Government, Get On Gun Control!

I read the New York Times editorial piece, "Common Sense in Connecticut." This article is about how Dannel Malloy, the Governor of Connecticut is talking about new gun control laws because of the Sandy Hook Elementary Tragedy. He wants to reform the outdated gun control laws and replace them with better, safer laws. While New York passed new gun control laws within weeks of the tragedy, Connecticut (the state within which the event took place) still is debating what to do on the matter. Malloy does plan to get stuff done though, he has talked quite a bit on the matter and has ideas of what to do that are similar to President Obama's. These ideas include strengthening the ban on ownership of any assault and semi-automatic weapons, those who own a gun would have to get a permit or dispose of it immediately, also it would be much more difficult to get a permit, if one had anything at all on their record that could make them at all unstable they would be refused.

I believe this is a huge step up and is something that we have needed for a while. I think it's awful that it had to take something as devastating as the Sandy Hook incident to finally open the government's eyes and make them see that the only way to stop people from using guns to harm others, is to take away (or make it very difficult to gain possession) of a gun. I don't understand why these harsher laws had not been established before, then maybe just maybe this wouldn't have even happened. But we can't go back in time and change anything now sadly, we must only fix the future, which is hopefully what these improved laws will do.

Since this is an editorial, the author uses his/her voice, ideas, and opinions to prove his/her point. The author also uses many comparisons in the article to help show the reader what is and what isn't good enough compared to other things, and what is similar. The author underlines statements to show the reader what's important and proves his/her point. The author wants the reader to both feel slightly disappointed in the government for not doing enough about gun control until now, and still stalling, but the author also wants the reader to feel hopeful for change in the near future.

Friendship, whether you like it or not

"Looking For Alaska" by John Green is about a teenage boy named Miles Halter who at the beginning of the book has no friends and just lives with his parents, but then he goes to boarding school. At boarding school, Miles meets new friends who show him new experiences which he wouldn't have expected to ever experience in his no boarding school, no badass friends, well no friends at all life. With his new friends, Miles smokes a cigarette for the first and second and third time, has his first big crush, has his first kiss, etc. Miles also finds himself caught in a bunch of drama with other students because of who he's friends with, the badass wallflower type people.

It's kind of weird that Miles never really had friends for whatever reason before, but then by the first week of boarding school he already has a whole group of friends. Maybe it's just a coincidence because he gets a sort of outspoken roommate (Chip/the Colonel) who just takes him in and introduces him to his entire friend group. But if it's that easy for Miles to make friends at boarding school, how come he didn't have any friends back home? I guess he's kind of nerdy and shy but he doesn't seem to have any real problems especially socially, so one would expect him to have at least some friends.

I feel like this happens in many books, where a lonesome awkward teenager who doesn't start off with many or really any friends is all of a sudden adopted into a whole group of friends. For example, Charlie in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky. Charlie is different from Miles, he did have a friend before, and he does have some psychological problems that may be the reason he's kind of awkward and didn't have many friends. But similar to Miles, Charlie is very quickly adopted into a group of friends in his freshman year of high school. Maybe for both Charlie and Miles it was sort of the friends who befriended them because of maybe interest and a little bit of pity. 

In real friendships one doesn't really know who chose who, but they just sort of start and can stay for a pretty long time. I don't really remember how exactly I became friends with most of my friends, it just sort of happens. And maybe people become friends like Miles did, just because they live in a room together and kind of have to, but no matter how friends meet they're for the most part there to stay whether you like it or not. And maybe even if Miles and Chip weren't roommates they would still have managed to be friends because friendship is destined and finds a way.