Uniforms

        In general, most schools perform better with uniforms rather than regular clothing. Schools that have their students all wear the exact same clothes have experienced less bullying and fighting, since the clothes people wear are a big source of teasing and bullying if they're different or weirder than that of the bullies. Uniforms also make students feel more welcome or part of something bigger (like how army uniforms make you feel like not an idividual, but a part of a greater cause to further the protection of the American people). But I don't really see the need for them in Portola. I'd like to think that our school is better off than a school in, say, East Los Angeles. We live in a somewhat rich area where a good amount of students are middle class. We're not in the middle of "the hood" where there's gangs on every street, and the majority of our major behaviorial issues are due to smaller things, like disrespect for yourself, your teachers and other students. There's not necessarily any big bullying problems or gang fights that happen here (I know this as a TA for the dean, where I get to hear a lot of problems and kids getting in trouble. There's very few occurances of bullying or big fights). So having uniforms wouldn't really do anything to reduce bullying, since there would be nothing to reduce in the first place. And our school is pretty united enough where we don't all have to have a special type of clothing to feel like one unit. Admittedly, it would cut down on dress code problems, but that's irrelevant. 

Arguments

Sometimes an argument simply can't be avoided. But when it's possible, I try to avoid them as much as I can for one simple reason: Doofus argumentation. Doofus argumentation is when a participant in the argument is losing severely, so they keep pressing their point anyways to annoy the other participant. And when the winning participant provides several good examples that totally blow away the Doofus's argument, the Doofus still continues to argue their point. Eventually, the winning participant gives up because they are either bored or simply wish their own suffering to end. Then, the Doofus goes on to brag to all their nonexistent friends about how he won and how the winning participant is so darn stupid. Commonly found on the internet, this type of argument is designed to annoy the heck out of all parties involved. Bragging usually occurs on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or other social media websites. So please, before you jump in on that argument about politics, religion, or your favorite TV show/book, consider the endless suffering you will have to go through. And ask yourself: Is it worth it? The answer is obvious.