This week I watched the National Geographic documentary, Free Solo, on Disney+. This is the story about a guy named Alex Honnold who attempts to follow his dream of climbing El Capitan, a 3,200 foot rock, without ropes. This documentary is filmed by a group of Alex’s fellow rock climbers who help him to prepare for the extreme challenge. Along the journey we find out more about Alex’s friends and family, including his relationship with his girlfriend, Sanni, and many of his fellow rock climbers. Alex talks about how his life goals revolve around soloing (climbing without ropes) and that climbing is where he finds the most joy. He explains how he has turned his passion into his career, which I think is very inspiring. Along the journey there are hardships and roadblocks that prolong his climb. With the idea of death constantly in everyone’s head, the documentary is constantly full of stress. As I watched this I was always on the edge of my seat. I thought that his journey was so interesting and amazing. It was truly intriguing to watch the preparation and life behind this amazing feat. This film was so inspiring and I would highly recommend it. Honestly, a lot of the process he went through to reach his goal was surprising. I admire his determination and strength throughout the journey, and I hope that one day I can have as much passion as he has for his career.

Recently, I have been looking to my future and thinking of possible career paths I might want to pursue. I found an article that explains why the biomedical engineering field may be the path for me. They argue that those who pursue biomedical engineering can follow many different paths. Some may find themselves in hospitals, while others may be working in research facilities or universities. I agree that this makes this type of engineering field very appealing because there isn’t just one end destination. There are a bunch of different things you can do with the same degree, and I like that type of flexibility. Although conventional wisdom has it that to go into a medical field one has to be some sort of doctor, there are many different ways to apply yourself to the medical field. This article demonstrates that a bioengineer can be involved in a medical process as well by doing research, bringing medical devices to the market, or even by being a university professor. Their argument that biomedical engineering is a great career is supported by new research showing that around the world many countries are in increasing demand of bioengineers to solve modern medical and technical issues. I agree that this field seems very intriguing with regard to what I am interested in for my future. This article helped me to develop my understanding of this particular career path. It gave a lot of information on biomedical engineering, which I find extremely helpful as I try to choose between college majors.

https://www.hotcoursesabroad.com/study-abroad-info/subject-guides/why-study-biomedical-engineering/

Speaker- Joe Navarro is a former FBI agent and specializes in body language. He is very educated on this topic and made a career in catching spies for 25 years using this knowledge.
Occasion- He is retired from his job in the FBI and continues to use the information. He also came out with a book about body language that is featured in the video.
Audience- The audience is the general public that finds this topic interesting and those with access to the internet to watch it on YouTube. Although it can be more helpful to some people, such as poker players, this is targeted towards all sorts of people.
Purpose- The purpose is to efficiently teach people how to read all sorts of body language in many different situations, and reveal what people may be thinking behind these non verbal cues.
Subject- This video is about body language, or non verbal signals, being given off by people to transmit information.

Navarro starts his video by introducing himself in order to gain credibility. Then he moves on to debunk common myths and misconceptions people may have. Another move he makes is telling an anecdote. He describes a time he caught a spy by the way he held flowers, which indicated he was from a different country. Another move he uses is listing examples of how each part of the body can communicate something different in a non verbal way.

I think that this video is very interesting because there are so many things we do subconsciously and don’t realize. By watching this I can understand a little more why we do those things and how to detect them among others. It is really cool that he is able to share this unique information with others since it is a topic I feel many have questions about.

I just listened to an episode of the podcast To The Best Of Our Knowledge called Out Of The Mental Illness Box. I think it was very powerful and I originally chose to listen to it so I could be more educated and knowledgeable on the subject of mental illness. I am aware it is a huge problem today and I believe it is important for everyone to understand it, whether you are experiencing it or not. A main theme that they argue across the entire episode is that people should be curious about their mental illnesses and not ashamed. They should have self-love. I completely agree with this theme and I think it is great that they can spread this message to help others. In the episode, they described many methods that can be used in addition to medication in order to help with mental illnesses. However, they do make it clear that it varies a lot among people, which is why it is important to be curious to find a way to cope with your specific issues. Conventional wisdom is that when you have anxiety you do not want to create any more anxiety or fear. However, they describe how a girl who suffers from panic attacks and anxiety has learned to utilize horror movies to cope. Whenever she is feeling very anxious, she puts on a horror film because she feels all the fear for the movie which cancels out her anxiety, so that she can focus on and feel the true emotion that the anxiety was hiding. I think it is amazing that she found this way to help herself. Another interesting way to combat mental illness is with exercise. I have always believed that and been taught that exercise is good for you both mentally and physically. However, this podcast made it clear how effective it can be for treating all different mental illnesses and also that there are different recommended exercises depending on your illness. Other methods that they described were expressing feelings through poetry and using psychedelic drugs. Overall I think that these conclusions will have significant applications in the world of mental illness as well as how we research and look at it.

