zosia miller

  It isn't news that people in Poland don't read a lot. Lately, I read that around 60% of Poles didn't read any book last year. And it can be seen everywhere. It's terrifying how few people hold a book in means of public transport when compared to a number of those with phones. There are, of course, some who really enjoy reading, including me, but others simply don't. I was wondering what caused this situation. The easiest explanation is that some don't have time for reading. After working long hours or attending school they are coming back home and are overwhelmed with all of their responsibilities. They also may be too tired to read. Another explanation is that they don't like reading. I think that it may has it's roots in childhood. If we are not introduced to books early enough we will not want to read them and we will not bring joy and relaxation.

     When we are on vacation or visiting another city we often eat in restaurants. But it doesn’t happen a lot in our everyday life. I myself have eaten in a restaurant in Warsaw six times.      I think that not many people in Poland eat out. At least compared to countries like Italy, France or Spain. In contrast to people from other parts of the world, this is not in our culture. There are a few explanations for this. The easiest one is that we prefer to cook our own food. We have control over what ingredients we use and the end result of our dish. I also think that we don’t eat out a lot is because it is more expensive. Cooking at home is simply much more economic. Also, our society is not as rich as the society in Italy or Spain so we simply are not able to afford to eat out sometimes. 

               Since the covid pandemic has started we had to learn how to study in a new way. We used apps like zoom or teams for our school classes. Even now when we can meet in person some extra classes are still organised this way. Personally, I don’t like studying online. I think that studying at school has more advantages for me. I prefer lessons that are face to face with other students and teachers. I feel much more natural learning about new things at school. When I attended classes online I noticed that my concentration decreased. I simply was distracted by things in my room: my phone, books or things that wouldn’t usually focus my attention. I don’t have this problem at school. My motivation also dropped while we had online classes. I woke up right before lessons and didn’t do anything productive after their end. Now I feel the duty to do things not only for school but also outside of it. I’m much more productive. I think that I didn’t ...

               It isn’t hard to notice that our society uses phones all the time. We are somehow “tied” to them.               Nowadays everybody owns one and some people own even more. We all use them daily. Phones are of course useful, but we can’t say that they don’t harm us in some way. We become addicted to them. It is scary, at least for me, how much time we spend using our phones a day, and this also refers to me. Instead of doing necessary, creative or productive things we are wasting ourselves. People, especially younger generations, use phones in every free second of their time. We have to check every notification because we are scared that something may miss us. I think that being cut off from the world and new information, which isn’t always important, is scary for most of us. The only solution, I think is to change our habits: leave phones in a different room when we study, push ourselves to explore ...

  In a city, some things are available for everybody's use. There are parks, electric scooters or means of public transport. Unfortunately, people often don't look after such things. They leave scooters carelessly after using them (which also can be dangerous for pedestrians), litter parks and sidewalks and damage bus stops. I think that they aren't careful with things like this because they don't think about them as theirs. They can always say: "It is not mine, it is not my problem". People simply don't care about things for which they didn't pay. Even if all those things are financed by taxes that they are paying they don't think about them in the same category as for example car that they bought. They will be careful not to dirty it but they will not be as careful in a bus. This behaviour doesn't really make sense. We all use things like buses and sidewalks so we all should care for them.

     I have been living in a house for the past ten years. For the whole last week, I lived in a flat. It made me realise how disturbing it was for me. I didn't know that I would feel such a difference. I was irritated by the sound of a lift, neighbour's stomping and even the light from a street. I was surprised at how much it annoyed me. I visited my friends in their flats and it didn't bother me. I think that it is because of the time I spent in both places. I stayed a maximum of one night at my friend's and a whole week at my parents' flat. People don't notice such things in a short period of time. Also, it is different when we know that we are leaving the next day rather than staying for another night. I also think that it annoyed me that much because I live on a quiet street with one neighbour. People have different habits so living in my house for a longer time could bother somebody else. 

I live right next to a forest and like many people living like this, I noticed that there is a lot of trash in it. I saw rubbish in a forest since I can remember.  I'm not saying that on my way home I'm walking on a path made of garbage, but it shouldn't appear in a forest at all. It is awful how people treat woods. They think that it is a free garbage dump and they are able to leave any trash there (even old fridges or tires). I think that the only reason why they do it is because they don't want to pay for garbage collection.  Instead, they prefer to pollute. They probably think that because they don't live there it isn't their problem. It bothers not only people but all living organisms. Garbage poison the soil and if animals eat it it can also poison them. I find littering and people who do it very annoying and I support all the fines related to it. 

