郭語婕

     Whether to keep the death penalty has been a controversial issue nowadays. There are many arguments about whether to support the death penalty or abolish it. However, after the discussion, we believe that it should exist in the context of Taiwan. We will provide three reasons why we think the death penalty is an appropriate punishment for crimes in Taiwan. (Sam Huang)
     The first reason we support that the death penalty should exist in Taiwan is that we can save money for taxpayers. According to ETtoday (2012), on average, we have to spend two thousand Taiwanese dollars to keep one prisoner in jail every month. Although the sum seems to be low at first, we might have to spend the money over a long period of time, and the overall spending is incredible. According to a news clip from ETtoday (2012), a death row prisoner named Zeng Sih Ru stayed in prison for three thousand six hundred and eighty days, and during the process, she spent almost two hundred and forty thousand Taiwanese dollars. In addition, in order to keep incarcerated people, the government has to employ many people to oversee them. For instance, the government needs to hire police officers and prison administrators, etc. Paying money for these extra resources is unnecessary since we can use the expenditure to prevent more crimes from happening. In our opinion, if we implement capital punishment in Taiwan, the expenditure will be saved. In addition, we can reduce the need to use tax dollars. (Chloe Kuo)

     Before I did the research for this project, I did not know that there were many beloved tourist destinations struggling with overcrowding and over-tourism. For example, Amsterdam, Machu Picchu, and some national parks in the United States. All of them attract many travelers went there to relax and enjoy the stunning scenery and the beauty of nature. 
     After I did a lot of research, I chose Jeju Island as my motif. When I try to find some evidence to prove my point of view, I figure out that there were only a few articles about the over-tourism problems of Jeju Island. Most of the articles are about how beautiful the place is, and how you can travel there. People talk about the problem less. Therefore, I had to organize all the information I had to make a strong and clear statement. In addition, I used the “they say, I say” concept to provide my points. In my draft #1, I only mention the reasons that I disagree to close Jeju Island. After I read some good examples from my classmates, I learned that I can add some methods that can solve the problem to make my point persuasive, so I proposed some solutions in my draft #2.

     Jeju Island is the largest island in South Korea. Because the island is known for its stunning scenery, for instance, its picturesque sandy beaches, magnificent rock formations, and grand waterfalls, it is one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Therefore, it attracts many travelers from the mainland and overseas every year. People like to come here to escape from polluted city life, relax their minds, and recover from work stress by enjoying the beauty of nature. However, because Jeju Island is a tourist destination, according to Jung (2023), there are about 15 million tourists visiting the island each year, and it was forced to face overcrowding and over-tourism caused by a large number of visitors. There are many solutions to save the beautiful land, and one of the ways is to close the island to tourists. The method can solve many main environmental problems right away, but I do not think that it is the best solution. In my opinion, we should find a balance between tourists and locals. A sustainable, balanced approach that can satisfy the need of everyone.
     One of the reasons that I disagree with the closure of Jeju Island is the economy. Because the major industry in Jeju Island is tourism, it creates a lot of job opportunities for the residents. Most people rely on making money from tourists. Take Covid-19 as an example, the world suffered from the pandemic for a long time, and it affected Jeju Island as well. According to the Sigma content team (2020), airplanes on the island were banned for more than four months in 2020 and cannot come in or go out. The experience was similar to closing the island to tourists. During this time, many stores were forced to close, for instance, duty-free shops, travel agencies, and so on. The Sigma content team (2020) also reported that one of the company’s leisure and entertainment resorts lost approximately 22.4 million USD because of the pandemic. Due to the crisis, many companies were unsustainable, and it led many people to lose their jobs. From the experience, we can understand that the tourism industry is really important for residents of Jeju Island, and it is hard for local residents to survive without visitors.

