Knowing that this is my first year and Mrs. Terzic’s first year in PLA it went smoothly and I enjoyed every bit of it. PLA is different from my regular classes, especially the laptops

(My favorite part) ! This first semester for me was learning what PLA was all about. I travel a lot for softball and having the laptop and hot spot helped me turn my homework in when I wasn’t in class. It saved my grades! Not only can I thank the laptop’s, but the teachers are all great people and will work with you personally no matter the time. I would shoot an email to any of my teachers asking for help and I would get a reply right away. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

  This year I learned a lot about the election and I didn’t realize how much I like politics. My grandma is involved in politics and loves to argue with us grandchildren on any topic. Being able to go to her house and debate with her made me happy that I could actually share something with my Grandma because I actually knew what I was talking about, being that we had learned all about it in class. I can’t wait for when I can do my research by myself and actually vote. In math we learned about taxes and definitely something I can use in the real world when I am on my own. In all our PLA classes we did project on our Small business plans. I enjoyed this topic because we looked up problems in our community and actually came up with something that we believe would help the cause. We wrote up who we would be working with and what customers we would be aiming for. Doing all this made me feel like I could do something to help our community in some type of way. What we also learned about was about Japanese internment camps. In English we read a book called Journey to Topaz, in this book it gives us a story of a Japanese family that lived in California and had to move to an internment camp through the Bombing at Pearl Harbor. This book gave us an insight on some hardships that Japanese Americans had to go through during this time. I enjoyed reading it. Still touching on internment camps our final in history is on internment camps and how it’s similar and different from interning Muslims. Everything that we learned this year connected in all our classes and had a meaning behind it. I enjoyed every second.

  Here and there I have already mentioned stuff I like from first semester, but I will explain them further. I liked how personable the teachers were and how they care for whether do good in the class or not. It helped me to know that I was going to a class that the teachers wanted me to be in. I also liked how everything we were learning in English or history would connect in one way or another, it wasn’t like last year for me when I was learning something totally random in history compared to English. It made me think to myself, “Wow, now I see how it connects. That’s awesome!” Something else I liked was how everything we learned I saw a meaning to it. I use to in classes think some things that I was learning was meaningless and I would never use it in the real world, but this year that never thought once came to my head. I enjoyed blogging because we teenagers technically do it on twitter almost daily. Why not blog with a meaning! Something that I didn’t like was at first we were blogging about wellness. At first I didn’t mind it but it became repetitive, then we were allowed to blog whatever we wanted so it was turned from a dislike to a like! Honestly I didn’t dislike anything this semester and I am grateful for that. My senior year is definitely off to a good start.

 I feel I grew as a writer and a researcher. This year having a laptop at the tips of fingers every second I felt I used the internet to my advantage. Not only did I grow as a student I grew as student I matured a little learning how to do grown up things and how to prepare for the real world.

I gained an insight on things that I didn’t even know I enjoyed and I am so glad that they were brought to the surface in class.  I also learned a lot about our community if it was from looking at the problems we have in vista and how to fix them or if it was from learning about the laws trying to be passed in California. I felt involved this year and I would love to continue to do so throughout my life. Helping the community could be one of my hobbies.

 If this first semester was a ship it would be smooth sailing. I enjoyed my first semester as a senior and it wouldn’t be this way without my classmates and teachers. I am excited to see what next semester brings.

Chapter 4:  Ten Days to Pack, page 41-47

I am Yuki. It’s true. We have to evacuate our home and we are being sent to a camp. Slowly we are all packing the things we want to go with us and picking and choosing the things we will have to leave or sell. I have to give away my dog pepper…I wish I could just ignore the fact that I have to give away my best friend not guaranteeing that he has a loving home. I didn’t think we citizens would have to be sent off. Why is United States treating us like this? We are as American as everyone else. No matter what my classmates say, I am an American! No matter how much I don’t want to go I know that the day will come that my whole family will have to take our stuff and leave. I just hope that our new home treats us well and we get out of this as a family.

Chapter 6: Home is a Horse Stall, pages 49-58

I am Mother. Barrack 16, Apartment 40. Our new home. I wish we knew how long we are gonna be here. ¨ We get an apartment!¨, said Yuki. I am glad that Yuki has found something to be excited about within all this mess, but I don’t think it will be what she is imagining. As we walk into our apartment I couldn’t think of anything positive to say about our new living situation. I have to stay positive for this family no matter how much I want to break down and ask God why he is putting us through this, but he always has a plan and I can´t lose my faith in this low point of our life. We will get through this. I hope My husband is okay and we will see him soon. I couldn’t imagine getting through this without him. 

