For my capstone project, I decided to create a montage of my trip to Costa Rica with 9 other girls and 2 teachers from SLA. The trip was a field study in the small village of the Bribri community. Over the course of 9 days, our trip consisted of exploring the capital city of San Jose, driving for 6 hours then taking a boat ride to the community, a 2 day service, beach time, and much more. During our time in the Bribri village, we bonded with the Bribri people and completed community service for 2 days in which we built a water pipe system for two houses. There’s so much more that I can talk about during my time in Costa Rica and that is why I decided to document parts of the trip so it would give the audience an overview of my experience and the girls’ experience as well.

I knew even before the trip happened that it was going to be an amazing and eye-opening experience which led me to film almost everything that we did. I documented our experiences from San Jose, the Bribri community, and even the beach after a few days of service. Every single day, I made sure that I had filmed the most important parts of the day for the montage content. However, I learned that it is difficult to focus on what is going on around you if technology is in your hands. Despite my willingness to document my experience in Costa Rica, especially the Bribri community, I wish I didn’t have to stress about having enough memory storage, my phone or camera falling in the water, not capturing the important moments through the lens, and getting a good camera angle. We shouldn’t focus on these, but instead focus on what nature has to offer around us. Regardless, I gained so much knowledge in such little time and I will be able to cherish the beautiful experience forever with this project I completed.

Annotated Bibliography:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z1Hhw-PWdhlE1YjgPUC9EAAp3lYZ1AcMVDowp4GT7kE/edit?usp=sharing

Writing this essay was a challenge for me as a writer because I have so much to say about this topic so it’s difficult to compress all my thoughts together. My goal for this essay is to show how important our native tongue is and how language brings us all together. Most people do not realize how critical it is to keep the language that you are born to speak with even though you may be struggling with another language at first when moving to a different country. I am proud of the scenes that I incorporated in this essay because that’s how everything started for me here in America. As a writer, I want to improve my use of imagery and my use of dialogues.

When people knew about the language that I speak their smiles would widen from fascination. Even though people do not recognize my language, mentioning the two Filipino languages that I speak thrilled me. The main language is “Tagalog” while my native tongue is “Hiligaynon”. I learned “Hiligaynon” at home while Tagalog and English at school. However, my confidence in my native language in the U.S. back then did not exist.

On my first day of seventh grade as a new student, mixed emotions filled myself as I entered the corridors of the school. The numbing winter wind passed through the windows down the hall causing me to tremble more from being frightened and cold. Then, a student brought me down to the rustic basement for my first class, Art. I stepped in the room as my nerves trembled. The teacher’s face lit up as she came towards me and introduced herself.

Out of curiosity, she asked, “Where did you come from?”

“I came from the Philippines.” I replied. Everyone gave me their attention as I stood in front of the class. I had a rush of excitement but, the uncomfortable feeling settled.

“Wow, you don’t have an accent at all!” my teacher delivered while my classmates gave their utmost attention to me. The heat crawled on my face while my ears felt as though it was red-hot.

I thought to myself, ”How do I respond to that?” I lost my words so, I gave my teacher a humble laugh while the sound of the heater and shuffling of papers filled the silence in the room. My look of embarrassment gave away to everyone how I felt. An uneasy feeling about my classmates knowing that I could speak another language sunk in. Since English dominates most languages, it put my language aside which gave me a feeling of being inadequate with the language that I speak. If you learn how to accept and use your native language, you will value your culture and heritage. One day, two of my classmates turned around from their seats to ask me if I can speak my language.

“How do you say hello in your language?” One of them asked out of the blue.

“Uhmm it’s just hello…” I responded as I raised my shoulders.

“How about good morning?” Excitement on their faces showed.

My face was covered with humiliation because I knew that “good morning” isn’t the same in my language. I hesitated whether I should say it or not. But, I rejected it.  

