Nights in the Red Light District

After watching Zana Briski’s documentary film, I feel that these children did the world a favor by allowing themselves to be filmed and put in this documentary. Because of this video, the world better understands what it’s like for children to grow up in a home where their mothers are having sex in the next room, and their fathers are selling beer under the table right next to them. After watching the documentary, it seems to me that the children enjoyed being on camera, and most of them said that they didn’t want to spend their nights there anymore anyways. I definitely think that the children were pleased to be doing what they were doing. They loved taking pictures and seeing them in important places. Overall, I think that the successes in the end definitely justified the means of making the video. Most of the children were eventually able to be sent to boarding schools or at least given a chance to do something else great. Thought not all of them were able to leave the “Red Light District”, they were still able to be given chances to do things that a lot of children their ages in India, were not able to do. Briski did her best to give the children a better chance than what was waiting for them. The success of the video is measured by the outcome. The video definitely grew to be something great, as well as the children got to do something that they loved, at least for a little while.

The Truth on Food.....

After learning about of the genetically modified foods as well as all of the details on organic farming, most of my eating habits have not changed. Though I have decided to eat a lot less beef and a lot more chicken in place of it, I have found it very hard to change my eating habits at the drop of a hat. Due to the fact that I cook for myself and my sister most often, it is hard to find things that both of us enjoy eating. If all of a sudden I just took something out of my diet, my sister would have to quit eating it as well, and she is not very understanding in those cases. Though I would like to quite eating everything that is genetically modified or considered a “slow food”, organic foods are much more expensive than other foods found on shelves. Since my parents buy our groceries here at school, it is very hard for me to spend ample amounts of cash on foods that I could get cheaper if buying non-organic.
After watching “Super Size Me”, I have decided to stop eating at fast food restaurants when it can be avoided. So far, I have done very well overall, though I did eat Subway for lunch yesterday. I honestly find it difficult to eat at places that take awhile when I am in a hurry. Baby steps….baby steps!

CATEGORY
ACRES
FOOD
5.7
MOBILITY
1
SHELTER
5.7
GOODS/SERVICES
5.9
TOTAL FOOTPRINT
18
IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 24 ACRES PER PERSON. WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 4.5 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE ACRES PER PERSON.
IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 4.1 PLANETS.




Personally, I do not think that it is fair that Americans use more than their share of our natural resources. Overall though, I do not feel that is entirely our fault. Our way of life is almost impossible to change now, after living this way for so many years. Yes, I do agree that buying recycled containers and going “Green” will help us in the long-run, I feel that it is being a bit ridiculous to think that people will be able to change their ways of life over night. I must mention though, that a lot of people do live very selfishly and do not even care about the well-being of others. Those people I feel, are the ones that are ruining it for everyone else. Since I still live with my parents, I honestly have little control over what I use.
I do feel that since we are spending a lot of the energy, we are responsible for making up for it. We are doing our part though, and researching ulterior sources of food and gasoline, so this is a start. I think that we should put more funding into this area though, so that we find better and more efficient means of doing things soon, because global warming is a threat.

A Day's Dining

After keeping track of my daily diet for the day, I realized that food is a big part of my life. Normally, I do not even think about what is on my plate, let alone where it came from. My diet consisted of toast with peanut butter and a glass of orange juice for breakfast, chicken and rice with broccoli and a glass of milk for lunch, and chicken tacos with refried beans and bottled water for dinner. Throughout my day, I did not visit any fast food joints or eat at any restaurants. All in all, I believe that my day was genuinely healthy, which is normal for my diet. More than likely, the chicken that I ate during lunch as well as dinner, was probably a genetically modified food. The broccoli that was part of my lunch, was fresh, but not organic. The orange juice I drank came from oranges grown in Florida, and was, to my knowledge and as far as I could tell, the thing that traveled farthest to end up in my stomach. Overall, I am not entirely dissatisfied with my meals. None are very high in fat, with the exception of the rice, which just as carbohydrates, and none are terribly “bad” for my health. Currently, I am happy with my daily meal choices, because knowing me and my sense of will-power, they could all be A LOT worse.

Spring Breakin' It Up

Throughout my school years, I have had fourteen different spring break opportunities. Out of those, I have taken a trip to Florida eight times. This past one, unfortunately, I did not get a chance to go out of state, but had to spend the week in the small town of Fairland, Indiana. Though while planning my spring break I was totally bummed, after the week was over, I realized that it was not quite as bad as I thought that I would be.
One interesting thing that I did last week was visit with my friends that I had not seen for nearly four months. We went out to dinner at Santa Fe Steakhouse and then went kareokeing. I must say that we had a wonderful time!! My friend Whitney goes to Georgetown, Kentucky, where she has been living for the school year. I admit that I have missed her tremendously and was thrilled to spend the evening with her. My boyfriend Brad and I, Whitney and her boyfriend Doug, and my friend Brookley all had a wonderful time just catching up and reliving old times. We already began making plans for the summer! I am definitely counting down the days until summer vacation! I cannot wait. It is really surprising how much you miss someone you haven't seen in forever.

