ftyson – ENG 151.ON1 Spring 2017

Driving under the Influences.

Andrea Tice (CEO)

Jewel Bowlding (Learning Specialist)

George Lowe (Technical developer)

Faith Tyson (Lead Writer and editor)

http://www.storyboardthat.com/storyboards/geolowe3/driving-under-the-influence

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WGDQpT5hKUm2L0Zy24NQE1lLlZUSKGKt9wfvn2J-dz0/edit?ts=591458e8#slide=id.p

References (Jewel):

Taxman, Faye S., and Alex Piquero. “On preventing drunk driving recidivism: An examination of rehabilitation and punishment approaches.” Journal of Criminal Justice 26.2 (1998): 129-143. Accessed April 27, 2016

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047235297000755

1.Faye Taxman, and Alex Piquero. Taxman is a professor at University of Maryland Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology College Park. Piquero is a professor at Temple University of Criminal Justice Philadelphia.

They are strongly passionate about it.
I am sure I can find this information somewhere else. It Is general.
It seems pretty trustworthy because they are professors at big universities.
It deals with the subject heavy but I can’t read the whole book or article.
I’m not sure if any are cited because I cannot find the whole book. They aren’t too recent because it was in 1998.
Not considered bias because they are focusing on one topic.
March- April 1998

Taxman, Faye S., Matthew L. Perdoni, and Lana D. Harrison. “Drug treatment services for adult offenders: The state of the state.” Journal of substance abuse treatment 32.3 (2007): 239-254. Accessed April 27, 2016

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740547207000177

Faye S. Taxman, Matthew L. Perdoni, and Lana D.Harrison. Taxman Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University. Perdoni Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University. Harrison Center for Drug and Alcohol Studies, University of Delaware, Newark.
Passionate because they good give evidence.
The information is pretty originally to me because they give statics and used pass studies. Specific details.
This information seems pretty trustworthy because these people are high in and are collaborating together.
It deals with the subject first hand because they have good details to back it up.
They cite the TASC, ISPs, Etheridge, and etc. Having links and siting people make their information more reliable. They are complete and not that recent (April 2007) but it is still a good help.
I don’t consider this book bias.
It was published in 2007.

Peled, Sharon, et al. “Geometrically constrained two-tensor model for crossing tracts in DWI.” Magnetic resonance imaging 24.9 (2006): 1263-1270.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0730725X06002128

Sharon Peled, Ola Friman, Ferenc Jolesz, and Carl-Fredrik Westin. Peled Harvard Center For Neurodegeneration and Repair Boston. Friman Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Jolesz Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Westin Laboratory of Mathematics in Imaging Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Empathic. I say that because they give a lot of details and go in dept.
This information is original , I think I could find this information somewhere but this is more reliable. Specific details.
It is trustworthy because the people who wrote it.
The authors do a good job with the subject.
They use theories, I didn’t see too many references of people or other books or authors.
In my opinion I think they are too focused on one type of technology they could talk about different types of technology
It was published in 2006.

www.anderson-schuster.com/what-happens-when-you-are-pulled-over-for-driving-under-the-influence-dui-part-i/

References (Andrea) :

Wagenaar, A. C., P. M. O’Malley, and C. LaFond. “Lowered Legal Blood Alcohol Limits for Young Drivers: Effects on Drinking, Driving, and Driving-after-drinking Behaviors in 30 States.”American Journal of Public Health. U.S. National Library of Medicine, May 2001.

Web. 01 May 2017.

Wagenaar, O’Malley, and LaFond are all responsible for this source. All three of these people are professor in Sociology or of health outcomes.
The general attitude is sympathetic and considerate of the effects of drunk driving.
The information is an original and has been cited by people 124 times.
It is trustworthy because it was written by real professors and who are knowledgeable of the circumstances.
They completely deal with the subject.
This article has been used in books, in MedGen, and PubMed.
They focus on a problem and a solution and i feel as if they should focus on more than just a solution. More action and less talking.
This was published in 2001.

