I spoke to black girls, and they told me colors other than nude were “too loud” or “too much to wear in public.” Myself being a dark skin girl who wears a variety of colors on my face, knew that I had to prove what was being said wrong. Not only wrong, but had to raise awareness and confidence to black girls who don’t think colors are meant to be worn. Throughout the month of April I spoke to a group of black sophomore students and got them to come with me to Sephora to observe the limitless colors that they could wear. It resulted in them feeling more comfortable wearing colored makeup.

My inspiration of doing a YouTube video was for the fact the visuals being better than words. It was an opportunity to combine creativity with a message. I not only needed the message heard but seen and spread.

The point of my project; “Color with Color” was to raise awareness the the issue of dark skin girls wearing makeup colors other than nude. The goal of my YouTube video was to wear different shades of lipstick that I purchased to represent my idea. Each color had a different look and item. For example, the orange look was paired with a large orange sweatshirt and an orange lighter. Another example would be the green look was paired with a normal green t-shirt and a rose. The whole point of switching each of the lipsticks with the outfits was to demonstrate how much the color pops.

Kara Lazorko

Ms. Pahomov

English 3

May 1st, 2017

Love at First Blink

Beauty products are purchased by both women and men. From products such as makeup or skincare products, companies produce what their consumers are interested in. The category of makeup has become a career for a lot of youtubers and makeup artist. Kylie Jenner is known for her promoting of mink eyelashes and her lip kits all over Snapchat. Over the past couple of years eyelashes have become more and more popular in the makeup world. Eyelash companies have expanded growth of business, due to the increased popularity of extensions and glue ons used by celebrities and beauty gurus.

Firstly, eyelashes were not a very popular tool when it came to beauty. In 1911, Anna Taylor invented eyelash extensions. It wasn't until an actress named Seena Owen had to have her eyelashes a certain way, and the looked could not be achieved for her film without eyelash extensions. Since makeup has become such a big thing for so many people, faux eyelashes have blown up. According to Business Insider, “They don't come cheap however. a full set of eyelash extensions at Akai’s salon starts at $250 if done by an advanced specialist. The base price for a master specialist who applies the same set is $450 (Brianna Arps).” Consumers pockets are emptied for the trend of longer and fuller looking lashes. With all the potential side effects of lash installations, it lowers the amount of consumers due to the fact that the job has to be the best quality possible.

Consequently, spending hundreds on lash extensions every month has it's downsides to it. The eyes are a very sensitive part of the face, and having products constantly on them irritates them. The cheaper the lashes that are being applied, the worse the symptoms can be. If the lashes are being installed by an artist who is inexperienced, the eyes can be highly irritated.Bustle.com claims “Just like you wouldn't let an inexperienced waxed near your bikini line, you shouldn't let an inexperienced lash-pro near your eyeballs (Zoe Weiner).” Otherwise, it is just money wasted on a job that was not achieved. The more amount of money spent, the better the quality for the application. “ Cheap services tend to use cheap products, which can serious damage to the skin around your eyes (Zoe Weiner).”

Furthermore, there are other options besides getting extensions professionally done for $200-$300. Drug stores and make up stores sell the eyelash extensions that you glue on above your eyelid. There are tons of brands offered and application glue that fits to the consumer’s preferences. The difference between the ones already packaged and ready for application and the ones that are professionally put on is that the ones that are professionally done do not have to be reapplied after one wear. Unlike the ones sold, they can remain applied up until it's time for them to be replaced. Only one is cheaper and has to be redone after each wear, and the expensive way to go last longer.

Overall, lashes have become a huge thing for beauty gurus and celebrities with large social platforms. There are multiple ways to have them installed. While on the other note, there are many cautions that can be taken when deciding on who to get them done by and how they are done. Consumers such as makeup artist have a giant influence on the sales for the different brands and stylist for lashes. For something that started for a feature for a film had turned into everyday wear and trend.

Works Cited

Parker, Farrah Penn, Nina Mohan, Macey J Foronda, Lara. "We Got Eyelash Lifts And Our Lashes Looked Insane." BuzzFeed. N.p., 4 Dec. 2016. Web. 01 May 2017. <https://www.buzzfeed.com/laraparker/we-got-eyelash-lifts-and-the-result-was-kind-of-crazy-tbh?utm_term=.bwAAe9zAw#.fjvYjWAYV>.

Arps, Brianna. "Everything You Need to Know before Getting Lash Extensions." Business Insider. Business Insider, 20 Apr. 2017. Web. 01 May 2017. <http://www.businessinsider.com/what-to-know-about-eyelash-extensions-2017-4>.

Weiner, Zoe. "Are Expensive Eyelash Extensions Worth It? Here Are 5 Reasons You Shouldn't Go Cheap." Bustle. Bustle, 21 Apr. 2017. Web. 01 May 2017. <https://www.bustle.com/p/are-expensive-eyelash-extensions-worth-it-here-are-5-reasons-you-shouldnt-go-cheap-43451>.

