Blog 70

Dear English 110.01 Student:

Welcome to your first-year writing course!  I personally, think that I have become a much better writer after completing this class.  I will admit I’m not much of a fan of English and I am certainly not a good writer but Leslie made this class really fun and interesting.  When I first found out that our theme was science fiction I had a little bit of a panic attack.  Don’t worry though; it’s really not that bad.  Although the theme is science fiction and before this class I had never watched a science fiction show in my entire life I actually began to enjoy the show I chose. And, blogging 250 words everyday (even on holidays) was a very difficult thing to do at the beginning but now I can write 250 words like it’s nothing.  After finishing Leslie’s class I feel like I am better prepared to edit other peoples work and give constructive criticism and I now understand how important timeliness, relevancy, and compellingness are in a paper.  I really feel as if this course made me a better writer and will continue to help me throughout my college career.  I recommend that you don’t wait until the last minute to write your papers and that you attend every class so that you don’t miss anything important.  I think that you as well will enjoy this class and you will get a lot out of it.  I wish you the best!

Sincerely,

Kristen Taylor

Blog 69: Anything

Last anything blog!  I’m really excited that it’s almost the end of the year but I’m sad that I am going to have to leave all of my friends.  I’ve met a lot of people this year that I’m going to miss over the summer.  I never thought that I would say it but I am so excited to move back home.  I was so happy to finally get away from my parents and be able to do whatever I want whenever I want to do it but now I kind of miss them.  I think this summer will be a lot of fun and I hope that I get to go on vacation at some point. (if my work allows me to) I hope that I will be able to go and visit Aly in Cincinnati at some point.  If she invites me to the party that her mom is throwing for her! The only thing that I am not looking forward to is Target.  I will be working there 40 hours a week and probably hating every minute of it.  I’m currently in the process of finding a new job, hopefully closer to home.  Maybe at the new gym that is opening up.  Except the owner is really weird.  He has blonde tips in his hair.  My parents made me mow the grass this weekend and my neighbor came out and asked me if I was drunk because my lines were crooked.  I thought I did a pretty good job.    

Blog 68: Anything

Another blog about what I did today.  So exciting! Today I got up at 5:30 so I could study for a little bit before my physiology exam at 7:18.  Then I went to that class, took the exam, and then sat through another boring lecture.  After class I went to the gym.  Keith, don’t make fun of me.  I did arms again.  Trying to get big.  Then I went home and got showered and ready for the day.  I went to the library to study for Biology.  I had my last lab today thank god.  I absolutely hate my TA she is the devil.  I had an iced white mocha (my favorite) and a bagel for lunch.  After lunch I met up with my friend Brooke and we studied for a little bit.  And gossiped.  I called my boss yesterday to tell her that I am going to be coming back to work.  It was awful.  I don’t want to go back to work because I hate my job.  I start back up bright and early on Monday June 13.  I’m so glad that it’s nice outside finally and very thankful for the air conditioning in my room.  All I want to do is lay out and get a tan but exams are coming up so instead I’m stuck inside.  It sucks.  I’m glad that I only have one more anything blog then a letter to next years students and then I don’t have to ever blog ever again in my entire life.  

Blog 67: What I'm doing tomorrow

Well since I just blogged about what I did today, this blog will be about what I am going to do tomorrow.  I’ll probably wake up and go to the gym with my friend Brooke.  Then, my brother is coming to pick me up around 1:30 and I get to go home!  My dad promised he would have bud lime waiting for me before my mom comes home.  That’s why I love him.  I’ll probably bond with the family all day and maybe take my puppy on a walk.  My dad is going to grill burgers for dinner and we’ll probably have some kind of dessert for after.  Momma T loves baking for her kids.  Then I made my family promise that they would make a bonfire in my backyard and we would make smores.  (One of my favorites) We will probably just sit around and play cards all night and maybe watch a movie.  There are not that many exciting things to do in Sunbury.  I’m really excited to sleep in my own bed; it’s a million times more comfy than the dorm beds.  And I can shower and the showers aren’t gross.  That’s probably the worst thing about living in the dorms.  I can’t wait to go home.  Oh and I’m also excited to go to Aly’s home after we get out of school to go to the party that her mom is throwing for her.  Such a nice lady.  ALY I MISS YOUR FAMILY!

Blog 66: My Day Today

I don’t really feel like blogging so I’m just going to blog about everything that I have done today.  You’d be better off not reading it probably.  I woke up at 6:30 this morning and then went to Physiology from 7:18-8:18.  It was super boring, like always.  I think I learned about the renal system.  Awesome.  After physiology I went straight to the gym and worked out.  I did cardio, abs, and a little bit of arms.  Then I went back to my dorm and showered and got ready for English, which was awesome.  Everyone already knows what we did in there so I won’t go into detail.  After class Aly and I went to the library to get coffee.  She had class so she left me but I’m still here.  I wrote an awesome paper for Biology about genes that could potentially be responsible for why the heart takes so long to regenerate muscle cells after experiencing a heart attack.  That was super fun too.  I really hate biology, and I’m pretty sure my TA hates me.  After I leave here I’m going to go get dinner with Aly at Subway.  I have been craving it all day and I’m starving to death right now.  After dinner I will probably end up doing more homework and go to bed early.  Maybe clean my room, it’s getting kinda dirty.  Well now I’m at 244 words so I guess that’s close enough to 250.  Bye!

Blog 65: Dierks Bentley

So yesterday was probably the greatest day of my entire life.  I went to the Dierks Bentley, Joe Nichols, Josh Thompson, and Uncle Kracker concert at the LC and it was absolutely AMAZING!  Hands down this was the best concert that I have ever been to.  I was a little depressed because apparently Dierks was at the Harley Davidson shop thing which is like fifteen minutes away from my house and I want to meet him so badly.  Well anyways, I was in the front row of the concert and Dierks touched me.  Twice.  Completely obsessed.  He’s pretty hot for a dad, not gonna lie.  I have a video of him singing on Facebook and he is literally right in front of me, basically singing to me.  I also got his guitar pick, which I will treasure for the rest of my life.  I learned at this concert that Uncle Kracker is the biggest, sweatiest man in the entire world.  If he would have wiped the sweat off of his face one more time I don’t think I could have handled it.  Yesterday was the perfect day for a concert outside and I’m so glad that I got to go.  I really can’t wait til summer and all of the country concerts that are coming here.  Already decided that I’m for sure going to Josh Thompson at the Hartford County Fair.  Thanks Keith for letting me know about that one.  

