Edison Peña was a chilean miner stuck 2,300 ft. underground for almost 69 days. He survived being trapped through prayer, exercise, and his love and desire to see his girlfriend once again.

August 5th, 2010 , a chilean mine collapsed in San Jose, Chile, leaving 33 miners trapped. Of these 33 was Edison Peña. At only 34 years old, Peña was stuck underground with 32 other men and little contact with the outside world. He missed his girlfriend, Angelica, terribly. They were able to send letters to one another through a small hole at the top of the collapsed mine. These small packages in which they were able to send letters to one another were called palomas, meaning carrier pigeon. Besides letters, a camera was also sent to Peña in the palomas. Peña was able to document how 33 men lived together in a confined space 2,300 ft. underground for almost 3 months.

Edison Peña was able to document the lives of the trapped miners through a camera sent to him through palomas. He was able to document how the miners slept on small cots and decorated each of their small living areas. He photographed his own. Around his own cot were pictures and letters of his girlfriend, clothes, water bottles, and a picture of his favorite musician, Elvis Presley. In a New York Times article, it is stated that, “They decorated the rocky walls with pinups, drying laundry, Chilean flags and letters and mementos from loved ones.”

Edison Peña was a natural born runner. He couldn’t bare being trapped underground for so long, so instead of waiting around to be rescued, he ran 3-6 miles everyday. “He ran several miles a day through the underground tunnels, viewing his daily routine as part of a larger spiritual struggle with the mine” said the New York Times article. He was even referred to as “The Runner” by the other trapped miners. His tremendous amount of exercise paid off because he was one of the first to be released from the hospital after being rescued October 13th, 2011.

On October 13th, 2010, Peña was the 12th miner to be rescued from the mine. He came out singing an Elvis Presley song and was obviously so excited to be out of the mine. Since being rescued, Peña became a star in the US going on late night shows like David Letterman and showing of his Elvis impersonation skills. Only after one month of being rescued, Edison Peña ran in the New York marathon and finished in 5 hours and 40 minuets in November.

A year after being rescued and becoming a sensation in the US, chilean miner, Edison Peña, returned home to his simple life in Chile with his girlfriend, Angelica. After being caught running in NYC’s Central Park, Peña was interviewed and stated in a New York Times article “I turned to drinking and drugs after struggling with the traumatic nature of my time underground” The article also said that Peña “did not come to grips with the traumatic nature of his time underground until after last year’s marathon. He turned to drinking and drugs and checked into a psychiatric clinic, which he described as the low point since being freed from the mine” Since then, Peña has made substantial changes in his life and even stated, “I’m here despite the fact that I’ve fallen down to show that I’ve risen up” This is a beautiful story of how even though one may fall, one still has the chance to rise up again a changed man. The story of Edison Peña is an inspiration

“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship”(Louisa May Alcott). Louisa May Alcott was an unafraid and courages woman. As a pioneer for women’s rights, she was selfless, humble, and gracious. For those of you who do not know me, I am Anna Alcott, the eldest of the Alcott daughters. Although Louisa May Alcott, or just Louisa May to many of us (Louisa May Alcott Biography), shared much of her life through her published stories, I’d like to take this time to share with you the Louisa May I knew.

Louisa May was born on November 29, 1832, in Germantown, Pennsylvania to our parents Bronson Alcott and Abigail May Alcott (Louisa May Alcott: A Modern Biography). Abigail May quickly fell in love with the charming Bronson Alcott, an educator and philosopher, finding that his passionate and idealistic—high-minded ideals most attractive (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ‘Little Women). The two married in 1830 and had me, their first out of four daughters, in 1831 (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ’Little Women). My time as the spoiled only child was short lived for Louisa May was born the following year. After Louisa May, came Elizabeth and then Abigail. Bronson and Abigail Alcott had completed their family.

