Personal Adornment Reflection

To me, my everyday clothing that I wear is really not an expression of anything other than that I do not really put any thought into it at all. On a normal school day, I usually will wear one of three things, a grey, white or black pair of sweats, my warm-ups for tennis, or occasionally a pair of jeans, all of these with just some random t-shirt and hoodie. I guess if there was any type of expression to what I wear it is just that I am pretty laid back about everything, I honestly do not put a lot of thought into many material things. I think that the reason for these choices stem from being raised on the beliefs that you should always be happy with who you are and should not have to go out of your way just to please other people, whether it be the clothing that you wear or how you act, just be yourself and do what you want. That mentality really has not changed for me much over the years, I believe that everyone does go through a phase most likely sometime around middle school where they feel that they have to attend to the latest trends and accessories so that they feel that they can fit in with the rest of the crowd. But other than that I feel like everyone figures out their own identity and will stay true to that.
When thinking about the core values shared in my family about the way one should dress, I remember just always being told that it does not really matter what you wear as long as you look presentable and clean. The reason being for this is that you should always take pride in yourself and one of the ways to show that is to dress in a presentable manner, now this does not mean wearing a suit and tie everywhere, but just being sure you do not look too trashy. Looking around campus at the what the core values of my peers may be, it seems like everyone just wears and does what they feel like. The community for the most part looks and has a very relaxed feel. I think that is basically the main message that can be seen in the community is that everyone has their own identity and will reflect that in any way they please.

Food as Art

Food has obviously been around as far back as we can remember as it is a vital part of life. So it should come as no surprise that it has had some type of impact on all different facets and interests in life, including art. In the article “Appetizing art: from chocolate syrup to corn chips, food is being used as an artistic material by a growing number of contemporary artists,” by Vanessa Silberman, this very idea of food of art is taken a deeper look into. Silberman begins the article explaining that the use of food as an art form has been around since the early 20^th century when she states that Daidaists, Surrealists and Futurists all began using food as a medium for their creative minds. It has even reached a point where the artistic work surrounding food can be found in various museums and art galleries, food as art is apparent everywhere. An example she used was an exhibition recently at Harvard University where one could find more than 50 different kinds of sculptures and other artistic creations made through food. Silberman then tops off the article by speaking how artists are using food to express many different kinds of ideas and feelings, whether it be about gender roles or eating disorders, food can speak so many different languages.
Food as art is not merely a question, but rather an assumption, as proven by its historical uses, food has been used to express ones feelings and beliefs. People encounter food every day of their life, it would be nearly impossible not to make some type of connection with food. Food is also a way through which people can connect, whether it be family dinners or large gatherings, the way a host prepares food can be an expression of how much they care for the people for which they have invited. It is also important to remember that people can share their cultural backgrounds with one another through food as different parts of the world may prepare dishes in unique ways. Indeed, food as art is something which is very true and can be found everywhere in the world.

Bibliography:

Silberman, Vanessa. "Appetizing art: from chocolate syrup to corn chips, food is being    
     used as anartistic material by a growing number of contemporary artists." Look Smart:   
     Find Articles: Where to look for what you need. May 2002. 18 Apr. 2002 
     . 

Slow Food

It is interesting to think about the thought people put into what they eat, especially if someone goes to fast food often. Obviously, the thought put in must not be very much considering the health hazards that are presented by fast food in every bite. This very idea is stressed greatly in the article “Slow food: take time to savor the flavor-international Slow Food movement,” by Alexandra Greeley. In the article, Greeley presents the argument favoring slow food by telling a story about a man from Italy who has been very opposed to the opening of a McDonalds in 1986 in his favorite piazza in Rome. He decided that something had to be done to counter the fast food influence on a great historical site in Rome, so he started the original branch of Slow Food movement in Cuneo, Italy. Greeley states that statistics show that as of 4 years ago, in 2003, the movement’s population had reached over 80,000 people, one can only imagine what that statistic would read today. Greeley then goes on to defend the importance of the Slow Food movement, such important points including the preservation of food traditions and the informing of what is healthy and important to eat so that people can live longer and healthier lives.
This article was a great analysis of what has become of the fast food craze all over the world. People have taken such a great liking to fast food that they do not even realize what they are doing to their bodies. The Slow Food movement seems to be something that more people should consider. Not only does it help bring back the importance of the nutritional benefits of food, but it also touches on creativity and pride one can take in the food they prepare. In a way, it really can bring back what makes food so special and how it can be eaten and enjoyed the right way, rather than just looking at it as a necessity for which we should consume as fast as we can.

Bibliography:

Greeley, Alexandra. "Slow food: take time to savor the flavor-international Slow Food 
     movement." Look Smart: Find Articles, Where to look for what you need. Sept. 2003. 
     18 Apr. 2007 . 

Life Values Assignment

As I think about my activities that I went through today and my ordered list of 20 values, I would have to say that the main values that I used today were health, community, loyalty and personal development. Interestingly enough, my top 5 values were all included in my activities today. Before I go into why these values are apparent I will talk about my activities today. It was a pretty normal day, got up this morning and went straight to school for a few classes, followed shortly thereafter by afternoon practice with my teammates. My top 5 life values are Family, Loyalty, Friendship, Health and Enjoyment.
By going to school I felt like I was challenging myself to grow which would satisfy the value of personal development. Most of the values I experienced today came during practice with my teammates. By being out there with them, I feel like we are all striving to reach a common goal. In a way, they are my family and I think everyone would agree that we all feel a sense of loyalty for one another and of course we all do it to help benefit our personal health through exercise and we all enjoy it greatly, thus fulfilling another two values. So basically aI feel pretty successful in pursuing my top 5 values today.

cycling

So I came across this article concerning steriods and cycling which can be seen here http://le-grimpeur.net/blog/archives/14. I find it interesting how apparent steroids are becoming in all sports especially baseball as of late. Now that I think about it being used in cycling it makes me wonder how many of the great cyclists of the past used it as well including Lance Armstrong.