Since my last few blog post a lot has happened. Let me give you a refreshment on my last two blogs. So in my first blog post I talked about why I chose to do my project on pediatric cancer and the scary statistics that affect teens our age each day. In my second blog post I talked about my interview with a cancer patient.

Currently there is a full month dedicated to pediatric cancer awareness. It's September. In September of 2014 President Barack Obama proclaimed September, the month to honor and support those who have or have had cancer. The President also signed the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act earlier in 2014 that gives ten years for cancer research. I think this was a huge deal for everyone connected with pediatric cancer and in the medical field. I think it's a huge step in research, because it gives ten years of research that could potentially find a cure to a disease that has killed so many people over a long period of time. I think it also shows people who have untreatable cancer that they weren't forgotten about.

A really huge part of the pediatric cancer awareness is the Alex Lemonade Foundation. Alex was a girl from Manchester, Connecticut who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma just before she turned one years old. At the age of five Alex started a lemonade stand with her brother to raise money for children with cancer. Every year she and her family held an annual lemonade stand fundraiser. At the age of eight Alex sadly died at her home in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania with her family by her side. Since the opening of her stand the Alex Lemonade Stand Foundation has raised over 100 million dollars. I think this foundation shows people with cancer that they can do anything in life and too never give up. Alex never gave up and fought for other people even though she was struggling.

For my agent of change I decided to do care packages. This was not my first idea. My initial plan was to create cards for cancer patients and take them to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). I was really looking forward to doing this but after a few phone calls and emails I was told I couldn't do that  due to CHOP's sanitation policy which was understandable. So with only a week left to turn this project in my teacher and I decided on a care package. At first I was hesitant about it because I didn't know how I was actually changing something, but with only a week left I went with it.

Who could I give this too? The first person to come to my head was Aliya, the girl I interview in my second blog. The other person was a senior at my school who I heard about but had not met named Matt.

Unfortunately, I was unable to give the care package to Aliya but I will as soon as I'm able to, but I was able to give Matt his. It took me two days to find Matt, but during that time I was so anxious to see his reaction. When I handed Matt his care package which I wrapped with brown paper he was also very nervous. Matt was so nervous he got his friend to open the package. When his friend opened it Matt was so surprised and shocked, it was amazing. A few minutes later Matt sent me an email and thank me.

I really enjoyed working on this project for English. There are many issues in this world that I follow casually (for example, talking about racism or gun control at the dinner table) and it felt good to “officially” research and delve deeper into one of those issues. Reproductive freedom (the topic I focused on) is a big mess of injustice, sexism, and many other things, and it is an incredibly frustrating thing to read about, especially as a young woman. All in all, though, I think my project went well. I was able to fully form concepts, ideas, and arguments about reproductive freedom that I would not have been able to articulate before we began, and I am much more well-read in the topic now. I am especially glad that we had to actually do something to help our issue, because before, I’d always complain but not actually act. The blog posts made it possible for me to reflect on my work along the way and give more thought to my project. I think that my blog posts were “glows” because they felt easy to write (in the way that I had so much to say), and I felt satisfied with my results. I think that my interview questions were also pretty strong (so much so that the woman with whom I was coordinating the interview said I was basically asking for a “program report”). Some “grows” were my timing with my interviewee, because there seemed to be lots of miscommunication there - I ended up having to turn in my blog post two and half weeks late.

For my research, I wish I’d read more about the technical aspects of who makes what decisions how. I know about the general way things work, but I don’t know, for example, who in Pennsylvania is the most powerful in terms of decisions or sending things to Congress. I wish I’d learned a bit more about how people my age can get involved (without a long internship) and help out my issue.

My original research went really well. I was able to speak to Adrienne Ralston, part of OIC of America. The program she is in goes around to schools and provides a sex-ed class for a semester. I interviewed her over the phone (she spent over an hour speaking to me!) and got lots of insight and information about my topic. I would not change anything about my original research. I do wish it had happened earlier, though, but that was not my fault.

I think that my Agent of Change went well - I got more than the number of signatures I was hoping to get. I don’t know if the petition has been sent out yet, but it feels good to know that I made a change. I’m hoping that there will be some results from this petition, and I will try to check the website every now and then to see.

Before you start reading this blog post, make sure you check out my previous blog post. Blog post 1 was my introduction to my project on labeling women. Blog Post 2 was about the data and researched I gathered about some of the females in my school getting labels that don't describe them.

In my research, some of the things that have been done to raise awareness to my issue of labeling women included: customized T-shirts and a twitter page. The best way I thought would bring awareness to the issue of labeling women was to make T-shirts, and not just any T-shirts. The shirts had labels that certain students had chosen, and underneath the label there was the real definition of the word chosen. Following that, the hashtag: #disablelabels was written above the Twitter Page: @disablelabels. The whole point of it was to prove that you can't let labels define who people are. Most of the labels are used incorrectly.

Images: This is a picture of two students ( Alexa Lahr & Elias Sell) wearing T-shirts with the labels they had chosen to represent.

My opinion on making shirts and creating a Twitter page, is that I feel it's a great way to get the topic noticed. After all, most of the shirts that students had purchased the shirts (for $3.00) chose the bright colors. For example, neon pink, white, and even lime green. The goal of that was to catch someone's eyes (which it did). While my agent of change was going on, I realized that it caught people's eyes, but there had to be a lot of explaining to do when you have the label ¨whore¨ or ¨bitch¨ in big black letters written across your shirt.Even though a lot of people were in on this project, I achieved educating a lot of people about labeling women based off their physical features and/or personality.

Take a look at that shirt on the image above. A lot of people assumed that a human who has a skinny body is anorexic. They are wrong! That is just one of many examples of how people use words against others without knowing the real definition.

Image on the left: (Kara Lazorko & Kara Heenan)

I have change happen so far, because people are now educated on the real definitions of these labels mainly given to women. Doing this project, I felt very passionate about it, and I had a lot of hope that those who agree that labeling women is wrong, would support the project. I learned that not everyone is going to understand what I was doing for my project, but it never hurts to take a few minutes to explain it to them. Overall, the one thing I could have done better was managing my time better. Nothing is still left for others and I to make a change, but just make sure to continue to spread the word.

Sydney Montgomery

Mrs. Giknis

English 1

For my You and the World project I wanted to raise awareness about Anxiety and Depression. In the beginning  I had it all planned out and knew exactly what I wanted to do. This was until I realized that what I had planned to do was entirely too much for what little time we had. This project was one of the most stressful things I have ever done. With this being something I am really passionate about I am very disappointed with how the entire project turned out. I was originally going to interview one kid from every grade and make a small documentary until people started backing out and I had to forget about the whole idea. I had my heart set on this documentary and all my ideas just came crashing down before my eyes. I then decided to do a survey and send it out the whole entire school. After I sent out the survey, I waited four days and did not get a single response. Time quickly started running out and I had to find a new idea. I then e-mailed individual kids and luckily got responses. For my Agent of Change, I finally decided to take pictures of people who answered the survey and take picture of them with a description underneath each photo about the teens have suffered with anxiety and or depression and how it has affected them. I’m still very far behind on my project even though I have my idea ready to go. At this point I have lost all motivation for this project. Even though I like my idea, it’s not something I’m very proud of. I feel I could have done so much better with getting the word across. The whole point of my original idea was so that it would be something someone couldn’t miss. Hopefully when I hang the pictures people actually take the time out of their day stop and read.

Jae Regino                 Jhazzelle Majarucon

​So for my project one thing that was awesome in the research was that I was able to find so much information and cites that were about my topic.  What that meant was that I had more cites to source and to summarize in my annotated bibliography.  I had a lot of fun collecting the information in my annotated bibliography because I am really interested in my topic how screens affect teens mainly because I myself am a teen.  I want to know more about gorilla glass and how it's made and how is it the strongest glass.  Also I wish I had found how phones and cameras were made because since I am a video and photographer I am interested in that.

