20. If you had the ability to talk to one species of animal, which animal would you choose to communicate with? Why?

I would choose the animal i encounter the most, the animal i am most curios to know what they are saying everytime a stranger passes through. I would choose the dog because they seem to do the most talking(barking). What if instead of barking for joy they are giving me a reprimand for leaving them alone for 3 hours. Although sometimes it is obvious what they are saying, for example when they growl at you for taking away their food. Dogs seem the best choice because they are domestic creatures that you see frequently unlike wild creatures that you see on a trip and even then they still run away from you, dogs if trained right will always come to you when called. I would also like to be able to uderstand the body language because sometimes they do some unusual stuff. For example my dog sometimes runs around in circles for some reason and then lays on his back and starts rolling. I would also like to talk to dogs because they can be the most helpful in critical situations such as fires. They can go get help and such. I would also like to talk to dog for humor, i would like to ask them if they really hate cats or if they hump stuffed animals for the fun of it. Dogs are interesting creatures that i encounter the most so why would i pick any other animal? Sure it would be nice to see what the cow is saying when they moo but i rarely encounter them so it makes sense that i would choose an animal i see everyday and barks half of the day. I also wonder what they think of all the baby talk...

journal # 19

19. Should school attendance be mandatory? In your answer, be sure to explore what the function of education is, and what our nation would look like if the masses were less educated.

I think school should be mandatory for a couple reason. My first reason is that many people cwould loose thier jobs. Teachers for students who would rather be wasting thier time than be in school would have no job. My second reason is that if school was not mandatory then some kids would choose to be illitirate and would also choose to ignore simple magic. I think school should me mandatoy only till 8th grade. After that is should be optional and up to the parent or student. Our modern education is to give an equal oppurnunity to all students. The function of education is to teach both academic and social skill by putting students under one campus. Another reason school should be mandatory is because without it students would lack social skills. If our nation was composed of uneducated adults then it would give people who wanted education the upper edge when looking for a job. However streets would also be filled with crime because kids who got no moral education would be causing havoc if they see no problem in it. However if this ought to happened then the governement could apply more money to other areas such as security or medical research. Another fucntion of education is that it keeps he average education level high and also prepares youngsters for the future life. Without school students would be unprepared when they are released into the real world and on top of that they will have a hard time getting a job since they have no education. School should remain mandatory to save teacher's job and maintain kids off the streets.

journal #18

18. If you could choose two things to change about our high school campus, what would they be and why?

One thing i would definetely change the bell schedule. Block schedule is too lengthy and can affect one's eductation for a couple reasons. The schedule before this one was much better because we did not have to sit in one close for 2-3 hours. I do not know about you but it is difficult for me to stay awake in math let  alone 3 hours. They should change it back to the 1 hour classes and all classes every school day. If they did that then students would pay more attention to thier classes instead of getting bored after the first hour. Tje second thing i would change would be the cafeteria food. The cafeteria food looks disgusting and we need food other than food that comes from a box or can. The pizza i believe is delivered every day but the rest are trays you microwave to reheat it. We deserve bette food if we are paying 2.25 per meal. I can get a slice of pizza from costco that costs less and tastes 10 times better. A lot of times the pizza is burnt and dry the least they can do is give us the crappy food right. The sides also like likeable taste such as baked products, i know they have little calories but they still taste horrible. The only thing that looks decent is the salad and even that comes in a plastic bowl that is mass produced.

journal # 17

17. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.

Well a local issue that has risen in the recent months is the tijuana estuary. After going to the Tijuana Estuary clen up event i realized all the harm we are causing to our enviroment. This i never saw as a real issue until i saw the amount of trash and when i was told where all that trash goes when it rains made it even more important. An international concern that leads to a personal issue is the excesive use of water. The world has reached 7 billion in population and hat means that more people will need water and sooner or later it will run out. If this happens then of course it will affect us personally because water will be shorted and services that require water would be a restricted.

Journal # 16

16. Explain a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dillema you have faced and its impact on you

journal # 15

15. What is the most valuable contribution you could make to a college campus? Explain.
I belielve that what the most valuable contribution you can make to a college campus is the simple gift of money. I chose money because some people fail to uderstand what some colleges campus and who will know more than the college itself. I thik of a contribution towards a  specific subject or aspect of the university can be seen as a selfish act viewed by others so i think that money is the best contribution. The college would decide where the money would go. I would think the college would fund what needs most work. Money also seems like a fair contribution as it is unbiased when viewed by other students however what the college does with that money may cause problems. Unless of course the college distruputes evenly among all subjects.

journal #14

14. Please describe your reactions/ideas to the following quote: "He does not possess wealth, it possesses him."

I actually agree with this statement because the reason why we are taking AP/IB is to get in a better university and the reason why we want to go into a better university is to get a better education and the reason why we want a better eduction is to get a better job ultimately resulting in more money. So money controls most of our actions towards eductation. However some people will do anything to get as much money as possible. I see America as a giant rat race for more money where friendships can be destroyed by money. A perfect example would be when a person has to move to a different city due to his job moving in that case his job possesses him but what are jobs for? My reaction towards this quote is that is very accurate but unfortunate that this does not only apply to greedy, money-hungry people but even to students.

