Introduction

As a young kid, I always enjoyed reading, writing, drawing, crafts- the list goes on. I

always tried to write my own stories that I would have my mother and father read. I was always

so proud of them. As I grew older and entered high school, my love for writing and creativity

began to fade away. I would cringe at the idea of writing a paper. It would stress me out and I

would put the paper off until last minute. I started to become weaker in my writing abilities, and

my papers were amateur. As I graduated high school, I was thankful my writing days were soon

coming to an end- or so I thought.

Upon entering my freshman year of college, I learned it was necessary to take an English

class, one with a name that haunted me: College Writing. I was less than impressed. The first few

weeks of the course were daunting and I worried constantly about upcoming assignments and

how I’d tackle them. I was worried the course would be just like those I had taken in high school,

where I had never had any real constructive feedback on how to improve my writing. I was

wrong. This course has helped me to become a better writer, and has helped me to feel

comfortable thinking outside the box and stepping out of my comfort zone while tackling my

writing assignments. Contrary to what I believed when I first stepped foot into this class, I

actually enjoyed the course and what it had to offer.

I found the first few writing assignments to be tough, but as time went on, I was

comfortable with my writing style and technique. I tackled the assignments in a productive, step-

by-step manner and met all deadlines on time. This course has changed my previous, negative

view of writing, to a more positive, confident outlook.

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 Media and Celebrity Portrayal

An article I found on a gossip website, www.people.com, talked about Beyoncé and her

husband, Jay Z, expecting twins. The article was posted Thursday, February 2nd, shortly after

the couple announced they are expecting twins. In the article, maternity photos of Beyoncé grab

the reader’s attention; in most photos, she is nearly nude or is completely nude. I believe the

journalists for People Magazine used these photos to capture the reader’s attention as many

women and men idolize Beyoncé for having a “perfect body,” as she is curvy, tall with long legs,

and is seen as beautiful by many across the globe. The article also included information about the

colorful, yet revealing clothing choices Beyoncé chose to wear in her maternity shoot.

After reading this article and analyzing how exactly the journalists and editors at People

Magazine engaged the readers in Beyoncé’s latest news, I looked at the comments readers left.

It’s safe to say about half of the reader’s left the usual hateful comments that celebrities seem to

get- many women commented that Beyoncé is not special for having twins as many non-

celebrity women have twins of their own. Readers also commented that the maternity photos

looked tacky and that they would be disappointed if their photos had turned out like hers. I

believe this is because many women do not think Beyonce deserves special recognition for being

pregnant with twins, as millions upon millions of women around the world have been having

twins of their own for decades, famous or not. Other readers who commented wrote that the

pictures were beautiful, expressed their congratulations to the couple, and wishing them luck.

There were a few comments of readers who said the photos were beautiful and how they wished

they had such beautiful photos of themselves. I believe the readers who commented the positive

things about Beyoncé’s pregnancy and photos are her “true fans” who support her no matter

what she does.

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 Sports on Social Media

After reading the two short pieces on sports and social media, I must say I agree strongly with all

arguments presented. These pieces claim that most every team, league, etc. has a social media

account, mainly Twitter, for fans to keep up with the latest news. The pieces also discuss that

teams can reach out to fans and get their messages across, as well as view live action broadcasts

through different media outlets. I feel that use of social media for sports teams has become a

huge part of the fan base for teams. Fans find out the latest news, stats, game information, and

even “personal” information about players through social media outlets like Twitter, Instagram,

and Facebook. These media outlets seem to help fans feel more connected on a personal level

with their favorite athletes and teams.

I see social media as both a help and hindrance to sports teams. I believe they help teams

if the team members and fans post positive, non-derogatory things, like true statistical data, game

highlights, or interview clips. Posting positive things on social media outlets helps fans feel more

connected and can even help a team gain more fans. I believe if athletes post things about their

“personal” life, it helps fans to feel better connected to the athlete and realize they’re a real

person who may have things in common with the average man or woman in daily life. If teams

and athletes use social media to trash-talk another team or post things that are racist, contain

profanity, etc., they are going to lose fans or spike controversy that could get them into trouble.