Blog 64: Going Home!

So I just got off the phone with the fam and I am so excited to get to go home this weekend to see them! I’m going home on Friday morning and I feel like I haven’t been back in forever and surprisingly I miss it.  I usually hate Sunbury because there is nothing to do there.  My Dad called this morning and asked if we could go see the Hangover 2 together which is a little weird but he supports my love of Bradley Cooper so I am definitely down to go.  My mom promised that she would make me my favorite burgers and homemade lemonade so I’m super excited about that as well.  If it’s not rainy and gross all weekend then my brother is going to take me fishing.  I haven’t been fishing since summer and I’m pretty depressed about that.  For some reason I’m really good. I also made my family agree to have a bonfire because I have been craving smores lately and you can’t get those down here on campus.  On Monday Aly is coming with me to my family Memorial Day barbeque at my Grandma’s house which involves a lot more grilled food which is my favorite! I can’t wait to see my dog Fletch either.  Apparently he misses me (or so my mom says.)  She probably just wants me there so I can take him on walks and she won’t have to.  Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend too!     

Blog 63: White Mocha

Since we now get to start blogging about anything that we want I am going to blog about my love for iced white mochas.  I seriously think that I might have an addiction, they are just so good.  In fact, I’m sitting in the library right now drinking one and eating a bagel and it’s wonderful.  This is what I usually do on Tuesday and Thursday mornings since I have class at 7:18, 8:30 and then English at 11:30.  There’s no way I would make it to English if I didn’t have one.  Basically every eating establishment here on campus makes these white mochas but the library hands down makes the best one.  I don’t know what it is but it’s just the perfect combination.  Marketplace makes them way too watered down and gross. I never really even liked the taste of coffee drinks until I came to college and realized that it’s really difficult to stay awake through all my classes and stay up late to study.   Today I actually ordered a small one and they accidently made it a large.  No complaining on my part.  I think that everyone should try these because you will fall in love with them too.  If it wouldn’t make me extremely fat I would probably drink more than one of these a day. They are really that good.  I also recommend the TBC mochas.  If you like caramel and chocolate (who doesn’t) then you would love that.  

Blog 62: Bugs

Something that scares me is definitely bugs.  I absolutely hate bugs more than anything in the entire world.  They are so ugly and creepy and they are everywhere and they bite people and I just don’t understand what good they do.  If I see a spider I will freak out.  You might think that I’m crazy but I’m really creeped out by them.  My dad has to kill it for me.  The worst experience that I ever had with a bug was when I was 8 and me and my cousin Zachary were swinging on my grandparent’s swing set in Kentucky.  Little did we know there was a hornet’s nest on the bottom of one of the swings.  We found out real fast once we sat down and they started swarming us and attacking us.  I was stung four times and Zach was stung three and it was so painful.  They got so swollen and I’m pretty sure we cried for days.  Ever since then I have been afraid of bees too and I get real freaked out when one is near me.  I am very thankful that I have not seen any type of bug in my dorm room this year.  I’m sure that they are everywhere around here and probably worse than the ones that I see at home but I’m glad that they stay hidden.  The animals around campus are really weird though.  The squirrels walk next to people and the geese/duck things that hang out by mirror lake are so strange looking.

Blog 61: War

Something that is happening in the world that concerns me is definitely the war on terrorism.  I think that this hits especially close to home because my family has a lot of history in the military and my cousin is being deployed to Afghanistan in the beginning of June.  I wish that there was another way that we could work out our differences without having to put the lives of our people at risk.  I personally am very anti-war and I feel like this has been going on for too long.  It really worries me that my cousin will be over there for almost a year and my other cousin is enlisting in the army when he graduates next year.  I think a lot of people look at this problem and don’t care because they don’t have a personal connection.  But, when you know people that are over there in danger and your family is over there it becomes a lot more real.  I don’t understand how war even solves any problems.  I feel like it just creates more problems.  Invading a country is just going to piss them off even more, killing their people isn’t going to make them happy.  I just feel like it’s counterproductive but that’s my own opinion.  I know this is a very controversial topic but I just wish that the war could be over and my family members didn’t have to be deployed because I know how dangerous it is over there.

Blog 60: Back in time

If I could live in another generation I would definitely want to go back to the 80s and be a teenager.  I don’t know much about the olden days but from what I’ve heard from my parents it sounded like a lot of fun. My parents went to concerts all the time and back then tickets were cheap.  I’ve seen pictures of my mom in little belly shirts and bell bottom jeans and I wouldn’t mind wearing that if it were still socially acceptable today.  I feel like back then there wasn’t as much stress as there is today and people were just happier and more carefree.  I think if I went back in time I would just want to be my mom back then when she was growing up.  She lived in a small town, had the cutest little blue sports car and did whatever she really wanted.  The only thing I would change would be her hair, that was a little wack.  Her clothes looked cute, she was the tiniest person in the world, she didn’t have to work and she went to all kinds of concerts that she likes to brag about.  I do like living in the era that I do today because we are so much more technologically advanced and can do so many more things and have so many more options for what we want to do with our lives.  I think that it would be fun to go back and see how other people lived but I definitely wouldn’t want to stay there forever.

Blog 59: Biggest Mistake

I don’t think there is any huge mistake that I have made in my life.  I know I have made mistakes but none of them have been life changing for me and I’ve learned lessons from all of them.  One mistake I made was crashing my first car.  I was on the way to a dentist appointment and was driving on the freeway.  It was sleeting outside of course because Ohio weather sucks and it was in December.  It was rush hour and I was just about to get off the freeway when traffic suddenly stopped and my car didn’t and I slammed into the back of someone.  My poor little red corolla was totaled and I got a concussion but hey, definitely a lesson learned to be more cautious and drive slower when the weather is bad. And I got a better car out of it in the end. I think that making mistakes is okay and nobody is perfect.  If we didn’t all make mistakes then the world would just be a boring place to live.  If celebrities didn’t make mistakes then all those gossip magazines wouldn’t have anything to talk about. Another mistake that I made when I was younger was trying to cut “shapes” into my hair.  Lesson learned: it will make your mother cry.  I learned at the age of four that I did not have a future in cosmetology, and the triangles and squares that you chop out of your hair take a long time to grow back.  Fortunately we have pictures so I’ll never forget. 

Blog 55: Best Friends

Over the summer my two best friends, Rachel and Korey and I did everything together, we were inseparable.  Everyday we would hang out after work or anything else and go to the movies, the beach, the pool, or just someone’s house to hang out and talk.  Over the summer we were all close and we were there for each other through everything.  I have known Korey since we were 5 and in the same kindergarten class.  We grew up down the street from each other and we have been close our entire lives.  I know that she would be there for me through anything, no matter how bad it was and it’s comforting knowing you have someone like that.  It’s crazy how we are still close after all these years.  Rachel and I met in 7^th grade and we were instantly attached at the hip.  She can make any situation more fun and I can talk to her about anything in the entire world.  This year has been hard on our relationship because we are all at different places in our lives and we all ended up going to different schools.  Rachel goes to Coastal Carolina in South Carolina, Korey is already working full time and I am here at Ohio State.  Even though we are all so far apart we still talk almost every day and I think that in the summer we will all be back to the way we were last summer. I can’t wait!

Blog 54: Favorite place in the entire world

My favorite place in the whole entire world is my house.  I live in Sunbury, Ohio and it’s so quiet and peaceful out there, so much different then what I have become accustomed to on campus.  I love being home with my family and my dog just hanging out, watching movies, playing cards and talking. My room is definitely my favorite place within my house.  The walls are bright sea blue and everything is so clean and pretty.  So much prettier than the cement walls in my dorm room.  I have two windows in my room, which make for a nice breeze when it’s nice outside.  I can’t wait to be home for the summer and I can’t wait to be able to hang out with my family again because I really miss them.  Another reason that I love to be home is because I am able to have a real, home-cooked meal.  My mom cooks dinner for our family every night and I am sad that I have missed out on so many meals while I’ve been in school.  My family is seriously so funny and I miss hearing my dad’s awful jokes that my mom thinks are ridiculous but I still think are hilarious.  He tries really hard to be funny but most of the time he can’t say the jokes right which makes it even funnier.  I miss taking my dog Fletch on walks every night with my mom and just talking to her.  I can’t wait to go home again!

Blog 53: game!

Wow I used to play this game when I was younger and I was terrible at it.  That probably hasn’t changed.  So here are three stories, one true two false.  Probably won’t be that hard to guess, but good luck!

1.)   I was stung by a jellyfish in Florida while swimming in the ocean on a family vacation.

2.)  My parents have been together since they were 17 and my family lives in the same house that my mom grew up in.

3.)  I live on a farm that is about 40 minutes north of OSU campus.

Hope you can guess which one is true! And aly you are not allowed to answer. It’s not fair!

Blog 52: FOOD

I’m going to blog about my favorite word, which is the same as Aly’s:  Food.  I love love love love love love love food.  It makes me happy when I’m sad (chocolate), it tastes really good, and it’s always there.  I love when I am home and my parents cook me food because both of them are really good at cooking.  I’m not really picky when it comes to food at all, as long as it doesn’t come from the ocean and it’s not some freaky looking/smelling thing I’ll probably eat it.  This might be weird but one food that I really miss is homemade grilled cheese.  They have grilled cheese at the union but it’s definitely not the same.  My dad makes killer grilled cheeses.  I like a lot of vegetables too.  The common ones, not really the weird ones.  I also have an obsession with strawberries.  If they have chocolate on them then that’s even better.  I really want someone to send me an edible arrangement with chocolate covered strawberries on it so if you feel like doing that, let me know.  My mom came to take me shopping this weekend and she brought a pound of strawberries with her.  Those were gone real fast.  Another food that I love is pizza, definitely my weakness.  Veggie pizzas from Adriaticos are where it’s at.  Good thing I live right across the street from there.   Food is so good and I love it more than anything else in the entire world.

Blog 51: Athletic Training

I’m not sure on whether or not I am going to get into my major or not, right now I am technically listed as Pre-Athletic Training.  I have my interview tomorrow afternoon with the admissions panel so hopefully that goes well for me and I receive good news some time on Friday.  In the Athletic Training major we work with the athletes on preventing and rehabilitating sports related injuries.  I have always been interested in pursuing a career in the field of medicine and Athletic Training allows me to combine that dream with Athletics, which is another field that I am passionate about.  This major is one of the most competitive at Ohio State and only about 25 students are accepted into the program each year.  This really stresses me out.  I have been having anxiety and panic attacks for the last couple of weeks since I was informed that I was given an interview.  I hope that I do well in this interview because my entire future is on the line.  I will be mad if I don’t because then I took hard chemistry classes and physiology for no reason when I could have gotten away with taking the easier ones.  I have been practicing what I am going to say but apparently they ask a question like, “if we were to look at your facebook right now, what would we learn about you?”  That’s tough and I don’t know how to respond to that so if anyone has any advice, I’m more than willing to take it!

Blog 50: Famous Person

If I could meet anyone famous I would want to meet either Bradley Cooper or Luke Bryan because I think they are both the hottest men alive.  I don’t know if they are really nice people but Luke seems like a decent person. Bradley, on the other hand, maybe a little too famous and shallow for his own good.  But, who cares.  Have you seen those blue eyes? You can’t be mad at that.  Luke has a wife and kids but that’s okay, I could share and I really love babies.  I would want to meet Bradley because he is really really funny and the Hangover is definitely one of my favorite movies of all time.  I can’t wait for the second one to come out at the end of this month, hopefully it compares to the first and doesn’t disappoint everyone.  The sequels are usually never as good as the first but I have high hopes for this one.  I recently saw Luke Bryan in concert with Tim McGraw and instantly became obsessed.  I liked his songs a lot before the concert but he is so good live that it made me like him even more.  His songs are so cute and his dance moves are adorable.  He has a new cd coming out this summer and I can’t wait for it to come out.  I will be listening to it in my car every day driving through country. Can’t wait!

Blog 49: My Dream

A dream that I have is to get into the Athletic Training program here at Ohio State.  Only 25 people get into this program each year and it is extremely competitive but I really want to be a part of it.  I sent in my application in February and got an email saying that I was one of the 30 students that are going to get an interview.  My interview is this Wednesday afternoon and I am extremely nervous.  I have always known that I wanted to do something in the medical field and I have always had an interest in sports so I think that this major would be the perfect one for me.  I think that it would be awesome to be a part of the recovery process that an injured athlete has to go through to get back to doing what they love.  I find out this Friday whether or not they accepted me.  If I do get accepted into this program then this summer I will be working with the football team at their two-a-day practices.  I think that would be an incredible experience for me and I would learn a lot. I hope that my interview goes well on Wednesday and they like me enough to let me in.  I also hope to in my future go to grad school for Physical Therapy and one day work somewhere where I can be a physical therapist for athletes.

