LOTS of Things are Wrong!!!

          Here in Miami, Barnes & Noble is the only bookstore here in Miami after Borders closed. It shouldn’t be the only bookstore where we can purchase books. A Books-A-Million store should be constructed here in Miami for students to quickly locate books for classes; probably, they would order from B & N if they didn’t have a book a student needs and wait a few days. Books-A-Million would be there for a student to surely find the books they need in a short amount of time.

          Barnes and Noble is totally unfair when it comes to non-member customers. I mean, seriously, the store is a book haven where thousands of books are being sold, yet members of Barnes and Noble seem to get the better discounts. Non-customers only receive coupons that are not even good enough. Also, there are only a few selected books that I don’t like that get discounted. Barnes and Noble should have better sales for a lot more young adult novels and send out and/or post high percentage coupons than just 15%.

          There are some housing areas in Miami that had not switched to a recycling program and are efficiently wasting recyclables. Recyclables thrown away into waste will cause a major garbage pile. Every single housing area should switch to the recycling program for more recyclables to be sent to the recycling center and keeping less waste from piling up. It’s also good for the environment and providing fewer resources to be wasted by using recycled products.

          What’s terribly wrong in Miami is how much traffic there is often, not to mention car accidents as if they have to happen daily. There is also the horrendous act of young drivers always speeding. People getting their driver’s licenses should understand the importance of driving carefully or they’ll be another “Drive Safely” sign. Young drivers should specifically know that speeding just for the thrill of it is idiotic. I think drivers need to see how reckless driving causes many dangers so the accident rate can gradually decrease, making roads safer for responsible drivers.

          War is a major problem that seems to always happen around the world, causing too many people to worry and many innocent lives being lost. Towns are destroyed in which they look like cheddar cheese from up in the air. Many soldiers are sent, making their families hope and pray for their safe return or awaiting for the bad news letter which could come at any time.

          Many endangered species are being hunted every day, the population decreasing as animals are suddenly turned into gourmet meals, fur coats, or the ugliest wall hangings I had ever seen in movies—so tacky! The main thing is that many animals are hurt around the world and it should be our job to help save them. The word should be known that everyone should help protect the world’s animals before they disappear from the face of the earth.

          Physical, verbal, and sexual abuse is a terrible crime still going on around the world that needs special attention. Women, children, and animals are physically and mentally hurt once they have been assaulted. Women and young children are raped or sold off in the black market, known as human trafficking. They are even abused at home which can scar them mentally for life if they do not get the proper help to cure them. Even in school, bullying has taken on a whole new meaning: when kids are bullied, some would take their life away to end the suffering. Lies are posted up on the Internet—cyberbullying—to easily make fun of someone popular kids would believe as pathetic, causing those kids to become hurt. Animals are cruelly used for men to gain easy money, but if they lose, the life of a poor animal is lost. It should be the government’s and our job to give people who have been hurt the proper care to save them and know that everything will be alright by stretching out our hands and taking theirs to let them know you care.

          Gun control seems to not be strong enough if some teenagers are able to sneak a gun past security to start a shooting or dangerous criminals with guns are able to walk freely anywhere before planning an attack. A tighter search party should be organized to thoroughly search for guns and stop teenagers or criminals from using them before they take a life.

          Many developing countries are suffering from living under unfortunate conditions, such as rundown houses, not enough food to feed their whole families, not enough money due to not being able to easily find jobs, and having little water to drink. The government and volunteers should help these people by giving them the necessary supplies they need, especially if a natural disaster happens. We should find a way to build up developing countries, as well as providing them with medical treatments if there are people with diseases.

          Bombs are another issue since people can make their own homemade recipes of bombs, just like what happened at the Boston Marathon. We need to work hard, as well as the government, to stop terrorists and/or seemingly ordinary people from making these explosions of terror before someone gets hurt or cross over into the light by providing better security and develop plans to find bombs quickly.

Nothing is Impossible

Have you ever been so close to failing a class with a slim chance of almost failing? You would be alright with failing the class? I'm pretty sure you'd rather pass than fail but as the chances of failing seem to increase, the willingness to pass either escalates or you're ready to throw in the towel. I ran into someone yesterday that had been afraid of failing the course since they didn't feel prepared for their final exam. In their eyes they just seemed to accept failure and let the pieces fall wherever they land because that was "reality". It just breaks my heart to see how people think reality as this negative realm of improbability and certain death. Sometimes looking towards the positives of situations can help more than the negatives. Don't throw in the towel just because things look grim; it's all perspective.

Just A Few More Days

As I'm sure every college student is aware of, the semester is finally almost over. For a select few that have already finished their examinations, their break has already commenced and we all hate them for it. I kid, of course, good for them. However, now the question is, what will I do for the next couple of weeks? Most answers would include doing things you like to do, obviously, like hang out with friends and go to the beach (since it's always summer in south Florida) or simply be lazy all day long. I would like to suggest that you, yes I'm talking to YOU, do something to better yourself. It can be anything, read a book that will expand your imagination and vocabulary. Learn a new skill, go to the gym and get that body you've been aching for, do anything that will make you a better, happier, more well-adapted person than you were yesterday. Then you can come back for spring semester with a stronger leash on life, and don't forget to thank me when you see me around. Adios.

Is the VS Fashion Show Exploiting Women?

During and after the extremely talked about Victoria's Secret Fashion Show I heard and read many comments about how putting on such a show is wrong and sexist. One tweet I read even went as far as to say, "I refuse to watch women parade themselves as pieces of meat... #TakeAStand". I think this kind of thinking is ridiculous. These women are not being forced to show of their bodies to the world. They CHOOSE to. Which I completely understand as they have worked extremely hard for the bodies that they have and obviously want. If they weren't proud of them they wouldn't be "parading" them around. There are always going to be rude and inappropriate people to make gross comments but that should not stop women from loving and showing off their beautiful bodies NO MATTER WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE.

"Historically speaking, animating female characters are really, really difficult, because they have to go through these range of emotions, but you have to keep them pretty and they're very sensitive too — you can get them off a model very quickly. So, having a film with two hero female characters was really tough, and having them both in the scene and look very different if they're echoing the same expression; that Elsa looking angry looks different from Anna being angry."

This quote was stated by Lino DiSalvo, an animator for Disney’s Frozen.  Disney said it was stated out of context, but it is hard not to interpret it as saying that not only do female characters need to be pretty, but also that they can only have specific features to be considered pretty. It never personally bothered me before that the Disney princesses were always designed to be pretty, because that was probably how the princesses were usually designed in their original stories. It does bother me that what can be considered beautiful is bound by specific characteristics that few people may actually have. This quote implies that just that. I seriously hope this guy thinks about what he said or gets fired, and that Disney learns from the responses it got concerning the quote. Maybe the quote was taken out of context, but I find it hard to see it in any other light. I know the Princesses are pretty, because pretty sells better, but beauty comes in more than one form.

Obama Care/Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Sine the government shut down many people have asked why has the GOP  want to destroy Obama Care. The law that was passed would help millions of people , many that can't afford insurance for themselves or for those who have been denied because of a previously condition . That doesn't make sense everyone need affordable insurance so they can take care of themselves and family if the become ill. This bill is too good to pass up, it even help states in which they save money for the set up and cost for about three years . The United Staes is one of the countries that pay the most for health insurance because it has many problem that needs to be fixed in which the Affordable Care Act will fix. Countries like Canada has figured this out and just did away with their health care system and made a federal based program, where it is handled by the government . In my opinion the ACA is a great thing which would help the United States, in a time where it needs to save money and create more job , in which the Affordable Care Act (ACA) does.  Obama care is a great thing and when people realize the benefit rather than just not liking it for no reason then the US will be moving closer to decrease its overall debt .

"Feminism is a dead topic..."

“Feminism is a dead topic,” is something I thought I would never hear coming from a girl, let alone in a Women Studies course at college. It really boils my blood when people still don’t see the value in feminism, or when they don’t even understand the concept. Most people are ignorant and even refer to feminists as “feminazis” just because they envision butch lesbians who hate men and want to see them perish. Truth be told even people who call themselves feminists try to pick and choose how a girl should look in order to deem them worthy of being called a feminist. People need to understand that first of all, feminism is about the pursuit of equality between both genders, and secondly any and all type of girls can be considered feminists. It doesn’t matter if a girl likes to dress up in heels everyday and wear a full face of makeup, or if she prefers t-shirts, sneakers, and doesn’t feel like wearing any makeup at all, both of these girls could be feminists and both deserve to be treated with respect.

I think the problem with the concept of feminism is that the patriarchy is so deeply engraved into society, and therefore our subconscious, that it seems impossible that feminism can cover the vast majority of issues it is trying to solve. Sure, the first two waves of feminism were able to make huge strides in tangible areas; women can vote, women can work, and our pay is almost equal to that of men. The third wave of feminism though, seeks to accomplish both tangible and abstract goals. The clearest issue at hand is that of abortion. Why do old men feel that they have the right to tell a woman what to do with her body and actually make laws that prevent a woman’s basic human right to choose whether or not she’s ready to have a child? The abstract goals will of course be much harder to accomplish. Yes, rape is a crime and there are serious laws against it, but why is it that the first thing a police officer will ask a victim is, “What were you wearing?” Sure, sex is everywhere in society, and it’s impossible to watch most commercials that don’t use gorgeous, half-naked women to sell a product, but when will people stop slut-shaming a girl simply because she enjoys having safe protected sex, without causing any harm to anyone? Of course, the fashion industry has changed greatly by creating the market for “plus size models,” but why are women constantly told that beauty has certain standards in today’s society and why aren’t all shapes and sizes of a woman’s body accepted? Honestly, the list goes on and on, but it is abundantly clear to me that feminism is not in any way shape or form a dead topic, and the sooner people are educated on these issues, the sooner society can improve for both genders.