Self Evaluation

Honestly, during the first week of this class I was somewhat nervous because I did not know what to expect from a freshman English composition class. I realized that this was not like my senior year AP English class where I was just required to read books and write essays about them. I wasn’t sure if I would analyze certain aspects well, like narratives about myself/experiences, society/gender norms, media/propaganda, and ethnography. I was just never required to think about such topics so I worried that they might be difficult. Fortunately, as time progressed I can frankly say that I became more and more interested in these topics. I learned to think about my everyday life experiences and reminiscent upon my childhood memories that hold more truths and meanings than I have ever known. I learned to understand my surroundings through my everyday observations that I previously did not pay attention to. These assignments proved to be quite useful for me; not only did I gain an array of knowledge in all these topics but I also became better acquainted with their writing techniques. At first it took me quite some time to think and come up with ideas for the required essay/blog topics because I was not used to this style of writing where I must write about myself/experiences with family, society or media. But gradually, I was able to get at these topics with ease because I was able to think more independently, critically, and analytically in order to understand everything around me. I was able to put down my everyday observations that have been all around me since childhood, down on paper. This opened my eyes to many details in my life associated with how and why a certain gender acts a certain way and the norms that are engraved in us since birth. This was the kind of writing that I really enjoyed best because it somewhat reminded me of psychology and it was something in my daily life that I liked to understand. As a result, I feel that I have grown intellectually in that I can think more critically and independently. I spent sufficient time on the assignments in this course and I did them whole-heartedly with care so that not only could my writing be well but so that I could benefit from it. Therefore, I believe that I actually put efficient effort in this class in my writing and blogs because I wrote everything according to what was being asked. I believe that the many writing assignments that we had gradually improved my writing skills and I completed every assignment on time. I think that I deserve to be in the A range because of the effort I put in this class. I don’t mean to be asking for too much but just something reasonable with my hard work and dedication to this course which I can truthfully say that I enjoyed and I thank Professor Hannah for this memorable experience in Freshman Composition.

FreeWrite 11/18- Social Networking Addicts

I find it surprising how people have the constant urge to check face book or messages all day to the extent taht they would interrupt doing something just for that. Why would people have to share every moment of their life with everyone else? And who really cares to that great extent that he or she would actually want to check updates about the other person or people as much as possible. I mean no one truly cares about the person him or herself. The people just care about the news or information that they receive as form of entertainment or maybe some people simply have nothing better to do in life and need to have a goal to achieve. Sometimes or actually usually privacy is a good thing. This shows how these recent generations only think about such distractions that are just a waste of time for them; instead of working or doing more important things in life such as being productive. I don not think that it is that necessary to check face book or messages during dinner or family gatherings because it is not more important. To me, spending any amount of time with family is much more significant. This is a problem for this generation because all they think about are these sources of media which usually don not make them prepared for greater aspects of their lives, such as face to face interviews.

Free Write 11/15-List all forms of media that you engage with/depend on? What do you think a week without these things would be like?

The media that I engage in is mostly the internet, such as going online to St. John's central, check my email, sometimes going on face book. Other media sources that I occasionally use are watching television once in awhile as well as listening to music if I have time. But for me a week without these sources of media actually would not be too bad because I do not consider myself to be addicted to them in any way so I think I could survive without them for a week.It would be fine for me because I ma not really used to using them often and I do not have constant urges to do so. I think the hardest part would probably not being able to go on in internet to check St. John's central because that usually has college information or emails that I may need to know about or to do my work or research. However, this assignment would actually be useful in a way because it could teach me along with those that are more attached or dependent upon media to be more patient and practice control. This could help us try to find new sources where we could find information or do our work on our own. We should be able to live on in life without these media sources because the people in the past were able to do so when they did not have such an advancement in technology. This assignment will help us adjust ourselves to living without these sources of media that usually take up most of our time and distract most of us from our work.

Research and Writing: create the title and summary of the "perfect" secondary resource for your paper

The title for my secondary resource for my research paper is "Selling Techniques in Television Commercials That Affect Society's View of Gender". The article would be about the methods that television commercials use to influence society's views on gender and form stereotypes about males and females and their gender roles. The article would discuss how these commercials influence and persuade society to purchase certain products to become better people (mostly physically or appearance wise). The article would also have statistics about certain commercials that sell certain products and how they appeal to people and how much of the product is sold and interviews of people of what they thought of the product or why they bought it. The article would also claim that today's television commercials influence society's view of gender through the products that they sell. Our research strategy is obtaining information from articles and books with statistics about how advertisers use sexual images and innuendos to sell their products and to show how it affects our views on gender. We will analyze each commercial by asking what is the commercial portraying, what is the message, who does the commercial appeal to, what is it selling, what techniques does it use to get its point across, what are the sexual components, how does it make the viewer feel, and what stereotypes are reinforced in the commercial? We will watch a series of commercials and analyze them to express our viewpoints. As well as doing this, we will count how many include some sort of gender stereotype.

Analysis

Casey- medium height girl with short, shiny, straight orange hair. She is wearing a button down beige dress with white flip flops. She has green eyes with broad black glasses. She has freckles all over her face and arms. Her freckles somewhat compliment her eyes and hair. It provides a seemingly tanned skin tone. I noticed that she has a darker freckle above, in the middle of her top lip, surrounded by lighter freckles all around her face. She has dark black mascara on which makes her orange eye lashes seem black. Her overall appearance makes her seem like a sweet, quiet, nice and friendly person with a light sense of humor.
Ruhama- She has long, black, thick, wavy hair put up in a ponytail, but not too high or too low. Her glasses are black on bronze. She has small flower earrings on and on her top left ear she has a second piercing with a small, gold hoop earring on. She is wearing a watch on her right wrist. She is dresses in a red t-shirt, jeans, and white sneakers. Her gold earring stands out because her hair is put up in a ponytail and her other earrings are silver. She is the shy and quiet type, yet is quite friendly, kind, and seems like a responsible person.

10/07 Free Write

Propaganda is a major aspect of mass media because it is through it that mass media delivers its messages. The media delivers information in many ways, whether positive or negative revealing the good or the bad in the people. There is no privacy in the media because it is something that everyone around the world views or listens to; especially since there is a variety of sources of media today. The internet, radio, newspaper, television, magazines, and many new forms of technology are all sources of media that influence people's thoughts and decisions.Information may be revealed either to harm to help others depending on the situation. For example, the media can reveal places of crime or criminals, which can be harmful to the criminals but helpful to other people because they will be aware of the situation. Propaganda can also reveal scandals therefore harming the prestige of certain individuals. Sometimes information spread by propaganda can be aimed at certain people or groups in order to influence them or influence the public to from various decisions. Propaganda can exaggerate information to make the public and society as a whole be for or against something or someone.

