I am crushed.
I am cut.
I am stolen.
I am lost.
I am dry.
I'm on fire.

I am land.
I am trees.
I am water.
I'm Mother Nature.
Is a happy Earth not what you desire?

Photo by: Victoria Bucknor, poem by: Rraine Hanson

The Sea

The sea is like a whole new inverted world
Everything is different
They don't even breathe the same

Yet it's so alike
With the plants and sand
The yellow traffic light man

The sea is like the other half of the snow globe
The other half of the looking glass
The underside of earth's mirror

The life is new
and still mystical

Small round curiosities
and creatures in every corner you see

Fish with beaks
Feathers with no wings

The life underwater is real
The peace flies and the grace swims

The ocean a puzzle we destroy before we solve
A riddle we get tounge tied over before we speak
A maze we abandon before we reach the end

A bountiful resource of life and beauty

we destroy. 

By: Eva Perrin Fontana

Only We Can Help Save the Earth

My Earth Day experience was eye opening. My school took that day very seriously but as a community we always take being "more green" and "eco-friendly" to a big extent. A couple of my friends and I got together and planted flowers near a preschool on campus. I know what you're thinking…this may seem like it's not a big deal, but it does makes a difference in so many ways. By planting those flowers we helped prevent erosion, gave a bee somewhere to take pollen from, something for the rain to water, something for the sun to give energy to in order for a plant to make chlorophyll  thus giving us the oxygen to inhale and carbon dioxide to exhale. Planting is easy, peaceful and does no harm to the earth. Every day, however, millions of people continue to contribute to the pollution that is killing our planet. Now, even we are at risk. This can change if we do what we can to help: carpool, recycle, conserve electricity and use environmentally friendly cleaning products. This one day is not even enough in my opinion; we should celebrate Earth Day everyday.

By: Amanda Hendrickson 

Hemp: A Resource of the Future?

Whether you have or have not heard of it, it's important to note firstly that no, it is not weed. Hemp is a different variety from the same plant as marijuana, Cannabis Sativa L. The main differences are that while marijuana has a flowering top and yields buds with a high THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) content and a low CBD (cannabidiol, which stops the psychoactive effect of THC in the nervous system) content, hemp has almost the opposite qualities, a very low THC content and a low CBD. Although hemp cannot be smoked, it is a natural and reusable resource with a wide variety of uses. 

Food

Yes, you can eat hemp... and I don't mean edibles. Hemp seed and hemp oil have fibre, minerals, proteins and energy. Hemp is the only plant which contains all of the essential fatty acids and amino acids needed by the human body. This can be the substitute for fish oil supplements which is great news for vegetarians (hooray!). Hemp seed can also be used to feed birds and other animals. Cattle can digest hemp, unlike corn, removing the need for use of antibiotics to prevent sickness.

Body

Various body products like soaps, shampoos, lotions etc. are made from a base of hemp because of its high EFA and GLA content which helps cells rebuild membranes and retain moisture. The Body Shop® has a line of body products created from a base of 100% natural hemp. They don't test any of their products on animals and also plant a tree for everyone they have to cut down, so go Body Shop!

Materials 

Hemp can be used to make any kind of paper, whether it be writing or rolling. What makes hemp so great for a paper alternative (alternative to the traditional tree paper) is that while trees take years to grow back, hemp takes just months (120 days). 1 acre of hemp can produce as much as 2-4 acres of trees. Using hemp to make paper could essentially save the world's forests. The paper is naturally acid free and does not turn yellow or disintegrate over time and is also is recycled with more ease.  

Hemp can be used to make fuel which unlike fossil fuel is renewable and produces less greenhouse gasses than the fuels we use in this present time. The "Lotus Eco Elise" was a prototype car where all the parts (except the sun roof) were created with hemp! Henry Ford also created one of these cars in 1941 where he swung an axe at it to prove the strength of hemp.

Hemp can even be used as an alternative to plastic. Plastic is one of the most used man made materials on the planet, and with cellulose content over 50% hemp is perfect for making plastic. Plastic made from hemp is strong, durable and environmentally friendly.