Mask Off

Comparing “The Taming of the Shrew” to “Enchanted”

The whole representation of identities involved in a romance is characterized in Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," and is also interpreted in the movie "Enchanted." In "Taming of the Shrew," Lucentio and Tranio become different identities, tricking other characters in the book, trying to be loved as who they are pretending to be. Lucentio deceived Bianca by acting like he was someone else in hopes of her falling in love with him. Katherine was also deceived by Petruchio who tried to persuade her that there was an arranged marriage. Similarly, Giselle, the princess in “Enchanted,” constantly reminds the animals and people throughout the movie that you have to wear certain clothes and act a certain way in order to prove your love for someone; yet conflict arises when she receives help in the modern world from a divorce lawyer and encounters the downsides of relationships between couples. Both the play and the movie depict that false identities made for love eventually become revealed.

“Basta, content thee, for I have it full.

We have not yet been seen in any house,

Nor can we be distinguished by our faces

For man or master. Then it follows thus:

Thou shalt be master, Tranio, in my stead,

Keep house and port and servants as I should.

I will some other be, some Florentine,

Some Neapolitan, or meaner man of Pisa.

'Tis hatch'd, and shall be so. Tranio, at once

Uncase thee. Take my colored hat and cloak.”

(Lucentio, Act 1/ Scene 1, Line 204)

In this quote, Lucentio is explaining to Tranio that no one has either of their identities memorized. He continues to tell Tranio the rules and remembers to tell him to even act like him. Acting like Lucentio would mean telling the servants what to do as Lucentio would do himself. Finally, Lucentio assures Tranio that he will make up who he wants to pretend to be. Options included being a guy from Florence, Naples, or Pisa.

Robert encounters a similar situation, but is in forced in a position to play the role.

In this scene, Giselle finishes singing about all of the things that Robert could possibly do win back the heart of his fiance. She tells him to send her flowers, wear stuff that matches characteristics of her, and go completely out of your way. That’s why the song goes “ That’s how you know” because she is saying all of this grand gestures will prove whether you love or not. At the end of the song, she sends his fiance doves, flowers, and two tickets to the ball.  Instead of Lucentio, who chose to take on something that he is not, Robert was stuck in a role. The flowers were received, but also questioned by Robert’s fiance, because “it didn’t seem like him.”

In both “Enchanted” and “The Taming of the Shrew” they both portray the cover up and false interpretations of relationships.

“(to TRANIO) Sir, understand you this of me, in sooth:

The youngest daughter, whom you hearken for,

Her father keeps from all access of suitors

And will not promise her to any man

Until the elder sister first be wed.

The younger then is free, and not before.”

(Petruchio (to Tranio) Act 1/Scene 2/ Line 265)

In this quote, Petruchio is making it very clear to Tranio that Bianca is off limits due to her father’s request.  No one is allowed to have Bianca until Katherine is married to someone. Meaning that whoever wants Bianca has to wait, which adds conflict.

Giselle, like Petruchio, tries to teach ways of love to each other, yet it later becomes upsetting.

In this scene, Giselle gets the reality of marriage and relationships, and ends up witnessing the downfall of how they could be. She learns that not everyone is going to stay in love with each other. Robert then persuades Giselle to deal with the fact that the couple simply do not want to be together anymore, due to the many issues they were seeming to face. The couple in this scene were filing for a divorce, and later learn after Giselle’s reaction what they fell in love with about each other. Both Giselle and Petruchio try to highlight to other characters the standards of love.

Conclusion

Roberts ends up marrying Giselle, and Robert’s ex-fiance ends up going for Giselle’s prince. Petruchio ends up winning more than what was expected in the overall. Giselle seemed to have a deeper education on definitions and ways of love. Everyone does end up happy with their “true love.” The audience was shown that identities will eventually be revealed, yet aso be loved for who they are.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, Trevor Howard, Margaret Leighton, Miles Malleson, and Howard Sackler. The Taming of the Shrew. New York: Caedmon Records CDL 5211., 1972. Print.

With the sun gleaming over our us as we make our way towards starbucks. I’m slowly getting excited, because he’s always busy, so him making time for us to hangout together was a really big deal at the time. It was the middle of the afternoon, he holds the door, and we walk in. It was him and the shy quiet shadow following him, me. Starbucks is usually crowded with people with suits and all that fancy stuff.

Minutes go by,

“can I help you?” He turns around ask me what I want, as I whisper “I’ll have a green tea frappe,” barely allowing him to hear me.

Suddenly it felt as if I became prey to everyone in the place, and the slightest bit of noise out of me, would make them all attack me. He repeats it to the cashier, and orders himself a pumpkin spice latte. I reach for my wallet,  since I already assumed I was paying for my own order. Once again, he turns around, looks at me, and hands the lady the money. Then left me standing there awkwardly with my wallet in my hand almost as surprised as I am.

Trust me, I had no intentions of letting him pay for my drink, and he went ahead and did it. I look around before releasing the arriving smile to myself. Now I’m super shy, everything that I am not I became. Then we wait, we wait for the emotion, the day to fall into our hands, and for the drinks of course.

A friend walks up, he’s liked by many, and they talk, exchange hugs and we wait again. It was hard standing in the back knowing my voice was locked somewhere deep inside me, and the hug I was holding in refused to come out of me. Instead, I still stand there, waiting for the drinks, and being everything that I am not.

Suddenly, his name is called, our orders are finished and are slid onto the counter, as we both go over there and retrieve them. Felt good for some reason, the feeling that they don’t make these type of boys anymore. Something so small, became something so big to me and something that I have never been used to. We walk out, and he goes towards his bike waiting for him.

