Entry #6. #AllLivesMatter

Pray for ALL Terror Victims

As of Sunday, November 15, 2015, 7:51 pm

Number of deaths this year: 49,078,020 and is increasing each second

Per year: 56,000,000

Per month: 4,679,452.00

Per Day 153,424.70

Seeing this World Death Clock Click to see clock gives me goosebumps.

No matter what religion, race, ethnicity, whatever, it is always a shock to lose someone. They are either a mother/father, son/daughter, sister/brother, etc. We live in such a unexpected world. It freightens me that I or anyone else do not know what is going to happen tomorrow.

This year had a lot of tragedies occur in different countries. Each touched me. 

As I scroll down facebook, I see the news of the tragedies happening in the world this year; the comments from people on their make me angry because they blame the whole Muslim population instead of that group or individual who caused the tragedy. And there are those who actually are educated and defend Muslims by saying not all Muslims are the same. I am glad there still are people out there who really know me and my people. These terrorist who call theirselves Muslims are attacking and killing innocent people. In the Quran it states: 

PRAY FOR HUMANITY

WATCH THIS-Couldn't have said it in any other way

All are mourning over their loved ones right now. No matter what religion you are, your life matters. 

I respect all religions because we all are created equally with a unique name that we own. 

As I sit here writing this blog post, it makes me wonder what these people are going through. Their hearts are getting shattered each time a memory of their loved one is remembered. Pray for Humanity, Pray for Peace. Each and every individual in each religion needs the others to pray for them, to help ease the pain, and to show them that there is hope.

All lives matter. Every religion deserves respect because no population deserves to be mistreated without reason. So pray...

This is a 3-year old boy who lost both his parents during the Beirut, Lebanon bombing attack on November 13, 2015

Entry #5. ASU's New Format

Like most traditional universities, ASU has classes that are 15 weeks long per semester (Fall and Spring). Now ASU has started classes that are half the time 7 1/2 weeks to complete. There still are courses that are 15 weeks long but with an option to complete the course in a shorter period of time.

This change helps the student with having a flexible schedule to work with because most college students work and are not able to balance out their time.

Financial situations are common with college students. This change will not only decreace the amount of hours spent per class each semester, but also decrease the amount the student will have to pay during a 7 1/2 week course instead of a 15 week course which is more expensive because more time is involved.

This is motivating and drawing more students to enroll at universities because the have a chance for flexible schedule and will be able to afford the classes. It is a way to help students finish faster and effeciently. 

I personally think this format is awesome for those individuals who aspire to finish early and start their career. Those who can handle the time crunch in each class to finish the work that needs to be taught will do good. This semester is the first time that I took a shorter credit hour course that is hybrid and face-to-face. It is challenging me to be quick but effecient in my course work. Face-to-face and online is what I like, not just online, I learn physically and visually. Each and every student is different in the way of learning so it could be a good format for one person but not the other

Entry #4. Media Stereotypes

Stereotyping has been around for a plethora of centuries and will be around in many more to come. If you are not too familiar with stereotyping, it is a widely held conception or idea of a particular group, type of person, or thing.

 You might be involved with it on a daily basis, either from hearing it or from personal interaction involving it. 

ISLAM

The religion Islam has had intense stereotyping against it after the 9/11 attack. After that tragedy, the world Islam itself became a horror movie. The media has associated terrorism with Muslims so much that now most people have a thought of the whole 1.57 BILLION; are terrorists. The definition of terrorism does not contain what religion it is done by because anyone from any religion can be a terrorist. It is an act, not a task. 

It really doesn't! It is the individual's intrinsic motives not the religion telling them to do so.

Killing innocent people is a sin in Islam; terrorism kills the innocent people. There is peace and there is the opposite in each and every religion. Why should the whole religion be labeled as a threat or fear because of a small group of heartless individuals' actions. These heartless individuals violate the name of Islam. 

Studying the religion on ones' self is the best thing to do these days because the media will not educate one on the true facts and principles that are contained. 

Stereotyping, either extreme or monor, affects those innocent people who are targeted. Why should anyone have to go through such stress about knowing your life is on the edge because fingers are pointed at you.

After 9/11, my mother got a glass beer bottle thrown at her cars' windshield while driving. The one thing/aim that made those individuals throw that bottle was because my mom wore a head scarf (hijab). My mom took off the scarf after a while because she felt like she was forced to. Everywhere she looked, it was staring and fear. We felt like so much pressure was on us because all Muslims were put to the blame for that tragedy. My family and I were very sadenned by 9/11 and we were so angry at the humanity that is being presented by these attackers. 

All stereotyping offends an individual in some way or the other! The Media doesn't help.

Entry #3. Slanted Reporting

The reporting becomes a story telling place, not for report. When reading a article or report of anything, you notice that one side of the argument is being talked about a lot and the writer seems to be in favour of that side more than the other. It becomes obvious that that group or particular person is being favorited or disliked. This reporting is called Slanted Reporting. 

