I have decided to head back to school this fall and I am very excited. It is the time to find what I am really passionate about. I have been researching several graduate school programs so far and talked to a couple of admission representatives. My only concern is paying for graduate school so I have started applying to scholarships and grants. This post is my entry to the New Threats to Freedom Short Form Contest. The deadline is March 31st and I encourage anyone who needs scholarship money to apply. Post your comments below and have a wonderful week!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Threats to Freedom: The Freedom to Fail
By Christina Brown
I agree with Mr. Goodwin’s points on American meritocracy and the current state of our nation's educational system. But he did not address the root problem: institutionalized discrimination. Think about it. Institutionalized racism, sexism, and classism have been put into place to deter individuals from certain backgrounds from receiving the best education possible. Thus, our obsolete educational system must change to meet the needs of our growing multicultural and multidisciplinary society.
American society has failed to appreciate the hard work and commitment of our educators, unlike other industrialized nations such as Sweden and Japan. Many teachers fail to truly educate our future innovators because they do not have the discipline and right skill set to teach them the right reading, math, and science skills to succeed. There are fewer women excelling in math and science and running Fortune 500 companies because of gender expectations and a lack of mentoring for young women. Many parents are not invested in their children’s education because of centuries of socioeconomic and racial oppression.
However, students do not have the freedom to fail because they were never given that right in the first place. Most students are expected to get good grades, attend top-tier colleges and graduate schools, and get well-paying jobs. When students get bad test scores or fail courses, they are often punished by their parents and teachers; some even have taken their own lives because of this pressure to be perfect. As Mr. Goodwin pointed out previously, people will never achieve real success unless they are not exposed to the set-backs and wrong turns in life. This is a part of growing up. Students should be encouraged to take risks so that they can be more prepared for these high-profile positions in technology, health care, and education. If we as Americans teach our children of all ways of life the true value of a good education, we will regain our position as a superpower.
I have had some minor set-backs myself after graduating from Smith College during an economic recession. I thought that I had my life planned out. Was I wrong! Now I am making an enormous effort each and every day to find employment so I can start saving money for graduate school and start paying back my undergraduate loans. Yet, these set-backs have not stopped me from pursuing a career in marketing and computer science. I am a better person now than I was when meritocracy controlled my everyday life. I now appreciate the true value of hard work and adversity. These qualities will make me indispensable in today’s highly competitive, global economy.
Miia Maria's rendition of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" single is magical. She is very talented on the piano for such a young age. I hope she continues to understand that whatever she does in life, keep on going. You were born this way to achieve greatness, the only thing stopping you is yourself. You go girl. I'm glad Lady Gaga tweeted this video. I hope you love it as well.
This is Lady Mel, your favorite NYC fashionista and celebrity columnist. I had a wonderful Christmas and New Years in London and I am back in full force for 2011. Please submit your questions below for the next column.@Bridget_Jones: Did you see the Grammys? What were your favorite moments? Least favorite?
Yes! My favorite performance of the night was the Aretha Franklin tribute. Christina Aguilera overdid but she gave me "diva". If you are going to perform at the Grammys, despite the lack of good performers this year, you have to capture the audience. She even outperform Jennifer Hudson and Yolanda Adams of all people. Now the haters can't say anything after her Superbowl performance.
The Cee-Lo performance was hilarious. Gwyneth Paltrow tried to sing, but I will give her a pass. She actually sang better than Rihanna. Loved the muppets and Cee-Lo's red turkey outfit. Lady Gaga's performance was good, although it was over-hyped. I loved that she whipped her hair like Willow Smith and Beyonce. If I have not mentioned any one else, I did not like it. Oh, two more things. Justin Bieber. There is always next year. And who is Arcade Fire?
@PrincessVal: What ever happened to you and Gerard Butler last Valentine's Day? I wanted more! Can I be your Valentine's? :)
He was such a hottie but a douchebag at the same time. Extremely overconfident. We did have dinner and that was that. I would love to be your Valentine's this year. I am happily single, not Jennifer Aniston's type of single life.
@Makael86: If you had to pick any Grammy outfit, what would it be?
I have to go with Glee's Dianna Agron's Vivienne Westwood black dress. It was magnificent!
I may not be a big football fan, but it was a good game between the Packers and Steelers. The Steelers almost had a chance at victory during the third quarter, but the Packers came back on top and won their fourth Superbowl championship. It was not the game that bothered me.
