Imagine rusty and weak buildings, with little maintenance and a little working population. You wouldn’t have a house or you might have a straw or wood house, weak and fragile. You would find the market dusty and empty, with a shortage of supplies. Your child would die in the hospital with no medical support. People crowd into bustling villages, all in shortage, groaning. So many children are born… but die. All this is what will happen with overpopulation in Sub-Saharan Africa. But why should we care about people on the other side of the world?

First, living standards in Canada will improve once we help Sub-Saharan Africa. Technological developments will occur more quickly if there are more people with money and facilities to do research around the world. For example, many people fear cancer. According to Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell, not even ⅓ of the world population took part to donate to cancer research. Increasing this would probably increase health levels if even only ⅖ of the population took part. This would benefit you. You could be in excellent health and have an excellent education.

In the Demographic Transition of 4 Levels described by Warren Thompson, most of Sub-Saharan Africa is still in the early stages. As said by the IUSSP (International Union for the Scientific Study of Population) in 2013: “However, in sub-Saharan Africa, many countries are in their early stage in the demographic transition. The transition, in particular fertility decline, has been much slower than that in other less-developed regions.” If we do not help Sub-Saharan Africa, their population will boom. This would cause a massive famine and immigration and lead to violence worldwide since overpopulation isn’t national, but global. IUSSP estimates suggest if education and health don’t increase rapidly, Sub-Saharan Africa could have 4 billion people in 2100. But if things go well, it will only have 2.3 billion.

The problem Sub-Saharan Africa is undergoing is not a war in which neither side gives up. It is the demographic transition. We just need to support them, to encourage them to set up health facilities and education facilities. We don’t need force. We need to donate to Sub-Saharan Africa or write to the Canadian government to encourage them to help. This would ease the tension of overpopulation.

As you can see, it is not hard to help. We need to consider people on the other side of the world and the fact that helping them can help us.

Imagine you are onstage, stuttering and stumbling on your words, trying to deliver a speech with incorrect, unfiltered information that isn’t organized well, and is already well overtime. Your audience is growing restless and bored, and whispers amongst themselves, making you even more nervous; you are scared that the audience is talking about negative things concerning you, as you are lacking self confidence. Sounds pretty miserable, right? This is what most children would think and do if they didn’t take speech lessons. Here are even more reasons why:

First, taking speech lessons can help build their self confidence in general, talking in public, and when it comes to expressing one’s inner feelings, ideas, and opinions. Research proves that improving communication skills, which can be improved during speech classes, builds independence and friendships, helping your self confidence grow. As your confidence grows, you will be more likely to accept yourself, and won't be embarrassed, scared, or shy when it comes to expressing your opinions, ideas, and emotions. You will also feel happier, more proud of yourself, and many other positive emotions, helping your positive mindset and health prosper.

Second, speech classes will also help with improving communication and presentation skills, learning how to do research, verify and filter information, organize data, be knowledgeable, and think quickly. Speech classes help with organization skills because if you wanted to be persuasive, you would have to make the speech as organized as possible. Speech classes also help with your research skills and being knowledgeable because in order to make a good speech, you need to be able to research a lot of statistics, or know a lot of knowledge to make your speech understandable, accurate, and persuasive. Thinking quickly is achieved by improv speeches, meaning you get a topic, you have 2 minutes, and then you have to perform. All of these skills will also be needed in school, so this also helps get you a better report card in writing, and presentations!

Lastly, speech lessons help in time management. When presenting to an audience, you want to make sure that you know when to say what, so you won’t talk forever. This means that you will get plenty of practice in time management, and you can use this skill in your own life.

In conclusion, taking speech lessons can help you build your self confidence in general, talking in public, and expressing one’s feelings, ideas, and opinions. It also helps with improving your communication and presentation skills, learning how to do research, verify and filter information, organize data/statistics, being knowledgeable, and thinking quickly. It also helps with time management. So, now, do you think that everyone should take speech lessons?

Ever since I learned origami I think that I started paying attention to a lot of little details. I also think that ever since I learned Origami, I also got better at hand-eye coordination. I have done origami for around 5-6 years.

Origami is where you take a square piece of paper and fold it into anything. The name origami comes from the Japanese word “oru” which means to fold and the Japanese word “gami” which means paper. The standard origami paper is 150mm x 150mm. There are many different patterns and colours that can be on origami. You can have 3 different colours on one piece of paper or you could have a blank piece of paper. You could also have fancy Japanese pattern paper.

The lifeskills Origami can help develop are psychomotor skills such as hand-eye coordination, patience, attention to details, concentration, precision, dexterity, perseverance and the ability to follow instructions carefully. Origami is an excellent way to reduce stress.

In my opinion origami is a lot of fun because there are many different types of things you can make. I can fold cranes, boxes, balls, pianos, boats, frogs, fortune tellers and ddakji. I am yet to tackle making a tuna or a turtle because there are some folds that are a little bit confusing.

Sometimes when I’m doing origami people walk up to me and ask me to make them a crane for good luck, a box to put on their desk, or a rose to decorate something. Some even ask me how to make it. Whenever I give them their origami, they’re happy and I feel good about it. It is satisfying to be able to do that.

Origami is a gentle activity that will shift our focus away from our stress. If you learn how to do origami, you’ll be able to develop a lot of life skills. So what are you waiting for? Go get a piece of paper and join me on the origami adventure.

If it weren't for the pandemic, I wouldn't have to do online school, have trouble with my left eye, and get acupuncture needles in my forehead every weekend. Apart from changing backgrounds every few seconds, online school is totally getting on my nerves.

