Many young women are not ready to have a baby, and they may not be able to deal with that type of responsibility in their life. While many believe abortion is bad, I believe that young women should have access to legal abortions. 

At this current moment, many states are restricting access to abortion, but I believe it needs to stay legal. Access to abortions is good because a woman could be facing many challenging circumstances, such as sexual assault, being young, lacking sexual education, or an abusive relationship. They deserve an abortion because they may not want to have a baby by rape. If they are young, they are probably not able to take care of themselves, so why bring a child into this world? 

There have been many recent cases where abortions should have been used. For example, CBS News reported a story in Ohio where there was an 11-year-old girl who was raped by a 26-year-old man multiple times. Now she is pregnant and she is no longer able to have an abortion. She is traumatized because she is so young and pregnant, and it's her rapist’s baby who she is carrying for nine months. A way they could have helped this situation was by letting her get an abortion.

Another reason why young women should be able to have abortions is that they can end up with unwanted pregnancies which can end up hurting the baby. Jada McClain was a teen mom who killed her infant by throwing the baby in the dumpster, according to ABC news. She hid her pregnancy from her parents. She told her friends that she drank alcohol and did drugs while pregnant to try to kill the baby. 

According to NBC New York News, on Mar. 29, 2019, McClain had her baby in her bathroom. When she delivered she pushed down on the baby’s chest so he would stop breathing. Later on that day, she and the baby’s father Quaimere Mohammad drove to an apartment complex and put the baby inside a dumpster. McClain is charged with first-degree murder, and Mohammad is charged with desecrating human remains. Instead of her getting an abortion or giving the baby up for adoption, now McClain and her boyfriend are facing possible jail time. 

Unlike McClain, some teens are committed to being parents because they have the resources and help from others. However, some young women are overwhelmed with being a parent. According to an ABC news story, on Jul. 19, 2019 in Oxnard California, a 20-year-old mother Andrea Torralba and the 21-year-old father David Villa strangled a newborn baby boy after birth. Medical staff found the baby boy unresponsive due to the injuries that he had received, and he died. 

These are two examples of why abortions are important to young women in this generation. This also sends a message to young mothers to talk and be open with their parents, so their parents can help them.

I think abortions are the best option for women. Some would say that teens can put a baby up for adoption. However, I disagree with this choice, because if someone gives up their child for adoption, a teenager still has to carry the child for nine months. That is a huge responsibility for a young person who is still in school. When they give their child up for adoption, they’re going to be worried about the quality of their care 24/7. 

However, when you have an abortion, everything is all done. You will be able to try again when you are older in life. But when you give your child up for adoption, you’re missing memories that you’re not able to get back. The bond won’t be there, because someone else is raising your child and building a relationship with them. That is why abortion will help teens more than adoptions. 

Carol Hứa enters Coco Leaf, a popular cafe near Fields Corner in Dorchester that mainly serves Vietnamese desserts. Already, she greets a girl sitting near the door. I don’t know if she knew her or not. As I stand up from the table, she approaches me with a nice “hello” and asks if she can give me a hug. Hứa seems happy and excited, smiling brightly. I haven’t seen her since February when I participated in the leadership program she led. After ordering her iced coffee, we sit at a spot near the window and talk. 

Up until February, Hứa was the youth program director of Viet-AID, an organization that provides accessible and affordable services to the Fields Corner community. She grew up living in public housing in Dorchester and attended Boston Latin Academy. During her high school years, she was involved in Asian American work by participating in the youth program Asian Voices of Organized Youth for Community Empowerment. 

Hứa believed she wanted to be a history teacher until her senior year in college when she saw a job opening at Viet-AID, one of the few places in the city that focuses on the needs of Vietnamese youth. “You know, many of our families are from working-class families. So we need academic support that's bilingual and bicultural,” Hứa said.

Viet-AID does much more than just give youth academic support. They also provide families with affordable housing and childcare, volunteer opportunities for high school youth and a summer program open to first through eighth-grade students. Viet-AID is not just for Vietnamese children, but for kids all over the neighborhood.

