Typed Conversation

Text Messaging, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, MSN, Yahoo, AIM, and Email. Does anyone actually have a conversation face to face anymore? Nowadays it feels everything is typed communication, like no one actually has a well rounded deep conversation anymore. I remember when I was younger and I used to be on the phone for hours at a time talking with family, friends and people in general. Now as I've gotten older, its become less frequent and more digitalized. I don't like it. I try to talk to people on the phone but I usually don't get as long a conversation as I would have liked. Or I call people and then they don't answer but respond with a text message. This to me makes absolutely no sense. I wish we could go back to those days where a phone conversation was valued greatly. I miss the 90s.

Let there be Snow

This week was really the first time this semester we received snow on campus. Though snow causes problems and is very dangerous I am actually grateful for it. People complain its too cold, too much slush, and the winds are too strong. Yes these are the conditions that come with winter at Oz, and if you don't like those conditions what did you really expect here? Those conditions are indeed bad, and at times hard to deal with, but regardless its winter! I'm happy I can experience winter where other parts of the world have never even seen snow. I like when the snow falls at night, and how pretty the campus looks with snow.
I especially enjoy white Christmases. This year will be the first year I will not have a white Christmas because I live in Florida , and there is obviously no snow over there. Maybe a little frost now and then but nothing like opening the curtains on Xmas morning and seeing fresh snow on the ground. Now my Xmas will probably be replaced with a rain shower or a beaming sun. To me this is out of the norm and weird. However,I wont knock new experiences. Even though I may not like a sunny Xmas many Floridians probably do. To each his own.

Applewhite

In March 1997, 39 people were found dead in a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, CA. One man was responsible for these deaths, his name was Marshall Applewhite. Applewhite is one of many infamous people who have been leaders of the most controversial cults in history. He declared himself the reincarnation of a higher being like Christ. He founded Total Over comers Anonymous aka Heavens Gate in 1975. This cult is one of most legendary in U.S history.
Applewhite had strange beliefs and rules that set him apart from any other cult leader. He believed he was a messenger from the " evolutionary kingdom level above human." He said he was sent on a special mission and if people studied with him they too would be able to shed their human "containers" and evolve to this higher level above human. Applewhite had very strict rules for his followers. He required them to give up everything,which meant giving up family, friends, possessions and sex.This to me was probably his worst action. Stripping someone of their own identity and giving them a new one is cruel and inhuman. Though some societies in the world actually do just this, his way of doing it was extreme.
People like him take advantage of weaker people. This is the only reason I can understand why cults exist in the first place.

Culture

One of my biggest dreams or rather goals is to travel the world. I want to explore different lands and see different things. But more importantly I want to experience new cultures and meet people with different values and views far from my own. I think this is the best way to experience a new place, whether it is a new town, state or country. Getting to know the culture is probably the most rewarding thing.
I never really realized this until when I first moved to Florida six years ago. I had been to Florida plenty of times on vacation so I thought I knew what to expect. Boy was I wrong about that. I moved to Jacksonville Florida. I don’t know if you’ve ever been, but it is definitely not like Orlando. Orlando is full of tourist attractions and people whose purpose is to cater to tourists. In Jacksonville it was completely different. You hear the thick southern accents, and the manners that people have are incredible, something that I was not used to too. There were also draw backs, like the education there was so far behind that of New York. Also people talked with this slow drawl that I could not deal with because I was used to things being said quickly. Everything down there was slowed down and it was a bit hard for me to get used. The environment however, was very different. It was like a relaxed, stress free environment.
Now from this experience I learned that just because you visit a different area doesn’t necessarily mean you experienced the culture. I encourage people to stay in an area longer then just vacation time. And instead of staying in a hotel, stay with a friend or a local motel. Yes some places may be beautiful in appearance but the cultures may be more intriguing and more appealing.

My planner is my bestfriend

Yes it is true, my planner and I have a solid relationship. It never leaves my side.My planner has been everywhere with me and back. Only since I became a student at this school have me and my planner had this bond. I usually put everything in my phone but since I’ve been here I have used my planner more frequently then ever before.
I write all my assignments,meetings, important events and due dates all in there. It helps me to see things written down so I can cross them out as they are completed. This gives me a little sense of accomplishment each time I cross something out. When t-mobile acts up, and everything I have written on my phone planner is gone, I have a backup hard copy.
Recently while traveling between home and school, Jet blue lost one of my luggage's. In there was my beloved planner and I was having a mini panic attack. All my due dates of assignments and everything was in this tiny little planner and they had lost it. Luckily it was found in a short period of time, and me and my planner were reunited again.
I suggest you invest in a planner, it helps you get things done on time and helps you remember a lot.

