WHO AM I? Identity Culminating Assignment (Sara Thomson)

For my Culminating Assignment I am supposed to write about:
Who I am
How I define my own identity
What makes me UNIQUE
How I view my own world
How I see things differently than others
and How others see me

And also for the second part of this assignment I am supposed to write about my FEARS which is kind of terrifying to even think about already because I am supposed to just tell everybody reading this about What I want to do, and what holds me back from doing that.
So I have decided to do my culminating assignment about how I do NOT know exactly who I am and go from there so,...


WHO AM I?

To be COMPLETELY honest, I don't know who I am...
All I really know is that, I am 17 years old, almost 18, I am in high school, I am NOT the smartest person when it comes to Math, Science, or really anything that has to do with using my mind to the full extent and putting EVERYTHING on the line.

I know that by now, most people are supposed to know what they want to do, they already have most things planned out and it's almost like their ready to lead their lives and start right away as soon as they are done High School. But for me, I don't even know what i plan on doing for a job, or even normal plans next week, I don't know ANYTHING.
I know that I would like to be a criminologist but I don't know what to do to get there and I don't know what to accomplish or how to keep myself on track or anything like that. Hell, i'm not even sure if being a Criminologist is something I actually WANT to do or if it's just a spur of the moment "Criminal Minds Got Me Into It" kind of thing.

Everybody thinks they know what they want to do when they grow up.
When we were 5, we wanted to be a princess or a prince.
When we were 10, we wanted to be an Astronaut or a Dinosaur Hunter
When we were 15 we wanted to be a millionaire with a huge house, a beach house, 10 cars and all the things to do in the world with no regrets.
But what we never really take the time to realize is that, we have all of these hopes and dreams. But when it comes time to act on it, get ourselves prepared and go out there and GET WHAT WE WANT
We freeze, forget everything we wanted to do, we become puzzled and lost and we lose track of time and eventually we're either rushing last minute to try and get our lives on track or some of us never get where we want to go.

It's almost like we try and try and try our entire lives but once the time comes to do it, we can't.
We were raised our lives either spoiled or hard workers or some of us just never made it very far in life at all,
Some of us have the richest families who give us whatever we want from a new bag to a new car to a new house or even to pay off college completely.
But other families where the kids have parents that make enough money to survive on but will never make enough to get you through college, we have to bust our butts every waking moment of our lives just so that we can TRY to make it with very little debt.
And others, will never make it that far, we will either be stuck in the same house with our parents for the rest of our lives and never make it any further than a low minimum wage job, or some of us will just never make it, money or not.

Everybody has their talents, everybody has their own way of doing something, just because it's not done like everybody else doesn't mean it's not good enough, as long as your working for it and you know that your putting your all into something. That is good enough on it's own!

Now, while writing this, I still don't know what I want to do with my life, I know that I wan't to be successful, make a good pay and have a family and have a good life after High School, but the problem is, I still don;t know how to get there and what exactly I am going to do to make sure I live up to my own expectations on myself.

My mom always reminds me everyday, she says "Sara, none of your sisters wen't to college, i'm not sure when your brothers will even be ready to go if they do go, but all I want is for one of my kids to have a good, enjoyable, and successful life. I wan't you to be able to travel and see the world, and after a while once you know your ready I wan't you to be able to settle down, have a family and then travel with your family and have the perfect life for you"
To this day, my moms words still give me motivation and courage to do what I need to do, it's just almost a impossible thought some days to think about one day, I could be successful with a family and travel all the time,
It all seems so impossible and complicated, I never saw myself as someone who can go so far in life and be able to do all of these things that my mom want's for me. And to be honest,
It terrifies me,
Knowing that one day ... SOON,
I am going to have to move out, get a job, by a house, get a vehicle and do EVERYTHING on my own, I mean, I have been doing things for myself for a long time now, I've grown very used to it and I actually don't mind it,
It's just the thought that some day it's actually going to be permanent and that I won't need my mom anymore and that I'll never be able to see her everyday like I do sometimes, scares the hell out of me!

I'm also scared because College alone is going to cause me all of the struggles in the world, it is going to be so hard trying top get through, especially if I never make enough to get me through college then I have to go through loans, and debt and all of these struggles, I'm honestly not sure what I am going to do to make sure that I can JUST make it by.

This is a constant struggle for every new college student, or just college students in general.
So if we are expected right after High School to go straight to College and make something more of ourselves, but what most people aren't worrying about is "How is this person going to pay for everything? his money problems at the house are a constant struggle how is he going to make it?... oh well, he will figure it out"
Stuff like that isn't fair. I wish there was a rule that the College is free and you go there for the sake of learning and starting your life and doing something with yourself.