Dai, Jiang Peng, Jin Teng, Xiaole Bai, Zhaohui Shen, and Dong Xuan. “Mobile Phone Based Drunk Driving Detection.” Mobile Phone Based Drunk Driving Detection – IEEE Xplore Document. N.p., 7 June 2010. Web. 01 May 2017.

There are five people responsible for this source. Dai, Jiang Peng, Jin Teng, Xiaole Bai, Zhaohui Shen, and Dong Xuan. All except four are apart of the department of school of computer science and Zhaohui Shen is apart of the division of physical therapy.
The general attitude toward this idea is interested and supportive.
This is also very original and has be cited 42 other times.
It is proven trustworthy because of the people who wrote it and there are other articles related to this specific article.
They deal with the subject they are presented with.
This site contains links to other related sites that base their ideas on this topic. It adds authority because it is accurate information.
They are biased because they focus on technology (mobile phone apps) in preventing the increase of death rates due to drunk driving.
This was published June 2010.

Wattal, Sunil, and Brad N. Greenwood. “Fewer Drunk-driving Fatalities Nationwide.” PsycEXTRA Dataset 41 (2016): 1-3. Ride-sharing Apps Really Reduce Drunk Driving Fatalities. London School of Economics, 8 Dec. 2016. Web. 1 May 2017. <http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/74357/1/blogs.lse.ac.uk-Ride-sharing%20apps%20really%20reduce%20drunk%20driving%20fatalities.pdf>.

Sunil Wattal and Brad Greenwood are responsible for this source. They are both professor. Wattal is an associate professor of management information systems and Greenwood is an assistant professor of management information systems.
The general attitude towards this subject is passionate and aroused by how uber and lyft has helped those who are drunk.
This article is cited by other people and is used in other blogs.
Very trustworthy.
Deals with the subject completely.
This site relates to a recent blog.
This is biased because they show favoritism to lyft and uber.
This was published in December 2016.

References (Faith):

Daniel Eisenberg, professor at School of Public Health, University of California-Berkeley.
Informative.
General information that you can find anywhere if you google it.
Very trustworthy, cited by 76 articles.
Deals with organizations that try to prevent drunk driving, more than dealing with the aftermath of drunk driving.
The online article cites the statistical facts, this adds authority to the cite because it shows that the author of this article did not make up “facts”, and whatever he said can be found, and proven.
Does not talk about any other organizations but MADD.
March 4, 2013.

Eisenberg, D. (2003), Evaluating the effectiveness of policies related to drunk driving. J. Pol. Anal. Manage., 22: 249–274. doi:10.1002/pam.10116

Thomas K. Greenfield, PhD. Scientific Director; Senior Scientist. And John D. Rogers, is an attorney for John Foy & Associates.
Informative.
You can find the information of this article if you looked for the study/survey.
Very trustworthy, cited by 32 articles.
Talks about the information gained from the survey, the interaction between beer and alcohol consumption, and self reported drunkk driving.
Cited a survey from 1995 about people in an household who drinks.
Not really bias, just states statistical facts about people’s drinking patterns, beverage choices, and perceptions risk of drinking before driving.
May 3, 2002.

Greenfield, T. K. and Rogers, J. D. (1999), Alcoholic beverage choice, risk perception and self-reported drunk driving: effects of measurement on risk analysis. Addiction, 94: 1735–1743.

Christopher Carpenter, The University of Michigan School of Public Health
Does not really have a feeling, just explained the results of the study they used about drunk driving.
You can find this information if you looked up the drunk driving law.
Very trustworthy, cited by 58 articles.
Talks about the zero tolerance for drunk driving law,
It cites the behavioral risk factor surveliance system (BRFSS). Has drunk driving using data. As recent as 2001.
Biased when it comes to age group.
January, 2004.

Carpenter, C. (2004), How do zero tolerance drunk driving laws work? Journal of health Economics, Volume 23, Issue 1, January 2004, Pages 61–83.