Clothes

Hemp can be used to make fabrics which are similar to cotton. In comparison to cotton, 1 acre of a hemp field will yield as much as 2-3 acres of cotton. Cotton requires more water, and plenty of herbicide, and pesticide (50% of the worlds herb/pesticides are used on cotton) while hemp requires almost none of either. Hemp can also be used to make ropes and chords. Hemp is one of the strongest and most elastic fibers in nature and is also UV protectant and warm.

 So why is it illegal? (in the US)

So with all the benefits of hemp you must think that the government is dumb for not making use of this plant completely legal, and quite frankly.... you're almost right. 

 Back in the days hemp used to be grown legally in the United States (you could even pay your taxes in hemp!). George Washington was one of the largest hemp producers in the 1700s. However, trees began to be used for paper and cotton for textiles, which were cheaper alternatives. Hemp would have been deemed the highest earning cash crop, if cost of methods of production and collection could be reduced. Hemp seemed to be the future.

Henry J. Anslinger, Lammont DuPont, and William Randolph Hearst, made growing hemp illegal. These men were heads of large chemical and newspaper companies. They feared that hemp, although environmentally friendly and cheap, would steal the business from their paper companies and so set out on a goal to make it illegal. He made false headlines like "Marijuana goads user to blood lust" to spread fear and negativity towards hemp and, as it is a close relative to marijuana, the people also began to not want the plant. All forms of the cannabis plant were then made illegal. Growing hemp was briefly legal during World War II after Japan had cut supplies of raw fibers. It was, however, made illegal again after the war had finished.

And now?

Hemp has a promising future and people are beginning to realise the quantity of benefits that hemp has on the environment, people's health and the industries. Countries across Europe and Asia grow hemp freely and can produce and manufacture products from it. The USA cannot grow hemp and can only consume the products.... for now.

 Remember that hemp.....

• Could potentially end our need for fossil fuels
• Releases almost no ash or sulphur during combustion
• Has a closed CO2 system (does not release more CO2 than it removes from the atmosphere)
• Produces as much pulp per acre in a year than 4.1 acres of wood in 20 years
• Hemp paper can be recycled 7-8 times vs. 3 times with paper from trees
• Could potentially end deforestation
• Most durable and strong natural soft-fiber
• Produce about 2-3 times more per acre than cotton
• Very economical crop (little pesticide etc needed & very fast growing)
• #1 producer of biomass per acre.

                            SUPPORT HEMP!

By: Eva Perrin Fontana

Happy Earth Day

Who put this beauty here for us to see?
Every stone and flower, every wave and tree

I know you may not like the color green,
But why do you have to treat the earth so mean?

Don't you feel the trembling of the sea, the suffering of the land?
Because of all our silly and possessive demands

I know you may not like the color green,
But why do you have to treat the earth so mean?

I see fewer and fewer animals, while the ice just melts away,
I see the factories overpowering the good the people have to say.

I know you may not like the color green,
But why do you have to treat the earth so mean?

I see the mountains fading,
And the sky becomes less blue,
I see some of you waiting for the change,
When the change all starts with you.

Photo by: Victoria Bucknor, poem by: Rraine Hanson

It's Too Bad It's Too Good

There is such a thing as the world being too good,
I have seen it.
Society has become too good at describing,
using the wrong adjectives.
We have become so focussed on the insignificant
that we can't even see
that the things that sometimes corrupt us,
(Money, the newspaper)
are literally dirty.
We have become so good at counting the change that is finite,
that we have forgotten that there is infinite change to count.
Because it is not always about the change in our pockets,
but it is always about the change in our minds and hearts.
And we have become so good at accepting the hate in our lives,
that we have forgotten the love of acceptance for the acceptance of love.
But it is never too early and it is never too late
So please, 
Let us be patient
Let us be gentle and kind
Let us be understanding
and appreciative and wise.
Let us be compassionate
and sympathetic as well
and try to understand one another.
Let us be honest and compromising
and let us work together.
But most importantly
Let us remember...
We are all fighting our battles, so even to strangers we must offer a warm smile that says,
"I know. I care. I am here. It will get better."

