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Hi I'm Angelyque Oquendo, I am a Teenage Depression Surviver. This is my You & The World Project. My project is about Teenage Depression and What are the symptoms?, How it occurrs and things that can help it make it less lonely. Teenage Depression is serious concern for most of half of America ( the world also). Teens that suffer from self-harm thoughts and low-self esteem become more in danger to self being , being able to getting better. Especially when things at home and school are stressful in a person(s) life, especially when it concerns the people who become more and worried about loved ones.

Being a teen is hard it’s like being a little toddler trying to climb the stairs for the first time and is terrified to climb right back down. In this article this young girl, she is about almost 20 years old, her name was Faith-Annn Bishop, she gets up at 2 o’clock in the morning while her parents are asleep and had a blade and she then pierces her soft skin and starts bleed right out on the bathroom floor of her parents house. The pressure was way to much for her handle most of these things that had kept her from being in a better and healthier state of mind. http://time.com/magazine/us/4547305/november-7th-2016-vol-188-no-19-u-s/

Self-harm is a big concern with teens who choose to have thoughts and being where they become in a not strong state of mind. Teens in this stage don’t realize how these things affect themselves, others in such a far along stage. In 2015, about 3 million teens ages 12 to 17 had had at least one major depressive episode in the past year, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. More than 2 million report experiencing depression that impairs their daily function. About 30% of girls and 20% of boys–totaling 6.3 million teens–have had an anxiety disorder, according to data from the National Institute of Mental Health. http://time.com/4572593/increase-depression-teens-teenage-mental-health/

Being in a self harming state of mind is really difficult for some people with depression to really understand that self-harm is a really serious condition, preventing that from happening is reading between the lines. Really-really look right through your teen and see what is it their going through something very hard  for he or she understand and to go through by themsleves.I had almost done some damage to myself as a young teen, self-harm was on my list of a last resort to being done, I’d had thought maybe if I were to just leave things and people would forget, it would be for the best; But yet again I was wrong.

Signs of symptoms with teens suffering from depression, Emotional symptoms are sadness, tiredness w/ Low self-esteem and Fixations on past failures or exaggerated of self-blame. “When I was 12 my mom had sent me to a therapist to see if I would talk to who at least someone because I had not want to talk to her or and anybody else”. “She was awfully worried about me and of my health, she did’nt stop she would pressure me to get out of the house go to the kitchen and eat , socialize with others.” “And my mind was completely blank during these request, she’d ask me what was wrong bascially questions regarding me and if I were still inside.” “Maybe even calling for some type of help deep down maybe or somehow even getting back to my type of silly normal.”

Behavioral symptoms fluctuate frequenely, isolation occurrs when your teen becomes more detached from others. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/teen-depression-signs-help.htm

Helping your teen to becoming more activite is good start especially socializing with others. Asking for mental help froma doctor to prescribe things to she or he.

My project is about the access of healthy food for everybody in Philadelphia, even for poor communities. I want to make a change because the city has the capacity to act way better on this and food issues are at the source of mortal diseases on a long term, like diabetes or overweight. The question isn’t only the fact that healthy food is very expensive, the issue is also going through education actually plays a big role, and that’s what I want to improve!

All these restaurants are very unhealthy but common on highroads! (source)

This topic really matters to me because this is really one of the first aspect of the city that I noticed when I came in the US: most of the cheap food quality is deplorable, and healthy food is crazily expensive- to give you an idea, the fruits price are twice bigger here than in the center of Paris! As a person that is new to the U.S  I’ve a different viewpoint on this issue and more stepback on what’s different compared to Europe, and what could be the origins of it.

I believe that knowing these benefits of healthy food is very important for many reasons. First, a lot of people don’t even know why it is bad for your health and body to eat junk food and what are the multiple consequences. I also think that the whole Philadelphia public school food system is to reconsider: in public establishments, the services have free (or cheap) services with a mediocre quality. Imagine all the repercussions on your health if you eat lunch there every school days. A solution could be every students pay a cotisation depending on their wealth, to dramatically improve the service quality. Then, it would still be possible for everybody to have more access to equilibrated food. While talking about school, another important point to do would be to give an education about health to childrens via school- it maybe already exists but I don’t know.

This map shows the relation between obesity and poverty. (source)

This issue is significant because it touches all the social classes (even if mainly disfavored communities are victim of this issue) and it is a global problem for people health. We know as well that the most penalized are children because habits are taken at this life period, also children's health is more fragile, then could reduces it on a longer term. Sadly, this issue is also social and discriminates poor communities. Besides all these reasons, I think it is important for you to know what’s wrong with this issue, because, even if I think that you know a bit about it, the origins of this problem are mainly going through education. Also, it’s good to know that some associations are doing an excellent job in Philadelphia for improving the situation. Another example the Eat Right is an excellent association that helps people of all the ages (children, seniors…) to adapt their diet.

I think that the thing that I’ve discovered through my researches that could educate the readers is every time you buy food, no matter what, you’re shaping the future and the world in what you live: the food quality is traced on what population buys.

The Road of Affordable Healthcare

The world is a broad topic, from the people on it to the nature to everything. The You and the World project is a project that challenges students to approach a specific problem that is relevant in the world. Something that one is passionate about, which is why I chose Affordable Health Care as my topic. Why am I so passionate about this topic? This is because my mother is a nurse, I’ve seen her patients that rely on affordable health care, such as Obamacare. Also, I want to know more about healthcare because I seek to become a physician in the future.

You may have not heard of the Affordable Healthcare Act but you may have know what Obamacare is. It is dubbed that because it was a law passed on US president Barack Obama’s authority. In the end they are both the same thing. The Affordable Healthcare Act’s objective is to provide more Americans to health insurance and care. It offers Americans benefits when they have a life changing moment,like getting married or having a child. If the participant is below the poverty line then Obamacare offers a lower cost ( Obamacare Facts).

Affordable Healthcare Act’s logo.

