College Entrance Questions

English Blogs

1)      Pretend that you are talking to a blind man and have to describe for him what “red” is. You should use narrative and descriptive writing techniques, and try to appeal to his other senses!

            Hello, my name is Bryant Diaz. I understand that you are a blind man and you are interested as in to know how I can describe the color red to you. This is a very difficult task considering that you do not have the ability to see, however, I will attempt to explain the color red to you through your other senses.

            The easiest way to describe this color would be to point out the color and then link it visual to a name, therefore identifying it. The second way to describe red would be through associating the color with through other means. For example, I can associate certain emotions or connotations that the word brings to further your knowledge of the word. This however, is not a sufficient amount of information to fully understand the concept of the color red. I can also tell you what the symbolism of the word means.

            For example, people with vision understand that heat is associated with the color red and can identify it through that. However, as we learn in astrology, there are different levels of heat that differ in colors. Thus, this would still be insufficient information. I could also associate the color red with connotations such as rage, hate, hell, blood, war, and ironically love. Since there are both negative and positive connotations to this word and color, it would be inaccurate to define it in this way as well. Although it is the most probable way that a blind person would be able to fathom the color, it will still be insufficient to determine whether or not that person knows exactly how the color looks like. This brings us to another obstacle in describing red. The way that we determine the color red is through a communal agreement within society that says that the color red is what we call it. Through vision, it is easy to point out the color and link it to the name. Doing this through another sense is much more difficult because there is not a direct way to approach it. I can try to describe the color through the other senses and say that it has several rhetorical meanings to it; however, I can never be absolutely certain that the blind man will know what the word means through what I said. I could have described the color red and he perceived the color blue. As long as he tells me that he has determined the way that the color looks, I have no other option to believe him. There will never be any confirmation to his knowledge of the color red.

2)      How does competition function in our society? To what extent is it healthy/unhealthy? Offer some real world examples taken from your life, community, culture, state, nation, or world.

            Completion plays a dire role in our society because it can be a healthy way to be productive through an athletic point of view. This is because the art of completion has brought entertainment to society since the early days of history (as far back as the hunting and gathering era). Through entertainment, people relive themselves of the stress in an industrial economy that requires hard labor and work ours of production. With that being said, sports entertainment allows people to regain strength to keep on working. Everyone needs to take breaks throughout their lives so that they don’t burn themselves out with work. Sports are also helpful in keeping a healthy lifestyle, which is what people strive for when they work to get money. There have also been many professional athletes who have contributed to society and trained children to live a healthy lifestyle to avoid future health problems. For example, Ladainian Tomlinson established an organization were he had several children participating in any kind of sport for one to one and a half hours a day. Thus, competition in sports is a healthy to people in society. It avoids various health problems.

            Another way that competition is beneficial to society is that it makes people aspire higher in order to achieve what they desire. When people realize that they have to overcome someone else in completion to realize their goal, they gain more incentive to act upon their goals, which in turn produces more work done and more efficiency for individuals. As a whole society filled with competitive individuals, we have developed a society where people have to truly work hard to stabilize themselves. Yet this has made a very difficult and sometimes insufficient economy. In the past decade, the economy has been at the tip of its rigor (disregarding depressions). That is why there are higher gas prices than ever. When the economy was less struggling, gas prices ranged from 1to 3 dollars. Now they range from 3 to 4 dollars. Since the petroleum industry is a prominent facet to the economy, it is self-evident that it reflects the prosperity of the economy.

3)      How have you taken something that you have learned in the classroom and integrated it into your nonacademic life?

            When I was in the 7^th grade, I was first introduced to what it meant to have aspirations. I was in an accelerated program called the MYAP (Middle Years Accelerated Program) which enlightened me not only to a prospering academic life, but it also helped realize how much effort I had to put into what I desired. This opened my mind to what great things I want to accomplish in my life time. Another enlightenment I gained from this experience is that it made me incredibly competitive, a characteristic I had never experienced in such magnitude before. With this new mindset that I developed, I forced myself to push myself to accomplish difficult and great goals.