Fears of College

Coming to college is a big transition for many freshmen. I can say that it was definitely different then high school and I feel that high school doesn’t prepare you well enough for the transition. Though I've come to realize it hasnt been that bad, some of my fears were typical before arriving. I thought I would get lost in the shuffle of the university and be alone. I realized early on that this is not true and I have met a lot of great people here so far. Also I knew the workload in college is a great difference from that of high school and one of my biggest concerns was that I wouldn't be able to handle it. I’ve been told to not look at this negatively but to believe I will be able to complete my assignments on time and to the best my ability. So far it has been going good, a little harder then highschool but thats expected.
I believe Oswego was the perfect school for me to choose. I am happy to say Oswego has a great support system of Laker leaders, Advisors, Professors and others who are here to assist students in anything. I feel that the size of the school helps me feel more comfortable because it’s not overwhelmingly big and at the same time not to small where I can be on my own.

Worldy Facts

While doing an assignment I learned alot of things about the people living in the world, things I had never known. For example the most common language in the world is Mandarin Chinese. I’m guessing this is the result of the booming Chinese population. The amount of illiterate adults in the world is 771 million and of that number two-thirds are women. This was shocking to me because I presumed men would be the majority but I guess in regions of the world where woman are not treated as equally with men, this percentage makes sense. Also women are less likely to receive secondary education compared to males. It surprised me that majority of the world is under extreme living conditions and poverty. Learning this I think we should appreciate living in America because we are an exception to the rest the world. As the economies are still struggling I would expect the percentage of people living in poverty (60%) to rise. I feel as a world community we should try to prevent this from happening. We should come together, especially since global warming is becoming an increasingly big problem.

Pink Dress

This past weekend I attended and performed at the 32ND annual Latino Student Union Dinner. It was a great dinner, and the E-board did an extremely impressive job in putting it all together. The theme of the dinner was "Latinos taking back the night." It was a great theme, but I think some people took this theme to literally.
What I mean by this is the dress code at the dinner. To my surprise everyone at the dinner wore dark colors like black suits, black dresses, browns and grays. Then there was me in the brightest of brightest pinks you could imagine. I stood out like a sore thumb. Not only was my dress the brightest it was also very different from other tube dresses; one side had no sleeves and the other had a shawl like sleeve that draped over my left arm. I noticed everyone kept looking at me as I walked past them or commenting on my dress. I apparently I didn't receive the memo that the dress code was dark colors.
After the dinner, I felt as though I had not dressed appropriately for the dinner. I thought others would be brave and wear multiple bright colors because Latinos are known for the bold colors we use. Later I received comments from a couple of friends saying "you were the brightest one there," "I saw you from across the room" and " I have never seen a dress like that before." I was not offended by the looks or upset by the comments, rather I embraced them. I realized that my dress and its color as well set me apart from everyone else in the room. It gave me that individuality that I wanted and deep inside I expected the reactions I received.
When I was younger, I was the shyest and quietest little girl you could have known. It took me a while to make friends each time I went to a new school, and maybe even longer before I got the courage to talk comfortably around new groups of people. When my mom took me to places like the pediatricians office, I didn't play in the kiddie section with all the toys, I sat right next to my mom because I was scared to talk to the other kids. Other mothers would comment and say "wow shes so well behaved." First days of school were nightmares to me, because I would cry when my mom left me alone in a new classroom with a bunch of new people. As I got older and matured I began opening up more and being more friendlier. I think after my move to Florida I realized shyness isn't going to get me nowhere, and even if I think I look stupid talking to someone I do not know, I may make a new lifelong friend. Many people carry there shyness with them throughout their lives, but for me this is not an issue anymore and I feel I can be friendly and have a conversation with anyone now.
I watch as my little cousin Yazmine grows up and I see she is not shy. She is the bravest, most outgoing and happy little girl I know. She makes everyone smile when shes around and she loves to meet new kids her age. She can meet a new friend or two anywhere she goes. I love this about her and I wish I had her warm,inviting and outgoing personality she has when I was her age.
The pink dress helped me realize how much I've changed as a person. A couple years ago I would have never worn a dress as bold as that one. It makes me happy to know that I have overcome being shy and scared of others opinions. It may not seem like much but it is a great accomplishment for me. I was told "In a room full of 200 guests wearing black as if they were attending a funeral , you stood out the most and you looked great." Then I smiled.

Whether the weather

I'm sure many can agree that when it rains outside and is gloomy and gray, you feel lazy as if not wanting to do anything but stay inside. I can admit that's how I feel, and it made me wonder how big of an effect does weather have on your mood or feelings. Ive noticed for me, rain equals laziness and sun equals energy, and vibrancy. The sun makes me feel alive, happy and energetic, ready to experience my day. Rain never seems to make me feel the same, especially with the grayish colors and winds. Maybe its all in my head or maybe its because I'm so used to not going anywhere when its raining. Rain also gets me in a bad mood sometimes, depending on how hard it is raining or how strong the winds are. The sun and bright colors of summer or spring help me enjoy my time spent outside. If I had it my way, all year would be sunny and have bright colors.

