From Russia to Qatar

This week, the World Cup hosts for 2018 and 2022 were anounced.  The two countries will be Russia and Qatar. Their was a lot of speculation on these two countries chosen, especially about Qatar. I actually found out about this news because all my Facebook’s updates seemed to be about the surprising news. Many of the FB posts were expressing the dislike in the choices made. Im guessing most people wanted one of the World Cups to be in the United States, maybe because that way it would be a lot more accessible to attend. 

I thought this topic was very interesting since media sources are still talking about it. To me it seems more than just a host for the World Cup. It is some sort of political and economical discussion. First of all to actually have these World Cups in the countries chosen, new stadiums have to be built. At first I was thinking to myself Why would you not just do it in a country where stadiums are already available? It turns out that this actually will help those underdog countries bring up their economy. Think of all the money those countries will make once the World Cups are there and how many jobs the building of stadiums will create. Aside from the economic aspect, the cultures in the country will be better recognized and will have a chance for others to engage in their activities. 

Double Value

Most of us have heard the expression that says a person that speaks two languages is worth two people. I heard this expression a lot while I was growing up since I learned Spanish first and then English. A lot of people do not have the chance to learn two languages but those that do, it is a great opportunity and should take advantage of it. 

            Its very disappointing to me to see someone that grew up in a home that had another native language other than English, and that person doesn’t speak it. I feel very strongly about this because this native language represents your culture and you should embrace it. Even if you were not born in the same country as your parents, it is still part of you, part of your culture.

            I plan to practice and keep using my second language. I also plan to instill in my kids my culture and hope they speak Spanish as well.

Overpriced movies

What was the last movie you saw at the movie theaters? Can you name the movie or has it been so long that you went to a theater you don’t remember? You may be like me and avoid going to movie theaters because of their unreasonable upscale prices. Just to get into the movies the tickets are ten dollars! Imagine if five people went to the movie, that’s fifty dollars just to watch a 90-minute movie. Popcorn and drinks are extremely overpriced with their price of about another ten dollars, NOT including candy! My family and I used to have a movie night out every week but since the prices went up we have turned to other alternatives.

Netflix  has become very popular because for only 7.99 dollars a month you can watch an unlimited amount of movies on your TV or computer. Many have subscribed to this site and have avoided going to the movie theaters. Another growing alternative is Red Box. With just one dollar you can rent a movie for a night and enjoy a nice movie night at home.

If you still want to get out the house and go into a theater, try going to the dollar movies. Last night I went to a dollar theater movie, which is technically now a $1.75 movie theater, but is still better than a $10 ticket. These theaters show movies you would get at a red box, but the concessions are still pretty pricy. The only thing with these alternatives is that the movies are not box opening premiers. Yet, they still help when it comes to keeping a budget.

Dream

Lately, I had been hearing a lot about this DREAM Act law that is trying to be passed. My mom actually brought it to my attention last week. We were talking about SMU and all the tuition costs, when she asked about one of my high school friends. She asked what college he was attending, but I had to tell her that he was unable to attend college because tuition was to high and he uncapable of receiving help from the government because of his illegal status. We then started talking about the DREAM Act law and how people that been in this country most of their lives should have the opportunity for a higher education just as much as any other person.People struggling with this problem can attend college but won’t receive any financial aid.
                                        

Personally, I don’t think that is fair for students not to be able to attend college because they cant afford it. It’s putting a stop to their education and they cannot do much about it. Many of the young people that are in this country illegal have been here longer than in their native country. To them, the US is like home; they do not know another world outside the US. I support the DREAM Act that is trying to be passed and I hope that many of the young people that are illegal in this country have the opportunity to use it to their advantage. Not only will it benefit them but the country as a whole. Isn’t the United States always promoting education and encouraging young people to do the best with their life? Then they should let everyone in this country have the same opportunity to receive higher education. If they really want to make an effort to try to use this new law to attend college or enlist in the armed forces, then they more than deserve that chance. This country needs more people with the need to help their country and the urge to succeed.  

"Socially Retarded"

When I was reading some of the blogs from the other students to leave a comment, I saw a blog that really struck an idea. I thought about it so much that I decided to make my own blog about it. The blogger had written about how now days, our society is so dependent on these portable technological devices we call our cell phones. It seems that we cannot be one second without holding or looking at our cell phones. Our cell phones are not only used for phone calls now, but for text messages, email, facebook, twitter and pretty much anything a computer can do. I even pay bills through my phone. It is a device that has a lot of advantages and does make life easier at time but it is also causing the people in our generation a big problem. 