I think that social media should impact an athlete’s career. If a person is posting horrible

and offensive things, they should be penalized. I believe players need to stay conscious of the

choices they make on social media outlets, as it could backfire greatly on them as well as other

teammates. Many of the fans who view these social media outlets tend to be little kids and young

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teenagers who look up to athletes as role models. Athletes need to keep this in mind as they have

an impact on kids all over the world.

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 Photoshop Race War

In today’s technological age, photoshop plays a huge role in society. Photoshop is used,

per the Washington Post and Beauty Redefined Blog, to touch-up photographs to look more

“picture perfect.” Women especially have become a major target for photoshop over the years,

which has affected women across the world. According to Beauty Redefined, white women have

become the most popular amongst the photoshop world. This alone has brought outrage to

women of all different races and sparked controversy in a “race war.”

The majority of women seen on the cover of magazines are white women, who appear to

be completely flawless, with no frizz, no fat, no pimples or skin discoloration, etc. This has an

effect on women across the world, many of them coming to believe their own bodies do not meet

the standard that is brought about by such photoshopped magazine/internet photos. Photoshop

has become nothing but an esteem-breaker in today’s world. Women have unrealistic ideals of

body image based off photoshopped photos that portray famous women to be completely and

utterly perfect. Such photos have brought about serious esteem issues that result in illnesses like

anorexia, bulimia, and more.

An example of how photoshop effects esteem would be teenage girls and women who

have begun crazy diets, used products that promise the “perfect body”, etc. Women do not need

to do such things. It’s great to be healthy and feel good, but there is no such thing as the “perfect

body.” There are no two people on Earth who have the same body. Similar yes, but exactly the

same? Not possible- unless your body image has been photoshopped. The issue with self-esteem

and photoshop has become out of hand and seems to be getting worse still today. Women across

the globe need to see themselves for who they really are and embrace their natural, God-given

beauty.

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 Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian

While reading “The Absolutely Tue Diary of a Part Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, I

saw several different themes emerge throughout the novel. The one theme Alexie brought to

light which stood out to me most was the differences between cultures and the similarities people

of different cultures can share. This novel tells the story of a young Indian boy, Junior, through

his own experiences, who leaves his school, Wellpinit, on an Indian reservation to attend a

school in a rich, white, farm-town that is twenty-two miles away from his home, with an all-

white population to gain better opportunities than he would on the reservation. Junior faces

struggles with the cultural differences between him and his new peers, but begins to realize, as

well as other characters throughout the novel, that skin color and cultural identities do not define

a person.

In the beginning of the novel, Junior decides to go to an all-white high school called

Reardon after speaking with one of his teachers at Wellpinit who tells Junior of the opportunity

he could have if he left the school on the reservation. Junior’s first few weeks at Reardon are

filled with being picked-on, laughed at, and put-down by his new peers. Two characters in

particular, Penelope and Roger, begin picking on Junior as soon as he begins at Reardon. Junior

first meets Penelope in homeroom, where Penelope asks him his name. Junior responds and tells

Penelope his name is Junior, to which she giggles and tells her friend. As the homeroom teacher

is reading off attendance, he calls Junior by his real name, Arnold Spirit. This angers Penelope,

who thinks Junior lied to her about his name. When she calls Junior out on it, she asks Junior

where he’s from. He responds that he’s from the reservation of Wellpinit, to which Penelope

says explains why he talks funny. In this specific event, Alexie shows one of the many

differences between Junior the Indian boy and Penelope the rich and beautiful white girl when

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Penelope points out the difference in Junior’s accent compared to everyone else’s at Reardon.

After Penelope points out the difference between her and Junior, Junior begins to notice all the

differences between him and his new classmates. (Alexie, 59-61)

On his seventh day at Reardon, Junior engages in physical confrontation with one of the jocks of

the school, Roger, who calls him names like “Chief,” “Squaw,” and “Tonto.” On this day, Roger

cracked a racist joke to Junior, which created a spiral of emotions for Junior. When Roger made

his nasty joke, Junior says “I felt like Roger had kicked me in the face. That was the most racist

thing I’d ever heard in my life. Roger and his friends were laughing like crazy… I knew I had to

do something big…. So I punched Roger in the face.” This quote shows that Junior felt he had to

stand up for himself and prove that his skin color did not make him any less of a person than