“ I have to go get my bike fixed,” as I stand there beside him watching him struggle with the bike lock. Using the voice that didn’t come out earlier, I offer to hold his drink to make the job easier. That did the trick! He got it! And I handed it back proud to at least help him in the way I could.

We make our way towards Breakaway bike shop, and he holds the door, and I walk in. Never being in the place, where all types of bike gear is hanging from the walls and sitting tempting on the shelves took me by surprise. He knows what he came for, and he knows what he wanted, he had a goal. We walk into the back of the shop, the guy inspects the bike and tells him that the rear wheel just needed to be adjusted. The two of us take seat next to each other, and no words are coming out of my mouth as I snapchat my best friend where I am.

The guy comes back up saying,

“It’s going to take a while,” and he responds “I’ll just take a walk around the city, and I’ll come back.” The guy agrees, and we make our way out of the shop. Just him and the quiet girl he made me.

With no certain way to go, we just walk where our way takes us, and jokes are exchanged back and forth. He was that important to me, that walking around with him, with the time that he made for me, was meant to be used to its fullest. We approach the painting shop that catches my attention, and I rush inside to see if they had any art created of Michael Jackson. He waits outside, and I constantly check to see if he's still there.  It was satisfying to have him all to myself with no feeling of his attention being directed towards anyone else. He knew how I acted and how I was, so it took me by surprise that he wasn’t trying to break the wall I had put up.

The swinging thought of whether this person had any feelings towards me is what kept me really from being myself. Then again, we were best friends for two years at the time, and I wasn’t trying to jump to conclusions. After time ran past us, we returned to the bike shop, conversation is swapped, and purchase is made. Fifteen minutes really went by, and what seemed such a long time was so short. It was like telling yourself that you are only going to watch two episodes of a season of your favorite show on Netflix, and you end up watching the whole season. In the end, you are so satisfied, but at the same time so shocked at the fact that time was walking right by you. That’s how it felt with him, the time we were spending made me ignore time only making me crave more of it. We both had more time to waste, and we both figured why not go Forever 21. The two of us make our way there, and I want to make a purchase. Keep in mind, the two of us started joking with each other more, and opening up more.  Similar to the conversation, we are escalated to the second floor. So many options, so much variety, and whatever caught my eye I picked up. As we progressed through the clothing pieces, his arm became a hanger.

He was gentleman to hold the clothing items that I was more than capable of holding. Something about the fact that he was following me and helping me, made him stand out. There are not a lot of guys who are willing to even step foot in a clothing store with a girl. First, time is actually made for me, he treated me to Starbucks, and now he is helping pick out clothing items. I pick out about eight pieces of clothing that I like that stuck to my style. Quick question and answers are traded with one of the nice ladies who worked there. She guides us to the dressing room, and I rush to try on each piece of clothing, stepping out into the giant mirror on the wall, letting the floor become my own runway. I rush back in, enjoying modeling some of the shirts, but I put on this one green dress, and it made my shape look super weird. I wasn’t feeling the way it had me looking or feeling. I turn to him, and ask him to go pick out something cute for me to wear. A few minutes go by, and I’m thinking to myself he wouldn’t even do it, and he comes back with a short black dress with no sleeves that was tight fitted on my petite figure. As soon as I tried it on, I loved it, I was the girl in the little black dress, and he seemed to like it too. I valued his opinion, after all he is someone who I trusted with a lot of things, my secrets, daily thoughts, and things you can’t tell a regular friend. We just had a bond that was so strong, that I didn’t have to filter anything I said to him.

I pack up my stuff, and I leave the other options on the hanger, including that dress I didn’t like. The black dress though, I knew I was going to get it, I had to. It was his word I believed, because he has never lied to me about anything at all. It could be the dumbest question or even a test, and he would flat out tell me the truth. I never had the idea that him and I could ever be so close to the fact that I put an outfit choice in his hands. An admiration for him and his characteristics I had no idea about developed for me. There was hardly ever tension between us, which is probably why the relationship was questioned by so many people. Him nor I owed any explanations, because we really didn’t have any ourselves. We are still super close to this day, and not much has changed except for that we have gotten even closer. I wouldn’t ask for a better guy to have as a best friend, because I know the one I have now has so many amazing characteristics to him that simply can’t be replaced. That day, the little black dress wasn’t the only thing I left with. I left with the feeling of knowing that my bond with him could not be broken.

On November 14, 2014 the movie “Beyond the Lights was released in theatres in the US. The Pg-13 drama film was advertised everywhere on billboards and the trailers were almost on everything. The film stars main characters actress Gugu Mbatha- Raw as Noni, and actor Nate Parker as Kaz/ Officer Nicol. Both have very different careers, but the influences of their parents comes between and the love affair that develops between the two. Noni is a heartthrob singer who everyone loves, and her mother is the manager of the her. Her mother also played by Minnie Driver, only wants her daughter to match what society’s choices of her talent. Noni wear minimal amounts of clothing throughout the movie, and her mother encourages it and makes her think it is okay to be sexual. With the amount of fame that she has, Noni feeds into the light of fame given to her. On the other hand we have a police officer named Kaz Nicol who has a father who wants him to walk in the same shoes as he did, and Kaz has a few disagreements with it after meeting Noni.

