A Surrogate Family

Authors Note: When reading the novel The Bean Trees, I acquired much information about the debatable topic of what makes up a family. With the information and symbolism that was provided in this book I was able to choose opinion about this topic. Therefore in this essay, I worked on portraying my opinion towards this topic. 

One thing that our society struggles with is the question of what makes up a family. When our genetic family fails to be there for us another option is to form a surrogate family with people who will love us.  The protagonist, Taylor, sets out to start a fresh life and constructs a new family. Family is not determined by genetics but love.

One of the most fundamental qualities that a healthy family will provide is a sense of acceptance and belonging. Family allows you to be yourself and doesn’t force you to be someone that you’re not. Every child wants to belong , a  sense of want and that they aren’t a mistake on earth. In the novel, Mattie steps in as a surrogate mother. When Taylor had no place to stay, a broken down car, and a two year old girl that was dropped off in her hands, Mattie takes her in like a lost pup. She fixes her car, and gives her a place to stay. These actions of acceptance showed love and kindness to Taylor, a young woman she had never met before.

When one doesn’t feel accepted by another you never feel comforted by them either. So when someone cares about you they accept you as a person, therefore you have a higher chance of feeling safe when you’re with that individual. Another essential quality of cohesive family is for there to be comfort and safety. For someone to feel safe with their family means that they don’t change who they are. They aren’t afraid of being judged or criticized because their loved ones are supposed to be the people who make them feel safe and secure about who they are as a person. The protagonist, Taylor, was always dealing with stress from the government and fighting to keep Turtle by her side. It was tiring and a struggle for her but after coming home she was admittedly comforted by the ones she loved, they gave her a sense of peace and safety. Even though her day was hard she knew that when she was home everything would be fine because they were there. Safety of your home will always bring realness and comfort if you are surrounded by family that produces love.

When someone shows you genuine love and they provide advise you tend to be more accepting to the wisdom they provide. In life, people who share no interest in accepting you or making you feel safe will try to give you advise but most people will have a hard taking direction from that individual. Advice from loves ones are beneficial, they want to you succeed in life. They don’t try to change you as a person they strive to encourage you. A lot of the advice that was given to Taylor was from Lou Ann, Mattie, and Esteban. These three people became Taylor’s surrogate family as she struggled to take care of Turtle as well as herself. Esteban acted like a Christ figure in the novel when he would provided his advice through stories. His advice was not commanding or diminishing he portrayed love through his advice. Advice that is given with love is advice that people will receive.

A surrogate  family will never be formed without the essential qualities that make up love. Therefore why does genetics matter when it comes to who your family is. Well it doesn’t matter a lot of times people will grow up in an unhealthy family, later on in life they will meet people who will treat them more like family than their own mother and father. The characters from The Bean Trees are not blood related but they become a surrogate family. Characters with different kinds of baggage and backgrounds have one thing in common: they are family.

Bill of Rights Video

Human Interactions - Deforestation

Authors Note: In this science piece I really worked on incorporating human interactions, deforestation and soil erosion. I really enjoyed working on this paper because I learned so much about how actions of humans can effect any environment even if the action didn't take place there.

People impact ecosystems every day, whether it’s a positive involvement or a negative. Our population has a great effect on the earth’s environment. Deforestation is just one of the many ways humans are affecting the ecosystems, today. The impact of deforestation has not only affected the energy flow, it has changed the way that the ecosystem survives.

A fully flourishing forest can hold millions of wild animals, some not even discovered by man. Deforestation can take an abundance  of life that is contained in a forest and completely destroy all of the life. In that last fifty years, 17% of the Amazon forest vanished due to forest conversion for cattle ranching. "Every day, an estimated 100 plant and animal species are lost to deforestation.  A conservative estimate of the current extinction rate indicates that about 27,000 species a year are being lost," according to the National Wildlife Federation. All the small losses that occur because of deforestation start to add up and in the end much of wildlife is slipping from our hands.

When one aspect of the ecosystem changes everything else has to adjust. The loss of animals in forests due to deforestation has already effected the environment. The energy flow is  a cycle and when one element is decreased or increased the whole cycle is affected. Every biome has producers, consumers, decomposers, and inorganic materials.  Producers would be plants and trees. Your consumers would be the animals that eat the producers. Decomposers are animals that eat other dead animals. Like if a rabbit gets hit by a car decomposers are the bugs or insects that dissect that animal till the rest is left for the soil. The process of an animal decaying into the soil is creating an inorganic material.

Producers provide for the consumers, because the animals eat the food from producers. When the consumers die the decomposers are provided for when they eat what’s left of the consumers body. After the decomposers are done with the consumer’s body it will slowly but surely disintegrate in to the soil creating an inorganic material.  When deforestation occurs it affects the energy flow in a negative matter.

