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        How can gym stereotypes be funny

When working out in the glorious house of gainz, in the zone with one's eyes on the prize, other people's workout distractions can be annoying, whether it’s [describe a few annoying behaviors here]. But videos made for entertainment shed some light on the comical side of these potentially annoying distractions.  Videos about gym stereotypes are funny because they take habits that can be found annoying in a space for working out and then put a funny and creative spin their behavior, shedding light on these kinds of people

According to the “Dude Perfect Stereotypes ” video series on YouTube, gym stereotypes are funny because of  how true they are.. From the screamers to Mr. Excuses (the slackers) they all happen and even though they are something that annoys a lot of people they can distract others and interrupt their workouts when trying to lift and hit the weights, Dude Perfect found a way to make them funny. In one video, they expand on the slacker behavior by showing a character who had many excuses to not go to the gym. Always having something to do or things that come up and ruin his gym plans. Or the screamers who would scream and grunt and make loud noises when trying to lift.

For gym bros and broettes trying to get swole and a sick pump for any reason whether it's getting that summer body, changing one's current lifestyle, or just wanting to better one’s self in one aspect of life. A gym is a place where everyone gathers to help reach a similar goal of one another. Now with a diverse group of people, it is certain there will be a diverse plethora of ways,habits, forms, and “techniques’ that people will do when they're working out. According to ‘’elitedaily’’ ( a website that is based on fitness and the problems that you might encounter) Going to the gym has many benefits such as improving one's sleep, feeling better, some may be less stressed, and is even known to give a self esteem boost.

Some habits can be considered to be worse or more annoying than others and certain people who are found doing them a lot do not go without notice. With those habits that people see and may or may not find annoying is where the stereotype is formed. A special group of people not chosen in any way just gain these habits that are noticed by others and therefore the stereotype is made. And proven by Dude Perfect, these habit based stereotypes can be funny if looked at in a lighthearted,  way. By giving them funny names, such as [name them here] and maybe even a slight exaggeration these sometimes annoying behaviors can be pretty funny.

Of the 2,000 people polled, 74 percent said fellow gym goers were guilty of bad gym etiquette, and many implicated themselves as well: 49 percent admitted to having used water bottles and towels that aren't actually theirs; 33 percent revealed they exercise without deodorant; 18 percent fessed up to working out despite coughing, sneezing and being sick; and 16 percent flat-out said they don’t wash their clothes between workouts. Skeeved out? Us too.” In this quote, it talks about the different behaviors in a way that one’s possibly see at the gym and the quote above sheds a lot of light on how bad these habits formed stereotypes can be. It shows the nastier versions of things that people don't particularly think about where the more obvious stereotypes are not as mentioned but still do hit on the  topic of the statement of “bad gym etiquette”.With the percentages added in this shows the reader how many people do these thing which is a lot compared to what one might notice. It also shows that to gym bros and broettes this is a fairly huge topic, so it only makes sense that a video from Dude Perfect would be so successful..

If gym bros and broettes stopped to think about it, they would realize that gym stereotypes can is not just about the fact that it can be annoying and distracting in the gym, but can also be funny if looked at in the right light!

Sean Johnson

9/20/2017

English 3

Ms. Pahomov

What is Perfection: the Halo Effect

The beauty advertisment industry is conscienceless. It is a complex system which dependant and cares about profit more than anything.  In order to make this profit, the people who create successful advertisements must be very intelligent, especially when it comes to manipulation of the average person’s desires. Through advertisements and subtle input, beauty adverts has successfully created a “Halo effect” around their products. A Halo effect that shines only on the pretty or attractive, while casting a shadow upon the average or ugly. The Halo effect has a negative impact on one considered conventionally average or  ugly, because through the relentless advertisements, we taught that pretty is perfect.

