Looting

Racism is always going to exist. No matter how hard we try to overcome it and rid of it completely, there are always going to be people, whether they know it or not, that distinguish between the races. Sometimes, however, I think that people are just looking to make accusations. They make non-racist comments into racist ones just to cause an upheaval. This seems to be the case in the article "Who's a Looter? In Storm's Aftermath, Pictures Kick Up a Different Kind of Tempest" by Tania Ralli. The article discusses the captions of two photos taken during hurricane Katrina's aftermath. In one photo, a little boy is trudging through chest-high water with groceries in his arms. The caption claims he has just been "looting a grocery store". The other photo is a man and woman trudging through water with backpacks and a loaf of bread. The caption claims they are shown "after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store". Though the little boy was actually seen looting the grocery store, and the man and woman were actually seen grabbing the items that had floated out of the grocery store, the pictures raised an uproar over racism. People were having a fit over racism that didn't even exist in the photos. By A.P. definition, the little boy was actually looting--he went into the store and took the items. The couple, on the other hand, was not. The author of the caption was being truthful and accurate, not racist.

Words

Everyone has their own language, so to speak, and words they use too often. Its funny though, you never seem to realize that you say something too much until someone else points it out to you. For example, I used to say (and maybe still do) "or something" at the end of many of my sentences. I was unaware of this until my father pointed it out to me one day. From then on, I would catch myself saying it all of the time--as if I would state my opinion but was unsure about what I was saying. Another word that I am guilty of over-using, as most people are, is "um". When asked a question, as if to give myself some more time to contemplate my answer, I begin my response with "umm...". If not "um", I resort to "hmm...", as if the person I am talking to needs to hear that I am thinking. These are all horrible habits that I really need to work on correcting. Instead of saying "um" or "hmm", I need to realize that it is OK to take a pause to think about my response. Instead of saying "or something", I need to just be confident about my statement--even if I am wrong, it shows a lot when you are confidence in your opinions and statements. Through paying closer attention to my word choice and recognizing the flaws in my language, hopefully I will be able to correct myself and ween myself off of these overused words.

physical fitness

The third essay assignment is to define an obscure or debatable term, concept or idea. I chose to define physical fitness. Sure, it seems like an easy topic--one that we are all pretty familiar with. After all, we strive to be "physically fit" and "in shape". What does this term actually mean? What is the cut-off for a physically fit person and one who is not? What are the determining factors? Is a physically fit person someone who can carry-out everyday functions without becoming fatigued, someone with a high lean body mass (low body fat), or a person who can run a few miles with no problem? Obviously, the standards for being considered "physically fit" can be quite controversial. In my essay, I will take into account multiple definitions of the term fitness. I will also discuss the components of fitness and the "guidelines" for becoming physically fit. I will be able to use some of my class instructors, exercise science magazine articles, the Internet, and exercise physiology textbooks as resources for my research. I am eager to get into my research, as this topic is both intriguing and relevant to my major.

I'll never understand..

One thing that I will never understand is why girls get all pretty and "made-up" to go to the gym. Apparently, the point of going to the gym is no longer to work out hard, break a good sweat, and improve physical fitness--but instead to impress those of the opposite sex. Yes, that is why spend hundreds of dollars a year on fitness club memberships. What a waste. Wearing skimpy, cleavage-lifting, low-cut clothing to run on the treadmill and bend in all sorts of positions can't actually be comfortable, can it? If anything, it would cause self-consciousness and unease...who knows what is going to accidentally pop out or be exposed. Going to the gym should be for the benefit of improving health, toning, losing weight--looking good once you walk out the doors. There is no need to impress the people inside with cute clothes and fake, made-up faces. Impress them with how fast you can run, how much weight you can lift, the intense calisthenics you do, and how much sweat drips off your forehead. Guys want to see a girl who can get sweaty and work hard, not who cares so much about what she looks like that she maintains a low heart rate in order to ensure her pores don't open up. Think about it.

Stress.

It's getting to be that time of year--school work is flowing at full force and it's time to start thinking about the future yet again. I had my advising appointment on Friday. As far as being able to complete the courses necessary for graduating on time, I am in good shape. However, there are a few extra courses that my advisor recommends that I take in order to better my chances of getting accepted into PT school. The problem is, every PT school seems to have different pre-requisites for admission. In reality, I have no idea where I want to go to grad school. I plan on applying to a large number of schools in hopes to keep my options open and possibly get financial help from one. Advising appointments are supposed to be a relief, as you are typically pointed in the right direction and reassured that everything is going to work out as planned. Friday's appointment, however, increased my level of stress. As a result, I began to research PT schools online this weekend. There are so many to chose from, and very few that I actually know something about. Being from Pennsylvania, it would be realistic to go back up north for grad school, as there are numerous PT schools in Pennsylvania. On the other hand, I really like it down south and think I may want to stay in North Carolina or possibly head further south. Basically, I'll go anywhere on the east coast that can offer me money. With that being said, I am going to try to be as open-minded as possible, take as many extra courses as possible, and work really hard to keep my GPA up in order to keep my options open for the future.

My Religion.

I am Catholic. I was Baptized in a Ukrainian Catholic Church, and was brought up attending a Roman Catholic Church. I went to a Catholic elementary school, and went to church religiously every Sunday and holiday up through my high school years. Though this is the way I was brought up, I don't necessarily agree with all of the ways of the religion. Catholic masses are very ritualistic--not that there is anything wrong with that, its just not completely my thing. I am more about hearing a great, meaningful sermon and singing praise in His name. When I came to college, I started going to a non-denominational Church of Christ. I love the people and I love the message. I feel more comfortable attending these masses--I fit in more. Though I still attend Catholic masses for holidays and when I go home, I have found comfort in my new church as well. Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for the way I was brought up in a Catholic home. My parents, church family, and school community were so supportive and their morals will stick with me forever. I am so lucky to have such good-hearted people in my life.