Siete

Change-Any kind of change: New York Times- Tough Life, divorced, and depressed children.

There is always room for change. Everyday, something changes, whether it is what you wear from day to day or your stocks in the bank. Changes can be drastic or small. There is not one day out of the 365 days where the number of people in the world doesn't change because there is always somebody dieing or being born. I read an article about a couple that had 3 kids and when they got a divore everything changed. According to Mary, the mom, her kids went from being A students and in a variety of clubs and sports to getting D's and C's, ditching and falling out of their clubs because of the pressure they were going through. Divorced parents can be not only rough on relationships but also the kids. They are put in a position of despair and not knowing what to do with themselves. The worst thing adults can do is fight and argue in front of their children.. it causes stress, despression and sadness within the child. Lots of times the parents may move far apart from one another, if both parents have custody of the children, they are to move back and forth between the two. Breaks can be good, but also bad. Kelly, Eric and Melissa had a difficult time going between the two houses, it started to become to much for them to handle. Although they didn't have to deal with their parents fighting in front of them anymore didn't mean that within the kids relationships they didn't have problems now. Changes occurr everyday and will always be happening around you. Be aware of the changes around you, there are always good or great changes, and unfortunately bad ones.

Seis

HOPE
THe title of the article made me want to read more and find out what twas about. It was called after a devastating birth injury, hope and had a picuture of african americans in white clothes sitting there, looking really sad and depressed.
The article was about 2 young swahili girls at the ages of 16 and 17 who gave birth to dead babies which took days on end to actually give birth, and then the mothers ended up with an injury. The injury was known as fistula which is an inside wound which left them soaked in urine and incontinent. As they waited for a surgeon at their regional hospital in Dodoma because the other operations failed, they were in extreme pain. Finally Ms. Jonas and ms swalehe (2 girls who needed the surgery) took a bus to a hot city for their operation which was paid for by a charitable group, amref. This foundation brought doctors in to do the operation and also teach the other doctors and nurses in parts of Tanzania how to repair fistulas and take care of their patients. Obstructed labor can also kill the mother or crush her bladder, uterus and vagina between her pelvic bones and the baby’s skull. This is where the injured tissue dies and creates a fistula. a fistula is a hole that lets pee constantly stream out of the female organ. Usually in this situation when women had a fistula, their family would throw them out, or build a seperate hut for them. The doctors gave them hope of regaining a normal life after the surgery was finally provided.

Cinco

religion/spirituality/belief/non-belief
I read an article from New York Times about a man that traveled to Scandinavia. His name was Phil Zuckerman; he informed us that Denmark and Sweden were a couple of the least religious nations in the world. Mr. Zuckerman iss a sociologist who teaches at Pitzer College in California, and he was surprised on what he noticed. Many of the people he interviewed considered themselves atheists, but also called themselves Christians, even though they denied many of the Christian teachings. Zuckerman said they, "often disinclined or hesitant to talk with me about religion, and even once they agreed to do so, they usually had very little to say on the matter.” This is interesting... because it seems to me like the people didn't believe in God whatso ever and seemed to be very abrupt and didn't have anything to say about religiion. Lots of people believe in many different gods/goddesses, spirts, and just simply have different beliefs. Sometimes, i don't even know if i believe in God. Just because there is a story we are suppose to follow and believe in, follow the rules and etc... doesn't mean that God is neccessarily a real creature that created the world. I think it is so tough to wrap your mind around and I think that anyone can believe what they want. Tis okay to not even believe in anything.

Cuatro

"A person's gender role is composed of several elements and can be expressed through clothing, behavior, choice of work, personal relationships and other factors."
Yeah, a woman is known for cleaning and cooking, while the man fixes cars and cuts down trees but everything has changed today. Although some may still clean, cook, and aquire the "stay at home" mom, others are hard working and succeed in the world. And I know plenty of dads who are considered the "stay at home" moms to this day.
I read one of the main articles about Gender Roles and Feminism....
It states that nearly 100 years ago and still today women are fighting for the same rights as men. Even in upscale resturants, states New York Times, they are decorated and vibed through the different gender characteristics; some attract more men than others and vice versa.
Usually with a relationship that is with the same-sex, the work is generally divided evenly says New York Times. While in heterosexual relationships, an uneven portion of household responsiblilties fall upon the woman.

Tres

Culture different from mine:

All around the world there are different cultures and beliefs in such a variety of things. I have a good friend who has a totally different culture and background than me and she believes in really different things. Most of the time, I think "ahh that's weird" or ask "why do you think that?" just because it is so different from me. I like to go out on the weekends and hang out with boys, but what she and her parents believe is that she can't be with boys, and she is only allowed to marry boys who are within the same culture.
Another differing culture that I find interesting are what people wear. Some cultures believe in wearing certain outfits and covering themselves up. This is so different from me because I wear whtaever i want and there really isn't anything that i'm "suppose" to wear. I think it's really cool to see and learn about other cultures because that's what makes everyone so different and unique.

Dos

Overcoming struggle/facing difficulty.

I am reading a book called Just Listen which is about a teenage girl named Annabelle who has somewhat of a rough life. Not only because of her actions and decisions within school and friends, but also because of her sisters. Annabelle is a popular cheerleader at her highschool with what seems to have everything she ever wanted... but no one knows about her family back at home. Her sister goes through difficult situations and is noticed with an eating disorder. She'll maybe eat a strawberry for breakfast and a couple saltine crackers for lunch... Annabelle realizes the problem and tries to confront her and let her parents know that she needs help. Since her sister is off at college it is harder for the family to find aid and help her out. Both of the girls are models and this also puts a lot of pressure on being super thin. I would consider an eating disorder a very difficult disease to overcome and a very hard thing to face. It is a mental disease that may possibly never go away. Once you get a mind set that you will never eat again, or vomit all your food up, you are in for a journey of terror. I will have to keep reading to find out what happens and if Annabelle's sister will overcome her struggle of anorexia.

Uno

Natural disaster ARE disasters. They can take out many a time, or just few. Natural disasters aren't just trees falling down in a forest, or a flood from the ocean... they can be hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, wild fires, landslides/mudslides, etc! Some of the things people do to get prepared for the following disasters and try to avoid...
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/psa/video/co.asp
-this is a video about avoiding carbon monoxide, check it out!

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/
-this website also talks about how we can prepare ourselves for these types of emergencies.... which could be extremely helpful if one ever occurrs in our region.