Patience Pays

The blog this week is supposed to be about how much I feel I've grown from this class in my writing skills from all the reading assigned and discussions that we have participated in. Before this class, I would have considered myself an extroverted kind of person that always had a strong opinion to share and was very stubborn about my ways. I find that through these discussions that we have all helped in creating my strong opinions are swayed and I am becoming more open to different thoughts. I think that the team work has also helped me through my writing. By reading the blogs and perspectives of my fellow classmates it has helped me to be a little more organized in my own writing. I think that being able to have that visual of how they organize theirs, I am able to establish a form for my own writing instead of being all over the place.
Also, my writing, although it still consists of simple informal words, I have learned to use them in a more intellectual and understandable way. By reading books like "Animal Farm" it showed me that even though they used a lot of colloquialism in the book, they were still able to make it a significant piece of literature. It helped me to understand that I am not limited just because my vocabulary is not full to the rim. I can still write well with what I already know, and keep my mind open to that which I have yet to learn. I also learned new vocabulary and different ways to express myself through "Reading Lolita in Tehran". I loved the way she was able to express herself and the beautiful metaphors she used such as comparing her own little world she created to "Wonderland". I try to use more metaphorical phrases since I have read that book because the way she is able to use that rhetorical device brings the book to life and makes it more personable to the reader and much easier to truly understand.
Although I had a tough time in our group projects because sometimes I felt bad that I could not constantly be on blackboard, we were able to compromise our parts through teamwork. It helped me realize that I can work with a team and be part of something bigger. It allowed me to see that my point of view has an impact on others thoughts as well as theirs on mine. So far this class has obviously taught me a lot and made its footprints on my writing skills, but i know I have a long way to go. My abilities to write are still growing and it will take me a long time till it is in full bloom, but with a little patience I know I will be able to reach my full potential.

Dictator Nutritionist? I Think Not.

I found this comic when I was online researching for my Nutrition class. I could not help but feel angry when I saw this. For one, I don't see how it is funny I guess maybe I have a different perspective on humor, and secondly, The artist is trying to use the image of a government nutritionist in form of a dictator to provoke the people of America.

I do not think the government nutritionist is someone that should be the target of humor. I understand that given the recent circumstances it might seem that way, but the nutritionists are just trying to do their job and make America a healthier place. I heard on the radio just yesterday, that they are going to cut back on salt in different foods at the market to hopefully cut back on the sodium intake in America's diet. One of the radio hosts made a valid point that I agree with. It does not matter if we take the salt out of the food because the reason we have salt at home is to make our foods as salty as we like it. Even though I agree with this I still think it is worth a try, maybe we can figure out another way, with less expense, to make it taste as good as we like it. Even if it doesn't, hey you never know, maybe it will be better for the economy because we won't have to pay for the extra salt in the food.

The purpose of stating the above is to point out that nutritionist are doing their best to make America healthier. They are not trying to be something they are not ( like a dictator lol), they are just trying to do their job just as we are. I went to Canada in January to see my sister get her master's and I was in for a huge culture shock. It was crazy to see that everyone around me was in the best shape and the only overweight people around were tourists from other countries. The reason for their healthiness was because having a car was really inconvenient in Vancouver, and having to walk all over instead of drive benefited their health. They cooked a lot at home also instead of going to fast food restaurants. It could have just been the farmer's market with a great selection of produce that motivated them to do so, but I think that we need to take some advice from the Canadians.

It took this to really help me see what is happening to America. When I came back I faced the fact and completely understood that we are an overweight country. Sometimes people can't help it, but most of us can we just choose not to and honestly, I hate to admit it, but we are lazy. So let's not bash on someone that is trying to extend our lifetimes and get us to the peak of our health. The only way we can be healthy is if we take things step by step. Instead of taking out our frustration with our poor health on innocent government nutritionist, why don't we take that first step, get out of our cars and walk to places close enough, and start making more home cooked meals.

Fat Chance or Fair Chance?

So this week's blog subject is a little different and requires a different sort of introduction. The prompt is to write about how I would feel if a leader of a known hate group were invited to speak at my school. That is kind of a strange thought to me. My first thought that came to my mind was fat chance! That's the last thing I want to do! Then I thought I have always frowned against hate groups and gangs of all types, but then again if I were to stop this man from voicing his thoughts I would be forcing him to give up his freedom of speech and I am a huge believer in freedom of speech..most of the time.

I think it would be interesting to hear the viewpoints of a person with that kind of social status. I have never been subjected to anything related to that because I was raised in fairly safe family neighborhoods and I was always forced to endure the uniformity (including those awful uniforms) and strict teachings that private schools have to offer lucky students. I've been told more than once, actually more than I can count that I was raised in a very sheltered and protected atmosphere. When I think about it even though these men belong to hate groups and live very different lives they are still people and are worth giving a chance..unless they've committed some unforgivable inhumane act. It might have been something that happened in there lives that left them in such an emotional wreck that motivated them to join a hate group in the first place.

