Entry #4: Coming to an End

Blogging may have been a new experience for many of us this semester. It was challenging at some points, but it also was enjoyable and a great way to express opinions on subjects that are important to us. I personally liked it because I got a chance to know my classmates better. I got insight into the types of things they think about in their free time as well as getting know everyone's personality a little bit.
I am a very expressive person, so I enjoyed sharing my thoughts with my peers. I also appreciated it when someone gave me feedback on my topics and opinions. It allowed me to reanalyze how I presented what I said, or it reinforced my ideas by providing points that I hadn't thought of myself. I definitely took this project seriously, because I have a personal blog where I write about similar things. It was only a little challenging to make the switch from a personal blog to a casual/professional blog and I think it was good for me to explore that because everyone should be able to write in more than one tone and voice.
With modern technology, I think many people were able to relate to this assignment because the internet has become a huge part of our society. I don't believe many of us were forced to step outside of our comfort zones with this project because a lot of students are used to sharing their ideas on social media networks. Although the tone and voice used for personal use may be much different on those websites, it was sharing opinions nonetheless and that is good enough for a base to start blogging. It's good to learn different forms of writing because it only helps strengthen our abilities for the future no matter what career path we choose for ourselves.
Overall, I really appreciate this assignment experience and I don't think it necessarily needs improvement. The topics were never too difficult to comprehend in order to write about them and we were always provided details and a good outline to get us started. I hope to have teachers in the future who also have projects similar to this.
I hope everyone enjoyed this project as much as I did, and thank you to everyone who has taken the time to stop by my blog!

A Happy Self-Esteem Makes a Healthier You

Okay, let me start off by saying that I love the website Tumblr. I recognize that it’s different from other social networks; it’s a place for anyone who has nowhere else where they feel accepted. If someone wants to vent about his or her problems, insecurities, or emotions -- by all means -- Tumblr is the place to do it. I want to talk about one of the biggest issues that I see on Tumblr, though. It’s something that I don’t particularly like. Many users will “reblog” a picture of a stick thin girl where her bones are sticking out everywhere and they’ll say, “I wish I had her body.” My question is, “Why?” Why do these girls want to look like a skeleton? Why do they want to have no shape? Why do they want to look too fragile to touch, as if they could break under the pressure of a simple hug? Girls shouldn’t wish to be that way just because society and the media deem skinny to be the most beautiful appearance. You shouldn’t listen to them. You shouldn’t listen to anyone who makes you feel bad about yourself. They’re wrong. What you want to do with your body is definitely your choice, but you shouldn’t change your body because of how you think people view you. If you didn’t live in a world where everyone says and implies that you have to be skinny, you would have no reason to think you’re anything less than the beautiful person that you are. Humans aren’t supposed to be stick thin; we’re not meant to be that way. We have the amazing ability to look so different from one another and I think that’s so incredibly beautiful about life. A lot of people would tell me, “That’s easy for you to say; you’re tiny.” Yes, I am slim, but that doesn’t mean I want to be. I am constantly trying to gain weight, because that’s what I want. I’m not trying to fit into what society expects from women. I have my own mind and my own opinions, and I fully intend on using them.
This completely applies to males as well. You don’t have to live up to this contrived image of how a “manly man” should look. As long as you’re healthy and you feel comfortable in your own skin, why do you have to change? Seriously, looks shouldn’t be this big of a deal. If someone is going to judge you based on how you look, then do you really want that person in your life? I wouldn’t. I just feel like there aren’t enough people conveying this message, when it’s very important. I really hope this helps anyone who is having issues with their body. It may not mean a lot coming from me, but the way you look would give me no reason to think you’re not beautiful. It’s really who you are as a person - your personality and behavior - that defines how I see you. I’m not the only one who has this mind set.

Entry #3: Food Today

Watching Food Inc. really opened my eyes to what's been going on with processed food in the United States. I was never aware of how exactly our food came about. Though I was curious, I never took the measures to educate myself on the subject. Food Inc. was a very good source of information, and it aroused many emotions from all of its viewers in class.