This picture was taken during a night out with some friends, and take a closer look at it. What do you notice? Everyone in this picture has their phone in their hand, and is looking down at it! No one even bother to look up for the picture. This picture made me realized the harm that cell phones are causing. A friend used a phrase 'socially retarded' to refer to the situation in this picture. Meaning we were mentally incapable to maintain a social conversation with the people around us. Instead of talking to the person next to you, we usually all chose to sit there and start texting or even update our status on facebook and twitter. Theses sites are so easily reachable, especially through our mobile devices, that people do not see the necessity to have a real face to face conversation when they can just send a written text. So I guess the point that I am trying to make is that even though our cell phones are such a helpful device we have to be careful that it does not mess with our social skills because it can become a serious problem. If we do not know how to communicate or interact with people how are we ever going to have a successful job interview or even keep a simple conversation with anyone?

"Look above you, at the stars and the moon."

As I was looking through some articles online at CNN.com for my next blog, I came across to the title of this certain article, and without even reading the whole story I knew that was the topic for my next blog. The title of the article I saw was : “Stephen Hawking:God didn't create universe”. Read the title and then just take some time to think about the statement of this title. What goes through your head?

These few words just made such a grave and contradictory statement! I go on and read the article, and the famous Stephen Hawking is releasing a new book this coming week where he will try to prove that God did not create the universe. He has developed these theories that say that the creation of the universe, and humanity in general, was due to physics and scientific laws.
Yet, it is very interesting on how he words he statement. Hawking does not deny the existence of God but rather says God did not create the universe.
Obviously, this man can not deny the existence of God but instead Hawking is challenging God about his greatest creation, which is the universe.


Personally, I believe Hawking’s theory is completely and utterly incorrect. He must have a lot of courage to have made his theory public, and none the less write a whole book about it! It just seems crazy to me that any person can come to a conclusion that God is not responsible for the world that surrounds us. This reminds me of a section in the Zeitoun book where Zeitoun uses a metaphor to explain to the captain that God really existed.He compared God to being the captain navigating a ship. Without a captain a disaster could happen. Same thing with the world, if there was no God guiding us, everything would fall apart. Once again, I certainly think there is enough evidence around us that can prove God was responsible for creating everything. Just like an engineer plans out very carefully how to work on his next project or design, God planned out his design for humanity and the universe.

Toxic 'Waste'

Did Zeitoun really mean that waste is one of the things that can destroy society? Can you really compare waste to the things he listed such as murder and divorce? It seems kind of odd that Zeitoun would group waste into the same categories as these. Yet Zeitoun really saw the thicker meaning behind the waste and the meaning it had. Due to the way Zeitoun was brought up while he was a child, he learned to value everything he had and had to work for it, rather than it just being handed to him. The quote he stated in the book that said “If your hand does not work for it , your heart doesn’t feel sorry for it.” I certaintly agreed with this quote and thought it was very straight forward. The quote, in just a couple of words, summarized the intent Zeitoun had when talking about waste.

Zeitoun knew very well the value of working for his own things. He had done this his whole life and was now trying to instill the same values to his family. This task seems to be difficult because in the society him and his family are living under. In the United States people have lost their sense of value and appreciation. They seem to think there will always be enough food, money and time because they live in such a great country with abundant resources. Yet, with this mentaliy that most of Americans have acquired, the quote and Zeitoun's words have become true in such a big society.

 This point hits home to me because when I first started my first job I soon realized that every penny counts when you earned it with your hard work. Starting my first year at SMU, I had to buy my own books and supplies and soon invest in a new laptop. All these expenses will be coming out of my own pocket and to me they have so much more value than if the were given to me or bought by my parents. I completely understand when Zeitoun says that people have lost value in small but important things.

This year I learned that when you purchase an item on campus many of those items can be added to your tuition cost. I have heard many students take advantage of this system because they say they wont be the ones paying for it, but their parents. Some students are not even aware of the amount that has accumulated to their tuition but to them it does not matter because they are use to someone else taking care of financial stuations. Them not being aware of how much things really cost and how much work it took to earn that money, makes them not really not value what they are being given. To me this passage has been a very interesting one because we can relate to it in many different ways and we can see it around us in a daily bases.