Chapter 9: A New Rumor, pages 75-82

I am Ken. I had to announced my possible departure to college. I had filled out scholarships that they are offering to try and get out of this camp. As much as I want to leave and make mother proud of me and become a doctor I don’t want to leave her or my  little sister. I am the head of the household while my father is gone and I need to take care of this family. I will always be able to go to college, but I will never have another family. There has been rumors that we might move to another camp and this is enough for me to stay. It was a hard decision, but I am going to stay and keep this family together for when my father comes back.

Chapter 10: Goodbye, Tanforan, pages 83-91

Its me again, Yuki. It turns out that we really are moving to Utah. I am excited to be going to a new state but I don’t want to be further away from home, my best friend, and my father. Today just hasn’t been the best. I found out today after letter, after letter trying to find out if he is okay, to only find out that Pepper isn’t alive anymore. I will never see him again. It was like no one remembered his existence and I was the only one that remember him. He was one of my best friends and now he’s gone. I should’ve just snuck him in. He probably still would be alive

Chapter 14:  Tragedy at Dusk

I am Mrs. Kurihara. I don’t know what to do with myself as I mourn the life of my husband. He was shot by a guard for only doing what he loved and looking for arrowheads. Now, all I have left is my granddaughter Emi and even she is not well. Oh Emi, telling her was the hardest thing I had to do. She has had to deal with death too much at her age and now I had to tell her about the death of her grandad. We will get through this. He is now in peace and may not suffer any longer. Soon Emi will become better and we will get on with our life only remembering the good memories we have. He is a victim of the war now.

Discrimination is the unjust prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex. Some forms of  discrimination are really relevant, but no one knows that it’s actually a form of discrimination. In our world today there are  all types of discrimination going on throughout someone’s lifetime. There is discrimination against people determined on weight, red hair, height, age, sex, looks, etc. In my research I will be writing about discrimination upon looks and how even businesses do it without us really knowing.

There have been a constant battle with Hollister and whether or not they discriminate when choosing their workers. The way they discriminate when choosing employees is by looks. If you go into a Hollister store you will come to notice that the workers are all good looking and fairly skinny. Hollister Co. is an American lifestyle brand by the hugely popular Abercrombie and Fitch. Just like the parent company, they enforce a strict dress code which they expect their employees to abide by. They must wear contemporary Hollister style clothing, keeping in tone with the ‘beach vibe’. Many potential employees are approached in the street and offered an interview, based on their appearance. Females are told to wear minimal make-up in natural tones with little (stone earrings and one ring) or no jewelry. As I mentioned before most employees are approached on the streets. So, you’re telling me that they automatically know that they have great working skills? No. They approach workers who are good looking and who will promote the brand the way it needs to be promoted.

 A&F were charged for discrimination in 2009 after a District Manager told an employee of Muslim faith to remove her hijab (headscarf or veil). The student had been told during her interview that she could wear the headpiece, so long as it was one of the acceptable colors for the company.In 2010, there was another incident involving an employee who was prevented from wearing the Red Poppy as part of Remembrance Day. The official reason for refusal was that “the poppy is not considered part of the corporate approved uniform, and it is therefore prohibited” (Gene Demby).

Hollister has a “ look policy” that their works must follow in order to meet the company’s standards. Someone shouldn’t be turned down from a job because they don’t look the part, if they have all the qualifications they have an even chance at a shot for a job.

I read an article ¨Abercrombie Dress Code Enables Discrimination¨ in this article I read a certain story that shows an example of the discrimination that this company has displayed,  “I am still ashamed for taking my cross, a sacred symbol of my faith, rolling it up into a mess, and shoving it into my pocket just to live up to Hollister’s extremely discriminatory Look Policy ” ( ¨Abercrombie Dress code Enables Discrimination¨). Zakhlyebayeva was explaining her first day at work for Hollister. She wore what she thought was a presentable outfit for a work day except she was told to take off something she never would have thought to, her cross necklace which represents her faith for the lord.

