TOW #20: Venezuela Image

   Reading Goals:
-Realistic photo
-Choose photo from a different place (not google)

Writing Goals:
-interesting introduction
-smooth transitions
                   

    Unless you are an avid world news watcher, the things that happen each and everyday in foreign countries usually go unnoticed, with little to no attention or awareness brought to the situation. Countries around the world are struggling with hardships that may not even win the media's attention over something like a celebrity breakdown. This photo, taken by New York Times photographer Meredith Kohut, is from San Cristobal, Venezuela. The family had prepared towels soaked in vinegar in case they were affected by tear gas, while the two adults looked out the window at riot police and protesters in the street. Earlier this month, protesting started on the streets against the government of President Nicolas Maduro. The family photographed are hiding in their home guarding the door to keep the little ones safe. Kohut captured a moment of the family filled with fear, and the adults doing the best they can to protect their young. This emotion can connect with any audience, which helps achieves Kohut's purpose of spreading awareness of hardships countries around the world have to cope with.
      The symbolism noted in this picture is very ironic to the situation happening in their country. The family has a cross and Jesus hanging on the wall, as well as a bird-like dove structure hanging in front of the window. The symbol of religion dignifies peace and answers to life's hardships. In this photograph, the violence is not keeping their town at peace, and there are no answers to the horrendous violence happening in the streets, as the police spray tear gas on their own people. The dove, also a symbol of peace, is looking out from the window witnessing the complete opposite of peace. The irony lies in the belief of peace in the house, and complete ferocity out on the streets, as the two women watch in fear. Not only does the photograph portray irony, but the visible juxtaposition of the lightness and darkness contributes to the strong emotion evoked. The light from the window is coming in to shine on the little girl's face, emphasizing the fear and confusion in her eyes while the rest of her body blends in with the darkness. The usage of this coloring shows the affect this situation has on the young, the ones who are innocent and still believe in goodness. The emphasis on one character tells the story for the whole family and the whole situation. It allows the audience to zero in on one subject in the photo, trying to read her emotion and understand the situation. This also allows the audience to connect with the photo, since everyone feels that same fear and confusion sometimes in their life, no matter where in the world they live, ultimately supporting Kohut's purpose in taking this photograph and sharing it with audiences around the world.
    No matter where in the world you are located, there are hardships being dealt with. No matter which ones will make the world news, they are all equally important. No matter what scale of disaster or violence, they are of the same significance, since they are strongly affecting someone somewhere in this world.
   

TOW #19: A Letter to Junior Year

     Witty, humorous, and clever, GILLIAN HORN writes a creative letter to her junior year. As a 16 year-old myself, it is easily relatable with the audience targeted specifically to other 16 year-olds, making current day allusions that only high school kids today would understand. She mentions Regina George from the famous movie Mean Girls that we all know and love, as well as the movie Project X, centered around one huge out of control high school party. She refers to the chemistry chapter of quantum mechanics, that only us juniors would understand the humor of "Sleep sounds a hell of a lot better than quantum mechanics." The comical aspect also plays a big role in her letter, keeping the reader entertained and craving for more words. Horn, sarcastically speaking to her junior year, says " And please, I beg you, do not worry about the five extra hours a week of SAT work. I didn't want to go to that party anyway." The topic encapsulates her feelings towards the overload of work junior year is giving her, and the sarcasm adds humor to the subject, enticing the reader to read more. Overall, Horn sarcastically writes about all the negative things her junior year has done, but concludes with a more positive note, thanking her junior year for making her realize she must work hard to get what she wants. I loved this letter because it was so easily relatable, it was everything I had felt this year formatted creatively and written extremely well, and also had me laughing out loud throughout. I couldn't have been happier that my talented best friend had written this, and maybe I'm a little biased, but this is one of the best articles I've ever done my TOW on. Horn should write weekly for the Huffington Post. 

TOW #18: Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream by Jennifer Ackerman (Part 1)

     Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream is not your ordinary boring, informative, convoluted science book. Instead, this book is a game changer in the realm of biological non-fiction. Jennifer Ackerman creatively takes the reader through a day in the life of their body. Often using second person, she organizes the book from starting at the moment you wake up, all through the body's daily activities, to the deep sleep and the mystery of dreams. Not only does she get down to the molecular level of why the body acts the way it does, she always brings it back to the big picture of the body's function to keep the reader on track of the day and not lost in the scientific language. As well as thoroughly explaining complicated science talk in a more basic way, she backs up all of her explanations with scientific evidence, experiments, and studies. Not only do these back up her explanations, but they also combat popular believing myths of the body, keeping the book entertaining and intriguing. For example, did you know that being in the cold and getting sick are not correlated? More people get sick in the winter time because of the close proximity to other humans from being inside more often. Also, the best time to work out is not in the morning like most people think, but in the evening when your muscle strength, flexibility, and body temperature is at its peak. Being educated about these myths are important to live in your one and only body the best way possible.
     Ackerman uses multiple anecdotes as well to appeal to pathos and ethos. These anecdotes help remind the reader once in a while that Ackerman is also a human, and just a writer, not a doctor or scientist. This reminder is helpful because she was just as curious as the reader to the functions our body carries out and why. The whole book entails interesting details and facts about the body that I would never have knew on my own. For example, the bugs and bacteria in our stomach help determine what weight we are, by fidgeting you can burn off as many calories as you consume, that the descend action of a workout is what actually builds your muscles, and many many many more.
   I am so excited to finish this book. Just like Ackerman felt, I am so fascinated by the human body, and how I constantly do things without one thought to the action. I am amazed at what goes on inside the body, without me even knowing. This is my one and only body that I will live with for 85+ (hopefully) years. I might as well get to know it a little bit.

