Italy is Better!

Hi guys! I am so sorry that I posted so late for our Serious Sunday debate.

I think that Italy is better than Greece for the following reasons:

• Italy is extremely pretty 
• The people there are really nice
• In Italy, there are Alps, and beautiful mountains and vegetation
• Italy is along the Mediterranean Sea and has extremely beautiful beaches
• Italy's food, culture, sights, language, and flavors are all magnificent
• Italy has mopeds that you can drive at 13 (if you get a license)
• Italy's ice cream is really, really good
• Italy also has top-quality and healthy food
• In 2016, an American artist named Christo built floating piers on Lago D'Iseo, at the place in which my family is from (and currently lives in)
• Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and other famous stars came to visit these floating piers
• Italy also has many tourist attractions: Rome, Pisa, Florence, Venezia, Verona, the Cinque Terre, Volterra, and many others

The following are pics of Italy:

This is the city Lovere, where my family is from

This is a picture of Lago D'Iseo, one of the biggest lakes throughout Italy. There is an island in the middle of it that is named Monte Isola. 

This is an image of the floating piers. They connected to Monte Isola and two other islands in the lake. The piers were amazing -- it was like walking on water! (you actually were)

This is an image of one of the Cinque Terre

This is also another picture of one of the Cinque Terre

This is an image of a moped that people in Italy drive

If you think that Italy is better than Greece, please comment on this post! Thank you!😄

Sources:

1. https://useast-www.securly.com/blocked?useremail=gantta22@ucfsd.net&reason=domainblockedforuser&categoryid=2147487744&policyid=1&keyword=&url=d3d3LnNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay5jb20vaW1hZ2UtcGhvdG8vYmVhdXRpZnVsLWxhbmRzY2FwZS1sb3ZlcmUtbGFrZS1pc2VvLWl0YWx5LTUzMzcyMDc0Ng==&ver=2.92

2. http://www.lakeiseoitaly.com/monte-isola

3. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/chunks-christos-floating-piers-already-selling-ebay-540023

4. https://improvephotography.com/33073/cinque-terre-italy-photography-locations/

5. https://citywonders.com/florence-tours/cinque-terre-and-portovenere-tour

6. http://www.vespa.com/us_EN/vespa-models/primavera.html

Greece is Better!

So Alexa and I, Marizo Bheh, are debating for our belated Serious Sunday post about which country is better- Greece or Italy?

So of course because I'm Greek I think Greece is the best

• Greece has amazing bridges
• Greece has amazing ancient ruins
• Greece has amazing food like gyro, pastichio, and moussaka
• Greece also has amazing people 
• Greece has awesome traditional dances too

and so that is why Greece is better

Solar Energy is better!

Hi guys! I am sorry that I did not post on Sunday; I have been having a very busy week.

Today, I will be posting why solar energy is better than geothermal energy.

The following is why solar energy is better:

• solar energy is a renewable resource
• It is good for the environment -- it doesn't pollute 
• You can set up solar panels at your house, which will take the energy from the sun and convert it to electricity that you can use to provide power to all of the electrical appliances in your home
• You can make a profit from solar energy -- any extra electricity that is created by the solar panels that you will not use could be bought from an electricity company
• If you use solar energy to power the things in your home, you will not have to pay an electrical company (you will not have to pay anyone, and you would actually be making a profit)
• You need a power plant to be able to use geothermal energy (which you cannot install in your backyard)

If you think that solar energy is better than geothermal energy, please comment on this post! Thank you!😃

Geothermal Energy is better

So Alexa and I, Marizo, are arguing what is the best source of energy. I think the best source of energy is geothermal energy and here is a video I made explaining why:

Eating Healthy Food is Better!

Hi guys! I hope you are all enjoying your Monday!

I know that I am posting a bit late, but this still counts as a Serious Sunday debate.

Today, I will be debating against Marizo for the following debate: is it more important to eat food that tastes good, or eat healthy food?

