The media and Beauty

  The Dove commercials on youtube that we watched conveyed very strong messages about the media and how it portrays "beauty."  The first one I viewed, showed a little girl at the very beginning and then the various things that people do to their body, face, and hair to be "beautiful."  It shows pretty graphic things for a commercial and really makes you realize how the media does give young girls a distorted image of what beauty really is.  Young girls have minds like a sponge, and some of them will strive to be perfect and go to any extremes to get there.  Plastic surgery was shown in the commercial, which usually isn't a healthy way to achieve beauty.  Beauty is something you should realize you have without all the alterations the media is encouraging.

  The media is targetting women and pressuring them to be something that they're simply not.  In the second commercial, it shows an average woman, then applies a large amount of make-up to her, then does her hair, and after everything is done her pictures are altered on the computer.  This just shows that nobody really has the "beauty" that the media portrays. This is why the quote at the end that says "talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does" fits perfect..because young girls will think that people really do look how they're portrayed through the media.

Beauty doesn't require make up!

  Overall, I thought the commercials were an eye opener.  Nobody is perfect, but the beauty is in the imperfections.

Upcoming Freshman..

10 pieces of advice for upcoming freshman

1. If you eat alone in the dinning centers, eat in the corner.  The tables in the corner are usually smaller, and less noticeable, making it less embarrassing to be eating alone.
2. Use the least amount of dishes you can while eating at dinning centers.  Since they don't have trays, it's annoying to have to carry a bunch of dishes to the dishwashers.  If you reuse the same plate, you won't have this problem.
3. Take advantage of the fresh fruit.  Fruit is expensive, especially fresh cut fruit.  Since you probably won't be able to afford it yourself, eat as much as you can in the dinning centers.
4.  Drink a lot of milk!  Milk is also pricey, so drink as much as you can in the dinning centers.  It's also A.E. so it's not cheap gross milk. :)
5.  Don't eat yourself too full.  Eating yourself really full is how you will gain "the freshman 15". 
6.  Be respectful.  When you put your dishes on the belt to go in the kitchen, take your silverware off and put it where it needs to go.  It won't put you too much behind schedule.
7.  Try new things.  The dinning center has more than you think, so you should try everything so that you don't limit yourself to eating only a few things for nine months.
8.  Go easy on the pop.  It seems easy to guzzle down the soda since the machines are right there, but the milk, water, and juice is also right there and a lot better for you.  Pop is full of empty calories.
9.  Take advantage of the workout centers!  The workout facilities are free, and very nice.  It's also a nice way to relieve some stress throughout the week.
10.  Always say "thank you".  The cooks in the dinning centers work hard to prepare a good meal for thousands of students, and they would probably like to hear the words "thank you" every once in a while.

Fear of sharks

About three years ago, I went to Florida for my fourth time.  While being there, we went to the beach, where I went parasailing for my first time.  I'm deathly afraid of deep ocean waters, and especially sharks. So my family and I get on the small boat to drive to the parasailing boat.  As we're driving, I'm talking about my fear of sharks.  Before I knew it, the boat driver had stopped the boat and picked me up and launched me into the water.  Everyone was laughing on the boat, including the cute boy I had been eyeing since we were on shore. As I struggled to the side of the boat and try and pull myself up, just as I'm almost in, a huge wave washed over my entire body and as the water runs down, so do the bottoms of my swimsuit.  So there I was, dangling on the side of a shanty boat, half naked, trying not to be shark food. :(

Nickle and Dimed

Wal- Mart worker, Nickel and Dimed.  Image from google.

Out of everything we have read in this class thus far, Nickel and Dimed is my favorite.  I think it's a great book for freshman students to read, because it's motivating and it makes a person want to do something with their life.  It's pretty much saying that this is how you're going to live if you don't attend college.  College is very overwhelming at first, but reading this book actually made me feel reassured about my decision to come here. My hard work will pay off in the end so I don't have to be working low-end jobs, and living in motels, and not knowing when my next meal will be, hopefully.  I haven't even finished the book yet and I'm very impressed. I'm excited to see how this novel will end.