You Can Do It Too!

Who wants to exercise? Who wants to give up fast food for fruit? Anyone feel like spending hours at the gym or at a sports practice? That doesn't sound too appealing but let's think about it in another light. Who wants to be healthy and feel good about themselves? Who wants to eat satisfying food instead of empty carbs? Anyone feel like making a ton of new friends by joining a sports team? Before high school I didn't exercise much, except for soccer once, maybe twice a week. I ate as much junk food and pizza as anyone. Then, in 7th or 8th grade, mostly thanks to the work of Michelle Obama, I started to learn about the epidemic of obesity across America. I didn't categorize myself as a fat American and I thought that obesity would only reach those people who ate in McDonald's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and worked the remote control instead of something productive. Well, I was wrong. Anyone can reach the state of obesity and 1/3 of Americans are. An outrageous 2/3 are overweight. These numbers are incredibly high and something has to change. To avoid slipping into a rut that is so hard to get out of I joined a soccer team, became a vegetarian, and tried to go out with my friends or do something productive instead of sitting in front of the TV. I don't miss watching 3 TV shows a night and I met some of my closest friends through soccer. Simple changes can make the difference and you'll even be happier. Maybe you aren't the most athletic person in the world. Instead, go for a run or even a walk a few times a week and take the stairs instead of the elevator. Get some of your friends to make a lifestyle change with you! Instead of getting a large slushy and popcorn drowned in butter at the movie theater, get a water and skip the salt and butter on the popcorn. Being a healthy person is like being a good student. You can settle for being an average student and blending with a majority, but you'll be more satisfied if you put in the extra effort and get that A instead of the B-. Wouldn't the reward of having better stamina, more energy, and a healthier glow be just as great, once you give up the extra dessert and skip the 4th hour in front of the computer to go for a jog with your friends? Don't you want to prove to the rest of the world that America isn't just loud, fat people?

I was just wondering

Eating Healthy and Exercising..

1. In favor - Do you think that the country see positive changes from having a healthier population, both physically and in terms of what they consume?
2. Neutral - Do you think a lifestyle change would help Americans or not benefit them?
3. Against - Should Americans be allowed to make their own choices about what they eat and if they exercise, without others telling them what to do?

Go Healthy or Go Home

What comes to mind when people think of America? Freedom. Opportunity. Loud people. Sometimes close minded or even rude. Democracy. Bustling cities. Occasionally obnoxious. But I think the most striking adjective is fat. Or even obese. As of 2008, 2/3 of Americans are overweight and 1/3 of them are obese. 15% of children aged 6-19 are also overweight. The growing rates of obesity have been considered an epidemic and campaigns have been started to end this trend, including that laid out by First Lady Michelle Obama. It's so frustrating that people live a lifestyle that mirrors these statistics because a few changes made by Americans can cause great changes and a healthier population. Something as simple as cutting out fast food could have a huge impact. Running every once in a while or going to the gym could only help. The increased development in technology is also having an effect on the weight and health of Americans. In 1960, only 13% of American adults were obese and this was in a time when people generally didn't have computers or cable TV in their homes. As health has decreased and weight increased, so has serving sizes and food packaging, allowing more people to access more unhealthy food cheaply. America is currently facing a crisis concerning the health of the citizens. People need to get outside and get moving, as well as make better decisions about what they eat.
I think that without living a healthier lifestyle, we are essentially doomed. An unhealthy population doesn't get much done and it is difficult to operate fully when one is running on fatty and fried foods and sugary drinks. I'm not saying to cut out dessert or never go eat french fries, but everything needs to be moderate. If someone wants to eat a fatty burger every other night, they need to also go for a run to balance it out. Ideally Americans will be able to find a balance of exercise and food in moderation but it is growing exceedingly difficult, as unhealthy items and a lazy mindset are becoming easier to access than organic foods or a gym membership. America can get its healthier population back, but the public needs to be determined to make an effort to change their lifestyle for the better, otherwise it will never work and the epidemic of obesity will continue.

Back to Fruits and Veggies Please

The Change is Your Decision

excerpt from "A Small Place" pg 4-5

"You disembark from your plane. You go through customs. Since you are a tourist- a North American or European- to be frank, white- and not an Antiguan black returning to Antigua from Europe or North America with cardboard boxes of much needed cheao clothes and food for relatives, you move through customs swiftly, you move through customs with ease. Your bags are not searched. You emerge from customs in the hot, clean air: immediately you feel blessed (which is to say special); you feel free. You see a ma, a taxi driver; you ask him to take you to your destination; he quotes you a price. You immediately think that the price is in the local currency, for you are a tourist and you are familiar with these things (rates of exchange) and you feel even more free, for things seem so cheap, but then your driver ends by saying "In US currency."

