Imagine

This was probably the hardest blog for me yet. I'm not the best in analyzing songs, and I hate politics so finding a song that goes along with the issues of today's society hasn't been something that seemed to catch my total interest. Once I got started on it tonight, I realized that it wasn't so bad.

 Being included in one of the world's most famous bands at one point, the Beatles, John Lennon continues to create inspirational music, and I believe that "Imagine" is one song that can connect to the world today.

A lot of people live life in their straight-forward lifestyle. They are used to having food on the table, living the perfect life not realizing that there are people out there who don't get the things we all get, who don't live the life we do. And when Lennon's says:

"Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world..."

This made me realize that the world is pretty greedy, maybe not the world, but America. He said it perfectly, "Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can." There are so many people who believe that they can't live without any of their possessions and that those are what life is about, and that's what the world has come to. All we care about the things, the money, and that makes us greedy. If we were a world of "brotherhood" and honestly "sharing all the world.." think of how much we could provide for one another and how many people would be better off in the world. That's not the case though, and it won't ever be.

Another verse that really stood out to me was that I believed really stood out to me was when he sang the lines:

"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace..."

The world is so caught up in fighting. There have been wars that go on for so long, and no to mention pointless wars. If we truly did imagine a world without countries, everything would be as one, which is what he says in his main lyrics--" I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one." We don't think that way, we think of ourselves as seperate, each out country, each fighting for ourselves. Then where does the peace come in? It doesn't. We fight because of religion too, constantly. There have been so many problems because of the fact that some people didn't think that others should follow a faith, which in return created fights. We have to work together and find peace.

I just believe that Lennon is an amazing musician. The songs that he writes are so moving, and I just found this one to fit this blog post perfectly. The world would be a better place if we had the lives he mentioned, and didn't only fight for our own individual selves all the time. The world can be selfish, whether its the country itself or a person. It doesn't matter, but we could have the potential to "be as one".

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Needles

Long, pointy, silver—needle; everyone has to experience them at some point, even if they cause fear. The doctors don't let you get away with it; they just stick that sharp point into your skin and cause deliberate pain.

Growing up I would get shots all the time and be fine with them, it wasn’t until one day when I had a thick, four-inch long needle jabbed into my knee. I had continuous knee pain and we couldn’t figure it out. My mom took me to a variety of doctors, but they just couldn’t come up with any results. One day I went to a sports medicine doctor who worked specifically with knee issues. He didn't say much. He was in the room and then out, the next thing I know he's injecting me with some dye to see how my knee will react in the MRI. I had no idea this was coming, because he didn't warn me. I was scared out of my mind, but there was no way of getting out of it now. He claimed that it wouldn't only take two seconds and then my knee would go numb. The only thing I can remember is the needle.

To this day I am extremely afrain of needles. It's gotten to the point where I have to have doctors hold me down when I get shots. Each time I go in and see the needle, I instantly remember the pain and then it freaks me out. I have no pain tolerance at all! I hate anything that hurts me, and just looking at a needle can actually make my arm sting. It's horrible, I hate it, and I hate needles. They are pointy, and they hurt! Not to mention that whatever they put in your arm doesn't feel good either, it hurts too.

It's crazy to think that a needle in my knee caused my fear, but it was honestly the largest needle I have ever seen in my life. I don't remember the amount of pain it created, but it's made me afraid of any sort of shot that I have to get now and needles. I hate them! They are scary!

Benedict Carey's Op-ed

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/health/19babies.html?src=me&ref=general

This article is about the fact that children under the age of two are learning nothing from sitting in front of a TV. Instead, children under the age of two learn in an environment where they can interact with objects or people. Since these children are still developing, they have a harder time understanding what they are watching. In fact, they don't necessarily understand much of anything they are watching. Parents argue that it is an escape for them, because they sometimes need that time for themselves to deal with work, shower, or other quick tasks at home. Unfortunately the best way to get these tasks done is by placing the children in front of a TV screen to keep them occupied. This is the cause of children not being taught to their fullest potential, and because of that parents are being advised to limit the amount of time they put their children in front of a TV.