By: Arielle Silvera

Good Vibes

Di good vibes 

Spread di good vibes

Spread di love

Spread di respect 

Spread di peace 

Spread di good vibes all around you, love yourself and love everyone around you, make the person beside you smile, make them laugh

Spread di good vibes, play some conscious music, let loose and relax, let your worries fade while you rock your head to the beat

Spread di good vibes, sing a song, let an audience circulate, let them gravitate towards your positivity

Spread di good vibes, dance a little bit, dance with your friends, your mother, your father, your brother, your sister, direct your vibes into their mind, let them inherit these good vibes

Spread di good vibes, paint a picture, let it mean a thousand words, leave people questioning your intentions but let them know all you doing is spreading di good vibes.

By: Sydney Williams 

Cleanse your soul and free your mind

Rise above the negativity then peace won't be so hard to find

Artist: Kelsey Thacker, caption by: Rraine Hanson 

Why?

mental well-being,
we all want it, right?
we all want to be happy
and comfortable with ourselves
and our bodies
and who we are
look in the mirror
walk out the door
turn to somebody
and feel good
feel positive
feel loved
so why do we
and everyone around us
insist on putting each other down
insist on hurting ourselves
it takes so much energy to hate
to abuse
to cuss
it just takes away from the self when we're
twisted
and mean
and cruel
why do we choose pain
why do we choose to suffer
why be haters
when we're born to be lovers

By: Morgan Dunstan 

It is a pity racism still exists in our world and is still so high on the list of the many issues we need to address and change our thoughts on. Go have a listen to Good Vibes by Rebelution. Appreciate the differences in human beings instead of condemning it. #MusicWithAMessage

Photo by: Rebecca Williams, caption by: Rraine Hanson

To Whom It May Concern

Hey you, with the gun 
Do you feel big now?
Does that man made creation make you feel powerful?
And you, with the knife
Do you think you look sharp? Does that blade make you feel strong?
What about the person you're gonna use it against?
How will they feel?
(They will never feel again.)
How will their mom and dad feel when you're all done?
(Neither will they.)

What about their son?
Or their neighbor
Or their wife
What about yours?
Your wife and kids, and mom and dad?
Where are they right now?
What if an armed man tried to hurt them? 


Hey, you with the bombs and the big tanks
What are you doing? What are all of you doing?
With each act of violence a life is lost and your heart grows more dark
What point are you trying to make? Is it worth it? What do you really gain?

Hey! You, with the face
Don't know who I'm talking to?
That's because we're all the same
Put the guns down. Stop with the bombs. Stop adding more hurt to the world than there has to be. 
Instead of spreading blood
Why not love?
I know your past may be oblique
But is an even darker future really what you seek? 
So all of you, with the weapons 
Lets put them down and end it here
I know there is some good in you that you could share
Forget the violence. Forget the hate.
Make the decision now to change your fate

