I felt really happy when we were skyping with the kid from Iran in class, and it was a somber moment because I’m sure that is the last time I will ever hear from him. I thought it was so kind of him to prepare a speech for our class and his words really stuck with me. For him to show sympathy for Boston, after many Americans immediately blamed Muslims for the bombing was very brave and courageous of him. I think that it is also brave of him just to even skype with our class knowing the conflicts between our countries. I have a lot of respect for him as a person. Something that actually struck me and made me feel sad during the skype session was when he mentioned about the recent car bomb in Iran that killed over 40 people. It was shocking how casual he was when talking about it because it is so common for this to happen everyday in his country. And instead of only feeling sympathy for his country, he still had the heart to reach out and say nice things for Boston when we, at that point, had only lost 3 people in the bombing. Its crazy to me that I didn’t even hear of the bombing, or the bombing in Afghanistan until Thursday’s lecture, yet when the Boston bombings happened, my entire newsfeed and time line were full of coverage and prayers and condolences. Its sad that something like this has to happen to bring our countries together, or more so, individuals. The fact that he is Muslim and was saying sorry for what had happened to Boston did affect me, although I don’t know if that is a bad thing. Sadly, we associate Muslims or Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan with war and terror. The fact that when this happened, people blamed Muslims and not even North Korea who has threatened us these past few weeks amazes me. What amazes me even more is that we didn’t blame an individual in our own country because we have seen from the Dark Knight Rises Movie Theater shooting and the Connecticut elementary school shooting that citizens in the United States are more than capable of causing terror, chaos, and pain to our country. I think is does sink in more that the words were said from someone who is of Muslim religion because it contradicts what we may think of Muslims. Even this one individual was able to curve our judgment, even if it was just for 5 minutes, and lessen our hatred. He opened my eyes and I truly hope he was able to open other classmate’s eyes, especially those who are prejudice towards Muslims, that you cannot define an entire religion and everyone who follows that religion by some people (the extremists) actions.

I don’t necessarily believe that all women are afraid to tell their partner the truth that they did not orgasm. I think it really depends on the person and the situation. For example, I do not think that a girl hooking up with someone a few times would have it in them to tell the guy that they did not orgasm or that it wasn’t great. I believe a girl in a relationship would feel much more comfortable telling her boyfriend that she did not orgasm. I feel that women are nervous or uncomfortable to tell a man this because they fear that they will insult them or attack their manhood. I completely feel that a man takes pride in his sex life and has a pressure to be ‘good’ for his partner, so I feel that if I were to tell him that it wasn’t great it would really get to him and make him feel insecure and self conscious and I’m not sure he would recover. And after talking about this in our discussion group, it was clear that the guys felt this way too. Although I feel it could be uncomfortable, there is no reason that a girl should not feel comfortable to speak up or feels that they have to just be content with the sex. I think what a girl could do is to tell her boyfriend or partner what feels good, things that she likes, etc. Communication is key in any relationship and that applies to the sex life also. If you cannot communicate with your partner and tell him what you like, then maybe you should not be with that person. I know that sex seems to be more for the guy, and that porn, magazines, advertisements, etc., show sex from a male viewpoint, but sex should be enjoyable for both the male and female and the girl deserves to orgasm as well and not just be overlooked. I also feel that a guy would have no problem or issue with telling a girl that she isn’t doing the best job, or that he likes a different position more, so there is no reason the girl cannot do the same to the guy. It shouldn’t hurt his self-esteem. I think that guys feel if a girl tells him she’s not loving it, it mean that he’s awful in bed and will always be awful in bed and he may be nervous to have sex the next time which could spark other issues. But this is not the case at all. I think there is room for improvement for everyone, and just because a girl wants something different, it doesn’t mean the guy is awful. Besides, every girl is different and likes something different so how should the guy know that?

