Nature vs. Nurture: Our Moral Compass

                        Nature or nurture? This question is the basis of a debate about whether you or born who you are or if you are made that way. I believe you develop your morals and ethics with a combination of both. If you want to learn an instrument, start early. This is a common suggestion with varying degrees of scientific evidence behind it. When you’re younger your brain is still developing, so it is the most opportune time to start learning an instrument. Why not apply the same logic to morals?

Children aren't born with prejudices. They find their beliefs through the people and environment around them. Some people grow up to be racist and some people grow up to be activists and win Nobel Prizes. I believe it’s extremely important for a child to learn to accept people from an early age. My family’s neighbors and close friends when I was younger were a lesbian married  couple. I went to their wedding and didn’t question it for a second. To me, they weren’t a groundbreaking progressive couple and they weren’t two sinners destined for hell.  They were just Patty and Jen who lived in the condo next to us with their boisterous dog Girshwin. They moved away and we moved away, but I never forgot them. I got older and I learned about LGBTQ rights and understood more about some of the struggles they may have gone through. Being friends with them at such a young age was crucial to the way I think about acceptance and how I treat people. Another way I was taught these values was through what I read and watched.

As a young child, I was immersed in the storytelling of books and movies. I loved every word of the worn out pages in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series that was once my brother’s, and I devoured every Harry Potter book as soon as I could Harry Potter is hugely influential to my generation, as the books came out in the 90s and the movies came out in the 2000s. The books deal with themes like discrimination, being an outcast, and finding where you belong. Harry’s Muggle family, the Dursleys, hated the magical side of him and worked to suppress it. He was neglected growing up and punished for expressing who he truly is. This is experience, minus the magic, is very real for many people.  I also watched films like Happy Feet, which had strong environmental messages but were centered around progress and leaving behind old ideas and traditions that hold us back. These stories all made me who I am today.

Your childhood is vital to the way you think and make decisions, both logical and moral. I am who I am because of all the stories I've heard. These stories, whether they're from a book, movie, or the Museum of Tolerance all made me think about the world in a different way. It wasn't a single moment that changed me, but a long process. I am forever improving my ethical standpoint and trying to be the best person I can be, but I need a little help along the way.

Witness to Tolerance

This really happened. These events occurred in real life and affected real people. This fact is difficult to wrap your head around when you’re an 8th grader learning about the most famous genocide in recent history; the Holocaust. We recently toured the Museum of Tolerance, which is a museum designed to educate people about this horrific tragedy. The experience is nothing like learning about it in a sheltered classroom, where the bell rings and breaks you out of their world and back into yours. The Museum of Tolerance put you in the shoes of the millions of Jews who were forced from their homes and murdered. This 3 hour experience of our tour guide’s raspy but powerful voice describing the worst acts of humanity, simulated gas chambers, and the chilling words of Adolf Hitler and his followers being read out over loudspeakers will make you come out a different person than you were before you entered. The museum excels at bringing out your empathy. Their terror becomes your terror,  and their suffering becomes your suffering. The sensory experience made you forget about the honking of LA traffic outside and put you in 1940s Germany. TVs lined the walls, displaying photographs of mass graves piled with dead bodies while recordings played of laughing Nazi generals telling their compatriots to finish their drinks. Our tour guide brought us to a model of the gates of hell and beyond. Many of us cried for them and their pain, but some felt detached because they didn’t want to think about all the innocent men, women, and children who were murdered with no remorse. They lived and died in the past. We can’t change what happened to them, so what are we supposed to do to help them? This question has been asked many times, and our guide gave us an answer. We have a responsibility to make sure everyone remembers the horrors of the Holocaust so it may never happen again.

A Poem From a Union Soldier's Boots

I am leather, soft and worn out from use

I have seen horrors and I have seen victory

I have trudged on through mud

I have splashed through creeks running red with blood from the fallen

“War is hell”, someone said

Then I guess I’ve been to hell and back

You’ve never seen things like I’ve seen

You’ve never been where I been

I have stood upon many battlegrounds

Grounds soaked with the blood of human beings

I have been cleaned more times than I can count

Cleaned of dirt, mud, blood, and tears

I have seen too many tears streaming down faces as young as 16

Pray, children, pray you will never see those people or be those people

I have walked through tragedy.

Dear Mr. President

Dear President Taylor,
I understand your need to conquer the land. You think the world is for your taking, and you think people are too. I am a slave and I think this country is strong and beautiful, but extremely hypocritical. You speak of freedom from tyranny, yet you keep humans as property. I understand abolishing slavery in the East may take time, and I'm willing to accept that. However, we have the chance to create new free states in the West. We have the opportunity to make states that have never known the horror of slavery. The Compromise of 1850 is not enough. I'm glad they are free states, but they will never truly be so until the Compromise changed. When a slave escapes to a free state, that should mean they are immediately free. Please consider the children ripped from their mothers and sold off like objects, going on to be mistreated and sometimes killed. The West could be a safe haven for people like them, and people like me. Please consider preventing slavery from spreading West.