Death of Reutgers Freshman response to article

This current event is tragic due to teh opposition that gay people are receiving from society. The media plays an important part in this because it delivers these messages to the rest of the world and then lets the people view such "abnormal" events. People may display opposition to this because it is not a norm that has been passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, when media releases these kinds of situations that are considered as taboos against society norms much opposition and hatred occur. It was inhumane for the boy to be taped with another guy and it was the media that literally embarrassed him to death. Therefore, even though the media may be useful by providing news/information, it is definitely harmful because it hurts those whom the news is about. Because of media sources such as the internet the freshman could not handle the hatred, embarrassment, and opposition that he was receiving from many other people. And what his friend did was considered as a violation of one's privacy. This shows how friends can never be trusted and the neither can the internet. Our society today views gays as a taboo or something that is not normal because we have certain gender norms that have been engraved in us since birth and have been apparent since the past. Males have certain roles and characteristics as well as females. Males are tough, built, and dominant, while females are elegant, emotional,and nurturers. We have been raised that the future of a woman is to get married to a man; not that a two men or two women end up in this kind of relationship. Because this norm has been around for so long, there is usually an uproar when something the complete opposite of this happens. It is sad to see the hatred and opposition that gay people are facing, especially when it leads to death like how it did with this Reutgers freshman.

Free Write-10/28 What does propaganda have to do with production of food in the U.S.?

Propaganda is what influences our decisions and opinions of certain foods. It portrays some foods better than others even though they may not actually be healthy. The way it depicts certain foods makes us decide on what or what not to eat. There may be ads of certain foods showing how tasty they are and even though they may not be healthy they are portrayed as not being harmful so that people can purchase them. It may cause us to choose certain brands of food over others. It causes companies to produce food in the way that will satisfy Americans and will make them feel good about themselves. Therefore, the production of food can contain certain chemicals or preservatives that make the food look appealing to satisfy the people's desires but in turn are harmful to the people without them being aware. Propaganda and the media know what the people and society as a whole desire, and how hey think and what matters to them. So they depict these desires so that the U.S. can produce what the people want and they benefit. The production of food in the U.S. is made upon that so that certain brands or companies could gain more profit by the people's approval. However, in order to satisfy everyone's desires the production of food comes with risks because these foods are made with preservatives, chemicals, and other ingredients that despite making them appealing, also make them harmful.

Deconstructing Advertisments

1) Obsession- Escape Calvin Klein: Clearly, the man in this ad is obsessed with himself and his body; more so with this cologne because it is what is making him seem so attractive. This ad wants the viewer to believe that with this cologne men will look the one in the ad. This ad is playing to the insecurities and desires of men to become attractive like he one in this ad; that is why Calvin Klein ads always show models in their undergarments.
2) Absolute AA- Alcohol is addictive and will cause you to be secluded from everyone else; you will be isolated or fine no one around you. Basically, alcohol is harmful for you and the spoof of this ad is that it is an Absolute ad with a picture of empty chairs shaped like a alcohol bottle.
3) Joe Chemo Bed- Smoking will simply just cause cancer; if one continues to smoke then he/she will lie in bed, have to do chemotherapy, just like Joe the camel who is now in the hospital under chemotherapy. This ad plays on people's fear of cancer and it's side effects. The spoof of this ad is the Joe Camel Cigarettes.
4) McDonald MacAttack- This ad shows how McDonald's will eventually lead to heart failure because of its unhealthy contents, just like smoking. The more people eat McDonald's the higher the chance of them ending up in the hospital with heart failure and the more likely they will have go to through heart surgery. The ad shows the life line of the heart with a person going under an operation. This ad plays on people's fears of obesity, death, surgery, heart failure. The spoof of this ad is the McDonald's BigMac.
5)CK Chicken- This chicken is good for the customer because it is "fresh young chicken with extra lean, seven percent body fat, great legs, and nice breasts". This is clearly trying to tell customers that this product is healthy for them so that they should buy it if they want those advantages or properties in themselves that may arise from buying/eating this chicken. If one eats this chicken then he/she will feel good about him/herself. The spoof of this ad comes from the Calvin Klein ads(CK). This ad is playing in the fears of obesity, and the desire to be perfect or have an attractive body.

Free Write 10/12-Anything

Once again this free write could be on anything so I ma going to write about how exhausted I am at the moment. It is mostly because I do not get enough sleep and I wake up really early. I just think my whole sleep cycle is messed up and I have no consistent sleeping pattern. Whenever there is a school day it is just difficult for me to fall sound asleep. I sleep well on the weekends, partly because I know there is no school the next day so I wake up later. And partly, because I am just more relaxed on the weekends. I am just really tired from the seven thirty classes in the morning, that is way too early for me to pay attention and that drains out my energy for the rest of the day and eventually the rest of the week. At this moment I just cannot wait for the weekend because even though we just had a three-day weekend, I felt like it flew by and did not have much time to enjoy it. I just want it to be Friday night already, but now that I think of it the faster time flies the closer I am to exams and all that stressful stuff. I do not hate college or anything, but I am just not that comfortable with it because of my schedule.

Free Write- write from perspective of an inanimate object

I like to play constantly whether in Vegas, gambling, or with my friends at home. I can be used to perform magnificent tricks and every age group enjoys being with me. I ma used a lot where ever I go especially during the summer when on vacation because people are free to play with me more often. I love to be with family gatherings and see who will win my many games. I have many faces and many numbers but that is juts what makes my games all the more interesting. I like all my fifty two friends and enjoy being with others.

Media Article Response-“Fighting a Social Addiction”