Intro:

Every 53 minutes, one person dies from a drunk driving vehicle crash. That averages 28 people just in one day. In 2015, 10,265 people died in alcohol-impaired crashes, an increase of nearly 300 from the year before. This VR stimulation will take you on a journey behind the body of an intoxicated individual. This is intended for all audiences ages 13 and over. The purpose of this app is to create a sense of emotion and to decrease or altogether stop the effects of driving under the influence. This is a learning experience for those who do drink and for those who do not drink. This simulation will be designed using stages. The different stages will represent different levels of intoxication and the effects behind each one.

Learning Outcomes:

The user would have more knowledge about the laws of their state involving drunk driving. They will also learn their limit when it comes to drinking or even if you are drunk when should you stop accepting or taking drinks (enough is enough). The user will learn how many drinks it will take to get over the legal limit (Maryland Legal Limit 0.08%). The user would feel remorse or bad for drunk drivers because drunk driving can end up going left and they lose their life. They will know what it feels like to be drunk and driving if they never experienced it. For example in the state of Maryland, if you are drunk driving and pulled over you will be expected to take a variety of field sobriety test. These test are used to “examine whether your mental and physical abilities are impaired by alcohol” (Anderson & Schuster).

User Experience:

Within our VR realm we will be able to give the user a simulated feeling of the rise in their blood alcohol content and its effect on them behind the wheel. Each user will get to see how much alcohol it takes them to surpass the legal limit, then after drive a car. Each subject will get to see the DUI process first hand as a police officer will pull you over and run sobriety tests accordingly. The overall objective is to provoke empathy in the user, ultimately allowing them to make the better decision when a time like this arises in the real world.

User Interface:
Once you power up our VR program there will be a simple home screen displayed. From this page you can select the DUI simulation, the system will then analyze your body through a camera to develop the most accurate body reaction to the alcohol. You are then able to choose from a variety of drinks that are laid out in front of you. As you consume more and more the screen displays a number in the top right corner that corresponds with your BAC. Once the legal limit (.08) is surpassed you are directed to a car where you then see the alcohol’s effects on your decision making and reaction time. The road will display many hazard such as fallen trees, tight curves and sudden stop signs. Each user will have to react to these changes and at the end they will be pulled over by a police officer. The officer will then run a series of sobriety checks and ultimately put you in the back of a squad car, ending the simulation.

Commitment and Research:

There is an existing mobile app that detects sensory readings and compares these readings with an average drunk person. When the slightest evidence of drunk driving is present, the app will immediately notify the police or it will alert the driver. This program has been proven to promote high accuracy. I would add this idea into my VR because it could be used in a scenario whereas the driver disregards the alert from the app, gets pulled over, and so forth.

Implementation Strategy:

We would see what technology cost less and try to use that and just change it or advance it more. For example a DUI breathalyzer it would not have to be too expensive especially if you have to keep it in your car. Since people always have their phones with them maybe they should breath into the phone since breathalyzer are expensive. To reach out to people we would advertise with posters, talk with police and see if they can make that an option when they pull drunk drivers over. Also a MR diffusion tensor imaging of the brain and spine provides a unique tool for “both visualizing directionality and assessing intactness of white matter fiber tracts in vivo (Peled). This type of equipment would be very expensive so it would have to change the type of imaging equipment. The barrier with technology will always be the money situation or the people drunk driving who would not want to follow thru with what will help them for the better. For future purposes for drunk drivers it would be something like if you are at a bar without a DD you can’t have over a certain amount of drinks like 3 ½. Solutions to overcome these barriers are having more responsible people, have a class to help people but not a rehab class because some people have been to something like that and then will never go back. Maybe have something like a gathering where people tell if they have a problem with drinking or just to express their experience. To tell everyone about this new class we would implement it into Driver’s Ed classes and this could be another way for police to tell people too instead of rehab classes.

