Risky Business Essay: marijuana

Bryson CASTRO

October 27, 2011

Marijuana

In a child’s teen years they are confronted with a variety of situation which include going to a new school, barrages of projects and the need to feel cool. The definition of “cool” to a teen could vary from being the jock on the football team or hanging with friend at a park smoking weed or marijuana.  According the Monitoring the Future survey conducted by NIDA, 32.7% of sophomores admitted to using marijuana in their lifetime.  Out of the 32.7% of teenagers, 26.6% of those individuals admitted to smoking the plant in the past year.  Marijuana is hazardous to a teen’s health because it contains a chemical called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC for short.  THC is a harmful chemical, that when any person smokes marijuana, THC will rapidly flow into the lungs, through the bloodstream and into the brain.  This compound affects the cannabinoid receptors in the brain that produces the “high” feeling that these teenagers feel.  When these individuals feel high it is extremely dangerous to their physical and mental house because marijuana causes distorted thinking, impaired coordination, and difficulty making decisions.  These teens are not in the right state of mind and could seriously injure themselves, friend, or an innocent bystander.  In order to prevent or decrease the number of teenage marijuana users, youths who were previously apprehended for use or possession of marijuana should be required to join after school clubs, sports, or activities.  Although filling a student’s time with after school activities, it does not guarantee that they will stop smoking weed.  The government cannot obstruct any individuals during a person’s time at home and on the weekend.  Middle school and high school students could still attain marijuana through other family members and friends.  Some teenagers have been long time users of marijuana and could have formed an addiction to the drug.  These individuals have probably discovered devious tricks and sly ways to attain the drug and keep it hidden from government officials.

However, by substituting a teenager’s after school time with an activity, club or sport, marijuana abusing students could find a liking to their new filled hours helping them to quit using marijuana.  This could possibly prevent kids from landing in jail.  Alby, a teen in Westchest, New York, felt as if he was in constant danger. “I saw people getting stabbed” he stated in an interview with Scholastics.  Seeing someone getting stabbed could be traumatizing to any teen.  It would be logical to assume that teens would rather participate in after school activities than go to jail.  One of the main reasons that teens like Alby smoke marijuana is because their time after school was empty. Instead of sending these detained teens to jail, filling the void in with after school programs could be the next best possible scenario.

Nevertheless, teens still could “buck the system”.  Certain individuals could care less and ditch the mandatory consequence.  Since marijuana affects a students ability to think straight and make logical decisions, choosing to attend an after school program could be hard for “high” teenagers.  There are areas in the nation that students believe that life is so bad that they commit suicide.  There are also areas in the nation that teenagers believe that jail is the best place for them.  These types of individuals could have a hard time adjusting to going to a club or sport after school because they are so used to “cruising” with their friends or with the “cool guys”, and they have a defeated attitude; feeling as if they have nothing to lose.

On the other hand, filling in a students time with after school activities could also fill in the spiritual void in a teenager’s life.  By having students join an after school club they could possibly make new friends.  The acquaintances they meet during after school could hopefully replace and prevent the friendship of the negative influences that they used to “hang with”.  In a National Survey of Drug Abuse and Health, 42.2% of teenagers who used marijuana smoked the drug because they were depressed.  Referring back to Alby in the second paragraph, he smoked marijuana because he had lost his mom at the age of 14.  He was also influenced by his “friends”.  A club, such as Victory Club or Japanese Club, could have helped fill in the feeling of loss.  If he had joined a sport, teammates could have assisted in coping with the loss of his mother.

Furthermore, marijuana abusers need to fill in a void in there physical or spiritual life.  By requiring juvenile’s to join an after school program could help teenager’s who abused marijuana by filling in this void.  Classmates, club members, and teammates can help these individuals to see that there are different ways to cope with their problems than marijuana. 

Outside reading card

college essay draft

D.O.G.S

(Day I Obtained Great Stress)

“Eagle one, this is hornets nest, do you copy?”

“I am hearing you loud and clear hornets nest.”

“Eagle one; you got four unidentified aircraft heading your way. Twenty degrees north.  We need you to identify, over?”

“Reading you loud and clear. Eagle one out.”

On June 11, 2008 four dogs were born, two of them would be mine forever and the other the other two were given to my aunty.  The two that I kept changed my life forever. They were now my responsibility, my assignment.

“Hornets nest; I have all four bogies in sight. Awaiting instruction”

“We hear you eagle one, eliminate the two of the bogies. We need you to take two hostages.”

“What are you going to do them?”

“Not us Eagle one, you. You’re going to train them.  Now complete the mission.”

