The Reality of Reality Television

Reality television has become a part of American, and world, culture. People around the globe are fascinated by the prospect of watching “real” people face challenges and hardships. I believe that reality television needs to be taken out of programming. This needs to be done because what we deem as reality is not such. The stars of these programs do not act the same way on television that they do in everyday life. The select few that do are indeed a rare breed. Reality television does nothing but glamorize a non-existent lifestyle. In addition, it also ruins lives of the people it concerns. One such example is the former series Jon and Kate Plus 8. It followed the daily running of a family that has eight children, one set of twins and one set of sextuplets. The series glamorized the life of the parents. It lead to the family breaking apart when the father was proven to be unfaithful. The lives of each person was destroyed as the parents bitterly divorced, putting the children in an unacceptable limelight. The children were put in the middle as the world watched the parents leave each other, with the children in the middle. This is simply one example of how reality television destroys lives and families.

Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound

Amazing Grace—the movie that follows the struggle for one English man to end the slave trade in England. The movie begins with William Wilberforce travelling out of London to a home in the country to recover from an illness. Along the way, he has his coach stopped to reprimand two farmers beating their exhausted horse because it is unable to move and is lying on the ground; Wilberforce tells the men to let the animal rest before trying to get it to perform any more tasks. This is only a slight glimpse at his character and sets the scene for the rest of the story, which is told partially in flashbacks. Wilberforce is a man set against the idea of slavery, partially due to his friendship with a former slave-trader turned priest, who happens to be the author of Amazing Grace. Wilberforce works tirelessly in appeal after appeal to Parliament to once and for all end slavery in the country. With the help of many considered to be social outcasts, Wilberforce starts wearing down the traditional Parliament. However, he becomes extremely ill and has to leave London to convalesce. After years of leaving the issue alone, Wilberforce returns to London with many from his original group supporting him. He succeeds in getting slavery abolished, but not without many trials and hardships along the way. The movie shows that with determination and persistence one man can change the life of a nation. It is inspirational and really puts everything into perspective.

The Ideal Vacation

The word vacation automatically takes one to a warm climate without a care in the world. However, I would think of my ideal vacation as a tad bit different. On a vacation, I would love to get the opportunity to see the world. I would relish the chance to get to travel around Europe for an undetermined amount of time and not worry about the exact date that I had to come home. I would take the occasion and see the historical sites, the museums, the culture of the countries, and the experience of being there. Getting the opportunity to take my time while at any number of sites on the continent would be absolutely amazing, as opposed to having only a set amount of time to observe and study the certain places. Not having to use a set schedule would also be ideal. I would not follow a schedule set out by someone else, I would determine it myself. I would not worry about having to catch the next train or bus. I would simply follow my whims in going wherever I so pleased. Despite not knowing each and every language spoken, I could get by on the limited knowledge.

A Family Gathering

A family is a group of people to which you are related. Many times, a person spends time with his/her family, but that is not the case with my mother’s side of the family and my sisters and me. I barely know my mother’s family, seeing as they live across the Atlantic Ocean in Germany. Whenever I do see them, there is always some kind of celebration at either the beginning or end of the trip. One instance that sticks out in my mind is when my mother, sisters, and I went to Germany in 2007. On our last full day there, my uncle hosted a huge cookout for us as a going away party. The entire family was there, except for my mom’s sister that lives in Italy. It was so much fun to just get the opportunity to spend time with my family, especially my cousins that were close to my age. All afternoon we played cards and random games, not letting the slight language barrier get between us. To many people, this may not seem like much of a day, but I never see my family, so the opportunity to just spend time with them and not worry about anything else.

Welcome to Linton

Linton, Indiana, population less than 6,000. The city of Linton is tiny; the polar opposite of a big city. To anyone under the age of eighteen, it is also an extremely boring place to live. There are few activities that spark the interest of the youth of the area. On nearly every night of the weekend, and throughout the week in the summer, one can find teenagers simply driving around town on the same loop. Although that is popular with many teenagers, there are a few activities most people can participate in. People can either go bowling at Parkview Lanes or watch a movie at the Linton Cinema. However, many people travel out of town to either Terre Haute or Bloomington when they wish to see a movie, even though both are an hour away. A resident of Linton also must travel to those cities for the opportunity to shop, considering that the only stores in the area are a Wal-Mart and a few tiny clothing stores that cater primarily to the older generations. Linton can be described as nothing more than a small town, but many people see the charm of living here. There is nothing uncommon about knowing most people you come into contact with. If someone does not like a small town, that person would not like Linton, as the sign outside of town would suggest.

