High School Confidential April 27, 2008

I had high expectations for the new WE-TV show called High School Confidential. I saw the commercial and i figured it would be a great show but after watching 1 hour of it, I realized it was nothing like what i thought it would be. One false move was the fact that the show originally came on at 10 at night…That’s not late but for a show that its core demographic is teens, the last show i would want to see at 10 would be High schoolconfidential.They should have made it a prime time show that came on at either 8 or 9. The second thing i did not like was how the show was made. I thought it would be a weekly episode of them coping with there life starting in grade 9 and working up to grade 12 . Instead they choose 2 or 3 people to focus in on and they talk about there struggles from grades 9-12. It becomes more of a biographical show and less of a show that has reality. not saying that this show isn’t realistic, because some of the things they talk about helps other people cope with their lives, i just figured they would show more of the high school life and less of the person talking about there high school life. Lastly my issue with this show is the lack of diversity. There is diversity amongthe family types and the social cliques but with race there is none.( they have one African American). With the exception of the show taking place in Kansas…which may play a big part….i feel that they could have been a bit more diverse then preppy vs nerd vs single parent vs traditional vs religious vs non religious. All though this show is not what i expected it to be, i feel that they did a good job with shedding light on how teenagers are thinking and coping with life in high school. It is relate-able, but they could have executed it better.

                                                                Just my opinion.

Why turn a blind eye to polygamy??? April 18, 2008

If you have been keeping up with the news, there is alot of  coverage on the polygamist ranch in Texas over 500 women and children were taken off the ranch because of a 16 year old girl who called the police saying how she had been abused and how girls as young as 14 and 15 were being forced into marriage.This caused alarm across the country because once again we are hearing abuse within the polygamist community. Almost everyone has heard about Warren Jeffs. A polygamist leader who was charged with two counts with rape as an accomplice. In February of this year he has issued a guilty plea in Arizona, due to the accusations of arranged marriages with young girls and older men.

In my opinion why does the united states allow this to happen. Now i am not saying all Polygamist are prone to rape and forced marriages but a large amount of cases prove otherwise. Polygamy would be found under religion so based on that, the government can only go but so far to intervene. Only in cases where people are getting hurt such as the Jeff Warrens case or the new ranch in Texas can the law intervene. I feel through that in a religion that break rules such as multiple marriages,underage marriages and rape, why do we allow it? Yes i understand freedom of religion, but in a religion that can be compared to a cult…why allow it? There are stories of people who have broken free of there polygamist ways and are shunned by family and friends because they no longer want to live that way of life. There are stories of incest and rape, and forced marriages. There is a story of a girl was 16 and forced to marry a 65 year old man! This is ridiculous. People wonder why they are told to hide their faces when people who are non polygamist see them. That is because they are hiding their shame, there hopelessness. Though certain polygamy compounds are old fashioned, meaning they wear the home made clothing, with the bonnets almost very similar to the Amish. On Oprah i saw a modern day polygamist  family who wore the same clothes any average American would wear. They lived in a gated community ( of course) and their children wore no bonnets and they went to school with other non polygamy children. Now i am not giving them a gold star because they live a more modern way of life but they are less old fashioned.

My last thoughts on this is that i think polygamist should not be allowed. Polygamy in every other meaning then religion is illegal so why allow it? Especially when you take into account the children who have been  abused or shunned. The people who have no way out for fear of being shunned. For people who don’t even know what else life has to offer other then living a simple polygamist life. I feel this shouldn’t be legal. So i guess just like the KKK is legal because of freedom of speech, is guess polygamy will continue to be legal because of freedom of religion….what a country we live in.

~Attending a College Fair~ April 14, 2008

I went to a college fair just yesterday and there were so many people who looked lost among the crowd. Maybe i was one of them but i learned a lot based on my experience.

My first tip for going to a college fair is GET THERE EARLY.I went to the National college fair in NY, it was from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. I figured well, since it will be till 4 i guess ill get there about 1:30….Big mistake. GET THERE EARLY! If the time for your college fair is 12 get there at 11. Its not something people think about often but if you stop and think about all the millions of kids who are planning on attending college, then you can understand why i am saying get there early . on the website for the national college fair it said estimated attendees 9,000. Well there had to be at least 15,000. It was so many people that the line went way around the convention center into the streets! Now i am not saying all college fairs are like this, but in a major cities like NY or Chicago or LA, expect alot of people.

My next tip is to BE PREPARED.

 When i say be prepared i mean know these 3 major things. What colleges your interested in, what location you want your college to be in and  what majors you want to take. These things will help you navigate through the crowds. There is nothing wrong with wandering around and checking out different colleges just for the sake of it, but if you know those 3 things it will definitely keep you sane. Like i said earlier college fairs are crowded so if you know what your looking for, you wont get caught up.

College Fair Tip #3 : HAVE A LIST OF QUESTIONS YOU WANT TO ASK

This is something that i should have done because you find that you know what your going to say until you get amidst the chaos and everyone is on top of everyone trying to talk at the same time…you get lost within the crowds. So have a list ready. When you get to booth don’t be afraid to ask as many questions as you want because it is very likely that the people standing at the booth with you want to ask the same thing.

Tip #4: HAVE LABELS READY

I found this out yesterday also. With the large amount of kids wanting to request info from the colleges, most of the time the reps will run out of cards. But usually if you carry labels they will accept them. There were about 2 colleges that i was unable to obtain info from because they ran out of cards. So  have a label ready with you name, address, phone number, email, high school name, high school grade and the majors your interested in.

Lastly DON’T GET LOST AMONGST THE CHAOS!

Most people get frustrated because of the amount of people and the lack of manners at a college fair, but it is what it is. Take a deep breath and realize that these people are here to do the same thing as you. If you find yourself at a booth that is popular and it is a crowded, don’t bombard everyone to get to the front, just wait your turn. If you cant find your school of choice, use a map. Most college fairs will give you a map of the fair itself, which believe me it does help you navigate around the masses.

These tips are definetly helpful for anyone who is looking forward to attending a college fair. I hope it helps

Racist Advertisements from K-swiss sneaker brand April 2, 2008

okay so i was reading through the April 2008 issue of Teen Vogue and i stumbled upon this ad. It shows a caucasion blonde woman with blue eyes and in bold white letters it says KEEP IT PURE. Now for some reason this ad didnt sit well with me because that is something that hitler or the Nazis would say or even the KKK would say. Keep the race pure. Well i looked up some stuff on the net and i also found out that Kswiss also refuses to use black models. As an african american teen this really offends me! Keep it pure. Now some people may argue that this statement was taken out of context but i deeply disagree. This in my opinion is called subtle racism. A hint of an idea about what they mean but in some ways it makes you wonder well maybe its not racist. So from this day on i am boycotting Kswiss. They refuse to use black models for their ads and TV commercials, but yet they want to sell to the black community or the minority community. Well this is all i have to say but like i mentioned before i found this article in TEEN VOGUE. Which is a mag where hardly any african americans are found throughout the pages of the mag or on the cover. just keep that in mind next time you pick up a magazine or shop for sneakers what type of group you are supporting with that purchase.