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LAUGH OUT LOUD
KILLS YOU
S
MARYAM SHAH, 14
chools, education centers, or academies. No matter what you call these places, the health and environmental risks are all the same. All endanger human life. Those kept unaware of the risks can make a mistake, and potentially put another individual’s life in danger. And if, after you read this, you choose to continue your education, just remember: advance at your own risk and be aware of the consequences. You may currently be thinking, “You can’t possibly be serious”, but I assure you, school is equivalent to death. Ask yourself, dear reader, do your teachers not use paper? Do you not have thousands of pointless worksheets in your binder, still waiting to be acknowledged? Are these not the same teachers who preach environmentalism? The ones who count the number of trees killed everyday? You are risking your life every time you accept a worksheet from your teacher. The trees that are cut down increase carbon emissions in our atmosphere, which — need I remind you — contributes to global warming. This is because carbon traps heat within the atmosphere. More heat means global warming. Also, trees photosynthesize oxygen back into the atmosphere. Killing the trees will reduce our oxygen supply.
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Now, you can argue that your teachers put the worksheets up on a class website. But even the manufacturing of your technology can hurt the Earth. If we kill the environment, where will we live? Is this not what our teachers advised us against? Stress is something every high school student can relate to. We all remember the countless times our friends stood in the hallway before class joking about our stress and how we are “literally dying”. It turns out that stress, a result of the constant overdrive mode our brains are in, can actually kill you. Let that sink in. You read that correctly, the sad truth is that stress can kill. After careful research, I found out that under stress, the brain releases chemicals. These chemicals travel down to organs such as your stomach and heart, which keep you alive and fully functioning. These chemicals will make your heart pump at high rates which, at its worse, can result in heart failure, and ultimately death.
You might want to reconsider that school thing. Not convinced yet? Two words: inadequate sleep. School and the workload that comes with it can cause students to lose sleep. Loss of sleep can reduce productivity in school, where the problem initially started. Also, losing sleep and making up for it later can ruin sleep patterns, cause sleeping disorders, and generally affect your mood. An inadequate amount of sleep can also deprive your body of the rest it needs, which leads to overexhaustion, and in extreme cases, death.
School can clearly be equated with risks to our wellbeing, whether it be to the environment, or our personal health. No human should risk their lives for trivialities. As the saying goes, it is better to be safe than sorry.
OMAR MAHAMOUD, 17
E
ver heard of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie? Probably not. Do you hear about Edward Snowden much? Old news, B-O-R-I-N-G. How about the 30,000 people living without a home as you are reading this? Tragic. “Two things only the people anxiously desire — bread and circuses.” This is how the Roman Empire appeased the masses, with free food and grand spectacles, and as they say, ‘history repeats itself’. In the society we live in today, a concert by Beyoncé is more important than any serious issues happening to real people around the world. Kylie Jenner giving birth is more important than the 830 women that die during childbirth or pregnancy every day. Conveniently stopping by the nearest fast food restaurant is more important than the fact the nice juicy piece of chicken we are biting into probably lived in a space smaller than an iPad. Distract them with food and games, distract them from the world. Do not take me wrong, though, I am in no way saying that we are all horrible for caring about a celebrity’s life or for eating conveniently at a fast food restaurant, but I am saying that I am sick and tired of all these important issues being shrugged off. I am guilty of talking about entertainment, just as any person is; however, what I am tired of is the lack of awareness and the lack of caring. I am tired of the lack of discussion about issues such as
Indigenous living conditions or the ongoing refugee crisis happening worldwide. I am exhausted of pretending to care about Taylor Swift throwing shade at another celebrity when currently the Burmese government is throwing Rohingya babies in fire. And frankly, my heart has had enough of trying to get people to care, of trying to get people to engage in discussions of issues that transgress human rights, of issues that determine the future of the planet because if nothing else, these issues deserve recognition. There is nothing wrong with enjoying food, shows, movies, or sports — in fact, to be a human is to be entertained. However, that does not excuse our ignorance. Maybe we can read up on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who is a great author and an amazing speaker advocating for equality for everyone, regardless of race or gender. We should try to keep Edward Snowden’s name alive because the rights he fought for are still actively trying to be taken away from us. And we should research why people end up homeless because understanding how they ended up without homes in the first place creates opportunities to help. Do not forget to have fun, but do not forget the importance of always staying aware. [1] Gettleman, J. (2017, October 11). Rohingya Recount Atrocities: 'They Threw My Baby Into a Fire'. Retrieved April 07, 2018, from, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/world/asia/rohingya-myanm ar-atrocities.html
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