was a new year same school same people same work, same bullies. Same words, same looks, same laughter, all the same counterfeit. I’m not going to lie, ever since middle school started nothing was the same, food didn’t taste the same, walking didn’t feel the same. Everything was different but the same.

           I had a lot of nicknames, there was “terrorist, bomber, suicide bomber, ka boom!”, and a lot of other ones that wouldn’t be appropriate to tell you. Everyday was the same, awake, school, sleep, repeat. I was getting nowhere. I was doing nothing. I was getting nowhere. Life had asked death once, why do people love me but hate you, death said, “Because you are a beautiful lie and I am a painful truth.” After middle school has ended, it was a new chapter, a new book, a new beginning. A fresh start.

           Unsuccessful people hold grudges, I stopped holding grudges. Started to move forward, forget about the past, it passed. It was the first time I could just be me, play my tunes, listen to the drum kick in for the first time in more than 4 years. I Started to wear the SnapBack backwards.

           Food started to taste good, I didn’t just go to school, I did much more than just be apart of the system. I was let loose, I was surfing a new wave. The last one had too many currents.

Do you ever get looked over? Or have people think less of you? Usually being bullied leads to suicide. In today’s society many are being bullied or thought less of because of their past or who they are. This leads to many things such as depression and or spiritual and physical suicide. People target those who are less of them, less stronger, and more shorter.

In ¨Lord of The Flies¨ by William Golding, a group of kids on a plane crash land on an island. Trying to be organized yet still have fun, being bullied or looked over occurs throughout the novel many times. While trying to figure out every boys name that was on the island, a character named Piggy was unexpectedly made fun of. ¨You’re talking too much,¨ said Jack Merridew. Shut up fatty¨ Laughter arose. He’s not a fatty,¨cried Ralph ¨His real name’s Piggy! Piggy! Piggy! Oh Piggy!¨ (25). As being made fun of because of his weight Piggy only wanted to establish order and make friends. Instead he got made fun of because of his weight.        

Also in the novel, Piggy the victim that's being bullied or shown not respected is being told that he did nothing. Jack just tells him that he did nothing and just sat down waiting. ¨We haven't made a fire,¨ he said, ¨What's any use. We couldn't keep a fire even if we tried.¨ Piggy said this with the response of Jack saying. ¨A fat lot of you tried,¨ said Jack contemptuously. ¨You just sat.¨ We used his specs.¨ Said Simon.¨(42) In the novel this particular scene is very interesting because instead of trying harder to make a fire all Jack does is complain that Piggy did nothing yet they used his glasses to try and start something. Also Jack wants to make it seem like Piggy has a lack of effort, he isn’t trying to get off the island or try and help.      

The scenes in the novel also correlates to the real world. Being bullied usually comes from someone's past, how they look, or the way they act, or even their interests. Also being bullied leads to more things that is not good for a healthy lifestyle. It leads to more low self-esteem. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year.  

Josh was bullied at the age of 11 years old. He was excited to start middle school for the first time. He did not want to stay home instead, he wanted to go to school more often. Soon he was bullied, coming home with injuries almost everywhere on nis body. After recess he would find notes on his back saying ¨kick me¨ or ¨loser¨. Everyday in lunch he would get food pelted at him, soon enough he would sit in the hallway instead of the cafeteria. On the third week of school, he went home with a broken foot, soon after he went back the kids told him, ¨When that one heals, I’m gonna break the other one.”

In Conclusion, being treated as trash is not a good thing. Being bullied leads to more unhealthy lifestyles. Some get bullied because of how they look, what they wear, how they act, and more. Usually telling adults does not help, they respond with, ¨Just ignore it¨ but you cant ignore something that's hurting you. In the novel, Piggy soon enough steps up for himself. Josh stood up for himself, he punched his bully in the back of the head. People target those who are less of them, less stronger, and more shorter.

Work Cited:

Modifica, Lisa. “Josh's Story: Getting Bullied at School.” Parenting, 21 June 2016, www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/combatting-bullying-or-is-this-just-the-new-normal/.

“What Are the Causes of Bullying.” NoBullying - Bullying & CyberBullying Resources, 18 Apr. 2017, nobullying.com/what-are-the-causes-of-bullying/.

2 Films 2 Tests

1. The Bechdel Test:

1. At least two women in it

2. Who talk to each other

3. About something besides a man   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r 3UdYPD 0

2. The Technical Test:

1. At least two black males

2. Who talk to each other  

3. About motivation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvt zO6 UAE

Kick-Ass is about Dave, a 16 year old kid that fights for the good. He ends up killing a villains father for justice. Afterwards the villain wants revenge for what he did. He walks around NYC to defend and protect people, with the help of his friends. Eventually he takes out the supervillain and saves NYC.

This movie passes the bechdel test. How you may ask? Well in the movie there a scene where there is a group of girls in the lunchroom talking about popularity, clothes, and well feminine things. One of the main characters Mindy aka Hit Girl usually dresses as a “regular female” no makeup, no dress, no ordinary life style. During this scene in the beginning Mindy decides to put on nail polish, lip gloss, heels, and a nice dress. She walks up to a group of girls that are “popular”, they eventually start saying she can’t be like them just because of what she wears.  

