Many animals die because of the plastic we, humans are responsible for. Over 1 million animal deaths are reported each year. The government should ban single-use plastic because plastic creates pollution, increases the demand for plastic, and most importantly, harms the environment.

Firstly, a ban on plastic is needed to stop toxic air. Plastics pollute not only our clear blue skies but also the ocean. We are connected to the ocean, the ocean provides us the oxygen we breathe and the climate. 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered with the ocean’s water. We need a healthier ocean to survive. The OECD community stated, “More than three billion people rely on the ocean for their livelihoods, the vast majority in developing countries. Over 3 billion people worldwide rely on food from the ocean, as a significant source of animal protein.” If the ocean’s water is not clean, and the skies are polluted then humans and animals will not survive. 

Secondly, banning plastic will have a large positive economic impact, as the ban would decrease the demand for disposable plastic, and increase the demand for reusable plastic. By producing more sustainable alternatives, it can increase employment for the production of the alternative. Another negative economic impact is that many pieces of plastic are caught up on the streets, and even clog the drainage system, this could lead to causing severe flooding. Plastic bags are now amongst the top 12 items of debris most often found along coastlines. The result is that the government would spend more money and more time to solve this problem. 

Some people argue that the ban on plastic would be impossible since plastic is used very often in everyday life. They say plastic is efficient, durable, and lightweight. But, the lightweight material can be caught in trees, fences or it could even end up floating in the ocean. Studies show that in the middle of the ocean, there is 1.6 km of garbage- mostly plastic there. The reason for plastic to be efficient and durable is because there is a lot of toxic chemicals added to the material. Plastic is leaking that toxic chemical, harming not only our environment but also animals and even humans. 

Plastic is everywhere and it is killing the environment and ourselves. Plastic is being dumped into the ocean, and researchers found out that marine life has been mistaking plastic for food. ABC News reported that 35% of sea turtle deaths are caused by consuming plastic. Risking lives, our world just to use a material-efficient and durable is selfish of humans. If we make a move and ban plastic we can stop polluting the air, there would be a large positive economic impact, and most importantly, we can stop plastic severely harming the environment, the ocean, animals, humans, and our home-the Earth. Therefore, single-use plastic should be banned.

Happiness is about making the most of good times and managing the bad times too. It is said that success is the key to happiness, but research shows happiness could be the key to success. Happiness also brings great benefits for society, as research shows happy people have better overall health and are more likely to participate in public activities. In recent decades, one of the biggest social challenges is mental illness because society has become richer but not happier.  Happiness is what we want most for the people we love the most, it matters very much because it helps people live better lives and make society healthy and connected.

When I began my  middle school journey, I was most excited about having new friends and being in the middle school space. When I started middle school I was always afraid of getting lost in the hallways, but as I began to get used to middle school, I realized that it wasn’t really a problem, as long as you bring your computer and everything, you can easily know where to go. One highlight of my year was at camp Greenwoods, because even though I didn’t stay the night with my old friends, I got to spend the night with a new friend I didn’t really talk to before. Before eLearning, I was a little bored of school. E-learning helped me grow by realizing how people around me mean to me. I am most proud of myself for getting all my work at my best effort. If I could do sixth grade over again, I would be more thankful of school and spending time with my classmates and teachers. I really hope we can start regular school, soon!

This is my performance. I modified different music, and performed it using my violin.

The first part is the 5th Symphony composed by Beethoven, I chose this excerpt from the piece to be the beginning, because I wanted to represent the virus outbreak.

The second part is The Bee composed by Schubert, this excerpt from the piece represents the anxiety I felt about cases being reported faster and faster.

Then, comes a Chinese traditional piece, I played it because the piece itself tells a sad story, and this represents the deep sorrow I felt seeing so many people dying of the disease on the news.

Next, I played a piece that is also Chinese, the title means I love you China. I played the excerpt because I wanted to represent that there will be hope, and how heroic the Chinese doctors and nurses are. So many of them went to the front lines and bravely fought the disease.

Then, I played Heal the World by Michael Jackson; this song gives me the feeling of hope, and gratefulness. The first time I listened to Heal the World, the song made me reflect on what I am thankful for, and the importance of how China and the world needs to come together.   In the middle of the song, I also incorporated an excerpt of We Are the World by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, which further highlights how there will be hope for the future if we unite together to fight the virus.

The Harry Potter series is my favorite book series ever since I was in third grade. The first time I read it, it was just a fascinating fantasy novel filled with witches, wizards, flying broomsticks, fire-breathing dragons, trolls, goblins… Then, the depth of the story changed as I grew older and understood the deeper meaning of Harry Potter books and the characters inside the magical world.

In Harry Potter, there are so many lovable and memorable characters. After I read it the first time, I would think of the boy who lived and survived the Dark Lord, the young witch who was always the top of her class even though she was teased for having non-magical parents, the red-haired boy who was a loyal friend but was always annoyed with his siblings…Now, in my mind, I see characters that show their values throughout the books, characters that chose to sacrifice themselves at the end, and characters who make the choice between what is right and what is easy.

While rereading, I discovered that the Harry Potter series has a connection to World War II, because in the series, Voldemort (the villain in the story), encouraged strong racist beliefs, which was that people born in a magical family were better than non-magical people. This draws a parallel to Adolf Hitler’s beliefs- the Jewish should not be treated equal to Germans.

In the Harry Potter series, there are a lot of hidden meanings in the fantasy world, for example, in the third book, a creature called dementors suck up the happiness and souls of their victim, leaving them feeling cold and hollow on the inside.  I read an interview of JK Rowling and she said the dementors symbolizes depression and teaches us that even if life can be depressing, you have to learn to get through difficulties by remembering the positive memories and happy moments.

My whole family and I, all love the characters in Harry Potter. My favorite character is Hermione because she always helps others in need. For example, Hermione helped house elves by starting a society for the promotion of elfish welfare (S.P.E.W.), to promote rights for elves, Hermione was also often teased by her classmates because she was born in a non-magical family, but she proved to her classmates that wizards and witches born in a non-magical family, can be just as good as magical people.

The Harry Potter series is important to me, because the story really gave my family and I a chance to discuss as a family about the deeper meanings that J.K Rowling hid in the book. We talked about Adolf Hitler as Lord Voldemort, house elves that was based on slavery, and how Harry Potter survived Voldemort’s curse when he was a baby just because of his parent’s love… This fantasy story was the first story ever that made me think carefully about the characters and meanings in real life and made me think about my values and priorities in life.

Where I am from

I am from years of violin practice,

From splashing spluttering swimming,

From painted colors dancing across the art canvas.

I am from soft sweet mooncakes with my family,

From gazing at the full bright moon, as the moon smiled at me,

From gathering and celebrating the Chinese legend of Mid-Autumn festival.

I am from the enormous circular flat mirror always hanging on the plain grey wall,

From the musical sound of the doorbell ringing,

From my secret garden of fresh bright flowers that always smells like mint,

From my warm wooden treehouse,

From the elegant glorious piano that echoes around my house.

I am from the books of JK Rowling and Rick Riordon,

They brighten me,

And make a beautiful new world around me,

Their books come alive with magic.

I am from my grandma as warm as the sun,

From my encouraging playful grandpa,

From my mom’s cozy comfortable hugs that make me feel better,

From my dad as wise as a owl, always challenging me,

From my brother as cute as a teddy bear.

I am from ISB,

From the classroom of 6-1,

From the smooth shiny lockers outside the classroom,

From the equations of math,

From the piles of I am from poems,

From the vocabulary words of science,

From the characters of Chinese,

From the warm-ups of drama,

From the activities in PE.