TOW #23 - Why You Should Shop at Aerie and not Victoria's Secret

Author Aviana Peterson  of Oddessy shared, "Not only does Aerie have a more self-loving goal, but the prices of Aerie are much more realistic. At Aerie you can get seven panties for $27.50. Victoria’s Secret on the other hand gives you five for $27.50, so two more pairs of underwear from Aerie for exactly the same price. A nude push up bra from Victoria’s Secret is $46.50, while from Aerie a nude push up bra is $29.95. Just from the price difference you can love yourself more. With that extra $15 you didn’t spend on one bra you can go pick out a new shade of lipstick." You shouldn't have to pay obscene amounts of money to feel beautiful.

"Going onto the Victoria’s Secret website, you can see their models. None of them look very much like me. That’s probably because Victoria’s Secret Angels must meet strict limitations, which are being 5-foot-9 with the desired measurements of 34” -24” -34”. Which does not look very much like me or most women I know." While I was shopping at the mall this weekend with my friends, we noticed the artificial body image that Victoria's Secret stores plaster on their walls. How many people in actually have a waist line like that. The underwear and lingerie in stores like Victoria's Secret is supposed to make women feel sexy and empowered, but in my opinion it makes women feel self conscious and unattractive.

Victoria's Secret is notorious for photoshoping and airbrushing their models, whereas underwear stores like Aerie, by American Eagle stopped airbrushing their models in 2014 as a way to promote body positivity to all girls. Their are girls that are under weight that deserve to lover their bodies, just like their are girls that are over weight that deserve to love their bodies. How can ladies on a wall that only weigh 115 pounds and stand at 5 foot 9 promote body positivity when girls on the street rarely look like any of the Victoria's Secret "Angels?"

TOW #22 - I'm Concerned for My Safety

In a passage that our class read earlier in the year, we found that humorists like comedians are used to reveal the harsh truth through a comedic environment and tone. I especially think that political cartoonists are especially helpful for those that are young at heart. People in my generation mostly get their news from twitter and other online web sources. Even though people in the generation before mine are becoming more progressive with social media, some still like old school, hard copied newspaper.

In the cartoon above, a black man and white man are seen having a conversation about their fears. While the white man is afraid of the terror group ISIS, you can see that the black man clearly is not focused on that. He is focused on his safety in America. The illustrator shows on a nearby news stand, reading, "More Police Shootings...... Minneapolis.....Chicago." The illustrator employs an ironic tone because the white man is completely oblivious to what was happening to American citizens of color. Recently, the news hasn't shown much about white on black crime. What upsets me is that the other day, my sister, Kassidie, showed me a video of a white man getting pulled over by a police officer. The officer asked him, "license and registration," and the white man gets out of his car, opens the trunk, reaches inside, and pulls out bowling pins and starts to juggle them. Now imagine if a black man was the man in the car. We all know that a black man can barely even grab his license without getting shot, let alone get out and reach into the trunk of his car. In the end, I am glad that political cartoonists and other humorists like this are using their platforms to show others that there are bigger problems in America than ISIS and that black people are under represented.

TOW #21 - College is too Difficult

Today I had one of the most stressful conversations that I have ever had to be a part of with my parents. We talked about college and frankly I do not think that I know exactly what I want to do or what I want my occupation to be. I am worried but not for what my eventual job will be, yet I am nervous for the workload. If I can barely handle two AP classes, I have no clue how I will balance more than 5 college classes. So I searched the web to hear the stories of college students.

Alexandra Petri, New York Times author, says, "College is too Difficult." Yikes. According to many student, they spend up to 15 hours working. This is concerning due to the fact that I get distracted easily and that I feel that I over study. I study so frequently that I mix things up and second guess myself on quizzes or tests. I asked my mom, "Do you think that I am ready?" And of course, being the mom she is, she told me that I can, "Do anything that I set my mind to." Alexandra Petri also states, "Homework is for high school students. Once you’ve survived four years of lugging A. P. textbooks around, learning how to fill in arrays of bubbles correctly and write essays with erroneous but well-ordered facts, and pursuing at least 300 extracurriculars, you are entitled to sit back and relax."