The Pursuit of Happyness is about  a man that goes broke and tries to support his family. Going through all the struggle the only motivation he has is his son, his only child, his only family member left.

This film passes the test that I made up.  At least two black males that talk to each other about motivation. In the film there is a certain scene that shows Chris Gardner and his son playing basketball. Chris tells his child, “You got a dream you gotta protect it .”

THE DEFINITION OF HAPPY-NESS

It really wasnt my fault, I mean some of it was and some of it was just coincidental. At least my mom ain’t find my gun in my bag, I would have been all types of done. Instead I just got kicked out.

That is allll over, now the streets are my home from the chinese place to the end of the block. It always plays in mind. I was standing right there in my room, I was just chillin in bed, talking on the phone. That’s when I heard it, my brother rated me out he snitched on his older brother that both bought him a bike and a skateboard.

Apparently, it was quote unquote peer pressure, I didn't believe him at all. He said before I left that he was scared, yea ok that's what he said when dad died. Was’t scared when he said it to mo-no wait his mom. To me this reason was not even that big of a deal, what she saw like 4 small baggies of weed big deal! I hate her so much she is so protective and always wants to do things her way and whatever happens good or bad she takes it out her kids like what is wrong with you. She acts like smoking weed is bad anyway it really is not, and besides she used to smoke it everyday no matter what, so why can’t I?

Well that's all over like I said my new home is the streets. But if she comes back begging me to come back to the house I’m going to expose her. She acts like I know nothing. You're probably wondering what I am talking about, well ever since my dad died she was addicted to drugs and she has always been looking around for money trying to always buy some. I remember I walked into her room at like 4 in the morning watching her bout to overdose, that's when I stepped in and tried to help. Yet if she saw me smoking she would have just said to stop no but when I see her doing something worse I actually help her and step in, something she will never do for me. I guess the only bright side of this is that I actually tried to stop her and wanted to help, not just kick my child out the house for 4 small baggies. Well now it’s all about making bread on the street and survivin.

But what if doesn’t work out or what if something happens, I don’t know what to do maan. What if I start rappin. Naw I’m not Ice Cube or Eazy-E. I gotta start sellin more weed. You know what makes me so much more mad, the fact that she had the nerve to ask me why I smoke it. But then again its for a good reason or at least I think it's a really good reason. I smoke it cause all the pain that I ever had goes away all my headaches all the pain from one day. Wait that was really good. I smoke it cause all the pain that I ever had goes away all my headaches all the pain from one day I remember all I used to do was wear the same lay the kids I went to school with used to always hate but at the end of the day I was worryin bout the price, cause I was the one bouta pay, ok. I could really make it if I try. Damn I really wish I coulda went back, I guess she really doesn’t want me around anymore.     

Hola, somos Micah, Bobby, Zeyah, and Naseem. Somos del primer año en escuela la Science Leadership Academy. SLA está en la ciudad de Filadelfia. La escuela tiene cinco pisos. Todo el mundo es diferente en SLA y magnífica . La escuela está cerca de una tren estación. Ofrecemos fútbol, baloncesto, ingeniería, y mucho más. participamos en baloncesto, ingeniería, y arte.  

La clase de historia es interesante y necesitamos trabajamos duro. Inglés es importante y necesitamos participar. Tenemos que estar siempre preparados para tecnología. Bioquímica es fácil, tomamos apuntes. Álgebra es estresante y difícil. Tenemos que preparados. Español es importante. Hacemos la tarea. Los materiales que necesitamos son papel, lápiz, computadora, calculadora, bata de laboratorio, y carpeta. Para tener éxito en esta clase necesitamos trabajar duro.

La escuela SLA es muy importante. Me gustan todas las clases pero nuestra clase favorita es historia. La profesora de historia y la Señorita Jonas enseña muy bien y es bastante tranquila. Su clase es muy difícil pero es muy divertido.  tenemos trabajamos duro y leemos muchos libros. En la clase de inglés tenemos muchas tarea. La tarea es muy difícil y nosotros tenemos muchas pruebas difíciles.  

The slide you are now looking at describes me in many ways. The quote you now see is my favorite quote by a youtuber. He’s funny, sad, serious, and so much more. I chose this quote for a lot of reasons, but the main reason is because this is something that's going to help me throughout my years of high school and college. It has a giant impact on me in a lot of ways. The lion to the right isn’t just my favorite animal, but also because the background is black which means I am a lone lion. Lastly is the meaning of the flag of where I am from. This is something very big in my life and will stick with me forever. The dollar at the top means I have a dollar and a dream. The dollar doesn’t just mean I have a dollar and a dream, it also means that you can do very big things with little things. And also the flag is just to represent. At first I didn’t know what to do at all. I was confused and I did not know what I have to or could put on the slide. So I started to think about what I do everyday and what I like to do and my influences such as the quote by my favorite youtuber.