Heb 6

I often get a strange reaction from people when I tell them I’m an only child. The first thing people assume is that I must be spoiled because I don’t have any brothers or sisters. Other things people often think are that I must be very lonely and have no socials skills because I’ve never had anyone else around the house to play with. Also, people often assume I missed out on childhood because I was surrounded by adults all the time. Well, I am here to say none of this is true.
I suppose the whole idea of being spoiled comes about because people assume that only children have amenities at their disposal. People look at the fact that I went to a private school and my family has visited Disney World a few—ok, more than a few—times that I live some grand life when really it’s just that the public schools are bad and my parents like to travel. I will be the first to admit that my parents paid for a lot of things, but I never demanded anything they gave me. Only children must work just as hard for the things they have; we are not some special class of privilege. Being an only child does not exclude me from having to get a job or work hard. It just means that at home there are only three of us. Perhaps it looks as if only children are spoiled because money is divided between less people, but really we have the same responsibilities and hardship that everyone has.
Often people also seem to think that I must be extremely lonely because I had no one at home to play with. Really, I don’t think I ever considered myself lonely until people told me that was what it was supposed to be like. Sure, I spent a lot of time by myself. I read a lot of books and kept myself entertained. I was completely intent with my childhood. I went to day care everyday and playing with all the kids there. Had there been more kids in my neighborhood, I’m sure I would have played with them too. Along with this, people assume that I have no social skills and a very self-centered person. I had plenty of friends growing up. Sure I had my rough periods like everyone has in life, but that can’t be attributed to being an only child. My parents purposely put me in daycare, not just because they were both working, but also to get to play with other kids and spend time with other people.
I don’t think I was ever deprived of a childhood. I did spend a lot of time with adults, but I don’t think I would see my parents as some overbearing maturity that I must meet. I did the same things every kid does and got in trouble for everything too. You see, there is never that advantage of being able to blame anything on anyone else. Maybe when people try to say I’ve been deprived of a childhood they really mean I am more mature. I don’t think I could ever see that as being a bad thing.

Heb 5

When you recall the “teen pop” music era of the late 90s, a few popular boy bands come to mind. Of greatest standing were ‘N Sync and the Backstreet Boys. Most may lump these two groups into mere cookie cutter replicas but really they are quite different. ‘N Sync far surpasses the title of boy band making them far superior to the Backstreet Boys.
First let’s discuss the members of this group and how they came together. True both groups contain 5 members and are all men. Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync both also originated in Orlando, Florida with the same management firms. However, I assure you these are where any major similarities end. Both groups claim to be a cappella harmony groups, but only ‘N Sync can fully live up to this claim. The Backstreet Boys do not have a true bass in their group which leaves their harmonies empty and incomplete. ‘N Sync is greatly known for their harmonizing abilities. They performed the National Anthem at the Olympics and the World Series as well as a special tribute to the Bee Gees on the Grammy Awards. Clearly, through recognition from the music industry, ‘N Sync is far greater on shear musical ability alone.
During the late 90s and into the early 2000s, these pop acts not only were successful in selling albums, but also in producing concerts. ‘N Sync and the Backstreet Boys went out on many different tours throughout their careers although their concerts became drastically different. As with most musical acts, their early tours were quite simple. But as the groups progresses, ‘N Sync began to outshine the Backstreet Boys. One significant difference is simply the venues ‘N Sync was able to perform in. ‘N Sync was able to perform in stadiums around the country selling out every single show. This means they were performing for at least 60,000 people a night! The Backstreet Boys sadly attempted this same feat but had to downsize their tour to barely sell out arenas. ‘N Sync shines in mere fan bases alone. Not only has ‘N Sync performed to larger crowds, but they also perform better shows. Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync are known for dancing but the Backstreet Boys have always relied on back-up dancers to compensate for their lack of skill. ‘N Sync performs without the assistance of someone else. Backstreet boys have also copied things ‘N Sync has done in their own shows. It seems impossible for the Backstreet Boys to come up with their own ideas.
The final great divide between these two groups is their music. They both sing “pop” music, but ‘N Sync has actually branched into other genres of music. Their music has allowed them to collaborate with the likes of Nelly, Richard Marx and Stevie Wonder. They have not trapped themselves into one style of music. ‘N Sync has also been writing their own songs since their very first album. It took Backstreet Boys 2 albums to reach the same level as ‘N Sync. ‘N Sync has also had greater album sales holding both the number one and number two records for most album sales in one week. They have sold 2.4 million albums in just one week beating legends. It is impossible to deny the facts that clearly demonstrate that ‘N Sync far surpasses the Backstreet Boys.
'N Sync has achieved greater success in many areas. They have outsold concerts and venues compared to the Backstreet Boys and many other musical acts. 'N Sync has also created better, more diverse albums shattering all sales records. It is clearly evident that 'N Sync is the reigning boy band that will forever go down in pop music history.

