These infants begin to take in the outside world and make it their own with each new experience. With those new experiences and growth come a perspective on the world and the ability to share it. We learn our methods of communication quickly, but how many of us truly understand the impact our words have?

Words have the power to console those in grief, uplift the downhearted, and inspire those who feel defeated. History shows us how influential speeches are to groundbreaking movements and changes. It鈥檚 hard to imagine where we would be without Abraham Lincoln鈥檚 Gettysburg Address, Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 鈥淚 Have a Dream鈥︹�� speech, or Ronald Regan鈥檚 speech calling for Russia to tear down the Berlin Wall.

Although best as a positive influence, words can also lead to painful ramifications. Through his persuasive techniques, Hitler managed to persuade numerous countries to kill more than 6 million innocent people just because of their religion. What started out as a way to communicate to survive, has the capability of being the vessel in which hate and destruction flow through.

At a young age, I experienced how hurtful words could be. When I was bullied at school, my mom incessantly recited 鈥淪ticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me鈥� as a form of comfort. As bad as I wanted that phrase to be true, life had taught me a lesson that I could not ignore.

I learned that the pen is truly mightier than the sword. The impact of words has the ability of molding the lives of others. For example, my mother was constantly ridiculed for her Hispanic accent while speaking English. Hollywood hadn鈥檛 glamorized the way Latinos spoke English yet, so this proved to be a traumatic experience for her. This, in turn, caused her to emphasize English over Spanish when raising her children. Having a limited grasp of Spanish, however, caused me to struggle with my identity as a Latin American woman.

Though mightier than the sword indeed, the pen shares the double-edged blade characteristic with its counterpart. It is for that reason we must be cognizant of what we say and how we say it.

With the tragic events that have taken place recently around the world, we have seen the power of our words at work. We have witnessed vile words turn into actions of hate, only to leave us with an unbearable loss. We can put an end to this; we must put an end to this.

In theory the answer is simple, but the answer is far more complex in practice. What if we listen to others and learn to communicate? What if we promote and invest in love as much as we do our businesses, companies, and sources of income? What if, we stop ourselves from speaking negatively and instead speak words of encouragement and kindness?

It is easier to refrain from something when it is not actively portrayed in our society. In these past couple weeks, I have made it my mission to spread positivity in any way I can. Whether it is making small talk in a waiting room, smiling to those who cross paths with me on the way to work, or even voicing my appreciation, I have noticed that the attitude becomes infectious.

It鈥檚 amazing that after learning how to convey our thoughts and emotions as we age, we don鈥檛 do it nearly as much as we should. In fact, I challenge everyone reading this to do a random act of kindness or genuinely vocalize their appreciation for someone today.

As Gandhi said, 鈥淏e the change you wish to see in the world.鈥�

Have the strength to speak your mind, the wisdom to know when to hold your tongue, and the compassion to love continuously.

Elizabeth Santiago is a 麻豆原创 junior majoring in psychology and a member of the President鈥檚 Leadership Council. She can be reached at easantiago7@knights.ucf.edu.

Responsible for hundreds of human deaths along the Nile River every year, the Nile crocodile ranks as one of the most aggressive animals in the world 鈥� and just recently scientists discovered its ominous presence in the Florida Everglades.

State officials say the reptiles, among the most aggressive animals in the world, likely were brought to the area by unlicensed dealers and then escaped or were released from captivity. State wildlife officials need to do what they can to eliminate the predators and punish the people who took them illegally to the Everglades.

Once again here is an unsettling story about people鈥檚 selfish ways creating another obstacle for Mother Nature to contend with. It鈥檚 distressing to think how an action by a few can impact thousands of people and the native wildlife. It鈥檚 even more disturbing that these people get away with it.

The Nile crocodile, unlike the American crocodile or alligator, does not try to elude humans. Being an apex predator, it welcomes the challenge from other animals and does not go down without a fight. They can grow up to 18 feet and lay 25-80 eggs just two months after mating.

Though only three have been spotted in Florida, it does not take much for this species to make itself at home. Scientists fear the crocodile will breed with our native elusive American crocodile or alligator and spawn an aggressive hybrid that will disrupt the ecosystem and endanger the lives of the public.