Affordable Healthcare is important because without it, families would have to pay more on hospital bills (Benefits of Healthcare). They would also get less care than others which is why Healthcare is a necessity. Healthcare provides health insurance. Health insurance is definitely not the same as car insurance. Poor families have benefited from the Affordable Healthcare act. About 11 million people have signed up for Obamacare and depend on it, according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Even though those facts are true, president Donald Trump wants to take away the Affordable Healthcare Act (Donaldś statement). He believes that taking away this healthcare will help others. Why take it away if so many Americans rely on it to survive? These people have families that they have to take care of too.

Donald Trump making speech.

Affordable Health care is one important step to helping poor families. Taking care of yourself and family is a priority that most people adhere. During hectic times like this, anything can happen. Being insured is a splendid feeling to have that many don’t acknowledge. By all means, the Affordable Healthcare Act isn’t perfect but it’s better to help others rather than not at all. I care about Obamacare because I’ve seen how it has helped countless people in my mother’s health clinic.

America is a wealth country but there are still many people who are struggling with money. These people work hard to purchase necessary expenses. Health care is so important that it could determine between life or death. That is why I wonder why Donald trump was so eager to take away the Affordable Healthcare Act without having something else to replace it? How has Obamacare change the participant's lives? Following up to this I plan on interviewing a nurse who teaches patients about Obamacare and an Obamacare user. As I get deeper into this project, I hope to learn more of the benefits of Obamacare.

Annotated Bibliography

My project is about internet addiction. My goal in doing this is to personally learn to myself about it as how I’m going to change the world is still unknown to me yet. I chose to do internet addiction as I sort of think I also have one but I use it for entertainment when i'm not doing homework or projects. Reason I say that is I spend most of my time upstairs in my room. I also wanted to do this so I can take from this as well and be in my room less.  Internet addiction is a huge issue as it affects you mentally and physically. Internet addiction can make you lazy and not want you to do your work. Internet addiction also ruins your love life and those who you cared about will one day just leave you (unless your loved ones are also online like you). People who become internet addicts are people who are also alcoholics and people who use it to get away from real world problems like people suffering from depression. A sort of positive reason people get addicted to the internet by the opinion of John M. Grohol is the socialization as you could talk to anyone from around the world or relatives you can barely see often. Other times it’s people who like playing videogames and just want to keep playing it. It's important to know about this so we don’t end up with a terrible life and living on the streets alone. Internet addiction didn’t even start serious and never intended to be a real disorder. Internet addiction could also be compared to alcohol addiction. link to image

One place that never has dealt with an internet addiction even to this day is Cuba as with the trade embargo they never had access to the internet. As time progress more people published their own publications of internet addiction but the publication of the DSM-5 from the APA, they stated further research for internet addiction before they added it as a disorder. A few of the mental effects of being an internet addict is depression, anxiety, and no track of time. A few physical effects of being an internet addict is back and headaches, blurry vision, and also carpal tunnel syndrome which is numbness or weakness in your hand from playing too much. Link to image

Recent research estimated nearly 40 million people spending more than 20 hours a week which was doubled from the estimate for 2008. About 50 percent of people between ages 13-17 in the US use the internet for a long amount of time. Research also stated that teen boys spent more time on the internet than teen girls. In 2016 researchers surveyed adults between ages 20-30 and found out 14 percent of them were at risk of internet addiction and most of them had full-time jobs. Through my research so far the impact of it has impacted me greatly as it could also affect my own life as I spend much of my time at home on the internet.

Annotated bibliography

Growing up I have always been “different”, I was the only mixed girl with locks at a afro centric school. Being the only mixed girl made me feel like I was too light and people always made comments about how I was too white for them. Along with my complexion I had locks, which wasn't quite a common hairstyle to see. People would say it looked like I had a dirty mop on my head or that I looked like Medusa. The comments that people made about my skin and hair me feel bad about myself, which drove me to comb out my locs. This is similar to how body image is affecting people everyday. Body image seems like a common thing because we don't really make it a big deal, however it can play a major role in someone's life, that is the cause of many issues. For my “You and the World” project i'm am going to be focusing on body image and how the media affects girls in high school. For this project I would like to see how body image really effects the girls in my high school, and based off of the information that I receive I hope to spread the reality of how body image is affecting people in my community.

Body image is mentioned often, but I don't think that people really think about what body image really is. The Merriam Webster Dictionary definition of Body image is “a subjective picture of one's own physical appearance established both by self-observation and by noting the reactions of others.” As mentioned in a BBC News article, social media is one of our main ways of communicating, however we don’t always put our true self forward. We tend to use filters or alter our pictures before we let the world see them. We want to be “perfect” so we don’t let people see our flaws.

Did you know that Americans spend altogether about 250 billion hours of watching television? And about 30% of that is comercials? “The Media And Body Image” by Mirror Mirror Eating Disorder says that “ads seldom portray people that look like us.” the average model wears a 2 or a 4 while the average american wears a 12 or 14 (in women's sizes.) so people are striving to look like these models when on top of being way smaller than the average size, the images we see are altered to make the model look even skinner.

Body image is becoming an issue that young girls are dealing with as well. The article “The Issues” by NYC girls project says that “80% of ten year old are afraid of being fat.” As well as “By middle school, 40-70 percent of girls are dissatisfied with two or more parts of their body.” knowing that people may not be the happiest with their bodies why does it matter? Not having the body image that you want can cause low self esteem and decrease your confidence. “The Issues” Article says that body image can cause eating disorders from low self esteem, alcohol abuse, smoking, obesity and bullying. These are some of the consequences that affect the people who suffer from not having the body image they want.

After reading “Male vs. Female Body Image”, I was able to see that men are affected by body image just not as severely as women. However that doesn't mean that it isn't and issue, men tend to be more discreet about it.

Body image is a simple issue that can become a very large issue in someone's life. The images we see on social media make an impact of how we see ourselves. That view of ourselves can cause bigger issues like an eating disorder or low self esteem and a lack of confidence. Taking what I have learned from research, I now want to see how real of an issue body image is in my high school.

If you would like more information on my research, check out my Annotated Bibliography

​Hi I'm Sam Gualtieri, I'm a freshman at Science Leadership academy and my topic for our You and The World Project is Technological advancement and the singularity. Technology is an incredibly powerful tool. It has become part of our lives, and yet most people don't know what's behind their screens.