Blog 48: Nature

Something in nature that fascinates me is definitely rain and thunderstorms.  I actually like the rain a lot even though it makes me feel extremely unproductive and tired.  It seems to me like it has rained more this year than any other year that I can remember.  It really sucks walking to class in the rain and then having to sit there for an hour or so in soaking wet clothes.  So uncomfortable and cold.  On days when I don’t have anything to do and it’s raining outside I like to lay in my bed all day and sleep.  My favorite singer, Luke Bryan, actually has a song about how rain is good.  It’s called “Rain is a Good Thing.”  The chorus of this song is…..

“Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey

Whiskey makes my baby feel a little frisky

Back roads are boggin' up, my buddies pile up in my truck

We hunt our honeys down, we take 'em into town

Start washin' all our worries down the drain

Rain is a good thing”

This song is so true.  Without rain we wouldn’t have food or green grass or flowers.  Even though it sucks walking in, I am very thankful that we have rain.  I just wish that we had better weather since spring quarter is almost over and we haven’t had very many nice days to lay out on the oval and do activities outside.  

Blog 47: First guy i ever liked

The first guy that I ever liked was named Luke.  We went to preschool together at grace brethren and we were in love.  I don’t remember much about him but there are some little details that I remember and I’ve heard a lot of stories about us from my mom.  Luke and I were apparently inseparable and we would always play together on the jungle gym every single day. We had a naptime everyday and apparently we refused to go to sleep unless we could be next to each other. For my birthday one year he bought me a beanie baby that was a brown bear and I was obsessed with it and I named it cinnamon.  I still have cinnamon to this day.  Probably the most meaningful gift that a boy has ever given me.  After I stopped attending grace brethren Luke and me drifted apart and I haven’t seen him for a very long time. I think it’s so cute when little kids like each other and they are adorable together.  It’s so much different when you’re young and innocent and don’t have a care in the world and now we are constantly stressed and not as happy and carefree.  I think you should all look up the video of the two little kids called high five for first kiss or something like that.  It’s probably one of the cutest things that I have ever seen in my entire life. 

Blog 46: Pet Peeve

My biggest pet peeve is people that have poor hygiene.  I literally can’t stand it.  I never really understood just how big of an issue that this could be until I came to college.  When you are surrounded by people on a daily basis and live with someone, you learn a whole lot about them.  Not always good things either.  I strongly believe that everyone should shower at least once a day, brush their teeth at least twice, and make a conscious effort to smell and look decent.  I learned in physiology that after two months the receptors in your nose are supposed to get used to odors and then you don’t notice them but I can say, from experience, that this is not true.  The worst thing in the world has to be when you are at the gym and you are running and someone comes next to you and they have body odor.  There’s no escaping at that point, if you want to finish your workout then you have to suffer.  I think hygiene is very important and everyone should try to look clean and smell clean because that is one of the first things that people notice about someone when they see them.  I also think that people should do their laundry on a regular basis and clean their clothes after they wear them.  I hope that I’m not the only one with this pet peeve. 

Blog 45: Trip

A trip that I took recently that meant a lot to me was my spring break trip to Florida with two of my friends this year.  We took a road trip down to siesta key and it was so much fun.  It was such a relaxing break from all the stress that school had caused us and we just went to the beach or the pool all day and tanned and relaxed.  The weather was so nice the entire time and I was the most depressed when we were on our way back to Ohio and the temperature was slowly dropping down to about 30.  Every day that we were there was absolutely perfect and there was not a cloud in the sky.  The only bad part of the trip was that my eyelids got sun burnt.  Who even knew that could happen?  From now on I will be sure to put sunscreen on them.  Lesson learned for sure.  Every night we went to dinner at restaurants and the food was so good.  The girls that I went with on this trip are fans of seafood and I am most definitely not.  I went to a lot of seafood restaurants and found out that florida has a lot of really good chicken quesadillas.  I tried grouper and I hated it.  Never again.  This trip was really fun for me and I think that it brought me and my friends closer and we had a lot of good times and made some really good memories. 

Blog 43: Best present

The best present that I ever received was probably my GPS.  I am known amongst my family and friends as being the worst person when it comes to directions.  I know this may not seem like a very exciting gift but it is definitely the most useful one that I have ever received and I don’t know what I would do without it.  My grandma bought me this GPS for Christmas a few years ago after hearing countless stories of me getting lost in the most random places from my mother.  Little do they know that I used it throughout high school to get to parties, boyfriend’s houses, etc.  They’ll never know, hopefully.  This is a really great thing to have but I still get lost a lot of the time.  Sometimes the lady doesn’t tell me to merge fast enough and I end up missing my exit and that sucks.  But, most of the time it gets the job done.  The only thing that I don’t like about it is that it keeps track of your high speed and low speed and my dad didn’t like that when he saw it.  Now I make sure to hide it in my car and keep my doors locked.  I can’t wait until summer when I get to drive my car again I miss it.  Too bad I’ll be driving it back and forth to work.  All work and no play.  Every time I go on a road trip I am thankful to have this GPS because mapquest just wasn’t cutting it.  

Blog 42: Job

I’ve worked at Target for almost three years now and I absolutely hate it.  The only reason that I continue with this awful job is because of the discount and my parents would kill me if I ever quit.  I work as a service desk team member and I never knew how mean people could be until you tell them that they can’t return something.  This past day after Christmas had to be the worst day of work that I think I have ever had.  First of all, I had to work a ten-hour shift at the service desk and everyone wanted to return all of the awful gifts that they received the previous day.  People were definitely not in the “Christmas spirit” anymore and I was yelled at, threatened, and I even had a credit card thrown at me.  I don’t know why it was my fault that we couldn’t return something that didn’t even come from Target but I guess it was…The second worse place that they put me every once in awhile is at the Electronics boat.  I don’t know why they put me here because I know absolutely nothing about what GPS system or digital camera is better but they always schedule me here.  It’s really awful.  I’ll continue to suffer here until I find another job, which I am in the process of doing as we speak.  Wish me luck. 

