Leadership

I am part of a leadership program that meets once a month. We go around to different businesses in Cedar Rapids and learn about their start in Cedar Rapids and what their contribution to the city is. This month we were informed that we had to complete a survey before our “graduation” from the program. So today I got online and did it. One of the questions we had to answer was what leadership meant to us. I answered by saying that leadership meant being able to take charge of a situation while still being able to incorporate other’s ideas to reach a goal.

          The last part of the survey asked us to provide a quote about leadership with the author. But I don’t know any leadership quotes off the top of my head. So, obviously, I googled it. And I found a website that had 100 quotes about leadership. I started reading through them and found one that I really liked.

“A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.” —John Maxwell

I really like this quote because it has a really good message; which is that you don’t have to have a lot of power to make a difference. All you need is to speak your mind and get your ideas out there.

          When I go to these leadership days once a month, I don’t really think about how the speakers are teaching us anything about leadership. But how does someone teach leadership? I don’t think you can. I think leadership is something people have to do on their own. And the reason we go to all these businesses is to see how people in our community are leaders in their own way. It shows us different ways to go about being a leader in the community and that we can do anything if we set our minds to it.

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Sunday Night, Words Are Falling.

Three posts. Twelve hundred words. The worst part of my week: blogging. Once a week, we get class time to work on blogs, but if you are like me, one class hour is not enough time to think of a topic and then write a quality post of at least 400 words. And during the week, we have other homework that takes up most of our time. This then leaves Sundays to finish everything up. But as I have written about before, in Sunday Funday?, Sundays are supposed to be peaceful. They are infamous for being a lazy day. So when I am stuck finding things to blog about, I usually start thinking about what I could be doing instead. Like…

¾    Shopping (online or in stores)

¾    Watching movies

¾    Eating

¾    Learning how to do something new

¾    Sleeping

¾    Painting my nails

¾    Looking at Pinterest OR Wanelo (pretty much Pinterest, but it takes you right to the website where you can buy the product)

¾    Watch Netflix

¾    Exercising

¾    Look at Twitter or Instagram…because I don’t do that enough times in a day

¾    MATH homework

Gah. SOO many things I could be doing instead of blogging. And yes, I would rather do math homework instead of this. As you can see, writing is one of my weaknesses in school and therefore one of my least favorite things to do. I assume that if Ms. A. was reading this she would tell me that I should blog more during the week or to look for topics to write about on classmate’s blogs. And, I mean, she has a point. Every week I tell myself that if I don’t have a lot of homework on a certain night then I will work on a blog. But let’s be honest. That has happened approximately one time this entire year. And it isn’t looking very likely in the near future. Especially when I think about all the better things I could be doing. But instead, it’s just another Sunday full of blogging.

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Misrepresenting on Miss Representation

So we have continued to watch Miss Representation  in class and I as sit here, writing this, I am asking myself why we should listen to anything that documentary said. In my last post about this documentary, I talked about why they didn’t put any media sources of women being portrayed as holding position of high power. And most of you are thinking, “Well that’s because it doesn’t support their claim.” Right. Okay. But now, taking that into consideration, what makes these people are reliable sources? Why should we believe what they are saying is true?

          Think about it; when you are trying to make someone believe you, wouldn’t you say anything to prove your point? Even if what you are saying isn’t true? Most of us would probably answer yes to those questions. And that’s my point. If these people are trying to get us to buy into what they are saying, they are going to say anything—most likely the worst things, too—to prove it.

           Most of the speakers in this documentary are women. Better yet, all the women have very specific feelings towards how women are being treated in the media. One of the speakers is Margaret Cho. To make her point in this film, she talks about her experience with her first TV show and being told that she was too fat by her network. To me that makes her very biased to how things actually are. How am I supposed to believe her when she is only speaking from one side?

          Another reason to question their sources of information is the fact that they are deliberately going to choose the worst or most extreme pieces of evidence to show us. They do that so we when we watch it, we just sit there, shocked. But then again, how are we supposed to believe the numbers they show us? Advertisements say things like 9 out of 10 dentists recommend this toothpaste. And then in the fine print it will say that the survey consists of only 10 dentists. Well, that’s not very representative of the thousands of dentists in nation is it? So why should we believe any numbers they are showing us?