The graph shown here represents the rate of advancement in computer technology since 1900 in comparison to human brain power. The rate consistently increases as time goes on. This consistency has lead many to expect that at some point in time not long from now, the line on the graph will be vertical. This point is most commonly known as the technological singularity. Many theories have arisen about the singularity on the graph, but the most popular and likely theory is that this is the point when computers will start building more computers, which will most likely not have an optimal outcome for humans. Scientists and engineers like Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk are among these theorists and have all expressed concern about this point in time

Computer technology is already faster and much better at retrieving information than humans are. The only thing preventing that from being a threat is that we command them what to search. But as the way computers process information becomes more and more like that of a human brain, it’s only a matter of time until a chip could be able to become aware of itself. And if that is to happen, it’s motives will be entirely up to it’s choosing. As a human would probably do if they physically could, these computers would likely start improving upon themselves. Faster processing times, faster computers, faster improvement, until robots build even more, even smarter robots in milliseconds. This sounds like pure science fiction, but humankind is alarmingly close to hitting this point. Elon Musk Said in a recent CNN report “AI is much more advanced than people realize, and the pace of progress is much greater that people realize.” He mentioned the dangers of Artificial intelligence “What’s not obvious [to detect] is a huge server bank in a dark vault somewhere with intelligence that’s potentially vastly greater that what a human mind can do.”

However, Artificial intelligence is the ultimate point at the end of a path with multiple dangerous lanes. Much technological improvement is in the name of what’s cool or marketable. Every day a new advancement is made to bring our smartphones closer and closer to us not only in lifestyle, but in physicalness. Places like Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology are working on modifications to access a mini computer through your eye contacts. Let’s cover one thing. That is super neat. And that seems to be the mass consensus amongst smartphone users around the globe. But while microscopic, less silly looking google glass does sound appealing, internet connection that’s attached to your face comes with multiple foreseeable problems. In the age of the internet, most of us know that what we do online is not private. Our search history is tracked by Google. Lot’s of our photos are stored on the cloud or an online drive. Search engines and websites track when and what we do on them. We have a severe lack of privacy online. All this information is being stored online, where a computer could easily reach it. One of the many paths on our journey towards the singularity. In the future of this project, I’m going to be going over future technological advancements, current problematic technologies, and all of their places on the path to the technological singularity. This is something I’ve discussed with my 7th grade English teacher time and time again. I’m fascinated by technological advancement and have been for a long time. Topics that will be covered include lack of privacy, the potential dangers of cellular data radiation, online storage, human workers being replaced with machines, and at the end of the road, Artificial intelligence. If you’re a frequent internet user, all these things affect you or will affect you soon. It's important that you are aware of your place in the world of technology, and how such an integral part of your life could be quite a bit more dangerous than you may have thought.

Annotated Bibliography

Hi my name is Niya Petty and I am a freshmen at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and my topic is problematic foster homes. In today’s society, there are many children in foster homes. You would think children are put into foster homes for a better living conditions, but we really don’t know what happens behind closed doors. No child should be mistreated in a place which is suppose to change their life for the better.But how can we overcome this problem when we have no prove that this happens. This problem can get bigger and bigger and can make the ones placed in these harmful foster homes worry about their safety in a stranger's home.

    I came over the news one day and it was talking about how a foster child had ran away from her foster home. Mind you this girl was around my age. You would think why would a child want to run away from people who care for you? Then you get to the point that maybe something is happening that us outsiders don’t know about. She claimed to run away because she said she wasn’t treated right in her foster home. 13% of foster children run away at least once and go live with friends. There was a testing between foster children that run away and foster children who don’t run away. They found out that the foster children who do runaway are older children and majority of them are female.

If you think about it, there are many children in foster homes till this day.Children who are mistreated by their parents are taken away and put into foster homes by the state because of mostly abuse towards the child. When put in these foster homes, children believe they are somewhere safe and wanted but in some foster homes this abuse still goes on and there is no one around to help or stop by to see if everything is going well.

A child can suffer from lots of things being a foster kid. Bad things can happen or good. Going through what a foster kid goes through can be stressful and lots can change for them such as fitting in or behavior changes. This mainly happens in group homes.Group homes are another name for foster homes and children are placed in because they have been physically or sexual abused by their guarden. But in these group homes, this abuse is still going on just like it does in foster homes. Some children can decline the foster parent from caring for them because they don’t feel as they will we safe. It can be hard for children have  a good foster home to stay in. As more and more foster parents are declined the children don’t have a place to stay and thi can cause a big problem.

To fix this problem, I believe that people who work with foster home organizations should stop by the foster home to see if everything is going well. If the foster children were to have a one on one conversation with someone they can trust. Sometimes, problematic foster children tend to not tell the truth when it come to talking about the care that goes on in the foster homes, so if the children would corroborate in telling someone the truth about the foster home care, we wouldn’t have so many abused or harmed children and the problem can be solved much easily.

People were made to interact with each other. What better way to meet new people in your community than a park? It is the center of the socialization in the community. Or is it just a place that lasts for a long period of time? A lot of our childhood memories involves parks. In some ways, they have shaped who we are today.

    My name is Elijah Afrifa and, I am interested in informing people about the importance of having parks in every community. Me growing up in the area that I am in it’s known as one of the worst neighborhoods in Philadelphia. I was raised in the Strawberry Mansion area. Which is on the list of the most violent neighborhoods. When I was younger I vividly remember having to run home because people were shooting not too far from the park I was in. I feel like no child should have to be afraid to play in a park because of how dangerous it is.

It’s important for others to know. If the word doesn't get out then the problem won't get resolved. We as a rising generation need to take into account that our children will one day be playing in these parks. Iḿ pretty sure that no one wants there child to be on the 10 oçlock news because they were shot or stabbed while playing in a park. I plan on reaching to head members of the city. So here is where parks come in.

   Parks can serve the community in so many ways. An example of this is, parks can give kids a safe to play. Not only can a park serve kids during school but it can also serve kids after school. Playing outside is crucial for healthy development in children. In the result of this, kids being able physically to be active can lower obesity rates by a lot. Children are able to play and do what kids do instead of being out on the streets causing trouble because they have nothing to do. Being a teenager today I am able to see the impacts of having no good parks in the area. So, instead of doing something productive I caused problems around the community.