Setting the example

Today I learned from my friends back in my former high school, that the school has made it on the CNN news. When I was told this two things popped into my mind: Has Monroe-Woodbury finally made the top ten high schools in the U.S ? or did the school have yet another food fight? As I searched CNN myself I found an all too familiar heading, and I thought "its too soon for anoher one."









Thank god, no attack was made on my school, but the headline bothered me. The story behind it is a 15 year old boy was planning to make an attack on the school as a result of bullying. When police executed a search of the home they found a torch, machete, four bottles filled with gasoline, three propane gas tanks and other electrical and dangerous equipment. What boggles my mind is how can he have all this and his parents not be aware. After all he is only 15 years old and has a previous criminal record. Secondly the boy no longer attended the school, why would he go back to do such a crime? Yes I can admit bullying at that school was terrible and not getting any better. But why feel the need to blow up the school ? I believe this has much to do with past school attacks and the role of the media with these attacks.

Every year in Monroe-Woodbury a presentation is given about the Columbine attack called "Rachael's Dream." During the program a friend of the family of Rachael ( a girl who was killed during the Columbine shootings), speaks about the shootings, what happened and encourages all to follow Rachael's dream of being nice to one another and avoiding such acts. Then just recently the events of Virginia Tech have resurfaced the fears of not being safe in your own school. I believe the medias role these attacks helps students who are being bullied and are seeking help find a new way to deal with it: Shooting up the school. Just thinking about the publicity brought to the people who committed these attacks is incredible. They go from one day not being known, to all of America's eyes on them. Its as if they are a celebrity, and many might like the attention.

Look at how this young boy was planning to do this attack. He had the weapons hidden in his house, he also had a trench cloak and was bullied and wanted revenge, all similar to the boys of the Columbine attacks.What makes my point more convincing is the fact that this boy was planning on attacking on the anniversary of the Columbine attacks. Is he commemorating the boys who committed those awful attacks? It is obvious he is getting his influence from the Columbine attacks and I'm not surprised. I am just grateful nothing like those attacks happened at Monroe because that would have been another devastating event added to the list. One none of us would ever like to see.

School Lunches...Really Food?

I began reading "Putting Americas Diet on a Diet" by Alex Witchel and he made very interesting points . One thing they mentioned in the article is school lunches. This topic hit home for me because I always wondered where school lunches came from and why did they feel the quality of this food was OK to serve to children. I mean the food served in public schools is not unbearable to eat however it is questionable. All those "sloppy Joe's" and mystery meat sandwiches, I wonder how many kids became sick from these lunches. Instead of serving all these disgusting grease filled foods to students, they should have been serving organic food and fresh fruits. Nowadays they have changed a lot of food menu in school. Fresh fruit is a major part of the menu now, along with veggies and wheat bread. I believe food does stimulate the mind and learning so it makes sense food should look good and taste good.

Does the media encourage body modification?

This is like a part two from my last blog. Do you think the people on t.v, magazines, pictures and music have an impact on the way people feel about themselves? I believe so. I strongly feel that the media has created an "acceptable" body image for both men and woman. If your a man you should be muscular, six pack, and tall. For a female I believe it has had a greater impact. Females are constantly being compared to thin and tall models. Or actresses or musicians who have "the perfect body." In the past when our grandparents were our ages,did they understand what botox injections were? Or that you can lift, cut, and add things on your face or anywhere on your body? In this day and age, people would look at you funny if you didnt know what these things were.
Why are models so skinny in the first place? Dont they model clothes the public will hopefully buy? Generally the public is not a size zero. How is this appealing to people who are not size zero? I never understood it. I always felt models should symbolize a womans natural looking body. Yes like me, there are some naturally very thin girls out there, however that is only a select percent. When they began modeling for plus size woman, I felt this was a great step up in the modeling world. I seriously think they need to put a minimum weight on models, especially because many suffer from eating disorders and emotional problems because of the competition to be the thinniest. As you can see it is not a pleasant site.

Every Girl Wants a Barbie

I was reading the essentials of argument text, and I read an essay in there called "The Barbie Controversy", and I wondered , is Barbie really the image millions of little girls aspire to be? Lets just talk about the way Barbie looks. Barbie is a blonde , big chested , white and skinny doll. This is the image that has been advertised for many years by many companies like McDonald's and more. If they are portrayed as being rich with big houses,millions of accessories, and loved by all ,then little girls would aspire to be blonde, white, and big chested. I would think this would cause self-esteem problems with little girls and with them not being able to accept themselves how they are .

