Football

Before viewing this movie I had no idea how serious sports injuries could be. Throughout my life, starting at age 4, I have been involved in numerous sports. From soccer to softball I did it all, and I've had many sports-related injuries. Although I have never had diagnosed concussion, I have taken several lashings to the head, but like most athletes, I always got right back up and continued to play. This video made me more aware of the possible damage me or my teammates could be doing to ourselves. It's scary to think that taking a blow to the head could result in lifelong damage to the brain.

I think more coaches and players should view this video. We start softball practice in August, which is a relatively hot month. There have been a few times at practice where I thought I was going to pass out because of the heat. Hearing about the high school football player dying of a heat stroke/exhaustion made me realize that there's more to life than just sports. You may be a hero in a game, but injuries can permanently change your life forever.

Beauty

In the article, "Only Two Percent of Women Describe Themselves as Beautiful," it discusses that not only do American women not consider themselves as beautiful, but it seems to be a world wide trend. These women believe media is too harsh on what they consider to be beauty, giving them a low self-esteem and making them conscious about their bodies. Women want to satisfy a man's needs and feels she needs to look, act, and dress the part and some believe that shopping at Victoria's Secret is just what they need. Victoria's Secret is a high-end store that carries anything from sexy lingerie to skimpy low cut bikinis. Victoria's Secret was made to satisfy a man by designing this scandalous clothing for women. In Marie Smith's article, "Decoding Victoria's Secret," states, "So, Victoria's surprising secret, according to this writer's interpretation, is that she based her huge success with women upon being the best at giving men what they want visually."

Both articles, "Only Two Percent of Women Describe Themselves as Beautiful" and "Decoding Victoria's Secret", agree on the fact that women base their beauty on how they think men want them to look. Society has women believing that they can only be seen as sexy or beautiful if they look the part. Society bases their judgements on appearance and what is seen on the outside rather than what's on the inside. Unfortunately we live in a cruel world where we always seem to judge by first glance.

What is Beauty?

This weeks' readings focused on our society's interpretation on what we believe is beautiful and what isn't. In one of the readings, it was discussed that only two percent of women describe themselves as being beautiful. On page 50 of the reading it stated, "Additionally just thirteen percent of women say they are satisfied with their beauty; twelve percent say they are satisfied with their physical attractiveness; seventeen percent are very satisfied with their facial attractiveness; and only thirteen percent are very satisfied with their body weight and shape." We can conclude from this article, that the women in today's world seem not to have a very high self-esteem. It seems we have society and the media to blame for this.

Because women seem not to have confidence in their body or appearance, that's where Victoria's Secret  comes into play. Victoria's Secret is a high-end, multi billion dollar company that sells anything from luxurious lingerie to cosmetic products used to enhance the woman's body, making her feel sexy and beautiful. However, this lingerie isn't just for anyone. On page 60 it states, "The one restriction is the customer be size fourteen or under." Although the goal of Victoria's Secret is to make a woman feel better about herself, they seem to be down grading those who are, in fact, larger than others as if saying, "If you aren't small enough to fit into our clothes, then you can't be beautiful or even sexy."

Ten Seconds to Love

The major idea in Klosterman's "Ten Seconds to Love" is that society has shaped what we think the present-day sexy woman should dress, act, and look like. In the beginning he refers to Pamela Anderson as basically being the bimbo of society but secretly every woman wishes they were her. On page 74 he states, "We've established this unrealistic image of what we want from the human race, but it angers people to see that image in real life. It sort of shows why most Americans hate themselves."
The major ideas in the reading "Porn" is the fact that the Internet was the bases of how pornography first became popular. Klosterman stated on page 112, "Porn sites are the window to the modern soul; they're glimpses into the twisted minds of a faceless society." This meant that porn, although taboo, is something everyone wants and dreams about.

When comparing these two readings you will see that Klosterman believes everything is based off of  how society perceives it. Society shapes what we think is attractive and not attractive, and society although, it's rarely talked about, goes crazy over porn and pornographic films, pictures, etc.

The Futile Pursuit of Happiness

          One of the most significant ideas that John Gertner makes in his work called, The Futile Pursuit of Happiness, is that people often overestimate how happy they think they'll be when they buy or receive something that they want. A passage in the reading said by Daniel Gilbert states, "Things that happen to you or that you buy or own- as much as you think they make a difference in your happiness, you're wrong by a certain amount. You're overestimating how much of a difference they make. None of them make the difference you think. And that's true of positive and negative events." One event that John Gertner mentions that most people think will make them happier, is winning the lottery. However, over time those who are lottery winners have them same amount of happiness as those who have not won. I recall numerous times when I thought something would make me extremely happy, but I ended up not being as excited when it actually happened. Like getting a new phone for instance. The thrill of getting having a new phone fades away after a few days, making me want a new one all over again.

     These ideas are important because they help show that no matter what comes to play in life, you will eventually move on and get over it. As mentioned, happiness from an object or thing only lasts for a period of time. The same goes for a death of a close friend or family member; no matter how hard it may be, time will pass and you will mostly likely move on.