To Each His Own

This is a topic that may have some sort of connection to us all. It is clear that this is a huge controversial issue within our poilitical society today. Many of us are either friends with, are related to, or have some sort of aquaintence with a person who's sexual orientation is gay. For me, peronally, I have a very very close friend of mine who is gay. There's no doubt that he faces all kinds of struggles everyday form the harrassment and snickers of others throughout his day. This picture is an example of how certain people percieve gay people.

One way to look at it is the way the man in this picture see's homosexuals. Many people were raised with the understanding that being of any sexual orientation other than straight is wrong. It is looked down upong and scorned by some. This crowd would rather you keep your private life private and not be so public about that type of thing. The other side is the supporters, this crowd has a level of understanding or support for these people. My friend has delt with lots of discrimination and prejudices. Because of it, I think it has made him a stronger person, whom I look up to for it. He is just like anybody else, therefore; deserves just as much respect as anyone else. However, given that everybody has their own take on things, some people do not treat him the way they would treat someone else.

It is sad to see that people are so judgemental of one another. No one is perfect. The personal context that influences this for me is family. The reason for this is because of a quote I have heard from my mother, "To each his own," meaning let people live, let them do what they choose, and you are not anyone to tell them right from wrong. Especially in this case, where no harm is being done nor are the gay people affecting anyone else by their choice. So, I guess the lesson here is, to not be so judgemental of others and be thankful you don't go through what they might.

Online Networking

There are many advantages as well as disadvantages to social networking websites. MySpace and Facebook have opened up doors to lots of friendships and even relationships. However, they have also been the root of many cases of sexual assults. Many a times people who are not as sensible to these kinds of attacks are the one's who become the victims, whereas; someone who is more knowledgable as to not talk to strangers or untrustworthy characters is a lot less at risk.

In my opinion, I think Facebook is a nice thing to be a part of. I have a Facebook myself, and I have used it to connect with many friends. I have found and rekindled old friendships from as far back as middle school. It creates an easy way to keep in touch with people, as long as you are not using it for anything other than that. I got one in high school so now I have been able to keep in touch with friends I've made from elementary school, high school, and now college.

However, there are some set backs to networking sites. Young girls and boys sign up and become a part of these sites, they put their ages/locations/full names on their profile pages. This automatically creates themselves as target for the sexual predators. They are unaware and oblivious to this most of the time. A young girl or boy may be approached by someone on here and see it as another person on there just simply trying to "hang out", when really they are getting themselves into some trouble with what could be a sexual predator. Some people on networks such as these are not smart about it, which has and can lead to fatal situations.

What I believe it comes down to is; better parental control. I see it as a task needed to be taken upon by the adults in the home who are submissing their children to this. However, young adults need to have their witts about them. Of course, these occurences prove that neither of these two things are always possible. So, whether or not to blame that on the web or the parents is your call. There are dangers everywhere. Otherwise, I dont see who someone can sue the web for something they did not need to be vulnerable to. It is up to the parents to stay monitoring their children.

LIve Life

“If I had to create a bumper sticker that modeled my philosophy for life, it would be "Live Life".

This bumper sticker applies to my life in a few ways. I am a person who likes to have fun, so this saying helps demonstrate that. I believe it is always important to be yourself and let others see you for who you are. It is good to have the quality of being the person who made something fun out of nothing and had a good time no matter what it is. You make valuable friends when you are honest. I also think this idea teaches a valuable lesson because it teaches you to let things go. I think life is too short to be caught up in things that are not worth your time.

The last thing I get from this is the live it up. Again- life is too short to hold back and not do what you want. I think I defiantly live by this quote.