So though this assignment, I'm not sure who I am, i'm not sure what I want to do, I don't know how I am going to get there and I don't feel comfortable with sharing my fears with everybody just yet.
That is my Culminating, I hope you liked it! Thank You <3

Media Studies Culminating: Gender Representations In Society (Sara Thomson)

These days Gender Representations have been portrayed in such a way that Females and Males have specific roles and terms when it comes to relationships, marriages and just their Gender in general.

These days, girls have to look and act a certain way just to get noticed or accepted by media and society itself.

Girls can't be too skinny, but they can't be too overweight, they can't wear make-up but then again  they can't wear too much make-up, they have to wear these EXPENSIVE designer clothes but not so good that they are looking better then the girls more popular than them.

Girls have to do SO MUCH and they have to work SO HARD if they even want to fit in with society's expectations.

Even with Society, they have magazine covers, ads and everything out there and the girls on the cover are almost anorexic or they are, and every girl wants to look like that now because that's the look that the media is showing, but yet if you go to high school or middle school and you have an anorexic problem, it's almost like everybody is looking down on you and they find you disgusting and gross and they say you need to eat this or you need to eat that and you'll never be good enough.

Because of society and it's media advertisements and other things like that, just looking at those girls and trying to be like them causes so many girls to become Depressed, it causes Eating Disorders and it makes them hate themselves to the point where they think that they will NEVER be good enough and often most of the times, that kind of stuff leads to Self-Harm or even Suicide. 

The media and schools and everything has caused girls to feel so less of themselves and it's like no matter what, now, when they look at themselves, all they can see is this Fat, Ugly girl that nobody will ever accept, this girl could be anorexic, but if the wrong words are said than they will STILL see themselves as fat and not worth it.

And I know that is not not just always girls who get the Media hate and feel like this, Guys get it too! and they get it just as bad! sometimes even worse in certain situations. Guys get so much hate on the media as well, in most movies, the guy is portrayed as the tough, emotionally detached, aggressive and the "Man" but what they don't understand in "Reality" Guys are getting it so bad, they get bullied, put down, abused, emotionally hurt and more. 

If a guy is gay then it's almost like the media just denies them as a person all together and they try to do everything that they can to either change their sexual orientation or they try to put them down to the point where they won't show who they truly are to people anymore. The media doesn't want people who are too "different" and :not up to standards" clouding what they want the world to look like for them.

 Often, when men are bullied and put down in a way that makes them uncomfortable, It often makes them turn to violence against loved ones or friends, it makes them drink, smoke, do drugs, or Suicide,
Girls can often react like this too, it's not just the guys, but most often, it is the guys who resort to violence the most but that is because while they are getting emasculated and put down and just getting exposed in public for everybody to see, it really messes them up and it takes away that tough guy act because now everybody knows and it's like they have nothing to be tough for anymore. The only thing they can be tough for is when it comes to fighting their feelings out towards a wall, or a person.

For Guys:

They have to look like this big tough man, men have to be muscular, tall, strong, handsome, workout and be the idle partner for women.

They pretty much have to look like these men:

These are the men that society expects all men to look and act like. they want you to be handsome, strong, and be pretty much "Perfect"


For Girls:
Society REALLY picks on women the most, girls are expected to be Beautiful, Short or Tall, have long blonde hair, nice bright eyes, great body, big butt and a set of big boobs to match, and they expect you to be with a man that is just as good looking,
Since I can remember, girls are almost expected to look like Barbie, they are expected to have the perfect body and face and height that she has and if you don't look close enough to her, then you are rejected and put down until you do.
So many girls have gotten countless amounts of plastic surgery and spent so much money getting their hair done or gotten it longer and spent so much money buying make-up just so that they can be society's definition of "Perfect"

Marilyn Monroe was society's definition of perfect for a while, she was who everybody wanted to be and look like, she was the world's "Sec Figure" she had all the right curves and everything.

Society wants you to look like these women so bad because they want a nice face and body to pay attention to all the time, they want you to be skinny but have nice curves and everything. which is what these woman have. But not every girl looks like that, I know I don't.
Media has made so many men and women question themselves almost daily and when they do it puts them into such a bad position because they feel like they will never look like that no matter what they do,
and they shouldn't have to!
Us women shouldn't have to make sure we have the body of Beyonce just to try and get the right man that society thinks we need. That's not what being a women is about, and Men shouldn't have to work out and make sure they have the perfect body almost to the point where they start doing steroids, just so that they can get the women society thinks that they deserve.