It is amazing how the many forms of media technology greatly influence our lives and affect our actions and behavior. Television, iPods, cell phones, texting, internet, face book are all part of many people’s daily lives if not all. Without these forms of media many of us would feel lost and isolate din the world. This shows us how technological advancement has shaped the way we live to a great extent. Everywhere you go, you see people walking with cell phones or iPods and most of which have internet access on their phones. The responses from the students who went media free for only twenty four hours at the University of Maryland were quite shocking. During those twenty four hours students reported feeling miserable, crazy, in withdrawal, and overall in a very unpleasant mood and state of mind. This shows how much people and specifically teenagers and college students are dependent upon their technological sources of media to receive information, news, or simply just the feeling of comfort and happiness. Students mentioned being addicted to their technology and not being able to efficiently function as they used to without it. It was like they were dependent on drugs and are going through a withdrawal period because of their addiction. It is saddening to see how these current generations are functioning only with such devices and most likely cannot do much if not anything without them. Where as in the past these advanced pieces of technology were not available, yet people were still able to live and flourish. Nowadays connections are made through these sources of media and friendships do not seem as real and sincere because of this. All students do is text their friends or go on face book to chat or share and receive news about them rather than calling or meeting face to face more often. This is causing the students’ social communication to become less effective, for example in an interview, because the students are not used to such face to face confrontations and conversations. Without these devices the students report being totally secluded from their friends because they cannot text them, something which previously provided them with a sense of comfort and reassurance. Some students are only connected to their family and friends by phone whether by texting or calling. Some can’t live for even twenty four hours without media such as the student who had to open his laptop, because they need to gain information. Not only are students addicted to sources of media because it provides entertainment but also because it is their source of information and news from all around the world. They are able to learn about what happens in other countries around the world, such as natural disasters, and know any important facts or news that is happening around them, such as elections. These advanced devices of media are truly great in that they are helpful in such a way but when it comes to their addiction for joy through listening to music, and comfort through texting, then there is truly a problem in our generation where everyone’s life is dependent upon media for social connections.Basically, today's technology has all forms of media that society is interested in and can benefit from.

Free Write 9/27-Anything

Since I have no argument to make at the moment I am going to write about something else-today's weather. I really do not like this dark, rainy, gloomy weather. It just make same feel gloomy and depressed, especially since it is raining really hard. It is during days like these that I wish I was just home instead of college where even though I have an umbrella i am still soaked. This weather just takes away from my enthusiasm and makes me feel exhausted and not want to do any work. I find it quite amazing how some people's moods could be affected by the weather. I guess people are happier when it is bright and sunny rather than rainy and gloomy because that affects the way they act. When it's sunny people are more enthusiastic d active but when it is rainy and dark people are lazier.i personally do not like when it rains because the sky turns dark and cloudy and that makes me feel more pessimistic. At this moment I am just worried about my upcoming exams and do not feel like being at college in this weather. But oh well, I just have to put up with this.

Paintings for practice description-

Painting 1: There was a woman lying down in a rocky plane with her head leaning on a pillow under her right hand as though she was thinking about her life, her origins. Her big orange dress which had white ruffles on the bottom was spread along her long lean body. There is a big rectangular opening from her chest to her abdomen. Out of it or rather through it you can see large green vines with wide green leaves on them. These vines/roots are spread across her body as well and symbolize that there is still life growing in her and she still has hope. She ponders about what her roots and origins are. This is symbolized by the rocky plain with a map like figure; it has brown lines passing through it which divides it across the land. She thinks she is just a woman who was born into nature; she is a part of the earth, a part of the land no matter where roots may come from. She deserves to live freely on the land and nature provides her with the healing she needs for her idleness. She is in search of what her roots are, her identity, and where they would take her in life. Even though she had a tough beginning in the past she still has ever-growing hope for her future.
Painting 2: the background fades from sky blue to navy blue and finally to a mix of black, red, orange, and yellow symbolizing the variety of moods in the painting. A woman sits on a high chair naked with her legs crossed. She is holding a red on green apple in her left hand, symbolizing the story of Adam and Eve. She has white feather wings stuck to her back and is wearing a green hat with a pink swirl at the tip. She is sitting with a well upright posture. Facing her is a joker-like man, who is short, has his legs up on the chair and is sitting on a throne, dresses like a joker. This may symbolize how men are seen as more superior than women. His face is painted white; he may have many other faces or ids hiding his true face, meaning than he should not be trusted. He is wearing a red helmet with black horns on it, symbolizing evil/devil-like. Between the two characters lies a table with a checker board on it with three objects- a jack in the box, a torch, and a clown face. Both men and women are in a challenge against each other year by year to prove who is better. The table is arched from the bottom and through it you could see steps leading to a sky blue sky. There is a face of a woman with her eyes closed on the side of the table that is close to the winged woman’s legs. Her wings may symbolize that woman can “fly” away from men and become independent. The scene is colorful and the chairs are placed on spirals of colors, stairs, and houses with windows. Behind the man’s chair lies a long moon with a face and two faces of men with helmets. One with a green helmet covering his eyes and the other with a hat that resembles a castle. These details show the difference between men and women. Besides the physical differences, women may be more revealing and even the men are more superior and have many paths(symbolized by the many staircases behind him) unlike women and have many faces, women are powerful in their own way. She holds out the apple to bring the fall of man.

Narrative-What is the Author Really Saying:

On the one hand, the narrative is about a failed relationship with conflicts and hatred. The man is packing his clothes and ready to leave the house and the woman is glad that he’s leaving. But when it comes to the baby they both argue and fight violently over the baby. On the other hand the author is writing about gender roles and expectations and how the little things such as selfishness and control can cause problems that in turn harm the literal little things in life such as children. The author is portraying the gender norms in this narrative by showing how the woman wants to keep the baby because she is the mother-the nurturer of the baby, while the man uses his strength to dominate and control her and wants the baby by force. This eventually results in the death of the baby because they were too occupied with fighting over the baby and trying to take control that they didn’t pay attention to how much the baby is being harmed by their aggressive actions. The author shows how children suffer from parents’ unresolved conflicts. He tries to convey how sometimes the little things (in this case the baby) in life are the most important and if you don’t pay attention to them they can be harmed or gone forever due to selfish desires.

Descriptive Narrative Response- "Chronicle of an American Execution"

Dan Barry’s use of descriptive language not only adds suspense to the story but also allows the reader to understand/perceive the events in his/her mind through the use of imagery. For example, one can actually imagine Mr. Holton as a child in a car seat. The details that the author uses, such as time, provide a plot so that the story can be more suspenseful. His simple yet vivid language allows the reader to sense and see the story, such as when salty water streams down his face from the sponge and wets his shirt. He uses language in a way that all readers can comprehend such as when he describes the power cable that’s similar to our TV cable. The imagery provides the mood and view of the scene. For example, the description of the execution procedure makes the mood of the story gloomy and depressing. His use of dialogue lets the reader understand more about Holton’s character such as when the officers try to dry him and he says, “ain’t gonna matter anyways”. This may show how Holton doesn’t care anymore about anything because his life is about to end and nothing matters when it comes to death. The use of similes allows readers to imagine how the character looks like and what is happening, such as when he jerks up and down like a sack of earth. Dan Barry’s descriptive language builds up suspense and imagination.

