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.