Thornton Academy – AP Language 2018-2019

    In the United States, the average meal travels 1,500 miles to get to your plate. The journey is roughly equivalent to the distance between Saco, Maine and Miami, Florida. For many consumers, the large number of miles from farm to plate means next to nothing. Unfortunately, there are some unseen factors involved in food transportation that may make Americans think twice about what they are purchasing at the grocery store.

    The miles traveled for shipping food are costly for the environment. 12.5% of U.S. carbon emissions come from trucks transporting produce across the country, contributing largely to the rapidly growing issue of climate change. However, the environment isn’t the only factor impacted by the practice: in some cases, the food itself is chemically modified.

    Preservatives are added to produce after harvest to help it stay ripe for the journey to your kitchen, and other compounds are permitted to be added for cosmetic purposes. Examples include colors, food additives, fungicides, and ripening agents. Though none are inherently dangerous, a rising number of Americans have been turning to local, organic produce to reduce the intake of extra chemicals.

    Though it may appear that there is little an individual can do against the corporations involved in food transportation, the opposite is true. If you are looking to prevent the degradation of the environment and eat a bit cleaner, there are steps the average American can take.

Whenever possible, purchase, local, in-season produce to support local farmers and get the freshest food. Consider the benefit of purchasing organic products from time-to-time. Though pricier, the food is grown without chemicals or pesticides. Taking either of these actions will not only help the environment, but ensure you and your family are eating the best quality food available.

The Poet of Literature. In other words, a good writer. Many aspire to be a good, or even masterful writer. But no matter how many people attempt this feat, the real question is not who, but what makes a good writer?

Some may say that it is determined by their audience, while others look at the actual composition of the words written on paper. I believe there is no real answer to this question. The fact of the matter is writing is all about revision. A composer of literature will write from the soul, just to go back over his piece with a fine tooth comb. Then again and again until he has exhausted his efforts and knows the words as if they were inscribed in his heart. But no matter how much he changes, adjusts, and rewrites it can never meet his expectation. Only leaving him slightly disappointed when a deadline forces his hands to stop their work.

In a sense now, we might have just answered our own, once daunting question. What is a good writer? Instead of looking at the question through a material lense, maybe we should look at the actual person themselves. A good writer may in the end just be that human being that just continues to forever strive for their own perfect voice to be heard through their writing.

Humans have been inhabiting the planet Earth for thousands of years. If humans suddenly went extinct, like the dinosaurs, or simply disappeared, the world would undergo many changes without the main species that populated it.

If humans were to disappear from the Earth entirely, there would be destruction. Cars would crash into each other with no one to drive them, and planes would fall from the sky. With no one to run nuclear power plants, toxic radiation could begin to fill the air. Buildings and houses would eventually collapse with no one to care for them, and cities would turn to piles of rubble.

Without humans, nature would begin to grow everywhere. Wide roads would become narrow due to the growth of trees and grass. This would help the environment because there would be no fossil fuel emissions into the atmosphere. Weeds would grow between the cracks in roads and grass would cover dirt pathways.

With no humans around, animals would rise to become the dominant species. With no more plastic and waste being put into the ocean, sea creatures would thrive, and the ocean would be full of them once again. However, domestic animals would not fare as well. They would either be trapped in their houses and left to die, or they would escape, but with little to no experience of living in the wild, they would likely die quickly. Animals in zoos would starve.

There is no real way to predict what species of animal would rise to the top, but we can predict that without humans the world would be very different. Maybe even better?

Frightening. Nerve-racking. Powerful. These are all words that are often used to describe the SAT and the process of SAT testing. High school students across the U.S. and across the world are traumatized, exhausted, and stressed by this exam. Often, a person’s SAT score has the power to dictate where they’ll end up attending college, and may even shape the rest of their personal and professional lives. Unfortunately, though the SAT seems to hold so much significance in the college aplication process, in actuality, it is utterly useless.

For starters, the SAT only focuses on two academic areas. This includes math and reading/writing (English). Even though SAT subject tests are available, that cover other material, main admission’s focus is placed on the standard SAT. Because of this factor, students with talents in other subjects are not able to shine, while students with better math and English skills have an unfair advantage.

