Cathrina Roach
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About myself:

Hi! My name is Cathrina Roach, and I am 24 years old. I work as a journalist in New York City, and I love travelling around the world and meeting new people. Me, my husband and my two-year-old daughter currently live in a wonderful apartment in Mantattan. I have always been a caring person. Through my job, I meet a lot of different people with different stories. A lot of interviews leaves me emotional. It reminds me that there are many people out there who struggles much more than we do.

I grew up in Brooklyn. It is located on the western tip of Long Island. Brooklyn is the most populous of the five boroughs of NYC. My favourite attraction is the Brooklyn Bridge. I always drive on it whenever I am visiting my family back home. The view is fantastic.

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USA

My country is the United States. It is located in North America between Canada and Mexico, and consists of 50 states. USA is the 3rd most populous country in the world with over 320 million people. At 3.80 million square miles, it is the 4th largest country by total area. Washington DC is the capital, but the largest city is New York, where I come from. USA is known for a lot of things such as NASA, the Hollywood film industry, gun policy, discrimination of black people, junk food, presidents, the American music industry and big clothing brands. That was a short and casual summary. Also all the technology that is used around the world was developed in the U.S., including the Internet you are using right now.

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Terrorism

On September 11, 2001, people across the globe was gathered around their TVs to watch one of the worst tragedies in U.S history unfold before their eyes. For viewers, it was unbelievable. For the anchors on the other side of the screen, it was reality. Twelve years has passed, and I remember it as it was yesterday. My family and I were visiting my grandparents in Lower Manhattan. Me and my little brother went outside to see what happened. I remember smelling the stench of dust and death, hearing the sound of buildings crumbling and watching people cry in panic. I had a hard time holding back tears when I heard someone shout “bodies are falling from the towers!” It was a horrific experience.

Unfortunately, terrorism is still a very relevant topic today. Just about every part of the United States has been hit by some form of terrorist attack since 1970. It is not only a big topic in the U.S., but all over the world. The use of violence, force and threats to scare and torture a huge amount of people is the worst problem the world has ever had, and it is time to take action. Terrorism is taking away peoples' freedom to feel safe. Terrorists take away our freedom of speech, threatening whoever who stands out and fight for what they believe in. Nobody can determine what religion I belong to. Nobody can take away my human values or rights!

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Protesters against injustice

Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan. Her hometown is located in the country’s Swat Valley. The area began to change as the Taliban tried to take control. Yousafzai attended a school that her father had founded. In 2008, she gave a speech with the title: “How dare the Taliban to take away by basic right to education?” In early 2009, she began blogging for the BBC about living under the Taliban’s threats to deny her an education. In 2012, she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman. She got medical treatment in Pakistan and in the USA, and survived. The shooting resulted in a massive outpouring of support for Yousafzai, which continued during her recovery. In October 2014, she became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a Baptist minister and social activist. He had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States. King played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the South and other areas of the nation, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He led the Civil Rights Movement in the USA from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination 1968. King continues to be remembered as one of the most lauded African-American leaders in history, mostly known for his 1963 speech, “I Have a Dream”.

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Comparison

They are both individuals who have made huge differences people’s rights. Martin Luther King fought for the blacks’ rights and was against discrimination. Malala Yousafzai is fighting for gender equality and girls’ right to education. A difference between them is the time of riot the live in. Martin Luther King lived from 1929 to 1968. Malala was born in 1997, and she still lives today. There are many similarities between their work. King worked non-violently, and so is Yousafzai today. They send their message through inspiring speeches instead of using violence. This is why they have both won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Their peaceful work did however have violent consequences. A white racist murdered Martin Luther King in 1968, and Malala got shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in 2012. Fortunately she survived after good medical treatment. There is an impressing contrast between these two peace workers. In the mid-1950s a black and grown man managed to change the world. Today, a Pakistan young girl is doing the same. Even children can make a difference, and that is impressing. Another difference between them is their religion. Martin Luther King was a Christian, and Malala is a Muslim. Even though their religious beliefs are different, they still work non-violently for what they believe in and what they stand for.

The abortion issue in the U.S.

An abortion is when the pregnancy is ended so that is does not result in the birth of a child. That means that the pregnancy is removed from the womb, either by taking pills or by surgery. Abortion is one of the most controversial issues in U.S. culture and politics. It is legal up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, but there are many protests on whether it should be legal or not.

Some consider abortion to be murder since the being inside the mother is living. The definition of something living includes the ability to grow. That is true, because an abortion ceases the growing process, therefore ending a future life of a human being. This little being may not start off with a heartbeat or brain activity, but cells are still dividing it and allowing it to grow. Having that said, calling abortion “killing” an unborn human being may be taking it a little bit out of perspective. Technically, it is still a cell inside the mothers’ womb. There is a lot back and forth when it comes to what different religions has to say about this particular controversial issue. They believe that the issue encompasses profound issues of life and death, right and wrong, human relationships and the nature of society, that make it a major religious concern.

People involved in an abortion are usually affected very deeply emotionally. If a young girl gets pregnant by an accident, or if the mother is very poor and sick and knows that she is unable to raise a child, she should have the opportunity to make that decision. Being a parent is indeed a huge responsibility, and it is also very expensive here in the United States. Carrying a baby for nine months and then give birth is hard and painful, and who would go through all that if the baby is not even wanted? What if the girl was raped? Is it fair that she has to give birth to the rapists’ baby? There will always be disagreements around this issue. The mother has the choice, and she decides what is best for her. If a woman takes abortion or not, it will not affect the protesters lives at all. I really think that people should start minding their own business. Some protesters have gone way too far. There has been many incidents were they have thrown eggs on young girls heading to the abortion clinic. That is just childish and disrespectful. They will not earn anything by doing that. There has even been some incidents were the doctors have been killed. They kill doctors because they do not want them to end a pregnancy? What does that make them?

Abortion is a safe and legal way to end a pregnancy. What makes this a controversial issue is how often is happens today and all the negative response it gets. One solution could be to try and decrease the number of abortions. Giving the women time to think and make sure that this is what they want to do. To stop the egg throwing and killing incidents there should be security guards present. Banning abortion is not a solution at all because it takes away the mothers’ freedom to decide what is best for her family.

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