If You Can't Read It, Don't Eat It

            The definition of food is any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc. So why have we turned it into a commercialized taste festival? As we all know, every other commercial on television is advertising food in one shape or form, from fast food burgers to gourmet entrees of exquisite cuisine. There was once a time where food and sustenance meant the same thing; now, food is just a money making market, promoting taste and décor over health and nutrition. With that in mind, there is also a growing problem in America with obesity among adults and even children. The cause: too much concentration on the flavor and look of the product rather than the essential vitamins and nutrition to sustain a healthy body. The growing rates of diabetes, high-blood pressure, heart attacks, iron deficiency, and other health problems caused by unhealthy food are the reason for the cranked up medical insurance bills that people have to dish out every year. But the food industry doesn’t want to lose business because what they are selling products that are barely edible, so they come up with other ways to keep the same great taste without the bad side effects. Too many times food corporations try to sell their product by saying they are fat free or don’t have any sugar, but the substitutes that replace the real things have just created new problems to face.

As the labels on the food containers become more and more elaborate with their promotions of a new “healthy” recipe, the nutrition facts become less and less legible. If you have ever tried reading the ingredients on these high processed foods and found that you can’t pronounce at least half of them, and the other half of the list you’ve never heard of anyway, then you probably shouldn’t be eating whatever is in that box. With all the unusual chemicals that they add to enhance flavor, texture, and even smell, you really don’t know what you are putting into your mouth. Perhaps consuming dirt would be less poisonous than eating mixed tocopherols, maltodextrin, bleached beeswax, and partially hydrogenated oil (found on a box of instant oatmeal I had lying around). A wise solution to this problem would be to actually read labels when going to the grocery store, cutting out the fast food, and only eating things with ingredients made by the Earth rather than by humans. If you can’t read it, don’t eat it.

Go Green or Go Home

Wasting the Earth is an epidemic. We, as people, have turned against Mother Nature and formed our own alliance, stealing what she has offered and betraying her trust. We were given air to breathe, water to drink, organisms to eat, land to grow, and the sunrise to enjoy; what we have returned is polluted air, dirty water, commercialized overproduction, raped land, and stars we can no longer see. Besides the fact that we have degraded our planet by taking all that is left, we have also twisted materials together to form new hideous inventions like plastics, chemicals, and other nuclear abominations that were never meant to be naturally recycled by the Earth. We have been forced to find a place to put the leftover waste or find new ways to get rid of it, causing an infinite loop of destruction that we can’t seem to get out of. The only way to end the cycle is to stop the production of these materials, which means that we must learn to coexist with business and nature.
As an Environmental Representative for Southern Methodist University, I have discovered that many students don’t know how to live sustainably or don’t know how to reduce, reuse, or recycle. Mostly it is because of the lack of education provided by their parents or their community that don’t demonstrate how or what to recycle. Other times it is because of the lack of convenience to live eco-friendly because recycling bins are scarce or there are no recycling plants around. If we were able to have recycling bins next to every trash can, students would mostly choose to just throw their bottles in the correct container because of its convenient location. Also, we need to educate people about the proper recycling tecniques by labeling what item goes into what container. To sum it up, if the material has a number from 1 to 7 in a recycle triangle, recycle it; otherwise, throw it away if it is food products or used napkins. Many recyclables need to be washed out too if it has leftover wet food stuck inside of it. If young people are educated now about living sustainably, they would be able to expose their children to recycling or low-waste living at a young age, and we would alleviate the disproportioned consumption of the Earth’s resources by improving how we can coexist and even open up the job market for future generations on green living.

To Write Love on Her Arms

Once upon a time, there was a girl who had a mother who didn’t love her, a father who left her, and a step-father who physically abused her. As she grew older, the pain began to take a toll on her body, physically and mentally. She had insomnia, would stop eating, drank to forget, caused self-injury, and felt depressed in most of the days of her dwindling existence.

One day she met this girl who was different from all the rest. Who listened and understood and felt the same pain she was feeling. Though this girl did not have an abusive family and didn’t have insomnia, anorexia, or cause self-injury, she still understood everything the girl was feeling. Like this girl could suffer in the same degree as she could because she wanted to take everyone else’s pain and put it on her own shoulders.

The girl who suffered from her own pain did not understand this girl who suffered from others’ pain because on the outside she seemed so cheerful, and loving, and free. But on the inside, the girl had terrible thoughts against herself and always felt so lonely and trapped. She would never show these thoughts because she never wanted to put a burden on others since her pride was too great to admit to this weakness. As the two girls became closer friends, they each began to feel less lonely and lost because love and understanding was what bound them together. The one with the broken past began to subdue her self-injury and the one with terrible thoughts began to like herself more and more. For though the girl who was unloved thought she was the one being freed from her pain and solitude, it was really the girl who burdened the suffering of others that was truly saved.

