Narcissism And Facebook Go Hand In Hand

If you’ve never heard the term narcissism then I guess it doesn’t apply to you but it does apply to millions of others. “Narcissists are people who think they're pretty great. ... They think they're more attractive, more intelligent, more unique and entitled to special treatment," says Lauren Buffardi. The number of Facebook friends and wallposts that individuals have on their profile pages correlates with narcissism. Out of my six hundred friends half of them can be classified as narcissist. Facebook provides narcissist with a profile they can customize to fit their real personality, but make it better. Have you ever logged on to Facebook and your news feed was cluttered with one person posting whatever comes to his/her mind every 2 minutes? Who really cares that you’re hungry? I know I don’t. Was it necessary to post this online? You could have used that time it took to go and get something to eat instead of assuming that everyone cared about your hunger. I along with my friends created our own Facebook pages to keep in touch with each other and to be able to see the changes each of us went through during our time apart. Facebook has become a place where people showcase everything about their life. Those narcissistic enough to believe that everyone cares what they have to say end up expressing too much. It has gotten so bad that people will go home and slander their place of work online, that’s why employers periodically check their employee’s social networking pages. Twitter has also become a place where narcissit gather and satisfy their needs. Some specialist believe that Twittering is the perfect setup for narcissist because its a constant update of who you are. "Nobody would twitter if they had a strong sense of identity" says, clinical pshchologist Oliver James. Are you a narcissist? Checkout you Facebook and twitter pages and see what you got floating out there in cyberspace.

Acceptance of homosexuality

The acceptance of homosexuals has been a very controversial topic for years.
People tend to be afraid of things that they do not know or understand, so our natural reaction is to "punish" it. An example would be the laws restricting homosexuals from doing certain things. In the United States we have laws preventing them from getting married, working in the military, and some jobs won't even hire them. President Clinton signed the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" bill into law in 1993; giving homosexual's permission to participate in the military as long as no one knows what you sexual preference is. We treat homosexuals like they are of a completely different race, just because they are not of the "Status Quo" does not mean that they are not normal human begins just like everyone else. Just because their sexual preference sets them apart, does not make them any different then a guy who prefers different types of women and vice versa. People argue that inequality is wrong and everyone should be treated equal; yet we still cannot accept people who prefer the same sex. A big argument is that the "bible" justifies why they feel so strongly for why slavery is wrong, but then again during slavery the slave masters used it to justify their actions as well. Telling the slaves that if they did exactly what was asked of them then they would be saved. So i think using religion to justify your basis is irrelevant. Everyone has the right to have their own opinion about something. We just need to learn that just because we do not agree with it does not necessarily mean its WRONG.

“Young Love: Stop Hitting Me”

"What have I done to you? I thought you loved me? Why do you keep hurting me." These are the constant cries of teens in abusive relationships. According to kidshealth.org, 1 in 11 high school students report being physically hurt on a date.

When the popular jock, or cheerleader approaches you in school you never think he will put his hands on me. She will never slap me if another girl says hello to me. You are caught up in the looks of how you two will be precieve when everyone finds out you go with the most popular male, or female in school. Many of times as adolesecents we act nonchalant towards the red flags that we are in an abusive relationship. We go through the abuse mentally, physically, and emotionally. 1 in 4 teens girls who have been in a relationship revealed they had been pressued to perform oral sex or engaged in intercoure. More than 1 in 4 teens girls in a relationship(26%) report endurng repeated verbal abuse.

Why do we never speak up? Why do we never turn to someone for help? Nearly 80% of teens who are in a domestic violent relationship stay in the relationship with their abuser. That same popular guy at school has now given you a black eye, and fractured a vital bone. The most popular ,and beautiful cheerleader has slapped him for the first time. He was always taught not to hit a women, so he starts to distant himself more and more from her. Your friends take notcie to the changes in you. Suddenly you began to show signs of "power and control".

This epidemic of domestic violence in relationships amongst teens stream from their partners having to be in control, jealousy, possessiveness, and manipulation. Charcteristics held by a person in a relationship such as these are warnings to seperated yourself early from having to advance further into a relationship that will tear down your self-esteem and dignity. Everyone does not hold the power to walk away or fight back.

So............When will it be enough to walk away?

What is Worse than DUI?

Text messaging, also known as texting, was a great invention. It is very easy, and it even saves minutes for some people with their cellular phone plan. Texting has become an addiction to many. As a result of texting, people refuse to talk on the phone anymore. Lets face it, we all love this advantage. However, it can be harmful for many. Some people cannot even stop to evaulate whether their life mean more than a text. Many drivers choose to text and drive.

Texting while driving, is it really necessary for you to do? Texting while driving is an act consisting of reading or sending messages on a mobile device while operating a vehicle. This is becoming a common act for different ages and ethnicities. According to the 35 Percent Admit to Texting and Driving, more than 26 percent of drivers admit to doing this dangerous act. Young drivers make up 62% of the people that text while driving. Surprisingly, the elderly people make up 17 percent of the offenders. Many of the drivers do this act carelessly, not analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of texting while driving.

The only advantage that is associated with the act is making sure that the important message travels to the person that is anticipating on the message. The text message is so important that the disadvantages of doing the act are not thought of.

When the driver texts while driving, he is not concentrating on what truly matters, which is making it to his destination safely. The driver's concentration on the highway/ road is broken, and it can easily cause an accident. It has been shown that an accident can occur when the driver looks at his phone for as little as 5 seconds. Moreover, a texting driver travels more feet, than realized, before his car stops. "You are 8x more likely to get into an accident if you are TEXTING while driving". This supports my claim very well. Many accidents that are happening today are caused by texting and driving, rather than drinking and driving where the drivers are 4x more likely to get into an accident if they are drinking and driving.

Since texting causes slower reaction, is it really that important that you text while driving? Would you really risk not only your life, but others, to send a simple message? To you- your one word, two words, or even three words text may mean the world; however, I guarantee the world will not agree when they hear about the devastating accident that you have caused. Think about it drivers!

Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act ("DREAM Act")

There are about three million students that graduate high school each year. But not all the students that graduate high school can continue their education, by attending a University or College. Any student that finishes High School should be able to go to college and continue their education if they want to. But there are around 65,000 students that don’t get this opportunity. Now the question that comes to mind is why they don’t have the opportunity. The answer is simple, they are illegal immigrants and they have a hard time continuing their education because of the financial problems. And they can’t get scholarships because most of them require that the applicant be legally inside of the United States.

That’s where the DREAM ACT, Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors ACT, becomes important to those illegal students. The DREAM ACT will give the students that qualify a temporary residency. With this they will be able to apply for students loans, and participate in work studies. However they will not be eligible to receive the Pell Grant. They will only have the temporary residency for a total of six years. After they receive their temporary residency, they will need to complete one of the three options to become a resident of the United States. The first option is that they graduate from a 2-year community college, or that they complete at least two years towards a four year degree. The last option is that they join the U.S. military, and serve for two years. Another requirement is that the applicant be of good moral character. After this they will be able to fulfill their dreams of becoming someone in the U.S. The DREAM Act will help many students that want to further their education.

The DREAM Act hasn’t been passed in congress. In the last meeting in congress the DREAM Act was just a couple votes short in the senate for it to be passed. The question that many people are asking is should the DREAM Act be passed by congress. What benefits will the DREAM Act bring to the illegal students? Will it affect the legal students when applying for student loans, or work studies? The DREAM Act will make society better because it will have more educated people in the community. It will make more people want to have better jobs, thus they will make more money. That will lower crime rates, because is someone has enough money to provide for their family they will not need to rob anyone else. The DREAM Act should be passed, to help all the students that cant further their education.

Gay People are NOT Monsters!

Many adoption agencies do not allow gay couples to adopt children and almost half the countries in the world feel that this policy is a good one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_adoption confirms that adoption by same-sex couples is prohibited by a majority of countries.
Why can’t two people who want to love a child be able to parent them? Oh yeah, because being gay is morally wrong they will be teaching the children to do wrong as well. False! Heterosexual parents can teach a child wrong doings as well. Currently Florida specifically bans gays and lesbians from adopting. Claiming that gays and lesbians were child-molesters, Bryant was able to convince state senators to vote for a ban on gay adoptions (http://lesbianlife.about.com/cs/families/a/adoption_2.htm). Just because someone is gay, does not make them an evil monster. In fact, scientific studies have shown that children who grow up in one or two-parent gay or lesbian households fare just as well emotionally and socially as children whose parents are heterosexual. Studies have shown that children are more influenced by their interactions with their parents, than by their sexual orientation (http://lesbianlife.about.com/cs/families/a/adoption_2.htm).
Children that are waiting to be adopted do not care that the awaiting couple is gay. What they (the children) are looking for is simple, it is love. They are looking to be cared for and protected. There is no legal reason why gays and lesbians should be denied the right to adopt children. The law only hurts children waiting to be adopted and deprives loving parents who would care for these children (http://lesbianlife.about.com/cs/families/a/adoption_2.htm).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_parenting#Same-sex_marriage explains that In January 2008, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that same-sex couples have the right to adopt a child. In all U.S. states except for Florida, unmarried LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) adults can petition to adopt a child. Granting the petition is left to the discretion of a judge.
So what do you think? Is it wrong for a gay couple to want to help a child, to want to teach the child what love is and give them a home, something in which they probably do not even remember what feels like? Or do you agree with me and few others on the fact that, gays are normal people and are not aliens, and should be treated accordingly?

The Danger of Elderly Drivers

An Elderly Driver.

egmcartech.com

What's as dangerous, if not more, than a sixteen year old driver?

Answer: An elderly driver.

Although what age is considered elderly varies from person to person, elderly drivers pose a risk to the safety of all other drivers. According the the article, "When to Put the Brakes on Elderly Drivers," elderly drivers experience slowed responses due to a declination of vision, hearing loss, and muscle strength. They also may experience drowsiness due to medication, which is as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol, and both is punishable by a DUI.

In 2007, USA Today, a reputable and national American daily newspaper, posted an article about older, dangerous drivers called, "Older, Dangerous Drivers A Growing Problem." In the beginning of this article, Robert Davis and Anthony DeBarros recall the account of an elderly driver, Elizabeth Grimes, and the tragedy of this driver hitting a seventeen year old that was on her way to school. Davis and DeBarros explain that a neighbor saw the signs of Grimes's unsafe driving state, but did nothing about it. They further explain that most elderly drivers cling to the independence of driving, even though it conflicts with other drivers' safety.

In order to be fair and safe, elderly drivers should have to have an annual driver's exam to test their motorist skills. This would be beneficial for everyone because it keeps safe and competent elderly drivers on the road and it increases the safety for all drivers. In the following video, the Patriot Ledger, a local newspaper, interviews an elderly driver, Elsa Grimm. In this video, Grimm states that, "We live in our cars, but everything depends on safety." She claims to be a safe driver and doesn't believe all elderly are unsafe drivers.

A YouTube Video. Interview with Elsa Grimm.

In the next YouTube video, WPBF talks about how some elderly drivers "just lose control" or commonly mistake the gas pedal for the brake pedal. This video supports my view that annual driving tests for those over seventy can efficiently "weed out" the unsafe drivers while keeping capable drivers on the road.

Too Old to Driver?