The four of us daughters had a swell time together. I think of our early youth with delight as I recall all the adventures we had. I ,of course, was the actor. I loved acting and creating any situation that would allow for me to practice my art (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ‘Little Women). Often, us girls would make small plays to preform to our parents (Louisa May Alcott Biography). Louisa May was the tomboy. Oh, how she loved going on adventures in the forest that surrounded our house. Elizabeth was the most angelic out of the four of us. She was so sweet, but sadly passed away thirty years ago of Scarlet fever on March 14, 1858 at age twenty-two. Abigail was unique in her own way too. She was a natural born artist and helped create our sets for our plays and who’s art can now be found in world renowned galleries across the globe (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ’Little Women).

Louisa May was a was a tough woman, deriving her inspiration from Mother and Father much like the rest of us did. Mother was kind woman, with even kinder eyes. She was hard working and taught us that nothing in life is handed to you. We had to work for what we wanted. And work we did. Father was a forward-thinking teacher and philosopher (Louisa May Alcott: A Modern Biography). He was a strong supporter of women's rights and an early white abolitionist (Not The Little Woman You Thought She Was), a trait Louisa May took directly after. Louisa May, as some of you may know, was so much like our father, that she was not so secretly his favorite. Fathers love for education and social justice (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ’Little Women) would lead him to meet our dear family friends, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Theodore Parker (Louisa May Alcott Biography). Growing up in a political atmosphere with such influences would severely impact us girls to be the women we are today, especially Louisa May (The Little Woman You Thought She Was).

Our youth was one you’d never expect expect the author of wholesome children’s books to have had. Our family lived in poverty for the duration of all of our youth and early adult life. Although Father was one of the most forward thinkers of his time, he had a difficult time holding a steady job (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ‘Little Women). He was our first teacher and taught us up to the year 1843 when he decided it was time to pick up our family and move to Harvard, Massachusetts to found a utopian commune called Fruitlands. Fruitlands was a fun and magical place for his four daughters to explore. Living on Fruitlands allowed our imaginative minds to run rampant. Sadly, the experience wasn’t as magical for our parents. Father knew little about farming and the utopian dream quickly fell to shambles. Mother and us four girls were forced to pick up the slack of our father (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ’Little Women).

Being raised by some of the world’s brightest philosophers and carrying experiences from growing up in poverty, I think, shaped Louisa May the most. After our fathers’ failed attempt in creating a utopian society, the financial burdens of our father fell on Mothers’ and our backs. We became very scrappy for work. Louisa May worked as a domestic servant and teacher from 1850 to 1862. Meanwhile, she also wrote children’s books that were being published in the Atlantic Monthly (Louisa May Alcott: A Modern Biography). The next year she went to Washington, D.C. to work as a nurse during the Civil War (Louisa May Alcott Biography). Her stint as a nurse was short lived for she was treated for typhoid (Meet the Real-Life Family Behind ‘Little Women). Her career as a nurse had ended abruptly. Louisa May came back home to Boston to write her first novel, Moods, in 1865. The novel was a huge success, especially for it being her first, and accepted job in 1867 as the editor of the juvenile magazine Merry's Museum. The following year, Louisa May wrote Little Women, a novel about us four daughters. The book was a smashing success, and allowed for our family to do what we had so desperately worked for, to finally have enough money to live comfortably. Louisa Mays’ twenty five years of hard work had finally paid off (Louisa May Alcott: A Modern Biography).

My sister, being the selfless woman she was, used her new platform to speak out about prohibition and the dangers of alcohol. She was a reformer who worked to gain the right to vote for women, Father was so proud (Louisa May Alcott: A Modern Biography). As a feminist icon, Louisa May remained unmarried, earned money and was in control of her situation for the rest of her life. Marriage was always something I longed for. A way out of poverty as I viewed it. When I was younger and more foolish, I recall asking my sister why she found my life as a married woman so unappealing. She said, "I'd rather be a free spinster and paddle my own canoe” (Not The Little Woman You Thought She Was).