My last example of how parks can serve the community is helping the environment.  To the US Forest Service, one tree generates $31,250 worth of oxygen, $62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycles $37,500 worth of water, and controls $31,250 worth of soil erosion. Additionally, parks end up lightening the load of sewage and storm water runoff, as they are much more effective and exponentially less expensive at storm water management than man-made sewers. Some of the bigger parks, especially state and national parks have a big effect on conservation. Many may have informative areas on conservation or even host guided tours on the park, with a focus on conservation. Whatever it is, parks only help to boost the health of our planet; something it needs right now.

  In conclusion, I am going to go more in depth with this topic. This topic has matured my thinking to a level of where I wonder how my life would have been different if I went to a different park when I grew up. Would me being in a different environment change the person who I am today? I hope to learn more about Michael Nutter’s past actions of rebuilding parks in downtown areas. For more information check out my Annotated Bibliography!

Hi, my name is Chandrea Lack and for my English project, I will be focusing on the topic of graffiti. Have you ever thought about how the writings on the walls got there? How did such a blank and empty space get crowded with so much emotion and images that people go to look at and take pictures at? Everything on the walls of Philly has a purpose, what started all of these murals you see on building walls or abandoned houses all started with graffiti. Graffiti is a common form of art (in some eyes) that is considered vandalism. This is because the government claims that these graffiti artists are drawing on private property. The amount of respect for graffiti is looked down upon specifically because it’s considered vandalism and the destroying of property homes. Graffiti is created by children and adults from the age of 12- 19. The murals you see all over Philly and if not other places out the of state too, there are murals on the walls and they are inspired by the smallest bit of graffiti as said in this video. In the first half of the video, it explains how graffiti that was drawn on poles, in cities, or anywhere available. This kind of graffiti was then claimed to be destruction and the graffiti artists were soon told that they would not be able to vandalize property but instead draw murals.

The general reason why this topic is important to me is because the thought of art always stuck with me. I always saw anything with color and a unique creation was special to me and growing up with art teachers and them teaching us how to draw simple things like lines and circles were always helpful for me. It helped me see the world as just something more than a big ball of creation, but also art. Graffiti is also meaningful to me because some people make a living off of this, there are some graffiti programs that let people write on walls so that they are displayed to the public. A site that displays some form of graffiti is the Graffiti Pier. I think it’s important if more people knew about this because it’s something you don’t see everyday since most of the graffiti that are written on either public or private walls are being erased by city workers, people who like art or enjoy the sights of it should consider looking at graffiti. Street art can also be a way for people to express their feelings and thoughts on nonliving things such as walls or poles, but can’t be expressed in front of anyone else. That could also be a problem because the more we know about the people who might want to hurt themselves is another life that’s lost.

The problem with this is that not many people agree with this, because the government says it is vandalism, we all assume that graffiti is vandalism. Public property that is not used stays untouched. While the government could be worrying about building more hospitals or offices for people to work in, they leave these abandoned homes untouched. These abandoned homes can also help homeless people. Most graffiti artists can tell which is private and public property, the most you see of these writings on the walls are under the bridges of Philly, on abandoned walls, near the Philadelphia Zoo, and under the bridges of the schuylkill river. Instead of having to look at plain brown rust, these visual artists are doing their community a favor by showing their talent and skill. The small things like that can lead into bigger things like murals. These murals are inspiration, creations made from something simple, something that uses a limited amount of colors, lines, and other shapes, but they aren’t considered vandalism. Plus they are seen on walls of homes and buildings but then graffiti can’t be drawn on abandoned bridges?

For more information on the topic “Is Graffiti Really Vandalism?” you can look into my research. If you are also interested in looking at more links to find these artists there are also some provided here.

Hello, my name is Kennedy Fields and I'm currently a “African American ballerina” in training. Since the age of three, dancing became a passion of mine. As I grew older I studied various dance types but ballet became my  obsession. The tedious corrections given daily by teachers propelled me to become the best black ballerina I could possibly could be. The dance style ballet is known to be showcased dominantly by the white, a race I don't identify with. There are many famous dance companies with ballet pieces performed by white dancers, yet there aren’t many black ballerinas. For example; the familiar famous shows like The Nutcracker and Swan Lake don’t have a diverse set of performers. The black community of dancers is slowly growing but still fails in being showcased in big productions.

The following picture is an example of the many rules in executing a pirouette turn. A ballet education, has done a wonderful job in showing how ballet isn’t just twirling around in tutu’s.

Black dancers seeking to pursue the ballet craft weren’t able to in America as early as the twentieth century. There are beliefs the famous, George Balanchi started the discrimination.  George Balanchi is the choreographer of The Nutcracker and is the “Father of American ballet.” Besides his positive contributions to the dance world he also diminished it. Balanchi’s idea of proper “structure” for ballet didn’t mingle with “African American body features.” With research found in an article, It is factual that different races contribute to their body health. With that being said many excuses for blacks not to enter the study were gathered. Three factual rejects included: blacks have flat feet, leg limitations, and curved bodies. Although, these discriminants may sound absurd they meant a lot in ballet. As a part of the technical style some necessities require arched feet, straight backs, flat chests, etc. With these discriminants set it makes “black” ballerinas work twice as hard.

Since the twentieth century many of the beliefs about African American’s in ballet still exist. The pressure has eased from the young generations shoulders slightly from many people who really pushed away from ballet discrimination. A recent podcast interview, interviewed colored dancers sharing their first-hand experiences. All of their stories corroborate having one essential theme, struggling to make a career out of their loved art. Joan Myers is from Philadelphia and had her hopes crushed in her hometown right along Chestnut st. She was walking up and down the street seeking a ballet company she could audition for-but all gave her the same turn around. Joan Myers made success out of the fault in the ballet community by founding a black derived learning environment, Philadanco. Then there’s the famous Misty Copeland who changed the game for black girls all over. She has become America’s most famous ballerina of color. Her recent accomplishment has even made it to The New York Times. Misty has been promoted to a principle at the American Ballet Theatre. This means she will now be seen with lead roles in choreography. This is fantastic but the only concern is she’s the first African American female to become a principal ballerina, since its founding in 1939.