From the day they were born I took care of them. I cleaned them, I fed them, and I bathed them, but I had also made mistakes and forgot about them.  These were the things that changed me and made me grow.  I made mistakes, but I learned from them.

One of the biggest mistakes that changed me was the day I had left their dog food in the rain.  One of the rules of the dog food was that it can never get wet or it will mold.  Well, I obviously had left it in the rain and it got moldy. I had been irresponsible, but I had learned from it.  The reason I learned from my mistakes was because I did not want my dogs to suffer without food like how they did.  I had learned to check my area before I had put them away.

“Hornets nest, this is eagle one.  I have eliminated two of the birdies, but I am having trouble with the hostages, I think I may have lost them.”

“Did you check your six?”

“Yes sir. I have checked all areas……No wait I see them, they are diving straight into the ocean.  I am going into save them.”

“Just bring them home safely.”

My dogs have not only given more responsibility, but they have also opened my eyes to what parenting is like.  They have changed my thought process from “my parents have an easy life, just go to work and come home”, to my parents work hard by juggling life, work, and kids.  I have not had a full taste of what they feel with me, but I have insight to what it is like to have kids; stressful, but fun.  The day I got my dogs was the day I inherited responsibility. 

Having dogs taught me a lot about time management, which will help prepare me for college.  It helps me to balance all the aspects of my life which are school, sports, and home life.  Being able to keep up with all the aspects of my life and fitting in time to be able to walk and take care of my dogs will help me to be a more responsible person.

Being able to take care of my dogs was like being in a dogfight, or going on a mission.  I had to take care of one kill box and move to another.  I took everyday as one kill box, trying to not make or forget any responsibilities that I had to do to take care of them.  If I made a mistake, such as forget to cover their cage properly, it affected not only me, but my dogs.

The reason why my dogs changed me was because it changed my way of thinking.  I have been applying the way I think with my dogs to almost everything I do in life.  I us it when I in school, especially when I do my test.  I take it one class at a time trying to make as little mistakes as I can.

College essay topic

Carnegie Melon:
Choose a signifigant event in your life that had a large impact on you, wheter good or bad. How has this event changed you, taught you, or made you a better person, and what have you learned about yourself?

Links to colleges:

United States Air Force Academy: http://www.usafa.org/

The Citadel: http://www.citadel.edu/main/

West Point Academy: http://www.usma.edu/

Virginia Tech: http://www.vt.edu/

Coming of Age poster

Coming of age

Coming of Age

The OIA judo state championship was held at Leileihua last year.  As long as I placed sixth in this competition I would be qualified for states.  So far, I had made it to the finals match.  I was in the warm up room getting ready for this very important match.  I was visualizing all my techniques in my head, replaying them over and over just like you would with a DVD player.  As I visualized them I was doing repetitions of the techniques.  I felt focused, like a lion getting ready to strike his pray.  All the cheering, yelling, and distractions around me were muted.  I heard one of the staff call "Bryson Castro". Finally, I was called to step on to the mat to face my opponent.  I was ready.

As I walked on to the mat, I felt like a there dog was in my stomach pawing and playing with my insides, but when I looked into the crowd and saw my family and team, the dog decided to sit.  I took a bow on the mat and faced my opponent.  I remember thinking, I worked hard to get here, and I can do this.  I bowed to my opponent and the referee said the word that started the match, “Hajime!”

The whole match was a blur.  In the beginning my head was spinning like a carousel going at a hundred miles per hour, but I grabbed a hold of the reigns pretty quickly and was in control of the match.  Soon my adrenaline started to kick in and I could feel my techniques start to activate like a program in a robot.  My body did exactly as I told it and I was dominating the whole time, but just two minutes in the round the referee said the word “Mate” and the matched stopped.  He then called for his two fellow referees and they started talking together privately.  As I waited I stared at my opponent, waiting to get the match started again.  The two referees went back to their seats and the head referee pointed his hand at me and said the word every judoka never wants to hear, “Hansokomake”.   As soon as I heard that word I thought I was dreaming.  It had meant I had been disqualified.

At first I was confused and wondered what I had done wrong.  I looked at my coach for help, but he had no idea what had happened either.  So I took a bow off the mat and accepted my fate of defeat.  I felt as if I had made a bridge with my bare hands, and a huge wave just came and swept it all away.  As soon as I walked toward my coach I fought really hard to hold back my disappointment, anger, and most of all tears, but as soon as I reached the dam which held back the river in my eyes burst.  My coach told me to stop and looked at me.  He told me “I am proud of how I performed out there; you dominated most of the match.” As I listened to his words it went through me like a ghost.  I still felt like I had hit the lowest part of the sea floor.  He told me to go find my parents, and he was going to go find out what had happened.

I looked into the bleachers filled with a lot of people, and spotted my parents seated at the top row.  As I walked up to them I was surprised to hear congratulations and smiles from them.  Even though I lost they were proud of me because they knew that I had worked hard to get to that point.  To see my dad, my mom, and my younger siblings smile and be proud of me made me feel a little better.  In my head, I still felt like a lost.  I kept thinking, “I will know whether or not I really beat my opponent, or if he really would have won.”  I sat with my parents for about thirty minutes, when my coach asked me if I had a recording of the match, which my dad had.  Coach told me that they had disqualified me for unsportsmanlike conduct; the referees claimed that I had pushed my opponent into the mat.  As I walked down with my coach to the referee’s room I got words of sincere congratulations and phrases like “you would have beat him Castro” or “you will always get him next time” all of my teammates.  When my dad and coach went into the referee’s room I waited just outside of the door.  As I waited I thought of all the support I got from everyone on the judo team.  They had all sincerely felt I would have won.  As I thought about it more I felt more positive and didn’t take my loss as a loss.  I felt like I gained and won the care and respect from my team mates.  When my dad and coach came out of the room I knew that they had not lift the disqualification and I would not be able to compete in states.  I felt crushed, but I had gained more that I lost.  I gained friend and respect.

Before I close, I want my readers to know that I had not pushed my opponent into the mat.  Everyone watched the video and I had pulled upwards, even the referee changed his accusation of pushing to pulling away violently, but watching the video is not how I became of age.  I grew up in many ways after that competition.  I had learned that even though I lost something that was important to me, there are people out there who are there to comfort me.  I also learned that even thought I worked hard to get to the OIAs, and got disqualified, people didn’t care whether or not I won or lost, it was about how much effort I put into the competition because they had seen me work hard the whole year with them.  As much as I worked hard I would not have been able to do it without my teammates and on top of that my family.

tourist attractions

Tourist should be responsible when visiting local attractions. For example, when visiting a blowhole in hawaii tourist should know that it is unsafe to straddle it  because it will lead to potential inujuries.  Tourist should also be prepared when going to attractions that are not approved by the state.  If they are going on a hike they should bring rope and probably a guide.  They should also read the warning signs and be aware of dangerous sites.  Just because there are no signs that are visible doesn't mean there aren't any.  Tourist, even locals, should go out to research the attraction and be aware of the warning signs.

Blog revision

This year, to change my header I created it to be a timeline on how, not only me, but my generation has matured and is coming of age through tv shows.  It starts off with the television elmo and ends with the ufc series because we went from watching educational kids shows to violent and mature adult shows.  My previous header ws Words: past, present, future..., but this year i hope that my title,"you can grow up to a certain limit, but with your mind you set your own limit", fits with this years theme which is coming of age.  It means that no matter how old you get, you continue to grow spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and maturely.  Hopefully my header shows my skill in photoshop.  I used the basic tools like cropping, magic wand, painbucket, and used layers.  It may not be as nice as some of the other blog headers, but I did it with what knowledge I had from last year, which shows I have alot to catch up on.  I archived my blog based on their assignment.  I also have separate the assignments I will have this year to the assignments I had last year.  For example, we had three post on the roots and recipes, so I put I named the category Roots and Recipes.  There is also a misc folder for all the assignments I did not complete or for assignments that only had one of a kind, such as my OR card.  Both the misc folder, roots and recipes and other folders pertaining to last year will be under the label Freshmen year '10 - '11.  For this years assignments I created a label called Sophmore year '11-'12. 

My metaphor poem

I am a wolf

I adapt to my environment
Quickly changing my emotions

I am always chasing after my dreams
I don't stop until i catch it

At times I can be stubborn
And attack visciously to get my way
But sometimes I am wrong and lose the scuffle

Always listening for the call of my pack
When called I rush to them,
lending a helpful hand
loyal to until my death

Everyday at night
I look up to the sky
And howl my thanks and praise to God for keeping us safe

I am a wolf
and I never give up

My Oral Reading Card

Parent/ Student Portfolio comment

1. What piece of writing did you like best in my portfolio and why?
2. What did you like about my portfolio and sharing and what would you like to see me improve on?
3. Which of the writing traits (ideas, organization, voice, word choice) do you feel was most successful for me?
4. Which of the traits of writing would you like me to improve on in the coming semester?