A Little Stressed Out

I am writing this extra blog to just help myself "de-stress" a little. Currently, with only three days left until spring break, I am definitely feeling the academic pressure that come with the college life. No matter how hard I work, there never seems to be enough time in the day to get everything that one wants to do, accomplished. Is it just me, or has our class-load multiplied by like 20x? I look at my list of "To Dos" and it seems as though I never check any off. Overall though, I am definitely ready for a little "R&R" next week. Though I am not going anywhere but home, the lack of responsibilities will definitely be readily accepted, and, after all of this weeks work, well-deserved!!!!

Harriet "Courage" Tubman

One individual that I find to be very heroic, is Harriet Tubman. Throughout a time in history when standing out could possibly get one killed, she was not afraid to do just that. Famous for leading numerous slaves to freedom in the North, Harriet Tubman was one of the many "revered" leaders of the Underground Railroad. Though she was constantly risking her life in doing this, it seemed at though she never failed to put other's safety first, above her own. One interesting point, is that though she was not only black, she was also FEMALE, which also put her at risk of rape, as well as beating, and quite possibly, death.
There are many reasons why I find Harriet Tubman to be a herioc individual. Risking one's life daily is just one of the many reasons that I find her to be important to history. She was very selfless and cared more for others than herself, which truly showed her to be a hero. The way that she seemed to ignore the fact that her life was on the line every time that she stepped out of her door makes her a heroic individual to me. Above all, I find her to be one of the most influential women in our history. She was not afraid to step out of her "safety zone". Courage was definitely a trait that Tubman knew well. It seems that when some were afraid to help those enslaved in the South, she did her best make up for what others were busy not doing. For these and many other reasons, I believe that Harriet Tubman deserves to be recognized as one of the "heroic" figures from America's history.

Columbus vs. Columbus....?

On considering Columbus’s affect on the United States, I have many conflicting feelings. First, I feel as though history never really gives us the right points on everything. It is very frustrating to think that we have been taught half of the whole of a story. After reading both of the versions of the story of Christopher Columbus, I cannot help but try to decide which the better and more truthful version is. I, personally, feel that Loewen’s version is more factual, due to his citing of his sources. I believe that the internet source is not quite as credible. The main reason for this is because one isn’t quite sure who the author is of the total article. You cannot find out where all the information comes from. It is very hard to determine where all the information came from because there isn’t even a name listed to contact, if an individual wanted to do so. On the topic of Columbus Day, although I love getting out of school, I feel that it is a joke. Here we are celebrating this holiday that was made on questionable circumstances. No one really knows for sure who founded the Americas, so why celebrate a possibility? I feel that there are plenty of other individuals that could be celebrated that did wonderful things. I just think that we shouldn’t celebrate a holiday that is uncertain.

All's Fair in Love & War

When considering the argument of whether or not proportionality should be considered in war, I have a few feelings on this issue. After considering this thought for awhile, I decided that proportionality should be used depending on the type of war that we are fighting. For example, numerous times in my history classes, I have read about the “guerilla” tactics that the Americans used against the British in the Revolutionary War. This brings to mind the idea that, today, we seem to have our own rules of war, as opposed to two hundred years ago. If we are taking our chances following the “correct procedures” that war uses while the other side is not even caring if they are killing themselves in kamikaze plane crashings, I do not believe that proportionality should be considered. I think that war is war, and one does what he or she needs to do in order to win. I must comment though, that all killing of civilians should be avoided at all costs. I am sure that this is hard at times, but just like in the United States, not everyone is always supportive of what is going on in the war fields. On the ideas of Iraq and proportionality, I think that we are doing as well as we are able. This just so happens to be much better than how we acted with Japan.
Upon saying all this though, I have to admit that one must be ready to accept the consequences of his or her actions. Like LeMay said when he commented on being tried as war criminals, this may have been something that those men should have thought of before committing the offenses. All in all though, I feel that proportionality, though fair, is no always something to be considered in times of war.