Roger. He felt that he had to show Roger that he was not going to accept his name calling and

that he was not going to let someone walk all over him the way Roger was trying to. Roger’s

name calling and racist jokes show that he assumed he was better than Junior based off the color

of his skin. (Alexie, 64-65)

As the novel progresses, Alexie begins to show how Junior relates to other students when

Junior begins to form a better relationship with both Penelope and Roger. Penelope and Junior

begin to form a friendship on Halloween, when Penelope describes how she’s using her costume

to raise awareness for homeless people in the country, to which Junior claims he’s raising

awareness for the treatment of homeless Native Americans (although he’s really just trying to

impress Penelope). Junior decides to raise money with Penelope to donate, which shows

Penelope that Junior is just as thoughtful as a person as she is. Around this time, Roger and

Junior begin to form a relationship when Junior arrives to school on the back of a family friend’s

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motorcycle, to which Roger makes a comment about how cool the bike is. This shows Roger

beginning to respect Junior, as he does things that are seen as “cool” by Roger. (Alexie, 72-78)

In the middle of the novel, Junior befriends another student, Gordy, who Junior talks to

after Gordy proves Junior gave a right answer in class when he was told he was wrong. The two

befriend each other when Junior and Gordy realize they both have differences from the rest of

the students at Reardon- Gordy being a “geek,” and Junior being a non-white student. Alexie

uses this example in the novel to show that although Gordy and Junior are two completely

different people in their hobbies, race, and background, they still share some things in common,

like their loneliness and being outcasts at Reardon. (Alexie, 92-93)

As the novel continues, Penelope and Junior start dating, and Roger and Junior become

good friends. One example that Alexie uses in the novel to bring these characters together is after

Reardon’s Winter Formal, Roger decides that the group (Penelope, Roger, Junior, and others)

should go out to get pancakes. When Roger mentions this, Junior begins to feel anxious, as he is

too poor to afford to go. Once the group orders their food, Junior went to the bathroom to think

of how he’d escape paying for his and Penelope’s food and ended up getting sick. In this

moment, Roger walks into the bathroom and Junior tells him he forgot his wallet. Roger offers to

cover him, and drove him home when he realized Junior had no means of transportation to go

back to the reservation. To this, Penelope picks up on the fact that Junior is poor and confronts

him about it. Junior worries word will spread, but Penelope assures him that it won’t, and that

she and Roger both like him. Alexie uses this example to show that people of different races,

economical classes, and backgrounds can come together when such differences are pushed aside.

He also uses it to show that such things do not define who a person is, it’s what’s on the inside

that counts. As the relationships between Penelope, Roger, and Junior grow stronger in the novel,

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it is clear to see that the three like each other for who they are on the inside and for their

personalities. The trio does not let cultural differences affect their friendship as their friendships

progress. (Alexie, 125-129)

I personally feel that Alexie wrote this novel to show that things like skin color, race,

background, poverty, etc., do not define who a person is. Instead, he used these differences in his

novel to show that if we don’t let our differences and physical characteristics define us, we can

unite with other people. I believe Alexie uses examples like the ones above to show that although

someone may look completely different than you, or may have a much different quality of life, it

does not make them any more or less of a person.

Alexie’s novel shows readers that people of all different genders, races, ethnicities,

backgrounds, etc. can come together as one and form great relationships when such differences

are pushed aside. The novel shows readers that you should not let your culture and background

create a stereotype for you, but instead be proud of where you come from. The novel shows the

beauty of acceptance and friendship when cultural differences are pushed aside.

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 Beauty and Fashion in America

Why are beauty and fashion such important aspects of American culture? People across

the country spend time, money, and more on improving their looks and the way others see them.

It has become a huge part of our culture to “appeal to the eye” of others. It’s also become

important for people to “fit in” with those around us by following beauty and fashion trends that

appear in modern-day society. Why do people feel the need to constantly keep up with the

evolving beauty and fashion trends in America? Let’s take a closer look.

