Homework 34

   In our society the birth of a new born child is looked upon as a gift, the parents of a new born baby feel that their child is special and that their child has characteristics of a leader and the potential to change the world. I honestly believe that every time a baby is brought to this earth that is the exact mind state that every parent has. But on the other hand birth is looked at as a burden and something that slows a persons life down, to have to constantly watch and take care of a baby takes a huge chunk of time out of any body's schedule, I feel that that is the reason why people always wait till they are older and more mature to have children. It would make no sense what so ever to have a child in a early stage of your life because their are probably multiple goals and aspirations that you want to fulfill before you begin to settle down. 

   While discussing the topic of birth with one of my fathers associates he brought up an interesting point. He said that "That once a person has a child it's the parents job to make sure that their child does better and lives a better life then they did"after thinking that over and getting a clear explanation on why he said that it actually made sense. The reason why I can agree with him on his conclusion is because i can connect to it and see it in my daily life. My mother and father where both born and raised in Jamaica, my mother moved to America to make sure she went a college and had a career that she was happy with. My father also move to america with a dream of owning a electrical contracting business. My mother always told me that the reason she moved to america is because one day she knew she wanted to have kids and she wanted to make sure her kids did not have to struggle like she did. I think the main reason why what my father's business partner said is so important is because it is true. Connecting back to what we learned in class about Culture of Power and how people should be rich in culture and intelligence and should travel the world and learn new things, and i feel like that is most parents dream and goal in life is to make sure that when their child is born even if they have to bust their ass working to make sure that their child has the advantage that they didn't then they will do everything possible to make that happen.

Questions:

1) Is the birth rate higher in America do to the fact that their is more opportunities and jobs to be obtained?

2) What is the average age for a couple to decide to have a kid?

3) Is the birth of a child looked upon as a positive or negative in our culture?

HW 30

   For my project I wanted to explore how my best friend dealt with his father surviving a stroke, and how did that affect his father and his family. The main reason why I wanted to do research on my friends fathers stroke is because I found it interesting on how I use to hang out at my friends house so much and his father and mother knew me so well, but after the stroke his father didn't know me or my name. So I wondered how that lost of memory affected the house hold he lived in. Even though lost of memory is only one side affect of having a stroke i asked my friend what were some other things that caused his father to have a stroke and what changed in his house hold.
   My friend told me that his father had a hard time even remembering his own kids, and for almost 2 months him and his family had to help his father remember all of his loved ones and others he knew. One of the main things that my friend said that changed about his father was his ability to move around and get from point A to point B. He constantly had to be around his father to make sure he was okay and because his father always needed assistance. He also told me that his fathers whole diet had to change because of the stroke he had to start eating extremely healthy, and due to that his father began to lose a lot of weight. What I found interesting was how he went into depth to explain his fathers emotions and how he was always depressed and never seemed to be happy, and when he told me this I knew that the stroke had to have an affect on him. Because through out my childhood he was like my second father and he was always filled with energy and ready to play sports and hang out so when he told me that i was really surprised. After speaking to my friend I did some research and everything he told me I found on the internet while doing research for side effects of having a stroke.
  While doing research one of the main things I found out was how having stroke can affect your perception, emotions, and swallowing and chewing. Stroke victims constantly have mood swings because the part of their brain that produce emotions are injured, and this is called emotional lability. This causes uncontrollable depression, laughter, etc.
    When my friend explained how is father lost weight because of his lack of eating, I figured out that is normal with stroke victims because the stroke disables the muscles in their mouth that allow them to chew and swallow so they just don't end up eating because it is too much of a hassle. This disorder is called dysphagia.
   I did enjoy doing this project but it did also made me realize how going through something like that can affect your family so much. While discussing the matter with my friend he explained to me that his father will never be the same and when he told me that I finally understood what he was going through and how he dealt with it i did did not understand because if that ever happen to my mother or father I don't think I could deal with it.
  I learn that illness and dying is apart of our daily lives and we are going to have to deal with it sooner or later. We will never know when it will happen to us or our loves ones but when it comes we have to be able to deal with it and over come it no matter how devastating it is.
What this shows about the dominant social practices of illness and dying in our culture is that no matter how much help and assistance we get from hospitals and doctors there's nothing they can do about the side affects that tear family's and friends apart. i feel that it is great that mt best friends father is better and back on his feet but he will never be the same and there's nothing that any hospital or doctor can do about that.
  The reason this whole project matters is because you are able to get insight into a concept that has so much depth and different perspectives. So when your able to actually focus on one aspect you get to see what illness and dying is all about and how it affects the lives of others and how our cultures goes about dealing with it.
   SOURCES:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4761

http://www.livestrong.com/article/78950-effects-having-stroke/

http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/AboutStroke/UnderstandingRisk/Understanding-Risk_UCM_308539_SubHomePage.jsp
 
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/stroke/page3_em.htm#Stroke%20Symptoms


