I think that it is terrible that our schools are so segregated. I believe a lot of it has to do with the wealth and how there is a very fine line between schools and the education students receive in wealthier areas. I do not believe that our schools were necessarily desegregated from the 1970’s until now so I don’t think that we have made that much of a step back in society. I think that we just have to continue to look forward and try not to make such a huge gap between our school systems. It’s not fair our students don’t receive the same education in the United States and that needs to change. We are supposed to be a nation of opportunity and unfortunately that hasn’t happened for us. We continue to make this gap bigger and bigger for each of our students and it should be getting smaller as we are trying to fix this problem not make it worse. I worked in an urban school for a summer and was shocked at the supplies that students did not have. There were not many computers, which I understand they can cost a lot but books are another story. Books are a vital part of a students education and they need to be up the right condition. Another part of the segregation is the teachers. They don’t hire teachers up to par and students aren’t given the same opportunities so they end up giving up on school. In the urban schools they are totally run down and not clean at all. They need to have the taxes that are put into the suburban schools in order to fix up the schools and have teachers to motivate the kids and be an advocate for them. The predominately black and brown schools need people to be their voices in order to have their schools turned around and receive the same education as the rest of the white students in the suburban areas. If there was no segregation in schools there would be an equal amount of all ethnicities in college or at least in high schools. Our nation needs to find an equal balance so that everyone can have an equal opportunity in this country. I believe there was a lot more hatred in the 1970’s than there is now but segregation does happen every day in this nation.

I think it is truly awful that American civilians are given the chance to kill 29 civilians to 1 bad guy. I think that we should never have to choose the life of a civilian in order to kill a bad guy. Those are not the people that are trying to hurt or nation or who are against our nation. Now that they see they are the ones that who can be the ones that can die due to a bad guy I totally understand why they may be upset with Americans and American soldiers. If some nation were to come into the United States and felt as though it were okay to kill 29 of us to one bad person I believe there would be plenty of consequences. We are facing a war that was once believe to be set on terrorism but in reality it is a war of oil and we have soldiers in the Middle East fighting and killing innocent people. I understand that we are capturing some bad people but for those some bad people there are very innocent people that we are killing and taking away from their families. We constantly criticizes Al Queda for killing innocent Americans in terrorist attacks that they have placed on us as well as their people but we have done the same thing to many of their people as well. We continue to fight against the innocent college students, school children, mothers, and fathers. We are trying as hard as possible not to attack these innocent people but no matter what these attacks are still going to happen to them no matter what we do. I feel as though there is something that has to be done and although I may feel that way I know that there will never be a change that will occur. 29 lives per one person is not fair and I don’t think we should be able to take anyone’s life in order to kill a bad guy. It isn’t fair to the people that care and love that innocent person who may in reality be in support of the American troops. It is a long process that will never end and it will continue to happen until war ends and in all reality, war will never end. We will always be taking the lives of innocent people just like they will take the lives of our innocent people. It is always a constant war that is occurring and we will never be able to end the death of these perfectly innocent people in order to kill the bad ones who consume our world.

Being one of the girls that goes out with heels and a dress on made me start to second guess that fact that we do always dress up and the guys always get to dress down. There are those occasional nights that we go out and I might wear a pair of boots but if I am wearing boots I absolutely have to be wearing a dress or a skirt. This seems so sexist to me and why do I feel the need to show off my body so much? I also realize that I don’t think guys care at all what the girls are wearing and girls seem to get dressed up more for each other to make the other girl think “wow she looks really good tonight.” It becomes this mind game. When I am home and visiting my friends at different schools girls don’t ever seem to get this dressed up. You see girls in jeans with boots and a cute top, something you would wear to dinner with your parents. When my parents were up last weekend, I had my mom drop me off at a party and I picked a more “conservative” dress, when I got into the car she still made a comment about how short my dress was. The outfits I wear here I would never wear to in front of my dad and I would only wear it in front of my mom if she knew I was going out somewhere in the city. I think it’s silly that I feel uncomfortable with the clothes that I wear and wouldn’t even be able to wear them in front of my parents. Guys have it really easy. They get to throw on a shirt and sneakers and they are done. I am lucky in the sense that I don’t take five hours to get ready and I don’t wear an obscene amount of makeup and my hair takes to seconds to do. Guys don’t have to worry about any of that stuff though and if they ever knew how is felt to wear heels I don’t think that they would ever want us to wear them because of how uncomfortable they are. I can’t believe in below freezing weather we go out in heels in mini skirts. My body isn’t supposed to be able to handle that type of coldness and it isn’t suppose to be that uncomfortable. So tonight when I get ready, I will be getting ready for myself. I will wear flat shoes so my feet don’t hurt me, I will wear pants so my legs aren’t cold, and I will wear a shirt that I feel comfortable in.