Blog 41: Culture

I live in the international dorm here at Ohio State so I see different cultures on a daily basis.  Quite a few of the girls on my floor are from China and the way that they do some things is very different from what I am accustomed to and what I was taught when I was younger.  A couple of the girls hand wash their clothing in bowls with bars of soap in our bathroom and it’s really interesting.  I’ve talked to one of the girls about this and she said that this is what she was taught when she was younger and has been doing her entire life and even though there are washing machines and dryers in our building she would rather do it this way.  A few of the girls that live on my floor at the beginning of the year didn’t even understand how to use a washing machine or a dryer.  It’s strange how we’ve all been raised around these things so we think it’s weird when someone has a different way of doing things.  I think that living in Morrison Tower this year has opened my eyes to how different cultures interact and live and I believe that it’s a really great experience for me.  There are people here from all over the world and I feel lucky to be able to communicate with them and learn about their cultures and how they lived back home.  

Blog 40: Family Member

Since tomorrow is mother’s day and all and I get to see my mom I decided to blog about her.  My mom is the most amazing person that I have ever met in my entire life and I love her so much.  She’s such a selfless person and will put anyone and everyone before herself without doubt.  Before college I feel like I took my parents for granted because I saw them everyday.  Now, I appreciate them and all that they do for me so much more.  My mom is the nicest woman in the world and she would do anything for her family or friends.  You have to beg her to treat herself to something nice.  My dad and I are the same exact person.  Sometimes I wonder how my mom and dad are together because they are complete opposites.  My dad’s crazy, loud, and outspoken and my mom is quiet and sweet.  But I guess the saying is; opposites attract.  My dad is the kind of person that always has to make a joke out of everything and you can never be serious with.  I also have a brother named Scott and him and I are really close.  I can’t wait until tomorrow because my family is coming here to see me and we’re going to go out for lunch for mother’s day.  I’m very very excited to see them because I miss them so much. 

Blog 39

The grammar rule that always confuses me is commas. I know it’s really basic and I should know how to use them but oh well. I hate commas. I feel like there is too many ways that you can use them so everyone should be confused like me.  It bothers me how some people use commas like it’s their job, and then some people don’t use them at all.  I researched how to use them on google and here’s what I found out. 

1.     Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.

2.     Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause.

3.     Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.

4.     Do not use commas to set off essential elements of the sentence, such as clauses beginning with that (relative clauses). That clauses after nouns are always essential. That clauses following a verb expressing mental action are always essential.

5.     Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series.

Hopefully I’m not the only one confused by this. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/607/02/

Blog 38

“With your first year of college comes the freshman 15.”  We hear this from everyone around us on almost a daily basis; our family, friends, other college students, and the media.  With so much pressure in our society today to be perfect many girls and guys go to great extremes to prevent it, many of which are harmful to their bodies and health in general.  The freshman 15 can be prevented in a healthy way and it’s not that hard to keep the extra weight off.  We’ve all had those late night pizza runs, depressing days where all we want to do is lay in bed and eat, and days where we would rather die than drag ourselves to the gym.  These things happen to everyone.

I don’t know what I’m going to title this paper yet. I think she said something about putting that somewhere in the blog.  But someone in class yesterday had a funny title:  Welcome to college, here’s some extra weight.  I will think about what to title it today. Had to post this blog this morning. Long night last night…..

Blog 37

A hypothetical scenario for my commonplace paper could just involve the average girl and what her possible struggles with the freshman 15 could be.  For example I could talk about how it’s different from high school, she has a lot more stress and homework and can’t manage her time well.  Also, she could go out on the weekend and drink and go to parties and not make the best food choices. As a result, she gained weight.  I should probably think about this more but it’s getting late and I’m tired so I guess I’ll leave it at that.  Anyways, tomorrow is cinco de mayo and I don’t think that I’ve ever been so excited for anything in my entire life.  I feel like this holiday was made for me. Can’t wait to drink margaritas all day. Starting after English of course.  I also can’t wait for Mother’s Day because my Mom, Dad, Brother, and Grandma are coming to see me and I miss them a lot.  We’re going out to dinner and I’m so excited because I actually get to eat real food instead of the campus food which is gross.  I hate blogging so much and I wish I didn’t have to do it every single day of my life.  I can’t wait until we get to blog about anything we want because that’s so much more interesting. 

Blog 36: Personal Anecdote

I think that when we are getting ready to head off to college we are told so many times about the freshman 15 that we begin to think that it is inevitable.  In all reality I think that we can all prevent it if we want to but you have to put in the effort.  Drinking is probably the biggest contributor to the weight gain that some people experience.  Alcohol is a lot of empty calories and they can add up quickly.  A shot of just plain vodka is 70 calories and if someone takes seven shots before they go out that’s already 490 calories, almost an entire meal.  Beer is even worse for you with about 150 calories per 12 oz can.  Another thing that I believe contributes to weight gain is not having a set schedule that you can stick to.  College brings with it a lot of stress and many people can’t manage their time well enough to make time to go to the gym.  Back in high school most people had organized sports where they went to practice everyday and got their exercise that way.  Now, you have the freedom to manage your time however you want and many don’t get everything they need to done.  I think if people take these two topics into account, as well as others that I will tell about in my paper then they can prevent becoming a statistic and be happy and healthy.  

Blog 35

I feel that I can relate to the topic of my commonplace paper because I am a freshman in college and I have seen first-hand what can happen to some individuals in such a small amount of time.  I fortunately have not been a victim of the “Freshman 15” but some of my friends from back home have. Many might think that it’s just girls who gain this weight and I used to believe that but recently I have discovered that is not true.  I see pictures that girls and boys from my high school upload on facebook and it’s obvious that they have put on weight.  I think that my paper will help people realize that this is a common occurrence but it doesn’t have to happen to them.  I think that my paper can provide useful information to college students and help them make wiser choices when it comes to what they eat, only consume alcohol in moderation, exercise regularly, and lastly make a schedule that they can stick to for when they are going to get everything done.  If people stick to this and make a conscious effort to be fit and active then they have nothing to worry about.  Although the freshman 15 or even the freshman 25 is becoming more and more common amongst college students there are ways to prevent it or if you already gained it there are ways to lose it. 

Blog 34: Compelling

Eating disorders and doing other harm to your body is very relevant to many college students.  College is a whole new lifestyle compared to what many people experienced in high school.  There are light night study sessions, parties, more stress, more pressure, etc.  It’s not uncommon for college freshman to gain the infamous freshman 15 or 25.  On nights out drinking many people end up at the nearest pizza place or taco bell or anywhere they can get some cheap, good, greasy food.  This makes people gain weight and a lot of girls and some men develop eating disorders as a result because they think that it’s the only way to lose weight.  Drinking and doing drugs is also a common way that college aged individuals do harm to their bodies.  Drinking is an extremely common activity and on any given Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday you can find many students engaging in activities involving alcohol.  Many people don’t know their limit when drinking and end up blacking out, passing out, getting alcohol poisoning, and doing things that they normally wouldn’t do if they were sober.  Also, drugs are a common thing amongst students on campus.  I know many people that do all sorts of drugs including, marijuana, a bunch of different types of pills, and even sometimes acid.  I feel like getting your hands on these things in our day and age is easy and many people abuse it.  Since all of these are familiar to college students I think that this topic is relevant. 