What do you regret? Free Write-

I am the kind of person who always says “Oh I should have done that; or if only if only this could have happened.” I do not really think too often about regrets but it’s still something that is somewhere in my mind and it bothers me at times. I regret not making the best of every moment in the past or using all my time wisely and I definitely regret procrastinating. There were many times where I would be too preoccupied with school work to do and would not spend too much time with my family or help my mother around the house. This is actually important because family is an extremely significant and major part of my life. That’s why I regret ever upsetting my mom and never want to disappoint her because now when I think about all her life lessons and advice she’s right; she’s not always going to be there for me. Every time my mom brings up this topic I become more regretful because then I think about my past actions and wish that I could change them. One important thing she used to tell me was to not procrastinate and to always do whatever I have to today rather than tomorrow because I never know what may happen the next day. She was definitely right about that, that’s why I regret delaying any work that I had to do to another day and then that made me have more work to do and made me more exhausted. There were many days when I may have wasted time not doing anything productive because I was tired or just did not feel like it; I should have studied more or finished up most of my work earlier. But now I regret that because I know that I have to use my time wisely because time is something that I can never get back; once it passes it doesn’t come back. I now know that I should take heed of all the advice I am receiving now because I will need it in the future. Kids these days do not seem too close with their families and parents. They prefer to be on their own and just hang out with friends. But throughout the years I have learned that family is more important because they are always there for you and spending any moment with them is truly worthwhile. If I could go back in time I would definitely do so and would not procrastinate often.

Mustard Tiger/Cheeseburger Locker Free write-

“Mustard Tiger”: A Mustard Tiger could be seen as an insult to a greasy, selfish, inconsiderate person who sneakily deceives others to get what he or she wants and has no shame for what he or she does. This person is able to get anything he or she wants either by force or through deceit and is usually proud of himself or herself. Just like a real tiger this person carefully plans his or her “attack” on another person to get to what he or she wants. And just like mustard, this person is greased, but with self-seeking and treacherous motives.
“Cheeseburger Locker”: Cheeseburger Locker is an anatomical part; a crucial part of one’s body that is placed right next to the stomach on the right-hand side. This important locker-looking’ long, rectangular organ contains vital nutrients, minerals, and materials. These are stored in case of a deficiency in anything and also contain a surplus of food that one eats in case of hunger. It is composed of layers of plump tissue, filled with many red and white blood cells and is a perfect storage for the many essential materials that are significant for our body.

Self and Society Portraits

Patience-The Key to Life
This whole life that we have been living is just like a story in a book. It has a beginning, middle, and end. All of our experiences and daily life are just like events in a story book. Even though we don’t know or pay attention to every detail of life or to what happens to and around us, all of these things make us who we are. My life may not seem like an extraordinary story, or like any story I have read throughout school. Instead it is a typical life with a routine, made up of simple yet memorable experiences. I remember when I was younger I always used to tell my mom that I can’t wait until I grow up and finish school and all that. But then when changes in my life happen I start to regret ever saying that. I start to wish I could go back in time and relive the past years. I remember the first day of high school as if it was yesterday-I hated it. I have been going to a private school ever since Pre-K and suddenly getting transferred to a public school was not easy for me. My private school was like my second home and everyone there was like family. I was shocked at how different public school could be. I felt that the next four years would be the worst of my life. Everyone seemed so different and people weren’t as friendly and the school was filled with cliques. When I told my parents I hated it, they said I have to give it time to get used to it. They were right, like how parents usually are. Patience was the key to my happiness and success at my new school. The next four years turned out to be the best. Not only did I make amazing new friends, but I learned to appreciate everything the school had to offer. There were many life lessons that I have learned through my teachers’ advice and my daily life there. Patience and perseverance were the most important and they are what helped me get through any hardships. When I first came to high school I couldn’t wait until it was over, but now that it is I regret what I had said and I wish I could have made the best out of every moment. Now that I am in college, this is going to be another life changing transition that I must go through whether I like it or not. I know I can’t go back in time, but instead I will try to make every moment worthwhile. Being in such a hurry for the future made me realize that I’m just getting closer to the end of my life story, because every life has a beginning, middle, and end. When I look at my younger brother I see the beginning of my life in him and I now realize how patience is the key to life. Most of us have typical life stories with similar endings such as getting a job and family and all that. Only a few have those extraordinary experiences that change the route of their whole life. But all in all life is just like a story no matter how simple its details may be and patience is a great way to live through life.

Nostalgia Piece

When I was around 12 years old my mother bought me a silver bracelet with 8 small silver hearts dangling down from it. I remember the day perfectly. I was out with my parents and then my mom took me to a jewelry store in Steinway. My parents knew the owner and he knew me as well. When my mom told him that she wanted to buy me a piece of jewelry he took out a selection of necklaces and bracelets for us to see. My mom then asked what I preferred and I said a bracelet. She then told the owner to pick out something nice and simple for me because she knew that I don’t like big jewelry. He then placed 5 bracelets on the glass table. There were 2 silver bracelets with hearts around them but one had bigger hearts than the other and had alternating keys with it. The other three were typical sterling silver bracelets with no design on it. So my mom and I eliminated those three and chose between the other two. I told her to choose for me what she liked better since it will be a gift from her to me and she chose the one with small, simple, silver hearts on it and asked if I liked it and I agreed. I remember the owner giving us a discount because he knew that the gift was for me; since he knew me since I was born. So my mom bought me the bracelet and I hugged and kissed her. This piece of jewelry is special to me only because it is form my mom. My mom plays an extremely important role in my life. She always reassures, comforts, and secures me throughout the years. She is the one that I go to in times of need. Of course everyone would say that the mother is a significant person in one’s life but to varying degrees depending on who the person is. To me my mom is my life and I came to appreciate her more as I grew older because I understood her life lessons. She always tells me that when I grow older I will understand what she is telling about life, and she was right. Ever since she bought the bracelet for me I always wear it wherever I go to feel like she is with me everywhere. It just provides a sense of comfort and joy when I reminiscent upon the day she bought it for me. Her words of wisdom and advice greatly affect me to this day because they prove that she has been right in everything she tells me. Jewelry seems to be an important item especially for females because it is something that they can own and treasure for life. It can also display signs of beauty or wealth like how it did in the past. It can also be useful in times of need when you treasure it over the years and its value increases. Women in films are almost always seen with jewelry on. It may show that most women are materialistic and are influenced by such objects; that’s why men usually give women a piece of jewelry as a gift. Many cultures give jewelry as a gift because it is something that will last a lifetime and can be passed down to successive generations. But most importantly any piece of jewelry not matter what its value is an item that holds great memories that are dear to the person. The gift giving of jewelry for women is seen as a norm that identifies their gender in society and it is what simply makes them female.

