LGBT rights

One group of people who face inequality today is the LGBT community. Everyone knows they face it, whether they like to admit or not. Last year, there was a bill passed in Mississippi to allow businesses to refuse service to LGBT people, basically saying they can refuse to give someone a hamburger because they're gay. How come you don't see these types of bills passed to refuse service to people who are Christian or straight? That's because being Christian or straight is considered the norm. Why is it other people's business what people do with their own body or the person they love if it doesn't even affect them? We were beginning to see change and improvement for the LGBT community once Obama passed the bill to allow gay marriage on June 26th, 2015. But all that effort has gone down the drain now since Trump, even though he said he was an advocate for the LGBT community, has his vice president, Mike Pence, being an advocate for shock therapy (the belief that you can "shock" the gay out of someone). If Trump is such an advocate and supporter for the community, why would he choose a vice president that clearly is homophobic? It looks as if things are only going to get worse for LGBT people.

 
TheWashingtonPostGoogle.com
Nydailynews.com

Refugees

One major group of people that face adversity are refugees. There are 13.5 million Syrian refugees who have located to Turkey for safety and 4.8 million outside Syria, the rest Syrian (SyrianRefugees.eu). Lots of people in need of safety, shelter, food, etc., so why are Americans turning a blind eye to them? Many believe that Syrian refugees, or refugees in general, should stay in their home country or not come to America because "it's not their country" or "they don't belong here". Many also believe that they're terrorists, similar to ISIS (psychologytoday.com). This crisis is the biggest since WWII with the Jewish refugees that fled the concentration camps/Germany. With Trump in presidency right now, and him having no sympathy towards refugees, he signed a 4 month ban on letting refugees into the U.S.A (Reuters article, Google.com). So it looks like the horrible things that the refugees are going through right now won't end soon.

Depression in Teenagers

A big issue many people (especially teenagers) struggle with is depression. Characters in "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" portrayed this very well. Charlie, the main character in the book, struggles everyday with depression and anxiety. He's very in tune with his thoughts and emotions, so he feels it on an even deeper level than most people and he is set off easily. I think most teenagers go through some form of depression, obviously some more serious and for different time periods than others though. I also don't think it's taken as seriously as it should be. A big misconception about depression is that it's "just a mood" or "all in your head", but it's simply not true. I think it's true that you can put yourself in a bad mood, but people don't purposely try to be more depressed than they feel. Even if nothing's wrong or "missing" in your life, you can still be depressed, because it's a chemical imbalance in the brain. "Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24. Approximately 20 percent of teens experience depression before they reach adulthood, and between 10 to 15 percent suffer from symptoms at any one time" (World of Psychology). "Why Are So Many Teens Depressed?" World of Psychology. N.p., 03 June 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

Veganism

 Veganism is becoming more of a popular topic and lifestyle as time goes on. Not only is it likely one of the strictest diets, but also one most beneficial to your health. "Those who follow a plant-based diet are found to have lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancers, type-2 diabetes and insulin resistance" (Palmer).

 Surprisingly, not consuming any type of animal product isn't the only hard thing about being vegan, but the social side of it too. When going out to eat with non-vegan people or any other social event, you can expect some form of criticism. "When people get super self-conscious about eating around you because they worry you'll judge them, when really you just want to quietly eat kale alongside them." (Moore). Not only do you have to pick your food wisely, but you have to deal with what anyone around you will likely say, usually in a negative context.

 A big part of being vegan is the toll it could likely take on your love life. Dates (first's especially) are almost always centered around food, so if your date is not vegan, you'll often have issues finding places suited for both appetites. Unless you have a large budget and don't mind the hassle of your clashing diets, the relationship would be harder to maintain compared to two people of the same diet. A woman who's been vegan almost her whole adult life experienced this first hand: "When I told him (boyfriend) I was considering making a switch to veganism, his response was blunt: 'If you do, I will break up with you.'" (Eisenberg). Even if you managed to get through the first date and the relationship progressed, maintaining the conflicting diets won't become easier. Cooking meals together and buying groceries will always be an issue, no matter how flexible you both are.

 Personally, I think if you can maintain a vegan diet, then you should go for it, considering all of the health benefits and not to mention how eco-friendly it is. Although there are some social issues you will likely face, it's not the end of the world and I'd say it's worth it.

Palmer, Ilissa M. "The Statistics of Vegetarians Vs. Meat-Eaters." LIVESTRONG.COM. Leaf Group, 12  June 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

Moore, Lane. "14 Problems Only Vegans Understand." Cosmopolitan. Cosmopolitan, 06 Jan. 2017. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

Eisenberg, Zoe. "3 Strange Social Challenges I've Encountered Being Vegan." The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 16 Sept. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.

Student Debt

In the United States, about 40 million people suffer from college loans/debt (MarketWatch). So is the price of college becoming less worth going and earning a degree? Unless you have a full ride or multiple scholarships/financial aid, you will come out of school with massive debt hanging over your head, whether or not you graduate. "Seven in 10 seniors (68%) who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2015 had student loan debt, with an average of $30,100 per borrower. This represents a 4% increase from the average debt of 2014 graduates." (ticas)

In the YouTube video linked below, the total national student debt in the United States is 1 trillion and growing, surpassing the national credit card debt. What's the reason for this outrageous number of people in massive debt? Credential inflation, which means in order to get a good job, you have to have some form of secondary education in most cases. Easy access to loans, so young adults can borrow money without really knowing what they're signing up for. Lastly, effecting every American, is the decreasing value of the US dollar (youtube).

A possible solution for students struggling to pay their debt/students about to go to college is to have the government fund some form of secondary education for every citizen. If they want us to succeed they need to help us because the majority of young people don't have $30,000+ laying around and are struggling to get a job that pays for just our daily living bills/expenses.

America's growing student-loan-debt crisis - MarketWatch

http://ticas.org/posd/map-state-data

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXouicynsmk