Swamped...Still!

Oh man, I am so swamped with school work right now! It was worse last week, but still, I think it's a lot...

Science isn't hard by any means. It's probably the class that I am understanding the most right now. The only times I ever really have homework in that class are for assignments that are due the next day. Webwork, worksheets, and notebooks are some of these things. We get a term project every term, but they are never hard. I have always gotten them done early and never really had to stress to much over them. That being said, science is one of my easier classes.

I think English is the class I am stressing the most over right now. It wouldn't be to bad if we had a bunch of assignments that were due the next day. I can handle those because there's really no way you can procrastinate on them. You just do them at night and it's over with. However, all the things I am stressing over in English right now are long term assignments. There's finishing A Tale of Two Cities (not to mention trying to understand it), studying for the word cells test, memorizing a passage from Romeo and Juliet, and keeping up with everything in Honors English. These things really shouldn't be that hard, but for me, being the procrastinator I am, they are pretty difficult to keep up with.

No problems in Seminary. Just nightly scripture reading, which I already do.

Math is interesting. I don't ever stress out about it, but it's one of my hardest classes. A lot of the stuff we're learning goes way over my head the first time I hear it, but I can usually understand the second or third time. Assignments take from a half hour to and hour most nights, so it's bad, but not to bad.

Geography is probably my favorite class. I switched into my favorite teacher at semester and I have really enjoyed it so far. Everyone was saying that it was a really hard class, but I don't find it that difficult. There are map tests, open-notes tests, and a whole lot of note taking. If you pay attention and study for a few minutes every night, it's a really easy A. So I have no complaints there.

Choir couldn't be easier. My friends and I switched out of band and into choir at semester and it was a really good choice. The band was terrible and I wasn't learning anything. I've always wanted to be better at singing, so choir is the right choice for that. I am actually learning stuff, and it's also an easy A. I really enjoy it.

Student Government isn't that bad. Some of the committee assignments are hard, but we usually get them done. There's nothing horrible that we can't handle. The only part I really don't like is going to every last one of the games. You can only miss two during the term, so you really do have to go to most of them. It kinda stinks on days when I have a ton of homework, but it's an excuse to hang out with friends.

Well, that's what's going on in my school life right now. I hope I didn't bore you too much. Until next time, I bid you all farewell!

The Biology of I am Legend

I am Legend portrayed many different aspects of biology. There was finding a cure for cancer, the effects viruses can have on humans, and, most importantly, genetic engineering. The movie starts with a scientist explaining how she has discovered a cure for cancer. She genetically engineered a measles strain to work for the body, instead of against it. It was trained to go through the body and kill only cancerous cells. It left normal cells as they were. The strain worked at first, but then it mutated into a lethal virus, killing off 90% of the world’s population. While this scenario is highly unlikely, genetically engineering is something that is happening today.

Scientists are working hard to cure diseases through genetic engineering. Currently, pregnant women can have their babies screened as a fetus for genetic diseases. If they do have a genetic disorder, all the parents can do is prepare to take care of the child. However, in the future scientists may be able to cure diseases with genetic engineering while the baby is still in its mother. This is just one thing scientists can do with genetic engineering. Genetic engineering has also been used for a growth hormone, a vaccine for hepatitis b, and to modify fruits and vegetables so that they are immune to some diseases. A lot of the stuff that you and I eat today has been genetically engineered. These are all things that genetic engineering can be good for, but, like with anything, there is a bad side of genetic engineering.

There are a few ethical problems with genetic engineering. Like in I am Legend, there is always the possibility that a genetically engineered disease could mutate and become a killer. Even though a disease can’t give people superhuman abilities, there is always the possibility of a global epidemic. In the 1300s, there was the Bubonic Plague that took about 200 million lives. In 1918, there was the Spanish flu that took about 40 million lives. It has happened in the past, and it could happen again in the future. One way to insure that there isn’t an epidemic caused by genetic engineering is to just stop genetically engineering diseases, even if they are for good. You never know how a virus is going to mutate by the time it is out in the public. The other way is to be prepared for the consequences. Before it is used, perform tests on it. Make sure that there is no possible way for it to go wrong. If there is, make sure that it is curable. Have the cure ready to go if it goes wrong. In my opinion, I think that genetic engineering is a good thing. I think that it should be continued, but that scientists should be prepared to handle it if something goes wrong.

(In case you're wondering why I wrote this, it was an assignment for biology, and I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone! I've been crazy busy this week, so I figured I'd take just one assignment off my back.)

Do you ever feel swamped?

Do you ever feel like you have just so much work that you can't handle it? You are staying up for nights finishing work for almost every class? That's about how I feel right now. Today I had to stay after school for the basketball game. I left at 4:30 and went straight to guitar. By the time I got back and had eaten, it was about 6 o'clock. Besides choosing a couple of pictures for a contest in the newspaper, I have been doing homework ever since. I started with my math assignment, which usually takes a long time. Today, however, it was relatively short. I had no complaints. After that I started on my bookwork for geography. All in all, I had to summarize about 8 or 9 different African subjects. That one was actually my fault, I could have been working on it earlier (since it was assigned two weeks ago), but being the procrastinator I am (and also because I have been bogged down with a ton over the last few weeks) I put it all off until tonight. So there went 2 hours. Next, I had to do 3 current events. There went another hour. So now, I decided I better check the discussion board and (as you can obviously see) write my blog for this week. I was expecting a relatively easy question this week, but I logged on and quickly discovered that it was another question about A Tale of Two Cities. I have to be to page 140. This was not at all what I was expecting, nor was it what I needed tonight. I'm on page 60 right now. I try to read during reading time, but I get way to distracted. Reading really isn't my strong point. The only time during the day I ever have time to read is from about 10:00 PM to 11:XX PM. I put the Xs there because that's just when I am to tired to keep my eyes open anymore. I've got to read 80 pages of a book that I am having an extremely difficult time understanding by Monday. I am really looking forward to Saturday and Sunday evening! I am going to have to read like a mad man if I am going to get these pages in. I guess it is good though. I really get behind on my reading. Last term, I had to read 300 pages a couple days before the term ended. This way, I get it all over now so I can stress over other things when the term is ending. And that brings me to right now. I still need to write a final draft of an essay and fit forty six more words into this blog. Well, as soon as I say my goodbyes, it will probably be enough. To those of you who continue to read my pointless dribble, I thank you dearly! To those of you who just skip over my blog, you are probably making the right choice. But you wouldn't know that, because you're not reading this. And with that, I bid you all adieu!