Respect Is a Two Way Street

I have always wondered why adults feel that they deserve respect from children, merely because of a couple years age difference. There is no such thing as deserving respect without actions. You must earn respect from your peers and from those below and above you in social hierarchy. Sure, in the bible we are commanded to respect those in authority and this passage is quoted to me all the time. But let me quote a verse right back at you, “Love your neighbor as yourself, but only those who are older then the age of eighteen.” Wait, that last part has nothing to do with the most important commandment in the bible. And it is a given that there is no such thing as love without respect, so it must be understood that adults are also commanded to love and respect kids.

How about us being taught by those in authority, to not let anyone look down on us; there is a Sunday school song about that! It is in 1st Timothy: Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young..." Jesus Christ was merely twelve years old himself when he preached in the temple, so don’t ever let me hear you say that adults have all the answers because they are older than us and have more experience. Back to my original point, how can adults possibly expect us to respect them when they don’t respect us? We “deserve” respect just as much as they do.

The drunken abusive alcoholic father or the kleptomaniac mom deserves more respect than the honor role student and the basketball star because… Complete that sentence and I would happily quit writing articles altogether. Our society seems to have devolved into an anarchy of social hierarchy, in which the law is; what the biggest person says is what we do. As funny as it may sound, children, the same as adults, have feelings, human nature, self respect and dignity. How can you possibly justify taking that away from us merely because you lived during the time of the black and white television.

"Ironically, adults often try to teach children to be respectful by treating them disrespectfully. Children learn respect or disrespect from how we treat them and how we treat each other. When children live with disrespect, they learn disrespect. We can teach respect only by modeling treating each other with respect and by giving children the same respect we expect." Excerpt from Pam Leo's article on children psychology and parenting techniques.

The Appreciation of Nature.

Agony Aunt letters

Dear Uncle _Joe,
My husband and I are raising four beautiful children. Our oldest daughter, age 15, has admitted to us that she has been drinking alcohol at parties on weekends. She says she never gets drunk but always has one drink because "everyone else is doing it" and she doesn't want to look "weird."My husband and I never drink. Alcohol is not served in our home. Our daughter is an honor student and never has caused us any trouble. She says we should appreciate her honesty and not be angry with her. How should we handle this?— Beside Ourselves in Bebek

Dear Beside Ourselves,
It sounds like you have encountered a typical problem faced by the parents of typical teenagers; its called peer pressure. I am sure that as parents you are doing a great job with your child, but sometimes being a great parent isn't enough. A teenager has to go through some things on their own. Now having said that, you must now that not only is your daughter's behavior very irresponsible but is also illegal. Make her stop immediately! It is true that she was honest with you, probably because she was feeling guilty, but you still want to encourage honesty. I would recommend that you forbid her from drinking in the future until she is an adult and also you might want to reconsider the people you let her hang out with, but don't be to harsh with her.

The Harry Potter Series: Demonic Brainwashing or a Good Read?

Harry Potter is a seven book series written by the billionaire author JK. Rowling. The series has won the 1999 Booklist Top Ten Fantasy Novels for Youth, 2000 Booklist Editors' Choices, British Book Award and Children's Book Award and over 15 other prestigious awards given by the reading community. Even though J.K Rowling's series has been internationally acclaimed as a great story and a good read, there are still controversial debates as to whether it is ethical to let children read a story about witchcraft and wizardry.

Many parents deny their children the privilege of reading these great stories, because they are about "demonic arts" and "witchcraft." This is were they are mistaken; Harry Potter is the story about a young boy who discovers that he is a wizard and goes on adventures with his friends to fight the bad guys. I don't understand what the fuss is about? There is magic in Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, and in the Inheritance trilogy but nobody has a problem with those series. Is it really such an issue that J.K Rowling, for originalities sake, decided to call her characters, "witches and wizards." This series, like many of its acclaimed predecessors, can get a little scary at times but overall has a very wholesome tale to tell.

The story from a literary standpoint may not be as urbane as some works by more experienced authors. As a story however, the Harry Potter series rivals some of the greatest novels of our time. Rowling is successful in relating to her audience through, stunning character development and ingenious plot lines. She uses character Foils perfectly and is unrivaled in the way she develops her characters through juxtaposition. Her characters all bring out the best in each other and the plot line that Rowling creates is a perfect balance of mystery and adventure.

Granted, this series isn't everyone’s proverbial, "cup of tea" but is still a great story for all those fans of the Inheritance trilogy, Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Chronicles of Narnia. You are missing out on a great story if you let your opinion be swayed by those few naysayers who hear the word, "Witch" and run away in an instant. Most of them haven't even read the book themselves. If you know what is good for yourself, go ahead and buy this book from your nearest bookstore and prepare yourself for many sleepless nights of adventure and adrenaline-pumping action.