"It's been a long day. You are really hungry. Since it's so late- conveince and ease are preferable- really, its needed- you rush to the nearest fast food restaurant to grab a quick bite to eat without thinking about the health aspect or nutritional value, you can't worry about it, you need food right away. This is a nightly occurence. It is rare that you have a healthy, homecooked meal: there are easier options (and nobody makes the effort to cook); fast food it is. You think about it, eating much better, joining a gym to get fit; but the motivation is too low. It's easier to get things on the run and quickly, than to plan out nutritional meals and exercise on your own (too hard to go alone) and all the packaged products are yummy, they taste even better than good food, but then you have to remember in the end "they are bad for you."

How Irksome

Things that Bug Me:

School:
- Pressure about college
- Standardized testing
- The 10/10 rule
- Only 4 minutes for passing time
- Weekend practices
- Clubs clashing with sports; why can't athletes participate in both?

Media:
- Airbrushing on models
- Autotune. if you can't sing you can't sing, end of story
- "Reality" shows...they're not real
- Propoganda
- Biased news
- Pre-recorded applause on tv shows
- Loud commercials

General:
- Matching tracksuits
- Stains on white clothes
- Wrinkles
- Pennies; they're pointless
- Forcing of values on others
- People always on electronics and never outside
- Overdramatic people
- Typing hard on the keyboard
- Waste
- People who misuse your vs. you're
- Mumbling
- Hypocrites
- Double dippers

Introducing Me..

My name is pretty boring. I wish I was named after some famous soccer player or had one of the pretty Irish names all my cousins, and even my sister have. I don't even have a nickname, except that a few of my family members, especially my parents, call me Laursie, but thats not quite what I was hoping for. My name is Laura Elizabeth (Margaret) Linehan. Nothing special, not very unique, but as I've grown up with my not so exciting name, I've found some depth to it. It doesn't show my love for soccer and good music, fetish with learning languages or my appreciation of debates, discussions, and politics. Nor does one see that I take a liberal stand on many issues and form stubborn opinions about almost anything and everything just from my name. Laura is the feminine version of the Latin name meaning laurel...a tree leaf...cool. But it's also the name of my mom's best friend and bridesmaid in her wedding and apparently my mom finds it to be a "soft" name, lovely. I've taken French, Spanish and Arabic and my name has been pronounced differently in each language. Pretty confusing, but then in Morocco, my name was pronounced Lauga, which, funnily enough, sounded just like the Arabic word for language. Languages are something I'm really interested in and for my name to be pronounced like the word for language was something I secretly loved, even though I never told anyone the connection I made.
Elizabeth is my middle name, also known as the middle name of every other girl I know. However it is also my grandma's name and the source of jokes between my aunt and I. She was always called Margaret Mary growing up and hated the double name. When I was little, after hearing this, I would always call her by her double name and she would teasingly call me Laura Liz in return. I was not impressed at the time, but it still to this day remains a joke.
For my Confirmation I got to pick another name as long as it was a saint. At first I wanted some symbolic name like Frances, the patron saint of animals, because I've always loved them or a vivaciously different name like Caterina, just because. I ended up choosing Margaret. Continuing my not so wild name, I chose that name because it was the first name of my other grandma and my very close aunt that also happens to be my godmother.
My last name, Linehan. The source of frustration every first day of school and whenever a substitute attempts to do attendance. It's pronounced len-eh-hen, but after 11 years in school I learn to deal with whatever butchering of my name I face. I did Irish dancing for 7 years and the owners of the school had the same last name as me, but it was spelled Lenihan. That version is a bit easier to sound out. I like my last name though. It shows my Irish roots. There is a Gaelic football field in Ireland, near where my dad grew up and it is named after my granddad, Tim Linehan. Whenever my family visits the field its always special to see my last name up on the plaque and I feel connected to my granddad, even though I never got to meet him.
Whenever I talk about my name I complain and moan about how it doesn't show much about me, doesn't leave much room for nicknames, and isn't all that unique. I could be named after an admirable athlete or famous author. But my parents just liked the names they chose, though my dad wrote down my name in the hospital when I was born, ultimately choosing Laura over Sarah, without my mom realizing. I think that if I ever have a kid, they will have some worldly and unique name that I wish I could have had and I'm sure they will dislike their name as much as I dislike mine. Don't know what you have 'till it's gone right? But sometimes I like my name and sometimes I don't. In the end, I have discovered that it shows some connections and memories I don't usually think of and that it really isn't too bad...until the first day of school.