HW . 58

I talked to 3 different people one person my age who hasn’t experienced prom yet, one who’s a little older and has experienced prom and the oldest person and their views on prom.  

One person I talked to has been to a prom already, they just explained everything that the movies show. They said “everyone’s grinding even when the teachers are there and tell you to stop and then that one person who cant handle their alcohol or have to much and throws up which ruins the whole mood”.  Then everyone going to a after party smoking, drinking & then the hooking up and,”. Prom is treated as just another party for some and for others its really an experience that they don’t want to ruin with alcohol and drugs and feel that it is a “rite of passage”.

The next person I talked to is 17 in 11th grade and they’re excited for prom they feel that its something that everyone should experience when growing up. They also feel that everyone should go to their prom because it might be the last time that you ever see any of those people again. This person is all for the typical prom and having fun but the things like prom queen & king and voting are unnecessary because “your supposed to be having fun at prom not worrying about if you get voted to be something that’s not going to benefit you anyway”. They also mentioned that they might drink at prom but not enough to not be able to remember the night but when I asked them why they were going to drink they didn’t give an answer. I asked about their views on other peoples decisions on prom like wearing gowns, wearing expensive jewelry, the after party.  They feel that a long gown is too much and to dressy and all the jewelry “its likes your playing pretend wedding by doing all of those things”. Basically they want to go to prom and enjoy it but feel that some of the prom aspects are unnecessary.

The last person I talked to was my dad and he go to prom because he was to shy and nervous to ask someone , which I found funny because the worst they could do is say no. He actually still wishes that he had gone to his prom and asked the girl he wanted to be his date. Even though my dad hasn’t been to prom he did give me some advice I guess from seeing what other teens or just remembering how he acted when he was younger. “I know you’re going to be drinking, just make sure your mother doesn’t find out & that you don’t get so fucked up that you can’t find your way home. Don’t get in a cab if you don’t know your way home, one of my friends actually had a card that had their address on it for reassurance” Im glad that my dad actually understands because my mom would never say something like this to me. But instead of telling me not to do this or that he actually talked to me and were able to come to a understanding. Which I think is good because the reason I think teens probably don’t make it home or get kidnapped or any of the other things you hear happens on prom night because they get so drunk & don’t know what to do or get so drunk on purpose because their parents told them not to. So instead of telling kids what to do and not to do they should help them to understand ways they should go about doing what there going to do because telling someone what to do will only go so far.  

HW . 57

I've had the experience of going to prom in 8th grade and I had a date, a dress went to the after party, but i didnt have my date pick me up and take pictures. But my prom wasnt like usual proms we technically didnt go with status quo it was in our cafeteria but it was decorated we didnt vote for prom or queen, there wanst the special slow dance it was like a regular party with people dressed up. But the after party went wwith the script of prom night, we all went to a house of a friend's who parents werent there and their was alcohol & drugs and people hooking up.

I think my prom was a little bit more laid back then what you normally see on tv, and after already experiencing it once I now see that its not that big of a deal. Prom is supposed to be seen as a "rite of passage" into adulthood but after that i didnt feel any different or that i accomplished something big in my life and ready to take on more. But maybe it has to do with the age that I had mines at if I had it when I'm a senior and 18 then my view on prom probably would be different then what it iss now.

Personally I think prom is a waste finacially but it also is a gain in memories and experience but its not something that will affect you for the rest of your life if you dont go, like some people claim it does. I also find it interesting how everyone tries to go against what they normal things are for prom but in the end your still going along with the "script" and when I watch movies of prom scenarios or any highschool scenarios people criticize what's going on and why would they do this or that. But in reality they dont realize that there going along and doing the same thing and everyone is following the script if they do or dont want to.

1. When did the idea of prom start?
2. how has  prom changed over the years?
3. why does society follow along with the "script" for prom when they already know whats going to happen?

HW . 56

Larche

http://larchegnormalisweird4.blogspot.com/

The information you researched about home burials was very helpful to me because recently it has became one of the alternatives I was thinking about doing for when I die. One quote that I found interesting was “There’s something about touching, watching, sitting with a body that lets you know the person is no longer there,”which explains just how intimate they are.I also liked how you explained more in detail of what a home burial is because most people probably don’t even know or heard one before.

