homework 57

when i first think about prom, i automatically think about dresses and tuxedos. everybody has to get dressed up and all fancy to go to prom. if you dont, people automatically would make fun of you for not going all out. but what really is going all out? i think it has to do with spending hundreds of dollars on one night to outshine other people. in other words, people go and think that since they are spending so much money, that they are going to look better than some other people. its a day to flaunt to others about their appearance.

i also think that prom has a huge affect on peoples social life and self esteem. for example if some people cant afford to go to prom, then they are going to feel down and feel like they are too poor for their friends. and while they are stuck at home watching tv, their friends are going to be out all night living it up and enjoying themselves because they have money. therefore, their self esteem decreases because they are going to feel like they dont fit in or not good enough. it also effects peoples social life in a positive and negative way. positive because they get to socialize and talk to a lot of people, smile and laugh. and negative because there will be some neglecting where peole wont talk to people outside their clique and will act like they are not there like they normally do.

extra credit #3

so i went to two cemeteries. the first one was a Jewish cemetery. it was located on Ramapo, which is up in Rockland County. when i first go there, i was actually kind of nervous. i felt a weird presence around me when i first got there. it was so weird knowing that there were thousands of dead bodies just six feet below me.

the second cemetery a regular christian cemetery. when i went it was still creepy. i looked around and i walked a little bit. i have was looking at someof the head stones and a bunch of them were really old. i saw a few from the 1800's. i saw a caretaker there when i went and he was cleaning up some of the areas.

homework 56

bryanna:

i thought you had a good project going. i like towards the end about you and your mother. when you said that even though you and your mother have different view on religion, that it couldve been different for the way you guys care. but its not and i think that is very common with everybody. it doesnt matter what religion someone believes in (if they even do)it still comes down to one thing. they still believe in the person is in a good place and that no matter where they are, they are happy and accepted

good job.

http://lovelifebry.blogspot.com/

ariel:

hey ariel i enjoyed reading your project. it was funny and at the same time very unique. it had the key ideas of what we learned in class along with a little more depth of what we learned. maybe next time you could focus a little more deeper on the stuff we didnt learn inside class

http://ariib17.blogspot.com/

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bryanna:

Hey Jessica,
I think that it brave of you to your friend about her grandmother. And I think it is sad they had to be there when she died. I think that is sad that her kids will not get to know their grandmother. But I think you should talked tou her about the things we learned about in class

homework 55

for the project, interviewed my friend, who's grandmother that has just passed away. it was very difficult to really talk about it on behalf that the death was so sudden. he grandmother had a stroke in the morning and fell out of bed hitting her head. they found her laying there and they don't know how long she was on the floor. her and her cousin then picked her up and tried to wake her up but she wouldn't wake up. they then rushed her to the hospital where she was later put on a resperator for a couple hours. they took her off so see if she could breath on her own and soon later die that same day. they planned the funeral for two days after and it was going to last two days. the first day was the viewing of the body and the second day was going to be the funeral.

she said the most hardest part for her was the fact that she has a 20 month old son and then another one on the way and they wont be able to grow up with their great grandmother. she use to live with her too so now she is struggling to find somewhere else to stay.

at the viewing most of her family members were there. since it was short notice not everybody could make it. she said that it was very helpful that a lot of her friends came to the viewing to pay their respects. i asked her what made her and her family choose the burial for their grandma. she said that she didn't really have much say in what was going because she was kind of young. but a lot of the family said the usual "its what she would have wanted."

during the service the next day, they quoted a lot from the bible. her grandmother was very religious. she had multiple pictures of God and Jesus around the house with a bunch of crosses hanging up. i kept hearing the family saying "it was such short notice" .."i cant believe she is gone forever" ..or "it was God's plan"

in conclusion, even though her grandma is gone now, she thinks that she is at a better place and that yes God did accept her and will be looking over her and her son, and soon to be born baby girl. she said that her grandma will be deeply and truly missed. there will be no other grandma in her life.

extra credit #1

in the movie Harold and Mude, Harold experiences several death experience in his lifetime. in the beginning of the movie, you see Harold trying to look like he has hung himself. the lady in the same room, gives him a weird look and asks him if he thinks that is funny. it seems as if the lady doesn't really care about what he is doing. she walks away as if she saw nothing. then again, he pretends that he got seriously cut and stabbed. the lady again starts yelling say that she has had enough.