In other countries like Saudi Arabia, religious police declared Barbies a threat to morality. They claim little girls playing with dolls is not the problem, but a doll such as Barbie should not have a full developed body and be sporting short revealing clothes. Saudi Arabia has very strict rules for females. They must be fully cloaked and no skin must be shown. So it would not surprise me that they would ban a Barbie doll, it is seen as highly inappropriate. However they have a point in saying the Barbies should not be so developed and revealing. It makes me wonder if other toy companies get their ideas from the Barbie concept, as it was such a booming toy and still is. There are some rare yet questionable toys out there that make you wonder what is in the minds of the people who create these things. For example, the pole dancing doll :


http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2009/08/30/pole-dancing-doll-makes-our-heads-spin/

If your thinking its ridiculous, then I agree. What kind of message is being sent to the kids of today's generation and those of future generations?

Woman Vs. Men

Looking at the title of this blog, a whole list of ideas and topics come to mind. Opinions on who's better start to form, and even heated debates. For a homework assignment we were told to read an essay by Sallie Bingham called "A woman's land." After reading this essay, I really thought about women landowners and how I agreed with her in a sense. She basically spoke about the way men treat their land versus the way women treat it. According to her, men work the land and get all they can from the land, leaving it depleted and bare. Women who own land use it for what they need, without over indulging themselves, leaving most of it to nature. I believe she is correct, women are naturally more gentle then men are. She goes further into saying she will not leave the land to her own sons because she does not want them to run it down, rather she would prefer for it to be preserved in its current state. I found this the most shocking in her essay, because as much as she talks down about men, she would not even leave some bit of her sacred hobby and pride to her own flesh and blood. She even talks about how children dream about someday receiving something their parents treasured, so it surprised me when she said she would not leave them her land. I cannot really speak first hand because I have not known any farmers men or women, or anyone who owns land in general too comment on it. But I agree her opinion has some logical standing.

Should Capital Punishment Be Permitted?

In the 1995 Oklahoma city bombing, Timothy Mcveigh killed 168 people. Anyones first thought would be, he deserves the same fate. Killing all those people because he himself hated the government was ridiculous and insane. So the jury sentenced him to death. But was this really a fitting punishment? Yes I agree he deserved to die, as I'm sure many of the victims family agreed. But I think it would have been more reasonable to make him suffer and rot in prison then to simply let him just die, free of pain and suffering unlike his victims. A life sentence in a high security prison, without parole would have been a fitting punishment. Just like Mcveigh had no right to take all those lives, the government does not have the right to take any lives. I believe sentencing a killer to be killed is like giving them what they asked for and is not teaching them a lesson. If I was in his position I would rather die, then spend my entire life rotting in a jail cell.

Abortions?

Most people are either pro choice or pro life. If not most lean towards one side or another. I consider myself to have a pro choice state of mind. So when it comes to abortions I say its up to the mother. No I do not support taking an innocent life. I agree that if you were adult enough to do the deed you should be adult enough to face the consequences. But in certain situations, this does not apply. Like a victim of rape for example, they had no choice in the matter. So now they must give birth to a child because someone else took that option away from them? Also many suggest adoption as an option. Yes this is definitly a possibility, but nowadays children are in and out of this system. This topic is a tricky debate, but I stand by my opinion.

War and Peace Issues

Yesterday in class we spoke about current and enduring public issues. One issue that caught my attention, among the many we discussed, was whether the United States should remain prepared for a major world war. This question involves many aspects. For example, nuclear weapons, threatening communist countries and being attacked on our own soil. My answer to the question is yes, I do feel the U.S should remain prepared for a major world war or for any type of terrorist attack in that case. I believe being prepared is a logical answer. As a country who is constantly being scrutinized by others and resented by many, we cannot afford to let our guard down when other countries have not. This goes hand in hand with nuclear weapons. Though no one wants to kill billions of people, many countries have deadly nuclear weapons in there possession. My guess for the reasoning behind this is because each country wants to show other countries that they are not inferior and can develop these deadly weapons just as easily as any other powerful country can.
Furthermore, this country prides itself on rarely being attacked on its own soil, with the exceptions of some attacks.This being true, other countries have always seen America with a reputation for being a strong and powerful nation, one that is rarely ever defeated. However, since the most recent homeland attacks ( Sept.11,2001) this opinion has probably changed for many of those countries, who once thought otherwise. My point being, if we are not prepared for the worst and other countries feel as though we are weaker then we've ever been, we risk being attacked by many others, wishing to break down our security and destroy America. We also have to worry about communist enemy countries like China, or enemies in general,who will take advantage of us during our lowest time.
Providing safety and security for this countries people should be a top priority. I feel not being prepared for a major world war, is simply irresponsible, especially during these times. The United States must do what it needs to do to secure its own nation.