Less Is More

I can kind of relate to what the author is saying in this article. My grandparents were also raised during the great depression and they too do not beleive in wasting anything. I remember as a kid when me and my family would all gather to eat i was always told i had to eat everything on my plate before i could leave the table. Although i was brought up to never waste anything, i still find myself doing it often. I know it is wrong when there are many people in other parts of the world that have very litte if anything to eat at all. I guess as Americans we have all just grown accustomed to knowing that there will be a next meal whenever we want it to be. Many people around the world hardly ever know where and when there next meal will be. It really makes me stop and think before i throw away a plate of food still half full.

Black Men and Public Space

The article revealed alot of truth about our society today. It is true that many unfair stereotypes are put on African Americas. Especially African American males. I beleive that televison shows have a lot to do with why the stereotypes occur. Shows such as "Cops" seem to always have many cases where a black male has done something wrong such as drug trafficking or robbery. However you do not see quite as much attention being paid to the white people who are also commiting crimes.
Although I am aware of the way some African Americans are perceived in our country, I have never witnessed it in the way the author describes it in the article. I come from a small town where everybody pretty much knows each other and not only will we walk by each other but we usually speak. Race makes no difference. I guess things are probably a little different in larger cities where the most crime takes place.

Americans Entitled to Cheap Gas- Right?

The first impression I got after reading this article was how good we actually do have it here in the United States as far as gas prices go. I had no idea that gas prices were so expensive in other parts of the world. I thought all of the talk about the price of gas I hear everyday on the news must have meant the U.S. was paying way more than other countries but our prices are actually reasonable compared to others.
The article kind of made me feel guilty in a way because most of the things the author brought up are things i find myself doing all of the time. I drive an suv and I also eat fast food pretty often. However, I believe that she put all Americans under one stereotype of people who only drive big cars and suvs when really I have noticed many more small cars on the road lately. I also think that although she was trying to make a point about American culture by talking about Mcdonalds, it was kind of off subject since the focus of the article was suppose to be gas.
Overall, i enjoyed the article.

The Last Stop

The author in this story got my attention with the opening line that stated death is a subject that is ignored by living people. This is very true. People hardly ever discuss the fact of dying unless they loose a person they were close to such as a family member or freind. I think people choose to just not think about dying because frankly it is a vert depressing thing to have on your mind, especially as a young person.
One thing that really stood out in the story for me was the fact that in the funeral home there was a sign that said "Visa and Master Charge Welcome Here". The sign was weird to me because when you think of a person dying, the last thing that is usually on your mind is money. I would think a funeral home would try their best to be comforting to the family. Instead the sign simply reminds the family members that not only have they lost a loved one, but in the process a lot of money is going into saying good bye to them.

"At Ole Miss, the Tailgaters Never Loose"

While reading this article I could not help thinking to myself that all of the things the author mentioned were very familiar to me. All of the tailgating and partying that takes place at Ole Miss in the Grove sounds quite similar to the game day environment here in Auburn on home game weekends.
Im sure that walking around the grounds outside Jordan Hare Stadium on the day of a home game is not too much different than being in the Grove at Ole Miss. Many fans and alumni arrive here in Auburn early for the games to enjoy the tailgating experience just as the fans in Ole Miss do. The drinking and partying that goes on at the Grove also occurs here at Auburn at numerous spots around the campus. Here at Auburn, we even have our version of the "Rebel Walk" as our players enter the stadium called the Tiger Walk. This article showed me that Auburn is not the only place that takes college football and any chance to party seriously.

Longing to Belong by Saira Shah

The biggest thing that stood out to me after reading this story is the many differences between the society I have grown up in and the Afghan society portrayed by Shah. In the opening paragraph my attention was raised immediately when Shah described her uncle taking a piece of already chewed food from his mouth and giving it to her. She explained that her uncle doing this was the Afghan way of showing her that she was "valued" and "part of the family". This is very different than the society I have grown up in where simply chewing with your mouth open is considered very rude.
Another thing I found that conflicts with what I believe in was the fact that Shah was a part of an arranged marriage. I think that the decision to marry a person should be based on nobody's input other than the person who is getting married. In the society I am accustomed to, a person is free to marry who they want based on who they love. At one point in Shah's article, the word marriage and love is said to have nothing to do with each other and I fully disagree with this Afghan belief.
I also found that the way a husband and wife act once they are married in Afghanistan is not the way I feel things should be. The husband was partying and having a good time while the bride was forced to sit there in silence and do nothing. In our society, once a couple is married they both have the same rights. The wife has just as much say on things as the husband (in most marriages) . This concept is quite different than the Afghan idea of marriage in the story. Although I may not agree with some of the things in the story, Shah did a good job showing how different the culture is in Afghanistan compared to what the culture is here in America.

Introduction

This is my blog that I will be using for my English class here at Auburn University.