Response to ECC

Although I was not expecting to, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ecology of a Cracker Childhood. I am not usually interested in books related to topics such as the environment, but the way the the author incorporated this topic into her writing intrigued me. I was interested in what she had to say, and was enthralled about how the environment could have such a profound impact on someone. Reading Ecology of a Cracker Childhood put many things into perspective for me. I was enlightened on someone else's way of life and their struggles. At first i was unable to empathize with the character, but as the book progressed I slowly was able to understand what she was going through. Mental disease is prominent in my family and as a result i could relate to how she was feeling. The author, Janisse Ray, provided such vivid descriptions of her childhood and the people that surrounded her, that I felt as if I was living her story. Everything about the story was tangible. I could imagine each and every story and description like I myself had lived it. I believe that makes a wonderful piece of writing.

The male image in America has changed drastically throughout history. More than ever, men in modern America are beginning to become preoccupied with their looks. Women have been criticized for this for years. Our culture has become superficial and we can see this through the use of advertisements in both television and magazines in particular. In truth sex today in American culture sells. Women and men alike are forced to "look their best", even if it means showing a lot of skin and dressing immodestly. In todays advertisements we often see more skin than we actually do clothes. I look at ads many times, and I do not even know what is being sold until I look at the bottom of the page and see the word "fragrance," "jewlery," or "cotoure". Our society has turned into a superficial one only focused of body image. Women feel that they need to look a specific way and now men are pressured to fit a mold as well. Bordo's analysis of the male body, and her perception of the male body are very accurate in modern culture not just in the US, but also in Europe as well. It is common for men in Europe to wear tight clothes, "do" their hair, and spend maybe up to an hour getting ready before they go out. I personally cant imagine taking that much time to get ready. I get bored after 20 miniutes of trying on clothes and looking in the mirror. In Europe this look for men is acceptable. Here in the United States if a man does any thing of this sort he is considered gay. Also many men get offended by being called metrosexual, when really they should not. We criticize peoples lifestyles not matter what level of care they take in thier looks. If a man is unshaven and has long hair we deem him as dirt and unclean. These stigmas are an unfair judgements that we pass on to others. I think as a changing American culture we must adapt to and accept these changes. Because we cannot adapt to these things is why i think there is alot of intolerance for peoples differences.

The First Half of My First Semester at college

I would have to say that the first half of the semester has been pretty successful. Midterm grades came out today and i have recieved two "B's" and a "B-". I am very pleased with these results. So far the semester has been pretty easy. There has only been a few times where i have been really stressed. I am trying to avoid procrastinating. I am trying to study harder and be more focused when doing my work. There are alot of distractions in around the dorms that i must fight to ignore. My experiences here at James Madison University have been better than I had ever expected them to be. I have been to many other colleges for weekends and none feels the same at JMU. Here, I feel at home. If I go home for the weekend, I cant wait to get back to JMU. The friendships that I have made thus far i hope will last a long while and I am looking foward to my further experiences here at such an amazing school.

Favorite Musical Artist

Trying to decided who my favorite musician is was a very difficult, taxing feat. I struggled over who to pick: John Mayer?? or Ben Folds?? Both musicians play very different kinds of music. John Mayer's bluesy, mellow guitar ballads are songs of loss, love, and struggle, all very personal songs to his life. Ben Folds comical, ad-libbed, piano playing is humorous, but yet he has some very somber heart warming songs. Live both of these men are stellar performers, but I think overall my favorite artist is Ben Folds. Folds will not wow you with his soulful vocals like Mayer will. His music is less mainstream than John Mayers'. Folds has never sold a hit record, and has only had one hit single on the billboard charts. Ben Folds is probably known the most for his composition and production of the soundtrack for Pixar's movie "Over the Hedge". Folds does not care about the worldwide success music, he seems to only care that his audience is pleased with what he is producing. At his live concerts Folds incorporates his audiences by having them be the background music or "orchestra" in his songs. When he performs his song "Not the Same" he stands on top of his piano pointing at sections of the audience, signaling them to sing "Ahhh-Ahhh" at specific points during the song. At one of his concerts that i went to, he pulled 5 people from the audience to come up on stage to sing with him for the 5 part harmony in his song "Underground". Before many of his song he tells anecdotes about how he came about writing specific songs, and what they are about. For example his song "Army" is about his college music final. Folds attended The University of Miami as a drum major. The week before his final, he broke his wrist and could not play the drums. He ended up failing his final because of his inability to perform. Upon news of his failing his threw his drum-set into the lake at Miami, and claims his set is still in the bottom of that lake today. In the song he drops out of school, enlists in the army, drops out of the army, and then decides to start his music career. In his song "Not the Same" He wrote about a friend of his that went to a party, used some illicit drugs, spent the night in a tree, and the next morning came down a born again Christian. Folds mostly performs in very small venues so the atmosphere is very intimate. I feel as if he is singing directly to me. Ben Folds is also classically trained, and has an immense appreciation for classical music. He has performed all over the world with many symphony orchestras including, The Perth Symphony Orchestra in Perth Australia, The Boston Pops, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and The Philadelphia Orchestral Company. I have seen him in concert with the Baltimore Symphony as well as the Philadelphia company. These concerts were unlike any that I have ever seen before. In preparation for these concerts he recomposed and modified all of his own music to be played by these orchestras. These concerts gave me a new appreciation from a new type of music. These two concerts were some of the most beautiful sounding I have ever been to! Today Folds continues to experiment with several types of music genres. He just finished producing an acapella CD, where college acapella choirs sent him their renditions of his music. His passion for music is inspiring. I wish that other musicians were as dedicated to their fans as Ben Folds is. Here are some of my favorite lyrics of his.

Still Fighting It: Song written for his son Louie: good morning son i am a bird wearing a brown polyester shirt you want a coke? maybe some fries? the roast beef combo's only nine ninety five but it's okay you don't have to pay i've got all the change everybody knows it hurts to grow up but everybody does it's so weird to be back here let me tell you what the years go on and we're still fighting it and you're so much like me i'm sorry...

Ascent of Stan:Pangs of silence, From the room upstairs, How's the view there? Do you read what they're saying about you? That you're no fun, Since the war was won, In fact, you have become all of the things you've always run away from, The ascent of Stan, Textbook hippie man, Get rest while you can, So where'd the years go? All the time we had? Being poor was not such a drag in hindsight And you wonder why your father was so resigned Now you don't wonder any more

The Luckiest (my favorite song):i don't get many things right the first time, in fact, i am told that a lot, now i know all the wrong times, the stumbles and falls, brought me here, and where was i before the day, that i first saw your lovely face?, now i see it everyday, and i know..., (Chorus), that i am, i am, i am the luckiest, what if i'd been born 50 years before you, in a house on the street where you lived, maybe i'd be outside as you passed on your bike, would i know?, and in a wide sea of eyes, i see one pair that i recognize, and i know..., (Chorus), i love you more than i have ever found a way to say to you, next door there's an old man, who lived to his 90s and one day, passed away in his sleep, and his wife, she stayed for a couple of days, and passed away, i'm sorry i know that's a strange way to tell you that i know we belong, that i know... (Chorus)

Gracie: Written for his daughter Grace:You can't fool me, I saw you when you came out You got your momma's taste but you got my mouth And you will always have a part of me Nobody else is ever going to see Gracie girl With your cards to your chest walking on your toes What you got in the box only Gracie knows And I would never try to make you be Anything you didn't really want to be Gracie girl Life flies by in seconds You're not a baby Gracie, you're my friend You'll be a lady soon but until then You gotta do what I say You nodded off in my arms watching TV I won't move you an inch even thought my arm's asleep One day you're gonna want to go I hope we taught you everything you need to know Gracie girl And there will always be a part of me Nobody else is ever gonna see but you and me My little girl My Gracie girl

All U Can Eat: Son, look at all the people in this restaurant What do you think they weigh? And out the window to the parking lot At their SUV's taking all the space They give no fuck They talk as loud as they want They give no fuck Just as long as there's enough for them Gonna get on the microphone down at Wal-Mart Talk about some shit that's been on my mind Talk of the state of this great nation of ours People look to your left Yeah, look to your right They give no fuck They buy as much as they want They give no fuck Just as long as there's enough for them Son, look at the people lining up for plastic Wouldn't you like to see them in the National Geographic? Squatting bare assed in the dirt eating rice from a bowl With a towel on their head, and maybe a bone in their nose See that asshole with the peace sign on his license plate? Giving me the finger and running me out of his lane God made us number one because he loves us the best Well he should go bless someone else for a while Give us a rest...

Other songs to check out- Songs of Love, Learn to Live with What you Are, The Frown Song, You Dont Know Me, Cologne,

Response to Rodriguez

Dear Mr. Rodriguez,

I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you to have your parents understand your love and passion for education. I have a few words to share with you about how i feel about your situation. Your hard work and efforts have inspired me to never give up on my hopes and dreams. Your experiences have also showed me that having perseverance will allow one to overcome the odds of stereotypes, and that we can do anything we set our minds to. The message that your essay leaves me with will hopefully make my college education experience more meaningful. In my life I have face a similar situation, yet I learned ways to cope with it. I went to a Jewish Day School where in which i took Hebrew language courses. As a child I would always go to my father for help. My mother knew no hebrew, while my dads knowledge of the language was very elementary. As I got older my father could no longer help me with my work. As a result he thought it was important to be able to help me, so he began to take Hebrew language courses, and for that I appreciated him to no end. Your background puts many things in perspective about many aspects of life not just education. I also think that you need to give your parents a little more credit then you offer. They came to America to have a better life for themselves and their family. Im sure they have offered you many things here in America that they couldn't have anywhere else. You owe your education to your parents. They enrolled you into a private parochial school where you probably got a very good education in comparison to other schools in Mexico, and even in the nation. Without them getting you "started" I really do not think you would be here today. Their dedication to you and your brother and sister is tremendous. You should be greatful and appreciative for all that they have done for you. Never feel ashamed of your struggle because its that struggle that brought you where you are today.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed- Quote Response

~The truth is, however, that the oppressed are not "marginals", are not the people living "outside" society. They have always been "inside"-inside the structure which made them "being for others. The solution is not to "integrate" them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become "beings for themselves".~

The above quote is from the "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" which I would like to further discuss. In this quote I believe that what Freire is addressing is that these "marginals" are such extremely close minded people. Because of this they are confined to thier own "inside" world. They do not take criticism or advice from others, and they teach, or promote their (maybe) skewed or radical ideas to the "outside" society. Hence, this outside society has no chance or ability to think for themselves because of these imposing ideas. The banking method attempts to intensify more mundane topics that students and educators alike may not enjoy.

In the problem-posing method of education students are able to formulate their own opinions based on their knowledge of other worldly topics, and information that they have previously learned. In the banking style of education, the imposed ideas may "brain wash" individuals, and "integrate" them into this "inside", close minded society. The problem posing realm of education prevents this from happening. As students learn new things they are able to think for themselves, as a result becoming "beings for themselves". They are open minded, have a new outlook on life and education, and are ready and eager to tackle more thought provoking topics of education. They are no longer "beings for others" meaning that they have conquered and overcome banking method techniques, ultimately allowing them to lead more informed, educated, and worldlier lives.

Response to DNA Age

I know in the past week, most of us, if not all of us, have heard, discussed, and probably worn out the topic of the DNA Age. However, one article I did find very interesting was the article dealing with a women's struggle to determine whether or not she would have to live the rest of her life with the debilitating and deadly disease, Huntington's. This article is not only controversial, but it is also an excellent example of in my opinion, the importance of DNA mapping. Determining genetic makeup allows for people to live their lives differently according the results of their tests. In some cases this may have some positive consequences, and at other times some negative ones.

For this specific case, if I were in this situation, I would without a doubt want to know whether I had the disease or not. I am an 18 year old freshman in college with her entire life ahead of her. Knowing whether or not I had this disease would absolutely change the way I would plan on living my life. I would not want to live my life in fear, questioning how long I had to live. As a young woman there are so many things in this world that I would still love to accomplish such as traveling the world, bungee jumping, and joining the Peace Corps, just to name a few. This is not only a personal issue, but one that I feel I would want my family involved with. If they need to begin making plans for my care in the future I would like to have a say in what is done to my body. Also if my family knows that I have this disease, letting go of their loved one would be that much easier. In my opinion sudden deaths are just that much harder to cope with.

Once genetic testing proved that I was predisposed to some sort of disease such as breast cancer, I don't think I would have a mastectomy. Breast cancer is a very treatable disease for which there is a cure for. I would begin treatments of chemo and radiation, but would not go as far as to have a mastectomy. If the disease is caught early enough one can live a very full and successful life; whereas compared to the case of Huntington's, the disease is untreatable and deadly. Although genetic mapping can save lives, the truth in the results of mapping, may alter the population's views of those people who have sought to find the information regarding their DNA.

In this era of advanced technology, couples are attempting to engineer their babies in ways so that their children will be healthier than others, and have profound advantages in fields such as sports and education. These monopolized genetic engineering companies increase the cost of these treatments, because of their rarity. Only the upper class citizens are able to afford them, causing an even greater class gap in the United States. Lower income families, who are unable to afford these treatments, are subject to even greater prejudices. Their children may not be as intelligent as the others, so in their futures, the college application process will become even more competitive, and jobs will be harder to find for those who don't have these genetic profiles. As a result, the unemployment rate will skyrocket. In conclusion, medically i believe that DNA mapping is a very interesting topic, and feel that for the future it will save many lives. As far as genetic engineering goes, the prejudices that it presents will slowly complicate our already confusing world.