Being one of the girls that goes out with heels and a dress on made me start to second guess that fact that we do always dress up and the guys always get to dress down. There are those occasional nights that we go out and I might wear a pair of boots but if I am wearing boots I absolutely have to be wearing a dress or a skirt. This seems so sexist to me and why do I feel the need to show off my body so much? I also realize that I don’t think guys care at all what the girls are wearing and girls seem to get dressed up more for each other to make the other girl think “wow she looks really good tonight.” It becomes this mind game. When I am home and visiting my friends at different schools girls don’t ever seem to get this dressed up. You see girls in jeans with boots and a cute top, something you would wear to dinner with your parents. When my parents were up last weekend, I had my mom drop me off at a party and I picked a more “conservative” dress, when I got into the car she still made a comment about how short my dress was. The outfits I wear here I would never wear to in front of my dad and I would only wear it in front of my mom if she knew I was going out somewhere in the city. I think it’s silly that I feel uncomfortable with the clothes that I wear and wouldn’t even be able to wear them in front of my parents. Guys have it really easy. They get to throw on a shirt and sneakers and they are done. I am lucky in the sense that I don’t take five hours to get ready and I don’t wear an obscene amount of makeup and my hair takes to seconds to do. Guys don’t have to worry about any of that stuff though and if they ever knew how is felt to wear heels I don’t think that they would ever want us to wear them because of how uncomfortable they are. I can’t believe in below freezing weather we go out in heels in mini skirts. My body isn’t supposed to be able to handle that type of coldness and it isn’t suppose to be that uncomfortable. So tonight when I get ready, I will be getting ready for myself. I will wear flat shoes so my feet don’t hurt me, I will wear pants so my legs aren’t cold, and I will wear a shirt that I feel comfortable in.

I think a majority of white girls are definitely attracted to black men. I know that I would definitely date a black guy if I met the right guy and knew he was going to be the right guy to date. I dated a half black and white guy for two years and I honestly don’t think that race makes a difference. People always asked me what it was like to date a black guy and I never understood what they meant by that. I think people think that the conversations are going to be different or that we went on different dates but his race never made a difference in our relationship. I think girls are afraid to pursue black men because they are honestly afraid of the black women judging them. I know plenty of my friends including myself who want to either date or “hook up” with a black guy. In reality though race shouldn’t make a difference. I think people fall in love with someone because of who they are inside. It is the same thing with dating a white guy, a white girl isn’t going to look at a guy and be like he is hot I am going to date him. You need to take time in order to meet someone and get to know them in order to date them. It is all about what you see on the inside of a person not on the outside and that is what a lot of people don’t realize anymore. TO answer the question that these boys are asking though, girls are extremely attracted to black guys and want to date a lot of them. I find black men extremely attractive and thinking they are very sexy. I appreciate the fact that many of them know how to dress well and that they also can dance extremely well. I know that I am stereotyping a little bit but I find that in general it tends to be true for a lot of black men. I think people get this misconception that we don’t want to mix it up but I think that is completely false, there are plenty of girl out there who do want to mix. I don’t think my parents would have a problem either if I were to date a black man and would be supportive of the relationship.

I believe Zach Wahl’s is a very intellectual and powerful man who is going to make differences in people’s lives. The speech that he gave was so compelling and he knew exactly the points that he needed to make in order to get his point across. I find it unfair that people say gay couples can’t get married. Who has the right to say these two people can get married but these can’t? In our discussion the other day we talked about gays and how the bible doesn’t believe in it and it got me to thinking about when people always say gay people are “unfit” to raise children. I have met plenty of gay couples who are more fit people to raise children than some of my friends own parents. Zach Wahl’s is clearly a representation of a very bright young man who is been brought up by amazing parents and those parents are two woman. So who are we to say gay people can’t get married and gay people can’t raise children? Zach Wahl’s most important piece of information is that family isn’t about the people that raise you but it is about the love that binds you all together. Their family has gone through the same struggles as many other families all facing their ups and downs so doesn’t that seem like a regular family to you? His parents have raised a child who can get up in front of congressmen and assemblymen and make one of the must compelling arguments in order to save his family and to get the rights that his mother’s deserve. He is a “normal” nineteen year old boy who keeps striving to achieve to the best of his ability and or society claims that gay couples are “unfit” to raise children. Standing right in front of them is the prime example of an educated boy that has been raised by the amazing parents who care and love him dearly which is the most important aspects that go into having a family. A family isn’t about the people that are in it, you don’t need a mom and a dad to have a family. How come we can say family with single parents are considered families yet we can’t say gay couples can be considered families. To me it doesn’t make sense all you need in order to be a family is love and care for one another.