Tough Guise

The media plays a major part in the portrayal of masculinity and gender norms and roles in general. Violence is depicted as a major aspect of masculinity and is essential for one to be a “true man”. But in reality this is just a guise made in order to shield a man’s vulnerability. Men see masculinity as a form of toughness in order to gain respect from others; a real man puts on a tough guise. But there is a lot of pressure for young boys and men to conform into this narrow box that defines manhood in our society. They learn from the powerful media that being a man is all about control, power, and dominance. The media in fact constructs violence in masculinity. Unfortunately, there is a consequence in our society between being a man and being violent. Over 85 percent of committed murders are done by men and over 90 percent of assaults are also done by men. This shows how the devastating the effect of the media on the men in our society can be. Men put on this tough guise as a survival mechanism, but this comes with the cost at the damage of their psyches and human being. Understanding violent masculinity is an important way to help prevent or reduce these consequences in society.
Men account for 90 percent of violence; kids nowadays are killing other kids, or more precisely boys are killing boys. But because men are the dominant group they are unexamined so the media doesn’t depict all this violence done by men. The power of the dominant group is not mentioned because it is left invisible by the media who is in fact controlled by this dominant group so in turn they leave such violence unexamined. The media depicts a crime by mentioning how many women got raped for example, instead of saying that the men raped the women; kids killing kids instead of boys killing boys. Therefore, the media de-genders such issues to the people and by not telling the story exactly as it should be then the key element is left out- boys/men. The media portrays issues using the words American or “women”, instead of men. When girls commit violence that is always the subject, but everyday men are committing murders and that doesn’t cause a national outcry. Violence is gendered as masculine so it is seen as unusual when women do it. Making masculinity visible in culture is the first step to understanding its dominance and control. Masculinity is measured by a man’s muscular body; symbolic space. There’s a dramatic difference in movies and shows from the past and present. Now toys are made with a tougher guise for boys so that they get the idea that a man is supposed to be muscular just like the action figures they play with. The projection of a, mans power is now more menacing and hyper-masculine. These images are made by the men on our culture and this reflects what goes on in the psyches of men. For example, Howard Stern creates a world for his male audience by belittling women ad showing contempt for them, playing on men’s insecurities. Limbaugh discredited women, insulting them because feminist ideas are threatening to some men. The rise on antigay violence is an indication of the insecurities of men and their identities as the culture opens up. Gays then feel self loading and pain and so kill themselves. The loss of the Vietnam War was said to be due to the loss of masculine will, pride, and ruggedness. Because the socio-economic structure denied men of color respect they had to adapt to hypo-masculinity to gain respect. Then the white kids learn from the colored kids who learn from pop culture that they must use their bodies and posing of toughness to gain respect. The effect on society of training boys to become “men” is the violent masculinity in action, such as school shootings in which boys act out of their own twisted psyches-in guns they had the great equalizer. This only becomes a concern in media when it happens in the “normal” white community. We need to take the focus off pathological males and onto the average “normal” looking guys. Violence is not just part of video games and movies but its part of normal culture and the masculine world. The link between guns and manhood is made clear to young boys because of the interactive violence that technology is having on boys’ psyches hour after hour. Even the sports culture is aggressive such as in football. Men gain respect by disrespecting others, boys are taught that real manhood is connected to this tough guise of masculinity. Reducing this violence in our society will help boys turn away from imitating violence as a cultural norm. Men’s violence against women is seen as normal and is made invisible by turning it into a joke. Degradation of women, control by men defines masculinity through power and dominance.
Boys are taught by pop culture that they must be emotionally strong so that they won’t seem vulnerable. Media is not acknowledging weaknesses of men. Interdependence is a weakness for women only, while men don’t need others, such as the Marlboro man who is stoic, rugged. Men are taught to suck it up, instead of reveling emotions. In fact the male population is suffering from depression because the notion of invulnerability gets boys/men killed because they have the idea of acting manly (road rage, alcoholism, drugs). We need to see the more hones t portrayal of male vulnerability such as Mark McGwire who shows his emotions in sports, such as with Sammy Sosa his rival on the field(yet they still hug each other and are friendly) and outside of it too and wasn’t afraid to say that therapy is important for humans. Our culture needs to make changes to the portrayal of men so that the violence in our society can decrease and end once and for all.

How does media and propaganda manipulate culture?

Throughout our lives the media and its propaganda have had a huge impact on our culture. It has been controlling us ever since it was made through deceiving and manipulating us. Through the use of language and the presentation of words and images, the media manipulates and controls us every day. About 98 percent of our thoughts are actually unconscious, therefore most of our thoughts and actions that arise from them and made not from our conscious. Reason requires emotions which are also not always conscious. It is not universal because people have different views. People always think by using frames for words or phrases. This is a major aspect of manipulation in our culture form the media. The use of words is a strong power of deceit and control. The example that George gave was through a sentence, “Do not think about elephant.” However, people will still think about elephant even though they tried to negate it because the frame of elephant is already in the brain and so people end up thinking about it anyways unconsciously. This is the same way that propaganda and the media manipulate their audience. For example, the democratic arguments activate republican frames through their use of words. This is what happens to us often. The media brings up a topic or issue of interest to the people and through the use of frames it gets more of the people’s attention because it makes them think about it whether consciously or unconsciously. This happens during advertisements of new products or news about world events such as war. The media tries to persuade us through vivid words and phrases that make the people agree or support them. For example when the media mentions to the audience what they think about on the issue of the war on terror. The frame here is war on terror and so that frame is already in the people’s minds and cannot be removed; so they just start to think about it. Not only do words manipulate the people but also the presentations manipulate the people. John Edwards used to communicate with his people through the use of eye contact with each individual person. In the media, Hillary talks to her audience with the use of great emotion in order to get to them and n some sense control their emotions to be like hers, or more precisely to manipulate them to be on her side. When she talks about universal healthcare she uses the words American values, decency and respect. These are the perfect set or frame of communication. When Obama uses the word trust he is also communicating with the people. Through the use of such words and a strong presentation of them such as by getting to the people’s emotions, the media can manipulate us on issues such as healthcare or war, by making us take the side of that certain type of media. The network of association is the use of the property of how the brain works. It’s an interconnected set of thoughts, ideas, and emotions. Through knowing how the brain responds to certain words, the media is able to utilize this mechanism by choosing certain words to manipulate the audience’s thoughts. For example the word liberal became associated with many other aspects through its constant use and application. That’s how the media knows how to activate and shape the networks in voters and people in general regarding other issues too. The media activates the networks in our mind to persuade us by using images and multisensors that persuade us how to make our lives better or improve our positions. Our culture and personal identity is the packaging of information in us. Through the power of words and phrase, and their proper presentations the media knows how to manipulate the people by knowing their values and using subliminal messages to get to their emotions and thoughts. The media knows what the people want, how they think and what makes them happy (such as material objects) and therefore, presents them through the use of powerful words and images. These techniques allow the media to deceive, control, and manipulate our culture in a way that persuades the people to support it.