This is not the first time Florida鈥檚 wildlife has been endangered by an invasive species. From the Burmese python increasing its numbers in the Everglades to the venomous Indo-Pacific lionfish taking over the Florida Keys, invasion has become an increasingly common problem.

I don鈥檛 understand the desire for people keeping such exotic 鈥減ets鈥� and then irresponsibly releasing them when they were no longer wanted. Whether the animals no longer captivated their owner鈥檚 interest or became unmanageable, they were left at nature鈥檚 doorstep to fend for themselves.

The state has taken some steps to combat this increasing problem. These initiatives include open hunts where the public can participate in removal of the various species with incentives and rewards. In the Everglades, hunts are targeted at the Burmese python, whereas in the Keys the hunts focus on the lionfish.

The state should be commended for its efforts to tackle the problem, but the initiatives have not leveled the playing field.

For instance, the 2016 Python Challenge removed 106 invasive snakes from the Everglades but it is estimated that after decades of breeding, the Burmese python population is more than 300,000. The annual 2015 Lionfish Derby eliminated 1,141 lionfish, but that doesn鈥檛 compare to the 2 million eggs per year a single lionfish produces.

The removal of these invasive animals through hunts certainly benefits our ecosystem, but we need to do a better job in preventing these problems before they happen.

Elizabeth Santiago is a 麻豆原创 junior majoring in psychology and a member of the President鈥檚 Leadership Council. She can be reached at easantiago7@knights.ucf.edu.

Our laptops and cell phones have a large influence over our lives, but like Spiderman鈥檚 Uncle Ben said, 鈥淲ith great power comes great responsibility.鈥� With every phone call made and text message sent, we trust that our correspondence and anything else on our devices stays private.

Up to this point there has been a solid wall between the user and the manufacturer. For instance, once the cell phone is handed from producer to consumer, the producer no longer has access to the device. But it has been seen recently that the once sturdy wall is in danger of being cracked.

This is the issue that Apple faced when the Federal Bureau of Investigation asked the company to unlock the phone of two terrorists who were responsible for the massacre of 14 people last year in San Bernardino, Calif. The FBI argued that unlocking this phone was necessary to get a glimpse into the series of events prior to the attack. They said that knowing who the terrorists corresponded with and what websites they visited, federal agents would gain knowledge that could help them learn more about the background of the two.

Apple argues that it isn鈥檛 as simple as unlocking an iPhone to help the good guys win. For them, it goes deeper than that. They believe that in the grand scheme, this will have a long-lasting effect after this case is settled. If they develop software for this particular instance, who is to say that it won鈥檛 happen again or that the new breaching software wouldn鈥檛 fall in the wrong hands?

They say this 鈥渕aster key鈥� would give access for anyone to open any cell phone, including yours.

When I first heard this news, I was conflicted because I understood both sides to the story. Trying to formulate an opinion was like trying to choose between my heart and my head. While my heart was leaning towards doing whatever it took to put this case to rest, my head was weary of the damage this case could do toward our privacy for tomorrow.

I eventually found myself siding with Apple. My heart ached for the families lost and the unanswered questions, however I couldn鈥檛 help but think of all the lives that are guarded by our privacy. Through encryption, our most private thoughts and conversations are protected. If exposed and exploited, there can be consequences that take us to a different playing field where there isn鈥檛 a defense. We would run the risk of being left vulnerable to cybercriminals and to those whose goal is to destroy anyone with opposing beliefs.

In this day and age we have become so reliant on technology that it holds our business plans, schedules, contact information, emails, and memories through photographs, and is key to accessing the internet.

Just think about it this way: While at work, what if the computers and cell phones just power off, what work could get done? I am sure there would be housekeeping work to be done, but there are very few businesses that could operate on a normal standard without the technology.

Now, picture a different scenario: What if the reason they powered down was because of a mass hacking? Every document read, transaction known, and plans for action foreseen?

For some businesses this might be the equivalent of a benign tumor 鈥� inconvenient but not too harmful. But for institutions such as the U.S. Government, it could mean something catastrophic.

Though the breaking in of one phone isn鈥檛 going to instantly send us in to a national crisis, who is to say that it won鈥檛 open the door, even just a little, and set precedence to other instances that continue to pry that door open.

Elizabeth Santiago is a 麻豆原创 junior majoring in psychology and a member of the President鈥檚 Leadership Council. She can be reached at easantiago7@knights.ucf.edu.