It’s safe to say people in America have kept consistent with the beauty and fashion trends

over the decades to “fit in” with other members of society and have others view them in a

positive way. In the 1980’s, big, teased hair, neon colors, leggings, legwarmers, and big hoop

earrings were worn by women everywhere in the country. Men had long hairstyles, wore

spandex pants, and silk shirts. In the 90’s, fashion and beauty changed drastically- and so did

everyone else. Women wore flared jeans, plaid skirts, tube tops, and choker necklaces. Men wore

baggy pants, backwards facing hats, and had haircuts that parted down the middle of their heads.

Fashion and beauty have been a major part of American culture as far back as all can remember,

as people feel they gain some sort of higher status by “fitting in” and following with the trends.

As time went on, fashion and beauty began to change, men and women conforming their fashion

and beauty sense to that of the current time. (Edwards) (Deleon)

Today, some of the beauty and fashion trends in America are like no other. Men and

women alike have crazy hair colors, wear loads of makeup, wear bright, colorful clothes, etc. to

fit in with the fashion and beauty norms of our society. Following fashion and beauty in

American society is so significant because people enjoy looking at celebrities and other well-

known people while they try and reach some sort of higher status based off dressing/looking like

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whoever that famous person may be. People expect to be associated with popularity if they

follow with the latest in beauty and fashion. If they follow trends and look/dress like famous

people, they feel they may gain status, popularity, and higher levels of self-confidence. It has

become a hobby of many, no matter what the age, race, or gender may be to follow the latest

trends in both the beauty and fashion world.

One example of the latest beauty trends in America is Kylie Jenner and her makeup line.

Her makeup line, more specifically her “lip kits,” have become a huge phenomenon amongst

teenagers and young women. These lip kits include one lip liner and one liquid lipstick, designed

to give the buyer the perfect pout- just like Jenner herself. The kits come in a variety of colors

and are all matte, ranging from nude to berry shades, following the matte, neutral-colored lip

trend that’s huge in the makeup world today. Buyers spend $29 on these lip kits- a rather large

sum of money for a lip liner and lipstick- to achieve a look close to Kylie Jenner’s. (17Ar) The

phenomenon with these kits prove that people in American culture are highly influenced by the

looks of celebrities and hope to gain a higher status/popularity level by following along with the

trends of celebrities, who seem to represent popularity, happiness, and high status.

Another example of a beauty trend that has become a huge phenomenon while also

seemingly ridiculous is “stiletto nails.” Stiletto nails are worn by girls and women who have

long-length nails, usually with acrylic coating them. They are called stiletto nails as they’re

shaped to a perfect point at the tip, getting wider and wider as it goes up toward the nail bed, just

like a pair of stiletto heels. This trend seems rather ridiculous as the tips become extremely

pointy, like a weapon on each nail. If you have something in your eye with these bad boys on,

you may as well forget about it! Stiletto nails are yet another trend started in the celebrity world,

which soon became widespread to people everywhere. Celebrities like Lady Gaga, Adele,

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Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj have been wearing these nails for quite some time. Once media caught

wind of this latest trend, people quickly caught on and began to do the same, as looks in America

are highly valued.

An example of a newer fad in the men’s fashion and beauty world is the man bun. Men

around the country have grown their hair out and started wearing it in a messy bun, sometimes

even a tight bun- like a ballerina. This trend is one that men would have never done decades ago,

as it just was not the fad of the time. Men and women alike have become more open about

gender role reversal and have begun to try looks/styles that “belong to opposite genders.”

Celebrity men who rock the man bun and influence citizens across the country include Leonardo

DiCaprio, Harry Styles, Brad Pitt, and David Beckham. Until just recently when this trend came

about, you would never see a man with his hair in a bun, only a woman!

Another newly famous men’s trend are decorative beards. This includes glitter, holiday

décor, and flowers. Though there are few celebrities- if any- who rock this, it’s a popular style

seen on social media outlets like Instagram, Snapchat’s ‘Discover’, and Twitter that causes a lot

of talk. The trend has been featured on YouTube, and in such magazines like Cosmopolitan. This

trend includes men who decorate their beards by covering them completely in glitter, putting

flowers in their beards, or for a little holiday fun, hanging ornaments in their beard. This trend is

not very common amongst men across the country, but certainly appears over and over

throughout the media. As such a crazy trend, it is evident that this trend is followed to look good,

gain attention, and gain popularity.