Many people across the world share stories like this one, so why is talking about self-injury such a taboo in society? We shouldn’t be kept hidden in the dark, but allowed to break out of our silence and fight for life. There is an organization called “To Write Love on Her Arms” for people who aren’t lucky enough to have a friend who can help them through depression, addiction, self-injury, or suicide. At first it started out as just a few people selling t-shirts to raise money for a friend in need of treatment, but then it exploded into a world renowned campaign to raise awareness about self-injury and help those in need of rescue from their own inflictions. The vision is to give hope to those who are suffering alone because of past traumas, suicidal thoughts, or any other reason to pick up a gun, blade, or bottle. The first steps to healing are always the hardest, but just remember that “you are not alone, and this is not the end of your story”. If you or a loved one is going through these hardships, get help from people you can trust or guide those in need of a friend, because one day you too can save a life.

Spectrum World

Who am I?

Am I a woman, a daughter, a wife, a mother? Am I a man, a son, a husband, a father? Am I a sister, a brother, a widow, an elder? Am I a sinner or a saint? Am I a black man, a white woman, an Asian girl, a Mexican cousin, an English lady, an Italian nephew, an Australian aborigine, a Middle Eastern Shiite, a Russian Aunt, a Latin Uncle? Am I rich, poor, average, hungry, fat, ugly, happy, tall, smart, kind, hated, loved?

I am, because I am.

My name is Homo sapiens, and I am a human being.

I didn’t choose my name or my face or my color. I didn’t choose my parents or my family or my life. I didn’t choose my existence or my species.

So why am I being blamed for what I didn’t choose? I was given this body and this brain to live on this Earth with other bodies and brains; all of which are unique and beautiful. But how can you tell me that I am not as good as you? You hate me because of the color of my skin or the land I am from but you don’t know me. You haven’t given me the chance to show you that we are the same. Your judgment has already put me in a category I don’t belong in, a stereotype that doesn’t fit me, branding me with hatred that has formed through years of misguidance. I don’t blame you for what you have been taught to see, I only blame how you still remain narrow-minded in your blind world.

At birth I was never given a choice. I was forced to either react to my surroundings or create something from them. Many times I blamed my parents for giving me life, other times I blamed God, but what I now realize is that they didn’t choose either. It was a matter of chance that this mind is contained in this body; that my perspective is only seen through one pair of eyes and I have to accept which ones I get. So, should I count myself lucky if I get a certain race, or if I am beautiful, or if my family has wealth? Most people of this world would say yes, but I would say no. It is easier to have everything and not have to worry about being less valued, than it is to tolerate those who are different and coexist amongst fate. I respect that which is earned, not in terms of money, but in terms of gratitude that we were even given a chance. Though much too often I am told that I must either become like everyone else, or be shunned to solitude. As Plato puts it, when one thinks of a table, one bases all things of that similar form to the standards of the perfect table. But humans are not tables, so why are our standards set for a perfect human that has no known color or shape or race?

Oh My Gosh, Becky, Look At That Slut

          It’s party time! The theme: slutty

OhMyGodWhatshouldIwearHowshouldIlookWhatmakeupdoIuseIsthedress
justrightTheseheelsaresohighHowmanyguysaregoingtoseeme
DoIlooksexy?!?!?!??!

HOLD IT LADIES!!!!!!

What in the world are you doing dressing like that!

Did respecting ourselves become the motto of the past? When I see girls spending hours trying to look like “ladies of the night”, I can’t comprehend the motivation, unless they have no clue that date rape is a big issue among young people. Getting dressed into the lowest cut top with the shortest skirt and the tightest fit seems like an invitation for prostitution. You don’t see someone dress up like a cop, badge and all, just to tell people that he isn’t one. Why are you showing everything if you don’t want things to go too far; and even if you wanted that, when did that become ok?

Furthermore, who made it our job to look sexy? When guys go the parties they don’t wear feet-breaking shoes, uncomfortable thongs, and so much make-up that all traces of natural beauty is covered up. They believe that when girls show up in provocative clothes, they are just showing off what is available; leading to more predatory actions against innocent girls who don’t want to become victims. Still knowing that, girls will spend lots of money and hours picking out the perfect outfit with the least amount of fabric and using many more hours for “face art” just to go out for the night to get drunk and dirty dance. Why are we so obsessed with this new fashion craze and clubbing get-up?