HEB 4

Yes I Went to An All Girls School, And Yes I’m Normal

Many people have preconceptions when they think of a private school, often uniforms and a bunch of spoiled rich kids. Now when you had Catholic on top of that, people think of nuns with rulers patrolling the hall ways. The cherry on top of this sundae is adding a single-sex environment, in this case all girls. Wow, have I gotten some strange looks around here for that one. People assume we’re all snobby, catty girls preparing to be nuns. Really, we’re nothing like that at all. Now of course there are a few bad apples to spoil the bunch, but I think going to an all-girls high school was the greatest place to learn and I think it’s a good thing for all girls.
I think one huge advantage comes in the classroom. We focus solely on our academics and are put first in the classroom. Believe me, no one cared what they looked like and some girls considered regular showers optional. I know a little gross, but the big picture here is we didn’t need to care. According to the National Association for Single Sex Education, girls in a single-sex environment will tend to take more challenging science and math classes and also later choose college majors in more diverse fields. Girls are expected to be assertive and take a stand for what they believe in. We were a school of women led by women and I don’t think we could have had it any other way.
There is also a difference in athletic programs. Traditionally at a coed school, a lot of money will be put into the football teams and boy’s basketballs teams, basically the events that will draw in a big crowd. At an all-girls school, of course, every sport receives attention. Sure us golf team members may not have drawn a lot of spectators, but we were still given proper equipment and recognition in the school. We also had a very unique and special team to our school and that was our rugby team. I don’t think there are many coed high schools with a national champion girl’s rugby team. In a school with a big football team and basketball team, would our rugby team really survive?
The greatest things I think I’ve taken away from my experience are friendships and a sense of solidarity. I’m sure many people think we are all very particular in who we can sit with and surely have our cliques. The truth is there were cliques; people are always going to bond with those they have something in common with, but these cliques were not entirely exclusive and there was never any hostility. I never felt uncomfortable being friends with girls during the school week who I would never hang out with on the weekend. Those things didn’t matter and I know that there are 143 other girls from my class who would agree. You are surrounded with other girls who know exactly how you feel when you’re going through anything because they’ve been there too.
So yes, I had to wear a nice uniform, plaid skirt and all, for four years. And yes, there are boys at our dances. A single-sex education is the best thing I could recommend for any girl to find out who you are, what you want to be, and what life means to you. Yes, I went to and all-girls and high school and yes I am completely normal!

Source:
“Advantages for Girls.” National Association for Single Sex Education. 2004. 11 Feb. 2005.

HEB 3

When I think of a comic book, a few things come to mind. First I just think of mindlessness. I guess I just always associated a comic with just being something with little meaning, not much of a story, and just a bunch of pictures. Not exactly my ideal reading material. The second thing I think of with comic books are younger boys because I mean, come on, what girls actually read comics? Ok, so maybe my assumptions were a little misguided and I would have to say I have been converted to at least accepting comics.
I was surprised that the comic actually does have some really good things about it. The comics, at least within the super hero genre, have an immense sense of heroism as the fearless fighter attempts to protect the world. Also I particularly noted that this Superman I read about had a great deal of compassion for society, something perhaps we could use a little more of in the world. He cared about saving the alien just as much as saving himself. The story was somewhat how I would have imagined it: a superhero story, but it was not really as cheesy and predictable as I thought. I can definitely understand why people do enjoy reading them and can’t wait to get the next issue as it leaves a little cliff hanger at the end for you. It was also educational as it gave me a lesson about black holes. And I don’t know, maybe all of Superman’s red and blue that made me feel patriotic, as if a comic book was something really American.
Well I did see some good things about the comic, other things I was not that impressed with overall. I would have to say the artwork in this particular comic I read did not impress me at all, but perhaps this is my own personal bias as I am not really a visual person in any sense. So I generally found myself going right to the word bubbles and not putting all that much effort into looking at the pictures. However I did see a classmate’s comic in which the art was a little more impressive. The other thing I am still quite perplexed about is who exactly the age market is for the comic. As I said before and I would expect the average reader to know older than 13, however nearly every advertisement was geared to someone in high school. Every video game had a teen rating, as well as ads for acne and an ad o stop teen smoking. Not exactly the audience I imagined. I also have never known anyone in high school who had read a comic, but then again I did go to a Catholic all-girls high school, so it’s probably not the best place to go searching for secret X-Men readers.
Overall, I would have to say comics really are not all that bad. So maybe it’s not my particular choice, but that doesn’t make it bad either. There are really some choices for people to make with things like anime besides the super hero type. Comics are not really what I thought: a glorified version of a good old-fashioned story book.