Smoking In Public?

 Smoking in Public?

  Smoking should be banned in Public Places and workplaces. For Centuries, humans have created an addiction to the small “silent” killer called cigarette.  Consuming nicotine through regular cigarettes leads to the release of chemical dopamine in the human brain which motivates you to repeat the specific behaviour such as smoking cigarettes over and over. 

So, I've noticed that some of the students in the school smoke and vape, which might affect their health and academic performance. 

In my speech, I'll talk about the difficulties that smoking has produced in our environment and our  health , as well as how it affects other people.

  Tobacco smoking is the single best public health threat the world is currently facing. It is one of the leading causes of death from cancer, lung and heart diseases. Over the course of the 20th century, it killed approximately 100 million people, most of them in high-income countries. Smoking increases the risk of diseases of the urinary tract, pelvis, bladder and digestive tract.  According to the global burden of disease, more than 8 million people died prematurely due to smoking in 2017. Although people know how unhealthy it can be, they still prefer to smoke, claiming it gives them a sense of pleasure and reduces stress and anxiety.

 What exactly is secondhand smoke? Is it possible that it will harm your health? Will your children be affected by secondhand smoke? Yes, it is correct. Smoking in public can lead to a variety of health problems. People smoke throughout the world, and the smell of smoke has become so ingrained that some people do not even perceive it. Nonsmokers have a higher risk of lung cancer and stroke, according to statistics.

 Do people know second hand smoke not only affects the person smoking, but it also affects the people around them? Scientific evidence shows that smoking is not only harmful to smokers, but also to those around them.  

 The negative effects of smoking in public places can be tangible, measurable, and sometimes even permanent effects extend into other people's lives. Secondhand smoke exposure is clearly linked with negative outcomes on a person’s health. According to the state of Michigan , secondhand smoke can trigger breathing problems, headaches  and other severe health problems in nonsmokers. Children with asthma around secondhand smoke have more severe and frequent asthma attacks, which can put a child's life in danger. Even for people without breathing conditions, breathing secondhand smoke for a brief period can be deadly. The result is that secondhand smoke has numerous short term and long term consequences for innocent bystanders. 

Did you know that smoking cigarettes contributes to earth's pollution? Thousands of smokers don't think twice about leaving a trail of cigarette litter behind them. Despite the fact that smoking has decreased, cigarettes seem to be everywhere, scattered along green spaces, sidewalks, roadsides, beaches, waterways, virtually everywhere we go.  As a result, it's somewhat unsurprising that cigarettes are the most littered object on the planet. Every year, over 4.5 trillion cigarettes are discarded throughout the world. Here are the basics about the environmental impact of cigarette butts.

How much litter is from cigarettes? 

Cigarettes make up more than one third, nearly 38 percent, of all collected litter. Disposing of cigarettes on the ground or out of a car is so common that 75 percent of smokers report it. Most cigarette filters which look like cotton are actually a form of plastic called cellulose acetate. By itself, cellulose acetate is very slow to degrade in our environment, which can take 18 month to 10 years to decompose. 

From my perspective, smoking should be prohibited in community and public places though it's such a hard step to tackle, especially when the number of users is in the billions. So if you're planning to smoke because your friend does it and people think it's cool, never think about it. Everything about cigarettes endangers life on our beautiful planet.

The Hunger Games 

 

This year I learned how to cut down a longer video clip,

to a shorter one using Kapwing Video Trimmer,

which is a free programmer.

I made short video clips to show some of the steps

in the Hero’s Quest.  I put the short video clips about

The Hunger Games into a slide show.

I learned how to use the movie's prominent colour as the background, which is red, as well as the font, which is yellow, and the movie frame, which is orange. I learned how to put spaces between my clip and the paragraph. I also learned how to put borders on my paragraphs.

I also used a “How to” YouTube video online to convert my slide show into a presentation in this blog.