you see harold talking to a therapist multiple times during the movie about him always acting out as if he is dying. once he stated that he did it 15times. the therapist seemed shocked. there were also a couple funerals that go on in the movie. and at all of them Harold looks as if he is dumbfounded. he looks like he doesnt want to be there and that he is in his own world. he always looks around and has a worried yet shocked face on when he look towards the casket. to me this makes me think that funerals and death to Harold do not matter to him. he goes on with life not caring about who dies and that dying is a big joke.

but then later on in the movie, he starts to hang out with Maude. she tries to give him more of a spin on life. they go out and do a bunch of different stuff to "live life" the more time he spends with her, the more he started to care and love for her more.

at the end of the movie, Maude dies on her birthday. Harold had no idea that she was even sick. he was so heartbroken when he found out. he stayed in the hospital until her got news on her. when he finally did, the doctors told him that she had died. the changed Harold perspective on death forever. since he finally had someone who understood him and that he really was attached, having them die actually ment something to him. at the end, he drove to the top of a couple of valley's and started playing the bango. he was playing the song that Maude played on the piano and was walking.

extra credit #2

"What care the Dead, for Chanticleer" by Emily Dickinson http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/emilydickinson/10544

in this poem, she states the different seasons in the poem. to me shes trying to ask what is th meaning of caring for them then they have nothing. they cant do anything

Hearts of Gold -Sherry York

Why Do I do This? -Ashley Lipscomb

An Old Lady's Poem -no author

Dedicated To The Man I Never Knew -Pauline Hamblin

http://www.nursesareangels.com/nursing_poems.htm

all these poems were by different nurses from across the country. a lot of the messages were that even though they dont perosnally know of their lives other then they were sick. they have connections towards them and grieve in their own ways/

I Shall Not Care -Sara Teasdale

http://www.bartleby.com/104/101.html

i thought that this poem was trying to get at what the world and people would be like when she is dead.

Caring For a Dead Fish -Pete Crowther

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/caring-for-a-dead-fish/

even thought that this poem wasnt about caring for the dead person, it was about caring for a dead fish. in the poem, he talks about who should care for one? a lot of people care for the death of their pet along with a person especially if they see the animal as part of the family.

Mankind Dead Needs Nothing/Sharing is Caring -no author

http://www.unitedworldpoets.com/poem/mankind-dead-needs-nothingsharing-caring

this poem talked about feeling like they are dead before even dying. it talks about respect and treating people the way you want to be treated.

I Want To Say. - By Anonymous

I'm Ready To Give Up -by anonymous

why - By RichardD Bestenbostel

Life Isn't Fair -By Shayleigh Bray

http://www.poetryamerica.com/death-poetry.asp

a lot of these poems talk about the personal emotion they feel when they loose someone close to them and how they act or deal with it.

I HOLD YOU -Elsa Schieder

http://www.elsas-word-story-image-idea-music-emporium.com/deep-sad-poems.html

in this poem, i liked how it seemed like she was talking towards the person that died. she was telling them that she will always carry them in her heart, and soul. they will always be with her

God's Garden -author unknown

Heavenly Father -author unknown

Unable are the Loved to die -Emily Dickinson

http://www.peterjjackson.com/verse.htm

in these last view poems, they are very short and sweet, especially the on by Emily Dickinson. it was about four lines but it went right to the point about how i would feel when someone dies.

looking up all of these poems, i noticed that there are a lot of different ways people view death. some are very sad, and a lot of these poems connect back to emotions and sadness and how they cry and dont want to let go of the person. but at the same time, some people get over it quickly and think that it was nothing serious. also that people dont just grieve over people. they also about animals.

like i said earlier, depending how close people are to their family pet, that right there could be a huge deal to the person. because that pet symbolized a person, or was taking up the space in the persons heart for someone else. for example if a lady's husband dies, she went out and bought a dog for her and the kids. 13years later, the dog dies and now its hard on them again.

homework 54

so i intervied my friend about her family views on death. she is a catholic. her family is very religious and goes to church every sunday. in their household, they have crosses up and even in their car to symbolize that jesus is always with them to protect them. her grandmother is the eldest in the household and she is the main one everybody gets their beliefs from. in her bedroom, she has a little shrine area full of candles and pictures to pray to before and after she wakes up everyday.