This is a picture of  ballerinas from American Ballet Theatre performing a trio. One also happens to be Misty Copeland. This was from opening night of their show in Brisbane, Australia called Three Masterpieces. Check out this page for more details.

Discrimination in an art ties to social issues. If social justice is something you believe in this should resonate with you. Different forms of Arts are meant to express the human creative skill. Skills can be mastered by anyone with practice, so why are colored dancers discriminated? There’s a difference if you don’t take a liking to one dancers style, but to not like them for a skin-deep reason is harsh. I believe if we don’t start seeing more diverse changes in the ballet profession, it will start to diminish. Young girls today need to see the diverse changes for the cycle to continue and right now there are very few heard of.

Check out my works cited!

This image was found at, Medical Daily. The bottom row shows a scan of the brain throughout the progression of Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Many people with Mild Cognitive Impairment are checked into nursing homes or assisted care facilities. Although this may seem like the best option, it may not be. Many people in nursing homes are more likely to become depressed, causing their conditions to worsen. Due to lack of familiar faces such as family and friends these people would get at home, patients tend to close themselves off. People with this depression tend to deteriorate physically and mentally.

In schools all across American children hear anti-gay slurs everyday. 85% percent of students report hearing these slurs daily, and 24% of them report hearing this from teachers.

Hi, I’m Kenzie Hopkins, I’m currently a freshman at Science Leadership Academy, and for the quarter four benchmark, I chose to focus on the bullying of lgbt students for my You and The World Project. I got interested when I was talking to fellow friends who belong in the LGBT community, and they’ve had more negative experiences than me. Some told me of how they were bullied in school, and their parents don’t support it. Children should feel safe in school and celebrated for their individuality, not bullied and shamed for being themselves. It is important for others to know about bullying towards LGBT students because children, our future, shouldn’t be put down and harassed for who they are and who they love, or what gender they identify as.

This issue is significant because bullying is already an issue across America and the world, but being a person who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, statistics prove that you are more likely to be bullied or harassed than straight people. If people know more about the issues that LGBT people face, they may be more likely to step up and defend the person, report the incident, or stop their actions. Bullying towards LGBT students often starts at a very young age,  In elementary school students being calling each other “fags” and “queer” from a young age, some even at six years old. “In 2001, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) reported that 85% of youth across the nation heard anti-gay slurs from other students on a regular basis.  In most schools there isn’t a gender neutral bathroom or people don’t agree with letting others use the bathroom with the gender they identify with. This is harmful to transgender students, because they may feel unwelcome or uncomfortable with being “forced” into a gender role. Schools are supposed to be a safe space for children to learn and grow, not be bullied and put down. “Schools can send a message that no one should be treated differently because they are, or are perceived to be, LGBT. Sexual orientation and gender identity protection can be added to school policies.”. Schools should also talk about creating GSA’s or safe spaces for children. The right to have a GSA is protected under the Equal Access Act. Protecting privacy is important too, and this passages addresses the importance of not telling a student's parent(s) if the child is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Lastly it gives information about the Federal Civil Rights Laws concerning sexual orientation. Nine out of ten children who identify as LGBT, reported being bullied or harassed in the year of 2016.

I want to help people realizing that children still get bullied in places that are supposed to make them feel special and safe. To read up on more information you can click here to find my annotated bibliography!

Over the years, people get confused on what animal poaching is, and what animal hunting is.  Animal poaching is illegal animal hunting, in this case, they take elephant tusks and other things such as skin. They then sell these things for money, or even process them to make something else. There are multiple reasons why animals are hunted and killed by poachers. One of  them is religion, they think of some animals as pests, that they shouldn’t be on their land. So they hunt them out of the land. People get into fights about this because some religions see animals as sacred animals , almost as gods, so they try to protect them from the hunters or poachers.

A few days ago, I  interviewed a former hunter, he was easy to reach out to considering that he lives in my house. This person is named Matthew Ossowski, otherwise known as my dad. He started to hunt before I was born. This is how the interview went.

First I asked about his past, how he started, etc. He started with “I was 26 when i started hunting.” He continued to say that he started because he learned how to shoot a bow and arrow. His friends were into hunting and he wanted to try and see if he liked it. He said when he was there he didn’t see any other people or hunters other than the people he was with. I then asked him what he hunted during that time. He replied that he only hunted overpopulated animals such as deer and squirrel, but he wants to go to Australia to hunt kangaroo because they are really overpopulated there.He also said that he saw other animals when hunting such as bears, foxes, and hawks.  With his friends he hunted in the Poconos and only ever wanted to hunt there (in the US). He also explained that he only ever thought of legal hunting.

I then started to get into the topic of animal poaching, I asked him what the difference is between animal poaching and hunting. He replied with “ A lot of the time poaching is, your trespassing, you know, you would be hunting out of season. A lot of people, like people up in the mountains, they poach to pretty much eat. Not like say in places like Africa, where they poach to kill trophy animals, you know like elephants for their trunks or whatnot. Poaching is just people not following the rules.” I then proceeded to ask him if he thought poaching was wrong. He said “ 99.9% of the time yes, however if you're doing it to feed your family because you're poor, you know legally yeah it's wrong, if you're just doing it to eat, okay. But if you're doing it just to kill something or make money or something. I don't agree with that.

I then asked him a series of questions about animal poaching and his opinion on the topic, while answering these questions, he added on to his previous statement. “That's the other thing about poaching, sometimes with poaching their using weapons, that are, that I don't agree with, like machine guns and things like that. I don't agree with that at all.” I asked him if he ever thought about stopping poaching, he stated “ No because the poaching where I go, I agree with. However, if I had the resources and time, I might.”

Animal poaching is a very serious topic for me because I love all animals, I dont have the heart to kill something, but I do have the heart to stop something from being killed. I believe that poaching (the bad poaching, killing trophy animals) should stop. People kill animals only for price, for money, are disobeying the rules of hunting, they go and kill something out of season, they take their trunks, then leave the body there to rot.

