Your vote

For months we prepare for a day in November that we have to make a decision that will affect our country. "Our vote counts!" is posted everywhere, but does it really?

As we think about the presidential elections, some roll their eyes and others get excited. What is it to you? I personally did not grow up in a family that followed the debates. I hardly knew who our mayor was (we lived in the country, give me a break), but that didn't stop me from getting interested as I got older. As of this moment I can not vote, because of my age, but when I am able to it's going to be a great event. Even though I know more than my parents do about who is in office and what they value. I believe that my vote counts, if we all said our vote didn't matter because it's just one then we wouldn't have any votes! Little by little it adds up. Some people, however, may argue that they just don't know who to vote for. For example, the past election between Barack Obama and John McCain wasn't easy for a lot of people. Even though I couldn't vote, my little voice knew who I would have voted for and it wasn't an easy decision. I am a gullible person, I'll admit it. When I saw Obama or McCain on television I believed what they said. The next day I hear about all the lies they told and I was confused. Finally, when the election came around I sided with my parents. But, if you are anything like me, you go back and forth between the options going through pros and cons. I'm sure the situation is different than all say, but remember it's not permanent, they just control your life for a few years. I am glad there are people out there that take voting extremely serious and never miss a debate or study a bias post card until it starts to decay; we need those people in our country. Even if we all aren't satisfied with what our president Obama is doing, we still voted him in as a country.
My point is, even if you aren't in the mood to make this kind of decision, you didn't follow the debates, and you'd rather just pass your vote on to someone else and not vote - do it for the sticker!

Character

 Is it true? Do you have to be drop dead gorgeous (or extremely hansom) just to appear on television? Some would argue that the answer is yes. I however, disagree. The media has twisted and turned our minds so much that we don't even vote for people unless they are physically attractive. If we watch debates on television half (or more) of our comments about it relate to how they look. When this issue is turned around and sees someone who has a mental disability or is handicapped in some way, a lot of times we don't even give them a chance to speak, we judge them right away and don't allow them to be a consideration. But, what if they actually had a good idea? In my opinion, we need to ear everyone out. We need to give each other a chance and if we don't, we could be missing out on an idea that could give the world peace. Everyone is different and if someone who stutters, has a cataract eye, or a cleft lip isn't going to be accepted into our society we are the only ones to blame. We set "standards" in order to be cool in our generation and in order to even be on the board we need to act a certain way, look perfect, and have no flaws. Is it just me or does this seem impossible? I can't stand it when the shy girl isn't even looked at in school because she doesn't wear name brand clothing. In our society our appearance tells everything you need to know about that person, we don't have to get to know them to know their true personality. Our character is determined by who we hang out with, where we live, what we wear, and how we look. I think we are messed up. Every person has their own personality and character, if we judge them by appearance we are only cheating ourselves out of what could be our best friend or next national leader.

Downloading Music

I have never downloaded music from the Internet. I think it is wrong and wouldn't do it even if I had the option to. But, I know people who do and it seems to me that they do it just because they can and most don't realize it's so bad. I am content with having CD's and listening to them legally, however I must confess I have done it illegally without knowing it was wrong. It's so easy to barrow a CD from a friend and clam it for a week or so and rip the music to your computer and then return the CD when you are done and you will have that music forever. Once I found out that it was illegal to do that unless you own the CD and make a copy for your own benefit, I haven't done it since and I admit that it's not easy to do something that is so easy to get away with. Since so many people don't know how bad it is they will willingly lend their music to friends. Thinking about the music industry, artists need fans to not just have their music but personally buy it from the store because that's now they can make money. So many people share music these days, it would be interesting to see how many people actually own all the music they have on their MP3 player or iPod or even on their computer. This is just one area that the law has trouble containing hold of and since it is so easy to do things illegally with music I don't have a doubt that they let thousands of people go without being punished for having music illegally and never paying the artist for creating a masterpiece.

Music and Me

Back in my day music was quite different. I can't say I liked all that was played, in fact I had one genre of music I really liked which was Christian. Anything from really hard rock to ballet slow was at interest if it was Christian. But, I have to say my favorite was sort of hip hop Christian. Even though I wasn't like most people in admiration for all the new songs that came out I was still mostly aware of them. Music was one thing I, like others, depended on. This is more so now, but the music industry has changed.
I remember growing up when it was cool to have a cd player and what I call "micky mouse" headphones. I used to take my brother's just to carry it around to be "cool". Then, when technology advanced I noticed less people with bulky cd players and carrying around all their cds and more people with cell phones. In my observation music laid low for a while when people got cell phones and texting was huge, but it was still present. A few months later mp3 players became popular and of course I didn't get one until they were almost out of their little phase because ipods took over. I stand today without ever owning an ipod.
Music itself has changed a lot since I was young. My parents always has KTIS playing on the radio so I don't know what the newest songs were but I know they weren't nearly as "techno" as they are today. I know the music I listened to wasn't my family's favorite. Especially when I had the radio set for my alarm clock so not only was it early in the morning but also blaring so everyone in the house could hear and when I didn't wake up right away people really loved me. I do know for a fact that my older brothers and parents are not too faun of my music choice but because of the style. But, as hard as it may sound for me I do appreciate other genres. I have interest in some country music and pop songs.
My mom really liked slow gospel music. Which I hated when I was under ten, but when I opened my mind to it I did kind of like it. Now, I do like southern baptist singing groups so even if kids don't appreciate their parent's interests they might one day. It just shows how attitudes change as people get older. I definitely noticed this with friends around me that changed their music interests as the aged. Even though I had a different understanding for other music my favorite bands were skillet and barlowgirl. But, I also liked Brandon Heath, third day, go fish, Mandisa, and many others.
Music now days has a lot more society in it than it used to. It's as if artists aren't afraid to sing about the world and say words that used to be frowned upon. If I wasn't so bias about one style of music I would probably understand other genres and know more about what the latest songs are about, but I really don't mind not knowing. I listen to the radio pretty much everyday and yes sometimes the songs get old and I'm ready for something new, but overall I'm satisfied with not exploring. I have a feeling that clothing styles will change way more than music will over time. Phases go by so fast when you look at clothing and music stays around for a while and if someone really likes a song it will stay popular longer. Even though music changes everyday and artists introduce new songs it still represents something about our world today.