Author: sofienicolettea

I am choosing the video “Andra Day’s “Rise Up” (footage from 2012 London Olympics). This video showed me how proud I should be to be an American. It doesn’t matter what race, gender, or sexuality. We cheer each other on until the end. We accept defeat, and strive to be our best and support one another. We do this because we know those other countries are trying just as hard as we are to bring pride towards their countries. 

Those Olympians are told that they’d never become champions, yet they became legends. This comes to show that just like in Andra Day’s song “rise up” if one has the ability to “rise up” above their obstacles, then anything they wish to achieve is possible. The songs starts out by saying, “You’re broken down and tired of living life on a merry-go-round and you can’t find the fighter but I see it in you so we gonna walk it out and move mountains we gonna walk it out and move mountains” I feel as though Andra is trying to portray how nothing is moving forward in life and everything seems repetitive and nothing is being achieved but Andra sees the light. In the beginning of the video it starts by showing Team USA’s Olympic training warehouse. Then it shows each team is trying their hardest to train to become the best they can in what they do in each sport.

As a dancer myself I was especially drawn to the women’s gymnastics team as their routines and movements are somewhat related to my own. I can still remember McKayla Maroney’s “perfect” vault in the 2012 London Olympics all around team final. In the video they show her performance on the vault while Andra is singing her vocals and she definitely rose up and defeated it. You can hear the announcer say “The fab 5 is going gold.” Probably one of the greatest feelings in the world for McKayla, the team, and the USA as a whole. 

In the bridge of the song Andra sings, “All we need, all we need is hope And for that we have each other And for that we have each other We will rise We will rise We’ll rise, ohh ohhh We’ll rise.” This shows as a team and country that we need each other and hope to make it out in the world. Without each other and hope it’s very hard to succeed and we won’t rise. We lift each other up with our positive comments and positive feedback. Through this we succeed. 

Another aspect of this video includes Serena Williams winning gold in singles tennis.  You can hear her say, “Wow, I have a gold medal in singles.” This might be one of the greatest accomplishments in the Olympics and she couldn’t have done that without her team, fans, family, and herself supporting her. You will never see someone smile as big as she did in that exact moment because of the training and hard work that she put herself through. 

In the video you can see each and every team holding american flags, waving and cheering each other on. The USA team doesn’t stop believing in themselves because they know they won’t let them stop until it’s over.  

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We all know that anorexia is affecting people all around us. According to the National Eating Disorder Association, 1 in 200 American women suffers from anorexia. People that suffer from eating disorders such as anorexia experience a symptom known as ‘body image distortion.’ I have always thought of this to be a very interesting but sad topic. This is when the individual, no matter the size, sees themselves as obese or fatter than they actually are. Brain imaging studies are also helping scientists see inside the minds of those with an eating disorder. For example, “researchers have found differences in patterns of brain activity in women with eating disorders in comparison with healthy women. This kind of research can help guide the development of new means of diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders.” This is evidence that an individual suffering from anorexia mentally is in a different state of mind regarding brain activity. This allows the individual to view matters, such as their body image, differently. Therefore, an individual with Anorexia misjudges their body image in a distorted manner. 

One thing I decided to write about was how dangerous this was. I feel as though a lot of people agree that this is a dangerous disease but don’t take any part in it. The subject is kind of just let go with no care. So just how dangerous is this disease? A study by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders reported these eating disorder statistics: “5-10% of anorexics die within 10 years after contracting the disease and 18-20% of anorexics will be dead after 20 years, Anorexia nervosa has the highest death rate of any psychiatric illness (including major depression), The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate of ALL causes of death for females 15-24 years old.” That is why we must act on the issue of body image distortion, otherwise many people suffering will face the terrible consequences of these diseases. 