 Rhinos in africa are being killed. There are things we can do to stop it, but there are things that this does to the environment also.Such as the food chain, animals being killed and become extinct. While this happens another animal dies because they can’t get food to eat.  All around the world there are organizations trying to stop this from happening. They go around the world to keep poachers away from the animals, although it is working, just not enough.

In my research, I have learned multiple things. I’ve learned about hunting, and poaching. I’ve learned that even though we use some of these things we take from the animals, we mainly hurt them. However I still question why we do it. We don’t need the horns or trunks of rhinos or trunks of elephants. I hope that in the future i find the answer to this question and maybe change other people's minds too.

For more information please visit my Annotated Bibliography.

Police brutality must be stopped

My name is Adil Shamsuddin, and I will be taking you on a journey, allowing you to understand the abysmal situation called police brutality. Police Brutality Is something I feel deeply about, this is something that need to be stopped because, we are losing people who have a right to live. This incident usually appears throughout the whole world, but, it's commonly known throughout the areas of washington and new york. Police Brutality “is the use of any force exceeding that reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose. Although no reliable measure of its incidence exists—let alone one charting change chronologically—its history is undeniably long”. A lot of people ask themselves this question, why is Police Brutality a thing. Police Brutality had started in the time period of 1874, in new york, when a local police force, started to beating protesters during the Tompkins Square riot.

this is a picture of Eric Garner, this is important because this allows us, to under the wrong of this situation. “NYPD  officers approached Garner on suspicion of selling cigarettes. “After Garner told the police that he was tired of being harassed and that he was not selling cigarettes, the officers went to arrest Garner. When officer Daniel Pantaleo tried to take Garner's wrist behind his back, Garner pulled his arms away”. The most outrageous thing is, the people who was around this situation, had either, record their camera out, or just stood there.

This topic is very outgoing towards the way i think because, I want to see a change in the world. I want to see people go outside and enjoy there day without thinking negative towards, if either they would be attacked by an officer who's having a bad day, or just killed by gunfire by a police force because they thought he or she had a gun. “Police killed at least 303 black people in the U.S. in 2016”. Through the board of justice, the supreme court has no approval of this. “The Supreme Court doesn’t decide a lot of police shooting cases, but when it does, it tends to side with the officers. And increasingly it does so in unsigned rulings for which it doesn’t bother to hold oral arguments”.

this rate is explaining to us how many african americans were killed, or face Police Brutality. This chart in between january 2013- september 2016. The numbers started to rise very high throughout the time period of 7/1/14, it drops done nearly at 1/1/15. Also not only it dropped down, it rose even higher around the months of 7/1/15.

these are rates of how much Police Brutality a city face. Not only people faced it around New York and etc, the highest rate of homicide are hialeah. This bar rate is on a average on how many homicides were faced on African Americans, by themselves. This is also rated by per million, so this statistics are pretty full of amount.  

this was a march that was specifically for Eric Garner, this shows that not only people want to make a difference, they went out there way to do it. The passings of Garner, Brown, and others on account of Police are not by any means the only purpose starting mass dissents. The day after the Garner shows began, low-wage specialists strolled off their employments in more than 190 urban communities, requesting a living compensation and the privilege to sort out. They, as well, droned, "I can't relax." Workers from fast-food eateries, for example, McDonald's were joined by those from low-wage retail and accommodation stores and carrier benefit occupations.

His PDA video of the last snapshots of Eric Garner's life set off a national discussion about policing and race, and gave the beginning Black Lives Matter development a motto: "I can't relax."

Presently Ramsey Orta will prison to serve a four-year sentence for offering heroin and unlawful ownership of a gun.

Orta, 25, saw the demise of Garner, who was limited in a strangle hold by New York City Police in Staten Island two years back. Police were keeping Garner for offering single cigarettes before a comfort store, and place him in a strangle hold to wrestle him to the ground.

Orta got the follow up on his wireless, including Garner's last words, "I can't relax." He then transferred the video to YouTube and enlivened others to get their mobile phones and record police activities the nation over. The officer required in the dangerous strangle hold — a move restricted under the New York Police Patrol Guide — was not arraigned for Garner's demise.

Here is my annotated bibliography

When the media talks about rape, what comes to mind for you? Do you think blame the rapist, or unknowingly blame the victim? Rape culture and victim blaming for women. It’s a huge part of our society, and is shyed away for being taboo. There are two parts to this unpopular topic. But before I discuss that, I want to tell you my own feelings for choosing this topic. My goal in learning about this topic is so I can inform others in my own life exactly what rape culture is, and what they can do to prevent it, as well as victim blaming. This topic matters to me because I see behavior of rape culture in my own community, and hear victim blaming on the news and in the media all the time. Also, I believe that it important for others to know about because it is a topic that people don’t really recognize that much.

Now most people don’t know what exactly rape culture. The true definition of rape culture is society normalizing or trivializing rape of sexual abuse. There are so many examples and instances of rape culture, but to cover all would take at least a week. However, to name a few, rape culture is when people trivialize rape, saying things like “boys will be boys,” defending manhood as dominant and sexually aggressive, as well as putting pressure on men to “score.” Furthermore, assuming that men that are raped are “weak,” teaching women how to not “get” raped, pop music promoted messages such as “she wanted it.” To go on, women being called liars if they report rape is another example of rape culture. Further examples of rape culture include asking a rape victim how short her outfit was, how much she was drinking, or if she was flirting. The list goes on and on. All of these examples are real instances of rape culture.

This image depicts an example of a woman that was told this when she came forward about being raped. This another example of victim blaming in society.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/powerful-pictures-show-how-rape-8310169

On to part two, victim blaming. In society, there are two types of victim blaming. The people that intentionally blame the victim for the cause of the rape, and the people that don’t fully believe it was the victim's fault, but normalize her actions for being raped. For instance, victim blaming would count as the victim being flirtatious, wearing revealing clothing, making eye contact, and drinking. Sayings that are often associated with victim blaming include “she asked for it,” and “she didn’t say no.”