How Does Media Shape Reality?

The media is a massive part of our lives and the reality around us. Without television, radio, newspapers, and the internet there are many things that we probably would have never known about. We get most of our source of information about the world around us from the media. Whether all the information is considered a hundred percent true or not is difficult to figure out due to the many differing views in our society. But overall, it is the media that transfers a great deal of knowledge to us. The media shapes our reality by providing us with a variety of information that we eventually believe because of the fact that it came from the media, such as the news on television or in newspapers. The manner in which the news is portrayed influences our opinions of the news and events around us. By displaying information in certain ways the media makes us believe what we see and hear to be true and perceive it as the reality. By doing so, the media shapes “reality” in the way that it wants to and we might not know if all the “facts” are real. But since it is our major source of information we just end up believing it because it delivers everything we are not fully aware of in the world around us. The media also shapes reality by stimulating the people’s desire for goods and causing them to consume more because the media knows what the people want and how they think. We live in a very materialistic world stimulated by the constant production of goods and ongoing advancements in technology. The media displays this reality and knows that when the people see these new items they will want to buy it. The media benefits from peoples approval and gain more audience and the consumer world benefits. The media in a sense controls the people and their actions through its propaganda. It and propaganda influences us to think in a certain way by forming opinions. The media can get us to do what it wants by knowing what we want and satisfying our desires. In turn people support certain views depicted by the media and that eventually leads the media and those in charge of it to receive what they want whether it be power, money, recognition or support. People usually follow what the media says. For example, during the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center, the media displayed that the cause of this was the Muslim terrorists in Afghanistan. But there isn’t even sufficient proof for that, however, the people believe what the media says and regard it as rue because it supposedly reveals the reality in our world. But there are many facts that are true that the media presents to us, for example during natural disasters. The media is the people’s ultimate source of knowledge and information about the daily life and events around us. Without it we would be isolated from the world; it is the essence if the reality around us.

The Media Made Me Do It-Media and Consumerism

Everyday we are controlled by media and consumerism without even realizing. The media manipulates and deceives many if not all people and it distracts us with new forms of entertainment day by day. We may not even realize what we are spending our money on-if it’s worth it or not. In this nation, people want whatever they see even if they don’t need it. Whether on television, in the newspaper, or in magazines, the media attracts us to things that we then want to buy. For example, clothes in magazines-when there are new styles of clothes or something new that is out, the media catches my attention to want to but it. When I see new clothes in magazines and stores that makes me more eager to want to buy it especially when discounts or new magazines are sent in the mail. Media controls our wants by making us more eager to buy from certain companies or stores; for example when they say that if you buy something you can get the other free or at half price, etc. By doing so they trick us into buying more. Propaganda is also a huge aspect of the media. For example, these days many technologies are emerging and the media makes the people aware about them. Some media makes people choose certain technologies over others by portraying them in better or worse ways depending on which side the media belongs to. This propaganda controls our wants and desires. Therefore, when I see a new laptop or cell phone being advertised everywhere and see more and more people buying it I begin to think that I also want to buy it but I rethink it over and know that if it’s not needed then I won’t buy it. Sometimes seeing too many new things and being affected by those around me, makes me want to buy these things. But I know that I don’t need to buy all that because not only is it a waste of money but it is also a waste of resources and materials, and it’s not necessary to but whatever is new to be like others. Many people constantly buy everything and anything so that they could fit in with the rest of society and are a part of the new style or fashion. The same goes for electronics, when I see everyone around me with the latest and most advanced items that are all over the news and internet that just makes me think about buying it too. But sometimes there’s no need to buy the latest thing because there’s only a minimal difference between it and the previous item. Now I don’t shop that often and don’t buy too many things that I may not use. I only buy what I may need or something that I really want that I don’t have like it so it won’t go to waste. I am not as easily affected by the advertising of the media because now I am older and know that it is just a way to keep customers to continuously buy more items. This goes to show how much the media controls consumerism and that consumers are usually deceived by the media’s propaganda so that companies and businesses can profit.

Descriptive Detail: A Day At The Beach

It was a bright and sunny day with the sun scorching above the sky blue beach. My family and I were on summer vacation in Alexandria, Egypt. I was 7 years old at the time. We all went to the beach on this luminous day. There were white sea gulls flying over the glittering water. The smell of the salty beach made us serene. My brother, cousin and I raced across the burning sand that made our feet sink into it and turn red; we ran into the beach for a swim while our parents set up the table and umbrella. We splashed the salty water all over each other. We held our breath, put our heads underwater, opened our eyes, and looked for sea shells. When we removed our heads from the water and looked at each other, our eyes were glowing red because of the salty water. It gave a burning and itching sensation in our eyes. We rubbed our eyes and then continued to collect shells. We collected clams, oysters, and the typical spiraled shells. We put our ears to the opening of the pure white shells and heard the tranquil sound of the waves of the beach. We gathered all our shells and put them in my cousins blue bucket. Our parents were sitting under the umbrella talking and reading magazines and newspapers. “Don’t go in too deep.” said my mom. “Don’t worry mom we’re not in that deep. We could still stand in that area.” My brother replied. So we ran back into the sparkling water and suddenly an enormous wave came crashing down with a thunderous noise onto us. We flew back closer to the shore with salt in our eyes, mouth, and nose and sand all over our bodies and hair. I felt a stinging burn on my left hand from my fourth finger all the way to the bottom of my thumb. I looked at my hand and realized that there was a glowing, pinkish-red, long scar on it. It looked as if I had been whipped. My brother had the same mark on his right arm and my cousin had one on his leg but both to a lesser degree than mine. We realized that there were jellyfish deep in the beach where we had gone into. The mark on my hand was getting inflamed and slowly started to bulge on my hand. We all quickly ran out of the water and went to our parents. I have no idea how I was able to hold my pain inside and not scream at the top of my lungs. The jellyfish sting was an itching inflamed burn, that just got more red and bumpy, and anything that touched it made it worse. My aunt quickly took me to the nurse on the beach and he dipped a piece of cotton into a jar of vinegar and wiped it all over the burning scar on my hand. It felt like a mosquito bite mixed with a burn from a stove, and the sting of a needle (vaccination); or more like burning flesh. The vinegar eventually decreased the bump but the mark of the sting was still evident. The nurse did the same for my brother and cousin but their wound wasn’t bumpy or long like mine. We don’t know where that jellyfish was because it was transparent and so swam unnoticed in the clear water. It probably came closer due to the wave and one of its tentacles just got caught on us. Later we went to the pharmacy and got cream that relieved the burn and made the scar disappear. This was a day to remember because despite the skin tearing burns we got from the sting of the jellyfish, we had an amazing time collecting sea shells that we have kept to this day. Every time we put our ears to the shells, we hear the sound of the waves in the beach and imagine ourselves when we were running into the water.