Hứa said she was thrilled to accept the job at Viet-AID because it allowed her to do so many things she probably couldn’t do as a teacher. “It was kind of like a really happy marriage where as a youth worker, I get to teach, I get to organize, I get to plan events, I get to do a bunch of things...” she said. Hứa has led youth programs that teach about identity, Vietnam’s history, gentrification and oppression.

When Hứa was young she was confused about her Asian American identity. Programs and community centers like Viet-AID help youths with these kinds of problems and expose them to their own histories and cultures. Hứa felt bad about speaking Vietnamese, even when she enjoyed it as a kid and felt proud. “I went through this transition of like being really proud and then being taught that if I was speaking anything besides English, I'm going to have an accent that's going to be really bad. And then I internalized nativism, right,” Hứa said, describing how it felt growing up.

From being insecure to speak Vietnamese and internalizing nativism, to working at a Vietnamese American community center for six years, Hứa inspires and gets young people thinking about tough Asian American topics. 

When reflecting on her teenage years, Hứa tells me about being a part of Asian Voice of Organized Youth for Community Empowerment and how important it was for her. “It was my first time being able to have a space to talk about my identity as an Asian American person...meeting Asian American college students and going to conferences,” Hứa said. When it came time for her to teach a program that provides a powerful experience for youth, Hứa made sure she was making a mark and helping participants. Through watching Vietnamese American films, having important discussions about immigration, resettlement and lived experiences, the youth interns are then able to conduct their own projects that can range from leading workshops for eighth-graders to writing books starring Asian American characters. Through these projects, the youth are able to grow and learn about their culture and history.

Even though Hứa no longer works at Viet-AID, she was originally inspired to join their team because she wanted to impact the youth. “I think the inspiration is really thinking about how can I support young people to be seen, to be heard, and help some feel affirmed through what they're learning. And really mobilizing them to use our power for good both individually and collectively.” Hứa said.

If you want to see a girl fight off her enemies using walnuts and police officers track down criminals, you should watch “Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon.” I love Korean dramas because they’re romantic, cute, dramatic and creative. Yet, it’s sometimes hard to find one that perfectly embodies all these great features. The K-drama, “Strong Woman Do Bong-soon,” definitely went above and beyond my expectations as it was the perfect mixture between romance and crime. 

This series stood out to me right away when I found out there would be some crime involved since that’s rare for K-dramas. It follows the life of a young woman, Bong-soon (Park Bo-young). Bong-soon has superhero strength which she inherited from her family line. After being caught using her powers, she is hired to be a bodyguard for AINSoft’s President, Ahn Min-hyuk (Park Hyung-sik), because he has been receiving death threats. Additionally, Bong-soon uses her strength to help her childhood crush and current police officer, Gook-doo (Ji Soo), find a dangerous kidnapper in her neighborhood. The plot mainly follows the different kidnapping cases in the neighborhood and what the police do to prevent them while Bong-soon and Min-hyuk keep up with the cases as well and come to their own conclusions. 

While I usually watch dramas for the romance, this one kept me interested because of the action. The constant anticipation on who the culprits were and whether they were going to be tracked down in time always kept me interested. The actors were engaging and kept the show lively, natural and genuine. The directing made me feel like I was actually there with them and we were going through the same problems and accomplishments. Whenever there was an investigation in the police office, the camera showed an overview and focused on each member so it felt like I was actually there in the conversation and making eye contact with each of them. Whenever someone slammed on the table or fell down, I could also feel the intensity with how the sound effects were created. The soundtrack always came in during the right moments and always made the scene feel extra special. During romantic scenes, soft songs played such as “You’re My Garden” by Jeong Eun Ji, while upbeat songs like “Super Power Girl” by Every Single Day played during fight scenes to hold the excitement and intensity. 

The way the action and romance related made me keep up with the different relationships as well. Bong-soon and Min-hyuk were truly partners in crime because they would track down the culprits together. I loved Bong-soon’s personality and how she is sweet, yet strong and powerful. Bong-soon complements Min-hyuk’s character, as he is funny and sensitive. While it is Bong-soon who has the strength, it was cute to see how the two interact in a friendly manner. With Min-hyuk’s joking personality and Bong-soon’s superwoman characteristics, it was obvious this drama would involve some comedy. 

