Reflection

I really liked having a blog for class, it was interesting and I think it allows students to better express themselves along with school work. I would rate it a 10. I liked how posting a blog and customizing it with pictures and colors was easily set up. Nothing was really difficult for me, except sometimes getting stuck on what to write on my posts or naming the titles for them. My favorite posts were the ones with pictures, cartoons, and advertisements. I didn't really have any least favorite posts. I would do another blog if I had the choice for school, but other than that I wouldn't have one just for fun because it is another time consumer and is like having a Facebook, and Facebook is already enough for me. The whole semester was upbeat and kept me interested because we talked about recent topics like media and how we identify ourselves and connect with society. We were able to share our ideas and opinions on this Blog which opens up our minds to learning more academically, about ourselves and our fellow classmates.

What Friendships Could be Like Without The Media

As I can remember, the first I heard of MySpace was in the 8th grade. I had met my best friend Theresa in the 7th grade, before we were experiencing the hype of online social networking. Throughout the years, Facebook came along and became more popular than MySpace. As the years passed by, Theresa and I gradually made the switch from MySpace to Facebook, as all of our other friends were doing as well. Although it was becoming the "new thing" to chat and socialize with friends online, Theresa and I didn't really pay attention to it much, instead we did things that we will never forget and had some of the best times together. We don't always care with what's going on online, although we do sometimes post things and share pictures on Facebook, this is an example of friendship WITHOUT over consumption of the media. Theresa and I are still best friends to this day, and yes even though we both have Facebook accounts, we keep on making great memories together face-to-face. We'd way rather be out doing something, than being online! Why have friends if you only socialize with each other online? What fun is that anyways?

Here is Theresa and I at the Sonoma County Fair Summer of 2011 riding on the "Tilt-a-World."Smiling having a fun time, NOT online. ;)

Here is Theresa and I on New Years 2012 partying, having a great time, celebrating the New Year! NOT on Facebook updating how much fun we are having.

Theresa and I in our first apartment together. Equipped with wireless internet but we definitely don't need the internet NOW. Haha

Theresa and I swinging enjoying the park and re-living the child in us. Weee! NOT Tweeeet!

And to end it, this picture describes our relationship in a nutshell. Goofy, funny, and GETTING each other because we aren't having a friendship only online, we have one in real life. WOW! ;) Theresa and I have managed to stay close over time, unlike my other old friends to whom I have lost contact with, even when they are still my friends on Facebook to this day. Being active offline, is time well spent, and makes a good friendship last.

I Tweet, Therefore I Am

In the essay I Tweet, Therefore I Am, by Peggy Orenstein, the author talks about how Twitter has changed her way of thinking. In part of my media essay I portrayed how I thought that people were too caught up in their online social networks and that more and more people spend a significant time out of the day to think of their next status update on Facebook. Well this essay is about the same topic, except with Twitter. I personally do not have a Twitter account, but I do think that it is having the same effect as Facebook. In the beginning of, I Tweet, Therefore I Am, Orenstein starts off with describing a summer day outside with her daughter, and how she would have fully present for the moment, but instead she was thinking about how that moment was the perfect opportunity for a tweet. Because of Twitter and Facebook, I think that people aren't completely all "there" when it comes to spending time face to face with others. Don't always think about your next status update or next tweet, because you might start to miss out on some significant moments.

Quote from The Secret Life of Bees

"When you're unsure of yourself," she said, "when you start pulling back into doubt and small living, she's the one inside saying, 'Get up from there and live like the glorious girl you are.' She's the power inside you, you understand?"

- This quote is from August, talking to Lily in the last chapter in the book on page 289. It is a powerful quote and it not only represents the close relationship between Lily and August, but the faith and courage Lily had gained by the end of her journey at the calender sister's home. In this quote August is referring to Mary, who the sisters worship and"Our Lady Mary", as the power inside Lily. August explains how Mary is inside of us all and that Lily has to find her within her own heart, and hear her tell herself to get up and live like a glorious girl deserves to live and to not doubt yourself. I think many people can relate to this quote even if they aren't religious, because we all have that strength inside of us that can help us become uplifted. 

