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When most people hear the words “high school drop out”, they automatically think of drug addicts or alcoholics. Out of the 1.2 million teenagers who drop out of high school in the United States every year, a handful of them are because they have a greater job to fulfill. While school is incredibly important, these teens don’t get to experience having their diploma of 12 hard years given to them, because they have a time consuming adult-like responsibility, or they are faced with an unavoidable problem.

Mostly every teenager that is spoken to about matters that they dislike is the seemingly endless number of chores and responsibilities. But what about the ones who are burdened with the responsibilities of an adult? For example, Zak is a young football player who does incredible work on the field and in his academics. Suddenly, his world feels like a monstrous, thrashing tornado of lectures and bad news. He finds out that his mother is incredibly ill, and isn’t expected to live another year. With two siblings and a “missing” father, he has to step into not only his father’s shoes, but his mother’s too. Now, the woman who was once a lively ball of sparkling joy, lively laughs, and amusing jokes, is now a cold, ghost-like figure who can’t even speak to her son anymore. He now has to become something he wasn’t meant to be for a few years; an adult. And with this type of responsibility, he doesn’t have time to fill his spot on the football team, the academic squad, or even his teenage paradise, school. Which leads him to be overloaded with stress, and incredible responsibility.

Thousands of stories are released about bullying, and often times, the torment and humiliation piles up as high as Mt. Everest. Until, this poor walking target, the reason for a bully to make a “Kick Me” sign, leaves the very place that the torment is conceived;school. For example, when a dorky sophomore has been through 10 years, 3,650 days of putrid bullying, she is no longer able to ignore the hurtful words of her peers,and drops out of high school, and her incredibly bright future. On the other hand, teenagers are forced to be pulled out of their source of happiness and afternoon activities because of an unhealthy income at home. Their parents are no longer able to pay for this glamorous, yet future assuring school, and the child loses their entire contact with academics.

Therefore, while there are many reasons for the millions of teenagers to drop out of high school, including heart wrenching responsibilities, bullying, and money problems, sometimes there is no other option than to drop out of school, your life goals, and your future.

You might think I’m just

some teenage girl

who loves movies

and cowgirl boots

But I know I am more

so much more than that

not a shoe or tree

not a rockstar or keychain

I am a maze

A confusing and twisting maze

When I’m sorrowful

or disconsolate

When I feel like I weigh 1,000 pounds

I am a giant labyrinth

with a hidden treasure at the end

Lost tourists discover me, and then disappears

But when I become gleeful

my labyrinth morphs into a

childrens menu activity,

easily guiding the puppy to it’s bone

Solving the mystery

I help people feel accomplished

and have fun while doing so

Their faces light up with a sense of pride

Until I become drowsy

then that is where my maze comes to an end

and the treasure is revealed

I take a deep breath

I twist myself back into an intermediate shape again

and again

and again

The teenage girl who loves

movies and cowgirl boots

is a maze

a confusing, giant, easy maze

all in one adventure.

Flames spewing out of every hole in the burning building, people running around with fear and confusion surrounding them, along with the newly formed smoke. Firefighters battling the bright orange flames with their ever-so-powerful water hose. Difficult moments like these can have an overwhelming effect on people. Whether its unconventional, for the person experiencing the pain and sadness. Or life changing, for the person it has now made stronger than they ever thought capable. Extreme grief and heartbreak are two of the many effects of difficult times on our friends, family, and community.

Everyone has an opportunity to grieve in their lifetime. Whether they are caused by an accident, or surprisingly, on purpose. For example, my old friend lost her mother due to a car crash. And her father didn’t take it well, and mentally broke down. So she technically lost both parents in a matter of days. She had to be strong for herself, and her family; her two younger brothers. And in the end, she turned out one of the most strong, and trusting people I know. It was in her during that whole period; a difficult time just needed to bring it out of her. My other friend has also had her share of difficult times. Her mom had my friend at a young age, and they almost gave her up for adoption. Thankfully they didn’t, because then I never would have met my best friend. And while she when she was 10, her parents had a divorce. After that her mother couldn’t pay all of the bills and they all had to live at her grandmother’s’. All of these difficult times had greatly affected her as well. She would call me late at night, while swimming around in a pool of her own tears, explaining her problems to me. She also ended up doing things to her body that should never be done. This amazing girl had practically lost herself in all of her problems, and it took a while to pull her out of it. But once again she was just as bright and perky as she used to be. And she helped herself; she found herself out of this difficult time.

