You may have heard of the period of Enlightenment around the time of the Scientific Revolution. People started challenging theories about science, religion, and government. Thinkers for the Enlightenment were greatly influenced by ancient Greeks, Romans, the Christian Reformation, Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution. Thomas Aquinas's demonstration of faith caused people to challenge the church's authority. Renaissance peoples took more influence on achievements and less on God. 
     People like French philosopher Volataire (Pronunciation: vohl-TAYR) openly criticized the church, writing and publishing books about it. He did get in trouble (obviously), so he spoke about censorship. Another Frenchman named Denis Diderot wrote a multi volume book called the Encyclopedia. The pope and king of france banned it, so people held salons, or private meetings to discuss different ideas.

     When we went to the zoo trip, there were multiple stations with different activities everywhere; there were 25, to be exact. We weren't expected to visit all of them because we had other things to do at the zoo. We went to about 10 of them. We were broken into groups of about 10 (us in particular only had 9). We were led by a senior in high school named Ashley. She was a good tour guide.

     Because the year is almost over, (June 13th) I'd like to reflect on some of my favorite moments. Some weren't so great, and some were pretty good like the ones that made my day.
     One of the best moments was when I bonded with the new teachers that are substituting for Mrs. Pope. Mrs. Pope got very sick and couldn't come back for the rest of the year. Our first sub, Mr. Knight, was one of the best. He liked to mess around a lot. He would tell about his past experiences. Our new sub, Mrs. Moon, is amazing! I don't have friends anymore. My friends hate me and so they left me out. Mrs. Moon would let me stay with her in her classroom at break and lunch because people called me a loner whenever I sat alone outside. My best friend Samantha committed suicide last Tuesday, all my friends turned on me, and now I just sit in the corner of my room all day and just cry my eyes out. I feel sick of crying everyday, and I just want to be happy again. I hate being this way. I just sit there alone. I seriously never come out. The only people I have are my parents, more like my dad. He knows how to comfort me better than my mom. The friend that treated me the worst tries to sarcastically care, but I just ignore her. I want nothing to do with her anymore.


     

    There are many theories scientists believe the Maya fell. Some are climate, bad leaders, food shortage, etc. I think the reason they fell was because of food shortage. 
     There would be a food shortage when the civilization was thriving. Because they were having a high peak in society, more babies would be born. How would the babies get fed when there was no food. They wouldn't. It would be terrible to hear your child crying in hunger. 
     The food shortage caused the fall because how would the people get food? Eventually, everyone moved out and found a new place where they could live with a better food source. A place like the coast or a place with fertile soil would be the best. After all, their main crop was maize (corn). The city was eventually abandoned. Everyone moved, but some people died because of it.