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This is a really good book, and it relates really well to our society. It is mainly about MJ Hegar, a woman in the National Guard and deployed in Afghanistan, and her struggles as proving herself as a soldier in the armed forces. She meets many people who are openly opposed to women in the armed forces, but some people she thought were her friends turned out to have secretly negative feelings towards her. The final chapter explains MJ's push to open combat jobs for women, and to prove that women can do just as well as men. The main takeaway from this book is not to underestimate the "weakest link" just because they don't look as strong or as tough as you. MJ was thought to be a weak girl who couldn't handle the air force, but ended up being better than most, if not all, of her fellow peers. This is still valuable today because women are doing jobs that are typically associated with men, and we can't judge them or assume they're going to be bad at it. You have to let them show you what they've got, and they might just surprise you.
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My book is focuses on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars are still going on today, but a problem resulting of these wars is prejudice against Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent. Discrimination against Middle Easterners has escalated since President Trump has imposed the travel ban. This travel ban prevented anyone from Syria, Yemen, Iran, Lynda, Somalia, and Sudan to fly into the United States for 90 days. This ban was meant to prevent possible terrorists or enemies of the U.S. into America through planes.My book, Shoot Like A Girl, follows MJ Hegar, a girl from Austin Texas who joins the Air Force and eventually fights in the Afghanistan War. During the early parts of the autobiography, the Civil War between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance had just started. Since this book is nonfiction, all the events in the book are real and actually happened. The first Gulf War had just ended when MJ finishes college and joins the Air Force as an aircraft maintenance worker. She was stationed in Japan during the economic turmoil and recession. She was in Austin at training camp when the Twin Towers were hit. "I watched in horror as the second plane impacted with the tower on live TV. This was no accident. My stomach churned as I began to realize that we were under attack." This is how MJ recalls feeling on the morning of September 11, 2001. Currently in my book, MJ is being deployed on a search and rescue mission in Kandahar. This relates to the world because many of these happened during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This year, more than 4,000 people are homeless in Raleigh. Of those 4,000 that are homeless, 2,736 are wake county school students. You may not realize it, but some of the people in your class may be homeless. Studies show that that 1 in 30 children are homeless. When you're homeless, not having a roof to sleep under may not be your biggest issue. The homeless population is exposed to violence, drugs, and and sickness. But there is some improvement. The homeless population in Raleigh has decreased by 25% last year, and the Raleigh Rescue Mission is a big factor in that drop. They sheltered 38,000 people last year, and provided more than 13,000 housing referrals. You can also help. You can donate here or volunteer at your local homeless shelter or food bank. Even the littlest donation could improve the life of a homeless person in our community. Local animal shelters lack funding due to a decrease in adoptions. So far this year, a surprising 45 dogs have needed heartworm treatment at the Raleigh SPCA. Each dog's treatment costs anywhere between $400-$1,000. That means that all the treatment would cost $18,000 at the least, money the shelter doesn't have. All together, the SPCA expects a budget of $450,000 for this year. At Safe Haven for Cats, a nonprofit animal shelter in Raleigh, lacked the proper supplies for the 35 cats they took in in the months of January and February. The Wake County Animal Shelter has what it needs in supplies, but often lacks in volunteers. A handful of loyal volunteers often have to work holidays and long hours to make up for the shortage of volunteers. I am interested in this issue because I adopted my dog from Saving Grace, a local shelter. This shelter was dog heaven. It was run on a farm in Fuquay and as soon as you walked in you could feel the love that the volunteers give every single dog there. It was run and owned by a mother and a daughter, and you could tell they put every penny they earned back into the shelter. All these shelters need donations, but more specifically need adoptions. Adoptions help out not only the shelter, but the animals that live there.
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