Current Connection #2

                THV.com does an article on stress levels for Americans, adults and teens.

          “…18-33- the millennial generation are plenty stressed, and it’s not letting up. 39% say their stress has increased in the past year. 52% say stress has kept them awake at night in the past month. And more than any other age group; they report being told by a health care provider that they have either depression or an anxiety disorder.” The average stress levels for 2012 for 18 years and older is 4.9. But for millennial, it is 5.4.

          Mike Hais of Arcadia, California explains how young people have a higher stress rate than older people. “it may be they are more willing to admit it. It may be a phase of life. They just don’t know where they’re going in life.”

          “Overall, the survey finds that 20% of Americans report extreme stress, which is an 8, 9, or 10 on the stress scale.” 1 being little to no stress, 10 being the most stress ever.

          My connection to this is that I, too, can relate to stress. I have a lot of stress and it is something hard to deal with. There are also side effects that come with stress. With me, I get headaches. There are many other that could come along, I’m sure.

          Stress is hard but it can be reduced. Breathing exercises can always help, getting a massage, taking a nap, or even just laying in a quiet place and think alone.

Current Connection #1

     On THV.com they tell the story of 24-year-old Clayton Otwell who was killed yesterday from using synthetic drugs.

“The chemicals in Otwell’s body sent him into seizures, and he never regained consciousness.” Stated THV.com Bill Bryant of the Arkansas Drug Enforcement Administration explains the dangers of buying illegal drugs on the streets. “You don’t know where this drug comes from or who put it together. Do they have the right chemical degree?” I, myself, don’t exactly know anything about drugs, but I’m assuming the drugs Clayton Otwell took did not have the right chemicals in them and his seizures are a result of that.

Dr. Joseph Lasky at Tulane University Hospital also puts major stress on how risky, dangerous, and unpredictable these types of drugs are. “There’s no predicting the effect or the magnitude of the effect that this drug is going to have.”Explains Lasky. “That makes it particularly dangerous.”
Tim Brown explains a drug “Molly” that is similar to the one Otwell used. “Nationally, Molly gets quite a bit of publicity, but Bryant said more cases of manmade drugs have surfaced in the southern region.” THV.com informs.

My connection to the world is this isn’t the first story I’ve heard about these drugs.

This can be prevented! Maybe if more people know how dangerous these drugs actually are, people will come to their senses and realize that using these are not safe.

Book Review- Twenty Boy Summer

Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer brings out all of the emotions inside. It makes you laugh, cry, and it even made me angry at times but I have to admit, I absolutely could not put this book down once I started reading it.

If I had to choose only one word to describe the theme to this book, it would have to be confusion. Not that the book itself is confusing, just that the situations all of the characters are put into are very hard to make any decisions about. A life lesson this theme gave me was that life is hard. It does not matter who you are, how much money you have, or how famous you are. Everyone will always be faced with day- to- day situations where you have to make tough decisions. Some are harder than others and some will affect your life as you know it. You just have to do what you think is the right thing, have faith, and hope for the best.

This book is about three best friends, Anna, Frankie, and Matt. Anna and Matt are in love. Frankie and Matt are brother and sister. Their all three basically joined at the hip until Matt was killed in a horrific car accident. While he was alive, he made Anna promise not to tell her best friend Frankie about them so that he could tell his little sister on their yearly family vacation. But he was not given enough time before the car accident happened. So Anna is left with many, many life alternating decisions to make. Should she brake her promise to Matt and tell Frankie? Or should she keep and major secret from her best friend as their both going threw this ruff time together? What does she do?

A year after the accident, vacation time came around and Frankie's parents invited Anna to go along. Frankie likes the idea but wants to make a game out of it. Since she is still grieving, Anna agrees. They have to talk to at least twenty boys before the vacation time is up.

Read this book set in Zanzibar Bay where Anna will attempt to go along with a little game that Frankie plays. See if Anna is strong enough to keep her secret about Matt from Frankie and a secret about a newly developed crush from Matt.