When 9/11 happened, I was 9 years old in the fourth grade. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I may not have been old enough to understand exactly what was going on, but it was something that traumatized and remained with me for the rest of my life. I was in school for not even an hour when my father and mother came to pick me up. I live only like 40 min from NYC and my parents did not want me in school because of the fear they had knowing I was in school and our country was under attack. They just wanted me with them. You didn’t know what was happening next. It was very scary for me to go home and watch the news and see the tragedy that had happened. It scared me for life. Seeing the people running, jumping out of windows, building collapsing, and the hurt people. I was scared for what else were to happen the same day or in the future. My cousin was in the military and my family was scared on if we were going to war or not.

The difference between what was happening during 9/11 and what happened with the Boston Bombing were two completely different attacks. The 9/11 attack was much more tragic and there were thousands of lives lost and not saying that the Boston bombing was not tragic because no one should have to be attacked in that manor, but it was much different. We were able to track down the suspects involved as a united community and now they can be charged with whatever the court will decide. I am much older now and I understand things better but I also understood it back then. I knew we were attacked, I knew it was very bad and we would fight because my parents did explain that to me. I may have been confused, when I was first picked up from school, but I still understood what was going on. My parents explained things to me and I watched the news all day. Even now that I am older, I wasn’t confused. I knew what was going on, I watched the news and I kept informed, but now as I am older I understand it much better than when I was 9 years old.

As the years pass by I realize more and read different articles about what had happened with 9/11 and I understand it much better than when I did when I was younger. The Boston bombing was much more clear to me and I understood it very clearly than when 9/11 first happened. The impact this had on me was not as great as 9/11 because with 9/11 thousands of lives were lost and buildings were collapsing and in the Boston bombing it wasn’t as big which I thank God that not many were killed but may the souls that were lost Rest In Peace. In the end, I hope we can all come together as a country and help those who have been affected by this tragedy. It breaks my heart to see our country go through such tragedies, but we all have big hearts and we will stand together.

I really liked this question because my friends and I have spoken about this plenty of times on how women won’t speak up about letting the man know if she has had an orgasm or not. When in class, Sam showed a chart in class that said “fewer women had orgasms than men.” It was really shocking. It proves the theory that I have heard sometimes that men want to please themselves first before women and once they’ve reached their “pleasure” they want to finish regardless if she has reached hers or not. Sometimes women do not want to tell the man that he hasn’t done his job because we think it would make him feel bad or emasculate him. It is not easy to tell someone they haven’t done their job, but it’s not always just that. A woman may feel embarrassed to tell the man she hasn’t had an orgasm. It can be an embarrassing situation for a woman.

There are different aspects as to why a woman may or may not have an orgasm. It could be the relationship that she has with that person. If it is a one-night stand she may or may not tell him how she feels. If she does than it is because she feels she won’t see him again. If she doesn’t tell him, than maybe she feels like she would see him again and she doesn’t want him to feel embarrassed or for her to feel embarrassed. Another part is telling a man he wasn’t doing his job is killing his “man pride.” You don’t want to mess with a man’s pride. It could really hurt him in the end because he would think why hasn’t any other woman told him that before. It’s an effecting situation for both the male and female.

When in a relationship with someone you do have to tell him or her that you didn’t have an orgasm. If you plan to be with that person for a while and have an intimate time you do have to share your feelings with them. It’s a very complicated situation because that person does mean a lot to you and you don’t want to hurt their feelings but in the end you have to so it can make both of you guys stronger in the relationship. If you do not you will feel feed up and not want to have sex with the other person anymore. I learned in one of my psychology classes that as a female or male you do have to make sure you have orgasms. It may sound weird but my teacher made it clear that if you don’t there is not a strong connection between the two or he just isn’t doing the right thing. In the end, I feel that the reason why women do not tell the man that she didn’t orgasm is because she wouldn’t want to feel embarrassed or she wouldn’t want for him to feel ashamed or embarrassed.

I am really glad someone asked this question because I have though about this plenty of time before. I always wondered as to why we didn’t help our country first with our economic issues and then I thought about how we all have everything. We have a roof over our heads, we have clothes, food etc. There are people in those countries that don’t have anything. Why should we be selfish and not help them out. I would rather help another country but in moderation. We should fix our deficits and problems first and then help other countries. I may sound a little hypocritical because I said not helping would be selfish but in reality if we can’t fix our problems or economy how can we afford to help other countries? That makes me wonder if we really have problems with the economy because if we can afford to help other countries than we may not even have any problems at all correct? Well not necessarily. We all have our problems the more I look into this topic of discussion the more I just think why do Americans feel so selfish at times when it comes to helping other countries. Don’t you think we have had help when we needed it? I feel that not everyone realizes that. Sure, it would be nice to help our own country with all its problems but it’s the fact that those other countries may not have anything or not as much as we have. For instance, Haiti, We are fundraising money to help them for food and more. It’s more or less the same thing. Why aren’t people here in America saying lets raise money to help America, no we don’t hear that because we have what we need. I am all for helping other countries especially when they may not have everything. I am fortunate to be attending Penn State and having clothes, food and more and there are many people out there who do not have anything and it makes me sad. I would do everything in my will power to help those who are less fortunate than we are. Not everyone has the luxury that we have and I am not saying we are rich but we are richer than they are. There is a big difference and this is why I would think that helping other countries before ours is better because some people do not have anything meanwhile we have all these houses, cars, clothing, food and education that some people are not able to receive. In conclusion, I believe that helping other countries before ours maybe a big issue but to point out the big picture we do have more things than they do and we should help the ones in need because everyone deserves to have a home, clothing and food. No one should suffer of poverty which there is so much out in this world and as citizens and people who care we should help them since we do have so much already.

Can all groups benefit in some way? In my opinion, I say YES!! I believe everyone can benefit from some sort affirmative action being provided for them. There is aid or benefits for everyone. Especially for college scholarships that are available for people of all races, ethnicity, religion or majors. There is so much help out there for everyone. It is that many people do not search for such benefits that are available to them. There benefits for single mothers, women in general, single fathers, men, WIC, welfare and more. Everyone can find help or something to benefit them regardless of what race, color, gender that they have. With the example of scholarships, anyone can receive benefits or help. There are scholarships for being, Hispanic, Black, White, Majors, Religion and more. One needs to do the research for the benefits available for them. A lot of people think they won’t find the help or benefits for them but it is because they do not believe it is out there. I do believe everyone can benefit in some way. Talking about federal aid everyone who is eligible will receive aid regardless of what gender, sexuality, race and religion. Affirmative action is a tough topic to talk about because there are so many people who are against it. Many people believe that people who are of different skin color do not need to receive benefits because they have a different skin color, but they do not realize that they also can receive benefits as well. There will always be issue with affirmative action, but I believe that if it was not for these benefits for some people who are in lower class families they will not be able to go to college or be helped when paying their bills because they do not make enough money. I am Hispanic and no I do not come from a low class family. My father owns a bar and had worked hard for all we have and he is against affirmative action because he believes people should work hard and do the best they can to support themselves as he has done in his life to support our family. We always have this argument because I believe that if we ever needed the help we would be able to benefit from it and it is needed. In conclusion I do believe that everyone can benefit from affirmative action whether you are White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indian or any other races. Everyone is entitled to being helped as long as they put the effort of finding the benefits out there that is available for them. As I said before if it wasn't for the help provided not many people would be able to get help for their educations and be able to become something in life if it wasn't for these benefits available for race, grades etc. I do believe anyone and everyone could benefit from some sort.

The fact that Sam said women aren’t completely free did upset me because women are free in this society. Just because many women didn’t raise their hand if they were on menstruation it could have been because they didn’t feel comfortable. Not many women want people to know their private health issues. That is something that no one needs to know besides yourself. It’s a private issue that not many women want to talk about. It was also a little awkward when he referenced it as “bleeding” not many like it to be referenced as that but as your period or something like that. It was awkward and it’s not that we don’t feel free to speak about it but just the fact that it is a private issue. Women are free and they aren’t being told not to say if they are menstruating or not. That is completely your free will whether you want to tell your business to 700 other students. I believe that it is a private issue and because women did not want to speak it about it doesn’t mean they are not completely free because there is no law or anything saying you cannot speak about your menstruation. It’s your being as a female to say it to the world or not. This topic was the same as when Sam asked in class how man guys masturbated during spring break and not many raised their hand. Does that mean men are not free as well? He didn’t say that in class. It’s the same concept for men. Just because they didn’t raise their hand it didn’t imply that they aren’t free or not. When it comes to private issues one shouldn’t have to let others know or be told you are not free if you cannot say it to other. I feel that when talking about this menstruation it’s easier to speak of this with your best friends or your adult family. You feel more comfortable speaking of these issues with a group of girls rather than a group of males and others you may not know. Coming from a female perspective whether or not I was on my period I wouldn’t raise my hand for the simple fact that no one needs to know I have it and it’s my issue that no one needs to know. Sam needed to bring up that part that why do women feel more comfortable with a group of women rather than speaking to a group of females and males. In conclusion, I feel that women are free and just because they may not have raised their hand if they were on their menstrual cycle or not does not classify them as not being free. This just means that they are not comfortable letting people know if it is that time of month or not. Women are free and we have the will to answer a question or not.

