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.