Girls Workout Too

     I walk into the room and am immediately taken aback; it smells like body odor mixed with the bit of cologne left over from the morning spritz. The smell alone is enough to make a girl turn around and walk right back out the door. But, if by some miracle you can make it past all that, you are met with, possibly, a more obnoxious issue: the boys themselves. Before I am even five feet into the room, all the boys have stopped working out and have turned to me. All eyes are on me as if they have never seen a girl workout before. I awkwardly make my way to the exercise bike, aware that they are still watching. I see some of the boys whisper to their 'buddies', but I act like I don't notice. Instead, I smile at them and put my earbuds in. "Working out is my biggest hobby … I just zone out," (Zac Efron). For the next half hour I don't even think about the boys, I just do what I came to do: workout. When I'm finally done, I take out my earbuds and make my way for the door. Just as I am walking out one of the boys calls out to me, saying something about my body-but I just keep walking. A minute later a boy says to his friend, "Thank god she's gone, I hate when girls come in here. It's not like they actually want to workout." At that moment I silently vowed to come back whenever possible, if only to prove myself to that one boy. That sure was an eye opening experience, who knew the workout room at Troy High was so sexist?

Tradition Reimagined

      Marriage means, by definition, the state of being united as spouses in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law. Nowhere in this definition does it say that one must have a huge reception, or that one must spend thousands of dollars on one night, or even that one must be married in a church. Why then, are people judged so harshly when they get married at an in-n-out wedding place in Vegas? The answer is simple: social standards. Society tells us that we must all follow the age old tradition associated with marriage. Tradition states that you be married in a church, the couple be of opposite sex, the bride be wearing a long white dress with a beautifully stitched veil, and the venue be filled with countless friends, family members, and coworkers you barely tolerate. However, society is changing, and these traditions are quick to follow. Nowadays the couple does not necessarily have to be a man and a woman. In addition, wedding dresses are becoming bolder each year. Likewise, you can get married on a beach, in your backyard, or even in a Taco Bell. After all, who would want that four course meal at the reception when you could have a $4 bean burrito and a Baja Blast Freeze, on the house? All these changes to tradition have been allowed, if not happily accepted. So, how come getting married in Vegas is still considered so 'trashy' and 'impulsive'? Perhaps it is because of the belief "that there is no "time" in Las Vegas, no night and no day and no past and no future," (Didion). Or, maybe it's because of the popular saying, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." It could even be the fact that Vegas just has that reputation. Regardless, marriage is not defined by where you get married, or by how long the ceremony is, or even by how much you spend on the whole ordeal. The only aspect of a wedding that truly matters is the love between the bride and groom.

 Waking up in Vegas by Katy Perry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-pUaogoX5o

 

 

 

My Morning Ritual

                Each morning my alarm clock rings at 5:20 am. I groggily wake up, check my phone and get out of bed. The next step in my morning ritual is to make a fruit salad, after all I want to maintain a nice figure. After eating it's off to the bathroom for the most important part: putting on my face for the day. Foundation, concealer, highlight, blush, eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, chapstick. I have to cover every little imperfection, lest someone see the real me. Once my face is made, I have to deal with an even bigger challenge: my hair. Fifteen minutes later and my uncontrollable hair is burned pin-straight. Last but certainly not least is my outfit, after all, all eyes are on me right? Now I'm ready to face my friends.

                Wow, I never realized how ridiculous my morning routine, or ritual if you will, truly is. However, Horace Miner reveals just how narcissistic Americans are. Miner writes, "The focus of this [ritual activity] is the human body, the appearance and health of which loom as a dominant concern in the ethos of the people." When I initially read this I completely disagreed, until I took a moment to reflect on my morning ritual. After thinking about it I realized that the majority of my morning is devoted to trying to make myself look different, to make myself look better. Miner really calls to attention an issue that never occurred to me before: why do we go through this ridiculous, extensive ritual each day? Maybe because our appearance contributes to our ethos. In our society the ones who receive the most attention are the ones who appear the most attractive, the most put together. After all, we all follow this ritualistic mindset. As far as we are concerned, the way we look is what is most important. Most cultures would call this narcissistic, or at the very least self-centered, but for us that's just being an American.

Actions Speak Louder than Words

           "Yell to start," is what my Father would tell me, screaming across the empty soccer field. He liked to let me think I had an advantage, but I never did. As soon as I yelled, "start", I started running, full speed towards the goal, towards my father. As I ran, I felt the wind whipping the hair about. I felt the grass underneath my cleats, helping me to grip the ground , that way I wouldn't stumble. But, most of all I felt the adrenaline pumping through my veins just as I approached the goal. At the last second I had to choose my corner, this would decided if I made the goal or not. With the goal line in sight I picked my corner and let the ball fly, confident I had scored. But of course my dad blocked it; I always had to miss.

            This was the relationship I had with my Father, a.k.a my coach. My whole childhood I wanted to impress my dad, and the way to do that was through soccer, his sport. As Brad Manning stated, "His words were physical." Not that he never said he loved me, but I think we connected more when we were playing soccer. He would constantly practice with me, tell me what I was doing wrong, and push me to be better. With every comment, I felt closer to him. Maybe he didn't leave me notes in my lunch bag, but that's okay. "Our communication was physical, and that is why we did things like [play soccer]."