Facebook: Good or bad?

Recent survey's show that 116 people in I-- use facebook where as 28 do not. This statistic is very high when concerning participation in a social network. Twitter, xanga and myspace all have a much lower participation statistics.

So what makes Facebook so appealing? Is it the social networking, is it the constant attention to your status updates, is it the method of keeping in touch with your friends, is it the game applications, or merely the appeal of hopping on the bandwagon of a passing fad. My answer is: All of the above.

The survey has shown that students enjoy all of these things. I don't facebook is really an issue. It can be good for some people and bad for others, it can be a good investment of time for some and a poor investment of time for others. Facebook isn't a necessary evil, nor is it an awesome, life changing gift to mankind. The social network Facebook, is merely a social network. As its counterparts it has its good aspects and bad ones.

It can be a poor use of time, and can get addicting, as can anything but it can also be a good investment of your time and can be a good way of keeping in touch with your friends and getting homework updates from your teachers.

Facebook can be distracting and can lead to problems with your personal opinions and beliefs when seen by your boss, but it can still be a great way of sharing your views with others and getting input on your ideas.

Facebook is worth the time for some people and not worth it for others. I really don't think that question, "Is Facebook good or bad," is even applicable. As with everything in entertainment, it all requires personal opinion.

My Thoughts about Facebook

I don't actually have a really strong opinion about facebook. All i can really say is that i don't believe its an evil. However, like every thing in life, i believe an excessive ammount of facebook can be problematic and lead to a poor use of one's time. But once again, like video games, movies and other things i don't think you can call facebook a waste of time. It definately is a good stress relief sometimes, and a way of keeping in touch with your freinds but i do believe there are better things to do with your time. I believe that facebook is unneccesary, but it can be useful and entertaining for others. Personally, i would prefer to spend my time writing music and playing guitar instead of using it to keep in touch with people i see everyday or could drop and email.

Essay question 3

Conscience is a very powerful motivator. It's the thing that we associate with guilt and with love and with right and wrong. As Christians, we believe that it is God's character showing through us. However, I believe it is very possible for us to choose our priorities in a way that dulls our conscience. If we prioritize success, or wealth or achievements over our feelings of right and wrong then slowly we can dull our conscience and then make it less of a motivator.
There is a saying, "A conscientious business man will fail." and I believe that this is referring to the world's outlook on wealth and fame. A man that sticks to his morals and puts effort into things above and beyond of what is expected, will usually fall behind in life; but not necessarily in what matters.
It depends on who the person is, and what their priorities are. Conscience can be the most powerful motivator in certain peoples lives but can be pushed to the back of others' priorities. I think we just have to decide what matters to us the most and stick to it. It is not always going to be a powerful motivator, but I believe that we should try to make it so.

Rescued!

Two teenage boys were saved from drowning Monday evening, at the South Pier. The boys, Alan Boyd and Tony Slater, had been fishing off the South Pier when suddenly a huge wave swept over them and Tony was swept into the ocean. "There was nothing I could do to stop myself," said the unfortunate youth. Alan Boyd, his friend, quickly jumped in after Tony. "I didn't think; I just jumped in to try and help him," said Alan.

Alan's actions were bold but very nearly cost both their lives. He quickly found himself to overwhelmed by the undercurrent and was unable to pull his friend to safety. "His friend jumped in but he was not a strong swimmer and he started to struggle," said eyewitness Joy Revel.

Miss Revel's boyfriend phoned for help but it would have been too late if not for the quick thinking and brave actions of Mark Stebbings. Mark, a local lifeguard, saw the boy's predicament and jumped in after the two friends. He rescued Tony and then went back to rescue Alan. The hero of the hour, Mark, said, "I don't think of myself as a hero. I didn't want any fuss made. I just did what anyone else would have done."

His mother, however, had something else to say, "I'm very proud of Mark. It's just the kind of thing he would do. He has always been very daring." Whatever the case may be, the two boys owe their lives to the quick thinking and brave actions of Mark Stebbings.

Murphy's law

When something unfortunate happens, it never seems to be funny at first. When it first happens, you will be stressed out and upset but after time goes by and you look back to remember there are always some events that stick out in your life.

One such event, was a trip to the Emniyet. My family started out from the house relatively happy and pretty psyched about missing school. We got there in good time and had set up an appointment with the ikamet control. Things where going great and everything was turning out OK until a announcement came over the speakers: everything went down hill from there.

Students had to come back at five for their ikamets. We were there at 10 o'clock in the morning! We decided to go out and get some food, and went to Burger King. After confusing our order, ending up to be out of stock, and then overcharging us we where able to have our meal. My dad, somewhat disgruntled, turned to us to tell me and my brother that it was time to leave.

