Hearing this story, a surge of inspiration is inevitable. It really shows how one person can make such a difference. I always found it amazing when large passions are carried over by sharing stories and experiences. Even by the spread of the word, you can inspire so many other people to make a change. And while it may be intimidating to start a new change, it really pays off when you can transform an entire community. And later on, these few people will continue to spread the message and will only grom from there. Like how Linet was able to share her story with President Obama.

Growing up, I knew it was a privilege to go to school. The opportunity was practically handed to me, and now going to college, it was expected of me to continue my education. In my 18 years of life, education has always been a constant. It was such a normal and expected idea that over time I lost my appreciation for it. Hearing about these kinds of experiences shows how important education is. Some girls risk so much and work so hard to have access to education. It puts my educational experience into a lot of perspectives.

As the second child, I never experienced this type of “forced” parental position. I know many of my friends who are the firstborn take on this position subconsciously. Especially when there is a large age gap between the siblings, the oldest will usually assume their position as a parent. I feel like it has become very normalized for siblings to be considered substitute parents. While the oldest sibling takes on a new challenge, I can only imagine how difficult it must be to balance everything. The lose a large chunk of their childhood too by taking on the responsibility of their siblings.

While it feels like common sense, I am still surprised I could have done this. Browning greens and rotten salad mix happens way too often in my house. Seeing damaged food, we have an instinct to throw it away. But, if you consider just going back to basics, we could have revived our greens. While we see our fresh produce turn different colors and change textures, we lose interest in them. We subconsciously view them as unedible or unworthy. If we were to just take a few extra steps, we could save so much fresh and healthy produce. Similar enough, expiration dates have controlled our eating for forever. These numbers have told us when we are allowed to eat something. When we go past that date, we instantly want to throw it away. But, if you taste it and deem it edible, don’t let those numbers let you purge food.

Recently, I have come to agree with this statement a lot more. In recent years, as we become more environmentally aware, teens tend to shame others for not putting enough effort into saving the planet. In the summer of 2019, there was a trend where everybody would buy reusable straws to “Save the Turtles”. It was a trend and movement on social media, and many people would be publicly shamed for not having these straws. I have come to realize that our planet is too far into being fully saved. But, I think that a lot of people have been making an effort. While we can never have a completely waste-free planet, we can try.

I really like this idea of repurposing damaged or unaesthetic foods. My sister is an environmental science engineer and loves learning different ways to be sustainable. One way we try to be more aware is to purposefully take unaesthetic foods. Whether it be dented cereal boxes or scuffed oranges, we know other consumers are less likely to buy those foods so we buy them. I also know salvaged grocery stores, shops that sell damaged or unwanted goods for a lower price, have become a lot more popular.

In any scenario of growth or change, it is inevitable to compare. While it is easy to view one country as “better” based on quantitative data, it is true that no country is perfect. I actually found the statement “ Switzerland has got to work to do.” funny. It is commonly known that Scandinavian countries rank at the top for many categories such as happiness, education, healthcare, etc. While it may be true that they are statistically the best, there is room for improvement amongst the entire world.

The phrase “basically asks three fundamental questions” makes it seem like the Social Index will include basic criteria to be a country. In the following sentences, the “basic” criteria becomes distant. While the fundamental questions sound like basic necessities for human life and prosperity, in some countries they are considered a luxury. When reading/listening to this paragraph, I asked myself if all of these criteria could be applied to my life. The majority of the criteria did check off and I recognized my privilege. It seems so easy to take these basics for granted, yet nobody should feel privileged to have these criteria. It should be a standard for all.

To bounce off of Gil_Budar_Danoff’s idea, I completely agree with the fact that the news and media have made it easier to change our views and portray the present as terrible. The phrase “Ignorance is Bliss” remains timeless. With seamless access to news across the world, it does feel like history is repeating. While it seems painful to hear such chaos and terror everyday, I think being aware is more important than our happiness. Social change is a tedious process that is incessant. But, if we want real change, awareness in the mass is the first step. Gender equality in Pakistan has no boundary. Racial tension in China is not limited to Chinese people, it is a human issue that all countries have dealt with. By learning and reading accurate news, you force yourself to feel sympathy and yearn for change from across the globe.

In scenarios where one is being educated, there is sometimes a hint of dominance and submission.

Parents (D), Child (S)

Teacher (D), Student (S)

Older Sibling (D), Younger Sibling (S)

Some instructors (not academic teachers specifically) use their dominance to highlight how they have the upper hand. Whether they are wiser, smarter, or older, they purposefully or subconsciously say, "I am better." In this online classroom, we are a community where teaching each other should not feed into a superiority complex. We are all in a similar situation and share the central goal of learning. We must use encouraging words instead of degrading ones. While this may prove challenging, we must teach each other instead of shaming one for their mistakes or misunderstandings.

"We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation. To respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal. We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome." -Pope Francis

https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/francis-chronicles/pope-s-quotes-golden-rule

Humans have been taught the idea of compassion since the beginning of humanity. Whether it be through religious, ethical, or spiritual traditions, we have learned to treat others how you would want to be treated. Labeled as the Golden Rule, compassion has been used by world leaders and religious figures to guide humans through periods of turmoil. In the quote above, Pope Francis highlights the importance of understanding and acceptance of refugees. He discusses how everyone has been in similar situations seeking safety and how we must place ourselves in each other's shoes (sympathize).

Even before reading the article, I know it will be about compassion and how we can implement it in the class. In a time filled with so much confusion and uncertainty, it is crucial we respect each other. This pandemic and online school have built a looming wall between peers, and it has become difficult to connect or learn of each other's life outside the classroom. While compassion can be shown in numerous ways to different people, this article will teach some basic rules/methods to show respect. These rules may seem rudimentary, but it has become easy to dissociate the names on computer screens from actual peers. This article is a nice refresher to a new semester.