Megumi

 http://meguminormalisweird.blogspot.com/

I like your essay and all of the research you did to find out more on home funerals in New York. I also found it interesting that New York is the only place were a funeral director is required which I didn’t know. I’m wondering now though why was it so hard for you to find more detailed info on home funerals in New York, why is it kept a secret? Personally I think its something that should be able to be accessed publically.  
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Stephanie:

Your pamphlet was amazing, not only the visuals, but the material inside. It was nice to read about the alternatives and not only have a price range for each alternative but also a number we could call for extra help/ resources. It would have been interesting to read why you chose to pick those alternative choices to talk about instead of the others that might be available but other then that I thought your project was amazing and really helpful for when I think about my further plans when planning the way I want to be handled after my death.

Michelle:

Kristen,

You had a brochure with overview of each type of funeral: sea burial, home funeral, cremation and memorial reef, and it was nice to just look at a brochure on it like the ones given to you in funeral homes. I valued that you taught us more about the sea burial and memorial reef something we didn't touch upon much during this unit and had never heard of before. Also visuals for a reader like your brochure filled with new knowledge but a quick read, allowing the reader to not lose interest. A reason why this project matters to me is because it lets me know there are more options than having a simple burial. So that when I make my decision i have all this prior knowledge to help me make my decision. Only thing could have done was talk more about each burial on your post besides the pictures but other than that great job!

COTD2

 I watched the movie Harold& Maud and observed how they deal with death. Harold and Maud are the only ones that don't seem to have a problem with death and are comfortable with the idea of death and funeral unlike the mother.

 Harold even takes the idea of death just being a joke. In the movie Harold tends to joke around and try out different ways of dying around his mother to scare a reaction out of her. Maud is also comfortable with death and more relaxed about it, I believe she sad  "its a big circle of life" which shows her view which is were born and we all die life is just a cycle from beginning to end. She also tends to go to funerals and attend them as if its an everyday thing and shes doing it just for fun.

 I think Harold wants to die but he doesn't have it in himself to take the courage to actually go along with it and I guess that one day one of his jokes will actually kill him. How your able to deal with death might be impacted by how you are as a person because Harold is anti social and likes to be by himself. There's a quote I've heard that states "Its dangerous when someone is alone because all they have are their thoughts" and I think this quote is significant to Harold is because when your alone your mind can just wonder to different places and can take you to wherever and Harold was probably alone so much when growing up that he started to think about death.

Maud seems to be the type of person who is trying to live their life to the fullest or the best they can before their die. She has made her own way of getting "high", she drives fast  and without a care that when she could easily get into a car crash and die on the spot, she also tend to do other things that you wouldn't find women doing at her age."they grow they die into something else I would like to grow into a sunflower" this is significant because Maud compares the plants she see to herself and how when you do you will come back as something else which what she would like to happen.

Harold's Mom doesn't feel comfortable with death and when she sees her son acting "dead" she just ignores it like its normal which shows how she deals with death by being in denial and not showing any emotions. I find it interesting that when before he put on his act of being dead he put a mat down on the ground so none of the blood will get on the carpet. She doesn't feel comfortable with death especially when its really gory and bloody. Harold likes to play around with death so much and so comfortable with it that if he was to actually kill his self nobody will take his death serious or believe him they'll just think its another one of his jokes.

Harold enjoys being dead and he's scared of living feels like right now he's dead. Rather be dead and even took the new car he received and turned into a Hurst since hes "dead". Harold doesn't care about all the material things that the Sargent is telling him he will receive by going into the army. The only thing he finds appealing is the gory stories that he tells him about the killings he will probably be able to do when he joins and he's so fascinated about being able to kill someone and have no care about it.

HW . 55a

HW . 55b

For my project I decided to make a brochere of some of the alternative burials that most people dont know about or are rarely used. In the pamphlet it explains what the burial is, the cost of it, specifications and also tips to how it compares to the "traditional burial" of being embalmed and burried.

Some of the Alternative ways i wrote about are sea burial, home funeral, cremation, and memorial reef. A sea burial is when your body is cremated and the ashes are then scattered over the ocean usually perferred byt the navy or marines or those who have a found love for water. The next one was a home funeral which gives you the chance to take care of your loved one all the way to the end. In the confines off your home you get to care for the dead and spend as much time as needed with them compared to the "traditional" you dont have 24 hr. access. Another alternative I chose was cremation, since its not commonly used; the body is cremated and the ashes are put in a urn to keep around. This alternative doesnt take up land space or cause damage like the "traditional" way does. The last alternative I chose was a memorial reef when the ashes are put into a concrete reef ball that will sank to the bottom of the ocean.

