Final Reflection

My writing habits have changed a lot over the course of this semester. Looking back at my oldest blog entries, I wrote very formal. Towards the end of the semester, I started writing my blogs very informally, and when I did that they were definitely more interesting to read. My papers also became more laid back...if that makes any sense. I guess I became like this because Franny made it seem like it was okay. This class was very laid back and it seemed to me that she was very open to different forms of writing, so I started to take some risks.

At first, I didn't really like blogging. Mostly because I just hate writing about anything in general. But over the course of the semester I started to loosen up a little and be more laid back about writing. I learned to just write in my blog whatever came to mind, no matter how silly it seemed.

This semester started out really easy, but then it got a lot harder. With finals coming up, I don't see how there will be enough hours in the day to get all of my studying done! Overall, I did enjoy this semester a lot. The only class that I hated was math, and that was mostly because it was 5 days a week and I couldnt understand a word my professor said. My TA for that class was really cool though and definitely knew what he was talking about. As for this class - I enjoyed it a lot. I like how small the class was and I made a lot of good friends. Franny was really laid back and down to earth, which was a nice change of pace.

Reflection of Research Paper

As I know many people can relate to, I HATE writing research papers. This one wasn't too bad though. I chose a topic that was really interesting to me: how television affects children. I was really interested in the health issues behind it all. I had fun finding the information and reading about the topic. But when it comes to putting it on paper, I don't care how interesting it is, I hate writing about anything. I even hate typing blog entries!

So the research itself went very well. I pretty much found everything that I was looking for. I hate trouble organizing my paper though. I just had so much information that I couldn't figure out where to put it all. Looking at my paper in the end, I think a managed to do a fair job of puting it all together. However, I wish that my paper was a little bit more exciting or unique. I'm not the most creative person.

I learned from writng this paper that it is always good to get a head start. I got my sources a couple weeks before the paper was due, and that really helped me to relax and not get TOO stresed out about it. I also learned that it always helps to write about something that actually interests you.

Why do we let television control our lives?

I first started thinking about this topic when one day I was wondering "Why is Miley Cyrus so famous"? Because in my opinion, she is talentless. I started thinking about why certain people get hooked on certain television shows? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I thought that there had to be a reason behind all of this. Then I wondered what effect television advertising has on us as viewers. I basically came to the broad topic of "How does television affect children?" and stuck with that. I am very interested with how Disney Channel became so successful with their t.v. shows for children. I thought about what influence television has on children, and how is it bad/good for them? After thinking about this for a while, I made an appointment with a library specialist, and she helped me find MANY articles, books, and websites related to my question. I checked out a few books and she also e-mailed me some of the academic journals and articles that we found online. I also found an article about why certain genders watch certain shows, while others don't. I wondered, is it boys or girls that are more easily influenced by what they see on t.v.? Why do boys like certain shows, and girls perfer other ones? I didn't realize that our rough draft was due next week until I came to class today, so I am going to start deeply looking through all of my sources tomorrow to being writing the first few pages of my paper. I'm excited to find out the meaning behind what broadcasters chose to put on television. How do they target a certain age group so well? What are the tricks and gimmics that they use to do this? Why are we so easily persuaded by what is shown to us on t.v.? I feel like I am going to learn a lot from writing this paper, which is something that has never happened before. Usually the papers that I had to write in high school were about topics that I didn't care to learn about. I am seriously interested in the psychology behind what television does to us. I know for a fact that humans are very easily persuaded by the mass media in America. But why? Why can we be so naive sometimes?



I haven't really done that much research on my topic yet...But I have skimmed through my sources and remembered a few things I read. I remember reading that children always seem to watch television at certain times during the day. This might influence what broadcasters chose to show on t.v. at that time. Most kids like to watch t.v. as soon as they home from school. So they can't help but to become naturally absorbed in the shows and commercials that are on at that time. This reminds me of when I was a kid, maybe around the age of 6 or 7. I used to wake up extra early for school becuase I know that Scooby Doo was always on at that time. I never missed an episode, I was hooked. The same thing happened after dinner time. I knew that Dexter's Laboratory and Ed, Edd, and Eddy were always on. So of course at these times, I would always watch the same commercials too. I was influenced by the certain toys, games, and food that was advertised during that time period. That led to me begging my parents to buy me what I saw on t.v. Television had a huge influence on my personality and likes/dislikes without me even realizing it. This is true for most children, I believe. One more thing I realized is that my brother and I didn't like the same shows. He was into Power Rangers and Speed Racer, and I was into Scooby Doo and the Power Puff Girls. These are all very gender-stereotyped shows.