13. Write a letter to your future college roommate introducing yourself and your background.
Hello there my name is Lucio Cabanas and it has come to my attention that you will be my future roommate at Harvard University. I would like to tell you about myself a bit. I am a mexican who happened to be born in America and i am bilingual . I speak both spanish and english fluently with a tiny accent when i talk english. I do not look mexican so do not expect to see any mexican stereotype. I come from right across the border, Tijuana, but never actually lived there long only for 5 years. However i still visit Tijuana very frequently because most of my family lives in t.j. I went to I graduated from Castle Park High School in 2013. My school had the IB program and i decided to take the challenge and try to get the IB diploma and i succeded. My school was very interesting, the ethnic diversity was mostly taken up by Hispanics. About my personality i am not an aggresive person but i have to get to know you more to trust you so i will keeping an eye out. I like to argue but i do not like to fight unless extremely neccesary so in other words i like to solve problems with words. I would also like my personal space and i do ask to leave me alone when i say i do not want to be disturbed. Once i get to know you i will have that "mi case es tu casa" kind of feeling. I am looking foward rooming with you. See you in a couple weeks.

12. Your life is a movie. Describe the first 15 minutes

My story begins in a small apartment in Tijuana, everting seems so vague but i can remember that we were a family trying to get to the other side for a better life. Everyday was the same i would wake up and my mom would leave me with my grandma who lives around the corner. The only kids i knew was my brother and my cousin but they went to private school and i stayed with my grandma.  Then one day when me and my brother were watching t.v my dad walks in and say "i have good news." He had our passports as well as my parents passports. I did not realize until years later but what mattered was my parents passport not ours because we were born in the U.S and parents were borned in Tijuana and we not citizens. I do not remember the exact day we moved but i do remember the shock i was in when i saw the difference between Tijuana and Chula Vista. We saw many houses but i think my dad chose the house we did because he wanted a challenge. We chose the worsot of them all the exterior of the house looked and still looks crappy and when we settled the interior reseambles the exterior but my dad wanted to remodel it. I loved the backyard it had a tree that i used to climb with my brother but in less than a month after we settled my dad started remodeling. He started by cutting the tree down to constuct a "garage" but not for cars but more like a second living room. Since then this house has been under constant contstruction and is yet to be finished.

11. Ask and answer the one important question that a university won't ask you, but you wish they would.

journal #10

10. What is the best advice you've ever received? Explain

The best advice i have ever gotten was from my uncle and it was "este es tiempo de familia disfrutalo por que la familia no es para siempre."What this means is that you should spend time with your fanilybecause family does not last forever .I remember i was 10 years old and i was inside watching t.v. and my uncle comes in and tells me this. I was annoyed and ignored him but i regret my actions from the bottom of my heart because how ironic that he died 2 weeks after. He died due to a hit and run accident,seing him in the hospital made me realize that what he said was the best advice anyone has ever given me. I wish i could go back in time and spend time with him. I was in shock when i heard the news because it made me regret my actions on the day. From that day i decided to spend time with my family whenever possible. As sadistic as it ounds i also was a bit hysterical because my uncle managed to prove his point so quickly and efficiently. I hate to admit it but if my uncle would have not died then i would've forgotten that advice and would have not have this remorse everytime i see his picture but the fact that he did made me realize the honesty in the advice. Today i think of that advice everytime i am wiht family think the worst possible outcome if I do not spend time with them. I want to spend as much time possible with them or they can suffer the same outcome as my uncle and again i would feel a feeling of remorse due to the lack of attention i gave him or her. R.I.P Ernesto Meza

journal #9

9. Given the authority to establish a holiday, what would you choose to commemorate? Why? What would the celebration look like?


Well this is a holiday that many would also like to establish but i think that 9/11 should be a holiday. This holiday would obvisouly be on september 11 to honor those died on this wicked day. A minute of silence should be given as the time the second tower collapsed. A speech should be given at ground zero to honor the families that lost their loved ones. School would be suspended for the day and all stores would be closed to honor the tragic event. However is it possible that anti-arab feeling arise because some people are subject to generalizations and fail to uderstand that the criminal group Al-queda was responsible. This should be talked about in the speech that this holiday is to strictly remeber the dead and what happened not who caused this event or who we should blame. This holiday should not be a celebreation but more a day to mourne. At night residents of New York will gather at ground zero with candles and honor the dead. However prayers will not be said due to the recent dilema about the cross at ground zero.

Journal #8

8. If you were to describe yourself using a quotation, what would that quotation be? After you have chosen a quote, then write a bit about how it relates to you and reveals what kind of person you are.

By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise.

-Adolf Hitler

   manEven though this was said by a notorious villian is still has some truth in it and kind of reseambles what i want to do. I see this quote as the manipulation of the human mind to make them believe what you want them believe, and that was what hitler accomplished. Now i want to do that but as a business man with my own business. I want to input tha idea that to make people believe that whatever im selling is better than aby other store. Propaganda would be commercials and posters and i believe that is the main reason business fail or succeed. Although it seems cynical to manipulate the human mind to your liking, i believe is the only way I can be succesful in this world filled with competition. This is what would seperate me from the rest of the competition.