            As for my non-academic life, this characteristic allowed me to excel in many other areas. It affected me in my physical competitiveness most notably. Ever since I was put into the MYAP, I have intentional put myself in situations where I had to challenge myself to overcome physical challenges. For example, I joined the basketball team in my school at the same time I was in the wrestling team. This meant that I had to go to two practices in one day (back to back) while trying to keep a GPA higher than 3.3 (which was my personal goal). This may seem like a farfetched goal to accomplish, however, I was determined to be the greatest athlete, academic, and morally sane individual. Since this was a seemingly impossible goal to realize I was discouraged by my peers and mentors. I did not let that stop me. I continued to try my best and eventually exceled. What this taught me was that I could do anything I wished to do as long as I had the incentive and motivation to do so.

            This characteristic also appeared in my junior year of high school when I made a life changing decision. In the 10^th grade, my AP World History class was lectured about the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. This speech got me thinking if I was even capable of joining such rigorous classes. Eventually I told myself that I had no other choice. If I were to aspire to learn new and interesting things I should take advantage of my time in high school and pursue my goal by using the best that this school had to offer. Now I will continue to push myself to reach my goals and see where I end up in a couple of years and how my life will be.

4) If you could go back in time and be someone in history, who would you choose to be? Why?
            If I could go back in time and be someone in history I would be Adolf Hitler. The reason being that he accomplished many of the greatest things that anyone in history has done, he controlled a whole race of people and directed them into doing his bidding through rhetorical means. Many people may think that this is a cynical choice; however, my intention is to be as great as Hitler and not as destructive.

            Instead of using my greatness for the attempts of genocide, I would use my power over people to accomplish friendly relations with foreign countries for the better of the people I rule. In doing so, I would retain my power over the people because they would be in need of a ruler who can guide them to prosperity. By leading them in this way the world as a whole will benefit from it somehow. It would be a stable country and a great one. Instead of blaming a race of people for all of the problems that happened in Germany, I would focus on the problems themselves and try to get rid of them. I would also use the sophisticated ways of organization that the Germans used to ensure that the economy will stay at a sufficient point for decades to come. This can surely be achieved with the greatness that Hitler had achieved, however, to do so with the help of others would be another task to overcome.

            It would be difficult to get retain the help of others because Hitler attained his power through methods of fear, one that I would not succeeded to do if put in that time period. Hitler successfully got German Nazis to hate the Jews based on what he claimed they did; cause problems throughout Europe. That was one of the main reasons Hitler came into power in the first place. The only way that I would be able to get the loyalty of the people is through success. Therefore I would need to start by having little accomplishments. Eventually I would have been a great leader in Germany that led it to prosperity and had positive global implications; however, my life time may not be enough to accomplish these goals. Thus, my life as a great leader would be dedicated to setting a foundation of good relations for someone else to succeed and pursue.

5) If you had the responsibility to decide where $1 million should be spent to improve conditions somewhere in the world, what project(s) would you choose? Why?
            If I were to have the responsibility to decide where one million dollars should be spent I would choose it to go to stem cell research. Stem cell research consists of biological cells found in all multicellular organisms that can divide through mitosis, and then differentiate into different specified cells. In this research, scientists are trying to manipulate stem cells so that they can reproduce certain cells that are missing in people’s bodies or replace cells that cause sicknesses, diseases and infections in the body. This means that there is a way that we can use stem cells to cure terminally ill patients. Nevertheless, there is much controversy of stem cell research. Stem cells are typically found in a dead fetus (the product of abortion). With this being said, it is clear that there would be an issue in investing in stem cell research. Yet there are benefits to doing so.

            There are great benefits into investing to stem cell research. If the research is successful there could be countless of sicknesses that will be cured and that will probably never come back again. In eliminating entire diseases the economy will have room to focus on other problems either than health care. Also, the United States would be able to sell the cure to foreign countries and prosper even further.

            The problem with this is that there are people that believe that this is entirely morally incorrect. A lot of people believe that it is murder to abort a fetus. I will not go into my opinion or an argument that says otherwise or agrees, but I will explain that it would still be possible to proceed with the investment. This is because there have been findings that stem cells also pertain in fat. If this is true, there will be no damage done to any side of the argument and everyone in the world could be supplied with medication. Therefore my investment could very well be the solution to the growing problem of countless sicknesses, making my investment the most revolutionary one that will influence the world forever.