Another cause of difficult times is heartbreak and that often leads to confusion and makes a person feel alone. When a person is confused by something, they often will be scared, worried, or not wanting to face the facts about something that they don’t want to believe. For example, if a tragedy occurred and someone in your family who was in perfect health passed away, in the blink of an eye, that would definitely be confusing. Plus you just lost someone who you deeply cared about. As for the other effect, feeling alone happens every day for someone. Whether it’s a difficult time, or someone just isn’t feeling their best. They feel alone;emotionally isolated, like they don’t have anyone to turn to and ask for help. For example, in all of the “Home Alone” movies, a young boy is accidentally left repeatedly at home while the family goes on vacation. While alone at home, the boy comes face to face with his own deal of hardships. He has to deal with crooks and robbers and completely achieves his goals by being brave, even at such a young age. Sometimes the worst things can bring out the best in people. Even in difficult times like being “Home Alone” or losing a family member, or feeling emotionally isolated from the outside world, something amazing can be brought to the table.

Plenty of examples are provided in this passage to show that all types of difficult times have some sort of effect. It can pull someone up, brush off their shoulders, and “Let ‘Em Shine”. Or it can push them down further into the muddy pit of depression, hardships, and self-pity. And it is definitely a tricky trap to get out of. But it is possible. No one has to succumb to the sadness of hard times. There will be time to pity and grieve, but only for a short while. They have to stand up and say, “I can get through this.”

“Hey, are you on your way?” “Yep. I’ll be there soon!” “Great! I can’t wait to see you!” “Yeah, me neither-ah!” Screech….! Statistics show that 1.3 million of car crashes are due to cell phone use while driving. Such a simple thing like using a cell phone, just while driving, has an enormous effect. It claims thousands of lives. Not only to the driver, But to any passenger inside the car, any other cars involved, or for a matter of fact, anyone around at the time of the crash.But it also affects people who could be thousands of miles away, yet still feel the pain of their lost loved ones. These cell phones have greatly impacted the lives of people. Whether it’s an unfortunate event, or keeping in touch with close family and friends. They can save a life, be a blessing, or seem like the cause of an emotional disaster.

 

It is completely normal to not be able to see loved ones for an extended period of time, and there will obviously be times when you miss them greatly. And that’s where the cell phones come in. For example, let’s say a fourteen year old girl moved over 1,000 miles away from all of her friends and family. She would feel the need to keep in touch will all of them, but with her busy schedule, a house phone can’t always finish the job. The solution to this problem is the cell phone, which creates the drastic effect on people. Another is that it can save the thing most people hold dear. Their lives. Multiple stories are broadcasted each day about missing people, along with robberies, murders, etc. But there would likely be an infamous increase if we didn’t carry these take-me-everywhere life savers in our pockets and purses. Likewise, while a 16 year old girl is walking home from a friends house late at night, a man with a dark mask grabs her. If she is able to release from his grip, she can call family, or 911. If she isn’t able to flee from the grip of fear and death, someone around could call 911. If these cell phones hadn’t been created, the world would carry an extravagant amount of more heartbreak and loss. They can be portable live savers, and not just the candy’s.

 

Along with the good outcomes, there has to be a downside as well. One of these is losing a loved one due to cell phone use while driving. For example, a woman named Kena H. lost her best friend due to texting and driving. This best friend, was her younger brother. He was a single father of two and had an extremely strong bond with his family, along with his fiance. She was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash. But she had survived due to him wrapping his arms around her when he noticed that they were going to crash. An incredible life was lost in the blink of an eye. And even in his last moments, he was an incredibly heroic man. The best lives can be lost due to driving while operating a phone. Another downside to cell phones is bullying. This is sadly a common factor in today’s world. For example,many people know about the Amanda Todd story. She was in 7th grade, and met a man on a live video chat where he convinced her to do something inappropriate. He took a picture without her knowing, and contacted her a year later. Once again he asked her to do something inappropriate and she said no. So this corrupt man threatened to release that photo he took a year ago. Once again, she refused. Next thing she knew, her photo was viral and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Long story short, after repeatedly changing schools, she still continued to be excessively bullied,so she resorted to cutting. After a first failed attempt at suicide by drinking bleach, she was beat up at school and only had enough energy to crawl into a ditch, where her father later found her. After that day, she recorded a video on YouTube telling her story on flash cards. Her body was later found at her home on October 10, 2012. All of this tragedy started with the stupid device we know as a cell phone. One stupid mistake on a cell phone, and it was life ending. This is a way too common overall use for cell phones.

In conclusion, cell phones have changed the lives of people forever. It has created an outlet for stress, joy, pictures, and plenty more. They have impacted this world for the good, and the bad. Whether it’s a 14 or 15 year old girl in trouble, both problems are solved with the cell phone. Then there is Kena H. and Amanda Todd who both had incredibly bad connections with cell phones.These pieces of plastic can better lives or worsen. The only person who can pick it for themselves is reading this right now.

 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1smoNFcy_vgiTgejOjL-z0r64PPcTlxWjloJwzpCj4GE/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=10000

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