Thursday, May 27, 2010

Media

Hello followers I apologize for not writing in a while but I've just been busy and haven't had a chance to update like I would've liked to. But here I am with some refreshing concepts. I thank you for being so patient and allowing me to share my ideas with you.

So I was thinking the other day why does this young generation act the way they do in this day and age, by young I mean the age range 10-21. I thought of one main reason MEDIA. Media dictates our lives. It plays a fundamental role on how we view the world. This statement may be overly dramatic but I believe it to be true. If we aren't glued to the tv, radio, or blackberry then we are trying to figure out how to obtain access to a communication device. Humans (particularly teens) are stuck in a matrix that becomes increasingly difficult to escape from. This cycle is hard to disrupt. It is comical how entranced we are by the media, so much, that we can hardly distinguish fantasy from reality. Society has become dependent on media instead of media being dependent upon society.

Generation Y (Net Generation) has brought about a lot of positive changes to the world such as the facilitation of daily activities from making toast to more efficient forms of communication. However it has become challenging for the youth to distinguish between the real and fake. They (by they I mean my age group too) are mesmerized by youtube, myspace, facebook, mtv, and bet. As I said earlier the media has become like the matrix that has kept the generation of young Americans insulated from reality and incarcerated by this fictitious world. The media is a tour de force and plays a crucial role in shaping the characters of our youth. Young Americans constantly emulate what they see in music videos and attempt to model their favorite stars. Hollywood is not all it seems, it is basically smoke and mirrors at the end of the day. Teens will get tattoes, adopt slang, wear clothes and ingest drugs just to be like their favorite rapper, singer, athlete, or actor. As a result they become trapped by these images portrayed by the media in hopes of fitting in and/or becoming popular while sacrificing their own persona. Instead of striving to be like Lil Wayne or Rhianna why not strive to be like Cornell West or Sotomayor. We should focus on the positive figures in society that can be good role models for the youth.

We should teach our youth to become critical thinkers. They should become their own person and be comfortable with themselves. More than anything we need to embrace learning how to be a unique individual without emulating what you see on tv. We should restrict how much the media influences our youth if we want them to have a brighter future.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Underdog

Hello members I am sorry for the for hiatus but I am back with some thoughts and I strongly urge you to reply so we can get an official dialogue going,

Imagine being born a crack baby with HIV, an orphan, and blind. I cannot fathom how anybody in this physiological and mental state would be able to function in society nevertheless survive. When the odds are stacked against you like this, life becomes an incessant challenge. Heinous acts such as child abuse, sexual abuse, and verbal abuse are ubiquitous and the victims who endure these hardships have demonstrated their resilience, dedication, and faith. It takes a lifetime to recuperate from having your soul battered and your inner being lacerated. These brave souls deserve a nobel prize for overcoming these obstacles.

In addition to the myriad of problems that minority communities are plagued with just being a minority can be daunting at times. The financial, social, academic, and psychological issues we encounter can be overbearing. Whether you just lost a loved one in a shootout or have to work in order to help your mom with the rent you need to make the necessary adjustments to achieve the grades you desire. Furthermore when there are no academic resources available or you just aren't aware of the opportunities available for minorities it makes it difficult to succeed. People who come from a single mom household in a lower income neighborhood and have graduated college have already defeated enormous odds. Dedication and willpower become critical to attaining a higher degree such as an MA, MS, MD, JD or even a BA(graduate school, medical school, law school, college four year university).

We must learn from every failure and develop the determination to dust ourselves off and get back up. I view failures as learning experiences and not defeats. We must defy the status quo and challenge the societal norm of being inferior. Failures are God teaching us what we did wrong and testing our faith. Anything that is worth having in life should not come easy because if the journey to get to the finish line is difficult then we cherish the victory much more. When we fall we must dig deep into the depths of our soul and excavate the courage to keep going! SUCCESS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!