Albert

Once upon a time, there was a very lonely dragon named Albert. For years, he had been living in a locked up room the King had stuffed him in. After multiple failed attempts of trying to escape the locked up area, he discovered it wasn't as easy as he thought to break free and he would have to spend a lot of time making up a very clever plan. Trying to make the best out of everything until it was Albert's time to escape, the dragon would spend much of his time talking with the mice that would stop in on a daily basis.

"Hey, how do you get in and out of this room so easily," he whispered to a Martin, the eldest mouse one afternoon.

"Well, Albert, it's actually quite easy. There are holes in the walls throughout the castle that allow us to access any room at any time. We just have to be careful not to be seen by any of the people," replied Martin.

"Do you think I could fit through those holes to break free of this miserable room? Although you mice are very loyal friends to me, I do want to move on with my life an eventually have a family of my own," the dragon said to his buddies.

"I hate to break it to you, but you are much too large," said Martin.

After the group of the mice had made their way out of his room, Albert sat and considered his options for a while. What he had failed to remember was that he was magical. He hadn't needed his powers for such a long time that he couldn't even consider what they did or how to use them. So again, he thought. Albert thought back to the times when his parents were still alive and teaching him his abilities. He got it! Albert would just use his breathing fire ability to burn a big enough hole for him to fit through in the wall.

The next day, when his mice friends showed up to visit him, he told them his plan. As he expected, the mice were very sad. Most were crying and hugging Albert goodbye, but one mouse, Frankie, was actually very happy for the dragon. Although he would miss his friend greatly, he was thrilled that Albert could soon move on and live the happy life that he deserved.

Everybody said farewell for the finial time and that evening Albert broke free of the miserable room that he had wasted so much of his life in. He was soon on his way to the land of dragons, to find himself a wife to settle down with.

Later that night when Frankie, the mouse that was excited for Albert to start his new life, saw the rest of his mouse family gloomy, he put a constellation of Albert in the night sky so they would never forget their magnificent pal. All they would have to do it look up into the dark sky and their dragon friend would be there for them just like they were always there for him.

Power.

Power: it's something that everybody longs to have in this world, but not all people can claim. As everyone tries to gain their own share of power, they forget about the more important aspects of life, and eventually the focal point of their life is the concept of gaining power. Not only are they ruining themselves and their morals, but they are also negatively effecting others around them. What happens when the world becomes so absorbed with greedy individuals that the generations yet to come won't experience the comfort of true love surrounding them? Families will become separated. Friends will become enemies. Countries will become rivals. The world will become scandalous.. unless there is change. We all know that the people of the world should change, but whether or not the change will take place, nobody knows. When the power of love becomes greater than the love of power, the world will know peace.

Texting and Driving Don't Mix

Texting while driving: It's a major risk that many teens have been taking lately. Driving is an activity that takes full concentration, so when you are distracting yourself from the road to compose, read, or send a text message, you're setting yourself up for disaster. Just like most other teens, Alex Brown -- a 17 year old girl -- was guilty of texting and driving, until one day it ended her life. It turns out, approximately 50% of teens have actually admitted to texting while driving. Not only is texting while driving putting yourself at risk, but it is also putting other drivers at risk of injury or in worse cases, death. Texting and driving don't mix.

Most people tend to think that a "texting and driving" accident could never happen to them or their family, but as we all know, life is full of unexpected surprises. Alex Brown was one of those individuals. November 10th started off as any other day would. As Alex drove herself to school that morning, she received a text message. Although she knew better, she went against the warnings that had been spoken to her about the dangers of texting while driving and took her concentration off the road to compose a text message. While sending the text to her friend, Alex's truck flipped and she was viciously thrown onto the cold hard ground. By the time her family had found her,  Alex Brown had passed away.

After the death of their daughter, the Brown family was traumatized. Never did they want to go through this situation again  nor did they wish for any other family to have to experience this, so they took action. Within the past year or so, the Brown family has created an organization called B.U.S.T (Buckle Up and Stop Texting) that has spread nationwide. The goal is for high school students to sign a pledge, promising to buckle up and stop texting, which in return should eliminate distraction and keep their focus on the road. As of today, February 3, 2011, almost 21,000 high school students have signed the pledge. This family is really making a positive impact on our country.

The Brown family is truly an inspiration. Any family who can take a traumatizing incident and turn it into a life long lesson for not only themselves but also for others around them, are genuinely wonderful people. If you stay clear of teaxting while driving, your chances for accident reduce greatly. It's simply not worth it for an accident to occur because of a text message. Texting and driving don't mix.