The film does a great job in terms of meeting the mako mori test, because Noni the superstar has her own storyline of her life as growing up with a talent of singing and a single mother as a manager. If anything, the police officer was supporting Noni’s story as the movie goes on. It includes multiple women throughout the movie who illustrate that they serve an importance without the idea of backing up or being beside a man. On the other hand the movie does not meet up to the expectations of the Bechdel test, because Noni and her mother discussed the issues with boys intervening with her career as a superstar. The rationale behind the Bechdel Test and the Mako Mori test is to focus on the typical stereotypical roles women are given throughout tons of films that are not that popular, because men play bigger roles than the women.

An anti- gender bias film test that I would like to see pop up in some films, is more movies about single dad. A lot of movies emphasize the women always being left with the child/children and exploring their journey with that amount of responsibility on their lives. The men are typically categorized as leaving the mom with her kids, when their should be more focus on the dad’s who are forced to play both parent roles when the mother leaves or passes away. For instance, the movie Jump In emphasized what is was like for the dad being forced to play both parent roles for the two children he was raising. Not every situation should fit the stereotype of the dad leaving the mom to raise the kids they both had.

Michael Joseph Jackson was more than a child star; his music career carried into his adulthood. From his greatest hits with the Jackson Five like “ABC” and “I Want You Back” he left his legacy playing in many people’s heads. The story behind such great performances, remains a mystery to some, and surprise to others. Unfortunately, this success did not come without its sacrifices. Due to an overachieving father, isolation of a carefree childhood, Michael Jackson was forced to skip his own. As a result, his actions as an adult all reflect a deep desire to claim that childhood that was never his.

To begin with, Michael’s father had very high expectations of his kids in which he enforced very strongly. As manager and father, responsibility of being a manager often clashed with responsibility of being a father. In an interview by Martin Bashir titled, “Living with Michael Jackson,” Michael stated, “He didn’t allow us to call him daddy, and I wanted to call him daddy so bad. He said ‘I’m not daddy, I’m Joseph to you.’” (Michael Jackson) Due to the parenting, Michael grew up to slowly lose his relationship with his father. The relationship between Michael and his father was more on professional terms than personal. In the interview, Michael also went on to say how he was scared of his dad, and how he would faint or vomit due to his presence.In result of the constant beatings to discipline him, Michael suffered from anxiety.

Consequently, Michael Jackson did not have the time on his hands to do what the other children did at his age. Being in the studios all the time, he couldn't play with other kids. He was always in the spotlight, so he couldn't go anywhere that he wanted to due to the common issue of paparazzi. Girls fell over him, and the world slowly did too. In Michael’s words, "I wasn't aware that the world thought I was so weird and bizarre. But when you grow up, like I did, in front of 100 million people since the age of 5, you're automatically different." (Michael Jackson - Grammy Legend Award speech, 35th Annual Grammy Awards, 1993). He grew up as a hollywood pop star which prevented him from being a normal kid. His life was constantly publicized to the world in which he had zero privacy provided. As child music star, he was going on many tours, which resulted in cameras constantly on him and the world watching his every move.As he got older, papparrazi only increased more, putting Michael into the position to seek more privacy.

Furthermore, as his life went on the issues he dealt with not having a childhood began to come to light. He went on to buy 19.5 million dollars worth of land located in Santa Barbara County, California, and named it the “Neverland Ranch.” Neverland consisted of the same characteristics of an amusement park. It had a ferris wheel, merry go around, and other rides found in places like amusement parks.  After he built his dream home, his life began to derail. Neverland was Michael’s way of giving children the childhood experiences that he was prevented from having.

Above all, many factors including his father, Neverland Ranch, and life in front cameras shaped the man that Michael Jackson grew up to be.  His adulthood was an attempted reflection of how he wanted his childhood to look like. Failing to do so, resulted in many issues that led up to the death of the King of Pop.  As a pop star that made well over a million dollars in record sales, he was loved by many and hated by many. His legacy will continue to live on, and the issues he faced growing up as a kid will be forgotten.

Works CIted

Woods, Raven. "The Truth About What Michael Jackson Had (And Didn’t Have) In His Bedroom." The Huffington Post. N.p., 14 July 2016. Web. 16 Oct. 2016. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/no-child-porn-found-at-neverland-thenor-now-the_us_577fdfbce4b0f06648f4a3f8>.

Michael Jackson Documentary "living with Michael Jackson" Dir. Padronlful. Perf. Michael Jackson and Martin Bashir. YouTube. YouTube, 27 May 2013. Web. 17 Oct. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqqipytDeuM>.

"Michael Jackson Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/michael-jackson-38211#early-life (Links to an external site.)>.

"Childhood." :: True Michael Jackson. N.p., 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2016. <http://www.truemichaeljackson.com/childhood/>.

Savagery

Who are the real savages? Children or adults? There is a fine line drawn between children and adults when it comes to making violent decisions. Adults have the responsibility over disciplining their children.  as, adults grow up, and develop a responsibility over the decisions they make. Kids still are taught the rights and wrongs in life, and adults establish whether to live in the norm of society. Meaning, following each rule and doing the right thing when the situation is approached. According to the novel adults are more savage, because of influences and “Reasons” behind their actions. The difference is that children are motivated by the influence of adults. Interpreting that they just follow the surroundings that adults provide them, but with adults they have the power and responsibility over themselves, which gives them more freedom, and also more ability to be savage.