HW . 52

Beth had a home funeral for her daughter Alison, who died from an impact of a air bag. Alisons friends and family all came to her bedroom to see her and bring gifts. By having an home funeral everyone felt closer to Alison and where able to spend thier time with her and say their goodbyes. The organization Crossings is ffor those who would like to be a death care midwife and Beth started it two years after alisons death.

• "To the degree that death can be ameliorated by love"
• "For more than a century Americans cared for their own dead as a matter or course"
• "By the third day the deceased begins to look like an empty shell and its often at that point that a family may be ready to let go"
• "The bouquets brighten this place of final repose but also serve to perfuse the room with a fragrance that could later mask any odors of death"
• "Later that night she'll sit in this room on the chair she setss next to the bed. In the quiet of the night, alone with the woman she held such afffection for"

Compared to the other ways to go about caring for the dead to me a home funeral seems like it deals with the spiritual part of the dead while the others were just the dealing mainly with just body. Home funerals are also less stressful and easier for friends and families to say their goodbyes. While in a funeral home you only have a certain amount of time to spend with the deceased before they need to be taken away to be embalmed and also you dont know everything that goes on with the body. While with a home funeral your in charge and you get to decided what you want to do or happen to the body which I think is easier for families because then their not worrying about whats going on or they could of said one more thing.

HW. 51

Why waist thousands of dollarrs on a funeral and flowers and to burry someone in a casket you'll never see again after about two days compared to cremating them which on cost an average on 1,400. Americans choose cremation because it cost less money but also because it saves land. Now before the cremation the body has to be checked for anything that will harm the crematorium or us lie pace makers etc, or mercury in teeth that can make us sick when relaeased into the air, and not always but its good to wrap the body up in something either a shroud or a box.

• 56 "even if ashes are buried in a cemetary they may take up less space then the average 32 square feet for a single coffin"
• 59 " printed with ALices name and cremation number"
• 53 "Incinerating bodies containing radioactive "seeds" used in some cancer therapies invluding radium 226 may spew radiation into the atmosphere"

I find it interesting of all the things that go in our body that we never really question. But i see here as these things are suppose to help us when it comes to certain situations they can then turn out to be deadly. Like a pace maker or the filling in our teeth to keep it closed when being cremated these things which were "helpful at one point are now very deadly and unsafe, which we dont really think of when we first get them. What you do to your body matters all the way til the end even after your dead.

comments

Ally:I agree with what you saod about the book that its noring but also that you never realized all that actually goes into when having a funeral and I also feel that certain parts family are being scanned with most of the things they are buying but the funeral directors get away with it by making them feel bad or sad.
Brandon:I didnt realy think that much or consider the part about how people deal with it so much that they almost become like a robot and are doing it as if it's a chore now. I agree with you on also how ou cant get mad at them for not showing you comfort because they deal with it all the time.

From students:
Ally:I like how you started to explore this history of being "haunted" or "haunting" and compared your mother and fatheres traditions. The traditions were more family based than religion based which is an example of the social dominat practices. I also thought it was interesting that your father already has his place to be burried picked out. Do you find that odd or is that normal to you ?

HW . 50

My job isnt to comfort the families that come to me and the Johnsons were no different for their 18 year old daughter Jenny. I asked the family all standard questions on what they wanted or really what "Jenny wanted" I gave the family a selection of things to choose from and a description for each one so they would know what they were getting. After the family has picked out and arranged how they wanted everything to happen like every case I would then take the deciesed and those that arranged for embalming, I would go to my underground lab and start the process.

• "they're semiprecious metals that are virtually indestructible; in fact archaeologists have retrieved ancient artifacts from copper coffins in near pristine condition"
• "if protection of a loved one against against water and soil is important a sealed casket might be best"
• "Vaults are more expensive than grave liners, costing as much as 10,000 Fielding explains but if protection is important its the better choice"
• "Fieldings workplace closely resembles a hospital operating room"
• "Some of his colleges skip the stay cream and simply run a line of Superglue along the rim"
• "After twenty minutes thre quarters of a gallon of blood are drained from Jenny and the dark color in the hose begins to brighten, one sign embalming fluid is filling the girls circulatory system"

