I recently read an autobiography called "A Stolen Life", written by a courageous woman named Jaycee Lee Dugard. Jaycee Lee is now 31 years old, has two daughters whom she loves dearly, and is surrounded by friends and family - but her life was not always as charmed as it may seem.

When Jaycee Lee was 11 years old, she was tazered from a vehicle on the way to her bus stop, and then abducted by a man and his wife. For several years, Jaycee Lee was forced to live in a tent (and later a shed of sorts) in the man's backyard, while he repeatedly molested, abused, and raped her. While in captivity, Jaycee Lee was impregnated twice by her kidnapper (the first time at the age of 13!), and delivered her children in the backyard, without painkillers or any assistance, other than from the kidnapper himself. 

It was 18 years after her kidnapping before Jaycee Lee was discovered, and freed to go home to her family, along with her two daughters. Her kidnapper and his wife are now in prison, serving life sentences. Jaycee Lee wrote a book about her experience to show the world just how gruesome her time in captivity really was. However, Jaycee Lee makes it very clear that she is not a victim of her situation, but a survivor. She is currently back at school and working towards a career to support her and her daughters, and hopes to even find love someday. She has taken her terrible circumstances and turned her life around for the better. She is a symbol of hope, and in my opinion, an incredibly strong, brave woman who well deserves the title of a role model.

Earth Day!!!!!

  I love Earth Day. I
think that it is a truly great celebration. Earth Day is the most celebrated
environmental event in the world. This day started on April 22, 1970to raise
awareness of the environmental problems facing the world. Since then,over 1
billion people in about 170 countries get together in groups to celebrate the
Earth!

 Earth Day has started Earth Week and even Earth Month! I
hope that this continues to grow so that we can eventually have Earth YEAR. Every
day should be Earth Day. To celebrate Earth Day you don't even need to do
anything big; it can be as small as planting a garden. You can start an Earth
Walk or pick up garbage around you neighbourhood. Maybe, if your school doesn't
already have one, you could start up a school EcoTeam. There are a ton of
things you could do for Earth Day!

 It isn't about how much or how little you do, it's the fact
that you are doing SOMETHING that makes a difference.

 I think Earth Day gives everyone hope, maybe we can make a
difference to the way we live our lives and preserve the world. I hope you all
enjoy Earth Day, however you chose to celebrate it!!

There are many world issues today, and one that is at the forefront of many conversations is the environment. Often, it seems pretty boring to learn about how we can help the planet – turn off your lights, don’t leave the tap running while you brush your teeth, recycle plastic bottles, on and on the list goes. However, it’s important to find dynamic ways to help the planet because those are the things that people will want to do. Who wants to sit through another lecture about “you should walk instead of taking the car”? Usually, the way people learn about the environment is boring, however one woman decided to live in the environment in order to help it.

Jane Goodall is a woman who inspired many people to love the environment before it was a trend. Goodall is best known for her study of chimpanzees, and this she did remarkably. An avid environmentalist, she would immerse herself into the chimps’ environment and become one of their society.  After observing for weeks and weeks, and letting the chimps see her and get used to her, she would gradually move closer to the group that she was studying, and eventually they would accept her.

The way that she became one with these animals was amazing – they treated her as if she was a chimp, caring for her and interacting with her. Goodall opened our eyes to how similar we are to chimps and primates in general. She showed us that they care for each other just like we do.

In doing her work, Goodall inspired thousands of people to open their eyes to the animal kingdom, and, therefore, the environment. Her attachment to the chimps made people realize that we’re not so different, and that it’s our duty to care for animals just like we care for each other. In showing us that chimps are like us, we could relate to them, and people could be more sensitive to the needs of the natural environment.

Jane Goodall is a remarkable woman because of her exceptional work in nature. She did many great things, and she made everyone realize what a beautiful earth this is, and that we should take care of it. For her, environmental activism was more than giving speeches at elementary schools – it was about living your beliefs and being proactive, which are things from which every single one of us can take something. 

This week Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and Tumblr have all been blowing up about Kony 2012. Joseph Kony is a leader of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army). The group Invisible Children has made a 30-minute video to make Joseph Kony famous, in an attempt to raise awareness about his crimes, and gain support for his arrest.

