Hey guys,
It's so sad, this is our last blog post before the assignment is due! First off, I loved doing this blog. It was something I never thought I would end up doing but I am glad I had the chance too. Secondly, I want to thank everyone who took the time to read my blog posts and would write comments either answering the questions I would ask or even just telling me how you felt about my posts. I appreciated every comment I received!
Well, it's kind of funny how things work out. This last post is due right after Thanksgiving so it's perfect for me to say a few things. So we all know that we completely ate EVERYTHING this past Thursday and wasn't it fantastic?! I know my food was! But knowing us, we always eat a lot then before you know it we are saying to ourselves, "Oh man, I probably shouldn't have had seconds or thirds" or "I shouldn't have had all of that pie". I do admit, I am a little guilty of this but I just want to say that it was ONE day, and you deserved it! I highly doubt that anyone ever eats like that everyday so why not allow yourself to have a splurge? So guys...don't race to the gym and work out for ten hours...you are still wonderful and beautiful! Don't feel bad about yourself for one day! :)
The last part of my final blog is a little something about me. I used to train a lot at the gym but when I came to A&M I had to drop it for a while because my trainer was back in Houston. Usually in the beginning before we start to work out and train, my trainer always asks me what my goal is and what do I want to change about appearance. Well before I started this blog, I was still pretty good about not letting myself get down over things like "perfection" and such, but when I was asked those questions I would always find tons of things I would want to change and then tell my trainer. When I was asked those same questions this year, it took me longer than usual to answer because I actually really thought to myself, "Is there really something so wrong with me that I HAVE to have it changed now?" Yes, I understand someone who is obese, there goal would be to lose weight, or someone who wants to be able to run a marathon, there goal would be to learn how to run efficiently over a long period of time. But a few minutes later I found myself just telling my trainer, "This year there is really nothing that I want to change about my appearance, I just want to become a better athlete."
I just thought I would share that with y'all because without even realizing it, my own blog had an effect on me as well.
I enjoyed blogging with everyone and I hope that the rest of y'alls semester is great!
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Recession and Cosmetics
I was having a little trouble thinking of something to write for this weeks blog. I was sitting in bed thinking about what to write when I then remembered talking to my sister about the recession awhile back. From what I recall, we were talking about what products or industries decreased in sales and which stayed the same or actually increased in sales. I remember the one of the items she said was cosmetic products. I definitely thought the sales in the cosmetics department would decrease without a doubt! Well, I was wrong, they didn't hurt from the recession nearly as bad as other industries.
It's interesting to know that women, no matter how bad the circumstances are, they still want to have their beauty products to make sure that they still look their best. I found an article online by Angela at The Gainesville Sun that says women start to actually sell the products to make more money to help pay the bills. Even though they are not buying the products, they are still helping the industry because other people are buying the products, "It’s been said that when times are rough, women turn to makeup. But now, it’s to sell it." (Angela). The amount of orders in Gainesville had recently seen a drop but since women are starting to get in the business of selling the products to make some extra money on the side, the sales are back up.
I guess my overall point would be that no matter what, as I stated before, that women (or men) will always buy what they need to look presentable. One of my opinions is that during a recession a lot of people get laid off which will then put them in a position to where they have more time go out (you need to look at least some what presentable when you go out!), but most importantly they will be lining up job interview after job interview after job interview. My mom hires people at her office and she always tells me how important it is to look your best, especially to look professional and presentable.
So technically yes, cosmetics sales may go down a small amount because one, we are in a recession and two, people probably realize that they don't need all colors of eyeshadow or all the colors that exist for lipstick (even though that would be awesome...!). In conclusion, for the most part, the cosmetic industry will not flounder because people are still going to go out with their friends, go on dates, and people are still going to be setting up interviews and other things of that kind.
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
http://www.business-opportunities.biz/mlm/2009/03/05/people-turn-to-selling-cosmetics-during-recession/
It's interesting to know that women, no matter how bad the circumstances are, they still want to have their beauty products to make sure that they still look their best. I found an article online by Angela at The Gainesville Sun that says women start to actually sell the products to make more money to help pay the bills. Even though they are not buying the products, they are still helping the industry because other people are buying the products, "It’s been said that when times are rough, women turn to makeup. But now, it’s to sell it." (Angela). The amount of orders in Gainesville had recently seen a drop but since women are starting to get in the business of selling the products to make some extra money on the side, the sales are back up.