On the other hand, children can act in an untamed matter, but only to the extent of the limit of freedom they are given. If a child is given tons of freedom, they can gain access to a lot of things as to a child that is contained without much freedom provided to them. However in the “Lord of the Flies,” the boys have the island all to themselves without adults and with plenty of exemption. When the boys were surrounding Robert and hurting him with Eric’s spear, there was not an adult figure to tell the boys to stop fooling around. Moments before the boys formed a circle, they were discussing their plan of hunting for animals. When they returned, they started fooling around (as boys do) and started to get carried away by harming Robert as all the boys were gathered around him enjoying the breathtaking moment. It was all fun and games until one of them was the one getting hurt.  A passage from the novel of the exhilarating scene is, “They got his arms and legs. Ralph, carried away by a sudden thick excitement, grabbed Eric’s spear and jabbed at Robert with it. ‘Kill him! Kill him!’” (Chapter 7, Page 114).  This moment from displays the fact that the boys already had experience killing something.  The idea that they were getting pleasure and joy from it all goes to show that they have the tendency to act on a savage manner to former surroundings. Being on an island led them to a desperate manner of survival and pleasure.

As said, adults have a lot more freedom than children do. The recent event of the Brussel bombing  is proof that there is reasoning behind the circumstances that get played out. What happened was that the same people who were behind the Paris attack that occurred in 2014, planted three bombs in an airport. Unfortunately, only two out of the three bombs actually went off, but just the two did enough damage to kill about thirty five people, and injured around eighty-one. The reasoning behind it all was that the terrorist were finishing the damage they did to Paris. It was also stated that because of the arrest of some of their leaders, they wanted revenge, and bombing an airport just had to do. It was the fact that the terrorist’s fellow helpers were going down, and someone was going to suffer in response. According to the BBC News Website, “The Islamic State (IS) group said it was behind the attacks in a statement issued IS- linked Amad agency.” These three or men who were involved in the appalling scene seemed to have a reasonable reaction towards the rest of their leaders getting punished. The fastest reaction that came to their minds was killing and torturing innocent human beings. If a kid had a best friend that got punished, they might lecture whoever punished their friend, but they wouldn’t go to an well known place and bomb it. First off, a kid would not have access to the particular weapons to harm another human, and the disciplinarian would have kept the kid in his or her place.

In similarity, both examples showed that the boys on the island resorted to what was entertaining. There isn’t a kid who thinks it is all fun and games until someone gets hurt. In “The Lord of the Flies,” people get killed instead of just hurt. The boys did not have a reason to kill one another. it was just the fact that they were stranded, and wanted to rough house.In circumstance, their actions brought out the savagery from their hearts. With the Brussel airport attack the adults supposedly had a reason behind their action. In both situations, the kids and adults were wrong. It was the the comparison of the reactions in response to their actions and surroundings. It was rational for the boys to suddenly lose their minds, because they were stuck on an island without adults. The novel showed a clear example after the boys were fooling around, “Jack’s arm came down; the heaving circle cheered and made pig-dying noises. Then they lay quiet panting, listening to Robert’s frightened snivels. He wiped his his face with a dirty arm and made an effort to retrieve his status” (Page 115). Being raised by your parents, and having even the littlest opportunity to be free of them, will lead to one committing an action that they would not be allowed to do.

In reality, most of the decisions people make in life determine where people stand as individuals. In the end, we are only really responsible for ourselves. Not everyone is given the freedom needed to achieve certain goals. The goals can either be beneficial or negative thing to achieve. The novel, “The Lord of Flies”  gives the reader the opportunity to ponder on the fact that what surrounds you can later can eventually become you. The Brussel’s bombing gave evidence that things can get blown out of proportion. All of it just goes to show that adults take things to another level, while children are limited to level in which they are allowed to take a situation such as being stuck on an island.

Works Cited

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Perigree,2006

Morris, Chris. "Brussels Attacks: Zaventem and Maelbeek Bombs Kill Many - BBC News." BBC

News. BBC News, n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2016. <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35869254>.

IT’S SHE, NOT HE! I don’t know why you keep referring to me as a girl. Just because I still have boobs doesn’t mean that I am a female. I was born in the wrong body, and you know that. Even though we came out of same womb, and we look exactly alike, doesn’t mean that we have to be the same gender. It would be wrong if I called you a boy right? Especially when I know damn well that you have a vagina and giant breast like me.  If I can’t afford the surgery of getting mine removed, and you know that! If I could get my boobs removed, then I would. Mom doesn’t support that idea, and I couldn’t persuade her even if I tried. I am even saving up every last dime to remove them.

Why are you staring at me like that? Is it , because you want me to be your twin “sister” ? You’ are not okay with the idea of having a twin “brother”? This is who I really am. I’m sorry if this disappoints you in anyway. You need to come to realization that once we come out the womb, we chose who we want to be in our lives, and not always what our genes makes us.You’re my sister, and you should be in support of any decision I make. You’re supposed to have my back, and not be on mom’s side. I am not comfortable with who I am, and this is who I am deciding to be.