KC3

The Great Mahele How It Affected Land Use

Recreation

During the reign if king Kamehameha the first land was given to the people through the king.  The chiefs would oversee the land and the people would use it.  The people would follow a system called the Kapu, this regulated what people could fish, farm and use.  The Kapu continued all the way until the death of King Kamehameha the second.  During the reign of king Kamehameha the third is when the Kuleana Act, otherwise known as the Great Mahele (land division) was issued.   The act was broken up into three parts.  Part one allowed the king to keep a part of land called the crown lands. Second the Government lands were given to the chiefs and the people.  The third act of the Mahele was allowed the enabled the land commission to award small areas of land.  This act greatly affected the Hawaiians.   Many of the natives lost their land to foreigners, who used the land for many things; one of those uses was recreation.

Recreation is a big part of Hawaii today. There are two types of recreation land and ocean recreation.  Recreation includes land being used for sports, parks, and even out in the ocean.  Just in Hawaii alone there are 26 state parks, 286 county parks and almost the same amount of community centers. There are many issues that revolve around recreation.   One of the big issues is the killing of the coral reefs due to the snorkeling or over swimming.    When people snorkel or go swimming in coral reefs they step on and kill the coral reefs.  Many reefs in Hawaii are experiencing a big decrease the most at 75%.

People are also over fishing another type of recreation.  Fishing regulations are limits to which fishers and divers can catch the fish.  The parrot fish can only be caught at 12 inches, but they are not able to reproduce until they are 13 inches or 1 year of life. Now that they are endangered and are important to the coral reefs the government is thinking of changing it to 14 inches.  The parrot fish is used to clean algae off of the coral.

In my opinion I think the Mahele started off as a good thing.  It was a time for change and for Hawaii to move forward.  It brought different ideas to Hawaii, such as the production of sugar cane.  With the production of sugar cane brought different ethnicities.    It also bought the concept of whaling and fishing as a business.  But what started off as a good thing started to go bad when we overused it and kicked the Hawaiians off of their land.

If the Great Mahele had not been issued the reefs would probably not be dying.  The Kapu would have regulated the use of fishing and swimming in the waters.  Now with the Mahele issued Land is used for different things.

First quater

A short description of your quarter. Good stuff? Junk stuff? and, very important, What do you notice about yourself, your peers, your classes that distinguishes high school from middle school?
This quarter was okay.  I could have done alot better, but i had so much fun. My English class was alot more exciting than my previous classes.  There was minimal junk stuff,but it was caused by me because i didn't do my homework.


Language Arts: What were your big (or little) "ah-ha's" for the quarter? What can you do now, or what do you know now, or how do you feel now in this class that you didn't do, know, feel before this quarter?
What i learned this quarter is that menemac is not just about fun and games.  is is fun but you have to be ready to work hard.  Especially that i live in mililani I have to work as hard as everyone else and even harder than some.  I feel more confident that i will do better this quarter.


What would you like to see changed about Language Arts--assignments, procedures, instruction, etc. and WHY? The WHY is very important. If you're very persuasive, you might convince me to make a change. Hit me with your best shot :)
There is one thing i would like to see changed. I would like to have more time to work on projects and class assignments in class.  Since I live far(not as far as some people) and am in sports, i don't have time to do homework at home since it is so late.  i think that having class time to do homework would alleviate time at home.


Then, describe your overall MeneMAC experience this past quarter.
Menemac was very fun. I learned alot of tricks o the computer that i never new before.  I had made new friends and everyone i  the class gets along with each other.


Last, what are your goals and hopes for this second quarter?
I hope this year i will at least get one A. I don't care n what class. As long as i get one A i will have accomplished my goals.

Querencia

Ever wish that you could go to a place were you could just relax and forget your worries?  Or  a place you could go to bring back good memories? Well this wish was granted for me when I first wnet to the Tenrikyo temple.

I first went to the temple during my fourth year in judo.  I had just been selected to play in the junior olympics that would be held in Florida.  The church had decided to hold a blessing for the players that would be going to compete in the mainland.  When I first stepped onto the cold wooden floor with my barefeet an overwhelming presence i can not describe came over me.  The sweet aroma of insence burning, the ringing of the gongs and the chant of prayers being hummed by revrend and bishop sato made the presence grow stronger.  After the prayesrs bishop gave us a blessing and words of wisdom to remember on the tripp.

The next week we left for the tournament.  The team was ready and itching to play and twitchin with excitement.  On the day of the competition all the excitment seemed to dissappear and transform into nervousness and worry.  As we stared into the crowds of competitior filled with diffent quantities of races we became more and more nervous.  As Sensei Chow looked at us sensing the nervousness, he said only five words " Remember the words of revrend"  At that moment I closed my eyes and the voice of bishop came into my head " Clear your mind."  I took a deep breath and stared into the crowd agian this time looking at them just like they were normal humans. I had a mindset the said I can do this.  When it was my tuned to compete I stepped onto the cold tatami mat and was ready for my opponent.  By the end of the day i had won eight matches contributin to the twelve gold medals we took home that day. 

When we landed at the airport hugs, kisses and leis were given to us. I had never appreciated hawaii so much.  The next day I went to the temple. The same smell and soudns were there, the only difference I felt was the presence. I could finally describe it. Peace.  It was something I had not felt in a long time. Now I gao there once a year just to feel that presecne and to alway bring back the memories that will stay with me for life. 

my place of peace

The tenrikyo temple, a quiet peacful and calming place.  Just hearing the sound of the gong ringing before i go through the door turns me into a whole new person.  I seem to become one with nature and so peaceful that I can do anything.The burning but sweet aroma of incense and the humming and praying of revrend mel and the other members add up to this wonderful place.

Roots and recipes

The sour smell of vinegar, the spicy scent of black pepper and the sizzling sound of my mom's pan boiling and cooking the meat makes my mouth water knowing that she is making adobo.  As cousins, uncles, and i wait outside itching for the women (my aunties, sister, mom, and nana) to bring out the food we try to do activities such as playing cards or telling corny jokes to get our mind off the feast that we were about to have.  My cousin would be thinking about aunties pancit, my uncle thinking about nana's lumpia, but i know we all are waiting for something in common and that is the corrales ladies famous adobo.
As i run up and down the hall of my nana's house irratating my grandma and mom as they are making a dish i had never smelt before.  It smelt really good, like the smell of meat, vinegar, and some scent i could not name.  I kept trying to tippy toe trying to get a glimpse of what was producing this wonderful scent, and every time i remember my nana or mom saying ''go outside and wait for your cousin'sm they are coming for dinner.'' I remember trying to get smart with them and grabbing a couple of my Christopher Bear  books and using them to stand on.  i almost lifted the lid but somehow my grandma had spotted me and whack! the wooden spoon she was holding came down as fast as lightning and ended up on the back of my hand.  I dropped the lid way faster then the spoon came down and ran out of there before i got my ears chewed    off.
It took another thirty minutes before i could get the feeling back in my right hand and by then all my aunties, uncles and cousins were here.  The ladies brought out all the pans that were filled with foods like dininguan, pancit, soup and of course rice.  The only food that was missing was the unfamiliar dish that I waited to see for a bout an hour.  We blessed the food and made our plates.right when i am about to finish making my plate the pot comes out with my mom holding it.  I immedeately run to her and lift the lid.  I am unsuprised to see that it was meat since i had picked that up while they were making it.  I waste no time staring at it and put five pieces on my plate.  I take a seat and put piece in my mouth and spit it out almost simultaneously.  It was hot, like put your toungue on fire hot, in other tems SPICY!!!!!  I look around hoping no one saw me, but my dad must have because he asked me why i spit it out.  I didn't answer and put it back in as soon as possible.  I eventually ate all five pieces and didn't spit any of them out.  when everyone left I asked my mom on the way home what the meat was called and why was it spicy.  When she told me it was adobo i made a mental note in my mind to make sure i eat that every time i see it. She aslo told me the spicciness camr from the balck pepper, and naturally i made a mental note to take those out when i eat it. 
From that day on I have always eaten adobo. No matter which filipino resteraunt we eat at though, whether it be max's in waipahu or any of the golden coin chains, none of them can make it as good as my mom.



    

My interview questions

The person I am iterviewing for my roots and recipe project is my mom.  The food I am doing is adobo.  I have changed my food because it is hard to decide what has the most memories for me.  Whenever my mom makes a traditional filipino meal the males in the family have to leave the kitchen.    The date is unsure of because we are both very busy and rarely come in contact with eachother.  The date that is a very high possibility is august 29.  My questions i will ask are the following:
Is it okay for this recipe to be read by my classmates?
When did you first learn to make this dish?
Does adobo bring back memories for you?
Why do you like this dish?
How long has this dish been in the family?
WHat modifications have you made to this recipe?
This is the end of the questions.

My roots and recipes topic

The food I have chosen to do for this project is a filipino dessert called puto.  It is the shape of a miniature cupcake and can be as colorful as a rainbow or as plain as the color white.  When you eat it it has the texture of bread and has a oxy moron combination of sweet and bitter. 
The reason i chose this food because it reminds me of many parties we had at many relatives house.  Even though my mom didn't always make this dish when she did make it, it was delicious.