How is Your Freedom Limited?

by Junyang

Have you ever asked the question “whose job is it to protect me?” From terrorist and suicide bombers, it seems reasonable to many that it is the government’s job to protect the people.

But whose job is it to protect people from themselves?

We have laws and taxes that protect people from harming themselves. For example, the tax on tobacco and alcohol was created to discourage people from using tobacco products and drinking alcohol. The prohibition of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin are ways the government helps protect people from themselves. It is a crime to use, and/or possess any of these substances in the United States.

Is it ethical for the lawmakers to impose these prohibitions and taxes on the American people?

I personally believe that people should not eat McDonald’s food because it is unhealthy. Obesity, and the other diseases caused by obesity, kills more people per year than all the illicit drugs combined. If I were a lawmaker, would it be ethical for me to start a prohibition on all foods that are high in trans fat? The penalty for purchasing tobacco products is a high percentage tax; the exact amount varies by state. The penalty for purchasing illicit drugs is a fine, possible jail time, and a criminal record.

Although there are many opinions on the role of government, it is my belief that people should be free to treat their bodies however they see fit, without the government penalizing them strictly on the substances they choose to consume. 

Bad English: "World Wild"

by Junyang

I was watching television with one of my friends and she mentioned that a Buddhist organization, that had a commercial, was “world wild.” I was pretty sure that she meant “worldwide.” I corrected her and we got a good laugh out of it. But as the commercial went on it showed the organizations presence in every single continent expect Antarctica. The commercial was highlighting how they helped the areas that were struck by the major hurricanes in the United States. Then I thought to myself “This organization really is ‘world wild.’”

I think that American English will be further developed by the immigrant population. With the huge influx of foreign students into American universities, I think it is inevitable that these bright young minds will contribute a lasting impression on American culture. Even though it was a mistake, I think “world wild” would be a good contribution to the English language because of the overuse of the word “worldwide” and “international.” Often times when an organization reaches one country outside of its own, it calls itself an “international” or “worldwide” company for marketing purposes. Technically speaking, when an organization deals with two countries it is an international organization. But I think the connotation of “world wild” does not describe an organization that deals in two countries. If a company which does business in Mexico and the United States calls itself “world wild” then I would say that company is false advertising. For example, Microsoft Inc. has products on literally every continent; I think it would be correct to call Microsoft Inc. “world wild.”

One beautiful thing about language is that it is ever changing and with the English language being the most international language, I think that the English language will change even more so people can better express themselves through words.

The Film "Mean Girls" a Portrayal of Real Life

by Junyang

The film Mean Girls is about a girl, played by Lindsay Lohan, who moves from a remote part of Africa to a suburban high school in Illinois. She experiences a culture shock from all the politics that goes through an American high school. As she is introduced to the social landscape, she discovers the social divides of the student body through the cliques. Although the film is supposed to be humorous, the description of the cliques does portray a stereotypical suburban high school. 

I have not been to many American high schools, but Walnut High School’s cliques are very similar to the one’s described in Mean Girls. The “cool Asians,” and “nerdy Asians,” are very well represented in that high school. And the “sexually active band geeks” are also strongly represented at that school. The film showed a whole table of band members kissing; that is not a rare sight to see at Walnut High School. The description of how cliques are divided by where they eat lunch and when you pass by the table of burnouts, the smell of marijuana overpowers the smell of bad cafeteria food and pizza. There were a few cliques missing that were described in the film, but they were possibly eating lunch away from the main lunch area. But the “mean girls” of the school could be spotted from a mile away. I feel the “mean girls’” arrogance and glamorousness from the distance. These girls were not necessarily beautiful, but they were stylish and they had the vibe that they felt better than everyone around them.

With the social divide among students comes bullying. The film Mean Girls makes the bullying humorous, but it can become a serious matter and really affect the young girls who are the victims of this mindless crime. It is not the confidence of the “mean girls” that I despise, but their ability, attitude, and will to make everyone else around them feel inferior. I think education and exercises to raise the self-esteem of every young woman would help minimize the effects of bullying. I also think that educating young women about the rewards of making others feel good, is better for the ego than making others feel inferior.

