STRESSED OUT, MAN!!

Click onto the link provided on this post below to see a better view of the graphic visual.

(This author, Carolyn Gregoire, posted up an infographic about how someone's job can slowly kill him/her; therefore, I am commenting on a graphic visual representing information/data on this topic, instead of an actual article.)

In the author's three-paragraphed essay, she says that occupational stress is so pervasive that we accept it as a fact of life..." Then, she continues on with a statement that I agree with: stressful jobs can result with serious health issues for almost anyone. I was surprised that 17 percent of Americans do not find their jobs stressful; to me, that 17 percent is really lucky to not have to worry about their health problems that their jobs could create for them. For me, although I do not have a job, going through tutors and classes make me feel like I am "dying" and full of stress at most moments, (especially when you're the principal's daughter of an after school/summer program.) 

The author shows a visual of nine different ways stressful jobs/classes can kill you: higher heart attack risks, higher risk of death, depression, burnout, accelerated aging, increased risk of diabetes, strained relationships, higher stress levels outside work,and decreased emotional well-being. I am completely amazed about how just one stressful job can cause many dangerous outcomes towards a person. By looking at the graphic visual, I can reflect moments in my own life when I experienced these before and even now. For example, for "higher stress levels outside work," whenever I am done with all my classes, I still have a intensified sense of stress in me, and even the simplest task of cleaning the dishes can make me easily irritated. I believe that this visual is almost completely accurate and relates to numerous amount of people in the whole world. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/31/how-your-job-is-slowly-killing-you_n_3652943.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Cyber bullying Women

This article is about the case of cyber-bullies targeting on women. The author starts off this article by asking this question: "Does it matter whether this article was written by a man or a woman?" In my opinion, the gender of this author can affect how he or she views this case. Most women would explain about how there are many posting-materials that they consider as cyber-bulling to them. On the other hand, some men would say that the posting-materials are just jokes and are not meant to be taking literally or seriously. To me, I do find some amusing, but I also believe that there are many that "go too far" and can be really offensive towards females.

Then, the author continues on by talking about how women like Lucy-Ann Holmes received many death threats online, but Lucy says that, although it is terrifying and exhausting, it should make you fight stronger. I support that because, even though women get "trolled" by these online threats, which can be scary and hard to handle, women should be able to be the stronger person and "fight it" if they don't like it. However, then a question pops in my head: what is the cyber-bullies' motives to this?

Psychology professor Mark Griffths believes that the two main motives to this "trolling activity" are revenge and amusement. As he said in the article, I do not think this is a gender issue because women, too, cyber-bully others, men or women, same goes with the men. However, I have seen these online-materials increase, targeting people from women to little boys, and it is "quite clear that men and women will both abuse people online" just for revenge or amusement.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23488550

A Transgender Couple's Story

There are many teen couples in the world that look like "your typical young couple"; however, this couple in particular has a history that is so different to many others; they are a transgender couple.

The author starts off the article by introducing the young couple and then described each of the lovers' story behind to their own transition.

When I first read the article's title, "Arin Andrews and Katie Hill, transgender Teenage Couple, Transition Together," a question immediately popped into my head: why did they go through transition?

Arin said that he felt uncomfortable about his body when he was a girl and completely felt like "himself" after the transition. To be honest, feeling uncomfortable about your body can be a natural fear or nervousness to some people, but I believe that this is a whole other level. Although I do not completely understand his true motive to go through transition, I do not think that he needed to go through transition to "feel comfortable."

Katie Hill, however, had a clear motive to this action and great change to herself. As a boy, She was bullied and abused in school by the students there. She said that she always imagined herself as the bride when she was a little boy and would wear a white dress at home, pretending to be walking down the isle of a wedding. I believe that she thought about becoming a transgender for a long time and that she didn't want to be bullied any longer. Her motive seem more reasonable than Arin's, yet it is quite a drastic step in life.

Katie and Arin do face some difficulties in their social life when they publicize their secrets, but they are truly in love with each other and content with their new selves.  

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/23/transgender-teenage-couple-arin-andrews-katie-hill_n_3639220.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

See Your Folks

     According to this article, there is a website known as "See Your Folks" (http://seeyourfolks.com/) that calculates that amount of times you will see your parents before they are expected to pass away. The creators of this site believe that this will increase awareness of death and help us make the most of our lives, which leads to make us into better people. However, this website can actually cause people to think quite negatively or in an opposite point of views than what was expected.

     To those who try this website and receive a pretty large number (I got 11,680 days that I will see my parents before they pass away), they could think that they then have enough time to both do what they want to do and spend time with their parents. Therefore, those people can become less worried about the amount of time they should spend with their folks. However, the website's calculations only depend on the average age of each country that someone passes away. There can be many tragedies or surprising events like the Boston Bombing, the Connecticut shooting, or even heart-attacks in which the demise of a person can arrive earlier than the expected date. Thus, people should be aware of these tragedies instead of the amount of times they can see their folks since these unfortunate surprises can offset the purpose of the website. 

     This website is an interesting "calculator" and is mostly true based on the average age of death in particular countries; however, if its purpose is to keep people aware of death and the limited time we have to create memories with our folks and loved ones, people should be aware that that limited time can become concise by an accident.  

  http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/07/22/see_your_folks_a_calculator_to_tell_you_how_many_times_you_ll_see_your_parents.html

Mystery of the Toothpaste in Hotels

According to this article, hotels mostly provides towels, bed sheets, a mini-refrigerator, and even toiletries...without toothpaste. The article makes a point of where the soap and shampoos may be necessary for cleansing yourself;however, tooth-brushing seems much more of a necessity compared to them.

This article does reveal that the hotels distract us from this necessity with its illusion of excess. I was surprised to read that because I realized that I did not even notice that the hotels I have been in did not, in fact, provide toothpaste. One of the reasons to why this is so is the fact that a lot of people do not usually request for one and bring their own. This is a really good reason to me because why would the hotels buy products that people may not want or need one to be provided for them. Another reason is that toothpaste is considered a suggestion, not a required toiletries. This I find quite strange because toothpaste is important for the development and health of the gums, teeth, and mouth. Although, people may buy their own toothpaste, having toothpaste in hotels can give an indication that the they do care for your health and dental hygiene as well as your enjoyment of the hotels.  

One of the main theories from this article that I mostly agree on is the "penny-pinching hotelier" theory. Reading about this theory gave me the thought that this may be one of the most reasonable answers to this mystery. The author makes a supporting idea of the thought that toothpaste probably is more expensive than the other toiletries. However, the article has added that the missing toothpaste can be a matter of tradition, but the author did not really clarify on what he meant and how it can be a subject to that matter.

I find the author's conclusive answer to this solution, which is that we do not ask for toothpaste...because we did not even know we could, sort of strange since toothpaste is a necessity that people need and that he said in the beginning of this article that people do not want it. This article seems to be a bit contradicting in some parts which was a bit puzzling to me.

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/culturebox/2013/07/toothpaste_in_hotels_why_do_they_provide_shampoo_soap_and_high_end_toiletries.html

Gambling with Laws

George Zimmerman, a white 28-year-old neighborhood monitor, was suspicious of and stalked a African American teenage, unarmed Martin on the night of February 2012. He reported to the police who told him to stay in the car, but Zimmerman did not listen and confronted Martin. However, without any witnesses and any known errors to the defendant's story, the jury concluded that Zimmerman was not guilty.

George Zimmerman says that he shot Martin as self-defense to Martin's physical attacks. He did not violate any Florida state laws and was an "innocent man", although he did commit murder and manslaughter. However, although you are allowed to kill someone in Florida if it is reasonable in the situation of someone seriously and bodily harming you or someone else, I find it quite unfair compared to the cases of Orville Lee Wollard (who shot a gun inside his house to scare off his daughter's boyfriend) and a middle-class African American Marissa Alexander  (who fired a "warning shot" as defense from her abusive husband at their home), and both were sentenced to 20-years in prison. Looking over these situations, Alexander's case is pretty racial and biased compared to Zimmerman's case.

It is quite unreasonable to me for Zimmerman not to be sent to jail unlike Wollard and Alexander. Wollard and Alexander did not kill the victims and did not intend to do so. Therefore, I believe that George Zimmerman should be sent to jail for a case as serious as committing murder and manslaughter, even it was meant for self-defense from the teenage boy.        

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2013/07/florida_gun_laws_george_zimmerman_acquittal_shows_danger_of_stand_your_ground.html

A Hero or Just a Dad

Seeing a mother taking good care of her her kids and keeping them from crying or whining at a market is considered very normal, since it is known that a mother's "duty" is "generally" to take care of the children. However, for a father to be in place of the mother, he will most likely be characterized based on his skill of nurturing them.