Chicken Growth

One of the biggest shockers from the film was seeing how farms treat animals. It's disgusting in my opinion. I couldn't believe that they grow chickens so that their muscles grow quicker than their natural development process. If the muscles are outgrowing the rest of the body, the chickens' bones aren't able to support their weight, as we saw in the movie.
I also can't believe all the crap that companies get away with, such as washing meat with ammonia! That's repulsive! How do they expect us to eat that crap? They don't -- that's why companies don't advertise the way they prepare food. I've attached a video below where If more people were aware of this process, I doubt they would want to eat as much fast food and store-bought food that they currently purchase.
I personally feel trapped in this situation. I don't want to eat grocery store or fast food because they come from the same major companies. Buying food at the store isn't necessarily much healthier than eating fast food. Ideally, I would grow my own plants and buy meat locally. My family already does as much of that as possible. We grow fruits and vegetables, we buy local food (not meat), and we raise chickens to produce eggs for us. I never realized the value in my stepmother choosing to do all this until I watched this movie. I suppose some could say I've been ignorant about what I'm putting into my body, but I know for a fact that I'm not the only one. I think that wanting to change my eating habits is better than nothing at all. It just takes some work and dedication.

We've established that businesses do all these terrible things, but WHY do they do them? Well, these processes are cheaper. They're cheaper partially because they're quicker. With a quick process, farmers are able to produce more product than they normally would be able to. So with this cheaper process, they are not charging cheaply, therefore they are making a nice profit. Also, they make this profit quickly because of how fast they can produce the food. I can't even fathom how so many people in that industry care about money more than they care about creating good, wholesome products that won't make people hate them when they find out what they do to animals and what they put in our food.
With all this new knowledge, I think it's important to know what happens to the food that we buy. It's necessary to know in order to eat healthy things and be a healthy person. Most people don't want to purposely damage their bodies. Many people are also not educated on the subject of processed foods, therefore they do not know what they shouldn't eat. I think we should all make a conscious effort to do the research to find out which companies are the most wholesome and buy their food. We should do as much as we can to move away from the unethical practices of these major food producing companies.

What is a Mistake?

A mistake is something that someone else defines as wrong, but you did the actions of it so you obviously didn’t think it was wrong at the time. It’s only when someone else gets upset with or hurt by your actions that you feel bad about what you did, therefore deeming it a “mistake.” You could drop your toast on the floor, but no one would get mad, so you wouldn't feel as though you’ve just made a mistake. You could kiss your friend’s ex and your friend would get angry, so you would feel bad about it as though you’ve made a mistake. If people truly, 100% cared for someone, they would never punish that person for his or her actions, but, people are selfish, not selfless. No one is capable of letting everyone off the hook all the time, It’s just not in our nature.
You can think of someone else for 2 seconds and realize they did what they did because they wanted to, felt as though they needed to, or did it to be happy. If you seriously thought about that, AND cared about his or her reason, there would be a lot less “mistakes” made. I don't ever really hold grudges against people, because they have their reasons for doing what they did. Also, I don't hold grudges because I do my very best to not be hypocritical. I’ve done things that would hurt people’s feelings, which would make me feel bad, as though I’ve made a mistake, but these things weren’t done out of malice. If someone were to think about WHY someone does something, rather than just the fact that they did it, there would be a lot more understanding. Just think about it.
Readers may think that people just shouldn't do things that could potentially hurt their loved ones. That's where their reasoning comes in. If a girl liked a guy but she never expressed that to her friend before her friend started dating the guy, then the friend shouldn't be mad if the girl dates him after they break up. That's just an easy example.
Basically, I think people shouldn't be afraid to make themselves happy. Don't do anything just to hurt someone, but after thinking a situation through, make sure you're going to do what you want and what will make you happy. Your loved ones will just have to understand.

Entry #2: Technology: Bigger Than You Think

We've been talking a lot about technology in class this week. The 'Did You Know?' video was really interesting. I found a couple other videos that have to do with technology as well.

This video shows potential technology for the future. I thought this looked very surreal. Imagine being connected to everything everywhere. It seems like this sort of technology would never happen in our life times, but people have to consider that technologies that the world has today may not have been around when this generation was young. Parents of this generation may have never seen touch screen phones coming or even DVDs. Technology moves rapidly and the technology shown in the video could very well be among us in the next decade as some do believe. I suppose this gives everyone something interesting to look forward to as they get older!

Another video I came across has the same idea, but it's presented in a different way.

While the first video has the nice music and fun scenarios, this video gives off a completely different message in my opinion. First of all, the technology shown is obviously already created. I can't figure out why, but it's just not as shocking as the way it's presented in the first video. The second video actually makes me feel like humans will become extremely lazy (even worse than they already are) if this is released for the public to purchase and use it. Although advances in technology are usually to benefit humans and make most everything convenient, it seems as though technology only does two things: shortens the processes of many things in our lives so that we have time to cram more into our already busy schedules or allows us to do nothing and become too lazy for our own well-being.

I hope many of you understand the disadvantages of technology, but don't let those defeat the benefits. Technology really is important in keeping the world in some sort of chaotic order. Plenty of technologies allow for distractions, but users just have to have more self-discipline in order to avoid that. Let me know what you think of these house-friendly systems. Do you consider them revolutionary, or just a cripple on society?

It's My Body and I'll Dress How I Want To

I am a fashion enthusiast. I dress myself solely for the purpose of style and feeling confident. I believe a lot of teenage girls can relate when I say that my parents have told me countless times that I was showing a little too much skin. But the fact of the matter is, I can wear whatever i want. I have never dressed in such a way that I revealed anything unmentionable. Even if I had, it’s my body; it's my choice of what I show. Why is it frowned upon to wear slightly revealing clothing? Honestly. My brother has told me that he thought my shorts were too short and I went on to explain that what I wear is my business and it doesn’t imply anything. Simply because I'm showing a lot of leg doesn’t tell anything about my character. Good people can dress skimpily. Not that anything was hanging out, but even if a girl wants to show off her womanly parts, that’s completely up to her. It doesn’t mean she’s a whore or she’s easy. It means she is wearing clothes that she likes on herself. That's just something that society needs to learn to get over. A person shouldn’t even be offended by how much of someone’s body is showing because humans in the nude is natural! There’s nothing wrong with it and nothing to be ashamed about. My brother suggested that I wear my shorts that go down to my knees. I told him, “It’s hot out.” He said, “I always wear long shorts.” Then I told him, “That’s because the majority of your gender doesn’t think it’s acceptable to show your thighs.” I absolutely love the commercial shown below. I think the shorts look good on both of them. Why aren't more guys daring enough to want to pull this off?

It doesn't matter what your gender is. You're free to dress yourself however you like. We're not 5 years old anymore; we can make our own decisions when it comes to our appearance. Don't be afraid to do something out of the ordinary. Taking risks can be a very good experience. Whatever you choose to do, be confident in yourself and think twice before judging someone else's appearance, because you know you wouldn't want to get judged for yours.

Entry #1: To Blog or Not to Blog?

 With all the crazy advanced technology the 21st century possess, people sometimes question the usefulness of new technological concepts. Take blogging, for example. While there are many, many bloggers out there, there is still a fair amount of individuals who don't understand the purpose. So what IS the point in blogging when someone could just read the newspaper or magazines? Well for one, blogs have a lot more freedom than newspapers and magazines allow. Blogs are easily accessible. Most people have computers with internet where they can easily get on blogging websites; free blogging websites, might I add. Bloggers can get their information out to hundreds, thousands - even millions - of people with a simple click of a button. Organizations may have blogs to reach out to people in need. There are advice blogs for when individuals have nowhere else to turn. Blogs can also be like diaries. Many blogging networks allow users to create private or password-protected blogs. Users can blow off steam and get their feelings out through blogging rather than a physical diary. This way, the writer's thoughts are completely private and there's no trace of a journal for others to invade.

Daniel Nahabedian

After doing some research, I have discovered a few blogs that I'd like to share my opinion about. First off, I found Canvas of Light which is a photography blog. I love photography, and I really enjoyed viewing Daniel Nahabedian's work. He took pictures in France, Spain, Thailand, and other interesting places. All his photos make me feel like I'm the one behind the camera. It feels personal to me. When I see such amazing art work, it inspires me to further my photography skills.

Craig Harris

Another blog I enjoyed is The Stroppy Sausage. This is a personal blog by Craig Harris, full of humor, as you can tell by the fact that the writer refers to himself as a sausage. I like the voice that he brings to his writing. It's very friendly and easy to become interested in his topics. One thing I particularly enjoyed was 'The List'. This list consists of things that the author hates. If I were writing a personal blog, I may pick up some of his humor or casualness for my own use.
Now, not every blog is going to be appealing. I did encounter blogs I didn't care for. One of those blogs was Unbrave Girl. I saw this blog because it won an award for the 'Best Tokyo Blog.' Once I visited the page, I saw nothing of Tokyo. Trying to uncover some information about the author, I clicked on 'About' and it was basically a broken link. This happened for other links as well, so I became frustrated and left the page. When I later revisited it, the links were working fine, but other than the fact that the author, Sally, lived in Japan, I don't understand why it won its award. The theme didn't seem to fit in my opinion.