My Second religion-Bushido

During our life, there are many difficulties which needs us to deal with, and there are also many 

tragedy happends in our life, but my brothers, I'm here to tell you that :you shall not fear!

Today, I'm hereby to share with you about my second religion,Bushido,besides my first religion, 

Chritianity.

After you had read this, you might wonder what kind of person that Abraham is? but no worry, you 

may found your answer by following the coming contents.


First of all, people who have seen the Sakuras( the Cherry blossoms) before would realize that the 

best wayto enjoy the beauty of the Sakuras are when they gather together. This method is also pretty 

similar to the philosophy of Bushido,the team spirit. As a person who fully understand the truth of 

Bushido, one would also be able to understand the best time to enjoy the beauty of Sakuras is not the 

during the time when they blossom, but the time when they fade together, because there is one 

characteristic about them, which is when the time has come, every single Sakura would fade and 

falls without any regrets.This is the spirit of Bushido, to reach your pannicle in life, to show and 

maximize your personal value to the world, and at last, rest in peace with your glory, without regrets, 

just as same as  the time when the Sakuras are falling without recall.


The purpose and the regulations of Bushido is very similar to the Knights during Middle Ages and 

the Crusaders, they all have one thing in common, quote from the slogan of the Knight Hospitaller:

" Defence of the faith and assistance to the suffering" and feel no fear but glory and freedom in death.

 So, if you saw a heavy armed Crusaders carring a Katana, or a Samurai who is holding a flag with 

the mark of the holy cross (just like the photo above :P) in your dreams~don't feel odd about it~that 

could be me :)


My enemies are many, but I never retreat. In the curse of childhood, they said the shadows and shades could never be conquered. In the rage of the reality, they said oneself is ours strongest enemy. In the waves of dangers and barriers, they said fear could never be tamed. Now they say nothing. The straits is my garden,the pressure is the fountain of my strength,I say, I am Jireh Abraham, I am the brave.

 By:Jireh Abraham Chung

A Wonderful Trip In Santa Barbara

BY:AMY

About 2 weeks ago, I went to Santa Barbara with my friends. As we really wanted to visit the cute animal called Alpaca and Llamas , which are very popular and charming among teenager. It is common that theses kinds of animals draw a lot of attentions among young generations, however people may not know much about these kinds of animals. So today I want to introduce more information about the animal we visited in the small ranch.

The rare Alpaca is a charming and valuable member of the camel family. And their babies are called crib. They are naturally lived in the Andes which is located in the south of America. What’s more, the tour guide told us that it is not only can be enjoyed in visual sides but also their fiber can be used for selling, which is very expensive and luxurious. And when we asked the frequent of the new birth in their family, the tour guide told us that the new generation can be breed once a year.and what i want to emphasize is that the Alpaca is very gentle and quiet in the day time.when i gave them oranges they even didn't give any noise with running towards us.

 Besides, the other animal we visited are llamas, as we know the llamas looks like the ALPACA, maybe in our imagination we thought there are subtle different among them. Nevertheless, there are surely some differences among them. They are many functions among Llamas family, Including showing, packing, driving, wool, pets and breeding. And I think it seems like the donkey in rural areas in china, people tend to use it as a labor tool. But the llamas are much more good looking than the donkeys. Moreover, An adult llamas can carry 60-80 pounds 8-10 miles per day. How a useful animal it is! and the llamas gestation period is 11~12 months and they rarely have twins. although they do spit at each other, they seldom spit at people. Llamas hum to their babies and they also have a high pitched scream which is an alarm call. But from my experience ,they sometimes may pit at visitors, so you should pay attention when you have fun with them. In addition, I think it is very interesting when they have some behaviors like making hum and lying down on the floor when they are tired. I think that they are very gentle, clean animals and a joy to raise one. Though It is a little bit smelly if you stay here for a long time.

From this trip, i saw the animals i always enjoyed before showing on the websites. it was an unforgettable experience! have a visit ! my friends!