Break a Leg

The Story:

It was the day before my first field hockey practice when I fell. Participating in the redneck sport of trash-bag sledding, I broke my first bone. For those who weren't aware, trash-bag sledding is when you wet down a grassy hill, put on a trash bag or two, and just slide down. I took a bad fall the second time I tried it, and I immediately heard something snap in my right leg. With the worst pain I ever felt throbbing in my calf, my parents took me to Patient First. They told me I had fractured my tibia, and this was confirmed the next day when I saw an actual Orthopedic. The worst part was not being able to play field hockey, but of course having a cast all the way up my thigh wasn't very fun either. Luckily my leg healed pretty quickly and it gets better every day. I can't say I would ever trash-bag sled again, but at least it was fun the first time!


The Reflection:

My story is good because the plot is relateable to the reader's life, it has some humor in it, even though it's has a serious plot, and it has a resolution in the end. I think the format helps the story flow because it has a beginning, middle, and end. I chose to write this story because it happened recently and it was a big event in my life. It was the first bone i had ever broken, and I am still affected by it now. I would say that a good short story is composed of: an interesting plot, descriptive words, correct formatting, and a good ending, for example, a resolution or open ending. I know I'm not the best short-story writer, but i think that Break a Leg is pretty well written, but I always have room for improvement.

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

Katie Sullivan

The book I chose to  read was Tricks by Ellen Hopkins. It seems to be very interesting, and what I like 
about it best so far is that it is written from different points of view. I always love it when the author does this, 
because it makes the story more interesting. Tricks is also unique because it is completely written through poems. Each narrator has a different story, but what they all have in common is a conflict at home. Even with their rough lives, they each are in love. So, each one has an interesting love story with a twist. I am very excited to read Tricks and I have a feeling it will be a great read!

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Abortion: Rights of the Unborn

Katie Sullivan

Mrs. Zurkowski                                      

Honors 9- Yellows

20 September 2012

Abortion:

Rights of the Unborn

            Is it acceptable to kill an unborn child, just because you don’t want it? The Supreme Court decision of Roe vs. Wade made abortion legal up until late term pregnancy of about 20 weeks. The topic of abortion is much debated and very controversial. On one the hand are those known as “pro-choice” supporters, who believe that a woman should be able to have control of what goes on in her body, and that abortion should be legal. On the other hand are people known as “pro-life” supporters who believe that abortion is the murder of unborn babies.  No one denies that homicide is immoral and illegal, but when it comes to abortion suddenly the thought of murder is put on the back burner. A fetus in the womb is just as human as any other person, yet it is legal to end its life with no second thought. Fetuses are humans and deserve the right to life as much as any other living creature. There are fetal homicide laws currently enacted, and there are abortion alternatives available to women.  Thus, abortion should be illegal at all stages of pregnancy except in cases where the woman will die in result of the birth or pregnancy.

            What makes a human, human? A human breathes, has brain activity, a beating heart, cells, and a response to stimuli. A fetus has detectable brain waves at eight weeks. “Every abortion stops a heart that begins beating 22 days after fertilization” (Balch). Every human has 46 chromosomes carrying genes that make each person unique. It is proven that from the moment of conception, a fetus has these chromosomes (“Human Life”). “By 20 weeks, an unborn child reacts to being pierced by a needle with vigorous body and breathing movements, moving away and showing an increase in stress and hormones” (Balch).  All of these proven facts support that a fetus breathes, has brain activity, a beating heart, cells, and a response to stimuli, all of the characteristics that every other human has. However, despite the fact that a fetus is a human being, abortion is still legal. Abortion is often seemingly acceptable because the fetus looks nothing like a person, but isn’t it also true that a newborn baby looks nothing like a teenager? So how can it be made justifiable to kill an unborn child just because it doesn’t look the same as other humans? “A new born child does not look like an adult person, but that does not make the child any less human” (“Human Life”). 