This picture is yet another example of victim blaming. Words like this is how society puts blame on the victim of rape. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/powerful-pictures-show-how-rape-8310169

There are ways to prevent victim blaming and rape culture within your community. Some examples include avoiding comments that degrades or objectifies women, let survivors know it is not their fault, not putting pressure on men to “score” with women, as well as supporting survivors. From learning about the topic, I know that I want to further educate my peers and community on the matter so they can educate others. Society has problems facing hard topics like this, because we all want to admit we would never trivialize such a horrible thing, but we do. Lastly, there are ways to prevent victim blaming and rape culture, as long as we are educated about it.

Cyberbullying Deadly Effects

Hi, my name is Orlando Aguayo and my passion for the You and The World project is to try to stop cyberbullying. I have a strong voice for cyberbullying because I wouldn't like to be bullied or have threats thrown at me. It would make me feel so weak and disowned by the world. I'm also interested in cyberbullying because, as of 2017, cyberbullying is one of the biggest reasons why teens have committed or attempted suicide, according to the cyberbullying hotline. It is also the third leading reason why teen deaths occur, the first reasons being car accidents and the second is homicide. One reason why I started off talking about cyberbullying and suicide is because there are many reasons how cyberbullying connects with suicide. It connects to suicide negatively because cyberbullying can be very damaging to teens’ minds. It can lead to anxiety, depression, and suicide. Also, once things are circulated on the internet, they never really disappear, causing the pain to resurface at later times to renew the pain of cyber bullying.

This image is from the movie and shows how cyber bullying affect victims “I feel like nothing”

I am interested in this topic because about a month ago, I watched a movie called Cyberbully, which was mostly showing how bullying can cause ripples in somebody’s reputation, and how cyberbullying can destroy the person (who is getting bullied online) mentally. Another reason I’m focusing on cyberbullying is because there isn't a reliable way to stop cyberbullying. For example, if I were to block the bully’s account, they can easily make a new one unless you stop the bully by controlling the hate. My goal for this project is for students to understand how things you say affect someone mentally and physically. My personal goal is to make someone who has been bullied feel valued by becoming their friend and showing them how important they are to me. My way of learning more about it is by researching more information on cyberbullying. I’ll also learn more by interviewing a victim of cyberbullying.

In this picture it shows that the two girls uploaded a rumor or an inapporiate picture.

Cyberbullying has a connection to me because a friend of mine has very bad anxiety and depression because she was bullied and cyberbullied. It also a connection to me because my friends are the reasons why I am so happy, so when my friends are being hurt physically or emotionally, it also hurts me because they don't feel worth something or they feel weak. This topic is important to know about because over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the internet. By cyberbullying someone, the victim might start to feel terrible about themselves, which the whole world can see.  

            This pictures shows how cyberbullying is on social media

Four years ago, one of the most controversial deaths of the decade kicked off the movement that we know today as Black Lives Matter movement. It all started with Florida teen, Trayvon Martin, when he was shot and killed by George Zimmerman on February 26th, 2012. George Zimmerman was acquitted (found not guilty) and many Black mothers in the state of Florida took to Instagram and twitter with the #BlackLivesMatter. This incident went viral after millions of people also shared their condolences to the Martin family. The rest was history.

My name is Emily. The topic I chose is domestic violence. Every year too many people are victims of domestic violence. About 1 in 3 women and 1 in 14 men are physically abused by an intimate partner .

A common misconception for victims of domestic violence are that it is purely physical violence. In some relationships there are violent threats made. Also there are many relationships where one partner is basically imprisoned in their own home. Another common misconception is that only women are affected by domestic violence. Male domestic violence charity The ManKind Initiative say that for every three victims of partner abuse, two will be female and one will be male. Domestic violence against men is real but not as recognized as much as domestic abuse against women.

I’ve lived through domestic violence. I watched my father hit my mother for years. Then came along my stepfather. He was just as bad. He hit my mother just as bad as my father did. I remember from when I was as young as 3 my father getting angry and punching walls and doors then eventually my mother would try to calm him down and he would hit her. My mother grew up in a home with an abuser. Her father was extremely abusive towards her mother and her. This being all she knew she married my father who abused her as well. After he left when I was 3 my mother remarried in 2010. This time everything was fine for about a year. Then he began to get angry and hit the doors and walls. Then my mother didn’t want my siblings and I to see him like this. She would then try to calm him down. This bringing him to do the same thing my father did. He would hit her. He left numerous bruises in her arms and legs. He stayed for 4 years before he left. My sister spent 9 days at a mental hospital for suicidal thoughts. She was so depressed. After the first day she was there my stepfather left. As soon as things got hard he left us.

Around 20 people are physically abused by an intimate partner per minute. Many victims never speak up about their experiences for fear that their abuser may find them. Other people never even escape abusive homes. They are to scared of being further abused if they are found escaping. There are also some cases where people are in denial about the abuse they are going through. In these cases people see the situation as normal. My mother thought that everything was normal for years until my father made her wear long sleeves in the summer to cover the bruises. He wanted everyone to think we were a normal family. To the public most relationships are completely normal but behind closed doors too many relationships have an abuser who controls their partner's every move. Domestic violence is an act of control. All acts of abuse are about controlling. Weather or not your partner keeps you from going out or physically abuses you, all of it is about control.

A woman named Lovern Gordon shared her domestic violence story to the huffington post. In her story she explains that she was given the option of her abuser or her friends and family. Being “young” she said she chose him. She said that the first time he hit her she thought it was a one time thing. He apologized and she thought it was over. Over the next month he became more and more violent. He slapped and punched her in private. Behind closed doors was a whole different story to what was seen outside. There was an altercation between her abuser and her brother and he again asked her to choose between him or her family. She was in denial and she again chose him. Over the course of the remainder of their relationship he continuously told her that he loved her. He got even more violent he kicked and choked her. SH thought since he apologized and said he loved her it was okay. There was one particular night, the night she finally got the help she needed where he beat her so bad and threatened to kill her that she thought she may die that night. In this case she was lucky. She got the help she needed. She was lucky. Too many people die from not seeking the help they need.

