Is It Ever OK To Cheat

Honestly, I never think that it is okay to cheat. Cheating is mostly used when studying wasn’t done for the test or the person is too lazy to look up the answers. I know from experiencing a friend or other classmates cheat in class, it was always because of pure laziness and lack of preparation. It doesn’t show that you have learned anything. I don’t think that it is ever okay.

The Oscars

The Era Of Lady Gaga

Who is Lady Gaga? She is a well-known artist in today’s music culture. She has been known for her outrageous outfits that she wears at major awards shows. Some consist of dresses full of different meats and out fits that cover her entire body. She has been known for pushing the boundaries on what people thought were acceptable. She has been an icon for people because of the message that she brings. Her songs have always been popular but their messages sometimes make them even more relatable. She has helped the LGBT community with her “Born This Way” song. She has always helped those who feel like they don’t belong and that they are too different. She is giving children and adults a confidence in being different and living their life because they should.

 Lady Gaga was all over the tabloids all the time when she first was coming to fame. The outfits and the songs were topics that people were talking about. We never really saw her as just herself. In the last year or two, she has been pretty silent. We haven’t heard new music, haven’t seen crazy outfits, and she isn’t the topic of the tabloids. The Grammy awards this past February Lady Gaga performed with Tony Bennett on stage. She had her natural hair color, stunning white dress and was performing with such elegance. This was a sight of Lady Gaga that we haven’t seen before. This was just a glimpse of the amazing performance that she would stun the world with at the next awards ceremony. 

The Oscars was this past Sunday. It is known for being a respected one that isn’t known for pushing limits but has prestigious events. Lady Gaga was one of those events this year. She did a tribute to Julie Andrews, from The Sound Of Music, and it was one that people will not forget. She used full vocals that many of us never knew that she even had. She did several songs that were favorites to the fans of the movie. She wasn’t wearing anything that took the attention off of the performance. She had a white gown on and was very much like her Grammy performance. All in all it was amazing all around and stunned the viewers. Lady Gaga before this showed us that she can put on a show and make a performance out of it. After the Oscars she has now shown us that she is the whole package. This couldn’t have been more brilliant for her career. She came onto the scene and attracted fans and viewers because of her different style. Then she stepped out of the limelight for a few months and came back with such a glamorous comeback. She has won respect and attracted fans that she hasn’t had before. She has had a great career and has learned how to use the awards shows, like the Oscars, to further her on. The Oscars was great this year because of this artist.

http://youtu.be/Dvg_bwdirxQ

Does Race Matter?

The Million Dollar Question

We are not born with racism already a part of thoughts. We are not born with hate already in our hearts. We are not born to believe that people are different than us. Racism is an attitude toward people of different skin colors that was taught to us sometime in our lives. To think that we would teach each other to hate one another because our skin looks different is a foreign concept to me. I am lucky that my family has taught me nothing but equality. It has shaped my view on different cultures and different people throughout my life. When I meet someone that is racist and they express their feelings, it is nothing but utter disgust. How can someone feel that way towards someone that they don’t even know. I’d like to think that racism in our community today is completely abolished, but sadly I know that isn’t true. We should already be moving pass the race conflict. It is going to take active people in the world to change it. We have had monumental people in our history that gave us the huge steps, now we must run full speed ahead to finish the race set out for us. 

 

I got to participate in the “Race Kiosk” at Avila University. It is an interactive touch screen with what would seem like impossible features. You sit in the chair and it takes a photo of your face. Once it has a good enough picture, you can then change your race to any of the 5 races: white, black, indian, middle eastern, or hispanic. It is amazing what it can do to your face to make you look just like someone else from a different cultural background.