When most people describe beauty, it usually revolves around five human features, things such as symmetry of the face and body, a thin or athletic build, a big posterior or genitalia, large chests, and long customizable hair. These traits are deemed to be perfect which is what causes the Halo effect. This effect is most easily described as when something or someone is perceived as superior to another person or thing based on a certain trait or a certain few traits. This is a problem due to how tiny the percentage of people is who actually fit the ideal standard for their gender, in fact, only 1 in 5,000 people are generally considered “hot” (Business Insider). This problem leads to depression at a premature age and feelings of self doubt and inadequateness. The likelihood of feeling this way has and will only increase due to the accessibility of the internet and exposure to more and more potentially harmful types of advertisements. Children will have to learn to ignore the abundance of ads or suffer from the feelings of inadequacy.

The Fashion Advertising industry is very conscious when it comes to the subtlety of their adverts. Contrary to what many may think, building the image of the perfect person takes time and repetition, most commercials tend to add hints of the models body, before doing a full body shot to push the idea of an ideal body type. A side effect from this comes at the cost of the models mental health . According to a study lead by the huffington post, 64% of models have been asked by their modelling agencies to lose weight , 31% also admitting to having eating disorders because of it.. Creating the high standard for health manifests as a double edged blade that hurts the model, and the consumer.

Social media is a place where people of any skin tone or age can interact and share memories, experiences and ideas. But social media like Instagram and Facebook also serve as a medium for subtle advertisements especially when it comes to beauty. It is estimated that the average person visually consumes around 2,000 beauty advertisements per day. This usually has a massive affect on the mind of young teens, the majority being female. Studies have found that at least 27% of young females when asked if they felt pressured to be pretty by advertisements replied yes, due to the constant bombardment coming from beauty pages on Instagram and even the spam magazines that are delivered to homes, contribute to this lowered self esteem in young adults.

This effect reaches more than just self-esteem. According to a study conducted by Daniel Hamermesh, author of the Title “Beauty Pays,” above average looking people tend to receive 3-4% more on their annual salary than what an “uglier” person would usually make. This inequitable percentage can start to add up over time, and in their lifetime a normally perceived “good” looking person will receive up to 230,000 dollars more than their “ugly” counterpart. Even an average looking person will receive at least 140,000 dollars more in their lifetime (WSJ). Daniel Hamermesh often expresses that uglier people shouldn’t go into occupations where a professional look matters, like sales and modelling because of this injustice when it comes to getting paid. This harsh reality is all the fabrication of the Halo effect that humans created.

The Halo effect is responsible for the wide gap in pay as well as depression in some young adults, but the Halo effect is man made and was perfected over the many years that it has existed.  If the masses stopped to think about it, they would realize that beauty is not just about looks and features, but marketing as well. People should not see beauty or perfection as something that people are born with, but instead they should see it as something that is exclusively within the eye of the beholder. So if the population wants this system to change, then they have to change it themselves.

Works Cited

1.

Ries., Al, and Al Ries Al Ries is chairman of Ries & Ries, an Atlanta-based marketing strategy firm he runs with his daughter and partner Laura.. “Understanding Marketing Psychology and the Halo Effect.” Ad Age, 17 Apr. 2006, adage.com/article/al-ries/understanding-marketing-psychology-halo-effect/108676/. Accessed 21 Sept. 2017.

2.

Shellenbarger, Sue. “On the Job, Beauty Is More Than Skin-Deep.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 27 Oct. 2011, www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203687504576655331418204842. Accessed 21 Sept. 2017.

3.

“Beauty...and the Beast of Advertising.” Beauty...and the Beast of Advertising | Center for Media Literacy, www.medialit.org/reading-room/beautyand-beast-advertising. Accessed 21 Sept. 2017.

4.

Rudder, Christian. “Surprising Statistics About Hot People Versus Ugly People.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 13 Jan. 2011, www.businessinsider.com/surprising-statistics-about-hot-people-versus-ugly-people-2011-1. Accessed 21 Sept. 2017.

In a world where people depend on each other, many of these people depend on coffee as  well. It doesn’t matter where anyone is, but every morning, anyone can and will smell the smell of coffee, see coffee being consumed, or made by someone. Although coffee is not the only caffeinated consument, like coffee there are alternate fluid substances people may prefer. In a generation where people are always trying to succeed and “stay on the ball,” caffeine is something that a large amount of the people in this world depend on for their everyday lives.  Caffeine is not an addictive stimulant, but has the ability to alter and change how a person feels  mindfully.

