group video individual vs society

individual vs society- individual video

bat mitzvah stills

rituals

My Right of Passage
In the Jewish religion we have many holidays and celebrations that we hold as important. One of the most important days in a Jewish persons life is the day of their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. I know this true, defiantly in my own case. I started preparing for my Bat-Mitzvah about 5 months in advance, but my mom and I started figuring out the major details about a year before my date. My mom and I went to about 20 places before we picked the location of my reception. We also had to pick a DJ, a decorator, and a caterer. On top of all those decisions, I had to study my torah portion for 5 months with the cantor of my temple.
The big day finally arrived, and I knew I was finally a woman in the Jewish tradition. Even though I was only 13, I knew that I now had a responsibility to the people of my religion and my Jewish homeland, Israel. I did an amazing job on my torah portion and the rest of my service. All of my friends and family said I did amazing. I felt so good that all my hard work and time was worth it and paid off in the end. All there was left to do was party, and that I did.

Versus

Everywhere I look, I see a diversity of people walking our streets. Streets filled with Caucasians, Mexicans, Asians, blacks, and many more. Usually these days’ people take the easy way and hang out with their own kind of people. If people took some time to introduce themselves to other people in different groups, they might have a more diverse group of friends. Whenever we look at a group of people we aren’t familiar with, we always judge them by their appearances. We have to start accepting different cultures, and accepting ideas other than our own. People’s cultures can actually be similar to ours if we find the time to compare and contrast them. What might be normal to me might be frowned upon in their culture or environment. Our neighborhood and surrounding environments are filled with every type of person and us as a society need to accept that and be open minded. Media and other forms brain wash me to think something is normal when most people aren’t even like that. I need to live life the way I want to live it and not have someone else or a group of people tell me otherwise.

Social Networking

Alyssa Renard is Appreciative of Facebook 11:08 AM



When I was younger, even a freshman in high school, I really didn’t know much about the internet and what the kids did on it. First I started with MySpace, and at first I didn’t like it but then got used to the networking and how it worked. But after a while I would always get these viruses when using MySpace. A little bit later I heard about facebook, which was created for the older crowd of people on the internet (college and above). I started going on facebook more, since more of my friends started using it. While being on facebook I’ve reconnected with former friends from the different schools I’ve attended. I love finding out what they’ve been doing since I Iast saw them. I also love seeing in pictures how much they’ve grown and changed. It is so crazy to me, because mostly everybody looks so different; that when they want to add me, I have no clue who they are. I’m so appreciative that there is a place where I can reconnect with friends and learn about their new lives. A lot of my friends have moved to different places to pursue their dreams, and I still connect with them through facebook. So in the end, I’m glad for the creation of facebook, that all my dead relationships have been reborn.

"Bikinis & Tiaras: Quinceaneras" in Girls on the Verge

People have taken the beautiful tradition of coming into their religion as an adult, and have turned it into a money brawl. It is all about who has the biggest party, best wardrobe, the best DJ, and who in the end shows up to your fiesta. Many young teens have been spoiled rotten, and their parents think the easiest way of not dealing with them is giving them anything they want. That is not parenting, that is called laziness. I think as a society we really need to evaluate, what is really important to us.

"My Brown Eyes" by Alexander Amador

Alexander was born in a bad area, and belonged to a gang. He writes about how wars within their own kind is wrong, and how we shouldn't fight with "family". They came to America for a better life, when it all just turned out worse then before. He wants to spread the message of unity throughout his community in hopes for a better life.

"Curve" by Alison Smith

The problem in this article, was the opposite of most. Alison felt that she was too skinny, and that people would judge her for that. All the girls in her classes complained about their curves, but all Alison wanted was to at least have some curves. She feels like everyone treats her like a little girl, because her body reflects that. She wants to gain curves so that people will start seeing her as a young lady.