I say that it is more important to eat healthy food! Here are the reasons why:

• Eating healthy helps give you energy that you need during the day
• It helps provide nutrients that you need to grow and repair
• It helps keep you strong and healthy, preventing you from getting diet-related illnesses/diseases
• It helps you maintain a healthy weight
• Eating a healthy diet can help reduce your risk of heart disease

If you are eating something that tastes good, and it is something healthy, then I would totally agree with having you eat that food! But, if you are eating fat food that tastes good, you will not be eating healthy; in fact, you will almost be poisoning your body (if you are continuously having fat food).  Here are some fun facts about food and what it does to your body:

• Fried food is terrible for your liver
• Soda, because it is so acidic, burns your esophagus
• Soda takes away all the calcium from your bones (pretty much disintegrates your bones)

So, I think, that it is better to be safe then sorry; it is better to eat healthier foods than take the risk of getting diet-related diseases and becoming unhealthy because you are eating something that tastes good, but is not healthy. Obviously, you should eat healthy foods that you like; don't try and force yourself in eating healthy foods that you don't like! And, it is perfectly fine to make an exception once in a while! You can definitely eat junk food once in a while -- it won't hurt you. It is just better, in the long-run, to eat healthier food rather than junk food that tastes really good. 

If you think that eating healthier food is better than eating food that tastes really good, please comment on this post! Thank you!😊

Sources:

1. https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/food-and-nutrition/eating-well/health-benefits-of-eating-well

Is healthy food more important or food that tastes good? Tasty food is.

     So, I bet all of you guys at some point have refused to eat a vegetable, or fruit because you didn't like it. I mean really how many of you guys actually like Brussels sprouts? How many of you guys actually would choose vegetables over desert? Taste is what is more important, rather than if the food is healthy in, my opinion.
   Let's say somebody cooks something extremely healthy, but it tasted like the vilest thing on earth. Would you eat it? (You guys can answer all of the questions by commenting or answering the google forms thingamajig, that is linked below). Taste is very influential. I personally haven't eaten any type of seafood (fish, shrimp, lobster, stuff like that) for the past 5 years because I just don't like the way they taste. Do you guys have a food that you just won't eat because of the weird taste? Well, that is about it, this has been a really bad post for me but oh well.
Google Form

Responses (just if you are curious to see)

"No" to Uniforms!

Hi guys! I hope you are all having a nice Sunday!

Today, I will be debating against Marizo to the following debate: should we wear uniforms to school?

I think that we shouldn't wear uniforms to school for the following reasons:

1.  Uniforms devalue a child's individuality.  
2.  Clothing, in my belief, is one of the biggest ways in which a student expresses who they are. If clothing is being assigned, then the students will not have a way to express themselves, so they will try to express themselves in less desirable forms such as piercing and tattooing.  
3.  Schools should be a place in which diversity is celebrated; if students all have to wear the same things, then there barely is any diversity. 
4.  The cost of uniforms is excessively high, especially if a family has more than one child going to a school with uniforms. 
5.  It can be a financial burden to lower income/poor families. 
6.  Uniforms could lessen the student/child's comfort while they are attending school. 
7.  Uniforms make students become targets for bullies from other schools. 
8.  Uniforms are an unfair additional expense for families that have to pay taxes for their child to have a free public education. 
9.  A University of Missouri assistant professor, David Burnsma, concluded that there is no positive correlation between uniforms and school safety and academic achievement after conducting his own analysis of 2 major databases and reviewing past studies on the effect that uniforms had on academic achievement.  

Some may argue that students experience less pressure when picking clothes to wear to school when the kids/students are assigned a uniform; but really, in my opinion, there is no difference in pressure when picking clothes to wear to school between wearing a uniform or not. Yes, it may be easier to have the clothes match when wearing a uniform, but you can easily make your regular clothes match as well. When picking out clothes (based on how I do it), you have to look at the weather for the next day and the rest of the week; pick a pair of pants, a t-shirt, and maybe a long-sleeve shirt or a sweater that match (this may be the hardest part), and that will also make it so you won't be too cold or too hot (just right) based on the weather conditions for the next day; and make sure that you won't wear the same t-shirt, long-sleeve, or sweater twice during that week. All of these steps both apply to picking clothes that are a uniform or not; the only thing that may be easier is to have the clothes match; but other than that, the amount of pressure on the student/child does not change, and all the steps remain the same. 