Maybe our genes get mixed up, and we both came out as girls. Maybe mom was sick or had something going on when she got pregnant, that could change me being a girl. I was supposed to be born with a penis, and grow up to have a mustache. You were born the way you are, and I don’t judge you at all.

I think I will even change my name while I am at. I’ll change it to Jason, Alex, or evan Marcus. I’m just tired of you seeing me with the eyes we share in common as a “she.” How many times do I have to tell you?! I am a he!!! I don’t identify as a boy. I am finally comfortable with who I am. I am finally comfortable with going out public, and being who I was meant to be. A boy.

Everyone has their own way of speaking, and it is one of the many things that people notice when they are spoken to. Some people speak in tones that seem more polite or even tones that seem very rude. Saying that one might mean something they say in a certain tone, becomes a guessing game.male and a female go out on a date to a  fancy restaurant. The male  speaks  in a British accent, and the female speaks in an  American English accent. The girl  suddenly finds herself attracted to the young man who has taken her out on this date, whom is speaking in a British accent. The girl thinks that the man’s accent  sounds cute and some of what may seem intelligent. While to the guy, the girl sounds quite strange. There are a million people around the world, and each part has its own way of communication between one another. Some languages get mixed, confused, and even changed.  Of course, that means that every individual has their own way of speaking. What may be normal to one, can sound like gibberish to another person.

Those who don’t speak the same way as you,  often times sounds different and strange. On the other hand, the way you speak may sound different to someone else. It is a recurring pattern with communication. The way you speak determines  how you communicate with other. You are mainly judged   based off how you communicate with them. For example, if someone were to say “She are too pretty, to be talking like dat,” the assumption  is made is that the person is not educated. Let us  compare it to the opposite now. A counter example would be if someone were to say, “ She is too pretty to be talking like that!” There is a clear difference between how the two sound when they say the sentence. The example that was used previously  sounding  more educated, than the last example. . This shows that not everyone is grammatically correct when they talk.

Language also  intersects with one's identity, because it really determines how educated you sound. If you speak a different language, it gives people an insight of where you are from and how you were raised if you have some sort of accent,  based on  the way you speak. For Example, James Baldwin said, “It goes without saying, then, that language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power.” The language you learn to speak is a way of getting through life. It is a key of communication and without it, all doors are locked. If you speak Spanish, people assume that your parents are Hispanic or have members that come from a Spanish speaking country. Some people speak with an accent, and people usually questions where that person is from or where they got their accent from. The assumption  is made is that you were born somewhere that caused  you  to develop your language/accent.  In my case , I speak English, and it has been confirmed that I have an American accent. That is a confirmed fact, because even though I am around those who I believe talk the same, others  who are not from the  area in which  I currently live, believe I sound different.  I sound strange to them, because they talk a different way from where one is from.

Personally, I have been judged by the way that I talk. Some may say that I talk like I am “white” or I “do not talk like I am black.”  What they really mean is that I talk like I am educated (which I am). The majority of the people I have a spoken to expect me to use the common slang..  being raised in a household where education has a main role in our lives, has caused this to happen.  My apologies for sounding proper when I speak to those whom expect me to talk my color. How does one speak a color? I don’t think that is possible, and it is  because we live in a society where if you are white you are expected to speak proper. James Baldwin said “ Now, I do not know what white Americans would sound like if there had never been any black people in the United States, but they would not sound the way they sound.” If you are black, then you are expected to speak uneducated. I sound different, because I am African American girl speaking proper English. Sometimes my friends would call me a “white girl,” and even though I had no idea what that even meant, they kept telling me that I spoke a color. I did not like being labeled as something other than my name. It was only because I did not use the common slang that “black people spoke” so I was meeting the expectations that society has for me. You can be African American, Educated, and speak properly than others who do. The thing is that, I do say things different from others that are around me. I learned the way that I pronounce certain words from my parents and my older siblings. For example, I say the words egg and banana different from others. Everyone always ask me to repeat what I said, and they try to correct me, but that is just the way I learned how to pronounce certain words.

For my research, I wish I had found sources outside of my school, to add more information to my survey results. I also could have gotten adults to fill out my survey, because I mainly got students from the school to fill it out. I want to know to whether certain individuals reacted in a way that was different from doing nothing. Were there any physical or verbal fights, because one was simply labeled?  I only want to know that, because in the survey, I just asked how they felt, but now I want to know whether they reacted out of those feelings they had.

For my original research, I did I survey and sent it out to the girls in the school. The sad part about it is the fact that not many people took it, and ever since I added a question, some people retake it. If I were to it again, I would first make sure I have a draft of the survey, before I send it out to people. The good thing is that people took it, otherwise I would have nothing for my research.

Before you start reading this blog post, make sure you check out my previous blog post. Blog post 1 was my introduction to my project on labeling women. Blog Post 2 was about the data and researched I gathered about some of the females in my school getting labels that don't describe them.

In my research, some of the things that have been done to raise awareness to my issue of labeling women included: customized T-shirts and a twitter page. The best way I thought would bring awareness to the issue of labeling women was to make T-shirts, and not just any T-shirts. The shirts had labels that certain students had chosen, and underneath the label there was the real definition of the word chosen. Following that, the hashtag: #disablelabels was written above the Twitter Page: @disablelabels. The whole point of it was to prove that you can't let labels define who people are. Most of the labels are used incorrectly.