The sad part is; I know why…

Because dressing up in sexy, slutty outfits is fun! Who cares if you have a higher possibility of being taken advantage of? You love the attention you get when you flaunt your God (or man)-given attributes. When you step into the room with blasting music and crowds of people with the same kinds of clothes dancing to the degrading music, you can’t wait to get into the sweaty mix. The guys lining up to flirt with you is exhilarating; you feel like the center of attention and you crave it all the more. Besides, you can’t get them to talk to you any other way. Then you, your friends, and the hot new guys hit the dance floor to move in ways that you would never want your mother to see, feeling rebellious and crazy. As you start to shift around the crowd, dancing with so many different bodies and faces, your friend with the fake I.D. buys everyone drinks so that the fun (and dangers) hit their max. You feel like a celebrity in this place, with the rush of adrenaline pumping through your body…and now you are addicted to these parties like a drug.

It starts out with what you wear, then what you do, then who you become. You’ve got the reputation of “the party girl”; the one who goes out every night to get wasted, who wears the hottest outfits, who has the most invitations to the coolest parties. The social life becomes the only life. Who needs school when you have all the coolest friends? They’ve motivated you to do things that you never would have done before – in what you wear and what you do, to how often you do it and with the least amount of consequences. But the thing is; there are always consequences that come with it. So why have we set ourselves up for bad situations, when we could have avoided them all along?

Salmon Isn't a Fish; It's a Way of Life

            Have you ever wondered why Salmon swim miles upstream against hectic currents and rapid water just to reproduce and then die from the exhaustion of the task? What makes them travel to the exact spot where they were born, leaving the salt water haven that they came to know their whole life? Many have theories, but I say that it is just instinct -- instinct to not always go with the flow and perhaps die for what they believe in. In my opinion they seem to be the heroes among fish, and perhaps the role models that I base my own beliefs on. I’ve come to strive for originality, taking on the role of salmon, by swimming upstream against the norm of society. I’m not one to conform with the rest of the world, even when following the crowd is the easier route to take.

            Why do the people of our society declare their independence from the crowd, yet work so hard to fit in? We are told to be ourselves, yet we are always trying to be someone else. When we buy clothes or style our hair, we do so to stand out but really we are turning ourselves into the clones of the magazine models. As I see these attitudes about self consciousness eating people from the inside out I begin to pity those who have been swept by the current of conformity. I am a first-hand witness to the obsession of image – by attending one of the most expensive universities in the state, I am constantly being reminded by the perfect bodies and expensive attire covering the crowd that I am alone. While I roll my eyes with disgust as I hear the same materialistic topics buzzing in my ear, I thank God that I am not so narrow-minded. At least if money can’t buy perfection, then slaving away in the gym for hours on end everyday can take away the worries of fitting in by standing out as the body of beauty. With girls obsessing about the latest fashions and the nightmarish traces of cellulite invisibly lining their bodies, and the shallow guys who must dress to impress the superficial girls, driving the most expensive cars to boost their diminishing egos; I find that I am the most fortunate. My logic is simple: when everyone looks beautiful, no one is.

            Fish come in many colors. Some are more beautiful than others, some are stronger, some are faster; but in my opinion, salmon are most unique. If they can choose their own path against the norm then so can I because I would rather be a fish than a clone. I am part of the jigsaw puzzle of the world, but I don’t have to complete the picture. Though we are separate pieces at first, why must our edges disappear when we all come together?

Ladies First

If you have ever heard of the childhood rhyme “girls go to college to get more knowledge; boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider”, then you should definitely hear that “for nearly two decades, women have outnumbered men going to college”. The new age of women is emerging from beneath the stereotypical cloak that we should be housewives, cooking at home and taking care of the kids while our husbands make the wages for the rest of the family. But no more!


The times have changed and the gap between men and women’s salaries is decreasing to the point that “unmarried women between the ages of 22 and 30 without kids are making 8 percent more than men in the same demographic”. Now why is that, gentlemen? Because more of us are willing to go to college and get degrees so that we don’t have to rely on others to provide for us. We are striving to be the best, and that means that we are taking over many managerial jobs that were once solely male-dominated.

Education is the key to being successful in the world, not just to attain a job, but to bring about a certain respect that comes with high-level occupations. Though the media says that we don’t get paid as much as men do in the workplace, it is not because we are treated as lesser people. It is because we choose jobs in “lower-paying fields like education, while men are more likely to end up in relatively high-paying positions in business and technology”, emphasizing that women’s average income is less than our male counterparts. Furthermore, many women take time off their careers to have children and start a family to experience the pleasure of pregnancy and love. It is in the nature for women to want these things, but many must sacrifice between success and instinct; a choice where 100% of effort can’t be given to both.

Though most men aren’t conflicted with having a successful career or having a family, the idea that women are just makes us more passionate to strive to have both. Our strength and determination are going to bring us to the top – so watch out guys, it’s our turn now!