I never knew how much actually went into the process of embalming I thought it was simply injecting the body with some kind of fluid and putting make up on the face. Theres more to it with having to plug up certain part of the body and disinfecting it to having a certain area were you can make the injection to put the embalming fluid in. I also find it interesting how most families can get ripped off when the funeral director use the line "if its for the loved one then its important" I noticed how that line was usedto get the family to buy something that was more exspensive to make them sort of feel bad that they didnt pick the best that there is even though the person is dead. Both times that the director used the lines it worked instead of choosing a simple casket for 1,595 they chose one that was 4,500, and they even chose to put a wall around the casket to stop grave robbers. I found it interesting how Fielding didn't take the easy way out for the embalming process he went through and did everything througouly and didnt cut any corner unlike others which show he takes pride in his job and does his best.
       I think that most of the things that go into to arranging a funeral is useless, if you dont plan to put the coffin in a place were you can see it then why should the color matter or be really extravagent. Or why do you need to worry if the inside is soft enough if the person is already dead so why should it matter, and im not saying people then should be in a wood box. But that it should be simple and not so etravagent especially something thats going underground that you'll probably never see again. The coffin, flowers, "protective wall" are all materials things that shouldnt be so important if anything the message thats on the grave stone should and you shouldnt need all these things as a way to remeber the person, the person should be enough.

HW . 48

Father

I asked my father how he has dealt with caring for the dead since he has witnessed his uncles, brother, father, mother and grandmother dying and for each one he has had a major part in what goes on in the funeral. All the members services were held in the same church put in the same cemetery in Westchester that my grandfather picked out for when his first son past away  who happened to be the first one in the family to die. Afterwards everyone would go back to the diseased household to eat and have a big dinner which soon became a tradition. Each family member past away from a health problem except for his brother who died from a car accident. All the men who died were smokers in their past which could of caused their deaths and for the women it was more of congenital from their mother or father. From the ones that I have attended with my father I’ve noticed that he tends to have a big part in it and he’s usually the only member who gives a speech and I asked him why no one else did it because he did it for everyone and he told me because all the members seemed to be to overwhelmed to take on that part. I also asked how come he wasn’t overwhelmed like the others were and it was because he was just able to cover it up for the time being and tried to be the strong one for everyone to try and keep everything together. I still wonder why none of the members didn’t want to be cremated and chose to go with being buried? Or what makes funerals a higher demand from people over being cremated?

Mother
My mother goes about caring for the dead simlar to the way that my father does shes hasnt been to as many family related funerals as my father has and hasnt had a part in the funerals as big like reading the eulogy. The main thing is that the member is burried in south Carolina because thats were most of the family is. But all of the funerals have been the same she hasnt been or experienced someone being cremated which is what she wants to happen to her. She feels that being cremated is more natural. When your burried your body is filled with chemcials and a different substances to make you look like your still "alive" which is the opposite of what is going on and a contradiction and she doesnt want that to happen to her. My mother would also would like some of her ashes to be  spread in different places all over because she hopes to have memoires at all of these places, also she wants her family to keep some of her ashes with them if not she'll "haunt them ". I
Analysis:
I wounder though is it possible to haunt someone and when did the idea of that started. But also I see that my motherand father have both dealt with the dead both in different ways. While my father has traditions my mother doesnt really have a tradition for the dead except for being burried in South Carolina but its more of a choice though what you want to happen while with my father you had to be put their. Also while my mother would like to be cremated my father already has a spot that has been picked out which is suppose to be on top of his uncle and next to his mother and father who are next to his uncle and brother who are together in pairs. But because of family problems my father would rather be where ever my mother is then with them.

HW . 45

I dont know much about the care of the dead, only the typical things when people get cremated or families have a wake, open caskets and put into a casket. I know about this because I've been to a few funerals for my grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts and my cousin. The way that my family takes care of the dead is by having a open casket the day before their going to burried and the person is dressed up for everyone to come and see then taken to a church were certain members then talk about the deciesed person. Then the next day thier burried and everyone will go back to the decised house and eat. All of the funerals I go to are similar to that way either its on my father side and his family is west indian or my mother side were most of the people are dominican.

  I also remeber learning in school about how in Greece people would dress the dead person up and put two coins on their eyes as a way to pay the god I belive so that they could be sent to heaven. I also learned how in hawaii they hula dance around the coffin and they have little bowls of candles that they then send off into the ocean after its over. I want to know more about were did all of these different traditions start. Also what are all of the technical things of a funeral who pays for it? etc.

HW . 44

MICHELLE
In Michelles blog she researched how the male role with pregnancy in the US  differs from the male roles in India. From reading I can see that the male role is different their suppose to be the ones that make all the decisions while here its the women who are in charge. One thing that I liked about Michelles blog is that she gave a little bit of background information about India and their pregnancy and how many they have a year. This matters to me because I think its important to know how other countries choose to give birth because, personally I dont want to give birth in a hospital after having this unit and its good to see how other places give birth. 

LARCHE
In Larche's the women who are infertile are treated differently and not respected as much compared to those who are able to give birth. Its unfair that how many children you have is used as a status symbol among women. Its very different compared to the US because we use material things that can be changed, taken back or cost obscene amounts of money. I think its important to know about how other countries will use something that you really have no control over to determine how you rank in society because women cant make it so they can or cant if their infertile. If a community is going to use things to determine your status it should be something that they can control and can take charge of on their own and dont have to deal with consequences because their different or werent born with the ability to do something. 

LEAH
In Leah and Ally's project they researched the different Indian birthing rituals. The one that I found interesting was when Hindus belived the baby to be unpure. So to test if it was or not they would through it over a roof and if it was saved by the "gods" then that means the baby is cleansed and good now. I thought this was very dangerous and would like to know if there have been any babies who died during this ritual because their "no good" and how those families react to it. Its also inportant to know about other countries and their views on things because they see babies as being unpure while we view them as almost the holiest thing and that they can do no wrong at that age.

HW . 42

“An estimated one million illegal abortions occur in Brazil each year, yet very few women have ever been imprisoned on for seeking abortion”

In the US abortion is legal and taken advantage of the average amount of abortions that happen a year is around 1 million and around 3,304 a day.  Instead of giving the child up for adoption women chose to take the easy way out; 74% of women chose to have an abortion because the child interferes with their life or work. While in other parts of the world abortion is used in situations where the person was raped, or they cant support the child. In the US 93% of abortions happened as a form of birth control “a back up plan” because they didn’t use condoms or birth control pills while only 1% of the abortions are from rape.  The women that had an abortion because they didn’t use birth control was their choice which shows how now a days became apart of the social practice. As if its okay to have unprotected sex because you can always just use abortion as your back up plan there are women or girls who don’t choose to have sex and are forced into it and have an a abortion since it wasn’t their choice. Over the past couple of years abortion was seen as if it was “in-style” and something that everyone did the same as  C-sections the amount of the started to increase and also seen as if they were fashionable and “in –style” to.

While women in the US are using abortion as a birth control in Brazil its illegal and not used as a birth control and not taken advantage of. About 500,000 to 1 million women get and illegal abortion a year and most of the abortions that are reported a year are because women or girls were raped, the mothers life is in danger or the fetus has severe genetic abnormalities not because they chose or forgot to use protection. The women that choose to get a abortion were put into life threatening situations and instead of bringing a child into the world who could possibly face the same outcome  as they did end it before it can begin.

The chance of abortion becoming legal in Brazil is very slim; 73% of the people in Brazil are Roman Catholics which means that they are against abortion and when members of a church find out that you had an abortion or was a apart of one you are suspended out of the church and believed that you committed a mortal sin which means that unless you are forgiven you are then condemned to Hell. About 200,000 women are committed to a hospital because of unsafe illegal abortions a year since abortion is illegal they don’t all have the right and professional tools to use to give the procedure and almost die in the process.

A Brazilian 9 year old girl was raped by her stepfather and decided to have an abortion and because of what she did Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re and Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, who are a part of  the Roman Catholic Church's decided that she should be excommunicated and they believe that "It is a sad case but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons, who had the right to live and could not be eliminated," although it was an unwanted pregnancy. But the fact that the young girls body wasn’t ready to give birth and was to skinny to handle twins and if the girl was to go through would probably risk the chance of all three of them dying wasn’t a factor or that her stepfather committed a crime and raped her. The fact that she had an abortion and the doctors that helped out are the real crime because she “murdered” two fetuses so her and the accomplices will be excommunicated. 

1.Downie, Andrew. "Abortions in Brazil, Though Illegal, Are Common." NY Times 02 Jun 2010: n. pag. Web. 5 Apr 2011. <times.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1993205,00.html>.

2."Mortal Sin ." 03 Apr 2010. Web. 5 Apr 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortal_sin>.

3."Are Abortions Used As Birth Control." Real Choice. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Apr 2011. <http://realchoice.0catch.com/library/weekly/aa062600b.htm>.

4."Brazilian Girl's Abortion sparks Catholic row." Telegraph 09 Mar 2009: 1. Web. 5 Apr 2011. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/brazil/4960546/Brazilian-girls-abortion-sparks-Catholic-row.html>.

5."United States Abortion Statistics." Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Apr 2011. <http://www.mccl.org/page.aspx?pid=400>.

HW . 40

"Hey - thanks for writing Baby Catcher Your main idea of the difficulties that midwives face and the unique experinces they face with women and their pregnancies made me rethink pregnancy & birth.

 "Really, which parts were most effective or important for you?"Well, in the last third of the book you focused mostly on the aftermath of families who gave birth with a midwife and how you made an impact in their lives and just how close and personal the families become with a midwife. (added another angle to/further developed the first 2/3rds of the book. But let me be more specific." And then you listed the top 3 ideas/pieces of evidence/insights/questions from that final third of the book.
1.  when you had the conversation with Grace the baby you gave birth to

 "But what could I have done to make this a better book - that would more effectively fulfill its mission?" You Answer "Well, let's be clear - your text sought to provide historical aspects for the book-reading-public to better understand pregnancy & birth in our culture. Given that aim, and your book, the best advice I would give for a 2nd edition of the text would be, how birthing has changed over the years or how midwifery has changed. But I don't want you to feel like I'm criticizing. I appreciate the immense amount of labor you dedicated to this important issue and particularly for making me think about when I get pregnant what I would choose. In fact, I'm likely to choose a home birth with a midwife differently as a result of your book." The author replies, "Thanks! Talking to you gives me hope about our future as a society!"

HW . 38

HW .38 
 I like the way the book is organized by the stories that are similar. Each story is its own chapter and their told throught the point of view of the author. The major question I think the question book is trying to answer is why do people choose to give birth the way they do? because in each story their talking and comparing about how each patient gave birth and why they did it the way they did. Parts that I found interesting in the book was the story with Zelda and how she basically took charge of her own birth process. In the hospital the docotors are always in charge and trying to get you to take drugs but she constently said no but it gotten to the poin. that it was life or death if she didnt take the drugs. One thing that deserves to be publically advertised is how doctors want the patients to get a C section and will give them high amounts of drugs so that cab happen. I think this is unfair because all these drugs could affect the baby which isnt fair. 

HW . 36

1.When I talked to my aunt and what she went through when giving birth to my cousin the reason on why she wanted kids was to be able to have someone to call her own and to love, raise and take care of. But after having one kid she personally would never do it again and doesn’t plan on having any more kids. While she was pregnant she was miserable the whole time because her hair started to fall out, she started getting acne on her face was sick all the time and when she was in the hospital actually pushing the baby out the only thing she was feeling was joy and relief and anger. Joy because she gave birth to healthy baby but relief that it was finally over and she doesn’t have to live this process over ever again. But she was angry because the Dr. and her husband were watching the basketball game instead of helping her. To prepare for the birth of her daughter my aunt started reading baby books, talked to the dr. more, changed her diet to healthier foods, and started taking La maze classes. She thought everything was helpful when it all came down to it except for the breathing classes because when you’re actually on the bed about to give birth those breathing techniques are the last thing on your mind because you’re worried more about getting the baby out then how you should be breathing.

·         My aunt’s pregnancy is one that you wouldn’t see on TV or see advertised as the beauty of being pregnant. On TV you see people talking about how there’s a certain glow to you and you look relaxed and your skin is clear and all the typical things your feet hurt, back hurt, and weird cravings which doesn’t sound so bad. They don’t factor in the people like my aunt who was sick all the time and started losing her hair and had acne all over. After hearing that I don’t know if I want to have a kid now if I’m going to go through all of that. This also shows how our culture takes everything and try to sugar coat it and make it seem like it’s the best thing in the world, they don’t factor in or show that it might be different for everyone. I want to know is what actually in a baby book what is in there that they talk about that suppose to help you? Because it seems like knowing how to change a diaper or feeding a baby should be things that women is born with knowing as they get older and the time comes.

2.While talking to my mother she told me how she had planned to have kids, because she worked with children for about 10 years already and always wanted to have kids of her own. The first time she got pregnant though she had a miscarriage her nephews wedding reception in South Carolina.  Was sad when found it she miscarriage and started crying but also mad and blamed everyone for it because she was already upset about driving all the way to South Carolina, when she didn’t want to in the first place. But what helped her to get over it is when she talked to friends of the family the Lazars and one of them told her “ it just wasn’t meant to be, if the baby was born something probably would have been wrong ,it happened for a reason“. Today you’re able to choose the traits of your child and practically customize them if my mom had the chance to do that for me she says she wouldn’t, but if she found out that there was some genetic disorder she would try and change that but that’s it. When it came to labor and how it feels my mom said that no one can really tell you what it actually feels like because it’s the most intense pain you can deal with. She also would never get pregnant again but once it’s over its gone you don’t think about it anymore, but she would of gotten pregnant younger around 28 or 30. If my mom was to have an unplanned pregnancy she would still keep it, and adoption and abortion never crossed her mind. The same as my aunt my mother went to the dr. more tried to eat better and took La maze classes which she feel didn’t help either because breathing is the last thing on your mind when giving birth. While pregnant the most she was affected by it was that she put on weight. Chose to give birth in a hospital because there’s a Dr. and she didn’t want to take any drugs such as epidural because she wanted to be as natural as possible and read somewhere that the epidural can cause the baby to be loopy which isn’t safe when there so young .

·         After talking to my mom I now feel less against having kids because hopefully I’ll be affected by birth just like she was and just gain a little weight which I can deal with compared to the other things some women go through.  This has helped me to understand birth better because I always wondered what it feels like to give birth some people say you don’t feel pain you feel pressure, or that it is painful but now seeing that its different for everyone but its intense so you can’t really be prepared for the feeling of giving birth which I now know. Just like my mom I don’t want to take any kind of drugs, even epidural which is suppose to be a good drug that’s helps  you when actually it can cause damage to your child but you don’t hear about that in the media. After talking to my mom and aunt I don’t know personally if I would choose to have a hospital birth or an in-home in a tub because with my aunt the Dr. wasn’t even paying attention to her. With my mom the Dr. waited until the last minute to tell her that she’s going to have to have a C section and had to go through the pain of trying to push it out which wasn’t helpful if she ended up having a C section.  I would also like to know what other things are the Dr.’s giving pregnant patients or telling them to do that are suppose to help them but really can be harmful for some people? 
3. I talked to someone who watched someone giving birth and what they went through. They told me how their step mom became more cautious of herself by staying away certain products so she wouldn't inhale it and cause harm to the baby. She also became less active because of the pregnancy. I was also told that his mom chose to give birth in a hospital because home birth wasn't even a option. Just like my mom his step mom had a c- section to and the pregnancy didn't affect her that much but she became a little moody.  
                            After talking to this person I seen that there's a lot of rules that you have to go by so that you'll have a healthy baby and so that you wont become ill. I would feel very paranoid about trying to remember every day things that your used to doing but now you cant because it'll possibly harm the baby.

HW . 34

When I hear the word birth I think of the different ways to have birth, a natural birth, a C section, a in home birth. I also think about the tv show 16 and pregnant and what they think of birth and if it's something to take lightly because all their friends started to do what they can to get on the show to. I also imagine how would my birth go , would I choose to  have a C section or a in home birth because I've seen on tv that in home births in a tub of the water have been the most successful. I also consider when I would want to give birth and if I was pregnant right now how would my life be different. 

One question that I have is why giving birth in home in a tub of water seems to be more effective then being at a hospital where there are doctors and medicine? I wondered about the shows on tv and what the girls are thinking when they make the choice to show the world their only 16 and pregnant and the problems they go through. Or the tv show Teen Pact were couple teenage girls thought it would be fun if they all got pregnant together. I wonder is the show supposed to be promoting getting pregnant isn't a big deal because it seems that there are more girls now a day after the show started airing getting pregnant, or are they doing it just to get their few minutes of fame. Another question I have is what determines if a drug is good or bad for the baby. When giving birth patients are given the drug epidural to dull the pain how doctors know that's not affecting the baby in any way either now or in the future. One more question I have though is what specifically causes someone to have a miscarriage or how is it possible for baby's to get sick and contract diseases while the mother is fine?

HW . 32

Like brittani said I never worried about death i just knew that it was something that was going to happen no matter what you can go against fate and dying. After this unit though I've learned a alot about illness and our healthcare system that i didnt know about. For example from watching the movie Near Death I didnt know exactly went on with doctors and how they pressure a patients family into letting them do all they could do and not put then out of their misery. I also learned how in Canada patients have the right to put themselves out of their own misery. Which i think is better then leaving it in the hands of the doctor who doesnt know your life story and maybe it is your time to go and one other thing that i've learned is how patients can get a wristlet that says that they dont approve of reasucitation if needed which is better then being left in their misery. This unit hasnt really changed my out look on life and death because i always thought you should live your life as if today is your last and now i feel i want my death to be more of remebernce of who i was and less of a mourning of me not being here.

HW. 33

Britani ,i agree with you I always felt death was just something that happens to those whos time is up. I also think that you could of said more of what specificaally you had learned from the unit.