Freckles

 Freckles

An elderly woman and her little grandson,  whose face was sprinkled with bright freckles, spent the day by the zoo. The giraffes were so tall like a building and the elephants were massive like a  ship.

 Lots of children were waiting in the line to get their cheeks painted by a local artist who was decorating their faces with different animal fur, stripes and spots.

“You've got so many freckles! There's no place to paint!” said the little girl in the line behind the boy. Embarrassed, he dropped his head. His grandmother knelt down in front of him. “Oh darling, I love your freckles. When I was a young girl, I always wanted to have these lovely freckles” she said while tracing the brown dots on the child's cheeks.

“Freckles are lovely?” the child lifted his head “Really?”

“Of course, you should be proud that you have those because you're unique,” she said, cheering him up.” Thank you grandma,” he said as his face lit up.

“I bet you can't name me one thing that's prettier than freckles” The boy smiled sweetly as a thought popped into his mind as he looked up at his grandma. ”Wrinkles!” he said with a warm smile

Sarahh's Journey in the City

  My CARE short story...

It was finally Sunday evening and Sarahh was about to buy a new phone and a bunch of things for herself. The busy city welcomed her, hundreds of rushing people walking on the street. Massive billboards were flashing in her eyes like a bright midday sun. “I love the confidence that makeup gives me”, The billboards screamed at Sarahh, “I believe that women are pretty without makeup, but the right make up can be pretty powerful.” Different advertisements enticed her to splurge her hard earned money showing off new launches of phones, fancy dresses, makeup and other shining things. 

 

 Sarahh had dreamed of that shopping trip for so long, she had  spent her time working just so she could enjoy spending. She was really excited to buy a new launched iphone 12,  elegant floral maxi dress, shining shimmering jewelry and make ups that can cover up her lovely freckles. 

While walking, she then saw a homeless person  beside the road. The man was dressed in shabby clothes, he was really dirty and his hair looked so greasy as if he had not taken a shower for months. The man looked starving and skinny as a stick. Sarahh could smell the man from miles away and people were just ignoring and avoiding him. 

Sarahh was a really soft hearted and sympathetic girl. She was having a hard time choosing which decision she would take. Should she buy the homeless guy food and clothes? Or, should she buy the things she really wanted?  She thought of  doing a good deed but she couldn’t decide between the two things.                  

Sarahh roamed around thinking what to do. She saw a food stall that sells fat juicy burgers, that made her tummy rumble and her mouth water. Sarahh didn't realize that she already bought two of the burgers and was heading back on the way to the homeless person. When she got there, there was a little girl beside the homeless man who looked really sad and dirt was all over her face and torn dress. 

She approached them and talked to the homeless man and it turns out that the young girl was his daughter. She was really worried about their state. Sarahh gave both of the food to them instead of eating the other one herself. The two devoured the food with smiles on their face. Sarahh didn't have a second thought and decided to take the little girl for a shopping trip and buy them some food to eat later. Sarahh  spent her time and money to buy things for the little girl and her dad. She was sad that she couldn't buy the nice dress and things for herself but the smile of the little girl was engraved on her memories.

