Happy Feet

For six years running, I have been in dance and feel that it's the best past time. I started dancing when I was in sixth grade because three of best friends started going to Sherri Lynn's Dance Studio in California. When I found out that I was not going to be in the same class, I wanted to give it up, not wanting to be seperated from the people I knew. However, my mother gave me the best advice of my life. She told me that I couldn't quit dance and that I would have to stick with it. Feeling very dissapointed with my mother's message, I continued to take dance classes that year. From this year on, I was hooked on dancing. After sixth grade, I moved to wisconsin and because I was trying to get acculamated to my new surroundings, I ended up taking a year off from dancing which I wasn't necessarily thrilled about. But when I started eighth grade, I decided to find a dance studio and I did; Dance Explosion. Although I didn't go into the studio knowing anyone, I did meet a few girls who were in my grade and we became friends. Even though I didn't like most of the girls or the skanky costumes, I loved to dance which was why I didn't stop. However, I did decide to switch dance studios my freshman year when I heard that New Richmond had more than one studio. The next four years of my dancing career were spent with Short Dance Studios (no pun intended) and from there my love of dance grew to new heights. My junior year, I made it onto the studio's competition group. We not only did tap and jazz dances but lyrical, ballet, and two productions. We went three or four competitions and to nationals in Rochester, and they were some of the funnest experiences I've ever had. When my senior year hit, I had a lot of hard classes to think about and decided it would be best to go back to just doing the general class. I felt I was making the right decision at the time, but I was very sad and felt like I was losing a big part of myself when I stopped competing. But, I definiety couldn't stop dancing for good. Now, I'm here in Madison and although I don't attend a dance studio, I am signed up for a dance class through the university for next year, and I go hip hop mania every monday for an hour. For me, not doing dance at all would be like cutting off one of my limbs. It's a part of me, and every where I go I'm dancing in some small way. When I sit in class, I do tap steps under my desk. I love to go to dance clubs with my friends when I can. When I'm doing homework or cleaning, I put on my music and if permitted, dance around my room doing piroettes and an assortment of time steps. Dance is the best way to spend my time and obtain "exercise" because it gives me an incredible high. Most people feel they need drugs or alcohol to obtain a high. All I need is my music, open space, and then I'm set. I feel like I've discovered this amazing way to be myself and experience life. My self-esteem isn't caging me in, stopping me from dancing because I feel self-conscious. I push aside the opinions of others who might be watching me because it's not about what they think of me. I'ts what I think about myself. Dance, with the help of my mother's little push, gave me that; the self-confidence to be what I can only be, me.