Louisa May Alcott died on March 6, 1888, in Boston, Massachusetts (Louisa May Alcott: A Modern Biography). Louisa spent most of her life working herself to exhaustion, trying to provide for her family. She was a generous soul, one that will be dearly missed. Louisa May is truly a rags to riches remodel. Her legacy is about the empowerment of women and girls around the world. Her drive, passion, and wit is what her family and fans will remember her most for. “Take fate by the throat and shake a living out of her” (Not The Little Woman You Thought She Was). Thank you Louisa May for giving us these words to live by.

Define and explain most powerful women (be very specific) through 1750 CE.  Cleopatra was one of the most powerful and influential women of all times. Her reputation is that she was a sex- crazed seductress who is known for marrying Julius Caesar, and later remarrying Mark Antony. Although she did have relations with both men, her reputation does not portray her correctly. Many are unaware that she had a huge hand in shaping the Western and Middle Eastern worlds.

           Cleopatra was born into the Ptolemaic Dynasty. She spent much of her childhood learning, whether it was about the sciences or learning the language of egyptian (excelling in both would soon come to her advantage). Her father, Ptolemy XII, was an Egyptian pharaoh. He spent much of Egypt's money bribing the Romans not to take full control of Egypt. When he died,Cleopatra and her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII, took the throne. When they did, she soon realized Egypt was already bankrupt. She quickly figured out to learn from her father's mistakes. The first thing she did to fix Egypt's poor economy was to align herself with the temples. The temples were the economy's biggest support. This was the key to getting the economy moving again. Most egyptian commoners had already liked her because she had learned to speak their language, something most pharaohs had never done before. After she aligned herself with the temples, people had started to view her as a goddess. They had come to like her even more so and had found a new respect for her. This is how Cleopatra gained the trust of her people and began to unite all of Egypt.

          Her brother, Ptolemy XIII, saw how well she got along with their subjects, and was intimidated by her power. He was so intimidated by her that he threw her out power and exiled her out of Egypt. Cleopatra’s love for her country was too great for that that to be a permanent situation. Being the smart and cunning woman that she was, she saw how  Caesar's victory was a significant political shift in Rome and used it to her advantage. She snuck back into Alexandria where she could negotiate being placed back into power. She used her boldness and extreme sex appeal to grab Caesars attention. Sure enough, Caesar reinstated Cleopatra to her throne. She later married Caesar. This was more of a strategic political move on her part because she depended heavily on Roman backing. By marrying Caesar, she allied herself with Rome becoming allies with them. She would trade Caesar relational benefits in exchange for protection. When she returned to Egypt, she had found it once again in a fragile state. The Nile River had not flooded and a famine was starting. With starvation glooming over her, she saved her country's people by issuing a series of royal decrees. By getting the peasants protection while getting the harvest in, she eliminated their tax burden. This was helpful in making sure the corn supply to Alexandria was secure.  

                        After Caesar was killed, Cleopatra was fragile once again. Marc Antony had recently come into Roman power and Cleopatra saw an opportunity to exploit herself once again. As we saw before, Cleopatra used her charm, intelligence, and extreme sex- appeal to attract Antony. She had wooed him over and they later married. Antony gave Cleopatra back the richest cities of the middle east (ptolemy empire). She bore three children to him and she had used her kids to gain full power of Egypt. Her children ruled most of the eastern mediterranean. She had saved Egypt.

                         After Octavian defeated Cleopatra and Marc Antony, they had both committed suicide. Although suicide seems like a cowardice way for such a strong woman to die, it really wasn't. She was a born greek ( Macedonian), so in greek culture it is rather appropriate to end your own life then to be humiliated and killed by another. Cleopatra locked herself in a room with an asp. By being bitten by an asp her people thought that she had achieved immortality since back in those times an asp bite meant you had eternal life.

                           In some ways, Cleopatra did achieve immortality. She is still a honored and revered politician to this day. Her death was as dramatic and smart as she was. By letting herself be bitten by an asp her people saw her as a true reincarnate of the goddess Isis. She was a remarkable woman that was born to and died to saving her country from Roman domination. She spent her whole life doing what 300 years of ancestors couldn't. She gained the trust of both her Greek and Egyptian subjects. It is sad that many do not remember her for the cunning ruler she was, but only as a sex- crazed ruler she was not.  