There are stereotypes where mothers are sometimes seen as a stay-at-home mother, and fathers are seen as a work-in-office father. According to an article written by a father, a stranger at a grocery stare called him "a hero" for taking care of his kids, while the mother went out to work and make money. Some people were even impressed at the sight of a father "baby-sitting" of his kids without the help of a mother. They might have been saying, "Oh, the child really adores him. What a great father he must be to her!"

Although that it is a nice sight to see a father interact and have a close relationship with their kids, is it really that impressive or even heroic? A parent - regardless of gender - should take a lot of time to childcare and be able to balance it out with their work., or spend more time with their kids. Therefore, seeing a father playing around with or nurse his child should me a normal sight since it is his duty as a parent. A father should not be mostly perceived as a hard-working employer or laborer. If the stereotypes (mentioned in the second paragraph) were to be true, shouldn't the mother be considered a a far better hero than fathers for spending more time with their kids than fathers do? Why should one scene of a father caring for his children be the only requirement for a father to be considered "a hero"?  

No matter what, it is always the parents' choice to decide on how much of their time should be spent with work or childcare. "[Both of the] decision(s) [aren't] heroic or cowardly. It isn't even a decision. No, this here - this is economics."


http://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2013/07/life_as_a_stay_at_home_dad_everyone_i_meet_calls_me_a_hero_for_taking_care.single.html

Sandy Hook Lures a Shark

Traumatic events such as the Sandy Hook school shooting have affected kids' overall outlook, an MTV study has found. (Shannon Hicks/ Associated Press/ June 18, 2013)

     On December 14, 2012, in Sandy Hook, Newtown, Connecticut, the students of Sandy Hook Elementary had a normal morning of school and began to learn about different subjects that will help them in the future. However, a 20-year-old man named Adam Lanza changed their lives and other people's lives, through one of the most deadliest crimes by a single person in American History. 

     Before he drove to the school., Adam Lanza killed and shot his own mother at their home. According to "CNN: Sandy Hook Shooting: What Happened?", the man brought three different guns to the school - a semi-automatic AR-15 assault rifle, a pistol, and a Sig Sauer - and wore black fatigues and a military vest. In a classroom that was being taught by a substitute teacher, 30-year-old Lauren Rousseau, the man shot all fourteen innocent students and Lauren. However, he did not stop there. 27-year-old first grade teacher, Victoria Soto quickly moved her students away from the door until the gunman bombarded into the room and shot her and six of her students. Unfortunately, the principal (Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung), the school's psychologist (Mary Sherlach), and two other teachers (Anne Marie Murphy and Rachel D'Avino) were also shot to death by Adam Lanza. When that was done, he took his own life and shot himself with a handgun. 

     On that tragic day, twenty young children in first grade and kindergarten and six adults were killed, with a total of twenty-six futures in life to never come. This incident is one of the top deadliest mass shooting, that has been done by one person, in American history. When I first heard about this, I was in complete shock.The event has even brought up a proposal of banning any firearms in the United States.  I believe that a law that would ban all dangerous firearms should be pass in order to prevent, or to decrease the amount of mishaps due to them.  The innocent lives of little kids and adults were destroyed by a "random" man who does not have a legitimate reason to do so. Many people and the families of the students were very much terrified and saddened about the shooting, as I am also. It is an absolutely crazy madness for someone to take, not only the lives of children, but also the lives of possible leaders of the future. These students could have grown to discover a medicine to cure all disease, serve as great heroes for their country, or even lead the next generation to a brighter future. Although the catastrophic occurrence cut short the precious lives of these children, their tragic yet memorable deaths will be forever treasured in our hearts.    

"'Let the little children come to me,' Jesus said, 'and do not hinder them -- for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.'

Charlotte. Daniel. Olivia. Josephine. Ana. Dylan. Madeleine. Catherine. Chase. Jesse. James. Grace. Emilie. Jack. Noah. Caroline. Jessica. Benjamin. Avielle. Allison. 

God has called them all home. For those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on, and make our country worthy of their memory."

-Barack Obama-

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/12/us/sandy-hook-timeline/index.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/nation/us-mass-shootings-2012/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/obama-newtown-speech_n_2313295.html