Makeup...Heels...Grace (:

As women, we are expected to conduct ourselves in the utmost feminine manner at all times.  However, what society and most men do not realize is that being a lady is very hard! You are always expected to look and act a sudden way, and in the instance when one breaks that stereotype, she gets talked about in a negative way.

I can recall a certain scenario when I was ten years old. I was going through a phase as much of us women do at a young age. Yeah, that stage….the tomboy stage. I would wear baggy pants, Jordans, and a hat turned to the back. In addition, I would often wear my hair in a ponytail which my mother absolutely hated. I wore no make-up and often considered myself as “one of the guys”.  For Christmas, I always wanted dirt bikes and 4-wheelers instead of the typical Barbie dolls and Easy-Bake ovens. 

This began to raise concern with my parents and they demanded that I make a change. The change was that I would act more like a “girl”…as if there was a certain way that girls HAVE to act. I was obedient and went through a total transformation.  Once junior high school rolled around, I was ready! I had a new wardrobe filled with an array of cute dresses, heels, and girl y tops. I must admit, however, that this change gave me a new attitude. I was more confident and believed that I was beautiful.  In addition, I became a cheerleader.  I carry those same “gender” transformations today and conduct myself as a feminine woman would.  A lady is always seen but never heard.  She’s conservative, stylish, graceful, curvy, supportive of her man, and strong.  She never considers herself as one of the guys and spends countless hours primping to ensure that she doesn’t look like one either. I am a lady. (:

Feminism? To Care or Not to Care

Before entering my Women’s Studies class, I had a very keen definition of what I thought feminism was. In my definition, a feminist is someone who does anything to support, improve, and justify women's rights. They want women to have the same rights as men. The typical stereotype of a feminist is someone who hates men, lesbian, socially awkward, evil, and anti-religious.However, after just two weeks of being a student in Mrs. Peerboom's class, I have a whole new definition of what feminism is. According to Sarah D. Bunting, "If you believe in, support, look fondly on, hope for, and/or work towards equality of the sexes, you are feminist.

After completing a worksheet that assessed if you considered yourself a feminist or not, I discovered that according to Bunting's definition, I am a feminist. I absolutely have to agree. I support the rights of women and wish that they had every equal opportunity as possible. However, that is not the problem. The problem is that I'm one of those supporters that is too lazy to care. I feel that although I am a women, these problems do not affect me enough directly in order for me to react to them. 

I also hold the beliefs that some positions should not be available to women. These places include running a country (president) and being in the pulpit of a church. My belief on this subject simply goes back to my upbringing and tradition. Its just not tradition to see a women trying to run a country. I'm not saying that she doesn't have the ability to do it. It just does not look right.

Although many people may view my opinion as irrelevant and/or stupid. It is just that, my opinion. I am entitled to it, and I will always consider myself as a carefree feminist.

Soul Food

If anyone has ever seen the movie "Soul Food", he/she will know that the movie is based on a traditional African-American family. The grandmother, "Big Mama", is the main character in the movie. She works to keep her family together while unknowingly battling cancer. The movie concludes with Big Mama dying, but her family forms a bond that could most certainly not be broke. I came to the quick realization that this movie reminded me a lot of my own grandmother and her conquet to unite our family.
Pulaski is a blink-and-you-miss-it town with a population capacity of 175 people. Growing up, I never quite got used to the boredom that it possessed. I used to frequently express my hate of the place, and I made the remark that I was going to leave and never come back. As a junior here at the University of Southern Mississippi, I find myself eating those words that I spoke ten years ago. Katie Merl King is my grandmother's name. Strong, kind-hearted, beautiful.. she was. As a mother of twelve, she tried her best to instill good moral values in her children and grandchildren. She was my backbone. She was my best friend. She was my role model. I lost my grandmother on August 4, 2011. It is a day that I will never forget. As she laid across the stretcher, I held her cold, fragile hand. A salty tear stung my lip, and I took a deep breath. My grandmother was gone.
I have spent 25 days without the comfort of her presense. Although I am sad, I am left with her blessing of my ambitions, dreams, and boyfriend. In addition, I have nine aunts and uncles who come together every Sunday to have dinner in memory of my grandmother. Katie Merl King was a outstanding lady. I love you grandma!!

Plan of Attack!

Zombies are headed our way. My group and I have devised a plan that we feel will be quite strategic in getting rid of these blood-sucking creatures. First, we have reserved a radio spot with a local station. During that radio spot, we will alert the media about the zombies and refer them to local shelters that are set up specifically for this purpose. If they choose to stay home, we also provide a list of things that should be included in a zombie preparation kit. These things include water, non-parishable food items, bandages, and pocket knives. We felt that this idea would be significant because a lot of people listen to the radio. Next, we chose to print colorful, attention-grabbing flyers that we would post all over the city basically detailing these same instructions. These flyers would serve as a visual aid which I feel is very important when trying to persuade someone to do something. The main goal of our presentation is to get the audience to see that this attack is something serious and that we are very passionate about trying to help them get through it. We also want them to be interested in learning more about why has happened and specific pre-cautions to take to ensure that it doesn't happen in the future. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFpOin0j90Q offers a great, effective way of giving presentations. The tips were creative, and I definitely improved.

Fashion....BUST!

