Untold Stories: Immokalee

After watching the video on Immokalee and the Seminole Indians, I have discovered that they are living the Old American Dream. They use the land around them as their main source of living. For example, they use natural resources to build houses, to find and cook food, and for their jobs. Many Indians job title is hunters or gatherers. Even though they are living the Old American Dream now, I believe soon enough they will be living the New American Dream. Just seeing how diverse they are now shows how much more diverse they will be in the future. Also, seeing how the casino is starting to grow at a fast rate, in ten years it should be more successful than ever. The Indians should have a larger community and maybe even start living the type of life that us Americans live now.
I do believe that Immokalee differs from Fort Myers and Estero because most people do not live on farmland and use nature as their main resource, but in a way I believe they are similar. We have property even on Florida Gulf Coast University's campus that builders are not allowed to touch because we are preserving it. We are protecting that land just like the Seminole Indians try and protect their own land.

The 1980's

My alarm clocks goes off at exactly 6:00 am every single morning for school. Even if I tried to sleep in just a few minutes later, I would not be able to because of my five other roommates that live in the same room as I do. There are three sets of bunk beds all squeezed into one room with only one shower for us all to use. This is one of the main reasons why I wake up for school so early. One by one each girls jumps in the shower for about ten minutes each and usually by the fourth and fifth girl, there is no hot water left so I always try to be the first one. I brush my hair and teeth like I do every morning and I let my hair air dry, considering we do not own any fancy devices to make my hair dry instantly. I put on my uniform, white collared shirt, plaid skirt, white knee high socks, and black shoes just like every other girl on this campus and pack up my satchel for class. It is never very heavy because all that was in it was just a notebook and a pencil. Walking to campus was always such a pain since we did not have buses transporting us there. On the days it was really hot, i would always end up sweating before I even got into the classroom and even when I got there, there was no air conditioning! Classrooms were very small stuffed with a lot of students so it was hard to find a chair and a desk to sit in. If you got there late, people would have to stand or sit on the floor, so I was always on time. As a freshman I decided to take English, Math, Social Studies, and Science because these were the only courses that were given to us. English was my first class, and it was not so bad. Our teacher would lecture us for an hour and we would take notes in our notebooks. Our papers were always hand written and so were the rest of our assignments. There was no email or anything so if a student needed to talk to the teacher there was only before or after class. Math came next, easily my worst subject. We had to work out problems on our own. Long division was the worst and took up the most paper. We did not have textbooks to study from, but only our notes that we took in class. After math, I had a lunch break and a chance to purchase turkey, ham, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a dollar. I always get turkey since it is my favorite. Next comes Science which is not that cool of a class since we do not have any high tech experiments. The only experiments we do just deals with the nature around us. We do not use any type of chemicals. The formulas are always hard to calculate in my head, but I am starting to get used to it. Social Studies comes last. In this class, we usually learn about history, and how much the world has improved since back then and just stuff that bores me! Luckily it usually goes by fast though. I am done my classes by 4:45 and it is time to walk back to my dorm to make dinner. The only groceries we usually have is chicken and pasta. Eating that every night can definitely get old. By six o clock, I usually try and sit down to do my homework but it is impossible with all the noise in my dorm room. I have to make the best of it though and get it done since there isn't anything else to do besides talk to my roommates. We do not have television or the radio or anything. All of our bedtimes are usually around ten o clock. Some nights it hard for me to go to sleep but I try and close my eyes dreaming about the weekend to come. Finally I go to sleep and I do it all over again!

The Search for the Skunk Ape

When reading through the four different Modules for the Information Literacy Tutorial, I realized that I already knew some of the information that was explained, but I also discovered new tips that could be very helpful for years to come. The skills that I use a lot now are the library catalogs, databases, search engines, and the librarians who help me figure out what type of database to use. As a student here at FGCU, I already knew what research is mostly used for, which consists of oral presentations, term papers, classroom discussions, and teaching others. The skill I knew most about was plagiarism. Every one of my professors stress the fact that students should never plagiarize in a paper. Instead, students need to use quotations and cite the source right after or summarize the source in a persons own words.
On the other hand, some of the skills I just learned would have definitely been helpful to learn before taking composition one and two. I learned to make sure ones research topic was not to broad, but also not to narrow. A good balanced topic will make a person's research easier. Another thing that would have been very helpful is learning how to get a full text article in a database. I have always had trouble with that and sometimes I just have to settle with just the information that is provided. The one skill that really taught me a lot was that different formats of information offer different types of information. For example, recent news can be found in newspapers or on the web and history can be found in books and encyclopedias. This is something that teachers should look into showing their composition one students to improve their research papers. One thing that was not talked about was personal interviews. Is using a personal interview okay to have in a research paper? Everything else and all of my questions were answered by watching this tutorial!

