Another Class, Another Semester

I just wanted to take what I think is my last blog to reflect upon the semester.

What did you/I learn?

• That using too many be, been, was, etc. is bad.
  
• That goes for them and they
• English/writing doesn't have to be awful
• I never want to write in inquiry paper again, but I know I am going to have to so, I'm glad I got my first one over with
• Redos are helpful in the learning process-doesn't have to be a bad thing
• Difference between inquiry, convincing, and persuasive papers
  

What had you/I wished I learned?

• Different formatting times (ie APA, Chicago style, etc)
• how to write effective blogs (I still don't get how blog writers can get people to read theirs)
  

How did you/I improve?

• I am able to write in a way that makes more sense to people other than myself
• More confidence in my writing
• How to critique papers effectively
  

Overall I think this was a very productive semester for me. I want to thank all of you for helping me overcome my fear or writing/showing other people what I've written by being very open and honest but not mean. I hope you all got a lot out of this class as well.

So, I thought today would be an apt time to write about how age changes identity. I turned 21 today and that seems like a big deal.

Legally I can buy alcohol, rent cars (with a fee), and rent a hotel room (you may be able to do that when are 18). Personally I don't feel that different. I am still 5'2, curly haired, and still getting the same grades in school (unfortunately). I have found that the biggest change is how people treat or view me. Which, according to Goffman could change my identity. People now ask me if I want a drink or that I need to have my life planned out by now.

Also, my friends have been telling me. You are so old! And when I actually think about my age I feel old. Yet, I feel no older than yesterday when I was 20. I do feel like I have more of a responsibility now.

I am no longer a child in any sense. In nine years I will be 30. By the time I am thirty I want to be married, start having kids, a job! Nine years. I better get started.

English 225

I know I have brought up this topic before but it has continued to intrigue me. We have talked a lot about identity and creation of the self but not about the creation of group identity.

Coming into this semester I dreaded this English 225 class. I am not a fan of writing, I was never good at writing, and I didn't see the importance in taking another writing class. My view of this class quickly changed. Our class became a space where we could all share our ideas (complete or incomplete) to the entire class or in our small groups. I still am not a fan of writing, however, I am a fan of this class.

How did Brett create a sense of security and friendliness that other teachers haven't been able to do in their classes?
- Small groups
- our answers were always right, even if she had to change the question to make them right
- she shared her life with us
- class size was small
- It seemed Brett was putting as much time into the class as we were putting in

Another big part of it was the unique group of people we had. I enjoyed going to this class most days because of the community it brought. I wish I knew how to make a community out of the other classes or organizations I'm in. And to be honest I don't want to read more old people's view on the identity of a group.

Anyways. I have been really appreciative of Brett's support this semester and I thought it would be cool if we could all support her. Would anyone be interested in having her contact us if she does a presentation at U of M? If you would let me know.

P.S. Everyone's presentations have been very good. I am very impressed.

Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer is Singing Loud for All to Hear!

So, Christmas is almost here and usually my Mom buys me an advent calendar or wraps little presents for me to open the 24 days until Christmas. This year she is doing a cyber advent calender that isn't a countdown until Christmas but more a method of preparing us for Christmas.

I love Christmas. I get to be with my family, no school, my birthday is a few weeks before Christmas (in 5 days! I am so old), I get things without having to pay for them, we sing my favorite hymns in church, and I get to eat as many Christmas cookies as I want.

I know not everyone is Christian and celebrates Christmas but we can all prepare ourselves by realizing the holidays are more than good food and presents but giving to those who have nothing.


If you wish to watch my Mom's first three days of cyber advent calendar here they are.

December 1st


December 2nd


December 3rd

Pardon or not to Pardon... A turkey

Apparently every year the President of the United States pardons a turkey. Meaning, he publicly announces he is not going to eat a turkey. Not only does he pardon one turkey but he also pardons an alternative just in case. That may seem odd but it is rather likely that the first person would rather die because we breed turkeys to be so fat that their organs cannot support their huge size. The typical turkey bred to be eaten only lives for about 18 weeks.

What is the meaning of pardoning a turkey? Does this mean that the first family eats no meat on Thanksgiving or do they just eat chicken and feel like that's better than eating a turkey?

The article can be found here National Turkey Dies, but the Alternate Lives

Another interesting turkey pardoning story is about Sarah Palin. Brett showed this to us in class.



While she is talking about pardoning a turkey the other poor turkeys who weren't pardoned are being killed behind her.