Long-Term Vision:

As for the long term vision, I am hoping that this will open the eyes of the younger audiences and change their perspectives on driving under the influence. I do not want this to be seen as an app that people use once and get rid of it just because they’re bored with it and complete all stages. Hopefully if this is used, more scenarios will be added every week, in other words, whoever downloads will have to update every week or have it automatically done.

Inside your purchase. Are you wasting your money? or No?

Most people do not buy their first phone on their own till about 16-21 years old. I bought my first Iphone when i was 16, i used all the money i got from my sweet 16 and gave it to my parents so they could get my phone for me. Before i decided to switch over to #teamIphone i did a lot of research because, a new an improved galaxy had just came out at the same time. I wanted to know which one was better. It basically just came down to camera quality for me. But while doing research they seemed very similar, from what the companies actually let us see. When i was comparing the two phones i thought to myself, what if they are the same exact phone and they just look different on the outside? but i did not care enough to keep digging i just wanted a new phone. Now that virtual reality has been introduced, I believe that we can use it to actually see what we are purchasing. In this case, an iphone. People work hard for their money, so i feel like they should know what exactly they are buying. With virtual reality we can actually get inside of an iphone and see what it is that you are paying for. We already know that phones are extremely expensive but maybe if we get inside and see what the phone is made up of and the systems that help it work, we will find out why. People do not really think about why iphones do not have a back or a battery like an android, I think about it all the time when my phone starts to act dumb and i can not do anything to fix it. With my virtual reality creation i will take you through the inside of an iphone. It will allow you to be able to pick, touch, and inspect any parts of the phone to see how it works and what it cost in order to be incorporated in the making of an iphone. It will allow you to be able understand how your phone works, and if it is any different from any other phones out there.

The Harmful Effects of Digital Media.

Wikimedia Commons. News Media Standards. Wikipedia. April 2016

Have you ever gotten distracted while reading online? You are not alone, a 2013 study showed that twenty-six percent of students said they were likely to multitask while reading in print, compared with eighty-five of percent of students reading on-screen (Niccoli “Paper or Tablet? Reading Recall and Comprehension”). Over the past few year’s digital reading has had a harmful effect on our society, from causing distractions, to a decline in reading comprehension, and the negative effect it has caused on our mind and brain.

Digital technology has had a harmful effect on reading because it causes many distractions. Modern technology has so many different features. It has become a fight just to stay focused for a long period of time when surfing the web, reading online books, listening to music, and etc. Paul La Farge agrees when he writes “the Internet may cause our minds to wander off” (“The Deep Space of Digital Reading”). La Farge is basically saying that the Internet could be a cause of why people get distracted so easily. It is hard not to get distracted while reading online when it comes to social media, pop up ads, breaking media news, and websites like Youtube and WorldStar. It is so easy to take a “break” from homework just to check a tweet and end up watching Youtube videos three hours later. Despite the distractions the Internet may cause, the Internet does have some good effects. For example, when it comes to research. Nicolas Carr states “the web has been a godsend to me as a writer. Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes” (Is Google Making Us Stupid?”). The Internet is like having a dictionary, encyclopedia, thesaurus, and every book in the world at your fingertips.

Although digital technology has created a better way to do research there are many other negative effects. Not only does the Internet cause distractions but it can be the cause of the decline in our reading comprehension. According to Paul La Farge “it’s true that studies have found that readers given text on a screen do worse on recall and comprehension tests than readers given that same text on paper” (“The Deep Space of Digital Reading”). Many studies have shown that the Internet has made it harder for people to understand what they are reading, because now a days the Internet does all the work for you. Your device is willing to read, interpret, and analyze anything you want it to in a click of a few buttons and now with Siri, a matter of a few words. Although it has caused a decline in reading comprehension because we are not forced to understand what we are reading anymore. Nicolas Carr states “Thanks to the ubiquity of text on the Internet, not to mention the popularity of text-messaging on cell phones, we may well be reading more today than we did in the 1970s or 1980s, when television was our medium of choice” (Is Google Making Us Stupid?”). Even though all people may not understand everything they may read, it is shown that people are reading more in general, which is good. It is good that people are reading more than before, but what is the point of reading more if you do not understanding what you are reading? It is like not reading in the first place because you are not retaining any information, so you are basically coming out with the same information you went out with.