https://www.ttbook.org/show/out-mental-illness-box

This past Monday, February 17th, on our day off of school, many students from the Glenbard district came together to help a charity called Project Linus. I was so excited that I was able to participate in this event. Project Linus makes blankets that go to children in need. Across the country, all sorts of people, children and adults, make these blankets. They held this specific event at Ackerman Sports and Fitness Center, here in Glen Ellyn. When I walked in, I wasn’t expecting to see so many students since we didn’t have school. The gym was packed with people, all sitting on the ground in groups, cutting and tying fleece blankets. I found out about this event through interact club at our school, which I am a part of. I am so happy that I did this because I got to meet other people from other schools, and also I had such a great time. Volunteering is so uplifting because I know that the work we put in will have such a positive effect on the underprivileged kids that receive the blankets. It is truly amazing how so many people can get together to work towards such a good cause. The event was very organized. You would walk in and grab the fleece, scissors, and blanket making instructions. We found a spot on the floor and proceeded to cut strips that we would then tie, until we finished our blanket. I had a lot of fun and felt so good after this, I hope I will have the opportunity to participate in an event like this again.

• 

Speaker- The person who made this political cartoon is most likely a democrat or a person who opposes Trump. This is because the cartoon depicts Trump in a bad way, meaning that someone who isn’t his biggest fan would be most likely to create something like this.
Occasion- The occasion is Trump’s recent state of the union address. In this address he did not mention climate change, and he claimed everything was great in the country.
Audience- The primary audience for this cartoon is the frequent viewers of the Weekly’s political cartoons. The secondary audience is most likely other democrats that want to criticize Trump as well, or environmentalists who worry about the presidents thoughts on climate change.
Purpose- The primary purpose of the cartoon is to criticize Trump for his lack of acknowledgment of an obvious problem. It’s secondary purpose though, is to inform people that climate change is a problem currently being ignored, but should not be.
Subject- The subject of this cartoon is simply climate change, Trump, and his recent state of the union address.

This cartoon is about Trump’s ignorance of the climate change topic. It argues that Trump claims everything is great right now, but this isn’t quite true. The cartoon shows in the background symbols representing the global warming that is occurring. I think it is sad that our president isn’t addressing the worlds major problems, because as a man with a lot of power he should be a person who looks to improve this situation. However, I also think that it is sad the amount of people who criticize their own president. Along with this cartoon, most of the other political cartoons I found were criticizing Trump as well. I think that the extreme sides of republican or democrat are a bit unsettling. Overall, I think that Trump should acknowledge the environmental issue, but the Democrats and Republicans should not be as harsh on each or as they are either.

• 

This was a picture taken on February 2nd, 2020 (groundhog day) of the ground hog in Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil. I think that the pictures central argument is to inform the country of the decision so many find important, whether spring will come early or winter will stay longer. The photo uses ethos in order to convey its argument. It utilizes the credibility that this groundhog has in order to tell the world when spring will come. Also, I think that his name is very interesting, and I’m surprised that I didn’t already know it, and that actually many people don’t know it. Upon further research, I found that he predicted early spring this year because he couldn’t find his shadow. In fact, this year was the 20th year in 124 years of recorded history that he predicted an early spring, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he is right. Meteorologists actually doubt his prediction since he is usually wrong. There are also other groundhogs that participate in this tradition, but according to many, Punxsutawney Phil is the only one whose prediction truly counts. Although this is obviously a fun tradition America has each year, it is definitely a little bit ridiculous, but I’m still glad we do it each year. Lastly, this year I did find it a bit ironic that in Chicago, just a few days after he predicted an early spring, it snowed a couple inches.