LIAR!

I was terrified. What if he found out? Well, it was too late anyway, because I had already hit the send button. I was so angry; I didn’t know how to get those feelings out without making such a close friend angry. He had lied to me, so I was going to give him a piece of my mind. Instead of being brave, I took the coward’s way and used another friend’s phone. I sent the text message saying that he was a jerk for messing around with someone’s feelings the way he did. After that, he texted me to see if I was mad at him; I said no. Soon after, we stopped talking altogether. I figure it was that text message that did the trick. I suspect he knew all along, but who knows. Two months later, I finally came forward with the truth that it was me that sent the message. That was the last time I ever spoke to a person who was perhaps my closest friend. It was hard, but I knew it was for the best that our friendship ended, but was still hard not having someone to vent to when I was mad about something. It was perhaps the worst thing that could have happened from one tiny text message.

The First Day

As I walked through the door of the pool, I couldn’t help but think that I did not belong. It was my first day of officially swimming for the Terre Haute Torpedoes, and I was beyond intimidated. There were so many swimmers there that were actually taking the practice seriously, and that was simply the younger swimmers that were just learning basic technique. It was a different world from what I was used to while swimming for the Linton Swim Team. As these thoughts were running through my head, my new coach saw me and came over to introduce himself. As Raz was getting paperwork together, I was shaking from nerves and excitement. I was actually standing in the presence of a real, trained coach that was going to help me better my swimming. As soon as the younger swimmers got out of the pool, he had me swim one lap of each stroke. I dove into the water and began my I.M., a combination of all four strokes. It felt amazing to be swimming again after not being in a pool for six months. As I got out of the water, he told me I would be entering the mid-level group. I was ecstatic! He introduced me to my new teammates, and my first practice as a Terre Haute Torpedo officially began.

Travel

Travel—the mere word makes me cringe. There is nothing in the world that can make sitting in a train for a three hour ride enjoyable, except when you have seven others in your party. The day began in Jagsthausen, Germany, where my uncle lives. The first step of our trip was to catch the bus to Mockmuehl, the town that houses the train station. After we descended the mother of all hills outside my uncle’s house, we waited at the bus stop, and nearly lost Shane (Bland) to the bus as he avoided a bee. The sight of him running away was unforgettable. After the brief ride on the cleanest public transportation in the world, we made it to the train station. My mother was frantically looking and waiting for the train that would take us to the historical city of Heidelberg. We had arrived early, and therefore waited for a long time, primarily taking pictures of ourselves and every part of the train station to show other s how unlike home it is. We then boarded the punctual train and headed to Heidelberg. It was a beautiful place, where every one enjoyed the day. Two cuckoo clocks were purchased to be mailed home later. The most entertaining part of the day, however was yet to come. My uncle thought we were going to miss our train, so he and my mother started power walking back, one on either side of me, since I was the youngest there. The race was on, until we made it to the train station, and we were twenty minutes early. It was so much fun to be able to laugh about it, and enjoy a treat known as a Berliner with everyone else. The day is one I will never forget.

My Influence, My Guidance, My Mom

As time goes by, I think upon all the times my mother has guided me, whether it be about school, relationships, or life, and how much that has influenced the way I act. The way she acts also pushes these teachings, because my mother practices what she preaches. She is the hardest worker; she always gets what she needs to be done accomplished. She never leaves a project unfinished, whether that project be at work or home. Every day, her character shines through; she never raises her voice, she has the nicest disposition, and she always has a smile on her face. Even more impressive, her job sometimes invovles dealing with the nastiest of all people at Ridge Medical Center, which can be especially stressful at times.
My mother is always there to guide me and give me advice. I cannot possibly count, or fathom, how often I have gone to her for advice, just wondering what to do. Although the advice she gives me is primarily how to deal with a situation, I know I can go to her for anything, and she always has time for me, no matter what is going on or what she is doing. I aspire to one day be as selfless as my mother; she is my hero.