    
       

hw 29

Facing terminal illness- The idea of you knowing that you or someone else you know is going to pass away has to be one of the most scariest and sad things that you will experience in your life. With some people it's easier to grasp the idea that someone besides yourself is going to die. There is a time in everyone s life where you clearly understand that you are going to die and after a while it isn't that terrifying anymore. A great example is from Tuesdays with Morrie (pg 36) "You know how i'm going to die? he said . I raised my eyebrows. I'm going to suffocate. yes. My lungs, because of my asthma, can't handle the disease. It's moving up my body, this ALS. It's already got my legs. Pretty soon it'll get my arms and hands. SAnd when it hits my lungs..." This shows that Morrie has come a conclusion that his life is almost over and he barely has any time left.

Process of Dying- I honestly believe that the process of dying has to be one of the worst things ever, for the person thats dying and the family members and friends that have to watch and go through the process as well. When the guess speaker came in and explain that her husband had cancer and the process she and her kids had to go through to take care of him and be there for him, it made me realize how hard that most be. One insight she said was that her husband never believed that he was going to die he though that maybe a miracle would happen or then would cure him and things would be better. Even though he knew deep inside things were not changing for the better he still stuck with that plan. It was also so interesting how his process of dying brought the family together but also teared them apart. When she explain that the older son never really got to visit his father when he was sick, that shows that the death of someone can really be hard on the people that know they are going to spend the rest of their lives without he/she being there. Throughout that whole speech you feel extremely sorry for the family's lost but you also get some insight on what it is like to deal with the death of someone that is very close.

Being sick- Even though I don't remember ever being sick to the point where I had to go to the hospital. My mother told me when i was a baby I almost died because one of my kidneys failed and i had to have surgery so they could get rid of it. While my mother told me this story the only thing i could thing about was what if the surgery wasn't successful and I did die How would that affect my love ones?and How would their lives be different? Before this topic came up in class there was never a time where i would talk to my parents about illness or dying because i never wanted to talk about it because I feared it.

Hw 22

Quote 1: "I'm on my last great journey here-and people want me to tell them what to pack"
Quote 2: "When you learn how to die, you learn how to live"
Quote 3: "My days were full, yet I remained unsatisfied"

Response 1: Morrie is expecting to die very soon and the people want to know what it is like, how does he deal with it, and how to go about knowing the fact you are going to die at any time.

Response 2: When you finally stop worry about dying and put it to the side you can then begin to live life and enjoy the time you have on earth.

Response 3: His whole day is filled with activities and stuff to do but at the end of the day he is not happy with the work he is doing he feels that there are better things out there for him to explore.

while reading this book a lot of different ideas and thoughts go through my head. When i read the line "When you learn how to die, you learn how to live" it really made me think about the message the author is trying to convey. Since dying is something we can't control and no matter how much we try to dodge it we can't avoid. When we learn that dying is not in our power then we can begin to live our lives out because we wont always worry about the fact that one day we will die. This book really digs deep into the idea that dying is one of the most biggest events that will happen in our lives and when it does happen we will see how much attention we  get that we didn't receive from before.

Hw 21

1. Honeymoon from Death, no chance of living.
2. Fathers relationship with his older son.
3.How her husband deep inside truly believed he was going to live through his illness and not die.
4.No use of the words death or dying around her husband.
5.Hard time getting insurance.
6.When Erik finally died it took her some time to actually gather her thoughts and realize that her husband was dead.

   In life we all know that death is something that is guaranteed to happen and no matter how much we put it to the side and fight it is impossible to avoid. From the time we are born till the day we die, us as human beings live life knowing we wont be here forever so for the time being we enjoy what life has to offer and not to worry about death because that is something that we can't control. When the guest speaker explained that her husband did not believe he was going to die, I wondered why would someone so ill think like that and by him thinking in that mind state what does he get or lose from it. Even though I have never been in the situation were i was so sick to the point that i was bedridden I can clearly understand were he is coming from. A lot of times when I am sick or injured I realize that for most of the time I'm in denial and then I finally after a certain period of time i realize that i am actually sick or injured. When you are sick and  you tell yourself your not it is a way to cope with the pain and the idea that you are very ill and you may be ill for a very long time. In Erik's case he was so sick to the point were telling himself that he wasn't going to die and he would somehow survive it was the only way that he could deal with the fact that he was going to die. When you keep telling yourself you'll be fine over and over again and you barely see a change you just hope for the best and pray that everything will be better.
   What about death brings families and others closer? is it the fact that the person who is sick and dying won't be around anymore and the chances of you waking up and seeing he/she again is slim or doesn't have to do with the relationship and bond you and that person share. When the guess speaker explained that Erik would not let his older son come and visit him I couldn't understand why. Even though deep inside Erik did not want to die he still knew that there was a high probability of it happening. Through out the story that the guess speaker was sharing she clearly explained that Erik's younger was able to visit and she his father during his last days. When she explained that Erik's older son shared a relationship with his father that couldn't be broken no matter what I then began to understand why Erik did not want him to visit him. Erik did not want his son to see him in that condition bedridden and hospitalized.
   I understand that death is inevitable and sooner or later it will happen to me, my mother, father, and brother but for the time being I live life trying to fill out my goals and aspirations. I feel that death is a way to push people and make people want to achieve certain things in life because we wont be here forever. I feel that we all understand that dying and watching others pass away is a bridge that we will all cross. I've realized that some people can handle death and some can't, and the death of someone important in your life can make you stronger or weaker but no matter the outcome we have to learn to deal with it and not let it ruin our lives.