"Sleeves" by Amy Hunt

Amy has always felt embarrassed about her weight. Everyday at school, her friends converse about being overweight when they are not, which makes Amy feel even worse about herself. She feels very uncomfortable even around her friends, and feels that they judge her by her appearance on the outside, and not whats on the inside. Weight is a large issue today, due to the stick-thin girls in magazines showing society that that is what is supposed to be the norm for everyone, but it is not. Everyone is beautiful in their own skin.

"The Border" by Cindy Morand

In this story, the main girl is Cindy, a Mexican immigrant. She came from a well-educated family who cared about school and grades. She moved to America at a very young age where she found discrimination at every corner. She wanted to go back to Mexico more than anything. She found out that things aren't always what they seem. She wanted to go to America so badly, for she thought opportunity there was far greater; but in the end Mexico was where she was most happy.

"Introduction" by Amy Goldwasser

The narrator of this story, writes proudly about all the girls who wrote for her book, "Red: The Next Generation of American Writers: Teenage Girls: On What Fires Up Their Lives Today". She found it so difficult to chose which young teens stories should be in her book. They all were so personal, letting her get to know each of them through their amazing writing. Most of the stories she read, were of those of image. Too many girls today worry about other peoples opinions and let them run their lives. She wanted to publish this book to show teenage girls examples of strong, independent young women who could show them the way to happiness.

" The American Man, Age Ten" by Susan Orlean

This article follows the daily life of an average ten year old boy. Susan observed how well the boy was aware of the issues facing us today in our society. She found out that kids, not only this particular boy, love to recycle and help out the environment. She also noticed the simplicity of a child's life. Their surroundings and environment create a soothing atmosphere for them to thrive in.

"The Way We Live Now: Growing Up on Facebook" by Peggy Orenstein

The author, Peggy Orenstien, writes about how facebook is great for rekindling relationships from the past. The older generations are finding their way over to facebook to find friends from back in high school. Facebook keeps everyone connected.

"Facebook in a Crowd" by Hal Niedzviecki

An individual on facebook had about 700 friends, but was realizing he wasn't spending enough time with his real friends off of facebook. He wanted to throw a party, so he invited all of his friends online, and a lot of people said that they would be attending. But, when the party finally arrived one person showed up. This comes to show us, that the definition of a friend is different online.

"Staring Down Facebook" by Zoe Sandvig

The author, Zoe Sandvig, writes about the disadvantages in using social networking. She feels that technology has become the focus of so many people's lives that they dont see the small important things anymore. Instead of spending one on one time together, people will just go online and talk there. Our lives have revolved around technology, when it used to revolve around people and just living our lives to the fullest. Most people get distracted, because when they get home from school they go right on to the internet instead of starting their homework. This problem is going to get out of control if we dont find a way to limit technology now.

"Being There: The Subtle Art of Facebook Updates" by Virginia Heffernan

The author states her opinions of the status updates that teens post regularly. She uses the status updates to keep in touch with her friends and family, especially those who dont live close by. According to society today, there is a certain way one writes a facebook status update. Because the space allowed for the update is so small the updaters must get to the point and drag its followers in. You cant just be good at writing updates, it takes hardwork and practice.

"Social Networking Benefits Validated" by Karen Goldberg

In this article, the author writes about the positive and negative affects social networking has on people. Technology is everywhere these days and is the most popular way for teenagers, and even adults to communicate. Teens can find people with the same interests as them, find kids who go to their school, and just communicate with other teens in general. People who don't use the internet to connect with their peers will soon find themselves distant from society, since technology keeps on growing. Parents should still be responsible for their children while on these sites. If anything is on the internet, people can see it. So, individuals, especially teens, should be cautious of what items they place on their pages.

Why youth (hearts) Social Networking Sites: The Role of New Worked Publics in Teenage Social Life" by Danah Boyd

This article really focuses on how popular and essential social network sites have become for teens. Teenagers blog, go on web sites, pretty much whatever is popular at that certain time. Some teens think only cool kids can use the internet to communicate, so they make their profile as cool and up to date as possible. Individuals can be very creative when it comes to designing their own pages. You can really tell a lot about that person from his/her page.