Getting Laid-Off

Being an employee for anyone does not always necessarily exist with job security. At any point, as an employee for a person or big corporation, there is a possibility that one could be fired or even laid-off. There is even more of a danger when, for example, working as a contractor for a big company. In my case, however, I worked for an agency which helps people find job openings at different companies. In the agency’s defense, they honestly worked well with everyone. As a whole they were caring and generous. I feel that I’ll be fine staying as an employee for the agency, but the company did not even have the audacity to at least give us more than a week’s notice. Well like they say, “everything happens for a reason”. This will hopefully just be for the better and will open bigger doors of opportunity for all of us.

Whale Rider

The film “Whale Rider”, that we watched in class, was a really good movie. It definitely had an effective message at the end. Again, like 10,000 BC, this movie isn’t one that I usually find much interest in. However, I found it interesting enough to perhaps consider watching the movie for a second time. I thought Paikea was a truly courageous little girl. She did not give up on becoming leader of the tribe and getting the whale’s tooth which represents chief of the tribe. Her grandfather, Paka, did not want a girl to be leader. He felt that it was a boy’s position, although, none of the boys which Paka was training, earned the spot. They were not good enough. The spot was truly destined for Paikea.

10,000 BC

Just a few weekends ago, I watched the movie 10,000 BC. This movie is not necessarily the type of movie I usually enjoy watching, especially at the movie theatres. But unfortunately, my boyfriend makes me watch these types of movies with him. However, I did end up really enjoying the film. It is a prehistoric epic that follows a young mammoth hunter’s journey through uncharted territory to secure future of his tribe. Of course it has its romantic story. The young man falls, at a very young age, in love with a beautiful young girl who is also part of the tribe. She gets taken away by another group of people. Throughout his journey to save the tribe, he is also looking forward to seeing his love again. Generally, it’s a great movie and I would recommend it.

Television Addiction

This story was one of the most interesting. Like the essay ‘Territorial Behavior’, this essay is one that we can definitely relate to. Personally, I wouldn’t say that I am a television addict but I’ve most likely gone through a phase in which I was. Television, though, is just truly addicting. Once you watch one series, you just can’t seem to turn off the TV set. For example, at times which I’ve sat down to watch a show, I end up sitting on the couch for at least two or three more shows. In the essay, the author compares the television addiction to drug and alcohol addiction. The way in which the types of habits are similar is because when trying to quit the addiction, people think they can stop it but in reality it’s uncontrollable.

Territorial Behavior

The essay “Territorial Behavior” is one of the readings that bring up smirks to readers simply because we realize that what it’s saying is true. The facts that are mentioned in this story are different things that we know are true but never really think about. The first part deals with Tribal territory. This one basically is based on closeness that we have for those of our culture. It’s how we defend and protect our tribe and such. Secondly, the author talks about Family territory. Family territory is based on the way we, as a family, decorate our spaces. Most families’ homes look completely different and special on the inside and the outside. The fact that we can do this, allows us to show off personality and difference. The final territorial behavior is the personal territory. With personal territory, the author mentions how people usually sit somewhere and will put their belongings beside them to avoid others from sitting too close. Overall, this essay was really good.

Affirmative Action: The Price of Preference

This essay was very interesting, mainly because it’s based on one of those topics that we face in daily life but don’t necessarily think about too often. In almost every job they must have a number of black employees just because if they were to do otherwise, they’d be considered racists. The suggestion of affirmative action should help blacks but not essentially a preference. That is the issue Shelby Steele, the author of this essay, has with this matter. Affirmative action does not only come up in life for jobs, but it also applies for students when they are applying for college. Steele, being a middle-classed black him, does not agree with what affirmative action brings upon black people, or for matter Hispanic, or simply white women.

Cultural Baggage

My idea of culture is mainly tradition. Along with tradition, there are many other factors which not only make up a culture but also make each and every different culture special. The factors consist of mostly nationality, language, music, food, way of living, and religion. In the essay by Barbara Ehrenreich, "Cultural Baggage", she begins by explaining to the readers that whenever others ask her about her ethnic background, she really does not know what to answer. Though she continues by stating that she does know what her background is of course but does not necessarily feel proud about them I guess. Ehrenreich later acknowledges that she wasn't really raised with any culture. In my opinion, this is an issue because in the future you really wouldn't know how to raise your children when it comes down to culture. The author, likewise, basically explains here that she does not raise her children with any culture. In cases like these, the children would not be exposed to religion at an early age so they'd just be expected to choose their beliefs accordingly.

College Pressures

College and high school have many differences. High school in a sense just helps to prepare students for college. One of the things they have in similar is pressures. They're slightly different pressures, however. In high school the type of pressures that students probably experience include mostly a lot of peer pressure. On the other hand, college students face more pressures. Peer pressure, financial pressures, parental pressures, and self-induced pressures. In this essay, the author explains how all these different pressures affect students' lives. First off, peer pressures involve friends talking their friends into missing class to head to the beach or just simply to hang out and probably have lunch. Financial pressures play a large role for college students because tuition's no joke. Many students do not qualify for financial aid, therefore they must pay for all classes not to mention books and class materials. Of course there are also personal expenditures such as gas, clothing, and food. Parental pressures for college students deals with the fact that many parents decide what they want their children to study. Because the parent, as well as their parents, may be doctors so they want their children to continue on with the same profession. Lastly self-induced pressure has to do with oneself. I'd say it involves competition and putting yourself down when failing a test or getting a bad grade on a paper. Overall college pressures affect students greatly but they must be fought out. College should be an enjoyable, never-forgotten experience.

Cinematypes

Many dates consist of going out to watch a movie. In the essay, "Cinematypes", by Susan Allen Toth, which is a piece of writing falling under the category; Classification and Division, is an essay based on the way men are according to the first few dates to the movie theatre. The important factors to look for is what movie the guy wants to watch, how you both arrive to the theatre, and who pays for refreshments. She describes three different men which she went on multiple dates with to watch a movie. The first guy, Aaron, enjoys watching art films. She, however, does not enjoy those movies and they actually seperately meet at the theatre. Pete takes her to watch political movies and they take turns when it comes to driving. The last guy she writes about is Sam. Sam is the type of date who pays for everything and always drives. The biggest difference between all three dates is what happens after the movie is over and it comes time for both of them to go home. Each of them do something different which causes her to just prefer going to the movies on her own and relax.

The Lie Detector

The Lie Detector, a short essay published by Lewis Thomas, explains the negative effects that lying bring upon for individuals. He mainly covers the idea that when people lie they end up feeling very guilty afterward and regret the act considering that they are betraying the trust that he or she has with the person they are lying to. The way I feel about this topic is that I cannot seem to agree or disagree with the point he is trying to make. I understand that lying is not the best thing to do, but many times white lies might indeed be of help to perhaps get out of doing something or maybe to protect a loved one. I do not think that everyone can handle the truth. In many cases lying, in my opinion, is acceptable to avoid hurting one's feelings. As much as people may say they disagree with lying, they are always going to lie.

Neat People vs. Sloppy People

Neat People vs. Sloppy People is truly a humourous piece. I really enjoyed reading this story. Suzanne Britt, in this essay, compares and contrasts the similiraties and differences of organized individuals and, let's say, messy ones. In her opinion, neat people are lazier and meaner than sloppy people. What I liked about it was the way she described them. And it was funny because it's very contradicting. She says that neat people throw away everything and read their mail over a garbage can. And later she explains that sloppy people give their attention to little things. Basically, Britt merely distincts the two kinds of people, neat and sloppy, saying that neat people throw away everything and sloppy people keep all things just in case they may need them in the near future.

Slice of Life

Slice of Life, written by Russell Baker, is an essay about how to carve a turkey. The catch to this story is that it's really not about the correct way of carving a turkey. As I began to read it, I was not aware of the fact that it was a joke, considering I really don't know how people carve turkeys. But Baker writes this essay to remind people of the way Thanksgiving really is sometimes. Most people just enjoy the food on this holiday. Some don't even like this holiday because of obnoxious family members or incidents that may have happened in the past on this day. Overall, I chose to write about this story because I found it to be awfully funny. Personally, I have no problem with the holiday, I enjoy it and it's a good excuse for no school and work.

Why Don't We Complain?

The essay, "Why Don't We Complain", was very amusing. It's about the fact that nowadays people are so lazy that they do not get up and complain about something that may or may not be of a bother. One of the reasons why I really liked this story was because it is very true what William F. Buckley writes about. Back in the days, people would also fix minor problems around the house and such on their own. In the essay, Buckley is saying that in the past couple of years, people have changed tremendously. They, now, call technicians, plumbers, and such to take care of necessities around the house. The examples he uses to help illustrate the idea of the essay consist of times when people are out somewhere and there's a problem with something but they do not want to get up and try to speak with someone about getting rid of whatever the problem may be.

Marrying Absurd

The story "Marrying Absurd", by Joan Didion, was the most interesting to me, out of the three essays under 'Description'. This essay involves a little bit of humor and entertainment. I liked it, mainly, because I know that everything she talks about is true and happens all the time. I also learned from it. I had no idea it was that inexpensive to get married in Las Vegas, despite of all the things I've heard about Vegas weddings. She writes, "someone must put up five dollars for the license. It seems to me to be a joke. It's hard to believe that so many people, intentionally, marry in Las Vegas. The way I see it, it's not a serious wedding and one should deeply consider what they are doing when planning to marry in Vegas.

Reaction to 'Salvation'

The story Salvation was an awfully interesting story. I, personally, am not a religious person at all but this story did show me something. I guess sometimes we don't realize how literal children take things that we say to them. In this story, the aunt, did not realize that she did make a mistake. She should not had told her nephew, Langston, that he'd be going to church and would be getting saved by Jesus right after seeing this bright light shine in his face. This young child, of course, went into the church and sat there with other kids like he was told to do by his aunt. And because of what he was told, he ends up thinking that he has lied to the church, to Jesus, and to his aunt. Langston really was expecting to see this light and feel this strong connection to Jesus as he sat there. And that is where his aunt's mistake came in, she did not have to tell him that he'd be literally seeing and feeling all of this. But I guess she really did not realize that he would take what she said to him literal and would be waiting on this light.

What do you expect from college?

The main thing I expect to get out of attending college would definitely be an education, of course. The reason behind this is because I, in the future, would like to be able to consider myself as a well-knowledgeable person. Aside from an education, the one other thing I will expect to get out of college is a good career that I will enjoy doing and make good money from. Although college is extremely challenging and not for everyone, I do believe everyone should give it a shot because in the long run it will definitely pay off. College does not only prepare you for your career but also how to manage your lifestyle and your decision making skills. Overall, I hope to get awesome memories from it and great learning experiences for my future.