TOW #17: Deport Justin Bieber?

       Justin Bieber. Two words, one fragile image. The recent actions from Justin Bieber has just showed us what growing up in the limelight does to an individual. The Canadian native was arrested earlier this week for street racing in a Lamborghini, driving without a valid license, resisting arrest, and under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Now that doesn't sound like a nice role model image for all the young kids who look up to Bieber. Since Bieber is actually an immigrant, he is retained in American with an O-1 work Visa, used for foreigners with "extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics." While Bieber was spending his minutes in jail in South Florida, his team hired the number one celebrity defense attorney Roy Black. 
     The author of the article, Ruben Navarrette, introduces writes this article to argue the unfairness of treatment between rich celebrities and poor immigrants. Immigrants that get deported because they are caught for just one headlight out, or a rolling stop sign, don't have the connections to hire someone like Roy Black to defend them. They just get deported right back to where they started. But on the other hand, someone like Bieber who was caught for destructive driving under the influence without a license, just needs to higher a fancy attorney and he's good. Even with a green card or permit, one can stay in the country if working or studying, but one mishap with the law and back to the motherland they go. Navarrette is arguing that if Bieber is convicted of the alleged crimes in South Florida, he should be sent right back where he came from just like any other immigrant would. 
   

IRB Intro Post #3: Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body

   

  Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body by Jennifer Ackerman takes the reader through exactly what it sounds like: a day in the life of your body. Ackerman breaks up the book by the body waking up in the morning, all throughout the days activities, to ending the day in bed. Most people do not know, or take for granted, the importance and utter genius of the body's functions. Little things such as telling time in your sleep, that women have more nightmares than men, that the best time to run is late afternoon to evening, that half of the calories you consume can be burned off simply by fidgeting, are all told in this book.
   I am a student very interested in biology and neurology, so any kind of book like this interests me. I love to know what is going on with my body, why it is happening, and then connecting it to all different types of daily life. By reading this book, I hope to gain a better understanding and appreciation for my body.

TOW #16: The Bling Ring by Nancy Jo Sales (Part 2)

      In 2009, seven audacious teenagers broke into multiple A-lister celebrity homes in California, on multiple accounts. Stealing almost $3 million in merchandise, victims of the burglaries include Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson, Audrina Patridge, and more. When word broke loose of these group of robbers known as the Bling Ring, everyone wanted to know how and why. Journalist Nancy Jo Sales took on the challenge to dig deep into the teenagers' juvenile, immature, crazy minds. She writes The Bling Ring  to publish the motives and tell the story of the robbery case that left Hollywood scratching their heads.
    Sales uses detailed imagery and anecdotes to reveal the real story, coming from the teenagers themselves through interviews. She also integrates psychological statistics to get behind the reasons of the crime. The teenagers lived in the affluent city of Calabasas, California outside of Los Angeles. What more would a teenager need growing up in a city like that? The answer: everything. Our society is so obsessed with getting closer and closer to owning everything they can, spending every cent if it makes them happier and presentable with more materials. For the Bling Ring, it was that, and more. Each stolen item brought them closer to living the Hollywood dream. It wasn't the money they wanted, it was the obsession with being famous. The purpose Sales portrays is to inform about the wild desire to be that much closer to being a Hollywood celebrity, and the consequences the teenagers' endured because of that. Sales achieved her purpose by explaining the story and digging deeper into the motives of the teenagers.

TOW #15: When Teachers Favor Attractive Kids

      As some people say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is opinionated depending on culture, experience, taste, and many different factors. So does attractiveness affect daily human interactions? Could it be possible that a more attractive human being will be treated more favorable? Pepper Schwartz, professor of sociology at the University of Washington, agrees and claims that teachers favor more attractive students. 
      Schwartz introduces with studies proving her claim. A book by Wiley says, "the difference in GPA and college graduation rates between youth rated by others as attractive, versus average in looks, is similar to the differences in academic achievement between youth raised in two-parent versus single-parent families." That shocking claim of fact is introduced within the first few paragraphs of the article, catching the reader's attention. Using credible sources as evidence to back up her claim creates a strong logical structure for her argument that attractive students do better in school. But studies have also shown that this success goes well beyond high school. The key is that these students with lucky DNA start to build their self-confidence early, every time they hear a compliment or receive good grades. Confidence is a key trait in life, and those who gain it early, will go much further than those who are struggling with esteem issues. 
     With Schwartz claim backed by evidence, she then goes on to display a claim of policy. She proposes that teachers should think a minute before giving that grade to an attractive student unless they truly deserve it. In society today, we have put a lot more stress on the importance of stopping bullying because we have advertised the repercussions of it. We should also pay attention to how fairly we treat everyone, no matter how they look. Discussing this openly can help people in our world today realize the impact their words or actions have on young students. I think Schwartz crafts her argument well, backs it up with striking evidence, and then eases into her claim of policy to form a well-written article.