Images: This is a picture of two students ( Alexa Lahr & Elias Sell) wearing T-shirts with the labels they had chosen to represent.

My opinion on making shirts and creating a Twitter page, is that I feel it's a great way to get the topic noticed. After all, most of the shirts that students had purchased the shirts (for $3.00) chose the bright colors. For example, neon pink, white, and even lime green. The goal of that was to catch someone's eyes (which it did). While my agent of change was going on, I realized that it caught people's eyes, but there had to be a lot of explaining to do when you have the label ¨whore¨ or ¨bitch¨ in big black letters written across your shirt.Even though a lot of people were in on this project, I achieved educating a lot of people about labeling women based off their physical features and/or personality.

Take a look at that shirt on the image above. A lot of people assumed that a human who has a skinny body is anorexic. They are wrong! That is just one of many examples of how people use words against others without knowing the real definition.

Image on the left: (Kara Lazorko & Kara Heenan)

I have change happen so far, because people are now educated on the real definitions of these labels mainly given to women. Doing this project, I felt very passionate about it, and I had a lot of hope that those who agree that labeling women is wrong, would support the project. I learned that not everyone is going to understand what I was doing for my project, but it never hurts to take a few minutes to explain it to them. Overall, the one thing I could have done better was managing my time better. Nothing is still left for others and I to make a change, but just make sure to continue to spread the word.

Blog Post #2

In my previous Blog Post, I introduced my topic about labeling women and the different issues women face with the issues at hand. This type of issue occurs in a lot of places, and I decided to mainly zoom in on places like school. I have learned that the labels attached to women do not have to be sexual to be offensive. Some new information I have found since my last post was that there was a commercial titled ¨ Labels Against Women¨ showing different kinds of titles given to a man vs a woman in the business career. It was backing up the point I made in my recent blog post about how men doing a certain thing and being praised for it. On the other hand, when the women would do the same exact thing as the men did, they were only shamed for it.

Another thing that had seemed to catch my attention, was a comic like article about sexual labels. As I said before, not all labels given have to be sexual to be offensive, but in this case this comic showed a very detailed example of some. It was proving the fact wrong that any sexual relationship has to be between a man and a women in order for it to count as sex.

Two images shown above: Early on the young lady was talking about having a sexual relationship with another female, and it was questioned, because ¨it does not count" unless it is between a woman and a man.

http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/05/stop-policing-sexuality/

For my original research, I decided to send out a survey to a good amount of females in the school. Not every female took it, but based off the information I got some varied results. For the survey , I asked whether the females taking it have ever been labeled, and I gave them some very popular labels to choose from, if so. Not only did I want to know what labels they received, but I also wanted to know what effect it had on them. ( In all due respect, I kept results anonymous)

Image shown above: The bar graph shown aboves shows that most of the women who have taken the survey have been called ugly

Image above:  The image above shows that more than 50% of the females taking the survey have labeled someone

Image above: This image showed that more than 50% were willing to help the issue of women being labeled

This information helped inform me on my issue, because the data showed that a lot of the females learned to just push the rude comments to the side, while others took great offense to it. The data also proved the point that most of the women who took the survey were mainly called the labels that were not sexual. Personally, the results shocked me, because I didn't know the varied ways certain individuals took the name calling. For my agent of change I am planning on making T- shirts with certain labels and there real definitions on them. That way females can wear them around the school and maybe even outside if lucky enough.

My Bibliography

Blog Post #2

In my previous Blog Post, I introduced my topic about labeling women and the different issues women face with the issues at hand. This type of issue occurs in a lot of places, and I decided to mainly zoom in on places like school. I have learned that the labels attached to women do not have to be sexual to be offensive. Some new information I have found since my last post was that there was a commercial titled ¨ Labels Against Women¨ showing different kinds of titles given to a man vs a woman in the business career. It was backing up the point I made in my recent blog post about how men doing a certain thing and being praised for it. On the other hand, when the women would do the same exact thing as the men did, they were only shamed for it.

Another thing that had seemed to catch my attention, was a comic like article about sexual labels. As I said before, not all labels given have to be sexual to be offensive, but in this case this comic showed a very detailed example of some. It was proving the fact wrong that any sexual relationship has to be between a man and a women in order for it to count as sex.

Two images shown above: Early on the young lady was talking about having a sexual relationship with another female, and it was questioned, because ¨it does not count" unless it is between a woman and a man.

http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/05/stop-policing-sexuality/

For my original research, I decided to send out a survey to a good amount of females in the school. Not every female took it, but based off the information I got some varied results. For the survey , I asked whether the females taking it have ever been labeled, and I gave them some very popular labels to choose from, if so. Not only did I want to know what labels they received, but I also wanted to know what effect it had on them. ( In all due respect, I kept results anonymous)

Image shown above: The bar graph shown aboves shows that most of the women who have taken the survey have been called ugly

Image above:  The image above shows that more than 50% of the females taking the survey have labeled someone

Image above: This image showed that more than 50% were willing to help the issue of women being labeled

This information helped inform me on my issue, because the data showed that a lot of the females learned to just push the rude comments to the side, while others took great offense to it. The data also proved the point that most of the women who took the survey were mainly called the labels that were not sexual. Personally, the results shocked me, because I didn't know the varied ways certain individuals took the name calling. For my agent of change I am planning on making T- shirts with certain labels and there real definitions on them. That way females can wear them around the school and maybe even outside if lucky enough.

