The All-Comsuming Internet

Does anyone else feel like our generation is too tightly wound up with the internet? First of all, we use it for entertainment. Facebook, Youtube, Hulu, blogs, online bank accounts, email, and so on. I personally try to weed myself off of the internet by reducing my laptop time. Then our school goes out of its way to put a lot of our homework online: Turnitin.com, Schoology, history PDF, AH student portal, this blog, and more. I try to avoid being sucked into the internet and find it difficult to focus on homework online when I can also check my facebook and email and get distracted. I know it's technology advancing, but I feel we are on the internet too much. How do others feel and how can we fix this?

Seniors Stressed?

So I have been asking my friends if they are stressed or not with senior year and college coming and so on. Some of my friends are wound up tighter than a knot because they are so stressed with IB and jobs and homework. Then there are my friends who feel like me: chill and ready to let things happen in their due time. Is this weird or normal? Are any of you super stressed out right now and wanna comment about it?

Divorce in our Culture

Recently I have been watching this new TV show that my dad just bought: Kate and Allie. It's from the late 80s and people wear funny clothes and it feels old but the issues the show deals with are very much relative. The family in this quirky show is two moms, both divorced, who live in one house because they are friends. They both have there kids there with them and together form a makeshift family. In one episode, one of the daughters needed to make a video on something that changes the world. She chose to video tape her own family and show how divorce changed her world. I am not the product of a divorced family and don't plan on experiencing it, but this video made me think. How many kids out there have divorced parents? How do the kids feel? The girl filming this began to cry in one section when her dad called to say he couldn't pick her up or something. If people reading this have divorced families, how do you feel about this?

The Death Penalty: Medium

The past few days I have been watching the first season of Medium, the psychic detective TV show. There was one episode in which Allison DuBois (the psychic) was hired to select a jury by using her powers that would ensure a criminal's death penalty. She would read the files and get vibes and people's inner thoughts on the issue at hand and so on. When the District Attorney asked if she was up too it, and would be okay with aiding in his death, she still agreed. She didn't even flinch in her response, which startled me a bit. If someone committed an incredibly horrible crime, would it warrant the death penalty and be considered okay? How do others feel about this?

Wicked Lyrics: Popular

So today in class I was listening to my favorite musical: Wicked. I was listening to the song "Popular" and I've never really thought about it, but the song is basically saying to young women that you have to be good looking and outgoing and be good at sports and so on... just like Glinda. Here are some of the lyrics:

You're gonna be popular!
I'll teach you the proper poise,
When you talk to boys,
Little ways to flirt and flounce,
ooh!
I'll show you what shoes to wear!
How to fix your hair!
Everything that really counts to be... 
I'll help you be popular!
You'll hang with the right cohorts,
You'll be good at sports,
Know the slang you've got to know.
So let's start,
'Cause you've got an awfully long way to go!

I just feel like this is incorrect: young women should be whomever they wish to be. Girls don't have to talk to boys, do their hair pretty, know the "slang" and all the other "requirements." I still love this song, but my eyes have been opened in a sense. Elphaba, the green witch, should express herself however she wants. 

Saturday Evening

This weekend I attended my friend's birthday get-together. Almost nobody showed up and it wasn't all that fun. I am not going to tell him this, but I actually considered leaving early to go home and hang out with my family (some of the coolest people I know! :D) . I couldn't do this because I had brought his girlfriend (my BFF) to his party and was her ride home. I felt really bad for thinking this, but all we did was sit around the fire and freeze our butts off. I suppose I did this for him, I really wanted to be a great friend and supportive, even if it was a long 3 hours. Are there any moments where people have been in a situation because of someone they care about and can't really do what they feel inclined to do?

Once Upon a Time: To Kill or Not to Kill

Last night was the season premiere of Once Upon a Time on ABC. Besides being incredibly entertaining, it sparked a feud between me and my sister. This is going to sound so nerdy. Anyway, we were arguing about whether or not it was okay for the townspeople to kill the Evil Queen after everyone in the town remembered who they were and what she had done to them. I believed that even though she was evil and had ruined these people's lives, she had her twisted reasons and I felt sad for her. She only hated Snow White because of how she interpreted Snow's involvement in her beloved's death. The Evil Queen was doing what she thought was best, in her opinion. My sister thought she should die because she had hurt all those people. What do other people think? Is it okay to kill someone who has done something terrible or should you forgive them and find another punishment? In the end, Snow shielded the Queen from the townspeople and ended up getting banished to another land on accident away from Prince Charming, again. So.. Snow White was screwed over twice. Stupid Evil Queen...