Blog 33: Relevant

Eating disorders and doing other harm to your body is very relevant to many college students.  College is a whole new lifestyle compared to what many people experienced in high school.  There are light night study sessions, parties, more stress, more pressure, etc.  It’s not uncommon for college freshman to gain the infamous freshman 15 or 25.  On nights out drinking many people end up at the nearest pizza place or taco bell or anywhere they can get some cheap, good, greasy food.  This makes people gain weight and a lot of girls and some men develop eating disorders as a result because they think that it’s the only way to lose weight.  Drinking and doing drugs is also a common way that college aged individuals do harm to their bodies.  Drinking is an extremely common activity and on any given Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday you can find many students engaging in activities involving alcohol.  Many people don’t know their limit when drinking and end up blacking out, passing out, getting alcohol poisoning, and doing things that they normally wouldn’t do if they were sober.  Also, drugs are a common thing amongst students on campus.  I know many people that do all sorts of drugs including, marijuana, a bunch of different types of pills, and even sometimes acid.  I feel like getting your hands on these things in our day and age is easy and many people abuse it.  Since all of these are familiar to college students I think that this topic is relevant. 

Blog 32: Timely

The topic that I am thinking of using for my commonplace paper is timely because it is a real-life problem on not only college campuses, but also pretty much anywhere you look.  A large number of individuals do harm to their bodies and don’t think twice about it.  Often times they don’t think that what they are doing is dangerous.  People do drugs and consume alcohol; they use eating disorders as a way to lose weight, and many other things.  I’m not even completely sure if this is what I want to do for my commonplace paper because I haven’t had enough time to think it through.  I felt a little rushed during class trying to think of something in ten minutes.  I want to find a more interesting topic that I might actually enjoy looking into, researching, and writing about.  I’ll make sure that it’s timely so everyone will be able to relate. 

Blog 31

The pressure to be perfect leads people to do extremely dangerous things to themselves and to their bodies.  Everyone wants to be skinny, pretty, and of course have a group of friends that are always there for them. College students are especially vulnerable to this pressure.  Freshman students move away from everything that they have been used to for the last eighteen years of their life:  family, friends, etc.  In order to make friends they may go to parties.  Drink so they’re more outgoing and friendly.  Then, from all the alcohol they drink and the lack of exercise and organized high school sports that kept you in shape back in the day, they ultimately end up gaining weight.  Instead of getting to the gym and working out, many people (men and women) resort to eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia to lose the weight.  Although they are doing harm to their bodies and they know it, they can’t stop because it brings results.  Many people wonder how someone could possibly do this to their bodies.  College also is the time where many students experiment with drugs and alcohol.  For this paper I want to focus on all the things that college students do that result in harm to their bodies and research on what causes them to do these things.  Some of the topics i’m thinking about are drugs and alcohol, eating disorders and things along those lines.  

Blog 30: Tech No Love

The article I read today, Tech No Love, talks about how our definition of a functional relationship has changed over time.  Back in our grandparent’s day there was no such thing as facebook or twitter or texting and they got along just fine.  Instead of constantly texting their significant other they would actually pick up a phone and hear the other person’s voice.  The author says, “Going steady was almost a holy endeavor back then, and marriage was a common result.  It’s comical that today our way of going steady is to become ‘Facebook official.’” It’s really sad to hear that but it’s actually true.  I have many friends who have had arguments with their boyfriends or girlfriends regarding their “status” on facebook.  The article also says that people constantly stalk their significant other’s page and get jealous whenever they see things that other people post on their wall.  I know for a fact that this is true.  One of my friends constantly stalks her boyfriend’s page and gets super pissed whenever a girl writes on his wall and starts an argument about it.  Sometimes he doesn’t even know what the person is talking about, but she still makes a huge deal about it so he deletes it.   I think that facebook is damaging to our relationships and we should pick up the phone every once in awhile and call our family, friends, and boyfriends or girlfriends because it’s crucial. I think if we go back to the way things used to be our relationships would be a lot more successful. 

Blog 29: Fat and Happy?

For this blog I read another article on Commonplace called Fat and Happy? This article told about how obesity in our country is becoming a more and more common thing.  The article tells about how in recent years obesity has been labeled the number one preventable cause of death and the next generation of children may be the first to be unhealthier and live shorter lives than their parents.  I think that this is all really sad and I don’t want one of my kids in the future to end up like this.  The article also tells that this is preventable if children get the recommended 60 minutes of exercise per day and they eat healthy.  I think that schools should be more nutrition conscious because I remember back when I ate school lunches they were I no way healthy.  I think that parents should also start their kids young and make them eat fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods so that they will grow to like them.  Parents should be a good example for their kids because it’s proven that they look up to them and are more likely to do something that they see them doing.  Instead of taking them out to lunch at McDonalds or some other fast food restaurant they could take them somewhere a little healthier like panera.  I hope that there are measures taken in the future to alleviate this problem because it’s a huge problem and something needs to be done right away.  

Blog 28: Leaders or Cheaters: Steroids for the Brain

I read an article on Commonplace titled Leaders or Cheaters:  Steroids for the Brain.  This article was about how it is becoming more and more relevant for college students and even business professionals to use Adderall to be more productive.  It’s true that Adderall is all around us today in this day and age and it is really easy to come by if you want it.  There is a debate on whether or not it is fair that people that are not prescribed this medication still take it and I don’t see anything wrong with it.  Yeah, some people need it to function properly but if it can help you get better grades and in the end be more successful, why not take it.  Everyone wants to be the best that they can be and this can help.  I also think that it would be a good idea if doctors and surgeons started using medications like Adderall before long flights or procedures because they would be more alert and awake.  But, there are side effects from this and it affects everyone in a different way so you have to take that into account as well.  I don’t think that it should be illegal to take this medicine because it helps people more than it harms them.  I’m sure that some people would abuse it, but that’s not different from anything else we have in our society.  Overall, I don’t think it’s wrong for college students to take Adderall if it will help to make them more successful and productive.  