Growing up, I have always had a die-heart interest in fashion. I would always play "dress-up" with my mother's clothes, shoes, jewelry, and make-up. As a young lady today, this interest is still very much a part of my life. With amazing local clothing stores such as Forever21, Charlotte Russe, 579, and Body Central, looking fierce is not a hard task. All is takes is a little boldness and confidence. While doing some online browsing, I found that a website that caught my attention. What's so funny about this particular website is that I am a subscribed fan of it. I receive monthly magazines. This website is http://www.seventeen.com/. Seventeen deals with a variety of issues ranging from fashion, boys, dating, real-life situations, community service, and drama. This has been one of my favorite magazines for years. I was quite disappointed when I checked out the website, however. I feel that the website is cluttered and does not flow very well. In addition, the tutorial videos were short and extremely boring. For example, one girl was giving a tutorial on how to apply "cat-eye" to your eyebrows and eyelashes. I could barely understand, and her tips did not work. To other individuals who may not be familiar to the website, it may be pretty persuasive. My letter would go as follows:
         Dear Webmaster,
               I have been a avid fan/supporter of Seventeen magazine for years. I have been a subscription member for numerous years. I recently visited the online website, and I must admit that I was pretty disappointed. In my opinion, the website was kind of cluttered and had entirely too much stuff going on. I would like to offer a few suggestions on how to make the website a little better to understand. First, I think it would be a good idea to add a few more sub-topic tabs. Second, I think it would be a good idea to eliminate the video tutorials or make them more interesting. Honestly, when I watched them I was not persuaded at all or encouraged to try their tips. Last, I think that the community service/real-life situations that are featured in the magazine should be incorporated into the website more. For example, you could display a personal letter from one of the individuals telling the world how she feels and what she would like them to know. Webmaster, I am not trying to be disrespectful at all. I am only trying to offer a few suggestions that would make your already amazing brand be even more amazing! Please consider my points and suggestions. Thank you for your time.
                     Sincerely,
                       A Concerned Fan

ZombieLand!!!! *Approach With Caution* Report

It's 2011, and the setting is Hattiesburg, MS. Everyone says that zombies have been spotted 50 miles from here. The goal of this proposal is to persuade people to support our (The Forrest County Public Safety Dept.) plan. This plan was designed to keep everyone safe and to ensure that the community was as prepared as possible for the zombie attack. The problem is that people are not prepared for a zombie attack. The Forrest County Public Safety Department needs a way to spread awareness of zombie attack procedures among people.
Thus far, my group and I are on schedule with our plan of attack on the zombies. Each person was assigned a specific part of the project to perform. Personally, I was responsible for the introduction and the script for the on-air radio spot. We as a group were planning to have more meetings but were unable to have them due to conflicting time schedules. In my introduction, I set the background for the cause of the problem and gave the community an outlook on what to expect. In my on-air script, I devised a zombie-attack plan where I included certain items that should be included in a kit. These items included non-perishable food items, water, and a first-aid kit. My future work will include a better, slightly revised version of an on-air radio show script. I do not foresee any future problems except for the scheduling problems my group faces while trying to meet up.
Overall, I feel that our plan is going good. Every group member is lending a helping hand and doing his/her part. We all are passionately interested in the zombie topic and would like to receive a good grade on the project.
In conclusion, recommendations I suggest for my group is that we work harder to set a specific schedule and stick to it. Secondly, I feel that the instructor could give us more pointers on how to make our project better.

JOB? MONEY!! :)

In today's economy, finding a job is hard work. Many companies are suffering major wages and are not hiring new workers. As a biological sciences major at the University of Southern Mississippi, I have done research searching for new, potential job opportunities and internship opportunities. After doing extensive research and searching online databases, I have found four potential jobs/internships that I feel I qualify for and that I would potentially be interested in. These four potential jobs/internships include shadowing a pharmacist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, pharmacy technician here in Hattiesburg, biology tutor, and The Home Depot. The first three listings are all related in my field of biology/pre-pharmacy. The last one is not really related, but I'm still interested.  The shadowing program at UMMC involves shadowing a pharmacist/physician for 10 weeks. It includes assisting the professional in daily routine activities. The volunteer gets firsthand experience with the doctors. Interested candidates should visit http://mca.umc.edu/HealthCareers/HealthCareersDevelopmentProgram.html. The pharmacy technician postion is available at the Wesley Hospital here in Hattiesburg. Information can be found at http://www.job.com/my.job/jobdisplay/page=jobview/pt=2/key=78292924/. Another potential job is a biology tutor for students. This job includes assisting students in all aspects of biology. The potential candidate must possess an advanced amount of knowledge in biology. More information about this job can be found at http://chs.taleo.net/careersection/10001/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=715126&sre=JB-12080. Last, I feel that a job working at The Home Depot will be a pretty good experience. This information can be found at http://www.career-hound.com/jobs/register.jsp?kw0=mmwwlihjhrrim&job=home+depot&cib=484&SID=5460553.
I have many skills, accomplishments, and experiences that I feel can contribute to me getting one of these postions. I have good communication skills, problem-solving skills, communication skills, and logic/reasoning skills. In addition, I am a Jubilee scholar. I have been on the Dean's List (3.5 GPA or better). In addition, I am a L.N. Payton HeadStart volunteer and an Oseola McCarty volunteer. I can demonstrate that I possess these skills by incorporating them into my resume and cover letter. I feel that this can most definitely give me an upper-hand with the competition. I think my communication skills will definitely play a major part with the Home Depot job. Effective communication will be key when persuading customers to buy the products.
The job that I find the most interesting and that I would like to pursue is the pharmacy technician position. I chose this one because I feel that it will prepare me the best for my ultimate goal of becoming a pharmacist. Even since I was a child, I have always dreamed of becoming a pharmacist. They make a lot of money and get to help their community at the same time.  Also, I feel that it would be a fun environment to work in. Fellow employees and I would have to work as a team, and I love being a team player. In addition, knowledge in biology/chemistry plays a major part in pharmacy. This would be a good point to add to my resume. I also have a pharmacy technician license. This would most definitely showcase that I'm qualified for the job and that I have a real interest in performing it. If I fully equip myself while creating my resume and cover letter, I am confident that I will get this job.