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]."

They're just like us

            All my life I have been exposed to people with disabilities. In fact, my younger cousin has a disability; he's autistic. Regardless, it never occurred to me that there was anything wrong with him, probably because there isn't. Unfortunately, the rest of the world doesn't see it this way. Countless times I have heard people make comments about people with disabilities. I even hear some people making fun of people with disabilities, as if they chose to be that way. Having a disability isn't a choice, if anything it's a test. People with disabilities inherently have a more challenging time doing just about anything than people who don't have a disability. However, it isn't the disability that keeps them from doing different things, it's the stereotype they have. Just like Nancy Mairs wrote in Disability, "It’s not about a woman who happens to be physically disabled; it's about physical disability and the determining factor of a woman's existence." For people with disabilities, the possibilities aren't endless. After all, the very definition of the word disability, as defined by dictionary.com, suggests that having a disability creates limits: a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities.

            Recently I have been getting more involved in activities meant to help people with disabilities. There are numerous events held for disabled people that are meant to help them experience normal activities. In fact, I recently went to a dance held for people with disabilities. Being at an event like this was truly eye opening. Going to this dance helped me to bond with other kids who are just like my cousin. Talking to other kids with disabilities helped me to get to know them, looking beyond their disability. These kids have the same interests as me: they play games, eat pizza, play with their pets, even complain about school. People say that kids with disabilities are different, some even say weird. But how can you say that when you don't know them? When all you know is that they have a disability? But, how does having a disability affect your personality? It doesn't. Maybe we look down upon people with disabilities because it makes us feel powerful. Maybe we do it because it helps us to deal with the fear that at any moment we could become just like them? Maybe we just do it because that's what society tells us to do?

Here is a podcast I made with my cousin about disabilities:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3_Tlawl9DToVzd5bGpNYWVQeWZfTXZHVG9BY1FYaWJLT00w/view?usp=sharing

Never Stop Dreaming

      I remember being a kid, when everything was a dream. I dreamed out my entire life. I would grow up to be an actress, I would have six kids, a wonderful husband, a mansion, and a purple sports car. Pretty unrealistic right? Now maybe, but when I was seven years old, anything was possible to me. In fact the bigger the dream, the better it was. But I guess as you grow up reality has to set in. Now, I don't aim to be an actress, I want to be a lawyer. I hope I'll have a wonderful husband, but I'll settle for three kids, it's a little more manageable than six. And I think I’ll trade in my mansion and purple sports car for a cute two story house in the suburbs and a nice soccer mom van. This is my new dream. I still like to entice myself by dreaming up unrealistic futures for myself in which I'm living my childhood dreams out, but like I said, at some point you must grow up. Times change and people change, sometimes your dreams must too. However, Beneatha from A Raisin in the Sun refuses to accept this. She wants to be a doctor in a world in which women don't do that. After all, "It's not every day a woman decides to be a doctor," (A Raisin in the Sun). Beneatha refuses to accept this stereotype and tries to pursue her dream, even if she is ridiculed for doing it. So which way is right? Altering your childhood fantasies so they become realistic, or refusing to let go of your dreams? Maybe they both are. After all, C.S. Lewis once said,"You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." 

57 Songs about dreams: https://spinditty.com/playlists/Songs-About-Dreams-and-Dreaming

Is wealth beneficial or detrimental?

     In my opinion, wealth isn't really beneficial to people. In fact, I think it's more detrimental than beneficial. Now, before I come off sounding crazy, let me explain myself. 

     In The Great Gatsby, the entire novel is characterized by wealth. Who can you marry? Someone who is high up on the social change, and has lots of money of course. How does Gatsby plan to impress Daisy? By throwing extravagant parties to show everyone, especially her, just how much money he had. And Myrtle? She doesn't have an affair with someone who is poor, oh no, she has an affair with Tom who is clearly higher class than her husband, Mr. Wilson.   All their decisions are motivated by their desire for one thing: wealth. These people put wealth before everything else in their lives, and in each case it eventually leads to their downfall. 

      As for the detrimental effects of wealth in The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, I think it’s safe to say that each characters life was severely altered due to the wealth of the Washington family. The sisters, for instance, were merely fools who were kept so out of the loop of the rest of the world that they weren't even aware that slavery had been abolished ages ago. And Mr. Washington, well his wealth led him to the conclusion that he was almighty, he even believed he could bribe God. This platonic conception of himself and his wealth that Mr. Washington holds soon leads to his, as well as his wife and son's, death. 

     So, if you ask me, wealth only leads to destruction and devastation. Bob Marley once said, "The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively," and I couldn't agree more.