We have all had those days when you have looked in the mirror and seen a reflection that didn’t satisfy you. But what if this feeling happened every time you saw your frame? For some people, this is their reality and daily struggle. A constant loop of dissatisfaction with their body weight and image. This diagnosis is called Anorexia Nervosa, otherwise commonly known as Anorexia. In more scientific terms, according to John Hopkins Medical Center, “Anorexia nervosa, also known as just anorexia, is an eating disorder. This disorder makes you obsess about your weight and food. If you have this problem, you may have a warped body image. You may see yourself as fat even though you have a very low body weight.” When an individual is suffering from anorexia, they experience what is called an altered body image. No matter how small they are, they see themselves in a different, bigger form. Therefore, an individual with Anorexia misjudges their body image in a distorted manner leading to dangerous, damaging consequences. 

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The fermi paradox is an extraterrestrial civilization life that exists in our life, but lacks a lot of evidence. The fermi paradox is named after “named after Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi.” He tries convincing and claiming to people that the lack of evidence is due to, “There are billions of stars in the galaxy that are similar to the Sun, and many of these stars are billions of years older than the Solar system. With high probability, some of these stars have Earth-like planets, and if the Earth is typical, some may have already developed intelligent life. Some of these civilizations may have developed interstellar travel, a step the Earth is investigating now. Even at the slow pace of currently envisioned interstellar travel, the Milky Way galaxy could be completely traversed in a few million years.” 

A lot of questions are asked as to why we cant see fermi paradox. The question is, “Why are no aliens or their artifacts found here on Earth, or in the Solar System?” The answer to this question is that, the space travel we use today is a little too slow for our galaxy and “it would only take from 5 million to 50 million years to colonize the galaxy.” It almost sounds like they don’t want to be seen and everyone thinks it would be better if we didn’t see them or any of their evidence and artifacts here on earth. I decided I want to back up this reason and look up more research on this question. The website https://www.businessinsider.com/why-no-contact-with-aliens-2019-9 states that, “Scientists have offered myriad potential answers to the question, including that aliens are hibernating or deliberating hiding from us. Some researchers have also suggested that highly advanced technological civilizations destroy themselves before they have the opportunity to get in contact with other intelligent life in the universe.” 

Another question asked “Why do we see no signs of intelligence elsewhere in the universe?” The answer is, they believe that the lack of aliens coming to earth is due to travel times. They also believe that advanced civilization could possibly be a thing but its rare. Even though it’s rare, they believe it should exist at some point. More positive effects is that they can be detected from far away which means “many more potential sites for their origin are within range of our observation.” I decided I want to back up this reason and look up more research on this question as well. The website https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-is-taking-a-new-look-at-searching-for-life-beyond-earth states that “Debate about the probability of finding signals of advanced life varies widely. In 1961, astronomer Frank Drake created a formula estimating the number of potential intelligent civilizations in the galaxy, called the Drake equation.” 

We all know that the fermi paradox is centered around  the Earth. We have come to the conclusion that since its centered around our Earth its too far away from any other sign of life forms other than us. We are in too big of an area to be fully checked out and explored, it’s impossible. This gives us the question of… How do we know if we are the only people here or if there are other life forms? The Drake Equation backs up this theory. The theory states, “An analysis that takes into account some of the uncertainty associated with this lack of understanding has been carried out by Anders Sandberg, Eric Drexler and Toby Ord, and suggests that, with very high probability, either intelligent civilizations are plentiful in our galaxy or humanity is alone in the observable universe, with the lack of observation of intelligent civilizations pointing towards the latter option.” 

As a result of the extremely harmful side effects, consumers and producers should decide between beauty and health. The article states, “Two popular but dangerous examples are acrylic and gel nails, which are infused with ingredients including toluene, formaldehyde, DBP, and, most notably, methacrylates.” Acrylic nails are the fake nails you paste on when you want to look more presentable or if you have really short nails and want them to look longer. This is one of the most common ways girls do their nails which is really horrifying to hear after reading this article. Methacrylate is being used in acrylic nails which can “damage the human respiratory system, but they also have the reputation of damaging the nervous system”, as stated in the article. The other popular but dangerous nail structure is gel manicure. I use to get gel manicure for 5 years until my nails started to break because of how weak they were. My mom use to also hate how they use the UV light to dry your nails cause it is known to cause health problems. For this reason I switched to powder gel. 