While people continue to spend large amounts of money on products like those of Kylie

Jenner, Sephora, and more, they seem to believe the more money they spend, the more “celebrity

worthy” they will become. This proves true for not just the makeup world, but the fashion world

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as well. In our society, people would rather spend more money on an expensive, well-known

brand than spend less on a very similar, less popular brand of clothing or makeup. Many of these

expensive brands can be found worn by celebrities in magazine photographs, television, social

media, you name it. The temptation of spending money on more expensive fashion brands that

are promoted by celebrities proves yet again that people tend to try and achieve a higher status,

as they like to have attention and be liked, from following celebrity beauty and fashion trends in

America. One would never see a celebrity in a magazine, commercial, etc. wearing an outfit

bought at a store like Wal-Mart or Target, but could be expected to be seen in something from a

store like Nordstrom. While following these trends, people demonstrate the psychological theory,

the halo effect. In this theory, people tend to associate positive values and characteristics with

those who are viewed as physically attractive- hence the average person following “hot”

celebrity trends. (Cherry)

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Bibliography

n.d. 20 Arpil 2017. <https://www.kyliecosmetics.com/>.

Cherry, Kendra. Very Well. 31 August 2016. 12 February 2017.

<https://www.verywell.com/what-is-the-halo-effect-2795906>.

Deleon, Jian. The 80 Greatest 80s Fashion Trends. 10 December 2012. 17 February 2017.

<http://www.complex.com/style/the-80-greatest-80s-fashion-trends/>.

Edwards, Jess. 23 Things You Definitely Wore (and LOVED) in the 90s. 6 October 2015. 17

February 2017. <http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/fashion/style/a38936/90s-fashion-trends-we-

wore/>.

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 Santa May Not Be Real, But the Magic of Christmas Is

I remember standing to the side in the basement of the house I grew up in, watching my

father bent over his work bench. I remember the musty smell of the basement, filling my nose

with every breath I took. I remember listening to the sound of my father’s tools clinking and

twisting as he worked on a coffee machine from one of the many Dunkin Donuts he services,

which he took home for the weekend to repair. It was early on a Friday evening in mid-October,

only about a month and a half away from Christmas. We had just finished eating dinner and my

mom had taken off to the gym. I was in third grade and 9 years old at the time. I sat to the side of

my father’s work area, quiet for a while, contemplating how I was going to ask my dad about the

truth behind Santa Claus. I had already pieced together in my mind that he wasn’t real- I had

enough clues. I decided the best way to ask was to come straight out with it.

“Daddy?” I asked in my quiet, little-girl voice. “Yeah V?” he answered. I was quiet for a

moment. “Is Santa real?” I asked. He danced around the answer and instead asked me “Well

what do you think?” I thought about it and knew I had enough proof that Santa wasn’t real. I

thought about all the years that had passed, and how I noticed the handwriting on my presents

from “Santa” matched the handwriting on all the gifts from my parents. I thought about the fact I

had never caught Santa coming down the chimney of our house. I had never heard reindeer feet

on the roof of our house like I had hoped for. “Santa” would even leave a few presents for my

dog when he came to visit- something I had never heard of him doing for any of my friends’

pets! “Well Daddy, Santa and Mommy have the same hand writing on their presents for me, I’ve

never seen him in the house or heard his reindeer, and none of my friends’ pets get presents like

Zeus does!” My father was quiet for a minute. He stopped working on the machine and stepped

away from the work bench, over to where I was. He squatted down to be eye-level with me, his

15
little girl, no more than four feet tall. I looked right into his big, brown eyes and listened to him

as he began to speak. “Well V, you must not ruin this for your friends who still believe- you have

to keep it a secret, but I will tell you the truth. Your mother and I play Santa every year. I know it

stinks to find out he’s not real, but he’s not even what Christmas is really about.” I was stunned,

angry, and upset. I couldn’t imagine what he meant. Obviously, Santa and opening cool presents

was what Christmas was all about! How could he tell me it wasn’t?

