miami times

Men and women have never been “equal.” Even after the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970’s, women have never been treated the same as men. In our culture, it is popular to treat women as a sexual object or as a slave to the home, as by the popular saying “go make me a sandwich” and the statement that women only belong in the kitchen by many ignorant men and women alike. Since women have had to fight so hard to get the opportunities men got with half of the work, they soon caught up and passed men up in the workforce, which now looks at the resume rather than gender. Men were used to only competing against each other in the past, so have developed lazier habits. They were used to having their “mommies” take care of them, make them food, and pick out their clothes. Women had to work against the stereotype that they are not smart and that most do not go to college. Men today sit in their “mancaves” and play marathon games on Playstation and XBox instead of studying or furthering their intelligence. Employers see the determination in most women more than they do in men, so they will higher them over their lazier male counterparts. As for the bedroom, I do not see the trend of male domination changing. It is nature for the “alpha male” to dominate physically, whether they are bringing home the bacon or not.

After viewing the video referring to the Age of the Millenials, I agree with the majority of the content. Many people around my age group do have a sense of entitlement. They believe that they deserve the very best without putting much work into anything. I am not saying I am exempt from this generalization. I have definitely caught myself in moments of laziness, where I wonder why I am working so hard for something. Our parents worked so hard to get where they are today in the sub par economy, so we feel that we deserve everything because of their hard work. The “everyone’s a winner” mentality drives me crazy though. In my high school, for the most part, if you tried out for a high school sport, you made the team, whether it was varsity, junior varsity, or freshmen. I did not have a problem with this aspect of the way high school sports worked, but the complaining was too much to bear. If a parent felt their child was not getting enough playing time, they would call the coach, athletic office, or even the principal to complain about the coach. It was never the fault of the child in the parents’ eyes, but instead horrible coaching. These parents could not see that the kids who were out on the court, field, or tracking playing most likely put in more practice hours and abided to the team rules, and that is why they were getting the minutes during competition.  People need to see that the effort you put in on one end will be rewarded at the end, whether it is a spectacular job, the A on the paper you worked hard on, or the time on the court after the endless hours of practice in your driveway.

The day one returns from any type of break or vacation is always a rough one, like this Monday as I am sitting here writing about my relaxing break. Over my break, I had the best of both worlds. I returned home to Boston for half of the week, and lounged at the beach in Key Largo for the other half.

In Boston, I got to visit with friends and family I had not seen since January. My Dad was the only one who knew I was coming home. I surprised my Mom at work on Friday morning. She had an idea I was coming home because of an email from JetBlue, but she had no idea what day, so it was still a surprise when I walked in to her office. I got to see my brothers’ basketball games when I was home as well, which was nice. The weather topped off the visit: it was around 70 degrees each day!

Key Largo was one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen! From Thursday to Saturday, I got to lounge by a pool or beach with no where to be and nothing to worry about. I stayed at a house with a few girls on my floor. We had various things to eat (including lunchables :) ) and rode around the resort in golf carts. If I could, I would return to the house in a heart beat!