There is a new topic of videos being uploaded to the internet, especially YouTube. Kids, girls and boys alike, are asking viewers to tell them if they are ugly or pretty. Putting videos like this on-line, is just asking for people to be mean to you. No one in school thinks that they are pretty, even the so called "perfect" ones. If you have self-esteem issues and you decide to post a video on YouTube to make yourself feel better, it wont work. All my life I have been told that anything put on-line, will never disappear. I do not understand why these kids are asking complete strangers if they think they are ugly or not.
One of my favourite sayings is: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is very true. The only "beholder" that you should care about is yourself. All your life you are going to run into someone who thinks that you are ugly. But does their opinion matter? No, it doesn't. The sooner you start to love, or at least like yourself, what other people think wont matter.
Everyone is so worried about what people think of them. Unfortunately they are forgetting to get the opinion of the person that matters most: themselves.
2/29/2012
2/21/2012
Been bullied?
We've all been in a class where the teacher says, "Put up your hand if you've ever been bullied." How many kids usually put up their hand? None. Unfortunately we all know that's not true. We have all been bullied in some form or another, whether it is by a sibling or by a class mate.
If we've all been bullied then why are we so afraid to admit it? Perhaps because we are only focusing on one reason why people are being bullied, being gay. We often forget about other reasons like being socially awkward, mental capacity, looks, speech patterns, religious views, and so many more reasons than we can fathom.
I would never say that some bullying is more or less important than another. What I will say is that some is not talked about enough. The media does not talk much about bullying unless it has to do with someone being gay. I think that this is a main reason why kids are afraid to admit that they are being bullied. Children don't feel like they can talk about being bullied because they don't think people will listen, believe them, or care. Another fear could also be that talking about it would make it worse.
On top of all the fears that a child may have about talking about being bullied, there are people that think that being bullied is part of growing up. I am hear to say that bullying is NOT part of growing up. Many kids get bullied from a young age and they get bullied all their life but that doesn't make it part of growing up. Being bullied starts at a certain point in time because of an event, effecting the bully or the one being bullied.
When a kid starts to be bullied they change in many ways. Their attitude toward school changes, or life, eating habits can change, grades can drop, and so many more things. Unfortunately people don't pay attention to these signs. I am not saying that if you see any of this that a kid is being bullied but you should be paying enough attention to notice when something is wrong.
When I was younger I was often bullied, but not in a way that most people would notice. I would be alienated from a group of kids, people would say comments that would insult me, and on sports teams people would ignore me. I also had a friend who turned out to be not my friend at all. Never did I think that it would ever stop. But the bullying did stop and I started to notice others being bullied.
I am proud not to admit that I was bullied, but that I allowed myself not to care. It took a lot of will power, friends who were true friends, and a family who I could talk to. I used find myself picking on someone the way that I was bullied. Luckily I put a stop to it and I started using my anger and shame to stand up for others.
The point of my ranting is to say that other reasons for being bullied are put on the back burner. People would rather talk about someone being bullied because they are gay than because they spoke differently. I am not saying that one type of bullying is worse or less important than others. All I want is to make it so that all reasons for being bullied are talked about (even if there are a lot). I want kids not to be ashamed because they were bullied.
If we've all been bullied then why are we so afraid to admit it? Perhaps because we are only focusing on one reason why people are being bullied, being gay. We often forget about other reasons like being socially awkward, mental capacity, looks, speech patterns, religious views, and so many more reasons than we can fathom.
I would never say that some bullying is more or less important than another. What I will say is that some is not talked about enough. The media does not talk much about bullying unless it has to do with someone being gay. I think that this is a main reason why kids are afraid to admit that they are being bullied. Children don't feel like they can talk about being bullied because they don't think people will listen, believe them, or care. Another fear could also be that talking about it would make it worse.
On top of all the fears that a child may have about talking about being bullied, there are people that think that being bullied is part of growing up. I am hear to say that bullying is NOT part of growing up. Many kids get bullied from a young age and they get bullied all their life but that doesn't make it part of growing up. Being bullied starts at a certain point in time because of an event, effecting the bully or the one being bullied.
When a kid starts to be bullied they change in many ways. Their attitude toward school changes, or life, eating habits can change, grades can drop, and so many more things. Unfortunately people don't pay attention to these signs. I am not saying that if you see any of this that a kid is being bullied but you should be paying enough attention to notice when something is wrong.
When I was younger I was often bullied, but not in a way that most people would notice. I would be alienated from a group of kids, people would say comments that would insult me, and on sports teams people would ignore me. I also had a friend who turned out to be not my friend at all. Never did I think that it would ever stop. But the bullying did stop and I started to notice others being bullied.
