there are times in this entry where i am going to sound like a complete conservative. there are times where i am going to sound like a true liberal. true story is that i am me. just for the record i do not associate myself with any political group. here we go.
what is oppression? it means many different things to many different people from different social classes, ethnicities, and walks of life. the most true definition from dictionary.com- the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel or unjust manner. in no way does it mention the words socioeconomic status, ethnicity, or give exact dates to when it happens. many people do not realize that this word oppression applies to everyone.
im not going to lie, oppression sucks. especially large scale oppression. from person to person, experiences that they each go through are vastly different. one thing that stays the same is oppression they experience. i believe everyone is oppressed.
now its time to back this up. when people think oppression they immediately think the lower class, minorities and sometimes women. im not denying that oppression does not happen at these levels. what i am claiming is that oppression happens at levels outside of these. when i think oppression, i think being treated negatively by someone else who either is a definite higher power or thinks they are somehow higher up than you on the hierarchy of the human heirarchy for some reason or the other. at sometime or another everyone experiences this.
to give an example from my own life i think is very important. i am a white, american, college aged woman and an RA at my college to put the icing on the cake. a few experiences made me come to this idea about oppression. first off, as an RA i have to confront many situations with many different people. when handling a situation it is crucial that i treat everyone with the utmost respect since i am the same age and a student just like the residents of my building. when handling a noise incident one time, i experienced reverse racism. this was the first time i had experienced it. the girls i confronted did not treat me with respect as i was treating them. they assumed that since i was a white RA that i was asking them to turn down their music because they were of a minority race rather than the real reason of them disrupting the community. this was proven when an RA of the same race as them asked them to do the same thing in a more demanding and objectively disrespectful manner they listened with no complaints. some of the girls in the situation would not even look at me, standing there shaking their heads and not listening to my kind requests. what is the difference between this and oppression? in my opinion, nothing. in this situation i felt oppressed not only for being tied to an authority position but for being my own skin color. in a way, this can even be seen as reverse oppression. it was very strange territory.
in addition, as a member of the middle class many think we have certain privileges that others do not. i am not going to lie, there are many levels within the middle class. you have the families where both parents work or families where one parent works. this is assuming that both parents are even part of the family. i fill out the FAFSA form every year for financial aid. many other of my middle class friends do as well. i can successfully say that close to none of my friends from the same area of the state as i am qualify for financial aid. this makes ME shake my head every year. like everyone else in this economy, my family along with many middle class families struggle to make ends meet. the fact that we do not receive financial aid because we are seen to "have money" because of the area we are from is a form of oppression.
the last person people think when it comes to being oppressed is the wealthy, upper class, white man. many people do not look at oppression critically- this is the main problem. the CEO of a large corporation is also oppressed. many people arent even open to this idea...but hear me out. the CEO is seen to be the oppressor. on the contrary, the CEO, because he has such a demanding job does not have the privileges that many others do in lower class jobs. he does not have time for the important things in life. the things you think about on your death bed. those things are family, friends and lifes simplicities.
therefore, by being oppressed it makes it feel like the world is unfair. the truth is that the world is really unfair. its life. however, people should carry away a different perspective. they should dwell on the experiences they gain and the fact that they can appreciate the small things in life. they need to value family and the importance of friends. they need to be thankful for what they have. they need to be thankful for their morals. all of these things contribute to being made a better person. again, we are back to what really matters in this thing called life. on that note, ill take oppression.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Screw the Money, Save Yourself
so it took me a while to decide what i was going to write about for this post. i had a lot on my mind and loads to chose from like religion, the holidays, finals and education or family. something has been sparking my attention all semester in my ecology class and now further reinforced itself today. that is that world has become too reliant on money. both making it and spending it- not wisely i will add. now, money is a topic anyone could go on forever about but i am going to narrow it down to the influence of business on the life of the consuming american.