6) How have you tried to effect change in relation to an issue of personal, local, or national significance?
            Through a local and personal significance, I have contributed to society with my community service. I have done a variety of community service work throughout my high school career. The most recent has been helping fellow students of a younger grade.

            Through this community service I have taught many students in a middle school many study skills that could very much help them with the rest of their lives. Not only did I impact a recent significance through my community service, but I have possibly enlightened other students to do the same and excel in school. With the hours that I have put into teaching middle school students in learning new content, I have helped them get a different kind learning experience a lot of them probably never had before. That is learning through another student. Although students in the 7^th and 8^th grade have come across collaboration sometime in their lives, they most likely have never gotten tutoring from high school students. At that age students see the high school students as how they could grow up to be. Depending on whom they are exposed to will greatly influence who they will become in the future. Thus, not only am I teaching them content and study skills, but at the same time I am being a role model for them.

            I am also involved in program called “Adopt a freshman,” which is very similar to the tutoring in the middle school. As opposed to the middle school, this program lets me and my fellow classmates work with individuals instead of entire groups of students.  In doing so, we are able to focus on minor things that will help the students receiving the extra tutoring surpass their regular limits. Although this program has barley started, we will commit to it and make a great impact on the students involved in it.

            These community service hours are significant because these are organizations that need help but simply lack the money to attain it. Considering that most people do not voluntarily participate in such things shows that this program is at least making a difference. Another sign of positive influence reflects on the students grades. The sole purpose of doing these hours is to guide individuals to the right direction in their academic careers. That in itself is significant to everyone because these students could grow up to be anyone great in their lives.

7) If you could introduce one new idea or material thing to a primitive culture, what would it be?
            If I could introduce a new material that will help our primitive culture, it would be something that would solve a common problem in our society. What I have in mind would be a program that approaches children at an early age. Current school districts are run by older men and women from a younger time in America with less innovated technology to aid them in their lives. Although technology is very useful when trying to get something done, it also deprives us of the need to use our brains to a greater extent to attain what we want. The education system is created for students to prepare for college and the rest of their lives, however it does not resemble the real world at all and it deludes many to what is important to them. As for the way of learning, it is structured to target only a very limited way of learning that does not work for everyone.

            My program will alter this format. My idea is to create a program in which children will learn much more challenging content (at the same time that it will be more entertaining). As opposed to the current education that has many students/children not wanting to go to school, my program will be one that accommodates individuals to achieve great goals in the way that they want it. Instead of having the teacher, administration, superintendents, and the government control the students in what they do and learn I will have a program that simply guides them into what they would like to do and help them. The main idea of this is exposure. This gives students much more options to do what they want and will resemble their lives outside of high school. Their social lives, appearances, and upcoming fads will no longer play a major factor and time consuming in their everyday lives. Students will never feel that their time is being wasted in school (as many come to believe in the rebellious age of their teenage years), but rather used. Instead of provoking the rebellious characteristics in students, our teachers and staff members will work to trigger a competitive characteristic trait.

            Another major difference this school program will have is that the subjects will be different. Students will take classes that show them the relevance and the more interesting parts of the content that they are learning. Students will also be in control of what goes on in the class somehow as opposed to being told exactly what to do and what not to do (which seems to be a problem that remains unrecognized by the education system today). This will be a program that will greatly influence and essentially change the entire world through its updated format.

8) If you were to describe yourself using a quotation, what would that quotation be? After you have chosen a quote, then write a bit about how it relates to you and reveals what kind of person you are.

9) Given the authority to establish a holiday, what would you choose to commemorate? Why? What would the celebration look like?
            If I were given the authority to establish a holiday I would choose to celebrate the day that Andrew Jackson took the United States of America out of dept. This is because America has always been in debt to some country for some reason. President Andrew Jackson was the first president to ever rid the United States of America of debt. He was also the only president to do so.

            This would be a significant holiday because it would inspire Americans to try and contribute to getting out of debt with other countries. The holiday would be a celebration of Andrew Jackson’s presidency and how effective it was. Current presidents will view this day as a patriotic day that brings the United States of America together as a country. It would further inspire Americans to work towards unity.

