2011

As I was checking my blog out this morning, I looked at the sidebar on the page that says how many people have visited my blog. Today, I have had 2011 views of My America. Not only is this awesome because it just happens to also be the year 2011, but it's really amazing that so many people have seen what I write. So, thanks to everyone who has visited My America!

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Numerous times throughout our year in American Studies, the topic of teenagers and the Internet has come up. The discussion generally centered around whether the extreme amount of technology in young adults' lives is a good or bad thing. Personally, I still haven't made up my mind because, as much as I love having Facebook to keep in touch with friends and relatives, I don't know if the positives outweigh the negatives.

This morning, I stumbled upon an advertisement for a movement called Delete Digital Drama. Basically, the goal of this campaign is to make teenagers aware of how hurtful cyberbullying can be and how it can effect its victims. I think this is an extremely important cause, and can even think of numerous times I have heard of my peers at New Trier being cyberbullied. I think the main reason cyberbullying has become so common in America is because it adds a feeling of anonymity to the person who is being the bully. I almost guarantee that a person would never say a lot of the hurtful things they write on Facebook to the face of the person. Even though I'm still uncertain about what I think about Facebook, I certainly think this is a worthy cause. I encourage you to join the campaign to fight cyberbullying and think before you type!

The Help

This past week, I decided to pick up the book "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett as a light summer read. I didn't really expect much of it because I thought of it as just one of those books that a lot of people read but isn't really substantial. Boy, was I wrong. Though I'm only about 150 pages into the book so far, I have already realized that this is going to be an important book for decades to come. NPR.org agrees with me on their quote on the front cover of the novel, saying "This could be one of the most important pieces of fiction since To Kill a Mockingbird… If you read only one book… let this be it"

Click here to read a summary of the book by the NY Times.... 

Even though I'm not trying to read this book like I read a "school book", I can't help myself from finding parallels to other books we read this year in American Studies or topics we discussed in class. As I continue to read the book, I will mark the parallels as they show up and document them in my next few blog entries. 

I can't emphasize this enough, but YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK!!! (If you decide to read it let me know what you think and whether or not you agree with the parallels I found or if you have any more to add.)

Summer "Break"

These carefree summer days are long gone....

As I talk to all of my friends about what they have done so far during their summer vacation and what they will do in the month or so left, I can't help but realize that no one is really taking the "break" part of "summer break" literally. Out of just my close friends, there are people going on community service trips all over the world, interning at various universities and hospitals, attending dozens of college recruiting tournaments for their sports, and working summer jobs (which is what I am doing this summer, along with finishing up all of my junior year class work). After wondering why my peers fill their summers up so much, I can't help but relate it to my Junior Theme topic. I believe that students from areas like the New Trier Township create their incredibly busy summer schedules because of the stress surrounding the college admission process. When talking to one of my friends, she even admitted that she went on a service trip because it sounded fun, but mainly because it would be an interesting story to tell in a college interview or in a college admissions essay. I don't know if this is necessarily a problem in our community because students don't suffer from going on exotic trips, but I just think it is an interesting byproduct of all the stress in the lives of students. What are you doing this summer? What have you already done? What was your motivation to do these things? 

Bad Teachers?

While browsing the AOL homepage this afternoon, I came across a headline "Atlanta Public Schools Shaken by Cheating Report". Relating this headline to some of the research I did for my junior theme, I clicked on the link immediately and began reading the article expecting to read about some students who were under a lot of stress which caused them to cheat. Much to my surprise, after reading the first few lines of the article, I discovered that the students were not the ones cheating, but it was actually the teachers. The article states that "the pressures placed on teachers by policies that stress standardized test scores -- such as No Child Left Behind -- foster an environment ripe for cheating." This proves that there is stress on every person involved in the education system. Not only are students feeling pressured to do well on exams in order to get into a top college, but teachers also feel pressured to show improvement in their students test scores.

A Patriotic 4th

After a nice long 4th of July weekend, I began thinking about what "patriotic" really means. According to the dictionary, patriotic means "of, like, suitable for, or characteristics of a patriot". The dictionary defines a patriot as "a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion". When most people hear the word "patriotic", they think about the American flag or wearing red, white and blue. However, I think there is much more to the word than that. Supporting your country doesn't just mean following your government blindly and agreeing with it no matter what. To me, a patriot is a person who, because they love their country, looks critically at their government and speaks up when they see something they don't believe is in the best interest of their country.

My Artifacts

At the beginning of the school year, I wrote a blog titled "American Artifacts" about what the main things that will represent our society in the future if we were all to disappear. Now, as I work on completing my junior year, I've decided to think about the artifacts that represent the past year of my life.

1. My Facebook page- Though parents often complain about Facebook as an unneeded distraction in teens' lives, I think Facebook is a great way to record ourselves during different times in our lives. Not only is it a virtual photo album, but it also saves our conversations with friends so in then future we can remember who we were friends with and what we used to like talking about.


2. My iPhone- I am one of those crazy people who saves every text and writes down every appointment or event in my iPhone calendar. In 20 years I will be able to look back and see my exact schedule for getting ready for prom or what times I worked during the summer.

3. THIS BLOG!- Out of all the things listed above, I think this blog will be the most telling artifact about who I was during my junior year of high school. Each blog entry represents exactly what I was thinking about when I wrote it and what things stood out to me the most
during that week. I can't wait to look back and read this blog in 10 or 20 years and remember
exactly what I thought as a 17 year old.

Now, after writing this post, I see that all of the three artifacts I chose are forms of technology. I think this shows what a technology-based society we are. Technology will definitely help us remember our lives with more detail than possible before. Do you see this as a good thing or an invasion of privacy?