all semester in ecology we looked at alternate ways of farming, obtaining energy and producing fuel. we also studied the methods used today and compared them to new ones that could be used instead to benefit the environment. most of the methods used today had a negative impact for the environment or the consumer- whether it be air pollution, water pollution, deforestation, cancer etc. the new methods always had a positive impact on the environment hence the reason why they were thought up in the first place. for all of the new methods we researched pros and cons. the new methods had positive health and environmental benefits. most importantly though, a constant con to the new methods was money. simply enough, the government and big corporations do not want to put the money and labor in to something when they can get the same results synthetically for less money despite health risks.
as an example, wind power. wind power is an alternative energy method that many places in this country support. however, there are an over whelming amount of people who do not. their reasons are that it can hurt the bird population, it makes too much noise and that the costs of making the wind power plants are way to high.
as a person who is growing up in a society where science has made life easier, this really worries me. sometimes the science that is making life easier tends to be more detrimental to our health and planet. this is finally becoming noticed now because things that started while my parents were young are now showing to be bad for your health. the reason why these things are not being taken out of society is because life would dramatically change if they were. for example, cars and gasoline polluting the air. i am not a HUGE environmental activist that preaches about everything, but it hurts to see many environmental decisions based off of money.
i first realized this issue through the environment and the side effects of technology that we are seeing today. but when you really think about it, everything in society is like this. it is a monopoly, all a business move. unfortunately the consumer is not benefited by the monopoly. in the end, america is run by business. each business only looks out for its consumers so much. science is a business and as a side note so is education and government. in each monopoly these businesses create decisions are made by the benefit the business receives - not the consumer.
this is a subject that puts america between a rock and a hard place. as a democracy, business is a large part of the basis that this country was founded on. without business- america would just be a giant dictatorship. its sad to say, but business is entirely necessary. it is what makes america stand above so many other countries throughout the world. one wish i do have is that american business become smarter. what i mean by that is they put their consumers first to do what is right rather than less expensive. i think there is hope. the world is becoming more aware of the flaws that money in science causes. with environmental knowledge, people have the choice whether to subject themselves to it- or- completely revolutionize finding alternative ways of living and saving the place that gives them life.
all semester in ecology we looked at alternate ways of farming, obtaining energy and producing fuel. we also studied the methods used today and compared them to new ones that could be used instead to benefit the environment. most of the methods used today had a negative impact for the environment or the consumer- whether it be air pollution, water pollution, deforestation, cancer etc. the new methods always had a positive impact on the environment hence the reason why they were thought up in the first place. for all of the new methods we researched pros and cons. the new methods had positive health and environmental benefits. most importantly though, a constant con to the new methods was money. simply enough, the government and big corporations do not want to put the money and labor in to something when they can get the same results synthetically for less money despite health risks.
as an example, wind power. wind power is an alternative energy method that many places in this country support. however, there are an over whelming amount of people who do not. their reasons are that it can hurt the bird population, it makes too much noise and that the costs of making the wind power plants are way to high.
as a person who is growing up in a society where science has made life easier, this really worries me. sometimes the science that is making life easier tends to be more detrimental to our health and planet. this is finally becoming noticed now because things that started while my parents were young are now showing to be bad for your health. the reason why these things are not being taken out of society is because life would dramatically change if they were. for example, cars and gasoline polluting the air. i am not a HUGE environmental activist that preaches about everything, but it hurts to see many environmental decisions based off of money.
i first realized this issue through the environment and the side effects of technology that we are seeing today. but when you really think about it, everything in society is like this. it is a monopoly, all a business move. unfortunately the consumer is not benefited by the monopoly. in the end, america is run by business. each business only looks out for its consumers so much. science is a business and as a side note so is education and government. in each monopoly these businesses create decisions are made by the benefit the business receives - not the consumer.
this is a subject that puts america between a rock and a hard place. as a democracy, business is a large part of the basis that this country was founded on. without business- america would just be a giant dictatorship. its sad to say, but business is entirely necessary. it is what makes america stand above so many other countries throughout the world. one wish i do have is that american business become smarter. what i mean by that is they put their consumers first to do what is right rather than less expensive. i think there is hope. the world is becoming more aware of the flaws that money in science causes. with environmental knowledge, people have the choice whether to subject themselves to it- or- completely revolutionize finding alternative ways of living and saving the place that gives them life.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
YOU GOT THE POWER.