Short Story

Short Story - Question & Clarify

Neglect	Questions (wonderings)	Clarify (meanings)
The windscreen wipers worked furiously to clear the glass from the driving rain. It was no use, he still couldn’t see, so he pulled into a side street and waited for the pelting sheet to ease. Flicking through the radio, a wavering squeal emerged, quickly changing into a fast beat pop song.  Jonesie, as he was called on the rank, shuffled lower into his seat and settled down to wait. Looking up to change the crackling station, he noticed a brown-coated figure huddling in the meagre shelter of a deserted warehouse. Jonesie studied the figure and decided, being a kind-hearted man, that he would try and do something to help.  As Jonesie neared, the brown-coated figure started to shift uneasily, looking up with fearful brown eyes.  “You look pretty cold out here, would you like to come and sit in my taxi till the rain eases off a bit?”, Jonesie asked sincerely. After waiting a bit and receiving no reply, Jonesie headed back for the warmth of the taxi. When he neared the car, he noticed someone behind him and turning around saw that the brown-coated figure had followed him to the car.  “So you decided to come then, eh mate?”, Jonesie queried heavily, as he helped the figure into the passenger seat.   Closing the door, Jonesie thought about what might happen to this poor guy. In the car, Jonesie changed the station yet again finding a country song he thoroughly enjoyed. After the song had finished, he flicked the radio off and turned to his bedraggled guest, noticing that his bones almost protruded through the coat.  “So, aye, where do you come from then mate?”, inquired Jonesie. “That’s if you don’t mind me asking?” His only reply was the turning of the brown-coated figures head, to stare wonderingly out into the menacing dark sky. Jonesie tried again, “Eh, um, what’s ya name then?” The brown-coated figure turned his head in the direction of Jonesie and blinked his fearful brown eyes in reply. Silence followed, Jonesie thinking of what he could do for his silent guest.  Jonesie flicked on the radio again, it crackled and hissed, and then resumed into some teenage trash.  “Come on mate, you must be starving. Let's take ya home and give ya some tucker”, Jonesie said.  The brown-coated figure did not move and his answer was only a deep sigh. The rain had eased and as they drove, the road glistened like oil. Jonesie had finished his shift, so there were no problems. When they got inside his house, Jonesie helped the figure to dry himself, but he never took his coat off.  Jonesie thought this a bit odd but made no further inquiries.  He prepared a meal and the brown- coated figure warmed himself in front of the blazing fire. Six months later, the brown-coated figure and Jonesie spend every night in the taxi, listening to the crackling radio and sharing long conversations with many pauses and deep sighs of reply. The fearful brown eyes are fearful no more and the ragged, tatty coat has been replaced by a thick, warm one. Jonesie and the brown-coated figure spend all their time together, after all, dogs are a man's best friend.	Who is the brown coated figure? Where is the brown coated figure? Why is the brown coated figure following him? What colour is the taxi? Why is he so boney? I wonder when the last time the person ate? Do we know what it is yet? How did the brown coated figure get there? Is it a dog? Did society depress this man? Has he worked himself to death? What is tucker? Why was the figure in a warehouse and why was it there? Why did it not want to take its coat off? What is Jonesie’s job?	The dog Warehouse  Because he was lonely and hungry white/yellow/blue He hasn’t eaten A week maybe No Abandoned Yes People did not treat it right. Dog food It is fur Taxi driver

ETV Jordys Problem

 

Starts at 1.30	Question (wonderings)	Clarify (meanings/answer)
Break  1 1.30 to 1.47	What counts as an exception? What kind of exception are they talking about?	Nothing
Break 2 1.47 to 1.50	Do I need to care about Jordy? What kind of bracelet?	Girl who lost her Dad So we know her story, it could be anyone of us.
Break 3 1.50 to 2.04	What is the school uniform policy? Why has it offended Jordy? Why no bracelets?	No Jewellery Emotional reasons, it was given by her Dad Parent survey - did not want school rules to change
Break 4 2.04 to 2.19	Why is she getting so angry? What is so special about the bracelet?	Because it hurt her heart - Dad Bracelet she had from birth.
Controlled Release now it’s time for you to ask the questions as I stop.   Who’s got questions?  How many can we answer from above now?
Break 5 2.19 to 2.35	How did dad die? Why is it most important? Why did Dad give it to her in the first place?	We don’t know how her dad died? It related to Jordy Religious/christening bracelet
Break 6 2.35 to 2.58	What is a christening bracelet? What is christening? If the bracelet is so small why is it upset it had to be cut off?
Break7 2.58 to 3.19	Why are they not letting her be comfortable for her? Would it not be expected to be cut off because it is too small?
Break 8 3.19 to 3.46	What is a traditional school? Why did she sob so much?
Break 9

The Legend of Banana

Legend of Bananas

In Bicol, a long time ago, there lived a lovely girl named Malinay.