Cutting down trees reduces the number of producers; it lessens the amount of consumers. Decomposers are also affected because they have less dead animals to eat. This means that when there is less consumers disintegrating in the soil, our soil starts to lose its inorganic material resulting in soil erosion.

Soil erosion is a byproduct of deforestation and it is a major environmental issue in our country. Trees play the role of a blanket to America’s soil, they cover and protect soil. When there are no trees to protect the soil, it becomes damaged.                                            

When soil erodes it effects more than the ecosystems that it take place in. This is called a secondary effect. Once trees are cut down from a forest the roots are removed and so is the tightness of the soil. Roots of trees and vegetation keep the soil safe. When it rains the roots maintain the soil in one area. When the soil has nothing to keep the tightness runoff occurs. Runoff occurs when it rains very hard in an area where there is no trees or plantation but contains much soil. The sediment then runs off into near rivers, streams, and lakes will slowly shallow the bodies of water. This is a perfect example of a secondary effect to an ecosystem. Deforestation takes place in  forests but it can affect lakes, rivers, and streams. When you change one part of the ecosystem everything has to adjust and a lot of times not it a positive way.

Deforestation has swept the earth causing harm to many ecosystems. Global warming and
 pollution are heated and debatable topics but we need to fix our eyes on a crisis that surrounds us. Deforestation is a concern a lot of people are unaware of. We caused this issue to the environment so it’s our duty to repair the damage we created.

Revolutionary War

Authors Note: When I write I like to find the real meaning of the event, I like to take a deeper look into the situation and find the real reason we study it. To me this gives a purpose to writing about history, not just a bunch of dates and battle names all thrown in a paper. That is really what I worked on when I wrote my Revolutionary War Paper. 

The original thirteen colonies were always considered a part of England but as the colonies grew to be successful, strong, and more independent, they started to lean less on England and focused more on the thriving region of America. Major events provoked the development of freedom of the press, and lead America to having the courage to declare war against the strong nation of England.

Boston started to see themselves as a separate entity so when England raised taxes they didn’t think twice before not obeying the laws. On April 5, 1764, England Parliament passed the Sugar and Molasses Act. This act would soon affect the colonies economy causing the rum industry to have a total decline that would reduce trade with many countries. One year later, March 22, 1765 yet another act was about to be put into action in the colonies. This act was called the stamp act; it required the colonies to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used.

Some tax increases were discussed and agreed upon by the colonies representatives, but not for this act. If this taxation was allowed to pass without discussion among the representatives, the colonists knew that England would tax them even more. 

March 5, 1770 patriot protestors were protesting the occupation of the British soldiers that were sent to Boston to enforce taxation. British soldiers took stand and held loaded guns. Colonists reacted by throwing rocks and sticks, that hit Private Hugh Montgomery which caused Montgomery to shoot. Seconds later British soldiers shot their guns and when it ended 5 colonists had died. The Boston Massacre rallied the colonist.

Colonies started to prepare for any surprise attacks by the British. Farmers, blacksmiths, and citizens of all sorts from the colonies took precaution gathering guns and weapons to form a militia. British Solders occupied New York and were ordered to seize all guns from the forming militia. April 7, 1775, news spread during the night that the British were coming to Lexington to complete their task of seizing all guns from the militia. Paul Revere, a blacksmith and entrepreneur, heard the rumor of the traveling British. Paul Revere then rode his horse in the middle of the night to Lexington. Once he reached the town he warned the militia that the British were coming. When the British arrived to Lexington all colonists had vanished taking all weapons and gun powder with them.

In May 1773 England was upset at the colonies for not paying taxes, so they taxed tea. Tea was a staple for the colonies so England knew that they could do nothing but pay the taxes that were put in place, but England thought wrong. The colonists were so enraged with the tax prices on tea that they wanted to do more to disobey the law. On December 16^th, 1773 200 colonists disguised as Indians intruded on boats that were docked in Boston’s Harbor. Those boats carried a million dollars worth of tea. The colonists broke and threw overboard all of the tea that was found on the three ships. The next morning the damage was very noticeable and the news of the Boston Teas Party spread fast around the colonies. After England found out about the disaster that occurred in Boston they demanded that the harbor must be shut down in which caused many workers to be out of work.

Many times as Americans when we study U.S. history we suppose that the events that took place in the time period just happened because they did. We fail to realize that this is not the case. The Boston Tea Party for example was a deliberate scheme that was very well thought out. Colonists in Boston didn’t damage millions of dollars worth of tea just because they were mad at England. Hidden inside the terrible crime of the colonists is a strategy we fall short of noticing. The idea of war against England was debatable amongst all the colonies. The real reason of the Boston Tea Party was to bring awareness of England’s tax increases. The southern colonies didn’t want war. They were fine owning their land and slaves. By having a huge event that occurred news spread around the colonies. People started to second guess themselves about staying united with England.  The Boston Tea Party joined thirteen colonies into one nation.