We left and got in the car for the ten minute ride back to the emniyet. All of a sudden we rammed into a truck that had pulled out in front of us. In the collision i lost a couple of my ears but was able to get out OK. We never made it back to the eminent in time, and where given a six thousand Tl fine for the accident. One can only agree with Murphy in saying, "If anything can go wrong, it will, at the worst possible moment." It is so funny recalling this amusing incident, i could laugh for hours.
THE END

SAT Question 2 test writing.

Changes that make our lives easier do not necessarily make them better. Sometimes when things are made easier the only thing it is successful in doing is lowering our standards in other fields as well. If we take computing and word processing for granted, then it is possible that during a written test, we totally choke. If we are used to getting around in a car, and suddenly it breaks down, and for a week we have to use a bicycle, then we would be swamped.
Change itself is not necessarily for the better. Change for the sake of speed and comfort, destroys our human integrity and basically tears down character.
And in this world everything is proportional. As the speed goes up, so does the demand. If the person that invented computers to replaced typewriters thought that he would be saving editors time and money then he was sorely mistaken. The only thing he did was make them be able to type one paper so fast that instead of 20 papers a day, they were expected to turn in 400 papers a day.
Easy is related to comfort. If you get to comfortable in a situation, then what you are forced out of that situation you are like a deer in the headlights. If someone from a first world country gets so used to the motorized transport, the two car garages and a three story house is suddenly forced to leave the country, then they would be stuck and totally useless in other countries with less fortunate circumstances. With less easy situations.
Easy is not always better. Now I am not saying that easy is never better, easy can be good in moderation, as long as it is a sustainable situation. When something is easier, it is easy to mistake it as better, but eventually we will come to realize that we are growing lazy, and tired by other things easily. (Another instance where easy is not better.)
In answer to the question: No, changes that make our lives easier don’t necessarily make them better.

Cultural differences

When one first arrives at an international school, the clashing of cultures and traditions is blatant and obvious. But over the years, slowly, one begins to notice these things less and less until one gets to a point that they can barely notice any tension. One becomes numb to the differences that races and ethnicity have.

I could be considered doubly blessed: i attend an international school in a foreign country. So, not only is there cultural differences between my peers and I, but also between me and anyone else that walks the street.

Therefore, it is pretty easy for me to not notice much tension between races or differences of cultures but when i do notice something, it strikes me as a blatant difference. 

The major difference i view, between Turks and Americans is a relationship difference. In Turkey it is a loyalty based society, where as in the States it is a time, effort and personal opinion based relationship.

For example, i could meet someone on the streets here and immediately become best friends or mortal enemies, just depending on the mood that we are both in at the time. In the states, i don't even have friends because i haven't been there long enough to have the time to make any. 

There are strengths and weaknesses to both sides, in a relationship here, i can always trust someone to have my back in a fight or to watch out for me and hang out to play basketball, but they aren't someone you would ever talk to about anything.  The relationship is shallow in that area. A western relationship with a friend, or a buddy, is slightly easier to manage. It takes longer to form, but in the end you have a closer friend and you know more things about each-other and can talk about all sorts of things, such as opinions and life issues. The drawback is that in a western relationship, as i am calling it, it can take years to build a friendship and seconds to end it. To the point that it was almost not worth the effort in the first place.  

For some people this would be an issue, they would begin to expect loyalty from where it isn't always found or expect discussion where it isn't found interesting. I believe, that one can arrive at a place where you can learn from both cultures and both styles of friendship. It also is great in understanding the human mindset. We just all need to remember to try to understand relationship differences and all other differences and then eventually we might all end up oblivious to differences or at least not caring that someone isn't the same as you. Looking at the world today, that simple ability could solve so much.

Promising young athlete injured

A young athlete that plays for the IGA lions soccer and basketball teams was forced to drop off the soccer roster because of an ailment commonly referred to as, "Runner's knee."

The young star, Jay C. Burry, was complaining of pain in his knee earlier on, but his words fell on deaf ears. It wasn't until the pain increased and he went to get a doctor's opinion, that people took notice. Now the young athlete is saving his self for basketball season which will start up in a couple of months. 

We talked to Jay's doctor earlier today and he claimed that there was a decreasing of fluid between his joints and that is what is causing the pain. He also said, "Jay Burry will be feeling discomfort for a few more weeks but luckily the problem isn't permanent and he will be able to continue sports later on this winter.

Jay's coach had similar words of hope but also some of regret at losing one of his best players.  May this be a lesson for all you athletes out there, if you aren't feeling well or you think that there might be something the matter with yourself, do not hesitate to consult someone about it. A couple weeks of rest can go a long way in insuring a healthy future.