One Slope at a Time

Writing to me is like snowboarding. The nerves kick in and my mind races when thinking about writing a paper.  Sitting on the chairlift, getting higher and higher above the trees, my heart begins pounding and I start thinking what routes I should take. With my snowboard dangling from my foot, I look down and become anxious. Once I find out what I want to write about, everything becomes at ease and I’m ready to begin.  I easily jump off the chairlift, strapping my left boot in and look out at the horizon. I look at all the different routes, jumps, and obstacles I can go through. After some time of thinking, I’m ready to begin. Everything from here is downhill. 

Once I have an idea in my head, I can’t stop writing until I have nothing else to say. Ideas are flowing out onto my paper and everything is running smoothly. Riding down the hill is easy going and it feels great. Once in a while, I will run into situations when I lose my balance and wipe out.  In writing, when I’ve written all I could, I sit there stuck, trying to figure out how I can elaborate more on my paper.  I become frustrated and lose hope, but then I think about the positives and start typing again. Just like in snowboarding, I get right back up and begin again.  Once I reach the bottom, I feel a sense of accomplishment.  When I’m finished with a paper, I look back at it and see how far I’ve come.

When I first started snowboarding, I would fall a lot and get frustrated. I started with the small slopes and slowly got to the bigger ones. When I was younger, I would write papers that were simple and I would get a lot of criticism. When I would hear stuff like this, it would make me want to try harder. I never gave up; I would always try to do better the next time. The first time I went down the slope named Liberty at Caberfae Peaks, I was so happy and relieved when I was done. Never rush into something you're not ready for, take it one slope at a time. I got the same feeling when I wrote my first 15 page paper my junior year of high school. Once you've made it to a simple five paragraph essay, you're ready to write a ten page paper. Writing a paper is like snowboarding, I get a feeling of accomplishment in the end.  

Performing Operations on Animals While Still Awake :(

Countless experiments are being performed on animals to enhance cures for diseases. Yes, this may seem great for us humans, but do you really think that animals should be treated this way? Thesis: Animal testing is extremely wrong because of the numerous misleading tests, millions of lives being taken away, and the pain we bring upon the animals.  Arguments: Testing on cosmetics, alternatives to animal testing, cruelty in vivisection, and unreliable tests.  What I still need to research more about is the alternatives that people are looking into. Also, more reasons on how animal testing results come out false.  Lastly, specific tests (vivisections) that are being done today on animals.  

Video on animal testing :(

This video shows numerous pictures of animals that were brutally beaten and what kinds of pain they went through constantly.  Five main facts are shown why animal research is wrong, also, the number of animals that are killed every second of every day. However, she does show companies that don’t use animal testing.  There were many videos on YouTube about animal testing, but most of them are too graphic and heart-breaking to watch. This video had an emotional effect on me and makes me want to do something about animal testing, if this doesn’t, I don’t know what will. PLEASE re-think about animal testing, it is very wrong.  Animals do not deserve this kind of torture, there has to be an alternative!

Summary portion for Essay 3!

In the article, “Animal Research” by Sarah Rose A. Miller, she takes her readers through the reality of what takes place in the research labs. Miller starts off with saying that many people are undecided on what side to take when talking about animal testing because either way, many lives are taken away (15). Animals are burned, cut open, forced to inhale toxic air, and live in constant isolation. Animal research may be bad; however, it has helped a lot with biomedical research that can find a lot of cures to diseases (15). According to Miller, scientists and physicians have not taken a serious approach to finding alternatives to animal research.

The Draize Test and the LD-50 (Lethal Dose 50 Percent) Test are the top two tests performed on animals. Both tests leave animals in pain and misery. About half of the animals end up dead and the remaining animals that are still alive are killed afterwards (15). The National Institutes of Health provided financial information of numerous projects that were not beneficial at all. Occasionally, when animals are distressed, the tests may become disrupted due to a decreased brain activity and the mental state of the animal (16). Animals are normally stuck in small steel cages with no comfort or attention. One of the ways to enhance the results of the tests is to make the living environments more comfortable.

Animal Experimentation

            

Animal Experimentation (also known as animal testing) is the act of using animals in experiments to test medicines or any kind of cosmetic. Reptiles, cats, dogs, hamsters and many other animals are used for experiments.  Many people aren’t aware of what really goes on in the labs; animals are put into wired cages for weeks, they are shocked and tortured, many are left in small cages and lastly, 50% of the animals tested end up dying within three weeks.  I’m choosing this topic because I feel that it is a topic that is interesting and important to learn about. I am very passionate about animals and it hurts me to see that we risk thousands of animal’s lives towards testing. 

What I do know about animal testing is that it does help experimenters and doctors find cures.  It has helped us find research about diseases, blood pressure, and AIDS. Unfortunately, we have to starve and let animals suffer just to find out the results.  What I hope to find out is that animal testing is not as bad as I think it is. I hope to realize the greatness in animal testing. Was it worth it to take the brain out of the rat? The rabbit who was shocked many times? The monkey that was isolated since birth? The real question is, is animal experimentation worth it in the end? Think about it.

About me:)

Hello, my name is Amanda Main. I attend Oakland Community College at Highland Lakes. I want to become an Occupational Therapist Assistant (OTA). My favorite subject is math. I am a very outgoing and fun person once people get to know me. I love camping, snowboarding, shopping, reading, and hanging out with friends. 

One interesting thing about me is that I am a twin. Jessica and I are really close and we do everything together. I work at Target as a Flow Team Member. A Flow Team Member unloads the trucks then stocks the shelves. I work 4:30 a.m. shifts 4-5 days a week while tackling school also. School is my top priority because I care a lot about my grades.