I-pads, computers, and other screens are bad for your eyes. I know it sounds weird coming from a person who watches TV every weekend. But I bet that online school is going to take longer than say The Simpsons or Encanto. Soon you will be wearing ten layers of glasses if you do online school for five years in a row. If you don’t believe me, try it yourself.

Sometimes my teacher glitches on the screens. Do you have glitchy wi-fi? In person we do not get fuzzy from time to time.

Do you hear me? That's a problem. A VERY big problem. I cannot hear what you are saying right now. “You are on mute.” In person we would not have our voice shut off with a button.

“Oh, common, Andy, mute yourself. We all know that your pigeon had some babies!” In person you would not bring your pigeons or babies to school. We would be more focused on the actual work.

This next disadvantage is the most important. If you have not been paying attention before, please pay attention now. Ok, if you have school you probably have homework and your teacher can’t just hand you your homework on a screen. You have to do it on Seesaw - the most irritating app ever. On Seesaw the buttons or levers are so confusing it nearly drove me crazy in grade two.

If you want to do online school you will find some very nasty surprises. I warned you. Now go outside and play. Anything that is not staring at a screen will do.

Getting freedom is harder than losing it. People can assume that you are bad by judging you by your looks. This damages and harms how we socialize. They pass it on and it keeps on going until more than half of the society or maybe more thinks like this.

For example. My classmates assume that I am smart because I look Asian. People say I am smart just because I look Asian. It's just an assumption and stereotype. From how I look people assume I am Asian. I’m not even Asian though! Sometimes we don't think about others' personalities. We should judge people by personality not looks. In my class sixteen people look Asian, but only five of them are actually Asian. They are the oldest child. Only six people in my class are not of Asian heritage.

If the person that doesn’t like a certain culture or race, or religion, becomes president, they spread that much faster, because they have much more power.

I hope we will have a president that does not judge people. They can make it illegal to be discriminated against. People should be able to be white, yellow, black, red, green or purple, without being judged. Maybe they are rainbow colored.

We shouldn't be forced into groups like this, and think that we are better. We don't even truly understand why we are better and how other people are worse! We are all human after all.

Do you find electronics the most distracting thing when you are trying to focus? Well, a lot of people do especially when they have notifications on. Often many social media apps can affect your mental and physical health. BUT you can save yourself with a few tips.

For me it can be distracting because when I really need to finish homework I’ll be reading text messages on my phone, which slows me down. Sometimes, when I’m trying to control my focus, I mute the notifications and it really makes a difference. The things that distract me that are on my electronics are apps, games, calls, and the loud buzz of notifications.

In my school, we are not allowed to bring cellphones to school. We have to leave the cellphones at home. My friends at a public school get to bring their cellphones. I think people with cellphones in their classroom would be getting up and down every second to check their phone for messages. In a study on cellphones in the classroom, Dr. Kevin Riutzel says that: Having cellphones in the class contributes to failing grades. Also a cellphone can lower someone’s full potential. He says, “additional research from Stanford University reveals that intense multitasking decreases the efficiency of completing a given task.”

How do we keep our minds healthy from electronics and social media? For me I don’t really use social media like Facebook or Instagram because I’m too young and my mom don’t really use it much. But I have friends who are on Instagram. They use it as a way of communicating. I read about the recent whistleblower on Facebook, Frances Haugen, who says, “Instagram endangers young women. It increases their risk of self harm, suicide, eating disorders, and poor body image.” Teens often say they are addicted to the app, “I felt like my body was not good enough because [it] never looked like bodies of [Instagram] influencers.” Even though Facebook has good intentions, their focus on maximizing profit has lead to very dangerous outcomes. “Facebook algorithms create a system that amplifies division, extremism and polarization.”

How do we focus when we are distracted? I have some tips. You can turn notifications off. Or you can put your electronics in another room. Sometimes when you are focused you are really into what you are doing, but when you have a phone in front of you it’s very tempting to touch it and continuously scroll. People are known to check their phones 58 times a day, but people touch their phone 2617 times! If it is not there right in front of you, you won’t be tempted

My last tip is STAY AWAY FROM YOUR PHONE!

Reference Links:
Facebook faces the Music from What In The World? Issue 3, 2021/2022
Screen Time Statistics 2021: Your Smartphone Is Hurting You By:ROCHI ZALANI
https://elitecontentmarketer.com/screen-time-statistics/

We probably all think that confessions are bad and that they are embarrassing to share. Like telling someone what you think about them or telling them how you feel about another person. But confessions aren’t always bad because if you tell them to other people they can know more about you. You also might get over a lot of things that were in your mind. That can make you whole to yourself.

Confessions can be good to you because they can let yourself and those close to you know more about you. For example, you might always think the person in your class sitting beside you is weird, but if you think that the person who sits next to you is weird, it blocks you from thinking they are funny or original. That might change how you feel and speak about the person. So, confessions can let you learn more about yourself and let yourself change what you think of someone else.

When you confess you might feel overwhelmed and scared, but you might feel relieved at the end when you finish confessing because you got over what you think or feel about something. For example, almost everyone you know doesn’t like the type of food you like, so you pretend that you also don’t like it because you are worried what someone will think about you. Pretending about who you are eventually will make you someone else. You might feel scared for a long period of time and worry about the food you like, because you were not being honest with yourself and others. But if you confess, others might think you are original and reveal that they like the food you like. When you confess you might feel relieved because you got over something.

You can see confessions aren’t as bad as you might think they are, they can be very helpful to you and make you stronger, more confident, and more resilient. Confessions are important to say, but you don’t have to say it to everyone or anyone.

I hope that you will change your mind about confessions and being honest with yourself, and maybe even admit one to someone you know!

References:

Superpowered: Transforming Anxiety into Courage, Confidence, and Resilience by Renee Jain and Dr. Shefali Tsabary