            The holiday would also reduce the amount of deficit spending. It would be a time for all Americans to increase awareness of the amount of money they owe to other countries. This will essentially make everyone more aware of how many benefits that they have affect everyone through taxes. This holiday would be decorated with many patriotic symbols, similar to the fourth of July. It will also be filled with patriotic parades that further illustrate the symbolism of America. Through all of these things, this holiday will bring unity to America, and hopefully it would help the United States of America get out of the debt we are in no matter what time period it is.

10) What is the best advice you've ever received? Explain.
            The best advice I have ever received from anyone was from my oldest sister who told me to quit slacking in my studies and prepare to go to college ever since the fourth grade. The idea of going to college was always unfathomable to me before this time and I simply believed that it was too far away to ever even think about, however I did always subconsciously acknowledged that I would one day make my family proud by attending a four year university. As a child I only cared for the present and just assumed that the future would turn out the way that I wanted it to. I now know that that is clearly untrue.

            The reason this has been the best advice that I ever received is because it made me aware of the significance of my actions. Although I did not fully take my education higher until I went into middle school and high school, my elementary years were spent trying to impress my oldest sister with what I knew and I did not slack off as I always had. I began to try my hardest, but somehow that was not enough. My class mates were always ahead of me and I felt discouraged with the constant ridicules I received from them. Throughout my entire elementary school years I was discouraged and told that I was no good at anything. That changed when I went into middle school and I was placed in an advanced program (even though I was placed there by mistake). This is what changed my life forever. I began to grow confidence in what I had to offer to people. My study skills increased exponentially and I did well in my classes. I started to discover much of colleges/universities and what it took to get there. Since the 8^th grade I have aspired to attain the Bill Gates Scholarship, although I thought it was the most farfetched goal I have ever put and I did not expect to actually get it. In the 9^th and 10^th grades however, this dream started to become more and more reachable.

            I met someone who has probably set the most positive influence in my academic career, Zach Mooring. He and I became close friends and I learned a lot from him. He enlightened me in many topics. Amongst those topics was the Bill Gates Scholarship. Ever since I met him, my aspirations to get the Bill Gates have seemed possible. Now I strongly believe that I will get the Gates Scholarship.  Although Zach was a highly influential friend he was not the one who gave me the best advice I had ever received. It was still my oldest sister who did. If she had not told me that she expected me to go to a university to make my family proud I would have not cared to build a friendship with Zach. Now that I look back and see the friends I once had in elementary school, they have all become failures already. Many of my former friends do not even keep in touch with me because they have dissociated themselves with what is important in this time in their lives and they focus to closely on drugs, alcohol, sex, and crimes. These were the people I use to admire before my sister approached me. If it wasn’t for that day when she took the time to tell me what was important for me to do as a child, I could have very well been exactly like my former friends.

11) Ask and answer the one important question that a university won't ask you, but you wish they would.

            One question that I wish a university should ask me about is; “What is more important to your life, your entertainment or your work?” That way I could answer the question with ease.

             My answer to this would be my entertainment. This is because the only reason that I do anything to do with school or money derives from my desire for entertainment. I believe that it is more important to have a healthy lifestyle than to have an extremely productive one. Although most would frown at this and think that my mind set is incorrect, I believe that everyone does whatever they do so that they can come to enjoy themselves afterwards; however, there are two major reasons why I try to achieve great goals in my academic life. One of them is to be able to get a good job so I can have money to have what I want, and the other is simply because I am fascinated by many subjects. Since my greatest incentive to move on in my studies is to enjoy myself at home with my family, I will continue to work hard to achieve what I want. In doing this I also get my work done and maintain a steady balance between my work and my social life. Without this balance I would become an individual, who does not live, but rather one that simply survives and works. Personally I do not like to work/ however it is necessary for me to do. Therefore, I do what I must.

