Blue Highways

Blue Highways” was a great book to start of the fall semester. I felt that it was easy to relate to. In almost every passage given to us to read, I felt I could relate to. Heat Moon, like us, started a new chapter in his life that significantly changed him. This is hopefully what we can all gain through our SMU experience. Instead of meeting people on the “Blue Highways, we are able to meet new and influential people here at SMU. We meet handfuls of people with different cultural back rounds and beliefs and although it may not seem like it we can learn from them, read “Blue Highways” and then disagree with me. We should take advantage of the diversity on our campus. This is what the book “Blue Highways” taught me to open up to people because you never know what they have to say, it could be something completely meaningless but there is a small chance they can influence your life. If I meet Mr. Watkins I probably wouldn’t have even looked twice, just judged him by his appearance, lower class and unintelligent… what could he possible have to contribute to my education? After reading his theories and thoughts, I definitely would have missed out! This book showed me there is more to education than just classes and books. Only through life experience you can gain knowledge. You have to think for yourself, develop conversations with interesting people and be open-minded.

Religion

I grew up being of the majority. Which where I grew up being Jewish was the predominate religion. Coming to SMU, I am now a minority. I feel myself holding back on announcing my religion. It’s really weird I’ve never felt that people would judge me because of my religion but for some reason here I do. Maybe its just paranoia but who knows. Sometimes, I feel like I’m the odd one out. Especially when everyone is putting up Christmas decorations and asking me what I wanted for Christmas! I’m Jewish people! I just want to scream that. I even tried to decorate my dorm with some sort of Jewish memorabilia but of course they had nothing remotely close to Jewish decorations at the SMU book store. It takes a little getting use too but I feel that I can grow from this new culture shock. Now I can relate to other people who are minorities. In my high school there was a very little black population. I always thought it was strange when all the black students at my school isolated themselves and sat by themselves at lunch. But now I realize you feel more connected to people that are of your same minority because people really don’t understand what it feels like to feel “left out” of the loop. It is just different for me. I do not know ho else to explain it. I thought everyone knew about all the Jewish holidays and believes of the religion but in actuality no one does and that was a complete shock to me! But I guess being Jewish differentiates myself from other people and I take that as a good thing. Who wants to be just like everyone else?

Diversity

Diversity from a multicultural stand point is the ideology of including people of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. Ironically we spoke about this today in wellness and I feel it relates entirely to both Bell Hooks passage and “Blue Highways”. We were being questioned as to whether or not we felt there was diversity on our campus. The conclusion we all came up with was that it depends… Everyone interprets it’s differently. For example coming from Miami with such a mixing pot of different Hispanic and ethnic cultures, for me, diversity here is the southern way of life. I had never really been exposed to the accents and the kaki or salmon colored shorts with polo t- shirts. But people from Dallas I’m sure correlate diversity with different Hispanic cultures. So like I said before it is dependent on the person and how they grew up. For Heat Moon, his diversity was steering out of his “norm”, for example speaking and meeting people of a different intelligence and up bringing. Much like Heat Moon, Bell Hooks diversity was meeting people of a different up bringing and social class. Both of which dealt with this new “diversity” differently. Heat Moon was more expecting of it and even learned from the change. Unlike Heat Moon, Bell Hooks was judgmental and tried separating herself from them (upper class, other students). The definition of diversity that I came up with through my eighteen years of experience is just a deviation from the “norm” something.

Drunk Driving

In 2004, drunk driving killed about 16,694, which was 39% of the total traffic fatalities of the year. That is ridiculous! To put this information in perspective it’s like a Boeing 747 crashing, and leaving no survivors, every nine days all year long. Well if that’s not shocking then there is definitely something wrong with you. I just can’t understand how people can possible drink and drive knowing these statistics. I, truthfully just don’t see the point. Instead of risking your entire life, not to mention the lives you endangering on the road, take a cab! Or even the bus, get a designated driver. Well, according to the 88 drinking violation given out on campus thus far into school, I am almost positive people are being faced or peer pressured into making a decision whether or not to drink and drive….. DON’T DO IT! It’s just not worth it. Surprisingly, we have improved over the years. In 1982, there was an occurrence of 60% of the total traffic fatalities. Wow! At least we have improved from there..but it is still happening and I feel no matter how many statistics are produced and how many drunk driving films are shown, people are still not going to get the picture. Well, I was faced with this decision the other day. We were on our way to a party and my friend decided that she wanted to drive to the bar after drinking two drinks! Of course I said absolutely not and she replied by saying "A drink or two makes me a better driver." I was infuriated and actually thought she was kidding. I responded (which I shouldn’t have) Even one drink can cloud your thinking, dim your vision, and slow your reflexes. Not to preach or anything but DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE. It’s not worth being a statistic.

"How to Be Good"

I felt that book "How To Be Good" was for an older audience. I mean don't get me wrong there were alot of things that i felt were important but i felt i could not really relate to them. For intsance all of the marital problems. I have never been married with children so I can't really sympathise with her probems. The one thing i really enjyoed about the book was that it made me question my owm character. For intstanse most of the chaitable things David did in the book, its hard to admit, but I probably would not have been so generous and could relate to Katie. The question I kept asking myself was "Is there ever to much to give, a limit? I feel wrong for thinking that but i can't help it!

"Bell Hooks"

It’s hard to except but this passage was easy to relate too. Bell Hooks comes from a working class background and had to deal with many obstacles that tried to limit her education. Most people at SMU, me included, do not have these obstacles. Not to generalize, so I’ll only speak for myself, but my family pushed a “good” education on me unlike Bell Hook. One thing that really struck me was “Even though I thought I sometimes envied and longed for greater material advantages (particularly at vacation times when I would be one of the few if any students remaining in the dormitory because there was no money to travel) I did not share the same sensibility and values of my peers.” I really did not understand what she meant by this statement. Was she inferring that since she did not come from wealth she had better values? Actually statistics show that the “lower” class population tends to commit more crimes. I just felt she was attacking the “privileged class” instead of just telling us what she has experienced. Ironically, “Blue Highways” is evidence to her comment. Heat Moon met a bunch of people from the lower class population and through meeting them he was able to reinvent himself into a better person. I just did not like the way Bell Hooks stated certain things in her passage. I can’t explain it but while reading it, it just frustrated me, unlike “Blue Highways” which intrigued me. Well there was one thing I did agree with in her passage; this paradoxically my pet peeve. “They even would say they hated their parents…. This was especially troubling to me when it seemed that these parents were caring and concerned” As I talk to my friends those words “I hate my parents, repeated over and over again! Now I correlate those words with spoiled, rich children just whining because they don’t get whatever materialistic thing that they had wanted. I feel she generalizes that rich children have caring parents. She associates money with care and that’s what I did not like about this third idea. “It seemed these parents were caring and concerned” But just because they paid for an education doe not mean they were caring but it could be to get them out of their way. But I do understand what she is talking about because I have heard thousands of children with amazing parents out of frustration with them, claim they hate them! Its just childish it does not really apply to just one class.

Drunk Driving

In 2004, drunk driving killed about 16,694, which was 39% of the total traffic fatalities of the year. That is ridiculous! To put this information in perspective it’s like a Boeing 747 crashing, and leaving no survivors, every nine days all year long. Well if that’s not shocking then there is definitely something wrong you. I just can’t understand how people can possible drink and drive knowing these statistics. I, truthfully just don’t see the point. Instead of risking your entire life, not to mention the lives you endangering on the road, take a cab! Or even the bus, get a designated driver. Well, according to the 88 drinking violation given out on campus thus far into school, I am almost positive people are being faced or peer pressured into making a decision whether or not to drink and drive….. DON’T DO IT! It’s just not worth it. Surprisingly, we have improved over the years. In 1982, there was an occurrence of 60% of the total traffic fatalities. Wow! At least we have improved from there..but it is still happening and I feel no matter how many statistics are produced and how many drunk driving films are shown, people are still not going to get the picture. Well, I was faced with this decision the other day. We were on our way to a party and my friend decided that she wanted to drive to the bar after drinking two drinks! Of course I said absolutely not and she replied by saying "A drink or two makes me a better driver." I was infuriated and actually thought she was kidding. I responded (which I shouldn’t have) Even one drink can cloud your thinking, dim your vision, and slow your reflexes. Not to preach or anything but DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE. Its not worth being a statistic.

Diversity

Diversity from a multicultural stand point is the ideology of including people of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. Ironically we spoke about this today in wellness and I feel it relates entirely to both Bell Hooks passage and “Blue Highways”. We were being questioned as to whether or not we felt there was diversity on our campus. The conclusion we all came up with was that it depends… Everyone interprets it’s differently. For example coming from Miami with such a mixing pot of different Hispanic and ethnic cultures, for me, diversity here is the southern way of life. I had never really been exposed to the accents and the kaki or salmon colored shorts with polo t- shirts. But people from Dallas I’m sure correlate diversity with different Hispanic cultures. So like I said before it is dependent on the person and how they grew up. For Heat Moon, his diversity was steering out of his “norm”, for example speaking and meeting people of a different intelligence and up bringing. Much like Heat Moon, Bell Hooks diversity was meeting people of a different up bringing and social class. Both of which dealt with this new “diversity” differently. Heat Moon was more expecting of it and even learned from the change. Unlike Heat Moon, Bell Hooks was judgmental and tried separating herself from them (upper class, other students). The definition of diversity that I came up with through my eighteen years of experience is just a deviation from the “norm” something .

" Blue Highway"

"Blue Highways” was a great book to start of the fall semester. I felt that it was easy to relate to. In almost every passage given to us to read, I felt I could relate to. Heat Moon, like us, started a new chapter in his life that significantly changed him. This is hopefully what we can all gain through our SMU experience. Instead of meeting people on the “Blue Highways, we are able to meet new and influential people here at SMU. We meet handfuls of people with different cultural back rounds and beliefs and although it may not seem like it we can learn from them, read “Blue Highways” and then disagree with me. We should take advantage of the diversity on our campus. This is what the book “Blue Highways” taught me to open up to people because you never know what they have to say, it could be something completely meaningless but there is a small chance they can influence your life. If I meet Mr. Watkins I probably wouldn’t have even looked twice, just judged him by his appearance, lower class and unintelligent… what could he possible have to contribute to my education? After reading his theories and thoughts, I definitely would have missed out! This book showed me there is more to education than just classes and books. Only through life experience you can gain knowledge. You have to think for yourself, develop conversations with interesting people and be open-minded.

Double Standards Between Men and Women

Double standards between the two sexes have been around since the beginning of time, and astonishingly in this day and age of so called political correctness and just mindedness, it is still present. One example that most everyone is familiar with is that when males are sexually promiscuous they are seen as heroes, but when women are sexually promiscuous they are seen as villains. I feel that the media sets double standards in the minds of women. When one pictures the “perfect women” (which the media portrays) one pictures a tall, thin, no blemishes, and silky smoothed haired women. That’s what we should all aspire too? On the contrary, men, do not have to fit into one standard look. They can be older, heavier and bald and still fit into the male beauty standard because the media does not send the audience only “one type” of man. Why is it that older men want younger women? My guess it not for their intelligence or “inner beauty”. Go look in any magazine, Teen people, Cosmopolitan, US weekly, I guarantee you that in all of the ads the women are either half naked or in some sort of sexual position trying to the sell the product. I was watching television the other day and there were at least ten commercials trying to sell cleaning products, and just take a wild guess who was acting out how the product worked… ALL WOMEN. Times are supposedly changing, but then how come I don’t see it!

Paragliding!

This past reading in “Blue Highways” spoke of hang gliding. For everyone who has not tried an experience like this, TRY IT. Last summer I went to Colorado for a couple months and the entire time I was there my brother tried to convince me to go paragliding. Paragliding is jumping of a mountain attached to a parachute. At first I was completely against it and thought he was crazy for even thinking about it! But as time went I began lightning up to the idea…and finally in our last week in Colorado, I decided to do it. So we woke up really early the next morning and drove up a long bumpy mountain. When we finally got to the top my heart was beating so fast I felt as if it were going to jump out of my chest. All I wanted to do was turn around and go home. Just thinking of cozying up in my warm bed and watching T.V. “Anyway, I took my run and jumped. My heart got a good rest up there when it stopped beating. My whole body said, “How could you do this to us?” This is exactly how I felt running and jumping off the mountain. Holliston from “Blue Highways” described my reaction to the tee. Then after I jumped and started gliding, I had an unexplainable feeling flow through my body. I felt as if I was free! I was completely alone thousands of feet in the air and I loved it! “Hard to describe, Maybe free is the word, or magical. You can’t believe your doing it. I think it’s what a bird feels. Or superman” So to emphasize mine and Bartholomew(from “Blue Highways”) point if you ever have an opportunity to do anything remotely close to hang gliding, paragliding etc. Then DO IT! It’s an amazing experience that I feel everyone should be able to have

The Paparazzi

Is being a paparazzi an ethical job? My opinion always spins both ways with this question. Celeberties are in a fish bowls and their entire lives are being watched and taped by millions of people. And the suppliers of these videos and tapes are the paparazzi. One side of my argument is that celeberties come into the spot light to be noticed and at first they crave attention, thrive off of it!, but like everything else after awhile they get tired of it. I can't even fathom being watched 99 percent of my life! But is it really necesarry to stalk the celeberty and provolk them to do something bad just to get a good picture. Yes, it happens to be our constitutional right but does that justify it! I don't know. I truthfully read all those gossip magaizines about Britney Spears, Angelina Joelle and after I finish reading I end feeling like an immoral person because in the end i'm paying the paparazzi. So ask yourself next time you pick up OK, US weekly, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen... Is it really ethical? Are we supplying more jobs to these malevolence paparazzi?...