Don't Give Up Without Even Trying

       There are many times when I would start some task and then beat myself down, constantly telling myself that I cannot complete the task at hand. Due to having a very pessimistic attitude towards daunting tasks, I am forcing myself to look at the positive aspect of things that may seem scary to me such as taking a huge test (ACT for example), going on college visits, etc.  It is very important that whenever you are faced with challenging and daunting tasks that you raise your head high and just do them.  The awards will be great if you can overcome the fear of failure, for example if you take the risk of taking an AP Exam and you study right, you can pass the test and then receive money for college despite the fact that you were scared in the beginning.

        There have been many times when I was faced with daunting tasks, times when I would tell myself that it will not be worth even trying to complete a task because I would most likely chicken out and fail.  I have had to battle with my pessimism everyday, because when I am about to do something, my mind automatically goes south.  When I was 13, I decided that I would tryout for a competitive club soccer team.  I had never played outdoor soccer in my life, I was always used to a smaller indoor soccer field with all sorts of different positions than outdoor soccer had.  I figured that I had no chance at making an outdoor team, since most girls that were my age at the time had already had many more years of experience than I did with playing outdoors.  I did not trust my skills enough at first, but I decided to give my all to the tryouts and played my heart out despite how scared I was.  I made the club team and since then I have been getting better each day that I practice and now I love soccer more than ever.  Seeing this small victory, I know that even though a decision may be daunting and scary, it is best to try anyway because you can gain rewards bigger than you can imagine if you do not give into the fear that you might not make it to the end.

      Another example of not giving up even when the odds are not in your favor is with the women's and civil rights movement advocates.  The odds for gaining rights seemed like it would never turn around.  Many women and African-Americans were either imprisoned or killed for fighting for what they believed was right.  It was very important that they attempted a very daunting and dangerous task, because without those individuals that fought for what was right, there would not have been the changes made that would allow women and African-Americans to vote or have the same rights that everyone else had at the time.  It is very important that people who see an injustice in the world, or even in their backyard, are able to find the strength to attempt to fight that injustice so that they can bring that injustice to a halt.

      In conclusion, there are many times when an individual will be forced to face a very scary and daunting task.  It may seem at first that it is not even worth trying to attempt to do something, but it is very important that you try your hardest to overcome that obstacle, because you may be able to overcome that task and gain rewards far beyond your wildest imagination that you would not get otherwise. 

Pop-Culture..... Worthless?

         Entertainment in today's day and age is very popular. It is beginning to become uncommon for a teenager to not have a Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.  Millions of teens, young adults, and even adults can spend hours upon hours on their smartphones or computers looking at these common social media sites.  Although social media can serve a distraction from reality, it is possibly turning the society of today into a socially awkward society who believes that everyone wants to know every detail in their lives, but when used in the right way, can be a very valuable resource for staying up to date on current events or keeping in-touch with other people.  In the end, life would still go on quite nicely if popular entertainment were to disappear from this world, making pop-culture slightly worthless.

        Facebook, the number one social media site, has over a billion users.  This is a crazy amount of people that post pictures, videos, and posts about their lives.  This, in a positive light, can be a nice way to see into the lives of celebrities, friends, and even breaking news topics.  Facebook is a good way to stay in touch with people who live long distances away.  Unfortunately, Facebook or any other social media site can also be a negative resource.  It is very easy to stay up long hours past the reasonable time to hit the sack.  It is also negative when it comes to the posts that people will say on their walls.  Many posts go into absurd detail such as what they ate for dinner or what shoes they are wearing.  No one wants to know that much about people.  Social media can also provide lies to the public depending on who is posting it.  Different political parties, for example, can have their own bias on a subject and post what they believe happened when in reality it is completely false.  Social media, in a way, has created a more narcissistic society, a society where someone thinks that everyone wants to know what is happening in their lives, which in a lot of cases false as well.  No one cares what you ate for breakfast that morning or that your dog lost its tooth in your bed.  What is the point of those posts? On the contrary, there are times when a person has achieved something big such as an award in their sport or in school and other people would want to know about it and congratulate them for it.

      It is interesting to think of a world without social media.  Imagine a world without Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.  It is really hard, especially when you just want to go on your phone and look through the delicious and succulent foods that are all over Pinterest.  Although it is hard, it is very possible that the world would still go around and life will not be over.  This would be the time where people would actually talk on the phone with each other instead of just texting.  A time where people would go outside and enjoy the sun and nature.  There would not be as many obese people in the world, because the lack of technology would help them to decide to be active.  Many will argue that the lack of entertainment will make a very bored society.  I beg to differ.  The lack of entertainment will help people to see that there is an outdoors and they will find other things to do instead of spending countless hours on Twitter.  