  I think that we all observed how not all people wear their masks properly. They usually wear, and I am talking here about closed spaces like shops, museums or public transport, them below noses or not at all.      We all know about the virus and if we want it to stop spreading we really should stick to the rules. So why people are not properly wearing their masks? Maybe for some masks area stupid idea in general so that's why they refuse to wear them. Others may be "bored" by them and simply had enough. I think that people in our society also thinks that "if not everybody wears them why should I". And this thinking only leads to an infinite circle of people not wearing their masks. I think that it shouldn't be such a problem. We all should simply wear them and don't complain because they are only helping us.

Lately, when I met my friend she told me a story about her way to school the other day. She highlighted the fact that when she was running for a leaving underground somebody held the door for her.  When she was telling me about it she sounded positively surprised and so was I. I think that our surprise shows general assumptions that people have about other people. We usually think that they are mean, unwilling to help and think only about themselves. There is an obvious distance that we have for others (it isn't necessarily a bad thing they are strangers after all). We are simply surprised by any act of kindness from people that we don't know. We expect it only in return for our kindness towards them. It is upsetting that we feel that way and we let it affect our view of others. I think that it can somehow block our ability to meet new people. So why are we biased like that?

The article that I read today was titled "How school pets can help children to learn and read" and was written by Helen Lewis. The text is about how animals can affect children growth. Kids learn something new every day. It is important that the best conditions are assured for them from the youngest age so they can take positive attitudes. This is why I think that contact with animals can have a very good impact. As said in the article, because of school pets kids are doing better at school. Not only they learn and bond with other children easier but they also get to know positive behaviours. I think that the studies clearly show that kids who come in contact with animals are learning kindness and consideration. I also think that they are able to learn to care about others (not only humans) and how everybody has their own feelings. In my opinion school animals, only if chosen carefully, can help develop a kind of sensitivity to the surrounding world. https://theconversati...

This text was titled "Baby bees love carbs, experiments show – here’s why that matters" and was written by James Gilbert and Elizabeth Duncan. The article was mainly about the new study that revolved around young bees. I think that bees are one of the most important species in the world. They are the main part of life. They pollinate plants and by that, they help to keep our food supply safe. But with the development of cities, roads and agriculture we started to destroy the natural habitat of bees. Fortunately, people around the world try to help bees by, like said in the article, planting wildflower mixes to give those animals a source of food. But we still don't know what young bees eat and it really makes it difficult to help them. Recent new studies have been surprisingly carried out that bees diet should include a lot of carbs and potassium. It is very helpful because now we can actually help them. If we provide the right mix of flowers we may be able to help b...

The article that I recently read was called "3 mRNA vaccines researchers are working on (that aren’t COVID)" and was written by Archa Fox and Damian Purcell. It is about the new vaccines for flu, malaria and cancer that are currently being developed.  Those vaccines are new, incredibly advanced forms of fighting diseases. This type of vaccine is a huge step in the development of medicine. We can produce parts of RNA that inform our organisms how to fight illness. I think that it is very good that scientists started to look for new solutions. Now there are three diseases for which mRNA vaccines are searched: flu, malaria and cancer. I think that finding one for either of those illnesses would be a success. It could help a lot of people. But all of these sicknesses are hard ones. Flu changes every year and there is no vaccine for cancer or malaria. Unfortunately, there are a lot of obstacles. There is the matter of transport and storage (right now mRNA vaccines have to be k...

  The text that I read was titled "New COVID variants have changed the game, and vaccines will not be enough. We need global ‘maximum suppression’". The authors write about how serious a situation witch covid is and call to tighten up our behaviours that will help gain control over the pandemic. After a year of lockdowns and prohibitions, everyone is tired. People just want to be able to go back to normal. Unfortunately, I don't think that it will happen anytime soon. There are a huge amount mutations that are more dangerous than "the basic covid". As in the article, I think that we should do more than just vaccine. It is, of course, our best shot to end it but until more people will receive it we should, as it was pointed in the text, be wearing masks, practice social distancing and all of those things. https://theconversation.com/new-covid-variants-have-changed-the-game-and-vaccines-will-not-be-enough-we-need-global-maximum-suppression-157870

The article that I read today was called "Africa’s 2 elephant species are both endangered, due to poaching and habitat loss" and was written by scientist George Wittemyer. It is about a critical situation of African elephants in terms of their number. Many species are engendered because of human activities but those mammals are one the last I would think of. Elephants are one of the first things that spring to mind when we think about Africa. This is one of the reasons why a decrease in their number is sad. They are beautiful animals that deserve to be left in peace. The text follows that those animals are also doing a lot of good for the planet. I didn't know that they were fighting witch climate change just by walking (they disperse seeds and thin out young trees). It is yet another reason to help them increase their population. I think that the case of elephants shows how bad people are treating and treated our planet.  https://theconversation.com/africas-2-elephan...