Additionally, the SAT greatly stresses students and in turn, takes focus away from schoolwork and other junior year endeavors. For most high school students, junior year is their most important academic year, in regards to set up for a college plan. By being so blatantly distracted by preparing for the SAT, students cannot put all of their energy into classes. This could greatly harm students, because it has the potential to lower grades, GPA’s, and possibly even AP test scores.

But most importantly, the SAT is one singular exam, and a student cannot be accurately depicted by their score. Basically, colleges are given an “easy way out” in the admissions process and are unfairly judging students for their scores. A student is more than one specialized test. Unfortunately, their score on the SAT, if too low, has the potential to diminish an otherwise perfect academic record, and take away a well deserved opportunity for acceptance into a top school.

For these reasons, SAT scores should not so heavily dictate a student’s chances of admission to their school of choice. One singular exam, focusing on only two academic areas, that stresses students, distracts them from their general studies, and improperly represents their abilities, should not greatly impact college acceptance. In all honestly, the SAT truly shouldn’t even exist. The abilities of students would be better depicted to colleges, if SAT scores were taken out of the equations, and only grades, extracurriculars, work experience, internships, AP scores, and other similar factors were only included instead.

When I come across the question of whether it is better to live in an apartment or in a house, I sometimes find it difficult to answer. In fact, I have only resided in apartments for the last 16 years of my life, including my room at the dormitory. Even though there are times I wish for a little bit more tranquility, I am fond of the sense of community and the convenience of living in an apartment.

Apartments’ walls can only be so thin. My apartment building did not allow for pets, yet my neighbors directly below from my apartment raised a dog. The dog would bark so loud that I could hear it every now and then. Moreover, the neighboring family to my left used to scold their little daughter almost every night. The poor little girl! Their bedroom is adjacent to mine, so the scolds sounded like they were meant for me, too.

The bonds between neighbors seem very strong, as we share the same utilities and the same elevators. Proximity also fosters trust. When my family went on vacations and there was a delivery to my apartment, my neighbor would not mind receiving the package. They would not mind looking out for my apartment’s door when we were away, either. Moreover, since we all live so close together, kids also got to play with each other every day. I remember riding bikes with my neighbors along the hallway; the multiple tire marks on the wall represented our childhood that sleeps still in the past.

Living in an apartment can be very convenient. Apartment buildings in Vietnam are usually located in blocks, so there are accessible mini-grocery stores and stool restaurants, as well as toad markets within 500 meter of the home. Moreover, the kitchen and the bathroom are within only a few steps and without having to walk downstairs or upstairs. Plus, the small size of an apartment makes it feel very warm and cozy and strengthens the bond of family. For example, if my sister and I have a conflict, we cannot avoid each other for long.
All in all, if I got to choose where to live, I would opt for an apartment without a doubt.

    I get home and I am elated to crawl into my bed. I am always so tired, fatigued to the point where I don’t think about much other than the next chance I will get to pull my comforter up over my head and hide away in the warm, stuffy darkness, the purring weight of my cat nestled in the curve of my belly.

    The problem is this is all I want to do. I don’t have the motivation to get out of bed. Even when my limbs grow numb and my back and neck begin to throb from sitting in one position for hours, I can’t bring myself to get up. I don’t even do things in my bed. I don’t draw, I don’t write, I glaze over when I listen to music and the television I watch doesn’t register. I sit with my computer on my lap, scrolling through movies I used to enjoy, none of them sparking interest anymore.

    I don’t like doing things. I lose interest too quickly, growing bored or becoming frustrated if a creative venture doesn’t go as planned.

    I lay awake at night and think about everything I have said that day, every little thing I’ve done. I think about how I’m wasting my youth by sitting, aching in my bed for hours each day, every hour that I’m not at school or work. I hate myself for it, urging myself to get up and do something, but I can’t bring myself to change. Instead, I stay laying under my covers, body still and cramped, my mind racing far too fast.

    Everything is so loud, it hurts my head. I am overloaded with noise and thoughts and things I want to do. But I’m so empty. I’m afraid of intimacy now, of opening up. I get angry with the people I love for no reason, and I feel as if I’ve lost connection with the people in my life. I feel so isolated and lonely as if I am the only one on the outside.

    So I lay in my bed under my blanket, because that’s the only place I feel I have control, even though it is where I feel the most alone.