Sex and the City

TV is filled with many shows, and each person has their favorite. I've only gotten into three my whole life, and I believe that no show could beat Sex and the City. It's smart jokes and hilarious episodes make it the ultimate TV show. I first found Sex and the City when skimming the channels of my TV. It was starting to play on TBS, and my mother and I thought we'd check out, seeing as we had heard it was pretty funny. From the moment on, our hunger for the show had started. It became a our family favorite (excluding dad). The show has a very open mind about women and their sexuality. It's about four women friends, who have a series of relationships and have the ability to be very open with each other about what it is that they want from men. Carrie Bradshaw is a columnist, who writes an article entitled Sex and the City. She has tried using men for sex and being in numerous relationships, finding herself wanting real love, without all the rules of dating. Charlotte York works in a gallery and is all about playing by the rules when it comes to finding love and meeting men. Her biggest aspiration is to be married and have children. Miranda Hobbs is a fiery red head and a successful lawyer. She's completely the opposite of Charlotte. She's extremely cynical of men and believes that women should strive for what they want, as opposed to what men want from them. And last but not least, Samantha Jones is works in PR and is also very successful. However, she believes in "having sex like a man"; she has sex with men, gets what she wants from them, and sends them packing. All these women are different and unique in their own ways, but they are the best of friends and support each other through thick and thin. The show portrays these characters lives, love, and sexual conquests in New York City. It has a very open, humorous view on sex, and I think that's the best part about it. Our culture is pretty conservative when it come to the ideas of sex and sexuality, especially with women. This particular show goes against these cultural norms of women not being promiscuous and not exhibiting their sexuality by divulging in sexual activities, including masturbation. Men, on the other hand, are considered to need sex and that their sexuality is visioned as healthy and is usually associated with a pat on the back. Women get slapped with horrible names, such as slut or whore. So, it's very understandable that their are a good amount of people who think that this show is ludicrous, and these women are degrading themselves by enjoying their sexuality. They may also think that the openness with which they discuss their sexual lives is inappropriate and culturally wrong. But, if men can enjoy sex why can't women? What's wrong with having a personal conversation with your female friends? Why should sex be pushed under the table and made to be "dirty" in connection to women? This show goes against those norms, displaying healthy, successful women making choices based on what's best for themselves. They live life to their own drum, pushing aside the closed minds of others looking on. Sex is a common part of life and at one point or another, people experience it, unless you're a nun or priest as Samantha finds out. I applaud this show for giving a different idea about women's sexuality, whether with a man or another woman. It's viewed as healthy, funny, and something that is natural. It's not something to be ashamed about, yet is not portrayed as something that should be experienced in an irresponsible way. It's four normal women living in NY, enjoying their lives and standing on their own.

Halloween (very late entry)!

Just let me start this blog off by saying that this holiday entry is very late, but I felt I should get it done either way. Anyway, I think that one of my favorite holidays is Halloween. When I talk to most people, they usually say their favorite holiday is Christmas and wonder how mine could be Halloween when it's completely oriented around children that dress up and collect candy. But, I've had to disagree with them on their point. Of course ever since I was little, I would always celebrate Halloween. My sister and I would always dress up and go out collecting candy with our mother. But, in our house it was and is still considered a sin to where a costume that was bought from a store. Our mother always makes our costumes. Up until four or five years ago, we always lived in an apartment, so my mother did what she could to hang up Halloween decorations on the windows outside. After awhile, my sister and I got to the point where we weren't young enough, by other people's standards, to go trick-or-treating. That didn't stop our family from continuing to celebrate the holiday. Once we bought our house, my mother started going all out. Every year since then, she's bought impressive amounts of Halloween decorations, along with typical large bags of different kinds of fabrics and fastenings to make many costumes. She's go to Halloween Express and other stores buying skeletons, chopped heads, limbs, eye balls, bugs, crawling spiders, masks, pitchforks, lots of fake blood, spider webs, tons of lights, etc. She bought up EVERYTHING. I'm surprised the employees don't recognize her every year and get excited knowing that they're going to make a large profit from one tiny lady. And, I just know that when this time of year comes around my father dreads the amounts of money she spends on one night of the year. He's tried different tactics to pull her away from Halloween stores, but I think he gave up a long time ago. Two years ago she bought some wet cement and made her own tombstones. She's also made her own tombs but after they kept breaking, she bought one large, wooden tomb-like box. She likes to make my cousins or father lie in it and jump out. She's even had my guy friends and one boyfriend come help her out by dressing them up and making then scare the crap out of kids. She also buys pounds of candy. It's truely amazing the amount of effort my small mother goes into making one night of the year better than the last. The most amazing thing of all is the TONS of costumes she's made over the years. My sister and I have been a spider, skunks, a rat, witches, princesses riding on unicorns,jesters, bellie dancers, moulin rouge girls, gypsies, and much more. And of course, my mother never fails to dress herself up. Some of the people in my family look at her like she's nuts and a child. But, that's what I love about my mother. She's 38, but she's fun and makes a seemingly, child-oriented holiday into a day we'll never forget. With a mom who does all that work for one day, how can you not think this holiday is the best one ever?