To sum up, I think that we should not wear uniforms to school because they prevent a student/child to express themselves, they are an unfair additional expense for families that have to pay taxes so their child/children will have a free public education, and they can be a financial burden for poor families. 

If you believe that we should not wear uniforms to school, please comment on this post! Thank you!😊

Sources: 

1. http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/809991/the-pros-and-cons-of-school-uniforms/page:2

2. https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/school-uniforms/

Uniforms..... Are a Yes

 There are many people talking about getting uniforms in schools today, and others are talking about how they should be removed. I believe that there should be uniforms in schools and here is why.
 I personally have experience with uniforms. At my elementary school, we were required to wear them. When I was wearing them, I detested them and thought that they were just a method made to torture students. But now, I can see many reasons for having uniforms that I did not when I was a younger child.
 In a school, there can be students who are underprivileged and that can show through the types of clothes that they are wearing. One child could be wearing expensive designer clothes while another can be wearing clothes bought at a thrift shop. That can result in bullying which may have, many different types of consequences. But with uniforms, everyone will be wearing the same clothes which solves this problem.
 Also, kids may stress out over what clothes they are going to wear for school. I personally do sometimes do this, and with uniforms that stress is taken away. Sometimes also, a kid might wear clothes that are inappropriate for school. At my school, I'll sometimes see shorts that are extremely short or shirts that do not cover a person's shoulders.
 One might say that wearing uniforms makes it harder for kids to express themselves but you can have a choice in your uniform. For example, at my elementary school, girls had a choice of wearing a skort, a dress, shorts, a skirt, or pants. We also were able to choose what color shirt we wanted, dark blue, light blue, or white. Uniforms are good, but only in moderation. We can still give students choices in what they want to wear by allowing them to wear bracelets, armbands, headbands, and also letting them paint their nails.
 In conclusion, we should have uniforms at our school. Uniforms can help stop bullying, stress, and can still allow a child to express themselves.

Yoga is a Sport

Marizo stated that "yoga is a lot of stretching". Here's the thing: it isn't. Yes, yoga does help you stretch; although, you aren't stretching like you are trying to warm yourself up before a workout, or trying to stretch your muscles after a workout. In fact, yoga is your workout! It helps keep you in shape, and makes you feel better with your body and yourself.

Stretching poses may be hard, but the thing is, yoga is NOT stretching!! It is a type of exercise. If yoga was just "stretching", then they would not have come up with the term "yoga".

Yes, yoga is about relaxing your mind and soul, but you can easily make yoga competitive. If you are a beginner in yoga, then the main goal for all of your yoga classes/sessions should be to meditate and relax your mind and soul. If you are someone who is extremely advanced in yoga, your goal -- for some cases -- will not be to relax your brain and mind, but to compete!

Yoga is a Sport

Hi guys! I hope you are all having a nice Sunday!

Today, I am going to be debating against Marizo about the following: is yoga a sport?

I believe that yoga is a sport because of the following reasons:

       To start off, let me define what a sport is. The word "sport" came from the French word "desport", which means "leisure". The oldest English definition of "sport", from around 1300, is: "anything humans find amusing or entertaining". In addition, the most recent definition of "sport", from Google, is: "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment". Yoga falls under both definitions of "sport"; it is amusing and entertaining, is an activity that involves exertion and skill, and you can easily have yoga competitions against others.
       Yoga has multiple similarities with sports. For example, sports are usually governed by a set of rules and principles; the same goes for yoga. Yoga has rules such as behaving in an honest, just manner with integrity, and an avoidance of ego.