Joining these very different and unique colonies was a challenge but with the method of writing and freedom of the press, news of the happenings in Boston could be shared. The need of Freedom of the press was very significant in the colonies. Unlike England, the colonists could publish their own opinions in a newspaper and deliver it to all of the colonies, in which they did. Famous writer and publisher Thomas Pain, was very involved in putting the spirit into the written word. In 1776 Paine published “Common Sense” a piece that openly asked for independence from Great Britain.

Reading was a major part of Colonial life ever since the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock. Colonists read articles in the newspaper like “Common Sense” all the time, so opinions of people were always being shared. In the colonial period freedom of the press was crucial to igniting the Revolutionary War. Without communication through newspaper and writing, the original thirteen colonies would have never joined into one nation and made a decision to break off from England.

When you dissect the Revolutionary War and look past the battles you’ll notice the events that occurred before the Revolutionary War were far more significant than we think. These were well calculated, intellectual plans that took place, and without them the history of America would not be the same. If America never declared war we would still be a part of the strong nation we know as England.

The Original Thirteen Colonies

Authors Note: When I first started to write this paper I was going to have a paragraph for each colony (Pretty Boring right). When I meet with Mr. Johnson and we talked I knew that my idea wasn't working out. I wanted you as a reader to get something more out of my paper than just facts and a boring write up about the colonies. That's when I really felt my writing mature, I went from writing paragraphs for each random topic in to learning and understanding history and how it affected and still effects our world today. I hope you realize the big impact the original thirteen colonies had on America. 

When you look at the American flag you notice the thirteen stripes that bear a resemblance to the original thirteen colonies. As Americans a lot of times we forget where our country began. Born into England, we strived for freedom ever since the original thirteen colonies were established. The original thirteen colonies were the foundation and the launch to America, making them a very important part of understanding our countries history.

The Northern most group of Colonies was a region called the New England Colony. This group of people came to America for freedom of religion. The first colony that came about in the northern region was Massachusetts. During colonial times the state we know as Maine was part of Massachusetts. In 1630 Massachusetts became a colony. The main city of Massachusetts was a very popular and well constructed area. The city was named Boston with its great natural harbor it provided a powerful trading route all the way back to the colonial period. New England colonies were being established including Rhode Island, Connecticut, and the latest colony New Hampshire. New Hampshire became a colony in 1638 only 8 years after Massachusetts. New Hampshire was well rounded; they were the first to have a constitution within a colony. The New England Colonies had their own idea of what the new country should look like. Their idea was all based on their religion. Most of the people living in the New England Colonies were puritans. Puritans believed that each individual is directly responsible to God. Before people came to America, Puritans broke off from the Church of England. When Puritans came to America they came to make their religion their own in a new country.

Between the New England and Southern Colonies there is yet another region named the Middle Colonies. The groups of people that traveled and settled to this area were ones that wanted a new government. A country reigned by freedom, not a king, this was the dream they wanted to make reality. Educated citizens where the ones they believed should be make the laws, not people who were rich and included in the aristocracy. Giving everyone a chance to have an accurate education was what the people that settle in the Middle colonies sought after. This region was later filled with leaders, we would we know as Washington and Jefferson. Both of these Presidents influenced the American culture making it what it is today. Presidents that grew up in the Middle Colonies stood for their ideal government and they fought for what they wanted in the new country. There’s no mistake that Virginia was a home to many great Presidents of the United States.

                                                                                                                       

With an abundances of land located throughout the Southern Colonies, the people who settled there took advantage of the resources that were provided. People who settled in the Southern Colonies wanted to create an aristocracy for themselves. In England the aristocracy was only for men and women associated to royalty, so when people came to areas we would know as Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, they wanted to create a new aristocracy based on the wealth of resources and slavery. Men and women of the Southern Colonies began to grow crops like cotton, tobacco, and rice using the labor of human slaves. Slavery was necessary to create the aristocracy in the Southern Colonies, because to have a wealthy community you have to have a lower class and this was how the Southern Colonies were run.

America’s identity and foundation is built around the original thirteen colonies. Who we are as citizens today closely resembles how people in the original thirteen colonies acted. America’s roots begin with 13 colonies. Our attitude and culture of America is based off the birth of our country. Everything that happened in history somehow connects to the thirteen different regions of colonies. The colonies lead us to where we are today, making us who are, and are helping us to better understand where our country came from.