Kodak Moments

Lenore Skenazy makes the statement,"We have gained a Kodak moment and lost the story of our lives." Skenanzy makes so many valid points in her Don't smile for the Camera article. She gives examples of her family and how the images they captured in their photographs and the videos recorded are not reality. Looking back on my life I can fully agree with everything that Skenazy says about capturing the moments that look perfect are not the true memories of our lives. One Christmas we were all at my grandma's house in Virginia, and my mom and aunt wanted family photos, so we all got in the living room in front of the tree to take the picture. I asked my mom continuously if I could take the picture and at the age I was telling me no was not what I wanted to hear. Well considering she her answer was not I decided to throw my own pity party refusing to smile or look the least bit happy in the picutres. My mom was pretty perturbed with me at that point, so I had to congure up a smile even though in my mind I was frowning. We continued through with taking the pictures and they turned out great a real hallmark card, although the image is an altered reality of the true emotions that were raging in the room that night everything seemed "picture perfect."
Reading this article really opened my eyes especially in the last two paragraphs. All our lives we as people and families try to make things look as though they are not, and this does not just occur in photos. When parents get together they usually tend to talk about their children and their accomplishments trying to out do the other, and when you walk into their houses on the walls are covered with family photos and individual head shots of their child's senior portraits. Sometimes the perfect image that we want to reflect to others may also be shown in the clothes we wear, cars we drive, or even how involved we our in our churches. Although skanazy only talks about creating a perfect image in a photo in order to deflect the ugly truth, we as humans do it in our everyday lives. Maybe we should all step back and look at our lives and although we may not have tons of money, fancy clothes, or even get along everyday with our families. Who wants to be perfect in reality? How can you experience life if you have never made mistakes or branched out into an imperfect world.

The author discusses the uses of tattoos and fashion to create an identity or what someone might want others to think is true of themselves. Although what we see may not be a reflection of that person, such as their morals, values, beliefs, or personality. Yes, fashion does make a statement about a person, but there are many people who do not choose to wear what they do; sometimes it is forced, and in many cases it is all they can afford. Walk down the street one day and see how much judgement you pass on people about their clothes or the way they are wearing their hair. For instance a guy who has a mohawk, or a girl who has two sleeves, your immediate response may be that these people are dark, trashy, scary, hardcore. In high school yeah it was standard that people dress the same and like the same clothes in fear that they might be victimized if they were not wearing the latest trends, but in the real world lets be real, creating your own personal identity is much better than following the crowds. The guy with the mohawk and the girl with the sleeves may know better than you who they are and what they want in life. Tattoos in many religions are a symbol of maturity, culture, tribes, and faith. Yes, considering that I too have a tattoo I understand the meaning of tattoos and that there should be a significance to them, but I also know that many people have them due to drunken nights and crazy dares. Seeing a person with a cross on their body does not cause my mind to jump to the conclusion that they are a very religious person who has the cross to symbolize their faith. Many people put crosses on their bodies to represent a loved one who has died, or maybe they simply got one because they like the symbol but not necessarily the representation. As for the girl in the parka, she is wearing this because it is a part of her culture, but just because she looks different than I do does not mean that she is any different. I'm sure that if I were to visit her country or any other that I would be a victim of judgement. So, I guess that clothing and tattoos do have a slight affect on the type of person you are, but I believe a lot of what you "see" when you look at a person is what society has made them.

Project Immigration

Personally I do not have any issue with immigrants coming into the U.S as long as they enter the United States having to adhere and live as any other American Citizen. The cartoon that Daryl Cagle illustrated focuses on the fact that immigrants who enter into the U.S illegally are given the same privileges that any natural born American is entitled to. As Americans, we want to be seen as the good guys always willing to lend a helping hand. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, but in order to help our nation and those who follow the laws of coming into America legally we should enforce our laws. I support legal immigration, not illegal immigration. If one can follow the correct proccess to come into America so, than so should the rest.