In the original research it was quite tricky to get a hold of Jeff Adams the google guy who if I really needed him to give me the information I could have gone over to his house because he lives a few blocks away from me so I could have walked.  But he responded within the deadline but barely so if I were to do it again I would ask a lot earlier to give him time to respond and give me time to possibly go to his house.  When I did get a hold of him he gave me a lot of valuable information that only a google employee would know such as whether they get breaks from their screens to optimize work time the answer yes.    

The Agent Of Change went well in my mind so far it hasn't gotten many views only views from me however when something goes on youtube it is there forever so there is no saying when one person sees it then shares it and other people see and who knows I could get internet famous but that probably won't happen, and I am happy with 4 or 5 views.  If other people do see it I hope they learn about the problems I adress in the video and don't just watch it cause they can.  I hope to make more videos like that to raise awareness of social problems.

For the ¨You and the world¨ project, My issue around the world is drug abuse around the United States.  For my agent of change , I made a brochure for teachers and students at Science Leadership Academy. The brochure consisted of facts about drugs and tips you should take if someone around you, or maybe even you are experiencing an addiction to drugs. Other than my brochure, there are many rehab centers near your neighborhood  who are looking for people who are addicted to drug, so they can get help as soon as possible. In my last two blog post, I talked about how the United States as a whole is affected by drugs and how us as citizens should take awareness of this major issue.

My opinion on drugs abuse is that I think that it is unfair that when the topic of drug abuse comes up, people first thought is adults. I feel as though older generations needs to pay more attention to teens who are a risk of becoming addicted to drugs. Today, the rate of teens who are using drugs have increased insanely because older generations are not paying any attention to their children and young people. I feel as though there needs to be a drug programs just for teens because if a teen is in a room with all adults it creates an uncomfortable environment. Me being a teen, I know that I would feel more comfortable with people who have things in common with me. Although there are websites on the internet about steps to take on what to do if your are experiencing addiction, We need something to do after we finish all these complicated steps. We need something that teens can rely on.

So far during this ¨You and the world¨, I have talked to my friends about using drugs on the daily. Also, I became more aware of how many people are using drugs, tobacco, or even alcohol in my neighborhood.  In addition, I have also tried to persuade a few friends of mind to stop using drugs, Some tended to get upset, but I don't mean to make them upset; I want them to know what they are doing to their bodies and the people around them.  Here's a link to my brochure if you or anyone around you are affected by drugs.

This rough photo above is a preview on of my drug brochure. If you or someone near you is experiencing drug abuse and addiction please use this information here above.  You may also find a few inside Ms. Giorgio's room or with the school counselor. If you live in or near the area of southwest, they have them inside the SouthWest Police Athletic League on 58th and Elmwood.

With this sustained journey in finishing up my You and the World Project, I am closing this portion of the project on what I wanted to do for my Agent of Change piece. With doing my recent blog post, I did my own research and learned things about certain parts in Philadelphia that I did not know even existed which is why in my first blog post I was just so new to the project. But from then, it’s been a whole different spin on the information I now know. With thinking about doing my Agent of Change, I wanted to find a way for people to recognize the horrifying murders in Philadelphia caused by guns. With putting a little more depth into this project, recently today there was a march on Woodcrest Avenue in Philadelphia. The people were marching and singing. They held a sign saying “Taking Action To End Gun Violence” and marched on the site where a man was gunned down and killed in a robbery.  What they wanted people to take from this march was to use the gun related murder to stop other losses. How are we as the city of Philadelphia going to stop the shootings in our very own streets? With observing all of resources and space I had, I thought that it would be helpful to make SLA aware of this serious situation. With the help of my friend Ella who has a similar project as mine, we made an infographic  to show different statistics and facts about gun violence with teens and Philadelphia. We printed about 50 posters with this reliable information and put them all around SLA.

This is a picture of one the posters on a wall placed around the school!

