"Robert Jarell Neal Accused Of Stabbing Deaf Man After Confusing Sign Language With Gang Signs"

The article, "Robert Jarell Neal Accused Of Stabbing Deaf Man After Confusing Sign Language With Gang Signs", was written on January 11, 2013. Police in North Carolina reported that a deaf man was stabbed in North Carolina by another man because he was communicating with another deaf man and it was mistaken for gang signs. Robert Jarell Neal stabbed 45-year-old Terrance Ervin Daniels with a kitchen knife in the middle of his conversation. A neighbor reported the scene to the hospital and Daniels is in a stable condition at the UNC Hospitals. Robert Jarell Neal was arrested and charged for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill a handicapped person. This type of act is unacceptable because Neal stabbed a handicapped man who was simply communicating using sign language. Neal's temper resulted in an unfortunate situation due to a misunderstanding and lack of patience. Even if this man was throwing gang signs, Neal had no right to step in and commit such a crime. It is sad that a deaf man was punished in such a painful way for being deaf.

Favorite Piece of Literature

Over the winter break, we were assigned to read an autobiography or memoir. All students presented their book in a short manner but that time was enough for me to figure out which book I would enjoy reading and which book I would not want to read. Lucky by Alice Sebold is the book I would most likely read because it is similar to Fat Girl by Judith Moore and it is about a young girl's unfortunate life. I prefer sad books because it grabs my attention and urges me to read more. Lucky by Alice Sebold falls into that category because it seemed like a book where the reader can analyze one's life and reasons to why they are a certain way. This particular book is about a rape victim and her family and I would most likely read this because I do not know what it is like to be a rape victim fortunately, therefore it is interesting to read about their thoughts. The book that I am least likely to read is Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. As I mentioned earlier, I enjoy sad books and this book is nowhere near that category. Pieces that have no action tend to bore me and in my opinion Into Thin Air did not have an interesting moral or meaning. This specific memoir described how a group of men climbed a mountain and reading an entire book on a journey to the top of a mountain would not have my attention.

My Favorite Piece

Throughout our AP English class, we have read a countless amount of  essays. Every piece was different from one another and my favorite piece of literature so far is "The Ways We Lie" by Stephanie Ericsson. A simple yet interesting piece that the reader can connect to no matter how old they are. "The Ways We Lie" is not one of those ordinary essays that requires a dictionary on the side in order to understand and that is why I enjoyed reading this specific piece. I am sure one may be wondering why I chose this piece because he or she will think that it is just a list of lies, but it is not just a description. "The Ways We Lie" connects with every reader by presenting a subject that every one is familiar with. Everyone lies as they go along with their life. As I read almost all possible lies, I began to trace back all the times I have lied without even realizing. I realized that sometimes it is just unavoidable and necessary. I was actually able to find out the name of the lies I have told before. Personally, I do not enjoy lying nor am I good at it, but after reading Stephanie Ericsson's piece I came to a conclusion that even thought I may not be perfect at lying I still lie without even thinking about it. This piece of literature proves to people who claim that they have never lied, that everyone lies even if it does not fall into their category of "lying." Ericsson explanation of the innocent lies showed that even if people lie they are not necessarily different from others.

"Robert Hohn, Shannon Watterson Kept Boy Locked In Bare Room For Months, Cops Say

    On The Huffington Post, an article called "Robert Hohn, Shannon Watterson Kept Boy Locked In Bare Room For Months, Cops Say", was posted on November 30, 2012. A couple in New York locked up a twelve year old boy in a room for three months. He was kept in a room with nothing but a lamp. The father and step mother only let him out to use the bathroom and eat small meals. The windows were screwed shut and the door knob was put on backwards. The boy ran away to Melissa Ferraro- Walsh's house on Tuesday night. He ate for four hours straight because he was so hungry. He was twenty pounds underweight and he had bruises all over his face and body. The other three children were given normal care. The twelve year old is now kept in a hospital to get his weight up. Robert Hohn and Shannon Watterson were arrested on Wednesday and charged with felony child abuse and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

