class is over ...

i don't think that i have ever said this before about a class but i am actually really upset that this class is over, i have learned so much over the semester and feel privileged to have been part of a class like this, where discussion took place most of the time and basically anything went. I think that by completing this course will help me in other classes and in my profession. Dr. D, thanks for everything :)

Random Family -- so far this book has got me sucked in, i can not put it down at all ... i just love having to keep up with all of the names and scenarios. Although it can be confusing at times, i think that that is what makes it that much more exciting. I can tell already that this will be one of my favorite books.

7th, 8th, & 9th presentations

scary movies -- i believe that people watch scary movies because they like the thrill in being scared. even though we know that we will be scared while watching a scary movie we like that feeling where our adrenaline is rushing, we're sweating, and we're glued to the screen in suspense.

celebrities drugs & alcohol -- i think the celebrities use drugs and alcohol for all of the same reasons that ordinary people do, they use them to 'relax' and to fit it socially. i don't think that anything separates the way regular people and celebrities drink / over does.

birth control in china -- i have never learned of the ways of birth control in china until this class discussion and i was appalled. i can't even believe that in this day in age people can control how many children you have, and that people prefer abortion over actually having the child. if i was ever in a position where someone tried to tell me how many children to have / i could have i would have to move or disobey them just because i don't feel that it is moral for someone to make a decision of that extremity for someone else.

Anna Nicole's Death -- OUR PRESENTATION -- left my views in comments on everyone else's blog.

5th & 6th presentations

celebrity life -- i definitely would not be able to handle the pressure of leading a life of a celebrity. although i think that it would be flattering that people would care so much about everyday things that you do, i think that it would be extremely stressful and obnoxious. One wrong move and your in a news paper or magazine, everyone makes mistakes and personally i would rather mine not be publicized.

sean bell case -- i believe that the police officers that fired 31 shots in the sean bell case should be prosecuted. it is unfair to let them off with out an offense. i believe that they definitely meant to kill him, because they are trained in 'stopping criminals' and should have used a better and more effective way then to carelessly shoot at him 31 times.

3rd & 4th presentations

Candidates for president -- in a presidential candidate i look for someone who is honest, kind, respectful, experienced, etc. Out of all of the candidates i have read about i would probably vote for Rudy Giuliani because of his ability to react effectively under pressure. Although the public is making and big deal of Giuliani being a 'woman hater' and the relationship he has / has had with his ex wife and whatever else they have been saying, but in all reality 1 out 2 marriages end in divorce, leave the man alone and lets look at something that actually matters.

shootings & hitlists -- always wanting to be a teacher the thought of a possible school shooting / finding a i know that hitlists has crossed my mind, although i have no idea what i would do in a situation like that i know that by thinking about it will potentially keep my calm and give me time to think of potential scenarios i can carry out.

1sr & 2nd presentations

fairy tale twists -- i think that it is ridiculous for authors to incorporate such provocative twists in children's' stories. i'm sure that authors have reason behind it, the most popular being to keep adults interested but i think that it is completely inappropriate. adults have their movies, books, stories and magazines children should have theirs.

American idol -- this was a very interesting presentation for me because i am obessesed with american idol, i can't miss a week! haha but this presentation helped me realize how unfair the judging actually is, i believe that people vote for candidates for their good looks, sex appeal, and just over all personality then their ability to sing, which they should be voted for.

Final Project

For my final project i planned to make a scrapbook including pictures and writings fulfilling all of the requirements. I will have a couple pages describing myself, my background, my culture, and my family. Then i will have a few pages discussing my career plans and goals, different options i have within that career, as well as someone i look up to within my career. My third section will include options i have within MSU and classes that i can and will take.

womens' & childrens' rights

Being a woman myself i believe that women and children deserve to have equal rights to those that men have. I do not believe that the sex of a person should impact the amount of rights they are granted. Living in the United States of America, the Land of the Free we all deserve to have equal rights.

families & tradition

Coming from a family where culture and tradition is so important my feelings on both culture and tradition are very strong. My culture is very important to me, I participate in weekly meetings with my Ukrainian American Youth Association, where we discuss different current events as well as commorate historical events. Also i attend church regularly where i participate in a Ukrainian Orthodox League in which we do all kinds of community service as well as different things around that church such as decorate for christmas and hold a yearly luncheon for the senior citizens of our church.