  This week I read an article called "How ‘tiger farms’ have turned a wild animal into a species worth more dead than alive". It was written by Simon Evans. The text is about how bad tigers are treated on farms and how their lives are miserable. I think that those tigers are in a very bad situation. Not enough they are held in captivity, but also they are kept in terrible conditions. It made me sad when I wrote how they are treated. Every animal has a right to lead a healthy life in the wild. Those poor tigers are under a huge amount of stress just because owners of farms simply don't care about them. What matters to those people is only money. And they don't care if animals are in good condition or not. Personally, I think that those farms should be investigated and if possible closed. And if it wouldn't work some laws limiting those farms should be made. https://theconversation.com/how-tiger-farms-have-turned-a-wild-animal-into-a-species-worth-more-dead-than...

  The article that I lately read is called "Playing with ultra-thin dolls could make girls as young as five want skinnier bodies" and is written by Lynda Boothroyd. The text is about a study that checked how thin dolls affect girls perception of their and others bodies. The writer, who also was one of the people who conducted a study, makes some good points. She observed that little girls who are playing with super-thin dolls are more likely to desire this type of body or see it as the perfect one. Apparently, it can be"fixed" which is good. Little girls should not feel bad about their own bodies. I think, as the author, that playing with this type of dolls can affect the future of kids playing with them. They can be depressed, have eating disorders, or be insecure. I don't think that girls shouldn't play with dolls like Barbie, but I think that they definitely should have other figures (in the text Dora is mentioned) and be told that every type of body ...

The article that I read this week was called "'Giant luminous shark': researchers discover three deep-sea sharks glow in the dark" written by Elle Hunt. The text was about lately discovered sharks with the ability to glow.  Finding out about such a surprising thing isn't really a surprise. It is common knowledge that we didn't discover the whole marine life that exists. There is still a lot to find out in this ecosystem and we still are slowly getting to know it. Three sharks found near New Zealand's coast only prove that. Like said in the text, I think that the fact that those animals live in the zone which sunlight reaches and still use bioluminescence sheds new light on their lives.  Now scientists have to answer the question of why are they doing it. One of the hypotheses is that those sharks glow to camouflage themselves. I think that it makes a lot of sense because those animals aren't the biggest predators in the ocean and they can easily be e...

  Recently I read an article titled "John Keats: how his poems of death and lost youth are resonating during COVID-19" by Richard Marggraf-Turley. The text was mainly about the life and works of this artist, but a lot can be concluded from it. Keats, practically all his life, was a witness of death, mental illnesses, and suffering. He reflected it in his works. And even after 200 years, they are more current than ever. Everybody can now experience emotions about which John Keats wrote. In times of pandemic, especially people my age, are losing their youth and time to experience new things. Quarantine also isn't a stranger to us and the poet.  I think that we can agree with Keats that it is affecting us in a bad way. We, as he said in his letters, are feeling depressed. I think that the author of the article captured and translated to pandemic times poems of Keats. https://theconversation.com/john-keats-how-his-poems-of-death-and-lost-youth-are-resonating-during-covid-...

The article that I read called "Covid has damaged our small businesses. Now Brexit might finish them off" was written by John Harris. It was mainly devoted to the impact of Brexit on small businesses and their owners. Owning a small business is hard by its definition. One or few people have to do a job of at least, I think, 4 people. And even when others are employed it still can't be easy. Owners have to face big problems connected to an organization, production, promotion, and shipment. Covid and Brexit don't help. Because of new laws, small businesses lost their clients and by that money. It is a very bad situation because people's businesses are their salary and without it, they can't pay rent or buy food. So Brexit must be a stressful situation for many. I can't imagine how hard it is to make living from a small business at this time. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/15/covid-damaged-small-businesses-brexit-uk-eu-trading

       I lately read an article called "Cacophony of human noise is hurting all marine life, scientists warn" by Damian Carrington. The text spoke of how the sound that humans produce affects living in the oceans and seas.      It follows from the article that marine transport and exploration can influence the ability to use sound by animals. It is sad because species that live underwater can hear from a long distance and their hearing is essential for them to lead life. Because of human activity animals, can't communicate, collect their nourishment or reproduce. Humans contributed to the acidification of the water which further aggravates the matter. I feel sorry for those poor animals that can't lead their normal life anymore. Those born in these conditions are also in an awful situation because all that they know their entire life is a cage made of sound. Fortunately, because of coronavirus, this whole situation got better.  The amount of sound...