The reason why I chose the topic of drug cartels and drug trafficking was because ever since someone told me about this narco blog I found everything having to do with drug cartels so interesting. That blog consists of everything that has to do with drug cartels. It has videos of tortures, killings, hangings, and threat messages to people or other cartels . I chose this topic because like I said before, I found it so interesting. I know that it’s probably strange to hear that I find drug cartels fascinating but its not what they do that I find fascinating, it’s the amount of power that they are able to have over countries. When I chose my topic I had envisioned my Fire Project to turn out a whole different way. I had envisioned writing about totally different things than I did. While I was working on my Fire Project I spent at least two days on each tab section at home because I tried to finish all of my homework at school. It was hard for me to find information based on the tab section I was doing because mostly everything I found was just about the type of drugs they sold, what drug lord belonged to what cartel, what part of Mexico did they own, how they got captured, or how many people they had killed. It was hard for me to find information related directly to another country that wasn’t Mexico or the US. Another thing that I found difficult while I was doing my Fire Project was my Action Plan. I just couldn’t think of anything that I as a 17 year old girl could possibly do to try and end the drug war in Mexico and to try and fix the spillage it has caused into the US, especially in Chicago.
With that being said I don’t think that I was able to accomplish my short term goal of being able to change peoples ways of looking at drug cartels. Whenever I talked about something interesting I had found out it just seemed to cause them to think the cartels were even more cool. Even though I couldn’t change their way of looking at cartels I was able to get more out of it than they were. I learned way more about this topic than I knew in the beginning. Being able to accomplish my goal/action was one of the fears I had towards the end of my project and it was the biggest obstacles I had. Not just being able to accomplish it but also being able to think of one was hard for me.
I would like my audience to know that even if they don’t use drugs they are still being affected by the whole relationships the gangs and cartels have. They may not be affected by it directly but they are affected by it in some way. They are affected by it because the taxpayers are the ones paying for the prisons and jails when a gang member gets busted for selling cartel drugs. They are also affected by it because they have to live on blocks where drugs are being sold and where there are drugs being sold there is violence. The violence is affecting everyone because sometimes innocent people are killed just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. We are all supporting drug cartels and the drug war by not speaking out about it just because it isn’t hurting us or our family. I think it’s sad to realize that we’re supporting something so disgusting all because we aren’t doing anything to try and stop it. It’s a very sad realization.
Before I started any research on my topic I had no idea how deep the drug cartels were infiltrated in Chicago. I’m happy with the amount of information that I have obtained from all of the research I have done on my topic. Based on all of the time and research I have put into my topic I think I deserve a high B. I would give myself a high B because I feel like I was able to provide enough evidence to make it clear that drug cartels are not just a problem in Mexico but also in the US. I would also give myself a high B because I know I spent the right amount on this project. I may have slacked off towards the end but I always had the tabs that were due on time. I wouldn't give myself an A because I didn't write my paragraphs based on the way they wanted me to. I had a different layout.
The thing I am most proud of is not one thing specifically, but my whole research project. I'm proud of my whole research project because I actually finished it all the way through and I didn’t give up in the middle of it. I wish that I would have approached my topic in a way where I was talking mainly about the affects that the drug cartels have on everyone and not just focus on the deaths and numbers. I would advice students who are going to be completing the Capstone Project to really think about the topic they are going to choose. To take time and think about if they are going to be able to answer most of the questions they need to for their topic. If they can, then their topic is a good one. I also advise them to put in all the time they can because their Capstone Project will need it.
With that being said I don’t think that I was able to accomplish my short term goal of being able to change peoples ways of looking at drug cartels. Whenever I talked about something interesting I had found out it just seemed to cause them to think the cartels were even more cool. Even though I couldn’t change their way of looking at cartels I was able to get more out of it than they were. I learned way more about this topic than I knew in the beginning. Being able to accomplish my goal/action was one of the fears I had towards the end of my project and it was the biggest obstacles I had. Not just being able to accomplish it but also being able to think of one was hard for me.
I would like my audience to know that even if they don’t use drugs they are still being affected by the whole relationships the gangs and cartels have. They may not be affected by it directly but they are affected by it in some way. They are affected by it because the taxpayers are the ones paying for the prisons and jails when a gang member gets busted for selling cartel drugs. They are also affected by it because they have to live on blocks where drugs are being sold and where there are drugs being sold there is violence. The violence is affecting everyone because sometimes innocent people are killed just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. We are all supporting drug cartels and the drug war by not speaking out about it just because it isn’t hurting us or our family. I think it’s sad to realize that we’re supporting something so disgusting all because we aren’t doing anything to try and stop it. It’s a very sad realization.
Before I started any research on my topic I had no idea how deep the drug cartels were infiltrated in Chicago. I’m happy with the amount of information that I have obtained from all of the research I have done on my topic. Based on all of the time and research I have put into my topic I think I deserve a high B. I would give myself a high B because I feel like I was able to provide enough evidence to make it clear that drug cartels are not just a problem in Mexico but also in the US. I would also give myself a high B because I know I spent the right amount on this project. I may have slacked off towards the end but I always had the tabs that were due on time. I wouldn't give myself an A because I didn't write my paragraphs based on the way they wanted me to. I had a different layout.
The thing I am most proud of is not one thing specifically, but my whole research project. I'm proud of my whole research project because I actually finished it all the way through and I didn’t give up in the middle of it. I wish that I would have approached my topic in a way where I was talking mainly about the affects that the drug cartels have on everyone and not just focus on the deaths and numbers. I would advice students who are going to be completing the Capstone Project to really think about the topic they are going to choose. To take time and think about if they are going to be able to answer most of the questions they need to for their topic. If they can, then their topic is a good one. I also advise them to put in all the time they can because their Capstone Project will need it.