"Unemployment"

    Have you ever lost a job? Well if you know someone who has, you probably know that being unemployed for whatever the reason may be is a huge burden on that person and their family if they have one. It's especially a burden if that person doesn't really earn a whole lot of money to begin with. Regardless, not earning a paycheck can really affect a person's home life. You can't buy your groceries and other necessary things without any money. A necessary thing people can’t pay off is their mortgage or rent bills without a job that pays which not only makes them jobless still, but can lead them into being homeless if they have nowhere to live.

    According to an interviewer who will remain nameless, "My dad quit his job last year because his boss was a real Scrooge and he didn't like the amount he was being paid. His job made him really stressful and he felt like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was jobless last fall. Our family had to make sure we were spending our money wisely and on stuff that was extremely necessary despite my mom having a well paying job. We couldn't get new floor for the house because what makes wasn't enough to get out floor and at the same time still be able to frequently buy things we wanted whenever we wanted. The following summer he decided to work for himself and sell houses that he renovates really nicely. He doesn't have to work for a boss he doesn't like and makes way more than his other job as an electrician." This interview shows that being jobless can really affect a person's family. Being jobless can have a group effect and can’t allow you to sometimes have the things you want. You have to make buying your necessities your only priority.

    As you all should know, not only are their unemployed people in America, but people all around the world are without jobs that they desperately need to support themselves and their family. According to a fact from TheGlobalist.com, "In 2013, there were about 157.1 million unemployed workers throughout the world's developing nations." That is a lot of people who were without jobs. Who knows how many million people are jobless right at this moment. This is why we see so many beggars on the street asking for money. All those people are without jobs and ask us for money everyday just to get through the day.

    It's also worth mentioning unemployment can lead to people having psychological issues after losing their job. According to the Chron.com, "People experiencing chronic unemployment might become anxious or depressed, and have trouble sleeping. Prolonged unemployment also has a negative effect on a person's sense of self - worth, damage that might remain in place even after the person is once again unemployed, according to a webpage on Washington and Lee University website." As we can see, being fired can not only affect someone's spending, but their everyday feelings and mentality in a pessimistic way. People can feel all sorts of negative emotions because they lost their only job. A job that they need to keep food on the table and to keep a roof over their head which are huge responsibilities for an adult.

    Adding on to the negative effects of unemployment, some people feel bad about having free time in the day because they aren’t working like they usually do. According to a passage from Psychology today, "I told a neighbor of mine that I had written a book on coping with unemployment and he said to me, “I never told you this, but last year I was unemployed for five months. The worst time for me was when I got up in the morning. I was too embarrassed to go out. I felt like I was in a prison until five in the afternoon when I could leave my apartment. I didn’t want anyone to know that I was unemployed”. People feel shame in not having a job. They feel a person shouldn't have free time during the day and feel embarrassed that they do since they are unemployed. Shame is of course another emotional/mental effect on being jobless.

    On the other hand, the unemployment rate has surprisingly decreased a lot since America’s financial crisis a few years ago. America has been getting better since then. According to a fact from politifact.com, “The December 2014 U-6 rate was 11.2 percent, which is higher than the 11 percent rate in September 2008 and the 10.8 percent rate one month earlier in August 2008.” As we can see, America has made big progress bringing down the unemployment rate percentage. Obama has made some big changes ever since he has been elected into office being able to again lower the unemployment rate by a lot. Despite Obama making improvements to the economy and whatever else he did to lower the unemployment rate, more improvements can be made. We can lower that percentage even more. There is still room for more change. Not only are their people without work in America, but this is a global issue that still needs to be solved. This may look like a David and Goliath situation, but if we all see how we can come together, we can beat Goliath. If we strongly encourage Donald Trump to focus on this situation and help him care, hopefully he can make some sort of change.

Nonfiction Blog

     Yesterday, I finished a book called A Child Called It. It's a memoir and tells the story of Dave Pelzer. Dave, who lived in San Francisco California, was unfortunately beaten, starved, and brutally tortured by his alcoholic mother. Basically, he was abused as a child for several years. He had four brothers that surprisingly were treated well. They were not given the abuse and respect that Dave had to experience. They were sadly brainwashed into thinking what their mother was doing to Dave wasn't bad. They thought he was just given consequences for his bad behavior. When the boys had gotten older, they then realized what a true monster their mother really was. The father, Stephen Pezler, barely showed any care for Dave. He always came home drunk which led to him and his wife getting into heated arguments. He eventually left the family leaving Dave all alone. Thankfully, teachers noticed what Dave had been through and called the police finally saving his life.

     A passage that I found interesting in the book was, "Suddenly, I began to realize the longer I could keep myself off the top of the stove, the better my chances for staying alive. I knew my brother Ron would soon be coming home from his scout meeting, and I knew Mother never acted this bizarre when anyone was in the house. In order to survive, I had to buy time. I stole a glance at the kitchen clock behind me. The second hand seemed to creep ever so slowly. To keep Mother off balance, I began to ask whining questions. This infuriated her even more, and Mother began to rain blows around my head and chest. The more Mother slugged me, the more I began to realize I won! Anything was better than burning on the stove." (42) Although this moment in the memoir almost leads to Dave possibly meeting his death, I was interested by it. It interested me because it showed how smart Dave was back then. At an age like that, he used his brain to get out of something like that. I thought that was amazing, how he adapted and took smart actions. I'm not saying he is a genius or anything, but I thought it was pretty clever on how he distracted her and tried to kill time so his mom can stop.

     Something I am bound to never forget after reading this book is the fact that kids who have been severely abused can really consume and numb yourself as a person. According to the book, "My morale had become so low that in some self - destructive way I hoped she would kill me." (141) Of course it's a given that kids who have been abused, you don't normally function or act as though someone who was my age or younger that thankfully never had to go through all of the abuse he did. Just the way he said that made me knew that issues like this are really serious. Of course I knew they were, but hearing life threatening stories always put me in perspective of that persons issue and makes me feel terrible for that person or group of people.

     Something else I am never bound to forget was what Dave had to go through. "...My brothers and I were playing in our room when we heard Mother rush down the hall, yelling at us. Ron and Stan ran for cover in the living room. I instantly sat down in my chair. With both arms stretched out and raised, Mother came at me. As she came closer and closer, I backed my chair towards the wall. Soon I touched the wall... I closed my eyes as the oncoming blows began to rock me from side to side..." (134) Every time I heard about him being hit like that just mad me feel really sad. This is is what he had to go through every day. This book gave me the realization that kids that could be my age face bigger problems then me. In conclusion, this memoir indeed made me learn a lot about Dave and child abuse in generally.

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