Journal post #6

There are many times that I have to lie to my Grandmother to make sure that she is happy and healthy. They are usually little white lies, but they keep her happy and calm. I am primary care giver to my Grandma and I do whatever it takes to make her have a healthy and prosperous life. She is from a generation that worries a lot about her family and if they are happy. When Grandma asks about certain things I often have to lie to her and tell her that everything is ok when perhaps it may not be allright. Yet her knowing that my family is doing allright makes her happy and less worried. She worries constantly that I work to much, study too hard and have too many friends. So to keep her calm, I might lie to her about how much homework I have and it continues from there.

"Which Historical Event I Would Have Liked to Have Witnessed"

There are many historical events I would have liked to have witnessed; however, I think the one that I really would have appreciated the most would be when women were fighting for the right to vote. In the early twentieth century, our country was complimenting itself on its technological and industrial advancements, yet the women in this country still had no say about who their lawmakers were. I find it profoundly ironic when I read period literature set in this time era, how arrogant so many men were by keeping the vote from American women. One of the best books that I have read that made a profound mark on me about this accomplishment was, "Falling Angels" by Tracy Chevalier. I highly recommend all women to read this to experience a small inkling of what women were subjected to for us to have just the simple right to vote.

"Journal Entry #4"

When my mother was pregnant with me, of course there were no ultrasounds, at least not clear pictures and the Doc told my Mom I was a boy. She had the name of Damien Frederick picked out, which I think is a very cool name and then I was actually born and a girl. My parents had not really prepared a name so my cousin, Kim, who was very close to my Mom and Dad's age and close friends with them, came up with my full name of Angela Nicole. I actually have never liked my first name, I don't mind Nicole, and named my youngest Nicolas after me. I kind of wish that my Mom had still named me Damien, even as a girl, because I think that would have different and original, just maybe Damien Nicole. I always wanted to try that theory if I had a girl, but had two boys so was never able to try it out. The ironic ending to this story is that my youngest brother, who is now a 28 year old nurse, was born the Doc told my Mom he was a girl and she had the name Amber Elizabeth picked out, but ended up being a Ryan Frederick, who we called Bubba up until he was almost 25:)

Journal #3 "A Commercial I Find Distateful"

A few months ago when South Dakota was voting on abortion laws and the changes to choices for pregnant women, there was a "right to life" advertisement. This advertisement was plastered on a truck that would randomly drive around Sioux Falls with images of torn limbs of babies along with blood and a placenta. Although I do realize that this is a possibly true image result of an abortion, I do not believe that these violent images should be paraded around on a truck. As I have mentioned before, I do not appreciate my children exposed to violence and these images were violent. I was raised in a very conservative republican home, however, I have tried to raise my children to appreciate the rights of independent choices that we can make as a voter in this country. I want my children to be able to make decisions when they are older based on facts and not on grossly advertised images that they remember seeing on their way to dinner with their family.

"Creative and Informative are ways I use to communicate every day."

When I am at work and at home I use both creative and informative ways of communication to speak to my patients and to my family. When we receive a new patient on our floor there are many safety issues that have to be understood by the patient. The way I inform the patient can vary drastically, depending on their ability to understand and their activity level. This is where I have to become creative since the safety issues still have to be present regardless of how I get the patient to understand. At home I use this same technique when dealing with my children, while explaining homework, a family dilemma, and acceptable behaviour. It is interesting to analyze how the same creativity can be used in both instances. I am always having to use different ways to inform the people around me of many things and enjoy using my creative side to figure these techniques out.

"An American logo/icon that is recognized worldwide"

My family consists of a husband and two sons, aged 14 and 12. One of the things that we do together as a family is read and enjoy comic books and comic book characters. Each of us in the family have our own character that we enjoy the most. My husband is Spiderman, my eldest likes The Punisher, my youngest likes the Incredible Hulk and I am SuperMom. I have many Superman t-shirts and every time my boys get me something it usually has the Superman logo on it, somewhere. My husband has been many places worldwide, since he was in the Marine Corps, and he has told me this interesting story about when he was in Somolia. This country is one of the poorest in the world, it is riddled with poverty, disease and political dissent; however, one of the things that he noticed about the kids was their love of comic book heroes. None of the children could barely speak any English, but they knew the Superman, Spiderman and Batman logos and how to say those names in English. Since my favorite is Superman I choose that logo as the one being recognized and anywhere you go, if you have a T-shirt that has the Superman logo, everyone knows that the logo represents the Man of Steel, or in my case, the Mom of Steel!

Journal #2 - "Is Jon Stewart a Credible Source?"

After viewing Jon Stewart's show from Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010, I feel entertained and a little distressed. I believe that Mr. Stewart is just as credible as anyone in the media today. However I have very little faith in any media journalist that is popular in modern America. I have found that in modern society, there are extremely few "REAL" and "TRUE" journalist. Mr Stewart is more of an entertainer than a journalist. He targets his views and comments towards a young generation and somewhat more right in politics. I agree with a lot of what he says when I do have the time to watch or listen to him, I just have so little respect for any journalist today that I really don't watch the news much anymore. Jon Stewart is fun to listen to, as far as credibility, my disillusionment with all of the media presently overshadows any respect I may have for him or any other journalist.