Eating Disorders

Young and gorgeous Anna Wood had so much going for her. She was a great student with dreams of becoming an architect. However, there was one thing that got in the way of her and her goals in life; Anorexia. What started as a post-Christmas diet turned out to be a vicious disease. Within a year, anorexia took over her life and the young, gorgeous Anna Wood soon became Anna Wood, the dead girl that missed out on so much life. This is one of many cases that an eating disorder has taken over the life of individuals to the point of death. In today's society, everyone seems to believe that body image is key to success and happiness. It was discovered that eating disorders affect up to 70 million people worldwide. This is an increasing issue in the world today due to such high standards of your body image. Although it is important to be fit and healthy, "solutions" such as anorexia or bulimia are not the answer. Eating disorders are not the resolution in weight loss; they are malicious diseases that kill.


Statics show that 8% of adolescents and young women are starving and excising themselves to death. Anorexia is an eating disorder characterized by noticeably reduced appetite or aversion to food completely. This disorder is not something you can just “snap out of;” it is a physiological disorder that can be deadly. Many people who strive to lose weight tend to make the statement “I wish I was anorexic,” but what they fail to comprehend is the melancholy of the disease. Your mind changes as you become a victim of this sickness. Your thoughts are possessed by the constant consideration of what you should eat, how many calories that food contains, and how that will affect your weight and body image. Anorexia can cause damage to vital organs such as your kidneys, heart, or brain. People suffering from this can easily experience irregular heart rhythms and even heart failure. Although those are often causes of death from this illness, the most frequent cause is suicide. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness.


Anorexia is only one of the many deadly eating disorders. Bulimia is also very life threatening. Research shows that 5% of adolescents in the world suffer from this disorder. Bulimia is characterized by episodes of binge eating followed by inappropriate methods of weight control. This includes vomiting, fasting, enemas, excessive use of laxatives, or compulsive exercise. The strange thing with Bulimia however, is that individuals who suffer from this can maintain a perfectly normal weight or possibly be overweight. Researchers aren’t exactly sure what the cause of this sickness is but it is believed that it has to do with low self-esteem problems. There are many side effects that come along with this disorder ranging from teeth erosion to stomach ulcers. Irregular heart beat and heart attack are also some severe medical complications. Along with anorexia, this eating disorder also creates a greater risk for suicidal behavior.


Eating disorders are deadly. Look back at Anna Wood; all she intended for was a post-Christmas diet but what she got herself tangled in was much more dangerous than what she anticipated. Although anorexia and bulimia are not the only fatal eating disorders in the world today, they do seem to be the most common of them all. If you know anyone with an eating disorder, the first step to take is to talk to them privately. If that doesn't have any impact on them, take the next step to speak with a guardian or counselor before it’s too late. Don’t just sit back and watch loved ones harm themselves. Make a difference.

Labels

Labels; they're everywhere. Whether it's positive or negative, you probably have one. The truth is -- as much as certain individuals might not want to admit it --most labels hurt. If you're lucky, people judged you as funny, pretty, cool, or maybe even popular, but most don't get the privilege of having those labels. Fat. Smelly. Weird. Stupid. Ugly. These are judgments that seem to come up much more often during the time that you are growing up. Why? Why does the human population intend to hurt one another? These words are cruel and they can stick with someone for as long as they live. Every person you know, whether they're ten or thirty years old, most likely have had a negative label throughout their life and to this day it probably still hurts them. Our parents always taught us the saying "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" but let's be realistic. Words do hurt. Labels do hurt. Judgments do hurt. Think about what you say before it slips out of your mouth.

Friendship

Who would have thought this ridiculous rumor would spread so far? When you first heard about it, you laughed. Never did you think that people would take it seriously. Now everyone thinks that you’re the one who ratted out the party. Parties are history for you now; nobody is going to want you at them anymore. The worst part isn’t even that though; now the whole school basically hates you. This is including the people that you thought were going to be there for you through thick and thin; your friends. Turns out, they weren’t as great of friends as you thought considering they turned on you due to gossip that is going around. School can be extremely challenging, especially when you have basically no friends. Without someone by your side to help you through the difficulties of school, more complications seem to appear. With a true friend by your side to help you along the way, nothing can stop you guys and ultimately things become much simpler.

In the novel “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson, a teenage girl named Melinda is just about to enter high school. However, there is one major difference between her the whole rest of the student body; she has not one friend. Whatever people Melinda thought were her true friends, definitely weren’t. A true friend is a person who you feel comfortable talking about anything with, a person who will support you even when it hurts his or her own interest, a person who is there whenever they are needed whether it’s three in the morning or 10 in the evening. These are distinct features of a true friend. After looking back, Melinda’s friends really didn’t have any of these characteristics. Because of that, Melinda had to face numerous challenges alone which is awful. Maybe if she had someone she could trust by her side through these hard times, she wouldn’t have had so many faults or gotten into so much trouble.

