I spent almost 4 1/2 years--non stop--pursuing a Bachelor's degree. I spent many sleepless nights, wrote countless papers, made thousands of flash cards--and for what? To still only be qualified for menial jobs? I feel so lost. I would love to go to graduate school but I can't even apply for a another whole year. And if I went to graduate school, what on earth would I major in?
Not getting into Texas State really put a damper on my life plans. Now I'm not sure what my life's plans are going to be. I'm not happy because I don't know what I want with my life and I feel like I have no purpose. What the hell was all of that hard work for? For a damn piece of paper? To walk across the stage and shake the President of the University's hand? What bullshit.
I wish the purpose for my life would just magically appear; just magically pop into my head so I can stop stressing out over it. I just don't know...somebody please just tell me what to do :/
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Mange and Money
So, we were finally able to take Rasta to the vet yesterday and it turns out he has demodectic mange, otherwise known as "puppy mange." Fortunately, this is NOT sarcoptic mange, which is contagious to humans and other animals and is hard to treat.
"Puppy mange" occurs when a puppy's immune system is underdeveloped, which gives the demodectic mites on his skin a chance to overpopulate, causing his hair to fall out and his skin to become itchy and sensitive. Apparently, all living animals--including humans--have demodectic mites on their skin, but most animals have a strong immune system that keeps the mites from overpopulating and causing problems.
However, the vet says that in rare occurrences, it becomes nearly impossible to keep the mange under control, resulting in complete hair loss and horrible discomfort. In these cases, the dog has to be put down. I pray and hope that this will not happen to Rasta! He is my furry child!
In other news, Aaron and I move to our new apartment in about a month. I am really excited but nervous at the same time. We are really struggling financially right now, and with this move we are going to be paying even higher rent since we won't have roommates. Plus, we have to pay a crazy-high pet deposit since Rasta is not a year old yet. I really wish I could find a full-time job. I'm not even asking to be paid insane amounts of money; I would just really like to be comfortable--as in, not constantly freaking out about how we're going to pay our bills from month to month. I mean, what is a damn college degree FOR if I can't even find a job?! I guess the lesson is to go into a field that will ultimately lead to a job, not a stupid liberal arts degree that leads to, apparently, NOTHING.
Hopefully something will come up soon, because if not...well, I guess we'll figure something out...
"Puppy mange" occurs when a puppy's immune system is underdeveloped, which gives the demodectic mites on his skin a chance to overpopulate, causing his hair to fall out and his skin to become itchy and sensitive. Apparently, all living animals--including humans--have demodectic mites on their skin, but most animals have a strong immune system that keeps the mites from overpopulating and causing problems.
However, the vet says that in rare occurrences, it becomes nearly impossible to keep the mange under control, resulting in complete hair loss and horrible discomfort. In these cases, the dog has to be put down. I pray and hope that this will not happen to Rasta! He is my furry child!
In other news, Aaron and I move to our new apartment in about a month. I am really excited but nervous at the same time. We are really struggling financially right now, and with this move we are going to be paying even higher rent since we won't have roommates. Plus, we have to pay a crazy-high pet deposit since Rasta is not a year old yet. I really wish I could find a full-time job. I'm not even asking to be paid insane amounts of money; I would just really like to be comfortable--as in, not constantly freaking out about how we're going to pay our bills from month to month. I mean, what is a damn college degree FOR if I can't even find a job?! I guess the lesson is to go into a field that will ultimately lead to a job, not a stupid liberal arts degree that leads to, apparently, NOTHING.
Hopefully something will come up soon, because if not...well, I guess we'll figure something out...
Friday, April 23, 2010
"She has to shave her underarms...of course"
Last night I was watching TV, and a Dove commercial came on that I have seen many times before. However, for some reason, this time, it really struck me the wrong way. In the commercial, a woman is wanting to wear a sleeveless black dress to her violin recital. A caption comes on the screen that says, "she has to shave her underarms...of course."
What is wrong with this statement? For one thing, the word "has." As in, it is a complete and utter necessity for this woman to shave her underarms. Secondly, the phrase "of course." Of course she needs to shave, silly! That is the accepted social norm! She is unwomanly if she does NOT shave her underarms! She will be ridiculed, mocked, sneered at; people will dub her "the amazing hairy woman" and she will never be able to show her face in a concert hall again! It does not matter if she is, in fact, an incredibly gifted violinist. No, all that matters is that she have completely smooth pits.
It occured to me that this is the case for female legs, as well. It is socially required to remove the hair from one's legs if one is going to dare to wear a skirt, shorts, dress--anything that would expose the leg. So, over the years, women have shaved, waxed, plucked, dissolved, and lasered off their leg hair, all in the name of being socially accepted--to acheive society's view of "beauty."
This does not take into account the number of women who cannot shave any of their body parts. Many women, including (but not limited to) those of African, Jewish, and Latin descent cannot shave their legs or underarms because of the coarse nature of their hair. Does this make them any less beautiful? Should society shun them because they choose not to torture themselves by going through the extremely painful ritual of scraping the hair from their bodies, resulting in excrutiating rashes, razor burn, and razor bumps?
And what about the women who do not shave because of their religious beliefs? I am not certain, but I am pretty positive that Amish women and women of other orthodox religions do not shave their legs, pits, or pubic hair. Doing so would be an act of beautifying oneself, which is considered vain in many religions.
So why does society require this beautification ritual of its female citizens? I was curious as to the history of shaving, so I did a little online research. Apparently, as early as 3000-4000 BC, women were removing body hair with homemade depilatory creams, using such bizarre ingredients as arsenic and starch. In 400 BC in Greece, it was a common practice from women to singe body hair off with oil lamps.