What is freedom of speech exactly? It's the ability and privilege to say what you want when you want. When you were younger whenever you were caught doing something wrong that broke the house rules what happened? Most people are grounded meaning that their privileges are taken away like watching tv, going out, or using the phone. When you were in high school and texted people out of control how did your parents feel about that? They probably punished you by taking away texting..that is if you did not have unlimited texting in the first place ;). The point of my ranting is to prove that when a privilege is abused it is taken away. We may have freedom of speech, but censorship is what is helping us keep it. If this leader were to speak at school I think I would welcome him as I would any other speaker because he deserves that chance to say what he has to say, as long as he doesn't abuse that privilege. Idon't think of the freedoms we are given as freedom I think of them as privileges because America's special in that way. We are offered these wonderful things that other countries have not even considered making legal.

Also, I find it wrong to make assumptions. It is actually one of my biggest pet peeves. To assume is to prove yourself naive and to know is to prove yourself wise. okay okay so I made that up, but sounds like something I could find in a fortune cookie and it sounded good to me. If I was to assume that this leader were automatically a horrible person with no family and no friends and not even give him a chance I might be missing out on an opportunity that I might never have the chance to get back. I hate it when people make assumptions about me so why do it to this person? I know what your thinking, this guy basically builds his hate group off of assumptions of a specific group of people. Have you ever heard of the saying two wrongs don't make a right? I'm sure you have because that one I didn't make up. I'm sure everyone's been told that once or twice by their loving grandmothers. I think maybe we need to heed their words a little more often. I would give him a chance and let him speak his mind because this country is all about giving people the fair chance.

Self-Respect: The Yellow Brick Road to Happiness

If I had to choose between self-respect or happiness I would have to say that is kind of an odd question. It seems apparent to me and extremely obvious that the two go hand in hand with one another. Personally I think that self-respect is something that is required in order to be completely happy. Without self-respect there will always be something nagging at the back of your brain and you will have no strength left from being so extremely self-conscious that you won't have the time to be happy. What is self-respect to you? Self respect to me is a person's ability to have confidence, take pride in what they have, and also be proud of what they have accomplished. Self-respect is more than just a characteristic, it is a way of living. To live with self-respect means to live with being yourself and not wanting to change who you are. It is to live with the thought that everything you do is your very own way and you are neither hypocritical nor trying to be something your not. In order to have self respect one has to accept themselves fully for who they are. They have to realize that everyone has their imperfections and because they are your very own, your imperfections are perfectly perfect for your imperfect self. And lastly self respect is having the ability to look in the mirror and not look at everything that is wrong with you, but realize that there are so many greater things about yourself that outshine your flaws.

Happiness. How can you be happy unless you have self respect. I don't think anyone can be completely happy unless they are happy with themselves. If a person dislikes themselves and considers themselves to be happy they are living a lie and are therefore not happy. A person may say that they have given up all their self respect in order to be happy for instance, with the person they love and want to spend their life with, but honestly, they have a healthy dose of self respect. They respect themselves by respecting their choices and believing that it is the right decision. It is the confidence in making that choice that enables a person to live in a happy situation. People who work in places that are thought to be demeaning like stripper clubs are only using their jobs that are considered to be taking away their self-dignity in order to transition into a happier life. With these jobs people are allowed to reap the benefits they need in order to sustain life.

There are so many characteristics that come hand in hand with "self respect". There are dignity, pride, humbleness, faithfulness, perserverence, confidence, and hopefulness just to name a few. I say faithfulness because if a person does not have the capacity to stay faithful I feel that they lack the self-confidence to realize the good that they have. I say perserverence because a person with self- respect does not just give up when they believe something is right. They don't let their beliefs be shoved into the corner because a person with self-respect knows that their opinion means something no matter how huge the world is. I say hopefulness as a part of self-respect because it is necessary to have hope in order to sustain life and remain happy even through the hardest times. In Greek Myths they say that when Pandora was made as punishment to make the lives of men basically miserable, she was given a box. She was told not to open it because if she did the worst things that one could ever think of would be released like stress, frustration, and other things that tend to make life hard for us. Out of curiosity she opened the box and released illness and other horrible things into the world, but it is said that the only thing that remained in the box was hope. I don't mean to preach to you about Greek Mythology, I merely am trying to prove a point. Hope stayed in the box because if hope is released then hope is lost. Hope is necessary to stay in the minds of men because it brings happiness and wishing into those hearts that suffer during hard times. Self-respect sounds like its something simple to understand, but in writing this I realize that it is more like a large theory that is changed from person to person. This is just my theory about self-respect and happiness. It's like a math problem. Without self-respect, the equation can never equal happiness.