       Before I did Project #3, I did not have the experience to debut capital punishment. Although I know I am a person who agrees with execution, I never consider the problem seriously and deeply. When we have to figure out why we agree with the death penalty, I did a lot of research, and absorb much information. In addition, after I read the two articles about the death penalty from the textbook, I can understand the point of view from both sides. After I read a lot of statements, I learned that the problem is connected to many aspects, for example, finances, morality, and the recidivism rate.
        In the poster presentation, the posters of Bonita and Yoyo’s group made me feel impressed the most. Bonta’s group poster used arrows to present their points of view. In my opinion, it was a great and clear way to show the context. I can understand their perspective easily. In Yoyo’s group poster, they separate their viewpoint into different parts. In addition, they provided examples to every perspective. They made the statement more persuasive.

Before we start to write project one, we read the articles, and we can learn from them that there will be a large number of new occupations in every century. Furthermore, each occupation requires different abilities, so I believe that we should learn as many skills as we can. We should be fully prepared.

Before I wrote the cover letter, in my opinion, I need to provide my personal information and all my awards, but I had no idea that I could only choose some of them and describe them in more detail. Describing how these awards can help the company. When you provided a list of all your awards to the boss it might make the cover letter more confusing and disorganized. Just picking a few of them is a great method to demonstrate your personal qualities and strengths. Therefore, when I wrote the cover letter, one of the difficulties was that I have to consider for a long time how to best highlight my personal talents and how they can benefit the company.

I wrote Project three with my group members, and it was the first time I had to finish a composition with others. I used to write the composition on my own, therefore it was a new experience for me. In addition, I usually use online websites to find information, but it was my first time using school library databases to search for sources. I can find numerous data that I need online, and that was so convenient. When I try to use the online website of the library to search for resources about Mars, I found one thing that impressed me the most. It is the temperature on Mars’s surface can be around twenty degrees Celsius in summer. Before I did research on Mars, I thought the surface of Mars is in extremely low temperatures all the time. The result was not what I expected.

There are two presentations that impressed me the most. One is Patrick’s group, and the other one is Bonita’s group. First, Patrick’s group used the video and presented the pros and cons of Mars. The video was clear and easy to understand. In addition, they talked about the benefits and drawbacks, and these make their point clear and simple, and I could have a better understanding of Mars. These pieces of knowledge help me to determine whether Mars is a great place to live or not. Secondly, Bonita’s group used the video as well, and they present the gender difference with a lot of pictures. These photos made me can know their opinions easier. They also use daily situations to explain the points, and I could acquire the point readily. These were wonderful experiences.

     People would like to immigrate to mars in the future because of the overpopulation and resource depletion on Earth. It has become a popular topic in recent years. However, Mars is still an unknown planet for humans, but there has already been some research showing that immigrating to Mars is not a wonderful idea. In this article, we will provide three reasons that we believe people should not choose Mars as the future place for survival.

Gravity

After reading the story of Frank Abagnale, I was shocked at first. In my opinion, it was an eye-opening story. He has deceived many people in various roles.  I can’t help admiring him because he must be very intelligent, or he cannot do this for a long time. However, the most important thing is that we need to pay attention to somebody that you do not know, he or she might be the next Frank Abagnale.

I wrote a story about an eighty-year-old woman, Cora, suffer from a phone scam in Pingtung. Two young scammers impersonated the police officers, and they took Cora to the post office and took away all her money from her bank account. Then both of them were found suspicious in the train station. In the end, they were confirmed and arrested by the real police officers.

Before I wrote project #1, I had read two articles, "An Interview with Travis Binns" and "High-School Star Hospitalized for Eating Disorder." Both of the stories was talking about obsession, and it made me realize that obsession can have different consequences, and that would have a tremendous effect on their lives. For instance, the obsession helps Alex Honnold to be a known and excellent rock climber. On the other hands, Ashley Jones obsessed with her weight, and the eating disorder let her lose her dream.

In my project #1, Chloe shared her memorable story with me. She being-watched the series for whole three days without sleep. That caused the heart problem to her. In addition, she said that the main character, Shaun Murphy, was not only her favorite character but also her life mentor. After the interview, it made me want to watch the series as well because I think I can learn a lot from it.