Out of countless slanted reporting that I have seen about Islam and Muslims in general; growing up my knowledge about Islam has increased and/so when I hear a news reporting that is nothing but bias, I say to myself "What are these people's actual feelings about this particular group of people based on what they report?" 

This video is an example of Slanted Reporting

CLICK HERE TO WATCH

After talking about females being mistreated in the Muslim world, the male news anchor stated to Reza Aslan: "Be honest Reza, for the most part it is not a free and opened society for women in those states." This news anchor seems to be exposing his knowledge based on what he hears and sees in media about Muslim women because there are only certain Islamic states that are strict on women, for example Saudi Arabia and Iran. He did not consider the other 19 Islamic states and 50 Muslim-Majority countries that have free and opened rights for their women. There are Muslim female's who are as or even more successful than female's in America. But that is not the point, these news anchors are painting all Muslims with a single brush by saying "Well in Saudi Arabia women cant drive so therefore that's somehow representative of Islam," Reza said. Its representative of Saudi Arabia, not Islam as a whole.
Bill Maher is a comedian, I understand he is trying to make his audience laugh but as Reza said, when it comes to religion, he is not sophisticated enough about the subject.

Entry #2. Hijab is My Crown

In Islam, a Hijab is a headpiece or veil that is worn by Muslim girls/women. This headpiece is a way to respect your beauty and figure in public and non-relative persons. When wearing this headpiece, the females' beauty is in a way reserved for her husband when she gets married; its a beautiful reason to wear it. I, myself, wear hijab. I decided to wear it back in February of 2013; I have always wanted to wear it but did not know the right time. It has been the best decision I've made because to me, in 30 years or so, my peers and people I work with will not remember how my hair looked or what I wore on a certain day. God wants me to be modest in others eye's; what God wants from me to do is more important at the end of the day. It is a choice the girl makes, it is not and should not be forced upon; time is there for a reason, when the right time comes, she will put it on. 

The hijab does not limit a girl from acvhieving her dreams. She can become a Doctor, Pharmacist, Engineer, an Athlete, etc. 

Iqbal Al Assaad, a Palestinian prdigy child, became a Doctor at the age of 20. The youngest arab Doctor ever.
See, they don't limit their selves. They can be as successful as anyone else not covered up.

ENTRY #1. Bloggin' Away

Blogs can have a different meaning to different people. Blogs are a way to express individual's voices through their tone, diction, style, etc. It reveals the kind of person one is with personality and point of view on certain topics. To me, blogging can become a hobby to some; it can sometimes become an escape from the outside world. Everyone has a voice and something to say, if what they're trying to say is not being heard in public then it can be heard on their blog.

BE YOU

Each and every blog is unique to its own author. It was fun to look at different tastes of style in each. I did some research on some blogs and found ones that were inpiring and ones that were not my type.

BLUE ABAYA 

http://www.blueabaya.com/

Blue Abaya is a personal blog that is created to inform others to respect cultural gaps and to show the culture of Islam as of travel destinations and Religious Holidays. I enjoy reading about people trying to convince others about the beautiful aspects in different cultures. I take the pleasure in learning about the cultures of the world; each and every culture and religion is unique and beautiful in their own way! Everyone should take the time to learn, reflect, and discover new things.

Skinny Taste

http://www.skinnytaste.com/

I often find healthy food ideas very helpful especially when they are made quick and easy! I enjoy cooking and discovering new recipes to try. There are a plethora of sites where healthy meals are being presented. I found that Skinny Taste was very organized with layout and the big images of the meal prepared was very eye-catching. I liked how categorized everything was, for example: about me, skinny bits, blog roll, recipes, recipe box. Categorizing makes it easy to find what one is looking for without scrolling forever to get to it.

decor8

http://decor8blog.com/

I have a passion for decor. I don't stick with one setup for my room, I am constantly finding new ways to spice it up and find a new place for everything. I don't know if that would be considered an OCD thing. Decor8 is a blog created by Holly Becker, a stylist, interiors writer, and a book author. On her blog contains decorating ideas for the interior of homes, DIY's, and many more. Full of photos and colors, this blog pulled me in. I find it easier to examine certain things when there are photos that go with it (visual learner). Another thing I found interesting was that she has an e-course that consists of Photography + Styling Bootcamp:                   

 https://bloggingyourway.com/member-options?s2-ssl=yes

Gawker

http://gawker.com/

This Blog, Gawker, contains news that is brought in by other websites and random stories. As I was searching around, I found out that there are different Gawker blogs but in different names. Most of the different Gawber blogs had the same content repeated, I didn't understand why. Overall, I did not enjoy that it was the same layout, meaning there was not anything different expected; the pictures and text were in the same place throughout the posting (so it was a bit boring for me). Some of the stories on there were amusing and some were just out of no where.