Tensions between the U.S and North Korea started immediately following the Korean War. Immediately following the Korean War, we established the demarcated line at the demilitarized zone and sent troops to stand guard at the border, but that was it, especially during the Red Scare of Communism immediately following in the 60s and 70s. In the 1980s, at the Yongbyon nuclear complex, tensions began w Ronald Reagan over nuclear war, especially when we discovered that the complex was primarily developed by the Soviets. For a while didn't even recognize them as a country--just as Korea (no diplomatic recognition). They never obeyed NPT with missile tests: Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (1985) established with Reagan. Little to no foreign diplomatic visits or relations ensue. In 1993, Intnatl. atomic energy agency puts sanctions on North Korea for test-firing 1st missile into Sea of Japan, relations begin to sour again. From 1994 to 2001 the Clinton Admin responds to threats to make fuel rods from reactor byproducts Kim II sung dies, Kim Il Jong takes over Agreed Framework negotiations: NK would receive fuel, oil, supplies from US to build light-water nuclear reactors (where fuel could not be converted into missiles or weapons). Madeline Albright, in 2000, makes the first attempt at a productive, formal diplomatic visit in several decades, but it goes nowhere. From 2001 to 2003 George W. Bush cuts things off accidentally: he makes accusations that North Korea possess nuclear weapons, which were most likely false, sends inspectors in to check for them, and the North Korea government responds with and anger and indignation, and orders IAEA inspectors out, and North Korea drops out from the  from NPT and AF

(progress is reversed). From 2003 to 2006 the U.S. And North Korea engage in the Six Party Talks, which failed bc UN took shots against their economy for firing missiles into South China Sea by putting sanctions on vital imports and exports like oil. Following their first successful nuclear testing tensions continued to grow without a U.S. response, and silence between the two nations persisted again until 2009, after their second nuclear test when Obama took office, and felt disrespected after they launched a space rocket (which failed) and openly admitted to not adhering to UN rules after ignoring the Foreign Security Council newly created with an agreement with them as a part of it.Under the Obama administration infrequent yet somewhat regular relations between the ambassadors of the two nations persisted all the way until the election of Donald Trump.

         Donald J. Trump is the first U.S. president to ever meet with the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un. On June 12, 2018, The President and  Dictator held their first ever summit to discuss issues related to the establishment of new U.S. DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea) relations. Their goal; to build a lasting peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. After his election, Trump, relations heated up after some spiteful rhetoric was shared between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. Most political analysts believed it was just an exchange of steam-blowing, and no real military actions were taken nor nuclear weapons developed after the exchange. As of recent, a more aggressive policy in terms of imposing sanctions has been adopted by Trump, in which threats to cut off exports of coal and imports of oil if they don’t come to the table for negotiation--and negotiations as of late have continued with talks of denuclearizing the entire Korean Peninsula and bringing a formal end of the Korean War. The two leaders signed a joint statement that agreed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, security guarantees for the DPRK, and to continue working towards a peace regime.

          In terms of the advice we would consider giving the current president, we would advise him to continue with economic rather than military sanctions and to curb his rhetoric on Twitter with Kim Jong Un. We believe he should continue his efforts to denuclearize to Korean Peninsula, but should work more with North Korea’s neighbors, namely South Korea and Russia. If South Korea and Russia participated in the economic sanctions being placed on North Korea it would have an exponentially greater impact because when in times they have been cut off from the United States they have typically depended on their communist counterparts (the Soviets and Chinese) for supplies and have been able to pay off the South Koreans for supplies. North Korea would probably be more responsive to requests for their denuclearization and would be less aggressive in their missile testing in the South China Sea.

Two years ago I met my sould mate at a retreat. We were at a camp in the middle of nowhere. Neither of us had any friends at this camp so we made friends with each other. It is two years later and we are still as close as we were the day we met. I feel her so deeply in my soul that I can feel if she’s having a bad day or not even we don’t even see each other that day. She teaches me so much and I a man so I love with her.