            Bearing in mind that I also enjoy the competitiveness and have a curiosity for academia, I also entertain myself within my work. This means that I can always be content with what I do as far as my work. I want to grow up to be someone who can afford to take occasional vacations whenever I desire. I would like to be able to enjoy my job and enjoy my personal life as well. My overall goal is to live happily with my family and hopefully be able to help others in need. By working and getting money I would not only be able to live the life that I want, but I would also have the luxury to help others, particularly my family in Honduras, live a similar life to mine. That is why my work is not as important to me as many may think.

12) Your life is a movie. Describe the first 15 minutes.
            Throughout my life I have been forced to see many struggles in my family. Growing up as a child was not as easy for me as it is for other children.

            If my life were told to describe the struggles in my life in the first 15 minutes of a movie, it would simply be the first latest 10 years of my life, were my struggles began. These first 15 minutes into the movie however, would be used to foreshadow my future (which would be the next hour and a half of the movie), where something great happens. The first 15 minutes would go like this;

            As far as I can remember I have lived with all of my brothers and sisters. I have three sisters and two brothers (me being the third). I can remember all of us always sticking together and always having good times no matter how bad they seemed. In the early years of my life in Spring Valley my family had a sufficient amount of money to get us by and even help the rest of our family members. Unfortunately this did not last long. After the tragic death of my grandmother, my mom had never felt the same and it was a lot more difficult for all of us to proceed with our daily lives as we always had. We soon had financial struggles that led us to move far away from the house that we owned in Spring Valley.

            This was perhaps the greatest turning point in my life, I had moved to TJ. My grandmother’s death came unexpected and ever since then there has been many ill-fated events that have happened to me. Living in TJ was not a very good experience for me in some aspects but it was beneficial in others. In the time that I spent in TJ I had learned nearly everything that I now know. This is where I grew up and where I have spent much of my life in.

            For the most part, the first 15 minutes of this movie will be situated in this place. It would show how I sometimes did not have enough food or money to properly go on living even there, however, it would also show how we did the unimaginable to overcome these struggles. This movie would also include the internal struggles I faced in this time and it would foreshadow how it would affect me in the future. Since I am only 16 years old rite now, the tone of the first 15 minutes could be manipulated to be anything. My time in TJ could either be an experience that will lead me to understanding and lead me to do great things in the future for people like me. Or this could be told in an apocalyptic tone to show that I will one day grow up to be the greatest antagonist anyone has ever seen. I could be a destructive person who causes mischief and is part of a terrorism or conspiracy. Whatever it may be, the movie would show how my experiences paid a great toll on me in some way. It would then go on and show how school and my social life have been portrayed. The end of the 15 minutes would show what time I am at right now and how my IB years will turn out. It would also foreshadow how it will be.

13) Write a letter to your future college roommate introducing yourself and your background.
Dear future roommate,

            My name is Bryant Diaz and I will be living with you for a long time. I believe that it would be a good idea to get to know each other to see if we can get along before it is too late to change roommates. I only say that as a precaution.

            Never the less I think that I should tell you about myself. I can be an amiable person whenever I meet someone I do not yet know. It is very easy to get along with me because you can talk to me about nearly anything and I can relate to it in some way. If I cannot relate to what you have to say then I can probably understand you at least. I have many hobbies such as; drawing, playing video games, competing in sports, and learning interesting things. I really enjoy my school work and it is likely that we can help each in our work. Living with me shouldn’t be much of an annoyance either because I tend to keep clean and keep to myself. However if you are in need for some company I would more than likely be available.

            If you are at all interested in any of the hobbies that I stated we should be able to get along just fine because I don’t mind if someone is messier than me, however I don’t think that would be the case with you, but just in case it is it wouldn’t matter much. Throughout our time living together I will make sure that I will be available to you for whatever you may need, and I will hope that you will do the same. Hopefully this could be a good experience for both of us and I hope that we can get all we can out of our college years.

14) Please describe your reactions/ideas to the following quote: "He does not possess wealth, it possesses him."

            What this quote means to me is that there are many greedy people in this world that lose sight of what they originally wanted in life and let it consume them. This means that they have changed to be a different person. When a man’s wealth possesses him he is no longer in control of his emotions. Instead, he is completely confined in his business and does not have time for himself or others. Usually people who are confined with their money are corrupt people who will do whatever is necessary to get what they want. If wealth possesses him, it would be very difficult for him to return to.