 

 This kiosk taught me a lot about race and how each person feels when they sit in that chair. We all know that racism exists. We all know that people are different than us. But what this experiment taught me was that no matter who sits in that chair, they have their own set of values and beliefs that are different in some way to mine. We all sit in that chair and yet not one of us is the same. We can’t even all be grouped together because not one is completely alike. My brother, Joel Sterling, is a Hispanic and had a comment about this subject. He said “I grew up in Perú and the darker you were, the less respect people had for you.” This shows that it’s not even the black and white racism that we focus most on, it happens with all races and even inside a certain race.

So then there’s the question of “does race matter?” I believe that race matters because of selfishness. We tend to only think about ourselves, which gives us an ego that is inhumane. We like to think that we are better than we actually are. We forget that we all have our own thoughts and values that make us different, not just color. Really we all are different shades of skin color anyways. Not all are one color. Which then the power of being the best comes into play. We love power and we strive for it. The power over someone gives us this invincibility that we all crave. I believe that racism was started because of power hungry, selfish individuals that needed to be the best. Racism, in my opinion, is completely avoidable and should have never been an issue from the start.

                                          http://youtu.be/BJ2xOILD38E

Who Are My Five Favorite Presidents?

(1) Abraham Lincoln- he is one of my favorite presidents because he helped to end slavery here in America.

(2) Dwight Eisenhower- provided crucial leadership through the cold war and helped America prosper during that time.

(3) Franklin Delano Roosevelt- his leadership through WWII, he worked hard to end the great depression and created numerous programs to try to get Americans back on their feet.

(4) George Washington- the first president and he set the precedent for the ones to come.

(5) Ronald Reagan- he started the social security reform, got rid of the berlin wall, and prevented communist expansion.

What I'd Buy With A $50 ITunes Gift Card

Ed Sheeran Album- $12.99

All Sons & Daughters Album- $11.99

Makano Album- $9.99

Nashville Cast Album- $9.99

FourFiveSeconds by Rihanna and Kanye West- $1.29

Try by Colbie Caillat- $1.29

As We Cry by Will Reagan- $.99

Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson- $1.29

Total: $49.82

The NBA All-Star Game

Not All About The Stars

The NBA all-star game was just played this past weekend. It is a chance for the best basketball players in the country to come together and play on a team with or against each other. It has been a tradition that we continue to play every year. But as I was asking people about this game, many failed to watch it that Sunday night. One would think that you would want to watch a game full of the most talented players showing off their skills on the court. But it isn’t about the skill or players that isn’t attracting viewers. It seems that the fact that the players don’t take this game very seriously. The competition of the game should be high but the players don’t try as hard as people think that they ought to. This game also has very little meaning in the grand scheme of the year. It doesn’t effect a title or championship for them because it isn’t their regular team. Russell Westbrook was the top performer of the night with 25 points in one half. This was an expected outcome that people aren’t surprised happened.

Maybe it is that the game lacks drama or isn’t enticing people to watch for its’ lack of drawing the viewers in. We tend to be interested in where a scandal could happen or something crazy goes down. This games are always very tame and seem to be the same thing every time we watch them. It doesn’t matter how famous the people are, if they have seen them play all year on their regular team there is nothing that would make someone want to watch them play with other players, unless you are just a huge fan of course.

 The game itself seems to be a fun tradition for the players where they get to compete to see which part of the United States has the best players. But the lack of defense or heart has skewed the results of that. People are attracted to heart, to fight, to something contagious. This game has players that show some of that, but then have others that show little to no effort because this game doesn’t really matter. How different it would look if the stakes were higher. If the game meant something huge to these guys. Overall the game is something that huge sports fans will watch when it is on. But if there is another game on or an important sports interview, this game will be the first thing switched on the TV. We like an underdog story or a team that has little to no chance winning this game. That isn’t the statistics in this game. If they are wanting more people to watch then they will have to change little aspects which may be impossible to accomplish. But if they can change anything, make it more fun for viewers. We already know that these players are good, so make them do cool tricks to spice things up. Maybe then this game will not be someone’s second choice when channel surfing.

http://youtu.be/v88tzj-dWhc