After my father telling me Santa was not what Christmas was all about, he began to

explain to me what the true meaning of Christmas was. “The real meaning of Christmas is the

magic that’s in your heart and the joy of spending time with your family and friends. It’s about

giving, not about receiving. Christmas is a time to be thankful for everyone you love, like me,

Mommy, Zeus, and all your friends. It’s a time to be together with your family and enjoy it. It’s

not about the presents and toys you get that make you happy, but the happiness you feel from

giving gifts and spending time with others. Your mother and I are always so happy to watch you

get excited about the gifts we picked out for you and love to watch you open them. To us as

parents, that’s the greatest Christmas present.” I thought about what my father said for a while.

“He must be right,” I thought “Daddy knows everything.”

After he told me the truth that Santa was indeed a made-up Christmas figure that’s fun for

little kids, I sat quietly and thought about it. I thought long and hard about what he had said-

Christmas was a time to enjoy my family and friends, and the gift of giving to them. I thought

about how happy my family was on Christmas morning while watching each other open

presents. I realized how much fun I had always had when making homemade craft projects to

give to my parents for a present, and how good it felt to see what my handmade item meant to

them when they opened it, watching smiles spread across their faces. I thought about how much

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fun my cousins and I had together on Christmas day, sharing and playing with our new toys. I

thought about the excitement of getting to see family that I don’t see very often, all coming

together under one roof. I thought about the delicious dishes my family makes traditionally on

Christmas day. I realized my father was right- Santa is not what Christmas was all about, it’s the

magic and happiness you hold in your heart.

After my shock of finding out the truth wore off and acceptance of the truth began to

settle in, I began to wonder if the same were true for the Easter Bunny and the Tooth-fairy.

“Daddy?” I asked again. “Yeah V?” he answered back. “If Santa isn’t real, does that mean the

Easter Bunny and the Tooth-fairy aren’t real either?” I asked. This time he didn’t pause. “You

guessed it, kid. Easter is another holiday that is important for spending time with your family.

It’s not as exciting as Christmas, I know, but it’s important to enjoy the time you can with your

family and make the most of it, because someday we won’t all be here. Mommy and I always left

you baskets and pretended to be the Eater Bunny as well. Just like on Christmas, it makes us

happy to watch you open your Easter basket. As far as the Tooth-fairy goes, Mommy and I

always had a hard time making sure not to wake you up when we would reach under your pillow

for the teeth you lost. She’s not as cool anyways- you don’t get to enjoy spending time with your

family like you do on Christmas and Easter.” I knew he was right, Easter was another great

holiday for spending time with loved ones, and I always hated pulling out my teeth, so finding

out the Tooth-fairy wasn’t real was fine with me.

A month and a half later, I woke up on Christmas morning, ready to open all my wonderful gifts,

all of them this year only from my mother and father, not Santa. Although I did not get that

butterfly feeling in my stomach that kids get when looking for any clues of Santa’s visit in the

house, I still enjoyed opening my presents with my family. Since I knew all my gifts were from

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my parents and not Santa, I was able to better appreciate all that my parents got and did for me

for the holiday. That Christmas, I was not disappointed, but happy instead. As per usual, I got to

spend time with my cousins, sharing and playing with our new toys, I saw family I hadn’t seen

since Christmas prior, and enjoyed tons of delicious food. I felt nothing but the purest joy, and

knew everything my father had told when he revealed the truth behind Santa was true.

Ten years later at 19 years old, I still hold all those words my father said to me on that October

evening close to my heart. I still think about them every Christmas day, and use them as a

reminder to celebrate what Christmas is truly about. I am thankful my father was so patient with

me in breaking the news that is horrifying to most children, and that he taught me the golden

rules when it comes to celebrating Christmas. I look forward to this Christmas, to celebrate yet

again all of the things my father taught me.

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 About the Author

Vanessa Bastardo is a freshman at Nichols College, majoring in Criminal Justice and

minoring in Psychology. She works as a cashier at a local department store, Klem’s, as well as a

cashier/cleaner at Glow Tanning in Worcester. In her free time, she can be found spending time

with friends, family, and her two dogs, Doby and Shadow. She enjoys art and DIY projects,

shopping, and reading. After college she plans on pursuing a career in the field of corrections.

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