Hw 19

   Even though I come from a big family there haven't been a lot of deaths that have accrued. The only ones we can recall of is of my Paternal Grandmother/Grandfather and my mothers grandmother who I did not know. Besides those deaths everyone else is healthy and alive. My ( mother,father, uncles,aunts, and cousins) are all still living. So when it comes to death and illness I really don't have anything to refer to and draw from.
   The first death that I experienced in my family was of my paternal grandmother. She spent most of her life in Jamaica and then moved to Connecticut were I seldomly  saw her. The couple times I visited her, we barely talked and due to the fact that our relationship wasn't strong when she passed away it did not really have an affect on me. My paternal grandfather passed away before I was even born. The deaths that happen on my father side had no impact on my life because I never really got a chance to build a relationship between my grandmother and I, and I did not know my grandfather.
   My mothers grandmother was ill for a very long time and even though she was bedridden she lived to see a 100. She was taken care of by my grandfather and his wife for 3 years until she passed away. She was also a person in my family that passed away that I did not know.
  In Jamaica one of the main death practices and customs that people followed who lived in the rural parts of Jamaica. Was that when someone died there body would get wrapped in sheets, and then the pastor would come to the home and pray for the family and pray for the person who just passed away. When that was all done the person was buried in the yard on their home.

Final Food Project

   I decided to experiment with my diet and become a vegetarian for a whole week. Even though I was staying away from meat and dairy products i was also avoiding sugar filled drinks and snacks that contained a lot of trans-fats. The overall idea was to change my diet for the better and just eat way healthier than i did before. I feel that the reason that becoming a vegetarian for a whole week won't be hard is because my mother is a vegetarian, so i am always exposed to healthy foods that are good for and at the same time very tasty. For this experiment the main idea is to incorporate healthy foods in my diet such as fruits and vegetables and also stay away from meat. This connects to the food unit because by doing this experiment you actually get to feel what its like to eat foods that are good for you but most important is to step outside the norm and experience something new that could be life changing.
   The first day of being a vegetarian was very hard because i did not know where to eat. I'm so use to walking down the street and getting a slice of pizza or a burger but to get a meal that was healthy and also vegetarian i had to go out my way. For lunch that day i had a mozzarella cheese with basil and pesto on wheat bread. One of the first things i realized was the price that meal came out to $12.90 without a drink. Before the experiment i could go to the chinese food store or the pizza shop and get a meal that filled me up for $5.00. Something i also realized was that the food had no taste what so ever. It made me think why would someone spend so much money on a sandwich that doesn't even taste good just so they can be , how do you get satisfaction out of meal like that. So for the rest of the day i was starving and when i got home i ask my mother what are some foods that i can eat that are vegetarian and taste really good. She gave me a long list of meals that i could buy that taste good and at a reasonable price. From that day on my vegetarian experience became easier.
   The second day for breakfast i had a bagel with jelly and a bottle of orange juice. Throughout the day i was really wondering what i was going to eat for lunch. The main goal was to make sure i incorporated some type of vegetables into my meal. So for lunch I had white rice with stir fry vegetables with garlic sauce. Even though there was no meet in that meal it actually really taste good. Throughout the whole process it is extremely hard not to fall into temptations there where countless amount of times where i would walk by a Mcdonalds or Wendy's and would have to force myself not to go in and by something. While eating these vegetarian meals i always realize that when I'm done eating i am never full it's like i need more food. One of the main question that was always on my mind was What is the diet of a full time vegetarian? and What meals do they eat to fill them up?
   Something i have realized is that location is key when it comes to eating healthy. Down in manhattan there are numerous health food stores and restaurants on ever block so if you are a vegetarian it is impossible not to stay healthy because you can always buy foods and materials to keep you in healthy. Where Im from there is a pizza shop and fast food restaurant on ever block the complete opposite of manhattan. While i was doing the vegetarian experiment it was hard not to go to the pizza shop and get a pepperoni slice or a cheese burger. Any time i would hangout with my friends and they want to get food it's not like there heading to the farmers market or a whole foods there going straight to Mcdonalds and getting a big mac. This whole experience really showed my will power and how i could stick it out even when i wanted to stop and go back to by old ways