"That's So Gay.."

“That’s so gay” is probably the worst thing you could say in front of me. It equates gay with something lesser, often “dumb,” “silly,” or “feminine.” When I lived in New York City everyone was really PC. No one ever identified things other than homosexuality as “gay.” Now that I’m back in Miami I’m hearing people say it again. Saying “that’s so gay,” emphasizes that there is something wrong with homosexuality. That’s what happens when we identify things we don’t like as “gay.” It ostracizes a large group of people in our community and it is wrong. 

Dream Act

Some people that were not born here but grew up in the United States, have graduated from high school but are facing an uncertain future.  At this moment, those students are relying on what's called the Dream Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act).  The Dream Act is a legislation that is trying to help those these students to apply for a temporary legal status and to eventually become eligible for a US citizenship if they go to college or serve in the US military.  Also, this act helps with tuition eligibility.

          I agree with this act because as long as the people are doing no wrong they should be able to go on with their future in order to better our future.

Obama Care

When I heard about the Obama care, I said to myself, "Good that every citizen will have medical insurance.  But at what price?  Will it be low enough for them to afford it?" Yes, there are several options for the Obama Care.  If you don't choose one of the options you will get penalized.  A person with no insurance will pay a fee included in their taxes.  But we would all have to wait until this new program officially starts next year on January to see all pros and cons it will carry on.

Reefer Madness!

Hot Topics: Reefer Madness!

Some issues are less about right and wrong and more about sense and nonsense. In a nation where both cigarettes and alcohol are perfectly legal, it simply makes no sense for cannabis to be outlawed. The issue of legalization is not a moral one in my view. Legalizing marijuana isn't morally right, it's rationally sound. Marijuana's effects are no more devastating than that of alcohol or cigarettes, the fear of marijuana generated by multiple sources in the last century are outdated and motivated by financial gain, and the current number of men imprisoned due to drug possession has massively crippling effects on the economy.

Ganja is not good for you. Some argue that it possesses properties that combat cancer, but this has not been proven. However, marijuana is by no stretch of the imagination worse than cigarettes or alcohol. The adverse effects of alcohol and tobacco have been documented extensively. Alcohol damages the liver, is calorie-laden, and yet perfectly legal for anyone above the age of twenty one. Cigarettes have been so closely tied to lung cancer that they require a warning to be printed on the side of the box. Marijuana can also have a slew of negative outcomes, but many would agree that they are relatively minor. Furthermore, many consider marijuana a “gate-way drug”. It is my belief that many move into a more dangerous territory (That of hard drugs) when they see that marijuana isn't all that bad and begin to believe that the government is simply lying to them for their own gains, and that is marijuana isn't as bad as it was cracked up to be, so to must be the case for harder drugs. I am not an advocate for any other illegal substance.

The amount of people currently incarcerated due to drug possession in the United States is startling. We have more prisoners than China despite having a population roughly a third as large. If that isn't a comment on the problem with the system, I don't know what is. Having so many people as wards of the state is economically unfeasible, and our current economic track says as much. I do not pretend that legalization will solve our problems as a nation, but it would at least let us relax as everything turns to dung.

Maybe I'm A Little Harsh..

During the Thanksgiving weekend American actor, Paul Walker, lost his life in a tragic car accident in California. It's a terrible loss, considering that Walker contributed positively to society and leaves behind a family.On almost every media outlet, the news of Walker's passing is posted; visit Facebook or Instagram or even Twitter and you're bound to see at least one post about Walker. I enjoyed Walker as an actor and believed him to be a nice guy, so don't misunderstand me when I say that I think the media and our society are over-doing his death. Paul Walker was one of those actors that would be spoken about for a few weeks after a movie of his premiered and then he wouldn't be heard about until the next movie. In the car accident, Walker was accompanied by Roger Rodus, a person who most don't even know died as well. Is Walker receiving all this publicity just because he was famous? Just because he was voted #4 by Glamour Magazine in their 50 Sexiest Men of 2010 issue? I simply can't understand why society is focusing so much on one death when people fighting in wars are dying constantly; people all over the world are dying. Roger Rodus died just as Walker, but yet his death receives very little focus. Was he not as great of a human being as Walker? Like I said early, don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that society shouldn't mourn deaths or that society shouldn't mourn Walker's death in particular. I'm simply stating that the same attention should be placed on other deaths as well, such as Roger Rodus' death. I just believe that every death deserves the same amount of respect and attention.

Women's Self Love Movement Beginning to Put Down Certain Forms of Body Image?

I'm %100 on board with promoting self love to woman, especially young girls. Especially, with all the impossible standards that the media is setting for us. However, recently I've been deeply bothered by some campaigns depicting certain body forms, like skinny or "sultry" looking, as ugly or wrong in order to make women with different bodies feel better or so that the women that fit todays "view of beauty"can be looked down upon. Self love is all about accepting who you are inside and out. Whether you fit the world's mold of beauty or not!
For example, just because a girl is very skinny doesn't mean she is this way because she wants to please the masses, this is simply how her body is and she shouldn't be judged or put down because of that just as every woman shouldn't.
Just be careful when promoting self love, to not, at the same time, be putting down certain types of women.

To those who think school is a fashion show

There's a selective bond between my friends that occurs that begins with comparing ourselves to other girls around campus. A product of our own societal downfalls, we can't help but compare ourselves to other women we see. Although many have called us "pretty" and we take those compliments with 6 tablespoons of salt, it still lingers in us to judge ourselves, both negatively towards  ourselves and harshly towards others, on a daily basis. This kind of dissonance is learned early on; other women are seen as competition for our own success stories. My friends often lament that they wish they had the time, or worse, were vain enough to dress well for school in the morning; to throw on a pair of Steve Madden combat boots they know are far from comfortable and still do it all in the name of fashion, amen.

The "girl hate," as modern third wave girl power circles have put it, needs to stop. When we create a culture within ourselves that belittles fellow women for being happy and confident, something many of us aren't and are pushed not to be, it further drives the point to those at a higher level of societal influence that women need to be pushed to feel bad to buy the new cruddy shade of coral lipstick, the fat burner, the product that takes the culture out of your hair. Over time, I realized what this reliance on make up meant for me and others: nothing. Women do not need to dress themselves up to impress anyone, nor do you need to care as to why they do it. I am now happy to say that when I see a woman who took effort and time to look a way that makes her happy and comfortable that I am no longer jealous or bitter. We should celebrate the hard earned confidence of women, not destroy it. We are only building up yet another superficial patriarchal infrastructure that can be dismantled easily with the power of kindness and forgiveness towards self body image.

Stop judging women for doing what they want with their bodies.