over this break i found out a concept ive been currently thinking about was completely universal. this concept is something that applies to anyone and everyone. it is friends. without friends and the ability to form relationships the human race would be cursed. there are many times when something bad happens and we think quite the contrary.
with that, many people come in and out of each one of our lives. whether they are in or out does not have a reflection on how good of a person they are. sometimes people just go down different paths and have different interests and live in different places. a true friend can go in and out of your life. there is no person on the earth that is going to act exactly how you would like them to act. i am not a fond believer that people change. i believe most times situations and circumstances change. for example, someone you were friends with in the past may come back in your life and end up being one of your good friends again. it comes down to when you and that friend have a suitable lifestyle for one another. in my opinion, it is the same way with relationships. at certain points in your life a relationship may not be suitable for your lifestyle even though you may love the person you are with. however, in the future a relationship may be completely suitable if not necessary.
knowing who your true friends are is very important. true friends can be classified as people who will be around in your strongest and weakest moments. they are people that stick around for a long time no matter how crazy you may become (within reason of course). at this point in my life, i am able to recognize which friends will stick around as i get older. as a college student it is important to stick around for your friends and recognize who will stick around for you.
there is a slight catch with this advice. over the break i went over to my best friends house for some family time with her mom, her dad, her and two of her sisters. i love spending time over their house because its like seeing my home reenacted with different people. her mom is very social and outgoing. she loves seeing me when i am home from school.
she said that she wanted to talk to me and my friend/her daughter about something. that something was friendship. my friends mom went on to say that friendship can be very special. she said it is special when you realize the person is a true friend. she gave the story of herself and two of her true friends. she grew up in Granada with them. she went on to exclaim that there were times that she spent mad at them, times she spent without seeing or talking to them and times when they didn't even live in the same country. the point is that no one can see into the future. when she was mad at them she never predicted they would still be friends up until this day. it is interesting and funny the way life works out like this. you never know who you will form good relationships with or not. she said a thing that stayed the same overtime was her friends personality.
in addition, she also explained to us that a lifelong friend may be really different from yourself. this really hit me. both of my best friends from home are not only opposites from one another but vastly different from me as well. without getting into detail about our outer appearances, you would never guess we were friends. my friends mom also stressed how outer appearance does not matter. what matters is what lies on the inside. it sounds cheesy but it is the absolute truth. their interests, their personalities, and similarities count. not outward appearance.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, she also said that after not seeing or chatting with her friends for a prolonged period of time, she was able to pick up with her true friends right where they left off. she said, this is the most important thing about lifelong friends.
i have heard this before from my mother. however, sometimes hearing something from your mother is not enough- as it wasn't for me. having realized that mom was right, i thought how truly important it is not only keeping your friends throughout you life, but keeping your true friends that stick around through the good and the bad.
therefore, you never know who you will meet next and the mark they will leave on your life. one can only hope it will be a personal, positive and a hefty, strong mark. with that, build plenty positive relationships and be careful about letting friends fade out. they could come back even better than they were before. there is nothing greater than the power of friendship. the future is in your hands...
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
the big things only lead to the small things.
many people say that they appreciate the small things. from day to day life, there are many people that do not. by appreciating the small things people often consider themselves lucky for what they have. in my opinion this is very important. however, an important thing to realize is that society does not allow time to recognize the small things. a strict work or school schedule often over ride the enjoyment that a person should theoretically experience everyday.
this was brought to my attention through a conversation i had with one of my friends. as an ex member of the NCAA lacrosse team at my college many teammates have been coming to me to get a semi insiders point of view on problems they have. first i was asked my friend how it was going. she replied saying that no one gets it and that she doesnt love lacrosse. i went on to say that the love has to be there in order to play at a college level. i then asked why she was playing. she responded by saying that she was playing for one of her friends. then, she told me a story of a girl she was really good friends with in high school:
it was the first day of practice and her friend had an accident. i dont remember the details nor was it important in our conversation. she went on to say that from that one incident her friend has been in a coma now for a while.it was not planned and caught totally off guard. her friend was a healthy athletic girl with no past health problems.
