The past two presidential elections had the highest percentage of young voters. With this being said, I do believe the government is constantly searching for ways to grasp and keep their attention. The State of the Union drinking games is one method designed to entice viewers, especially those in their twenties and thirties, to watch presidential speeches.
There is a postive and negative to this method. The obvious negative to political drinking games is that people are not hearing what the president is saying but more so just listening to play the game. However, I do not necessarily believe drinking games are a horrible attempt to capture viewer attention for such reasons as it brings a large grouping of people together to watch the State of the Union and whether they are listening for 'key words' for the purpose of the game, they will still be hearing the president speak on important issues. I know of many people, particularly those in my age group, who uninterested in politics and would not voluntarily watch programs such as this; however, with alcohol and a game thrown in the mix, it might prompt them to do otherwise.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Michael Jackson Black or White video
Of course as anyone would guess, I love this video! It is actually the very first Michael Jackson video I saw-- I was about three years old at the time, but I digress. What I love most about this song and the video is its message about love having no color lines. The album "Black or White" is on was released in '93, and though it was just a little over a decade ago, interracial relationships were still somewhat looked down upon. They had yet to become as widely accepted as they are in this day and age. Therefore, I admire Michael (of course) for putting this particualar message out there at a time when racial tenisons between certain groups of people in America were high.
Seeing as Michael has always promoted love and caring for others, what he sought to accomplish through this video was to annihilate the hate and humans can have for one another due to differences of skin color and culutral background. There are scenes within the video where he hops from cultrual setting to another and openly engages in the signature dances with the person/people of that particular background. This represents Michael's idea that though we may look and behave differently according to our cultural norms, at the end of the day we are all people. When this understanding is established, a mutual respect is achieved, which can turn to love and appreciation from what once was unfamiliar.
See how wonderful this man is, I mean was :(
I love you always and forever MJ! <3
Seeing as Michael has always promoted love and caring for others, what he sought to accomplish through this video was to annihilate the hate and humans can have for one another due to differences of skin color and culutral background. There are scenes within the video where he hops from cultrual setting to another and openly engages in the signature dances with the person/people of that particular background. This represents Michael's idea that though we may look and behave differently according to our cultural norms, at the end of the day we are all people. When this understanding is established, a mutual respect is achieved, which can turn to love and appreciation from what once was unfamiliar.
See how wonderful this man is, I mean was :(
I love you always and forever MJ! <3
Monday, February 7, 2011
A short story about my sister...
My older sister Chanell is probably one of the most intelligent beings I’ve ever met. Her smarts come natural. In school, she never had to study hard, or study at all. She was an inspiration to not only me and our two younger siblings, but our parents as well. They never finished college. They completed a year and some change at a community college, but failed to follow through. Chanell’s gifted intellect and drive to be better and achieve more motivated us all.
She received a full ride scholarship to Pepperdine University, a private and very elite institution in California. I guess you could say all our hopes were dependent on her. If she could do it, come from nothing, work hard, and make something of herself, then I could possibly do it too. So we were all excited and we just knew many of great things were to come of her.
Unfortunately, her sophomore year in college, she was ‘kicked out’. She tried to commit suicide. Seeing as Pepperdine is a private, Christian university, allowing her to stay would have sent the wrong message to other or future students. That was the administrations justification. Shortly after the incident, Chanell’s life started to spiral out of control. She started dating all the wrong men, and ended up marrying one of them- a former cocaine addict with little education and unable to hold down a job.
She’s still married to him and has two beautiful children. She works as accountant putting in 60-70 hours a week seeing as she is the sole provider of her small family. With everything that has happened in her life, all the big hopes we had for her and the major upsets that followed, I can honestly say I have never been more proud. The previous statement may sound odd to some, but it’s true. I admire her spirit more than anything. Her dedication to preserver and keep going, to continue to strive for better even with hellacious curve balls life has thrown at her. If she accomplished nothing else more today, she would still be my role model.
She received a full ride scholarship to Pepperdine University, a private and very elite institution in California. I guess you could say all our hopes were dependent on her. If she could do it, come from nothing, work hard, and make something of herself, then I could possibly do it too. So we were all excited and we just knew many of great things were to come of her.
Unfortunately, her sophomore year in college, she was ‘kicked out’. She tried to commit suicide. Seeing as Pepperdine is a private, Christian university, allowing her to stay would have sent the wrong message to other or future students. That was the administrations justification. Shortly after the incident, Chanell’s life started to spiral out of control. She started dating all the wrong men, and ended up marrying one of them- a former cocaine addict with little education and unable to hold down a job.
She’s still married to him and has two beautiful children. She works as accountant putting in 60-70 hours a week seeing as she is the sole provider of her small family. With everything that has happened in her life, all the big hopes we had for her and the major upsets that followed, I can honestly say I have never been more proud. The previous statement may sound odd to some, but it’s true. I admire her spirit more than anything. Her dedication to preserver and keep going, to continue to strive for better even with hellacious curve balls life has thrown at her. If she accomplished nothing else more today, she would still be my role model.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
California Dreamin
As I have mentioned in my last blog I am originally from California. Seeing as I have absolutely nothing else to blog about, I figured I would conclude this project with a reflection of my past.