Blog 27: Intro Paragraph

In our society today there is a remarkable amount of pressure placed on us to be “beautiful” and “perfect”. This pressure not only comes from the media; but also from our peers, magazines, advertisements and even our own family members.  I’m fairly confident that each and every one of you reading this paper have at one point or another in your life, had a negative view of your body and wanted to change something about yourself. This pressure to be perfect and beautiful has lead men and women alike to put their bodies at risk in order to fit the mold of what we think we should be.  People do this by:  using tanning beds, bulimia, anorexia, extreme dieting, plastic surgery and using of makeup. Individuals are embarrassed of the way that they look and are afraid to be themselves.  Women won’t leave the house without makeup on because they are afraid that someone will think they’re ugly, we do harm to our bodies because we think it will make us more attractive, people change who they are because they think that they will be better liked, people go on diets and starve themselves because they want to be skinnier and they believe being skinny makes you pretty.  It’s really sad to see the extremes that individuals in our country today will go in order to fit the mold of what we are told is pretty and accepted.  It’s unattainable beauty, but everyone’s out to get it.  

If anyone has any ideas of anything else I should add or take out please let me know!

Blog 26

I think that the episode and scene that I watched and my real world phenomena fit really well together.  They both show that no matter what you do perfection is really not an attainable thing, yet everyone aspires to be perfect for some reason.  Even with the huge strides that we have created in technology and science things can still go wrong and nothing can ever be absolutely perfect.  In Dollhouse this is shown because they have this huge organization, just like plastic surgery does, and they have done so much research and science is even more advanced than it is in our world today yet they still can’t obtain perfection.  Things will always go wrong.  This episode allows me to see that even potentially in the future when things are even more researched and advanced than they are today people will still want to be perfect but it still won’t be possible.  This episode has also showed all of the ways that people try to cover up their flaws and come off as someone different than they actually are.  Men want the perfect girl and they go to this dollhouse to get her, even just for a weekend because they can’t find her in real life.  People’s standards are set so high that they feel like they can never overcome them and be perfect for someone.  People put on faces and pretend to be someone that they aren’t because they think they would be better liked.  People get plastic surgery because they think it will make them more attractive and they might find someone.  Many women don’t leave the house without makeup on because they are embarrassed of the way that they naturally look.  It’s really sad that our society has come to this and it’s accepted nowadays.

Blog 25: Discuss in Depth

Plastic surgery is a huge craze in our society today and it’s not really looked poorly upon.  What used to be contained to only the wealthy and famous has now become mainstream and housewives and middle class citizens are beginning to go under the knife.  According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in 2010 there were 13,177, 063 procedures in the United States which is a 77% increase from the year 2000.  So obviously we can see that this is becoming a more popular phenomenon, but why?  The media and society its self places an extraordinary amount of pressure on individuals to be beautiful and perfect.  People look at themselves and see parts of their bodies that they want to change to be more like who and what they see on the TV and in magazines.  But, this isn’t a simple thing to do.  All plastic surgery procedures come with risks and these risks can be deadly.  Some people, even after their procedure, are still not happy with their appearance and oftentimes mistakes happen and they may look worse post-operation.  One example of the dangers of plastic surgery that got attention from the media was in the case of Kanye West’s mother.  She went in to get a few operations done and never walked out.  This got a lot of media attention because one doctor recommended that she only get one at a time and the next doctor agreed to do it.  So, the doctors didn’t really care about her safety they were just in it for the money aspect.  

Blog 24: Bridge

A real world phenomenon that links with this episode is how science is used today in our society in order to make people more perfect. There are so many plastic surgery operations that can be done on the weirdest body parts that you couldn’t even think of someone looking in the mirror and saying that they want that part about them changed.  For example, you can get dimples put on your face, get your toes shortened, get an eyebrow transplant, get your ears pointed like an elf, or even get fake abs on your beer belly.  It’s really strange that people would want these operations because they still come with risks but for some reason people think that they would look better if they got them.  It doesn’t stop with just plastic surgery but also science and the pharmaceutical industry have created so many pills, creams, lotions and stuff that are supposed to get rid of cellulite, wrinkles, fat and anything else you can think of.  These things don’t actually work but the people that create them are making millions because they have convinced American society that if they use them they will look better.  Also, some of these pills are harmful to a person’s health.  Diet pills can do bad things to someone’s body and they have harmful side effects like raising your heart rate and blood pressure, which will make it more likely that you have a heart attack or heart disease.  So basically society’s obsession with perfection is deadly. 

Blog 23: Analyze the Scene

I believe that the argument that is being made by this scene in Dollhouse is that perfection is an unattainable thing.  This doll was created for one job and one job only and she was technically supposed to be the “perfect” person for it but she still messed up.  This proves to me that no matter what kind of science, technology or anything else you can think of cannot make someone perfect.  Perfection is not possible.  This happened in other episodes as well.  The dolls don’t act like they are supposed to; they start being attracted to one another and recognizing each other when they’re not supposed to remember anything at all.  The main point that I am trying to make is that even with tanning, makeup, plastic surgery and everything else that is out there that is supposed to make you prettier, and skinnier, and happier nobody will ever be perfect.  Even celebrities that have had a ton of plastic surgery procedures done on them aren’t perfect and they sometimes are even worse than they started out as.  I think that the perfect person is someone that is happy with who they are and what they look like.  It’s more about confidence in yourself and celebrating the things about yourself that you like, rather than always focusing on the negative things and basically wearing yourself down.  If more people thought this way and actually liked the way that they look then the problems that we have with the media and body image and everything else would disappear.  

Blog 22: Significant Scene

In the episode of Dollhouse called “Gray Hour” Echo is sent in as an expert in order to help three men steal some expensive art from a museum.  First, Echo befriends a large security guard at a hotel next door to the museum after she pretends to be getting harassed and possibly raped by a group of guys during a bachelor party in one of the rooms.  When the guard sees this he takes Echo into a safe room in the basement of the hotel where he says that nobody can find them and offers her a large amount of money just to not tell anyone what had happened upstairs.  Echo then beats him up and he’s unconscious.  Then, she lets the three guys come in and somehow they knock a wall down that lets them in to the storage room of a museum and they go on searching for what they came for.  This entire time Echo has been extremely confident and has gained complete trust in these men and they have seen what exactly she is capable of, and they believe that she is the “perfect” person for the job.  Everything is going great until one of the men; the art expert, leaves the vault with the piece of art they all came for.  Echo makes a call to her handler and tells him to catch him before he gets away.  During the phone call a screech of the same frequency used to erase the doll’s memory is heard and Echo no longer knows where she is, who she is, or what she is supposed to be doing.  This scene proves that nobody is perfect, even when they appear to be.