I think that the media has been doing a very intense job on trying to tell people how they should look and how to live their lives and it's ridiculous.
To conclude this assignment, I have found a video of what people on Social Media can do to you and how a lot of people have been dealing with it.

Mother Horrifically Finds Out Just How Bad Social Media Affects Her Son

I hope that this assignment has been somewhat helpful in showing how bad Social Media can be and just how painful and hurtful and destroying it can be. Thank You. :)

Today's Society & how it affects our outlook on Ourselves and Others! (Media Arts Assignment PLEASE READ!)

Today in class, we received an assignment that kind of caught my attention A Lot more than other ones have. At first I didn't know why but then I thought about it and I realized...
OMG I have been through this and witnessed it like ALL of my life I know EXACTLY how to do this! So this may be kind of long and I apologize but I had to put all of my thoughts into this
Here it is:
Question- How has today's society changed you or your outlook on yourself/others?

Remember this photo!!!------>

Well, almost my ENTIRE life, I have been a part of people changing my outlook on myself and others, and I have also witnessed people doing it to other people as well. I have been a victim of people somehow making me change my outlook on myself for YEARS, I can`t remember a time when someone didn't make me feel like that... 
Today`s society has really DRASTICALLY changed on everybody and anything that it can.
Today`s society is something that everybody follows, the rules that society has laid on us is something we've always known, it`s something that we have always grown up with, We haven`t had technology all of our lives, the kind of technology that we have now is only so new to us, it is actually only a couple years old. But our generation has made it a part of our existence so fast and so drastically.
We grew up thinking that if we don`t dress a certain way than we aren't good enough for the people around us, same with the way that we look, talk, act, financial status, living standards etc... It`s all we really know, 

Today so many people want to be cool, popular, famous etc... And we would do whatever it takes to have something like that, just as long as it gets us noticed and bumps us up to the top where we have always dreamed of being! it`s our life goal, it`s our life in general. To finally get away from the bottom of the ladder and being able to climb higher and higher and finally make it to the top with everybody else just so that you can say that you made it! just so that you can finally have that little piece of self worth that you have always wanted, you always wanted to make it and once you finally give up to society`s rules and follow them, you feel like you can do anything.

But that`s not always the case.... Sometimes, no matter how hard you try and no matter how many rules you accomplish sometimes you can just never make it.
It`s like, you can be doing EVERYTHING that they want exactly the way that they wanted you to do it and not make any mistakes, but as soon as they find out that ONE single flaw of yours and they don`t like it, You will never make it to the top of that ladder. It's almost like as people, we crave the attention and the acceptance from our people, we want to feel that sense of cool and acceptance, we wan't to know that we have those people by our side no matter what because you made it up that ladder.
But we don't always need that ladder to be happy.

Some society`s are different then ours... Like Gender distinction for instance like in some countries, if your a girl your AUTOMATICALLY not allowed to go to school, the boys get to have their education and all your allowed to do is stay at home, be a good house wife and do the cleaning, sometimes fighting against things like that could even get you killed because that is the society that they have always known, it`s what they were taught.

In other society`s, kind of like ours, you can go to school, you can do ANYTHING that you want, with some sexual criticism along the way but nothing ever too bad. But it`s always got its consequences down the road, like, you can do what you want, get your education and find that dream job that you`ve always wanted to do, but it`s almost like, they wan`t you to have brains but they want those LOOKS in there too, I know not all people are like that but i`m sure as hell a lot of them are, like, `Yeah of course you can work for us, but could you do something about your appearance a little more? we wanna be more presentable to the public" it's like yeah your brains are great but they want you to look like barbie in the meantime so it's better for business. 

I know that as most of you reading this may think "oh, what does she know about society and if it actually acts this way? shes only 17."
Yes, I may be young but I have had such an experience with what people expect from you that it could make your head spin!
For example...
When I moved away from my hometown I was a little young, sweet, innocent girl that always ran with the same people, I was actually kind of a part of the cool people last time I lived here if you think about it, that's because I was so much like them, But then i moved away for about 6/7 years and I changed DRASTICALLY while I was gone and once I moved back the people I used to be friends with noticed it and they didn't seem to take much of a liking to it at all, that' because while I was away I because Independent I learned how to do things for myself, I became my own person and my old friends didn't exactly like or accept me for the new person that I became.
Now, i'll never know if it was out of jealousy or if they just thought I wasn't up to their social standards anymore. It's almost like they stayed exactly the same and they expected me to be like that too when I came back but I wasn't and they weren't too happy about that. But I changed for the better of myself, I changed in a way I thought would make me more successful and happy and it did!! :) 
People may not like it but I do and that's really all that happens, and that is exactly what I'm talking about for this assignment, once everybody didn't approve of my changes  I did get bullied a lot, I got pushed against lockers, I got yelled names at me, some people told me I was disgusting and that I didn't deserve to be here and to end my life.  and it seemed like it would get worse and I thought that things would never get better. 
But, after a couple of years and some counselling, I took up art I drew ALL THE TIME, I did me for a while and it made things so much better for me, I found what I needed to do and I found what made me happy! I ignored other people for so long and eventually they all stopped. I still get the occasional call downs all the time but it's nothing close to what I got before so it doesn't really bug me. 