By: Rraine Hanson

Shoes

    I was in history class one day, bored out of my mind as ever. As I drifted into the usual slumber, Mrs. Grant put on a video. Learning about the holocaust has always caught my attention, so I watched. (For once. Just kidding I love history but it puts me to sleep) Anyway, at the end of the video it showed a scene from a holocaust museum. The film ended with the image of thousands of shoes piled high in a massive room. This wasn’t just a mound; it was a mountain. Shoes. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen and I couldn’t really explain to myself why it made me so sad. I could feel that sense of sadness radiate from all of my classmates. I mean, seeing dead salvaged bodies is pretty bad but the sight of thousands of shoes caught our attention. Why?
    I sat down and pondered, for a few hours actually. Whether you’re rich or poor, you have a few pairs of shoes. Disregarding the Jamaican tendency to only wear them when you’re forced to, and the calluses act as rubber soles themselves, you basically wear these shoes everywhere you go. Five days a week, we wear the same shoes, to the same school and go through the same routine. Going to mas Camp, let’s slip on my pair of sneakers because these are my casual pair but later when I hit Ultra I’ll slip on my pumps – you get the gist. These shoes go wherever you go. These shoes essentially experience what you’re experiencing. Let’s say, in a parallel universe, your shoes could talk. “Where did I leave my phone shoe”? “Let’s see, Human. You came through the door took five small paces to the right by the table and went to the kitchen. Check the table”. Convenience at its prime, right?
    But with all jokes aside, shoes aren’t just houses for our little feet or the latest fashion trend. Shoes tell a story. Shoes tell your story. Every stumble you have had or every staircase you have climbed, they have been there. Their soles are weathered by the trekking of your life. These soles are worn by the changing terrain; sometimes you have to get a new pair because you out grow the last pair. Polish, mend, toothbrush tek out di dust fast. Our souls are weathered by the trekking of our lives. Our souls are worn by the constant ups and downs we face; sometimes you out grow things simply because you’ve grown up. Hair dos, bruises, showers in lukewarm water.
   What about those men who were weathered by labor so demanding they were left with no fat between their irritated skin and weak bones? What about those women who lead normal lives until a thing called racism took control of them? What about those children in death camps that couldn’t change the clothes that burst at the seams because growth wasn’t allowed but starvation and hunger were? What about their baldheads, ridded of hair, decaying existences and the awaiting shower of death plumes ready for mass murder? Their bodies were burned and sent as ash floating into the air as if they never existed. That’s what he wanted, right? To have them never exist? Well they did and their decaying, untold stories are piled high, in a dark, massive room.
    Never forget the past and realize what matters, today! This isn’t only specific to the lives lost during the Holocaust but it acts as a reminder for the greater things in life. Millions of shoes means millions of insignificant lives wasted and left to be forgotten. How do you know that this person wouldn’t have been the next, most positively influential person on this planet? It’s hate and anger towards people who were just a little bit different, that stopped us from ever knowing that. So, don’t hate. Stop being angry for people’s qwerks. Embrace them with love and don’t take away their opportunity for mental growth. This is a revolution and it starts and ends with you.

By: Megan Wong

Our Generation

Let's take it from a different perspective. Imagine our parents. 

In the back of their heads, they are disappointed in this 21st-century music that we're all listening to. Probably think it's corrupting our minds, but we as teenagers don't know it, because our parents are scared to show a sense of non-acceptance to their own creation. They might not want to break you as a person or change what you like. 

Because you are you. 

But as this music evolves and evolves, they start to see what you're becoming because of it. But is that what they want in the child that was raised under their roof?

The disrespectful names for women

the profound words leaking like a faucet out of your mouth

the vulgarity towards your 'friends'

the simple words you put on social media, that sometimes hurt another's heart

the 'fade' or 'fight' you wanna have with someone because they stole your girl

the inappropriate or "funny" remarks that may cause someone to cry for the rest of the sleepless night

This makes their jaw drop, like we're a shocking disappointment. 

Listen to things that promote good vibes

surround yourself with people who help shape you into what you want to become 

don't get down on someone's level, but rise above and try to help them too 

Because at the end of the day, everyone should feel blessed, appreciated, happy and alive inside. 

Not stressed, suicidal, hated, or aching from that odd melancholy feeling.

Stop it from evolving. 

Remove yourself from the negativity and unravel the endless positivity.

By: Sam Bernard

This revolution
is a process we can't stop.
Keep moving forward.

Photo by: Rebecca Williams, haiku by: Rraine Hanson

A Massive New Movement for Media

The key to living right starts with mentality. The brain is such a delicate, influential and powerful thing. I think we forget this and let it take a toll in the wrong direction. What you think is what you become and everything affects everything. Society is the way it is because of us. It is all up to us and yet there are so many negative aspects about our contemporary world. What is media? No really, what is media, without us? Without our brain power and talent and passion? We let media dictate our lives and it's not doing much good if you think about it. Think of the images you see daily and how they make you feel and how they make you think you should be like. Think of all the music you love and listen to all the time and of the message really embedded in it. Is it good? Does it make you feel good about yourself and the world? Nah, I doubt it. It's pretty rare nowadays. But why? Why we let it taint us is what I'd love to know. Imagine media pushing strictly positive messages and creating good vibes and how it would affect our lives. Yeah, it kinda makes me wanna smile too. And that's the thing. We. Us. Me and you, you and I. That's where it starts. That's what it's about. We have the power to change everything around us, the power to make others happy, make ourselves happy. We have to be the change we want to see in our society. And we have to do it together; we have to do it now.

