Malala Yousafzai- The Brave Girl

Main Idea: Malala Yousafzai was only 11 years old when she started speaking out about girl’s education, and recently on October 9, 2012 she was shot in the head by a Taliban, she survived, and shes still talking.

   Malala Yousafzai lived in the beautiful area of Swat Valley in Pakistan, it was quite the tourist attraction, until the Taliban came from Afghanistan and invaded her home. The Taliban enforced their Islamic laws, banning dance and music, banning girls from going to school, and woman couldn’t go outside without their husbands or father. They used violence to get what they wanted, they tortured and killed many people to send fear into the Pakistan peoples hearts. Malala, however stayed as strong as ever, she stuck up for what she believed in even though she knew the Taliban would most likely kill her for it, and they almost did, but miraculously she is alive and well. On October 9, 2012  Malalas world changed forever when she was shot in the head by a Taliban, while riding on a dyna ( a Toyota truck with three parrallel benches ) to school, a thought to be journalist asking for a interview,  stopped their bus on the road. The man wore a cap and a handkerchief over his mouth and nose, he climbed up onto the tailboard and looked right over the girls ( 20 girls and three teachers ) . He asked who Malala was, no one replied but several of the girls looked at her. The man then proceeded to fire three shots, one hitting Malala in the left eye socket and out of her left shoulder, she slumped forward causing the other two shots to miss and hit one girl next to her in the left hand and the other went through the first girls shoulder and into the upper right arm of the other girl next to her.  Malalas bravery and sacrifice affected many people around the globe. Malala has also been nominated for many awards, such as the Nobel Peace Prize. Many people around the world have the same hopes as Malala, to make equality for all women and men. Malalas bravery has made people start having hope about finally have that equality, her speeches are powerful and relateable, the fear is now less intense for more people because of Malala.

Testing on Animals

Animals have been used to test health and beauty  products for many years, although they get effective results, they can hurt or kill the animals. It is cruel and unnecessary to take guinea pigs, rats, bunnies etc. and test products on them. Others may argue that artificial skin and computer models aren’t always accurate, and that testing on animals is a more effective way of finding out if it is safe for humans. But, 28 countries that make up the European Union has pledged to ban the marketing of all products that contain ingredients that were tested on animals. The European Union is trying to convince other countries to ban the marketing of products that contain ingredients that were tested on animals as well, but many brands still test on animals and don’t intend to stop. Although many American cosmetic brands such as Burt’s Bees, C.O. Bigelow , and Stila Cosmetics are choosing to not test on animals and try other methods of testing as well.

The European Union are trying to convince other companies to try different methods as well. Companies all over the world stuff animals of all kinds into small cages, testing them. They cower in fear as someone walks by, they fear and dread the next experiment they torture them with. Not only do companies test beauty products and health products on animals, they torture animals that we need for food, such as chickens, cows, and sheep. Most food companies such as companies that sell eggs, take animals and stuff them in tiny cages 5-6 per cage, the cages are about 18 by 16 inches. They feed the chickens pesticides and barely feed them anything. To entertain themselves animals grow habits such as slowly rocking back and forth, spinning in circles, and biting at their own skin and fur. Many organizations all over the world are trying to stop these companies, but there are still thousands of companies that still do this.

Dance 4 a Cause, Kids stand up to Cancer

       A few years ago, my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal cancer. My mother, Wendy Holman, noticed that her face was bloated and she had lots and lots of energy. The doctors said there was nothing wrong but she did some research, thinking maybe she had something bad, they did an MRI and they found a huge tumor.  They found she had Adrenal Cancer the median survival is 28 months, my mother is still alive and well, she is considered as a “miracle”. My cousin Ashley started a fundraiser in Yorktown, New York called Dance 4 a Cause. Ashley taught kids of all ages dances and many people came, Ashley juggled school and dance to do this fundraiser for 5 years. This year, on August 23 we did the last Dancer 4 a Cause fundraiser we may ever have, we had a famous broadway singer, and the dances were amazing. We raised a lot of money and money is still coming in, we send all of our profits to a hospital in Michigan. My mom is doing very well, although her life span will be shorter, she has beat the odds and survived through this horrible disaster.