Confessions of a Spunky/Paki/North American Teen

As of late, my fingers have been itching to type up a lengthy post, but my schedule simply will not allow for it. I miss my happy place— the magical realm in which my mind becomes immersed whilst I write.

This weekend, I intend to return to the pen and paper (figuratively speaking, of course, for my loyalty has veered toward the keyboard). I shall reunite with my imagination, and pour forth words upon words until my mind is exhausted and my heart content. 

         Writing is more of an art than it is a burdensome task. The ability to write with eloquence comes naturally to some, and to others, with a smaller library of vocabulary, much struggling is required before a decent essay, or perhaps a decent paragraph, can be written. I feel that if I continually focus on, edit, and pay careful attention to what I am writing, I can produce a satisfactory piece of work. However, if my mind is somewhere else, or if my unwilling self is obligated to write, I find myself suffering from what is widely referred to as “writer’s block”. Take now, for instance. Though I am choosing to type this, I see no importance in the creation of this pointless paragraph, and thus, neither appropriate vocabulary nor any gripping ideas are coming to me. 

         Oh good lord. I should be studying. 

           The other day, while I was perusing the contents of a digital album containing photos of my friends and I, a single thought frequented my mind: I look fat! A lengthy period of time was spent brooding over thighs I deemed too large and cheeks I considered too puffy. The extent of my misery grew to such a degree that I found myself shedding tears over the belief that I had gained weight during the past several months.

           Looking back, I feel utterly ashamed at my reaction to these photos, and the values (or lack, thereof) of which my reaction is a reflection. Millions of individuals throughout the planet are starving, homeless, and trapped in dangerous circumstances, and I have the nerve to sit on my comfortable bed, in my fairly large suburban home, surrounded by all the conveniences of the First World’s inhabitants, and complain about my weight? Indeed, I too have become a victim of a disgusting culture promoted by the society in which I live, in which one’s worth is determined by one’s weight. Although, perhaps “victim” is not the appropriate word to use, for I willingly chose to regard “fat” and “ugly” as one and the same, as I scrutinized myself in the photos. I pray that I will never again think in such a narrow-minded manner, for there is no reason, nor any logic, in judging an individual’s beauty based on a petty little thing like weight.

            The so-called “importance” of being thin isn’t something which has suddenly arisen in the past several years or so, but there has definitely been a rapid increase in the number of girls dying of anorexia each year. Who can this madness be blamed on? Is it the parents of young girls, who purchase them magazines in which already stick-thin figures are airbrushed to achieve allegedly “beautiful” photos in which they look terribly ill? Is it the television producers who allow six-foot twelve, brainless celebrities and their miniature dogs onto their talk shows? Is it the celebrities themselves? The fact is, this new skinny world isn’t the sole doing of any of these people; it exists because of all of them. Without realizing, we are all accepting the trend of being frightfully skinny, and we too (or most of us, at least) have come to the conclusion that this state of existence is the norm. Every deliberately thin girl has been inspired by a role model. Bony celebrities have attempted to follow in the footsteps of other bony celebrities. The television and movie industry thinks that placing these women in the limelight will do them good, and magazines follow the views of the media, of course. In turn, teenagers across the globe have taken to living according to the trends the world seems influenced by, and this entire loop is being less and less acknowledged for its extreme immorality.

            We have brought the world into the state in which it is now, the state in which innocent young girls are losing their confidence, and in some cases, their lives, over their examples; the growing population of human sticks which roam the earth with no goal, and only one “achievement”: the ability to fit into a size double zero (yes, there is a size double zero, with a triple, and most likely a quadruple zero on its way). Therefore, it is up to us to change the thinking of the influenced, and support the thinking of the open-minded. We, as a whole, must work together to fight this situation. As the saying goes, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, and we, the beholders, must accept and embrace the residents of our planet for who they are, and not for how much they weigh!

A serious piece about the implications of climate change

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            Global warming presents an ominous future for humanity, plants, and countless species spanning the world. Though occurring at a seemingly gradual rate, this steady increase in the earth’s atmospheric temperature will have a devastating impact upon future generations of residents on the planet, by means of fueling a wealth of natural disasters, causing plants and animals to fall behind in the race to adapt to their rapidly changing environment, and significantly reducing biodiversity on the planet.

           Prominent scientific organizations, including the European Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Global Network of Science Academies claim that the primary cause of climactic warming in recent decades has been an increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide.

           With its abundance of fossil fuels plants and factors, North America is the most significant contributor to the emission of greenhouse gases in the world. Thirty-three percent of North America’s greenhouse gas emissions can be traced to the continent ‘s 3 000 fossil fuel plants, which produce two thirds of continent’s electricity. Stoves, cars, and other items present in the daily lives of the typical North American are contributing to the greenhouse effect, through the emission of gases which absorb the sun’s infrared radiation, trapping heat and destroying the Earth’s ozone layer, the vital shield which protects the planet from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays.

           The wealth of evidence testifying the negative impact of global warming on the planet incited the establishment of the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty through which countries have agreed to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases provided that neighbouring nations do the same. Canada is among the top ten emitters of greenhouse gases in the world, yet, the Canadian government approaches the Protocol with an attitude of indifference. On numerous occasions, Stephen Harper has expressed his lack of interest in being part of the global movement towards reducing the disastrous worldwide impact of global warming. In a statement delivered in Vancouver, Harper denied the effectiveness of the Kyoto Protocol, claiming that “there [was] no environmental benefit [to Kyoto] of any kind.”

          As a member of a global community, it is the duty of the Canadian government to work alongside the governments of the United States and other large scale contributors of greenhouse gases to play a more significant role in the effort to reduce the worldwide impact of global warming. Unless governments and individuals direct their efforts towards reducing the factors by which human activity effects global warming, this once natural phenomenon will gain an unnatural speed which will disfigure the face of the planet, claiming the lives of thousands of species owing to the selfish behavior of a single species.