“No, I don’t want to!” I exclaimed. They bugged me and pleaded if I could even say one word in my language. As they continued, I ignored them until they would stop which they did. Even though my language fascinated people, I felt ashamed of it. No matter how much I wanted to announce that I can speak another language I only kept it to myself at school as I tried my best to pronounce words and speak in English correctly. Until one day, I pronounced a word in literacy class wrong. We were reading a story in our literacy books as we gathered in a full circle as a class. My heart beats faster and my hands were turning cold like ice as I was waiting for my turn to read. The words filled the room while the silence gave me palpitations. Everyone listened carefully as I barely payed attention because my mind was somewhere else. I was also eager to finish my part. When my part came I read, “I have plenty of time to beat that tawr-toys(tortoise)...” My classmates bursted out in laughs and I wondered why until my teacher corrected me and said, “It’s tawr-tuh-s.” Then, I continued reading as I tried to ignore the fact that I just mispronounced the fancy word for a different kind of turtle and embarrassed myself in front of my classmates. But, after that I realized that it really didn’t matter because I learned something on that day.

Language is not only important because it helps us connect and communicate with people but, it teaches us life lessons and help us value different cultures. Throughout the years, I realized that I did not have a reason to be ashamed of my language. So, I learned how to accept it and I gained confidence in my language. Each of the languages that I speak helped me flourish in society especially in two different cultures because I can connect with people through the words that came out of my mouth. “Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity-I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself.” This quote was from the essay How To Tame A Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldua. It is very critical to keep my native language because it brings me to my culture and it is a part of who I am. If we accept our language we learn to accept ourselves. My ability to speak different languages did not only teach me to understand my struggles in a language such as English but it helped me understand the situations of others as well. It  does not matter if you mess up your words or your pronunciation because it doesn’t change who you are as a person. It will only change the way you speak because you learn as you go while becoming a better speaker. Language brings us all together therefore, we should use it wisely while we can.

Jhazzelle Majarucon

Nurture vs. Nature

What controls human behavior? This question may have a lot of answers to it, but most people believe that humans have self-control. Some may say that it is all because of the genes; the things that a person is born with. However, not only do others believe in that but, some considers the environment as one of the factors that influences human behavior. Humans also interact and socialize with other people which builds up conflict, agreement, disagreement, and confusion. That causes change and the development of one’s mind. The environment influences the way people live, act, and deal with things. A change in behavior may occur as the environment changes.

In the beginning of the novel, “The Lord of The Flies” by William Golding, the children whose plane crashed on an isolated island showed their innocence and their child-like personalities. But, as the situation gets harder and harder each day they realized that due to the absence of the adults or any assistance, things were a lot harder. This caused most of them to transition from being modest to savage. In chapter 4 of the book, Jack, the chief of his own tribe, had a new strategy for hunting where he wanted to look like something else. So, he painted this mask on his face using a charcoal stick to conceal his features as it showed change in his personality. “The mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.” (64) At this point of the story, it showed that the freedom offered to Jack by the island allowed him to express the darker sides of his personality that he hid from the beliefs of his past environment. The mask hides Jack away because it turned him into an aggressive and savage version of himself. The mask allowed Jack and the other children to conceal their identities as they were free from becoming a “new person”. Not only did the mask conceal Jack’s identity, but it gave him more power which made others scared and intimidated of Jack.

Rituals began to form on the island with the children as it happened on a daily basis. The rituals may have benefitted them for survival and coordination, but, these rituals had a serious effect on their minds and behaviors. The children turned out to be savages throughout the course of the book as they do things more as their way of entertainment. The island gave them too much freedom which allowed them to show the dark sides of themselves. “Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!” (114) This was the chant that they would use either at the last moment of a hunt or in celebration of their successful hunt. The words clearly shows the act of violence in the children and how they connect violence with entertainment. At this point of the story, they were chanting for the excitement of having a fresh flesh from the pig as it showed their satisfaction of killing a pig. Based on their experiences on the island the children’s mindsets have changed in a way that violence wasn’t feared among them. But because they see violence as entertainment they still tend to have the mindset of a child. If they were a grown up, violence would be done in a serious manner and not in a jokingly manner like the children in the book. I think that Golding tried to show the difference between the mindset of a child versus the mindset of an adult based off of an unfamiliar situation in the wilderness while showing the relationship between the people and their environment.

In the real world,  children are more likely to be influenced by their surroundings because of their “nature” which is the gene and “nurture”, the way the person was raised growing up. According to Judith Rich Harris, a psychology researcher who is also the author of The Nurture Assumption, heredity and environment are two things that shapes a child. She described the difference between “nurture” and  “nature”. She says that using nurture as a synonym for environment is based off of the assumption about what influences a child’s growth, apart from genes, is how the child was brought up along with its surroundings. “The environment is just as important as the genes. The things children experience while they are growing up are just as important as the things they are born with.” (nytimes.com) She is saying that not everything is genetic; human minds are shaped by how they were raised and what they are surrounded by. Not only do genes make people who they are but the surroundings impact a person’s individuality.  This relates back to my thesis statement and my examples from the paragraphs above because it shows the importance of the environment in shaping individuals just like how the island shaped the actions and thoughts of the children.