This article is very well-written. It provides a variety of different statistics which helps their opinion become more plausible. Along with that, the article isn't too pushy, it advises, but doesn't say that this is something that you have to do. As a reader, I felt that the approach of Carey's opinion made his point come off in a more appreciated tone. He wasn't yelling at parents for what they were doing, or bashing them, instead he was bringing to attention the downfalls of children under the age of two watching TV. If he would have been criticizing what other parents were doing, then this essay would have been a harder read for parents because they could become really defensive, but he didn't do that. Therefore he made his opinion clear and positive, which provided a great op-ed.

Deaf vs. Hearing

Sound and Fury was a very unique movie that allowed for its viewers to really think about culture and what it means to live in a world that is so different from someone else’s. The main issue that was brought up in the movie was a cochlear implant. This is something that is implanted in your head and can make someone deaf have the ability to hear. Heather, a four-year-old girl, was debating getting a cochlear implant. She wanted to hear, talk on the phone, and communicate with her hearing friends and extended family. The problem that arose from Heather's idea of a cochlear implant was the fact that her entire family is deaf. Even with her family being deaf, I believe that Heather should have gotten the cochlear implant.

Growing up in today's society isn't always easy for people who can hear, let alone someone who is deaf. Heather wants to hear the sounds around her, and the cochlear implant would allow her to experience those sounds. It would be a little more difficult for Heather to learn English or any language, but she could still do it and perfect it with time. When you are a baby and get this implant, you have a much easier time learning to speak because you are learning the language just like all other babies. Heather could is still young enough that she could still learn the language, but she would just have a harder time because she would be less developed compared to other of her age.

Although this could benefit Heather, her family completely disagrees with her idea. They think that it's completely against their culture. She is born deaf, her family is deaf, why not stay deaf? That all makes sense, but if Heather has this opportunity, her parents should take into account the benefits that could come from a cochlear implant

Heather would have the chance to live the best of both worlds. She could use speech and along with that her native language, sign language. She would be able to have professions that aren't necessarily available to people who are deaf. It's sad to think that way, but the hearing world isn't forced to learn sign language so the majority doesn’t necessarily know how to sign. That means at malls, restaurants, gas stations, libraries, schools, and other public places, they won't always know how to sign and there would be a lack of communication.

Heather wouldn't be giving up her culture; she would just be gaining hearing. She would still need to use sign language at home, and therefore she is still staying actively involved in the "deaf world". It's similar in the way that sometimes people, who speak Spanish as their native language, learn how to speak English fluently, but at home still use Spanish whenever they speak. Heather would become bilingual and what a neat thing for her. She would have many more opportunities in the world because she can speak English and sign. Her parents might not agree with it, but if they set aside their feelings and think of Heather, maybe they would realize that this would be the best thing for Heather. It might make them upset, but she is still deaf, she just can speak too.

Even as the mother of Heather, she considered getting a cochlear implant but when she heard that it’s much harder for an adult she reconsidered. Not only did she reconsider for herself, but for Heather too. Parents can affect their kids a lot and that’s what I believe happened. They made it seem like it was such a bad idea and then they began to involve Heather in a world of all deaf people. Of course taking Heather to a school where the children can hear wouldn’t be a good idea, because she can’t communicate with them at this moment. She still can’t hear because she doesn’t have the implant, so she is deaf. I just feel like what they did to her was unfair, they made her believe it was bad. The grandma was right; they are taking away so much from this little girl. I understand that growing up Heather’s parents didn’t have it easy, but they know what it was like. I feel that Heather’s parents took away a great opportunity for her, and she should have gotten the cochlear implant. Put all negative feelings aside and think of the little girl, not yourselves.

The Words of the Wise

As I found myself browsing over all the different words that the president's have used since 1789, I found myself to be rather surprised at how much certain words were used and at how little words were used.

When I think of a new president, I think of improvement. For some reason it has always seemed to me that when a new president takes office, he is going to work on something and make our nation a better place. Looking through the words used by the presidents, I realized my assumption was way off. There were only two presidents who even had that word listed. I guess it's not as popularly used as I thought. Although there were some words that didn't surprise me all that much.

During the time I was looking for improvement, I seemed to notice how often nation and government were used. It seemed to me that those two words were very common in almost all of the president's speeches. Sometimes, through the early years, these words weren't as common, but as the years turned towards being more current the usage of those words were very high.

