"This is How We Live"

     I think Ellen DeGeneres makes a really good point in her book "The Funny Thing Is" that are newest advances in technology are becoming ridiculous because there just making us so lazy. I think it is not because we are lazy that people make up these advances, but i think people think that these new ideas sound good and will make a lot of money, but in the end the outcome is that we become lazy. I think when Ellen is talking about how they changed the system in cars from cranking windows up and down to using a button this is the perfect example. They took something (the crank in the car) that was already working perfectly fine and changed it (to the button) which yes maybe is a little more convienant but it was unneccassary in the first place because there was no problem with the crank. This is probably where Americans have the stereotype of being lazy. Because other countries see that we have all these newer advances in technology to make things that were already easy even easier.  

"Hip Hop Life"

     I disagree with DeSean Robinson Walker's  opinion that hip hop isn't a style, but instead the way people live. I think it is the complete opposite. I think people influenced by hip hop base the way they live off of this style creating there own "swag" of what they think hip hop is. I think he makes a good point that growing up in the Getto isn't a lifestyle, these people are just trying to cope with there surroundings however it seems to be a reoccuring pattern that people growing up in these areas follow the same trends of this hip hop lifestyle.
    I think this article on Hip hop is very similiar to the article on entertainment because I think hip hop is a great example of entertainment that not everybody likes, but everybody knows a lot about. And hip hop is used in advertisement to try and bring in younger people because they know that a lot of younger people try and relate to the hip hop lifestyle.

Entertainment

I think entertainment is a personal choice however with all of the social pressures around us people seem to get sucked into entertainment that they don't even find interesting. For example the show "Jersey Shore". Not many people really like it, but just about everybody has seen it a few times or knows what it's about because of how much advertisement is out there about the show. I also think society tries to influence the type of entertainment we like by putting some music or images out there more then others. I think entertainment is a good thing because it can be relaxing, but i think the way a lot of entertainment appears in America is very munipulative and sending a lot of the wrong messages.

Reading "Someone to Watch Over Me"

   I think the amount of social networking that this twenty-four year old says they do is unhealthy. It is scientifically proven that people can become depressed from looking at other peoples pages and pictures all the time. The reason for this is because you see all their friends writing on their wall and all their pictures of them out doing fun things and it can make you depressed. Also if your sitting on your computer all day your not going to be out doing all the other things you could be doing.
    Although i do have a facebook, i don't think it is necessary to have many social networking cites. Some people have facebook, twitter, tumblr's and who knows what else and I think that is a little excessive. Choose your favorite networking cite and stick with it. I think sometimes people try and create themselves on social networking cites to be somebody their not, it's interesting sometimes when you look on your own page to see what you look like to other people, it makes you wonder how people perceive you.

Different Communities

     I think Bridgewater State University has a lot of different communities of people that would be very interesting to study. There are a lot of events that go on between smaller groups on campus everyday that many people don't know about. One club that meets very often is the horseback riding team. I think this group of people is very interesting because although everyone rides at the barn at different times they all get together for horseshows and this is when everyone on the team can watch each other ride.
     I think another group that could be interesting to interview could be members on the track team. I think track is kind of different from a lot of other organized sports because there are so many people and everyone is taking part in different events that it seems like it's more so an individualized sport however they still travel to other schools and compete as one team. Another option could be to possibly interview members of a fraternity or sorority and find out what they do as a group because usually every fraternity or sorority has a different focus on different kinds of service.

tattoos

     Although i don't have any myself, I think tattoos are cool because you can literally draw up anything you want and somebody can tattoo it on you. However I don't think that tattoos are always a good representation of a persons identity because it is really hard to show all of what makes a persons identity by just a few images or quotes. A lot of times people tend to get tattoos after a memorable event happens in their life, good or bad. Although it is meaningful to them, this really only is a representation of one moment in there life.
     I think the examples shown in the book of the tattoos people got after the attack on September 11th are a good example of how the tattoos are a representation from a specific moment in time.  When people tell me they have a tattoo I always am interested in seeing what the image or quote is that they got because in some cases I think you can learn a lot about the person by what they chose to get. Because tattoos are perminent most people put a lot of thought into them before they get them done so it is interesting to see what some people think is so important they want to see it on themselves all the time as a reminder. However there are a lot of people who just want a tattoo for the sake of having one and they end up getting something random. For this reason I think it is only somewhat true that tattoos make up a persons identity.

collage assignment

           I think my identity is best shown with pictures of me horsebackriding and being at the barn around the horses. I have been riding horses since I was six years old  and compete and take lessons through out the year. Some of my best memories have been made there with my best friends who share the same interests. I think my identity is best described at the barn because horses are my passion and my closes friends that also influence me have been made there too.
            For this assignment I'm going to use pictures of me riding and with my friends. Horseback riding has taught me a lot and has kept me focused so that i could learn to be really good. My friends I have met from riding also push me to do better and  cheer me on in competitions. Because we are such good friends i feel so comfortable and I really bringout my true personality. I think these pictures would be most reflecting of myself.