Annotated Bibliography

My name is Teyonna Little. I am a ninth grade student at Science Leadership Academy. For the fourth quarter project at SLA, the ninth grade class are researching and studying issues in the world that affects them personally or that they are deeply interested in. This project is called You and The World. After seeking multiple topics about youth and issues concerning North Philadelphia specifically, I came up with an idea that affects me personally and young children and teens all over the world. I chose to focus on “Children with Incarcerated Parents or a parent.” While doing this topic, my goal is to learn more about the way children respond to their parent being imprisoned and they everyday behavior concerning their social life and different environments. I am really interested in learning more about this topic because I currently go through the same issue, with my biological father being incarcerated for a long period of time. These behaviors and responses in this specific group of children matters today because it affects their future, their behaviors, and what they would be like, or who they would be throughout the rest of their lives. It is important to know this so that others who don’t struggle with the same issue will know how to respond to certain reactions and completely understand why someone is acting the way they are acting.

Children with a parent or parents in jail or in prison has a common symptom or sign that they are going through something specifically dealing with their behavioral health. You can see this in their social lifestyle; rather someone else is bringing up their missing parent at a school event or they are really withdrawn when other adults talk about it. They tend to become antisocial, and isn’t so comfortable around certain things and certain people. They are emotional and can struggle in school or just simply having a hard time being around other children. Research shows that children and teenagers with incarcerated parents or parent have 8 of 16 mental and physical health issues.  

As I am continuing with my research concerning this issue, my understanding becomes more open and more clear of behaviors I have experienced with myself in my past and in my present. There is so much more to be opened and shared, and I am determined to get others more aware of these children and their behaviors. As of now, I am wondering and more open to know about how these behaviors are dealt with, how the parent that is incarcerated feel, and how life and opportunities can be made easier and less stressful regarding a strong relationship with the wired fence between children and their parent.

Written by Daniel P. Mears and Sonja E. Siennick from Florida State University, they reflect on adult children and how having an incarcerated parent affects their future.

Annotated Bibliography

Overworked Public Defenders

Hello, my name is Payton McQuilkin. This project I am working on is named “You & The World Project”. In this project we are opened to find something in the world that we, the freshmen, feel as though is an issues that needs attention. My topic I’ve chosen is the public defenders in the United States are doing people no justice due to the overload of work they have everyday.  In court people who have little income and don’t have enough money for an attorney are given a public defender in replacement. An attorney, which costs a pretty penny, has much time to investigate and prepare for their client. The public defender will just meet their client when arriving in the courtroom. Multiple studies shows that in the United States, the public defenders are overworked, often underpaid, and not given enough to defend a client.

The whole public defender system started in January 1962, when a man in Florida received 5 years in prison for representing himself. He stole some beer, change, and cokes. Now there is a required “defense attorney” for a client who can not afford an attorney. The public defenders defend any type of cases which can be; felonies, misdemeanors, juvenile, and appeals. When arriving in the courtroom they meet their clients each day. Every day they get a load of cases. Doesn’t that seem hard to keep track of? Even if the public defender was to try to turn down another case to handle, they aren’t allowed. Many states do not allow any public defenders to deny any cases. This picture is from the show called, “60 Minutes”. This episode shows the public defenders. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-new-orleans-public-defenders-decision-to-refuse-felony-cases/

This is a link to watch is you would like!!

Normally because public defenders are so overloaded with the cases they are given, they end up encouraging the client to admit they’re guilty to get rid of the case. This seems pretty unfair to those clients, they are in a time of need of someone to help them. They need someone who cares about their case but all they're worried about is to get rid of their case. The percentage of cases with public defenders are 47%, while the assigned attorney is 12%.  The estimated time a public defender has with a client before appearing in front of the judge is 7 minutes. The public defender is said to work on a case for less than an hour. This shows how little the effort is for the client.  This shows how a public defender is not ready to defend their client. They have no time to look into the case to see if the client is actually guilty or innocent. This picture shows that on different types of cases, the public defender's does not get the time they need to defend their client properly.

I choose this topic because of my first experience with a public defender. My sister, who is in jail, doesn’t have enough money for an attorney, so received a public defender in replacement. My sister landed herself in jail for a year for having drugs on her. I think this is unfair not only because she’s my sister, but because she didn’t have the proper defense on her side. People who commit much more violent crimes get out faster than my sister who committed a nonviolent crime. I wanted to do this because before I had my first experience, I paid no mind to how unfair the justice system can be. I think this is relevant and it affects so many people in the world and this can’t go on forever because it’s unfair! The overload of cases on a public defender’s plate needs to come to an end.

The issue of the public defender's doesn’t stand out much if you don’t experience it. My hopes in this is to help people understand that the way the public defenders are being worked and the clients are suffering. I’ve learned how the system started and actual statics of the public defenders. I hope to find out the estimated cost of an attorney and the impact on the people in jail because their public defenders did them no justice.

You can go to my document on the websites I used here...

Hello, my name is Nasya Ie. I am currently a freshmen at Science Leadership Academy. In my English class, we have a project called You & The World and in this project we get to choose a topic that interests us. For this project, I chose Industries Harming Animals. This topic matters to me dearly because I want to be a veterinarian and to be a vet you have to have passions animals to do your job. I want the world to know how animals are suffering because of companies are taking skin, fur, leather, wool, silk and more! Even pet stores that are selling animals are treating them like nothing.

All around the world people are keeping animals in captivity, they leave the animal in horrible environment and conditions. They leave them in small cramped spaces with no food or water, they get diseases without any vets to help them. Animals are getting diseases because they are in an environment that will make them unhealthy. These industries will harm them, not care for them, and treat them like they are nothing. They harm these animals, they can feel pain like we do. I want to open people's eyes that this is happening, that this need to stop this. Not a lot of people know what the history of the fur they are wearing, how the animal were treated to get the fur. Also, you shouldn’t always trust your pet store because they are not innocent, they are doing bad thing and still doing it now.

Image- One Person, One World

Here is a map showing the percentage spending money on shelters.

All lot of industries are similar with harming animals. By doing this is making our ecosystem have more problems. I know it is going to be a great deal of effort to stop industries harming animals, but I think we can make these industries less greedy. For more information click here for my bibliography.