Through this activity, I was able to really think about the words that presidents commonly use in their speech, and I thought that was really neat. It got me to be creative in the ways in which some of the presidents used so many of the unpopular words that were so frequently used by them as an individual. Hopefully throughout the course we will have more opportunities to do more activities like this.

The View Point of Writing in My World

Writing can be interpreted in a number of ways. There are people who write every single day of their life and love it, people who write because they are forced to, and people who write because it just keeps them busy. Well for me, I write because I have to. But that doesn’t meant that I can’t find joy in it or have an opinion on the way I write.

The way I write isn't unique in anyway, I just sit on my laptop and type. I allow for the words to flow out and that's what ends up on my computer, even my final draft. Then again after I ramble a lot, it leaves me with a lot of corrections to be made. 

I always follow a typical paper format, with an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusions, but sometimes it doesn't always end up being read the same way I thought I wrote it. I overthink my writing a lot and want to add in a bunch of fancy words so that I sound more sophisticated because to me, if teachers don't feel like you are using good word choice, then your paper "sucks". That's why I find myself being forced to write rather that actually writing for fun.

Although there are quite a few times when I will find myself writing for fun and that's when I enjoy it the most. I just say what I want, without worries or critiscm. My ideas flow from my head and through my fingers, onto the keyboard and once I'm done it turns out to be decent. It's when pressure is put on me that I feel my writing turns terrible.

It doesn't help that I can become easily distracted with texting and facebook. Therefore I find majority of my time where I could be working on a paper, and instead I'm getting side-tracked by little things other than the paper itself. I have to be completely focused if I ever want to sit down and write a decent paper. 

Writing can mean a lot to all sorts of people, but to me it's mainly something I am forced to do. I don't find myself as a brilliant writer by any means, just someone who writes because of instruction and therefore not ending with the best papers out there, but at times I can find joy from writing, it just has to be on my own time.  

"Remember the Sweet Things"

Over the summer, well for me over the past week, I decided to read a book about the life of Ellen Greene. I usually am not one to sit down and find enjoyment out of a non-fiction book, but as I read her book "Remember the Sweet Things", it seemed just like a fiction book. I fell in love with her style of writing, the joy she found in her life, and everything she did to fulfill her life and live on edge.

Growing up in a small town in the northern part of Wisconsin, Ellen set out for Costa Rica to work on her Spanish degree. Since she was young, wild, and free from her christian home life, Ellen was ready to just have fun and part of that started at a club where she met her first husband, Carlos. She learns that she could do so much better and after a three-year's length of marriage she is back in the states. That is just her first stepping stone in life. Going through numerous men, moving her children, and losing jobs, Ellen finally finds happiness.

Back in the United States Ellen found a man that ended up being everything she ever needed. She found optimism and joy out of everything in her life. That's where her list of "Remember the Sweet Things" came from. Every time Marsh would do something nice, or she found something he did to be caring whether with her, family, or friends, she sould write it down. She figured that if you look at the negatives, you can never find the positives, and so from then on she would write down every positive thing about Marsh and when the time was appropriate she would share those memories.

Ellen had a certain edge to her. Marsh and her would just decide to travel, and so they'd pack some bags and hit the road. Sometimes with a plan, sometimes with nothing planned, just a drive and some stops. They lived in China for three years, traveled the world (well almost the whole world) in a boat, and made their life worth living. Ellen would switch up jobs and help teach English in different countries, and Marsh would work or do things at home.

If anyone were to ask me how I would want to live my life, it would be how Ellen had. She had a husband who adored her and shared the same interests as she did. They loved doing things together and had the "ideal" life. Financially they were always doing fine, but never were huge spenders. When complications came, they didn't fret, just went straight to a solution that they compromised on.

This book was a phenomenol read. Sometimes I had to stop and ask myself, "is this honestly a true story?" All the adventures and stories of what they went through seemed unreal. Along with that I couldn't believe how optimistic and up to anything these two people were. They pleased so many people, and gave so much of themselves, but didn't hesitate to meet their own needs as well. Everything they wanted accomplished was done. It was just incredible to see how she can come from having a life of disaster and pulling herself around and finding the best in everything. It's how everyone should find life, because as Ellen later found out you never know how long you'll have with someone.