I guess my overall point would be that no matter what, as I stated before, that women (or men) will always buy what they need to look presentable. One of my opinions is that during a recession a lot of people get laid off which will then put them in a position to where they have more time go out (you need to look at least some what presentable when you go out!), but most importantly they will be lining up job interview after job interview after job interview. My mom hires people at her office and she always tells me how important it is to look your best, especially to look professional and presentable.
So technically yes, cosmetics sales may go down a small amount because one, we are in a recession and two, people probably realize that they don't need all colors of eyeshadow or all the colors that exist for lipstick (even though that would be awesome...!). In conclusion, for the most part, the cosmetic industry will not flounder because people are still going to go out with their friends, go on dates, and people are still going to be setting up interviews and other things of that kind.
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
http://www.business-opportunities.biz/mlm/2009/03/05/people-turn-to-selling-cosmetics-during-recession/
Friday, November 4, 2011
What is Beauty To You?
So to all of my followers or to anyone who comes across my blog for this post I want to do something kind of like a survey. Whether I have changed your mind to where you think there is it is not a definition of "beauty", I would love to know what you used to or what you think beauty is; your personal definition. Remember, even if you have changed your mind to where you now think that there is no such thing as a true definition of "beauty", I am curious to know what you used to think it was or for some people what there definition still is.
It's only fair that since I am asking for y'alls opinion that I should give my own! Growing up I did believe that there was a definition of beauty and I was obsessed with it. I used to religiously watch the Victoria's Secret annual fashion show and ladies...you know where I am going with this! I would always say or think, "Man, they look perfect! If only I could have the motivation to work and have a body like that." So pretty much I thought they were flawless which in my head was perfect. But now, a year or so later, I have come to realize that being perfect would be so believably boring. Being imperfect is about living your life and learning from your mistakes, without that...you would go through life not knowing how to appreciate anything because all you know is perfect. You would never appreciate working out and reaching your goals, finally! So now that I have expressed myself, it's your turn!
What is or what was the definition of beauty to you?
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
It's only fair that since I am asking for y'alls opinion that I should give my own! Growing up I did believe that there was a definition of beauty and I was obsessed with it. I used to religiously watch the Victoria's Secret annual fashion show and ladies...you know where I am going with this! I would always say or think, "Man, they look perfect! If only I could have the motivation to work and have a body like that." So pretty much I thought they were flawless which in my head was perfect. But now, a year or so later, I have come to realize that being perfect would be so believably boring. Being imperfect is about living your life and learning from your mistakes, without that...you would go through life not knowing how to appreciate anything because all you know is perfect. You would never appreciate working out and reaching your goals, finally! So now that I have expressed myself, it's your turn!
What is or what was the definition of beauty to you?
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Cosmetic Surgery Makes Everything "Better."
The study that I found is called "Perfectionism and Undergoing Cosmetic Surgery." In this experiment they put together a group of 16 women who had undergone cosmetic surgery and 16 women who had not ( all of these women were the same age). The experiment was based on this hypothesis: "perfectionism is elevated in cosmetic surgery patients compared to control participants with similar demographics" and also that " perfectionism increases individuals probability of undergoing cosmetic surgery." (Perfectionism).
The results were exactly what I thought they would be! "Socially prescribed perfectionism" along with "perfectionistic self-promotion" were high in the participants compared to the controls. Also, one thing that increased the chances of someone undergoing cosmetic surgery was someone who was an extreme perfectionist; trying to make every part of their body perfect- at least to what they think perfect should be or look like. After reading the experiment, is it a good consideration that people who are striving for perfectionism has a good chance of undergoing cosmetic surgery.
I don't want anyone to think that I am against cosmetic surgery; my own mother runs a plastic surgery firm in Houston! There is nothing wrong with having cosmetic surgery because not matter what, there is always going to be something that we want to fix. What I don't agree with is changing yourself for other people. If you want to make a change because YOU want to that's okay, but if someone tells you that you need this and this and this done to be "perfect"don't listen to them because that is other being extremely insecure about themselves. So to make them feel better about themselves, they will put you down.
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
Sherry, S. B., et al. "Perfectionism and Undergoing Cosmetic Surgery." European Journal of Plastic Surgery 29.8 (2007): 349-54. Web.
The results were exactly what I thought they would be! "Socially prescribed perfectionism" along with "perfectionistic self-promotion" were high in the participants compared to the controls. Also, one thing that increased the chances of someone undergoing cosmetic surgery was someone who was an extreme perfectionist; trying to make every part of their body perfect- at least to what they think perfect should be or look like. After reading the experiment, is it a good consideration that people who are striving for perfectionism has a good chance of undergoing cosmetic surgery.
I don't want anyone to think that I am against cosmetic surgery; my own mother runs a plastic surgery firm in Houston! There is nothing wrong with having cosmetic surgery because not matter what, there is always going to be something that we want to fix. What I don't agree with is changing yourself for other people. If you want to make a change because YOU want to that's okay, but if someone tells you that you need this and this and this done to be "perfect"don't listen to them because that is other being extremely insecure about themselves. So to make them feel better about themselves, they will put you down.
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
Sherry, S. B., et al. "Perfectionism and Undergoing Cosmetic Surgery." European Journal of Plastic Surgery 29.8 (2007): 349-54. Web.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
"Would you like a perfect or skinny, ma'am?"
When I drive to Houston on the weekends to visit my family there is a billboard that I always pass that is promoting margaritas at a Mexican restaurant that can't recall at the moment! One margarita is their original which is labeled "perfect" and the other margarita is labeled as "skinny". To me, this resembles my blog is some sort of way.
Before I started blogging about my topic, when I saw the billboard, I never thought twice about it. I always thought, "Oh cool, more diet options" but now there is a deeper meaning in that billboard that most people don't even see. Now, when I drive down highway six and see the billboard I think, "You are perfect the way you are. You are perfect with the original you." In other words, just being you is perfect; the original recipe that made you is perfect. Going to the gym, trying new diets, and eating healthier may make you healthier in a sense, but it won't make you more or less perfect.
Most people will drive by the billboard and just get a new diet margarita drink out of it (which is probably what the billboard is really made for), but I just wanted to share the deeper meaning I got out if it will y'all! I also wanted to give an opposing view point. In my past blogs I have stated that most people think that being perfect is being "skinny", this billboard gives out a different message. The message that the billboard gives out, whether it meant to or not, is that sometimes just being you and being original is the best. Not trying to be skinnier, or prettier, or just trying to be something you’re not. The original margarita is labeled perfect for a reason; you are the way you are for a reason.
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The Strive to be Perfect
The first blog that I found made me so sad. It is about a fifteen year old girl who is taking drastic measures to be skinny and that she will not stop until she is there. May I emphasize that she is only fifteen?! She is most likely appealing to people in the same position as she is because most people are not going to help her in the way that she wants help. She is appealing to people that have already gone through the same thing as she is going through now, hoping to get their advice on how they reached their weight-loss goal- pretty much trying to find different ways of starving yourself and depriving the body of proper nutrition. The group of people that she is not appealing to are parents, mentors, and anyone in the health field because they all know that this is extremely unacceptable, dangerous, and very harmful to the mind and body. On one of her posts she is talking about how many calories she had eaten that day: "Today I had about 656 calories. Disgusting." and also tells us how many calories she burned in which she says wasn't enough: "I burned around 350 calories on exercise ( not enough)." She is definitely using a very emotional appeal to get peoples attention and hoping by taking such drastic measures someone will notice and try to help her right away.
The second blog that I found, I really enjoyed reading and I encourage everyone to take the time to read it because it applies to everyone. The way he presents the article is fantastic and his writing style makes you want to read more, it's very addictive. Instead of talking about himself, what he thinks, and the struggles that he faces, he gives examples that everyone can relate to; men and women: "Everyone has that special dream to be perfect. Scrawny men wish to have more muscle, while conscientious women hope to slim down. The strive for perfection has crossed all of our minds at some point in time." He is literally appealing to the entire world because through out his whole post he uses the word "we" meaning we all feel this way and we all struggle with this. I completely agree with him; no matter how perfect you may think you are and no matter how you come off to others that you are the most confident person in the world, there is, without a doubt, something that you would change or improve about yourself. The only person that he is not appealing to is God, because he has no imperfections. He never created imperfections, he created different kinds of beauty to make everyone unique and just like the blog presents, "Perfection is just one of the billions of man-made assumptions we create for ourselves, like being tall, short, slender, or over-sized.", perfection or imperfection does not exist on Earth.
The two blogs that found both tell us that everyone has their own perceptions of beauty. In the first blog she thinks being thin is beauty and the second blog talks about how women hope to slim down and men hope to gain more muscle.These two blogs I found can relate to the book, An Interdisciplinary Reader. Violence and its Alternatives. In chapter three, "The Idea of Violence", by C. A. J. Coady, talks about how many people have different views on what violence is and over time there have been so many different definitions and thoughts of what "violence" really is. This is the same for my blogs overall question: "What is beauty?" Over time and through media, peoples perception of what beauty is and what you have to do and look like to be considered "beautiful and perfect" has evolved enormously and will most likely still keep changing, unfortunately. (We need to believe that we are perfect just the way we are!) The audience of this book, just like the second blog I talked about, appeals to everyone because no matter what we do, everyone is going to have their own view on what something is and are going to have their own thoughts and definitions on a particular matter.
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
Coady, C. A. J. "The Idea of Violence." An Interdisciplinary Reader. Violence and its Alternatives. Ed. Manfred B. Steger, Nancy S. Lind. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. 23-38. Print
The second blog that I found, I really enjoyed reading and I encourage everyone to take the time to read it because it applies to everyone. The way he presents the article is fantastic and his writing style makes you want to read more, it's very addictive. Instead of talking about himself, what he thinks, and the struggles that he faces, he gives examples that everyone can relate to; men and women: "Everyone has that special dream to be perfect. Scrawny men wish to have more muscle, while conscientious women hope to slim down. The strive for perfection has crossed all of our minds at some point in time." He is literally appealing to the entire world because through out his whole post he uses the word "we" meaning we all feel this way and we all struggle with this. I completely agree with him; no matter how perfect you may think you are and no matter how you come off to others that you are the most confident person in the world, there is, without a doubt, something that you would change or improve about yourself. The only person that he is not appealing to is God, because he has no imperfections. He never created imperfections, he created different kinds of beauty to make everyone unique and just like the blog presents, "Perfection is just one of the billions of man-made assumptions we create for ourselves, like being tall, short, slender, or over-sized.", perfection or imperfection does not exist on Earth.
The two blogs that found both tell us that everyone has their own perceptions of beauty. In the first blog she thinks being thin is beauty and the second blog talks about how women hope to slim down and men hope to gain more muscle.These two blogs I found can relate to the book, An Interdisciplinary Reader. Violence and its Alternatives. In chapter three, "The Idea of Violence", by C. A. J. Coady, talks about how many people have different views on what violence is and over time there have been so many different definitions and thoughts of what "violence" really is. This is the same for my blogs overall question: "What is beauty?" Over time and through media, peoples perception of what beauty is and what you have to do and look like to be considered "beautiful and perfect" has evolved enormously and will most likely still keep changing, unfortunately. (We need to believe that we are perfect just the way we are!) The audience of this book, just like the second blog I talked about, appeals to everyone because no matter what we do, everyone is going to have their own view on what something is and are going to have their own thoughts and definitions on a particular matter.
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
Coady, C. A. J. "The Idea of Violence." An Interdisciplinary Reader. Violence and its Alternatives. Ed. Manfred B. Steger, Nancy S. Lind. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. 23-38. Print
Sunday, October 9, 2011
A Diamond in The Rough
The whole theme of my blog is how people see other people, whether they are "beautiful" or not so this assignment for this week was perfect. The picture I found was a girl standing, holding a sign that says "You look at the scratch and fail to see the diamond." This is beyond perfect for my blog and it explains everything in just eleven words what I want y'all to see in this blog. When we meet people, we always point out everything wrong before we point out all of the good. We see all of their imperfections before their perfections and and once we see something that we don't like, it's over; we usually don't give them a chance.
This photo is screaming at us stop judging people because you are FAR from perfect yourself. It makes me think what right do you have to judge people? What makes you so more perfect and better than me? No one is better than any one else. I don't believe that we will ever be able to completely stop judging people because we do it without even realizing it but we can definitely make ourselves stop looking at others as a lower being than we are and start to see others as our equal, to stop only looking at the scratches and start looking for the diamond in everyone.
I found a quote that I want to leave y'all with. I know most of y'all have already heard this quote many times, but it is still one of my favorites:
“Who are you to judge the life I live? I know I'm not perfect -and I don't live to be- but before you start pointing fingers... make sure you hands are clean!”- Bob Marley.
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
This photo is screaming at us stop judging people because you are FAR from perfect yourself. It makes me think what right do you have to judge people? What makes you so more perfect and better than me? No one is better than any one else. I don't believe that we will ever be able to completely stop judging people because we do it without even realizing it but we can definitely make ourselves stop looking at others as a lower being than we are and start to see others as our equal, to stop only looking at the scratches and start looking for the diamond in everyone.
I found a quote that I want to leave y'all with. I know most of y'all have already heard this quote many times, but it is still one of my favorites:
“Who are you to judge the life I live? I know I'm not perfect -and I don't live to be- but before you start pointing fingers... make sure you hands are clean!”- Bob Marley.
Katie.
"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." -1 Peter 3:4
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