My writing process

To be honest, I absolutely hate writing papers. They bore me and most of the time, I've been assigned to write on books and/or subjects that hold no interest. However, I've enjoyed writing papers in this class a bit more than previous ones because I get to choose, to an extent, what I can write about. When I'm able to do that, I start off my writing process by picking a topic that either interests me or stokes and encourages my opinionated side. With my first paper, I wrote about the over-prescribing of anti-depressants and there presence in the media. I happen to have a lot of opinions and ideas about this topic, so it was hard to run out of things to say while writing. My current paper is about a linkage between PTSD and DID, otherwise known as multiple personality disorder. I find the psychological angle to be quite fascinating because the knowledge and information is extremely interesting. As a result, I took to writing that paper, completely, from a psychology perspective. Now in the case of this paper, we've had to do a small amount of research for it. Once I've found information and sources, I like to read through or skim the information and copy quotes and other findings on notecards. I do this because after I've finished reading, I don't have to go back and re-read everything. I have all the knowledge I need with the flip of a card.
When finished with all of that, it's time to start writing the paper. First, I make an outline because it helps me to organize my thoughts and have an idea of where to start with each new paragraph. I personally find introductions to be the end of me. It takes me forever trying to find the right words that will not only explain my argument and what I'll be talking about, but also be enticing to the reader. Once I get past that barrier, I'm on my way. I go through my outline and, basically, turn it into a paper with all my research added in. After I'm done with one draft, I like to go through the paper highlighting all the to-be verbs and prepositions. When I'm done doing that, I try to rearrange the sentences to cut out some of those words and add new ones which give the paper better flow and word variation. When I'm finished, I make all the changes, and the product is the second rough draft. This is the point when I definitely like to have peer review. After getting opinions, I re-read it myself and make more changes. I go back, make all the new changes again, and I'm finished! A brand new paper! It feels so good to have something like a paper finally finished. When class is over and the teacher has removed my piece of work from my hands, it's time for me to celebrate with episodes from Sex and the City and Smallville!

Feb 27th

Most people feel that the primary characteristics of a doctor are intelligence and a whole lot of money. Today, I wouldn't doubt that many doctors have these two things, and that money is a prime motivator in pushing them into this particular field of work. Now, I know that it is important for doctors to be intelligent and yes, they make good money. But what really makes a good doctor? In my experience as a patient, good doctors have more important qualities, which makes them the best.
I think the most needed characteristics of a doctor are respect, sensitivity, and compassion. It seems like a far stretch to find a physician with such desired traits these days. Most treat you as a "patient"; you have a problem, and they think of the best and quickest way to fix it. Many people would say, "But isn't that their job?" Of course it is, but it's important to create a connection with the person, even if it's only for a few minutes. A person coming to the hospital is in need of assistant and is already frightened, wondering what's wrong and if the worst has come. How does it make that individual feel when the doctor treats them as a child or, worse, a piece of meat? From what I've heard, it doesn't create peaceful, happy memories. A doctor has to have respect for that person's wishes, thoughts, and feelings. They need to listen to the patient, while still giving their professional diagnosis. In that sense, I think doctors should have sensitivity, to an extent. No one wants or expects a physician to start crying during a surgery. However, a doctor needs to feel sensitivity and, more importantly, compassion for their patients. Surgeries, prescriptions, diagnosises, and testing aren't the only things a doctor should be tending to. People I've talked to, who are considering going into this job, think that because they're the doctor, they don't have to deal with as much bedside care. I feel that anyone who considers this field and has that idea, should seriously think about why they want to be a doctor. Doctors aren't just working with the patients but the relatives and friends of them. They have to have compassion and allow the idea of putting themselves in someone else's shoes. Doctors should recognize and realize that they are dealing with people when they are at the absolute lowest place in their life. It isn't just their job to cure or fix the patient. It's their job to understand, sympathize, listen, and learn. The best doctors aren't the ones who are just intelligent or looking for their own benefits. The greatest ones take their time, make the lives of others better physically and emotionally, and think about the benefits they can give to others and not themselves.

obession