I hope this doesn't ruin eating turkey for you.

Persuasion

After working on the same topic all semester, it is hard for me to finally end it in a persuasion presentation and paper. This is bad of me to say but I don't care about my topic as much as I used to and I don't expect others to either. I don't even know what point I want to get across. I also feel like my topic, the treatment of Alzheimer's in home care compared to residential care facilities, is only interesting to those who have had personal dealings with Alzheimer's or for those who wish to work with Alzheimer's in their career.

My ideas of what to give my presentation on are as follows

- Argue that home care is better than residential care facilities - Audience = general public

- Aruge that residential care facilities are better than home care - Audience = general public

- Rehab should be an integral part of Alzheimer's treatment - Audience=Drs.

Let me know what you would be most interested in hearing of if you have any other ideas.

In my english class we have talked a lot about how one creates an identity or self. We have yet to talk about the identity of groups. My ideas about the formation of group identities are as follows

- The groups similarities (i.e. a bunch of pregnant women get together - they talk about family, being pregnant, and life but they are known as the pregnant women)

- Common Task - mulitple people doing the same thing (i.e. requirements med school)

- Common Goal - a group of people working for a common goal (i.e. getting a president in office)

Just looking at those three I guess it all could fit into the similarities group. Having anything in common can become the identity of the group. However, just as you get to know someone and you find you have more in common or there is more you want to do the group identity can change.

I also wonder if there is a social group self. Does the way other groups interact with one group effect they way the group sees themself?

These are just ideas as I am brainstorming how to form an identity for one of my groups on campus. Let me know if you have any insights or thoughts.

Generation X, Y, Z...

At work today I was talking to my boss about going on the trip to Kenya to work in the local schools. I went my senior year of high school but haven't been able to go back because it is a two week trip and I can't take two weeks off of college. However, my friend is doing this. The reason she can is because she is taking all online classes but one, so she can do that class while in Kenya. My boss was amazed that between his generation and mine how much technology has become a huge part of our schooling and education.

Generations are very interesting in the fact that every generation has their own identity. The definition of who fits into what generation is not completely understood, but whatever one I am placed in I am apart of the overall identity. For instance the generation that I consider myself to be in is known for being very technologically advanced. My grandpa's generation was known for being very hard workers.

In The Selves we Live By, Reisman talks about how as societies change mostly in size, it creates a social environment that produces a predominant character type that dominate the social scene. This could also have to do with the identity of the generation. The whole generation usually grows up in a similar national environment. This national environment can effect how individuals in the generation see themselves and those around them.

The difference in generation's identities may also have an affect on the negative stereotype the younger generation has. I have heard old people say "All you youngins don't care enough, when I was in college we protested this and that". I think we still are active in our community (maybe not as much, but still) but through a different medium. We unite people and protest over facebook not in the streets in front of Mary Sue's house.

Different identities for different generations is a known subject, however when different generations are compared I never hear about how the national environment has caused one generation to behave like this and another generation to behave like that. I find that very interesting.

Identity of a Soldier

At work over the weekend, I met a young man who was trying to regain truck control and stability as well as work on upper extremity strength in case he was never able to walk again. He was a soldier from Afghanistan, who was blown up. He was only 20 years old. He was telling me that even though he was hurt so badly he has a 60% chance of walking again so he is required to finish. He has three years left.

He was telling me how his whole perspective on the world has changed yet he will be required to be the same person he was before the accident. He was proud to serve his country and his family but now he is anxious about going back and not sure he wants to.

Can identity voluntary change? I don't think we have the ability to say "I want to be smarter and more outgoing". In this case how is the military going to help this soldier so he is ready to go back over seas and have the same fearlessness and pride to be fighting for his country?

I guess I am just confused as to how the military requires this. I am not very knowledgeable about the military and its workings so if anyone knows please let me know. Since meeting him I have become very interested because I don't believe he should have to go back to Afghanistan. Couldn't he just work somewhere in the U.S.?

Why should people with Alzheimer's try to maintain their old identity?

I searched "Alzheimer patients in home care" in Google and this picture was on the first results page. I thought PERFECT!! This is obviously a couple who has got to extend their life together because one of them has Alzheimer's and they are receiving home care. Perfect for my paper. I clicked on the picture and it brought me to the picture along with the article it was posted with.

