Final Blog Post Topic 1

When I was younger I lived in a fairly small house. I always thought it was big because I was obviously small. There was nothing better than going home to my parents and sister after being at Grandma's house for the weekend. I only have one sister and she is five and a half years younger than I am. This sounds like such a huge age difference, and it is but, we are extremely close.

Because of the age difference between me and my sister, I was an only child for almost the first six years of my life. I was the most spoiled and yet polite child. My parents would drill into me the importance of please and thank yous, while still giving me basically whatever I wanted. I did not finally realize the whole world revolved around me until my sister was born.

I will never forget the weekend my sister was scheduled to be delivered. Yes she was scheduled on a certain day, due to the miscarriage my mom had a year earlier. My parents had dropped me off with my grandma and grandpa, so they made sure I was not left unattended. My grandparents decided to take me to Riverside Hospital so I could visit my new baby sister. At first I thought oh cool a sister, nothing is really going to change.

My parents did not treat me different after she was born, they just had to teach me how to share. It was so bad that at one point my mom had to buy different markers so my sister would have hers so she would stop touching mine. There were times when I wish I had not had a sister because of the amount of attention she required. Now I do not think I would be able to function without her in my life. She is one of my favorite people to talk to. We are the biggest clowns together and always have a good time no matter what we are doing.

If I were an only child there is no doubt I would be one of those stereotypical only childs that we all read about in books. Having a sister has made me a better person. Also there is no one else in the entire world that understands how cooky our parents are like her. We will always have that special bond that I can share with no one else. We promised ourselves that no matter where we go in the world, we will always stay in contact and bring our families together for holidays.

My sister just recently turned the ripe age of thirteen, but she acts like she is going on twenty five. She is not scandelous or anything of that matter, she is just more mature. My sister and I tend to think a lot alike. We can look at the same thing, say nothing and just start laughing. While my sister is very mature for her age, she is still only thirteen. I think our relationship will become even stronger when we are older because then we will be able to talk about everything.

It is funny how my sister and I  have the same features, but we really do not look alike. Our hair is usually the same color, we both have 'apple cheeks' as my mom calls them when we smile, we are both taller than average and the same type of skin. Other than physical differences, on paper we really do not have that much in common. I am a girly girl who loves pink and shopping and talking all night long. My sister on the other hand is addicted to sports. She plays them all and she plays them well. She also enjoys being outside and doing more rugged type activities. She is daddy's girl and I am mommy's. But that never seems to matter.

They always say that younger siblings look up to their older brothers or sisters. I never thought this was true until one day I heard my sister say something I usually said. And she only listens to the same type of music I do. We also tend to dress the same now that she is getting older and shopping at the same stores I do. Because I act the same way around my friends as I do my sister, now I have to watch sometimes what I say when I am around her. Even though she would never admit it, but what I do does affect how she feels about things.

I love my sister more than anyone in the whole world. She makes me be a better person and she doesn't even know it. Without her in my life, I do not know where I would be. I will always have someone to laugh with or talk about my parents to. She will never judge me because of what I say or wear. I can never be mad at her because she always turns it into one big joke. When I need someone to make me laugh, I always have her there. I am so glad my parents decided to have another child, because without her my life would be incomplete.

Final Paper--> Greek Life!

     When someone says fraternity what comes to mind? Everything from designer labels to hazing to Animal House. Hazing is one of the most heated topics in the greek world. Many people stereotype fraternities and sororites as being a cult like group that forces it's members to binge drink and do immoral acts. Is this stereotype true? People who are not involved with the Greek system would say yes the stereotype is true, just listen to the horror stories on the news. How can Greek Life be looked down on and criticized so much when many of the countries leaders and influencial figures have been active members to their chapters? Also is being involved in Greek life during college years beneficial or harmful?
     Greek life on college campuses sometimes carries a negative connotation. People who often degrade members of fraternities and sororities are usually not in one themselves. Greek life is much more than what Animal House or Legally Blone stereotype and is often beneficial to those who are actively involved. What the stereotypes fail to portray would be the bonds of brotherhood (or sisterhood), the leadership skills aquired, networking opportunities and the importance of philanthropies. In the past it is true that hazing was apart of fraternities and sororities. Today, things are much different and if a chapter were to be caught hazing any member, initiated or not, they could not only be kicked off their campus, but the president could also face jail time.

Outline:
Introduction:
-pose questions
-lay foundation for ideas

Body:
-thesis
-main points
   -sister/brotherhood
   -importance of academics
   -philanthropies
   -networking
   -leadershipskills
-things to 'debunk'
   -hazing
      -+other organizations (athletics) are also big hazers!
   -partying
   -money issue
-Compare to the stereotypes in movies
   -Animal House
   -Legally Blonde
   -Old School
-Conclusion
   -give final lasting impression!
    

River Valley Cancer Scare

I live in the northern part of Delaware county, about 20 minutes away from River Valley Schools in Marion, Ohio. Some of the schools in the district were built on top of land that the US Army had used as a waste site for various toxic chemicals. Medical officials in the area had noticed a spike in cancer rates, especially leukemia, among students. The Ohio EPA announced that a new high school, new middle school, and two new elementary schools were to be built else where. The cost for these new schools was just shy of 10 million dollars, all paid by the government. The new schools were completed in 2003 and clean up for the waste site began in 2004. I do not think that this has affected me personally, it has definitely affected the area around where I live. I do not know for a fact if wildlife has been hurt due to the waste, but if people were developing cancer, why would animals be excluded from this? The area in which this is taking place, has many many farms. Corn and bean fields are what make up most of this part of the county, so it is kind of scary to think that maybe the waste could be affecting the crops as well. If this is so, then it is no longer just the students of River Valley that are being effected, but now the entire surrounding community.

Technology!

Where would my life be without technology? Everything would be so much more difficult. I could not imagine not having a cell phone. I have had one since I was in the 5th grade. Especially now that I'm in college, not having a way of talking to my family and friends whenever I want would be awful. When I'm not on my cell phone, I'm usually on the computer. So many things are dependent on computers just for college. In high school I didn't really use a computer too much, but now everything college related evolves around it. Technology has done nothing except made our lives easier. The one draw back to technology would be the amount of energy it uses. I really don't know much about what energy is used to power things, but it always has a negative connotation. We always hear about conservation of energy, so I'm sure it can only help the earth. Another bad thing about technology would be the amount of hours I have spent wasted creeping on Facebook. Facebook is the reason why I wait until about 1:30 or 2 to start my homework. I just can't help it, I tell myself do not go to that site, and there it pops up. My fingers automatically type in Facebook, its really an addiction. Other than that, technology is great. It does so much, keeps us connected, saves lives, informs people, in addition to many other things!

Why I'm not going to buy a computer

The author makes valid points regarding technology and the dependence the world has on it. While it is true that technology is a huge part of our lives, that does not necessarily mean that it is bad. So many diseases have been cured because of technology, in addition to countless other things that have come from it. I think he is being a bit dramatic about not buying a computer. Computers are made to make our lives easier, so why wouldn't he partake in one? Also I did not really enjoy his writing style, the introduction was kind of all over the place. He mentioned something about the 'rape of nature' and I was just completely confused. It is easy to understand his overall message, it's just things like that that really confuse me.

Inconvenient Truth

I have seen the movie "Inconvenient Truth". I was younger when I saw it and thought it was kinda scary. Could this actually be happening? Everyone hears about global warming, but how many people truly know the meaning of it? And those who do know the meaning are they doing anything to prevent it? Experts say that recycling is great and will make the earth last longer. If this is really true then why do people still not recycle eveything they can? I rarely recycle, that sounds awful, but sometimes it's just really inconvenient to separate things and then dispose of them properly. If the earth is in such a terrible state, shouldn't it be made mandatory that everyone recycles?

There Is No Unmarked Woman

There Is No Unmarked Woman is written by Deborah Tannen, who has been studying genders for many years. She has her degree in linguistics from the University of California at Berkeley. The essay is about how women, no matter what they do, such as wear their hair, will always be marked, and men are not.

Tannen starts her essay with describing the style of 3 women she noticed at a conference. She describes each one's hairstyle, clothing, makeup and shoe choice. Just by looking at how each woman presents herself, Tannen can understand their personality. She then says, "I scanned the eight men at the table. And then I knew why I wasn't studying them. The men's styles were unmarked" (8). Tannen then characterized the men stating that they wore netural pants with a light colored shirt with closed, flat shoes. The men's hairstyle was nothing out of the ordinary, simply parted to one side or bald.

"Some days you just want to get dressed and go about your business. But if you're a woman, you can't because there is no unmarked woman" (34). Tannen declares that no matter what a woman does to her hair or her clothes, someone is always going to make a preconceived notion because all women are marked.