         In conclusion, entertainment in this society is very popular and many believe that they cannot continue living without it.  I think different, believing that if social media were to disappear, the world would not end, but instead force people to see that there is more to life than their computers and smartphones.  Social media can serve as a distraction from reality for a while, but in the meantime it will also turn this society into narcissistic individuals, but also help people stay up to date with things if used correctly.

"First World Problems" Is a Real Problem

        If you have ever heard the song "First World Problems" you probably laugh at its ridiculous nature, but if you listen closely to the lyrics, you will find that most of the "problems" that the singer states are actually things that people in first world countries will complain about.  For instance, I cannot tell you how many times I have heard people complain about how slow the 3G or 4G is on their smart phones, and I have been one to also complain how trashy my "dumb" phone is.  It really annoys me when they complain about "problems" like that, because while these people are complaining how "slow" their phones are, there are people out on the streets who have barely enough money to live off of.  People in this day and age are so used to the instant gratification that many lose patience with the small things in life.  An example of this is when people are in line at a fast food restaurant and the service is kind of slow, people get antsy and start to get angry with the workers.  How ridiculous is this? We cannot wait an extra 5-10 minutes for our food, and will get angry about not receiving food? This just shows how we cannot wait for anything, it has to be fast enough so that we can get on with our lives as soon as possible.  Another "first world problem" is when the water in the shower is too cold or even lukewarm.  This I have been known to complain about as well, because I am so used to warm water to shower in, not cold water.  This just shows how privileged we are, us Americans have it grand, we get clean, hot water to shower in, whereas in third world countries, people are getting diseases due to the lack of clean water, whereas everyday we get to shower in clean, warm water.  There needs to be a time where everyone stops for a second and realizes how privileged we are in these United States and start being more grateful that we DO have smartphones and fast food places, instead of living in a place that has dirty water or barely enough food for people to eat and live.

As Strong as Steel: Ma Joad

       

      The character Ma Joad in The Grapes of Wrath plays a very important role in the book.  Ma is a very strong woman, who eventually takes charge of the family.  When looking at a piece of steel, it is a perfect representation of Ma.  Steel is very strong, and even though it may get beaten down, it still has the strength to carry on and continue to be the stronghold of, for example, a big building.  Like a dented piece of steel, Ma has to deal with a lot of hardships in her life.  She went from having all her family under one roof, to having her son Tom sent to jail for killing a man.  This was a terrible event for Ma, because it meant that she did not know when she would see her son again.  More terrible events occur; the land is no longer fertile and the Joads are forced to look for work elsewhere, so like thousands of other families, they venture on to California to look for work.  This kills Ma, '"I never had my house pushed over, I never had my fambly stuck out on the road.  I never had to sell-everything," it is evident that Ma is hurting inside, but because of her strong nature, she does not show her emotions outside so that she would not scare her family (page 77).  Ma's strong nature shows again when she "tried to look back, but the body of the load cut off her view. She straightened her head and peered straight ahead along the dirt road" (page 114).  This passage shows that Ma is trying to look behind at her past life that she loved, but the present day event got in front of her view of the past, symbolizing that the past was no more, and that the present was now there and there was no going back.  Ma, although very hurt inside, has come to this realization and looks forward to the future.  Like steel that gets bent and worn over time, Ma has many heart-wrenching moments that beat her up inside and leave permanent scars on her heart, but also like the steel, Ma never gives up and always remains on her feet and keeps holding her family together and stays strong.

Source:    
http://86992933.en.ec21.com/API_Standard_ERW_Steel_Pipe--1312909_1362730.html

Do Girls Play Dumb on Purpose? A Classical Argument

          In this day and age, being smart is either admired or looked down upon depending on who or where a person is.  In Harvard, being smart is most definitely an asset and prized possession, but if one chooses to be around those who are not so blessed with much intelligence, it is instead a burden to have the brains because some may make fun of the smart one and call him or her names such as "nerd," "geek," know-it-all" etc.
For men, they like to have all the smarts so that they feel that they can do almost anything, whereas for women or young girls, they will sometimes pretend to not be as smart as they really are, thinking that they are attracting more positive attention than they really are; this is a real problem.  Women need to know that being smart is an asset and not just a burden to their appearance and social status.

