"I'll never be like my parents" "You already are.."

It is freaky how much I'm like my parents. I've noticed it more and more as I've gotten older. I see it the most between me and my dad. I think it has to do with the fact that my dad was the one who mainly took care of me for the first year and a half while my mom worked. Some of the things I can't explain like we're both quiet people that make quick assumptions and have a small group of friends. We're both most likely to hang out in the corner and observe before jumping into a party and love to just be with some one- we don't have to do anything fancy. It's interesting how this has happened. He didn't teach me these things- he didn't tell me to start off a little shy and gradually warm up to people or to only have a few close friends- I just did. Both of my parents have taught how to be a loyal friend and that when I make a commitment I need to stick to it, no matter how much I want to do something else. Some of that has been through demonstration and some of it has been through constant reminder

Something they've taught me-directly- is how to drive. I know every parent teaches their child how to drive. But I've become a combination of the two- a hybrid- and that has lead to many arguments. After I got my license I would volunteer to drive but when I drove with my mom and pulled a move like my dad- she'd get pissed and vice versa. When I drove with my dad and pulled a move like my mom he'd yell at me. So now I NEVER NEVER EVER EVER EVER drive with my parents. Another thing they've taught me is that I'll never (again with the nevers I swear they've taught me things I will do) pick up a hammer. When we moved into our house it was basically stuck in the 70's, so to save money they redid the ENTIRE house by themselves. Every weekend they were working on one room or another and while the house turned out fantastic I hated the construction. I had to live with my brother for two weeks while they put wood floors in my room and his. I saw how stressful it was and hated going to Home Depot every weekend as well. If I'm ever going to redo my house- A professional will be called.

My parents have influenced me a ton- whether I like it or not- somethings have been taught directly with constant reminding but other things you can't teach. You just pick it up and I think they've passed on some pretty good things to me. Thanks mom and dad :)

Ghost in Your Genes

So I watched the "Ghost in your Genes" video and it is so fascinating. I mean it's easy to see how the choices of your parents affect you; where they chose to live, if the mother takes car of herself when she is pregnant so on and so forth. But to think what your grandparents do, what your great- grandparents do can affect you is really cool. In the video they talked about Epigenetics- its when certain things attach to your chromosomes to turn them "on and off". Kieran, the child that had Beckwith Wiedemann syndrome could have gotten that because his parents used IVF (IVF increases the chances of Beckwith Wiedemann syndrome by 3-4 times). There is a possibility that it could be passed onto his children, so decisions Kieran's parents made could effect their grandchildren. They also discussed in the video how malnutrition in developmental times for a female can prevent the body from growing. When she becomes pregnant, they think it may affect the size of the fetus which could theoretically make every generation smaller and smaller. It's interesting and kind of freaky. The things I do now could change future generations. At first scientists thought that once genes were created, that was it they were set in stone. But now they're beginning to learn that they could be subject to change. I wonder what things my grandparents and my greatgrandparents did that shaped my genetics???? It's too interesting.

My Name is American Culture...... And I'm afraid of Emotions

Tuesday's With Morrie was an awesome movie. It totally reminded me of the things we talked about in class and I could see Sal saying some of the same things as Morrie- "What's wrong with being number two?"

The part I found particularly interesting was the part about love and emotions, how afraid of love Mitch was and how unafraid Morrie was about loving people and showing his emotions. I have no idea how or why or when America thought being emotionless is the way to go. Now before I begin discussing this I would just like to put up that I am a hypocrite- when Morrie and Mitch were essentially saying their goodbye and Mitch was getting all emotional I couldn't help but get a little teary-eyed. But instead of letting a tear or two drop I held it in- looked up at the ceiling and composed myself- I WAS NOT going to cry in class. So yes, I am mildly (ok maybe more then mildly) hypocritical- but I recognize I have a problem, It's the first step. Anyway back to what I was saying I don't understand how we got this way- maybe because we want to see our men be manly and our women be composed (I can't help but think back to the fifties when the wife had to greet her husband at the door looking like she hadn't been totally busy raising the kids, working on the house and slaving over a hot stove- she need to like completely poised) but I don't know- I think it's one of those 'which came first, the chicken or the egg' type things. How did we get like this? Have we always been like this? Why is everyone so afraid to show emotion?!?!? I don't know and I don't think we are heading in a more emotion free time either. Emotions, especially love, take time and they're confusing and scary and I think, no I'd be bold enough to say I know, people do not want to deal with those- to take the time to figure them out and act on them "Yes I'm going to pencil in emotions between going to the gym and doing homework- that should give me about two minutes". But I think that it probably (remember I'm a little bit hypocritical) takes practice because who really knows you better then... you!

Jam Baby...

Right now, as I type this blog, I am awaiting the premiere of the new Office episode, It's the one where Jim and Pam have their baby. I'm pretty stoked. Right now it's 8:05 and we are five minutes into the episode, ok maybe WE aren't because it's paused. Every one is in their respective corners finishing up what they were doing before. I had been up in my room doing homework, my brother was in his room doing homework, my dad was making dinner and my mom floated between the computer and the family room. But 7:55 came around and we all scrambled to finish up what we were doing, the Office would soon be on. As I thought about it, especially because I knew I needed to blog still, I realized how different this was from other cultures. For example, in Spain they have three hour dinners with multiple courses every night! Places like Italy and China where they place a strong value on family and meals are totally different from us. We find ways to connect with our family through different ways. For example,t onight for dinner, I quickly shoved food in my mouth so I could rush back to my homework, I had a lot to do. There was nothing drawn out, no long conversations, just eating and going back to what we were doing. But now, it's 8 and the Office is starting and we're drawn to the TV like a moth to a flame (cheesy I know, I just couldn't think of another way to say it), all of us coming together to watch this momentus, played by actors moment. Yes, maybe it's a little sad- a bond over a common television show, but that is sometimes where families here in america spend their time together. I know, especially in my family, people are constantly running around- I work three days a week, my brother plays basketball and travel baseball both of which my dad is a coach, me and my brother have school, my parents work full time and on and on- it's hard to find a time we're all together. But tonight we're all together sometimes in silence but not always- we do talk about our days and what's been going on, we just make sure we're quiet by commercial.