By: Rraine Hanson, song and video by: Eva Perrin-Fontana

Picture this

Picture this 
a world of laughs and giggles, a place of peace and serenity 
flowers blooming, butterflies flying, birds chirping
Picture this
a world of war and guns, a place filled with bullets and corpses
nauseating smells, gloomy days
Now can't we all say that the first sounds better? 
But is this how it is?
No. Why not?
Because humans have given up
We have satisfied ourselves with war
We have satisfied ourselves with hatred
We have satisfied ourselves with death
We have comforted our minds with that the fact that this is how the earth revolves.
Humans have come a far way, but I believe it is our time to change
Our time to stop the war, stop the hatred, stop the forcing of under-age marriage, stop the famine.
We need to bring this world into unity, no countries fighting, no innocent people dying.
It is our time to change, and not just say it. Be an action beneath your words and do it.

By: Sydney Williams

The Mental Revolution

I believe that once you see past the physical, the skin color, the appearance, or any of the things that don't even begin to define your mental character, we are able to seek and feel basic human happiness, because its made from the inside. You can be happy regardless of who you are and where you come from. Being black or white, what does it even mean anyway? Or fat or thin, because who's even watching? Or rich or poor, because what is money worth anyway? My brother always taught me that if you believe you shouldn't judge others, don't believe in others judging you, and in listening to him I found my self confidence. I do not judge, and therefore even if you do judge me, I don't believe in what you're doing and I won't let it affect me. Seeing myself in that light and telling myself I cannot judge made me respect others because we're all human. I see myself in everyone, everyone loves someone, and everyone has lost and felt pain, which is something my good friend Racquel told me. Putting yourself in other people's shoes helps you see yourself in others and that is how we learn to respect. Being alive is hard. I respect you just for being alive right now, and honestly it shouldn't be hard. It should be fun and easy, and it would be, if only people wouldn't hate. It'd be easy if no one had ever called you stupid in the third grade cause then you wouldn't doubt yourself in class, or if no one had ever "jokingly" called you fat one time because you took it to heart and now don't feel comfortable in your skin. Wouldn't it be easy if we didn't hate on each other? People don't realize that it's the small things that can do the biggest damage. Why hate? 

I've lived in Jamaica for only three years now, and my favorite time on the island is soca season. In my eyes the soca season is the time of year where we the people of the island are happiest and we go out just to have a good time. All people: tall, short, skinny, fat or fluffy, everyone, cause we just want to have fun. Of course there's always those who watch other people but most of us are just into the music and the vibes, and for once we don't care, and we just feel happy. This year at road march people threw rocks at other people. It made me think that is this what we've come to, a carnival disrupted by unnecessary violence? A celebration where people come to enjoy the music and vibes was ruined because of an act of hate? I feel that's the problem - why can we not just respect and allow people to be happy? We use violence and crime as excuses to hate and do these things that honestly should not be happening. People shouldn't be dying and be injured because of other people, other humans like themselves. Why are we doing this to each other? Jamaica has so much potential and I've heard so many people say it: “Jamaica have the best runners” or “Yeah man, we talented” or “Jamaica have runners, best cook food, music, vibes.” So if we have all this, why are we not succeeding? Why are we still stuck in corruption and crime? Why have we not risen up with all this existing potential? Bob Marley said no negativity, and we need to listen. We need to work together instead of tearing each other down in order to truly prosper. We need to rise up. We need to change and let that change start with us. The time is now.

This is a mental revolution.

By: Eva Perrin Fontana

Take control again

We need to change. We need to respect. We need to love.

The world today is bursting at the seams with hate and violence instead of love and peace. It's time to change that. We as a people need to take control again, work together, constructively, because it's the only way we will ever advance. We cannot escape where we are without each other. We need to stop fighting and start loving.

By: Eva Perrin Fontana