I was appalled to hear that Malala Yousafazai, a young teenager, was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen in Pakistan because she advocated for girls’ education. The bullet pierced her left temple and lodged near her spine. She is still alive, and has been flown to Britain for treatment to repair what damage can be helped. She reportedly has not suffered significant brain damage and is improving. She has since been reunited with her family. Two other girls were wounded in the gunfire; one is relatively unharmed and the other is in critical condition.

Trayvon Martin and Stand Your Ground laws fill headlines. It could have been my cousin. It could have been my friend. Could it have been someone I go to school with? Trayvon Martin was a high school student. I'm a high school student. He was wearing a hoodie. I wear hoodies. He was walking home. I walk home. He was shot and killed by someone who was not a police officer. The shooter is justifying his action under the Stand Your Ground laws in place in Florida. How could this happen? Could it happen here?

It's the last day of school before the holidays, and everyone's making plans to sleep in and do nothing all day every day. Most of us teenagers want to escape the busyness of school; however, it reveals itself to be an almost unattainable goal. I find myself equally as busy during the holidays as I am when school's going on, though it's a refreshingly different kind of busy.