as the world turns

Photos in which one is posing is simply “mere consumerism.” However, candid photos capture the reality of the moment. Candid means straightforward and frank; the assertion that a photograph “reveals virtually nothing” is false as evidenced by the countless number of candid photos. Sure, it is true that selfies and pictures of you smiling with your friends at a football game reveal nothing, not even our emotions – however, these are just forms of sentimentalism and a way to capture memories. To explain farther, a picture of you and your friends at a football game reveals nothing about whether the team you were rooting for won, or if you were genuinely happy, etc. While this may be true, a candid picture of the players on the field and you and your friends on the stands, throwing your hands up in anger, could capture the true moment of how the team was losing. The Kardashians posing for a magazine shoot could be defined as mere consumerism though. These photos have absolutely no meanin...

In the rural town of Hawkins, Indiana lies the Hawkins National Laboratory supposedly utilized for research purposes for the DOE (United States Department of Energy). However, in secret, the company performs experiments to explore the supernatural world. In doing so, they create a portal to the “Upside Down”- an alternative dimension which possesses a certain evil aura. More specifically, the Demogorgon. The opening of this portal brings about mysterious changes to the city of Hawkins. Will Byers, a local middle schooler, goes missing while riding his bike home late at night; the owner of a restaurant is murdered without cause. These enigmatic experiences have led three boys on a mission: to find the cause of the evil and, ultimately, save Hawkins. On the journey, many more strange events occur. Barb, a local high schooler, goes missing, a girl with mystical superpowers is discovered, etc. If any of you have watched the show Stranger Things on Netflix, you most definitely know what I...

We are exposed to fallacies constantly in daily life whether it be on social media, amongst certain politicians, or even amongst our own peers. Although we may not detect that such extreme fallacies are being used, we must begin to recognize that the things people say may not always be the most reliable or relevant arguments. Here are some examples of fallacies that one may encounter every day: 1)      Ad Hominem: Imagine you are in an argument with your older sibling about some topic and he or she says “You’re younger than me how could you possibly know this?” By directly attacking personal characteristics rather than the actual topic, a logical fallacy is made. 2)      Slippery Slope: "If you break your diet and eat cake today, you will want 20 slices of cake tomorrow and gain back the 10 pounds you lost!"  This example shows that extreme hypotheticals are dangerous to use in arguments as they often are not reliable nor strong. ...

Kindness is a virtue. It is often characterized as “the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate” (Google Dictionary). Many times, the value of polite speech such as the phrases “How are you?” or ”Nice to meet you” or “Let’s get in touch” are simply forms of kindness. Many may think that these phrases actually have a literal meaning; they would think that these words are only utilized to communicate genuine concern or care. However, this is not the case. Rather than truly meaning these things, people often say them because it is a form of rectitude. Many times, if these words are not spoken, it may come off as rude or even offensive. For example, in a situation such as a job interview, it is obligatory to say these things to leave an above satisfactory impression. If these phrases are not spoken, it could cost one their opportunity. One does not truly and entirely care how the interviewer is feeling, but rather cares about the outcome of the interview. Such phrases also a...

Friend: Hi, Anishka! What’s up? Me: Nothing much, you? Friend: Nothing much. Me: Do you want to go to eat Italian food for dinner? Friend: I just had Italian yesterday, maybe we can go eat Chinese and then go watch a movie. Me: Hmm….ok. Do you think you could give me a ride to the restaurant? Friend: Sure, no problem! At restaurant: Friend: MMMM, that looks delicious! I haven’t had dumplings in so long. Me: Uh...ok would you like some? Friend: Really?! Thanks! The End Representation of how “words don’t mean what they mean:” Friend: Hi, Anishka! What’s up? Me: Well, my cat just died so I don’t really want to be here right now. I’m not even that hungry so we shouldn’t go out to dinner but you keep saying you’re hungry so I guess we have to go, you? Friend: My life is pretty boring so nothing much. Me: I want Italian food. Let’s go. Friend: I didn’t have Italian yesterday but I’m going to say I did so I can get Chinese food. Me: Fine. Drive me to th...

It was 9:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning and the only somewhat uncomplicated thing to cook at the moment was eggs. My parents were out on a walk so it was up to me to satisfy my growling stomach. I shiftlessly grabbed an egg from my fridge and watched the viscous yellow-ish liquid ooze out into a bowl as I cracked it open. I proceeded to whisk the eggs and added some salt and pepper. I heard the crisp sizzle as I poured it onto the pan and felt the heat radiating from the stove. After only a couple of minutes, being the impatient person I am, I flipped the omelet so the other side could cook a s w ell. Idly, I grabbed a plate and fork and began to eat the half-assed meal. If only I had waited a couple of extra minutes, the omelet would have been nearly perfect. The runniness of the egg was not at all pleasing nor tasty. Through this adventurous cooking endeavor, I learned that patience is not only key when cooking but also when building relationships and connections with others in everyd...