In class we were shown statistics that show that someone with a ‘white’ name may have a greater chance at getting a callback for a job rather than someone with a ‘black’ name. First off, I don’t necessarily think that this is racism, but I do not think its nationalism either. I think that people relate more to something that is similar to you, and if a white employer is looking at a list of peoples names, names such as Mike or Mathew are more relatable to than Rasheed. I do think that it shows racism a bit though depending on the employer. I don’t necessarily think that every employee would chose the white named person over the black named, but someone who is racist could look at a list of possible employees and see a ‘black’ name and automatically say no to that person which really is sad. I would like to think that someone’s qualifications would be the ultimate deciding factor in this process, rather than their name, but you can never know. You would hope that in 2013 we have grown enough that this wouldn’t be an issue but it clearly still is. It’s astonishing. A possible suggestion would be that names should not be listed, rather, ‘employee #1, employee #2’ to avoid this issue. Also, I don’t think someone’s name defines them or may even make them black or white. I know plenty of black kids with white names and even white Christian names, so you really do not know. Even so, I think the greater question/issue is, what’s the problem with having a black person working in your office? Is he less entitled than a white man, or less qualified, or lazy or not as hard of a worker? This is why it’s absolutely ridiculous to judge someone from his or her name or his or her race. I know plenty of lazy white men that I would not want to be working for me. You can judge someone off of their personality and work ethic and qualifications but you will get nowhere judging someone off of their name, and if so, you may end up with a horrible employee and pass up a great opportunity to employ a great one. Something else that I was thinking about during this entire topic is something else that may seem to be in issue to some employers, which is having a gay work for you. There is no way to know if someone is gay based off of their name so it made me curious if there is as large of a discrimination against gays in the office as blacks? And if so, how can we fix that also.

In class we discussed the issue of people getting jobs based on connections when there may be someone more qualified to do the job. We also had a great talk in my discussion group about this issue. I feel like this is brought up a lot these days. Anytime someone gets a job because of a family member or friend they are looked down upon because people think of them as being spoiled or that they didn’t work hard to get the job. I saw this when I was offered a part-time job at my dad’s work last summer. Everyone said, “her daddy got her a job”, but what is so wrong with that? It is so hard in today’s society to get a job. It’s a cruel world with a lot of competition. I don’t think that it makes me a bad person for taking a job. I had to find something for the summer to make money and other places wouldn’t hire me so I used my resources and got a job with my dad’s help. All throughout college professors, advisors, friends and speakers talk about the importance of networking and getting to know people so that once you graduate you have more opportunities and options. How is that any different than a family member or friend getting you a job? It is all about networking, connections, and whom you know. And it is extremely hard to get a job in this economy, so I believe if you are offered one, no matter how you get it, you have to take it. I was offered an internship for the summer for a company because someone that used to do business with my family referred me’s store. It’s a chain of connections and I am not working for a family member but her reference was what got me the internship. This is a great experience and opportunity for myself, and it will look great to put on my resume for future jobs when I graduate. I think it would be unfair to myself to turn it down just because I feel as though that there may be someone else out there that is better qualified for the job because it could effect my future. Even if there is someone else “better qualified”, I feel as if that isn’t that important because most bosses want to train their employees for their work ethic and style, so even if someone has a higher GPA than me or something else that would make them more qualified than me for the job, I may be a better employee and work harder and be able to satisfy my bosses expectations and needs of the job.

The conversation in class about women and their periods was funny to me. It was actually really interesting because just the week before, in my discussion group, the topic of periods came up and it was so interesting to see the male’s reactions. Some guys cringed at the thought of a girl on her period, even the word ‘tampon’ made them feel uncomfortable. It’s funny to see this reaction because when you ask them why they feel uncomfortable or why they think its gross, they cant explain why and just give an answer like “I don’t know it just is”. While at the same time, some guys were not affected by this concept. To me, I feel like guys are so grossed out by women saying that they are on their period because they really don’t know anything about it. I’ve talked to plenty of guys about periods and they all have this same idea that a girl is constantly bleeding and that it is this gruesome, bloody, mess; which really isn’t the case. The guys that weren’t grossed out tended to be the guys who have either been in a relationship or have had sisters and have more of an understanding of a period. In class, this was the same case. The guys that grew up with sisters seemed to be less disgusted by periods. I don’t necessarily think that a woman not talking about their period is a sign of us not having freedom. I don’t feel like I’m not free and that I’m unable to talk about my period because of society. To me, I don’t really talk about it because it’s embarrassing because guys have such a misunderstanding of a period, not because I don’t have the freedom to talk about it. I could talk about it if I wanted to, but I know that it makes guys feel uncomfortable so I chose not to. For example, I don’t mind talking about my period in front of my boyfriend because he has a sister and also has an understanding of it. Also, my sister’s husband is a doctor and I don’t feel like I have to hold back from talking about it to him because he also has an understanding of it and knows that it’s a natural body function. I think once a guy actually feels comfortable enough and mature enough to talk about the topic, then they realize that it happens to every girl and that if not we wouldn’t be able to reproduce, they become less turned off by the topic. It’s just a matter of not having knowledge about the topic, and forming an opinion when they don’t really know anything about it. I feel like guys have this idea in their head that a period is gross and they have to feel that way.

