Illegal Immigration

Illegal immigration is an issue that affects our whole country and really bothers me. I have no problem with diversity and I am by no means racist. However, I feel that it is a true crime to sneak into our country illegally. The statistics on the amount of illegal immigrants our country has is ridiculous.
With every illegal immigrant that comes in, the people who waited and got her legally are made out to look worse as well. It is so unfair to those that follow the system and go through hardships waiting to get in for illegals to cross the border and ‘spit’ in their face.
I also can not believe the amount of healthcare these people get that we are paying for. It is a financial hit to all of us citizens who pay taxes and healthcare to have to pay extra for illegal people who do nothing to earn it. However, I also feel that there is no real solution for this problem. There is no one thing we can do as a country to send back the millions of illegal immigrants that we have living here; its just not possible.
I just feel that our elected officials need to do something about the issue instead of debating non-stop in fear of losing their upcoming elections. Although this will probably also never happen, it needs to be taken care of.
In closing, illegal immigration is a huge issue that needs to be resolved as soon as possible before all of our assets are drained. It is a pressing issue that is tearing American’s apart and making legal immigrants look bad.

Synthesis of Baseball and Baseball Movies

I grew up playing the amazing sport of baseball my whole life. I began playing baseball when I was able to throw a ball. I played through high school and just won the softball All University Championship with my fraternity this year. It has always been the one thing in life that I have really tried my hardest and not given up on besides school. I do not know what I would have done growing up if it was not for baseball.
I want to synthesize the actual sport of baseball and how it is portrayed in movies such as Bad News Bears and Major League. Both of these movies are about teams that are not good at the sport, but truly enjoy playing it. They also both come from behind to do very well in the season.
When comparing those movies to the real sport it is difficult for people to understand how they correlate if you have not ever played. However, they are similar in the sense that they both show how much fun a person can have playing a sport. Whether good or bad, baseball is a great time that allows people to socialize and have a great time without realizing how much hard work they are truly putting into it. In terms of hard work, the movies also depict the hard work that a team as well as individual players put into the success that they are trying to earn.
In conclusion, although movies are not truly realistic for the most part, they do depict the fun and work that actual exists for players today.

Affirmative Action

Affirmative action was brought into affect by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act stated that minorities and women should be able to receive job and school admission based off of less rigorous requirements. This law is so outdated that it is ridiculous. It is over 40 years old. Our society has come so far in regards to racism from the 60’s that it is beyond me how we could still have this in affect.
Granted, back in the 60’s, this law was very necessary to help level the playing field. However, in society now, it doesn’t make any difference what color your skin is or what gender you are; all that matters is how qualified you are for your chosen career or school.
Its about time that our society woke up and realized this so that we can move on with our lives as equals. I have researched this topic in great detail and I know it to be a fact that the public opinion as a whole doesn’t agree with this law either. Maybe our elected law makers should take that into affect and change some things instead of being afraid of not being re-elected the following year.
The time for change is now. Not next year or in the near future, but now. This law could potentially affect my career in the future is this is not revised or at least looked into. I understand that this topic is very sensitive, but our society can’t dance around it anymore. We have to come to a decision soon that makes EVERYONE equal.

Synthesis Paper

For my synthesis essay, I am going to use the two essays by Chris Godsey and Paul Theroux. Both of these pieces compare the idea of the difficulty of being a man. The purposes of these essays are to educate men as well as women that women are not the only people who deal with body issues and stereotypes.
The main point of Godsey’s essay is that men strive and work themselves to death to obtain the ‘perfect’ body. He speaks of how he lost his girlfriend to a more dominant male and now she has come back to him after she has left her prime. He feels that men are not understood and strives to bring women to become more aware of what we as men go through. Not only does he do this in a very mellow way, but also in a way as not to offend anyone. Overall, I completely agree with him and his viewpoints. This is why I decided to use his piece for my essay.
The main point of Theroux’s essay is that men are held to a stereotype of being a big, dumb dog. He speaks about how men strive to be something they are not just to not worry about being judged as weak. Also, he speaks of how men are misunderstood and looked on only as big lugs who want to fight all the time. I agree with his beliefs as I to feel that it is unfair how we are viewed upon as men.
In conclusion, my synthesis will cover how men have issues with their bodies.

Joy Synthesis

Sam believes that joy is: “Your own personal feeling of happiness, only you yourself know what joy feels like to you” (Sam).

We correlate on what joy is because we both feel that it differs among each person. There is no set definition of joy to us, it is something that you create for yourself and that you alone feel. To one person, joy might be obtained from a job, while for another, joy might be obtained from sports or family.

However, joy does have one common similarity. It brings happiness to people in one form or another. This is the ultimate feeling of content and a surreal experience.

JOY?