A Memory of Mine

      Everyone has a memory that teaches them a lesson somehow and that memory could either be good or bad. The memory I have from my eighth grade summer is both good and bad. This memory of mine has taught me a lesson. During my eighth grade summer, my grandparents told my parent that they would like to take my sister and I to Palm Springs for five days along with four of my cousins. My sister and three of my cousins decided to ditch me and my cousin Hasmik, but we were still very excited. We had no idea what was ahead of us. My cousin and I were going to have a separate room which we were very excited for but little did we know that we were going to join a bus full of Armenian grandmas and grandpas, in order to go to “Hot Springs”, yes it was not Palm Springs. Hot springs is a place for old people to relax, not teenagers. The minute we got off the bus, I was ready to run away. It looked like little huts stuck together with warm pools filled with sixty-ninety year olds. As I stepped into our room, I wanted to cry. Due to my luck, the A/C was not working properly. The bed looked dirty, the bathroom was old with mold, and the television had three working channels. I knew it was going to be a long five days. I was dreaming of my clean towels, bed and shower. At night, I would wake up feeling as if there were bugs crawling on me. I would cry myself to sleep the first three nights, but after a while I began to ignore everything around me. My cousin and I made the best out of the trip by distracting ourselves with junk food and having conversations with grandmas. I realized that there will e times when one has to live with what is given. I learned to deal with situations t do not please me, because I did not want to disappoint my grandparents who also had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

Pre Drinking or Pre-Funking Among Alcohol Users

     On The Huffington Post, Monte Morin posted an article called, "Pre Drinking or Pre-Funking common among young alcohol users", on November 8,2012. The article was about people drinking before an event usually with cheap alcohol. A Swiss study concluded that "pre-loaded" drinking most likely lead to unprotected sex, blackouts, injury or drug abuse. Experiments examined more than 250 Swiss students for four weeks via Internet and text messages. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, the swiss students were asked how many drinks they had. The research proved that when students "pre-loaded" before going to a bar or club, they ended up drinking more than they would if they did not pre-load. Studies showed that pre-drinkers were more likely to end up in an unsafe situation than others, Shannon R. Henney said that pre-drinking is more likely in the United States because the legal drinking age is higher, therefore teenagers prefer to drink before attending a public event.
     Pre drinking seems risky due to the effects it may have on people with a low tolerance. people tend to drink before attending an event in order to be "pumped up" without being aware of the consequences.

The Three Virtues

     Attempting to follow Benjamin Franklin’s road to perfection, I chose three virtues; frugality, industry, and tranquility. For three days I tried to contain myself according to these three virtues.

     Frugality means “Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.” I chose frugality because I wanted to test my will power when it comes to stopping myself from buying unnecessary objects. I respect my parent’s time and money therefore I pushed myself to spend wisely. I love to shop but I was able to ignore my desire for new shoes and clothing in order to pull through. I spent money on a good case such as the Syrian relief in order to help the innocent but I did not make any expense on something that was unnecessary at the moment. I was able to succeed because I realized that it is important to prevent myself from going to the extreme at all times by controlling myself, especially during a time like this where economy is at its lowest. Soon I will be working and it is important to know money’s worth before it is too late. I kept reminding myself that I am not lacking any necessity; therefore I do not need to purchase something that will not make a difference in my life. 

     The second virtue was industry. The virtue of industry is the idea of getting rid of all distractions ad focusing on being productive throughout the day. I chose industry because I love to on”Instagram” and watch my Armenian soap operas rather than completing an important homework. I was not successful while attempting to follow this beneficial virtue because instead of completing my difficult biology lap report on Friday and Saturday, I decided to watch my Armenian Soap Operas and chat on the phone with Mariam. I am used to all the procrastination and unnecessary distractions therefore I prefer watching television rather than completing a useful task. I failed because I kept reminding myself that it is a weekend and I have Sunday to complete my work.

     Tranquility is the third virtue I chose. Tranquility is the idea of keeping calm during incidents that are bound to occur. The reason I chose tranquility is because I tend to get annoyed quickly which results in losing my temper. I always wanted to try to keep calm even when unwanted events occur, but unfortunately this virtue was hard to complete. On Thursday afternoon, my friends and I visited ever class in order to collect donations for the Syrian relief organization and that was the moment I forgot about holding back from yelling. The students began to make fun of the cause and I have no tolerance for stupidity, therefore I yelled at some of the immature students. I was not successful because I am the type of person who cannot act calmly when extremely bothered. It is not possible for me to act peaceful and calm under certain circumstances.