BEAUTY IS HONESTY

Jared Verebey

10-26-14

Professor Young

English 1100

Beauty/Honesty Response

Can Beauty Be Honest?

            There is a very obvious response to the question, “Can beauty be honest?”. The world we live in is a world based on technology and perfection. Every single photo no matter if it is on the internet or on a magazine, is photo shopped until it looks as perfect as it can possibly be. Every photo of a person on the cover of a magazine, man or woman, contains them wearing make up too. People do not realize what one single photo undergoes before it is considered perfect which is why beauty can never be honest because no one ever visually sees the true image.

            People are always judging others based on how they look all dressed up rather than their natural selves without make up on. Make up, photo shopping and anything else that can change a person’s perspective of an image takes away from the true beauty of the actual photo or person. Natural beauty will never be a selling product to any of the population because it is taken for granted. In other words, majority of people base beauty off of a so-called, “fake” image rather than the true image.

            In Cameron Russell’s Talk Video, she explains deeply her view on what beauty actually means to the general population. She states that people see beauty as pretty, white and abnormally skinny. Beauty is seen differently but each and every person.  She also explained her personal experience of her first modeling shot. She stated that she was so young and had not even gotten her period yet, yet the photographer made her look so much older than she actually was. This explains exactly why beauty is perceived differently by majority of the population.

            Beauty can never be honest. Majority of the world thinks of beauty as a stunning, skinny girl with a whole lot of make up on. This will assure that a photo’s natural beauty can never be seen. Cameron Russell emphasized her view on true beauty especially by explaining the amount her modeling image was photo shopped. People will always base beauty off of perfection, which is the number one reason why beauty will never be honest.

MY DORM ROOM

My Dorm Room

Jared Verebey

9-24-14

Professor Young

English 1100

            Every person has one specific place in which they enjoy or even consider their home. It can be a bedroom, bathroom, vacation home or even a friend’s house. This specific place should be somewhere that you always feel welcome, can relax and be happy, and just gather thoughts along with being in a good environment that comforts you. For me, I had to make a big transition to move into a new home in college at FDU. I adapted to my dorm room and know it is my comfort zone and my safe spot that I can consider home.

            Every single morning, I go from my dorm room, to the dining hall and back to the dorm room. The walk from the dining hall to my dorm room is short, maybe a 2-minute walk. I love the walk in the brisk mornings walking back to my warm dorm room. I enjoy the nice short walk up two flights of stairs to my second floor room in Florence Hall. Sometimes I get annoyed when my swipe card takes multiple times to open the door but once I am in, I feel relaxed and composed.

            In my dorm room, I have just about everything I need. Firstly, I have the most important thing possible, my bed. It might be smaller than my bed at my original house but it still is extremely comfortable for me to lie down in. Then, I have my television that is pretty descent size and has a great picture that is as sharp as a steak knife. We have an x-box attached to the televisions so my roommate and I can compete against each other. Then there is my desk. My desk is probably the actual most important thing in my dorm room especially because besides when I sleep, it is where I will be spending most of my time throughout my days. I have to get my books together every morning and then after class, I am sitting at my desk doing homework, writing papers including this one and listening to music. Lastly, I have my closet, which is where I keep all of my nice shirts and cosmetics. I have all of my 12 pairs of shoes and sneakers organized in there as well. My dorm room has everything I need and makes me feel like I am right back at home.

            There is one special place for every person in the world that makes him or her feel right at home. A person’s special place has to be somewhere where they can go to when they are feeling down or need to just clear their head and relax. There is no doubt in my mind that my dorm room at FDU is a special place for me that I know I can always count on to make me feel better and relaxed.

MY COMFORT SPOT

My Comfort Spot

Professor Young

English 1100

Jared Verebey

9-21-14

            Each and every person has one specific spot that they consider the most comfortable as well as their home. It could be a place like a beach, vacation spot or even the house you live in. For me personally, I know that there is one spot that makes me the happiest person I am and brings out the most of me. My house is Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is the place that makes me always feel like I am home no matter what.

