Jake's Jungle

I’m confident I will be writing my narrative argument essay on the subject of children being charged with felonies. I feel a great relation to the subject and that I will be able to “paint the picture” vividly. If not for my personal experience, I wouldn’t have the same perspective or beliefs on the subject. Through my story, I would like to show that a child and their own adult self are two completely different people.

Growing up in a strict military family, physical punishment was the most common response to any unruly behavior. The punishment ranged from lashings of belts, shouting, P.T. (physical training,) or most commonly a combination of the three. Was it necessary? If you ask me, probably not. I kept making the same mistakes regardless of how many lashes I received or how many minutes were spent doing P.T. Being struck by my father made me very vengeful. After being sent to my room alone, my anger would manifest and I would sit in my own self-pity and anger. Not once have my parents tried to communicate the issue with me in a calm and understanding manner. It always seemed their solution stemmed out of anger or violence. This is why I believe physical punishment is unnecessary when it comes to discipline. It merely passes on the learned behavior of violence and that it is a solution for problems.

Depending on who you voted for, you might be very upset or pleased with the outcome of. The unfortunate part is, more than 50% of you were disappointed. Why is that? The reason being our wonder system of voting consists of the electoral college. So despite the majority of Americans voting for Hilary Clinton, Donald Trump won due to the nation’s “representatives.” I use that term loosely. Now of course, you control who you put into that Electoral College, but that’s just not enough. I believe the final say of who should be voted president should come from the people, not the government. With this argument, I will discuss my own experience of our flawed voting system. Not only do I oppose the Electoral College, but also the political party system. It divides and weakens the people while also giving more power to the government. Our founding fathers were strictly against political parties for just that purpose.

Think back to when you were a kid. Hanging out with your friends after school, having fun, and occasionally doing things that might get you yelled at by your parents. Remember that age where you were learning right from wrong, how life works, and how to react to the world around you. There is a lot to learn before and during the transition into adult life. When a child slips up and commits a felony, do they deserve the stigma of being labeled a felon for life? After all, they are just a child. Maybe they didn’t foresee the outcome of that certain event. That’s a part of growing up. Should they have to pay for one mistake they made at an early age for the rest of their lives? I do not believe so. Let me tell you my story of how I tallied up 3 felonies in one case by the age of 16 and it’s impact. The worst impact, in my opinion, is the fact this immature act prevented me from pursuing my dreams of become a Pararescueman in the Air Force.

Malcolm’s passion and dedication towards self-education is astonishing to say the least. Entering prison on a 10-year sentence, he was borderline illiterate. He spent numerous days copying the dictionary just to practice and improve his literacy. From there, he would spend up to 15 hours a day educating himself on current events and history of the white man’s impact on non-white civilization.

His self-education gave him the power to succeed. He used what he learned and applied that to become an accomplished black rights activist. Although he seemed to focus on the negatives, it’s rather noble to dedicate yourself to something like that. Also, taking advantage of his sentence only proves that with discipline and dedication, anything is achievable regardless of where you start.

Personally, this story holds significant sentimental value to me. It’s hard to let go of the pain of the past and put yourself in a position to succeed. Though hard, it is possible. The motivation must be intrinsic and dedication endless. Once you find a motivation, you must then sustain it, manage your time, and set personal goals. Keep it consistent, and you can strive to achieve any accomplishments set by yourself.

I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me is respect. Respect can make or break a perfect world. Imagine it: a world all the same, but with tolerance derived from respect. Respect does not mean adopting others’ opinions or perspective, but rather acknowledging and understanding their beliefs. For example, I am pro-choice. I believe the choice is up to the person carrying/parenting the child. If you disagree, I will tolerate your difference of opinion rather encourage you to be proud of what you believe in or what you stand for. Express your individualism, it’s what makes you, you! Take pride in yourself!

You get what you give. As the old saying goes, “Treat others how you want to be treated.” Without a doubt, respect is something we all desire and deserve.

R.I.P. Aretha Franklin. The Queen of Respect!

The keys to good writing consist of grammar, clarity, passion, and imagery. Emotionally, it should be passionate, authoritative, and exciting. On top of correctly writing a blog, it should come from someone who knows the subject and is enthusiastic about it.

Jake thinks his weakest assets for writing are his Grammar and Imagery. They go hand-in-hand, being clear and painting the picture is key to grabbing the readers attention. If you never pull the reader in, they will never take your writing into consideration.

Blogging is a creative way to get the thoughts flowing and the brain stimulated. It’s a time to show the world who you really are. Any internal desires or thoughts you would like to express can be easily done and available for the public.

There are numerous styles and unlimited topics to write about. There are little-to-no limitations except for your own imagination.

Let’s say, for example, our professor wants us to discuss global warming. Now the topic may or may not inspire you, but the fact you can dissect and select what part of global warming to discuss could be liberating. The topics range from prevention, credibility of the “theory,” what can be done, what lead us here, etc. If you think it, you can write it!

Why blog? Well, why not? There are no restrictions and you make the rules. Your blog derives straight from the brain. It’s your universe. Doesn’t everyone want to live in a world controlled by themselves?

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton