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Senior English Essays: The Benefits of Traveling: Travel with all of your heart As human beings we naturally want to discover. We naturally want to adventure outside of our daily routines. We naturally want to explore the unknown and experience the things we see as thrilling and beautiful.Traveling to new places can offer us so much, and help us learn about ourselves in ways we didn’t even know were possible. Going to new places and experiencing different cultures starting from a young age has shaped me into who I am today. I believe all people should have the opportunity to travel to a new place exotic from their day to day lives. As a society it would do us a lot of good to see first hand the struggles that other countries and cultures face. From overly impoverished communities in third world countries with no running water, to women’s rights being stolen because they are believed to be less than, and the wars that are happening wiping out thousands of innocent civilians. However, I also believe that it is equally as important to be witness to the beautiful things that exist on this earth. Being unaware of the value that is given from having such experiences limits the capabilities we have to live our fullest, most genuinely fulfilled, undeniably astounding lives. One of the most important advantages of traveling is gaining perspective. The way we think and view different situations is a big part of what defines who we are as people. To go out and fly half way across the world is one thing, but if you don’t value your surroundings and truly take everything in with every ounce of your heart and soul it probably wouldn’t make much of a difference, but that’s just the mindset you need to have when diving into a new adventure such as this. To see the way other cultures do things and learn about their governmental, social, and personal ways of doing life has opened my mind to think in so much more depth than I ever even thought were possible. It is so important to realize and to be informed about what is actually going on in the world, not only to gain perspective, but to also recognize that those things could hypothetically happen to us, our families, our children, and our neighbors. Thinking about life in different ways from different perspectives than our own can help us to gain respect and a new sense of appreciation for all of the things we are fortunate enough to have. We are all human. All of our qualities, the good and the bad connect us to one another. Growing up in an amazing place is a great thing, but it limits us to what we think reality actually is. If you’ve always been in the same town, city, state, and country you can never be able to fully grasp the concept of what others from across the world experience every single day. I always hear people say “be thankful for what you have” amd although I wholeheartedly believe in this statement, can you ever even fully understand the concept of being thankful if you haven’t experienced first hand the exact opposite of the life you are currently living? I am not sure of the answer, but it is a good question to ask ourselves every now and again. Recognizing and being thankful for the good things in my life instead of always focusing on the bad (even if one seems to outweigh the other) has honestly helped me immensely to change my outlook on the world, and I completely owe it all to traveling. When I went on a missions trip to Nicaragua it changed my heart, mind, and soul.This wasn’t my first time traveling internationally, but it was my first time going so far away and my first time going on a missions trip. I went into this with the mindset that I was going to go help all of these people who needed running water, and help to change their lives. I thought I was going to to serve the ones in need and wasn’t expecting a single thing in return, but from the experiences I had and all the people I met in Nicaragua, they ended up serving me and changing my life. It shook me to my core. These were the most genuinely happy people I have ever met in my entire life. Even though they had little to no possessions it didn’t matter to them. They woke up everyday thankful to have the sun shine down on them. Thankful they had enough food to eat that day. Thankful to simply be alive. I knew instantly that I wanted to be like that. Life is exactly what you make it. You can choose to do and be whoever you want. Having an open mind to everything that is out there can so greatly impact the path you choose to follow. William Least Heat Moon said “What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do- especially in other people’s minds. When you’re traveling you are what you are right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterday’s on the road.” Traveling to new places and experiencing new things allows us to grow. It allows us to find ourselves for who we truly are, and that is something that everyone of us needs to attest to. Opioid Epidemic Most people can agree that they have experienced the feeling of addiction, whether it be a small harmless habit or even a dangerous self destructive one. Even if it’s something as simple as cigarettes, coffee, or even social media, the majority can agree they know the feeling of addiction. The opioid epidemic is wiping out hundreds of thousands of people each year, and if that isn’t the epitome of addiction i don’t know what is. This is a nationwide issue that has spread from coast to coast like rapid fire. Of course there has always been the problem of drug addiction, but this is the worst it has been in the history of our nation. We are throwing attics in jail expecting them to come out as functioning members of society, when in reality the addict is still there, and not a single thing has changed. Policies and laws need to be changed in order to get this lethal situation under control. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons out of all the crimes inmates are there for, 48.6% has committed a drug crime. That’s nearly half of the prison population, and that in itself shows that this is an epidemic. Addiction is a never ending cycle unless it is treated properly, and for that reason we need to start sending addicts to rehab instead of locking them in a cell and throwing away the key. By ignoring the actual problem at hand it is making the opioid epidemic even worse. We are all looking for answers to the seemingly unanswerable question, “ how do we get this under control?”. We want to know the answer; however, we don’t want to put in the work that it requires. As the opioid epidemic becomes more severe, the more people there are to slip through the cracks in the legal system and go unnoticed; therefore, leaving them untreated. Although I agree that there should be consequences for the use of drugs, I don’t think jail is always the answer. Once a person becomes an addict, that trait remains apart of them forever, even if they have a period of sobriety. To fully overcome a drug addiction, a person needs to have the resources to be able to fully heal from past traumas that may have caused the drug use in the first place. Another huge factor in the cause of addiction is mental illness. 53% of addicts have some sort of mental health issue. Without professional help, these people will continue to go through the never ending cycle of addiction, which will lead to the epidemic becoming worse, and our prisons becoming even more overpopulated. Without fixing the underlying issues that cause people to do drugs in the first place, nothing will ever change. Not only do drugs negatively affect the person who is doing them, it also takes a huge toll on all of the relationships in their life. The entire family is affected by these actions. The hardest thing when loving someone who is an addict is knowing when to let go, and realizing that no matter how much you want them to change, only that person can want to change for themself. In 2015, 52,404 US citizens died from a drug overdose. This simply is not a matter of choice. Either we change our approach to the way we help people who are addicted to drugs, or the problem will continue to get worse and worse. There is a clear solution to this nationwide epidemic, and we need to put in the effort to make a change. Works Cited Patterson, Eric, MSCP, editor. “Mental Health and Drug Abuse.” Drugabuse.com, drugabuse.com/library/mental-health-and-drug-abuse/. Promises Treatment Center. “How Many People Die From Drugs Each Year?” Promises.com, www.promises.com/resources/overdose/many-people-die-drugs-year/. Roeder, Oliver. “Releasing Drug Offebders Wont End Mass Incarceration.” fivethirtyeight.com, 17 July 2015, fivethirtyeight.com/.../releasing-drug-offenders-wont-end-mass-incarceration/. Accessed 13 Apr. 2018. Rhetorical Analysis: “This Is 45: The Eye of Life’s Storm” by Emily Mendell Being 45 and 17 have many many differences but also some similarities. Starting to not care what people think about you is one of them. Senior year of high school is an eye opener. The past four years have been spent worrying that who you are as a person isn’t good enough for everyone around you. Worrying that you won’t fit in if you don’t go along with what everyone else does because “it’s the cool thing to do”. I know this isn’t true for all 17 year olds, but it was very true for me. Although I don’t have personal experiences as a 45 year old person yet, from reading the article I can pick up a lot of the details of what it might be like and forgetting everyone else’s opinions seems to fit the bill. 17 feels like a tug of war. Your parents expect you to act like an adult and take on adult responsibilities, while still being treated like a child. There’s always something weighing heavily on your mind. Graduation is steadily approaching, and even though we are all counting down the days until we get to walk across that stage and get that diploma, nobody is ready to admit or accept the fact that our lives are about to completely change. Forever. We are trying to prepare ourselves for adulthood the best we can, while still being around the high school mindset. We’re all going through something. Whether it be problems at home, trying to balance a job with school while still drowning in homework, having your heartbroken by the guy you thought you would spend happily ever after with or all of the above. It is stressful. It is hard. What keeps us all pushing through is the bright light at the end of the tunnel. We’re so close yet so far from starting our lives, and I think all 17 year olds can agree that is both exciting and terrifying. We can’t forget about the social aspect in this chapter of life either. Going out with your friends/partying is huge!!! And no matter how much any teenager would hate to admit, there is peer pressure. I’ve always thought that was so stupid because I believed everyone makes their own decisions no matter what. As I start to get older I realize things, such as peer pressure, are real. As most of us 17 year olds get ready to head off to college soon, this gives a perfect opportunity to not only reflect on our past, but also to think about the type of future we want for ourselves. At 45, I hope to have kids who are ready to go off to college. Seeing myself at this point, and thinking about my future children being at this point one day is mind boggling. Having gained a new perspective with this thought, it has allowed me to further evaluate the way I am going to make decisions going forward, especially regarding my parents. Putting myself in their shoes has helped me to do this. Accepting the fact that their baby girl is now almost an adult is terribly hard for them, as it would be for most any parent. Although this does derive conflict at times, this realization has allowed me to have a more understanding, and patient heart. Both of those qualities I hope will remain with me until I am 45 and beyond. It is common for people to have a bad self image or be insecure about their bodies at age 17, and as the article states, also at 45. However, age doesn’t really affect this issue. A person could be 100 years old and still be self conscious. The truth of the matter is that it’s all in the way we view ourselves, and view our worth as human beings. Self love takes a lot of work. Appreciating and realizing how precious and beautiful every single one of us are in our own unique way is a start. When it comes down to how much we value ourselves, age is simply just a number. Throughout our lives we are faced with a variety of different choices we have to make, and hills to climb. Whether a person is 17 or 45 this all remains true. It’s all about how we grow and progress as people. That’s what matters the most. |