So, I lived in the great state of California the majority of my life. My family and I moved to Cary, North Carolina four years ago right before the start of my junior year in high school. I am from a small town by the name of Rancho Cucamonga. My grandparents on my mother’s side also live in the same town. They moved to Georgia four months before our move to North Carolina. In fact, they inhabitated the same house up until the move. The house was as old as I was. For sixteen long years they lived on the corner of Cabernet Place. So many memories encompass that house and I miss a lot.
What I miss most about my home state are the people. It was a major culture shock coming from the west coast to what I consider to be the south. The people in California are so diverse and unashamed to be different. I miss that so much. It was a beautiful blend of all the races; the embodiment of a melting pot.
When I first moved here, I felt like an outsider to the rest of the world. Perhaps because we moved to a small place like Cary. Everyone knew I was the new girl, none of the girls spoke to me those first days, and I was receiving looks like I was from a different planet, or so it felt like to me.
I couldn’t believe how homesick I was. The dialect was different; the style of dress, the way people thought and how they acted, was all new to me. I have never met so many people who resented someone who was different. In California it was the exact opposite.
I also miss all the sunny days with perfect 75 degree weather. The beaches are different, the mountains look different. But of course most of all I miss the people. It has been for years and I have yet to return for a visit. I hope someday I will be able to.
So, I lived in the great state of California the majority of my life. My family and I moved to Cary, North Carolina four years ago right before the start of my junior year in high school. I am from a small town by the name of Rancho Cucamonga. My grandparents on my mother’s side also live in the same town. They moved to Georgia four months before our move to North Carolina. In fact, they inhabitated the same house up until the move. The house was as old as I was. For sixteen long years they lived on the corner of Cabernet Place. So many memories encompass that house and I miss a lot.
What I miss most about my home state are the people. It was a major culture shock coming from the west coast to what I consider to be the south. The people in California are so diverse and unashamed to be different. I miss that so much. It was a beautiful blend of all the races; the embodiment of a melting pot.
When I first moved here, I felt like an outsider to the rest of the world. Perhaps because we moved to a small place like Cary. Everyone knew I was the new girl, none of the girls spoke to me those first days, and I was receiving looks like I was from a different planet, or so it felt like to me.
I couldn’t believe how homesick I was. The dialect was different; the style of dress, the way people thought and how they acted, was all new to me. I have never met so many people who resented someone who was different. In California it was the exact opposite.
I also miss all the sunny days with perfect 75 degree weather. The beaches are different, the mountains look different. But of course most of all I miss the people. It has been for years and I have yet to return for a visit. I hope someday I will be able to.
On My Own
I never thought I would be the one in my family to live alone in a separate state by myself. I know this is an odd topic but I am quickly running out of things to talk about.
It all started here at UNCW at the start of my freshman year. My family and I had moved from California to Cary right before my junior year in high school started. Then I came to Wilmington for school and no more than a month after, my parents split up and my mother, younger sister and younger brother moved to Georgia where my grandparents are located. My father I think still lives here in North Carolina, but I have heard from since the move.
It was not nervous or worried at all when my mother broke the news to me. In a way I was somewhat excited. I know it sounds awful- to be excited for your family to move away. It is not that I wanted to get rid of them of anything, I was just anxious to experience what it was going to be like being truly independent. I’ve always for the most part, kept to myself so I did not think that this would be a big deal. Georgia is only six hours away.
So I moved in with my best friend and her mother who lived in Morrisville (about 5 or 10 minutes away from our home in Cary). I have been there many weekends and always for Thanksgiving break this past two years. And though my friend and her mother are like family , it’s not nearly the same. I don’t experience the same joy as I do when I do go to Georgia and see my family.
Around Christmas time Freshman year is when I really started to feel the pain of not having my family around. I was not overly depressed, but at times it really did get to me. As I mentioned before, I have always kept to myself but this was a new feeling of loneliness I had never felt before. Every person has those moments where you just need to be surrounded by the people that love and care for you the most. My people live in another state.
However, as time went I got used to the situation. God blessed with more friends here in Wilmington who are my extended family. I know He did this because He saw the pain I was in. So at the end of the day, I am extremely grateful for what I have and who I have in my life. I have also become very independent, providing and taking care of myself. I feel accomplished learning this lesson so young.
It all started here at UNCW at the start of my freshman year. My family and I had moved from California to Cary right before my junior year in high school started. Then I came to Wilmington for school and no more than a month after, my parents split up and my mother, younger sister and younger brother moved to Georgia where my grandparents are located. My father I think still lives here in North Carolina, but I have heard from since the move.
It was not nervous or worried at all when my mother broke the news to me. In a way I was somewhat excited. I know it sounds awful- to be excited for your family to move away. It is not that I wanted to get rid of them of anything, I was just anxious to experience what it was going to be like being truly independent. I’ve always for the most part, kept to myself so I did not think that this would be a big deal. Georgia is only six hours away.
