Response to a peer's article

We are all aware of the issue of childhood obesity and how it has increased throughout the years. Madi's article from The New York Times captures how the environment children have been in affects their eating habits as they grow up. Catherine Musemeche explians how "as a doctor who treats children, many of whom are overweight or obese, I don’t think there can be much doubt that child-directed advertising is fueling the obesity epidemic". Later in the article researchers found a ban lasting 32 years on fast-food advertising to kids through electronic and print media in Quebec, Canada, reduced the childhood obesity rate drastically.
After reading the article, I was surprised how difficult it is for parents to respond to their children when being asked to buy sugary cereals, and fast-food generally advertised on television. This is a big issue for parents especially when having children who don't understand the effects of junk-food in the future. I never imagined how big of an issue it is with parents; rejecting something from your own child. Initially, my view towards whose to blame for the increase in childhood obesity was the parents. It still is. Children are mainly around their parents for the first few years of their lives, ergo they are the ones who feed them and such. "It doesn’t matter that children aren’t necessarily the ones checking out at the grocery store and driving up to the fast-food outlet", but they are still exposed to fast-food through the media no matter what. As Musemeche states, "Parents need to be aware of the pervasive advertising their children are being exposed to, take steps to manage their child’s media exposure, provide healthy alternatives to cereals and fast food and support legislation to curtail advertising to kids".

Fast food/obesity article

Here is an article from CBS News regarding how fast food is affecting children.

Zulu wedding

           Lately I have been thinking about the future and what it might hold in store. Who wouldn't? We are seniors in high school, it comes up. Skipping past the college I would like to attend and career parts I started contemplating about marriage. Do I want to get married? Truthfully, I have not taken this question into deep consideration as others have. (You would be surprised). As I watched TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress I began to think more and more about weddings especially the different traditions around the world.

           Zululand, South Africa. Once I started reading about the traditions and customs I was amazed by how much effort the Zulu people give into making a wedding enjoyable for everyone. It all starts off with the bride. The bride may change her clothes up to three times a day in order to show off how beautiful she looks in a variety of colors to her in-laws. Bags of assorted pebbles are tied to her ankles, primarily to help with the rhythm as she dances later throughout her wedding.  A major aspect of a Zulu wedding consists of beaded jewelry. The bride-to-be makes two sets of bead necklaces in matching colors; one for the groom-to-be and one for her. These color-coded necklaces let everyone in the village know they are an item. The wedding typically takes place at night when the moon is bright since a “faint mole” is a symbol of bad luck as well as making the celebration less festive. Traditionally the bride’s parents do not attend the wedding as it is too sad to see her go. The ceremony may last up to two days and ends once the bride picks up her sleeping mat and heads for her husband’s house. For the wedding ceremony, she will change into a traditional outfit including a headdress made from her mother’s hair. The wedding ceremony ends with ukwaba, which is the process where the bride gives gifts in the form of blankets to her new family. The long-deceased family members receive gifts as well and are represented by the living ones. The bride accompanied by her bridesmaids end by performing a dance. Now it wouldn't be a wedding if the in-laws didn't welcome the bride, would it? After the ceremony is over, the bride is traditionally introduced to her new family with the slaughter of a cow. The cow is slaughtered by the groom's family to show their acceptance of the new bride in their home. The bride then puts money inside the cow's stomach while her guests look on; she is now officially part of the family.

 

 

 

"Going for the Look" essay

Here is a link to my nonfinished essay.

Going for the Look, but Risking Discrimination output

          As someone who has been actively looking for a job these past couple of months, the search has been difficult. Applying to everything from cafes to cupcake shops and restaurants started to make me question my personality as well as my strengths. No emails, no phone calls, nothing.

          Reading Going for the Look, but Risking Discrimination not only reminded me of how competitive it is to be hired, but also made me realize that there are more factors in being hired for a job than just being the most qualified. "If someone came in with a pretty face, we were told to approach them and ask them if they wanted a job". (Greenhouse) Abercrombie and Fitch portray their style as "Classic American" with workers associated with collegiate fraternities and sororities. I was shocked to learn how Mr. Serrano and other employers were trained to hire salespeople.

            Not only is Abercrombie turning away qualified people without a "pretty face", but they are also discriminating against race, gender and even age. I find it surprising to learn retail stores are going to such a dramatic extent just to make money. I am aware that in today’s economy it is tough for stores, especially retail, to sell merchandise. But do they honestly have to reject people to find those thin, blonde, blue-eyed people? Our generation is easily influenced by what we hear in our "circle" of friends, as well as by the media. It scares me how by this we won't be unique. We are all pressured to look a certain way, some might disagree and I completely respect their opinions but do we really want to dress the same way? Briefly going back to last week’s question; do you believe that corporations especially retail stores should be able to only hire people who only fit their own image? I’m a very indecisive person for anyone who knows me very well, that being said I came to the conclusion that if companies require a certain wardrobe for their employees, I don’t see a problem whatsoever. Companies who don’t want to hire people because they don’t fit the look? I see their view on the situation and quite frankly I would have to agree with them…to some extent. I wouldn’t want to buy something that didn’t look nice on a model. I know what you’re all thinking, how judgmental is this girl. But it’s the truth, if a model couldn’t pull off a shirt my initial reaction would be “Do I really want to buy or even try it on?” I despise the way advertisements and the media has influenced the way I look at things. I really do. Don’t get me wrong I was shocked when I read Greenhouse’s article and in no way am I supportive of what Abercrombie has done.

About Me

           Hello everyone! My name is Andrea, it’s just Andrea. No middle name (darn you parents) or nicknames. I’m sixteen years old and I’m probably one of the loudest yet curious human beings on Earth. Funny since I come across as the shy one who only speaks to her friends. No you have it all wrong. Once people get to know the real me, they’re surprised. I’m a loud, sarcastic and outgoing person who isn’t afraid of putting herself “out there.” I love to laugh, to me it is the remedy to anything.

          My family consists of my mother, father, my older sister Elissa (pronounced just like Alyssa) and myself. My parents are very different than most. My mother collects candles. Yes, candles. She has around 500 and isn’t stopping anytime soon. I have never actually asked her why she likes to collect them other than the obvious. I’m very much supportive of her collecting them because quite frankly my house smells amazing, heck she even buys candles for my room, what a wonderful woman she is. Her cooking now let me tell you, it is amazing but that’s another story. My dad, hmm, where to start. Ask any of my friends, their initial reaction is: “that’s your dad?” When people first meet him they think he’s a strict man by the way he looks, you’re all wrong. He is a teddy bear, really though. He is a nice and easy going person who loves the outdoors. Every summer we go hiking in Calistoga and wow it is beautiful. My dad looks forward to this day probably more than his birthday, seriously. He isn’t one to sit on the couch watching television; he has to be up and about. My sister and I have an interesting relationship, we can go from being best friends one minute to complete enemies the next. We are the exact opposite, yet everyone says we look alike and act the same. In the end, I really do love her and appreciate everything she has done for me.

        In my spare time I like to run. This past summer I woke up at seven in the morning, sometimes earlier, to go running. Most (normal) people would go running in the afternoon, but I can’t stand it. When I wake up I have a sudden amount of energy and sleeping in for an hour more won’t help it, so I decided to run. Not only was exercising a great start to my day, seeing the sunrise was exceptionally beautiful. Now that’s crossed off my bucket list. Would I want to run competitively? Absolutely not, in my opinion it would take the fun away from it. As for after high school I plan on attending college, I am not sure of which one at the moment though. Kinesiology, anthropology, and sociology all fascinate me, but I am certain I will change my mind as time goes on. I’m not too sure as to what else to talk about so here are some small details about myself:

        I would love to travel Europe one day. I like the color purple. I’m not a fan of reading. I have a pet rabbit. I am scared of needles; I get the willies just thinking of them. I have a job, but I haven’t started working. I listen to the Black Keyes. I love Nutella. Wind mills freak me out. I have watched the movie The Birds and ended up crying from laughter at the end. I enjoying shopping at Urban Outfitters. I am a neat freak.