According to The Drug & Health Blog article of The National Institutes of Health, “The world’s caffeine obsession can be described as a “dependency,” but is not an addiction.” Although caffeine seems like an addictive stimulant in a person’s everyday life, it is actually a dependent for a person to go about their day. Many of these caffeine consumers feel as if they are unable to function or perform their best when they do not get their daily dose. This is starting to sound a lot like a person who is addicted to drugs, but no, it is not the same. Caffeine, it is a widespread obsession that many people use to be more alert, which is also why it is the most consumed mood altering stimulant in the world. Again, the The Drug & Health Blog, from the same Institute previously given, states that “-- like many drugs -- caffeine enhances dopamine signaling in the brain.” Dopamine is a chemical that controls movement, motivation, and emotions. Since the dopamine in caffeine enhances the brain signaling, this makes a person more hyper and awake. No one likes to feel super tired or be sleepy when they have a full day’s worth of plans lined up. The success of one’s life comes in when the fact that people’s attitudes and actions differ by the level of alert and awakeness they feel. Therefore, consuming some sort of caffeine becomes a habit.

Caffeine is an effective way to get that energy that almost no one wakes up with. As stated before, caffeine contains a chemical called dopamine (which controls and changes the movement, motivation, and emotions by signaling the brain of a person). From an article about caffeine addiction by Deane Alban, this person has stated that although there are many upsides to “being addicted” to caffeine, particular things from the downside may not be good for a person. All of this would be a personal matter depending on the person’s body’s conditions. Alban also mentions that one of the main side effects of caffeine (not true energy) makes a person super tired, therefore if a person were to stop consuming caffeine completely, the withdrawal would be a burden. Alban gives a metaphor, “your brain on caffeine is like a car with no brakes and the accelerator pedal jammed to the floor.” Because the caffeine makes a person productive and more awake, during that time while the caffeine is rushing through the person, they are being drained of their true energy. Being so, once the caffeine runs out of the body, the body will remain super tired.

At the same time, studies that have been done on people who consume coffee on a daily basis shows otherwise. “The pre-clinical studies from The Institute of Scientific Information on Coffee shows that when a person drinks approximately two large cups of coffee in a day, it does not activate the brain circuit of dependence in humans, but activated regions involved in attention, vigilance, and anxiety…” This is saying that when a person says they depend on coffee to be “alive” and work efficiently, they actually mean that they enjoy what caffeine gives them which is activation of attention. When a person’s attention is activated, they would feel more productive and actually working their way up to succeed in life. Also this study is based just upon coffee. Throughout the day, people may consume more caffeine through other drinks or foods that they are consuming to trigger the dependency. Based on this study, people do not necessarily depend on caffeine or are  addicted, they just enjoy the certain activations it gives to their body. Being so, an article written by Karen Fernau from USA TODAY states that 83% of the adults in the U.S drinks coffee, meaning that on average they each drink three cups of coffee per day. Over half of the adults in this country drinks coffee daily, consuming at least three cups per day. The sole purpose of this would be what it does for the person. From personal experience, no one is born to like coffee. It is believed that the habitual tradition of waking up to consume coffee is what makes the people desire and depend on coffee.

When asked, people who depend on caffeine might say that they feel like they are addicted to consuming caffeine to better their daily lives. On a closer inspection, however, caffeine is not an addictive stimulant, but it does alternate a person’s mood and way of focus because of the dopamine in the caffeine. Although people of all natures may believe that caffeine is “addictive.” It is actually something that people enjoy and/or depend on to go on about their daily lives without fear of getting hooked.

Works CIted

“Caffeine and dependence.” Coffee and Health, 13 Sept. 2017, www.coffeeandhealth.org/topic-overview/caffeine-and-dependence-2/.

“Is Caffeine Really Addictive?” NIDA for Teens, teens.drugabuse.gov/blog/post/caffeine-really-addictive.

Alban, Deane. “All About Caffeine Addiction and Withdrawal & How to Quit.” Be Brain Fit, 24 Sept. 2017, bebrainfit.com/caffeine-addiction-withdrawal.