College for me is a scary thought for me. Yes, I am ready and excited to make the life long friends and memories, but I am just worried. I feel that If I stay to close to my parents and go to somewhere like Temple, then my parents will try to hold my hand throughout college and not let me experience and step into the "real world." But I don't want to go to far, because in the article, Petri mentions that it is vital to have a  strong support system in college. I feel that this time next year, a heavy weight will be lifted off of my shoulders.

TOW #20 - Groundbreaking Year for the Oscars

Oh it is that time of the year again... Oscars season. While I enjoy watching the Oscar's, I feel like I am watching four hours of the "Talented White People Show." In the article in the New York TImes, author Shaun King says, "A record six black actors and actresses were nominated." While all of the actors deserve their nominations.. how can there only be six black females and males combined that were nominated? As a young woman of color who is interested in being in films and television shows, it makes me doubt myself and the color of my skin.

"All of this matters tremendously — not because these artists do what they do for recognition, but because this recognition makes these films, these directors, these actors and actresses more known to the world. Mahershala Ali is one of the best actors on earth."(King). While I do agree with the author, I feel that there should be more representation in black films - animated or moving picture. For example, my baby cousin, Calliegh, loves the movie Frozen (but what 3 year old doesn't?). And when we turned on The Princess and the Frog, she absolutely hated it. She said her brown skin was "ugly." This is why we need more black people in film. More black girls and boys that don't play "the bully" or the "ghetto girl." But the black girl or boy that is smart, educated, and strong. We need these characters to help strengthen the black community and help little girls like my cousin to love the beautiful skin that she is in. It took me 16 years of my life to actually like the skin that I was in. It took me until I saw hidden figures on December 27, 2016 to find out that black women are strong, powerful and that black is beautiful. It is essential to put more black people in film so that the black youth can feel loved and beautiful.

TOW #18 - Caitlyn Jenner's Mission

As many may know, Caitlyn Jenner is the father of social media stars Kylie and Kendall Jenner, and is a big face of the LGBTQ community. Although she is a public icon, I have a bone to pick with her.
Jennifer Finney Boylan of the New York Times was able to get a phone interview with her as she was driving. Now, Jenner is a known republican and I am a little confused as to why. She also is a conservative that likes Trump’s administration. This makes me very confused. Why? Because Mike Pence, Donald Trump’s Vice President, was the former governor of Indiana. As the governor of Indiana, Pence has notably said:
“In 2006, as head of the Republican Study Committee, a group of the 100 most-conservative House members, Pence rose in support of a constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Citing a Harvard researcher, Pence said in his speech, "societal collapse was always brought about following an advent of the deterioration of marriage and family." Pence also called being gay a choice and said keeping gays from marrying was not discrimination, but an enforcement of "God's idea."(Time Magazine).
“In May, the federal government directed school districts to allow students to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with. The directive came as criticism crescendoed around a North Carolina law that would have restricted the use of bathrooms.Along with many other conservatives, Pence opposed Obama's directive and said it was a state issue. "The federal government has not business getting involved in issues of this nature," Pence said.” (Time Magazine).
People in President Trump's administration are known for being racist, sexist, and homophobic. But Caitlyn Jenner, a gay, transgender woman, supports them. She says that she wants to be the LGBTQ voice in the Republican community, but sadly, I don't think that the conservatives want to hear what she has to say.

IRB #3 - The Double Helix

For this marking period I have chosen to read The Double Helix by James D. Watson. This book explains how the discovery of the double helix in 1968 by James Watson changed the science, medicine, and the world.

TOW #17 - Amid the uproar over Nate Parker, why is no one talking about Casey Affleck?

What Nate Parker did was absolutely disgusting. Raping a young girl is a punishable offense. Now, do not get me wrong, rape is an awful thing that should never happen to anyone, but why isn't anyone talking about Casey Affleck's rape? When he was a student at Penn State, a girl reported him and another student of raping her while she was unconscious. While she was unconscious? What kind of world do we live in where you can rape a female and get away with it? This made me think, why is everyone talking about Nate Parker and not Casey Affleck? I have come to a conclusion that the reason that people are talking about Nate Parker is because he is an African American man. Yes, this is about race. I do not think its fair that petitions are being signed for Nate Parker to be put in jail but Casey Affleck not to be. Casey Affleck, a successful white male is not being punished for what he had done.
This can be connected to the news and media. Have you ever noticed that when an Arab man commits a crime they are labeled "terrorist," or when a black man commits a crime, he is called a "thug." But when a white man commits a crime he is called a "lone wolf" or "mentally ill." I recently saw a tweet that read, "Breaking news: Mississippi man shoots shoppers inside of the Walmart because they will not sell him a Confederate flag." Mississippi man sure is a funny way of saying terrorist. Can you imagine what people would say if a Muslim or Arab man did that?
I am not whatsoever justifying Nate Parker's crime, but I do think that if people commit these heinous acts, then they should punished fairly and equally.