her grandma doesnt play when it come to religion and death. my friend told me that when someone dies in their family that after the funeral when they come home, they have to cover up all the mirrors for 3-5 days because in their culture they believe that when you come home, you bring the spirit with you and that is bad luck. this family is also houndourean and thats what they grew up with from Houndours. after that they then take off the blankets and sheets from the mirrors and continue to live their life.

another thing with their family i thought that was very interesting was dreams. her grandma believes that when a certain dream occurs, then that means something bad is going to happen to a person or if they have a dream about the person being a ghost or something then that means they have died. the family has a good sense when it comes to dreams what is going to happen to a person. also my friends family thinks that people die in pairs of three. so that three people you know will die around the same time, not too far apart.

homework 53

according to the nytimes.com i found an article about about a Ghanaian funeral. the way they celebrate, is they have a huge party. people get all dressed up, there is music, dancing, food, and everybody having a good time. in New York, they throw these parties to raise money for the funeral, along with sending the spirit off in good hopes. they don't always celebrate right away.

i also came across another article about home funerals. this made me think about the lack of information people have about home births. in the beginning, i only thought that we had to go to a funeral home, and pay our respects like that, but their are of course other alternatives.

when i typed in funerals in the nypost.com, i came across the death Osama bin laden. the article was talking about how everybody was so happy when they found out that we had killed him. people were waving the US flag and having a ball. for some people they are very pleased to know that the person that lead 9/11 attacks was finally caught

homework 52

in the last third of the book, i read about the lady that sent her husband off with her mothers dress to take to her. the funeral directors were making fun of the whole idea behind her back and i thought that was messed up. but when the lady stated as to why she wanted to do that, it made me think about our society. how we think that the person isn't completely at the white pearly gates until they are buried in the ground. which is interesting because usually you would think that the persons soul is already sent up to God or wherever once they "see" the light. to this lady, sending a dress to with her husband, to her mother was very symbolic to her because that means she thinks that where her mother is, her husband is going to go there too.

a quote that got me thinking was "cemeteries have always fascinated me, perhaps because i see them as a celebration of life, rather than ghostly reminders of the past." (pg 111) this quote got me thinking about cemeteries and the difference between the thoughts between morticians and regular people. morticians have so many different views when it comes to death because that's their job. they think what they do for a living is helping people let go of the one they lost. its not a time to be sad, but a time to celebrate the persons new life somewhere else. but if you are not in the industry, you think it is the most heartbreaking time in your life and you cant believe what happened to the person.

homework 51

so in the second third of the book, i was reading about her having a roommate when she first lived in Hollywood that she got really close to. her roommate had a little speech problem and her whole life she was trying to get it fixed and questioned as to why she had it. of course they do their own thing but kept in contact with each other. one day she gets a call from her all roommate and finds out that she is getting surgery because her heart's arteries are small on the top. two days after the surgery, she died.

this was very heartbreaking for her. she said that she couldnt be able to embalm her. "since i was so emotionally involved, i knew i couldnt embalm the body" (pg 40) this made me think about how morticians too have feelings and know people that will die one day.

this whole chunk of the section stuck out to me because later on, it says how after the funeral, they went back to the house for lunch. "afterwards, i declined the family's invitation to join them for lunch at the house. i needed to go home and embrace my own grief." (pg 41) when i first read this quote it automatically made me remind myself of the blog i posted before. it talked about how food is a big deal and is connected to deaths. people always have little gatherings after the body is buried at the family's house for lunch or some appetizers.

what i can get from reading this is that morticians have it harder when it comes to someone dying. since they have a lot more understanding to what happens to the body because they do it for a living, its hard to look at the person or even try to imagine to what is happening to the lifeless body. they have to continuously go into work and always be reminded what they do and their pain that they feel when someone they know dies. unlike regular jobs, when someone dies, we have a break or distraction that gets our minds off it.

homework 49

ariel:

i think that it was personally very smart to ask someone who is pretty old. (no offense). but i think they are one of the best people to ask for adivce and wisdom about a lot of topics. because i personally feel like they have a lot of personal experience with stuff and have a lot of knowledge. things have changed over the years so i think that they have seen those changes and could understand it better than us. so by going to your grandma, i think she had a lot of personal insights about the care of the dead. nice job.


allwyn:

i read your blog and i thought you had a lot of good insights. i like how you said a lot of the rituals that we all do are kind of similar but slightly different in their own ways. for example you said that we burrie the person in the ground like burrying the corpse back into the roots. that kind of reminded me that how when we come into the world, we come out of darkness and when we die, we go back into darkness. nice job.