Another example in the real world that relates to my above examples from the book is from the source, environment.yale.edu talking about “How personality traits are associated with environmental engagement”. Scientists and psychologists have done studies about different personalities that correlates to environment engagement. They knew that to change a person’s behavior towards the environment, they had to understand the personality of the person. “Personality informs people’s beliefs, values, and attitudes, and scientists have found that personality factors can influence our likelihood to engage in environmentally sensitive practices.” (environment.yale.edu) What the author is trying to say is that the change in behavior in an environment is all because of the psychological factors that affect a person’s attitude. Personalities does affect the environment just like how the environment affects a person. One can’t take away someone’s personality because it is already built into that person’s system, but it can always be altered by the environment. No matter how much a person’s behavior is affected by its surroundings its individual-level personality traits will always remain.

In conclusion, there are a lot of ways that a person’s behavior can be changed or developed. The children in the book had created new personalities to themselves because the island gave them a lot of freedom to express themselves and liberate their real identity. The change in environment resulted in the change of behavior. We are always built with our own traits but it can always be altered by our environment and the people around us. In short, it’s not always about the genes or the things we were born with; our surroundings moves and shapes us and it will determine what a person’s future self will be tomorrow. To end all this, I conclude that the environment does affect us as individuals and a person continues to develop itself in the surrounding that it is in.

Works Cited:

Golding, William. Lord of The Flies

New York: Perigee, 2006

Harris, Judith Rich. "The Nurture Assumption." Nytimes. The New York Times Company, 1998. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/harris-nurture.html

Thomas, Liz. "How Personality Traits Are Associated with Environmental Engagement." Environment.yale. Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 7 Apr. 2016. https://environment.yale.edu/yer/article/how-personality-traits-are-associated-with-environmental-engagement

(Looks up and hollers at his wife)

Hey Hon, can you come downstairs for a minute?

I have great news to tell you!

I also have some pizza and wings here!

I know, we ate an hour ago but, I’m hungry so come down and eat with me!

I have to tell you something!

(Heads to the living room and sits on the couch)

Before I tell you, let me go to the bathroom first.

Don’t worry, I’ll be quick.

(Looks back at his wife, irritated) I said I’ll be quick Susan!

(Back on the couch)

So, If you’ve noticed these past few months I’ve been going out with the boys, right?

You know, Victor, Manny, Ben, and Jerry.

Don’t you remember? Ben and Jerry are my dudes with the big ice cream company.

You know! We’ve had their ice cream before. We thought it was pretty damn good!

Uhmm, I forgot what the company’s called but I know that it’s an ice cream company.

(Pauses)

Yeah, yeah! I told you, you would remember mhm, it’s the one with the weird and long ice cream names.

Anyways, I told my boys that I lost my job a week ago and Ben and Jerry offered that I could work at their company.

So, these past few weeks I’ve been going to their factory at South street trying all of the different flavors of their ice cream to help my palate familiarize all the ice cream flavors before I start working.

(Pauses)

Hmm...

...But for some reason, I always get a blurry vision and I’m desperate for food at the end of the day after the tasting!

(Pauses and his brows moves down as it comes together)

I have to be careful with what?

Oh, that’s a different story.

I know that  mom has diabetes but that doesn’t mean I’m getting it too!

Well, I could if I keep doing this for years and years but I’ve been only doing this for a few months.

Susan! Are you even listening? (Eyes widening)

(Pauses)

(His brows furrowed) There’s nothing to worry about, honey.

It’s not a big deal...

(Stands up)

Hold on a sec, gotta go to the bathroom!

(Sits back down)

Okay, back to what I was saying.

What was I saying again?

Ohhhh, (laughs) right!

No, I am feeling just fine honey!

Like I said, it’s normal!

My vision always gets blurry but if I relax for a bit, it’s all good!

(Slams his left hand on the couch) No, you don’t have to worry about this...

Okay, again, back to what I was saying!

Their ice cream is great and they still create those cheesy and weird names for their ice cream.