TOW #16 - What's Next for Women's March Movement

Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, Melbourne and even these United States. Hundreds of thousands of people came out on January 21st to protest the new President, Donald Trump and to unify women, people of color, all genders and sexual orientations. While an extremely low 193,000 people came to watch the new president's inauguration, an estimated 1.15 million people attended The Women's March in Washington D.C, according to authors at heavy.com. If these numbers are true, then this will have been the largest inauguration protest to date. But this is not my point. USA TODAY author, Heidi M Przybyla, says, “This is the moment of the beginning of the revival of the women’s movement,” and I agree 100 percent. We live in a country where we are fortunate enough and privileged enough where we are able to exercise our basic rights. Countries like Burma, North Korea, Turkmenistan Libya, Cuba, Syria, Eritrea and Uzbekistan have to abide by strict censorship laws. This is what America stands for. But should we really be protesting things like equal rights for all in the year 2017. The fact that women have to protest this is an abomination and is unfair. How is it the year 2017 and people in the LGBTQ+ community are still fighting for equality? How is it the year 2017 and people of color are still being oppressed constantly? How is it fair? This is why people like Meryl Streep, Madonna, Miley Cyrus and so many more are using their public platform to help gather and get people to rise up. This protest is an open letter to Donald Trump. This protest is a battle cry. Protest like these are the ones that made this country what it is today. This is what exercising your rights look like. This is what America is.

TOW #15 - I Have A Dream

Martin Luther King Jr. Activist, teacher, fire-eater, friend, literary and rhetorical genius. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I have decided to analyze his famous, "I Have A Dream," speech.

Dr.King uses anaphora frequently in his speech, repeating the phrase, "I have a dream." King repeatedly says this to put impact on his views towards the racial divide in the at the time. He also uses a few metaphors sporadically throughout his speech, for example, "In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check…It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”(King 1963). Martin Luther King continues to use more rhetorical devices like allusion when he says something similar to a quote from the sixteenth President of the United States and the "Great Emancipator", Abraham Lincoln, "Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation."

Martin Luther King Jr.'s words have impacted so many peoples everyday lives and the way many people think. If you really think about it, slavery ended in 1863 which isn't as long ago as we think. Jim Crow ended in 1950, which isn't even 100 years old. Martin Luther King has influenced groups like Black Lives Matter to protest peacefully instead of using violence.

TOW #14 - How Far I'll Go in 24 Languages

This week, I went to the movies and saw the new Disney animated film, Moana. I really enjoyed this movie because Moana solved her own problems, with very little help from her male counterpart, Maui. But this is beside the point. I mentioned the movie because while I was browsing through my twitter feed, I saw a video of the star, Moana, singing the song "How Far I'll Go" in twenty four different languages.

I heard all of the languages and it was so beautiful. This video reminded me of the Coca Cola commercial where various peoples from around America were singing "America the Beautiful' in their preferred languages. This proved that America is the land of immigrants and the land of the Melting Pot. A plethora of people were upset by the Coca Cola commercial, claiming that the true "American language," was English. I searched on twitter if there had been any hate towards the Moana video.

There was no surprise that many people were hating on the video. While there was nothing said about the true American Language, the internet trolls came out of their hiding places to make the other speaking people feel poorly about themselves and their countries.

I think the authors point of view was to show how beautiful the art of language is, not to spark a hate war on social media websites. This brings me to question, what is wrong with the people in America? Why is there so much hatred towards the unknown.The people of other countries were expressing great feelings of admiration towards the song. Why can't Americans be like this? Is it because of the feelings that we are more superior than other countries. Not only does this make me angry that Americans can so easily show hatred in their hearts, but it makes me sad because Americans are not seen spreading love.