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I commented on Britney Spear's blog about changing in college.  

Hannah Montana

Every person in the English speaking world has heard of her at some point or another and pretty much every little girl from the ages of 8-14 practically worship her.  The kid just had her 16th birthday and little dolls that look like her are at the top of every preteen's Christmas list this year.  My question...what is our world coming to??

Don't get me wrong, I don't deny that she is a talented individual when it comes to singing.  Secretly, I used to blare her song "See you Again" in my car on the way to school and sing along.  I know, I'm ashamed to admit it.  

I went into Target the other day with my mom and there were literally two whole rows, maybe more, dedicated to toys that had to do with Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus.  I seriously, for the life of me, cannot comprehend the attraction to this girl.  She has the twangiest accent (although not half as bad as the boy that plays her brother on the TV show) and I find it kind of weird that kids are so interested in someone with a dual personality.  How can anything good come out of that?

Miley Cyrus is still a child in my opinion, yet has become the center of attention for an entire nation and even countries around the world.  Is our world so shallow that this is what we have to have to entertain ourselves?  She is not much of a role model for little 8 year olds considering she is 16 and has a 20 year old model boyfriend and at the age of 15 had revealing, "inappropriate" pictures taken of her for a magazine.  Granted, I don't blame her for any of it.  She should just be allowed to be a normal teenager, but with the media hounding her every minute of her life and expecting her to be the perfect role model for her young fan crowd how can she be expected to do so?  The whole situation in my opinion is just ridiculous and kind of pathetic on the parts of American society to allow children and even people in general to become the center of our lives because they appear on TV often.  

Too Old for Santa Claus?

Why does it seem that the older we get, the less enjoyable the Holiday season becomes?  I was getting me hair done the other day when my hairdresser and I, who are family friends, began talking about how Christmas this year was not going to be so great because her family had been suffering from some problems.  She said "In fact, Christmas is never as good as it used to be when we were younger."  I thought about this statement thinking it was crazy considering Christmas season is by far my favorite time of year.  Then I thought a little further.  You know? She was kind of right.  

I am by no means not terribly exciting for Christmas, as usual, but every year, the excitement seems to decrease little by little.  I think there are several reasons for this.  One, is that when we are kids, Christmas time is built up to be this amazing night where a large man in a well known costume comes down the chimney, eats the cookies you and mommy baked, and leaves you presents.  What could be more fascinating to a young child's imaginative mind?  As we grow older and mature, we realize that those stories are not true and that Christmas really is not about presents and Santa.  We come to look forward to the time we spend with family at the Holiday time.  However, as terrible as it sounds, you are not the only one getting older.

Sadly, it is getting to the point that every Christmas could possibly be my grandparents last.  This year, my mom will have to get surgery on her aging bones and will most likely spend Christmas in bed.  Not to mention I have school to worry about before I get to go home and when I get back.  There is just so much added stress these days when Christmas comes around and it seems that the cynicism is an undeniable quality one gains with age.  Older people are typically just not as good as seeing the "magic" and happiness that Christmas can bring like little children can.  It's really a sad thing, because I think the Christmas can really be one of the most wonderful times of the year.   

I commented on New Kid On the Block's post about food on campus.  

2008 Presidential Election

As everyone is aware, the 2008 presidential election is coming up on November 4th, 2008.  I have been talking to a lot of my college classmates about what they think of the election and the responses I have gotten have all been very interesting and informative.  It is good to see that so many kids on our campus are so opinionated when it comes to choosing our next president.  

I feel that many of my classes as well have done an excellent job discussing the election and allowing students to express some of their opinions.  Despite SMU's Republican reputation, there have been many students who are also very opinionated about the the Democratic side as well.  It is great being able to discuss both sides and hearing everyone's opinions and ideas about the candidates.  One of my teachers even created a "party" to watch some of the candidate debates.  It was a great way to help involve younger and newer voters to become actively involved in this election.

I just think that it is very important that every student make sure that they vote and allow their voice to be heard in a small way.  Our school, and further more, our society has done an excellent job promoting the importance of this presidential election and the importance of voting, especially the young.  It will be very interesting to see the outcome of this election!

Revised: Teen Pregnancy

Recently, it seems that a lot of the news spotlight has been on the topic of teen pregnancy. This is largely due to both the pregnancy of Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter and the birth of 17-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears's baby girl. Thousands of teenage girls a year have to life with taking care of a baby while, at the same time, trying to live as "normal" of a life as they possibly can.

The United States has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the world, and although dropping in the past years, is still too high (www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_ATSRH.html). Teenage pregnancy results in less teenagers going to college and more people having to be on welfare. Through this post, I am in no way trying to say anything against those who have had children as teenagers, but rather try and think about what works in helping to prevent these pregnancies.

As a nation, there has been a lot of action towards preventing teen pregnancy such as online resources, national programs, and even ads on television and billboards. While writing this blog, I was watching a TV program on the CW and there was an addition at the end of the show warning teenagers against teen pregnancy.

I find it interesting, however, that there is consistently a condescending tone when this subject is brought up. Some people act as if a teen pregnancy could be the most humiliating thing that could happen to a person. This, to me, makes matters even worse. This attitude has to scare young teenage mothers into either not telling their family about their pregnancy or not searching for the help that is out there for them because they feel embarrassed or ashamed. How is that supposed to help any situation?

If there were more support from our communities where young women find themselves in this situation, then they would feel more comfortable getting help and creating a better future for both them and their child.

Revised Teen Pregnancy