            Assaulting or killing another person is a crime. It is also an additional crime however to kill or injure a pregnant woman and her unborn child. “In April 2004, President Bush (R) signed into law the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, a bill that makes it a crime to injure or kill a fetus during the commission of violent federal crime against a pregnant woman” (“Fetal Homicide Laws”).  This basically means that if someone were to kill a pregnant woman, then that person would be charged with two deaths, one for the mother and one for her unborn child. In this sense a fetus is considered a person and is protected by law. “They say that mothers who lose unborn children to violent crime should not have to suffer the indignity of being told that their child is not recognized by law” (“Fetal Homicide Laws”). This law is only enacted in twenty-nine states; hopefully it will be eventually put into play in all fifty states (Fetal Homicide Laws). It’s interesting that it is illegal to injure or kill a fetus in the womb, yet it is legal to end a fetus’s life through abortion. The government’s position towards abortion is hypocritical and contradictory. If it is illegal to injure or kill a pregnant woman and her baby, then abortion should be illegal too, considering it is doing the same thing. The other component of this law is the obvious crime to kill a person. Abortion would be acceptable only in the case of when a woman’s life is at stake. At that point, there are two humans on the line and the mother’s life is just as important as the unborn child’s. In these unfortunate situations the mother should have the right to an abortion since her life is at a risk.

            Abortion should be made illegal because there are always abortion alternatives available. In the cases where a woman is not ready to raise or child, or isn’t financially stable, there are other options to abortion. They shouldn’t end an unborn child’s life for their own personal reasons, or even because they think the baby will have a rough life with the mother’s lack of money. “Mothers not wanting a baby because of a lack of money should look at abortion alternatives like adoption” (Balch). Adoption is a great alternative to abortion. The baby will be able to be adopted and grow up in a stable environment and have the life that was destined for him/her. This way the woman doesn’t have to get an abortion, and she doesn’t have to provide for the child either. “For instance, the antiabortion group the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) says that there are nearly 3,000 Crisis Pregnancy Centers in the U.S. Those centers advertise their willingness to provide clothes and equipment for babies, as well as financial assistance and advice for expectant mothers and information on adoption” (“Update: Abortion”).  As this quote points out, there are many places to get help during a pregnancy. If a woman wished to get an abortion because she didn’t have enough money to raise a child, the Crisis Pregnancy Centers provide financial aid and materials for babies to help the mother (Update: Abortion). With these alternative options to abortion, there is no need for abortion to be legal.

            Some people believe that abortion should be legal, and that women deserve the right to choose what goes on in their bodies. They don’t think about what is going on in the body of the unborn child. Pro-choice supporters compare the relationship of a set of human chromosomes and a human to the blue prints and instructions that make up a building to the building itself. They say that blueprints are made up of ink and paper, and are distinct from the building itself (“Human Life”). This is wrong because a fetus is not simply human chromosomes, it is a human being. Blueprints of a building would be equivalent to the DNA of a person, which both adults and fetuses have. “At that moment…the fetus is formed as a unique person that, if allowed to develop freely, would grow to function independently” (“Human Life”). In this quote, “that moment” is referring to the moment of conception, when a new human being is created.

            The solution to abortion would be to repeal the Roe v. Wade law, and make abortion illegal. Currently, counseling has to be given to the patient wishing to receive an abortion about the extent to which the fetus can feel pain and the alleged and disputed link between abortions and breast cancer (“Abortion: Update”).  This is not enough to stop women from undergoing abortions. NARAL acknowledged that “Medicaid-eligible women in states that exclude abortion coverage have abortion rates of about half of those women in states that fund abortion care,” so if coverage for abortion is lacking, lives will be saved (“Balch”). This should be enacted in all states if not making abortion illegal completely.