In the end, things always seem to go much more smoothly if you have a true friend by your side. There are no worries about them leaving you due to absurd gossip, or no body being there when you need them most. A true friend is someone you can trust no matter what. Through thick and thin they will always be there. “Hold a true friend with both of your hands,” – Nigerian Proverb.

Bullying

Jared High. Born September 23, 1985; died September 29, 1998 at the young age of 13. Megan Meier. Born November 6, 1992; died October 17, 2006 just three weeks short of her 14th birthday. Phoebe Prince. Born November 24, 1994; died January 14, 2009 at only 15 years old. These three individuals ended their life early due to malicious people that found pleasure in seeing them suffer. Bullying is an increasing issue in the world today. Schools are trying to get this situation under control, but are they actually helping? It’s more than just giving the kids facts and forewarning them about consequences. You have to bring reality to them and show them what their actions could potentially lead up to. Bullying needs to be stopped and the only way to do that is to give everyone a little taste of actuality.

Bullycide; A suicide caused as the result of depression from bullying. Jared High felt like there was no way out of this bullying, so he resorted to what they call a “bullycide”. It all started May 6, 1998 after school. As Jared was making a phone call to his brother for a ride home, a boy named Brutus walked into the room. Brutus was a well-known bully to the school and Jared tried his best to stay clear of him; however, that evening- without any provocation from Jared - the bully turned extremely aggressive towards him for no apparent reason. Brutus shoved Jared –who was about half his size – into walls, pushed him to the ground, continuously kicked him, and relentlessly stomped and punched the young boy all for about ten minutes. Even with serious head, neck, and shoulder injuries, Jared suffered worse from emotional trauma than physical. Jared soon developed depression and eventually made a very extreme decision to end his life.

People tend to think that a bully is a person who physically harms someone such as the story above consisting of Jared and Brutus, but that is not the only form of bullying. Cyber bullying is also a major form of bullying nowadays. Whether it’s “Facebook”, “Myyearbook”, or some other social networking site, almost every teen has some sort of an account through a social network. Megan Meier suffered from cyber bullying in 2006 through “Myspace.” Soon after opening an account, she received a message from a person claiming to be a 16 year old boy named Josh Evans who lived nearby but was homeschooled. However, what began as a promising friendship soon turned unpleasant as compliments turned to insults. After discovering messages coming from Josh’s account posted to “Myspace” saying things as cruel as “Megan’s a slut or Megan Meier is fat,” things took a tragic turn. Feeling too much stress and frustration, Megan hung herself in her closet on October 16, 2006. Six weeks after Megan’s death, the Meier family discovered that “Josh Evans” hadn’t actually existed. All along, it was a neighboring family that the Meier’s considered to be friends. “The biggest tragedy of this whole thing: An adult did it,” Ron Meier said.

In 2009, Phoebe Prince was not only a victim of physical and cyber bullying but was also a sufferer of verbal bullying. It all started with rumors, a love triangle, and dirty looks in the high-school bathrooms. Nine individuals basically “bullied Phoebe to death.” From risky threats to things being posted on social networking sights or even said to her face such as “Irish whore,” the bullying simply became so intolerable that it was impossible for her to remain at South Hadley High School. “On January 14, Phoebe was harassed and threatened in the library and hallway. As she walked home that evening, one of the “mean girls” drove by and threw a can of red bull at her,” District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel said. That night, Phoebe’s sister found her body hanging in the stairwell. The nastiness hadn’t ended there however. Her tormentors were so immoral that they had the courage to post vicious comments on the dead girl’s memorial page. After months of the community simmering about the fact that no charges had been pressed, the bullies finally received consequences. Seven of the nine teens were charged with a number of crimes ranging from criminal harassment to stalking to civil rights violation. One juvenile was charged with assault of having a dangerous weapon – a red bull can. Two males– one 17 and one 18 – were also charged with statutory rape.

Actions have consequences. Whether it’s ten years in prison or forever living with the fact that you drove someone to suicide, everyone receives some sort of punishment for their actions. Brutus, “Josh Evans,” and the nine individuals involved with Phoebe’s death will always know they pushed a person to their own death. If you witness any bullying whether it’s a vicious rumor spreading or actual physical harm, report it to a trusted adult so that it can come to an end. Bullying needs to be stopped, and the only way that can happen is if everyone works as a team to cease the nasty behavior.