Here's my visual argument.

On Thanksgiving day, my family and I were gathered around the TV watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. (It was the first time in my life that I had ever seen it, and I found it to be quite entertaining.) Christmas, of course, was a very large theme. By the time it was over, however, we realized that they hadn't said "Merry Christmas" once (at least from what I saw)...instead, allowing the phrase "Happy Holidays" to take its place.

This is something that has stood out to me a lot over the past couple of years. I have yet to see a sign saying "Merry Christmas" in a department store this year. I am getting just a little bit tired of the "Seasons Greetings!" and "Happy Holidays!" Wrapping paper is now called "Holiday Gift Wrap," the DJ over the radio goes on and on about "Holiday shopping." Christmas trees are even, on occasion, called "Holiday trees."

Of course, there's nothing wrong with a person wishing me "Happy Holidays," I just think that the phrase "Merry Christmas" should be used as well; in fact, I think that it should be used more often than "Happy Holidays." The majority of people in America celebrate Christmas - not all the people, and its nice to try and be sensitive - but there shouldn't be anything evil about wishing someone a "Merry Christmas" from time to time, and anyone who thinks that it's offensive to the public to mention the word Christmas is making a mountain out of a molehill. Christmas is a tradition (in America at least), and calling it Christmas is part of the tradition.

Besides, deleting the name of a holiday while still advertising it does nothing. The department stores may not be saying "Merry Christmas" anymore, but they are still showing displays of Santa Clause or Rudolph (as an example), which are directly linked to Christmas. The fact is that most people are celebrating Christmas at this time of year, and if someone is offended by the presence of such a holiday, then trying to avoid the name while still advertising the holiday isn't going to solve anything.

Well, that's my opinion at least...

I was helping my mom out with some errands this weekend, and was annoyed by how much marketing there was for the new movie High School Musical 3. Nearly everywhere I went, there were posters for the movie, as well as hundreds of t-shirts, socks, jewelry, belts, pj's, and many other articles of clothing which had one of the actors from High School Musical imprinted on it. I even saw cell phones and ipods decorated with images of Troy Balton or Gabriella. And just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I entered the toy section... where there was an entire isle packed with Barbie versions of different High School Musical characters. Wherever I'd turn my head, I'd see something else.

I found it rather amusing, but then again, it's also pathetic.

The fact is that the stores wouldn't be selling all of these products if people didn't want them. This reveals that there is some kind of unnatural obsession with this movie amongst the middle-schoolers of this country. From what I've seen, they strongly admire and look up to the characters in the movie. Can't ten-year-old kids find better role models? Anything would be better, in my opinion, due to the fact that High School Musical is just about as superficial as it gets...and when your obsessed with something, it shapes the way you think.

Here's my sources so far for my research paper:

"Kim Gandy Quotes." 2006. http://thinkexist.com/quotes/kim_gandy/




Tuana, Nancy. "Approaches to Feminism." Oct 31, 2004. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-approaches/





Stanford, Stella. "Feminism Against ‘the Feminine.'" 25/10/2008. http://www.radicalphilosophy.com/default.asp?channel_id=9957.





DeMoss, Nancy Leigh. Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free. Chicago: Moody Press, 2001.





Hooks, Bell. Feminism is for Everybody, Passionate Politics. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2000.





McCulley, Carolyn. Radical Womanhood. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008.





Friedman, Betty. The Feminine Mystique. New York: N W Norton & Company, 1997.





Elliot, Elizabeth. Let Me Be A Woman. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1976.

I read this the other day from Knowing God by JI Packer, and it really struck me.

"The world dwarfs us all, but God dwarfs the world. The world is his footstool, above which he sits secure. He is greater than the world and all that is in it, so that all the feverish activity of its bustling millions does no more to affect him than the chirping and jumping of grasshoppers in the summer sun does to affect us. Behold your God!"

This statement really puts things in perspective. We are finite, he is infinite. We are confined to always being in one time and place, while he is omnipotent. We are bogged down by the cares of each day, while he has insurmountable wisdom, knowledge, and power. We can be intimidated and overcome, while he is victorious. We make blunders and sin, while God is holy and righteous. Everything must answer to him in the end, and everything was created by him in the beginning.

There are too many girls in my family. I have three younger sisters, and four female cousins, who live right next door. No boys whatsoever. Our two households are close, having been home school neighbors for as long as we can remember, and growing up like this has been an interesting experience.

For one thing, there is an overflow of unnecesarry emotion that explodes all too often in our house, and I believe much of this is due to rampant hormones that simultaneously attacks one adolescent female after another. The household mood swings from excited to joyous to disturbed to offended to affectionate and then back again to excited - all over the course of fifteen minutes. It's a bit of an adventure.

I, for one, can't stand these emotional explosions, and have grown to learn the art of detaching myself from the drama when it's intense and join in when the general mood returns to being pleasant and fun. The trick is to just not get involved or open your mouth at all until the storm blows over. Cracking some kind of a lame joke can considerably help the situation.

When we all have to get ready at once in the morning, it can be a very daunting experience. Everyone has to take a shower, then everyone has to blowdry their hair (even my eight year old sister,) followed by borrowing each other's clothing, protesting about the clothes borrowed from us...All in all, it's a pretty chaotic experience, but delightful nonetheless :)

My poor dad had to get his own bathroom downstairs, due to the upstairs bathroom getting gradually overtaken by too many females.

But despite all the drama, it's been fun having the all girl atmosphere. There's a unique sort of openness that we get to have around each other, as well as girlish activities and conversations that spice up each day.

Well, this is my first blog! I am hoping that it will go well, but I'm still trying to understand how it works... Still, I am excited about this class, and can't wait to grow in my writing skills!

For college, I wish to study English. It took me a while to arrive at this decision, because for the past year or two I invested a significant amount of my time in drawing and painting. Hence, my skills in this area grew, and I received much positive feedback from my instructors, so I assumed that I was going to major in art. After talking it through with my dad, however, I changed my mind. The fact is that though I like art, I love reading, writing, or anything with rich descriptions, thought provoking ideas, or a good plot line. I would love to, one day, become an editor...or maybe even a writer of fiction!

Anyway, now I'm beginning my senior year in high school, and am very excited (and a little nervous) about this AP class. I can't wait to see what I will learn and what kinds of results it will bring!