On to the next....

So for days we were watching the news as they caught and killed Osama Bin Laden.  Every news station was broadcasting it.  We watched as they went back and forth on what videos and pictures they should reveal.  What rights would be violated if certain things were shown etc. 

Well it didnt take long until we were on to the next thing.  We captured Whitey and his long time girlfriend!!  It is said as of yesterday that he will be back here in Mass within the next 48hrs.  I can't believe that he was able to hide out for 16yrs.  I am so confused as to how that happens.  I mean here in the United States we have top not security, unbelievable resources and an FBI that ranks top notch.  I wonder why they werent able to catch him for so long....It truly puzzles me that with all the technology we have murders are able to flee and hide for years at a time without being caught.  I know that cases like this are very technical and there is a lot involved.  I am just hoping that the future will provide better opportunites to obtain people like Bin Laden and Whitey who are obvious pains to our society.

Reality Check!

The film The Age of Stupid left me with a hopeful heart and a troubled mind.  I still to this day after watching the film over a week ago have the little boy from Afghanistan and the woman from Nigeria in my head clear as day.  I picture the little boy and his sister fixing shoes that came from America, shoes that we throw away because they have a little dirt on them.  I see them sitting on the street selling the shoes to make money for their family who has lost their father.  I watched in awe as they all ate dinner from a single plate with their fingers while sitting on the floor.  I am then drawn to another part of the world, Africa.

I see the young woman who's only dream in the world is to become a doctor but, the amount of obstacles that stand in her way broke my heart.  She is forced to clean little fish that have been submerged in oil, and to travel miles on top of miles to fill a water bottle with diesel fuel, just to make a little bit of money.  I think about the fact that the people in Nigeria can't even drink their water, yet we in America run our water like the well will never run dry.

I had no idea how we take our resources for granted.  I am not naive, I am clearly aware that we are one of the most profitable and resourceful countries in the world, I just never realized exactly how much more we use than anyone else.  The things we are doing to our environment is scary!  To think about what could potentially happen just years down the road if we dont get our act together is frightening.  I can only hope and pray we do so before it is too late!

The Journey

I started this class a bit nervous wondering what I was going to expect.  I have not been in a classroom in over 8 years, and have never taken an online class.  In the beginning I felt a little overwhelmed because I had also never taken a summer class and I couldn't begin to fathom how we were going to finish an entire semesters worth of work in just 5 weeks.

However, as the first week went by, I found myself "getting" it.  I was able to schedule in time to read, write papers and take exams in between working full time, being a wife and a mother.  I was surprised to see that although the work load was challenging, I had a handle on it.  I enjoyed learning new things that I had not known before.  I find myself tying things from the book into everyday life now.  I think of the theorists we read about when I watch a television show or a movie.  The movie Bamboozled (which is exactly how it left me) stands out in my everyday living and I am unable to get certain parts from The Age of Stupid out of my mind.

Even though I consider myself grown, there is always in my mind room for growth.  I feel as though I have grown with this class.  A special thank you to our professor for making this class as great as it is, and to all of my fellow classes may you continue to strive for the success and good luck in all of your future endeavors!

To My Surprise....

I am a married mother of two, who works for the university and is now taking classes as well.  With that in mind, I am also pretty young, or on the younger side of elderly.  (my nephew used to tell my mother this all the time when he was younger, so its been a family joke for a while)  I consider myself pretty involved and use the internet on a frequent basis.  I have never taken a web course before, so using Blackboard was all new to me.  However, blackboard was not my biggest issue.  I have to honestly say that for the life of me I have never blogged before!  I didn't even know what a blog was!

Here I was, younger than older, with no clue what it meant to "blog".  I found myself sitting in the position of my parents.  Back when I had a brand new "CD" player and they were looking at me all crazy, wondering what on earth a "CD" player was.  For if it was not an 8-track or a record player, they had never played music on it before.  I found myself looking back to my high school years when I would say things like, please dont ever let me be like that when I get older, or please dont let me embarrass my children like that.  Its truly funny how the world constantly swings full circle. 

For before I was the not so cool parent, my parents were the not so cool parents.  What I sometimes forgot is that before my parents had me, their parents were the "not so cool" parents. 

Yup, so with blogging, I found myself in that "lost" state of mind and I must say that although I completely understand it now.  I am also admitting to myself that, I am like my parents :)

I Believe

I know, maybe its silly of me........BUT.......

I believe that one day even the media will see us alll as equal.  I believe that one day movies of romance won't be depicted as "chick flicks" because men will want to watch them to see how a woman really wants to be treated.  I also believe that one day movies with lots of action and killing and fighting, wont just be looked at as "men" movies, because women will also want to watch what will make their "man" happy.

I believe that one day we will all be looked at as equal.  I believe that one day......There wont be a "glass ceiling" and women wont get paid less then men just because they are women.

I believe that one day you will turn on the TV and see a woman that is not a size 1 stairing you in the face.  I believe you will also see a man that is not complete muscles from the neck down.  I will admit all of this is probably wonderful for people to look at but, how much of it is reality? 

I believe that people with any type of disability and people of any kind of race will be looked at as equal, and that they will hold "equal" roles be it in televison, radio, whatever.... I believe "we" as a people can do and be so much better.......I believe.....

Facebook "friends"

I am a facebook user.  I personally LOVE facebook.  It keeps me in contact with so many people.  I speak to friends and loved ones all the time.  It is wonderful that I am able to keep in contact with family I have in Florida and California, or overseas.  The problem I have with facebook is the constant need for everyone to tell everyone else EVERYTHING they are doing.

We live in a world where there is so much violence, hurt, ect.  I just cannot see for the life of me why people choose to put their entire life on facebook.  Now, I know that many people may say that it shouldnt matter what they put on facebook because everyone on their page is their friend, and so on and so forth.  Here is my question.  How many of the "friends" on your page are you really "friends" with?

I see people out there with 3,000 and 4,000 friends.  Is that really possible?  Do you really know and trust 3,000 people enough to give them information like where you are, what you are doing, and what time you will be home?  I just do not find that possible.  I find nothing wrong with having that many people on your page and openly admitting to not even knowing half of them, or not putting personal stuff on the page because you dont know them but, then again, why have them as friends then?  For instance, there are people I purposely dont add because I dont want to go through the process of blocking them from certain things, or all things.  If I have to block you from things, I either dont know you enough to want you to know, or I just dont know you.  Therefor, I dont need you on my page.  Maybe its because I have children and am a bit older then my nieces and nephews who have a trillion friends on their pages, I dont know.  But to me, there is no possible way anyone can be friends with that many people.

The Unexceptable

I find it troubling when I watch the news and am filled with images of death and despair.  Parents killing their children, and children killing their parents.  I am led in particular to a very recent tragedy, Camden Pierce Hughes.  I know that there has to be something psychologically wrong with a person for them to commit such a crime.  I mean there would have to be right?  No one in their right mind would take the life of their child if they were sane. Right?  I just can't imagine what goes through the head of people who do this.  If you take a moment to just google something like "mother kills child" or "father kills kid" or even "child kills...." you will be amazed at the amount of hits you will receive.  I look into the eyes of my children every night, and the love I have for them over flows, I could never imagine what thoughts enter the brains of people who take the lives of their children. In fact, the very thought of it makes me angry, and enrages me.  How could you take the life of someone you worked so hard to bring into the world?  A gift from above, and angel, an innocent being who knows nothing but the love and trust of its parents, how could you take that life away?