For instance, when I was in high school my twelfth grade English teacher Ms. Bailey thought it was cool to try to create her first online test. She treated it like she had done it before. She prepped us as she would for any other test by making up study guides and review questions. When it came to testing day, we met her in the classroom and then as a class we went to the computer lab. We has ninety minutes to complete the test. I knew I had the test under my belt. I understood everything we learned and got an A on all the quizzes that were in the midst of the lessons. I got to my computer and pressed start on my test, before I realized eighty minutes went by and all I heard was my teacher saying you have ten minutes till the end of class. I hurried up and answered all one hundred-fifty questions. Two days later, my teacher came to me and told me I failed, but she could not understand how. She expressed how I was the best student in her class and how I am always the first one done. I told her I did not know what happened, time got the best of me and I felt rushed. She had a soft spot for me so she let me take it again. This time I was ready. I was alone so there were no distractions, well that is what I thought. I pressed start and began to read question one, before I could finish the sentence something started blinking. My eyes followed the blinking lights to the ad on the right hand side of the screen. It was an ad for tide that would flip through pictures every few seconds. I would look away but my eyes would always find their way back. Before I knew it my teacher gave me my ten minute reminder. I finished in just enough time, knowing I had flunked again. This time she sat me down and asked me what the problem was. I expressed to her that I could not concentrate, because she put the test on a public website; the screen had ads flowing the whole time. Flipping from ad to ad, non-stop. Every time I tried to concentrate a new ad came on, and every one of them got my attention. The next day she came to me and told me to plan to stay after. After school I went to her classroom and on the desk was a printed copy of the test. I sat there for the whole ninety minutes, focused. Results came back and I aced it. The only perfect score in the class.

Ferris Jabr states “most screens, e-readers, smartphones, and tablets interfere with intuitive navigation of a text and inhibit people from mapping the journey in their mind” (“The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper Versus Screens”). Jabr’s statement explains why I could not concentrate, the features that modern technology has gets in the way of our path to concentration and causes many distractions. Moral of the story is reading online is very distracting to some, due to ads and other online features. As a result of my personal experience, and the arguments by Ferris Jabr and Paul La Farge against digital reading I have come to the conclusion that digital media has a harmful effect on our reading. Although digital reading has many benefits in today’s world like: the easy access to information and the motivation to read more, to me the negative effects like: the decline in reading comprehension and the creation of pure laziness over rules the positives. The disadvantages outweigh the advantages when it comes to how it has affected us a society, and our reading as a whole. In order for schools more so colleges, to be more equipped to deal with today’s time they have two options. To either provide students the option between print and digital media when it comes to their assignments or take the time to teach students how to properly use the new and improved thing we call modern technology. Even if you give them the option sooner or later they will still have to learn how to use technology properly because the way the world is headed, everything will be paperless sooner than later.

“The Nether” Review.

The production starts off with a man named Mr. Sims later known as “Papa” being interrogated by a person known as Detective Morris. Detective Morris is interrogating him about a virtual world he created so people and him self could live out their fantasies and desires that are not excepted in his world. Mr. Sims expressed how he has the argue to mess with little girls and created the virtual world so that he would not take his argues out on a real little girl. Detective Morris was trying to get him to understand how it was still morally wrong to imagine things like that and something bad had to happen in real life to start the whole process. Later on in the play we found out Detective Morris was not getting her inside information from an agent she was the agent. She created an account and end up falling in love with the whole concept of the virtual world. In the midst of it all we found out why Detective Morris was so emotionally involved in the “investigation” it was because as a child her father did not show her any attention and she could not understand why, she longed for his affection and never got it. so when he died he left her his login and she then saw why.