The fights Bong-soon was involved in were funny and enjoyable to watch. However, there were some comedic aspects I didn’t find funny. At the beginning of the show, Bong-soon continues to call Min-hyuk gay which then becomes a joke in a few episodes. Later on, there is a gay character that appears but he is shown as weak and is ridiculed. Bong-soon’s mother also acts abusively to her husband which I didn’t find funny either. Homophobia and abusive relationships haven’t been something joked about before in the previous K-dramas I’ve watched, and I felt that the drama could’ve been a lot better without these sorts of jokes. 

This K-drama was also very unique with how the roles and characters were cast. Usually, if there is a male character in business, like President Min-hyuk, the woman character would usually be a worker in the office or a secretary. This was not the case for this drama. Bong-soon is a bodyguard which is really different from what I’ve seen before. With Bong-soon in power, I believe this gave the message of women having the strength and being looked up to. I saw Bong-soon as a superhero. The casting for Bong-soon as the main character with great strength coming from a long line of women in her family is empowering. 

The show also brought up the real-world issue of human trafficking when they showcased the kidnapping crime that went on throughout the series. The kidnapping case gave insight into the culprit’s actions and we were able to see his motives. There are multiple cases of women kidnapped in the neighborhood, and they’re all taken to a secret location. These cases allowed the audience to be aware of the issue of human trafficking and to gain a better understanding of how to stay safe and contact the police if they ever found themselves in that situation. 

While this drama was always captivating, some scenes were scary and it would’ve been appreciated if there were occasional trigger warnings. This wouldn’t be a good drama for people who are scared of kidnapping and fights, so I would say to watch with caution. 

Overall, I’d recommend this drama because it’s thrilling and romantic, which makes it fun to watch. With previous dramas I’ve watched, none of them had action and romance as high quality as “Strong Woman Do Bong-soon.” It followed a unique structure that wasn’t predictable. Many K-dramas follow a cliché storyline that mainly focuses on romance. “Strong Woman Do Bong-soon” is going to be a K-drama I’ll rewatch for years to come. 

All episodes of “Strong Woman Do Bong-soon” are rated PG-13 and are available on Viki.

Grand Theft Auto V is an action video game that originally debuted in 2013 for Playstation 3 and XBOX 360. It has a really good realistic quality. The streets in the game look like you're on google maps and the buildings range between tall and medium making it look like downtown New York.  

The game takes place in Los Angeles, known as “Los Santos” in the game. The story follows three criminals and their efforts to commit heists while under pressure from a government agency.

The central plot of this game is that a character named Michael owes the government favors. In the past, he did bank heists, and the government contacted him to convince him to work for them. These corrupt government agents got in touch with Michael to plan a heist on the FBI office. Michael got a team together and got the job done.  

There are three main characters forced to carry out illegal heists for the government agency and they all play different roles. Michael is the strategic leader who helps the group stay on task. Trevor is a retired pilot who follows Michael’s directions, and Franklin is the contraband expert who is the youngest and balances the team.

What makes this game fun to play is the graphics, the story mode and the overall quality. If you play online you can connect with your friends and have fun together. You can race each other, do heists or attack characters who are trying to mess with you or have a car that you like. 

Even though the game is really good, what I don’t like about it is it crashes. But that is the only downfall of the game.

Though it came out six years ago, players around the world still play GTA V. There are many ways to interact with this game, you can play it, watch how to play it or watch a re-cap that talks about the game setting, its creation and the voice actors who played the characters. 

A lot of people are playing other games now, like Fortnite, but I still think GTA is epic. It had a worldwide impact on the gaming industry when it came out. The graphics are still excellent, especially on the PlayStation Pro. GTA V has a great multiplayer mode and feels realistic to the point where it feels like you are truly driving the car, planning the heist or walking into the bank.