She was a brave and spirited girl. She was not afraid to go deep into the forest all by herself.
Ever since she was a small girl, Malinay heard stories about the fairies. The people in her village would often talk about hearing the fairies calling each other at night. She was told that these supernatural beings lived in nearby springs and lonely caves. In spite of all these talks, no one had actually seen a fairy. And Malinay, being a young girl, became curious. So she started wandering near the caves and springs, hoping that she could see a fairy.

Unknown to this lovely Bicol lass, a handsome young fairy was watching her, this fairy’s name was Baltong. He was the son of the chief of the fairies.

Day after day Baltong watched the young Malinay play around the springs and caves. Soon he felt himself falling in love with her that he made himself visible in the form of a human being.

One afternoon he waited for Malinay. And when the girl came, he approached her. The girl was frightened at first. However, he told her not to be alarmed because he meant no harm.
This first meeting was followed by many.

 As days went by the two young people became friends. This started the romance of the forest. Once a week Malinay and Baltong would meet at the same place. Soon they longed for each other’s company.

Baltong spoke to Malinay about his love. As the girl had also fallen in love with him, without much trouble, accepted his love.Then came the day when Baltong could no longer stay in human form. It was prohibited by the traditions of the supernatural beings for any fairy to stay in human form forever.

Malinay could not understand it when Baltong said good-bye. He tried to explain, but this only made things worse. Malinay cried and cried.

“I want to go with you” she wept. “I can’t live without you.”
“I know, But I can not stay on,” said Baltong tearfully. “My time as a mortal being is over. I have to go back to where I belong.”  In her grief, Malinay embraced Baltong very tightly. She begged and begged him not to leave her. But the young man’s borrowed time had come and his leaving could not be postponed. His body slowly faded away.

Malinay tried her best to hold on to her lover. She clasped him very tightly. However, what was left, by this time, was the hands of the young man. The rest of the body had disappeared.
As Malinany held these hands in grief and sorrow she heard a voice. “Bury these hands in remembrance of me.”

Malinay did as her lover told her. The following day, she saw a beautiful plant with soft stalks and wide green leaves. Each day she watched it grow. Until one day, it bore some strange-looking fruits which resembled human hands – and those where bananas....

 Alamat ng Saging

Noong unang panahon, isang magandang babae ang nakakilala ng isang kakaibang lalaki. Ito ay isang engkanto. Masarap kausap ang lalaki at maraming kuwento. Nabihag ang babae sa engkanto. Ipinagtapat naman ng engkanto na nagmula siya sa lupain ng mga pangarap, at hindi sila maaaring magkasama. Gayunman, umibig ang babae sa lalaki.

Isang araw, nagpaalam ang binata. Sinabi niyang iyon na ang huling pagkikita nila. Nang magpaalam ang engkanto, hindi nakatiis ang babae. Ayaw niyang paalisin ang lalaki. Maghigpit niyang hinawakan ang kamay ng lalaki para huwag itong makaalis. Pero nawala ang lalaki, at sa matinding pagkabigla ng babae, naiwan sa kanya ang kamay nito. Nahintakutan ang babae. Dali-dali niyang ang kamay sa isang bahagi ng bakuran.

Kinaumagahan, dinalaw niya ang lugar na pinagbaunan ng kamay. Napansin niyang isang halaman ang tumutubo. Makaraan ang ilang buwan, tumaas ang puno na may malalapad na dahon. Nagkabunga rin ito na may bulaklak na itsurang daliri ng mga kamay. Ito ang tinatawag na saging ngayon.

My summary of the myth is...

Malinay was smitten with a fairy Baltong, but their love was forbidden. He faded away but left his fingers for Malinay who buried them as she was told and watched them grow into bananas.