Abortion is wrong and should be illegal except in the cases where the woman will die as a result of the pregnancy or birth process. There is really no need for abortion to be legal, because fetuses are human being that should be treated with respect even though they can’t speak for themselves. With fetal homicide laws in place, abortion should also be looked at in the same way. There are abortion alternatives and financial help available to pregnant women. Finally, people should know that getting pregnant is a result of sex. If abortion was illegal, there would most likely be less unprotected sex and sex in general. More people will fear getting pregnant and not having abortion as an option to them. Abortion being made illegal will ultimately lead to less STD’s.  Hopefully abortion will one day be illegal, making the world a safer place.

Jeremy Eagle

http://www.2facts.com/icof_story.aspx?PIN=i1000520&term=abortion 

Works Cited

"Abortion: When Does Human Life Begin?" Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 22 Aug. 2005. Web. 25 Sept. 2012.

Balch, Mary Spaulding. "Protect the Unborn." Sirs Issues Reasearcher. USA Today, 22 Mar. 2011. Web. 25 Sept. 2012.

"Fetal Homicide Laws." Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 25 June 2004. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. <http://www.2facts.com/article/i0901360>.

"Infobase Learning - Login." Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 23 July 2012. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. <http://www.2facts.com/article/i1700270>.

"Update: Abortion." Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 22 Feb. 2011. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. 

Research Topics

Katie S.

The book I read this summer was So B. It by Sarah Weeks. My first choice of topic is the treatment of the mentally disabled, and the discrimination they face. This topic has two different views because some people think that the mentally disabled are not treated any differently, while others believe that they shouldn’t have the same rights and inclusions of schools and jobs. In my research paper I would be arguing that it is not acceptable to discriminate against mentally disabled people.

My second research topic would be phobias and how they should be treated. This issue can be looked at from two different viewpoints. Some individuals may think that phobias are just irrational fears that should be overcome easily, while others believe that phobias are deep physiological problems that cannot be faced so indifferently. My research paper would argue that phobias are serious problems that are caused by past traumatic experience, and therefore require more analysis to overcome.

Summer Reading

Katie S.

            In the book I read, So B. It by Sarah Weeks, Heidi is 12 year old girl who has an unusual life and home situation. Her mother is mentally disabled, and her real care taker is their agoraphobic neighbor, Bernadette. Heidi has no idea where she and her mother came from, or anything about her past. Heidi found out that her mom once lived in Liberty, New York. Itching to know more, and despite her age, Heidi managed to get a bus ticket and make her way to Liberty, New York. Once there, Heidi discovered much more about her mom. She figured out her mother’s real name, who her father and grandparents were, and much more. During all of her excitement, Heidi received a call from Bernadette with awful news. Heidi’s mom died while Heidi was in Liberty. The story ended with Heidi having a funeral service for her mom up in Liberty. I chose to read So B. It because it seemed interesting. Also, a friend recommended it too me saying that she really enjoyed it. So B. It deals with a few serious issues. One would be just the fact that Heidi’s mom was mentally disabled, and another is that Heidi knows almost nothing about herself. Also, Bernadette is agoraphobic so Heidi can’t go very far past their apartment. All of these problems set up the rest of the story line. I thought that So B. It was a great read. Heidi’s life was really interesting and all of the characters were very unique.

            Can’t Get There From Here by Todd Strasser is in many ways similar to So B. It by Sarah Weeks. Can’t Get There From Here is about kids who ran away from home and formed a homeless kids group called the Asphalt Tribe. The overall theme of the book was stubbornness, and perseverance. This is similar to So B. It because both novels have atypical home situations. Heidi’s mom and caretaker are unusual, and The Asphalt Tribe is homeless, and living on the street. Both the Asphalt Tribe kids and Heidi are very independent. The Asphalt Tribe is completely on their own, they only have each other. Heidi on the other hand is independent because her mom can’t really help her and Bernadette is agoraphobic, so Heidi does a lot of errands on her own. Both Can’t Get There From Here and So B. It present interesting story lines that keep the reader pondering the conflicts long after they have finished the book.

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