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hey rigel, thanks for commenting on my homework 46, yes you are right i should try and capitalize my words more so that way it looks a little more organized, but yes i must agree it is crazy yet strange how food plays a role in caring for the dead. people throw little after parties and stuff people with food until they leave. food is the best medicine for some people. but thanks again.

homework 48

i asked my mom what her point of view was on caring for the dead, and what she normally does. and she said that when someone dies that she knows, it depends on the person. if it was a distant friend or someone she knew, she wouldnt get upset. she would get a little down, but it wont affect her drastically. if it was someone very close to her for example a very close friend or family matter, then it would "hit home" as she said. she would get very upset about it and would dwel on the death and would take some time for her to get over it because she really cared about them. she would go to funerls to pay her respects to them and say her last goodbye's. i also asked her what would she like me to do for her when she dies. she said that she would want me to have a proper funeral for her. she would like it to be in a church, and have the organ playing in the background. then she would want to be buried instead of cremated.

i also asked my dad what he thought about caring for the dead as well and what he does when he finds out when someone has passed. he too also responded that he would pay his respects the the person and the persons family at the funeral. from then, he said that he would always carry the person in his memory. my grandpa also said similar answers along with also keeping the family in his prayers. to give them hope and make sure that God is looking over them.

based off of this, i view my family to be somewhat religious. for example, they believe in God and that the people will go to heaven and that they are going to be in a safe place now. i also see that they are "respectful" of the family and the one that has passed, they would go to the funeral to give the last goodbye's. my family has a thing about closer. they always have to give off their last words and wishes to the person before they are buried.

homework 46

so now we are doing a unit of caring for the dead. one of the first things that come to mind is funerals. people host funerals for those who obviously have passed on and is a type of party where people gather to pay respects to the one who has passed on. the family would hold a wake for about a day or two so people could come say their last prayers, touch the body, get a last view, and give their respects to the family. then on the next or same day, they put the body six feet in the ground where they say a few more prayers and then cover the casket up with dirt and flowers. then the funeral is over. sometimes everybody would then go back to the families house for some food and have a gathering. another thing that comes to mind is depending on what the person wants, they could be cremated and put in a urn. where then someone would take home and put it somewhere safe. or they could possibly spread the ashes at a spot where they know the person would want to lay for eternity. by doing this, people feel as if that is putting the person at rest so they are now peaceful because they are at their favorite area/ spot.

homework 45

jayson: thank you for commenting on my project. your comment made me feel good because i have to agree with you. it does make you think deeply about a lot of what if questions and how it really is life changing for a lot of people. there are a lot of women out there who get abortions and then the child doesnt even get a chance to get a life out in the real world. ariel: thank you for reading my project as well ariel. thank you for the comments and im glad you enjoyed my topic. yes i too feel that with a lot of people especially wome, that abortion is a very touchy topic. and in class we didnt really talk about it so that was the main reason i decided to do it. because there are dark sides to everything, and to birth there is abortion.

homework 44

ariel: i read your paper, and i thought that it was very good. it talked about how one of your little sisters were born, and the struggles that your mother went through to deliver her. it must have been really hard for her and your dad to be under that kind of pressure. but now she is a healthy girl and that is a blessing. i liked how you connected what we learned in class to a personal experience as well as talk about a side of birth we didnt really cover much on. we didnt really talk much about premature births and the complications it brings. maybe for next time, you could probably add some statistics about premature births around the U.S. and how common or uncommon they are. rigel: yours too was a personal topic that i really enjoyed. your topic was about single mothers. i felt like i could personally relate to that because my mom too is also a single mother, and she struggles everyday to make sure i have everything i need and that i grow up into a good kid. it too was a topic we didnt even bring up in class at all so to get information on that was very interesting and is a reason why i turned to your blog. i feel like there are a lot of single mothers out there in the world and the guys usually dont do anything. maybe something you coud do for next time is maybe relate it to yourself a little more and talk about a personal experience. stephen: you got me very interested in reading your paper when you made your speech. it was very engaging and caught my attention. in your paper you talked about multiple side of births in a hospital and out of a hospital. as well as with a midwife or with a doctor. it was good that you went a little deeper into what we learned about in class. but maybe for next time you could focus on maybe one part of the arguments or maybe narrow your topic down a bit. also maybe add some personal opinions you had.