HW . 30

I looked at the top five leading causes of death in america  which are Lower respiratory infections
Coronary heart disease
Diarrhoeal diseases
HIV/AIDS
Stroke 
I found it interesting that high income families have the most deaths over the age of 70 compared to low income familes were the age of death is between 0 to 14. I thought that high income familes death rate would be lower since they have money and able to take better care of themselves so I thought that the death rate would at least be around the age of 85.  High income families have more resources so they should rarely get sick but I guess they take advantage of that where in poor places the highest death rate is even before the baby is born. 

 I decided to explor a nursing home where old people can go when they suffer from one of the top causes of death or any other. At the nursing home I talked to the nurses about how they take care of their patients since my grandmother is there and she had a stroke. Nurses would come in and do daily things with the patients depending on their disbility, usually cleaning them changing their cloths coming in at different times to change their body position in my grandmothers case since she cant move. My grandmother has been through many different nurses because she gets moved around alot and some of the nurses are actually nice, helpful an take care of her while others dont do their best job, she could sit in one position for the whole day and no one will come and move her around so that her muscles dont get locked up and no longer able to move them, which shows how little people care about you even if your on your death bed. But people will spend hundreds of dollars to take care of a family member even when theirs no chance of them ever getting any better. This also shows how when it comes to sickness and dying families who can afford or barely can will go to great lengths to make sure that their family member is given the care they need even if it wont make a change and their wasting money. It also shows how we dont like to let go of things if someone is in acoma most families would have the doctors still do work and they would spend money even thought they know theirs no chance of their family member getting better. I think it matters because there are families waisting money some have it and some dont, I just happen to be in between my mom has money but not alot that she can just keep giving to take care of her mother when theirs the high chance that she'll never get better. 

HW . 29

  When someone dies there's a lot that goes on, and illness and dying aren't situations that you can handle lightly but you can deal with them in a positive way so it's not as depressing. When Beth came in to talk to us she was very positive about her husbands dying process and it seemed like she didn't let it consume her till she became depressed or ruined her life. She dealt with death as living each day to the fullest the last week he had to live. Also similar to the book Tuesdays with Morrie, he was slowly dying and he chose his way on how he wanted to die, which was to die happy and feeling loved. He was able to accomplish that by spending each day with the ones he love and in that time he was able to give out his last thoughts and wisdom to people so that they'll always have something to remember him bye.

  In the movie Near Death, they showed everything that goes on with dealing with sickness and death that we don think twice about. When someone is sick in the hospital we always want doctors to do all that they can which I believe is useless, their basically trying to bring a dead body back to life. When at the hospital and making the decision to put someone out of their misery doctors try and flip it so that it seems like your killing the person and to make you feel bad and doctors always say that the patients are receiving "comfort" by letting them lay in a bed with many tubes in them and no chance of ever really being able to live normal again or go home. Everyone deals with death differently even the doctors and nurses take certain approaches when it comes to "caring" for the patients.

HW . 28

ANThony, I liked how you connected your personal experience with death to the lady that came in and talked to us Beth and I know how you feel because my aunt has the same thing. I also liked how you are able to look at the positive of things and see the brightside and that even though your grandmother has dementia and is fighting against death, your still positive and feel that she will make it through no matter what.

HW . 27

HW . 27

                 The only sick person in the hospital that I know of that’s slowly dying would be my aunt she’s been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and she isn’t getting any better and she has been put into a nursing home in North Carolina. She can’t speak and compared to before the aunt I’m used to growing up with has changed a lot. Since she can’t speak and has lost most of her memory we can’t talk to her but if she still was capable  of doing that I think she would be like Morrie a little bit she wouldn’t be depressed that  she was dying but more of she’s going to a better place and she would of done what she could to spend her last days with her family and just having a good time because she’s a very fun and outgoing type of person and even though she’s slowly dying she’ll be making jokes.  I also wish that I had gone to visit her before she got put into the nursing home because I don’t have any recent memories of her before she got put into it and if I did I don’t remember them because it was so long ago that I spent time with her.

                The nursing home that my aunt is at, isn’t the best it could be better and my cousin (her daughter) and my mother want to move her to a better one but then that’ll be even further away and they feel better having her in North Carolina since most of her family lives in South Carolina so its not a big commute. Also compared to nursing homes here it looks very poor and isn’t the best the nurses don’t do such a great job to take care of their patients and you can tell when you walk in by the way the patients look and the way the building looks. This shows how the nurses don’t care which sucks since my aunt is there and isn’t getting all the care that she needs. But if she was put into a nursing home that was here she probably would have been taken real good care of and we wouldn’t have to worry as much it probably would of cost more but it would have been worth it because right now they aren’t getting their money’s worth for care she’s been given