Thesis: Americans should choose to eliminate fast food from their diet because the consumption of fast food can cause costly and preventable health problems.

1.    Why Americans eat fast food

a.    Cheap

b.    Convenient

c.    Taste good

2.    Why fast food is cheap/Healthy inexpensive foods

a.    Factory farming

b.    Low quality and chemical ingredients in fast food

c.    Price comparisons of fast food meal and healthy meals

3.    Why fast food is convenient/How healthier options are too

a.    Fast food is everywhere but grocery stores with fresh produce are usually near fast food restaurants

b.    Fast food has 24 hour drive through but eating at odd hours is not good for you

c.    How healthy food can be convenient too

4.    Why fast food taste good/Healthy food that taste good

a.    Fat, sugar and salt combination

b.    Unnatural flavor

c.    Alternative options-Fat, sugar and salt found in nature

5.    Effects of fast food on the body

a.    Digestive and Cardiovascular Systems

b.    Central Nervous System

c.    Obesity

Conclusion: Fast food is often chosen over healthier options because it is thought to be more convenient, less expensive and taste better, but in reality it is none of these things and foods found in nature can be just and convenient, inexpensive, and delicious.  

I commented on Mya's Blog and Monica's Blog

   

   
           The topic I chose for my compare and contrast essay is parental leave in the United States vs parental leave in Sweden. I will be explaining the many differences in the laws regarding parental leave for both countries and the few similarities they share. I chose this topic because I think it is an important issue and could be better understood by examining how two industrialized countries choose to deal with it.

I commented on Jennica's Blog and Cathy's Blog

“I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady

“I Want a Wife” is a comical writing about why the author Judy Brady wants a wife. She explains all of the things that she would like a wife for such as, taking care of the children, supporting her while she goes back to school, cleaning up after her, planning her social event, etc.. Judy in the end of her article states, “My God, who wouldn’t want a wife?” (Brady pg. 362 paragraph 10). The authors tone is sarcastic throughout and she uses humor to make a point about the unfair expectations put on women.

“Men-It’s in Their Nature” by Christina Hoff Sommers

Christina Hoff Sommers, takes an in depth look at the way gender activists are trying to make boys more docile and emotional in the article “Men-It’s in Their Nature”. She believes that men are hardwired to naturally be more aggressive and less sensitive than woman and that this can benefit our society if young boys are taught morality.

While I found both of these articles interesting in different ways, for my analysis essay I’m choosing to write about “Men-It’s in Their Nature”. I chose this article because I am expecting a son in February and this article brings up a lot of the same issues I’ve found when think about how I will raise my own children.

Works Cited

Brady, Judy. "I Want a Wife" X.J. Kennedy, Dorthy M. Kennedy, Jane E. Aaron. The Bedford Reader. Boston: Kennedy/St. Martins, 2012. 360-362.

Summers, Christina Hoff. "Men-It's in Their Nature" X.J. Kennedy, Dorthy M. Kennedy, Jane E. Aaron. The Bedford Reader. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. 365-368.

I commented on Gary Inman's Blog and Salal's blog

Blog Post #2 My Favorite Place

My favorite place is not close to home and it requires a full day of travel by car and then plan. Although you arrive a little groggy and jet lagged, when you step off that plan you know you’ve found paradise. This place is small and isolated but you will never long for more to do. You can let the sun warm your skin as you relax on a creamy yellow sand beach or slip into the silky aqua marine water to cool off. You can navigate the lush rain forests where you’ll be surrounded by vibrant shades of green and flowers in rich hues of pinks, yellows, and purples. Their dewy petals fill the air with a sweet floral scent that mixes with the smells of the salty ocean. Another adventure could take you to an outdoor market where they sell a variety of exotic fruits. My favorite, dragon fruit, is unusual with its thorny shell but on the inside, the reddish-purple flesh is soft with a mildly sweet flavor. No matter where you go you’ll hear the sounds of nature, the birds singing and the ocean breaking on the coast. It’s a truly beautiful place to spend some time and I look forward to my next visit. 

I commented on Ashley's Blog and Courtney's Blog

"Destroyed" By Peter Martin

Summary

In Peter Martin’s article “Destroyed” he encourages his readers to take a different look at the problems caused by performance enhancing drug use in modern day sports. While Martin does somewhat agree that the use of these drugs is considered cheating and it is affecting the purity of the sport, he asks if that is more important than what is happening to the athletes that use these drugs. He reminds people that these performance enhancers are seriously dangerous and have horrible side effects. He proves this point by mentioning Ken Caminiti, a former major league baseball player that used steroids during his career and later died at age 41 from a heart attack. Martin urges people to recognize that athletes who use are victims who will pay the price for their mistakes, sometimes with their lives.

Paraphrase of Paragraph 10

Athletes and their fans are greatly affected by the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports. Not only do they test the ethics of sports, but they cause serious harm to the athletes who use them. Athletes on steroids have become superhuman and the fans consider their actions to be cheating.

Quote

“We hear the shouts of enraged fans, their sports mercilessly torn from purer eras, when the babes playing in the streets and in the fields could look up to their athletes, those stoic giants, noble and morally firm.

I chose this quote because, while I agree with Martin that these athletes are just people and are going to make mistakes, this quote more closely relates to what I believe is important to recognize about drug use in sports. Yes, these athletes are human and are going to do wrong but they are in the public eye and are influencing the people, especially young children, around them. They have an opportunity to help make this world a better place by sending out a positive message and when they choose not to, I cannot help but be unforgiving of their selfish actions.

I commented on Jennics's Blog and Cathy's Blog