homework 42

while watching the movie, and during the whole birthing unit, we only talked about the positive side of birth and pregenancy. as well as some semi bad sides. we talked about whats the difference between delivering your baby in a hospital with a doctor verses having your baby at home with a midwife. as a result, i personally came to a conclusion that it is a personal choice and i do agree that not a lot of women are aware of the information that is out there about midwifes and what they are really about. so not every women has the option of picking eaither doctor or midwife. but we were not talking about the bad sides to birthing. for example abortions. im pretty sure at least one person knows someone who has had an abortion at least once. could be teenager or adult. but the one that a lot of people are concerned about is teenage abortion. "more than 25 percent of women in the world get an abortion" (pregnentteenhelp.org) "1.38 billion women in the world who are in the childbearing years of (15-44). about 6 millon become pregnent." (pregnentteenhelp.org) with this, teens take up 19% of abortions. teenagers have different options. one is they could take responsability and take care of the child, another is to have the baby, but then give it up for adoption, and the third option is to have an abortion. but a lot of these teens now a days are going with option 3. they usually have the abortion within the first 8 weeks of the pregnency. a lot of these situations are unplanned and will strongly have a downfall for their future plans. according to a chart that i found online, back in 1994, the largest race group to have an abortion was while people with a percentage of 60.5%. 95% of abortions are preformed because of lack or birth controll. another 1% is because of rape or incest. another 3% is because of the mothers health problems and the last 1% is because of fetal abnormalities. i also found out that the number one reason why women go with abortion, is because so they could pospone childbearing. then the next highest reason is because they can not financially afford it at the moment. on average, an abortion costs about $350 to $550. there are different types of ways a women can get an abortion. depending on the stage the fetis is at. she could take a pill, get it sugerically removed, or a shot. so in conclusion there are some information about birth that is bad and all of it has good stories. there are the statistics of abortion that not a lot of people talk about, even though it is getting higer each year.

homework 41

becoming an OB/GYN: www.ehow.com www.spelman.edu www.obgyn.net www.innerbody.com www.dc-media.com www.life123.com

homework 40

(wasnt able to copy and paste the dialouge so i just wrote the blanks) hey, thank you for writing the book Guide to Childbirth. this book was so amazing and had a lot of information in it i never knew about home births. i just thought the ideal home birth that everybody went through, which was people chill in water until the baby pops out. home births are just as safe and easy to do as in a hospital as long as both the mother and baby are safe. in the last third of the book, i realized the book mostly focused on the labor part of the pregancy and the different myths of the pregnancy. along with the whole hormon and changes a woman goes through during those eight months. one myth was the myth of sex. there was a myth of having sex while the woman is pregnant, will be harmful to the baby. but it turns out that its not. "a large collaborative study involving nearly fourty thousand women found no association between lovemaking during pregnancy and poor outcome for mother or baby. in fact human semen is the most concentrated source of prostaglandins, the substance that cervidil...intercourse during the last week of pregnancy helps the woman's body go into labor. " (215) with labor, you sometimes may think that you are going into labor, but then again you may not. "a first time mother checks into the hospital with what she feels is strong labor ward or birth room, her labor has virtually stopped...this situation is is most likely to happen in the early or latent phase of labor." (205) "no one in our care has suffered from eating or drinking during labor. occasionally, a woman who has eaten will throw up, but this is not a problem in women who are consccious. vomiting normally helps dilation of the cervix." (221) maybe for another edition of the book, you could talk more about the history of birthing at home and more history on birthing and give some tips on birthing and what to do during certain situations.