"Children of both genders and all ages, races, religions, classes, and geographical regions of the world watch television on a regular basis, enjoy it tremendously, and learn more about the world from it than from any other socializing agent"(1).

This quote makes me think that okay, maybe television isn't ALL bad. It is true that we do learn a lot from the news that they chose to show on tv. However, I believe that a lot of the facts that they tell on on t.v. can be misleading.

"Television thus becomes a "peek hole" to roles beyond their everyday reach...)(55).

This statement is suggesting that children watch t.v. because they are curious about things that they don't normally encounter. I remember doing this when I was a kid too.


"Television characters are the focus of indentification, imitation, and idolization"(57).

I remember when I was little, I use to idolize Shaggy on Scooby Doo. I though he was awesome because he got to solve mysteries, fight crime, and he had a sweet dog. A child's life can revolve around their favorite character, and it can become an everyday obsession. That probably isn't a good thing.

"A series of studies found that children raised in communities without television rated higher on tests of creativity in comparison with children of similar backround and life circumstances that were raised with it"(62).

I believe that in some way, television can destroy your creativity. This is because we seem to act/dress/talk like the way we see it done on television.

Sticker Day

I picked the sticker "Live Long and Prosper". I am not an insane Trek fan, but I did really like the movie. I do have A LOT of friends that are obsesed with Star Trek. My friend Donny has framed posters and everything. He knows everything that there is to know about Star Trek. I thought it was a good movie, but I'm not too obsessed with it. The action was great and I thought their costumes and the plot were things I could definitely chuckle about. I've never watched the epidsodes, but I'm sure that they are pretty good.

I chose this sticker because it is not only associated with my friends, but because I think it represents something that I always say. I always seem to remember that our time on earth is very short. There is no reason to waste it. To live long and prosper means to get the most out of life, be as successful as you can. You only get to live your life once, so have fun and don't take it too seriously. Make memories that will last and forget about the people in your life who upset you. Strive to be the best that you can be, and never give up on living. Have a fulfilling life, take chances and learn from your mistakes. Never be too hard on yourself or the decisions that you make.

How's Life?

Life is...interesting right now. It dramatically changes everyday for me. For the most part though, I am very overwhelmed. I can't seem to keep up on my homework or any other responsibilities that I have this semester. There's just so much to do in so little time! I wish that there were more hours in the day.

Other than that, I really love MSU. I went home last weekend. It was nice to be home for a day or so, but then I started feeling really anxious because I wanted to come back here! Even though I am crazy busy non stop, I love it. I feel like I'm being way more productive than what I've ever been.

Official Water Polo practice starts next week already. I really love the girls on the team, so I can't wait to see them more often. Swimming defintely relieves a lot of my stress, so that's one of the main reasons I'm always excited about practice.

This weekend I'm going to Ohio to see my Dad and my brother! I haven't seen my dad since move-in day at MSU. He is taking me out to a nice Japanese Steak House on Friday night when I get in, so that will be a nice change from the cafeteria food for once. Now that I think about it, life is actually going pretty well. I think I just need to manage my time a little better. I wish that there were more hours in the day! I'm not going to say that I'm not looking forward to Christmas break though...no homework, no work, no responsibilities what so ever! YES

I typed my name into Google...

Today I searched myself on Google. I found MANY sites about me. I found my facebook, blog entries, and a million things from swimming and high school. Google traced me back to when I was 8 years old and set a record for swimming at my local YMCA. There were a bunch of sites and articles about how I did as a swimmer in high school. These included my qualifying times, records, and who I swam against and where at! Creepy! Other things that were listed were times when I was on the honor roll at school. They even traced me back to when I made the honor roll in 5th grade! I found my myspace that I haven't loggen into in years. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about all this.

Michael Jackson Parody

I, amoung many others, am a huge fan of Michael Jackson. But I'm sure we all can agree that he was a little bit strange at times...This video makes fun of his weird dancing and weird appearance. Although a lot of us can agree that he was extrememly talented, the things that he did throughout his life are very surprising and easily to make fun of. Such as, his skin color, dance moves, and his plastic surgery. This video is funny because it transforms his song "Black or White" to "Am I Black or White?" because his skin color changed throught his life, and no one was really exactly sure why. The guy in this video also made his dance moves funnier and more ridiculous.