    There are many types of frauds with the era and changing. Recently, one of the common frauds is phone scam. The scam gangs often choose the elderly as their target because they have more savings. Furthermore, the older people living alone are easier because they often lack vigilance and proper perspectives.   
    There was a story happened in Pingtung. An eighty-year-old woman, Cora, lived alone in the countryside. One day, she was sitting in the living room when she received a phone call from police officers. At first, the police officers, impersonated by two young scammers, told Cora that they have to take over her bank account because there were some problems with it. After the two scammers and Cora met each other, they took her to the post office. Then, they guided Cora to make a withdrawal and asked her to give all the money to them. After the two scammers got the money from Cora, they went to the train station. Meanwhile, the real police officers were patrolling the area, and they found these two young people suspicious and saw the money they just stole from Cora. After interrogating, the police officers confirmed that they were scammers. Finally, the two scammers were arrested, and the money was subsequently returned to Cora.

     Have you ever been obsessed with something, and did a lot of crazy things about it? Chloe loves medical drama since she was a child because the doctor always plays an honorable role in her mind. Chloe had a long summer when she was going to become a college student, and she felt bored at home. Thus, her friend recommended her a famous series on Netflix. The series called The Good Doctor. The main character name is Shaun Murphy. He is a young surgeon with high-functioning autism, and he has extraordinary medical talent. Shaun used the gifts to save many patients’ precious lives and dispel the suspicions from his colleagues. In the series, there are many thought-provoking and tear-jerking stories. After Chloe binge-watched this, she was deeply attracted by it. At that time, she often said “Just one more episode.” However, the plot was too spellbinding, so she unconsciously watched the series for the whole three days without sleeping at home. Chloe said, “Then, my heart started to throb because of sleep deprivation. As that feeling was so awful, it made me think I might die. When my body gave a warning sign to me, suddenly, I was aware that I was addicted to the series.” Consequently, Chloe realized that she should get a rest for her healthy, otherwise she would have a serious illness. At the same time, Chloe found out that it was the first time she was so obsessed with one thing.
     “Don’t ever let anyone tell you what you can do and can’t do.” The quotation is from The Good Doctor, and it impressed Chloe the most. Chloe said, “I often use the quotation to encourage myself when I feel depressed. In the series, the patients and the colleagues doubted on Dr. Shaun Murphy’s ability to do the job well, and they maliciously treated him. Nevertheless, Shaun was not affected by rumors. He always considered the patients to be his priority. In addition, Shaun kept being diligent and persevered. Gradually, everyone changed their attitude towards him, and he became a respected doctor. Shaun did not let other people decide who he was, and he defined his own value by himself. This is the reason why I was obsessed with the series so much. Dr. Shaun Murphy is not only my favorite character but also my life mentor. I would like to recommend the series to all my friends.” After I listened to the crazy story, it made me want to watch the series as well. Chloe can do something for three without sleep, it must mean a lot to her. In my opinion, although it hurt her health, it was not a bad thing. Instead, I was glad for her because it was not easy to find something that would drive you crazy.

My Chinese name is Yu Jie Guo, and my English name is Chloe. I was born on first January. When people heard about this, they always feel surprised and call me new year baby. Also, I grew up in a hot city, Kaohsiung. In my leisure time, I enjoy watching the series, taking photos and go to the cafe. Furthermore, I love to wear Korean style outfits and have Korean cuisine. My favorite K-pop group is BTS, which is a well-known K-pop boy group and one of the biggest music sensations in history. Although I am a fan of Korean culture, I do not watch K-dramas. I prefer to watch western TV series. I appreciate their attitude to life. It made me love western culture as well. In addition, my favorite city is Paris, I love their chill and elegant vibe. I am learning the French language as well. Go to Paris is one of my bucket-list. I would like to sit on the chair, drink the coffee and enjoy the scenes by the riverside.