Texting Problems

I recently read an article from NY Times, by Katie Hafner, called "Texting May Be Taking A Toll." It expains the problems with texting and how it can affect texters. In recent years, the number of texts that have been being sent and recieved have been very high. According to the article, in 2008, the number of texts being recieved and sent a month was 2,272. That's a lot of texting. Most people who text do not think about how it can affect them and what the bad things about texting are. Psychologists and physicians are begining to worry about the health affects and the other problems. So what is the problem with texting?

It was found that texting causes problems such as anxiety, loss of concentration in school, loss of sleep, failing grades, and stress. Loss of sleep is a big part of texting problems. Teenagers will usually stay up late texting and talking to their friends while they should really be getting good sleep. Then they go to school and sometimes it can be very hard to concentrate while trying to stay awake because they did not get good sleep. Not only that, when people text in class, they are missing out on learning and if it gets to the point where the student is not paying attention most of the time, it can result in failing grades. Texting can also cause temporary or permanent damage to your thumbs. Even thought phones are banned in most schools, students know how to get away with texting everyday in class. Most of the time, teachers don't notice, so they just keep doing it.

I think it is very hard to concentrate while texting. Most of the time while doing my homework, I have my phone right next to me. Whenever I hear it buzz, I stop doing my homework and reply. I have seen people text in class because it happens all the time and nobody really minds. Although I agree with the article on how texting can have negative affects, I do not think that texting can cause all these health problems and be the main cause of stress and failing grades, etc. I do not belive that texting in class could be stopped just because the number is so large and also it is hard to limit texting in general. I was curious as to how texting can damage our thumbs too.

It is very important to stay focused and on task and not let things like texting stop us from doing what we are supposed to. Although texting is a way of communication, it can also have negative affects on teenagers. Maybe some teenagers will realize how texting can be harmful in different ways. Loss of sleep, loss of concentration, failing grades, stress and anxiety can all be from texting. So maybe texting isn't all that good.

Bad Influences

In the book Art Geeks & Prom Queens there are two people who influence the protagonist Rio. Rio is a shy, sort of nerdy girl when she moves to her new highschool. She wears worn out clothes because thats what she feels comfortable in them. She doesn't try too hard, in fact she does not care of what people think of her.She makes friends on the first day of school. But when she meets Kristi, the typical snobby, self centered popular highschool, things start to change and Rio becomes a different person. Kristi is not really a posative influence on Rio. Although she get Rio to step out of her comfort zone, she turns into a whole new person. Rio's character goes through many changes in the book because of Kristi.

Kristi basically controls every action that Rio makes. She cannot be seen with certain people, she cannot wear certain things, she has to act a certain way all because Kristi tells her to. Rio has to act almost fake and perfect all the time around Kristi just to keep her good impression and friendship. Now that Rio is Kriti's friend, every girl and boy in the school want to be friends with her. She went from having 2 friends in the school to having everyone in the school as her friend. Kristi makes her feel a bit uncomfortable with herself. When Kristi asks her if she wants some drugs, even though she has never done it, Rio does it just because Kristi did. And then it became sort of her thing and Rio does it when she feels down. Rio begins to do things she would never do before she met Kristi.

Although Kristi may have a mostly negative influence on Rio, she also helps her socially. Kristi teaches Rio to be open with people. If it weren't for Kristi, Rio might have still been the shy girl who made no friends. Rio learned a lot of new things because of Kristi. Even if she did something bad, she knew in the future not to do that. Rio also enjoyed having fun and not being in her shell at the time and she had someone to tell things to. Rio could care less if she was popular and when she became popular, it gave her a whole new view on people and their personalities.

I think Rio learned a lot from being friends with Kristi. She learned the difference between are real friend and a fake friend and the reality of the highschool cycle. Even though Kristi might have taken Rio out of her comfort zone a bit too much, it was worth the experience of being her friend and realizing the things she did.  For a while, Rio was not being herself because Kristi was forcing her to be someone who she wasn't.

Same Love: Macklemore

As I read and analysed the song lyrics of "Same Love", written and sang by Macklemore, is a song about same sex marriage and stereotypes. He starts off the song explaining that in the third grade he thought he was gay. He talks about how our society abuses the word "gay". He says, "Have you read the YouTube comments lately."Man, that’s gay" gets dropped on the daily". The word gay is being used for hate, and thats not what it should be used for. He wants people to know that it is okay to be yourslef and there is no difference between being gay or straight because a person is a person and everyone should be treated the same. He wants people to know that he supports same sex marriage, with one of the lines saying, "No freedom till we’re equal, damn right I support it".

