User:Rhodoraj

=Analytical Writing=

Personal Essay
Advertising I see it while I dress, while I eat, while I bathe and brush my teeth. It’s in my face while I go to school and even when I say hello to my friends. I’ve come to think that advertising is in everything. Whether it is good or bad advertising is another story.

I get up in the morning and the first thing I think of is how my breath doesn't seem so fresh. The only solution is to brush them. I stumble to the bathroom and apply toothpaste on my tooth brush as I read the huge colgate logo across the front of the tube. I wondered why I like colgate and just remebered not using any other toothpaste, plus it tastes good. I continue brushing and begin humming a fairly familiar tune unintentionally. Somewhat of an automatic reaction to brushing teeth.

I then hop in the shower continuing the melody as a fading hum. I start to scrub away and another tune involuntarily becomes audible but this time it comes out in full song. Then without me realizing "You're not fully clean unless you're zest fully clean!" echos off the tile of the shower wall. Visions of a waterfall in a rainforest and soap suds fill my head. This brings back memories of saved by the bell. Which I watched everyday after school in junior high. I believe that was the popular years of zest.

I dress up in my outfit for the day and I then look at what I'm wearing and wonder how it came to me to dress this particular way. I stand infront of the mirror and see that I am wearing three different patterns a high waisted skirt and a pair of boots. I get on my bike and continue down to school. On my way to school I count 15 girls all wearing boots. I also count 4 girls wearing high waisted skirts. Then I realize how these fashions all leaked into our lives in a way obvious or not. The fashions are being advertised in magazines ad as the "it" look for winter. As I enter school the numbers rise. Trends can be the most suttle yet very effective way of advertising and many people are not even aware that it is effecting them.

The new phone that a cool guy is on or the leather jacket that you see your bestfriend in. Advertising is all planned out but not all to the absolute detail. Advertising status and acceptance through trends and product is rather twisted but effective. Many people will agree that you dress for success, which means you would have to dress in clean and up to date clothing which means you would have to trade out old clothing after wearing them down to buy new clothing. Many people choose to purchase new clothing every season. Either to reinvent themselves, keeping status or keeping ahead of the trends. Peer pressure seems to be the most efficient type of advertising. I know that there will always be advertising and there will always be agressive or tactil ways but the most effective is peer and that's usually used through trends.

Children like most people want to fit in and no matter what spot they find in life it will effect them throughout the rest. Maintaining status as an outsider means more rebelious clothing or not as trendy clothes because no matter what there's an equation to everyone's madness or liking and there are many ways we express our status or demeanor. By advertising a type of person or a way of life there must be a version that pre exists. This is where trends begin. They begin in mass media whether it be a movie, a band, a tv show, or a moviestar. We all get effected by these visuals. Advertisements always find their way to the trends. Facebook, myspace, movie theaters, tv and music are only a small selection of advertisement in our daily life.

A majority of advertising is aimed toward children. This seems very tactical, considering most children want to be liked or a rebel or a bookworm or an athlete so why not advertise to children when they are the most avid soul seekers of our society. Insecurities and the need to express or fit in is swimming within their hormones.

I do believe that children are very sensitive to advertisement. Anything that seems fun, vibrant or happy definitely catches the eyes of a young child who has yet to experience anything that would dull that vision of theirs in any matter. So why not have a cartoon on a pack of cigarettes, the younger they start the longer they have to use the product, right?. Advertising is dangerous but it is everywhere and some of the advertising is for products we don’t see the potential of dangers until it is too late.

Smoking should not be advertised to children but what is the difference between having a parent that a child looks up to that smokes and a cartoon on a package that makes smoking look fun. It makes me wonder how many children start smoking because of someone in their family. Having just the right influence can change someones perspective on advertising and definitions of fun or cool. Which seem to be a huge drive for children. Where people fail the media will succeed. Television can gain the trust of children by just being turned on. Many children are raised by the television and therefore are exposed to hours of advertisments each week and many versions of cool or fun. Advertising whether direct or indirect will happen and parents need to become more dependable and understanding and patient in order to keep up with the growing strategies of advertisment. I believe that cartoon characters on cigarettes aren't going to be as effective if a child is informed by their parents. There are many other countries that put cartoons on everything. In Japan they put cartoons on condoms. This doesn't mean five year olds are having sex in Japan.

But as I said advertising is everywhere. It’s on what we eat, wear, get ready with and while we transfer from one place to another.Either indirect advertising vs. direct advertising, tradition (Your mother buys colgate so for the rest of your life you buy colgate), or peer pressure (“I buy what my friends buy”) Not all advertising is bad and not all trends either. We are actually in the beginnings of a earth friendly trend and it is bleeding it's way into corporates with everyday it becomes more popular. Possibly we could avoid our children making bad decisions if we educate them and allow them to choose And support their minds as individual rather than deciding for them.

Self Assessment
I've had Steve(n) Arntson as a teacher before and I can honestly say that enlightenment is in store by anyone who takes a class from him. Issues in everyday life get brought up and analyzed in ways they normally are not seen to the common college student. I've learned how to expand my resources not as a general view but also a personal view and how to break down big issues into the everday issues. Problems seem so unimaginably fixable but with the right research we can spread a common solution that everyone can partake. I do have much to learn as everyone does but I feel like I can be more confident in my endeavors with the insight on angles of research and being able to hon down on key issues.

I believe what I did well in this class was producing a different perspective in class and group discussions and I also approached my part of my group project with a different light. I brought up unique insights how reducing is the real key to our plastic issues. I know I could have communicate better. I could have discussed more with my group as well. I'm not very good at communicating my personal life but I am working on that. I let a lot of these issues get to me personally and I couldve been a little less sensitive to the matter.

I feel prepared for future projects because I feel more confident and aware of the resources and researching techniques that are required to throughly research a subject. I do feel unprepared on quoting and proper grammar. That I know is a weakness of mine and it always will be.

All in all this class has been very successful for me. I believe classes like these build character even if it may be a little hard on ones self to be exposed to real life at it's raw core.