            The way that I react to this is that I remember how many people are consumed by greed in this world. In our society, everything revolves around money. The lack of money will mean the lack of a healthy life. For example, in lower income areas there are stores such as Food 4 Less and Ross. However, in places with higher income there are stores such as Henry’s, which is the healthiest store in all of America. This could possibly be a way for corrupt people to keep themselves at the top of their wealth. This quote also makes me feel that money is so important and predominant in our society that it would cause people to be completely preoccupied with it.

            Although money can corrupt many people, it is still an essential part of our everyday life. It is a way to get people working for what they want; however, when people steal and cheat their way to get money it makes it a corrupt and unfair system. With that being said it makes sense that money can go to corrupt people. Yet that is not a good enough reason for people to let money overcome them.

15) What is the most valuable contribution you could make to a college campus? Explain.

            The most valuable contribution I could possibly make to a college campus would be a great scientific discovery under the campus’s name. The discovery in particular would be stem cell research. If I were given the opportunity I would put all of my efforts into stem cell research for the better of everyone in the world. Assuming that I would be successful, this would bring the most fame to the college it has ever received because this would be the greatest discovery in the 21^st century.

            The college would become even more known by students than it already is and it will attract much more people. Through stem cell research, the college will begin to focus a little bit more in the science department and try to come up with other revolutionary breakthroughs just like the stem cell research one. It will become a much more prestigious college because it would attract much more students from around the world. This will cause the college to purchase new equipment for the science department. This will further benefit the university because the science field is a growing one that often times lacks enough students to attend. With more students attending to school that has a name for science there will surely be another breakthrough similar to stem cell research.

            Another way that I could contribute to a college or university effectively would be to join the staff. Assuming that I successfully discovered a way to use stem cells to cure people, I could easily become a professor in the university in that department. By becoming a college professor I would be contributing to the knowledge of all students attending my class. There is possibly no better way to contribute to a school facility than through teaching students. This is because the main purpose of a school facility is essentially the education of the students. Without it the university would be worthless. Thus, with me discovering the unknown information in stem cell research and then teaching it to students would be the most effective way to contribute to my college campus.

16) Explain a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
            A significant moment in my life that had played a great impact on me was when I was first introduced to theft. When I was younger I use to steal whatever it is that I wanted, despite my acknowledgement of how morally incorrect it is. What drove me was the simple lust for material and greed. The consequences had meant nothing to me at all. Instead my mind was only on what I was going to gain.

            The reason that this played a great impact on me was because I was never getting caught. Yet I was almost caught many times. By this time I was begging to feel remorse for my actions and shame for disobeying my parents, however this still did not stop me from stealing. This eventually led me to get caught. Finally when I did get caught I fully understood the significance of theft. Ever since then I have been strongly opposed to stealing. I had an epiphany. This has impacted not only me, but also other people who I have spoken to about stealing. This experience has given me an insight to what it means to be a criminal. With this knowledge I now know what I must not do because I have always had a fear of shaming my family. I have also always had a fear of going to prison. Since I was I child, my family has raised me to avoid problems similar to this and showed me what the consequences were. However, my arrogance did not let me see passed that at the time. Now that this experience is done, I will avoid breaking the law at all costs.

            Another way that it impacted me was that it got me thinking about how my future could have been if I continued these ill habits. It brought me back to my younger days when I would associate myself with troublemakers. I had imagined that if I were to continue stealing that I would have become a failure and everything that I did not want to be. Thankfully this happened at a sooner age when the consequences are not as severe as an adult. Now I know what I must do to be the person I want to be.

17) Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
            A major local issue that is important to me is the recent scandals going on at Castle Park High School. Ever since last year when we had a principal who clearly had much care for the benefit of our school was removed from his position, there have been many other unfortunate events. Needless to say, his removal had nothing to do with the scandals of this year. However this has contributed to the negative reputation that our school has. For some reason Castle Park has faced several obstacles this year that has gone to the news, notably, the incident with the football team and the arrest of one of our teachers. Our reputation does not reflect the achievements of last year’s 3 17. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you Valid Dictorians nor the 3 Gates Scholars.  It does not resemble the attendance records that we have managed to maintain or the UCSD internship that we had over the break that let Castle Park students interact and teach the greatest science students from Latin America. Instead the focus is on a couple of scandals that do not emulate the students that are in this school.

