Author's Note

          Yes even during childhood, children are taught by society that what you look like matters. In my story, "We are all beautiful", Mina is only seven years old and feels pressured to fit in. She shows up at school one day with loads of make-up on, and a party dress, thinking she would impress everyone. Later though, she learned that she is beautiful and so is everyone else.
          Anorexia is a growing social issue, thousands are affected by it. Thin people are often portrayed as amazing, successful, and beautiful people. Take Barbie for example. Barbie is a a very un-proprtioned doll that leans torward the belief that, being thin, being object-oriented, and and being pretty simply equals happiness. Basically, that is the message that Barbie sends out to children, and also teens. Media in general, influences children. Every where you go, you find magazines filled with models that look absolutley gorgeous. These images, catch the eyes of children. Those models all look so, "perfect". When children see that, they feel that they also have to be perfect.  Lamb, a psychology professor at Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vt. says,"Girls are being taught very young that thin and sexy is the way they want to be when they grow up, so they'd better start working on that now,"
          My story is realistic fiction, but it's also based on real life issues, and a child's point of view torwards that issure. I feel that my story grew out of what I see everyday. In the end, Mina is a great role model for the children who read this book. Mina confronts the girls who tease her, and lets them know that everyone is beautiful.

Sources: http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S44-4241-0-1602&artno=0000252708&type=ART

http://www.something-fishy.org/cultural/themedia.php

Social Issue: Anorexia

Does the role media play in society, influence the development of eating disorders in women?

Yes. Even during childhood, children are taught by society that what you look like matters. As we all know, children and teens are surrounded by ads that promote weight loss systems and men/ women with incredibly thin bodies which are yet all superficial. All of these ads clearly state that being thin means being perfect, and beautiful.
Thin women are often portrayed as amazing, successful, and beautiful people while others are seen as lazy couch potatoes. Take Barbie for example. Barbie is an very un-proportioned doll that leans toward the belief that being thin, being object-oriented, and being beautiful simply equals happiness. children, and also teens are impressionable and seek to be like the role models surrounding them. Barbie is actually often blamed for the development of eating disorders and body image issues. In Barbie world, Barbie is perfect. When children see that, they feel that they also need to be perfect.
The media in society really influences teens and women. Every where you go, you find magazines with all these gorgeous models that are oh so very thin. These images often catch the eyes of young women and make these girls feel self conscious about their own body. This obsession about being thin gets to them. That, then results in starvation.
Ballet dancers, gymnasts and figure skaters are easy targets when it comes to eating disorders. Dancers are often faced with stress to be the best dancers out of all the other dancers, and want to perfect their performances. All of this stress often leads these dancer into body image problems. Their peers and instructors sometimes may pressure dancers to maintain a perfect image. With the stresses of competition, this just complicates everything. Heidi Guenther was a ballerina who died at age 22 in 1997. She was told that she was, "Too chunky", by a theater company. That led to her anorexia, and then one day collapsed.
In our society, anorexia is a growing social issue. Thousands are affected by anorexia.

Social Awareness project

#1: Media: October 26th: "Nightmarish stories of mortgage modification woes" 

          Bank paper can really weigh people down. A home owner is trying to modify her mortgage to fax documents to a certain department. But the bank says, that she is not eligible and then says they now cannot find any modification request at all.

October 25th: "Health in the Media" 

          People with certain illnesses that run in their family should improve their health by eating more of something, or less of something else.

October 15th: "U.S will enforce marijuana laws, state vote aside"

          In Los Angeles, the department of justice is saying that they intend to prosecute marijuana laws in california aggressively even if state voters approve.

October 20th: "How to really end, "don't ask, don't tell"

          The, "Don't ask, don't tell", policy states that if you are gay, and you join the military, the people there are not allowed to ask if you are gay. But you are not allowed to say that your are gay or else, you will be kicked out.

October 27th: "Murderer executed in Arizona"

          The state of Arizona executed Jefferey Landrigan, after the supreme courts lifted court's injunction blocking the lethal injection. Landrigan, was convicted of murder in 1990.

#2: Observing my surroundings: Bullying, Racism, Sexism, Ageism.

Sexism: On the street, I constantly hear people saying sexist comments. Things like, "You can't watch that movie, your a girl!". Or, " You can play that video game, your a girl!". I seriously find that offensive and unfair. We (notice I underlined "we") are all equal. This goes for girls and boys. People don't realize but, sexism is also an issue for boys as well. People may say that the movie/book, "The notebook", is too, "girly", for guys, and that guys can't watch it because its a, "chick flick". This all comes down to social norms, and how certain things are expected from a girl, or a boy. Not all girls love or have to love the color pink. Not all boys have or have to have their pants down to their knees or like sports. 

#3: True story: Rebecca Grimsted, is a girl who lives on my block. On the bus in the mornings, Rebecca always offers her seat to old people, or pregnant people, or people with children. You don't really see that everyday. What Rebecca does may be small, but what she does still helps.

Entry# 8 Mother to Son

       The poem, "Mother to Son", by Langston Hughes, expresses the idea that life isn't always easy. You will face many obstacles but you will get to where you want to be even if getting what you want isn't easy. I think that the mother is almost warning her son about what will come up later on in his life. The lines, "I'se been a-climbin' on, and reachin' landin's, and turnin' corners, and sometimes goin' in the dark where there ain't been no light", mean that the mother has been through a lot. She has experienced things and has faced  obstacles. She's gone in different directions and changed her ways through out her journey. She's had her problems, but found a way to fix them. She's reached goals.
       "Life for me, ain't been no crystal stair", the mother says. Life obviously wasn't easy for her. The mother is trying to tell her son that, he must never give up. He must keeps going to reach his goals. If she's still climbin, then he can too.

