It's Not Just A List

My “Big Five for Life” would start off with one of the things I have always wanted to achieve in my life. This would be to go to college in Florida. And here I am at FGCU, living and studying. One of my biggest things I want to accomplish in my lifetime is to be in the movie business.  I don’t want to act, but produce, direct or set design.  Also, I want to become like my grandfather. I want my grandchildren to look up to me and see me as one of the most important people in their world.  If I come close to being even one-third the man my grandfather was, I would be the happiest person on this planet. Another “Big Five” for me would be to see my brother get married.  I want to help fight for gay rights and have it be legalized in New Jersey. Last but not least, I want to live in England for a few years and then move to Ireland.  I want to be a world traveler and see all cultures and as many places as I can.

If I were to accomplish my “Big Five for Life” I would definitely consider my life a success. I would have seen, experienced and accomplished five things that are extremely important to me.  I do see my “Big Five” changing, but as of right now I am satisfied with what I have come up with. The only reason why my list would change would be money situations.  I cannot travel the world and go on vacations if I do not have the money for it.  I really hope I will be wealthy enough to see the world. I hope I can cross everything off my list as each day of my life goes on.

Don't Be Another Statistic

Rape, any act of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person, happens every twenty-one hours on a college campus. It does not just happen to people you don’t know, a friend, family member and even you, can be raped. The first think to do is not live in a world filled with rainbows and cotton candy, if you are not smart and safe it can happen to you.  One in four women will be raped during their college career. By simply putting yourself around people who have academic futures and goals, you are one step closer from not being one of these statistics. When you go out, do not drink until you black out; always know your surroundings and the people you are with. Do not be another statistic; protect yourself.

Rape is frightening and disgusting.  In my opinion, the predators, who are committing this crime, should be thrown straight into jail.  The fact that someone can force another person to do things they do not want to is horrible. When I read about the statistics of rapes on college campuses, I actually became scared.  The article said it could be you and this got me very nervous.  I will always be careful, choose my friends wisely and never drink until I black out.  Rape is a very scary thing and I would never want it to happen to me or anyone else.  I think campuses should send out surveys or question random students to see if they have ever been raped.  Some people are too afraid to go to the authorities and might be more willing to submit an anonymous survey.  I hope these statistics decrease and decrease fast. 

http://www.campushealthandsafety.org/violence/

There's a First For Everything

Great Britain, in 2009, sent their first teenager to jail for harassing another young girl on Facebook.  The article Teenage girl first to be jailed for Bullying on Facebook, written by Helen Carter, tells the story of Houghton. Houghton, 18 years old, harassed and posted life-threatening messages online about Emily Moore.  The victim, Moore, was physically and verbally harassed by Houghton numerous times, before Houghton also became a cyber bully.  She was attacked when walking home from school, threatened when out at a bar and was scared for her life with Facebook statuses.  Houghton was already sent to institutions before her last crime and was let go.  Her Facebook threats were her last attempts at bullying Moore. Houghton has now been punished for good.

            Emily Moore did not deserve anything that happened to her.  In my opinion, Houghton should have never been let out of the institution so quickly after she physically attacked and verbally assaulted her.  For the judge to finally punish Houghton after putting up a Facebook post really upsets me.  Moore should have been able to feel comfortable at home, walking outside and out at bars way before those statuses were posted.  I am glad that Houghton is finally getting what she deserves, but it should have happened so much earlier. Cyber bullying is becoming a serious problem and needs to be monitored and stopped.  

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/aug/21/facebook-bullying-sentence-teenage-girl

FYI

Quit smoking is a message that many try to send out.  This poster consists of a few words, two colors, but means so much after you read it.  The background is dark black and has simple white text.  This poster is not about the visual elements, but is more about the textual elements and the message.  It is fairly simple, does not have splashing colors to catch a viewer’s attention, but once it is read, a message goes straight to your head.  The font that was chosen is one of the most basic and has no great appeal. This no smoking poster is lacking in visual elements, but sends its message straight to the audience.

This poster really had me thinking.  I read it once and convinced myself never to try a cigarette.  The message is short, but the effect it had on me is lasting. It is a funny quick message and when thinking about it, it is frightening and true. “For more information on lung cancer, keep smoking.” is very humorous, but extremely meaningful. I believe that this poster is persuasive because it makes you think about smoking and how it affects you. If I were a smoker or was thinking about becoming one, this poster would definitely make me think again.

Photograph. Web. <http://www.google.com/imgres?

Let Me Grab My Handgun...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d54TiN3t5_I

In Why Men Don’t Talk to Women the author and creator of the video is sending out a very violent and discriminating message about women.  He has a young stick figure man walking up to different young stick figure women, asking a simple question and getting brutally battered.  The women freak out and use weapons like, knives, chainsaws, their own sharp mouths and handguns.  The young stick figure walks by a very large, over weight stick figure and goes right up to another skinny one.  This shows that the creator thinks men do not talk to overweight women at all and that these types of women never even get the time of day.  Another thing the author points out is that he thinks women are gold diggers.  The last time the stick figure man walks up to a women, all he says is, “I have money.” and the stick figure women says, “I love you.” and a big rainbow and heart form around the two figures hugging.

            I do not agree with this take on why men do not talk to women because all women are not like this.  I do not think I ever took out a handgun when a guy has asked me to go to the movies.  Sure, I have thought about punching some guys in the face because they do not stop bothering me, but am I actually going to do it? No. The creator of this video strongly believes that women are the rough and mean ones, but in my opinion, I think it is both genders. Both men and women have hard times talking to each other and we each have our own reasons why we do or do not. Men have a difficult time figuring out women and men are just as hard for women.  This video makes women seem unapproachable and gives them all a sadistic personality.  Most women do not carry around handguns, I don’t. Do you?