The article that I read this week was about the emerging Coronavirus. It begins by describing what this virus is, that “it has come from animals” and its relation to past corona viruses: SARS and Mers. Sars killed more than 750 out of 8000 infected, while Mers only infected 2500 people but killed 35%  of those infected. In relation to this so far, “the Chinese authorities had acknowledged more than 1000 cases and 41 deaths” as of January 24th for this Coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China. The article is assuring that many “festivities have largely been canceled and Wuhan and other Chinese cities are in lockdown” to prevent the spread of the virus. So far, it seems as though it only has a 3% mortality rate, but it is unknown how contagious it is. Although it may seem scary, this article explains that it should not throw the world into a panic quite yet.

One thing in this article that surprised me was that the seasonal flu typically “is thought to cause about 400,000 deaths each year globally” even though that is less than a 1% mortality rate. I was still shocked that so many people could die from the common flu every year. As of now, I am not worried about the Coronavirus because I don’t plan on traveling to China or seeing anyone who has been traveling to China. According to the article, “unless you have recently travelled to China or been in contact with someone infected” there is no need to treat common cold symptoms any differently. However, I am worried for the people in China if this disease continues to spread. I hope that we can find a cure or at least stop the spread as much as possible to prevent any more deaths.

Source: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52eec360e4b0c81c80749630/t/5e2f040c9655547bd4b2c8dd/1580139533035/AoW+1920_21+Coronavirus_rev.pdf

I recently discovered and watched a very interesting Ted talk called “Rediscover the Pitbull” by Mitzi Bolaños. Mitzi, the speaker, shows us how she is very passionate about dogs and the way they are treated. She also makes it known that she is a Pitbull owner herself. She gives this speech at a time when across the country there are many laws against owning a Pitbull in certain cities. She even tells us that there was a time when it was legal to own a tiger but not a Pitbull in Miami. The subject of her piece is obviously the treatment of dogs based on their breed, specifically Pitbulls. Her purpose is to make it known that the breed of a dog does not determine the aggression level or personality of the dog. The audiences she targets are the law makers of the government responsible for rules against pitbulls, those who believed the misconception about Pitbulls, and also her fellow Pitbull lovers.

I think that her speech was very powerful. She began with a story about a specific Pitbull named Gigi. When she explains the scars and trauma that Gigi has went through, but also how she overcame them to become a therapy dog, I was amazed. I agree with her that dogs just have to be given the chance to show their true personality and the good they can do. I think that the transformation dogs can make is amazing, and it’s wild how the government could make these gentle creatures illegal. Another issue is that law enforcement could kill a dog for just looking like a Pitbull in certain cities. I also found this really interesting: when dogs were forced into fights by their owners, they came out of the ring and weren’t hostile anymore, they were gentle and wanted to love and be loved by their owners. There is even research to back this up, which shows the dog breed will not affect the dogs aggression. So, after watching this, I don’t understand why people are still so judgmental and scared of pitbulls.

TedTalk: https://youtu.be/-fO5ExdTzDs

As my friend has made aware to me, Pit Bulls are often looked over when in shelters because they are thought of as aggressive and unfriendly dogs. I wanted to find out the truth about whether they were as unsafe as the public believed them to be. You hear in the news all the time about, for example, a child being attacked by a dog, and that dog most likely being a Pit Bull. Some say that “violence is in their DNA” and that Pit Bulls were “specifically bred… with incredible aggression and fight.” However, those in support of Pit Bulls explain to us that “it really boils down to being responsible owners” because “any dog from any breed can be aggressive, it matters how it’s treated.” What I got out of this article is that a dog’s behavior is dependent on their owner’s behavior. I believe that Pitbulls are as safe as any dog, and just need to be treated properly so that they can behave well. The Pit Bulls of the world are looked upon badly because of the people who raised them. They are not inherently evil or scary, they will act based on how they are raised. If more people would give them a chance, I’m sure that the world would see how kind they can be if just given the right amount of love.

Source: https://time.com/2891180/kfc-and-the-pit-bull-attack-of-a-little-girl/