Narnia: Appreciation

          I never meant to read this book....It was a class vote for read aloud, and it was either, "Bridge to Terebithia", or " The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobe". Obviously, Narnia won and I am glad. I immediatley became interested, and curious when I first started reading this book. What? Why is there a wardrobe? What's up with that?, I would think. The first page, quickly grabs you and almost forces you to read on. Narnia is open, and filled with adventure. I'd love to visit!! ;)
          C.S Lewis's story for how he came up with the fantasy world of Narnia is quite interesting.  All of these things tiny little things or ideas that you wouldn't think were important could come together to create a masterpiece. After his mother passed away, him and his brother were shipped off to a boarding school in England. There, is where the inspiration for Narnia had begun!
          I read, "The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe", in the third grade. At first, It was just a read aloud book for the class. But after It was done, I wanted to read it again myself. I remember being obsessed with the character of Susan Pevensie. I always thought she was really cool, and wanted to be her for some reason. At the age of eight, I wouldn't think so deeply about a book......but, I connected Susan to myself since, we are both the older sister in the family.
          When I write, I don't really use any mentor texts or even try to get inspired. Usually, when I write, I make up all the characters randomly, or the entire story in general. My writing, could be more meaningful if I used more inspiration or maybe personal thoughts and ideas of mine. Like C.S Lewis, I could build up certain points in my life, and transform then into one big idea that can grow into bigger, and deeper thoughts.
          I appreciate the meaning of this book. When I had asked for my own copy of the book, I was given one fat, heavy book that had a picture of the white witch. It had the entire series of Narnia combined in one. I appreciate the adventure, and imagination through out it. I have to admit that, the story line motivates me to create my own fantasy world. I'm glad I read this book again.

Entry# 7: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

        Funny. You would think that the author, CS Lewis had just come up with some random character for a book that he had been writing....But really, he was inspired by a 14 year old girl to create to character of, "Lucy Pevensie".
        In 1944, a girl named June Flewett had been evacuated to CS Lewis's house in Oxford during a war, escaping the Blitz.  She was a London convent girl who had inspired Lewis to create Lucy Pevensie. Now,  June Flewett is called Jill Freud and is now 78 years old. She had no idea that CS Lewis was inspired by her to create Lucy. When the movie, "The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe", came out in theaters in London, Jill was asked to attend. She was even asked to go to the movie premier in America but, decided that she didn't want kids to know that this old was Lucy....
        Knowing that CS Lewis had an inspiration for Lucy, it makes me wonder where Peter, Edmund and Susan ever came from in the first place. Most importantly, what gave him the idea to create the fantasy world of Narnia anyways?
        When CS Lewis was a child, he lived happily in Ireland with his brother parents and nanny. But when his mother dies, due to cancer, him and his brother were shipped to a boarding school in England where he became inspired. His inspiration for Narnia had began there. Lewis recalls that his school in england was winter all the time but, never christmas.  Basically, his entire past is relevant to his writing During world war II, he took in four children and their presence inspired him to create the four main characters of his greatest master piece which was, "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe".

Entry# 6: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

         I think that in the book, "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe", The lamp-post is a symbol in the book. In the beginning of the book, when Lucy discovers Narnia, she finds the lamp-post. As Lucy explores Narnia, she looks back making sure she can still see the lamp-post making sure that she knew her way back to her world. Later on in the book, Edmund goes through the wardrobe and finds Narnia as well.  Not knowing where he was, he runs into the White Witch. She tells him that where ever the lamp-post is, means that the wardrobe is near by. The Lamp-post is mentioned again in the ending, when the 4 siblings (Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter) wandered, and ended up finding the Lamp-post once again. They eventually all walked through the wardrobe and found themselves on the wooden floor of the room with the wardrobe in it. They had arrived back in the real world.

Entry# 5 Charlotte's Web

      I think Wilbur can be kind of self-centered and selfish. Having Fern around, nursing him all the time, got Wilbur to become one spoiled little pig. Fern would always feed Wilbur, and put him to sleep. Being forced to live in a barn with other farm animals, must have been a challenge. There, he wouldn't have a Fern that would care for him like a little baby.
      Charlotte, the spider, was very welcoming and nice. She dazzled Wilbur with her beauty, and impressed him with her wisdom. They become good friends though, and trusted each other, always. Charlotte was always helping Wilbur in any way she could. She was small in size, but could do big things. Once Wilbur finally learned that he was supposed to die, Charlotte had a plan. She took care of everything. And in Wilbur's mind, Charlotte was the new Fern.
      Wilbur is constantly thinking about himself. He complains about his life style, and how he's living in a small barn. But yet, Charlotte doesn't get fed by someone everyday. Charlotte must rely on careless flies to land on her web for every one of her meals.
       Charlotte had done so much for Wilbur. She saved his life, has been a good friend to him, and guided him. And now, I find my self asking what has Wilbur done for Charlotte in return. This situation is very similar when it comes to borrowing money from friends. When you borrow money from a friend, they expect you to pay it back as soon as you can. Wilbur got the help he needed to stay a living pig, and he would still expect more.  Fortunately, Wilbur watched over Charlotte's children and grandchildren after she had died. Wilbur was so lucky to have such a friend. I'm glad he finally returned the favor.