Stöppler, MD Melissa Conrad. “Caffeine Addiction: Can You Quit? by MedicineNet.Com.” MedicineNet, www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=43492.

Republic, Karen Fernau The Arizona. “Coffee grinds fuel for the nation.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 9 Apr. 2013, www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/09/coffee-mania/2069335/.

Most education programs in the developed world promote writing over art. This is a given. Above the kindergarten level, educators and parents take for granted that mastering language arts is indispensable in a competitive world, whereas fine arts are deprioritized as extracurricular. In a typical American school, students are required four years of English or literature as core subjects to graduate compared to no requirements at all in fine arts. However, upon in-depth research, the ostensible differences between the two subjects dissipates. In reality, fine arts and writing actually boast the same psychological benefits because both activities promote creativity and decrease stress.

While school can be strict and regimented, Creativity is the elusive gem that most educators try to refine in their students. Instead of relying on one prescribed way to develop creativity, research has discovered that a short session of making art can be as effective as creative writing. In the articles, The Modification of Sentence Structure and Its Relationship To Subjective Judgements of Creativity in Writing[3] and Educational Research: The Art of Problem Solving[4], investigators utilized a pretest/posttest design to quantify the increase of creative ability in children after writing and making art, respectively. In the writing study, fifth graders were asked to respond to writing prompts, whereas in the art study fifty graders engaged in sketching tasks. The children were assessed on their creativity and problem-solving abilities before and after the exercise. The results showed that the children were more likely to answer questions that stumped them in the pretest after both the writing and the art exercise. Both fine arts and writing contribute to psychological well-being from a creative standpoint.

One of the greatest benefits that both creative mediums possess is their stress relieving abilities. An article by the Huffington post explains how artistic expression can relieve stress and anxiety by temporarily distancing the artist from their problems.[5] A similar phenomena can be found in journal writing. An article from Harvard Health demonstrates the positive impacts that writing with emotions can have on one’s stress and experience of trauma.[6] Subjects mainly experienced a reduction in stress and anxiety. Frequently, both emotional writing and art are proposed as valid antidotes to excessive stress. This proposition is rarely disputed among the general public, yet it is not reflected in the American education. The psychological similarity between the two creative medium is only the tip of the iceberg when one examines the uncanny neurological equivalence of the two creative outlets.

The fact that the visual parts of the brain are activated while drawing may seem obvious. It may be less apparent that the same “visual and image processing” in the “parieto-frontal-temporal network”[7] are engaged during writing tasks. In a study entitled fMRI study testing the Neural Correlates of Creative Writing, Shah et al. reported that writing activates “a right lateralized activation pattern in bilateral hippocampi, bilateral temporal poles...and bilateral posterior cingulate cortex.” This pattern of activation improves “episodic memory retrieval, free-associative and spontaneous cognition, and semantic integration.” Another study focusing on the cortical integration differences of artists versus non artists discovered that fine artists also tend to have a “stronger right-brain presence.”[8] Furthermore, “artists showed significantly stronger delta band synchronization and alpha band desynchronization than did the non-artists,” [8] suggesting that artists can handle a larger “cognitive load,” have better “storage and controlled attention in the memory tasks,” and can better cope with “dual tasks.”[9] This means the regular production of art exercises the brain in such a way that one’s memory, cognitive speed, and integration ability are improved just like writing was shown to do in Shah et al. Art and writing affect a subject’s neurological functions in similar ways.

So what caused a shift away from the arts in education? The reason can be traced to the federal No Child Left Behind and Common Core programs, which prioritized science and math over other subjects. In LA County, for example, 1/3 of the arts teachers were let go between 2008 and 2012[1], and for half of K-5 students, art was cut all together.[2] How can a program that’s supposedly trying to make education better, do such a terrible job keeping something as strong as art? It is obvious that art is seen as something beneath other activities such as writing even though they are so similar. An programs like the No Child Left Behind and Common Core are what continue to push our culture in the ignorant direction of ignoring art.

Despite these paired benefits of  writing and fine arts, writing continues to be a core subject in schools and art is often pushed to the sidelines. Casual endeavors into writing and fine arts can result in a significant boost in creativity and problem solving abilities for all ages. Both subjects are effective stress relievers, and repeated practice of either creative medium results in similar brain activations and modifications. Given these facts, fine arts should be given a greater focus in schools and deserves the same respect as language arts.

Works Cited

1. Staff, EdSource. “Effort to revive arts programs in schools gains momentum.” EdSource, edsource.org/2014/effort-to-revive-arts-programs-in-schools-gains-momentum/63507. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

2. “Let’s get rid of Art Education in schools.” Danny Gregory, 5 Oct. 2016, dannygregorysblog.com/2016/04/15/lets-get-rid-of-art-education-in-schools/. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

3. Maloney, Karen Blase, and B. L. Hopkins. “THE MODIFICATION OF SENTENCE STRUCTURE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO SUBJECTIVE JUDGEMENTS OF CREATIVITY IN WRITING.” Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 27 Feb. 2013, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1901/jaba.1973.6-425/full. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

4. “Educational research: The art of problem solving.” ArtsEdSearch, www.artsedsearch.org/summaries/educational-research-the-art-of-problem-solving. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

5. Frank, Priscilla. “Study Says Making Art Reduces Stress, Even If You Kind Of Suck At It.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 June 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/study-says-making-art-reduces-stress_us_576183ece4b09c926cfdccac. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

6. Publishing, Harvard Health. “Writing about emotions may ease stress and trauma.” Harvard Health, www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/writing-about-emotions-may-ease-stress-and-trauma. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

7. Shah, Carolin, et al. “Neural correlates of creative writing: An fMRI Study.” Human Brain Mapping, Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company, 8 Dec. 2011, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbm.21493/full. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

8. Bhattacharya, Joydeep, and Hellmuth Petsche. “Drawing on mind's canvas: Differences in cortical integration patterns between artists and non‐artists.” Human Brain Mapping, Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company, 25 Apr. 2005, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbm.20104/full. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

9. “Sensitivity of human EEG alpha band desynchronization to different working memory components and increasing levels of memory load.” Neuroscience Letters, Elsevier, 5 Nov. 2003, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304394003011352. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

Additional Sources

1. https://lifehacker.com/the-psychological-benefits-of-writing-regularly-1783693547

2. https://bebrainfit.com/the-health-benefits-of-art-are-for-everyone/

3. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0191886995002022

Many students get home and the first thing they do is homework. They’re pressured by their parents to do their homework while simultaneously being encouraged to spend time with family, eat, spend time with friends, go outside, participate in sports or other extracurricular activities, and sleep for 7+ hours. Rather than motivating students to master material and learn efficiently, homework negatively impacts students by taking away from personal time that is necessary for them to lead balanced lives.

In an article published by The Washington Post by Gerald K LeTendre, a professor of education in education policy studies at Penn State, states that, “Worldwide, homework is not associated with high national levels of academic achievement.” This means that there is no direct correlation between homework and test grades, and very few studies have been able to prove this, and the ones that have were more of a reach. At Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia,  16 out of 19 of the students in Fire Stream agreed that homework adds extra stress onto them or takes time away from other things that they’re encouraged to do, such as sports, extra classes, extracurricular activities, family time, etc. This means that just over 84% of students in Fire Stream have agreed that homework is added stress and takes time away from things that they’re encouraged to do outside of school. Many students participate in these activities because they’re passionate about them and it makes them happy. Sports and exercise is proven to relieve stress, homework adds stress and if time for this stress reliever is taken away that just means more stress, this can cause more problems in many aspects of their lives.

In an article written by CNN about how homework has been banned in some cities and not others, “What is clear is that parents and kids don't live in the world of academic research; they live in the real world where there are piles of homework on the kitchen table.” Meaning that students don’t have the luxury of just easily saying that homework helps their academic performance or not, and they don’t have the luxury of just not doing homework. That is especially true to highschool students who have to regularly chose between sleep and doing work, especially when they get homework from every class every night and homework can be up to 30% of their grade. Students in every grade get piles of homework and a lot of the time they don’t have resources on hand to see if they’re right or to get help, meaning they might do it wrong and not learn anything at all.  Even if students do try and do their homework it might take a while, according to Nationwide Children’s Hospital adolescents should be getting 9 to 9 ½ hours of sleep per night. Due to homework and trying to fit other after school activities in many adolescents don’t get the necessary amount of sleep. Sleep deprivation in teens has many negative effects such as mood changes, being more inclined to engage in risky behavior such as driving fast, drinking, etc, doing worse in school, and declined cognitive abilities.

In an article published by the New York Times, a mother explained how… , “The stress homework places on families starts early.” The article also talks about how homework takes away from family time and family activities. The author also says that her kids “are fighting not just over the homework, but also over their share of my coveted attention and my unique ability to download and print images.” This shows how homework adds extra pressure and can cause tension in families. It takes away from family time and causes more stress on students and parents. It’s almost as if once children start school and the homework starts that it never stops, and that more family time is taken away while more stress is added.

In a study concluded in 2003 by Dr. Harris Cooper he tries to argue that homework has a positive effect on students, but his studies also found no direct correlation between increased homework for students and improved test scores. Cooper himself said that “The analysis also showed that too much homework can be counter-productive for students at all levels.” Meaning that excessive amounts of homework can cause negative effects on students, but who is judging what excessive amounts of homework means? He talks about the “10 minute rule” meaning that every grade that a student increases they should get 10 more minutes of homework, meaning that a second grader should get 20 minutes, and a twelfth grader should get around 2 hours of homework. That would seem ideal, but in most high school settings teachers don’t interact with each other to see how much homework each of them give to equal it out to around 2 hours. This means that one class’s homework could take a student 2 hours alone and that would be what the ideal amount of homework is, so if it takes 2 hours for one class’s homework then how are students supposed to have positive benefits from doing all of their homework? Cooper’s research was also limited because very little research was done to see if student’s race, socioeconomic status, or even their ability levels has an affect on how much homework is “good” for said age range. This means that other aspects than just that they’re students in a certain grade weren’t taken into consideration. These things could cause major changes to the data that was collected.

Rather than encouraging students to master material and learn efficiently, homework negatively impacts students and families by causing more stress and taking away from family time. This is a problem not just for the overworked students, but also for students who have more complex personal lives. Many students work or have family obligations that they have to deal with, but don’t necessarily feel comfortable talking to a teacher about them. Although teachers might not think that the amount of homework that they give matters much,its influence goes beyond giving students work to do at home to how they interact in other important personal aspects of their life.

Works Cited:

LeTendre, Gerald K. “Homework Could Have an Effect on Kids’ Health. Should Schools Ban It?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 2 Sept. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/09/02/homework-could-have-an-effect-on-kids-health-should-schools-ban-it/?utm_term=.3ed6d0fa2c72.

Kralovec, Etta. “Should Schools Ban Homework?” CNN, Cable News Network, 5 Sept. 2014, www.cnn.com/2014/09/05/opinion/kralovec-ban-homework/index.html.

Dell'Antonia, Kj. “Homework's Emotional Toll on Students and Families.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Mar. 2014, parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/homeworks-emotional-toll-on-students-and-families/.

“Duke Study: Homework Helps Students Succeed in School, As Long as There Isn't Too Much.” Duke Today, Duke Today, 7 Mar. 2006, today.duke.edu/2006/03/homework.html.

“Sleep in Adolescents (13-18 Years).” Sleep in Adolescents :: Nationwide Children's Hospital, www.nationwidechildrens.org/sleep-in-adolescents

For many years the game of ice hockey has been played on frozen water with sharp blades on the bottoms of the players’ feet. The goal of the game is to put a frozen piece of rubber called a puck into the net. The game hockey was created in Canada, but since then this sport has spread to many other countries, all of whom are attempting to catch up with Canada and become the best nation for hockey. Based on the rankings Finland, Russia and Sweden are rapidly becoming better at winning and making outstanding NHL players because they're Training is getting better.