When I first heard of whitening skin cream it was with the whole Michael Jackson scene how he turned white and all these procedures he had done. I never really understood the purpose of it because at the time I was so young to understand as to why he was doing that to himself and as to why he wanted to turn his skin white. I never fully understood that concept, but now as I am older I see no reason as to why they should or shouldn’t turn their skin white if they wanted to. If someone wants to use whitening cream then they should be able to use it if they want; especially, if they don’t feel comfortable in their skin complexion and want to go for a whiter complexion. It is entirely their decision. This brings us back to how White people, or Spanish people go tanning to get their skin darker it is about the same thing. If White or Spanish people can go out in the sun and tan to be darker than someone who is darker complexion and wants to become white should have the right to. There is nothing wrong with bettering your image if you do not feel comfortable with it. I feel that the decision is of the person. I may or may not know the correct reason as to why people use whitening cream but to me I feel that it may be the same as people who use tanning oils and tan in the sun or people who go to tanning salons and get tanned because they want to be darker.

I feel that when people want to go for a lighter look it’s because that may be what is beautiful where they may be from. Certain countries may say that lighter skin is beautiful and darker skin isn’t. This could play a big factor as to why people may want to use whitening cream because maybe where they are from that is what “beauty” may be and if they want to feel beautiful than they will do what they can. It falls to the same category when people want to become darker because that is beautiful or tanned skinned because that is beautiful. It is all part of society and where you are from when people use these creams for their beauty. If certain places say white is beauty than many will want to use whitening cream or if people say black is beauty than many will go out and get tanned so they can be beautiful. I do not encourage whitening cream or tanning because I feel that it will damage your skin and you are already beautiful regardless of your skin complexion whether it is darker or lighter, but if people want to do that because they do not feel comfortable than you should support them.

When interacting with other people whose race is different from mine, I honestly don’t act any differently. I stay the same. Race is not an issue to me personally because in my family I have so many different races and my cousins or aunts and uncles have married outside of our race of being Puerto Rican. I have grown around a majority Hispanic neighborhood, but I want to catholic school my entire life until college and they were very much diverse. My elementary school was Ukrainian and my friends were all different races. They were black, Ukrainian, Irish, Italian, Dominican, Indian or Panamanian and I learned to treat them no different at such a young age. The high school I went to as well was very diverse and I never interacted any differently with people of different races than I. My best friend is from the Czech Republic and another is Black. It shows how different we are, but we treat each other no differently. I love having a mix of cultures in my life because you learn many different things about different countries and it’s something to learn from. In society looks can be very deceiving and you may think you know someone’s race but then again you don’t. For example, this past weekend I was hanging out with friends and I encountered a new friend. He was light skinned and I knew he had to be mixed which I was right. He was half black and half German, but when he looked at me he said he didn’t quite know what my race was because I have curly hair, but I am very light skinned and he thought I was mixed as half Spanish and white, but in reality I am Puerto Rican. This shows that not everyone has the same perception of people and how they look. Some people can tell that you are Spanish and some would think you are another race. The interaction was no different. We acted the same way as we did when we met. I feel that the only way an interaction would someone would change is if you do not agree on many things and it could turn into an argument, but if not meeting people of different races is something exciting to me because I will learn about their culture and views. Like Sam said in class we are 99.9% all the same. This surprised me completely as to how we are all the same yet many people treat other cultures badly when there is only 0.1% difference in each of us. This was so surprising because we all do not have the same characteristics and we do not look identical at all, but it brings us back to reality and makes us think regardless of race or color we still are the same. In the end, I do not interact with people any differently if their race is different from mine. I accept everyone equally and am very happy to meet people of different races.

In my opinion, before we had this discussion in class, I didn’t consider myself rich. I wouldn’t think that I am any better than someone who goes to a community college or I wouldn’t walk around saying I am rich. My parents work very hard to pay my way for school. I was very fortunate to have been in private school since elementary until college. I would consider my family and I middle class. I think that saying we attend this school it means we are rich is false because I know a lot of people who have loans or who have to work their butts have during the summer and throughout the school year to pay because their parents cannot pay or to look for different scholarships, but it means we are richer than other people. I mean it may sound as if I am contradicting myself but in reality rich is having tons of money, not attending a university will classify you as rich, but it means you have an advantage and the opportunity to receive a great education. My father is self-employed and never wanted me to work a day in my life because he says after I graduate PSU and Law school I will have the rest of my life to work but yet again I do not see that as being rich. My parents have worked hard and saved in order to get me through school. I see being rich as someone who has a mansion and tons of money, but then I came to realize in this class that we are in fact more fortunate than others to attend this university, especially as an outside student who pays everything out of pocket. I realized that we may have it better than others but it does not count as being rich. It just means you are able to get the education you need to succeed in life. I mean I may have it better than others, but I am not the type to walk around stuck up or say I have money. I am very quiet about my personal and financial issues because no one cares if you’re a rich or poor person. What matters is that you are here to receive your education. Being able to attend this university or being fortunate to attend this university doesn’t make me walk any differently through this world than other people. It just shows that I am here in life to get a great education and just pursue my dream of becoming a Sports Lawyer. In conclusion, I do not consider myself “rich” but I consider myself fortunate enough to attend one of the best Universities in the US because my parents have worked so hard to get me where I am today. I wouldn’t walk any differently in the world, but I feel that this has taught me a lesson not to take anything for granted and to appreciate everything in life more because we really don’t know how good we have it.

