Half full
I always like to look at life’s many challenges and events with the question, “Is the cup half full or half empty?”
It’s a matter of perspective. Good or bad, positive or negative, it’s your choice. It’s the same cup.
I was in bed, relaxing, on Saturday, Jan. 13, when the nuke alarm went off. I slowly got up and sat, Buddha style, on the edge of my bed, collecting my thoughts. Within minutes, the false alarm signal came through.
My first reaction was not anger or anything negative. Rather, “Hey! The alarm works! That’s great!”
Cool your jets! It woke us all up! The cup is half full.
Kawika Crowley
Hilo
Keep ‘pot’ illegal
I am a Hilo High School student speaking on the issue of marijuana. Many people on the Big Island smoke marijuana daily, illegally. Imagine if the state made it legal to smoke marijuana whenever you felt like it. The whole island would be a complete mess.
That’s why the state should keep marijuana illegal and only use it for medical purposes. I have seen with my own eyes how this horrible drug can affect many people.
One of the reasons why it should remain illegal is that it would affect the majority of young adults. According to a 2013 study, the number of people 12 and older who have smoked marijuana in the U.S. was 114.7 million. That was a few years back; now imagine that number, but bigger.
Kids would see other people doing it and think since other people are smoking marijuana freely, they could do it secretly. So, it would be a really bad influence on the future and present children of Hawaii.
Another reason is there are people who wouldn’t want to be around people smoking marijuana. It wouldn’t be a healthy environment. People would be taking in secondhand smoke, which is even worse than smoking the actual thing.
Also is the fact that when you’re burning a joint, you’re killing your own brain cells. Even if you’re around other people, you can have similar effects and it will cloud your judgment — you won’t be able to do the normal things you do.
The state already is having a hard time controlling marijuana users. We don’t want to see future generations go to waste because of this drug. We should encourage young and old users to stop their bad habits and start a new healthy way to live.
Rebecca Irina Cuenca
Hilo