Over the years hockey is almost played in every country to this date. Based on the rankings, individual nations are better at winning and better at getting NHL players into their teams. The International Hockey Federation or the IIHF ranks all the teams in the world by winning the gold medal in the world championship. The winner receives 12,000 points, and there is a 40-point difference between the silver and bronze teams. People always think that Canada as the best. According to the International Ice Hockey Federation, Canada is ranked number one in the world rankings, and their training is ranked number according to Korey Beckett of the Sporter. Countries are starting to get better at training and getting better at the sport. One example of a country that is more likely going to get a gold medal in Russia. According to the IIHF, Russia is ranked second after Canada. This is shocking because most people would assume that the U.S. would be second after Canada because for many years Canada and The U.S have dominated international hockey, but that’s not the case. Russia currently has 3,105 points. The training in Russia was ranked second, which was not shocking because Russia has provided over 50 players this year for the National Hockey League with fantastic players.

One example of a player is Alex Ovechkin who has over 500 goals. This shows that Russia has a lot of NHL players today and this due to having good training. This also indicates that the Russian hockey team is starting to develop and one day will be better as they come close to winning over Canada. It has already overtaken the U.S. hockey team. However, they still have not passed Canada because Canada is ranked number one according to the rankings.

The next country behind Russia and Canada is Sweden. Sweden is behind Canada and Russia, and they have 3,080 points based on the world rankings. Sweden moved up two places from last year. This means Sweden is improving, Sweden has also provided many quality players. Sweden also has over 50 active NHL players. This means Sweden is improving and this is due to some of the best training in the world, and the Swedish hockey team has moved up every year so it would not be a shock to overtake Canada because they already exceeded the United States hockey team regarding rankings. However, it is one spot behind team Russia.

    The next country is Finland. According to the IIHF world rankings, Finland is ranked 4th with 3,060 points. Yes, the Finnish team finished 4th and dropped back two spaces in the world rankings, but this team still has one the best prospects playing for them. One example of this is last year in the NHL, Draft Patrick Laine was selected, and Patrick is one of the best young players in the league based on him having 37 goals in his first season and a half. This shows that Finland is Making quality NHL players and are starting to be ranked higher because they are beginning to win more.

This shows even though the Finnish team dropped this year there are still making quality players.

   People who like hockey might not realize that many countries have hockey as a recent popular sports People have a bias towards the United States’ hockey team and Canada is the best. It is true that Canada is still number one but the way these countries are improving in the rankings and teams already passed the United States’ hockey team. Therefore, based on the ranking Finland, Russia and Sweden are rapidly becoming better at winning and making outstanding NHL players.

Works CIted

“Active Swedish NHL Players ‑ All-Time Stats.” QuantHockey, www.quanthockey.com/nhl/nationality/active-swedish-nhl-players-career-stats.html.

Iihf. “MORE HEADLINES.” 2017 Ranking, www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/championships/world-ranking/mens-world-ranking/2017-ranking/.

Beckett, Korey. “Top 10 Countries That Produce the Best Hockey Players.” TheSportster, 29 May 2015, www.thesportster.com/hockey/top-10-countries-that-produce-the-best-hockey-players/.

NHL.com. “Patrik Laine Stats and News.” NHL.com, 9 Oct. 2017, www.nhl.com/player/patrik-laine-8479339.

“Active Russian NHL Players ‑ All-Time Stats.” QuantHockey, www.quanthockey.com/nhl/nationality/active-russian-nhl-players-career-stats.html.

NHL.com. “Alex Ovechkin Stats and News.” NHL.com, 9 Oct. 2017, www.nhl.com/player/alex-ovechkin-8471214.

Trends of Modern Day America

In modern America, every decade has had its own fashion trend that sparked the nation, such as leather pants in the 80’s and flannels in the 90’s. Nowadays, however, it seems that America is no longer coming up with a new trend for this decade specifically. This is because the fashion industry can’t create any new trends. Fashion designers have taken a nostalgic approach for the fashion of today and make these trends popular by celebrity involvement.