(Giggles) They even made fun of me for peeing every minute and joked that they will name their new ice cream flavor the (Does the finger quote gesture) “Mr. Pee-body,” dedicated to me!

(Laughs and right palm facing up just below his chest)

Well, at first, I was irritated by them making jokes about me but, I ended up laughing with them!

(Laughs) Oh god, it was a fun day!

(Stands up) I’m sorry hon, I gotta pee again!

Be right back!

(Comes back to the couch)

(He raises a brow) Wait wait wait, did you just call the doctor?

For why?

Oh my god, Susan!

It’s not that serious, okay?!

What do you mean, “you already set an appointment for tomorrow”?

Now you’re making me feel like a child who is afraid to see the doctor.

(Head down, looks to the right, and exhales) Fine, we’ll see what happens.

(At the doctor’s clinic)

Hi, how are you Doctor Porter?

I am Mike Breyers and this is my wife Susan Breyers.

(Short smile)

It’s nice meeting you too.

So, I am here today to… uhmm know if I have a uhmm oh yeah, I just have some concerns about how my body has been responding to certain things lately.

So, I’ve been working at an ice cream company as the ice cream taste tester and yes, I do consume a not so little amount of ice cream everyday. But, afterwards I tend to have a blurry vision and I am always hungry…

It’s nothing serious but it’ s weird.

(Lips pursed together and eyes widening)

Are you serious, Susan?

Okay, so just like what my wife said, I also get irritated a lot and (laughs) I visit the bathroom frequently.

(Sarcastic tone) Wow, thanks for noticing Hon.

Yes Doctor, I’ve been getting a blurry vision, I do pee a lot, I am always starving…

Yeah, I get irritated.

(Pauses)

What about them?

I’ve noticed that my body is acting weirdly, Doctor Porter.

I don’t think I’m allergic to ice cream...

I’m not feeling anything severe, but…

My wife’s right, I’ve been acting differently and so does my body.

Oh, so you think ice cream has a huge impact on my body?

(Forehead creased) I have most of the symptoms for what, Doctor Porter?

(Jaw drops) For diabetes?

But, that doesn’t mean I have it!

Well, my mom has diabetes...

She has a type 2 diabetes.

(Exhales deeply) I really have diabetes, Doctor Porter?

(Murmurs) I guess I have to tell Ben and Jerry about this that I could no longer work for their company.

Yes, I work at my friend’s ice cream company.

(Eyes widens) Oh, how do you know Ben and Jerry?

Ahhh, right.

Ben and Jerry’s Ice cream.

(Smiles)

Hon, it’s called Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

Ben and Jerry’s ice cream gave me diabetes!

“Good morning!” My step dad proclaimed.

“Good morning!”

My step dad bent down and kissed me.

“How are you feeling?” He asked.

I gave a smile

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yes.” I responded with shyness.

My mom came and I asked her if she could carry me. She grabbed me under my armpits and picked me up. I rested the side of my face on her right shoulder, crossed both of my hands behind her neck, and crossed my legs behind her back. I couldn’t put my thoughts into words. I was afraid and ashamed to talk to my step dad. I hardly spoke to him unless if he spoke first.

I was 8 years old the first time I met my American step dad. I was still in the Philippines at the time. He looked different compared to us. He had discernible features. He seemed very tall and his skin tone was pinkish and lighter than ours. But, his way of speaking was something else. His language was different and he didn’t speak our language. He spoke English!

We had been learning the English language since nursery but we never really spoke it because we spoke in our own language, “Ilonggo”, one of the dialects in the Filipino language. We learned alphabets, numbers, and as we got into elementary school, we were learning phrases and sentences in English. Even though English was taught in school, we didn’t use it to speak; not even at school.

My sister and I were always speechless when our step dad spoke to us. We couldn’t form words in our mouth. The way he spoke was very amusing and intimidating. He used words we’ve never heard of before and his pronunciation was different. In school, we were taught to pronounce every single letter of its own. For example, “what do you want to eat” is “watt doo you wannt to eet¨. So, when my step dad would ask me, “what do you want to eat?” I would give him a shy smile. He said “what” without the “t” and rolled his tongue when he said “do”. I kept the amusement to myself and was always too shy to speak to him. We were always stunned by him. He seemed like an entirely different person because of how he spoke, but there were times when he was interested to learn how to say a certain thing in Filipino. As we were eating, my step dad asked.