homework 38

in the book Ina May's guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin, is a bunch of natural childbirth stories. by natural, i mean women who go through the birthing proccess with a midwife. a midwife is a woman who are highly trained to come to your home and helps you give birth of your child with out using drugs and being hooked up to machines. women feel that midwives help bring the natural feeling and connection with the baby and the birth of the baby.

in the book, mothers talk about their birth stories of having a midwife and how their experience was. for some it was thier first time giving birth, and for others it was their second time and decided to do it differently. each story unique and different in their own way. for one mother, her first birth took place in a hospital and by the time she was finished, she wished it was different, and made her decided she wanted to do a at home birth the next time around. when she got pregnant again, she went about doing the natural way and she said "i was greatful to have had such and easy pregnancy and that the birth itself was not just a psychosocial event but spiritual as well." for some other women it was their first birth, and they didnt know they were going to pick a at home birth. but in the end they went with it and she said: "pushing turned out to be the easiest part-a big relif...after he was born, i was more happy than tired."

some insights i get from the book is that when you have births at home and not druged up, the women tends to be so uplifted and anxious to see their baby for the first time rather then feel loopy and druged up and can not really comprehend what is going on. they feel more relaxed and at ease. it is such a powerful and emotional experience, the woman feels aware and fufilled about her experience.

comments on homework 36

comment on ariels post:

i think that those were both two different stories that just about a lot of people go through. for some, they dont feel like they are ready and when they are scared, they try and take the easy way out by getting rid of it. but at the same time, you have to ask yourself why should i get rid of a life. nobody should be a mistake if it was ment to be then it was ment to be. birth isnt a easy an easy thing to get rid of like anything else. and then on the other hand, a lot of people go through what your second person went through

at times you lose your social life because now you cant go out whenever you please or have just any body over. for the first couple months at least. what i learned based off these two stories is that having a baby is a life changer, and shifts your life in a direction you wouldnt imagine until it happens to you. eventhough you are ready, or not ready, you still dont know what is in store and whats ahead. birth is a powerful level in life that no matter who you are, your going to experience it one way or another.

comment on allwyn's post:

when i read the story about your mom, i laughed at first because my moms story was kind of similar. she gained a bunch of weight and got lil pimples here and there. but other then that i really enjoyed reading her story. it was very spiritual and religious. it sounded like she had her mind set of having babies for a very long time. and she was spiritually guided by God through the pregnancys. as if she was the happiest woman on the earth. but did she feel like that with every birth experienced she had?..with each child, did she have different feelings and emotions, or the same for each one?

one thing that i learned from the stories is that birth is something that is "holy". that God will accept every birth that happens in the world and when in doubt or in pain, turning to God is something positive and will always help the woman along the way to having a healthy baby. religion is always a positive answer to birth.

homework 36

so i asked my friend what was her birth like. she said "its very life changing and painful but i do it all over again to see my baby boy and hold him again because when you see that baby you made, you are so happy." she has a 17month old baby boy. she said the hardest part was the labor. "it was very hard and painful. i was in labor for 15hours because my son wasnt coming out." but by the time he came out, she forgot about all of that pain she went through just to physically see him for the first time. she was very thrilled. so i asked would this time around, would she be more prepared then the last time, and she said "i would do it all over again and this time i'm more prepared and ready." now she is pregnant with her second child and its a little more complicated. but she cant wait until she sees it for the first time.

my moms story with me was a little similar. she was in labor with me for 17hours and it was very difficult for her. no matter how hard she would push, i was not moving. she started catching a fever, which ment that i was catching one too, so they had no choice but to do a c-section to get me out. after she couldn't see me or touch me for a couple hours because they had to make sure i was okay. but she said she has never been more excited in her whole life than to lay there in pain for 17hours trying to deliver me to the world. she wouldn't do it again but it was a life changing experience and is blessed to have given a life.

the last person i interviewed said that it was very painful, it was nerverecking and wished the pain would stop. she had birth complications. her babies feet were coming out first so they had to turn him around. all she could thimk about was her and the baby going to survive. it was a extreme mind blowing experience. she said that she would do it all over again but hopes that there will be no complications this time around.

homework 34

birth is a special beautiful thing most couples could possibly go through. birth is the event of yet another human being coming into the world. they say that a person is born every 10 seconds and a person dies every 30. birth is a procreation of life. it all starts with the the water breaking and the women going through possibly hours of labor. she has to sit there in a lot of pain for her to diolate to 10cm, and then start pushing until the baby is crowning. most of the time the mother is then happy its all over with and now has a beautiful baby boy or girl.