       Yoga is a term that covers the physical, mental, and spiritual disciplines that are aimed to transform the body and mind. In the USA, players for the two most popular sports, basketball and football, have been practicing yoga. The athletes have stated that yoga has helped them with preventing injuries and has increased focus and concentration under the high-pressure conditions in which they play in.
       Yoga is and isn't considered a sport, depending on the way you look at it. Yoga is related to sports; in fact, many people who play sports practice yoga to get better at their sport, and to prevent injuries. Yoga helps improve your sport, and it also helps you in your daily life -- it makes you more focused and aware.
     
       At the beginning of June, 2014, the 11th annual World Yoga Sports Championships took place in London, UK. Almost 100 competitive yogis from 25 different countries competed at three categories in a yoga challenge. Yoga has similarities with gymnastics, and the yoga competitors must have the same skills in coordination, strength, and mental focus as the athletes taking part in other sports. In fact, the International Yoga Sports Federation, the group organizing this competition, is thinking of having yoga become an Olympic sport!

       I believe that when people hear the word "yoga", they might think of people stretching, relaxing their mind and bodies, and practicing different poses; although, yoga is nothing compared to that. Yes, you do stretch many muscles in your body, you relax your mind and body, and you practice different poses. But, yoga is much more difficult. When practicing yoga, you have to hold positions/poses for about 2 minutes or more. It may seem like the poses are easy -- trust me, they are not! For example, Downward Dog seemed extremely easy for me the first time I saw people practicing the pose. Once I tried the pose myself, it was extremely hard!
      Many poses in yoga are very challenging, and most of the poses require lots of balance. If you want to try doing yoga, I recommend that you have great balancing skills and are able to hold poses for 5 minutes or more, which may seem like a lifetime. I personally love yoga; it relaxes me (a lot) and makes me feel so much better and happier with my body. I truly believe it is a sport, since yoga may be extremely challenging, depending on the poses you choose to practice.

       Yoga is a lot of fun, and I would recommend for you to try it! It is extremely relaxing and peaceful, and can help you with the sports you play, and can also help you become more focused and aware.

If you think yoga is a sport, please comment on this post! Thank you!😁

The following are images of challenging yoga poses:

 

Now you may understand why I said you need some balancing skills to be able to do yoga😊

This is the Headstand Yoga Pose

                                      This is the Sirsa Padasana -- Head to Foot Pose

This is an image of the Downward Dog Yoga Pose; it is not a challenging pose in yoga. In fact, the Downward Dog is one of the yoga poses that is often used to transition into other yoga poses. 

Sources: 

1. https://www.doyouyoga.com/10-insane-yoga-poses-you-wish-you-could-strike/

2. https://www.doyouyoga.com/is-yoga-the-latest-olympic-sport/

3. https://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/yoga-sport-kcon/

4. http://cynthiawoong.com/product/silver-yoga-jewelry-supported-headstand-demi-necklace/

5. https://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/yoga-poses-beginner-intermediate--advanced/

6. https://www.pinterest.com/iszuromi/yoga-meditation/

7.  https://mobile.twitter.com/yogaposes2perso/status/721457201370505217

8. https://www.pinterest.com/workoutyoga/yoga-photography/

9. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pinterest.se/amp/pin/361765782547813334

Yoga is NOT a Sport

Hey, it's your pal Marizo.

So I bet you are all wondering, is yoga truly a sport? Well here is the answer. No.
Yoga is basically a lot of stretching. And how many of you would say that stretching is a sport? The answer is not that many.
And yes I know yoga can prevent injury and that is basically what stretching is about. Preventing you from injury. And I know that you might say that some yoga poses are very hard. But some stretching poses are very hard. I can't even touch my toes so, I could say that stretch is very hard for me.
And yes, you may also say that we can have competitions for yoga but really we can also have competitions for reading and boom reading is a sport.
Yoga is also about relaxing and how can you relax if yoga is suddenly about competing?
So the answer is that yoga is definitely not a sport.