School Violence Becoming Too Common

Is the media attention on violence in schools leading kids to act? It seems like the more and more media focuses on school shootings and violence, the more it occurs. For example, after two students and a teacher were victims of a school shooting by a 12 year old boy on Monday, the following day on Tuesday a 24 year old teacher was murdered with a box cutter by a 14 year old student. He allegedly killed her in the bathroom, took her body out of the school in a recycling bin, disposed of her in the woods, and then changed his clothes. The day following this on Wednesday, an 11 year old was arrested and faces charges for attempted murder because he brought 400 rounds of ammunition, multiple knives, and a hand gun to his middle school.  Yes, people should be aware of what is going on, but is the constant talk about it making it justifiable in troubled kid’s minds to act? Are schools even considered safe places anymore? It isn’t surprising to hear about the murder of teachers and students at school anymore. It is seemingly becoming a “trend”. Teachers and students have a reason to be nervous while going to school. Who knows what could happen. Kids do not know how to deal with the issues they are facing and think that these acts of school violence will somehow solve their problems. Should teachers be able to have guns with them? Should schools have more security? But even then, is a child is that set on harming people, he/she will stop at nothing and are very dangerous. Bishop Dan Edward states, “all of us are personally affected when violence erupts in a school, which of all places should be safe for children, a place to learn and grow." Overall, school shootings are becoming so horribly common, but is there really any way to stop this kind of this from happening?

Sparks Middle School Shooting

            Bullying is still an issue leading kids to commit acts of violence in school. On Monday October 21^st, there was yet another school shooting. This time it was a 12 year old boy who killed a beloved math teacher and injured two of his friends. The shooting happened at Sparks Middle School in Nevada. The boy, whose name is not being released, shot two of his friends, a teacher, and then killed himself. The teacher who lost his life was a former marine, and did what he could to try to take down the shooter, but was killed in the process. All the shots were fired outside on the playground. Authorities are saying that Mr. Landsberry, the teacher who was killed, actions saved lives by giving other students a chance to flee. It is unclear if the boy was targeting certain people, or if it was just random. People believe that bullying is the reason but are unsure. But is bullying any reason to take a life?
            These school shootings are becoming too common. It hasn’t even been a year since 26 people were killed at Sandyhook Elementary. Why would a 12 year old have any reason to take a life? Many school shootings are involved with bullying. Kids do not know how to deal were anger built up inside of them from being mistreated and turn to violent manners, not understanding the consequences of their actions. Why are there so many instances of school violence is the past year?
            The incidents with school shootings are ultimately affecting gun control laws. The gun control laws are very controversial, but would young people be able to obtain weapons less easily if they were stricter. In this case, can the parents be at fault for having a Ruger 9 mm semiautomatic handgun available for him to take?

PA Programs

                It is around the time of senior year where we need to start deciding what we want to once we graduate. Many of us have it all figured out. Some are going right to work, colleges around here, colleges pretty far away, military, etc. For those going to college, some know what they want to do; others aren’t sure and will just take basic classes until they decide.

                I’ve been having a difficult time deciding what to do. I originally thought I would be a business major, but after looking into it a little more I decided against it. College is a big decision that affects your life a lot. I decided I wanted to be in the medical field but not as a nurse. I plan on entering a physician’s assistant program. It is frustrating how expensive school is because I really am limited to three schools I could go to. My choices are D’youville, Daemon, and Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T). The PA programs take 5 years. The job outlook for Physician assistants is very good in all medical fields. I am interested in becoming an Orthopedic PA. I really wanted to be able to go a little far away for school, all the schools I am limited to be fairly close to home. The prices of schools and scholarships will be what help me decide where to go. I know every PA program is very competitive and will be a lot of hard work. However, it will pay off. I want to have a job where I can help people.  PA programs require students to apply to school in November in order to get in.

                Senior year is already going by very quickly. There is so much to figure out about the future in so little time.

Federal Shutdown Effects Military Tremendously

It is now the ninth day of the federal government shutdown. People may question why there is a shutdown and what this means for us.

Why? Republicans are angry over President Obama’s healthcare law. They refuse to continue on until Democrats agree to block money for Obama Care. Democrats will not agree to this. Therefore, there is no appropriation law in place and under federal law an agency can’t spend money so it has to close.

Without realizing it the government shutting down has a big impact on us. Many veterans and military families are really feeling the effects more than others. If the shutdown continues the VA (Veterans Affairs Department) won’t be able to send out checks to the 5.18 million beneficiaries. 5 servicemen were killed in Afghanistan this past weekend. Their families have been notified that they will not be receiving any benefits from these loved ones. Senator John McCain said, "Shouldn't we as a body -- Republican, Democrat, no matter who we are -- shouldn't we be embarrassed about this? Shouldn't we be ashamed? What do the American people think when they see that death benefit for those who served and sacrificed in the most honorable way are not, their families are not even eligible for death benefits." This could not be said any better. Men and women give their lives for our country every day and this is very disrespectful to them and their families. The family of the people who gave their lives would usually receive a $100,000 check. This money is for the family to spend on plane tickets to go and meet their loved ones coffins as well as money for a funeral.
It is clear that this shutdown has already gone on far too long. People who gave their lives for us are not even getting enough respect from the government to have a funeral and their families being there as the bodies return home. Washington may be shut down but it is still asking men and women to go to war. But when it comes to a loss of one of them they don’t care. The federal government needs to pull itself together for the people giving the ultimate sacrifice.

part 2

So my last blog brings me to this. When I crashed the first person I wanted was my mom. My brother was the first person to show up, and that hug from his is something I will never forget. It’s funny because it takes something terrible and life threatening to realize how thankful you are for your loved ones. When my mom showed up it was also very emotional. I had to take an ambulance to the hospital because my neck hurt a little and they wanted to make sure everything was okay. In the ambulance I could not stop crying. I wasn’t crying because I was hurt, I wasn’t crying because my car was ruined, I was crying because I realized how much that I care for the people in my life. I can’t tell you how many people told me, “a car is replaceable, you are not.” This also made me very upset to hear. It’s hard to imagine that if i wouldn’t have spun the way I did, and hit the truck, or the telephone pole head on that I might not be here.

I think we all need to take a look around and be grateful for all the people in our lives that would drop anything and be there in a minute when you are in danger. As scary as my experience was, I am so happy to have people in my life who truly care about me. Not only this, we also need to realize that any life can be cut short at any second, and as scary as that is it is reality. We need to live and be happy because there is only such a short amount of time. I am thankful to be here today. I have a new appreciation for life. I understand I didn’t get any life threatening injuries, but if my car would have hit something head on it would be a different story.

So please, remember to be thankful and appreciative of your loved ones, because when it comes down to it, they will do anything for you.