Personal Comparison Essay: Speak Up

One of the traits Malala has is that she speaks up for what she does not like. In the “Malala Yousafzai Nobel Peace Prize Speech” video, Malala discusses her life and offers thanks for getting the Nobel Peace Prize. When she was seventeen, she felt that she could not just stand by and watch the terrorists denying women’s rights, ruthlessly killing people, and misusing the name of Islam. She decided to raise her voice and tell the terrorists that the Quran states that killing one person is like killing the whole humanity, that Muhammad says to not harm one’s self or others, and that the very first word of the holy Quran is a word that means “read.” Malala and her friends’ voices about being against the terrorists of Pakistan became more heard since the day she and her friends stood up to those terrorists.

Standing up for what we believe in is important because it helps us become more independent and helps other people by making them feel better about themselves when they are being bullied. If nobody ever spoke up, then there is little to no change to the world. The world would not be very innovative. Speaking up also prevents someone from taking control of another person. When people stand up for what they believe in, other people will take notice of them and perhaps follow their lead. Successful people don’t always go with the flow.

I feel that I am like Malala by exhibiting this attribute of standing up for what I believe in whenever I am not sure or not satisfied of something. When I am not sure of something, I ask someone how that thing should work. For example, during the last school year when I had to do a presentation for my English class, I went to my writing tutor to give me advice and help me on my English TEDtalk presentation. Allowing my writing tutor to help me on that presentation gave me a 93% on it.

Whenever I am not satisfied with something, I go and ask someone how that thing can be made better or how it can be reduced. For example, during the last school year when I got a 58.33% on a math quiz, I talked to my math teacher. My math teacher told me that there was still another math quiz and finals that could bring my grade back up, so there was no need to worry much about my grade.

I am different from Malala by the fact that I am not willing to get shot in the head by standing up for what I believe in. I’m standing up for my own personal education and not for other people out in the world. Also, I grew up in a different world than Malala.

I will continue to develop my skills to speak up by first being able to talk more and be more confident while talking to other people. This will mean that I would have to avoid filler words, which include um, like, and such as. Then, I will make sure that I am maintaining eye contact to whoever I am talking to because avoiding eye contact is not very polite. Next, I will pay more attention to what my gestures are doing because gestures convey a powerful meaning in conversations, so it is important to use them correctly. After that, I will be more assertive by being the first person to start a conversation with other people.

I will continue this trait of speaking up for what I don’t like by using my voice and hands effectively, being more confident, and working on my communication skills.

Travel Log 2017: Exploring UC Berkeley For Less Than One Hour

On July 23, I explored UC Berkeley with my family. Unfortunately, we were there for less than an hour because we were not able to find lunch food on the UC Berkeley campus.

UC Berkeley (University of California, Berkeley) is a public research university located in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1868 and is the oldest of the ten research universities affiliated with the University of California system. UC Berkeley is often cited as one of the world's leading research universities affiliated with the University of California system. In fact, it is the top public university in the United States.



This picture above is UC Berkeley's Sather Tower, which is UC Berkeley's most recognizable symbol. The Sather Tower is a clock tower with clocks on its four faces, and it was built in 1914 and opened to the public in 1917. It is also known as The Campanile because it looks like the Campanile di San Marco in Venice, Italy. The Sather Tower is the third-tallest bell-and-clock-tower in the world. There is even a bronze bust of Abraham Lincoln on the south side of the Sather Tower.



This picture above shows me at South Hall, the oldest building on the UC Berkeley campus. It was built in 1873 and is the only remaining building of the original UC Berkeley campus. I didn't go inside South Hall, as it is probably closed for the summer. There are classrooms inside South Hall, 202 South Hall and 210 South Hall. The classrooms have reconfigurable tables and chairs and built-in large-screen projectors and audio.



This picture above shows me standing in front of the Sather Tower. The Sather Tower is really tall (307 feet), which is why the top part of the Sather Tower is not shown in this picture.

Overall, exploring UC Berkeley has been a pretty nice experience, and I wish I was there for a longer amount of time.

Living Skills Final Project Powerpoint from Last Week

Here's my living skills final project presentation from last week -

Success Presentation

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This is my Success Presentation Video!

Travel Log 2017: Charles M. Schulz Museum

Last Saturday (June 10), my family and I drove up to the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa. The Schulz Museum showed many different things about Peanuts, the comic strip Schulz has created. The Schulz Museum has two floors and outdoor exhibits.




These two pictures above are from the Strip Rotation Gallery on the first floor of the Schulz Museum. The gallery consists of original Peanuts and its role in comics history (it changes regularly). In the picture far above, Lucy is at her psychiatrist booth. When someone wants to go to that booth for some kind of help, they have to give Lucy 5 cents. In the picture above, Charlie Brown is yelling. He is saying, "I can't stand it!"