          There are so many things that people will do to make you believe them. It happens every day; whether it’s an argument between two best friends or an advertisement for a new medication on TV. So when I hear all these negative results and complaints about women being portrayed in the media, it makes me take a second to think if this stuff is an accurate representation of what it is actually like. And, yes, this documentary definitely pointed out all the most extreme cases of women being degraded, but what about all the times that they were being looked up to?

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Registration

It’s that time of the year again; registration for next year’s classes. It’s the start of the never ending speech to “Take AP”. And more importantly, for us juniors, it’s the start to thinking about our senior year. Shit’s getting real, guys.

          AHHHHHH! Senior year. It’s frightening to think about how close it is to being here. But it is. So that means that we have to start thinking about what we want to do with our lives. Key word: start. But first topic of discussion: To slack or not to slack your senior year. Let’s be honest, we all came in to high school thinking that it was going to be the best four years ever and life was going to be great because we were finally going to be  HIGH SCHOOLERS…or was that just me? Awkward. OKAY, but anyway, we thought that if we worked hard for at least sophomore and junior year, senior year would be a breeze. But now that I’m sitting here picking out classes for next year, it has come to my realization that you really shouldn’t slack off too much as a senior. It really doesn’t look great on your transcript, even if you have already been accepted to a school. Take AP.

          Second: foreign language. It sure is a pain in my ass, but unfortunately it’s one of those things that will probably help you out in the real world (not the TV show), especially Spanish. So looks like there is another class that I will be adding to my schedule. There goes that extra hour of sleep.

          And last, but certainly not least: college visits. I cannot tell you how many people have told me to go on as many visits as possible. You don’t get a real feel for what the college is like if you don’t actually go and visit. Even if you aren’t sure you want to go there, a visit could change your mind. And who knows, maybe it’s your dream school but you didn’t know until you saw it. Plus you get out of school. It’s pretty much a win-win-situation.

          Pretty much what I’m trying to say is we are almost adults and registering for next year’s classes should really be looking at helping you prepare for college classes. AKA: SHIT’S GETTIN REAL.

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Miss Representation

Gender roles surround us wherever we go. They are seen in products from when you are a baby all the way through adulthood and are trying to look “sexy.” And as teens we are stuck right in the middle of having people do everything for us and having to do everything for ourselves. Teen girls are misled to think that they have to uphold a certain body image to look pretty.

          In the documentary “Missrepresentation”, they talk about how the media has pretty much depreciated the role of women in society. A lot of movies and television shows today do not have high powered female characters. And in the documentary the really point out the fact that most women in the media are used for a sexual appeal to audiences. And I think they did a good job making their point. I think that girls do try to conform and make their bodies look like celebrities and models. And media definitely provokes those thoughts.

          What I don’t like about this film is that they don’t show many girls that look up to celebrities that don’t portray that body image. There are tons of movie and television stars that try to send the opposite message out, telling us that healthy is beautiful; not skinny. I know they didn’t put it in because it would have refuted their claim, but I just think that they made this issue seem like every girl that watches movies and wants to be skinny is going to end up unhealthy and controlled by men.

          “You can’t be what you can’t see.” –Edelman

          The above quote gives me mixed feelings. Sure, I agree that if you don’t see something or aren’t told about something then you aren’t going to know that it even exists. In this film it was used in the context of not seeing many high powered women (congress, doctors, etc.) in the media. And that is where I start to disagree with this statement. There are a lot of women in the media that make a difference in thousands of people’s lives. Also, seeing is not believing. In our grandparent’s time, who would have ever thought that we would have an African-American president? Probably no one. So you can’t say that just because there are a lot of women seen as sex objects in the media, that all girls will succumb to that lifestyle.

Body image is probably one of the most talked about things for women. And although, media doesn’t help anyone feel better about themselves, we just have to remember that we are great the way we are. Most of the images we see are computer enhanced and it’s not healthy to be the way they want us to be. So just live your life how you want to and don’t worry about what other people think about you.

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Gender Roles

In class, we basically discussed how we all grew up surrounded by gender roles and that some families try to keep their kids away from gender roles by not telling them what sex they are. And to me that doesn’t make any sense. That is pretty much lying to your child about who they are. Some parents think that by not telling their child whether they are a boy or girl will allow them to be whoever they want to be. I don’t think keeping their sex from them is going to help at all. In my house the only children are me and my sister which would make you think that we didn’t grow up with a lot of toy trucks or “boy” toys, but we did. I remember playing with Barbie dolls one minute and then with motorcycles the next. We were both told we were girls and did the same things, yet we turned out complete opposite. I am very “girly” and my sister is one of the least “girly” girls I know.

          I don’t think children’s toys should not be looked at as boy or girl toys. When you think about how almost all jobs now have become “unisex”, there shouldn’t be a difference with toys. Some little boy might want an Easy Bake oven, even though, society sees that as a toy for a little girl. But guess what, he could be the next Iron Chef someday.

          Sports is a big issue when it comes to gender. They say girls can’t play football or can’t wrestle. To our society those are not “girl” sports. But I don’t see why they couldn’t be if a girl wanted to do one of them. It doesn’t really make sense to me that there is a guy’s team for pretty much any sport, but then there are certain sports where there are only teams for guys.

          I don’t see the need for all the separation of gender roles or for keeping the sex of your child away from them. Like, someday they are going to know the difference between a boy and girl. Why keep it from them? Just let your kid decide what they want to do. Let them be who they want to be because they are going to do it anyway.

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Surprise!

I love surprises and I loved to be surprised. The feeling of waking up on Christmas morning or my birthday is the best feeling ever because I wake up and know that the day will be full of surprises. And every year is different. Each year I grow up just a little more and start liking new things. Some people don’t like change or surprises, but I just can’t get enough of it.

          Trying new things is very fun for me. Especially when it comes to food and new recipes. I find a lot of new recipes on Pinterest (see earlier post “Pinterested?”). On that particular site, there are tons of different recipes thrown together. You could probably find close to anything on there that you might want. I like looking on that site because there are a lot of things that I’ve never tried or even heard of before. I just love the thrill of making something for the first time. Even if I fail miserably, it is a good experience and I can learn from my mistakes.

          On to the next stop: traveling. Visiting new places is honestly my favorite thing to do. I love walking around and just looking at everything and taking it all in. If I ever got the chance to study abroad in college, I would do it in a heartbeat. I have never been out of the country, but I want to so incredibly much. Also road tripping around the country would be fantastic.

           Ever since I was young I have wanted to paint and decorate my room. But I shared a room with my sister for a long time, so my parents never let me paint it until a few years ago. And now looking back, it is probably a good thing they didn’t let me because I have changed my mind on colors and designs about 1,000 times (that may or may not be a little bit exaggerated). But really, I have rearranged the furniture in my room at least 4 times in the last year. It’s slightly addicting to rearrange or get new picture frames or shelves. And it’s not just my room; I give my parents new ideas for the rest of the house as well. Maybe I should just make a career out of it…

          So I think that you’ve all gotten the drift that I like change and surprises. And you are probably tired of me rambling on about what I want to do with my life/what I do in my free time. Basically what I’m trying to say is, I don’t want to be the person listening to the stories about amazing places, I want to be the one telling them.

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Lock Down

Today we had a practice lock down at school. Some students, like me, were informed a couple days ago about this procedure while others just found out today in third hour. Either way, everyone went to their third hour class like any other day. Then about five or ten minutes into class everyone was informed that the practice lock down would begin now. Sure enough the teachers followed the standard procedure of locking down. But do you really think that is how an actual lock down would take place?

          The thought of being shot is scary. And when the threat becomes really it is 10 times scarier. So in the event of an actual lock down, I don’t think that students and teachers will be as calm as they were in the practice one. Some people may think that they know how they would react in overwhelming situations, but truth is, they probably have no idea. No one can be 100% sure of how they will react to something until it is actually happening. Although, I don’t disagree with having practice lock downs, I don’t think they are as effective as some people would hope.

          Most people like to believe that if we plan for an emergency, then everything will be fine. But how do you plan for something when you don’t where or what time it will take place, let alone if it even will happen? People that would do something crazy, like come to a high school and kill students and teachers, are going to be planning for a long time. They know that the school will have procedures to keep students safe. That is why they are planning. They are going to find out how to get into the school and do what they want before someone notices what they are up to.

          It’s unfortunate that tragedies like this happen. And that we have to practice having lock downs because there is always a chance that someday someone could bring a gun to school and kill people. It’s a horrible thing that has become a reality for some places. I think it is a good thing that the school is addressing the problem before it becomes a problem, but when something as horrifying as this becomes a reality, it’s not easy to think straight and remember that you are supposed to hide and stay away from windows and doors. I just don’t think there is any way that someone can be completely prepared for something crazy like this to happen.

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