         Women, compared to men, are for the most part more concerned with how they are seen in society.  They worry more about their appearances, who they are with, etc.  As a part of their appearances, their brains are also included.  Women do not want to seem like they are brainiacs that are always outsmarting their friends as well as any significant other that they may have.  The media, such as magazines and television shows, lead women and young girls to believe that it is more important to be pretty than it is to be smart and accomplished.  On television shows, the smart woman as one who does not know how to dress fashionably and the woman or girl is always wearing huge glasses that are unattractive in many ways.  A smart woman is almost never portrayed as beautiful; instead the "dumb blondes" on the show are the ones that are found most attractive to the men.  When a young girl watches these types of shows, her mindset is thus that "men are only attracted to gorgeous and dumb girls" and then she will not live to her full potential because she believes that it will make her look unattractive to men.  A company in France, Jours Après Lunes, introduced a new line of children's lingerie for girls as young as 4 years old.  This company is basically telling young girls that all they are good for is for looks, the company is not telling the young girls to stay in school and pursue a successful life instead of just looking good. Another example of praising the beauty of women instead of the intelligent women is the "Miss Universe" pageants.  The women that compete in these competitions are trained to appeal to the audiences' emotions as well as the judges by sounding compassionate with the third world countries.  The problem with this is that the girls that are competing come up with the most unintelligent answers possible, that it sounds as if they are purposefully sounding dumb, so as to get more points from the judges.  When these women answer with dumb answers, the young girls that are watching think that these girls are their role models and will start to do the same thing so as to look good for other people.

       In conclusion, being smart does have its high and lows in today's society.  Women unfortunately sometimes believe that being smart is a low, therefore not living to their full potential in their lives.  Women will tend to believe that men do not like and are not attracted to intellectually smart women, and are instead drawn to the "dumb blondes" in society.  Instead of only praising the beautiful women in the world, it is necessary that the media also show the great accomplishments of the smart women in the world so that the intellectually smart women and girls out there believe that it is okay to be smart and that it is not nerdy, weird, or geeky.


Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carol-roth/teach-girls-to-be-smart-n_b_929689.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/17/miss-usa-utah-create-education-better-video_n_3451896.html

Chapter 19: California's History

        In chapter 19 of The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck chooses to explain the history of the great and glorified state of California.  In this chapter, Steinbeck makes the argument that the Mexicans that once tended to the land of California, were forced off the land by the vicious and greedy "squatters" who cared little to nothing of the land they now owned, and that farming was becoming more of an industry than a love for farming.  Steinbeck reinforces his argument by using the rhetorical strategies of repetition and diction, so as to make his argument more clear to the reader.

        Repetition is used quite a lot by Steinbeck in chapter 19 so as to reinforce the idea that the Mexicans were thrown off the California lands slowly but surely by the rich and greedy Americans, and how farming was becoming more of an industry.  Steinbeck states that, "they could not resist, because they wanted nothing in the world as ferociously as the Americans wanted land" (231).  When saying this, the author is saying that the Mexicans loved what they did on the land, but due to the "ferocious"  squatters, they were not willing to fight the Americans for the land that they loved dearly.   Steinbeck also repeats several times how they land that was loved and appreciated by the Mexicans, was then uncared for as beautiful, but instead the crops were "reckoned in dollars, and land was valued by principal plus interest, and crops were bought and sold before they were planted" (231).  In other words, Steinbeck is saying that Americans took a new outlook on the land on which they stood, and that they began to only look on what profit they would get from the land and how much money they could make off of the crops that it produced. All throughout the chapter Steinbeck mostly focuses on the fact that farming was now an industry and that due to this industry many were without jobs and were left creating "secret gardens" within the big industries' fields.  Unfortunately these people generally got caught and their gardens would be destroyed, such as one farmers' "little green carrot tops were kicked off and the turnip greens trampled" (235).

        Diction also played a main part in how Steinbeck brought about his argument that the Mexicans were thrown out by the greedy Americans and that faming was becoming more of an industry than of a love for what farmers do.  "Once California belonged to the Mexico and its land to Mexicans; and a horde of tattered feverish Americans poured in," here Steinbeck could have said that the Americans began to come to California and live there, but instead he wanted to use stronger, almost filthy terms to describe how the newcomers were like (231).  Steinbeck has a tone of disdain for the Americans that had the gall to kick the Mexicans out of California so that they would be able to run a successful business.  Soon the Americans were lost in the thought that land was only meant to bring in money so when there was a crop failure, drought, and flood they no longer were "little deaths within life, but simple losses of money," and for this Steinbeck mocked them (232).  The diction used in this sentence shows clearly the apathy the land owners had for the land on which they harvested crops.  Steinbeck uses simple diction so as to reinforce how shallow the new land owners were, and the simple words that the author chose to use to describe the owners truly mocks them indirectly, but nonetheless Steinbeck is still mocking them.

        In conclusion, Steinbeck uses repetition and diction in chapter 19 so as to reinforce his argument that the greedy American "squatters" kicked out the poor Mexican farmers for the sole purpose of obtaining a lot of land so as to get a lot of money from the crops, and that these newcomers were turning farming into an industry instead of a love of what a farmer does.