My Bibliography

For my Passion, Information, and change, I have chosen to do my project about labeling women. This topic was my biggest interest, because it seems to be a common issue, and the spotlight put upon it, is not very bright.

Now and days, it seems as if every woman has a name that is not her own, and it’s based off other people’s opinions. Whether sexual or not, calling a female a name can easily make it seem as if that woman is below you in authority wise or just in general. In most cases, the labels are sexual and sometimes do not even fit the person who that label is being put on. For example, calling a female a hoe or a slut, and for all you know that female could be a virgin. A lot of words similar to slut and hoe, have also been commonly used and given to women. Although they all have different meanings, they still revolve around this sexual idea.

Source: Stop Labeling Women: tumblr

For Image above: Why should we have names other than our own, and just be who we want to be?

One word that has developed in many people’s vocabulary is the word ¨thot.¨ The funny thing is that it’s not even a word, it is an acronym. It stands for ¨That hoe over there.¨ Again, giving a female a sexual named based off of her appearance that does not always seem to match, just degrades the person she is. In most cases, people who use these type of terms, do not even know the real definition of them. Women who defend themselves suddenly become feminist, and are labeled sexist.¨Who decided that you can’t be a feminist if you appreciate a man opening a door for you? Who made the call that you aren’t strong and independent if you are in a relationship? Who told us that we can’t be freaked out by spiders and be Wonder Woman at the same time? We can do whatever we want, and it’s time that we stopped trying to define ourselves and each other, and spent more time on simply just being our authentic selves,¨ according to an article from Hello Giggles.

Source: Stop Labeling Women

Image above: Not every label you give a woman has to be sexual, but it still can degrade who they are.¨Women describe being given gender-specific labels with negative connotations when they work hard or perform well – where, they ask, are the male equivalents for phrases such as ‘ball-breaker’, ‘battleaxe’ or ‘harridan’? Meanwhile labels like ‘doll’, ‘baby’ and ‘sweetie’ infantilise women,¨ according to The Independent.

This issue is very significant, because with these labels put on women, it affects how their performance is seen at work. In this case, it prevents women from being in a healthy relationship, get a good job, and even have a good social life. One label or a million, you are not allowing someone to be themselves without having to be put into a certain category.

 La escuela y clases

Hola! Somos Laith, Charles y Kara. Nosotros tenemos catorce y quince años. Somos estudiantes de Science Leadership Academy. Science Leadership Academy es localizado en Filadelfia. SLA es muy chevere, y divertido. Todos inteligentes y muy trabajadoras. Esta cerca de TFI ( The Franklin Institute.) Hay quinientos estudiantes y cinco plantas. Tenemos clubes, deportes, cantamos, y bailamos. Yo toco pista. Ofrecemos mucho divertido.

Tenemos las clase de español, historia, matemáticas, inglés, arte y ciencias. En la clase de español necesitamos hablamos español y trabajamos duro. En la clase de inglés platicar sobre el libro, ¨The Odyssey¨ y es necesitamos estar preparado. En la clase de arte aprendemos a dibujar y hacemos la tarea. La clase favorita de Kara es español, le encanta habla español y escribe en español. La clase favorita de Laith es álgebra, le encanta problemas de álgebra y participa activamente. Charles clase favorita es inglés, los estudiantes y yo nos encanta escuchamos Franky y Harrison hablais. ¡Es una broma!

En SLA, los profesores son inteligentes y divertidas. La Señorita Sessa enseña

bioquimica. Ella es simpática y creativa. Su clase es chevere. En la clase, nosotros escribimos notas de ciencia y leemos protocolos. En la clase de inglés, nosotros hablamos el libro ¨Macbeth¨ y escribimos ensayos. La Señorita Giknis es muy cómica y inteligente. Su clase es muy difícil y aplicada. La estudiantes en SLA, son talentoso y deportista. La estudiantes y yo practicamos deportes y escuchamos música.

En la escuela de SLA, nos encanta el almuerzo porque el tiempo es largo y nosotros hablamos con amigos. Nos encanta las clases de SLA, porque las clases es divertida. Lo que más nos gusta de SLA es hablamos con amigos y maestra/os. SLA en tres adjetivos es, divertida, interesante y más o menos difícil. Para más información ve a, http://scienceleadership.org.

Kara Lazorko

Intro:

Hola, bienvenido a mi proyecto la vida en mi vida

Yo: Kara

Yo tengo pelo cafe

Tengo catorce anos

Me encanta bailar y dormir pero no me gusta nada correr

El: Laith

Te presento a mi amigo Laith!

El tiene pelo cafe y moreno

Pero vivo en filadelfia

El es lindo

Ell@s:

Ellas y Ellos son tremendamente

sociable y habladoras

Nosostr@s:

Te presento a mi amigos Cano, Darius, y yo

Nosostr@s somos muy  hermos@

y tabien loc@

Nosotr@s somos mas o menos comic@ y un poco timid@

Conclusion: