Blog 092614

The only time I have even been asked "what are you" is at school during a research project about our heritage or ancestors.  I have never been asked "what are you' outside of school and I think that is because most people just see me as white.  You could walk past me and just think "white girl" and that would probably all you ever define me as.  I think that yes I am white but I am also so many different ethnicity's that I make up my own story. I am from Italy and Germany, I am from Sweden and Norway and those places are all different.  So If a stranger asked me what I am I think that would say that I am a story and a combination of many different generations, not just a white girl.

I feel like society tries to make mixed people choose between whether they are black or white which I disagree with because I think that people are not just black and white but a mix and a story of many cultures.  I think that in this story Rachel is considered to be black by the people around her.  When Rachel and Jesse are at the fountain that night he keeps referring to her as being black but I think that she is a mix so she should be called a mix and she should know that.  This video and article reminds me most of how Rachel is often referred to as a black girl but she really isn't.

I think that Heidi Durrow would greatly appreciate what our generation of college students are doing to the multiracial population because she said herself that when people ask her "what are you" her favorite answer is that she is a story.  I think that Heidi Durrow's answer to who she is connects to the quote because instead of having to repeat herself and telling people where she is from which is not enough she just tells people the truth which is that she is a story just like everybody else.

Blog 092514

I feel as if I have a unique description of beauty.  I believe that being beautiful is not only how you feel but who you are and the way that you portray yourself.  Being happy is one of the most important things in life and I think that we as a society puts too much pressure on being perfect and pretty. I do agree with the model when she said she had who the lottery because she did.  Its all genetics and that is why she won the lucky lottery.  One of the huge reasons she was a model is simply because she is pretty and I think that every single person should think they are beautiful for who they are model or not.  I have struggled with beauty because growing up as a young girl who can be influenced easily I saw that on TV (even kids shows such as Disney and Nickelodeon) were pretty. I think that as I have grown I have come to the truth that beauty really does come from the inside and that I am beautiful because I am me.
Cosmetics is a multi-billion dollar industry and the only way it will continue booming is if people want to change the way they look.  It all comes down to self-esteem and the fact is that in some people they is simply none.  Our country is known for bigger is better and its true with hair as well.

Rachel: "I think that the model was right.  Some people win the lottery.  Some people are pretty.  Some people are Rich.  Some people have nice things.  Some people get boys. Some people have all of those things and some people have none of those things.  I think I lost.  I lost the lottery.  I have Mor's eyes and that was the lottery but that's it.  I'm just me and that's how I lost the lottery."

"I'm Black.  I'm from northeast Portland.  My Grandfather's eyes are this color. I've lived here mostly my whole life.  I'm black. I'm Black, I know." (148)

I wrote this because I feel like Rachel has a low self-esteem and never feels beautiful.  I feel like she thinks she had lost the lottery and that she has no one.  She thinks that her mother was beautiful which is where she got her eyes which  is why she thinks they are beautiful.  In this quote Rachel talks a little bit about where her eyes come from and I think that is part of her beauty.

I still agree with what I said about beauty,  I believe in what I said and I do not think many things will change my opinion. I think that I would reinforce that beauty comes from the inside and that Beauty is who you and not what you look like because that is what I truly believe.

Blog 092414

    I thought that having a small and quick conference was very helpful because I usually know what I want and need to write about so having a short conference where Mr. Cheng just told me where to elaborate on my ideas and what I can to make my writing better.  I thought it was good to have the conference to be short because that way the teacher does not repeat or go on and on about what I am already writing.  I think that I will keep writing with what i have but go on to also write about what I actually thought of the two books and my ideas of the characters and the way that their stories were written.  I do not think that I  have anymore questions about how to write my paper because I feel as if I am a very independent writer.

Blog 092314

He for She Website: http://www.heforshe.org/
Emma Watson's Speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-iFl4qhBsE

Option B:
A friend told me about Emma Watson giving a speech to the UN about feminism and it made my ears perk up because not only do I love Harry Potter but my passion project is about feminism and gender equality.

I thought that this speech was absolutely stunning.  The way the Emma describes and defines feminism needs to be said out loud more often just because people think that feminism means that we hate men.  This connects to me because I am very very very interested to see equal rights in my lifetime and I know how I feel about this topic.  I think that women deserve to have the same opportunities as men do no matter what.  It is not right for men to think they are more superior over women because they get paid more.  The truth is that women work just as hard as men and that they have the exact same job but get paid less because of their gender.  Feminism does not mean that sharing your opinions makes you too aggressive but it does mean that we need gender equality. I think that every singe growing girl or women can relate to something that Emma said.  Women are not treated fairly and it needs to be brought up as a serious topic.  When I was younger I had thought that feminism was for women to have power and executive jobs.  I thought that it meant we were better than men but it does not! I admit I was wrong and like many other people I had the wrong idea about what feminism is.  Feminism is equal rights.  Emma Watson defines it in her speech and I think that she got it right on.

Blog 091714

"Two weeks ago Monday was my first day as a straight-haired girl.  Wearing my hair down and straight is one reason that the girls in the bathroom want to beat me up. (96)"

In this passage Rachel talks about her hair and how it has changed since she has lived with her grandmother.  This sentnece really poped out at me because it reminded me of Michelle Norris and how in her story hair is something that tells a story and is really important.  Rachel has gotten bullied for having different hair than the other girls at her school but I think that she likes it because it looks like mor's hair. I think that in both of these books Rachel and Michelle's hair are motifs because they often come up and represtnt the character and things hapen to both of these characters because of their hair.

Blog 91514

I chose this article that talks about the Orange Is the New Black (tv show) writter who is currently divorcing her housband and says she is gay.

Text-to-Text: I think that it is coincidental that the writter and creator of a show that focuses a lot on being gay is now coming out to the public and saying that she herself is gay and reportedly is now dating one of the actresses which reminds me a lot of the show.

Text-to-World: I think that social media and the publics eye has been focusing on this show for a while now becase it is like nothing else that has been on televison and now that the writter is coming out it has a big focus because our tv shows now have programs that have gay people and we talk so much about gay actors/characters.

Text-to-Self: I think that because she is now comfortable to write a tv show about being gay and what it is like that she is now comfortable to be herself and tell her housband and the public.

Link: https://tv.yahoo.com/news/report-oitnb-writer-divorces-husband-dating-star-samira-234000590.html

Blog 091114

Group A
#FERGUSON

• Police officers were at the rally showing their support but only a few and I want to know why. Was it because they are afraid of what the people are going to think or what they are going to do?
• They keep repeating "Hands up" which connects to the issue of freedom and equal rights to them and their children and that Michael Brown put his hands up but he was still shot. 
• In a small part of the video it shows a list of all the children that were shot by police and that list goes on and on.  It shows that so many families were affected by this and that it needs to stop. 

Group B 

Why Do We Teach When Kids Are Dying #MichaelBrown

• The teacher talks about how most of her students who are a different color have bad filliations with the police and eve though some of her students have police officers as parents some students are still afraid of officers. 
• The author brings up a very importnat asked question that is rarely answered- "What kind of country does this to its own citizens?"
• The teachers actas thouht this does not effect their class room but it does and it should be recognized. 

Group C 

Gene Denby on perception of Police 

• This paper says that 70 percent of blacks are treated unfairly when it comes to dealing with the police but only 37 percent of whites are treated unfairly when dealing with the police. 
• This also shows that 68 percent of blacks are not treated fairly in court while only 27 percent of whites are not reated fairly. 
• It also shows recent tweets that come from people who think that racism today in our country is still a current problem today and says multiple interesting things such as "in unsurprising news, most white people are blind to racism". 

Group D

What White Children Need to Know About Race

• This article talks about how racsim as a topic is begining to come up as a research question and is a very comon topic on the internet and social media. 
• "Silence is a racial message" really stood out to me because it shows that just standing back and not doing anything is the same as being racist. 
• Independent white schools say that they try to be diverse but they just say that because it is a goal for the school but not an actual fact. 

Group E

America Is not For Black People

• This article somewhat talks about Michael Brown's Shooting and what happened
• I beleive that the officer who shot Mike Brown was in the fault because all of the witnesses have said that he was putting up his hands to surrender as he was shot and killed. 
• I found it very interesting to hear that Micheal was not a special case, he was one of the many kids and young adults that get shot and were innocent. 

Group F

Sometimes Unfortunate Things Happen In The Heat Of A 400-Year-Old Legacy Of Racism 

• This article seems like it is on the favor of the police, it says that we have to remember that the poice are put in life or death situations every single day. 
• The title of this article also catches my eye because the author makes this shooting sound like no big deal and that "accidents happen"
• The author says that the police are put in difficult situations and we need to respect that but I feel that there is always a situation where nobody needs to die. 

In conclusion, I beleive that these websites show that racism is still a huge issue and that blacks are not being traeted as well as we think.

Passion Project Topic Brainstorming

1.Childhood Obesity in the USA

I think that it would be very interesting to write about obesity in the US because it is a topic that a lot of people do not like to talk about but surrounds us daily.  Growing up my parents always talked about eating healthy and even I had some troubles with a healthy life style but now that there are multiple documentaries that are coming out that repeatedly talk about obesity and being over weight that catch my eye and I think that the topic could use more detail and attention.

Link: http://www.georgiahealthnews.com/2012/03/obesity-expensive-problem-video/

2. Jobs in India For the Future

My dad works for a company that creates buildings where call centers are held and I want to know what happens to all those people who work there and what their life is like. I know that it can be so different for them and I am interested in where they are going to be in 100 years as a country and individually.

Link: http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/london-business-school-john-mullins-on-india-entrepreneurs/1/204023.html

3. The Pressure of Society and the Social Standards of beauty

I keep seeing music videos that really interest me that have a similar message. That message is that society has some kind of control on us and our image, that we need to be perfect and if we are not we are "different". I agree with this and as a teenage girl I know that I can be pursuaded very easily and that the effects of these makeup and beauty product companies have on us have lasting impressions.

Link: http://www.firstpost.com/bollywood/pretty-hurts-watch-beyonce-defy-social-standards-of-beauty-1509035.html

Link: http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/colbie-caillat-tearjerker-try-video-sends-powerful-message-2014157

4.Women's Rights; Then and Now

Not even 100 years ago women finally ot the right to vote but that did not even ensure that women were treated the same as men. I think that it is very important that women have the same rights as men because we are all people and we deserve equality.

Link: http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-28870677/

5. What Feminism Is and Why We Don't Talk About It

I have noticed that the majority of the topics that I am interested in and have researched have something to do with the rights and power of women. I think that it is very important that women and young girls know that we are very lucky that we have so many rights that other women do not have. There are so many reasons and facts that show the gap in equality between men and women in the work place and just proving this is one way to support this topic. I think that some people do not talk about feminism because it intimidates them but I think that people should be able to say what they think and why they feel a certain way.

Link: http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=SUIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=News&limiter=&u=mnkedina&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&p=SUIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CA380956652