Blog 21 Integrate a Quote 4

The media plays a huge role in the way that men, and women alike view themselves and their bodies.  Millions of people a day see articles and advertisements featuring beautiful people and aspire to be like what they see. To achieve the appearances of the models and celebrities, many people are more than willing to put their health at risk. “Several studies have found evidence that the rise in the incidence of eating disorders coincided with a decrease in the body weight of women depicted in the and with an increase in the number of articles concerned with weight-loss diets and exercise in major magazines. It has been shown that exposure to the thin-ideal image as portrayed in the media predicts eating disorder symptomatology and produces increased body dissatisfaction, shame, guilt, stress, insecurity, and depression.” (Mahler, 119)  I believe that the main problem with body image is the media.  We see these people that have almost everything about them photoshopped before the picture is shown to the public and we think that this is what we are supposed to look like.  If more brands and companies took the lead, like Dove, and featured average individuals of all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities then I believe that the rate of eating disorders would decrease drastically.  I don’t really understand how this thin-beauty came to be and in all honesty I don’t think that the thin models that I see are really attractive.  I find the average person, who’s bones you can’t see much more attractive. 

Blog 20 Integrate a Quote 3

There are many things that the media has helped us believe make us more beautiful and tanning is one example. “It has been suggested that the primary factor motivating UV exposure is the desire to obtain a tan, and the primary motivating factor for having a tan is the favorable impact that it has on perceptions of physical attractiveness.” (Mahler, 119)  It has been proven in multiple studies that tanner people are rated more attractive than people that are not tan. And, individuals believe that they are more attractive when they are tan; but, are the risks really worth it?  There are between two and three million cases of skin cancer diagnosed every year and the majority of those are due to sun exposure and poor skin protection techniques. “Historically it has not always been considered attractive or desirable to have a tan. Until early in the 20th century, suntanned skin was viewed as indicative of working-class farmers and outdoor laborers, whereas fair skin was associated with wealth and nobility and was viewed as more desirable.” (Mahler, 120) The tan movement began when fashion designer Coco Chanel featured tanned models in one of her shows.  Shortly after, the tan appearance no longer indicated poor lower-class farmers and laborers but instead was indicative of wealth and class.  It is no question that the media played a huge role in making this popular.  The media, especially magazines, featuring models with admirable traits encourages girls to aspire to be like what they see.  They see all these people that are “beautiful” and they will do everything that they can to be like them, even if it’s harmful to their health or deadly. 

Mahler, Heike I. M., Shiloh E. Beckerley, and Michelle T. Vogel. "Effects of Media Images on Attitudes Toward Tanning." Basic & Applied Social Psychology 32.2 (2010): 118-127. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 16 Apr. 2011.

blog 19 Integrate a Quote 3

The Dove campaign for real beauty is "a global effort that is intended to serve as a starting point for societal change and act as a catalyst for widening the definition and discussion of beauty." The main goal of this program is to help girls and women see that they are all beautiful, even if they don’t have the body of a model.  They aim to convince people that beauty is a media creation and that everyone is beautiful in their own unique way.  Instead of having billboards and advertisements with anorexic, thin models they feature ads with women of all different shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicity.  Dove also created a video online called “Evolution” which shows the way an average looking person can be changed into a supermodel with the help of hair and makeup artists, Photoshop, and a computer.  I watched the video myself and I was shocked to see how easy it looked to edit the picture to create something that we saw as beautiful.  The actress started off with her hair down, no makeup on and in the 75 seconds they curled her hair, did her makeup, slimmed her neck, narrowed her face, made her lips fuller, her eyes bigger, and much more.  If this is what happens in Hollywood and what they do for all models in photographs, then of course the average person isn’t going to look like that.  I think that more businesses should make an attempt to feature “real” women in their ads so young girls and people our age can realize that Hollywood isn’t real life. 

Blog 18 Integrate a Quote 2

The Dove campaign for real beauty is "a global effort that is intended to serve as a starting point for societal change and act as a catalyst for widening the definition and discussion of beauty." The main goal of this program is to help girls and women see that they are all beautiful, even if they don’t have the body of a model.  They aim to convince people that beauty is a media creation and that everyone is beautiful in their own unique way.  Instead of having billboards and advertisements with anorexic, thin models they feature ads with women of all different shapes, sizes, ages, and ethnicity.  Dove also created a video online called “Evolution” which shows the way an average looking person can be changed into a supermodel with the help of hair and makeup artists, Photoshop, and a computer.  I watched the video myself and I was shocked to see how easy it looked to edit the picture to create something that we saw as beautiful.  The actress started off with her hair down, no makeup on and in the 75 seconds they curled her hair, did her makeup, slimmed her neck, narrowed her face, made her lips fuller, her eyes bigger, and much more.  If this is what happens in Hollywood and what they do for all models in photographs, then of course the average person isn’t going to look like that.  I think that more businesses should make an attempt to feature “real” women in their ads so young girls and people our age can realize that Hollywood isn’t real life. 

Blog 17 Integrate a Quote 1

In the article, “Celebrity Bodies”, Daniel Harris explains how the medias places and astounding amount of pressure on men and women alike to be thin.  We see advertisements, pictures, and TV shows all the time and the images of what we see and what we aspire to be like are just illogical.  “The typical American woman in 5’4”, weighs 140 pounds, and wears a size 14; the average fashion model is 7 inches taller, 23 pounds lighter and twelve to fourteen sizes smaller. “ (Harris, 1) So, how is it fair that we put ourselves up to these standards?  The average individual can not eat only water, toast and coffee for over two years straight like actress/model, Elisa Donovan.  The average American also needs more than just plain lettuce and grapes for dinner.  Seeing out role models and people that look like they live such lives of glamour puts a lot of pressure on us.  This is one cause of eating disorders and diets among the general population.  Seeing the perfection of these individuals causes both men and women alike to compromise their health in order to attempt to attain these bodies.  Ordinary people will resort to plastic surgery, binge diets, dietary supplements and deadly diet pills; all of which are harmful to our health.  We have to realize that Hollywood actors, actresses, and models are a different type of people and not everyone can look like that in real life. I personally would not want to live my life constantly eating gross food and hating my life.