The article was about Supereme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and her husband who have been married for 57 years. Her husband has Alzheimer's and lives in a residential care facility. He has found a new girlfriend in his RCF, yet he is still married to Sandra Day O'Connor. His son is quoted saying his father acts like a teenager in love.

People with Alzheimer's have no choice but to give into the diesease that is taking their memory and messing with their Brian. Sandra Day O'Connor's husband doesn't remember he has a wife but he knows he is in love with this new woman he met.

In my paper I argued for home care not RCFs because it is easier for the person with Alzheimer's to maintain their identity. During my inquiry phase I never encountered any information or questioned myself whether it matters if the person maintains their identity and therotetically their past. I feel like I may be researching a moot point. As long as the person with Alzheiemer's is happy isn't that all that matters?

My roommate actually told me a story about her Mom's Grandma who had Alzheimer's and would forget to put clothes on and would go garden naked or eat dinner on her porch naked. She was so happy though and when someone told her she wasn't wearing clothes she didn't care. My roommate's mother said she had never seen her grandma so happy. I feel like I was just making my argument before out of selfish reasons for being the family of a person with Alzheimer's and not for the person with Alzheimer's.

This must be the week for second guessing. Not only am I second guessing what I am doing with my life and why I'm at Michigan, but also my topic that I have chosen for the semester. My topic is comparing home care to residential care facilities on the topic of identity of Alzheimer's patients. I know I am supposed to say people with Alzheimer's, but really there is only so many times you can type that without going crazy.

During the inquiry phase I was so overwhelmed with the amount of information and I had thought I really picked a great topic. I did, don't get me wrong. However, I am sick of reading, writing, and thinking about home care and RCFs and how they affect someone's identity. Do I even believe what I'm writing? I don't really believe identity is composed of just the environment and interactions one is in. I don't believe one solution solves all. It all depends on something else, nothing is static.

The hardest part for me is trying to make my paper interesting and through provoking when I am not even interested in writing it.

I started thinking about Brett and how she is getting her masters or PHD in rhetoric. That made me feel a little better (no offense Brett) because my topic could be a lot worse (rhetoric) and I could have to read, write, think, eat, breath it for a few years. Now I know that I probably don't want to work in a RCF or as a home care aide.

After my convincing paper is in on Wednesday and my physics exam is over on Thursday. I am relaxing.

Connections

In class on Wednesday I started talking to Andrew. We figured out that we had graduated from the same high school, Pioneer. It was a funny realization because we both felt bad because we hadn't known each other before this class. As it turns out though we didn't even go there during the same time. He graduated in 2006 and I graduated in 2007 but I only went to Pioneer for my senior year (2006-2007). However, his Dad happens to be one of the most well known people at Pioneer. The swim coach. Pioneer is known for always having amazing aquatics programs. Although I only went to Pioneer I heard of Dennis Hill and how amazing he was.

The point of this story was, I love finding connections with people. Even if the connection is small such as we have the same major or we have a mutual friend. I believe it changes the way we perceive the other person. It changes the situation the two people are interacting in, usually for the better but not always. Thats one of the reasons I love this class. Don't get me wrong I am not a fan of writing or rhetoric but brett allows us to find connections not only with each other but in our work. We never have to write about something that doesn't interest us because we got to pick our subjects. But our small groups give us the time to connect to each other.

Just a thought I had during class on Wednesday.

Heritage and Identity

There was an article in the Week magazine a long time ago about this guy who was suing the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey for a suspension from school because during a cultural diversity class he claimed he was a white African-American. Both his fellow students and his professor found it offensive that he would call himself African-American when he was white. However, he was born in Mozambique and change his citizenship to the U.S. when he was older.

I don't know how the law suit ended up but I can just assume that the student won. Or let me rephrase that, I hope the student won.

I don't call myself Scottish-American so why do we label black people as African-American. They may not have even been born in Africa but their parents were. Doesn't that make them just American?

This happens not only to black people. But also people of Asian and Latin descent. If someone is Asian we call them Asian-American even though they were born in the U.S. Because we see them as different than just American do they feel like allegiance towards the U.S.? Do they even feel American?

I just thought this was an interesting article. Let me know what you think.

Conflicting Identities

Over fall break I went to Ithaca, NY to visit my boyfriend Bryan. My train leaves Toledo at 3:50am and since my parents live in Ann Arbor my Dad always drives me. When returning to Ann Arbor my train gets in at 6:00 am and my Dad comes back to pick me up. This trip was a little unexpected because I wasn't planning on going but I have been planning on going to Ithaca for Halloween.

On the way back from Toledo this morning with my Dad, who is a very calm and humerus guy, I brought up our ideas for Halloween costumes. I tell my dad the ideas, Toy Story characters, Mariachi Band, and an Old Lady and all of her cats, and all of a sudden he goes. YOU WILL NOT GO BACK FOR HALLOWEEN. YOUR IDENTITY AS A GIRLFRIEND IS OUTWEIGHING YOUR IDENTITY AND RESPONSIBILITY AS A STUDENT AND I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS. The last time I heard my dad yell at me was when I was in middle school and he was using words I didn't even know the meaning to and I just laughed and he started laughing and life was good. So, taking up a similar strategy I just started laughing. Needless to say that didn't go over well and I was told if I was going to ever go back to Ithaca I had to find my own transportation to and from Toledo because he was no longer going to condone me visiting him all the time (All the time being this was my first time this semester).

After thinking about this all day I started feeling guilty about wanting to be with my boyfriend. I have decided though that my identities have not changed. I have always been a student and continue to be a student and I have been a girlfriend and will (hopefully) continue to be a girlfriend. I think what my dad meant to say was my priorities in my identity have rearranged.

I have never been a fan of school but doing well in school has always been a huge deal to me. I used to cry if I got B's and I didn't get my first B until my second semester of my freshman year of college. The more I live and learn the more I think that school means less and less to me. Unfortunately it is the only way to get where I want to go (I want to be a doctor). My first couple of years I studied all the time and never really did anything fun with friends I was never that happy of a person either.

Being happy is a huge thing for me. At the beginning of this year I decided I was going to purposefully do things that I love and enjoy. One of them may be that its okay to get a B in a class if that means that I have more time to enjoy my friends or boyfriend. I don't want to get to the point where I feel like dropping my student identity completely but I think it is natural and okay to prioritize my identities depending my life. Being a student my life is in constant flux, which may mean my identities are in constant flux as well. As of right now my identity as a girlfriend is super important to me and it makes me happy to be with him so I am going to go visit him for Halloween but this doesn't mean that I don't still strongly care about school or that being a student isn't who I am anymore.

Convincing Brief

I was a little frightened when Brett gave us the prompt for our convincing paper. I feel like I had just figured out the inquiry paper and I am not ready to completely change my mode of thinking. I am going to try to get more of a head start with this paper so hopefully I can transition into my persuasive paper more easily. For our convincing paper we have to write a brief which I feel is analogous to the outline from the inquiry paper. I think the hardest part for me will be analyzing my audience just because our audience is so big and diverse I don't know if I can come up with similar beliefs or traditions. I am going to try and I would love any help you could give me.

Audience - students, professors, anyone in the U of M system.

Beliefs

• education is important
• all want to be the best
• pursuit of happiness
• most people go to the dr. when ill
• freedom in general
• most people in U.S. think family is important
• being ill is worse than being healthy

Currently most doctors make decisions about whether Alzheimer's patients should go into a residential care facility or participate in home care. If my audience thinks education is important I would say that patients and their families should receive unbiased information about the options to partake in after one is diagnosed. This way they would learn about each option and be able to make a choice that fits their identities and lives. This would also fit into the pursuit of happiness. It should be up to the patient and family if they want to put the patient into a residential care facility. If the patient doesn't want to go then they shouldn't have to but if that is the only option they are given what else are they supposed to do?

To go along with that it's usually the doctor who recommends either going into a residential care facility or home care. Currently more doctors tend to think putting Alzheimer's patients in residential care facilities as soon as possible is the best for the patient and family. Doctors think this because if the patient is there while they are still functional then they will have time to get used to the place and the routines at the RCF before they get too ill to change routines and to function for themselves. That seems logical but they don't give other options just to put them in a RCF. But most people assume doctors know best so they do what the doctor says.

Since family is important to many people providing home care for a family member with Alzheimer's is usually a valid and option. Home care allows the family to stay involved with the Alzheimer's patients treatments and life. It also allows the Alzheimer's patient to continue with a similar routine as before the diagnosis. Also, when someone is ill the support of family has a huge impact on how the patient copes with their illness. So, more than ever a person who is ill needs the support of their family.

That's as far as I can think. This is hard for me because when reading my inquiry paper I imagined my audience being as doctors not as students and professors of the university. Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions. Thanks.

Spirituality/Religious

I talked to Kip after class yesterday to ask him what he was writing about because Brett commented in class that our topics may be similar. If you don't know, Kip is writing about spirituality and how that applies to the healing process or coping of an illness(I think). That's what I got out of it anyways. I found that very interesting because it is not an idea that pops into most scientists minds.

After I talked to him I was wondering he chose spirituality instead of religious because in our discussions he specifically kept using religion as his personal example. It made me reflect on my own identity and whether I would consider it spritual or religious. I had to define which each one meant to me.

I think spirituality is a knowing of and believing in a higher power but not having a certain set of beliefs to follow but rather can make up your own. Religious would be following beliefs that someone else has set up in the past and believing in a higher power. My initial thoughts was that do the definition of a rectangle and square. A square can be rectangle but a rectangle cannot be a square. I think someone can be spiritual withough being religious but I don't think someone can be religious if they aren't spiritual.

Some people prefer to view organized religion as maybe apart of the conformist self. I prefer to think of both my religious and spiritual identity as the inner-directed.It is something very private for me but also very powerful for me.

I was wondering how I could relate this to my paper. Most residential care facilites are secular so the patients don't have the opportunity to attend services or express their religoius habits other than in the privacy of their own room. If someone only participates in religion when they are in worship or within a church community this whole aspect of their life could be taken away.

Maybe part of expanding the types of residential care facilites should be to have ones that are religiously affiliated or ones could be created that have groups and services for all kinds of religions.

I don't know what is best but I know that the support of a spiritual or religious comunity and the support of a higher power can have huge effects on how a patient copes or heals. So, I think we should provide more of those services to people in residential care facilities.

I'll just leave you with my favorite religious quote.

"Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words." - St. Francis of Assisi

I had a meeting with Brett during class yesterday and she asked me to read a couple of my sentences out loud because they weren't well written sentences so she was trying to see if I could fix them on my own or something like that. There were a few sentences that we had to do that for. I finally told her that sentence structure is not one of my strong suits and ever since the 7th grade English I have been told that I don't understand sentence structure. Writing is a struggle for me so not having any faith in my writing knowledge or skills I believed everything my teachers told me. I don't understand sentence structure, I can't organize a paper properly, etc. I believed them. I think I am a bad writer and I have no comprehension for how to put a sentence together.

Brett was a little taken aback by that because she said I have do understand sentence structure because when I read a sentence out loud that I had already written I knew what was wrong with it and how to change it before Brett even told me what was wrong. She said people telling me that I don't know how to do it is prohibiting me in a way. Its not allowing me to put my thoughts down on the paper because I don't think I know how to do it.

Interestingly enough, this is a similar concept to one I am writing about in my inquiry paper just a different aspect of it. I am writing about the identity of Alzheimer's patients and one of the views that I have is that when someone is told that they have Alzheimer's the person is treated differently. Family and friends automatically think they can't do this they can't do that. In related to my experience with Brett and what she said that would correlate to the patients thinking that they can't carry our their normal lives anymore because they are being told they can't do different activities anymore so they start believing it even if its not true.

This all fits into a social self theory. According to Mead one takes into consideration their role in relation to others and then that determines the self. If one role in life changes to dependent because that's how others are treating you then you may start believing you are dependent and making that your new self.

Its just interesting to see how many times what we talk about in class applies to my entire life.

My Identity as a student

Brett was right. This is the time of year when I always question why I am a student. I have so much going on. I am away from my apartment for at least 12 hours a day and I still need to do my homework. It seems that life would be so much easier if I just got a full time job. My sister just graduated from college and she is living at home not paying for rent having no responsibility after she gets off of work and she is happy. College is supposed to be the best time of my life. Why am I not happy?

As much as I complain and get frustrated with my work I don't want to lose my identity as a student. I have been a student for the last 15 years. I wouldn't be anyone if I wasn't a student. I probably wouldn't even have a social self anymore because I wouldn't have a social life. No one to interact with because I would be leaving all my friends and I don't know how to make new friends.

Luckily having a saturated self is no good because I wouldn't have anything to fill my time. I may complain about having too much to do but I like having things to do. It makes me feel important or needed.

I just need to start looking into the positive qualities of being a student. I go to one of the best universities in the country. Our football team is 4-1 and it's finally exciting to watch their games. I get to interact with hundreds of intelligent students everyday who make me smarter just by osmosis. I also have thousands of opportunities and resources available to me at the tips of my fingers.