Society's problems also seem to be largely aimed around Social Media Sites now a days as well, that is now where most people chose to judge people and put them down, it's what people know now, it's all they've ever done, not a lot of people these days will go up to a person and tell them how they feel anymore, it always has to be done with the click of a button and a keyboard now and it is so sad to see. And I know I am doing it right now but this is for class so that I can get this out there.. It also seems as if, if people have a problem with Social Media sites and how they affect the way that they are, they choose to express their hate for Media, on a media site! confusing, I know but it's how it works these days.

It's almost like, If people have a problem with something or if something extreme happened, they don't pick up their phone and call anyone, they don't meet one of their good friends so that they can talk about it. No, their self hate turns into a Status or a 5 second Snapchat video. Now a days if something happens people will run to Social Media sites within the blink of an eye like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Snapchat, Instagram... ANYTHING that they can use on their phones that they can vent to anyone who can read it on their devices, automatically is the first choice. I know from experience. 

Society expects so much out of you these days it seems like so much to handle, it's like, your at a buffet, you go for what you wanted, even if it makes your plate bigger then everybody else's and then once people see it, they disapprove and they keep picking and picking and picking at your plate until your finally down to the amount that they think you should be at, even if it isn't what you wanted but that's just how they work. There's not always much you can do to change it but you can sure as hell try! 
If there is something that you would really like to do and you think that people wouldn't approve and you feel like if you do what you want to do it means your risking a lot of good people and social standards, just say "SCREW IT" do YOUR THING and you don't always have to be a follower! you can be your own person and do what YOU know will make you successful and be the person you have always wanted to be, be independent, be loud, be cheerful, just be YOU and be HAPPY! 

I know from experience :)
So basically what  I am trying to say is that Society HAS had a huge impact on how we outlok ourselves and what we think of ourselves and others and It has gotten so crazy and overboard for the past few years.
I say forget about trying to live up to other peoples standards if it just tears you apart! be your OWN person and do you, do what YOU wan't to do regardless of what other people think.

Find your own Ladder of success to climb and make it to the very top all on your own.

  

Malala ( We Can Do It. ) #Strengthie Campaign

For class, this isn't exactly an assignment but it really got to me and compelled me to write about it and give in how I feel about it, when I heard the story about Malala it really got to me.
This is Malala:

Malala is a girl who tried to start a campaign where she lives about trying to get equality and send women to school and let them have an education because where she lives, inequality is still a huge thing and gender equality is still pretty frowned upon, which I think is crazy but its whatever they do there.
But anyways, where she is she tried starting the campaign to get women their rights that they have in other places and the grown Taliban men there did NOT like what she was doing, they tried to stop her but she wouldn't budge .
So they tried a different approach,
They hunter Malala down to the bus that she was taking one morning, they didn't know what she looked like so they asked everyone on the bus around her which one she was, of course, nobody budged or said anything but somehow they still managed to find out which one she was.
So as soon as they found out who she was they shot her in the head point blank and tried to kill her. Surprisingly that didn't work, Malala received medical treatment and  she ended up surviving a bullet shot to the head, and from that point everybody started trying to help her, sharing her story like I am and getting it out there.

From there on, Malala has been a strong women with dealing with what she had went through and also with the support of thousands of people around the world showing their support and giving her a hand.
Just reading this story has had a HUGE impact on how I feel about this and it also makes me furious with the men who tried to kill her just because she was trying to get her well deserved rights as a women and she just wanted to be heard.
Honestly, if I was asked who my role model was, I would say that without a doubt Malala is my new role model! She fought for her rights, was shot for it, survived, and still kept fighting, that is a stronger women than any of the women I have ever met or seen and I wish that only I could be as strong as her one day!