“How do you say rice in Ilonggo?”

“It’s kan-on.” Someone blurted out.

“Canon?”

“No, KAN-ON.”

“Canon.”

Everyone cracked up. It was a funny thing but, it was quite entertaining. He was fascinated with our language. As years went by, we no longer were frightened to speak to our step dad. We may still be intimidated by him and were too shy to chat with him, but we spoke more than before.

In 2012, the movie “The Hunger Games” was released and it grabbed the public’s attention. My sister, my cousins, and I decided to watch it. I loved the fancy outfits, the places, and the energetic characters in the movie. However, I was kind of perplexed by the plot while my sister and cousins understood it and were very thrilled after the movie. We came home at around 8 o’clock at night as my mom and stepdad were having dinner.

“Hello!” We greeted them.

“Nay, nag lantaw kami The Hunger Games.” (Mom, we saw The Hunger Games) My sister exclaimed.

“Oh, ano na sha?” (Oh, what is it?)

“Bag’o na sha nga movie.” (It’s a new movie) One of my cousins responded.

“Nami sha, grabe ang effects.” (It’s good, the effects were great)

My stepdad was eating his salad as he was paying attention to what we were saying. We were all shy to tell him but my mom told him instead.

Every time someone spoke to my step dad, my mom would clarify it or she would just tell him since she’s more comfortable to talk to him than us.

“They saw a movie and it’s called…”

“The Hunger Games”

Our words clashed as we said it.

“What was it about?” He asked.

“Uhmmm”

We all looked at each other and said, “Budlay eh explain.” (It’s hard to explain it)

“Jhila (cousin), ikaw explain ah!” (Jhila, you explain it!) My sister announced.

“Ahay indi ko ya! Kamo da ya!” (Oh no, I don’t want to! You guys do it!) Jhila insisted.

Our voices were over each other and we’ve had enough giggling and pinpointing. We didn’t explain the movie until Jhila did bravely.

“There are districts in the place and they have to fight to each other. Katniss Everdeen volunteered to join the fight and she almost died because there are like buffaloes chasing her and the guy…”

“...they’re going to eat them and they went up the car and they’re waiting down the car and the dogs or buffaloes were chasing them.”

“Ahhh,” he nods and was puzzled by the explanation.

“So, they were fighting against the buffaloes?” He questioned.

We were as confused as him and started cracking up. We gave up and mumbled that it was very hard to explain the movie.

“Was it a good movie?” He continued.

“Yeah.” We grinned.

We were more comfortable with our step dad but we weren't comfortable in speaking using a language we hardly use. He visited the Philippines once in awhile but, sometimes he’s with my mom. As a matter of fact, we only see him if he’s visiting which doesn’t happen constantly. Around summer in 2012, my mom and stepdad both decided that my sister and I are migrating to the U.S. In November of 2012, my sister and I migrated with our mom and step dad. We came right in time for Thanksgiving in San Francisco which means, we would celebrate Thanksgiving with my stepdad’s family.

My sister and I met our step dad’s side of the family for the first time before Thanksgiving. Their kindness soothed us from feeling anxious. We didn’t know what’s in store for us in the U.S and we were worried about them asking us questions and us responding in English. Luckily, we spoke but my sister and I were too self-conscious about our English. We were shy but I’m glad that they made us feel comfortable and made us feel like we were apart of their family. We may not impress them through words, but we certainly felt their fondness towards us because my sister and I gave them the respect and kindness they needed.

Mark Twain once said, “Actions speak louder than words.” He is saying that what you say doesn’t matter, but, what matters is how you act towards someone or something. I believe in this saying because my sister and I didn’t communicate much to our step dad but, we understood each other through our actions; not enough words were said and expressed but our actions said it all. Looking back at my experience makes me realize that words don’t really matter, but, your actions matter the most.

I had spent so much time researching about my issue which is social anxiety and even though this project is about to end, I still wanted to know more the issue but I wish I had more time to do it. I wish I found something about how people who has suffered from this issue got better. I wanted to read more personal experiences and understand more about how these people coped from this devastating issue. I feel like I know more about the symptoms and what social anxiety is but not about the people who suffered. I wanted to know more about real life experiences because it tells you what the issue really is like not just through what the internet think it is or what other people think it is.

Like I said above, I like knowing an issue through a person who actually experienced social anxiety in real life. So for my original research, I interviewed a very close friend of mine who suffered from social anxiety. I was pretty familiar with what she was sharing to me because of the research I have been doing. But, I wasn’t entirely informed about the treatment of this disorder. I learned from this friend of mine about one of the treatments of this disorder. She had to go through intense therapy for 4-5 months and that was new to me. My original research went pretty well and it helped me a lot for this project. I gathered a lot of information through this original research but I wish I interviewed a few more people rather than interviewing only one person so that I could have an even better understanding about this issue. I also wish that I just reached out to a couple people rather than reaching out to organizations and waiting for their responses that never came.

For my agent of change, I collaborated with Tk Saccoh and Jae Regino both a student from SLA. All of us agreed upon making a website and spreading awareness through a 7 second video called the "Tongue Twister Challenge". So, we made a website and made people do a very simple task to spread awareness for social anxiety. Here is our website if you would like to check it out and here is an explanation to the "Tongue Twister Task". I think that me and my partners had an impact we hoped for because people joined us to do the 7 second task and it just kept going when we did after school for only a day. I think that the impact we hoped for was successful even though we just started and our website was not promoted that much yet because people helped us support our project especially support the awareness to social anxiety. Also, but we will try to keep doing it and  let people know about it.

I have conducted a lot of research about Social anxiety for my first two blog posts. In my first blog, I researched about what exactly social anxiety is, what social is like in other people's lives, how to cope with it, and the treatment. For my second blog post, I educated myself more about this issue and talked about it in this second blog but I also interviewed a friend of mine who suffered from social anxiety. I asked her questions such as how social anxiety affected her life and her responses were similar to the people who have social anxiety as well. I was surprised by how social anxiety not only affected her life but it also affected the real her. For my agent of change, I have decided to partner up with Jae Regino and TK Saccoh because not only did we use a similar issue but I believe that we all work very well as a group and it would help all of us in the last part of the project since we all have a good insight about this issue.

Currently, my partners and I are working on our website to educate the public about social anxiety. The point of this website is to also help the people who suffer from it with the help they need or an advice from us and we will respond to whatever they intend to share with us. After working on this website, we will share it on social medias and spread the word to other people about this. Our site is not a site where people just browse information but they could leave comments or share their stories. If you want to make a change in the society you could either donate or do a simple task both on this website. This task is called the "Tongue Twister Task". This is basically like a challenge where everyone are welcome to participate in. In order to participate, you make a video of yourself or whoever you're with and do a tongue twister and say it for three times. After doing the task, you nominate 2 or more people to do the same thing and to post it on social media such as: instagram, twitter, facebook, etc.

In the paragraph above this, I talked about this website where the "Tongue Twister Task" is located at. Like I said above, this task is an awareness to social anxiety. People with this condition avoid public and social situations and it's as if their lives are an impossible tongue twister. I am glad that we thought of doing the website and the tongue twister task for the agent of change because this will not only educate people about this big issue but it will also help people who suffer from social anxiety. My partners and I are pursuing the website and the tongue twister task for our agent of change. We started asking other people to do the task and it has been successful so far.

First, we asked one person if he could do the task while we videotape him. After he does the tongue twister he begins nominating a person and the person who was nominated nominates another person and it just keeps going… That is how the change started. At first, I felt uneasy about doing this project because the amount of things that we were supposed to do was intimidating but now that I know pretty much what I want to do, I feel comfortable in doing this project and I enjoy doing this very much even if it takes a lot of time and effort. What I learned about myself is that I tend to enjoy big projects as long as they involve other people not just the lessons we learn in class. What I learned about others is that they will support what you do just as long as it is for an important cause.

These are the people who participated in the "Twister Task Challenge" and here is a link if you want to see them.

This is the home page of our website with the quote from this website said by Thomas A. Richards,Ph. D., a psychologist and a director.

I feel like I could've done my research for my agent of change earlier because this part needs a lot of research and consumes time. Me and my partners still need to ask more people to join this awareness and the people who were nominated to do the task needs to record themselves. We just basically want this awareness to spread and let people know about social anxiety and after doing this awareness hopefully people learned something out of this project my partners and I did.

Here is my annotated bibliography!