I have seen the special on E! about the curse of the lottery and I think that it is very challenging for people to all of a sudden have their whole life change. Money changes a lot of things but I don’t think it ever brings happiness into people’s lives. When money comes into people’s lives everyone feels the need to suddenly become close with that person and become a part of their lives. I feel as though if I were to ever win the lottery I would give my money away. I think you only need enough money to live comfortably the rest just brings problems into your life. People are greedy and feel the need to always want something better than they already have. The majority of people who purchase lottery tickets are lower class people so when they win the lottery a lot of those people don’t know what to end up doing with their money and may end up wasting all of it. I couldn’t imagine having people calling me all the time asking for money or ways to help them. I don’t mind helping people and I would be more than willing to do it but when it’s for people that I haven’t talked to in years I think it’s selfish of that person. People just believe that money brings happiness and it simply isn’t true. Money is a crutch for people. It is nice to have the luxuries that money gives you like traveling but in reality you don’t need to travel. If nice cars and big homes are going to make someone happy than they need to start living life more thoroughly. Happiness comes from love and family not paper. It causes greed and people start to envy one another for having nicer things. It’s silly the way we view things in life. Everyone tries to become your friend when you win the lottery and all of a sudden you are the one who is buying stuff for people and paying for dinner when you all go out. It simply isn’t fair to look at the person with the most money and think they are the ones that are the most happy in life because in reality money ends up bringing a lot of other problems along with it.

It does seem that people who are in poverty seem to have more kids than people who aren’t. It may just be that people speak about it more when they don’t have money and I don’t hear about the people that do have money with that many kids. I do think in a way that it is kind of selfish for someone to have a lot of kids when they know they can’t afford to take care of let alone one. Kids are extremely expensive and I don’t think it is fair to have five of them and not be able to pay for their food or their clothes. I know that many people can’t pay for higher education and I have been fortunate enough to be given that gift from my parents but parents should be able to give their kids food. In the video about Tammy, her 21 siblings probably were suffering just like she was and their kids were e feeling like her son did. It isn’t fair for those kids to not receive the care that they deserve. Tammy is doing all that she can do in order to take care of her two boys I think that is very responsible and courageous of her but if she were to have seven or eight kids, she wouldn’t be able to take care of them the way she is managing with her own boys now. I have always said that I want a big family because I love kids but I would only have a lot of kids if I knew I had the money to support all of them. For me, supporting my family means being able to put all my kids through college even if I have to work two jobs. I know a lot of people can’t do that and I lot of kids are doing that on their own and I look up to them 110 percent because I truly think it is amazing what they are doing but I want to make sure my kids can go to school and not feel as pressured to find the perfect job when they get out because they have to pay off their loans. As for Tammy and her sons, it hurt me because all she wanted to become was a school teacher but in reality I knew and the rest of the class knew that her dreams simply would never come true and her son’s dream of going to college probably wouldn’t come true either.

I find this article to be very interesting because in the beginning the author starts by questioning why he ended up where he is. At first he finds himself trying to find someone to blame for his problems, which I believe most human beings do. When we do something wrong we always have to find someone to blame before we realize we were the ones who made the mistake. He then finds himself trying to blame the neighborhood that he grew up in but he then realizes all the people that he grew up with channeled their anger towards a sport and ended up building a career for themselves and creating a new life. It’s interesting to see how when people make mistakes in life they find themselves not at fault at first. In some instances, they may find themselves not at fault at all. It does take time to realize you were the one who made the choices in life. The author in this story begins to realize that he was the one who decided to lie to his parents and sneak out of his house. He made the choice to become sexually active with older women and spend time in places where he knew he shouldn’t be. He felt the urge to be not obeying his parents and create this life for himself that would eventually turn around and be more trouble for him. There some how was a negative influence in his life even though he came from this loving and caring family. What is surprising to me about this story is that the author finds himself questioning his past after 20 years of incarceration and yet he still needs to question if he was the one who brought himself to this point. I find that there are so many different things that can contribute to someone being the way they are whether it being their family, their friends, or their environment. People being to mold around the things that surround them and I believe that if I grew up in a different place I would be a completely different person. Things become clearer for certain people and for these author after 24 years he finally realized he was the one who made the mistakes in his own life.

I came home today to spend the weekend with my family and we sat down for dinner and we were discussing what we talked about in Sam’s class and how some people are dealt different cards and what that means. I argued with my dad and said how I thought it was unfair that I was given opportunities that other people weren’t and how I for some reason can easily breeze my way through while others struggle to keep jobs so that they know they will be able to pay for their loans, books, clothes, and rent. He said to me “Sam, that’s just the way life is and some people are dealt different cards.” He believed that we all had the same opportunities and that those cards that we were dealt could change in a matter of seconds. I strongly disagree that we have the same opportunities since those people who have to pay and work for their education are always placing their education on the back burner in order to pay for it. I have been blessed with a family that has been able to give me anything that I have ever wanted or needed but they have taught me value and respect at the same time. I always had a job and I learned the value of money. My parents raised me to respect the things that I had in life because not everyone else was as fortunate as we were and I never understood that until I got older. I never saw people having to work for their families and having to place their education second in order to help the people they love but that is what is most important. I just don’t think it is fair to say that they were just dealt the wrong deck of cards. These people are hard working people and they don’t get the credit that they deserve for all the hard work they put into their job, their family, and their education. The reason they are so committed to working so hard is to make a difference for the next generation in their family which I have so much respect for but I feel as though no one else see’s that these people are trying so hard to make it in this hard economy. I have a job now just for my spending money and my parents don’t want me to have a job because they think it takes away from my academics. They would rather give me the money than have me work four hours a week. These hardworking kids don’t get the credit that they deserve for all their hardwork .