Also traditions are very important with my family. An example is our Christmas dinner. We hold a traditonal Christmas Dinner are my house which my entire family attends (usually about 40 or 50 people). The dinner is a sit down dinner containing 12 different course, all not containing meat. After dinner we relax and usually sing Ukrainian Christmas carols, and eventually open our gifts. Although christmas is only once a year, we follow other family traditions through out the year...

Let it snow...

A lot of people think that we were lucky this winter with not getting as much snow as we usually do... but is that really lucky? This winter was completely bizarre, 60 and 70 degree days in January? That can't be good for the environment or even our health. Personally i love the snow, and everything that comes with it... theres nothing better than laying in bed watching movies sipping hot chocolate and just watching the snow fall, unless of course it was summertime where laying on the beach would be 100 times better, but in the wintertime theres nothing i would rather do.

Reactions to Genocide...

What do i think about geneocide? Basically my feelings are as follows... In todays day and age i cant believe that genocide is still goes on in the world. Instead of helping each other out countries that are richer and have more resources keep them to themselves to keep their country flourishing. I think that if we all worked together we could eliminate genocide and create a peaceful world.

Genocide in Ukraine...

Being of Ukrainian descent I attended Ukrainian School (on Saturdays) from the time I was three years old until I was sixteen. We learned everything from literature to geography to history, which always interested me the most. We always learned about history starting from the year 900, and never really anything that was too recent, all except for one topic, The Artificial Famine / Genocide in Ukraine. This genocide took place between 1932 and 1933 under the power of Joseph Stalin. This was a man made famine which killed 7 - 10 million people (mainly Ukrainians). The goal of this famine was to break the 'spirit' of the Ukrainian farmers and bring them into collectivization. You can read more about the Genocide in Ukraine at the website... http://www.infoukes.com/history/famine/.

So cold ..

There are many obstacles in living in Bohn Hall. First and foremost the elevators, getting stuck, going down when they should be going up, skipping your floor, and always being broken. After living here since September I've learned that if i want to get to class on time, i need to leave my room at least 20 minutes earlier just to be sure that i leave enough time for the elevator to actually come up to the 16th floor. The elevator issue was hard to get used to at first but now its kind of something that i dont even think twice about, its just been accepted as something that happens. Another obstacle that we've (my roommate & i) have been faced with is the heat in our room. Basically it decides when it wants to work, and when it does work its too hott. So our room is always either too hott or too cold, theres nothing in between. I guess thats just another thing about Bohn Hall that I've got to get used to...

Night ..

So i was told that to write a post about the book Night, and the only thing that came to my mind to write about it was about the similar experiences my grandparents had. Coming from Ukraine my grandparents and their familes were forced into camps similar to the concentration camps discussed in Night. While in these camps they were forced to work and nearly starved. My grandma remembers that as a child she was only given water to drink and sometimes only one slice of bread to eat. She remembers these horror stories and very rarely likes to talk about them. I really enjoyed this book because i could really get into it, and was about a topic that always interested me.

This is meee... take it or leave it.

Hi. I'm Natalia, or Talia as most people know me. I'm creating this blog for one of my classes this semester and think it'll be a great way to cope with stress and an added 'person' to talk to. I'm from Avenel, NJ, which is a small town in Central Jersey. I graduated from Colonia High School in 2006. I'm a freshman, Early/Middle Childhood Education major here at MSU. My family and friends are my everything, I wouldn't be who i am today without them. Wanna know more? Check out my About me section! Talk to ya soon. ;]