Death to me has always been something that shakes me up and freaks me out. I think it started when I was around 16 and I knew people dying and it really affected me and put things into perspective. When I was younger and my grandmother died I really didn’t understand what it meant, but as I got older I realized that we all die eventually and some people are not as fortunate as others to live a long and healthy life. I have never really been very religious so in my eyes, when we die that’s it, it just ends and goes black and there is nothing and that is what scares me the most. The question “what happens after death?” gives me chills because no one can ever know the true answer. I went through a stage where I wouldn’t fly, I would turn down vacations because I was truly afraid to fly because in my eyes it was the most dangerous and scary thing ever and I was so afraid to die. I missed out on a lot and it affected my family because they would cancel trips because of my fear of flying. I also wouldn’t do things that seemed ‘dangerous’ to me such as roller coasters, which I used to always love and seemed so fun. Eventually I got over this silly fear and now I love to travel and love the thrill of exciting and ‘dangerous’ things! Still, I do freak myself out at times when I’m lying in bed at night and think about the afterlife and what will happen to myself when that happens. Will I be with my family? Will I be with my pets? Will it be a happy feeling? Will it just be darkness? No one can answer any of these questions, and every religion believes in something different and I think for me, since I am not extremely religious, it makes my mind wander a lot. I think for me, to make sure that the whole death concept doesn’t have a negative impact on the way that I live my life now, I need to stop thinking about it and thinking too far into it and trying to answer questions that I will never have answers to and just enjoy my life and actually fully live and embrace it and be content and happy with my life now because in reality, life is short and I’ve learned that a lot from losing friends who were so young or mothers to children with husbands. You just have to live life to the fullest, as cliché as that is, and take advantage of everyday that you have here on earth.

If I were to wake up and the news told me that God didn’t exist it wouldn’t really have too much of an effect on me. Honestly, both of my parents are catholic but I almost find it insulting to the religion to call myself catholic because I do not pray or attend church. I do not have any strong beliefs in anything because I don’t research or know enough about either way to have an opinion. It would be sad to realize how many people this would affect though. So many people believe in everything that they read in the news and I know a lot of people that would be really upset by that news. She’s gone to catholic school her entire life and goes to church every Sunday and her religion is a part of her life. I couldn’t imagine how she would feel if she woke up one day and the news was telling her something differently than what she’s believed her entire life. But in all honesty, how can you prove something to be true or not? This would never happen realistically and if it were to even be put into the news, I feel like a lot of people wouldn’t believe it because you can’t prove a belief to be right or wrong. Its like when everyone thought the world was going to end in 2012. There were reports even in the news explaining how people believed this were true and it affected a lot of people. There were reports of mothers killing themselves and children to avoid this day. It’s crazy to think how much this can affect some people, but then others just laugh at it. I don’t think you can ever report on something unless you can 100% prove it to be true and this is something that no one will ever know the truth of or come to one conclusion and agreement. Everyone believes in what they’ve believed in since growing up, usually based off of their families beliefs and cultures, so I wonder if the news will change anyone’s opinions. I can’t imagine strong Christian’s changing their beliefs when there are so many people in the world that are already trying to prove their beliefs to be wrong and they still feel strongly that there is a God. This would really only affect Catholics though. If an atheist found out that God wasn’t real it would just make them believe that they have been right all along and that their belief is the ‘right’ or superior belief. I couldn’t imagine everyone in the world being atheist though because religion is such a large part of people’s every day lives.