According to one website, "Because women in Europe wear very large and outrageous headdresses, the bizarre beauty secret of removing all hair from the eyebrows, eyelashes, temples, and necks becomes tress chic. This is masochistically accomplished by plucking and shaving every day, but a real lady who wants to represent herself in the ideal image of contemporary female beauty, knows this is a must. Sure, this makes a woman seem practically bald and somewhat extraterrestrial looking, but it is The Look to die for!"
In 1900s in the United States, the power of advertising convinced women to begin removing their body hair. "It all began with the May, 1915 edition of Harper's Bazaar magazine that featured a model sporting the latest fashion. She wore a sleeveless evening gown that exposed, for the first time in fashion, her bare shoulders, and her armpits." Women across the country began to believe that in order to be beautiful like this model, they must also remove their underarm hair.
So, in conclusion, I suppose what really bothered me about the Dove commercial was the notion that the female violinist had to shave her underarms in order to be considered beautiful. Beauty should be made up of several aspects, not just the visually appealing aspects that society requires of us.
Will this convince me to throw away my razor and shaving cream forever? Probably not, as I was raised in the American society that "hair-free"=beauty. However, what I'm saying is, we should not have to shave to be beautiful. Women are much, much more than the hair on our bodies.
What is wrong with this statement? For one thing, the word "has." As in, it is a complete and utter necessity for this woman to shave her underarms. Secondly, the phrase "of course." Of course she needs to shave, silly! That is the accepted social norm! She is unwomanly if she does NOT shave her underarms! She will be ridiculed, mocked, sneered at; people will dub her "the amazing hairy woman" and she will never be able to show her face in a concert hall again! It does not matter if she is, in fact, an incredibly gifted violinist. No, all that matters is that she have completely smooth pits.
It occured to me that this is the case for female legs, as well. It is socially required to remove the hair from one's legs if one is going to dare to wear a skirt, shorts, dress--anything that would expose the leg. So, over the years, women have shaved, waxed, plucked, dissolved, and lasered off their leg hair, all in the name of being socially accepted--to acheive society's view of "beauty."
This does not take into account the number of women who cannot shave any of their body parts. Many women, including (but not limited to) those of African, Jewish, and Latin descent cannot shave their legs or underarms because of the coarse nature of their hair. Does this make them any less beautiful? Should society shun them because they choose not to torture themselves by going through the extremely painful ritual of scraping the hair from their bodies, resulting in excrutiating rashes, razor burn, and razor bumps?
And what about the women who do not shave because of their religious beliefs? I am not certain, but I am pretty positive that Amish women and women of other orthodox religions do not shave their legs, pits, or pubic hair. Doing so would be an act of beautifying oneself, which is considered vain in many religions.
So why does society require this beautification ritual of its female citizens? I was curious as to the history of shaving, so I did a little online research. Apparently, as early as 3000-4000 BC, women were removing body hair with homemade depilatory creams, using such bizarre ingredients as arsenic and starch. In 400 BC in Greece, it was a common practice from women to singe body hair off with oil lamps.
According to one website, "Because women in Europe wear very large and outrageous headdresses, the bizarre beauty secret of removing all hair from the eyebrows, eyelashes, temples, and necks becomes tress chic. This is masochistically accomplished by plucking and shaving every day, but a real lady who wants to represent herself in the ideal image of contemporary female beauty, knows this is a must. Sure, this makes a woman seem practically bald and somewhat extraterrestrial looking, but it is The Look to die for!"
In 1900s in the United States, the power of advertising convinced women to begin removing their body hair. "It all began with the May, 1915 edition of Harper's Bazaar magazine that featured a model sporting the latest fashion. She wore a sleeveless evening gown that exposed, for the first time in fashion, her bare shoulders, and her armpits." Women across the country began to believe that in order to be beautiful like this model, they must also remove their underarm hair.
So, in conclusion, I suppose what really bothered me about the Dove commercial was the notion that the female violinist had to shave her underarms in order to be considered beautiful. Beauty should be made up of several aspects, not just the visually appealing aspects that society requires of us.
Will this convince me to throw away my razor and shaving cream forever? Probably not, as I was raised in the American society that "hair-free"=beauty. However, what I'm saying is, we should not have to shave to be beautiful. Women are much, much more than the hair on our bodies.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Life, as we know it...
So, Aaron and I are moving into our new apartment next month. I'm SO excited to be able to decorate and have my stuff again--most of it is still at my parents' house.
I've enjoyed working at the Writing Center the last few months. I really love being able to talk about writing and grammar and reading and all of those nerdy things I'm not-so-secretly into. Working here has made me want to try again to get into graduate school so I can teach college-level classes. There is a program at Sam Houston State University for the Master of Education in Instructional Leadership. Doing this, I would take classes on Instructional leadership as well as choosing a separate concentration--for me, this would be English. If I get in, I could start in the Fall. The only downside is the drive--Huntsville is about 45 minutes away from here, and Fiona (my little car) is getting old.
But, if I DON'T get in, I'll have to wait another year to apply for graduate school...something I'm afraid I'll never do if I don't start now.
I've enjoyed working at the Writing Center the last few months. I really love being able to talk about writing and grammar and reading and all of those nerdy things I'm not-so-secretly into. Working here has made me want to try again to get into graduate school so I can teach college-level classes. There is a program at Sam Houston State University for the Master of Education in Instructional Leadership. Doing this, I would take classes on Instructional leadership as well as choosing a separate concentration--for me, this would be English. If I get in, I could start in the Fall. The only downside is the drive--Huntsville is about 45 minutes away from here, and Fiona (my little car) is getting old.
But, if I DON'T get in, I'll have to wait another year to apply for graduate school...something I'm afraid I'll never do if I don't start now.
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