Best Regards,

Emily R.

The Red Planet

We weren’t meant to live here. At least, that’s what some say. They say that our bodies weren’t designed to live on our home, the planet Mars. They say that it isn’t fate, that God or evolution or whichever higher powers you believe in intended us to only live on Earth. Those who inhabit the planet we have made our home think differently. We know that instead of physically evolving, the first humans to cross the stars instead evolved with their minds. It is because of their advanced technology that we can now walk freely without space suits, and breathe the air. Being cooped up in suits or oxygen containment units is distant history. The children born today can’t imagine life anywhere else and hardly believe that humans are originally from the blue dot, faraway in the sky. The story of the first people to travel through the stars is one that inspires us and makes people believe that anything is possible. The original star-travelers were a group of 5 brave souls who knew their planet was in trouble and stepped up to save it. Their captain was named Perseverance. She was chosen for her importance and leadership skills. Many people believe she was the most important member of her crew, but that was a highly debated topic. It was also a popular opinion that her right- hand man, Technology, was the most important. He was the one who made the trip possible, with his innovation building the means to get to the planet we were always meant to go. The rest of the crew are all crucial to the mission as well. Agriculture himself made life on Mars possible, and he single-handedly fertilized the soil on Mars which was thought to be impossible. Even though she didn’t have much experience, Compassion was vital to the mission, and no one would’ve survived without it. She helped the crew work together to solve problems and helped them realize that they were all important and they didn’t have to compete. The last crew member was named Curiosity. Nobody would’ve even dared go out into the stars without her. She drove everyone forward, and some argue she alone was responsible for the idea of going, the rest of the crew volunteering, and all the effort that was put into making the first steps towards what is now our home. They left Earth, and it is said they were lifted by the hand of God. God could only take them so far, because he had to watch over the rest of the people left on Earth. They were on their own, but Perseverance and Curiosity helped the rest through. They narrowly avoided asteroids and comets, and even the Sun threatened to end their journey. The biggest threat they faced was a stowaway named Fear. Fear tried to get them to turn back and tried to convince them that it wasn’t worth it and they were never going to get there. Fear was starting to get to some of the crew members’ heads, creeping in when they were weakest. Just as they became sure that they should turn around, they saw the red planet rise in front of them. It was everything they imagined, and it gave Perseverance her strength back. She banished Fear from the ship, and they continued to the planet. As you can see today, their colonization is now the great civilization that we live in. Although we lost contact with Earth over a century ago, we still believe that they are out there and they may come to us. We offer our  thanks the original 5 members every day for making our world a reality.

Martian Bill of Rights

If and when humans colonize Mars, there has to be a government. They need to protect the people and their rights. It seems inevitable that there will be issues within the colony regarding power and laws, due to past examples of colonizing new areas. There are certain inalienable rights that Martian colonists should retain. In my opinion, the rights should be the following:
1. Right to self-govern; in the future, when the colonies on Mars are stable and independent enough to have their own government and laws, they are immediately no longer a colony of the Earth and are their own government if they should so choose. This will happen without dispute from countries on Earth and have no negative consequences regarding relations to the countries and governments of Earth.
2. Freedom of speech, petition, press, religion, and assembly; taken from the US Constitution, this right should remain an important part of government on Mars because being able to voice your opinion is one of the most important freedoms a person can have.
3. Right to public education; anyone on Mars should have access to a high standard education to help make the future better for a Mars colony.
5. Freedom from inequality: every single person will have equal rights no matter their gender, race, and religion. They will be afforded the same opportunities and will be treated equally.
6. Right to form individual colonies: anyone on Mars may establish their own separate colony if they believe they can be independent
7. Right to a speedy and public trial: also included in the US Constitution, anyone arrested on Mars will receive a trial as soon as possible and anyone can access the information about the case.
8. Right to a fair portion of resources; everyone has a right to the resources possessed by the government for their needs.
9. Right to communication with Earth; everyone must be provided some way to communicate with Earth if they so choose.
10. Freedom from weaponry; no weaponry will be on Mars so they safety of all the citizens will be ensured.

The Sky is Not the Limit

When we say 'the world', we are always referring to the planet Earth. It is the only planet we as humans live on and it is the only world we have ever known. Many people go through life not even asking themselves if we could make another world. Recently, I have been asking myself that question. I believe the human soul yearns for adventure and exploration. I certainly do.

I come from a family who consistently supports my interests and helps me discover more. Having an older brother gives me a competitive edge because I have an example to which I constantly compare myself. I have been at Laguna Blanca since Kindergarten, which has helped me become an intelligent and well-rounded person. The small community and class size make it possible to work with the teacher individually and always feel like you have someone in your corner.  I have played sports since the age of 4, and it has very much improved my teamwork skills, which will be crucial during a mission to Mars. I show an aptitude for this adventure because I have a sense of how to keep a group together and I can problem solve while staying calm and collected.  I have always wanted to travel, and I have realized that I excel when put in unfamiliar situations and I find it exciting. I would very much appreciate being considered for this mission.