Media Influence

Lollipops turn into cigarettes. The innocent ones turn bad. Homework goes in the trash. Mobile phones are being used in class. Detention becomes suspension. Soda becomes vodka. Bikes become cars. Kisses turn into sex. Remember when getting high meant swinging on the playground? When protection meant wearing a bandaid? When the worst thing you could get from boys was cooties? Dad's shoulders were the highest place on Earth and mom was your hero? Your worst enemies were your siblings and race was about who was the fastest. War was only a card game and the only thing you knew about was cough medicine. When wearing a suit didn't make you trashy ad the only pain you felt was when you skinned your knee. And goodbye only meant until tomorrow? And we couldn't wait to grow up.

That is one quote I remember day by day. Now that I'm a month away from being an adult, I look at this quote and think how sad it is how not only me, but other people are growing up so quickly. Today in class Sal showed us a video about how the media is influencing children as young as sixteen months. They showed clips of commercials  with well-known celebrities or action figures like Spongebob or Spider Man and famous electronic games like Baby Einstein or Hooked on Phonix. This huge influence on media is honestly taking a toll on kids at such a young age. When I watched kids playing with cool products, it made me think of my own childhood and I almost felt guilty because the children there were so addicted or enthralled with their Leap Frog or whatever they had in front of them that was electronically entertaining. When I was younger, my parents never bought me anything that would suposidly "help" me in becoming smarter. They thought it was a better idea to get in touch with the outside world and actually do things in real life like swim or hang out with people that mean the most. Now, kids as young as four are so obsessed with staying inside playingtheir Xbox or Wii. I remember when people would go outside and play, and actually stay active. It's totally different now - things change and technology is growing more and more each day. Remember when the coolest thing you had was a CD player? Or you had the latest Barbie or G.I. Joe toy and every guy and girl on the block thought you were the greatest kid alive? That's al changed. If you don't have the latest cell phone or iPod, people will consider you a lower class. It's almost sickening to see what the world has come to. I can't even comprehend how sad and upset it makes me feel. I always try to encourrage my friends to go outside when it's nice out instead of staying inside, but they either want to stay and play a video game, text on their iPones, or video chat on Skype or ooVoo. (another version of Skype). So at times, I'll be alone. Whenever it's nice out, I try to go outside and enjoy the fresh air. I think the media has a big effect on children nowadays - without a doubt. Being inside feels like a requirement for them, and if their not they'll go outside and have some sort of technology with them. I wish people weren't like that, because sooner or later our generation is going to become weaker and weaker due to our strong dependancy on technology, as well as our obesity rates. If kids see something they think is good on T.V., they'll demand for their parents to get it, and if they don't have it, they'll go crazy. When a reporter said that 94% of our population has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder or ADHD, it didn't really shock me, more so disappointed me. I used to have a friend who was bipolar because she had family problems and she was so attached to her iTouch. I got so tired of her and I'm glad to say we're not friends anymore, because she's someone I don't need in my life. The media can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Having nice things is great, but when a person becomes so dependant to it, then it becomes a problem.

Neglect

A few days ago in class, we had a discussion on kids/animals being neglected. While having this discussion, it made me think of one of my best friends who I've known since I was born. Her parents are divorced and barely talk to each other because the mother never found it in her heart to forgive him for what he did. My friend, on the other hand, doesn't even live with her parents because her mom pays more attention to her boyfriend than her own daughter. She lives with her best friend who goes to a different school. I feel so bad for her because she keeps telling me that all she wants is to be a family again. All she has is her best friend, me, and her older brother.  I try to help her to the best of my ability, and it seems like she's a lot happier when she's around people who care about her. When Sal showed us clips of children being neglected, it broke my heart. I was in shock seeing kids like that being taken for granted. No child should go through what two of the girls had to when they were younger. I was very upset knowing that the biological parents of the children were okay with treating their kid like this. I remember one mother said, "I'm doing the best I can", when an FBI member came to their house. Truth be told, her best wasn't good enough. I believe that all children should be loved and cared for. The more they're payed attention to, the more they'll grow a social life and become familiar with people. My friend, whose parents don't pay attention to, does have many friends, but she feels such anger and pain towards  both her biological parents and step parents, because they do nothing but act like she doesn't exists. There have been times where she would experiment with drugs, but before she was actually going to do them, I (thankfully) talked her out of it. Being neglected isn't something to be proud of. Parent's should love a child/children unconditionally. Speaking from a teenagers point of veiw, teenagers may mess things up which cause their parents to get mad at them, but we're not perfect. I hope that someday there will be enough children in the world who will recieve the love and respect they deserve.

Do Nothing

Last week, Sal assigned the class to do nothing Literally, do nothing. Weird, isn't it? Lots of people in this world are instructed to do something - especially if they're bored. I know when I'm at school in study hall and our teacher catches us not doing anything, he gets upset. He tells us to either read or do other homework. When I did my 'do nothing' assignment, I decided to go to Regal, a movie theater close to my area. I wanted to go see the Justin Bieber movie, "Never Say Never" (I know, I'm just another crazy fan girl). I had no time to see it back in February because of all the things that have been going on in my life. I was ten minutes early, so I decided to do the assignment then and there. I was inside just standing there, not really paying attention to what people thought of me. I didn't really care, anyway. I felt weird because I could feel people's eyes on me. One old couple came up to me asking me what I was doing. I replied, "nothing". and they looked at me like I was a crazy person. Satisfied with my answer, they walked away. The smell of popcorn and candy mixed together in one place really tempted me to get some food, but I had to remember about this assignment. It was so hard for me! I wasn't used to doing anything, but it gave me time to think. When the ten minutes was up, no one was paying attention to me. I bought my ticket and went to see the movie. (which by the way was very inspirational. :P)

Tuesday's with Morrie

Over the summer, my junior English teacher told my class to read a book called Tuesdays with Morrie (as displayed on the left). At first, I wasn't the least bit interested in this book, but when I got bored one day, I decided to read it. About halfway through the book, I was hooked. It was so touching. Personally, I like going outside and online, so reading this book as a first was great. For the past two or three days in class, we've been watching Tuesdays with Morrie, the movie. I thought it was heartbreaking to watch the first few scenes of the movie because I don't like watching the elderly get hurt, but as the movie progressed, I began to develop more of an interest to it. Morrie, one of the main characters, has a disease that (according to him), "melts me like a candle.  When he's diagnosed with his disease, one of his favorite college students comes and visits. His visits become more frequent. The two of them had a bond that no one can compare to. Morrie is such a special person. Even though this is just a movie, I feel like I've never met anyone like him. He doesn't care what other people think and he's not afraid to think outside the box. Throughout the movie, there are parts where he loses breath, cries, or can barely speak. It breaks Mitch's heart - more so everyone he's become close to. While watching this movie, I began thinking about my friend's mom. Me and my friend have known each other since I was seven years old and our family is very close - like family, basically. In fact, my friend's dad (and mom), were my dad's best friends. Their youngest son and I have also become very close throughout our childhood. He's one of my best friends. When I was about eight or nine, my dad told me that she was diagnosed with brain cancer. At the time, I didn't know much about this disease. All I knew is that it could severely damage your brain. That's all there was to it, I guess. The minute my family heard about this, we began spending more and more and more time with their family. Our bond with them became stronger than ever and I got to know the mom on an even more personal level. She was losing her voice and even sat in a wheelchair for about a year or two. It broke my heart to see someone so close to me be in..a cage, almost. I could see in her eyes how badly she'd want to walk, but she couldn't because the doctor said it wouldn't do her any good. At the same time, I also admired her for being so strong. She went out of her way for people and she had the most optimism out of every person I knew/became friends with. Finally, on my dad's birthday, his best friend called and said that his wife died. I was in shock. This woman was basically like a second mother to me whenever my mom wasn't around. All three kids she had were like big brothers to me. I couldn't believe she was gone. Seeing Morrie be such a strong, cheerful person reminded me of my dad's best friend because she was the exact same. I think that people fear death to a certain extent; if they're healthy, it doesn't really matter to them, but if they have a disease or get sick, then it becomes a concern. However, I don't think people need to fear death. It's a common topic discussed through life and everyone goes through it. We cry, morn, or have flashbacks about people/things we lost, but we should remember that things happen for a reason and when someone passes away, it was for the better because now they'll be able to rest in peace.

Community Service

Yesterday was another day of community service. Like always, I had a lot of fun. However, it was a special day as well. Yesterday was the last day of work for my mom's co-worker and friend, Vanessa. She was promoted to a higher floor and since the hospital was so big,me, my mom, and other co-workers wouldn't be able to see her. To celebrate, the staff had informed me there will be no bingo that evening. Instead, my mom decided to throw a going away party for her dear and loyal friend. Even though they haven't known each other for long, she (as well as I), thought it was necessary. Before the party started, I helped my mom and her other co-workers set up. The room was big and very messy, but it was fun to clean up. I love getting ready for parties. I put table cloths on the tables and put plates out when it was time to eat. For dinner, we had pansit (noodles with vegetables and meat) with chicken and rice. For desert, there was an array of sweets - brownies, cupcakes, and even a cake me and my mom brought from Dominick's that had butter cream frosting. Around 5:00-600, the guests were arriving. Everyone on my mom's floor was there. I got to mingle with adults and converse with the elderly about how much they're going to miss Vanessa. She has been at Winchester House longer than my mom and has clearly made a huge impact on everyone in the room. When the party was over, I got to help clean up the mess. Being a bus boy (or in this case, bus girl) isn't the best job in the world, but it's a start. Since I'm a neat freak, cleaning was a breeze for me. I was finished around 8:00 and came home fifteen minutes later. I loved working with both the adults and elderly. Getting the chance to meet such a remarkable person like Vanessa was also a blast because she was a fun person.

Needs & Wants

"I want this! I want that! I need that!" is often something parents hear from their kids when their younger. Some may even hear it when their kid grows up. It's a constant phrase that I believe will never get old. There are certain things that people want in life, but can't have. There are also things we need, but we don't really care for because it's not appealing. In class today, we discussed the difference between needs and wants. Needs are something that are essential in life, like food/water and wants are somethings we want, but can't have. I remember when I was about seven years old, I would watch TV almost all the time and when the commercials came on, they caught my attention. This one thing, in particular, was an Easy Bake Oven. I loved sweets. In fact, I'd have about 3-5 cavities. As soon as I saw this commercial, I begged my parents to buy me this and since I was still young, they'd give in and buy it for me. The first time I got it I wouldn't put it down. I'd made brownies and mini-cakes all in one day and I'd think of myself as a magical chef. I would keep doing this over and over for any product I found on TV that I thought was cool. By the time I was about twelve or thirteen, I looked at all the awesome stuff I bought. When me and my family moved in fourth grade, we had boxes and boxes of the things I haven't used since then. It amazed me because I then realized that not everything I bought, I needed. Just like the Easy Bake Oven, it was just there for entertainment. When I officially turned thirteen, my parents taught me the difference between a need and a want, just like today's lecture did. I've come to know that I wasn't the nicest person when it came to sharing my toys. On Halloween, when I was five, I had this cute stuffed animal that looked like a pumpkin. I would carry it around all day - even if it wasn't Halloween. When my cousin, who was two at the time, wanted to play with it, I wouldn't let him. I was greedy and my parents scold me for it. It was then and there that I knew I didn't need such a stupid thing like that. Sure, it was part of my childhood, but there's other animals I could've cuddled with. Now that I'm basically an adult, it's come to my attention that not everything I have is a need - it's just wasteful. There will be things in life that I'll want but I can't have and I'll just have to deal with it, because life isn't fair.

Subcultures

Our school is huge. I remember during my first two years here I had the hardest time finding my classes. I got lost so often, the seniors probably thought I was stupid. In fact, I didn't even know there were two buildings! But as the years progressed, I became more knowledgeable about my surroundings. Throughout my four years of high school, I've learned from movies/TV shows that these are supposed to be the best four years of your life. However, I think it's only the best four years of your life if you make it that way. When I was in 7th-8th grade, I couldn't wait to go to high school. My time in middle school wasn't exactly the best and when I found that I could have the opportunity to make new friends, it made me smile Junior high was fun - I had a few close friends, but the thought of high school excited me. From time to time, there were movies on TV that I would watch about high school. For example, the picture to my left is of "High School Musical", basically a movie of the modern "Greece". I was obsessed with this movie growing up and I thought high school was actually like this. There would be the geeks, the populars, theater kids, etc. I couldn't wait. However, on my first day of freshman year, I didn't expect the high school I was going to, to be so big! There were two buildings. Two! I was in shock. In a regular high school, you'd spot your cliques right away - in the cafeteria, especially. But not at SHS. Even now as a senior I'm unable to spot the cliques unless there's some big sports event. I do know, though, that there are many different types of clubs to be apart of. For example, I was in choir my freshman/sophomore year. It was a great feeling to become apart of something. We had our own little sayings and I made so many new friends that I still talk to now. People at school try so hard to fit in. It can be difficult at first, but once people find something they like, it'll be easy as pie to connect with friends. I've noticed that each group has their own way of doing things. As a freshman I tried my hardest to make new friends. Eventually I became closer to this one group, but they ended up being complete jerks. They did things I wasn't used to - like going out every weekend and having these 'meetings' about random stuff. I got bored with them, and eventually moved on to better people. Choir was that "better group" for me. Besides choir, there's varsity cheer, basketball, football, and more sports at this school, but you don't see the jocks mingling with the geeks or vise versa. It just wouldn't feel right. When someone leaves a group, like I did, it can be a challenge to adapt in a new environment. At the same time, it can be fun, and you can attempt new things.