Joy to me is the ultimate feeling of happiness and content. It is the exact moment in time when you realize how amazing your life is and want to continue pursuing your dreams. I find much joy in playing sports. They truly make me happy and drive me to do better in school and life to be able to compete.

My family is the most important thing to me in the world. They support me through all my hardships and love me with all their hearts. Knowing that i have them as a support system and for my entire life, causes me much joy.

Could you imagine life as a prisoner? When i say prisoner, i don't mean being locked up in a cell for a few years, i mean spending your whole life staring at a wall believing that shadows are real people and that you are a free person. This is basically how Plato described the prisoners in his story, The Cave. Plato was all about discovering the truth and this story is his way of saying that people need to open their eyes and stop following what people tell them to do or say.
This, in my eyes, is an example of how people listen to the media and never question their ideas. The media puts horrible scenarios and sad stories on the news and always strays from presenting good stories that supply hope. Also, the tabloids produce the most ridiculous magazines in the world. The issues talk about nothing that is relevant to everyday life; instead, they focus on how ‘fat’ Britney Spears is getting or who is using drugs. Most, if not all of the stories are fictional, yet people love this gossip and continue to fuel the nonsense.
Society is blinded by what they see on television. It is ruining how people interact with each other and develop intelligence instead of fueling ignorance. The Cave is exactly what the media is; an example of how ignorant society is now and probably always will be. Now is the time to change our behaviors, not tomorrow.

This is a picture of a woman baking pie and living up to the typical female stereotype. The title, Genderlicous, shows that the author was clearly an angered female who is not going to live up to the stereotype that is created by society.
Still today, after women have been granted all the rights that males have, women are thought about as housewives. We expect wives and woman with children to stay home with them all day while men go out to work and earn money. This is wrong in many ways. Women have contributed so much to society that men do not appreciate or acknowledge.
This picture is very powerful in my eyes. It shows how angry women are at the image society creates for them. The image being that they not only have to be good cooks and cleaners, but have to be slim, blonde, and constantly have a smile on their face as if they have no care in the world. This image is not fitting and is outdated. The time has come for men to accept women to be strong and independent beings with a hunger for success. This drive allows women to compete with men for jobs while still being loving mothers.
In closing, I want to make sure my point about gender roles is clearly stated. They are not fair and cause men and women to go through many hardships. Society needs to accept everyone for who they are and allow them to be themselves. Gender roles are pointless, useless, and stereotypical. The time has come for society to evolve and open their minds to new ideas.

The Allusion of Supplements

This ad is meant to lure in young men and boys who want to become as big as they can without any work. The funny thing about this supplement is that no one is able to gain actual muscle mass, only the allusion of it. Creatine is a supplement that fills muscles with extra water, causing them to swell up and appear large. Also, the ad includes two beautiful blonde girls as extra incentive to become larger; portraying false hope to men who want or ‘crave’ a beautiful girl.
The author of this ad is Cell-Tech, the supplement company. The audience is any young men or teenage boys who want to gain muscle as fast as possible. It also targets men who are having trouble finding women to be with. The purpose of this ad is to give men false hope that they can be incredibly buff, without any work or discipline. It is also to attract men who have women problems and are looking for an easier way to attract women.
The pathos of this ad is appealing to men who have women and self esteem issues. Men who are unhappy with how they look will be drawn to this ad with false hopes of muscular beauty. The logos of this ad are non existent. The product itself isn’t even logical to me. The ethos of this ad is also non existent to me. None of these products are tested by the FDA, and I feel that this leaves the company with absolutely no credibility.

In response to Ann Lamott's "Shitty First Drafts"

After reading Ann Lamott’s essay, I realize that my writing process is very different from hers. I tend to sit down at my desk and try to write a well planned and thought out first draft. I do this because I am very organized and hate looking at a paper that is sloppily written. My entire writing process takes a long time to complete and is very tedious. However, I think her idea of writing down everything that comes to your mind can heavily benefit my writing. I sometimes find myself forgetting good ideas for my papers because I do not think they will flow at the time; only later to realize that they would have fit very well and helped to strengthen my essay.
In regards to if I like to write, the answer is no. I can use Ann’s dental analogy to describe my exact feelings on the subject. To me, writing is not only like checking sore and loose teeth, it’s like pulling them out without any pain sedatives. This describes exactly how I feel, especially when it comes to revising my drafts. I have a hard time knocking my own writing and can never find that many mistakes. However, I have been able to improve my bad habits and can write better today than I have ever been able to before.
In closing, I feel that this blog will help to improve my writing. It will also help me to better analyze any articles that I read. This project will force me to encompass all my writing skills and better my habits. Also, I will start to utilize the advice given in Ann’s article. I believe it can and will help me to become a better writer as a whole.