Yes, I do contemplate why I am here, why I am a student. But I am so lucky to be here to be a student because I would be nothing if not for a student. I better get used to it as well because going into the medical profession your saturated self will become supersaturated and your social self, will probably disappear. However, I will have a great professional self (if that is such a thing).

Well, it's time to suck it up and study for my physics exam and write my inquiry paper.

Alzheimer's

Going into class today I didn't feel prepared or ready to discuss my inquiry paper. To be honest it was the last thing on my list to do. Talking in class though really solidified my ideas and even encouraged me to look into it all more. So, thank you group for listening to my ramblings and giving me your ideas to further my inquiry.

I am looking into the identity of Alzheimer's patients and how the diagnosis can change their identity. Not just their diagnosis but the whole process that goes along with being diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Our population is getting older and dementia is increasing, yet we don't have a good medical or societal method of dealing with it. Our tendency is to not deal with it and just put them in a residential care facility (RCF) so they can have someone watching over them 24/7. As of now I believe that RCFs propagate a faster decrease in cognitive ability and independence.

I am looking at an example from TSWLB about the graduate students who start treating a girl differently and she ends up becoming the person they were treating her as. If we reflect this to an Alzheimer's patient who is put in a RCF and is treated as completely disabled and needs to be looked after at all times. Does this cause the patient to start acting as a completely disabled person? Overtime does the patient start believing this themselves? Do they start thinking that they can't do anything for themselves? This also relates to Goffman's view on the self by saying a person identity changes when other's views on that person change.

As of right now I believe that it is in the best interest of the Alzheimer's patient if they have a family that can take care of them. They are surrounded by a loving community that is willing to help them at all costs. Being in an environment they know may help the patient stay oriented to their identity and life.

However, how does caring for a family with Alzheimer's effect the identity of the family and the individual members in it? How does it effect the way the family treats and views the family member with Alzheimer's? Even though the Alzheimer's family is taking care of them and they hopefully are able to keep their independence for as long as possible, does it change the way the Alzheimer's patient thinks or feels just to know he has to be taken care of?

My Grandpa was just diagnosed with Alzheimer's and immediatly it changed the way I view him. I have always pictured him as this bottomless container of knowledge and wisdom. Now everytime I see him I notice how fragile he looks or how old he is getting. If he wasn't diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer's would I just contribute all of that to his old age? Or would I question if he is mentally healthy?

As you can probably see I have no real point yet. Everything is in every direction. I have some journal articles, websites, and family accounts of taking care of a family membor with Alzheimer's.

I also haven't pin pointed my definition of identity.

If anyone has any suggesstions please let me know. As you can see I need any help I can get.

Know vs. Unknown

I am going to try to pretend I am already a medical doctor. I am going to try to list the knowns and unknowns in my field of study, movement science.

Known

• smoking is bad - causes lung cancer
• eating health, get all the nutrients you need in a correct serving size, will help you be an appropriate weight and have a healthier body
• early diagnosis can help prevent unwanted outcomes
• treatments and medicines change daily so you always have to learn about the new best thing
• have a positive demeanor helps the patients have a positive demeanor
• trying every available option may not be good enough
  
• you can treat almost anything
• sharing information about patients is not good
  

Unknown

• can't cure most terminal diseases - cancer, AIDS, malaria
• why some people get better and some don't
• what is the best medicine/treatment to use
• causes of some diseases
  
• why some treatments work for some and not for others
• whats morally right or wrong

Continuing our topic from class though our fact now was not fact in the past and by the time I am a doctor we have may have figured out that some of the fact now isn't true. Hopefully we may also find truths for the unknown so we can better assist the ill in our community.

Facebook

The very interesting even though somewhat confusing discussion today in class about what someone may believe as fact may not be a fact to someone else or what was fact in the past may not be fact in the present or the future. When thinking of things for my blog I was trying to connect that to identity. I started thinking about internet identity and how someones identity on the internet may not be their identity in real life and how does that fit into Mead's or Cooley's view of the self?

I first tried to brainstorm a way someone could present an identity through the internet.
blogs
facebook
myspace
dating websites
were about as far as I got. I then started comparing my Facebook and this blog to how I think of myself in real life. I think my Facebook is truly a social self (my definition of a social self - being you act different to different people so your social self is always in flux and acts how I would want the person I am with to see me). It is created in part of how others view me or how I want them to see me. But, my Mom and Dad are also on Facebook. I monitor my facebook because I don't want my Mom to see some of the pictures or read some of the comments.

On Facebook I also display the good part of myself. Some people use status updates to relay their feelings but I prefer to only have fun statuses or fun pictures. I can always set my profile picture to one where I like the way I look and I can detag any pictures that I think look bad. Thats not really me though. Or, its a different me. Or I am the person on Facebook when I am actually on the internet to the Facebook webpage or to the person I get a friend request from someone I don't really know so they really only know me from what my Facebook profile shows.

If they only know me on Facebook their view of me is not very accurate or not fact. So what they think is fact is not fact to someone who knows me in person such as my roommates or family. So in this case the fact that one person thinks the other person may think is false.

I am starting to confuse myself. I am not sure where I am getting on this or where my thoughts lead but I am going to think about this subject more. Let me know what you think. I actually think I may be totally crazy and this makes no sense to anyone but me.

After reading numerous articles and trying to figure out which one would be easiest to analyze using the Toulmin Method I gave up and just picked the one that I found most interesting and pertains most to myself.

I read "Rethinking the Freshman Fifteen" by Johannah Cornblatt (http://www.newsweek.com/id/215362/page/1) that I found on the Newsweek website. This interested me even though I am no longer a freshman so according to the phrase I have out grown it. But living in an apartment for the first time where cookies are much more fun to eat and bake than stir fry, living in a world where skinny means better, and a personal fear of getting fat this article appealed to me.


Claim: The emphasis on calorie counts (in school cafeterias) can backfire and lead to disordered eating even among students who have no history of previous disordered eating.

Reason 1: There has been an increase in disordered eating among college students.

Evidence: Dr. Richard Kreipe, a specialist in adolescent medicine whose research centers on eating disorders, has reported seeing more cases of Eating Disorders not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS)
Evidence: College students dieting, vomiting, or taking laxatives to lose weight have increased from 28% to 38% in the last in the last few years.

Reason 2: Going away to college makes students more vulnerable to weight gain and disordered eating.

Evidence: Surrounded by new people, which makes them image conscious.
Evidence: Anxiety about the freshman 15
Evidence: College kids tend to snack instead of eat real meals
Evidence: More accessible to alcohol and all-you-can-eat dining halls.

Reason 3: Calorie counts over simplify nutrition

Evidence: Expert Neumark-Sztainer says that what you eat is less important than how you eat. Want foods that are high in nutrition. Not foods that are low in nutrition and high in calories and calorie cards only focus on calories.

I thought the reason that disordered eating has increased but not necesarrily the classic anerexia and bulmia was a pretty strong reason. It says that people are eating irregularly and not healthly. If you tie that into the third reason it looks like that people are trying to eat the foods with less calories even though they may not be the most nutritious. Together the third and first reasons seemed the two strongest for me.

The second reason seemed a little weak only because everyone already knows that. We have been told since the beginning of time that college changes the eating patterns of everyone. Also that we all try to be thin, smart, and pretty so we are more image conscious.

To make their argument stronger they could have eliminated the second reason all together or enhanced by saying that when students are around other students especially when they eat could lead to less being eaten then binging later (if thats true) or students are so busy or lazy they don't have time to make dinner so they just order out.

Processed and unhealthy foods are also a lot cheaper than healthier foods, which could be a reason why college students have unhealthy eating because when you're on a budget 75 cent white bread is more appealing then 3 dollar whole wheat bread. To change the direction of this habit schools should offer healthier meals that are more nutritious or put the caloric facts not directly by the food but online or outside the dining hall.

At Michigan we have the caloric and some nutrional information next to most foods. I have to say when I ate in the dining hall I did take into account the number of calories something had and not necesarrily the fiber or saturated fats vs. unsaturated fats. So, the number one thing woudl be educate the students. Why not add another pre-req and make nutrition one.

Tattoos

I don’t think that tattoos are supposed to mean anything to anyone else but the person who got them. In our society we usually look down upon people with many tattoos or what looks like meaningless tattoos. Why do those people care? How are someone else’s tattoos affecting them?

Not just having tattoos but also how many or where they are. Tattoo’s on a woman’s lower back is called a “tramp stamp” and it comes with a negative connotation of the woman being sleazy. There is a similar connotation for when a woman gets a tattoo on her chest. I understand that that woman may get them to attract people to those areas but at the same time maybe they get it on their chest because it symbolizes being close to their heart.

