Smile, you will brighten my day

You have exactly five minutes until you have to be at work. As you look at your watch and scurry into the checkout line, you say to yourself, “I knew I shouldn’t have gone to the store before work.” Out of nowhere, the lady standing in front of you turns around with a smile on her face and softly says, “You can get in front of me.” Suddenly you have a new found appreciation for the humanity in special people like her.

Why is it that it seems so rare for anyone to do things like this anymore? I know when somebody holds the door for me, especially if it is inconvenient for him or her, it makes me feel really good. I feel like our society isn’t as selfish as it seems. That little bit of hope makes all the difference in the world in knowing that there are good people out there.

People are getting so caught up in jobs, money, material objects, and themselves that the kindness in our culture seems to be evaporating. What happened to doing good deeds and having courtesy, and the feeling that arises from acts of kindness?

I know that when I try to be polite and do an act of kindness, I get this high that just makes me feel so happy. When you smile, endorphins are released, and endorphins make you feel good. The world needs more endorphins.

If we all put just a tiny bit of thought into doing little things for strangers, or for anybody, this world would be a better place. It is the simple things in life that make me smile; the little things people do for each other. Believe it or not, you can brighten someone’s day just by telling a stranger, “I like your purse,” or by simply smiling at them. Any act of kindness goes a long way, even witnessing an act of kindness can make you smile.

It takes just a little to make someone’s day. If everyone started doing this, people would be happier and we would get along better. So next time you see somebody who looks like they are having a bad day, smile at them, and they will probably smile back.

Almost Famous

Everybody’s ideal job is different; some want to be doctors, some want to be teachers, some want to be psychologists. My ideal job is a fun job. I don’t even know exactly what I want to do yet, but I think I want to either work for a television station or a show, or work for a magazine. I used to not want to be cooped up in an office all day, but now I don’t think I would mind it. But if I worked for a television company, I would probably be on my feet at all times.

I want to be able to work on my own if I want, or work with others too. I also want to be able to dress nice and have a job where there is no getting dirty involved.

Since I am not totally sure what my dream job is, it is hard to say what it signifies about my American dream. For one thing, it says that I am not willing to work and get dirty for a career; I want something clean and white-collar, if you will. My dream job also shows how everyone wants to be a little famous. I want to be on television or the one writing articles for that magazine. Although I don’t want to be celebrity-famous, I want to have some self of importance. I think that is healthy in a job.

Lastly, I want to be willing to go to work, like everyone preaches to me. That will make it fun, since so much of Americans’ time is spent working.

S-C-I-E-N-C-E, Science is the place to be

When I think of the characteristics of my best educational experience, I think of a spunky teacher who made fun games for just about every learning experience. In fourth grade, my teacher was fun, so she allowed us to have fun. I learned a lot from that class but also had tons of fun. Her thing was that school shouldn't only be boring and dry, but she thought there were fun ways of teaching. Among others sayings, she had this fun little quote she would always say in the beginning of class: S-C-I-E-N-C-E, Science is the place to be! Apparently it worked, becuase that was one of the better educational experiences and I have many vivid memories of the fourth grade and especially fourth grade science and my teacher. Fun teachers, lots of activities, organized classes, and a connection with the teacher all have contributed to a good educational experience in the past.

I can't pinpoint my worst educational experience, becuase I have had so many of them. One consisted of a teacher in which all he did was lecture. People would sleep and he didn't care. He just lectured and we had tests. This was not effective for me and other students as well, becuase there seemed to be no motivation. In addition to this educational experience, some more characteristic of a bad experience would be mean teachers and boring classes. It's hard to learn when the class is so dull and tiring.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it.

The image I am analyzing is the one with a member of the Black Panthers handing out The Black Panther’s newspapers with a bus in the background. This image to me says a lot about American culture. First and foremost, it portrays Americans’ right to freedom of the press. America was built on the freedoms as established in the Bill of Rights, and the image I am analyzing is the epitome of one of the many important American rights.

Besides the fact that people as a whole are exercising their right to write in newspapers and voice their opinions in the image, the concept of the man yelling out to others in public to get his paper is a right in itself: freedom of speech. Being American includes having and exercising the rights put forth in the Constitution, the foundation for the United States of America.

From the historical perspective, the image communicates to us that the Black Panthers really tried to get their ideas out to others. It is hard to advocate change when nobody knows about one’s ideas or what is going on. Because of this, the Black Panthers took this into account and made a newspaper. Thus, people could start reading up on information and form opinions and know what is going on around them and try to do something about it.

All of this traces back to the roots of advertising. The Black Panthers were in essence advertising their ideas to others. In American culture today (and even long, long ago), advertising has been an enormous factor in influencing people.

By the use of basic American rights and the power of the media, the Black Panthers were aiming to get their ideas out and make changes, something this organization feels very strongly about.

is it in you?

You’re dribbling down the court as the sweat drips down your temple, your heart is pounding, and your teammates are anxiously anticipating the ball. You pass to the guard, cut through to the middle and he passes you the ball. As you take one giant leap towards the basket, the center just misses the ball and you put it right in the hoop. Score! The next time out is taken and you jog over to the bench and grab that light blue bottle of Glacier Freeze flavored Gatorade. How refreshing. I think being a consumer of Gatorade products shows how much the people of our culture get caught up in branding. The commercials are so intense and serious, but it’s just a sports drink; it’s not that serious!

Unlike plain old water, Gatorade says something about that person; it’s superior to water. Gatorade says, I am a serious athlete. Similarly to the ipod, Gatorade has an aura. It may not be as common as the ipod’s, but it exists.The brand of Gatorade seems to have snob appeal, since it is the preferred beverage of good athletes (per their commercials and ads). The motto is: is it in you? Whatever it is, kids want that to be like these athletes.

When you see pro athletes drinking Gatorade, it makes the youth of American society want to drink it too. Thus, the branding of Gatorade (and branding in general) has a huge influence on kids, it boosts the Gatorade market, and people establish brand loyalty.

When a kid sees that bottle with the orange cap in a pro athlete’s hand, the kid will want some, because they desire that secret “it” ingredient in Gatorade. Water doesn’t have a catchy slogan or a cool bottle, so why drink it?

media habits

I would say the medium I use the most is the internet. Usually when I wake up in the morning I get online and check my email and things of that nature. I come home from school and turn on the television and get online again. I probably get on the internet at least five separate times a day. I also watch a bit of television. I don't read the newspaper that much, something I would like to do more often. As far as radio goes, I find it annoying..it is not a good source to get news or even music anymore since there are so many advertisements.

The way I was raised influenced my media habits. My father is not much of an evening news person, or even a television news kind of person, so I am not either. I find that my boyfriend's mom usually has the evening news on in the background to whatever she is doing, so my boyfriend likes watching the news sometimes too. It is kind of a habit for them to flip it on and it fits into their everyday routine.

Since I do not really keep up with news, politics, or stuff like that (I know, it's horrible and ignorant), I can't really say that I have good media habits or even good aspects of it. I usually find myself using mediums as a source for entertainment, something I think other Americans have problems with. I and these other people should be more concerned with the real world and what is going on! That is the worst thing about my media habits.

I think to improve my media consumption, I would like to start reading the newspaper, but my Dad always takes it into work so he gets dibbs on it (just another excuse, right?). The least I could do is watch the news and put a little effort into trying to keep up with current events, and spend less time being absorbed by entertainment.

intro

Hey guys I am Nadia Muha and I'm studying American Studies and Psychology at UMBC. I'm a sophomore and I think I am double majoring but I am trying to work out the details with my scheduling right now. I want to do something with television, like be an anchorwoman or a reporter, or work in publishing for a magazine or a newspaper, or even work in advertising and marketing. I'm not exactly sure what I want to do, but I know everything will fall into place sooner or later!