What A Picture Means...

   I had always thought that a picture was proof of something.. That if you couldn't believe what someone was saying, a picture could prove it. It never really crossed my mind that a picture can be biased, because after all, it's a picture, and without manipulation, it's accurate. Right? Well, turns out, that's not quite right. I never really thought of the fact that a photographer can choose exactly what he/she wants to photograph and wants to leave out of a picture in order to prove a point.
   One thing that came to mind when people started talking about the bias of the person taking a photograph is my recent vacation to Mexico. Before we left, I was looking at all the pictures of the brochures of tourist destinations, beautiful beaches, the luxurious resorts we were staying at... It made Mexico look amazing. And it's true, the resorts are lovely, the beaches are beautiful, and the tourist destinations are breathtaking. But this does not represent Mexico. Because the reality is that there's another side of Mexico that isn't so pretty. There are people in poverty, the government is corrupt, there is child trafficking, and a huge drug problem. These are all things that are not pictured and cannot be represented through the pictures I was seeing. Does it mean the pictures are lying? No. But they definitely aren't telling the full truth.
   So even photographs can be biased, what can we really trust? I think that to truly know the full picture of something, you need to experience it for yourself, and not just go along with what others say or what you see from pictures. After all, life is about experiences.

Language...

   After reading the first passage "Word Police", I was completely convinced that language should not be censored and people should not be policing the language that others use in order to go with what is "politically correct" at the time. People should be told what they can and cannot say, and words should not be completely eradicated because of what is politically correct at that time. However, after reading more passages, my opinion on the matter kept changing. Each passage was able to convince me that they had very valid points that I agree with, so I couldn't make up my mind. Should language be "policed"?
  I've decided, that both sides are correct... to a certain extent. I feel that words should not be completely eradicated, such as taking the "n-word" out of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", because I believe that this is part of the story, and it adds to the theme. This book was set during a time in which racism was extremely prevalent, but it doesn't promote racism. In fact, it does the opposite. I think that keeping this language in the book will make sure that history doesn't repeat itself. On the other hand, I also don't think that these kinds of words should be used in everyday language to address people, because it is discriminating and racist. I just think that we should not try to erase history and protect people from the reality of what minorities have gone through. Otherwise, history will only repeat itself.

Saving the Environment...

   This week in class, we talked a lot about the environment and what is contributing to a lot of environmental issues that we are going through recently. We talked about how people like to focus on the issues that they think are "bigger" or easier for them to handle and fix.
   I think this is completely true. People like to focus on things that they think are "big" or important, and ignore all the small things that can do to be helping the environment, as welll as the things they can do that would make a huge impact but may be difficult for some people. Instead of addressing the issues that are more difficult to fix, people choose to ignore them. One example is the agriculture industry's.
   Everyday, forests are being wiped out in order to create large farms and land to graze animals for the agriculture industry. The consumption of animals and animal products are detrimental to the environment, but often ignored. This is because people pick and choos about what they want to focus on, even when the topic is as important as the environment.
   I feel that people need to stop picking and choosing what environmental issues to focus on based on what is easiest for them to handle. The reality is going to catch up to us eventually. The media and other sources also should provide more coverage on environmental issues that are making large impacts, whether or not it is going to be easily accepted by the public. Because otherwise, this will all catch up to us and it will simply be too late.

What it Means to be Marked.

   Although I agree that it isn't right for women to be judged by how they look, to the point that it is impossible to blend in, and go "unmarked", I personally would not want to be "unmarked". I don't want to be someone that just constantly blends in and is part of the crowd. Though I do not want to be constantly judged and "marked" by people, I also do not want to go through life being "unmarked". This is because having an opinion and standing up for what I believe in "marks" me. What I'm trying to say is this, I would rather be judged for who I am than blend in by being someone I am not. I would rather be "marked" for taking a stand in what I believe in than be "unmarked" by staying quiet.
   Truly, being judged for what you look like, what you believe in, and the way you act, is ways for people to try and stop you from having an opinion and being an individual. If being judged is a consequence of being an individual with the right to have an opinion, a right that it took years for women to gain, then the consequences are completely worth it. And I am hoping that eventually women will be able to take a stand and be individualistic without being "marked".

A gendered space

   To be quite honest, I have never heard of such thing as a gendered space, so I was a little confused about what I should be writing about this week in my blog. However, Friday afternoon when my little sister came home from school, she told me about her day at kindergarten.
   She told me about a boy, tommy, that is lots of fun to play with, but during recess she can never play with him on the playground. "Because he's a boy!" My sister explained, and boys and girls do not play together at recess.
   Although they are only a couple of five year olds, this made me realize that from a young age, people are defined by their genders. Who taught these little boys and girls that boys should only play with boys at recess and girls should only play with girls? At age 5, why should they have to be classified into categories according to gender?
   If even the kindergarten playground is genders, then what space isn't? In reality, our society as a whole is extremely gender classified, people always think that certain places are "manly" while others are "girly", but these labels are unnecessary and do not really contribute to a greater good. For me to hear my five year old sister say that she can't play with tommy during recess because he is a boy, was shocking. I had never thought of it this way, even the most innocent place, a playground, is gender classified.

Vegetarianism

   It's been two years since the last time I ate any meat. The reason I became a vegetarian started off as being for ethical purposes revolving around animal cruelty. I am so glad that "Consider the Lobster" was published in a magazine for so many people to see. Oftentimes, people do not make a connection between the food on their plate and the fact that the food used to be a living animal. I'm not saying that you are ignorant if you eat meat, I feel that this is a personal choice. However, I do think it is important for people to understand why there are many people that choose not to eat meat, and some may not consume any animal products at all (eggs, dairy, fish...etc.). Although the vegetarian, pescatarian, and vegan population has been growing recently, it is still very controversial and I don't understand why. I feel that what someone chooses to eat is a personal choice, and nobody should be shamed for choosing not to eat certain things. Unfortunately, this is the case with almost everything, if you make a personal choice that is different than what most people do, it is likely that you will be made fun of.
   I think that this is an important topic to bring to light because of how relevant it is. I particularly enjoyed reading "Consider the Lobster" because of its relevance to my life, as someone who has chosen not to consume meat.

My Mother

   My mother is the most loving person I know. Truthfully, I've never met someone who wants me to succeed as much as she does. When I have to pull an all-nighter studying for a test or finishing an assignment, she is always right there with me. I have the mom that I would always think is embarrassing in middle school. She puts sticky notes with words of encouragement on my lunch box almost every time I have a big test, what middle schooler wouldn't find that embarrassing?
   My mother is probably the most important person in my entire life. As a teenager, I definitely do a fair share of screwing up. Time and time again, she forgives me and will give me another chance. I cannot imagine my life without her, and every time I let her down it almost feels like my heart is literally breaking, I can feel a pain deep in my chest. I love my mom more than anyone in the world and there isn't a thing I would do to intentionally hurt her. After all, seeing her hurt hurts me too.
   I recently realized how easily I can hurt my mother and manipulate her feelings. This has made me think about all of my choices before acting upon them. My relationship with my mother definitely is not perfect but that's my fault and I'm trying to fix it. I hope that one day I will be able to.