this was not something i was planning on hearing. it was frightenly shocking. my friend went on to say that people that just don't get how lucky they are. every time she goes to practice at 7am on the turf and they have to run at a solid pace for 25 mins, she just thinks of how lucky she is to be in this world alive and well. how lucky she is to have the ability to run and the ability to notice how beautiful the world is that early in the morning. meanwhile other teammates are complaining on how tired they are, or how much they hate running or even how much stuff they have to do that day. she explained that she was playing for her friend since her friend obviously couldn't. to her its just annoying. nobody really understood her or took her seriously when she told them that story. i am not sure why she chose me to say that to but all i could say was that i got it and that i understood and that she was completely right. my respect level for her rose about 5 million points. that is something i cannot imagine going through or more importantly would have no idea how i would react to it. she is very noble for being such a dedicated friend as well as courageous for the way she is productively taking the situation she was put in.
this can only lead me to blame how complex, how stressful and how desensitized human life has become. it always takes a freak accident to make people get together and appreciate the true small things. universal examples are a natural disaster or terrorist attack or kidnapping or atomic bomb, etc. society does not have on overall appreciation on how lucky human kind is to have the technology, the imagination, and ability to do what they can. the conversation with my friend led to faith. it is a touchy subject for some. however, despite the religious view a person has, there always must be some level of hope and faith to keep the person going day to day.
an inspirational line is always "live everyday like its your last." whether a person is a full time student to a working parent to the local bum on the street this is so much easier said than done. of course being told that one line makes that shitty moment in your life better, but in the long term it does very little. unfortunately with the way society works, the big, drastic things that happen only lead to appreciation of the small things. to get society to change their way of thinking, it can only start with the individual. so my advice to try your hardest to appreciate what you have more than what you have no control over. people will learn from how you carry yourself and follow the idea themselves.
this was brought to my attention through a conversation i had with one of my friends. as an ex member of the NCAA lacrosse team at my college many teammates have been coming to me to get a semi insiders point of view on problems they have. first i was asked my friend how it was going. she replied saying that no one gets it and that she doesnt love lacrosse. i went on to say that the love has to be there in order to play at a college level. i then asked why she was playing. she responded by saying that she was playing for one of her friends. then, she told me a story of a girl she was really good friends with in high school:
it was the first day of practice and her friend had an accident. i dont remember the details nor was it important in our conversation. she went on to say that from that one incident her friend has been in a coma now for a while.it was not planned and caught totally off guard. her friend was a healthy athletic girl with no past health problems.
this was not something i was planning on hearing. it was frightenly shocking. my friend went on to say that people that just don't get how lucky they are. every time she goes to practice at 7am on the turf and they have to run at a solid pace for 25 mins, she just thinks of how lucky she is to be in this world alive and well. how lucky she is to have the ability to run and the ability to notice how beautiful the world is that early in the morning. meanwhile other teammates are complaining on how tired they are, or how much they hate running or even how much stuff they have to do that day. she explained that she was playing for her friend since her friend obviously couldn't. to her its just annoying. nobody really understood her or took her seriously when she told them that story. i am not sure why she chose me to say that to but all i could say was that i got it and that i understood and that she was completely right. my respect level for her rose about 5 million points. that is something i cannot imagine going through or more importantly would have no idea how i would react to it. she is very noble for being such a dedicated friend as well as courageous for the way she is productively taking the situation she was put in.
this can only lead me to blame how complex, how stressful and how desensitized human life has become. it always takes a freak accident to make people get together and appreciate the true small things. universal examples are a natural disaster or terrorist attack or kidnapping or atomic bomb, etc. society does not have on overall appreciation on how lucky human kind is to have the technology, the imagination, and ability to do what they can. the conversation with my friend led to faith. it is a touchy subject for some. however, despite the religious view a person has, there always must be some level of hope and faith to keep the person going day to day.
an inspirational line is always "live everyday like its your last." whether a person is a full time student to a working parent to the local bum on the street this is so much easier said than done. of course being told that one line makes that shitty moment in your life better, but in the long term it does very little. unfortunately with the way society works, the big, drastic things that happen only lead to appreciation of the small things. to get society to change their way of thinking, it can only start with the individual. so my advice to try your hardest to appreciate what you have more than what you have no control over. people will learn from how you carry yourself and follow the idea themselves.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
the thornberries.
yesterday i went to the bronx zoo. there i learned a lot that i did not know before just for the sake of enriching myself. being november, i was really surprised on how active the animals were considering the time of year. they were more active than they are in the summer. temperature is probably the reason for that though.
my favorite exhibit there was the congo gorilla exhibit. i find primates really interesting. the group i was with went to the monkey house and the congo house and saw wayy tooo many primates. however, the ones that most impacted me was the gorillas. in the gorilla exhibit there was a short film discussing deforestation and the effect it has on gorillas, elephants and other species in the congo. in the film one woman said that it is different looking into the eyes of a gorilla than other animals. this really hit me hard. i discovered she was so incredibly right. looking into the eyes of the gorillas in comparison to either other smaller animals like snakes or rodents or fish are so strikingly different.
when i observed the gorillas in the exhibit many things got to me.
one was that it was like looking at a similar version of myself. not that i look entirely like a monkey but many actions they did were similar. for example, the younger gorillas were chasing each other around, hitting each other and playing. there was always that one gorilla that would come and make a ruckus amongst the others. this is so similar to the way humans behave, down to the very motion. it was amazing.honestly, it reminded me of me and my siblings growing up. their actions as well as their physical being impacted me. they have knuckles and finger nails and five fingers. the mother of the pack was lying down. one of the babes came over and laid down with its mother. the mother simply put an arm around the baby. this was priceless to me and again so strikingly similar to human behavior. as you can tell, something as little as this made me very happy to see.
another thing that impacted me was looking into their eyes you can see that something else has to be there. by something else i mean higher thought processes that we are not fully aware about. it made me think that they have their own form of communications, go through the same dramas that we do, exhibit feelings and also higher thoughts similar to our own. there is nothing that can compare the feeling this gave me. it made me want to know more and become further enriched in knowledge. for those college students who have not experienced this feeling, i highly suggest looking into a different area of study.
now, i have been to zoos before. no zoo trip has ever impacted me as much as this one did. this may sound ridiculous but i wish i could speak ape. i wish i could be able to communicate with animals. kind of like eliza thornberry. it would be so interesting to me to see how they live their lives in comparison to human kind. i really think it has very few differences.
as a biology major it is very hard to have moments like this. there is so much forced down the throats of majors that either we will never use or simply have no interest in knowing. furthermore, there is more pressure memorizing information for the following exam than actually taking the time to learn and develop a respect and interest for it. a major thing that completely gets me about it too is that most of the time after tests are done, the information is wiped out of memory. there are sometimes where i start thinking i made the wrong decision by majoring in biology. after experiences like these it gives me a whole new hope. it reinforces telling myself that i am in the right boat and sailing into a future career that i will love and enjoy. i consider myself lucky for it all falling into place like it did.
my favorite exhibit there was the congo gorilla exhibit. i find primates really interesting. the group i was with went to the monkey house and the congo house and saw wayy tooo many primates. however, the ones that most impacted me was the gorillas. in the gorilla exhibit there was a short film discussing deforestation and the effect it has on gorillas, elephants and other species in the congo. in the film one woman said that it is different looking into the eyes of a gorilla than other animals. this really hit me hard. i discovered she was so incredibly right. looking into the eyes of the gorillas in comparison to either other smaller animals like snakes or rodents or fish are so strikingly different.
when i observed the gorillas in the exhibit many things got to me.
one was that it was like looking at a similar version of myself. not that i look entirely like a monkey but many actions they did were similar. for example, the younger gorillas were chasing each other around, hitting each other and playing. there was always that one gorilla that would come and make a ruckus amongst the others. this is so similar to the way humans behave, down to the very motion. it was amazing.honestly, it reminded me of me and my siblings growing up. their actions as well as their physical being impacted me. they have knuckles and finger nails and five fingers. the mother of the pack was lying down. one of the babes came over and laid down with its mother. the mother simply put an arm around the baby. this was priceless to me and again so strikingly similar to human behavior. as you can tell, something as little as this made me very happy to see.
another thing that impacted me was looking into their eyes you can see that something else has to be there. by something else i mean higher thought processes that we are not fully aware about. it made me think that they have their own form of communications, go through the same dramas that we do, exhibit feelings and also higher thoughts similar to our own. there is nothing that can compare the feeling this gave me. it made me want to know more and become further enriched in knowledge. for those college students who have not experienced this feeling, i highly suggest looking into a different area of study.
now, i have been to zoos before. no zoo trip has ever impacted me as much as this one did. this may sound ridiculous but i wish i could speak ape. i wish i could be able to communicate with animals. kind of like eliza thornberry. it would be so interesting to me to see how they live their lives in comparison to human kind. i really think it has very few differences.
as a biology major it is very hard to have moments like this. there is so much forced down the throats of majors that either we will never use or simply have no interest in knowing. furthermore, there is more pressure memorizing information for the following exam than actually taking the time to learn and develop a respect and interest for it. a major thing that completely gets me about it too is that most of the time after tests are done, the information is wiped out of memory. there are sometimes where i start thinking i made the wrong decision by majoring in biology. after experiences like these it gives me a whole new hope. it reinforces telling myself that i am in the right boat and sailing into a future career that i will love and enjoy. i consider myself lucky for it all falling into place like it did.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
hi. im new.
hi. im maggie. i believe in the power of thought. without thought and imagination, there would be nothing in this world. that is the truth.
a little about myself. BLAHBLAH. i currently a junior in college. i have interests in biology, psychology and the trends of people and animals as a whole. i am not a writer. i like to think i am unique however, i am just a functioning member of society like everyone else. i have had many things happen to me in life. some things i am not proud of and others i am proud of. one thing is for sure; they have all changed me to the person i am today. for that, i am happy.
with that, being new to places is an awkward situation as a whole. when being new, one is placed outside of the norm of their life and either forced or willingly moved to a new norm. me starting this blog is an awkward situation. there are many people who hold no reserves in the things they place on the internet for people to see. i am not one of those people. i consider myself careful because i know once something is posted, there is a point of no return. some people may argue that there is no point in having a blog then. i say, SO WHAT. the point of a blog in my point of view is to inform others in a casual way. that is exactly what i will do.
i thoroughly enjoy observing others through their actions and formulating a reason why they act that way. i am also sure to take the time to recognize the small things as well as the things that really matter. all the amazing things in life. i believe that these are the things that i will remember as im about to croak.
a little about myself. BLAHBLAH. i currently a junior in college. i have interests in biology, psychology and the trends of people and animals as a whole. i am not a writer. i like to think i am unique however, i am just a functioning member of society like everyone else. i have had many things happen to me in life. some things i am not proud of and others i am proud of. one thing is for sure; they have all changed me to the person i am today. for that, i am happy.
with that, being new to places is an awkward situation as a whole. when being new, one is placed outside of the norm of their life and either forced or willingly moved to a new norm. me starting this blog is an awkward situation. there are many people who hold no reserves in the things they place on the internet for people to see. i am not one of those people. i consider myself careful because i know once something is posted, there is a point of no return. some people may argue that there is no point in having a blog then. i say, SO WHAT. the point of a blog in my point of view is to inform others in a casual way. that is exactly what i will do.
i thoroughly enjoy observing others through their actions and formulating a reason why they act that way. i am also sure to take the time to recognize the small things as well as the things that really matter. all the amazing things in life. i believe that these are the things that i will remember as im about to croak.
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