            South Carolina has been a place I would always visit every single summer when I was younger. I would always get so excited knowing I would heading down there for two weeks to be on the beautiful beach with the soft, white sand listening to the waves crashing. Every morning I would eat breakfast on my balcony listening to the boats driving past and the people playing tennis on the courts next door. I enjoy seeing the bright sun shining on the ocean and our pool. I had a routine that I literally would follow every single day with my family. We would have breakfast, then play tennis, jump in the pool to cool off, go to the beach and ride the waves, go play some more tennis, an then shower to get ready for dinner. There are so many places to go outside of being by the beach too that I love. The general area of being by the beach, playing mini golf, driving go-karts and going to the boardwalk brings out my happiness. I love at night playing mini golf with my blue colored ball I always had to get and then listening to the engine of my go-kart rumble while I beat my family and friends in the races.

            One last reason why South Carolina is where I feel most at home is because I love the people. In my opinion, every single person in the state of South Carolina is friendly and open to talk. I have always wanted to get a southern accent because of listening and talking to all of my friends from down there and the servers at dinner. I never knew why but it just makes me happy and comfortable. South Carolina is no doubt a place that makes me the most comfortable person and just makes me feel like my self.

            There is no doubt that every person has one special place that brings out his or her true happiness. Mine is definitely South Carolina and being there is where I consider my true home. I love being by the beach and the water, jet skiing, fishing, playing tennis, eating southern food such as fried catfish, and trying so hard to have a southern accent. Sometimes I ask myself why I go to college so far from home (lol). I consider myself a southern boy because South Carolina is my true home and I cannot wait to get back down there; I am getting a little homesick.

KINLOCH QUESTIONS

Jared Verebey

September 27, 2014

ENGL 1100

Professor Young

Valerie Kinloch Questions

1.   “From architectural designs to cultural activities to the role of local communities in civil rights movements, urban places and spaces are rich in history (147 – 148).”  Discuss the meaning of this sentence. 

This sentence means that wherever you go, there is always history behind that place from the community, architecture, and culture that shapes it.

2.   “Phillip and Khaleeq both had a strong fondness for Harlem’s famous 125^th Street.  They focused on 125^th Street as a site where ‘art is in constant process’” (149).  What is significant about this street as it relates to the essay? In the same way, what is a famous street, hangout spot, or location in your town? Why is it famous?

Harlem’s famous 125th Street is significant because Phillip and Khaleeq state that the street symbolizes black symbols. It plays a role in the culture of Harlem’s art. The famous hangout spots was the The Great Kills Little League and Swim Club for kids and families to enjoy their time together and stay out of trouble.

3.   In class we made the connection between identity and symbols.  We concluded that symbols can signify a part of your identity.  Discuss the use of symbols as identities throughout the reading.  Why are they important?

The use of symbols in this passage play an important role in shaping the identity of Harlem and the residents who live there, along with their culture. They are important because the symbols help represent Harlem’s identity as a whole community.

4.   …[F]ollow-up conversations with Phillip and Khaleeq taught me new ways to see art   as ‘action you don’t get permission to create’ (Phillip) and as ‘what we got inside us that wanna get out’” (Kinloch qtd Khaleeq 151).  Discuss the meaning of this sentence.

The meaning of “action you don’t get permission to create,” is that not everyone accepts the art that people make, but art is “what we got inside us that wanna get out.” This means that people will always try to bring down the beauty and creativity of other’s art, but people will continue to create whatever they art they want no matter what.

5.   On page 154, Kinloch discusses community as signs of history.  What does this mean in relation to the text?  Similarly, write about significant historical identifiers of your community.  (Your community can be any place.)

Kinloch discusses community as signs of history which relates to the text by symbols representing the culture and history of a community. A significant place in River Vale, New Jersey is a memorial for people who were killed in the Boston Massacre. It has many plaques that talk about the background information on the people who passed away.

6.   In what specific way does the use of digital documentation and photographs help Khaleeq and Phillip show residents the effects of gentrification? Similarly, does the use of photographs and video that you created help to show your community? Do you think you could have done your written your response about your community without it?

Digital documentation and photographs helped Khaleeq and Phillip show residents the effects of gentrification, where you see the shift in the urban community. Videos help people visualize the message that person is trying to get across. The video I created helps me show my dorm room because I’m still getting use to the transition of living back at home to now living in my own dorm room. If I did a video of my home, I wouldn’t need a video because I can easily explain my surroundings in detail.

7.   Kinloch closes her essay with a list of questions that derived from her research.              Discuss what her questions aim to uncover as it relates to the main point of her essay.

Kinloch closed her essay with a bunch of questions that I feel relate to the main point of her essay of gentrification. Back in the day people used to stand up for what they believed in, but today people rely on others to stand up for them and act more as followers than leaders. People stand up for themselves and their community less compared to back in history.