Even though this play was mentally disturbing, it was very interesting. shows that sometimes virtual worlds can help with the desire and temptation of morally wrong urges a person might have.

The Genius that couldn’t hear

My name is Faith Tyson. This is the second semester of my freshman year. I just turned seventeen, meaning I was only sixteen when I started here. I graduated high school with a GPA of a four point eight five and one of the highest HSA and SAT scores in my school. Which led me to skip my whole junior year and go from a sophomore straight to a senior. Knowing that I was going to be one of, if not the only sixteen-year old here was terrifying. My reading, writing, and ability to learn fast got me thus far but I had no clue what was going to get me the rest of the way. I was scared, that when I got here I everybody was going to be way smarter than me, and the disability that I have hidden my whole life was actually going to come to the light and finally set me back.

It all began when I was two years old. My mother was in the kitchen and she dropped something, everybody jumped but I didn’t even flinch. As I continued to play with my toy she came up to me and asked me was I ok and did I hear what just happened. I shook my head no; and then looked around, everyone was looking at me and I couldn’t understand why. Until I looked at all the broken glass in front of me. It was then my mother realized something was wrong, I couldn’t hear. She tried to tell my doctors but they wouldn’t listen they claimed I had what every child had, which is what they called selective hearing. Of course, my mother being so stubborn and persistent, that answer was not good enough for her. So she took me to an ENT. They gave me my first ear test and it was discovered I had the ears of an eighty year old women at the age of two. I had holes in my eardrums and all these other problems that caused me not to be able to hear, and that is where my journey of surgeries began.

My mother and father refused to let me fall behind like the doctors claimed I would. I had all the books you could imagine that could fit in one area, it was a library in the back of my closet. They bought me every educational book and toy they could get their hands on. My favorite was the leapfrog tablet, my parents hated how much noise it made, but it kept me occupied. They even let me turn the volume up on my TV extra loud so I could the songs the wiggles would sing, or help Dora find the map. By the time I was four my hearing had gotten worst, but my parents got me tested to get put in school early anyway. Of course I got in. I struggled for a while because my parents didn’t want it to be known to everybody what was wrong with me, because my mom’s biggest fear was they would treat me different and she didn’t want that. I was four but I wasn’t stupid, I knew everything that was going on.

Leapfrog. Leapfrog Leappad2 learning tablet. Youtube.

By second grade I was labeled as a troubled child. I had the reputation of a “bad child” with straight A’s. None of my teachers could understand how that was possible because I never listened and they made sure to make it known how much they didn’t understand it. Until one day my school decided to start doing annual hearing and seeing test. I went and took mines, already knowing what they were going to say. But to my surprise they didn’t say anything, they just stared. A few days later my teachers wanted to have a conference with my parents. This time I could tell something was wrong because the administrators and principal was there too. This time I had did way more than talk too much in class. My mind was racing and my palms were sweating. They sat us down and basically said that I had major hearing loss, and they couldn’t understand how I still functioned, having the best grades in the class. My parents explained to them that they knew everything they was saying. The only they haven’t heard before is that I was in need of glasses. I always sat in the front anyway so I never really noticed. They then went on to say that, I wasn’t bad I just simply couldn’t hear. I couldn’t hear them say sit down or be quiet, by the time I caught the hint I was already getting yelled at. My principal then asked how was I maintaining straight A’s if I couldn’t hear and missing all those days of school. Well little did they know my 2^nd grade English teacher Mrs. Spring was tutoring me once a week after school for things I couldn’t receive during class. She was the only one who knew about the problem I was having. The tutoring allowed me to stay caught up and even sometimes ahead. No matter how many days I was out on leave, she refused to let me fail.