Until I watched the Haiti video of the boys who traveled to Haiti and lived off of $1 a day, which is the norm for people living there, I never realized how fortunate I truly am. I’ve always been aware that as a girl living in America, I am extremely lucky compared to those living in poverty in other countries, but watching the boys struggle when they were placed into the situation that many live in day to day, it never really sunk in. People there can barely afford to eat rice twice a day and I struggle to find something to eat in my refrigerator from having too many options. It really does make me realize how wealthy we are living in America and that as a society we can be considered elite and rich. To call myself rich seems silly because I know people even better off than I am, but it really is true. To say that there is an entire country living off of $1 a day and I can easily spend $50 a day between food and other ‘necessities’ seems unreal to me. It effects how I think about my family, our country, the entire world, and myself. It really makes me want to complain less about the luxuries that I believe I need and cannot have when someone right now cannot even afford a bowl of rice and may not have eaten for days. I could not imagine that feeling, the feeling of absolute hunger and literally not being able to afford a bite to eat. And to go to bed at night without a blanket or pillow in a tent in the pouring rain, or to live in the same clothes for days because the water source is so low and it could take hours to wash a shirt. For these reasons, I do consider myself rich. But, although I am rich with wealth, I believe there are people in the world that are rich with culture. The happiness of the Haitians while they were together in unity rich in culture was unbelievable. How happy they could be just singing and dancing to a song of their culture is something that I believe us Americans do not have or take for granted.

I have a few different opinions on the Iranian girls comment during class. I do respect her courage to stand up in front of the entire class to comfort so many Americans and state her race and how she feels about it. It really opened my eyes when she mentioned that she sometimes lies about her race because she is afraid of being judged by everyone. I think its sad that someone would feel ashamed of their race, especially because as Americans we are so proud of our country and feel a pride in USA. What did bother me though is how she stated, “everyone hates me”; we don’t know you so that really annoys me. I think there is a double standard when it comes to race and ethnicity prejudice. It bothers me when black people can act judgmental towards whites but when it’s done in reverse its considered racism. Iranians do not ‘like’ Americans but we did not turn it around on the girl and say that your country hates us. And in all honesty, I don’t think its wrong for Americans to be cautious or have a sense of anger towards Iranians. The issue is still not solved and we can’t go back in history and change what happened. There is a war going on and there is a reason why Americans are angry at the Middle East. We have family over there; we’ve lost families and loved ones during 9/11 that we can’t get back. And I’m not saying that its HER that caused that, but that is my point. We don’t hate her and for her to say that is not fair. She’s being judgmental towards us while doing so. I was happy that the boy stood up and said that we don’t hate her and she shouldn’t feel that way. I do not know anything about that her, her beliefs, her personality or anything so I do not hate her or dislike her or even judge her for that matter. And I think it is a little rude for her to assume that we all judge her for being from Iran. Again, most importantly I feel upset for her that she feels that she has to hide her race, which basically is her hiding her identity and having to lie about who she really is. I’m sure she has a strong Iranian culture if she felt that strongly about her ethnicity, and its upsetting that just because of the two countries having problems that she feels that all Americans will judge her strictly because she is from Iran. It truly shows how judgmental people can be and how prejudice and racism are shown everyday and effect everyone in some way, not just blacks and whites.

Racism, according to Wikepedia, is defined as “views, practices and actions reflecting t ihe belief that humanity is divided into distinct biological groups called races and that members of a certain race share certain attributes which make that group as a whole less desirable, more desirable, inferior or superior.” Basically, racism is any discrimination or judgmental thoughts upon someone that you believe is inferior to you. It’s sad to think that in today’s society, some people still feel superior to others especially based on race. What makes someone with white skin better than someone with black or brown skin? To me, success may make someone feel superior to another, and success is not measured by skin tone. It actually baffles me that someone may feel like their skin tone is what defines them as a person and makes them ‘better’. Personally, I do not want to be defined as ‘the white girl’, I want to be defined by my success and accomplishments. THAT is what makes me who I am, not my race. I think that racism is shown every day. What bothers me is that some people believe that because the words or joke is coming out of a comedian’s mouth, that it is not defined as racism and that it can simply be brushed away. This is not true in my eyes. I think everyone should be held responsible for their words no matter who they were and if they intended on hurting someone or not. Although many people may listen to a comedian and think that his racist joke is harmless and funny, if one person is listening and feels offended, which I can guarantee is the case, THAT is racism. If one person feels inferior or put down by someone’s words on race or gender or sexuality, that is discrimination and racism and there has to be an end to it. It is clear that racism is defined and interpreted by many people differently and the definition above does not answer the question to its full extent, but to me, it begins to shine on the issue.