So I moved in with my best friend and her mother who lived in Morrisville (about 5 or 10 minutes away from our home in Cary). I have been there many weekends and always for Thanksgiving break this past two years. And though my friend and her mother are like family , it’s not nearly the same. I don’t experience the same joy as I do when I do go to Georgia and see my family.
Around Christmas time Freshman year is when I really started to feel the pain of not having my family around. I was not overly depressed, but at times it really did get to me. As I mentioned before, I have always kept to myself but this was a new feeling of loneliness I had never felt before. Every person has those moments where you just need to be surrounded by the people that love and care for you the most. My people live in another state.
However, as time went I got used to the situation. God blessed with more friends here in Wilmington who are my extended family. I know He did this because He saw the pain I was in. So at the end of the day, I am extremely grateful for what I have and who I have in my life. I have also become very independent, providing and taking care of myself. I feel accomplished learning this lesson so young.
Where are all my Dark Skinned Beauties?
This is a topic that rarely gets discussed. I hope that what I say does not offend anyone, but there needs to be light shed on this subject.
What is beautiful? I guess we all have our different standards and presumptions of what “beautiful” is- long hair, short hair, fat, skinny, tall, short, white, black. So what is it exactly? Well, for as long as I can remember, it has been the perfect blonde hair, blue eyed beauty. Perhaps it’s because I always went to school in the upper middle class, predominantly white society. Oh wait; maybe it’s what the media portrayed as being beautiful.
So as time progressed, I began to see more African Americans in the public eye. Black was slowly becoming beautiful for the entire world to see. And it was a good thing. Finally there was someone for me to relate to, almost, until life got a little more complicated.
Yes black people have come a far way, but have we gone far enough? Many may not know that there is a clear distinction as to what is beautiful and what is not, just within the African American community. The fare skin, long curly hair, light eyes, that is what’s deemed as the standard of beauty in our community. Why is that? Is it because those features are what’s closer to our white counterparts? Since when was it a shame to have full soft lips with a chocolate covered skin?
If you look on television and all the magazines, you can see what is glamorized as being beautiful pertaining to the black race- Beyonce (and I love her so much), Halle Berry, Ashanti, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, and the list continues. Now I believe all these women are gorgeous- well minus Ashanti( I really don’t like her at all). However, what about the rest of us? The standards of beauty reign heavy on young girls’ shoulders these days. I too along with all the other chocolate skinned women would like to see more of us portrayed in the media as beautiful and desirable, instead of a vixen or the lighter skinned girl’s side kick. There is a few of us out there like Gabrielle Union and Nia Long (see how short that list was). However, these women are hardly played up to the same hype as the others. It’s damaging to the self-esteem of many young black girls. If your skin is not fare, hair straight, and your lips and/or nose is too big, then you have some serious problems on your hands. It does not have be this way. Our features are what distinguish us from other races. Every race has things that our beautiful about them. I just wish more African Americans would embrace ourselves as we are instead seeking to conform to what society portrays as being beautiful.
What is beautiful? I guess we all have our different standards and presumptions of what “beautiful” is- long hair, short hair, fat, skinny, tall, short, white, black. So what is it exactly? Well, for as long as I can remember, it has been the perfect blonde hair, blue eyed beauty. Perhaps it’s because I always went to school in the upper middle class, predominantly white society. Oh wait; maybe it’s what the media portrayed as being beautiful.
So as time progressed, I began to see more African Americans in the public eye. Black was slowly becoming beautiful for the entire world to see. And it was a good thing. Finally there was someone for me to relate to, almost, until life got a little more complicated.
Yes black people have come a far way, but have we gone far enough? Many may not know that there is a clear distinction as to what is beautiful and what is not, just within the African American community. The fare skin, long curly hair, light eyes, that is what’s deemed as the standard of beauty in our community. Why is that? Is it because those features are what’s closer to our white counterparts? Since when was it a shame to have full soft lips with a chocolate covered skin?
If you look on television and all the magazines, you can see what is glamorized as being beautiful pertaining to the black race- Beyonce (and I love her so much), Halle Berry, Ashanti, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, and the list continues. Now I believe all these women are gorgeous- well minus Ashanti( I really don’t like her at all). However, what about the rest of us? The standards of beauty reign heavy on young girls’ shoulders these days. I too along with all the other chocolate skinned women would like to see more of us portrayed in the media as beautiful and desirable, instead of a vixen or the lighter skinned girl’s side kick. There is a few of us out there like Gabrielle Union and Nia Long (see how short that list was). However, these women are hardly played up to the same hype as the others. It’s damaging to the self-esteem of many young black girls. If your skin is not fare, hair straight, and your lips and/or nose is too big, then you have some serious problems on your hands. It does not have be this way. Our features are what distinguish us from other races. Every race has things that our beautiful about them. I just wish more African Americans would embrace ourselves as we are instead seeking to conform to what society portrays as being beautiful.
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