Fast forward to fifth grade. It was my last year of elementary school, and one of the hardest years ahead of me. Not only did I just move to Baltimore, but I had to move to a new school too. Where I felt like everybody knew somebody and I knew nobody, and I being shy and introverted was not going to make it easier for me. I went through the first few weeks quiet with no friends. Stuff then started to get easier as time went on. Grades were good (like always) and my social life was booming (great). But right when everything was going good, I got the news that it was time for another surgery. I was out of school for like a week and a half. My teacher and friends called me while I was out, and kept me to date on all the newest drama. By the time I had returned my grades had dropped dramatically and devastated. I no longer had a tutor to keep me on track so I felt like it was the end of the world. My teacher saw a change in my behavior and she sat me down and asked me what was wrong. At that point I just confessed everything I was feeling and going through all my life up until. From that point on, my fifth grade teacher Ms. Bowser was there for me. She natured, cared, and looked out for me like I was one of her own. She felt like the books that were at my school was not advance enough, so she bought me books with her own money. She taught me how to write in cursive, and speak another language. While she taught me the English and literature side of things my art teacher was showing me a different world. He referred to me as a female version of John Brewster Jr. he was a great famous artist that was also deaf. Mr. B showed me how to express my feelings through art, how to draw instead of cry, how to paint instead of mourn. It was a whole new outlet for my feelings. He noticed a talent in me that I didn’t even notice in myself. The confidence that my Ms. Bowser and Mr. B help me build in myself and my parents support help get me through.

John Brewster Jr. Mother with son. Wikipedia. 1799.

Jay Asher. Thirteen Reasons Why. Paulding County Area Foundation.

Over the next few years I tired keeping my head up but my hearing was not getting any better. To the point where I went to the doctors and they told my parents they wanted to open up my head and tap on my skull to send vibrations through my brain. The only thing was if it went wrong I could be brain damaged, or die. So my parents said no. The doctors then wanted to give me a hearing aid, but at the time I was in high school and felt like there was no way I could get a hearing aid without getting bullied. So I said no. After that I could no longer handle the stress of being so “different”. I was in the ninth grade and I just wanted so desperately to fit in. I wasn’t being myself, my grades started dropping and I started to become very violent. It was not till I found myself in the principal’s office for fighting that I then realized the one thing I was not trying to get the best of me, finally did. Tenth grade I was on the roll straight A’s every quarter, in every honors and AP class I could take. It was almost the end of the school year and we had to have our end of the year meeting with the guidance counselor in order to make the class schedule for next year. Before I could make mines, I got called in the office. By the time I got there all my teachers and my principle was there to, they were all sitting at the table. One seat left for me. It all looked so familiar, not in a good way either. When I sat down, it was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Nobody was talking so I asked what I was there for, I asked what did I do? The principal coughed and said well Faith, Ms. Price was going over the classes you need for next year and realized that you only needed two. But the problem was as a junior you didn’t have the option to have a half schedule. So I was either stuck in a school for a year more than I had to be and fill my schedule with a whole bunch of bogus classes or I could just skip my junior year all together. The option was up to me, but I had no idea what to do. Even though I was the smartest one in my grade I was already the youngest. How was I going to survive being a 15 year old senior? I couldn’t even get a job without my parents signing a paper, let alone go to college. It was terrifying, but my parents didn’t let my fears get the best of me they made me realize the bigger picture. I had worked so hard to get where I was, it wasn’t easy but I made it through. And I couldn’t allow my fear to block my blessings. So I did it. I skipped my eleventh grade year. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be, I still came out on top. Ms. Bailey, my twelfth grade English teacher was there for me every step of the way. She made me the writer I am today, she helped me expand my vocabulary and expand my mind as a whole, to be able to look at the world in a whole new light, through words.

Everything that I have been through has made me the person that I am today. The fifth teen plus surgeries I have had over my seventeen years of life has taught me that even though you might go through some rough times, they will make you stronger. They will make you appreciate life and what life has to offer. My dream job is to an SVU detective, and I will not allow my disability to hold me back. I will use the reading and writing tools I learned over the years to prefect my craft, and when the time is right I will be able to teach my own kids the things the wonderful people in my life taught me. I always tell people they see my glory, but they don’t know my story.