I am proud not to admit that I was bullied, but that I allowed myself not to care. It took a lot of will power, friends who were true friends, and a family who I could talk to. I used find myself picking on someone the way that I was bullied. Luckily I put a stop to it and I started using my anger and shame to stand up for others.
The point of my ranting is to say that other reasons for being bullied are put on the back burner. People would rather talk about someone being bullied because they are gay than because they spoke differently. I am not saying that one type of bullying is worse or less important than others. All I want is to make it so that all reasons for being bullied are talked about (even if there are a lot). I want kids not to be ashamed because they were bullied.
2/18/2012
Three A's of Awesome
Recently I watched a TED Talks video, with one of my classes, about being able to appreciate and be thankful for all the small things in life. While watching the video we were instructed to participate in a chat about the video. The idea of discussing the video was a great one, unfortunately it distracted many of us. Many students had started chatting before the video had started and that caused them to be distracted before anything happened. Reading the comments also took time away from watching the video because there were many conversations going on at once. There were many things that distracted us, but next time the chat will benefit us more.
2/17/2012
My next read
At school we are doing a book club with other schools. Instead of reading the same book as the whole class, we get to pick a book from a list. This list includes books recommended by other schools. When I went through the list of books, I looked at the review and there were a couple that immediately get crossed off. There was a book about Mt. Everest and one about vampires and witches. In the past I have read books with similar topics and they did not grab my attention. There are others that I have either already read, or seen a movie based on the book. The two books that I have chosen as my top two are Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher and Wake by Robert Sawyer. These two books are very different but I believe that I would enjoy them both. Of the two Wake by Robert Sawyer interests me more. I like the idea of reading a book from the point of view of a blind person. Not many books that I have read, deal with being blind. Wake is also part of a series and I enjoy reading series. When I pick a book it is usually part of a series or is a new concept. Hopefully I will get to read the book and I hope that I will enjoy it as well.
2/13/2012
re:Parenting
In my previous post I talked about a father who shot his daughters laptop. At the time I was not able to access the YouTube video. I just finished watching the video. My views on what he did remain the same, but I do understand why he was so angry now. What I don't understand is why she complained about making her OWN bed, doing her OWN laundry, putting the dishes in the DISHWASHER and sweeping the floor! That is nothing compared what many people have to do daily, like doing their OWN laundry, sweeping the WHOLE house, doing the dishes BY HAND, cooking for the WHOLE family, taking care of kids, and WORKING a FULL-TIME job. This generation of kids are spoiled. We don't know what hard work is, or what work really is compared to what our parents had to go through.
Parenting
I recently read this article about a Dad's strange way of punishing his daughter. His Daughter had written a post on Facebook, complaining about her home life. Her dad found the post and decided that he should punish her publicly. The father recorded himself reading the post his daughter had made and then shooting her laptop 9 times. He then posted the video on YouTube.
Being a teenager myself I think that his punishment is harsh. I would have understood if he just took away her laptop for a period of time, but shooting the laptop was taking it a little too far. His punishment was also very childish. He is supposed to be the one setting an example for his daughter. Shooting the laptop, video taping it, and posting it on YouTube, is something that a teenager would have done, not a grown man with children.
If I think about this as an adult I would come to the same conclusion. Punishment is very important while someone is growing up, especially in the teen years. There are many different ways to punish your child, and I'm not saying he is a horrible father for doing this, but this is not excellent means of punishment. She may not run to a social media site anymore to let her feelings out, but ruining her laptop, which he probably bought, was not the best or only way to punish her. He claims that what he did was "tough love", unfortunately it sounds more like a lack of control.
This day in age everyone has their own idea of healthy(effective) punishment. I think that most people would agree that you need to think before you punish your children. And when you are punishing your teenager you probably shouldn't act like one yourself.
If I think about this as an adult I would come to the same conclusion. Punishment is very important while someone is growing up, especially in the teen years. There are many different ways to punish your child, and I'm not saying he is a horrible father for doing this, but this is not excellent means of punishment. She may not run to a social media site anymore to let her feelings out, but ruining her laptop, which he probably bought, was not the best or only way to punish her. He claims that what he did was "tough love", unfortunately it sounds more like a lack of control.
This day in age everyone has their own idea of healthy(effective) punishment. I think that most people would agree that you need to think before you punish your children. And when you are punishing your teenager you probably shouldn't act like one yourself.
2/12/2012
Grade 11
With every new year of school comes new challenges. This year it happens to be finding courses that I want to take. After high school I would like to become a teacher. Getting the opportunity to teach young children the knowledge and wonder of the world is what interests me. I have almost met all the requirements for courses. Choosing the electives is so hard when I don't know what I need. I think that I will take some courses that focus on the early years. Hopefully I will get all the courses I need.
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