As I left class that day, I realized that it’s so cliché for someone to say because a guy complimented another guy he is gay. I do not understand as to why there should be a difference at all because if women are able to go up to other women and say “you look beautiful” or “that outfits looks great on you” why can’t a guy say that to another guy. I grew up in a household that was very open. The guys in my family always compliment each other and joke around, but they never took it to a level where they would say “oh man you’re gay for that” or “ewww don’t say that.” In my family, whether it was family or friends everyone always compliments each other especially the men. They always said “you look good, brother” or “looking sexy.” It’s just the perception of men being so “macho” that for them to compliment another man is gay because “men” don’t do that. To me the ones who don’t do that have low self esteem and are inconsiderate of others feelings thinking that they are gay if they take a compliment from another guy. This topic is very bothering to me because another man can’t compliment another without being accused of gay has to be put down. It’s insane. I feel that whether a man compliments a man he is being honest and likes how he looks. That in no way means he is in love with him or likes him. It means that he likes his style. Now, if someone was gay and said that to other guy who was straight “you look hot” as what occurred in class, I could understand as to why he would feel uncomfortable, but he is not asking you out on a date of saying he likes you. You should be thrilled that you are good looking and take compliments from men as you would of women. As a woman when another woman compliments me it doesn’t bother me at all even if she was straight or lesbian. I went to an all girls high school and I learned that no matter what your sexuality is you are still a person and if you think someone is pretty or looks good than you can say what you want because you can and no one is judging you. Not everyone believes in the beliefs I have and it doesn’t matter to me because I know for a fact that any man can compliment another man without feeling gay about because the way I was brought up. My family always taught me never to judge a book by its cover and I do have lesbians and bisexuals in my family and friends as well and I don’t treat their comments any different. In closing I think that people should not make judgments because you have complimented someone of the same sex. If a woman is able to compliment another woman without being told she is lesbian, so can a man be able to compliment another man without being told he is gay. So to me the difference there is none, but that is because of the way I was brought up. Not many people will agree with my opinion on there being no difference but I feel as if anyone can say what they want regardless of sexuality.

In class when we answered a couple questions on “who cut themselves? or “who has problems with anorexia,” I was completely shocked with the amount of students out of the 700 who responded with yes. Of course in my opinion, cutting yourself or starving yourself is rather stupid to some people it is a big issue and they cannot help it. My best friend had a problem with cutting herself. We were young 13 and 14 years old, what did I know about cutting yourself, but my best friend sure did know. When we would be in class she would always have a sweater on or something with long sleeves no matter the weather and one day I noticed scratches on her arms. I questioned her without a doubt what it was and she responded with “oh, my cat and I were playing and she scratched me.” At first I believed her because they were minor cuts until that was the same excuse over and over again and the cuts were getting bigger and all over her arms. One day I went to her house and sat down and asked her what was the real problem. It wasn’t that easy for her to tell me. She began to cry and say you wouldn’t understand but I told her “even if I may not understand, I want to learn how to understand what you are going through and I want you to know that I am here for you.” She told me she was struggling with problems at home and it was the only way she “relieved her stress” and it made her “feel good at times.” I told her instead of hurting herself she needed to talk to someone for help and not continue to hurt herself and she said her family started to be aware and decided she needed to get help. I always told her I would never give up on her or our friendship and I would always be there for her no matter what, if she wanted for me to attend help sessions with her I would. I wanted her to know that I will help her and be there for her. Finding out that your best friend was cutting herself is not easy. You wish you could take the pain away, but having some close to you struggling with a problem like this you really don’t know what exactly to say. Just let them know you are here for them and will support them in every way because no one should hurt himself or herself when they have family and friends who love them very much. All you can say is I will be here for you when you decide to get help and when you need someone to talk to. Don’t feel as if you need to hurt yourself to get rid of pain. There are many other ways to get rid of pain, talking to someone, crying it out or going for a run, but do not continue to hurt yourself in the process. We have to stick together and be there for one another.