My sister has two tattoos. One on each foot and as the picture shows of the symbols of love and peace and the words in English, Chinese, and Arabic. Pictures mean more than words, which is one reason she got the symbols. Then she got the words in English because English is her native language, in Chinese because she speaks Chinese, and then in Arabic because she studied in Dakar, Senegal. My sister is a very worldly person. She wants to live abroad for most of her life and work to improve the environmental conditions. She is a very peaceful and loving person. Hence the pace sign and heart.

In “Teenagers and Tattoos” Andres Martin says that by having interest and not disgust about someone’s tattoo could actually help to connect with them. That is true with anyone who has a tattoo. It doesn’t even have to be a tattoo but showing interest in anything they have or love can make a connection. He also says that we may find that it doesn’t have to do with disfigurement but actually figurement. I don’t think anyone gets a tattoo with the intention to disfigure his or her body.

In “The Decorated Body” insert author explains that throughout time people have been covering their bodies in artwork in an effort to connect them to a group of people. He doesn’t mention tattoos and how they make a person unique. People may use tattoos to show their individual personalities.

I don’t think we should try to judge tattoos so quickly. I think maybe we should just admire the artwork and move on.

Identity Crisis

After a quick brainstorm in class I tried to think of which identity I identify the
most with. The more I thought about it the more I realized that it’s impossible.
There isn't just one that fits me best. If forced to choose, however, I would say I
identify most with being a woman. That identity is broad and encompasses
many other identities that mean a lot to me, including a girlfriend, daughter,
sister, friend, and student.

As I begin a professional career I’m pumped about being a woman with a college

and hopefully even a higher education. At the same time, though, I don't want

to be excluded or looked down upon because of the silly old-fashioned views

some people still hold about women. Am I going to have to work extra hard to
earn the respect of a professor, mentor, or colleague? I want to say no. I want to
say that my identity as a woman is no different than a man's. If that's not the

case I am prepared to outwork them, give more time, and give more energy so

people will see me as an equal.

Does being a woman really conflict with my other identity as a student or a

professional? Above I concluded that people would see me different as a women
and a professional than if I were a man and a professional. The more I think
about it, though, it doesn't mean the two identities conflict. There are plenty of

amazing women professionals out there. So although I don't think the two
conflict, I am still pretty proud of both.

Two identities I have been worried about conflicting are girlfriend and student. I
currently live eight hours away from my boyfriend. If I continue my role as a
student and continue living far away from him, will I have to choose between
being a girlfriend and a student? Which identity will win out? I am hoping I won't
have to choose and that I can find a way to be both. When both are so important
to me, how can I decide?

I am hoping that people will see me as a relationships person. I love being with
my family and friends, but also as a hardworking and ethical person. Since most
of my blogging audience will be my peers I imagine they will receive me by

connecting an identity of themselves to an identity of me. We are all students but maybe we have more in common than that.

I have a feeling I will argue by asking questions and trying to answer them how I see fit. I feel that by asking the question first it gives the reader an opportunity to figure out how they think and find the commonalities and differences between us and be able to reply constructively.

My, Myself, and I

How many times are college students asked to write about who they are or to bring in an object that represents them? I typically receive these types of prompts at least twice a semester, making it about 10 times total. However, I never write the same thing and I never bring in the same object. Maybe the change defines who I am more than the individual papers or objects. I am a different person depending on whether I am happy, sad, lonely, or excited, and also whether I am alone, with friends, or with family. When I’m in a good mood I might write about how I am a dedicated, enthusiastic, competitive person who loves to be with her friends and family. But if I were having a bad day I might write about how I have to be an independent and introverted person who would rather be by herself. Not to say that I am moody (I might be), I’m just a little bit of it all, and different moods bring some traits out more than others.

Currently I am an optimistic hard working person who relies on her family for support while trying to handle the ups and downs of life, like the responsible adult I am supposed to be. This isn't to say that I’m not changing every day. Every discussion and encounter changes who I am. I’m sure that as I go through this class, write in this blog, and explore the psychology and sociology of identity I will learn more about myself and inevitably change from who I am today to who I will be tomorrow.

Why do you care who I am, and why are you reading this? The whole purpose of this blog is to fulfill a requirement for my English class. I am hoping that my writing here along with all my other assignments for the class will improve my writing and critical thinking skills, both of which are lacking. This is where you come in. You can pose questions and comments to make me think and to help with my writing. What should I do differently, what have I not thought of? And I might just provide something for you to think about – something new and throught provoking.