but then there goes the cons about birth. for some, birth is a rememberence of what happened to them. for example rape. girls get rapped and end up pregent, but dont believe in abortions, they give birth to the baby. but now everytime they see that kid, they remember how they was concieved. another senario is if its a teen couple and they accidently get pregnent, they would give the baby up for adoption. the women has to go through hours of pain to then give the baby up to another family.

in my family birth is a good thing. the whole family gets excited and is filled with joy. they help each other out and do for each other. they go and visit each other more often than what we would normally do.

homework 29

different domains:

1) accepting fait and the fact that you could be dying
2) attacking the illness head on
3) being around love ones..family and friends
4) being in debt from medical bills
5) different options of treatment

homewrk 28 comments

lora:

i think that what your doing is a good thing, with wantin gto spend more time with your family and trying to get them involved with each other. after reading your blog, i think i would feel the same way you do now after knowing that your grandmas life is becoming harder and harder and she cant really do much for herself, but yet she tries. at least that shows that she isnt being completly useless. i noticed how you said in your blog that it was hard to see how they were becoming helpless. i think that is true with most people that get sick or old, but your grandma is living her life everyday and is enjoying it.

matthew:

i read your blog and i thought it was good. i could relate to you and having a blind family member. i have two of them. both of my parents and yes it is hard to watch to see them struggle and go through life having to depend on people. but along with that, they suffer from clinical depression, and my mom had breast cancer as well. but how close are you to him? and how would that affect the way it makes you feel?

homework 27

so over the break, i went out and visited a person who was ill. the person is living with three different types of cancer. breat, ovarean, and skin. she got diagnosed with breast cancer when she was about 14years old. followed by ovarean, then recently skin. she doesnt do any kemo or radiation treatments. she believes in natural healing. she doesnt want to do any surgery or anything. she feeds off the emotions of others. she there is good spirit and good energy around her she feels a lot better. there are times where she is having a bad day because she is in a lot of pain, but she sticks it out. she doesnt let her illness stop her from living her life. she takes it and uses it as an energy source to keep her motivated to do her work, go to school, take care of her family, and then still have time to chill with friends and significant other.

she doesnt seem to be a big fan in resting too much because she figures she would rest forever when she does die one day. she had even made a bucket list. a list of certain things she would love to do before she dies. while she still has the chance to be happy and herself. she doesnt show any symptoms of being sick. she looks just like an average person and you wouldnt believe she was even sick at all unless she told you. at first when she found out she didnt tell anyone. she didnt know how to embrasse it. but she got over it, she wasnt going to let her illness beat her. she wasnt going to become the bitch of the situation and have her illness take controll of her.

so till this day, she is living at home and is feeling as good as she can be. she is enjoying her live, and is doing just about all the things she wants to do. she is going to college, and is working in the city. she is looking forward to her 21st birthday and all the ones to come after that. she has never been more of an inspiration in my life and i would love to live life like her if one day god forbid i got really sick.

homework 26

ideas/insights: not everybody has medical insurance, people who do haved it are sitll in debt because their medical insurance doesnt cover for everything (from the moovie sicko), people deal with their illness in different ways (class discussion), once you learn how to die, you learn how to live (tuesdays with morrie)

the number one source was that movie sicko that was very helpful. i didnt really understand why people were always complaining about the health care we have in the united states and how they always think that canada is better. its because they dont have to pay for anything. people in the us have to pay for a lot of stuff and its a question as to why are we the only people who have to pay doctors to take care of us? the classroom was also a good source because when the speaker came in, it also gave us a point of view on the family perspective. the book i was reading, was full of a lot of insights. however, my favorite one was once we learn how to die, we learn how to live. this book personally gave me a whole new outlook on death. i felt like i got a personal one on one interview with morrie and to learn his phylosophy on life was very touching.

maybe some things we could learn or focus on is maybe talking to someone who is actually dying. i know someone who is dying of cancer and i know she would be happy to talk to the class about what she is going through. maybe we could talk to someone who knows a lot about the medical care in the united states. possibly read another book about illness and dying.