Reflecting on Ishmael's Reflections

After watching the YOUTUBE interview with Ishmael Beah, I cannot help but realize how his very demeanor is so much more inviting now than it would have been about seven years ago. It just blows my mind to think that the individual that was sitting there with George Stroumboulopoulos was the very child that witnessed the horrific events documented in A Long Way Gone. Throughout his discussion with the interviewer, he touches on a lot of things that he touched upon in his book. I recalled the way that he mentioned revenge in the interview was just like how he talked about it in the book. Another similarity was how he mentioned torturing the UNICEF workers until they had to receive hospital treatment. I love the way that Beah expresses himself on-air. You can tell that at times he is not so certain of exactly how to say what he wants to say correctly, but it doesn’t stop him. He is very congenial and does his best to be positive regardless of what he happens to be talking about at the time.
This book is definitely one that I would recommend to a friend. Though I hadn’t heard of it beforehand, it is one that I will keep dear to my heart because it was so good. I feel that it really expresses how terrible war can be, even to people that have no idea what war is really like. I am so happy that Ishmael has been able to be so successful and I hope that he continues with the story of what happened after he got to his “safe-zone”.

Bling=Bad?!

Growing up in my small-town community, I never really thought about the possibility of owning millions of dollars worth of diamonds. I had always pictured, of course, that one day I would receive one when I grew up and fell in love. Personally, I believe that every girl at some point dreams of owning a 5 carat ring, just as every girl dreams of being a princess at least at some point in her young, innocent life. But then, like always, girls grow up and mature, realizing that "happyily ever after" may not include that shiny rock that she once wished for. Personally, after watching Blood Diamond and researching the issued a little more thoroughly, I have decided that, though I may still purchase a diamond at some point in my life, it is no longer as important to me as it once was. My first question to the jeweler would be, of course, if the diamond was conflict free or not. I have heard stories though, of this question getting individuals kicked out of the jewelry store.
In today’s society, I feel that TV and music have an incredible influence on today’s youth and young adults. I, for one, am a stunning example of this. Upon having seen Blood Diamond, I had once not thought anything about buying diamonds before. Now, on the other hand, I am acutely aware of what some individuals had to go through just to let some rich, greedy American, have a 50,000 dollar engagement ring on her finger. Overall, I feel that America, though it seems cannot do much to stop the illegal trafficking of conflict-diamonds (just as it loses the fight against illegal drugs all the time), it can at least make the small effort of asking before buying their spouse, date, or self, some bling-bling.

Let Them Be Little

On the issue of child soldiers fighting in wars for their countries, I must say that no child should ever have to be forced to do such terrible things like those documented in Blood Diamond and A Long Way Gone. It is hard for me, a nineteen-year-old, American teenager in today’s society, to imagine what it would be like to go through what Ishmael Beah and numerous other child soldiers went/go through. Honestly, I feel like there is no set age in which an individual knows or fully understands what they are fighting for. Is it safe to say that one is fighting for one’s freedom or is it a possibility that one is actually fighting for another individual’s personal gain?
Upon further reading of A Long Way Gone, I realize that the consequences of children fighting in a war where guerilla tactics seem to be the only military strategies used by the fighters on each side of the war are ones that are not easily dismissed from their minds later in life. The effects of the war on these children include nightmares, migraines, night sweats, and very intense flashbacks. Oftentimes, these health issues are hard for adults to take, let alone eight-year-old children.
Overall, I believe that there are no possible solutions to this problem. We face just as many problems in the U.S. today as we do around the world. Just because something is categorized as illegal in our country, does not mean that people quit doing. I think that it is way too hard for someone to regulate such a very widespread problem.

AbOuT mE......

Hello World!

I am so happy to now be an "official" blogger. To start things off, I will let you all in on the exciting life that I call mine. My hometown is this very small area off the beaten path called Fairland, Indiana. I attended Triton Central High School where I played basketball, volleyball, and softball. Though you probably aren't able to tell by looking at me now, I was, at one time, a very driven athlete that worked hard to maintain her fitness. I must admit that college changes you. Moving on... I am currently attending Purdue University, where I am newly majoring in the classes that will hopefully put me on the path to become a Radiation Therapist, but yet, who REALLY knows what they want to be at the ripe old age of nineteen? As of now, I live off of campus with my sister and my puppy Oliver. I enjoy beach combing, eating ice cream on hot, summer days, and just kicking back and enjoying life. I am definitely not a cold-weather person, and I will one day lobby to have colleges cancel classes on wet, rainy days. No one should have to walk through the mud-puddled sidewalks that make up the paths to classes. Though I am not entirely boring, I do love to read and enjoy many different types of books. I love chinese and mexican food, but hate anything spicy. As of January 1, 2008, I am doing my best to eat healthier and work out at least four times a week. I will have to see how that all pans out. Well, I think that mostly everyone who is reading this has now gotten a small taste of my life. Much Love!!!