Not only is discrimination upon looks in businesses, but it’s even on a busy street you may walk down everyday or maybe the bus you take to work. In the 19th century, many American cities banned public appearances by “unsightly” individuals. A Chicago ordinance was typical: “Any person who is diseased, maimed, mutilated, or in any way deformed, so as to be an unsightly or disgusting subject . . . shall not . . . expose himself to public view, under the penalty of a fine of $1 for each offense” (Deborah L. Rhode).

Although the government is no longer in the business of enforcing such discrimination, it still allows businesses, schools and other organizations to indulge their own prejudices. Over the past half-century, the United States has expanded protections against discrimination to include race, religion, sex, age, disability and, in a growing number of jurisdictions, sexual orientation.

As I read on through this article called ¨Why Looks are the Last Bastion of Discrimination¨, I got disgusted with the way these people had treated this lady: ¨We all know that appearance matters, but the price of prejudice can be steeper than we often assume. In Texas in 1994, an obese woman was rejected for a job as a bus driver when a company doctor assumed she was not up to the task after watching her, in his words, ´waddling down the hall.´ He did not perform any agility tests to determine whether she was, as the company would later claim, unfit to evacuate the bus in the event of an accident¨ (Deborah L. Rhode). Not only she not get the job because of her looks, she also got disrespected in so many ways. She has to live with the fact that we sadly live in a world that looks decides the way we are treated.

 Any and all types of discrimination to me is pointless. Why does someone need to be treated differently just because they don’t look a certain way or they don’t meet a height requirement? It´s sad to think that people walk out of their house and just know that they will get looked upon as different because of something they have no control over. Everyone is different so why should we discriminate someone for being a little more different than we are? God created us all equally.

Voting was suggested to be mandatory because many Americans don’t exercise their right to vote.It should not be a requirement. Rick Pildes, a professor of law had written an article for New York Times on the issue itself. I believe people are free to do whatever they want, within the boundaries of the law. I don’t think anyone has the right to tell someone they have to vote. If people don’t want to vote, do you really just want them to blindly go and mark the ballots as quickly as possible, just to get it over with? I would much rather the people who are serious, the people who do their homework, be the ones casting the votes. There are too many important things on the ballots, and I don’t want my future in the hands of the junkie down the street.To act or to watch? There is democracy in that. We have the choice to state our opinions or to keep them to ourselves. Like in an article I read the author had given a valid reason for voting to not be required, ¨ Americans take their freedom very seriously, and the idea of requiring them to do something runs deeply against the grain…¨    (Rick Pildes). Simply because an opportunity sits in front of someone does not mean that person MUST be required to grasp it. Taking advantage of voting is a choice. You can not be forced to be interested in football, chess, or cooking. So, how could we ever force interest in politics to our citizens? Those who choose to not pay attention to elections will be no more interested when it becomes required. Voting was never meant to be a legal requirement. Making it required only bases our next leader on impulse and ignorance.

Reflection:

When getting asked to make a business that addressed a problem my partner and I had no problem coming up with a business that would help with cyber bulling. The thing that sparked this idea was the fact that my partner had received a text message from some random number and they continued not to identify  themselves. I don’t know about you, but I feel uncomfortable knowing that a random person has my number without my permission. What if they know something about me that they can use as blackmail? We decided that our business would try to include a feature in an update or app to help people identify unknown numbers by showing the number and mutual people in contacts that have this number. Who wants to get prank called anymore? Not me! this will also help with unknown numbers that call you and just hang up. I know many teens that go through this problem and our business will help.

Small Business Plan

There is a problem with cyber bullying and people getting targeted directly. The People getting targeted privately have to live with this secret that maybe someone knows there secret and is going to use it as blackmail or maybe this unknown number is being inappropriate and it is creeping you out. Our app/update helps identify who the person can possibly be and if you should even open the message from an unknown number. We target parents and teens. Our finances will come from Apple and android.

Advertisement    

For our advertisement we used a yelp for people to leave comments and to rate us for other customers to see and get some insight on our business. This is the best type of advertisement because we know our business is strong enough to make money for itself, so we let the customers share their only positive experiences. 

Elevator Pitch   

I am an upcoming business owner that helps teens and parents prevent cyber bullying from happening. Our company’s first kick off program is an update and an app.

Our business will help people who are getting anonymous text or anonymous messages on social media, notify them when anyone searches their name.These people could be getting bullied by random unknown people. This app will allow you to be able to accept the text by an anonymous number or decline it. You can choose to read the text from them or automatically delete the text before your read it. You could be able to identify the user on social media before reading the message. This will help from getting black mailed from unknown sources. Another thing we feature is list of mutual contacts that the number may have that you share with them. This will give you some insight on the number and if they have any connection with you.