If you haven’t seen the original video you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MnpzG5Sqc

This video has shed light on some of the horrible things that have occurred in Uganda. According to the video, over the past 26 years Kony has kidnapped almost 30,000 young girls and boys. He trains the boys as soldiers, and the women as slaves. They are forced to kill their own parents and mutilate people’s faces beyond recognition. Invisible Children wants Joseph Kony captured and brought to justice, as he is on the International Criminal Court’s list. On April 20they want to plaster cities around the
world with KONY 2012 posters to raise awareness.

However, this video has also been getting a lot of hate. There are comments asking why people are suddenly so willing to help out abroad, when there are so many other issues around the world that we have ignored for so long.

There are concerns about Invisible Children. Its reputation has been called into question. The action plan provided in this video is very vague. What exactly are we doing with our new found awareness of this issue, other than raising more awareness on April 20? What does Invisible Children think the government should do to resolve this problem? What do their donations do to help people?

I watched an interesting response video by a Ugandan Woman (you can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDyfTnydhMU), who doesn’t think other countries should be interfering with this problem.According to her, the only way to fix many of the problems in Africa is to stop giving hand outs and constant assistance, and instead give Africans the tools to solve their own problems. Interference by well meaning groups often causes more problems than it solves. 

Does the United States have the right to interfere in other nations’ affairs? Is military action the way to bring peace to a nation?

There is also the issue that Joseph Kony has been laying low since 2003. It is estimated he has few followers, and he is no longer in Uganda. Has this issue passed us by already? Is Invisible Children the right way to support the cause of bringing peace to Uganda?

Obviously this video has merit. Before March, I had never even heard of Joseph Kony. He may have been at the top of the International Criminal Court's list of most
wanted criminals, but he had never been on the cover of People or Us. What he did to those 30,000 children in unforgivable, and they should not be forgotten. There is no question that raising awareness about this man’s crimes is important. But, there are still a lot of other things to consider. I have still yet to fully form my own opinion about this topic.

I encourage everyone to watch the video, read other points of view, and then form your own opinion on this topic, and then comment and let me know what you think.

Helen

Imagine what it would be like to have a miniature Amazing Race between you and a couple dozen other teams, all trying to take photos of ridiculous activities (and having a great time in the process).

Last week at my school, we started a school-wide photography scavenger hunt. There’s a list of a bunch of tasks (precisely 76) to do and take photos of ourselves doing. Some of them include “planking” in the cafeteria, having a full-blown wedding ceremony, or eating spooey at a sleepover. One of my favourites was to have people giving piggy backs in front of a body of water, but they specifically said it didn’t have to be a natural body of water. Of course, our team’s picture is four people in standing in front of a toilet pointing at it and laughing. Body of water? I think it counts. All the tasks are really hilarious and my friends and I were eager to get started on them.

I immediately made the hunt very competitive by telling all the other teams (while smiling, of course) that we would win the hunt, by doing the most tasks. All the teams are competing to get first place, and more important than winning, for my team, is having fun running around the school trying to do the tasks and seeing other friends on other teams run around, and trying to interfere with them.  It’s all turned out to be very funny, especially when the teacher team walked into the cafeteria and proceeded to have a candlelit dinner surrounded by students who started to clap at their wonderful efforts.

The scavenger hunt has brought us together, and gotten us around the school. One of my favourite things about going to such a big school is that there are always people I know in the hallways, and to whom I can say hello. Saying hi to people, and smiling at people, is a big part of my day, and I love talking to everyone and simply being a part of everything that’s going on at school, especially this scavenger hunt.

I think that knowing people is great, even if you don’t know them that well, because there are always jokes to be made, and things you can do with anyone. Being out there through clubs, sports, music or just through the people you happen to know somehow is great, and a lot of people don’t realize how much friends and acquaintances can mean.

I guess what I’m trying to challenge is the way you see other people – to me, everyone has an intense personality, and I honestly can’t wait to get to know them all. Something that has changed for me a lot this year is the way I think of others: I really can’t think of anyone I don’t like, because once you open up to accepting absolutely anyone, the rest of the world opens up too. One of my favourite quotes is “What this world needs is a group hug”. It’s so true! The power of compassion is amazing, and as soon as you start to smile at everyone you know, and recognize that it wouldn’t be the same without each unbelievably incredible person, the world starts to smile back.

Love always,

Catherine