The Importance of Sea Turtles

Photo taken from Oceana blog

Recently I've been writing a lot about Sea Turtles and what they do for our Oceans. I touched based on what professionals and researchers think but i haven't mentioned my opinion. Many people don't understand why we try so hard to conserve our oceans and protect the sea turtles. Not only do Turtles maintain a balance in the oceans. They also are important economically. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is trying to raise awareness by promoting ecotourism at marine turtle sites. This way tourist see how easily endangered the species is and they will help protect them. I think that if people are are aware of how important these creatures are to our ecosystem, then they would be more cautious. Since sea turtles are so under the radar, it is in the hands of aquariums and tourist attractions to educate their importance.

Something Borrowed: Character Similarities

The assignment was to discuss the similarities and differences between a character and yourself.

The novel Something Borrowed has many different characters but there is one that sticks out the most. In every good story, there are two character types. There is one that is sweet and quite and then there is the loud and driven one. Darcy’s’ character is determined to get what she wants no matter what. She sets her eyes on the prize and would do anything to win it. She reminds me a lot of myself. We both aspire to be the best at everything we do, and want the best of everything. Darcy had the dream life that everyone wanted, including her best friend Rachel. But things werent always what they seemed to be. Everyone thought that she was living the life but inside she was living a lie. She didn’t want people to see her imperfections. In many ways we are similar; I don’t like to fail, I strive for the best and I hate letting people see my imperfections. Darcy was always the successful one and when things didn’t go as planned with her fiancé she didn’t want people to see she’s hurting. Darcy’s character is was strong woman who could make it though anything life threw at her. This reminds me a lot of myself because no matter what is going on in my life, I have goals set and I will meet them.

I think that the author Emily Giffin did a fantastic job with her character selection. She wanted her readers to be able to relate to the events and the troubles the characters are facing. Having characters that are so relatable make for a more interesting story. Everyone has that friend who wants his or her life and Giffin made that a point in the novel because she knew it would be relatable.

“My wants are simple, a job I like and a guy whom I love”

This is a quote from the book spoken by Darcy. I picked this quote because I think it sums up who Darcy is and why she reminds me of myself. I think every girl wants that in life and that is why her character is so relatable. 

This is a photo of Rachel(left) and Darcy(right).  

Best friends since they were 6 and never thought that would change

as soon as it did. Photo is taken from the film version of the novel.

Sea Turtles Work for the Oceans

Antigua Sea Turtle Project focuses on the importance of the survival of the species. In one of their blog posts they discussed how much sea turtles actually do in the oceans. There are two "feeding turtles" that keep our reefs in check. The green sea turtles are know to be loyal to their feeding ground. Their beaks have finely serrated edges that allow the green turtle to tear off grass or algae. Green sea turtles graze the bottom of the ocean and remove the older portions of grass. Doing so keeps the grass nutrient rich and benefits the other fish living in the grassy area. The turtles also break down hard, poisonous sponge so the other animals can feed on the softer parts.Green turtles keep the balance in a coral reef and grassy area. The other species of sea turtles is a leatherback. They are the largest and most common. These turtles consume 440 pounds of jellyfish a day, making them the largest consumers in the system. Leatherback turtles keep the jellyfish population in check through the sea. 

Green Sea Turtles are grass grazers. This photo was taken from the

projects blog. 

I think that Antigua Sea Turtle Project posted this blog because they wanted to show readers that turtles do play a large role in the ocean. In a previous blog they mentioned the importance of preserving the beaches during nesting season and how to help sea turtles make it to the sea. They want to make sure readers know that sea turtles have a job and that they need to be protected. Without these turtles, our reefs will be overgrown and there would be a shortage of fish in the sea. 

Something Borrowed

 

My group will be reading the book something borrowed by Emily Giffin. Most of the action takes place in the heart of New York. The characters in the book so far have very different personalities. Darcy is the outgoing, center of attention. She always needs to one up her best friend Rachel. Rachel is the laid back bookworm who let her best friend Darcy, always win. Dexter is Rachel's law school friend who fell for Darcy. So far my favorite character is Darcy. She is smart but knows how to have fun, unlike Rachel. I think that Darcy and Dexter are going to date but things aren't going to go as planned. The setting doesn't have much affect on the characters other than thats where they all live. Hopefully the setting will be more meaningful later on in the book.

Sea Turtle Nesting

 Oceana posted an article to inform beach goers about turtle nesting season. Sea turtles are they type of animal that does what it needs to do, and leaves. They are very kept to themselves and for this reason we do not have much information about them. Heres some information provided by Oceana. 
From May 1st through October 31st is turtle nesting season. During this time, any construction by the beach is avoided in order to protect the nesting habitat. Mother turtles come ashore in the dark, dig a hole in the sand, and lay 100-150 eggs at a time. Over the course of the season, mother turtles can lay up to 8 nests. After 45-70 days, the baby turtles hatch and make their way to sea. They follow the reflection on the moon to get to the ocean. If there are lights on near the beach, the baby turtles will mistake them for the moon and end up killing themselves. In effort to protect the baby sea turtles, a protection fence is built. A man made dune is put by an entrance to the road and blocked off with a fence. This stops the turtles from going into traffic.
I think it is important that organizations and awareness groups continue to post information about sea turtles. Many people don't understand the importance of the sea turtle nesting season and they don't know how to take precautions. Sea turtles are an endangered species and if people knew more about their nesting and hatching, we could change that.
This clip is of a sea turtle laying its eggs in Indonesia. I added it to this blog because it shows how precious the hatching of a sea turtle is. Hopefully this video will inspire my readers to want to learn more about the turtles and how to protect them. 

Sea Turtles Intro

Hello my name is Aliya. I am going to be researching the life of sea turtles and the dangers they face in the out of the sea world! I love sea turtles because they are the only animals that have to find their way to life on their own. The life of sea turtles is quite a complicated one and later on in this blog i will go into more detail. 

This video will give you some knowledge about Sea Turtles and touches base on what i will be discussing later in my blog. It was made my discovery and Sea World. Their experts want people to be more knowledgeable about sea turtles any why their life is in danger.  

Night Life essay description

In my essay I will be discussing the chapter “night life”. This chapter discusses the life that Rat Kiely had to experience in Japan. Soldiers were seeing and hearing things and going through series of psychoticness. All the soldiers had troubles while in war but Rat’s were so severe that it drove him to self-harm. In “night life” Rat’s delusions and voices became so frequent that he went to extremes to be taken out of duty. My essay is going to elaborate on the real life issues that solders encounter and the ones that Tim O’Brian discuss in the book.