The underlying purpose in the piece “On Dumpster Diving” is conveyed through Lars Eighner’s tone and ironic elements throughout to convey his lifestyle as a homeless man, and how it is necessary for him to rely on the privileged for basic necessities such as food. His clearly didactic tone emphasizes that he is not, in fact, embarrassed of the lifestyle he lives. Instead, he embraces it, all the while, critiquing the privileged and their snobbish and lazy outlooks on life. A recurring motif throughout the piece is “canned goods.” Throughout the beginning of the piece, he discusses canned goods to a great extent, illustrating how to assess if particular canned goods are ok to consume. However, later in the piece he discusses canned good in the context of college students. He reveals that his experience at a dumpster near the campus was truly eye-opening; the fact that students were throwing out canned goods demonstrates the irony of how these privileged students are wasting perfectl...

County fairs: the single most American-esque event held way too many times more than I’d like. The deep-fried, diabetes-filled elephant ears, the chemically-dyed sugar balls more commonly euphemized as cotton candy, the deceiving smell of the overly buttery popcorn, and the list goes on. We cannot forget about the rides that are on the verge of breaking down any second and the parents screaming at their children to stop running away from them, worrying that they’ll get lost in the crowd. And of course the workers, forced to put on a smile on their face in front of the fair-goers but miserably failing, saying “Step right up!” in the most monotonous and dull voice imaginable. But yet we, as Americans, still go to every single fair, wait in every single line, and wait to try every single food item, somehow tolerating the screams of the sweaty little children. Personally, I have never understood the preferences of society today. The thought of consuming all that food, then then taking wh...

Once upon a time in a dream, I was casually driving down Crooks Rd., on my way to buy some coffee. As I turned in to the Starbucks complex, I saw a massive herd of pink elephants stampeding towards my car. Everyone in the complex was outright startled. I exclaimed, “Jesus Christ, why are they pink?” rather than contesting the fact that they were about to ramage into my car any second.  This absurd anecdote goes to show the exact absurdity Brady attempted to convey in “I Want a Wife.” Brady goes to show how wives attain numerous and impossible responsibilities through her repetition – a form of rhetoric – of “I want a wife....” She talks about wives as objects in order to convey the preposterous duties women are thought to behold: “[keeping] clothes cleaned, ironed, mended, replaced when need be, and [making sure] my personal things are kept in their proper place,” and the list goes on. Even today, this notion is beheld by society. She emphasizes the inequality that is ever-pr...

While it is true that women are often judged due to their appearance, I have to disagree with Tannen’s claim that everything women wear or “common associations” with the female gender are “marked." I believe that girls in school have the option to blend in with the norm, go all out with their accessories, or lay it back with just a pair of sweatpants. Either way, at least in my case, I tend not to judge others’ choices, making their choices ultimately unmarked. However, though others may judge, this still ultimately goes against Tannen’s claim that “every style available to us [is] marked.” Tannen’s main purpose is ultimately to bring awareness to the fact that “there is no unmarked woman” and to bring light to the fact that women should not be judged solely based on appearance. Her piece goes against this purpose in many aspects. By describing each of the women individually, not even mentioning their names, she turns the focus to their appearance rather than their true natu...

Although Brent Staples claims that he has the “ability to alter public in ugly ways” due mainly to the color of his skin, it seems to me that people of color can alter society in ways that aren’t always ugly if their own perception of themselves is not downgraded. I’d like to acknowledge that factors such as Staples’s “beard and billowing hair… [and] both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket” may contribute to people’s perception of him, but I believe it is mainly his own perception of how these qualities influence how others think of him. To explain farther, he gave a few instances of how his appearance made others feel uncomfortable such as the woman at the beginning or just general bypassers. He never once mentions those who don’t give him weird stares and nasty glares; this is most probably because as he walks through the streets of Chicago, he tends to focus only on those who seem to fear him. This behavior, known as confirmation bias, is the tendency to interp...

Just yesterday, I was routinely walking into Troy High at about 10:30 am for synchro practice. As I was walking in, a young boy of about 4 years old was walking out the door. At once, I noticed his bright yellow walker and his unique, to say the least, style of walking. A moment late I realized his father was not walking alongside him, but rather a few feet ahead. Whatever the reason for this was, it just made me feel all the more sympathetic for him. Then came the feeling of guilt; having the urge to stare at him but not doing so because it is disrespectful made me a culprit of the stereotype that people with disabilities are “different.” Although we talked in class about how society has these preconceived notions about disabled people, I did not grasp the entire meaning of this until yesterday. This made me realize that due to the lack of representation of disabled people in media, us “TAP’s,” (Mairs) disregard disabled people as part of the norm. In order to defy this c...