Social anxiety is a mental health problem that people suffer from everyday. Anxiety means the "feeling of worry." Very simple, right? But "social" anxiety? Well it might sound simple as well but it is not simple for the people who suffer from it. Social Anxiety is the irrational fear of being judged, criticized, or embarrassed in public. It is normal to feel nervous when giving out a speech or when meeting people for the first time. But with social anxiety disorder, it is so intense that it may affect every aspect of your life. Relationship is one thing, you can ruin your relationship with family and friends due to the fear of interacting. You do not get the chance to explore the world if you intend to because of the feeling of worry and nervousness.

Social anxiety is one of the most common mental illnesses and the third largest mental health problem in the world today. "Social anxiety disorder can have a very negative effect on your well-being and quality of life. The illness can cause a lot of problems in your relationships with partners, family and friends." This disorder prevents you from doing the things you are willing to do. For example, you wanted to share your opinion on something in a discussion but fear kicks in so you resisted to do so.

Click here for a full information about social anxiety.

Most of us deal and interact with different people everyday. But not all of us feel comfortable. Especially people with social anxiety or social phobia. These people feel the discomfort in certain situations. Comfort levels in social situations vary, depending on personal traits or life experiences. Some people are naturally born shy while some people are more outgoing. People with social anxiety get nervous on occasion, like when giving a speech or when they present themselves in front of different people. These people fear being the center of the attention.

Not wanting to be involved in an activity which involves interacting with other people is also a fear of the people with social phobia. Let’s switch this around. Wanting to be involved in an activity or wanting to do something so bad but… nervousness, anxiety, and the fear of being judged by others strikes? Yes, people with social anxiety experience this.

I know this topic so well that I can relate to the description of social anxiety. It is so much easier for me to understand this topic because I live in it. What I mean by “I live in it” is that I experience social anxiety but I am not saying that I have a social anxiety disorder because I feel like my personality is just taking over my thoughts and actions.

According to socialphobia.org, Social Anxiety is the third largest mental health problem in the world today and approximately 7% of the population suffers from some form of social anxiety disorder.

"Social Anxiety Association | A Nonprofit Organization That Promotes Understanding and Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder." Social Anxiety Association | A Nonprofit Organization That Promotes Understanding and Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. <http://socialphobia.org/>.

This issue is very significant because a good amount of people from all over the world have social anxiety. Millions of people all over the world suffer anxiety every day. Social anxiety cannot be avoided because it is an issue that mostly involves your mental health. Social anxiety destroys lives. How? Well, it is taking over peoples lives. It prevents people from leading the life they want; it prevents them from doing what they are good at doing; it prevents them from having friends and relationships, even though people want them.

This issue is important for other people to know about because the world is very judgemental and so we all need to be aware that people do what they do because they have an acceptable reason behind it. They cannot avoid it because it is not an easy thing to be avoided and ignored.

Fortunately, social anxiety disorder can be overcome. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is an effective social anxiety therapy for people with social anxiety. Everyone with social anxiety can be cured if they use the appropriate type of cognitive-behavioral therapy.

According to this graph, most of the 13 to 18 year old women experience social phobia than men.

Going crazy and you don’t know what to do? Talk to someone you trust, whether it is a friend, a family member, or just someone you can rely on. Do not be scared of telling someone about what you are going through. You are not telling the whole crowd but that one person. They might have a great effect in your life. Don’t worry, take one step at a time. You can get through it… STRONG.

As of now, I am wondering if the information I provided in this essay would change other people’s perspective about people with this type of disorder. I am hoping that I will dig deeper and learn more about this issue so that I could have a better insight in this topic.

Here is my annotated bibliography.

!Hola! ¡Bueños dias! Science Leadership Academy está en cincuenta y cinco de la calle veinte y dos, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Está cerca de Trader Joe’s y 7/11. Nuestra escuela es pequeña pero chevere. Hay quinientos estudiantes y treinta y tres profesores. Hay cuatro plantas en nuestra escuela. Tenemos que usar la computadora para todas las clases. Nosotros tenemos último disco volador, béisbol, baloncesto y muy más. Último disco volador es nosotros muy popular deportes. El entrenador es principio Lehmann. Nosotros Practicamos aperturas siete en la mañana en punto. Estudiantes muy muy encanta disco volador en menos mitad de escuela participa en este deportes.