Nostalgia is a wistful desire to return in thought or fact to a former time in one's life (Dictionary.com). This emotion can be triggered by objects, settings, people, or events. Other emotions can trigger it as well such as loneliness. Despite these negative connotations, humans like the feeling of nostalgia. In reference to a study done by Batcho, a psychologist who is referred to in Self Continuity, compared to younger adults, older adults have higher self-concept clarity and engage more often in remembrance. Older adults reminisce in the past more often than younger adults. Since most of the people in the fashion industry in charge of designing outfits for popular celebrities are older -- such as Marni Senofonte, designer for Kendall Jenner and Beyonce--they are specifically picking the styles that they grew up wearing in order to feel a “sentimental longing” for the past. For example, Kendall Jenner who has been seen wearing high waisted jeans, oversized coats, and crop tops. All of those styles were popular in the 1980s. This then causes present-day fashion trends to be from past decades and to be popular due to famous celebrities.

Due to the influence of nostalgia in the fashion industry, styles have moved more towards an 80’s look, which includes mixing and matching fabrics and patterns. Leather and leggings have become a staple. There was also the punk scene which brought the idea of DIY clothes such as patching and ripped jeans. Examples of what is sold in stores today are pre-patched jackets, leather jackets and skirts, leggings, and chokers (Forever 21), similar to  popular items in the 80’s. Fashion designers are feeling nostalgic to the eras they grew up in. This then causes them to focus on past decades and take those styles as inspiration or direct reference to create the fashion of the today. Fashion designers want to see the world of fashion fall into the past to make themselves feel nostalgic. They do this by having popular celebrities such as Cara Delevingne, who has worn leather jackets and t-shirts similar to Winona Ryder, a celebrity who started her career in the late 80s. Winona Ryder was and still is a heartthrob for most people who grew up in the 80’s. Everyone wanted to be like her, similar to how people see Cara Delevingne. According to Vogue Cara Delevingne is bringing back the tracksuit, an 80’s trend, as an airport style. These celebrity outfits were put together by designers who think about the past and incorporate it into celebrity outfits.

On the other hand, the 90’s brought denim into extreme popularity, along with music influencing what people wore, similar to punk in the 80’s. Grunge introduced flannels and brought back ripped jeans, creating “the rocker” style (Kass). Today those styles have been brought back and made popular. Trends that are coming back are oversized blazers, flannels, high waisted jeans, acid washed jeans, ripped jeans, and band shirts. Fashion designers such as Senofonte are dressing their clients, Kendall Jenner and Hailey Baldwin for example, in a “90’s vibe’ because they are reminiscing in the past. Fashion designers are even bringing out their own clothes such as Senofonte, Kendall Jenner’s designer, who states, “Kendall’s been wearing some of my old clothes I had in storage.” This then brings 90’s clothes into popularity. The fashion of today has brought people to a nostalgic place. The “90’s style” is now sold in popular stores like Urban Outfitters to make these styles more accessible to the younger generation, making these nostalgic items popular.

When asked, people might say that there is no way there couldn't be something new that has been created in fashion, but on closer inspection, everything that is popular today was once popular in past decades, showing that we can't create new fashion. It’s not that the fashion industry just doesn’t want to create something new; it is that they can’t. They feel the need to dress celebrities in old fashion in order to bring it back. Fashion designers want to remain in the past in order to create a nostalgic feeling for the past in the present.

Work Cited:

1. Forever 21 , www.forever21.com/us/shop/Catalog/Category/f21/women-new-arrivals.

2. Kass, Alison. “American Fashion Through the Decades.” 10 May 2011.

3. “Nostalgia.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/nostalgia?s=t.

4. Sani, Fabio. “Nostalgia as a Self-Relevant and Positive Emotion.” Self Continuity: Individual and Collective Perspectives, Psychology Press UK, 2014.

5. Schmidt, Ingrid. “Celebrity Stylists Zero in on Fall's Biggest Fashion Trends.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sept. 2017, www.latimes.com/fashion/la-ig-celebrity-stylists-on-fall-trends-20170908-htmlstory.html.

6. Ward, Maria. “Cara Delevingne Turns the Throwback Tracksuit Into a Cool Travel Look.”Vogue, Vogue, 21 Aug. 2017, www.vogue.com/article/cara-delevingne-velour-tracksuit-airport-celebrity-style.