My ideal customers are parents worried for their child’s safety on the internet and children or teens who are dealing with cyber bullying.  My customers know the pain and suffering they have had to go through because of someone making them feel helpless or like they can’t be safe in their own home.  They are searching for a little bit of comforter on the fact that they won’t be receiving inappropriate or hurtful messages aimed towards them.

  What is different about our business is that we are targeting big businesses to try and get to the root of the problem. We are not only creating an app, but we are including it in update to assure that on other social media apps you can identify people under fake accounts or having random people direct message my customers

 I’d love to look more into ways to help with cyber bullying and other programs. Another thing I have been interested is maybe creating a “safe home” for kids who suffer bullying.This “ safe home” is a place that victims of bullying can come to and meet kids that have been victimized of the same sorts. They can come there to meet new people, for counseling, activities, and most importantly to feel safe.

Traveling. I travel a lot throughout the year. Whether its in a car (which it usually is) or on a plane I am always on the go. The thing about this traveling is it’s not for vacation, its for travel ball (hence the name). Softball took me to a lot of new places without it I probably wouldn’t have been to as many places as I have. I love going to new destinations and not knowing to expect from it or going to a place and hearing so much about it and letting myself be the decision maker in whether or not it is as great as people say.

The places I have been are Colorado (6x), Texas (1x), Hawaii (1x), Vegas (5x), San Francisco (2x), Chicago (1x), New Mexico (2x), Arizona (4x), Florida (3x), Utah (4x), and New Jersey (1x).  I love traveling even if it is always for softball. My most recent trip was last Thursday-Sunday and this trip was a little different from all the others. Why? My parents didn’t travel with me this time.My parents go to everything I am involved in, but the team I am on wanted us to just travel as a team so we could bond better, not that I’m complaining! It was for sure a different experience  because I was more independent a I was in charge of getting myself down to the bus on time, spending my money wisely, and getting myself to bed on time. I really appreciated this trip because I won’t have mom and dad in college and it gave me some reassurance that I know how to take are of myself more than I actually thought.

Before my mom had me she had planned to travel the world with her best friend, my God Mother. When my mom found out she was pregnant with me she literally cried because of all the plans she had planned with My Nina. Sad, I know. Little did she know I would be taking her place to place with my sport! I am very appreciative with being blessed with chance to be able to travel and afford to go to the places that I have been. All thanks to my dedicated parents.

  Social Wellness refers to one’s ability to interact with people around them. It involves using good communications skills, having meaningful relationships, respecting yourself and others, and creating a support system that includes family members and friends.

  Whether you know it or not Social Wellness is an important factor in your life. Well for some people. Social wellness has a lot to do with your social life, but for most jobs you need to be able to interact with people and be a  ¨ people person¨ as people would say. For most jobs talking with people is a big part of the job and if you make a good impression is what determines if the customer will come back, like in a restaurant, nail salon, hair salon, doctor’s office, etc.  

   I will definitely have to input this into my job. I would like to be an anesthesiologist. An Anesthesiologist is the first doctor that  comes out and talks to the person that will be going in for surgery, do you see how making a good first impression is very important in this situation? The anesthesiologist needs to be able to make the patient feel comfortable and let them know that they will be there for them throughout the whole surgery. I wouldn’t feel comfortable putting my life in the hands of someone I knew was rude and wouldn’t take in any consideration of the pain the patient would be going through.

   This wellness does pertain to people’s work life, but the social life is also important. In this time and day social life is a big thing in teens life. Most teens get so involved in social media that they get obsessed with what people think about them and how many likes their next post will get. I do think that it’s important to socialize with people because I do believe a good conversation with a good friend can always put you in the right mood, but socializing only online can also ruin a teens social life in person because they´ll be too caught up in their phone while someone is sitting right across from them. Usually people have a conversation with eye contact, but now it´s glances here and there. The quote that I am about to cite I believe in 100%, ¨ Technology can be our best friend, and technology can also be the biggest party pooper of our lives. It interrupts our own story, interrupts our ability to have a thought or a daydream, to imagine something wonderful, because we’re too busy bridging the walk from the cafeteria back to the office on the cell phone¨ . The phone helps us in everyday activities, but it also ruins our social life.