Mya Soukaseum uses style to build up the emotion and authority aspects of the argument. She does this by starting out her article with the text, “When we as consumers are concerned most with the final results of the products we use, we render ourselves blind to the true nature of what lies behind flashy, meretricious packaging.” This shows and proves that everything is not always what it seems or looks. The tone the author uses is worried, troubled, and anxious. By constantly using style to build up emotions of the argument, Soukaseum captures the audience to keep reading.

Thesis: Since Methacrylate is being used in nail products, consumers and businesses should choose between our health and our beauty because the chemical causes harmful side effects.

Ethos:

• examples on research  (“In a study conducted by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, one nail technician experienced a loss of voice, rhinitis and recurrent sinusitis”)
• trying to educate
•  “A technician showed progressed bronchial hyperresponsiveness and asthma of an occupational origin, which developed only a year into her work.”

Pathos:

• makes reader feel emotional by showing the illness and harm people are getting (nail technicians + clients)
• ““In a study performed by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel involving eleven people, seven experienced painful skin reactions upon contacting ethyl methacrylate in acrylic nails.” makes reader feel emotional by showing the illness and harm people are getting”

Kairos:

• “In a separate analysis examining the total capital expenditure, or CAPEX, for the U.S. nail industry, it was shown that an estimated $6.16 billion was spent in 2007 (Industry Outlook) and another $8.53 billion almost ten years later. ” — this means the industry is at its highest right now which means change has to come because more people are doing their nails
• “While a majority of clientele are women ages thirty and older, younger women and a rising number of men are going to nail salons as well to treat themselves. Some of the most popular types of nail services offered to customers, according to a survey conducted by Nail Magazine, are acrylic and gel manicures, the latter having increased in popularity by almost twenty-seven-percent within the past decade “In a separate analysis examining the total capital expenditure, or CAPEX, for the U.S. nail industry, it was shown that an estimated $6.16 billion was spent in 2007 (Industry Outlook) and another $8.53 billion almost ten years later. ” — this means the industry is at its highest right now which means change has to come because more people are doing their nails”

High school is so overrated. If you really think about it, highschool is just a random group of students who have exactly or almost the same zip code. Although some people say the best 4 years of their lives were in highschool, I disagree to an extent. Yes, I believe the academic part of highschool is an extreme necessity for the future as in college, jobs, and internships. However the socializing, judgement, categorizing, drama, and backstabbing part was not acceptable and just becomes toxic. 

Going to a private catholic school my whole life was super comfortable for me, but switching to an all girl catholic high school sounded horrifying. While not knowing a single soul attending the school, I managed to find a group a friends. Freshman and sophomore year we all hung out every weekend. Whether it was just a movie night or a big party, we had the best of times. I was friends with these girls for over 2 years until junior year came about, and that was when the switch up happened.

Although I was the most confident girl freshman and sophomore year, I started to have doubts, and insecurity with myself. My entire friend group of eight completely stopped talking to me without reason. This was toward the end of junior which was horrible because summer was right around the corner. Another classmate saw what I was going through and went through the same exact thing came up to me and we clicked instantly. We spoke about the issue and we decided to just be civil and nice to these girls throughout the school day. I resolved the situation for myself by showing them that I am still friendly and a happy person everytime I see them throughout the school day

From this experience, I believe that high school is overrated. I do admit that I had a great amount of memories that I will remember for the rest of my life like traveling to San Francisco, and Bahamas with a bunch of my friends, the amazing get togethers, and constantly laughing until my stomach hurt. Highschool also taught me a lot about myself through the good and the bad. Now that I am in college, I have met some of the most real people I’ve met in my life who I connected with instantly. I know that high school will not be some of the best times I had, so I am looking forward to the future. 

Hey everyone, my name is Sofie Abboud. I’m from Staten Island, New York which is about 2 and a half hours away from Delaware. My major is psychology and I wish to be a guidance counselor for kids with special needs. My hobby is dancing which I have been doing for over 16 years. My dance studio is called Broadway Dance Center which is located in Manhattan in Times Square. The performance company I am involved in is called Artists in Motion company (AIM), where I travel all over the world and dance at conventions. 😉