Today, words that assosiate with same sex marriage are being used to make jokes or say it because because they can. Why is words like gay being associated with bad things? Being gay is not a bad thing, like Macklemore says. People are who they are and society should not bring them down. Macklemore wants us to realize the harm the word can do and he wants us to fight until there is freedom by law. He also wants us to know what it can cause. In his song, he sings, "A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are". People are willing to kill themselves because of what our world has come to in terms of same-sex relationships. Bascially, this song wants to show awareness of same sex relationships. He also explains how passing a law won't change evrything, "And a certificate on paper isn’t gonna solve it all". Although gay marriage was passed, people are still going to fight against it.

It is important for people to stay true to themselves because ultimately, you cannot change who you are and how you feel about certain things. Even if there is controversy about it, there is no reason to stop loving someone just because some one else disagrees on the idea. Mackelmore writes, "Live on and be yourself". I think he mean that keep going in life and don't change who you are because your decision is yours not somebody elses. He says, "Underneath it’s all the same love". This line stood out to me because it really sums up the song. He wants us to know that after all the fighting and contoversy, that love is love and you can love anybody. The ones fighting against it should not be against it because who are they to tell somebody they cannot love.

Although this topic is not relateable to a lot of people, it is an important message to keep in mind. I know some people who are in same-sex relationships and when I see words like "gay" being used for jokes and in daily comments from teenagers, it makes me annoyed to think people would use that word negatively. It should not be associated with the bad. I wonder how people in those relationships feel when they are constantly discriminated by some people of our society.  Macklemore wants us to know, feel, and think that same sex relationships are acceptable, and at the end, it is the "Same Love".

Body Image: a sensitive topic

I recently read an article on NY Times called "BODY AND IMAGE; How to Talk to Teenage Girls about Weight? Very Carefully." This article is mostly about how the topic of weight affects teenage girls (and boys.) Many girls, as they enter and go through their teenage years, are finding ways to become the perfect weight. They are dieting, fasting, or smoking cigarettes to lose weight. Some girls are going the extreme way and taking diet pills, and throwing up anything in their system. But when it comes up to talking about the topic, girls can be very sensitive about it. Parents are trying to bring up the subject in the kindest way, but the reactions can be negative. This article gives some ideas about how to bring up the topic in a polite way without having the teen storm off. So how are you supposed to address a self-conscious teen?

I think the author, Erica Goode, answers this question in a lot of ways. She uses tips on how to talk to the teen politely and addressing the problem without them storming off into their room. One thing that parents have to realize is that the way that they think of themselves can affect the way a teenage girl or boy will judge themself. For example if a mother tries on a dress and says, "Ugh, I look so fat, I need to go on a diet", then the daughter might try on a dress and say, "We, I need to go on a diet, I look terrible in this dress." Also instead of a mother or father just straight out telling their child that they are overweight, they could simply offer them a healthier choice to eat or drink. I think the author wants us to realize that weight is a touchy subject and cannot just be brought up in any way or anytime because teenagers will react, and most likely they will not be willing to easily talk about it. Erica Goode wants us to feel knowledgeable about the topic, and make us realize how teenagers feel when they are going through rough times (losing weight.)

I agree that weight and weight loss is a very sensitive subject. Although I feel like that, I think it is necessary for teenagers to talk about the problem. Some people are very self-conscious about their weight and will do anything to lose a couple of pounds. I think that if some girls are willing to do extreme things, they should be able to have a conversation about it with their parents. I agree with Erica Goode, when she explains that there are certain ways to bring up body image and weight loss. I know that the topic can be sensitive because sometimes I get annoyed when people bring up my body weight. A lot of people say I am too skinny and hearing that over and over can be annoying, even if I'm not dealing with dieting. So many teenagers around the world have to deal with the subject of weight and body image. It is a topic that people take seriously, so it should be addressed the right way.

Criminals as teenagers: Deserves a second chance?

The article "Lifers as Teenagers, Now Seeking Second Chance" from the NY Times is about a 14 year old girl who planned to murder 4 people, and killed 2. Now, court is deciding whether she deserves a second chance or not. According to NY Times there are 73 Americans that are now serving time for a crime they commited at the age 13 or 14. Some people believe that they were young, and did not have a conscience. But others believe that they knew what they were doing, and they made the wrong decision, therefore they have to do the time. Do teen criminals deserve a second chance?

I believe that they do not deserve a second chance. It was their choice to do the bad things they did. They deserve the punishment. I think that by the age 13 or 14 you are old enough to understand what it means to commit such crimes. It's not like they are 5 years old and they accidently shot their victim. No, they planned to do it. I feel like anybody that put someone's life at risk, or hurt/killed them does not deserve a second chance at being free. Although some people might learn their lesson during their time, I still think that crimes are unforgivable. You cannot escape from something you caused, whether it was as a child or as an adult, you still caused damage to someone or something.

Some teens might commit a crime because of peer pressure, or the feeling of power, but really, where you are going to end up, it in jail. And once you are in there, there is no going back and erasing what you did. I feel like in our society, teens feel like they can do what ever they want and then they decide one day that they are going to go and do crimes. In the past couple of years, there have been about 2 fairly big shootings by teenagers. As much as this has to do with kids and thier decisions it also has to do with our security, but that is a whole nother topic.

I think that if you do the crime, you do the time, no matter what age it was commited. I do not believe that teen criminals should get a second chance because they ruined their lives for themselves.

Princess In the Spotlight: Spoiler Alert-ish...

I recently began reading the second book in The Princess Diaries series, called Princess in the Spotlight. The title of the book pretty much explains the situation the main character, Mia, is going through. Like the beginning of the first book, nothing in Mia's life seems to be going smoothly. When Mia finds out her mother is marrying, and even worse, having a baby with her math teacher, she struggles to keep it a secret. But some things in life are not as bad as she thought. Mia has a secret admirer, and is trying to figure out who that could be. I think it is important for Mia to look on the posative side of things to take her mind off of the negative things.

For example, Mr.G, her Algebra teacher, is moving in with her. She believes this is probably the most embarrassing, horrifying, worst thing that can happen. What can be worse than randomly finding out that your Mom and Algebra teacher are pregnant, moving in together, and will be married soon. When I first read this, I thought about how horrible Mia's life is. But later I realized, hey, maybe Mr. G will raise her grade, and help her with work. Maybe he won't be as hard on her and maybe, he won't be such a bad stepfather/algebra teacher. Mia has a way of turning posative things into negative things, and if she keeps doing that, she is going to get herself into some trouble.

I think I have a similar problem to Mia. I worry a lot, and I also think of negative things instead of realizing how they can benefit me. As a runner, I sometimes race with older people, like ninth graders. Recently at Nationals, I remember going through the list of girls and seeing how a lot of them were in the ninth grade. Of course, the first thing that comes to my head is "thats not fair, they are a whole year older. They have a full year of more training." But really I could say how they could make me run faster, and be stronger. I realized how they can help me throughout the race. Mia needs to realize that some things are benefitting her, and making her life a ton easier.

Anothing thing that Mia is thinking too negativitley about is being a princess. Mia finds it totally unreasonable and terrible that she is the princess of Genovia. She thinks that her life is ruined. She will never just be a normal girl again, and she won't be a normal teenager, and do  normal teenage stuff without having a bodyguard following her every step she makes. I think there are some posative parts to being a princess. Mia already has her future picked out. Although it may not be the one she wanted, she still doesn't have to worry about what she has to do in the future. Also, maybe after Mia learns how princesses act, it might be a little fun. I think it is imortant for Mia to turn negative things in life into posative things.

Princess Diaries: Theme of Book--Spoiler Alert!

I recently finished reading the book Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. Towards the end of the book, I picked up  on the theme of the book. I learned that things aren't always the way they seem. In the end of the book the main character Mia finds out that the most popuar, most handsomist, most amazing "love of her life" Josh Richter, turns out to be the complete opposite of what she ever wished for. She found out he was only using her for the fame. Mia realized maybe she isn't made for Josh Richter, and he isn't the perfect boy like she thought.

Realizing Josh Richter was not like what he seemed like was good for Mia. She was able to see the real Josh under the perfect face. If Mia never noticed how rude and self-centered Josh was, she maybe would have stayed with him longer, and she would never know that Josh did not actually love her for her. This kind of remindes me of when people say "things happen for a reason." It remindes me of that because it was good that Josh was showing off to the public about their relationship for the publicity. It also benefited her because it saved her from later humiliation, if she realized later, or if something happened.

There have been times in peoples lives where they might have learned the same message. I know that plenty of times I have looked at people and from what I have heard from rumors, I autimatically think one way about them. But as I got to know people, I have realized that they are not the person I thought. People who I thought were stuck up girls, ended up being nice, funny girls and great friends. But also on the other hand, I always think people are nice, and outgoing, and they end up being mean, and not the person they seem to be. I think people should get to know the person more before they think they can have any sort of relationship with them.

Another example of things not always being what they seem, is Mia's grandmother. To Mia, Gradmere is annoying, mean, rude and unloving. But at the end, Grandmere is loving towards Mia and shows her that she is a very caring Grandmother, that supports Mia's ways. In these examples, they show that people are not the way they seem and they are different when you get to know them.