Mi parte favorita de Science Leadership Academy es las computadoras. Para mí es perfecto para aprender.  Nuestros estudiantes nos encantan las computadoras como niños. Los estudiantes de noveno grado van al The Franklin Institute. Visitamos cada miércoles. Lo pasamos bien. Todas clases en SLA son divertidas y interesantes.Mií favorito es Inglés. En mí clase tenemos que leer To Kill A Mockingbird y Macbeth.También aprendemos en historia la información nueva. Aprendemos todos los días. Los profesores enseñan muy bien. Nos encantan nuestros profesores. Trabaja duro. Somos una escuela fantástica en Filadelfia. ¡Qué chévere!

En el escuela de Science Leadership Academy nosotros tenemos muchos profesores. La profesora Giknis enseña la clase de ingles. Enseña muy bien.  En la case de ingles nosotros leemos. El profesor Todd ensaña la clase de historia y es bastante estricto... Es una broma. El profesor Todd es tranquilo y muy divertido.  En la clase de historia nosotros participamos activamente. La profesora Sessa es nuestro profesora para clase de Bioquímica. Profesora Sessa es muy divertida y chévere. En la clase de Bioquímica nosotros trabajamos computadoras leemos libro de texto.

Hay muchos cosas SLA que hacer mí amar ella. Todo desde las clases al deportes y actividades, SLA da todos un estudiante necesidades. Yo encanta todos en SLA y no puede decidir en mí favorito cosa. SLA es all positivo con cero defectos. Lo que más nos gusta de SLA es comida en la clase y la libertad. En conclusión SLA es muy divertida, educativo y tranquil.

A simple and straight definition of ¨Net neutrality¨ is an ¨open internet¨. It is also having your  internet service providers treat you data equally without any bias. Having an open internet could be an advantage or a disadvantage. But nowadays, having an open internet is needed. First of all, most schools let their students use the internet as their source of learning material. That is one reason why an open internet is needed. But, let me get to my point why teens need to know about net neutrality.

Teens need to know about net neutrality because nowadays ¨net neutrality¨ is a big word for us. It is because we are all surrounded by technologies which mostly needs internet and having an internet is a very big deal to us. It is important for us to know about the internet or how it works but the most important thing for us to know is what’s in our internet. Teens especially need to know about because most teens use most of the internet that’s why teens especially need to know about it.

Having an internet is not the only important thing nowadays. It’s not just having an internet without knowing anything about it, it’s knowing what is in your internet. Also, having a good internet is not the only important thing for us teens to know but also the equal treatment in the internet. It is a very important thing in our lives but most especially an important thing for us to know what is in it and how our providers our treating our own and paid internet.

• http://nobullying.com/net-neutrality/

• http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf/2014/11/what_is_net_neutrality_what_is.html

• http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/16/technology/fcc-road-map-to-net-neutrality.html?_r=0

Opening: ¡Hola! ¿Qué tal?

Yo: Me llamo Jhazzelle. Tengo quince años. Soy de Filipinas pero vivo en Filadelfia. Me gusta mucho la fotografía, escuchar música, y pasar un rato con amigos. Cuando tengo tiempo libre y me encanta pasar tiempo con mi familia.

Él: Este es mi hermano. Él es tremendamente adorable y encantador. Le encanta jugar. No le gusta ir al cine.

Ella: Esta es mi mamá. Tiene cuarenta y dos años. Ella siempre es sociable, trabajadora, súper cómica, amable, más o menos tranquila, y guapa. Tiene los ojos cafés y el pelo negro.

Ellas: Esta es mi hermana, Jam, y mi mejor amiga Bianca. Mi hermana es diecinueve años y Bianca es dieciséis años. Mi hermana Ambos son muy cómica, divertida, y muy guapa. Son también boba es por eso que los amo.

Nosotras: Ellas son Jessica y yo. Jessica es de Filadelfia pero vive en Filadelfia. Tengo catorce años. Ella es cumpleaños dieciocho de agosto. Ella es tranquila y encantadora.

Fin: Gracias por su atención.

Why did you make the slide look the way it does?

My slide looks the way it does because in order for a slide to stand out, it needs to be clear, simple, understandable, and straight forward. According to the websites, think whether your slide could be understood within seconds. Basically, whether the slide is clear in just one glance.

What influenced your decision making?

What influenced the decision making in this slide are the websites and the video that you showed the class. The websites gave tips and tricks on how to make a noticeable and understandable slide. The websites really helped the decision making in this slide.

Sources: