The REAL Columbine

In class, we read a pretty lengthy excerpt from a book by Kimmel. It was about Masculinity and violence. I started off reading this article with a closed mind, because I thought I knew pretty much everything about these school shooting, like Columbine. What I realized was that I really didn't know anything about Columbine, I only knew what the media portrayed about Columbine. I thought that Columbine was just another "children killing children" event, and did not even think about why Harris and Klebold did what they did to their teachers, classmates, and school. I now know part of their thinking behind this massacre. Harris and Klebold were two friends that were not at all considered "cool". They were the "rejects", the "weirdos", the "faggots", the "homos", and were constantly name-called and made fun of. Harris and Klebold didn't just wake up one morning wanting to take revenge, they plotted and planned for quite some time; they wanted to make it very clear that words can be so hurtful and the words that were said to them and many others on a daily basis are not okay.
I am so happy that we had to read this excerpt from Kimmel's book. I think it is very important for people to go out of their way to be aware and try to stop bullying and hurtful name-calling. Everyone needs to learn to be more aware of what they are saying and how their words could be interpreted.  People don't always realize how hurtful their words can be, but hopefully the REAL Columbine story can help people learn.

The Secrets of Media

This week in class, we have been studying the media and how that has triggered certain stereotypes. We also watched a video about how the media gets into our heads at such an early age. That video was one of the most disturbing things I have seen about our media-culture. I could not believe that there were media researchers who gave MRIs to kids to see what parts of the brain lit up during certain activities and who designed commercials to be so mesmerizing that kids would barely blink during them. To me, that is so sickening. I think that a beginner's mind is so important and it is being taken away from kids so quickly now. While watching that movie, I realized that the commercials they used as examples had even me barely blinking! That was so shocking to me! But in reality, their studies really are working and mesmerizing younger kids and even kids my age! I think parents should be aware of what the media is truly doing to their kids. I think it is very important for kids to come up with as many of their own ideas, opinions, and interests on their own is possible and with what the media is doing, that identity is being stolen.

Shriner's!

This past week I did another community service opportunity... volunteering at Shriner's through G.I.V.E.! It was a very different experience for me, in a way. Seeing children and some adults in this hospital was sort of hard for me. For example, we were playing cards with a boy who was 17 years old, who could not even leave his hospital room because he had a new type of therapy in his bed that he had to stay in. When we were playing cards with him, we were talking, and he was asking us where we wanted to go to school and what we wanted to do when we were older, etc. It made me sort of sad for a while after, thinking about how much I take my health and my life for granted. This boy seemed very smart and it was obvious he was hungry for learning and experiencing and growing, and because of one disability, he was not able to follow through with that as much as he would like. I think that it is very important for people to go out of their way to volunteer and spend time with peers who are not as fortunate as they are. This boy was all smiles while we played cards with him, which also inspired me, because when I think that my life may be hard at times, I can just think of what he has to go through on a daily basis.
Shriner's was a great experience and I hope to go more often through G.I.V.E.!

"Death? I Don't Want To Talk About It"

In class, we watched "Tuesdays with Morrie" for a few days. It was one of the best life lesson kind of movies I think I have ever seen! But it wasn't a boring one! Yes, I sat there and was teary-eyed for probably half of the movie :(

But it was definitely worth it! Hearing Morrie talk to Mitch about life was so interesting. It reminds me of when I talk to my Grandma about life and, or course, high school girl drama. I feel like she is the one in my life who has the most life experiences. Our worlds are so different, but she gives me the best advice all the time!

One point that was brought up in the movie and in class was how uncomfortable people feel when talking about death. Even for me, I feel very uncomfortable talking about it, and it is by far one of my biggest fears in life. I think in America, people just go and go and feel like they can never stop and take a break. I think that because of this, and our values, people are afraid to think of the time that everything will stop. At least for me, I can't even think about death without getting an "upset" feeling. Even just writing this blog, it's hard to think about death and what comes with it. 

I think Morrie brings up good points in the movie, when trying to get Mitch more comfortable with this unwanted topic. He say:

"You know, dying is just one thing to be sad about. Living unhappily, that's another matter."

"Fear of aging - you know what that reflects? Lives that haven't found meaning."

"Don't look so sad because I'm gonna die, Mitch. Everybody's gonna die. Even you. ... If we accept the fact that we can die at any time, we'd lead our lives differently. ..."

I think those quotes that Morrie says throughout the movie are very important and are key to getting over this fear of death, and this uncomfortable feeling most people get when the word death is said or brought into conversation. If we try to take Morrie's advice and learn from it, I think, eventually, death won't be such a hard concept to think about.