This picture of my brother and I with a Charlie Brown statue shown above was taken at the entrance of the Schulz Museum. This Charlie statue shows Charlie Brown wearing a shirt that shows some place that is outdoors.



This picture of me with a Linus statue shown above was taken in one of the outdoor exhibits in the Schulz Museum courtyard. The Linus statue is an outdoor exhibit showing Linus wearing a crossword t-shirt. He is also holding a pencil in his right hand, and he is holding his blanket in his left hand. The answers to Linus' crossword t-shirt are shown nearby to the right of the Linus statue.



This picture of my brother and I with a Charlie Brown and Lucy ceramic tile mural was taken at the Great Hall on the first floor of the Schulz Museum. In the tile mural, Charlie Brown is making an attempt to kick the football Lucy is holding. The tile mural is consisted of many different comic strips from Peanuts. My brother is amused at one of the Peanuts comic strip he is pointing at.



This picture above shows me at the Schulz Museum courtyard. Behind me are a redwood tree and the birdbath with holograms that show Peanuts characters.

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College App Essay Practice: Failing a Biology Honors Test

2. The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Sometimes, failing can get me to work harder and do my best. For instance, biology honors has been a hard class for me. In fact, on the unit 3 test in biology honors that was about membranes and energy for life, I failed it because I got an F. I got only 40 out of the 96 questions correct, which is a staggering low 41.67%. That was the lowest grade out of 100 students in biology honors who had the same teacher as I did. What’s worse is that 30 students got a grade in the 90% range, and the highest grade was 105.73%, which was more than twice my grade. Now, I have learned that it is important to study a lot for biology honors tests.

I failed the test most likely because I did not try hard to study for it, and I did not realize that high school work was genuinely harder than middle school work. I guess that I did not put much effort to spend some time to study the material in the unit 3 test about membranes and energy for life. Back in middle school, I remember that I did not need to study very much to do well on a test. High school, however, is more demanding than middle school. This is probably why some students study harder than they did back in middle school. In high school, there are more homework and tests. This means that high school has a much busier workload, so I have to study more for tests. Also, the work in high school is considerably more challenging than the work in middle school. Some people transition to high school very easily, but others take more time to adjust to the hectic high school life. Maybe if I was told that high school was way more stressful than middle school and that I had to study more on tests, I would never have gotten a grade that is as wretched as a miserable 41.67% in the hard class called biology honors. It takes more time to get high school work done than middle school work. This means that I have to dedicate more of my time to school. As a result of not studying well enough and not transitioning to the high school workload, I ended up failing a test that most people succeeded on.

I felt disappointed in myself that I got an unexpectedly low grade on the biology honors unit 3 test about membranes and energy for life. When I feel disappointed, I start to have negative thoughts stir up in my brain. My body feels powerless. I feel like it is a burden to be in high school. I wondered why I got a grade that horrible. It was the first time I had actually failed a test very miserably. I have never gotten a grade that bad (41.67%) on tests before. I found it unbelievable and incredible because I never expected that I would actually fail a test. My parents also could not believe it when I told them about it. As a result, my mom decided to start helping me in biology honors. I also felt worried for getting a staggering low grade on the biology honors unit 3 membranes and energy for life test. I do not want a grade extremely low like that 41.67% ever again. This shows that high school is a place to worry about because it is when more people like me fail tests. Feeling worried about biology honors makes me pressured to always do better on future biology honors tests. This means that I have to get better grades in biology honors. Otherwise, my grades will suffer immensely. Clearly, unexpected failing a test that most people did well on makes me feel depressed and worried. This makes me want to do way better on future biology honors tests.

What I learned from failure is that I should spend more time and study more in biology honors. Biology is about memorizing the concepts, but I think it is also about truly understanding them. Truly understanding concepts can make it easier to memorize them. I could try studying more in biology honors by studying everyday or almost every day. Each day, I could study for 30 to 45 minutes by finding the time to study and by having better time management. To study effectively in biology honors, it is important to work harder and concentrate and be free of distractions. What I also learned from failure is that it makes me motivated to improve by studying. Buster Moon, the koala from the movie “Sing,” said that “When you’ve reached rock bottom, there’s only one way to go, and that’s up!” This shows that while I may not instantly get good grades in biology honors by studying, I can prevent myself from getting a 41.67% or any other hideous grade like that. Failure should be remembered, but there are usually ways to prevent failure from happening. Failure helps people learn from the mistakes they have made.

To be a successful student in biology honors, it is essential to study more. Failing a test was the result of not studying enough and not realizing that high school work is much harder than middle school work. I feel disappointed and worried if I do not do well on tests, leading me to want to do better on future biology tests. Managing my time better and truly understanding concepts will make me a better biology honors student. Because of what I learned from failing this biology honors test, I feel prepared for later success.

Infographic: Homework