Movie Review

The movie I chose to review is Shark Tale. The directors of the movie are Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron, and Rob Letterman. The main characters of the movie are Will Smith who plays Oscar (main character), Robert De Niro who plays the most feared shark, Renee Zellweger who plays Angie, Oscar's best friend, and Jack Black who plays Lenny the vegetarian shark. I picked this movie to review because I am a fan of funny kids movies. They seem to have adult humor in them, which kids wouldn't understand but are entertaining for adults. I don't have any younger siblings, but I do have a lot of younger cousins who I would watch many kids movies with. The genre is comedy and kids. There is a definite message in the movie, that if you use lying to get to the top (the top of the reef in this case) and you eventually reach stardom, you don't feel good about yourself because of the lies you used to get there. But if you tell the truth to those that love and care about you, then you will have a better life then you pictured and be happy after all. I really liked the movie's style because it was funny and thrilling, and sentimental at the same time. I thought it was funny how they had a vegetarian shark,(Lenny) and his family of sharks were portrayed as an Italian mafia and were major meat eaters (as obviously sharks are in real life). Oscar of course falls in love with a pretty yet shallow fish, but realizes his true love is Angie all along. There are many more characters that are very entertaining in the movie too but you have to watch it! It is a cute story line and I think teaches kids a good lesson also. It's a good movie to watch with your children because an adult can enjoy the humor as well. I would say thumbs up and watch it! Not a waste of time if you like humorous kids movies.

Comparing and Contrasting Cartoons

Fear the Media!

I chose these two cartoons to compare and contrast with each other. These cartoons have similarities but are also different. The similarities between the two is that they both involve fear. The first cartoon is about how media can promote a culture of fear and violence and how it effects certain people over time. Just like you see, over the years the media is promoting fear and violence on the parents, since their son is too young to understand what is going on. Then the cartoon changes in the last square as the child grows up ends up becoming fearful, instead of his parents and he is more involved in the media than his parents are at this point.

In the second cartoon the man is fearful of the cute little twitter bird, meaning he doesn't want to fall into the trap of media. It's like the man is saying "stay away, I don't need to have a Twitter!" It's funny how such a big guy is afraid of the bird, but the bird means so much more since it represent Twitter. The tiny exclamation point next to the bird also says more about the cartoon, as if the bird is saying "I'm going to make you want me!" The second cartoon isn't really about fear and violence in the media, but more of a person who someone would consider to be an anti-consumerism, which relates to our media essay. 

The Way to Somewhere: Book Review

Author Angie Day

The Way to Somewhere, by Angie Day, was published in 2002 by Simon and Schuster. Pages: 302

What I learned from the book is that to not let anyone come in your way when you want to branch out, travel, experience, and figure yourself out as a person. Whether it means leaving home and family, getting in a little trouble, finding out people's true selves, it's you who's making your own decision in life, and through the obstacles you overcome you learn something new about yourself each time.

The main character of the book is Taylor Jessup who starts out as a twelve year old girl, and at the end of the book ends as a twenty seven year old woman. 

The book is about Taylor's journey through life and what she went through to get where she wanted to go. Although Taylor didn't know exactly where she wanted to go most of the time, (which supports the title The Way to Somewhere) she went through some interesting things that were learning experiences for her. From her mom being an alcoholic, her dad admitting he was gay and leaving the family, her older "cool" brother J.J., to whom she looked up to, her best high school friend Maria, and Joe, Taylor's carpentry boss, each played a significant part in who Taylor eventually grew up to be. Also from love, lust, and adventure helps Taylor find herself.
Taylor went through many jobs, apartments, schools, and boyfriends, throughout the book, and even dated her college teacher, Jeff, who she had her first house with. Taylor ends making a few moves around the country, leaving people and meeting new people, and finds out her passion is carpentry and that her favorite part of it is restoring old furniture.

Through moving, digging up old antique pieces from random trash cans, becoming pregnant, and coming close to a bad marriage, Taylor ends up in a place she'd always wanted to get away from; home in the state of Texas. Although, in the end, she's happy with where she's been, the decisions she's made, who she's had relationships with, and where she ends up. It's not about who people want you to be, it's about who you want to be. 

"You have to stay focused on yourself, because in the end, nobody else will."-Taylor. I chose this quote because it really is one of the big themes of the book.

I really enjoyed reading this book because it brought out emotion of my own life and how growing up can be exciting and scary at the same time. This book allows the reader to think and have their own opinion about real life situations and uses language that each a young person and an older person could relate to and it also had good flow. It was a definite page turner for me and I would recommend reading this book if you would be interested in a good story about a girl who transforms into womanhood through her corky and sometimes sad life challenges. I wouldn't have changed anything about the book, it had enough surprises to keep the reader interested but didn't go over the top. There was also nothing that I did not like about the book, because it mainly portrayed that decisions made by a strong women who are able to lead her own path in life, is something that not many people can do and it's something people should admire. I can't disagree with that. Thumbs up on this one.