Farewell 1st Semester!

This semester has flown by quickly. I must say walking through the corridors on the first day of school was frightening to me. I did not know what to expect from college; I presumed it would be this ridiculously challenging and unenjoyable experience, but I can conclude it was neither.

I was challenged with my writing skills and I believe I learned a lot from my first semester. I wrote at least one paper every night and I know it improved my writing; I guess I can thank my college for pressuring students to write better. Managing my time between school and work while trying to obtain a good grade point average was my most challenging task this semester. I managed to have a good social life and did many fun activities, met great new people and even joined a really nice sorority.

I am happy to say my classes gave me a lot of insight on what my future career would be if I chose it and thanks to my professors, I definately know what my career choice will be. My first semester at college was enjoyable, although I did not love every minute of it, the majority of the time was spectacular. I only hope that the semesters to follow will exceed or measure up to Fall of 2007.

Baby -> teen ->pill?

In USA Today there was an article called Others not likely to follow school’s contraception move. This article was written by Wendy Koch and it is displaying many different opinions about whether or not schools should provide contraceptives to teens, even children.

Portland public school has been providing birth control including the pill, patch and implants. They have also been providing condoms since 2000. The health center is in the school and the parents do have a say in whether or not their child can use it, but what they do not know is what the health center is providing to the school. Surprisingly enough middle schools in both Baltimore and Seattle have been providing birth control since 1990. They say the teen pregnancies have been dropping about 37% since 1990, however, others do not agree with dispensing of these ‘protections’ in schools.

Charmaine Yoest from Family Research Council says it is ‘insane’ to provide birth control to middle schools since the students are so young, some even as young as eleven. There is a big difference between middle schools and high schools. The worse part about providing the pill besides students thinking it is ‘ok’ to have sex at such a young age is that it does not protect from sexually transmitted diseases. I could not agree more with Charmaine.

There will constantly be debates on whether or not providing birth control and condoms to children as young as eleven is right or not, but I must say my opinion is significantly against it. By providing children with birth control at such a young age, I feel it is encouraging them to experiment with the opposite sex, since they have easy access to ‘protection.’ I think providing birth control to any schools is ridiculous because then students will think it is the right choice to be having pre-marital sex. Besides children having sex at such a young age, birth control has many side effects and should not be taken unless doctor prescribed for a specific reason. So not only are schools allowing sex to occur at such a young age, but they are risking dangers to their students health.

Mona Lisa Smile.

One of the most fabulous movies in this decade created was Mona Lisa Smile. It stars Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst and Julia Stiles. It takes place in the 1950's in an art history class of a well known finishing school for girls.

The girls and instructors their have one main thing in common, their purpose in life is to get engaged, marry and have children. They go to finishing school to 'waste time' before they are married and learn how to keep the proper household. One teacher in particular takes a stand by showing her class that women have more potential than is expected.

Ms. Watson teaches art history to a gorup of girls and teaches them to view art as not just a curriculum or requirement, to really see it what it was made for. What is the arts purpose and who justified it as art? The best part of this movie is the compare and contrasting of women's role in the world to art. She made a significant difference and would not change her standards to please anyone. I hope to become a Ms. Watson someday when I am a teacher.

I would recommend this movie to anyone, it is inspiring and parts of it can not be put into words.

Look how far we've come.

Feminism is an issue that I am extremely passionate about. I was always against people who looked down upon women as just a house-wife or a care taker. Women have come so far since the early 1900's it is truly remarkable.

Back then, women were not allowed to vote, become educated or hold their own opinion. They were treated basically as Caucasian slaves and their duties were to clean the house, cook for their family and take care of the children. They were like 'stepford wives' while the husband went to work and returned later that evening.

Thankfully, feminism began and women fought back for their rights as citizens of the United States and the world. No matter where they lived, all women deserved the right of freedom; freedom to speak aloud, hold positions in the government, hold jobs etc. Now women can attend any schooling they want and can afford. There are opportunities galore concerning jobs, women can become anything they set their mind too, even some positions in the army.

I hope that one day while I am still alive their is a women president to lead this country. I am curious as to see how the country will change, for the better or worse. I want the country to completely over-throw feminism and become a world leader.

Smoke your life away?

Smoking is a horrible habit that only seems to make health issues worse for everyone, even the non-smoker. I have never touched a cigarette in my life and I do not plan on it. It stinks, pollutes the air and kills many. I recently have seen commercials on TV showing all the bad effects smoking has on everyone and how much harm it truly does to the body. I somehow don't see the necessity everyone sees in smoking? If you are stressed out, eat or drink something else that won't cause lung cancer or other fatal diseases. And the worst are people who smoke to lose weight; if you are not happy with how you look physically, go on a healthier diet plan. In today's world, we have the knowledge of all the negativities smoking brings and still people have yet to come to terms with its true affects. If I were part of the government, I'd ban smoking completely.

Wickedly Good!

On November 7th, 2007, I sat in my not so confortable seat high above the crowd below me. I anxiously waited for the red curtain to open and for the magic to appear. And as the curtain lifted slowly, the band chimed with its intense music. The audience felt alive at that very instant, or atleast, I did.

The stage was covered in Emerald green decor. The singing and dancing was magnificant, there were joy and sorrow filling the air with every note that was sung. For the most part, I love broadway plays. It is New York City's way to unleash true talent in a formal setting.

To sum it up, if you have ever seen the original Wizard of Oz movie, seeing Wicked will change your mind completely. It is about Elphaba, who is the "Wicked Witch of the West." She is green colored and is treated poorly because of this rare condition and has the obligation of taking care of her not so appreciative ill sister. She meets "Ga-linda" who is your typical prototype of a shallow, ditzy blonde. I have nothing against blondes, since I am one myself, but she portrayed blondes as dumber than a stump. They become good friends, but their wits lead to different, even fatal paths, or so you would think.

The acting and singing is quite possibly the best I have seen in years. The played poured with emotions and laughter. I refuse to give any significant details of this play, all I can say is buy your tickets now!

CHRISTmas.

Christmas has become an advertisement holiday. The decorations, lights and stores have advertised it since before Halloween lately. It is ridiculous how every other holiday is completely ignored and not even compared to Christmas.

Halloween is pretty big on decor, but Thanksgiving is not even considered a holiday anymore. Everyone is in a bustle, rushing around to buy the latest gifts. Thanksgiving is a traditional holiday and does not require gift giving, besides the delicious foods. Just because their are no material rewards in Thanksgiving, does that mean it's justified to just forget about it all together?

Don't get me wrong, Christmas is my favorite holiday. The season is absolutely joyful, i love everything about it. I just hate how everyone forgot its true meaning. Christmas is a Catholic holiday, celebrating the birth of Christ. It's not about presents or even Santa Clause. It should be a family oriented holiday celebrating love, friendship and happiness.