I can't wait! or maybe not...

This week was a rough week for me.

Cheerleading season is over, but some reason, I feel busier than ever.

I've had multiple tests this week and on top of that I had to write several research reports for BEIMUN.

Well, so BEIMUN is in a couple weeks. Three weeks I think. And honestly, I'm a little stressed about it. I'm not sure if I will do well there, and the amount of preparation I've had to do was overwhelming! I also have the pressure of being the delegate of the United States of America. That means I have to work extra hard preparing and also have to be very active in the conference.

Right now, I'm not sure if I will be able to do what I've been expected to do.

But, I'll trust myself for now and try my best. I'll believe that I'll do well at the conference. I hope I really do.

BEIMUN. Digital image. Beimun.net. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. .

What can I do??

WARNING: I am very sorry, but this post is rather long, unlike what I had promised. In fact, it is my longest one yet. It's a recollection of one of my experiences in elementary school.

I just finished reading an article in Times about the debunking of Dr. Wakefield’s study about the correlation between vaccines and autism. Apparently, in 1998, in the British medical journal the Lancet, Wakefield suggested that exposure to the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine were somehow linked to autism in children. However, the very magazine in which the study was published in recently renounced the study, stating that some parts of it are incorrect.

Anyways, I’ll stop talking about boring facts that was on a magazine. What made this article stand out to me was that it reminded me of my past classmates with autism. It doesn’t really relate to the vaccine part, but it reminded me of them for some reason.

Back when I attended a Korean elementary school, I encountered an autistic classmate. However, my classmates, rather than caring for the autistic classmate, teased him and even swore to him “Hey, stupid! Come here and do this for me or you’ll pay! Why are you so slow and weird looking?” they’d shout. Sometimes, when the teacher wasn’t looking they’d even pull on the student’s hair and hit him.The student would almost never realize that the classmates were teasing him, and when he did realize that and gave little cries of protest, the classmates ignored him and continued bullying him. But what was even worse was that even though teachers had a vague idea of what was going in the classroom, they made almost no effort to fix it. They merely scolded the children and took no real action to help the autistic child.

I was always the quiet girl and didn’t do anything to help the poor classmate even though I knew that what my classmates were doing was wro

ng. I was just sitting nearby, keeping my mouth shut. Then I went to America. I met an autistic classmate there in my third grade class. In fact, he was more autistic than the child I had met in Korea. He was in a wheelchair and had difficulty speaking. But I saw MAJOR differences in how he was treated. First, there were numerous programs that helped him adapt in school. He even had his own personal teacher/counselor who helped him throughout his school day. And the students treated him much differently than how the Korean students treated an autistic classmate. They always put him in front of the line and gladly helped him. No teasing or swearing here.

Then when I came to Korea and returned to my old Korean elementary school, I saw him again-the autistic classmate. He was in a different class though. But in my own Korean school 6th grade class, there was another autistic student. I thought that with other students now being six graders and more mature, the students would not bully him and rather help him as American students would do. I was wrong. Not only did they tease and curse at him, there were also rumors that some boys had taken the autistic classmate to th

e “back alley.” Of course, there were some other students who attempted to help the autistic classmate, but they were in fe

w in number and not very powerful.

I was extremely shocked at what I saw in my six grade class. These sixth grade Korean students were not capable of doing something that

even third graders in America could do.

After I came to my current school KIS, I forgot about this issue for a while until a couple months ago. While I was web surfing, I came across an organization called the Sparkle Effect (http://www.thesparkleeffect.org/) It’s basically a program started by high schoolers which helps autistic children fit in with their peers through cheerleading.

When I read about this program, I got a sudden urge to start my own program to help autistic children in Korea. I remembered what I had seen i

n my Korean elementary school and saw that help is necessary, especially because Korea is a country that tends to ignore minorities. I’ve already talked to a friend to see if she was interested in starting a small program with me. Right now, we are just tossing some ideas around about what can do. So far we’ve come up with mentor programs, choral/drama programs, in-school programs....... Ahhhh! I’m not sure about what we should do!!! But I definitely know that I want this program started as soon as possible. Our goal is to launch the program by the start of our sophomore year. I know that it’s going to be hard to start a s

uccessful program... But it’s worth a try right?

WOW THIS POST IS LOOOONG!

A video about the Sparkle Effect

Autism Awareness. Digital image. The Stem Cell Blog. David Granovsky, 8 June 2009. Web. 20 Feb. 2010. .

Hmm...

I've just noticed that my posts tend to be EXTREMELY long.

I just have so much things to say for some reason...

Oh well, I'll try to keep my other ones short.

I guess...