2010 Movie Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz86TsGx3fc
This science fiction thriller will have everybody in the movie theater on the edge of their seats. Seeing the intense graphics in this action packed trailer will strike anyone's attention. Not only will teens enjoy this movie, but so will everyone all around the world because of the fact that this might actually happen to earth. According to the bible, the world really is suppose to end like shown in this movie. Not only was this movie made for entertainment, but also to show what could be happening to us if we do not take a stand to better our surroundings. It is almost as if the directors and writers are warning people all around the world. The rocker music in the background is used to set the mood for how intense and thrilling this movie will be. Not only does "2012" show what will happen to the Earth, but it also shows how far people will go to protect their families, and the ones they love. Different cultures come together to pray and accept those around them because most will do anything for a chance to be one of those very few survivors. At the very end of the trailer, Jackson Kurtis says, "No matter what happens, we'll all stay together." This movie shows the brave and heroic actions people do to not only save themselves, but even the complete strangers surrounding them.

Hes just not that into you

Now I know there are girls out there that meet a guy, and that same guy hands you a phone number insisting that you call him. Once you get up the nerve to call and arrange a time to get together, you are thinking this may be a start of something new! The date goes really well and then he says, "I will just call you," but he never does. This 2009 romantic comedy filled with drama gives a little insight to women all around the world what guys are really thinking and why they may or may not be interested in you. Justin Long, known as Alex in the film is the guy with all the answers. Throughout the movie, he tries to help Gigi Phillips, who is played by Ginnifer Goodwin, find the right guy for her. She tries going on a date with Alex's best friend Connor Barry (Kevin Connolly) but little did she know he has always been considered in the friend zone with Scarlett Johansson, known as Anna Marks in the movie, but tries to hard to start a relationship until later on he meets Anna's friend Mary Harris, played by Drew Barrymore who is tired of getting rejected on this years new technology. Anna pretends to have the hots for Connor, but really she is crushing on a married man named Ben Gunders (Bradley Cooper). Is it bad that Ben seems to have a crush on Anna also? Not only does his wife Janine Gunders(Jennifer Connolly) get hurt, but so does her best friend Beth Murphy, played by Jennifer Aniston. Beth wants to get married and settle down with her boyfriend that she has been with forever it seems like Niel Jones (Ben Afleck) wants to never get married. These love triangles and twists teach each and everyone of them what love really is, and maybe you could even learn something too!

"Less Privacy Is Good for Us (and You)" Discussion question #3

Amitai Etzioni, the author of, "Less Privacy Is Good for us (and You)," believes that the privacy issues should be examined under the Fourth Amendment rather than the First Amendment. Throughout the article, she mentions incidents that a normal person would not even think about happening such as, "Neighbors who listen in on your cell phones, and E-Z passes that allow tollbooth operators to keep track of your movements (131)." These examples just previously mentioned are allowed to happen because the privacy issues are examined under the First Amendment, which states the freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition. On page 134, Etzioni explains, "Moreover, it provides a mechanism to sort out which searches are in the public interest and which violate privacy without sufficient cause, by introducing the concept of warrants issued by a "neutral magistrate" presented with "probable cause"." This way, no one can just come into an individuals house, or work place just because they feel the need to search it. They have to have a written document that explains why they are allowed to search and invade his or her privacy.
I definitely agree with the fact that the privacy issues should be examined under the Fourth Amendment instead of the First Amendment. I do not agree with the fact that people can listen in on private phone conversations, or just walk into someones house and demand to look around. I also do not agree with what Etzioni was talking about when she said if a baby was born with the suspicion that he or she might have HIV, without the mothers permission, doctors will just take the baby and do whatever tests they want on the newborn. Luckily, the Fourth Amendment is being looked at to replace the First Amendment. Privacy is called that for a reason.

A Quilt of a Country: Out of Many, One?

Anna Quindlen states that a nation is held together by the notion that says all mean are created equal. It is hard for children to see that this is true when it comes to people of different races getting treated poorly or because of their gender they are not granted the same rights as others. These little things make this nation better fit under the notion that most men consider themselves better than others. It is not until something drastic happens such as terrorist attacks that make us all come together as one. Quindlen even explains that immigrants are not much different than our grandparents so we should not treat them differently either. People just want to be accepted and apart of one nation. That is what the United States should stand for.


I completely agree with what Anna Quindlen is explaining. I do believe that it should not matter what race you are or where you come from, everyone should be treated with respect. No one is better than anyone and i do believe that tragic experiences are what it takes to make people truely believe that. United States citizens have to support each other. We all want to be successful in life and for the world around us to be a better place.