Your Song

      Elton John is sixty-four years old. As a talented English singer-song writer, composer and pianist, he had sold more than 250 million records during his four decade long career, which makes him one of the most successful artists of all time. I've had the fortunate opportunity to attend his concert at the Bryce Jordan Center with my parents.

      I'm not going to lie—I don't know most of his songs and plus, he is not one of those artists that I tune into when I hit the gym or listen to for leisure. Although I was hesitant at first, I decided to join my parents to his concert because I knew that they would enjoy my company and spend quality time as family together.

      The concert soon started as we arrived to our seats and I could easily notice that the majority of the audience were between the age group of thirty to fifty. Nevertheless, I quickly became engrossed to Elton John's entrance and his opening act. Two hours quickly flew by and I noticed that it was going to end. It was way too soon. I felt like there was something missing...

       And...I was right! He came back and after signing hundreds of signatures, he sat down on his piano and announced, “Thank you for being my fan all these years and I love you all. I wish you all happiness and prosperity and this song is for you.”

Your Song-

It's a little bit funny this feeling inside
I'm not one of those who can easily hide
I don't have much money but boy if I did
I'd buy a big house where we both could live

If I was a sculptor, but then again, no
Or a man who makes potions in a travelling show
I know it's not much but it's the best I can do
My gift is my song and this one's for you

And you can tell everybody this is your song
It may be quite simple but now that it's done
I hope you don't mind
I hope you don't mind that I put down in words
How wonderful life is while you're in the world

I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss
Well a few of the verses well they've got me quite cross
But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song
It's for people like you that keep it turned on

So excuse me forgetting but these things I do
You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue
Anyway the thing is what I really mean
Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen

       In reality, I know that this is not true, despite how ideal it would be for it to apply to everyone. Elton John certainly cannot love everyone, let alone know all his fans' names. But in the context of a concert, everyone becomes one—whether they are good or bad, diligent or lazy, kind or mean, it doesn't matter. He refers to one person, not just a diverse group of his fans. Through this song, both its tunes and lyrics are words of wisdom from Elton John. Although they may not be applicable for everyone, he conveys that everyone is special in their own way...because life is wonderful when we're all in the world!

Pros and Cons of Video Projects

     As the newest assignment for my LA101H class, we were presented with the challenge to make five to seven minute long video that would deal with a particular theme. My group has chosen to work on the topic of music sharing and to what extent getting music online or sharing them is considered illegal.

      We have a lot to discuss-- from catchy introduction to the history of how music industry has changed, the regulations of RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and the consequences it brings to the music corporations and artists, we're not totally sure how to go about this video project.

     This is challenging because video projects are not the type of assignments that we usually receive in classes. Not only is this new for me but the fact that we have to utilize computer programs like iMovie sounds completely foreign to me. It's not an exaggeration to say that I'm technologically challenged.

      As of now, before we develop our video project, I feel like it would be a lot easier if we were to do speeches rather than video projects. This is because we don't have to spend extra time on images and put them together to create flow with what we are arguing and presenting to the audience.

      However, this project will be a huge opportunity for developing my public speaking skills through another medium and improve my versatility in delivering a stance. Although we will not only be technologically challenged, as we will also encounter numerous clashes of meeting and getting things done, I'm excited to work with my team and create something that will get our audience to think about their actions when they just easily click and download music for free. It requires a lot of work and commitment but I'm positive that the experience will be worth it in the end.

Punishment or just a plain disaster?

               On Sunday morning approximately at 5AM when I was fast asleep, I woke up from my obnoxiously loud hip hop ringtone. First glancing at the clock, I thought to myself, “Who would call at this deadly hour?” Then I couldn’t complain as soon as my sophomore friend who had been enjoying herself at Punta Cana with her sorority told me in her shaky voice—“Have you talked to Julie? Japan suffered from a massive earthquake.”

                Julie is my best friend. I know that most of us have our best friends from childhood but I’ve only known her for only four years. But during those four years, which may be short to some, she was my buddy—a friend that I could pour my heart to and really be myself during my young adolescent years, despite our differences.  She pushed me to do better in school and as friendly rivals, we would study everything together and spend every moment of high school, to the point where teachers would ask me where she was if they couldn’t find her.

                Now that we’re in college and have separate lives, it’s hard to communicate. We’re limited to BlackBerry messengers and Facebook chats. But like a young child, she would always be my best friend and I would entrust with my whole life. So when something as devastating as the earthquake occurred, I didn’t know what to do.  My first instinct was to call her but I forgot her number. Then I attempted to text her…but there was no reply.

                For a split second, I thought of the worst. No, that can’t be. I shouldn’t even be thinking about it. This is the same time where I came across diverse pool of Facebook status updates and one status stuck out to me the most, “Remember Pearl Harbor.”

                What is that supposed to mean anyway? This is the matter of life and death but to a particular person, whoever they may be, views this catastrophe as a punishment. This linked me to what we learned in class—people realize a lot through events, where you might never become aware unless something happened.

                I learned that this awareness is inconsistent between people as they vary, a lot. While a person sought this despairing moment as a lesson to be learned, I came to appreciate more for my friends and their families and the support I received from numerous friends in college.

What Dove controversy taught me...

      For class, we had to pick an ad and analyze it textually and contextually through speech and an essay respectively. I chose Dove's evolution commercial as it had enough depth for me to dig through...maybe a little too much.

      I love Dove. I love the scent of their shampoos and they always make my hair perfect the way I want it--not too dry or oily. When I evaluated the ad in textual terms, the one minute 'short film' successfully developed ethos of the company as reliable and trustworthy. It led me to appreciate Dove even more than I already did.

      However, after researching the commercial in contextual grounds, I came across the controversy of Dove and its affiliation with Axe. Dove established positive ethos through the use of kairos, setting Internet as the mainstream commercial pool, it attracted many female audience. Moreover, the response of exigence towards artificiality of beauty promoted by media manifested Dove as a compassionate and genuine company.

      Despite these achievements, the controversy is that Dove and Axe are under the same corporation, Unilever. Although Axe is similarly a line of teenage boy's toiletries such as shampoo, body wash, and deodorants, they differ from Dove in that since their target market is young men, they positioned their products that will attract women to men using Axe. Through the release of “Bom Chicka Wah Wah,” Unilever conveys that more Axe a man uses, the more gorgeous and thin supermodels will want them. This puts women as sexual objects, much different from what Dove is trying to communicate.

      If I have not researched about this and dug deep about Dove and its credibility, I would have just loved Dove and how they are different, better from other beauty product companies. It's something I should consider the next time I need my shampoo.