Visceral Reactions

Visceral Reactions
When a person is put in a nerve-wracking or overwhelming situation they exhibit visceral reactions. For example, during a major exam, like the SAT or ACT(that determine ones future), my friend constantly shakes her legs up and down, even when they are crossed. When crossing one leg over the other she shakes the foot that is on top. When that foot gets tired she crosses her legs the other way around and then starts to shake that other foot. She also starts to twirl her hair when she is stuck on a question. She actively chews her gum and doesn’t stop, sometimes making small bubbles and popping them with her tongue. She gets tired of chewing, spits out the gum in a napkin and then goes on to biting her nails. Sitting on the chair, she is constantly moving. She gets butterflies in her stomach from the fear of the difficulty of the exam. Her heart races, sweat fills her scalp. Her face and body start to get warmer due to anxiety. She bites the inner side of her cheek pulling pieces of skin off with her teeth. Throughout this whole time of the exam her legs don’t stop moving and the butterflies just won’t leave her alone. When she writes her hands tremble while her heart continues to race-until it’s all over.

Thursday Free Write 9/23

Since this free write could be on anything, I am going to write about how I am already exhausted from college. I do not really like it that much. In high school I couldn’t wait until I graduate and now being in college I wish I was in high school again. Actually now I also can’t wait until I graduate from college. I don’t know why but I’m just not that comfortable in this college environment. Maybe because I just started and I might get used to it, but as of now I’m not. There’s just so much to do in so little time. Now that college started I feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. Maybe I’m just overwhelmed from the workload and its difficulty in some of my classes. But I feel like some professors are too vague about what they want and some don’t give a damn about the students. That just makes me feel uncomfortable because the professors just aren’t like my high school teachers. But I guess that’s what change is all about and I know that there are many things in life that I’m not going to like but I just have to put up with it. That’s just how life is. That’s why I hope I can put up with the upcoming years and enjoy them. I know this is college and it’s a big step, and I’m an adult now and all that, but being worried is just a part of my nature. This is going to be a major challenge that I can’t wait to overcome. While I’m here all I can do is try to enjoy and excel in what I do. Sometimes I feel like finishing college is going to take forever even though I know that time flies by. I try to imagine myself six years from now but it seems to far away. At this current time I just want to get all my assignments over with and do well in all my courses so that I won’t have to worry as much. Eventually I’m going to get used to college and hopefully I like it more and more each year if not each day.

Monday 9/20 Free Write-Figurative Language(strongest emotion)

The most intense pain I have ever felt was in the second grade when I got stitches for the first time in my life. It was a quiet Friday afternoon until some family friends came over. Their children sat and played with my brother and I. My brother and his friend were playing basketball in the basement while my friend and I were just sitting on the bed and talking. The constant dribbling of the ball made me feel like there was an earthquake in the basement or that the place was about to erupt. Suddenly, without any thought of action, my brother’s friend threw the ball towards my direction. I quickly placed my hands on my head, the left hand above the right. The ball hit the picture frame that was on the wall behind the bed. The glass from the frame came shattering down like a thunderous storm. I removed my hands from my head and then realized that the skin on my left thumb was slowly starting to open apart. Suddenly, blood started gushing out like a waterfall. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. We all quickly ran upstairs to tell my parents. While I was running big red blots of blood stained my basement floor. My skin was opening more and more and my clothes were now red instead of white. Everyone came rushing over to me as I screamed at the sight that I saw. I felt as if my skin was pulling itself away from each other. I felt the stream of blood running throughout my left hand. My uncle tried to wash my thumb with water in the sink. The feeling of the water on my open wound was even more excruciating. It was like putting a nail in the open wound. I wrapped loads of tissue paper on my thumb and was taken to the hospital. My eyes were flooded with tears. Rivers ran down my face. I was speechless; all I could do was try not to feel my skin being torn apart from the inside out. At the emergency room the doctors quickly gathered, removed the red tissue paper, and put a bucket under my thumb while the volcano continued to erupt and spout out lava. I sat on the bed while they brought the tools for stitching. “I don’t want stitches! Please!” I cried. The doctors gave me two shots on my thumb. I felt the needle drive through my skin and then through my bone-twice. All I could do is scream while they drilled the anesthetic in. Then they brought over the scissors and thread-like material to close the wound with. My mom held me tight and told me to look away while they held my thumb. I just stared at the odd scissor that they had. It had two holes at the tip and I saw them put the thread through it just like a sewing needle. I looked away with tears running down my eyes as they started to sew the skin together like a piece of cloth. Even though the pain had decreased I still sensed the thread passing through my skin. I looked at how it slithered form side to side on my skin. It was like a snake going through a maze. I don’t know how long the anesthetic lasted but I started to feel as if the nerve in my whole left arm was being pulled towards my thumb as they pulled the stitches together tightly. The wound was finally closed. But the pain wasn’t. Sixteen stitches-eight inside and eight outside to make the seal. The pain lasted even after I removed the stitches. But that was another painful day in which the doctor first snapped the stitches with a hole-puncher-like tool (except without the holes). The cold metal of the tool on my skin made me shiver. He then pulled out the stitches from my skin as if pulling a plant out from the ground. I screamed. Just when I thought it was over I had to go to physical therapy because my tendon had been torn and my thumb was stiff and dead like a corpse. The therapist put my hand in a container with wax. She then removed it and began to move my white, gloved thumb. I felt like she was going to break my thumb in half…it was like trying to break a pen. Eventually, after 3 months, the corpse was brought back to life; I was able to move my thumb. But to this day I sometimes feel the shortness of my tendon preventing me from moving my thumb with ease. Even though my wound is healed the scar reminds me that the pain was real.