            This issue is important to me because it belittles the great programs that we have in our school that, to me, are seemingly much more significant and relevant. Our programs are more relevant to the public than these scandals because they are much more positive to our community as a whole. Instead of discouraging people to attend our school because of the actions of a few individuals, the media should be working to help us recover from these events. Considering that they are simply making the toll greater on all Castle Park students I personally feel that I am not doing what I must to put an end to these scandals. Never the less, these scandals are almost completely independent from me and I should not stress over them, however I cannot help myself but worry for my school.

 

18) If you could choose two things to change about our high school campus, what would they be and why?
            If I had the opportunity to change two things on my campus it would be the food served and the way that the counseling center is run. These are two issues in our campus that many people do not take any action into changing because of the seemingly impossibility of such a task. Never the less, if there is to be change someone has to take initiative and work to realize this change.

            The cafeteria food served in our schools is not only “atrocious” and “discussing,” (according to many students) but they are also unhealthy. The food served in the cafeteria consists of greasy foods and a lot of other fat foods. Often times the only thing available is the greasy pizza that has been preserved in a refrigerator for a long time, only to be reheated over and over again. There are also unhealthy hot dogs that are an option but these do not exactly qualify as a decent meal either. Many of these foods are detrimental to the success of the athletes in our school. In addition to this, the amount of food served is not always a suffice amount to satisfy hungry teenagers in need of plenty of carbohydrates. These foods should be changed to what the recommended diet from the food pyramid suggests. That way we could have a decent meal before returning to another 2 hour long class, where we are placed in seats and not allowed to get up unless given permission.

            On a further note, the counseling center is another issue that needs to be resolved. There have been countless of students that do not receive the attention or the mentoring that they need from their counselors. This is simply because the counselors are “too busy” (even though there jobs consist of assisting students with their education). Students are constantly complaining that the counselors have made errors in their schedules and later say that the counselors cannot do anything to revert it. This has been detrimental to many students in the past and unfortunately will continue to be in the future.

19) Should school attendance be mandatory? In your answer, be sure to explore what the function of education is, and what our nation would look like if the masses were less educated.
            Although the idea of an America filled with independent individuals who seek out education in a struggle of survival of the fittest is a glorious image, it is simply not possible. There are too many people in America who are not willing to reach out to their education if they could help it. Most teenagers would grow confortable of the idea of school not being mandatory because they would not be forced to do something they do not want to do. If school were not mandatory, it is possible that America would not be as prosperous of a country that it is today. This is because, although a lot of people do not want to stay in school, they are still learning.

            Viewing this through a mass perspective of an entire country, it would only be logical to keep as many students in school as possible. For every student staying in school, America has an increased possibility of producing a successful individual. Therefore we should continue to have a mandatory education system in order to avoid failure as a whole country.

20) If you had the ability to talk to one species of animal, which animal would you choose to communicate with? Why?

            If I had the ability to speak to any species of animal I would choose to speak to canines. The reason being is that they are the most useful species to mankind. Since dogs in particular are used for various reasons because of their advance sense of smell, it would be logical to communicate with them through other means to facilitate the life of human beings. With the ability to communicate with dogs I would be able to train them easier for their functions. For example, I could teach the dog to guide a blind person to go to where they need to go. I would also be able to explain to the dog why it is important to do the job he/she was assigned. Another important role I could be able to teach the dog is to work with police men to catch criminals. In doing so, I would have facilitated the jobs of police that work to keep people safe from harm. Hence, I would be making the life of human beings a little bit easier.

            Not only will I be able to communicate with dogs for the better of the human race as a means of lifestyle, but I would also be able to use my abilities to teach dogs things for the entertainment of people. I could train dogs to do certain tricks that would be performed in parades and circuses. In training dogs to be entertainers, I would essentially be working for the better of the people because people need entertainment to go on with their daily lives.

            Not only will I be able to make life easier for many people, but I would also be able to help in many other creative ways that most people have not thought of because they do not possess the same abilities as me.