A Cycle Of Outrage: by James Gilbert (Reflection)

When reading A Cycle Of Outrage by James Gilbert, I kept thinking about how in the beginning of the article that a teens appearances seemed like the main reason behind the accusations on whether or not they were delinquents. This was in the 1950s and this stereotyping still happens today in 2014. People are constantly judged on prejudice ideas, and don’t people always say “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”? Teens are especially judged for the way they dress or look. For example, If you have tattoos or piercings, people could think you’re a delinquent and that’s that. There is no real consideration of that persons personality, people just take what they see on the surface and go from there. I personally was judged a lot by people for the way I dressed in my early teens. What can I say, I loved tripp pants and fishnets, sue me. But it was a stage in my life where that’s how I wanted to dress and I did because I personally thought it was cool and I didn’t care what anyone else thought. A lot of people thought I was mean or intimidating based off my appearance, which I completely disagree with. I like to think of myself as a friendly person and if they just got over that hump and actually spoke to me, they would know that themselves. I remember specifically when I was 13 years old this boy who was a bit older than me asked if I smoked cigarettes (Which i don't), literally only because of my accessories (Big hot topic purse) and because I like to wear black. It bothers me that people think they have a right to make assumptions about another person based off of appearance alone. People are so much more complex than that and deserve to be treated equally. I don’t care if they are covered head to toe in tattoos and piercings, or wears black all the time, or fishnets and band tees, that doesn’t define who they are, it’s just how they like to look. That same person who everyone thinks is a "delinquent" could very well be taking care of old people or doing charity work. it seems like people always just assume the worst. 

I think it would be interesting to look into the style changes over the generations and get a visual on what is categorized under "delinquency"

A Tangle of Discourses: Girls Negotiating Adolescence By Rebecca Raby (Reflection)

I personally didn't have that much of a rebellious attitude when going through my teens, a few hiccups here and there, but nothing crazy like vandalizing public property and egging peoples houses (or whatever else people think teenagers get up too). for me, being a teenager was much easier than it is growing up and becoming an adult. A lot less responsibility and it's easier when you make mistakes as a teen versus when you're an adult. This is because usually there is less at stake and even though everything feels like the end of the world when you're in high school, it's usually not world ending and it will pass. I'm not saying some teens don't have it rough, there is bullying and awkward hormonally stages, I just personally never really experienced this. I have to say, I felt like I had it more together when I was in my early teens than I do today as a 20 year old.

I saw this quote in Rabys' article "by characterizing adolescence as a turbulent and emotional stage, adulthood is framed as rational, calm, ‘evolved’ (Lesko 1996a) and knowing." I don't know about you, but I know plenty of adults who don't know what they're doing with their lives. I still don't know what i'm going to do with my life or where i'll be in the future and thats scarier and more stressful than waking up a 6 am and going to high school. I would give anything to go back in time when my biggest problem was what I'm going to be doing after school, than how i'm going to pay my bills next month. This quote in the article ".. you still have the time to change things, you know when you’re an adult you don’t really have time. (Alannah)" I have to agree with this girl, when you're young you can change a lot about yourself or anything really, but when you're an adult more factors come into play, like money, children or family. There is a certain type of safety net to make mistakes when you're a teen that gets thinner and thinner the older you get. and yes Teens do have their own responsibilities, but i just don't think being a teenager is as hard as it's made out to be. Now growing up and being an adult, that't hard. can I just go to Neverland with Peter Pan and be a kid forever?

It would be interesting to talk more about how things have changed from the generations on what is acceptable behavior for teens

Unlearning the Myths (Reflection)

 I remember my mom telling me a story about when i was graduating preschool. when you're a kid they have you go up on stage and say what you want to be when you grow up. other kids said a nurse, an astronaut, a police officer, fire fighter and so on. and then it was finally my turn and they asked me the same question as all the other kids, but my answer was a little different. I wanted to be Cinderella when i grew up, and of course the whole auditorium of parents and teachers laughed and clapped because the thought it was cute the little girl wants to be a princess. When i look back on it, its a little unnerving that all I wanted to accomplish in life was find prince charming, live in a castle and live happily ever after. Not that its a bad thing to want to live in a castle.

I know I wasn't the only little girl out there who wanted to grow up to be a princess and i know i wont be the last. young children are constantly bombarded with images and shows depicting these perfect lives or situations that make them want to have that themselves. the sad thing is, is that we don't see the corruption that is happening around us until its too late. there are so many people out there with self esteem issues, eating disorders, and other mental health problems due to the pressures put on them at such a young age. what is bothersome is that most of the "problems" have a lot to do with whats on the outside and not the inside. Children (and adults!!) need to know that no matter what their skin color is, body shape, eye color, hair type, height, or what ever else they think is "wrong" with them, isn't that at all, but is so beautiful. Children need to know at a young age that they're special and true happiness should have nothing to do with what society dictates as beautiful.

 

Unlearning the Myths the Bind Us by Linda Christensen

* I think something interesting to talk about in class is how the media set up young people with unrealistic expectations and how photoshop is a tool to trick people into wanting to look like something that is realistically impossible.

A little about me

Hello everyone !

Nicole here! I'm from a small town in Mass and this is my junior year at RIC. I'm currently still declared as a RAD Tech major, but I'm thinking about making the switch over to Gender and Women's Studies :)

I decided to take this class because it seemed interesting to see how Teens are portrayed in the media and how it effects young girls and boys. i'm only 20 (almost 21!) so I still feel like I'm 15 sometimes and like we talked in class, its not a alien thing, we are the same person, just older. I'm excited to see what this class has to offer and to learn new information.

I didn't do much over break but work and cuddle with my two cats. But I am planning to go to Disney in May with a few of my good friends, so that's something to look forward too!

when I'm not in class, I love to read, hang out with my suite mates, watch Netflix, obsess over One Direction like a 9 year old girl (Harry's my fav <3), and sit on Tumblr for more hours than I'd like to admit. I'm pretty exciting, I know haha.