Erin Sullivan's blog

If I were to choose a celebrity, I would choose Kourtney Kardashian. Kourtney has been through a huge struggle in her life and managed to make out okay. Her family once consisted of her father, Robert Kardashian, her mother, Kris Jenner, her two younger sisters, Khole and Kim, and her little brother, Rob. In 1989, Kris Jenner divorced Robert and Kourtney moved in with her father. Thirteen years later, Robert Kardashian passed away.
Loosing a parent is very difficult and one would never imagine being as successful as Kourtney is today. Kourtney is a model, a mother, and a great older sister. She has recently faced problems with her boyfriend, Scott, after having her child, Mason. Scott was an abusive alcoholic and Kourtney knew that this was not good for her little boy. She did not want Mason to see his father be disrespectful and rude, because she knew Scott was not like that. She did everything to make her family realize that Scott was not a terrible person and waited until he received complete help.
Kourtney has opened another store, aside from d-a-s-h, called Smooch. Smooch is a clothing store for infants. She got this idea after she had her child. Kourtney never gave up and I see her as a very strong, successful person. She has not give up on her baby Mason or her boyfriend Scott.
Every day is a constant battle in her life, but she looks to the better side of things. She has a very nice life, which many people wish they had, but she is not arrogant about it and shares her life. She is constantly giving to charity and making other people happy. She puts a lot of her money to sick children, the poor, and many other charity cases. After a hurricane a fan wrote to her about how her family is living in a trailer, and how they have nothing, but were very grateful they were not dead. Kourtney, Kim, and Khole all did something to help. This shows how she is a reliable celebrity and how she is not like the rest.

“Facebook is a social networking website that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. Since September 2006, anyone over the age of 13 with a valid e-mail address and not residing in one of the countries where it is banned can become a Facebook user. “ When I first signed up for Facebook I remember that it was a college thing and only college people could use it. Younger teenagers and children joining the Facebook network downgraded it.
Many of my friends on my page say unnecessary stuff and publish way too much about their lives. One girl posted a couple of days ago thanking all the girls that “made” her boyfriend cheat on her. Today’s society is completely open on Facebook and they hide behind the computer. Mistakes are made behind the computer because people post way too much about themselves. Also, recently I have watched a show called the “Craigslist Killer.” This show presented a college kid from Boston University who was known as the craigslist killer. He was going to get married on August 14, 2007, but killed himself on August 15, 2007 because he lost his wife due to his foolish actions. He would look at prostitutes who have posted advertisements and went to their hotel room and took undies as a trophy. He killed one of the girls because she retaliated against him.
There are many different examples, problems, and crimes that have occurred to do networking. If I were to give advice to anyone who is on the Internet I would tell him or her not to post a lot of information. Posting information can lead to fraud, a killing, or something that is bizaar. People who post a lot of information are putting themselves in danger.
In the article that was posted, they stated that it aggravates people when quizzes are taking. It said that they do not care about where your from or what your doing at that second. Many people keep posting things that are not important of is should not be said on Facebook. Some people put their telephones numbers, address, parties all on Facebook.

Barbie: Blog # 7
Barbie has been in the industries for many years now. When I was younger, I was not one to play with barbie dolls but my sister was. Now my cousin is always playing with Barbie dolls and is inspired by what they do. Barbie is very materialistic; they need those “cool” cars to drive in so they can impress Ken and they need runways with tons of clothes so they can model.
I do not believe that Barbie dolls have a major impact on ones life. I believe when you are little anything and anyone can inspire you to be what you want to be. In the article Scott Simon stated “For a lot of little girls, Barbie is an older girl doll to dress up with fantasies of their future. For some adolescent boys, Barbie has always been a stimulus package (Simon).” I never looked at Barbie as a role model to one. I understood that they are unreal and I will never be like them. My view on Barbie is not how others view her; some view her as a role model and someone to be like.
I believe as many grow up they begin to look to models instead of Barbie. Models are skinny, tall, and gorgeous. They have every quality a girl could want, and some girls believe they are not pretty enough to live. Barbie dolls are a good tool to have when you little and I do not rebel against them. They are a doll which one can play with and enjoy. I do not believe that it is a bad thing to own a Barbie doll, but some may think so. It has both positive and negative qualities one could agree with. My sister has stopped playing with Barbie when she was five and she is perfectly normal. Although she is obsessed with staying skinny and wishes she was taller to be a model, she is also very materialistic.

I would like to thank you for everything you are doing for this country. You have taken the time out of your life to protect and save this country. You have a lot of courage for being out there and you deserve a lot of respect. On December 11, 2010 I lost a good friend of mine who was fighting for this county. It is truly remarkable what you do for this country and I can not thank you enough! You have sacrificed much for being out there in the freezing cold and I want you to know that it is greatly appreciated! Thanks again and I hope you enjoy the holidays!