With making an end to this project, I have learned a lot about gun violence and all of the shootings that happen in Philadelphia. After knowing  about a situation that triggers my mind, I am happy I was able to make a small contribution to this problem. This is something that I can relate to personally and many others can too. I hope people can see and take away from this project the collective need for us to gun violence..  I hope people will stop and take the time to read the posters and be aware of what is going on in the city they live in. This is nothing to be played around with. Everyone deserves to be safe and feel comfortable in the area they live in. After doing this project, I know that I can make my voice heard and help to be one of many advocates needed to end gun violence. I would love to do more outside of this project to gain other people’s attention to go along with me to say no to guns. But overall, I was happy to do this project and what I accomplished. I think this is something that everyone that everyone can see as a problem in our city . It is my hope that we will put our hands up together on this issue so that people will put their guns down. So I close this to say, do you want to live in Philadelphia or KIlladelphia?

For my annotated bibliography, click here!

Continuing on my adventure in my You and World project I am here to talk to you about the change I have made, and how I have become my own Agent of Change. In my last blog post, I took the research into my own hands and decided to use the people right in front of me and what they thought about gun control. After getting mixed responses, it made me realize that our city is full of a variety of people, and I can’t do anything to make them change what they think and feel about it, so my best option is to make it known, and aware, which I think is what I wanted to start out with when writing my first blog post. While thinking about what I wanted to do for my agent of change, I continued my research and began to look at the bigger picture. What is going on now to help this issue? I soon found that as we speak people are fighting for a bill to be passed to advocate ammo limits. The more I researched, the more I found people fighting for what they thought was right, like I was. Maybe I can’t get a bill passed, but I know I could do something. Looking around at my community, and from my results from the survey I gave, drew me to a conclusion that I could instead by lecturing people, I could draw people in and interest them. Before I knew it I had made my own infographic with my friend Madison who was also doing a similar project. After we had filled the infographic with facts about guns involving teens in Philadelphia,we printed about 50 and put them all around school.   

Here is a picture of one of our posters on a wall in our school.

Coming to a conclusion of this project, it has taught me a lot. After being able to do something I was passionate about, and actually knowing that a 9th grader was able to make a small difference in a huge issue actually feels pretty good. I am hoping that people will stop by my posters and take the time to read them and think about what's going on in our world, and maybe, just maybe do something to help change it. Now I know that I am capable of doing something that I came up with, and it not going completely downhill unless I really work hard on it, which I think I did. Of course, there is so much more I want to do, change, like spending more time informing others, and possible speaking someone who is really active in fighting for gun control, but for what I did, I am still proud of what I accomplished. Like it says on my poster, you’re bigger than the trigger, so before you pull it, I advise you to think about the world around you!

Click here to read by annotated bibliography.

  In my first Blog Post, I summarized the problems of complaint process against an officer when made by a civilian. Then in my Second Blog Post ,I interviewed a person who deals with these complaints on a daily.

For my Agent Of Change I have started a petition to show the Police Department that this is what the people of Philadelphia want. We want these investigations to available to the people both in law and legislation.

my petition on Change.org. The hyperlink is down below

People are noticing and sharing this with their social groups. This will help people understand the issue and be vocal about it. I feel like I made a voice for myself and others that have been wronged by police brutality in the greater Philadelphia Area. I learned that even though Philadelphia hasn't had a law changing martyr case like Ferguson or Cleveland that these kinds of shootings do happen and that they are not uncommon.

   I could've tried harder to reach out to more people and hear their opinions. I think this could have helped my project have more than one view. Having a more diverse view on the subject would help others understand it more. I still need supporters for my survey which you can sign here. Share it on social media and tell your friends and family to take it!

one comment made by a classmate under my petition.

The National Police Accountability Project, is a movement organized to fight for justice when police do not conduct themselves according to the laws. They do this through the legal system, using lawyers to help victims of police misconduct deal with their legal struggles.

This way of changing the situation is  mobilizing the people of Philadelphia and others affected by police misconduct to make legislative change in how we handle police affairs  and violence in minority groups of the greater Philadelphia area and other cities.