What disappointed me this year is the lack of creative Superbowl commercials. Many advertising firms and companies lack the creative input to market their brands to new consumers efficiently. Screw the stereotypical gender and sex jokes. You professionals are not fifteen years old anymore. Why would I want to use Groupon or BigDaddy.com as online services when their commercials pretty much sucked? Do you want to know what was my least favorite Superbowl XLV commercial? Hint: It was not the Best Buy/Justin Bieber one.
Sketchers
What disappointed me this year is the lack of creative Superbowl commercials. Many advertising firms and companies lack the creative input to market their brands to new consumers efficiently. Screw the stereotypical gender and sex jokes. You professionals are not fifteen years old anymore. Why would I want to use Groupon or BigDaddy.com as online services when their commercials pretty much sucked? Do you want to know what was my least favorite Superbowl XLV commercial? Hint: It was not the Best Buy/Justin Bieber one.
Sketchers
I think I have lost more respect for Kim Kardashian when I had little to begin with. She whined about Ray-J posting her sex video on the Internet a couple years back because it violated her privacy and then recently, she whined on her E! reality show about W magazine posting her nude. Yet, she did not mind starring in this Superbowl commercial, 'faking sex' to try to get people like me to buy sneakers! Seriously, how much did Sketchers pay her to do this?! And this is the reason why I don't follow her on Twitter or take her seriously as a celebrity.
Volkswagen and Chrysler
I liked these two particular commercials because they represented two qualities every commercial should possess: realism and creativity. The Volkswagen-Darth Vader commercial was very sweet and funny because I love when brands incorporate a childlike imagination and whimsical nature into their advertising. Volkswagen knew this commercial would be a virtual hit because everyone loves Star Wars and no one can resist little kids. The commercial made people relate to the brand more intimately.
Plus I love watching little kids play dress up. I do that all the time (in my own special way) and it was funny to see how the little girl embodied Darth Vador's character throughout the whole commercial, especially the part where she thinks her imaginary telekinetic powers activated the Volkawagen when it was actually her father in the kitchen. I also like that Volkswagen played around with gender ambiguity. I thought it was a little boy at first, but you only see the stereotypical pink room in the house so I would presume its a little girl. If it is not, then it's fine. Little girls can still be Darth Vador when they grow up!
Plus I love watching little kids play dress up. I do that all the time (in my own special way) and it was funny to see how the little girl embodied Darth Vador's character throughout the whole commercial, especially the part where she thinks her imaginary telekinetic powers activated the Volkawagen when it was actually her father in the kitchen. I also like that Volkswagen played around with gender ambiguity. I thought it was a little boy at first, but you only see the stereotypical pink room in the house so I would presume its a little girl. If it is not, then it's fine. Little girls can still be Darth Vador when they grow up!
I also enjoyed the Chrysler commercial with rapper-superstar Eminem. It was probably the only commercial that addressed the real issues of this country right now: high unemployment and deindustrialization. I am glad that Chrysler put Eminem in the commercial because as a Detroit native, he embodies Detroit with his hardcore, poignant rap songs about his difficult childhood and love life. Perhaps Chrysler is making an effort to bring back car manufacturing jobs to Detroit.
Chrysler probably still outsources their labor in places like Mexico and India, but it offers the American people a U.S product and the choice to buy the car to help stimulate the economy and the pockets of American workers who work at the Chrysler plants to make the cars. I think after writing that last sentence, I do not know if I should hate the company for potentially outsourcing millions of American jobs overseas, but nowadays most U.S companies do it. You just have to adapt to the times. What were your favorite and least favorite Superbowl ads this year?
Chrysler probably still outsources their labor in places like Mexico and India, but it offers the American people a U.S product and the choice to buy the car to help stimulate the economy and the pockets of American workers who work at the Chrysler plants to make the cars. I think after writing that last sentence, I do not know if I should hate the company for potentially outsourcing millions of American jobs overseas, but nowadays most U.S companies do it. You just have to adapt to the times. What were your favorite and least favorite Superbowl ads this year?
You may be asking, why would you posting this for us? Well I helped conduct online research on the Levi's brand for this podcast called the Hopkinson Report as part of a short-term freelance project. Plus my name is included in the credits! I'm like almost famous now. Pun attended except I have not seen the movie. Anyway, it is all about how the Levis's brand has elevated from the it-kid of the 1980s to the red haired step-child of the 2000s with new market competition from other household brands such as Banana Republic, True Religion, and the Gap.
I am very excited because I finally get to work remotely with Mr. Hopkinson on his blog/podcast. Check it out here and subscribe!
I am very excited because I finally get to work remotely with Mr. Hopkinson on his blog/podcast. Check it out here and subscribe!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