Many high school students do not try to look outside of school for real-life opportunities such as working, volunteering, and doing sports outside of school. Today, high school students believe going to school is their “job” and they should not have to go out into the working world. They are not able to experience what life outside of high school is, therefore, when they go into college they are bombarded by what they have to be responsible for.
I believe having a course, LIFE 101, could be very useful to students because it will help them realize life is not a walk in the park. Paying bills, managing a family, owning a house, and learning how to save money is a necessity to live a real-life. A course on life would be very helpful to high school students because they would be able to see what their future is going to be like. Many do not live in a household where they are witnessing parents struggling to pay the bills, and those types of students are the ones who take advantage of having life handed to them.
Many students do not know the meaning of life because parents today are spoiling their children to and beyond. If we added a course about life there should be much information on what you need to survive in the future, how to pay bills, where to go for help, how to save money, and how to take care of themselves.
To live in the real-world one has to have a job that will pay good and be able to pay their bills. Students today do not know what it is like to have a job, but some do. Our generation today is not focusing on money or their future they care about the present and what is satisfying to them. A LIFE 101 course would be a wake up call to many and help prepare one for their future.

Texting and iming

Texting and instant messaging has become very popular among the United States and is used widely. Our generation is always using texting as a way of communicating with friends, parents, and siblings. Many teachers and parents believe that texting has had a major effect on students writing ability. Others also believe that it increases student’s literacy because it allows us to be able to recognize when to use abbreviations. Texting has been studied by experts, who believe that texting is a reading tool and has allowed students who are texting to understand what they are reading.

            I believe that texting does not increase our literacy, but makes it worse. Students make many mistakes because that is how they talk in texting, so they do the same in their papers. I believe that it doesn’t enhance students who are weak in reading because they are sticking to the language they know and not applying the language that philosophers and writers are writing.

            Texting can help increase multi-tasking and socializing for many reasons. I believe it improves students multi-tasking because it allows them to talk and text at the same time or do homework and text. Many can watch television, text, eat, and go on the computer at the same time because that is what they are use to.  It also allows students to socialize because it allows them to become in contact with classmates, parents, and siblings. When a person texts for a while, they feel more comfortable with that person and feels as if they have a connection together which could grow. I believe texting is a social skill in our generation.

            Texting could be incorporated in high school classes to help improve literacy. It could be included because it would allow one to witness how their grammar changes through it. Texting is becoming more and more like a computer because it helps one spell better, because it is fixing the spelling mistakes and underlining their mistakes. Texting could be used as a learning tool but I would not recommend it.

Cheating

    Many high school students are referring to cheating out of laziness. I believe many students know the information and listen in class, but I believe they are too lazy to study and understand the information. Cheating takes place in every high school and many students do participate in this. Many students do not believe that there is anything wrong with this and Sam, from the article, believes that 90% of the students cheat their way through high school. I completely agree with Sam because I know many students here are Bishop Connolly that copy homework, glance over during tests, and try and get help from their student.

    Teachers are one of the many impacts on students cheating. Here at Bishop Connolly allow students to work and groups and help another with things they do not understand. I believe that plays a major role in cheating because if we are working together everyday in class, I believe many think it is okay to help each other on the test. Teachers do not monitor the classrooms very well in Bishop Connolly because they are doing work or they see one cheating and just do not punish them. I have seen teachers watch students cheat on tests and say “eyes on your own paper.” I do not understand if they see a student cheating why they would not punish that student.

    If students were punished they would have consequences. Many teachers do not give out punishments, therefore students believe that they can get away with it and they will not face any consequences to make them learn. I believe cheating is at every school throughout the United States and I do not think that teachers can do anything to stop this. Teachers could separate their students and monitor their classroom better, but besides that I believe us students are very intelligent in ways of cheating.

Should the Drinking Age be Lowered?

    I believe that the drinking age should not be lowered because it would give us younger teens the right to drink. I believe if we lower the drinking age, people who are younger will start drinking at a very low age. The drinking age now is 21 and there are teenagers, ages 15+ starting to drink. If the drinking age were to be lowered, I think younger kids, ages 11-14, would start thinking because they would think they are almost old enough to drink. I believe no matter what the age is people will still break the law no matter what. Teenagers believe that they are mature enough to handle drinking, but most teenagers show they can not. Many teenagers do not know their limit of alcohol and if the age were to be lowered many would take advantage of the age.

   Many adults today are buying for minors today, which are allowing teenagers to think it is alright to drink because their parents are supplying it. If the age was lowered many would take advantage and believe it is okay to drink and drive. In today’s society there is usually one older, more experienced drinker who is responsible for the driving. Most teenagers do not use a designator driver because they believe they are good enough to drive. I believe the law should not change because when you are 21 I feel that one has matured enough to know if they are good to drive or not. If the drinking age was 18, many would take advantage and get behind the wheel of the car when they know they are putting themselves in danger, whoever is in the car with them, and other who are on the streets.