Show Don’t Tell- My Birthday

 It was a bright day with the sun scorching over our house in a way that you could actually feel the heat coming through. I was wearing a turquoise tee-shirt with jeans. The door bell rang twice like the sound of the church bells ringing in my ears. My mom went to open the door. Even though it was my birthday, I remember studying for my physics regents that day. I went downstairs to see who was there. My friend and I hugged each other and suddenly I turned to the right and saw three gift bags lying on the dining table. One had pink, black, and white designs all over it and had a green gem stuck on the top. The other was plain light pink and the third was black on white with a pink flower glued in the middle.  “Happy 18^th Birthday!” said my friend.  “We couldn’t wait until the weekend and wanted to make this a surprise for you before your regents.” “Oh, thank you guys so much, I’m glad there’s something to get me away from physics-well at least for now.” I said. My friend’s mom brought in the cake. I quickly ran upstairs and changed into a cheetah print top, only because the turqouis tee shirt was too casual. I ran back downstairs and turned right into the dining room where they had opened the box and took out the cake. It was a round, white puff cake with white cream smoothly spread across the top and neatly spread on throughout the sides. On the top there were six big plump strawberries, placed around the arc of the cake, which glazed with jam that gave it a clear lust. Between each strawberry there was a swirl of smooth cream. In the white creamy circle in the middle, there read “Happy Birthday Noranne” in pink strawberry frosting. “Now let go of that book and come celebrate your 18^th birthday!” my friend said. I don’t know why I still held that big, heavy, thick, blue Barron’s physics review book in my hand but I quickly went to the living room and threw it on the piano. Everyone gathered around the dining table including my brothers and they sang Happy Birthday and before we cut the cake I got to open my gifts. I first opened the bag with the green gem on it and in it was a square glass box with the words “Yesterday, Today, and tomorrow” engraved in the middle. When I opened it there was a glass heart on the lid with the words “God made us best friends, our hearts made us sisters” engraved on it. In the box laid a black small bag with a silver bracelet made of hearts intertwined together with one bigger heart dangling from it with the same quote engraved on it. I quickly put it on and thanked and hugged them all. The next gift was a crystal horse; they knew that I like horseback riding. The third gift was a pair of black Calvin Klein flats. After all the gift-opening we took the cake to the living room and my friend and I took a picture before I cut the cake. We had the cake in front of us and there her brother’s water bottle was standing on the ground between the chair and piano. Suddenly my mom swiped a chunk of the cream with her hand and wiped it all over my face. The cream got into my nose and eyes and I started to lick some off my mouth with. My face felt sticky and smooth at the same time and it smelled like strawberry. I slid my finger across my white creamy face and took some cream and licked it. I went to the bathroom to wash my face and it was difficult to remove the cream because it was quite sticky. After washing my face with soap and drying it my face felt somewhat oily due to the heavy cream. I cut the cake and we all had a nice chunk of the cake. It had a strawberry filling in it with more cream in the double layered cake. We all ate the cake and unfortunately I had to go back to studying when they left. I opened the book to the centripetal motion chapter. It was a memorable day…I could still feel the smooth cream all over my face till this day.

Gender Expectations

 

All of today’s gender roles and norms are engraved in our minds since childhood. Our parents portray the ideal gender norms that were portrayed to them as children and that gradually became a part of our lives. Family and cultural traditions play an important part in how gender roles are depicted. I remember when I was young(around elementary/middle school), whenever I used to go on vacation to visit my family I always used to spend most of my time with my cousins-whom were all boys. At an early age I learned what my gender role was and was taught what gender expectations were. Being the only girl, I would feel bored alone and decide to go play with my cousins. Being the boys that they are, my cousins played with each other aggressively as well as with me. Then whenever I used to get hurt and cry my mom would tell me, “You are not supposed to play with them because they are boys and they are more tough and aggressive than you are.” I used to wonder how they could tolerate each other’s violent hits and eventually I learned that it’s because their bodies are just built to be stronger than a girl’s body; I’m just more sensitive to anything because I’m a girl. And plus it was normal and ok for them to play aggressively because they were boys but me being a girl I wasn’t allowed to do that. My mom would put me in flowery dresses and make me look all fashionable with a bow on my head and all that pretty stuff. I felt that they had everything going easy for them because they were boys and they didn’t need to look pretty or anything like that. Whenever I used to want to play games with my brother and cousins he would tell me, “Action games aren’t for girls. Go play with your dolls or help mom or something.”  And when I go tell my mom she would just tell me, “You should come help me in the kitchen and around the house. These are skills you will need to learn for your future when you get married and have a family.” My brother would carry all the heavy workload around the house while I would help my mom cook or clean.  Also because they are the male gender they were allowed to go out alone because they are stronger and could take care of themselves but there was more fear over me(of getting kidnapped or lost) when I went out.  Gradually, as I got older I began to view these gender roles around me in society, school, and my peers. Even though females now dress more casual and wear more pants and shirts rather than fashionable dresses, there is still a distinction between them and males because style is still part of their norm. This was evident to me in high school where girls would make themselves all pretty even if they were dressed casually while boys wouldn’t really show much importance to looks. The girls would always go to the bathroom and put on makeup and fix their hair. The guys would talk about sports, go to the gym, work out and show off their “manliness” with their “built” bodies and what not. My female friends would constantly talk about shopping and what clothing styles they like. Soon I became aware that since the past males and females have been entitled with certain gender expectations that are passed down from generation to generation. That’s just the way life has been going: males are expected to be athletic, stoic, the dominant presence, and the breadwinners. Females are supposed to be well kept, the home makers and nurturer of children. Many factors contribute to the ongoing gender expectations such as society, culture, tradition, school, peers, church, history, and most importantly family. Now I have taken on the female role of taking care of my younger brother and working around the house. I now know that since I’m a girl I am supposed to be delicate/polite (instead of playing aggressively with boys) and mother like. Through my experiences and memories I learned to acquire these gender roles and norms as a part of my life. I learned it from my family and they learned it from theirs.

       

What Is It About 20-Somethings?

   20-somethings are taking longer to reach adulthood these days mostly due to a fear and lack of responsibility. It may also be due to some parental mistakes such as not helping their children make life goals early on. Those in their 20s may just not be ready to have the perfect job that would sustain them for life. They're not emotionally and mentally ready to make and support a family especially during hard economic times where neither homes nor jobs are guaranteed. So why be in a rush to reach adulthood? The economy is definitely a reason why people in their 20s are frustrated about adulthood. Not only are there not enough jobs but even those with jobs don't get paid enough to keep them independent; plus prices are too high. They may need a better economy to assist them on their journey to adulthood. Many 20-somethings also do not know what they want to do with their lives at their age, even after they graduate and that just extends the time for them to have a real and stable job. They not only have no career options but are also not motivated to search for one. This may be due to laziness which is present among most if not all people in their 20's. Parents may not have encouraged them to make life choices from an early age; instead they may have made decisions for them whether it be school or job related. Therefore, they get used to relying on their parents to support them because it's just much easier that way. So, their process into adulthood is delayed. Many 20-somethings just need a longer time to discover what their potential is or if they have any potential at all in anything. Their minds aren't occupied with getting into adulthood quickly but with all the disadvantages(such as debt) and responsibilities of adulthood that they haven't been raised to endure.