Things happen in life, and many of those things are inevitable and unexpected. And I guess what happened yesterday and today was one of those things.

Yesterday, I had a quiz in my Algebra II class. It started out as a normal quiz: one page, four questions, worth 10 points. Math is one of the subjects that I worry least about, so I remained pretty calm. We had two parts on our quiz: a part where we weren’t allowed to use the calculator, and a part where we were allowed to. The quiz went pretty well. In fact, it was quite easy. I was the first person to hand it in, and I sat down at my desk fiddling with my TI-84 to check my answers. Then a fellow student came up to me and asked if he could borrow my calculator for his calculator portion of the quiz. I gladly said yes, pressed clear, and lent him my calculator. Now THAT was a big mistake, but I didn’t know that at the moment.

I stared blankly into space as I waited for other students to finish their quiz. Then I noticed that my math teacher was talking to the student I had lent my calculator to. Apparently, we were not allowed to share materials in class, and we had violated that rule with my calculator. He called our actions a “grievous mistake,” and for a moment, I wasn’t sure of what I had done wrong. I didn’t share any answers with the other student; I just handed him my calculator when he asked for it. Moreover, I didn’t know that we weren’t allowed to share materials in class. I later realized that I had acted without much thought: we had violated one of the most vital rules in class of not talking during a quiz, and I had been careless when I handed my fellow student the calculator without thinking of the possible doubts my actions would bring about and the consequences. But at the moment, I felt rather... angry, should I say? I wasn’t aware that we weren’t allowed to share materials, and I was just trying to help a friend out by lending him my calculator when he asked for it and suddenly I was considered a rule breaker and cheater. My math teacher called me outside and told me that nothing negative will happen to me because he trusts me and thinks that I made an honest mistake. Still, I didn’t feel that good when I left the class. And today, I got my quiz back. I did well on it, but my teacher had taken off a point for yesterday’s calculator’s incident. By that time, the anger inside me had died out and there was a new feeling of realization, so I accepted my point deduction without a word. I knew that I had done something wrong. But I hope he’s not mad at me because of the incident.

Speaking of quizzes, I... well... failed my English quiz... It was a pop quiz about the story we had read for homework. The story was rather difficult to understand, and I was nearly half asleep when I was reading it, especially at the ending. And I ended up not doing two questions that I knew the answer to because I didn’t know that we had to do those two questions. Well, I guess it’s all my fault. I have no one to point my finger at. If only I had read the story with more care and listened carefully to directions, I would have done much better. But no time to dwell on the past. I guess I’ll do better next time. In fact I HAVE to. That quiz brought my grade down well....... quite a lot. I hope I can still get an A in the class.

I'm disappointed...

Today’s Monday.... Again. Regardless of the numerous times I’ve experienced it, I’ve never gotten used to the encroaching sense of dread I get on Sunday nights. But on the other hand, there is always that excitement and wonder about what will be waiting for me on the breakfast table tomorrow:) I fell asleep yesterday night debating over what I should eat for breakfast. Donuts or yogurt and fruit? I fell asleep before I made my decision, and I woke up this morning to the sound of my dog Winkie wimpering for his breakfast. I woke up and gave Winkie his dog food and opened the fridge. Hmmm... I wonder how Winkie manages to eat that food... I’ve never tasted it, but it doesn’t smell very appetizing to me! Anyways, I decided to have some strawberry yogurt AND the pink heart donut I got yesterday from Dunkin Donuts. It’s my favorite donut at the shop because not only is it heart-shaped, but it also contains two fillings: custard and strawberry jam! I took a bite. Funny, there was no filling. I took another bite. No filling again. Not until I bit into the center of the donut did I taste the strawberry jam and custard. I took another bite, happy that I finally found the jam and custard. But then there was no more jam or custard!!!!!!! There was only a bite worth of filling in the whole donut! I felt like I’ve been scammed. I still feel that way. I’ve noticed recently that Dunkin Donuts in Korea tend to “conserve” their fillings. They put a teaspoon worth of filling inside a donut and call it a “filled” donut. I don’t see their purpose behind it. Even if they were saving some money by conserving their fillings, they would lose even more because of the loss of customers due to their frugal ways. Dunkin Donuts in America and Japan were different. They were generous with their fillings as all donut shops should be. This is my last straw. I’m never going to Dunkin Donuts again. At least not until they agree to put more filling in their donuts. Krispy Kreme has better donuts anyway. Winkie, Home. Personal photograph by author. 2010. Sweet Dual Heart. Digital image. Dunkindonuts.co.kr. Dunkindonuts.co.kr. Web. <http://www.dunkindonuts.co.kr/product/donuts.html>