This is a photo of Rosie the Riveter, she was a strong young women during World War 1 or 2, I cant remember but she was also a women who chose to fight for herself and show that she is strong and no matter what people say or do to her, she will keep fighting and show the world that she can do anything she wants and not be taken down and I find that pretty amazing.

Beyonce is honestly one of my favorite famous peoples ever, she is Strong, Beautiful, Determined, Self-Respecting and many other things! She will always be one of my role models as well because she has proven throughout the years that she will fight for what she wants and she will fight HARD. That is something that I would never be able to do, not as well as them atleast. Malala, Rosie, and Beyonce are all self respecting women who I would LOVE to be one day or at least turn out to be one day.
These women are extraordinary and they are amazing and just hard, tough women. They make me want to make myself stronger so that one day, if put in a similar position or situation as they have been, than I can come back fighting twice as hard and do what I want no matter who tries to stop me a put me down.
This story has honestly affected me so much and I hope that while reading what I have wrote (even though its alot I know) that is all affects you in some way and encourages you to come out in some way and show to the world that you care and you are a strong person as well.
WOMEN DESERVE THEIR RIGHTS NO MATTER WHAT COUNTRY.
It shouldn't have to depend on your Sex to determine if you get to go to school or not, you should be allowed to go to school no matter what, you should just instantly be accepted and able.
If you felt anything for this post, please write something of your own, share mine or find a way to show your feelings on the situation.

#StayStrongMalala

Tim Albertson Nothing Beats Home Video Assignment

For class we were supposed to make a film strip or whatever you can come up with that crosses your mind when you listen to this song so for my assignment, I have decided to make a slideshow of different pictures that cross my mind when I listened to his song. For me, alot of different country stuff came to mind for me when I listened to this song so I made this:

I couldn't get the photos to go perfectly with the song and the timing but I am pleased with how it came out. This video is about friends, fires, camping, beers, homeland and other stuff like that so I hope that you like it!

Photography Assignment!

For my Photography Assignment I have chosen to take pictures of what I pretty much spend all of my time 24/7 a day doing, which is Art, Drawing, Painting etc... What I chose to do was take a picture of my Art door i have been working on in class and a painting done by some students a while back that I wish I could have had a part in but didn't but I still chose to post it on here and show it off.

This first photo is the one that was done by some students im not sure who it was a while back but I really wish that I could have taken part in this. It looks so cool and was extremely well done! 

This photo is the main/biggest picture that I have put up on my art door in Mrs.Rose's class. For my assignment I have chosen to make these pictures showing that they both have gotten a line of symmetry. For the canada one, the line of symmetry is going directly down the middle of it perfectly, and for my second art door picture, you can see the line of symmetry i chose to put right down the middle of it as well. 

I was very happy when I got the chance to do this assignment because I got the chance to post what I love to do all hours of the day, my boyfriend is a huge fan of my art work and I love it as well :) I hope you guys liked this post and let me know if you want me to post more pictures of my art door and I will do that. 

Ian Padgham!

Ian Padgham is a Vine artist. He does stop motion films for advertising for places such as Home Depot and he also makes vines about random funny stuff and also places in his area that have been destroyed that hes showing his respect to. If you are interested at all and would like to see more of the work that he has done than here are the links to his profiles..

 https://vine.co/origiful

https://twitter.com/origiful

http://instagram.com/origiful

https://www.facebook.com/origiful?fref=ts

Ian Padgham has 359,800 Followers and 52,146,125 loops. Ian mainly does Vines about random and funny stuff but all of the Vines that he does is Stop Motion which I think it really cool. His vines are always so creative and look really cool and you can really tell when he makes his vines that he puts a lot of thought into it and makes it as good as he can. Ian mainly uses Vine for his creations but he also uses Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The reasons that I had chosen him is because I was in a rush to get my work done at the last minute but once i took a look at some of his work, I thought that it was actually really cool and I wanted to use his work as my assignment. Ian calls himself a video producer. What makes his work successful is that he is so dedicated to his work and the fact that he does advertising for big corporations such as Home Depot has made him pretty big. The reasons I enjoy their work is because hes so creative and such a cool guy to watch, he shows so much creativity in his work and works as hard as he can and you can really notice that when you take a look at his work. I didn't notice any flaws in his work actually as I was watching it. 

Questions I Have For Ian:

1. How do you do stop motion for good?

2. When did you first start doing your stop motions?

3. What made you want to do stop motion vines in the first place?

4. Who was the first person you did advertising vines for?

5. Can I be in your vines? aha

6. How long does it normally take to make one stop motion vine?

Here is some of Ian's work that he has done that I have found very interesting and cool!

And...